Chapter 743 – Golden Illusion

000

Cleon’s body rotated and jumped into the air.

The powerful flash from the arm that rotated his body on its axis struck down at Resia on the ground.

Lesia struck it down with her own sword, and when she thought that the depth of her sword swing had deepened as if she was being led by Cleon’s sword again.

As if she had unconsciously put a brake on the movement of her arms, she stopped and Cleon’s sword struck her body.

Suddenly! As the sound rang out, Cleon’s sword succeeded in cutting off her forearm.

However, her arm, which reflexively wrapped her body in defensive magic, only succeeded in causing a slight scratch, and failed to completely drop the arm holding her sword. 〈 Br〉

But, this is okay. After all, this is only the most basic achievement that can be obtained in battle.

Even if Cleon’s sword is not the real Galatea, the opponent is also not the real Lesia.

Even if the power, skill, and strength are all the same as in Cleon’s memories, she is only a copy of the legendary warrior and not the original.

Therefore, her hidden skills, special abilities, and unexpected improvisations no longer come out.

Cleon, Rakshasa, and Cain focused on digging into her weaknesses, which Cleon found and brought out.

The three people were slowly destroying Lesia’s body.

There is nothing to be said about being called cowardly at 3:1, but the weapon he had was not enough to completely defeat Lesia by himself, and Lesia herself had spread a magic shield around her body so strong that it could be said to be almost perfect, so her stamina was completely depleted. Until then, I didn’t think I could remove the magic shield from her body.

However, the only person who was able to change Resia’s attack into a fatal attack on purpose was Cleon, who could read all the attacks.

Therefore, Nachal and Cain saw when Cleon was the bait and took advantage of the gap, and attacked her body at the right time, chipping away at her magic shield.

When fighting Cain, her unused magic power finally began to be wrapped around her body.

She thought she must have been cut dozens of times, but she still didn’t have a single scratch on her body.

‘Is it to this extent that you think you don’t want to kill the other person? Then… That guy who was with Lesia when we fought with the determination to defeat him at all costs…’

Probably, that is impossible for me now.

That’s right, even now that I can’t feel the killing intent, I have no choice but to cling to that weakness in a 1:1 match, but I didn’t think I could deal with Lesia, who was in her prime and prepared for everything, and didn’t even have those weaknesses. .

But-

＂Right now, we have to win even if we have to use cowardly moves…! “I don’t want to lose to a fake like this before I get to the real thing!”

As if reflecting Cleon’s thoughts, his movements suddenly gained strength, and his sword swung with intensity as if in response.

It was a hard sword that had no power and merely imitated Galatea’s appearance, but even so, depending on how it was wielded, there were times when it could exert a power that overwhelms even the holy sword.

That is – when you are not conscious of the sword breaking and just think of it as a tool – when you focus only on blocking the opponent’s movements.

Because Kaladbolg is a sword with six branches sticking out, three on each side, you can greatly restrict its movement by hanging your sword on the branches.

However, if that is done, of course, when Resia bends the holy sword’s trajectory, the weak sword hanging on the branch will break and break.

With her sword acting like a kind of unintentional sword breaker, if Cleon had tried the same method using Galatea or Caliburn-

If done incorrectly, even those two swords would not have been easy to use because there was a risk of breaking them.

However, what Cleon was holding in his hands right now was not a famous or precious sword, but a sword that was truly a consumable item.

Even if it breaks, it’s okay. Anyway, this is his nightmare world.

When I think back to that image, before I knew it, the same sword was in his hand.

In a situation where an almost infinite sword could be used as a consumable, Kaladbolg’s form was rather advantageous to Cleon.

Kang! Kwasik!

The fragments of the sword that collided, broke, and flew in all directions immediately scattered like dust, and before he knew it, another sword was in Cleon’s hand.

And every time one of the swords broke, Lesia’s movements were blocked, and at the same time, Rakshasa and Cain’s pincer attack attacked her, aiming for her blind spot.

It was visible that her invincibility, which could block both Cain’s heavy sword strikes and Rakshasa’s light but sharp strokes, was slowly starting to crack.

Then, Cain shouted at Cleon.

＂Just a little more! If you do a little more, this guy’s shield will lose its effect and disappear! Put your sword in and finish it off, kid!”

“─That was my intention from the beginning. I won’t give in to you…!”

When Cleon answered so firmly, Rakshasa burst out laughing upon hearing the story, but Cain looked as if he had bitten her.

