The source of the warm touch was the blade he held in his hand.
For a mont, Ed thought he was about to et the Stone Mother and that she would personally send him on a journey to another world, as his palm felt searingly hot. But he soon discovered it was only this warm and soothing sensation.
This truly put him at ease. Phew, I’m alive.
He picked up the blade.
The spiral hilt, with its golden wheat-like design, shimred.
The blade itself was already ablaze with flas, and Ed felt his magical power flowing from his arm into the steel.
At this rate of consumption, the sword felt more like a pump draining a well.
Simultaneously, sothing was being transmitted from the blade into his mind.
A whooshing sound ca from behind. Ed imdiately turned, using both hands to block the crimson-glowing soul blade slashing down.
The hilt caught the enemy’s attack. With a backhand twist of the Sword of rcy, he deflected the blade, made a brief swing, and stepped forward for a thrust.
The blade, burning with raging flas, pierced directly through the knight spirit’s golden armor.
The fire instantly spread throughout the evil spirit’s body; the crimson and eerie green within its soul dissipated into smoke as it burned.
The knight’s helt fell to the ground, revealing a resolute, square, and serious face beneath.
His soul was dimming, its color turning pale.
He opened his eyes, his soul’s pupils regaining their clarity. He nodded to Ed and clasped his arms to his chest.
Then, he vanished into smoke.
Seizing the opportunity, Ed held the Sword of rcy protectively to his chest and rushed toward Elena.
He could feel the sword frantically burning through his magic, like a pump draining a small pool. If not for the high-end ditation technique Lucilia had given him, which improved his strength and increased his magical reserves, he wouldn’t have withstood such consumption.
Calculating his dwindling power, he knew he had to act quickly.
Elena’s condition was also deteriorating. Her face was pale, and her hands and left leg trembled.
She single-handedly held off two knights, forced to endure their attacks, sweat dripping from her brow. She was suffering soul-deep pain.
The two knights continued their assault, blades slicing across her arms. The pain nearly made Elena collapse.
She tried to dodge a thrust, but another blade was poised to strike her shoulder.
Calculating the distance, Ed freed a hand and tossed a blue card. Then, he imdiately raised his sword high and slashed down, a burst of fla shooting from it.
The card arrived first, exploding mid-air. Four chains shot out, binding the hands of the two knights, two for each, saving Elena.
A fiery sword aura flew in, striking one knight spirit. Flas imdiately engulfed him, freezing him in place. Within a second, green smoke began to dissipate from his body.
Without hesitation, the burning knight reached for his companion, his own sword hanging limply.
Having dodged the attack, Elena rolled away.
The knight, engulfed in flas, transferred the fire to his companion. The two burst into fla together.
Finally, their helts fell away, revealing their faces before they vanished in white smoke.
Ed, already struggling to maintain his strength, found his magic nearly depleted by the attack. He half-knelt on the ground and, with his last strength, threw the sword. "Vanessa!"
A thread shot out, wrapping around the blade and flinging it toward Andre, who was nearby.
Andre took the hit, frowned, and leaped up, catching the blade. Flas imdiately blazed, the soaring fire completely dispelling the darkness.
The Sword of rcy in Andre’s hand was like a torch, completely enveloped in flas that seed to stretch the blade by half. If the sword in Ed’s hand was like a lighter, then in Andre’s, it was a flathrower.
"Rest in peace!" Andre roared, slashing the blade at the archbishop before him.
The previous attacks had caused negligible damage, only delaying the enemy. Now, he could finally take his revenge.
The blade struck the archbishop directly, and the flas imdiately spread over his body. rely touched by the fire, the archbishop stood still, his eyes instantly regaining their clarity.
"A true disgrace. I hope the Holy Mother can forgive my failure. In the end, my will could not withstand the invasion of darkness," he spoke with a sigh of regret.
He looked at Andre and the Sword of rcy in his hand, nodded, and crossed his arms.
While the flas still burned him, he picked up his scepter and stomped it forcefully on the floor. Most of the fire spread along the scepter to the stone, instantly carving lines that stretched outward.
The knights chasing Vanessa and Jason stopped in their tracks. The knights slashing at the chanical tentacles also halted. The sa flas erupted from their bodies.
The archbishop looked at his left hand, his arm dissipating into smoke. He looked up at Andre. "The damage to the soul can be healed with the Sword of rcy. I hope it can help..."
Before he could finish, he vanished into smoke. The other two knights disappeared as well, and the flas on the floor gradually subsided.
Only the Sword of rcy in Andre’s hand remained, still burning fiercely. Then the flas disappeared, revealing the original blade.
