222. The Flower That Couldn’t Bloom [2]
A few hours earlier.
Near the newly established teleportation portal formula at the Eldain Academy.
A portal recently comrcialized by Nox and Professor Lars, allowing faster movent. The first place it opened was Eldain.
“My daughters! Where are my two girls?”
Blue-tinged portal spat out one person.
The man who had just arrived at Eldain Academy shouted.
Robert von Stiliner.
The patriarch of the Stiliner family and the father of Cell and Thalia.
However.
Before his shouts could even spread, soone intercepted him.
“This way.”
“The three Sword emperors… Ulysses-nim, what brings you here?”
“It’s a long story. Let’s move first.”
At Ulysses’ words, Robert nodded as if he understood and imdiately prepared himself.
Ulysses had just arrived after swiftly evacuating the other students. She had co here to request Robert’s assistance. As she moved alongside him, she recalled the conversation Nox had with her not long ago.
— A demon has possessed Cell von Stiliner’s body.
— At least a Grand Duke-class. It will be difficult to stop.
At Nox’s words, Ulysses had asked with genuine puzzlent.
— How do you know such things?
But Nox’s answer was brief.
— There’s no ti. We must act.
— What should I do?
It was strange.
But she couldn’t not believe it.
Was it because Nox was strong enough to defeat her?
No, that wasn’t the reason.
A knight is not an entity that can always win. Even she, upon ascending to the position of Sword Emperor, had suffered countless defeats.
This is nothing to be surprised about.
A new generation.
The upheaval of the sword, led by Paracelsus and Nox, would continue to surge forth.
However, what Ulysses focused on was not that.
‘Demon. Grand Duke-class, on top of that, in battles against them, Nox von Reinhaver has always been involved. It even seed like he harbored intense hostility toward them.’
How could Nox so easily pinpoint the locations of Grand Duke-class demons?
She didn’t know if he had requested sothing secret to her. But if there was even the slightest sign of their movent, she had no reason not to step in.
Most of the continent’s conflicts began with demons, no, with the breath of the Grand Dukes.
— First, please ensure Robert cos here.
— In the worst case, we may have to kill Cell, who has beco the host.
—…Is there a particular reason you’re entrusting this to her father? I’m used to bearing resentnt. Wouldn’t it be better for to handle it?
She had said that, thinking it too cruel.
Though called the Three Sword Emperors, she was still human. She didn’t want to drive a wedge between parent and child, but there was no other choice.
Yet Nox’s answer was too clear.
— It’s a demon that cannot be slain without the White Fla Form.
— …Don’t tell . That ans..!
— Yes. It’s him. 'The Monarch of Lies,’ the symbol of worthlessness. The demon Belial.
— He has possessed Cell’s body.
— …Understood. I’ll help.
Their conversation ended there.
That was three days ago.
“The Monarch of Lies, Belial, has possessed Cell von Stiliner’s body.”
As she relayed the most urgent fact while moving swiftly, Robert’s expression froze coldly.
No matter how he thought about it, it was unbelievable, but these were the words of a sword emperor.
He had no choice but to trust them.
“He cannot be killed without the White Fla. That’s why I called you, Robert.”
“…Yes. When the Monarch of Lies was sealed in the past, no attack worked, except for the Stiliner family’s White Fla, which forced him to his knees.”
“Belial likely seeks the downfall of the Stiliner family.”
It was only logical.
If his weakness was the White Fla, then destroying the family itself would suffice.
Moreover, Cell had already surpassed her father in strength.
Now, almost no one remained who could stop her.
Not even Robert himself could say for certain whether he could hold back his own daughter.
‘……Even if I fought with the intent to kill, the chances would be slim.’
But this wasn’t sothing Ulysses could decide.
For now, as Nox had said, bringing Robert to the battlefield was the priority.
At this very mont, Thalia might already be dead, and Cell’s body might have been completely overtaken by the demon.
According to Nox, there was no more ti to waste.
“Steel your heart, Robert von Stiliner.”
At Ulysses’ words, Robert’s expression shattered like never before.
**********
At the sa ti Ulysses set out to bring Robert.
Chaeng——!
A girl stared at the clashing white flas, lost in thought.
The demon’s voice still echoed in her ears.
[Kill her!]
‘N… No! She’s my little sister!’
[Haha…! Your little sister? Don’t make laugh! She’s the one who made your life hell. Haven’t you always thought it? Why should I bear this burden? Why must I suffer like this? Didn’t you hate the family that never acknowledged your pain? Isn’t that right?]
‘Stop… it.’
[That’s why I gave you power. One of my seven swords, 'Envy’]
“Cough!”
Cell von Stiliner coughed up a mouthful of blood and doubled over.
Resisting the demon’s incessant voice while continuing to fight had taken its toll.
The demon Belial was cunning.
