#214
Jeron's Suffering (3)
Coughing—
Black, dead blood pours out from the nose and mouth without stopping.
I tried to suppress it somehow, but the current bleeding was beyond what I could do with my own will.
'Damn, this is going to kill me.'
The blood that flowed out was just a part of the phenomenon.
Because of the overexertion, the magic circuit in his body was not only twisted, but torn to pieces, and the curse that flooded him when his control was weakened ran rampant, devouring his life force.
At least that's the extent of it because of the star mark that Heinrich gave me. If it weren't for that, it wouldn't have ended at this level.
And that wasn't the only price he had to pay…
'But I was able to make it on time, so it's okay.'
Hesperon laughed bitterly as he felt the necklace he had placed around his neck and inside his clothes crumbling and disappearing.
Rumbling—
Immediately after, bloody tears flowed from his right eye.
Gradually, my vision in that area became blurred, and eventually it became completely dark.
'…Is it the right eye?'
A dramatic rescue that takes place just when the heroine is in danger.
Considering the exquisite timing alone, it could have seemed like a cliche with the main character awakening in an extreme situation…
but at least as far as he is now, it wasn't a very good story.
-Hannibal Strauss: Still, one eye isn't bad. The more you force yourself to increase your abilities, the greater the price you have to pay. It was worth the effort until the last moment.
-Harley: Kahaha! Oh my gosh, I just need to get a new one! like me!
Among the black magic tools that Hans obtained in the process of recovering the immortal army, there were many items with all kinds of extraordinary abilities.
It was ironic that most of them required payment in the form of vitality or lifespan, so the undead could not use them.
《The object grows by meeting the conditions. The skill "Tope of Binding" evolves into the special skill "Chain of Covenant."
The necklace Hesperon used this time was one of them.
Thanks to that piece replenishing some of the skill growth value that was lacking, he was able to evolve "Tope of Binding" and summon Riley, the subject of the contract.
'In addition to additional corrections, it is now possible to exert coercive influence as before. The scope of application of the skill has been expanded so that it can even form bonds with inanimate objects.'
Of course, as the skill has just evolved, we need to think more about its usability, but the fact that the possibilities for what can be done have increased is welcome.
"Heron…?"
At that time, Riley's confused voice sounded in his ear.
Well, just when I thought I was dead, I came to my senses and found myself in the arms of a man who had passed away.
It's natural to be embarrassed.
But now was not the time for idle talk.
He just smiled and opened his mouth without even looking at her.
"Let's talk about Riley later. "Because the situation is a bit urgent right now."
"…huh."
Hesperon's eyes were fixed on one place from beginning to end.
To Stave, a man standing a little distance away.
He was still holding the strange dagger in one hand and just turning his head to look at this place.
'Now all that's left is to synchronize Riley and me with the "Chain of the Covenant" and get out of this place with the "Footsteps of a Hero"…'
However, perhaps because I overexerted myself and summoned Riley, the connection between the "Chain of the Covenant" It was shaken and needed some time to reorganize.
It was an unavoidable problem since it was an unreasonable use of skills that did not match the original ability, but in the current situation, it was absolutely not good news.
"It's too much of a bother…"
Sure enough.
Ssuk—
Stave's body, which was muttering softly, started shaking in a blur.
'There's no way I can wait!'
At the same time that Hesperon's spirit was heightened, "nervousness" was activated and time around him began to rapidly slow down.
But…
'Even in this condition, that speed?'
Stave's movements in that infinitely stretched world were clearly foreign.
Unlike the surroundings, which slowly come to a halt, the sight of him approaching this direction alone and with great strides gives me goosebumps.
'…I've only been playing in big water these days, so I didn't really feel it.'
Lately, as he has been hanging out with all the big players, both enemies and allies, he has become dull, but his original level of extremeness was by no means low.
Even in the Brokoslak Clan, the top three in vampire society that can easily live for hundreds of years, there were only three Jinhyeols, including the Lord, and in the main church that boasted the greatest influence on the continent, they were at the level of Paladin and Archbishop, the leaders.