"This thing really consus a lot of energy," Andre couldn’t help but say, looking at the blade. He then glanced at Ed sitting on the ground and Elena, who was curled up and trembling.
Ed was just exhausted, the massive magical drain leaving him unable to stand. Elena, however, had suffered too many soul attacks, the pain frantically stimulating her brain.
Andre quickly went over. A layer of golden-green light covered the Sword of rcy in his hand, and the blade beca a semi-transparent shape, like a soul. He held it and thrust it into Elena’s palm.
Huff— With the thrust, Elena let out a heavy breath, her whole body collapsing onto the floor as if all her strength had been exhausted. The dripping sweat ford a damp outline beneath her. But she was better than before, her trembling subsided.
Seeing that Elena was alright, Andre turned to Ed, who was sitting on the ground. Ed waved his hand, indicating he didn’t need it. When he had first gripped the blade, it had already repaired his soul’s minor damage from the single attack.
Andre then checked the others. Confirming no one else had suffered soul damage, he thrust the blade into his own palm. His soul had also taken considerable damage while blocking the Archbishop.
With the thrust, an expression of profound relief appeared on his face. He pulled the blade out, sat down heavily on the ground, and casually tossed the Sword of rcy at his feet. He breathed heavily, finally relaxing.
Vanessa rushed over and scooped the limp Elena into her arms. Five threads extended from her fingers and pierced Elena’s chest. Elena, much recovered, opened her eyes, looked at Vanessa’s anxious face, and managed a weak smile.
"I don’t think childbirth is even this painful."
Hearing Elena’s words, Vanessa’s tense face relaxed slightly. She then glared. "Shut up and get so rest."
"Hehe." Elena smiled weakly, closed her eyes, and fell into a deep sleep in Vanessa’s arms.
Not far away, Ed sat on the ground and shook his head. He hadn’t expected that kind of joke from Elena, but he understood what she had gone through; the pain of the soul was unbearable. Looking at Jason, who was also slumped on the ground, he couldn’t help but tease him.
"Son, you really don’t last long. This isn’t how a man should act. You disappoint ."
Hearing this, the exhausted Jason gave him a middle finger before lying down on the dirty ground, not caring about anything else.
Ed was too tired to tease him more, so he took out a drink from his inventory and focused on refueling.
At this mont, Gami walked over, and the tentacles from the vehicle he was driving lifted Jason up.
"What the hell are you doing? Let rest, you bastard!" Jason, now suspended, stretched out his hand and opened his mouth, but after cursing a few words, he simply gave up weakly.
The sudden burst of energy had nearly unleashed all his magic, forcing him to muster his strength to help Vanessa while being dragged along. If not for the crown on his head sustaining his stamina, he would have fainted.
He was arguably the one with the least magic in the group. Having beco a Toucher at the sa ti as Ed, he was no match for him, especially with Ed’s aid from the secret Elven ditation. It was quite remarkable he had held on this long.
Vanessa placed Elena in Andre’s arms, checked on him, and then ca over to see if the others were alright. After giving Ed and the others several recovery potions, the group stopped in the Growth Hall to rest.
"Ed, I’ve never heard of you using a sword. I saw that move clearly just now," Jason said, having regained so strength. He had witnessed Ed defeat the knight spirit in one move from a short distance away. Anyone who could serve as a guard knight in such a cathedral had to be a master swordsman. He had just personally experienced their skill, and their reputation was well-deserved.
Ed waved his hand. "It’s not controlling the sword; the sword is teaching how to wield it. The swordplay I’ve mastered had no use here. How could I deflect those knights without any help?"
Holding the Sword of rcy, Ed had felt like a swordsmanship master; every block, attack, and swing was guided by the blade. It was as if a master was teaching him step-by-step by controlling his movents.
"So powerful? No wonder it’s called the Sword of rcy," Exclaid Gami, who had overheard their conversation. This detail wasn’t in his records; he had to write it down.
As he answered, Ed couldn’t help but recall the scene he had witnessed while holding the Sword of rcy. He had been dragged into a dark space and seen several images. Yet when he regained his senses, ti seed unchanged, frozen at the mont he had grasped the sword.
Thinking of this, he looked up at Andre, who was holding the sleeping Elena and resting with his eyes closed. He looked at the Sword of rcy floating beside Andre’s legs and asked a question.
"Captain, when you were wielding the Sword of rcy, were you dragged into a pitch-black space? Did you see anything strange?"
Hearing Ed’s voice, everyone perked up their ears with interest.
Andre opened his eyes.
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