Chapter 140: Chapter 140: Prophecy (6)

‘I didn’t expect to see this now.’

Devilization.

It wasn’t that he wasn’t flustered despite being aware of it. After all, it was something only seen in the middle of the main story in the game.

However, there was a high possibility that it had occurred in places unknown to him.

Normally, the named devil worshippers who showed themselves sometimes did not reveal themselves at all.

Carlyn steeled his resolve.

Although it would render one crippled after use, this was a grave crisis considering the proportional increase in power as a backlash.

‘Still, it’s fortunate that only one of them can use it.’

If Mori too could devilize, Carlyn’s poison would certainly have lost its effectiveness.

And he would have died here.

Carlyn charged quickly. Now was the chance.

There was no way to train devilization. From Pelia’s perspective, it was a lethal technique he was experiencing for the first time before dying.

This moment of being unable to adapt was the weakest.

Also, at this very moment, there was someone of unknown identity approaching this location. He had to end it swiftly.

As Carlyn charged like a beam of light, Pelia’s black tentacles blocked his path.

Eight tentacles came at him from eight directions in front.

‘As expected. He still hasn’t adapted yet.’

There were gaps between the tentacles, and the attacks were not sharp. Carlyn slowed the tentacles’ movements with the Winds.

Moonlight drew a semicircle from the lower right. The struck tentacles were violently repelled.

However, due to the tentacles, advancing further became difficult. Carlyn increased the distance again.

He tried approaching again but was repeatedly blocked by the tentacles. Not only could he not approach, but it was even hard to defend.

‘Troublesome.’

The only reason he could resist the eight tentacles was thanks to the Winds, allowing him to gauge the gaps between them.

But proportional to that number, Carlyn’s hands could not help but be busy. Moreover, the tentacles did not get severed either.

Only Sword Energy could pierce devilization.

Still, it was fortunate that the Moonlight in Carlyn’s hand was a named sword.

Whenever the tentacles touched the sword, they exerted an attractive force, as if trying to snatch it away.

Ordinary swords could not withstand that absorbing force. After a few clashes, the blade would be damaged and break.

Only named swords could endure it.

‘Still, I need to avoid contact as much as possible.’

Being a named sword did not mean it would remain unscathed. Cases of breakage sometimes occurred too.

He had to worry about damage during combat, not in the future.

Moonlight had already confronted Sword Master Rudehrn’s Sword Energy before.

There must have been considerable internal damage even then. With better swords hard to obtain now, maintenance was essential.

“Aah……”

As the tentacles blocked Carlyn’s approach, Pelia let out a groan-like exclamation.

A voice filled with elation. He was vividly feeling the power welling up from within and adapting to it.

“Ah, Father of the darkest place……”

Pelia had always been devout, but his faith had never been as solid as this very moment.

The ominous red eyes within the black figure enveloping his body gazed up at the rainy sky.

The dark sky. Pelia felt it was a sign the Father was showing him.

Carlyn judged that he could not afford any more delays.

Even if he suffered damage, he had to swiftly put an end to this. Carlyn attempted another breakthrough.

The tentacles from all directions targeted Carlyn.

Carlyn resisted with the Winds, momentarily using a strong gust to deflect the tentacles aside.

It consumed less energy than directly confronting them head-on.

One step left, two steps right. Kicking off the ground and spinning his body in mid-air, he evaded the tentacles.

A series of acrobatic movements displayed in a breath and a half.

Having closed the distance, Carlyn thrust out Moonlight. It seemed to flash like moonlight on a moonless night.

But the dual daggers blocked Moonlight’s path, their relentless assault having intensified from before.

‘He’s gotten stronger.’

Having failed with his strike, Carlyn retreated before the tentacles could surround him. It was fortunate this wasn’t a battle against them all at once.

Though there were tentacles, they were not yet sharp. Most attacks were area-of-effect, striking the space itself rather than pinpoint strikes.

Koong– Kung!Thud. The deflected tentacles violently struck the trees. Some trees even broke.

The impact produced a faint tremor in the ground. Puddles of rainwater splashed with a pitter-patter sound.

If the battlefield wasn’t a forest, it would have been a difficult fight. Carlyn kept changing positions whenever trees around him shattered.

Pelia followed suit. For him, there was no behind anyway, and the rising elation made him confident of victory.

