Chapter 130
Joint Combat Training 2 (16)
The sound of a giant whale wailing shakes the very foundations of the earth.
Just the swinging of its tail and fins is enough to bring about fierce winds. The Apostles of Telos arrange their formation and manifest defensive barriers to resist the massive gales, but the origin of the wind was never intended as an act of aggression.
The Apostles exchange swift glances, sharing thoughts through their eyes alone.
Their situation isnt entirely hopeless. If magic power is supplied sufficiently, the combined magic circle that the six Apostles could manifest together may well bring the monstrous whales movents to a halt.
However, the goal at this mont wasnt to subjugate the supre spirit.
Their objective lies in the retrieval of Belvbrocks Tooth Necklacea relic at the core of their entire plan.
Yet, their path is blocked by multitudes of flying spirits, and in the distance, Ed and Yenikar, fleeing on a dragon, are moving at an incredible speed.
In such a case, the Third Seat Swift Tadarek is the ideal candidate for the pursuit.
The Apostles swiftly conclude their planning.
Three of them will stall the movents of the supre spirit, while two will clear the path for Tadarek to fly through. Then, Tadarek, at top speed, would reach Ed and Yenikar, subduing them and seizing the relic.
After all, if Yenikar, the true body of those countless spirits, is subdued, the others beco irrelevant.
It doesnt take long for them to put their plan into action. Tadareks wings unfolded with a fluid motion.
Yenikar, co to your senses!
His forehead was like a furnace. His face wasnt blushing with typical embarrassnt, but flushed from drawing on an absurd amount of magic power and suffering from the resulting fever.
Ed supports Yenikars staggering body and examines the Tooth Necklace of Belvbrock. The flow of magic power along its surface is clearly waning.
The further they get from Achen Island, the weaker the relics magic power will beco.
Ed
Yenikar isnt unconscious. Even in a state of ntal haze, she does her utmost to command her spirits.
The supre water spirit, Friede, who commands the skies.
The magic circles manifested by the giant whale fill the heavens. An array of water elental spells cleave the sky.
Within the slicing winds, the Third Seat Tadarek pierces through the air.
His speed could be compared to a bullet, nearly impaled without notice by a spear in flight.
Fatefully, the spear pierces through only a few strands of Yenikars pink hair and the back of their ridden dragon.
When the dragons back is pierced, it starts to wobble amidst screams and begins to shake.
Ed and Yenikar, like before, plumt towards the earth once again.
***
Based solely on the military power of the Holy City, we cannot subdue the Divine Dragon Belvbrock. Do not rashly judge the situation based on vague descriptions in history texts.
There is no mincing of words.
Clarisse sits demurely, pinpointing the heart of the matter.
The spectacle of the water spirits covering the sky is clearly visible beyond the shattered stained glass. The cathedral knights and the scholars alike are sweating profusely as they look up, but to Saint Clarisse, it seems hardly impressive.
She has witnessed the Divine Dragon Belvbrock, many tis larger than those creatures, ravage Achen Island in its entirety.
That is why she remains unshakably calm.
At her composed deanor, Emperor Eldain and Archbishop Verdio feel deeply unnerved.
The Clarisse who used to look at the world with curious and innocent eyes, who played with a pure joy, is gone.
Her folded hands and seated silence bore evidence of a reality tasted far too bitterly.
Sister. How could you possibly
Listen carefully, Verdio.
There is a man whose deaths Clarisse has witnessed nurous tisa blond noble who had fallen from grace.
She rembers each instance of his demise, vivid in her mory.
Too much had been done by him to bring Clarisse to this very place.
And now, it was Clarisses turn to fulfill her role.
Regardless of what anyone would say, as the churchs saint, Clarisse possesses an absolute status.
A person with the authority to express her opinions directly to the emperor and the archbishop, nobody else could replace Clarisse in that respect.
And so, with confidence, Clarisse speaks out.
Im sitting here after repeating the sa monts countless tis.
