Inside the carriage, amidst the thunderous explosion,
Lakradiyon landed on the floor after slicing through the soldiers.
A shadow blade whizzed by, grazing her hair and slicing off a few strands.
Huff!
With a pulled breath, Lakradiyon imdiately thrust her sword, splitting a shadow Ard Princess.
Yet, the shadow Ard Princess remained unhard, not disappearing unless it received significant damage.
Clang!
Unlike the shadow Ard Princess, who could withstand hits, Lakradiyon couldnt just dodge endlessly.
Miss. Lakradiyon!
Its fine. Focus on healing.
Behind her were Pendalords vice-captain, Sodric, who was nearly fatally wounded, and the white mage Olivia, struggling to heal him.
If Lakradiyon dodged too far, Olivia and Sodric would be exposed.
Thus, she tried to block every attack from the shadow Ard Princess.
Consequently, Lakradiyons body was gradually accumulating wounds.
Even though the shadow Ard Princess was far inferior to the original, it was still nearly as strong as Lakradiyon.
If this is this difficult, then Kraush facing the real one
She thought of Kraush, fighting the real Ard Princess, and swallowed a lump of worry.
She was concerned for him, yet had no choice but to trust him.
Miss Lakradiyon! Look, there!
Another shadow Ard Princess appeared as a door swung open.
Judging by the blood on the sword, soone had already fallen to it.
More troubling was the fact that the shadow Ard Princesses had doubled in number.
Leave , go on without .
Vice-Captain!
Olivia cried out in shock, but Sodric, spitting blood, struggled to speak.
Its all, all my fault. If I hadnt interfered from the start, none of this wouldve happened.
Blaming himself for the teams peril, Sodric bit his lip.
Had he not obstructed Lakradiyon and Kraush, and had they reached the eighth floor, perhaps the team wouldnt have been scattered and killed.
Save the other team mbers first, not . They dont know, only Ebbling and I knew the truth.
The first casualty, Swordsman Ebbling, and vice-captain Sodric had secretly tried to hinder Lakradiyon and Kraush.
The rest were unaware. Even their Captain Pendal.
He hoped at least Olivia and Lakradiyon could escape and perhaps save even one more teammate.
Vice-Captain, stop talking! Youre losing too much blood!
Please. I cant even face the Captain.
Feeling guilty, Sodric wished for the safety of his team, and Lakradiyon sighed.
Well talk about this later.
Her words ant she had no intention of leaving anyone behind.
Why!
Do you really think Pendal would be unaware of whats been happening in his own team?
Sodrics face tightened.
Pendal consented to it, too. For the sake of Pendalord.
Pendal might have seed to act impulsively, but he had been pondering and researching ways to take down Nakcheon on his own.
He simply hadnt readily decided to challenge Nakcheon again, not because hed been idle.
Lakradiyon realized that upon seeing Pendalord.
Pendalord was Pendals struggle to overco Nakcheon.
So, Im just following Pendals request.
His plea to save his team.
Boom!
But misfortune often cos in pairs.
Another shadow Ard Princess burst through the shattered door.
That made three in total.
For Lakradiyon, who could barely handle one, it was the worst-case scenario.
Miss Lakradiyon!
Olivia was on the verge of tears, sensing impending death.
Its okay.
Lakradiyon, unfazed, quietly raised her sword.
I made a promise.
The promise made with Kraush.
To take care of Pendalord.
Even though they had once pointed their swords at her, she was asked to forgive and protect them.
That was the request from the man standing against the Ard Princess himself.
She couldnt back down against rely three shadow Ard Princesses.
Snap!
At that mont, the three shadow Ard Princesses moved in unison.
One with a sword, another with an axe, and another with a spear.
Though not as versatile as the Ard Princess, the weapons they wielded were all perilous.
Clang, clang!
With the sound of clashing tal, Lakradiyons body accrued wounds.
Between spurts of blood,
Lakradiyons sword shone as a blade of aura, swinging determinedly.
Proving why she was considered a light of Demonic Bastion,
The bright light pouring from her sword unleashed its power more fiercely than ever before.
Swoosh!
Then, a single swing severed the head of one shadow Ard Princess, but at a great cost.
Another blade had torn into her side, embedding itself.
Ugh!
Suppressing a grunt, Lakradiyon quickly redirected her sword to decapitate the shadow Ard Princess that had landed the blow.
The shadow Ard Princess, letting go of the sword in Lakradiyons side, swiftly retreated.
In its stead, it ford a new shadow blade.
Drip, drip
Following the trail of blood, Lakradiyon steadied her breathing.
The shadow Ard Princess with the double axe couldnt withstand the damage and collapsed.
Two remained.
But Lakradiyons wounds were nearing a breaking point.
Thud!
