“Who said it was a human weapon?”
The man in the black robe smirked, the corners of his lips drawn up.
“My goddess, who will drive out your master and rule the world, do you think that the one who will become the master of all things will be helped by a mere weapon made by man?”
“...Are you saying that the master you are talking about is not human?”
The man shrugged his shoulders slightly in response to Chihara's question.
“As a servant, I dare not speak carelessly about Her. My mission is simply to destroy you so that you can no longer block Her path.”
“You’re having such a ridiculous dream, just because you got hurt a little.”
Chihara picked it up and burst out laughing.
“We are beings endowed with Hethel’s life force. We cannot die unless Hethel permits us to do so.”
“Well, I wonder if that’s true.”
"What?"
Chihara, who had been raising his eyebrows as if he couldn't understand the man's words, suddenly fell to the floor with an exclamation of "Ugh!"
From the arms that were instinctively wrapped around him, white light flowed out like powder and scattered into the air.
“What is that?”
“It’s the life force of Chihara. To you humans, it’s like blood.”
"Yes?"
I couldn't hide my embarrassment at Delton's muttered words while furrowing his brow.
Stealing the life force of an archangel.
Is that even possible?
I hastily reached out through the shield and picked up one of the knives lying around.
“This is...”
It was made of the same material as the Ibis' sacred relic.
'The same goes for the shields and the protective gear that covered the assassins' necks. What kind of mineral is this...?
Is it possible to easily block the attacks of the strongest people in the world and even take away the infinite life force of an archangel?
It was a time when I couldn't help but feel confused.
“How dare you, a heretic, touch my child and threaten the Archangel of the Goddess?”
Netanya, who was shocked by Chihara's injury, roughly reached out her hand.
Then, white light began to gather in the air and transformed into a giant bow.
Netanya pulled back the bowstring without a moment's hesitation, and the arrow filled with holy energy flew straight toward the man in black robes.
But.
Fight!
“What, what? I was definitely right...”
Netanya's eyes shook violently as she watched the arrows bounce off in vain.
“That seems foolish. I am the first servant of the great Ibis. Do you think a dog of a one-time goddess can defeat me?”
The man with the sly, sarcastic expression snapped his fingers.
Then, Netanya's arrow, which had fallen to the ground, floated up and settled quietly in his hand.
Wow.
‘What, the color of the arrow...’
The area where the man's hand touched began to turn black.
Like a poisoned arrow.
Soon, the arrow, which had turned completely black, quickly flew towards Netanya and pierced her chest.
“Ugh!”
White light flowed out from Netanya, who fell down clutching his chest, and scattered into the air.
The vitality began to drain away.
“Netanya!”
The surprised people tried to support her urgently, but it was not easy.
The black arrows that came out of Netanya's body immediately multiplied into three and headed toward Chihara, Bayen, and the Crown Prince.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince and Bayen, who were relatively healthy, managed to avoid the blow by a narrow margin, but Chihara, who was still not fully recovered from the blow he had received earlier, rolled on the ground with his chest pierced.
As I was absentmindedly watching the two relics fall in an instant, the man taunted bitterly.
“I had some expectations for the dogs of Hethel, who have ruled the world for thousands of years, but how can they be this pathetic? It’s ridiculous that these people tried to stop my goddess.”
“Are you insulting my mother now?”
A spark of light flew into Bayen's eyes as he quietly observed the situation.
“How dare you, a mere trickster, attack my mother...”
Each syllable flowed out softly, each syllable filled with deep anger.
It only took a moment for that anger to shake the world.
Woof, bang!
It seemed as if thunder and lightning were striking the clear sky, and in an instant the world became dark.
Thick dark clouds suddenly obscured the full moon, which had been shining as brightly as the sun until just before, and poured down heavy rain, mixed with strong winds.
Soon they transformed into a powerful whirlpool and rushed towards the man.
“Oh, shit...!”
The man was sucked into the vortex by the attack that came without any time to dodge, but somehow he managed to escape after a few minutes.
But in that appearance, there was no longer any sign of leisure.
Bayen, who had been staring coldly at the staggering man in his torn and tattered robes, raised his hand again without giving him time to regroup.
The vortex that had been circling around the man, waiting for its master's permission, was about to sweep him away again.
“Stop!”
The man reached out urgently to stop him.
And on that hand...
“Ugh, ugh!”
There was Heath.
Heath, tattered and torn, caught in a whirlpool with a man.
"Heath!"
Netanya, who had briefly lost consciousness from the pain piercing through her chest, opened her eyes wide at the sound of the child's moans and shouted.
As Bayen reflexively stopped attacking him, the man raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction and tightened his grip on Heath's neck.
