Chapter 752
The manual of dark spirit magic research.
It seemed to be written directly by Bleto.
It contained detailed descriptions not only of how to form contracts with dark spirits, but also of techniques to reinforce them by layering a necromancer’s Darkness onto the spirit.
Not knowing when or how it might be of use, Simon decided to keep it for now.
Afterwards, Simon and Lete, who had cleaned up the ruins, waited for Richard and Anna, who were expected to arrive soon.
Quite a lot of time had passed. It rained in between, and they spent the entire night under a blanket. With a worried heart, Simon peered into the hourglass hanging around his neck.
Time was running out. The tips of his fingers and toes were turning transparent, like watercolor. The same symptoms that had overtaken Bleto earlier.
Would those two be able to reach here safely? Before time ran out, would he be able to see their faces one last time?
With those worries, he kept watch over the distant horizon through the night, until he eventually fell asleep.
“Simon.”
He awoke at Lete’s call. Opening his eyes, he saw Lete pointing ahead.
“There they come.”
Simon leapt to his feet.
Against the faint dawn rising slowly behind them, Richard and Anna, covered in wounds, were making their way down the hill.
The two supported each other, taking one heavy step at a time. Seeing that, Simon felt a pang in his chest.
The countless armies of the Dark Alliance, and later even the forces of the Holy Federation who had stormed in, aiming for the Sealed Letter. It was no exaggeration to say that the entire continent had tried to kill the two of them.
And yet they survived. The wounded Legion Commander and the Saint of Miracles had withstood all the malice and onslaught of the world and reached this place. One could hardly imagine how grueling and fierce their battle must have been.
“Damn.”
Supported by Anna, Richard noticed Simon and managed a faint smile.
“If it turns out you were actually our enemy all along, that would be troublesome. Is our neck your goal too, watchdog?”
Simon shook his head with a smile.
“Of course not. We’ll forever be on your side.”
“Teacher Annaaa!”
Lete hopped up and down, waving her hands. Seeing that, Anna’s eyes welled with tears.
“Rena……! And your companion. I’m so glad you’re safe.”
The four were reunited.
Strictly speaking, they hadn’t come alone. Behind them, a skeletal warhorse was struggling as it dragged the cart loaded with the “Sealed Letter” that Richard had seized.
Arriving at the ruins, Richard summoned the skeletal warhorse back into subspace, then looked down at the Sealed Letter.
“All the forces of the continent are gathering here, one after another.”
He wiped the black blood trickling from his lips and continued.
“Currently, the Legion’s losses exceed eighty percent. Feer is holding out with what remains, but it won’t last long. Once the Legion is breached, they’ll charge straight here.”
“……Richard.”
Anna looked up at him with sorrowful eyes. Richard gave a slight shake of his head.
“I’m fine, Anna. You must have suffered too.”
When they fought against the forces of the Holy Federation, Anna wielded the power of Saint. The soldiers of the Federation had been deeply shaken to see the Saint of Miracles siding with necromancers and striking them down.
—A fallen Saint!
—Witch!
They hurled unspeakable curses, but Anna fought on, clutching the wound in her chest.
Holiness, the power said to be granted only with the Goddess’ permission.
Yet, when Anna manifested Holiness to save Richard, she had unleashed a radiance brighter and clearer than ever before. Even she found the irony of it striking.
“Back to the point, if we move with the Sealed Letter, our location will inevitably be exposed. We have to destroy it here, right now.”
While Anna set up a barrier around the ruins, Richard lowered the Sealed Letter from the cart to the ground.
Then, he opened subspace.
“It’s been a while since I took this out.”
Gwoooooooh!
The moment it emerged from subspace, it emanated a dreadful aura. A black dagger. When Richard imbued it with Darkness, the eyeball embedded in its blade snapped wide open.
“An artifact to destroy artifacts, the ‘Wallbreaker Dagger’. There’s nothing this can’t shatter.”
Gripping it with both hands, he drew in a deep breath.
“Is everyone ready?”
The other three nodded with tense expressions.
Just then, Lete nudged Simon’s side and mouthed silently.
—Aren’t you going to step in?
Simon shook his head.
The Sealed Letter was to be destroyed by Richard and Anna. At this final moment, there was no need to add new variables.
Lete seemed to understand, saying nothing more.
“Here goes!”
Richard raised the dagger high above his head, then brought it down on the Sealed Letter with all his might.