However, such an opponent is now rushing towards us with murderous intent in his eyes.
Hesperon gritted his teeth and forced his body to move.
However, by the time this side managed to take a step back with all its might, the other side had already taken five or six steps without hesitation.
Although he was barely able to recognize his opponent due to his abnormal status and skills, even his current strengthened body was insufficient to respond to the knight's movements at their extreme.
'Tsk just a little more!'
As time passed slowly, the synchronization process was also progressing slowly.
Even though magic power is an energy that is largely unaffected by the laws of physics, the passage through which it passes was not completely irrelevant as it was a real body, so it could not be helped.
'There is no hope in close combat. 'You have to keep them away as much as possible.'
In the end, Hesperon began to use all the means at his disposal to buy time.
Heinz II's concentrated blood beads were thrown down in a heap, and the blood magic imprinted on them spewed out in all directions.
The holy symbol filled with Heinrich's divine power formed a barrier to block the opponent's footsteps.
Also, it goes without saying that all kinds of magic tools, including cursed items, were mobilized.
"What a hassle! "How on earth did you get these items?"
S-A-
K-Ch-Cha-Ak!
But unfortunately.
The other person didn't seem to like his surprise gift.
-Heinrich: It's not just about pleasure. It is precisely targeting the vulnerabilities of imperfect techniques revealed through a medium. His skills are definitely better than that of Geos.
Stave approached, grinding his teeth in frustration and crushing all obstacles with his fiercely burning Auror blade.
Now it is a location that can be said to be just a stone's throw away.
Is it because I overused the cursed item
?
Hesperon's entire body… In particular, extreme pain was felt in his right hand.
But that doesn't mean I can give up now.
He took Riley in his arms and took a few more steps back.
Pulp-
the muscles of my whole body were screaming, perhaps because I was straining to keep up with the guy's pace in a slow world, but now was not the time to worry about such trivial things.
"Stav you bastard! "This dirty traitor dares to kill the princess!"
"Ugh! "Do you think I'll just die here anyway?"
While he retreated, some of the knights who had survived blocked his path, disregarding their lives and holding on to Stave's ankles.
Although they had already suffered serious injuries and their numbers were far from enough to go against the trend, they could all be said to be the best.
At least it was enough power to buy a little time in this urgent situation.
"Ugh, stupid things. "Are we no longer able to stop these guys properly?"
"I'm sorry, Captain!"
And that moment that the knights who fought fiercely gained their lives.
It was the moment that Hesperon so desperately wanted.
'done.'
He took a deep breath, looking at the last knight who fell to the blade of the stave with only one eye.
"Whoa—you guys."
And finally, he glanced at the faces of the traitors who were fiercely attacking him from all directions and uttered a soft word.
"Try to struggle as hard as you can."
I flipped my palm down and dropped the last gift on the floor, and at the same time activated "Hero's Footsteps."
Afterwards, the space becomes distorted and blurred beyond the vision.
In contrast to the guys rushing towards us with bloody force, Stave was seen urgently shouting something and throwing himself backwards as if in slow mode… The
surrounding scene changed in an instant, as if the screen was changing.
'As expected, the senses are good. Well, actually, the real thing starts now. From the moment Riley escaped safely, they had already fallen into the abyss.'
That applies not only to them, but also to those who have anything to do with this.
When the hordes who tried to eliminate the princess, even committing a terrorist attack on the capital, failed, there was a fair price to pay.
Oh, by the way, the gift was really nothing special.
It's just that I didn't really like the things I had brought up before, so I thought it would be a shame to part ways like this, so I just prepared with more care.
This is Hans' special abyss bomb that has been pushed to its limit.
***
A large-scale invasion of the Immortal Army occurred across the continent.
It was causing great damage to all parts of the world, incomparable to previous attacks.
[Kikheeheehee!]
Crack! Crack—!
[Join us!]
"Do your best to stop it!" "If this place is breached, the entire city is in danger!"