“Don’t move. If you don’t want this child’s soul to perish.”
“Oh, no! Don’t touch that kid!”
A scream-like cry burst from Netanya's mouth.
“Because of his incompetent mother, he was a wanderer in the world even after death. Now he can finally find peace...!”
No, not my child.
Netanya cried with her face stained with tears.
The man who had regained his composure asked, grumbling.
“Do you want to save the child?”
“Yes. I can do anything if I can save that child. So...”
“Then how about exchanging your life?”
"...What?"
As Netanya asked with a blank expression, the man took something out of his bosom and threw it at her.
It was a small dagger.
A dagger made from the same material as the Ibis' sacred relic.
“Take your own life with it, and I will preserve your child’s soul. Since you said you would do anything for this child, you can take your own life as well.”
According to Chihara, an archangel who has received the life force of the goddess cannot die without the goddess' permission.
But the man has already shown that he can inflict harm on Netanya and Chihara.
Would it be difficult to take one's life?
It was at that very moment that I was looking at the dagger with trembling eyes.
Netanya grabbed the dagger.
With a face without an inch of hesitation.
'It's crazy!'
I quickly escaped the shield.
“Hey! What if you suddenly run out like that, you reckless thing!”
Delton called out in horror, but I didn't stop and ran towards her, snatched the dagger away, threw it away, and hugged Netanya.
“Wake up, Netanya! They are the ones who throw away their loyal servants without a second thought! Do you think they will abandon Heath’s soul just because you take your life? You are just a plaything in their hands!”
“But, if I don’t die, my child... I can’t watch that child die twice. Let go of me!”
Netanya writhed wildly.
I pursed my lips in maternal love, knowing that I would be willing to give up my life if there was even a glimmer of hope for my child's survival.
'Why am I so incompetent?'
In the past, I was the one who supervised all the affairs of the Duke's household and protected the family in place of my pitiful father.
That's why I never once thought of myself as incompetent.
But what about me these days?
In a combat situation like today, not only did I have to stand back and watch, but I even had to tie up one of my precious combatants for protection.
'If I'm a Saintess, shouldn't I have some kind of strength?'
How can you be a Saintess if you can't even wipe away your comrade's tears of blood?
It was at that very moment when I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even raise my head and was just hugging Netanya tightly.
“Shayne.”
The man in the black robe smirked, the corners of his lips drawn up.
“My goddess, who will drive out your master and rule the world, do you think that the one who will become the master of all things will be helped by a mere weapon made by man?”
“...Are you saying that the master you are talking about is not human?”
The man shrugged his shoulders slightly in response to Chihara's question.
“As a servant, I dare not speak carelessly about Her. My mission is simply to destroy you so that you can no longer block Her path.”
“You’re having such a ridiculous dream, just because you got hurt a little.”
Chihara picked it up and burst out laughing.
“We are beings endowed with Hethel’s life force. We cannot die unless Hethel permits us to do so.”
“Well, I wonder if that’s true.”
"What?"
Chihara, who had been raising his eyebrows as if he couldn't understand the man's words, suddenly fell to the floor with an exclamation of "Ugh!"
From the arms that were instinctively wrapped around him, white light flowed out like powder and scattered into the air.
“What is that?”
“It’s the life force of Chihara. To you humans, it’s like blood.”
"Yes?"
I couldn't hide my embarrassment at Delton's muttered words while furrowing his brow.
Stealing the life force of an archangel.
Is that even possible?
I hastily reached out through the shield and picked up one of the knives lying around.
“This is...”
It was made of the same material as the Ibis' sacred relic.
'The same goes for the shields and the protective gear that covered the assassins' necks. What kind of mineral is this...?
Is it possible to easily block the attacks of the strongest people in the world and even take away the infinite life force of an archangel?
It was a time when I couldn't help but feel confused.
“How dare you, a heretic, touch my child and threaten the Archangel of the Goddess?”
Netanya, who was shocked by Chihara's injury, roughly reached out her hand.
Then, white light began to gather in the air and transformed into a giant bow.
Netanya pulled back the bowstring without a moment's hesitation, and the arrow filled with holy energy flew straight toward the man in black robes.
But.
Fight!
“What, what? I was definitely right...”
Netanya's eyes shook violently as she watched the arrows bounce off in vain.
“That seems foolish. I am the first servant of the great Ibis. Do you think a dog of a one-time goddess can defeat me?”
The man with the sly, sarcastic expression snapped his fingers.
Then, Netanya's arrow, which had fallen to the ground, floated up and settled quietly in his hand.
Wow.
‘What, the color of the arrow...’
The area where the man's hand touched began to turn black.
Like a poisoned arrow.