Then the shadow Princess with the spear lunged at her.
Lakradiyon couldnt dodge; the spear was aid behind her, at Olivia.
Ugh!
Forcing a stand-off with the spear, Lakradiyon then faced another strike aid at her neck from the sword-wielding shadow Ard Princess.
Death briefly flitted across her vision.
Clang!
Then the shadow Ard Princesss sword was stopped by a jade-colored blade.
Recognizing the weapons owner, Lakradiyons eyes widened as Pendal stood there.
Im late.
Marred by a scar on his neck from a forced healing potion, Pendal stood beside Lakradiyon wielding Jade Heaven.
Captain!
As Olivia called out, Pendal gathered his breath, aiming with Jade Heaven.
Pendal, there were two more.
Two shadow Ard Princesses beyond the three.
As she inquired, Pendal gathered lightning through Lioner.
I took care of one with the others. Still chasing the other one. Jorcias dead, though.
Pendal muttered, seething with the anger of scout Jorcias death.
Then its a simple matter.
Yeah, we finish off these two, and then the last one. That leaves only the monster.
Lakradiyon and Pendals eyes t.
And in that mont, they launched themselves at the shadow Ard Princesses without hesitation.
The two shadow Ard Princesses also swung their spear and sword as soon as they were attacked.
Clang!
The carriage filled with the sounds of swords slicing through the air and weapons splitting the atmosphere.
The shadow Ard Princesses were strong.
They were, after all, incarnations of the sa person.
Their actions and thoughts were in sync, making their harmony nearly perfect.
In contrast, Pendal and Lakradiyon were different people.
They had been comrades in the past, but neither had synchronized nor spent ti together in recent years.
So why was it that the shadow Ard Princesses were the ones being pushed back?
The coordination between Pendal and Lakradiyon was clearly off.
Yet this misalignnt kept creating variables.
When Lakradiyon parried an attack by the shadow Ard Princess, Pendals lightning struck at just the right mont, unexpectedly hitting the shadow Ard Princess directly.
Oddly, these accumulating variables continued to pile up damage on the shadow Ard Princesses.
It was a curious thing, but the two had always been like this.
The least compatible pair, creating the most unpredictable outcos.
Thats what everyone said about them in Demonic Bastion.
Pendal!
I know!
Lakradiyon, realizing the shadow Ard Princesses were starting to falter under accumulated damage, called out to Pendal.
Then Pendal, lying low on the floor, began to gather lightning on Jade Heaven.
Realizing that Pendal was preparing his finishing move, the shadow Ard Princesses rushed to attack him.
But Lakradiyon displayed incredible swordsmanship, blocking both the spear and sword with a shining aura.
Offensive and defensive unity.
It was a realm that only Lakradiyon, who valued the basics, could show, as she could make her attack and defense one complete entity.
As Olivia exclaid in awe,
Sparks of current burst violently from Pendals body.
Crackle!
And with a brief sound of sparks flying past,
Pendals figure blurred, and with the scattering sparks, Jade Heaven was thrust forward.
Lightning Wolf Sword Technique
A burst of lightning in the form of a wolf tore the heads off both shadow Ard Princesses at once.
Though the blow that should have been decisive against the Ard Princess was blocked,
This critical hit sent the shadow Ard Princesses crumbling.
Just as Lakradiyon and Pendal simultaneously felt certain of victory,
The collapsing shadow Ard Princesses arms wrapped around Lakradiyons arms like shackles.
Ugh?!
Taken aback by the unexpected counter in their collapse, Lakradiyon let out a perplexed gasp.
Then, she saw a door swinging open.
And there, standing in the doorway, was the shadow Ard Princess that Pendal had said disappeared.
Holding sothing like a giant column, the shadow Ard Princess pulled on sothing.
Click! Whoosh!
Inside, the sound of tal clicking into place was followed by the ignition of flas.
Sensing danger, Lakradiyon tried to escape, but the collapsing shadow Ard Princesses clung on more fiercely, leaving her unable to flee.
anwhile, the other shadow Ard Princess had gathered flas around the column-like device.
Lakradiyons eyes shook violently.
She was about to die.
Was this really how she would die, without even challenging Nakcheon, without telling Kraush?
Was this the end?
It would be a lie to say there was no regret.
In fact, the regret only now surfacing was almost maddening.
If she was to die so pointlessly, she should have at least swung her sword at Nakcheon.
As a bitter sentint filled her eyes,
Suddenly, a figure stepped in front of her.
A man with fluttering grey hair stood with his back to her.
Seeing his shadow cast by the light of the fire, Lakradiyons eyes bulged.
Pendal?!
Dammit, this doesnt suit .
Pendal swallowed a resigned chuckle, and then the fire engulfed the carriage.
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