< 71 : The White Knight (5) >
Gilford’s eyes scanned the edge of the cliff through the rising smoke.
What he saw there was a gruesome scene of the fallen guardians.
Shattered bushes.
Broken bows.
And countless lives that had vanished on top of them.
The soaring flames and the remaining moisture proved that this was all the work of a mage.
“…How horrible.”
Gilford’s gaze passed through the people lying down and moved to the bottom of the cliff.
A small cave entrance located below the cliff.
There was a girl waiting for them with a book wide open.
Thud. Thud.
The footsteps of the mercenaries approaching the girl echoed.
The girl, who had been leaning against the wall and reading a book, lifted her head and looked at Gilford and his party.
“It seems that uninvited guests have arrived.”
The girl’s gentle voice resonated with everyone in this place.
The first one to step forward in response to the girl’s voice was Lian.
Lian drew his white holy sword and stared at the girl holding the book.
And then he greeted her with a complicated emotion.
“I see you again so soon.”
“That’s right. You came back even though I let you go once.”
“Who are you?”
“I am the First Apostle, Eutenia Hyroste.”
The First Apostle.
Gilford frowned at Eutenia’s words.
Thinking about the meaning of the word apostle and the number in front of it, it was not hard to guess who she was.
“…The First Apostle?”
“The first servant of His Great one.”
Apostle, Eutenia Hyroste.
She was surely a being with a high rank within the cult of the evil god.
She was the first among the apostles.
Everyone in this place had a hunch that it would not be an easy battle.
Squeak.
Gilford drew his divine weapon, Ascalon, from his waist.
Ascalon emitted a clear light as it came out of its sheath.
Following Gilford’s action, the mercenaries nearby also raised their weapons.
“Evil god’s apostle. Why are you trying to awaken the progenitor of vampires?”
Lian, who was at the front of the party, asked Eutenia.
It was a question about why Eutenia had knocked down the guardians and occupied the cave.
Eutenia stroked the pages of the book with a relaxed hand as she heard Lian’s question.
She treated the book in her hand as if it were something precious, and answered while caressing it.
“Because that is His Great one will.”
“Is that really the only reason?”
“Following God’s will and spreading His will. Is there anything more important than that?”
Lian looked dumbfounded at Eutenia’s answer.
Gilford also thought that it was an answer that would make Lian confused enough.
Wouldn’t anyone who serves God think that way?
It was just that their object of faith was an evil god.
Clang.
Gilford adjusted his equipment and took a stance with Ascalon in his hand.
“That god being an evil god is the problem.”
“…You are foolish people.”
“Is there anything more foolish than following an evil god?”
Eutenia’s face hardened as she continued to hear Gilford’s words.
She seemed to be displeased with what she heard from him.
Thump.
She closed the book she was holding and glared at Gilford.
Gilford tightened his nerves so that he could respond at any time to the anger that came from Eutenia’s ash-colored eyes.
“You dare to use the word evil god for Him, you have been rude to His Great one since before.”
“Being rude is better than being merciless.”
Eutenia shook her head at Gilford’s words.
She looked like she had made some kind of decision.
Eutenia reached out and stroked the black dragon on her shoulder.
The young dragon cried out with a thin voice as it received her touch.
“I was going to spare those who ran away, but I guess I can’t do that anymore.”
“Attack is coming! Be careful!”
“——Alpha.”
As soon as Lian shouted to his surroundings, sensing something strange,
the shadow under Eutenia’s feet spread out in all directions.
The shadow spread out quickly enough to cover all the surrounding area.
All the mercenaries, including Gilford, were bewildered by the shadow that spread out in an instant.
Gilford held Ascalon and guarded around him, while urging his mercenaries to be careful.
“Everyone be alert! We don’t know what will happen from anywhere!”
“Gilford! Scatter the mercenaries! If we stay together, we might get more damage!”
Lian moved away from the mercenaries with Serena and said.
Nod.
Gilford nodded at Lian’s words and looked at the mercenaries again.
He was about to give them an order as he turned his eyes to them.
“Everyone, keep your distance and watch out for…!”
“Leaderaaah——!”
“Gaff?”
Gilford’s words were interrupted by a voice that called him out loud.
Gilford turned his head to the voice, and there he saw Gaff running towards him.
Gaff was running towards Gilford with all his might, ignoring his injuries.