Silence envelops the room.
I dont yet fully grasp why ti is repeating. But I have so guesses
Boom! Boom!
In the skies above Achen Island, there is a collision between the giant whale and the Apostles of Telos. A multitude of flying spirits, easily in the hundreds, join in as well.
Even the staff mbers of the academy have rushed out to deal with the crisis, spreading protective magic circles, but the giant whale doesnt seem concerned with targeting the academy.
Even such a majestic scene is nothing more than noisy background to Saint Clarisse.
Sister, now is not the ti for jokes.
Enough, Verdio. Im speaking to the Emperor.
What? Sister?
Clarisse is already stone-cold.
Looking at Verdio, she no longer bears the respectful gaze of the curious and naive saint she used to be. There is pity for the frightened hands and wide eyes, but it does not inhibit her speech.
Having experienced much, with significantly altered values, and most crucially, relying on no one for emotional support,
Humans grow quickly when they have soone to support them. Realizing this, Clarisse continues her narrative.
Emperor. Why do you think I knew about the secret plan to subdue Belvbrock? A plan that I shouldnt have known until arriving at Achen Island.
Emperor Eldains wrinkled eyes focus intently on Clarisses bright red irises.
How could that blond male student have known? How could a magic division student on Achen Island know of a plan that was only discussed among the high clergy of the Holy City?
Verdios eyes widen slightly.
The blond male student who had just raided the cathedral.
His actions, from shattering the glass to grabbing the necklace before the stunned knights could react, seed to suggest he had anticipated the churchs every move.
How could I know that both of you would be here, when you and your guards used stealth magic to move as covertly as possible to reach this cathedral?
Attention converges on her words.
Because Ive already experienced it all.
Though it sounds absurd, theres no rebuttal.
Verdio is the man who will drive the order to ruin, Emperor. Sooner or later, his madness will consu the church.
Madness, Sister? Your words are too radical.
We must cut him out while we still can. We must do it now
Sister!
Quiet, Verdio!
Bang! Clarisse slams the table.
And silence reigns.
Emperor Eldain says nothing. Clarisse and Verdio face each other.
How can you do this to
Eventually, Verdios response ca as a complete shock.
He was shedding tears.
Ever since your first arrival as the newly appointed saint, Ive always been fervent in my support.
Worried you couldnt adapt, I passed on all the knowledge I could, protected the spires from malign forces, shielded you from religious fanatics. Years have I lived this life.
The tears of sorrow shed by the aged archbishop Emperor Eldains pupils flicker uncertainly.
For your sake, Ive dedicated myself. This is sothing all knights of the Holy City know, even yourself, Emperor Eldain.
I was always your most passionate advocate. Always wishing for nothing but stability and happiness around you more than anyone else. And now to be slandered like this to be so miserably appalled tears stream down my face.
After his words, silence lingers again. Verdio bows his head in grief.
To realize that hed been repudiated, having spent his life only for the sake of the saint, and now to cry miserably with the wounds fresh in his heart.
Clarisse watches him, and then slowly approaches.
Her approach evokes an image of soone calmly walking to absolve a confessor or one grace with a glance towards a parishioner receiving a baptism, deeply ingrained in the knights mories as an inspiring sight.
With an air of grace, Clarisse reaches him and places a hand on each of his shoulders, whispering into his ear.
So, when things went wrong, you intended to use
as a scapegoat?
A jolt of tension runs through Verdios cold veins.
This is a fact that only Verdio knew. Sothing that could not have been spread by anyone else.
The ridiculous claim that she was repeating ti wasnt just a hasty rationale to convince the assembly.
Regrettably for those present, Saint Clarisse truly knew every despicable detail about them.
She moves beside Eldain, whose eyes are wide open, and speaks.
Dont be deceived anymore, Emperor.
The emperor is rely a spectator. Fundantally, he is no different from Verdio as a person, but there is still an opportunity for him to choose a different path.