The battle gradually grew more arduous because he had failed to land that initial strike.

Opportunities were hard to come by.

Whenever he blocked one dagger, another would follow, the cycle repeating. The tentacle attacks were also becoming sharper bit by bit.

‘An opening……’

Carlyn’s abnormal physical condition was also a problem. Momentary openings would appear, but each time, his reaction was slow.

In the battles of masters, an instant mattered, so those were greatly regrettable moments for Carlyn.

More warmth flowed down the left side of his head. On top of his already abnormal condition, he could not block the rain with the winds while fighting.

The styptic was washed away by the rain, and the intense movements widened the wound. His vision was gradually blurring.

‘And someone is approaching straight this way.’

On top of that, the mysterious person was closing in directly. There was no time.

Additionally, he felt resentment that Devil’s Blood was not manifesting.

Last time, Devil’s Blood had manifested when his life was in grave peril, when he went to rescue the princess.

The desire to live was still there. Yet he could not understand why the blood was not manifesting.

Was it really not a dire enough moment?

‘That couldn’t be.’

This was a life-or-death situation. He had been caught in a magic bomb blast. Subjectively, it felt more intense than his fight against Rudehrn.

Carlyn could not fathom the difference between now and then. Was it because he still had one last trick up his sleeve?

A fleeting contemplation mid-battle.

For the usual Carlyn, it would not have been an issue, but his poor physical condition was the problem.

In an instant, he failed to properly manipulate the Winds deflecting the tentacles. Ah, crap. Carlyn realized it too.

An attack was coming from the right.

It was perilous. Carlyn felt the intuition that this was the moment to take a gamble.

‘Either way, I was going to die.’

An immense gust of wind struck Carlyn’s back in an instant. From that impact, Carlyn flew towards Pelia.

The tentacles pierced the space Carlyn had occupied, missing him by a paper’s breadth.

A heavy pain rose from his back, but not dodging would have resulted in greater injury.

And this was also a prelude to an attack. He spun his waist in a full circle, evading the frontal tentacles.

This was a movement Pelia had not anticipated. Amid his confusion, the gap was within an arm’s reach.

Carlyn’s sword traced the moonlight.

There was a moon in the rain.

Pelia barely managed to block the sword. Clang–! Moonlight rang out deeply. In that moment,

Carlyn’s Winds drew out the Ghost Blade from his left thigh.

Carlyn gripped the hilt of the airborne Ghost Blade with his left hand. Pelia was bewildered.

‘What is it? Did it get flung by the explosion? So he doesn’t know about it?’

A dagger without a blade.

From Pelia’s perspective, unaware of the Ghost Blade, it did not seem a major attack. Rather, he thought he had seized the advantage.

It was because of the blood flowing down from Carlyn’s head. His left ear to shoulder was soaked in blood.

Pelia thought Carlyn’s judgment had erred due to being dazed.

He targeted Carlyn’s right side and back. The sharpened tentacles thrusted– piercing Carlyn’s flank.

“Ugh!”

The searing agony was like being struck by a high priest’s black magic, an experience he had felt before.

Gritting his teeth, Carlyn stabbed with the Ghost Blade. The dagger’s guard made contact with the black figure but could not penetrate further.

And then,

Carlyn infused it with mana.

The hilt was already before Pelia’s forehead. The blade manifested, impaling Pelia’s brain and forehead.

The tentacles stretching towards Carlyn froze in place.

‘Wh…?’

Pelia’s bewilderment could not leave his mouth. His thoughts had ceased with his brain being pierced.

He did not even see the Ghost Blade’s blade.

The last thing Pelia felt was the surging elation suddenly draining away in an instant.

The tentacles that had halted right in front of Carlyn’s back all dropped to the ground and dissipated at once.

Ominous black particles scattered before fading with the falling rain.

What remained at the end was Pelia, reverted to human form.

The fiery red eyes that had burned so intensely were losing their color. Carlyn withdrew the Ghost Blade.

The limp body collapsed forward with a thud.

“Ugh.”

Clutching his side, Carlyn barely leaned against a tree.

The sharp pain was piercing through even the painkiller he had taken earlier. But he could not afford to relax his guard.

Carlyn quickly swallowed another painkiller and applied purification to the wound area.

Then he applied a styptic to the torn parts of his head and flank.

He could not fully cover the hole in his side. He lacked enough styptic because he had hastily used too much when initially injuring his head.