At that moment, when Gilford was puzzled by Gaff’s appearance,
the huge darkness that surrounded Gilford began to rise.
The anomaly that Gilford had been wary of appeared from the shadow.
“Leader!”
“Ah…”
While Gilford was frozen in panic, Gaff, who was running towards him, rammed into him with all his might.
Boom!
With a heavy thud, Gilford’s body flew far away.
Gilford, who had rolled on the ground from the impact of Gaff’s charge, quickly regained his posture.
He stabbed Ascalon into the ground and looked at Gaff.
He saw a sad face that was trapped in the darkness that surrounded Gilford.
Gaff, who had seen Gilford being thrown out, dropped his axe and opened his mouth.
“I’m sorry, leader…”
“Ga… Gaff! Get out of there quickly!”
“I guess it’s too late–.”
The moment Gaff was about to say his last words to Gilford,
Crack.
With a creepy sound, Gaff’s body disappeared into the darkness.
Gilford’s eyes stared at the darkness that had swallowed Gaff.
In the huge shadow covered in black, only the golden glow was flickering ominously.
The only thing left where Gaff had been was a monstrous creature.
“Ga, ff…?”
“Gilford! Snap out of it!”
“Gaff, I…”
Gilford’s colleague had disappeared in front of his eyes.
Gaff.
The colleague who had been with him for the longest time.
A subordinate and a friend who had been with Gilford from the beginning to the end, a reliable mercenary.
A loyal friend who never gave up and tried hard to catch up with him, despite the difference in talent between them.
Gaff’s last moment had burst in front of Gilford’s eyes.
“Gilford Proud!”
A colleague who seemed to be with him forever had died.
Gilford’s hand holding Ascalon began to tremble.
Instead of tears of sorrow, what burst out from him was anger.
Gilford recalled Gaff’s appearance and let out a fierce scream.
“A… Aaaaaah…!”
He screamed as if he wanted to spit out all the emotions that were lumped in his chest.
His scream, which sounded like a scream, echoed.
His eyes were bloodshot as he screamed.
Woo woo woo woo!
Ascalon, which was stuck in the ground, vibrated in resonance with Gilford’s emotion.
Ascalon emitted a brighter light than ever before and spoke to Gilford.
-“The causality rate has not tilted enough yet. It is a forbidden area for you.”
“…”
-“I see. You are willing to use up your life span.”
Gilford’s eyes glowed with a deep light as he grasped Ascalon.
His body had temporarily transcended human limits by accepting the power of the divine weapon.
The powerful magic that tore through Gilford’s body turned his rage into strength.
Gilford, who overlaid an aura on the shining divine weapon, pulled out Ascalon with his bloody hand.
His appearance holding a sword that glowed with an eye-catching light was comparable to that of a hero in mythology.
-“Hardship and adversity make heroes.”
Gilford stared at the shadow with his divine weapon in the midst of swirling light.
Beyond the shadow illuminated by his eyes,
he could see the figure of the dark beast that was breathing in the shadow.
***
“They’re fighting again.”
As I ate ramen and played games, I saw Eutenia fighting against unidentified enemies.
She was fighting with the dark beast that I had given her before.
Lately, it was not uncommon for believers to fight.
As the difficulty level increased, monsters appeared from all directions.
Many believers, including Roan, had frequent fights.
Except for Estasia, who didn’t like to move from her place unless necessary.
“Is this boss a bit strong?”
I slurped up my ramen quickly while watching Eutenia’s battle with interest.
She was fighting against a knight who used a shining sword.
Every time the light flashed from the knight’s sword, Eutenia’s magic became translucent and scattered.
That’s why Eutenia was using both shadow touch and magic simultaneously.
Maybe it was thanks to my constant support for her growth,
but Eutenia didn’t seem to be pushed back much by the knight even though her magic was weakening.
-“The evil god is watching this place.”
-“I know.”
Thump.
I put down my chopsticks and looked at my smartphone with astonishment.
They called me an evil god while I was eating ramen as a good citizen who paid taxes to the game.
It was a serious insult to the customer.
I picked up my smartphone and touched the location where the knight was with my finger.
“Who are you calling an evil god?”
Bang!
The knight swung his sword to block my attack.
It seemed to be a common trait of the elite monsters these days.
He easily parried my basic attack as if it was nothing.