The sword he bestowed upon Cell was ‘Envy.’ It was a blade that stoked violent emotions toward her blessed younger sister, unlike her, who had to bear the responsibility since childhood.
Even the incident during her first spar with Thalia, where she lost control and nearly killed her, stemd from this sword.
“Sister!”
But Cell had strived to let go of her envy for her younger sister. At the sa ti, Belial continued to erode her mind, and to prevent this, Cell had distanced herself from Thalia.
But since it’s difficult to tell anyone.
In the end, she sealed her lips and swung her sword.
Unaware that she was slowly moving exactly as Belial intended…
‘Is this the end?’
In the end, there was only one decision Cell made to avoid hating her sister.
Chaeng!
With all her strength, she struck down the entangled white flas and her sister’s sword.
“Khk!”
Thalia was sent flying, carving two deep lines into the ground as she skidded back.
But Cell only smiled as she watched this.
“Thalia. I’m truly sorry… For everything until now”
The mont those words left her lips.
Thalia knew sothing was terribly wrong.
When she saw her sister reverse her grip on the sword. When the hilt was aid at her own heart.
Thalia couldn’t help but realize that the emotions and fragnts about her older sister, which had been piled up in a corner of her heart, and sothing similar that could be described as such, were collapsing all at once.
“Stop! Do you know… how hard I’ve worked to catch up to you? I’ve never rested a single day. I just… wanted to be acknowledged. I wanted to lighten your burden. So why…?”
She poured out her emotions, but Cell’s ti was up.
“You’ve suffered, Thalia. And… Farewell.”
“Stop!”
Thud.
This.
Was the best Cell could do.
To ensure the demon could not possess her by ending her own life.
It was the only way. The sole thod to protect Thalia.
But.
'Shallow…?’
“Please stop, Cell von Stiliner.”
The voice was unmistakably soft.
Far from firm, it carried a delicate tone. The snow-white hair cascading over translucent skin and lavender eyes revealed who had intervened to prevent her death.
But she found it difficult to understand.
“Nox… von Reinhaver. Why are you…?”
“Let’s talk later. For now, surrender your body to him. I’ll take it from here.”
Her consciousness faded. That mont, with Nox’s final words.
Thalia, who was pushed back, couldn’t even move properly.
Too long exposed to the demon’s mana, let alone wield the White Fla, she could barely move.
But the situation grew even worse.
Squelch.
Suddenly, a dark energy gathered around Cell, intensifying. A malevolent malice began to burn, coalescing into her sword, staining the white fla.
Nox stared at Cell von Stiliner, whose pupils had inverted into evil eyes (역안).
And then spoke to her.
“Don’t hide and co out, you wretched demon.”
[Hoo… Now this is interesting. Just what are you? A re brat who dares to see through , Belial, and address directly. How amusing.]
Belial’s voice grew stronger. A demon’s whisper.
[Tell . What is your na?]
But such whispers no longer worked on Nox.
Nox raised his sword, facing Cell, whose body was now marked with thick, thorn-like veins from devilization.
Then, gazing into the abyss where Belial lurked, he replied.
“I have no na to give to a re demon.”
[…Doesn’t matter. I’ll force it out of you. Isn’t that right?]
“Try. If you can.”
Nox readied his blade.
Belial, possessing Cell’s body, began to launch a full assault on Nox.
A sword dance followed, but one infused with the White Fla.
‘Not Thalia’s immature White Fla, but the complete White Fla Form. As troubleso as expected.’
Moreover, Belial couldn’t be killed without the sa White Fla.
This was a frustration Nox had felt many tis when he was playing the ga.
There was no inherent way to defeat him.
Knowing this, Nox keenly felt the gravity of the situation.
Yet he continued to consider another possibility.
The one and only possibility to turn the tide.
As Nox pondered, he glanced briefly at a familiar man who had remained in the spectator stands instead of evacuating. The man’s na was Pell.
A fellow student who attended [Joint Martial Arts Practice] with him, Eleanor, and Thalia, and a saint from the monastery, hiding his true identity.
Nox also recalled his status screen.
What skill did he possess.
Finally, Nox rembered their past conversation.
Likewise, three days prior.
This insufferably perfect villain had simply said as follows.
— Pell, was it? I know your true identity.
— The saint from the monastery.
— You enrolled to diate and monitor the conflict between the Dark and Holy Families.
— And also…
Nox continued calmly.
— Your initial purpose was to watch .
Pell, realizing Nox had uncovered everything, asked.
— What do you want from ?
— Just one thing.
Nox answered with a faint smile.
— Help .
The aning was clear.
The power that was granted only once to a saint and saintess from the monastery.
A miracle magic that forcibly awakens immature talent.
The power of blessing.
He was telling Pell to use it for him.
— Why should I waste my one-ti power on soone from the Dark family?
— Of course.
Nox smiled enchantingly.
— It won’t just be helping . It’ll be helping all of you.
Reviews
All reviews (0)