Chapter 153 - Seventh and Eighth (1)

The fierce battle ceased in a single moment.

However, the tension multiplied.

A lull akin to the calm before a storm.

GRRR.

The silver-furred beastman clattered its jaw.

The beastmen, who had lowered their postures as much as possible and were glaring at Gawain's trio and that Eli bastard, let out stifled groans and backed away.

The knights gathered by my side.

Adelia still blocked the way in front of me, not moving an inch. Naturally, it resulted in her standing at the forefront of the group.

The silver-furred beastman steadily glared at Adelia at the front.

What was contained in those yellow eyes was clear killing intent, the greed of a predator right before a feast.

GRRRRR.

Even Gawain's trio and that Eli bastard were visibly tensing up and freezing.

That was how ferocious and mighty the beastman's momentum was.

However, the timid woman did not cower in the slightest.

Rather, she radiated a brilliant aura, standing against that ferocious momentum.

Watching that sight, something hot surged up from inside me.

I was proud of her.

Adelia, who stood tall in front of that mighty enemy without relying on the power of her traits, was truly admirable.

I wanted to run up to her and offer words of praise right away.

That she did well. That I was proud of her.

However, I forced myself to swallow back the words of praise that had risen to the tip of my chin.

Her resolve and determination were too heavy to be expressed with a few words of praise.

She had endured too much for me to offer hasty comfort.

A woman who hated being hurt, and hated hurting others, had taken up the sword of her own will.

A fearful and timid woman faced the killing intent of that mighty half-human, half-beast.

Praise would be an insult, and comfort would be a deception.

All the karma she bore originated from me.

Because if Adelia had not met me, she would not have had to face such a situation.

["You must be thinking that if that child had not met you, she wouldn't have had to suffer such torment."]

Agnes spoke as if she had looked right into my mind.

["Destiny is not something guided by anyone, so you must understand that she stood in that place on her own."]

A voice closer to a sigh than a scolding.

["Just how long are you going to take on the karma of others in their stead?"]

I answered in my mind.

'This isn't taking on karma. This is a responsibility I rightfully ought to shoulder.'

["You haven't changed a bit, whether in the past or now."]

Agnes lamented.

["Poor Gruhorn, a soul who volunteered to bear the shackles of a Demonic sword. I feel so incredibly sorry for you."]

She spoke as if she couldn't stand how pitiful I was. Just as the Mage of the White Night had done to me.

For me, it was incomprehensible pity, and unwanted sympathy.

I closed my ears.

Because now was not the time to play along with the Sword Marquis's lofty chatter.

The silver beastman clattered its jaw and lowered its body. I could feel Adelia's shoulders stiffening with tension.

Right after that,

CRASH!

The silver beastman kicked off the ground. It was at that exact moment that Adelia, engulfed in a brilliant aura, also dashed forward.

A silver trajectory remained in the spot where the silver beastman extended and swung its long claws.

The slashes Adelia poured out left countless scars in the air.

In the dark forest where even sunlight couldn't properly penetrate due to the dense trees, a brilliant golden light and a pale silver light danced wildly.

SWOOOOOSH.

The massive old trees trembled, and their leaves scattered.

CRASH!

The aftereffects of the unmitigated impact from both sides swept in all directions.

The ground burst open in various places, and trees fell over.

To avoid the aftermath, the knights and I had to retreat quite a distance.

"Crazy..."

That Eli bastard let out a dumbfounded sound.

"If the Commander had woken up just a little later, we really would have all died."

"Tell me about it."

Gawain and his comrades exchanged incomprehensible words in appalled voices.

But their conversation wasn't long.

They quickly focused on the battle between Adelia and the silver beastman.

Adelia was fighting surprisingly well.

Every single step she took was as heavy as a massive mountain. Every time she stepped forward, the ground burst open.

And what about those slashes that seemed capable of cleaving the beastman's giant body in two?

The sword of giant slaughter originating from the Sword Marquis was more than perfect for dealing with a beastman as massive as a Giant Legionnaire.

Every time she unleashed a strike, chunks of the beastman's flesh were torn away.

However, the silver beastman was also not an easy opponent.

Even as its flesh was torn apart, it fiercely attacked Adelia.

The wounds inflicted on its flesh rapidly regenerated.

It was a seasoned warrior.

It knew very well what its weapons were, and it possessed the courage and experience to utilize them.

It recklessly attacked Adelia, utilizing its semi-immortal body.

It narrowed the distance so Adelia couldn't take those mountain-like steps, and thrust out its forearms and feet to interrupt her slashes before their full power could be loaded into them.

As time passed, Adelia's breathing was becoming disrupted.

The tip of her sword wavered. Her steps gradually became lighter.

Her flustered heart, not knowing how to handle this unexpected response and trembling with anxiety, was almost palpable.

Eventually unable to overcome the pressure any longer, she unleashed a slash with all her might and retreated.

She looked at me with a face that seemed on the verge of tears.

"No!"

That was when that Eli bastard screamed.

Over her shoulder as she looked at me, I could see the beastman lowering its posture and charging in.

THUD-THUD-THUD!

In the face of that fierce charge, she looked like she would be trampled at any second.

Belatedly realizing the situation, she looked forward again.

But as if her hard-fought battle up until now had been a lie, she couldn't put up any response.

She just blankly stared at the beastman's charge.

WOOOONG!

That Eli bastard stepped forward, triggering Sword Resonance. Gawain's trio simultaneously lowered their postures and prepared to sprint out.

It was a camaraderie worthy of praise, and a flawlessly prompt response.

But it was a completely meaningless action.

"That's far enough."

Because I stepped in before they could.

The beastman, which had been charging with heavy thuds, came to a halt while scraping the ground with both arms.