I didn’t expect my basic attack to work in the first place.
I quickly glanced at the corner where the icon of <Giga Lightning> was located.
“The difficulty has increased a lot.”
-“Everyone, be on guard! The evil god’s attack is coming!”
“But I won’t let this stop me from clearing the mobs.”
I activated <Giga Lightning> and focused on the skill range to include the enemies.
I planned to use <Giga Lightning> to wipe out the normal characters first.
As soon as I touched the screen to set the target area, light spread out and dark clouds began to gather.
The wide-area attack skill <Giga Lightning> was activated.
-You used <Giga Lightning>.
At that moment, when I was about to attack the enemies with <Giga Lightning>.
The knight who was fighting with Utenia retreated back and raised his sword towards the sky.
A brilliant light burst out from the sword that the knight raised.
A large speech bubble appeared above the knight’s head, who was emitting a bright white light.
-“O white one! Lead us to the light!”
As the knight emitted light, the effect of <Giga Lightning> that was flashing became faint.
At the bottom of the screen, a message box showed new messages one after another.
Confused by the messages that I had never seen before, I read the contents of the messages.
-<White Zone> is in effect.
-The range of <Giga Lightning> is reduced by 75%.
-The duration of <Giga Lightning> is reduced by 75%.
-The damage of <Giga Lightning> is reduced by 75%.
A message appeared that the power of the magic was weakened by a special pattern.
The range, duration, and damage of <Giga Lightning> skill were all reduced by 75%.
It was practically a 75% reduction in the overall performance, calculated by multiplying 75% three times.
Reading the message, I understood why Utenia’s fight had lasted so long.
The boss character in front of me had a special pattern that reduced magic damage.
It was natural that Utenia, who had developed her character mainly with magic, had a hard time.
Rather, it was admirable that Utenia was fighting evenly with the boss, considering the difference in compatibility.
“No way, how can he have such a cheat pattern?”
All the skills I had were magic-based skills.
I was suffering a huge penalty in the battle with this boss.
But I couldn’t just hit the boss with my basic attack when he was at full strength.
I had to somehow save my mana and clear the enemy characters.
As I was preparing to spam <Giga Lightning> with a feeling of frustration, the two characters started to have a different conversation.
-“Holy maiden! How ready is the holy sanctuary proclamation!”
-“Lian! It’s almost done!”
-“Please do it right away!”
It was a dialogue where the knight character asked another character for something called holy sanctuary proclamation.
Holy sanctuary proclamation.
It was a skill that looked ominous just by its name.
When I heard the name of the skill from the boss character, I couldn’t help but be on guard.
“Holy Ray Blast? What is that?”
It seemed like a new pattern was about to come at us.
Since it was a pattern that the boss used himself, it was likely to have a negative effect on us.
There was no point in using a skill to interrupt the pattern, as the knight would try to defend it as before.
Feeling a sense of danger, I canceled the skill I was about to use and moved my finger to the barrier skill.
I wanted to protect Eutenia in case of any unexpected situation.
As I prepared to activate the barrier skill, another character who was kneeling down began to pray.
-“O Goddess, lead us to abundance.”
-“O Goddess, grant us peace.”
-“O Goddess, bestow us comfort.”
I could see the speech bubbles popping up one after another, indicating that they were preparing to use some kind of powerful skill.
Thud.
I kept pounding on the barrier, trying to cover Eutenia with it.
I thought that even a weakened barrier would provide some meaningful defense if I stacked it repeatedly.
As I activated more than ten barriers by tapping on the target area,
The character who finished casting stood up and displayed a huge speech bubble.
-“Holy Blast – Auras Saint.”
And with that speech bubble as the last thing I saw, the screen went black.
Beep, beep, beep——.
My smartphone’s screen made a strange noise and flickered erratically.
I was so startled by the sudden shutdown of my smartphone that I dropped it on the floor.
“What is… this…?”
Thud.
My smartphone spun in the air once and landed with a dull sound.
From the bottom of the screen, new messages popped up.
-An anomaly has occurred in <The Eye of the Observer>.
-An anomaly has occurred in <The Eye of the Observer>.
-An anomaly has occurred in <The Eye of the Observer>.
-An anomaly has occurred in <The Eye of the Obser——.
– #### SYSTEM ERROR ####
-Please observe another area.
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