Soon, the arrow, which had turned completely black, quickly flew towards Netanya and pierced her chest.
“Ugh!”
White light flowed out from Netanya, who fell down clutching his chest, and scattered into the air.
The vitality began to drain away.
“Netanya!”
The surprised people tried to support her urgently, but it was not easy.
The black arrows that came out of Netanya's body immediately multiplied into three and headed toward Chihara, Bayen, and the Crown Prince.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince and Bayen, who were relatively healthy, managed to avoid the blow by a narrow margin, but Chihara, who was still not fully recovered from the blow he had received earlier, rolled on the ground with his chest pierced.
As I was absentmindedly watching the two relics fall in an instant, the man taunted bitterly.
“I had some expectations for the dogs of Hethel, who have ruled the world for thousands of years, but how can they be this pathetic? It’s ridiculous that these people tried to stop my goddess.”
“Are you insulting my mother now?”
A spark of light flew into Bayen's eyes as he quietly observed the situation.
“How dare you, a mere trickster, attack my mother...”
Each syllable flowed out softly, each syllable filled with deep anger.
It only took a moment for that anger to shake the world.
Woof, bang!
It seemed as if thunder and lightning were striking the clear sky, and in an instant the world became dark.
Thick dark clouds suddenly obscured the full moon, which had been shining as brightly as the sun until just before, and poured down heavy rain, mixed with strong winds.
Soon they transformed into a powerful whirlpool and rushed towards the man.
“Oh, shit...!”
The man was sucked into the vortex by the attack that came without any time to dodge, but somehow he managed to escape after a few minutes.
But in that appearance, there was no longer any sign of leisure.
Bayen, who had been staring coldly at the staggering man in his torn and tattered robes, raised his hand again without giving him time to regroup.
The vortex that had been circling around the man, waiting for its master's permission, was about to sweep him away again.
“Stop!”
The man reached out urgently to stop him.
And on that hand...
“Ugh, ugh!”
There was Heath.
Heath, tattered and torn, caught in a whirlpool with a man.
"Heath!"
Netanya, who had briefly lost consciousness from the pain piercing through her chest, opened her eyes wide at the sound of the child's moans and shouted.
As Bayen reflexively stopped attacking him, the man raised the corners of his mouth in satisfaction and tightened his grip on Heath's neck.
“Don’t move. If you don’t want this child’s soul to perish.”
“Oh, no! Don’t touch that kid!”
A scream-like cry burst from Netanya's mouth.
“Because of his incompetent mother, he was a wanderer in the world even after death. Now he can finally find peace...!”
No, not my child.
Netanya cried with her face stained with tears.
The man who had regained his composure asked, grumbling.
“Do you want to save the child?”
“Yes. I can do anything if I can save that child. So...”
“Then how about exchanging your life?”
"...What?"
As Netanya asked with a blank expression, the man took something out of his bosom and threw it at her.
It was a small dagger.
A dagger made from the same material as the Ibis' sacred relic.
“Take your own life with it, and I will preserve your child’s soul. Since you said you would do anything for this child, you can take your own life as well.”
According to Chihara, an archangel who has received the life force of the goddess cannot die without the goddess' permission.
But the man has already shown that he can inflict harm on Netanya and Chihara.
Would it be difficult to take one's life?
It was at that very moment that I was looking at the dagger with trembling eyes.
Netanya grabbed the dagger.
With a face without an inch of hesitation.
'It's crazy!'
I quickly escaped the shield.
“Hey! What if you suddenly run out like that, you reckless thing!”
Delton called out in horror, but I didn't stop and ran towards her, snatched the dagger away, threw it away, and hugged Netanya.
“Wake up, Netanya! They are the ones who throw away their loyal servants without a second thought! Do you think they will abandon Heath’s soul just because you take your life? You are just a plaything in their hands!”
“But, if I don’t die, my child... I can’t watch that child die twice. Let go of me!”
Netanya writhed wildly.
I pursed my lips in maternal love, knowing that I would be willing to give up my life if there was even a glimmer of hope for my child's survival.
'Why am I so incompetent?'
In the past, I was the one who supervised all the affairs of the Duke's household and protected the family in place of my pitiful father.
That's why I never once thought of myself as incompetent.
But what about me these days?
In a combat situation like today, not only did I have to stand back and watch, but I even had to tie up one of my precious combatants for protection.
'If I'm a Saintess, shouldn't I have some kind of strength?'
How can you be a Saintess if you can't even wipe away your comrade's tears of blood?
It was at that very moment when I was so embarrassed that I couldn't even raise my head and was just hugging Netanya tightly.
“Shayne.”
Support Novellate!
Comments
Post a Comment