With no choice, he bound it with a bandage as is.

“Huff……”

The approaching footsteps were nearby. They seemed to have arrived towards the end of the battle. From not immediately assisting, it did not appear to be an enemy.

However, he could not be certain.

In his current state, he was a hairbreadth away from collapsing even while staying still. The falling rain appeared blurred too.

Caught in a magic bomb blast, suffering severe bleeding, and now a hole in his side.

Remaining still would lead to losing his life faster than recovering. Prolonging this worked against Carlyn.

“Show yourself.”

Carlyn’s raspy voice rang out, piercing the sound of rain. Carlyn sensed someone flinching in surprise.

Not an enemy?

And that person gradually approached closer. When he finally revealed himself, Carlyn felt his tension completely dissipate.

“Wh-what even was that just now……”

It was Jofor.

It was perplexing. Clearly, until leaving the city, Jofor had not pursued him.

Carlyn was aware of this fact as he had been expanding his Winds to search for the devil worshippers.

In other words, Jofor had followed after Carlyn left the city.

‘Was I lucky?’

No, he might have asked around. Not many people in this world walked around with umbrellas.

Getting wet was a risk they endured due to disliking it. Although this place was somewhat distant from the city, it was still searchable.

A magic bomb had detonated, and Pelia had shattered trees, so Jofor could have come upon hearing the sounds.

“Why did you follow me?”

“Well, since you were alone, I thought I’d help in case any problems arose……”

Jofor stammered. He could not believe the sight he had just witnessed.

“So you thought I’d teach you something?”

“……”

Jofor could not respond. That was correct. As fellow mercenaries, he had been watching for an opportune moment to assist and earn brownie points.

Carlyn let out a wry smile.

“Good job. Come support me.”

On the other hand, Carlyn did not think the situation was too bad. It had been an extremely arduous battle, but he had emerged victorious.

And Jofor had witnessed Pelia’s devilization.

Carlyn had been worried whether Jofor would believe him if he tried to recruit him, but after seeing that, it would be sufficient.

Additionally, his physical condition made it impossible to reach the rendezvous point with his companions.

“Huh?”

“Support me, I said. I might collapse from exhaustion.”

Jofor hurriedly approached Carlyn’s side. Before supporting him, Carlyn did not forget to purify Jofor’s clothes.

Now seeing Carlyn up close, Jofor was astonished. Carlyn’s bandages were already soaked in blood.

“Are, are you alright?”

“No.”

“Ah, that was really incredible just now. I couldn’t see well from a distance how you dealt with that strange monster, but your movements were……”

Jofor rambled while gauging Carlyn’s reaction.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

To him, Pelia had been an unimaginable monster he had never seen the likes of in his life. The shock was immense.

However, his admiration was sincere. There was genuine awe, for someone who had triumphed against such a monster.

He had realized Carlyn was not simply a skilled mercenary but an extraordinary master.

Moreover, Carlyn did not seem like a bad person either.

Among those who walked the path of arms, many dreamed of such an opportunity. Jofor thought this was one of those chances.

“But that thing earlier……”

“A devil worshipper.”

“Re-really?”

Carlyn realized Jofor had not yet seen Pelia, unable to take his eyes off Carlyn in his astonishment.

“Look. He’s human now, isn’t he?”

Upon seeing Pelia, Jofor’s mouth fell open in shock. The fearsome monster with fiery red eyes was now a person.

Of course, there were perplexing points. Why had a mercenary suddenly gone out to fight a devil worshipper?

“Did you have issues with them because of a request?”

Carlyn pondered briefly. The situation was ripe, but how should he go about recruiting him? His head was not functioning clearly.

His memories of Jofor from the game were not vivid. But he soon recalled.

“Actually, I’m not a mercenary. I’m someone opposed to the devil worshippers, forming a secret organization to confront those trying to destroy this continent.”

“Oh, could it be a secret society…like that?”

“Well, if you want to put it that way, I suppose.”

Jofor showed curiosity, even a hint of envy. Just as befitting the leader of a group.

The ‘Falcon’s Talon’ that protected the continent.

It was a secret mercenary society Jofor had created. He really enjoyed such things, even though he often ended up dying from a blow to the back of the head, prompting him to make new ones repeatedly.

The situation was not too bad.

Author's Thoughts

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