Therefore, Clarisse speaks to Emperor Eldain. She urges him to excommunicate Verdio.
Now is the ti for your resolve.
At that mont, an explosion erupts from beneath the table.
Boom!!
It was Verdios divine magic.
***
In a forest region far north one must run from Achen Island,
Yenikars middle-ranked dragon-shaped spirit has just managed to crash-land amidst the conifers.
-Crash!
It scrapes across the ground, emitting a sound of agony, then shortly after, the spirit is reversed-summoned and vanishes. It appears that it barely managed to make a last-ditch effort to lay us safely on the ground.
Both Yenikar and I tumbled on the dirt, unscathed for the most part.
Yet Yenikar was in no condition to be moving.
Biting down hard, I rise from the dirt floor. I quickly run to Yenikar, whos a distance away, to check on her.
Hey, Yenikar. Are you okay?
She breathes heavily as if exhausted. As I reach to check her forehead for fever, she pushes my chest.
Dont Dont
What?
Its hot Youll only get hotter
Yenikar coughs, steadying herself.
It seems shes too weak to walk on her own, so I offer my shoulder for support.
We must be in the Cretan Woods.
Yeah Do we keep going?
I take out the Tooth Necklace of Belvbrock upon hearing Yenikars question. Although theres a faint response of magic power, its very weak.
Just a little further, and we will be there.
Supporting Yenikar, we continue walking. All we need to do is reach a point where the seal of Belvbrock isnt affected anymore, then we can bury it in the ground or throw it into a lake to ensure no one can find it.
However, things are unlikely to proceed smoothly.
Boom!
Should we call it landing or a crash?
Given that he remains completely unhard, it leans more towards landing.
But the quantity of dust rising up is too great to be considered just a landing.
Whoosh!
With a single flap of wings, the dust is scattered.
The man standing at the center is Tadarek of Swift, one of the three Apostles of Telos.
Ive faced him once before.
mories of subduing him amidst repetitive cycles of ti. I was pierced by his spear in front of the cathedral, but I turned that mont into an opportunity to limit his movents, ultimately ending him with rildas blow.
It was a case of overcoming an overwhelming difference in power with a short decisive battle. But the situation now is very different from then.
Its a situation where I cant risk my life, and to make things worse, the Glastrons ring has already been used by Yenika. Until Yenikas magic power returns, the ring cannot be used.
Although having Yenika on our side now is advantageous compared to before
Ed I cant see in front of
Keep your eyes shut until the dust settles.
No thats not it
My mind was preoccupied with Tadareks sudden appearance.
Turning to Yenika in response to her words, her pupils seed eerily vacant while supported by .
Hey you
It must be temporary
The timing is terrible.
The side effects of the ring seed certain. It apparently drew a larger amount of mana than expected. It would take a considerable amount of ti to recover.
Even after this incident is over, itll probably be hard for her to live alone for a few days. I wonder if this was too reckless, but Yenika couldnt have faced that Apostle alone without drawing such an amount of magic power.
I gritted my teeth and propped Yenika up against a nearby tree.
Behind us, a man who had successfully pursued other Apostles by betting their lives was looking at us.
Wings stretching out from the luxurious robe, a dull chin glimpse under the shadowed robe hood, and burly muscles on the spear-wielding arm.
Hand over that necklace right now.
He pointed at the necklace of Velbrokes fangs in my hands.
Otherwise I might kill you.
I waved my fingers in front of Yenikas pupils, moving them here and there.
Yenikas pupils did not follow my finger, rely staring vacantly straight ahead as if frozen in a still fra.
Feverish, her toes trembling, sweat pouring so heavily that the uniform shirt was soaked through. It looked difficult for her to breathe, so I unbuttoned a few buttons and pushed the shawl aside, then I wiped the sweat from her forehead and stood up.
The man had co quite close. All I did was stare in Yenikas direction.
Is that girl the one handling the spirits?