Looking at the bastard, I spoke quietly.

"Not her."

The beastman growled lowly.

A ferocious momentum that seemed ready to resume its halted charge at any moment.

"She's mine. She's my knight. She is not some insignificant person for the likes of you to trample."

Along with my words, I liberated the presence I had been suppressing with all my might up until now.

RUMBLEEEE.

The karma I had accumulated so far, and the status I had reached, spread in all directions.

My momentum, having reached the Heroic Grade, ruthlessly crushed down on the beastmen.

The two beastmen that had appeared first let out groans and pressed their bodies flat against the ground. The sight of them tucking their tails and drooling made them look exactly like terrified dogs.

The silver-furred beastman growled fiercely. However, it didn't dare pounce, merely vibrating its throat loudly.

"H-How? Your Highness has no mana..."

"I said I had no mana; I never said I couldn't fight."

"What does that..."

"A Sword Master doesn't fight with mana alone."

If Quad Chain knights fought solely with the martial arts of the sword,

Sword Masters fought by putting their everything on the line.

Tearing flesh apart with the sword, and crushing the soul with their status.

Until the opponent's body and mind were destroyed.

That was the battle of a Sword Master.

And my status was enough to trample the silver beastman's will to fight.

I cast a glance at Eli, who was still full of questions, and headed straight toward Adelia.

The silver-furred beastman flinched and backed away.

Just like how the Imperial Knights and Mages hadn't been able to block my path just a short while ago, when my mana was depleted and even my body was in tatters.

The beastman also repeatedly staggered backward.

After quietly watching the bastard, I looked at Adelia.

"You've done well, Adelia."

At my words, she burst into the tears she had been holding back.

It seemed the sorrow and fear of being pushed into facing a mighty monster had all burst out at once.

The handful of courage that had been supporting her crumbled away like a lie. Along with her physical body.

GRAB.

I reached out and supported her waist.

She buried herself into my embrace.

"Adelia."

She looked up at me.

"You started this, so you finish it."

Adelia got a blank look on her face.

"Don't worry. I'll be backing you up."

At my words, she wiped her tears. And then she squeezed out what little courage she had left.

Having wiped her tears, Adelia pulled away from me.

She grabbed her sword and turned her back. A brilliant aura quickly bloomed on the tip of her sword.

I stood still and watched her back.

Adelia kicked off the ground.

Until that moment, the silver-furred beastman had been crushed by my status, shrinking back with its body lowered flat.

Above that bastard's head, Adelia's slash plummeted down.

GRAAAH!

The beastman, roaring belatedly, leapt and dodged the slash.

Adelia, whose strike hit the ground, took another step forward.

Her first step was as light as her slender body.

Her second step was heavier than that, but it was still lacking.

As she took her third step, the ground caved in.

As she took her fourth step, the earth screamed.

Upon reaching the fifth step, her stride finally became like a massive mountain.

"Unleashing a single stroke of the sword."

Raising her sword above her head, Adelia sang softly.

It was a verse from the Bayern family's Poem of Martial Deeds, [Poem of Creation].

RUMBLEEEE.

A brilliant cluster of light gathered on her sword.

Adelia swung her sword.

A brilliantly glowing golden aura plummeted toward the beastman.

The beastman howled fiercely and thrust its claws in counterattack, but suddenly froze in flinch.

The bastard looked at me.

I was pointing my sword at it.

Blood flowed to become a river, and flesh enriched the land.

With the blood and flesh of giants, I shall renew this land.

While softly reciting through my lips the latter verses of the poem that Adelia couldn't chant.

CRUNCH!

At that moment, Adelia's slash struck the bastard directly.

ROOOOOAR!

The beastman screamed.

Blood splattered and rained down.

Its right shoulder had completely vanished.

Right before Adelia's slash reached it, it had barely managed to twist its body and avoid getting its head split open.

"Tsk."

As I clicked my tongue in disappointment, the bastard roared fiercely.

The yellow eyes glaring at me were filled with fury.

Calling me a coward.

It seemed to be protesting against me as such.

"I didn't even do anything."

I had only watched. Though I had raised my status as much as possible.

ROAAAAAAR!

Its ferocious nature fully triggered, the bastard howled.

After seeing blood, it seemed the will to fight that had been crushed and snuffed out by my status was finally revived.

Now, it probably wouldn't even care about my presence and would focus solely on the battle.

With a fighting spirit befitting a warrior of the Full Moon, focused entirely on biting off the enemy's neck.

But it was too late.

"Ahhh..."

A sigh drenched in ecstasy flowed out.

The bastard turned its head.

In front of it stood a woman covered in the piping-hot blood that had poured out from the beastman's body.

Endlessly streaming differently colored rays of light from her eyes,

And her mouth torn wide into a smile.

The timid lunatic, whose [Butcher] and [War Maniac] traits had flared up, was standing there.

The lunatic raised her sword.

A sword harboring an auspicious light that did not suit that eerie madness.

The beastman groaned.

The lunatic laughed.

* * *

The battle was over.

All that remained was blood and chunks of flesh scattered everywhere, and a woman drenched in blood.

Adelia didn't move an inch.

Normally, she would have shed thick tears upon seeing the tragedy she had created.

She just stood there blankly, completely still.

Looking as if she were lost in deep thought.

GULP.

Someone swallowed their dry saliva.

I couldn't tell if it was that Eli bastard, or Gawain's trio.

I didn't care, either.

I only stared intently at Adelia.

She, who had been standing blankly, looked back at me.

With a face that was neither crying nor smiling, she parted her lips.

"I think..."

Before she could even finish her sentence,

FLASH.

An intense light burst forth.

Looking at that brilliant radiance, I muttered softly.

"Crumble."

It was the moment the wall blocking her path crumbled down.