Kwoooooooom!
Just before the blade touched the Sealed Letter, some mysterious barrier wrapped around it. The dagger scraped harshly against its surface, unable to pierce through.
“Kh!”
A tremendous shockwave burst out. The other three, watching nearby, were forced back across the ground, leaving long trails in the dirt with their boots.
“Khhhk!”
Richard dropped to one knee, straining his grip on the dagger with all his strength. But still, the blade refused to penetrate the barrier.
‘!’
At that moment, Simon saw it.
The barrier flashed white for an instant.
Thung!
In the end, the dagger bounced off the Sealed Letter’s shield, sending Richard tumbling across the ground.
“Richard! Are you alright?”
At Simon’s call, Richard waved his wrist weakly from the ground, groaning in pain.
“This time, let me try.”
Anna stepped forward. She opened her holy hubspace and drew out a massive silver cross, twice her own height.
The sacred relic, “Covenant of Judgement”.
She hefted the enormous weapon in both arms, walking firmly toward the Sealed Letter.
The weight was so great that cracks spread through the ground with each step of her heels.
“Here I come!”
Anna channeled Holiness into the “Covenant of Judgement”.
The cross blazed into dazzling light, illuminating the world like fire. Then, bracing her knees and waist, she raised it high and slammed it down toward the Sealed Letter.
Kwoooooooom!
Another shockwave erupted, and again a mysterious barrier enveloped the body of the Sealed Letter.
“Ugh!”
Anna grimaced, straining to press the cross down with all her might. But this time, the barrier of the Sealed Letter had turned black.
Thung!
With a deafening boom, the cross was thrown back.
Anna lost her grip and staggered, but Richard, waiting behind, caught her safely.
“Are you alright?”
“Thank you, Richard.”
Both of them, exhausted, gasped for breath. Richard wiped the sweat from his brow, scowling.
“This is insane. What’s the problem?”
“……”
Simon sank into thought.
When attacked with Darkness, the Sealed Letter turned white.
When attacked with Holiness, the Sealed Letter turned black.
That meant…
“Together.”
“?”
“What if you both strike it at the same time, combining your powers?”
Hearing that, Richard gave a crooked smile.
“Funny, I was thinking the same thing.”
He looked at Anna, and Anna looked back. Nodding, the two rose to their feet again, firmly gripping the dagger and cross.
“This is our last chance.”
With a grave face, Richard exhaled and continued.
“The Legion’s defenses will soon collapse. If we fail to destroy the Sealed Letter now, every army of the continent will follow its magic here. That will be our end.”
“We can do it, Richard.”
Anna smiled faintly through her panting breath. Richard returned a weary smile.
“It’s an honor to fight by your side until the very end.”
“I feel the same.”
At last, the two lightly touched foreheads, then straightened their posture, raising the dagger and the cross with all their strength.
In different motions, they struck down upon the Sealed Letter.
Kwooooooooom!
A crash unlike anything before resounded.
On the right, Richard’s dagger, on the left, Anna’s cross.
The two strongest figures of the continent pressed their power into the Sealed Letter.
‘Is it working?’
Simon strained his eyes to observe. The barrier surrounding the Sealed Letter, as if thrown into confusion, flickered from white to black, back and forth. Meanwhile, crack! crack! sounds rang out as fractures began spreading through it.
“It’s working!”
Richard shouted. The two unleashed even greater bursts of Darkness and Holiness into their weapons.
Ka-kak!
Ka-ka-ka-kak!
Yet, their strength seemed insufficient. At first, the barrier cracked quickly, but then progress slowed, becoming sluggish. Now, the dagger and cross were beginning to be pushed back.
‘Damn!’
Cold sweat trickled down Simon’s face. The two were far more exhausted than expected.
‘According to history, they should be able to destroy it with their power alone. But……!’
Suddenly, a thought flashed through his mind.
This “Betrayal Incident” had been moved up by several days.
Because its instigator, Bleto, had feared his own disappearance, he had hastened events.
If Bleto had arranged it, then surely the situation had been prepared with even more forces than in the original history. To fight after the two had been drained to the limit—that would be Bleto’s best chance at victory.
‘Then I’ll rewrite the past!’
At that moment, Simon leapt forward, placing his hand atop Richard’s, which gripped the dagger.
“Haaaaaaah!”
With a roar bursting from his lungs, he poured out every last shred of Darkness he had.