If we dont subdue that girl imdiately, my comrades might be in danger.
Yenika is driven to such an extre because she is still handling nurous spirits and blocking the Apostles pursuit.
From Tadareks perspective, he would want to subdue Yenika right away to eliminate the threatening spirits.
Perhaps judging that dragging this out would do no good, Tadarek hurled his spear at incredible speed.
The speed was such that it appeared impossible to evade with the naked eye. Supersonic velocity. The spear, on a straight trajectory toward my gut, had enough force to kill
in one hit, but
Whoosh!
The speed surpassing my perception played to my advantage just this once.
A one-ti protection against attacks out of ones perception, Blessing of the Tempest.
The wind winding from the spearhead ensnared Tadareks body.
What, what?!
I deliberately chose not to perceive Tadareks spear to take advantage of the Tempests Blessing.
I didnt look at him, nor did I try to predict when the attack was coming.
Clang!
The spear deflects, creating a large opening in Tadareks movents for just an instant. Seizing the mont, I drove the interdiate fire magic Point Explosion into his abdon.
Boom!
When I turned around with the dagger, the aftermath of the explosion remained.
I leaped back and drove the dagger into his shoulder.
Aargh!
Bang!
The spell Explosive Resonance was released, and another explosion ensued.
As said before, to defeat him, I had to rely on a short decisive battle and luck, gritting my teeth to create an opening for a lethal blow.
However, without being able to manifest rilda, theres a limit to my firepower.
To truly defeat Tadarek, I needed to manifest rilda. But Glastrons golden phoenix ring was unusable.
Damn you!
Tadarek was knocked to the ground but managed to pick himself up quickly. The dagger had pierced through his clothes but apparently hadnt penetrated the body protected by sacred arts. There was a dull feeling when I stabbed.
A lack of absolute firepower. It was my chronic weakness.
Youre trying to resist in the end!
So what if there was no ring?
How long would I rely on pulling magic power through rings, handling high-ranking spirits while receiving penalties?
I took a deep breath and steadied my magic power.
mories of countless deaths kept piercing my brain.
Crushed by rubble, bleeding out, stabbed by a spear, hit by scales, dying for various reasons Those nurous mories etched with pain were not just for suffering.
Each crisis summoned rilda relentlessly, and the sense of that magic power, repeated dozens of tis, remained in my mory.
The most reliable way to increase spirit resonance? Accumulate experiences.
And that experience had steadily accumulated within
in this short ti. I felt the flow of my magic power beco smoother.
So thats it.
Now I understood the reason why my mories had fully returned.
It was thanks to the celestial magic I had prepared in advance.
Though I hadnt properly used celestial magic and the proficiency in it was abysmal
While Adel repeatedly turned back ti, I was constantly exposed to celestial magic near her, and thus, my resonance with it steadily increased.
Thats right.
When ti is rewound, all mories and events go back to the past but the stat window imprinted in
remained entirely affected.
As Adel grew closer to death, the power of the celestial magic she manifested weakened bit by bit.
In contrast, my power grew stronger, and at the mont these dynamics flippedI was able to maintain all my mories by resisting her celestial magic.
Could it be that spirit magic was no different?
=== [ Magic Ability Details ]
Rank: Proficient Magician
Specialization: Elental Magic
Common Magic: Fast Casting Lv 12
Mana Detection Lv 13
Fire Elental Magic: Ignition Lv 17
Point Explosion Lv 2
Wind Elental Magic: Wind Blade Lv 15
Spirit Magic: Spirit Resonance Lv 18 (up!)
Spirit Understanding Lv 18 (up!)
Spirit Manifestation Lv 13 (up!)
Sensory Sharing Lv 13 (up!)
< Spirit Slot: Low Fire Spirit Mug >
Resonance Stage: 5 (up!)
Spirit Efficiency: Perfect (up!) (Phase Shift Enabled!)
