Chapter 197 - Black Seed (5)
Ping!
The dagger swiftly thrown with my left hand plunged into the saint's chest.
Seizing the moment when the saint hesitated, I kicked the ground and ran backward. I didn't have time to deal with those guys. The most urgent thing was to find Priacis.
'They're all boss level.'
A woman who shoots magic like a machine gun, a beastman of incredible strength, and a saint with strange abilities.
I had seen that they were main characters in the ascension ceremony, but I didn't expect them all to appear together here. I could handle them one by one, but I had no guarantees against all three together.
I retreated to the outskirts of the camp and looked back.
It seemed they were starting with the expedition troops.
They weren't pursuing me anymore.
I could see thousands of soldiers being swept away in the distance.
I surveyed the surroundings.
Beyond the hill where the camp entrance was, I could see troops amidst the fluttering flags.
They were the forces of the order.
'Maybe we were at a disadvantage from the beginning.'
I thought they would be somewhat useful.
I clicked my tongue slightly and quickened my pace.
[Order Soldier Lv.25] X 32
[Order Knight Lv.28] X 2
The order forces had already infiltrated the area.
I kicked one charging at me and stabbed a sword into his chest. Then, I took down three more in succession and headed towards Priacis's tent.
I opened the tent entrance.
'...She's not here.'
The interior was neatly arranged.
It seemed she hadn't been there before leaving.
It meant she wasn't in the tent when the invasion happened.
'A place Priacis might have gone is...'
I could only think of one place.
I turned and headed towards the path leading to the cliff.
"Help! Help me!"
The massacre continued there.
Soldiers screamed desperately as they brandished their swords.
They killed their own comrades in a state of terror, dying among themselves.
Friendly fire.
<They're using an interesting ability.>
Amidst screams and heaps of bodies scattering.
The saint stood. Every time the purple glow flickered in her half-opened eye, the soldiers' movements intensified.
"I am Irine Icario, the 38th saint of the Order of Tel Ikar..."
My sword pierced the saint's heart.
I threw the saint to the other side of the bushes. Her body, blood spattering as she flew, writhed upon a mound of dirt.
The scattered blood began to gather again into the heart hole.
If she appeared here unharmed after being pierced in a vital point with a dagger...
'Regeneration?'
I spat out saliva mixed with blood and ran again.
It was a good decision not to deactivate the Exceed state. I almost fell into her trap again.
That woman's ability seemed to be a variant of a demonic eye. Probably of control.
I'll keep that in mind for when I face her again.
Gradually, mist covered my sight.
Within the mist, screams and the sound of swords and spears continued.
Gripping the hilt of my blood-stained sword, I lunged forward.
"Ugh!"
Priacis, wielding a sword, fought against five soldiers.
But she was at a disadvantage. The thick blade of a lance grazed her forearm. Priacis cried out and dropped her sword. Then, various types of weapons were thrown towards her vital points.
'...'
I intervened right after.
I plunged towards Priacis, spinning my body. A sword circle expanded, cutting two spears and an axe in half. Then, I kicked one trying to stab me with a dagger, and grabbed the sword heading for Priacis's neck. I pulled my hand towards me, snatching the sword from the soldier. And then...
Crack.
The five soldiers, their bodies cut into pieces, fell simultaneously.
"Huff."
I shook my left hand.
Blood dripped from the outside of my fist.
"...!"
"Why are you so surprised? It's not the first time. Let's skip the greetings. You can see the situation isn't good just by looking."
"What happened...?"
"The order soldiers invaded and are wreaking havoc. They've completely swept us."
I took a deep breath.
[Han's Exceed (★★★★) has been deactivated.]
Wobble.
Dizziness hit me suddenly, but I managed to calm it.
"So, shouldn't we fight? Where's Lord Delphine...?"
"Follow me."
"Ah!"
There was no time for explanations.
I grabbed Priacis's wrist and got out of there.
If we turn left from the camp, we'll reach the air port. I planned to steal an aircraft from there and escape through the sky.
'But...'
I brought a hand to my forehead.
Far away, in the air port, flames soared.
A few aircraft that had managed to escape also turned into fireballs under enemy fire and fell.
'Damn.'
"Han!"
So, where should we go?
If we go out through another camp exit, we'll reach the plain.
Though it's vast, it's completely open on all sides, making it unsuitable for escape.
'Are there no other options?'
If the air port is blocked, there's no other escape route besides the plain.
I grabbed Priacis's wrist and changed direction.
"Let go of my hand. I'll follow you."
"Alright."
I let go of her hand.
Priacis, her eyes filled with tears, rubbed her wrist and looked at me.
"Do you have the keys?"
"I always carry them with me."
"Stay close and follow me."
It seemed the main forces of the order had also entered the camp.
Wherever we went, blood was scattered, and screams rang high.
It was a one-sided massacre.
I moved, hiding among the trees and bushes, with Priacis clumsily following behind me.
"How could this have happened...?"
<Hahaha! Die, die!>
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Persephone was casting spells from the sky.
Priacis's complexion turned as pale as wax.
"That person is..."
"Happy to see her again?"
"Calm Persephone, how is it... hey!"
I covered Priacis's mouth with my hand.