“Watchdog! You……!”
Ka-ka-ka-kak!
The dagger, which had been pushed back, began to descend again.
“Teacher Anna!”
Lete also stepped in, moving behind Anna, pressing herself close, laying her hand upon Anna’s.
“Rena?”
“Give me strength! One, two—!”
Kwoooom!
As Simon and Lete joined them, the dagger and cross began driving into the barrier once more. Cracks rapidly spread across the shield.
“What are you?”
Even as he forced power into the dagger, Richard’s pupils trembled.
“How can you wield the same Legion power as I……!”
Simon only smiled. Already, his body was fading, becoming translucent.
The proof that his time was running out.
“Rena!”
Lete, too, who was now using the Saint’s power, was gradually vanishing. The sand within their hourglasses was nearly gone. From within, Neftis’ golden aura shimmered.
Richard cried out, flustered.
“Hey you! You should stop! Your body……!”
“Richard!”
Gasping for breath, Simon cut him off.
“Don’t look back! Focus on the Sealed Letter! And listen well!”
“You little……! Who do you think you’re ordering around……!”
“No matter who curses you from now on! No matter how history demeans you! I alone will always, forever, be on your side!”
Richard’s pupils shook.
“So keep looking forward, keep moving forward!”
“Hey, wait, what? What are you saying, like someone about to disappear, huh?”
“One day!”
Simon squeezed his eyes shut, shouting.
“One day, I’ll make the world reevaluate what you’ve done! I swear it!”
Ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-ka-kak!
This time, from the left, Anna’s cross drove deeply into the Sealed Letter’s barrier.
“Teacher Anna, at first, I couldn’t understand your actions. In fact, no one else could either.”
Whispering as she pressed her hands over Anna’s and leaned her body close, Lete spoke softly.
“But now I understand. You’ve suffered much as the Saint of Miracles. From now on, please, be happy. Think only of your own happiness.”
“Rena?”
“Not a life that others call happy, or evaluate as happy, but a life where you yourself feel happiness. You deserve that.”
“Rena, why do you sound so unsettling! We’re still going to be together……”
Tears welled in Lete’s eyes, but she smiled.
“Though we part now, one day, we will meet again.”
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwak!
At that moment, at last, the Sealed Letter’s barrier shattered.
As it broke, Richard and Anna’s concentration surged. Their weapons pierced through the gaps in the shattered shield.
Crunch!
The Sealed Letter was destroyed. From its pages, an immense blue light rose up.
Fwaaaaaaaah—!
And it shattered into pieces. Richard and Anna, unable to withstand its force, dropped their weapons and collapsed.
Silence.
The broken Sealed Letter’s fragments fell like blue fireflies. The two, having spent every ounce of their strength, lay sprawled, gasping for breath.
Haa, haa.
Only the sound of ragged breathing echoed. Still lying down, Richard lifted his palm.
“Well done, Watch……”
His eyes widened.
Simon’s body had vanished.
“Rena?”
Anna turned quickly.
Lete, too, had disappeared without a trace.
All that remained was the faint golden aura flowing within the rain of blue fireflies.
“……”
In the quiet world, only two remained—the ones the continent now wholly denied.
Richard pressed his forehead.
“Did I get bewitched by ghosts?”
The face of the one he had just spoken to, calling him Watchdog again and again, would not come to mind.
Even the voice was hazy.
But.
—One day, I’ll make the world reevaluate what you’ve done! I swear it!
Richard’s lips curved upward.
That voice, though fading in memory, left him with a strangely good feeling. Whatever the memory, the emotion of that moment lingered like an afterglow, not forgotten.
“It’s over.”
Richard and Anna leaned against one another, staring blankly at the fireflies falling from the sky.
A loneliness stirred for the absence of someone, but even that feeling blurred and vanished.
“Anna.”
“Yes, Richard.”
“Something just came to mind. It’s not the time or place to say it, but……”
Richard scratched his cheek, then let out an embarrassed laugh.
“I, want a son.”
Hearing that, Anna smiled brightly, adjusted her posture, and clasped both hands together.
“What are you doing?”
“Praying.”
Resting her face against Richard’s chest, she spoke gently.
“Praying for the stork to bring us a son soon.”
At that, Richard let out a foolish little laugh.
“Seems like both of us, still have a long road ahead.”
Their journey had only just begun.
Leaning against each other, the two gazed up at the sky growing brighter together.
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