Unique Enhancent Skill: Blessing of Rebirth (Temporary Fla Immunity Surge)
Explosive Resonance (Low-level Explosion Magic)
Increased Fire Magic Abilities
< Spirit Slot: Interdiate Water Spirit Laysia >
Resonance Stage: 4 (up!)
Spirit Efficiency: Very Good (up!)
Unique Enhancent Skill: Blessing of Waters (Temporary Physical Attack Immunity)
Water Font Manifestation (Low-level Water Magic)
Increased Water Magic Abilities
< Spirit Slot: High Wind Spirit rilda >
Resonance Stage: 3 (up!)
Spirit Efficiency: Average (up!)
Unique Enhancent Skill: Blessing of the Tempest (Periodic Damage Neutralization)
Ascending Airflow (Interdiate Wind Magic)
Increased Wind Magic Abilities
Celestial Magic:
Celestial Power Expression Lv 3 (up!)
Nature Transformation Lv 2 (up!)
Death Immunity Lv 0
Ti Prison Lv 0
Short-distance Spatial Movent Lv 0
Forced Aggregation Lv 1 (up!)
Phantom Expression Lv 0
Bewitchnt Lv 0
Robes fluttered due to the rushing wind surrounding Tadarek.
Even as he lowered his center of gravity to withstand the strong winds, eventually, his lifted body was thrown into a nearby tree.
Even a sturdy oak swayed like ripe barley. Little conifers were uprooted, flying through the air. I worried for Yenikas safety, but strangely, the wind did not blow near the tree she leaned against.
It ant the wind was artificially created.
How many tis had the past version of
died as ti repeatedly rewound?
While entrusting everything to Clarisse, I had faced nothing but painful ends.
mories filled with strenuous efforts leading to demise filled . Did those imnse pains and deaths resulting only in futile struggles beco null?
A history of desperate struggles against an inevitable fate Was it all in vain?
Fortunately, the gods shook their heads to that question.
Howl!
Theres an old rchant saying that if you hear a wolf howl in the forest, you should plead for your life from the gods because the mountains and woods belong completely to the wolves.
A wolf as large as a house growls among tall conifers stretching up high. Without drawing magic, a high-ranking spirit was fully manifested by my own strength.
The piercing eyes of the great rilda gaze down upon Tadarek.
***
Ku-gh, sniff
A huge hole was torn into the ceiling of the cathedral.
Aside from Clarisse, immune to all holy arts everyone was hard by that sudden explosion.
The interior of the nave had beco chaotic. To produce an explosion of such magnitude with divine power would need quite a long chant.
Verdio pretended to assert his innocence while chanting a silent spell of holy art.
Here in Aken Island Surely, only Adel Seris that girl can wield the power of ti
Amidst groans, Verdio carried Clarisse subdued with a strangled neck, passing through the knights. The knights left with any energy couldnt resist because of it.
Anointed by the Telos Church, Verdio isnt affected by the holy arts retaliation. He could completely overpower her.
Kuh Do you think youll get away with this, Verdio?
Obviously not. Just tell
where Adel Seris that woman is thats all I need!
All the plans had gone awry. There was nothing else to do now, no escape route.
And yet, Verdio seed determined to go outside the church as if he had sothing left
If everything has already fallen apart, then at least at least
Ku-gh!
Clarisse gritted her teeth, trying to break free, unable to overco the difference in strength.
Only desperation welled up.
It was the last chance, she was almost there, but she let her guard down at the very last mont. Verdios snap judgnt and boldness exceeded her expectations.
Bang!
Just like that, Verdio kicked open the churchs main doors. He intended to take a horse from the carriage and go sowhere.
However.
Youre a bit late this ti.
There was a girl sitting atop the carriage, leisurely chewing on jerky, with droopy eyes.
Unaware of who the girl was, Verdio didnt understand why she appeared here.
Welco. Ive been waiting for you.
However, Clarisse, held by Verdio, understood.
There was no longer an escape for Verdio.
The talks are over, then?
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