The order soldiers were blocking the camp exit.
In front of them stood an imposing middle-aged man, Beast King Kiadni.
'Damn.'
I changed direction.
Back towards the left exit.
There, a saint dressed in white stood.
Behind her, an order of knights in shining silver armor could be seen.
<You have nowhere to run, hero.>
Persephone descended to the ground from the air.
"..."
So, both left and right, and also the front are blocked?
Three people were blocking each direction. Behind the camp, there was a cliff that dropped vertically to the ground.
"What should we do?" Priacis looked at me and swallowed nervously.
'A frontal advance?'
Dismissed.
The probability is too low.
If I were alone, it might be fine, but Priacis is here.
So, is there another way?
"..."
I closed my eyes.
I recalled the floating map I had been staring at all night.
It didn't take long before I reached a conclusion.
"Priacis, follow me."
"Where do you intend to go?"
"To the cliff."
"There it is..."
I didn't say anything.
Priacis, looking at me, nodded.
"It's okay. I trust you."
"Don't trust too much."
Priacis and I headed towards the cliff behind the camp.
Since the order's forces knew our location, there was no need to hide.
The wind was blowing strongly.
Standing firmly on the ground, I looked back.
Beyond the precipice, the distant ground was barely visible.
Priacis held onto my clothes tightly.
I smiled faintly and unsheathed my sword.
Hundreds of soldiers and dozens of knights.
Three officers were approaching me from various directions.
"If you wanted to flee, hero, you should have left her behind. You could have let her go."
Persephone smiled faintly.
"It would have been interesting to face each other as warriors one on one. It's a pity." Kiadni crossed her arms and approached.
"..."
The saint with closed eyes approached me silently.
'This is incredible.'
That this is a job for one person.
The difficulty has skyrocketed, not only vertically but it has pierced through the chart.
Without shame.
It's not the first time, but...
"Hand over that bitch." Persephone spoke.
"Madam Persephone!"
"I don't want to hear your voice, so shut up."
"Wait, listen! I am from Taonier..."
"I told you to shut up!" Persephone shouted with bloodshot eyes.
Priacis closed her mouth as if she had been struck.
Persephone looked at me and smiled faintly.
"Hero, let's talk again. Do you think you stand any chance of winning? If you want to preserve your life, perhaps making another choice would be the right thing to do."
<The prince thinks highly of you.>
The saint stepped forward.
"Such an exceptional warrior like you deserves to join us in this act. Hand her over and come with us, warrior." Then, the King joined.
After thinking for a while, I said, "If I hand Priacis over to you, what will happen to her?"
"Well..." Persephone raised her right hand.
The wind, sharp as a knife, blew.
"We have to return to her the pain we have suffered, multiplied by ten. We will make her unable to live or die. We will make her experience all the pain in the world. She will beg for death, pleading to be killed."
"The traitor deserves an appropriate punishment."
<I agree.>
I turned back.
"..."
Priacis looked at me with tears in her eyes.
There was no sign of her supposed duty as a princess.
There was only a girl terrified of what was to come.
"I-If you... if you live, it's, it's, it's okay. Hand me over..."
"You'll bite your tongue." I gently pushed Priacis's forehead.
And then I looked forward.
<Hero, we have a purpose. We have the purpose of saving all those who suffer in this world. You also know that this world is wrong. I will tell you the truth you didn't know. What we have gone through, why we have come to this. What that woman did. The ugly truth about the traitor...>
"You're spewing a bunch of nonsense."
Persephone's face hardened for a moment.
"Unknown truth? Ugly reality?"
I laughed.
I tried to contain myself, but I couldn't.
Laughter burst from me.
I don't know how they used to be.
But now, simply...
"Why should I go to a place full of losers?"
"What did you say?"
I twisted the corner of my mouth.
"Do you think you're the only ones who have had bad luck? Do you think you're the only ones who have ended up in such a deplorable situation?"
"......"
"Getting involved in something completely unrelated, bleeding, nearly dying several times, and still, there are those who wallow in the mud."
Every day was a struggle, a living hell.
Countless days were spent swinging between life and death, enduring pain.
I killed countless enemies and saw comrades die until I grew tired of it.
But me...
"I don't overreact without reason."
They must have realized this to some extent.
Priacis was only being used by Tel.
'Return the pain received?'
They're making fools of themselves.
I don't drag others into the abyss just because I'm in a shitty situation.
I end my own bad luck.
And I overcome it by myself.
"Tell your leader to stop messing around and keep their neck clean until they die."
"..."
The three said nothing.
They just looked at me coldly.
I chuckled mockingly.
Sure, I knew what their supposed cause was about.
"Was that a testament?" Persephone muttered, in a monotone tone, devoid of emotion.
I didn't respond, just looked back.
"Priacis."
She nodded in response to my whisper.
"Hold on tight. Don't let go."
"Understood." Priacis held onto my sleeve tightly.
I unsheathed my sword once more and then looked forward.
The three were slowly approaching me.
"You too, think. What cry will you give when your heads are cut off."
"Crazy." Persephone reached out her hand towards me.
I extended my middle finger to her, then grabbed Priacis.
And we leaped off the cliff.