"Now wait a minute. "This is different from anything I've heard before!"
"Support! Is support available yet? "It's really impossible now!"
The biggest cause was the leadership's complacent response.
The danger of this attack had already been emphasized several times by Saint Heinrich, but—.
The problem was that those who were accustomed to the mild invasion of 'Hans' until now thought that it would be enough to moderately increase the existing response level.
[iced coffee-! Feel so good! How much royalties is this? This sweet blood and screams excite me! Good, good. More— howl more!]
[On this land—endless horror—eternal death—!]
Even among the invaders who invaded this time, there were even high-ranking undead who had been confined to the immortal castle from time to time… I let my guard down thinking ,
'Is this okay?' and the situation turned into a mess in an instant.
As the high-ranking undead that had been unknown until now led the troops accumulated in the northern mountain ranges and mercilessly attacked various parts of the continent, the damage to the civilians caught up in them was growing like a snowball.
An incident sufficient to shake up the situation, which had been somewhat stagnant due to the elusive peace that had been continuing.
However, regardless of that, there were some who worked diligently as always and showed clearer results than anyone else…
Shuuk— boom!
[Keuuuuu—!]
Cooung!
The warrior party that recruited a new person this time was the one responsible.
"Situation over. Now, no special enemies are detected nearby."
The green-haired elf, who had blown up the core of the enemy leader Death Knight with an arrow made of wind, calmly opened his mouth.
She was Lydia Granwood, a high elf and leader of the Sentinels, a battle group in the Elven Kingdom, who joined the warrior party immediately after the second summit.
At first, she came to the Aeon Continent as a replacement for Laforie, who was about to retire, but in line with the current situation, she naturally joined the party.
Of course, the reason she, who was a combatant in the first place, came to the Aeon Continent as an envoy was to actively respond to this chaotic situation, so it was not unexpected.
However, it is only a pity that Lafouri has had to postpone his retirement again.
"Saint? Are you okay? "It seemed like he couldn't concentrate on the battle earlier and was feeling uncomfortable."
As the party was slowly winding down, a woman approached Heinrich, who was quietly lost in thought with a serious face, and cautiously opened his mouth.
It was Isea Pristine, the archmage of the empire, a small girl with black hair and black eyes.
"Ah, Isea. There is something that takes a bit of time. It's okay now. "It has just been resolved."
Heinrich, who was examining the situation in the empire, smiled softly at her.
Fortunately, unlike Hesperon, Princess Riley was safe and uninjured, so I was able to speak to her with confidence.
Because the conspirators had completely blocked communication, it seemed like she had not yet been informed of the trouble that had occurred in Geron, but sooner or later she would be contacted.
Maybe she won't be as peaceful back then as she is now.
"…But this time the number of casualties is much higher than usual. The undead power was at a level I had never seen before. Are you saying airstrikes of this scale are happening across the entire continent?"
"Ha—that's right. ah! Now I have to help take care of the injured. "It would be difficult for the saint to handle that number of people alone."
"Oh, then I guess I'll have to help clean up the surroundings too."
Isea left Heinrich behind as he hurried towards the patients, looked around at the horribly damaged surroundings, and bit his lower lip.
The place where they are now is Saridan, the southernmost trading city of the Tulk Kingdom, and especially the location of the Merchant Union's headquarters.
But now, instead of being lively with people, it was so desolate that it felt like we were in the middle of a war zone.
"…is it. I really feel it now. "What are we fighting against?"
The devil's invasion. A land full of death. A crisis of world destruction.
What had seemed a little distant until now is starting to feel clear.
Se-ah Lee stayed still for a moment, then clenched her fists and moved on to find something she could help with.
And Heinrich, who was hurriedly leaving the place due to remorse, sighed inwardly when he heard her muttering to herself.
'Whoa Hans…'
In fact, his feelings were not much different from hers.
I just want to end the current situation somehow.
No matter what anyone says, he was a warrior of this world who protected justice and light.