Cain – The Demon Sword Emperor was defeated by Hero Resia and disappeared.

Even in this nightmare, Cleon never had the thought that it would be a good idea for him to cut down Lesia and give him victory.

That’s probably because, no matter what happened so far, there was no change in the thought that the Demon Sword Emperor was one of the biggest bastards on the continent.

When Cain heard Cleon’s answer, veins appeared on his forehead, but he knew very well that he had no choice but to cooperate with Cleon to get out of this place.

At the moment when Cleon disabled her sword, she channeled the anger she was holding into her great sword, which she swung at Resia, who could be said to be the culprit of everything she did.

A beast-like figure engulfed in her black magic struck Lesia from above her head.

The divine magic that bursts from her body, like angel wings, neutralizes it on the contrary, but she, who should have overwhelmed Cain’s magic by nature, is unable to block a great sword of that mass with only magic without the physical support of a holy sword. There is a limit.

And – the Rakshasa wasn’t just playing either.

There is almost no technique that contains magical power in his sword skills, but if you add his thief-like light movements to the sword skills he has honed while serving as Nayuta’s guard samurai.

In fact, the lines drawn by countless invisible slashes were swung so fast that they formed a plane, cutting into her body from head to toe without leaving any space.

The sound that felt like scraping iron plates continued to echo right next to her ears, the sound of the wall of her magical power protecting Lesia’s body being chipped away.

As the wall of magical power that protects her body from the sides and above at the same time gradually decreases in thickness –

Finally, at the moment when it became thinner than a sheet of paper, Lesia’s illusion instantly released the magic power of her entire body as if making her last struggle, blowing away the bodies of Cain and Rakshasa, who were attacking.

However, Cleon expected that she would do that.

I wonder if the all-round magic eruption is a common technique among warriors. There were times when I thought it was a foolish technique, but if Resia, whose magic power was incomparable, could do it, even if it was divine magic, it would be enough to create a powerful shock wave.

So, with just the right timing, she stopped in front of Lesia by spewing out her magic power from her back to prevent her body from flying backwards like before.

And – both Cleon and Lecia, after unleashing her powerful magic power, they definitely need time to gather her magic power and be able to control it again.

The ones that create that gap are Cleon, Cain, and Rakshasa. This was also the reason why the three people swung their swords at Lesia.

Heading toward the gap that Cleon saw, he deliberately broke his own sword that was holding Lesia’s sword and placed her new sword in his hand.

Resia too, as soon as her sword was free, she tried to raise it – but she lacked the height.

Rather than saying it was ‘too low,’ it would be better to say ‘it was too high.’

Cleon was not a fool who went in with his body stiffly raised because of the exhilaration he felt when he got a golden opportunity.

When he read the opponent’s aim and predicted the sword’s trajectory, Cleon’s body naturally lowered and chose the trajectory of stabbing the sword diagonally from the bottom to the top.

And that choice separated the fates of the two people.

Quad deuk!

A blow that pierced the skin, muscles, bones, and internal organs at once – Cleon’s sword pierced Lesia’s chest, where her heart was contained.

Black mud instead of blood – something like a lump of shadow came out and a part of it splashed on Cleon’s face, but Cleon didn’t care and kept his eyes straight as he watched the thing in the shape of Lesia slowly collapse.

Lesia’s expression, which had confirmed late in the tempo that her own chest had been pierced, was at first a look of surprise and a grimace of pain, but then her face changed to one that looked somewhat at ease.

＂…＂

Cleon knows that face – the expression.

It was her adult smile that she gave when she complimented her younger self.

＂… Haha.＂

With a self-deprecating laugh, Cleon pulled the sword from her body.

Who would have thought that he could recreate it through the images remaining in his memory.

For a moment, I forgot everything about her and felt like she was the real Lesia.

─ And, rather than losing her balance and collapsing, Lesia’s body gradually collapses and disappears while standing there.

Until the end, what was left in her place, without falling to her knees, was a familiar magical sphere of energy floating in the air.

＂Galatea.＂

When Cleon called out its name, it came closer to Cleon and was eventually absorbed into his body.

Then – the sword that Cleon was holding in her hand was filled with magic.

[Wow! Tentacles, tentacles!]

Galatea’s flustered voice suddenly came out and struck Cleon’s ears.

“Calm down, Galatea. Because it’s safe now.”

[Uh, uh… This place is-]

After hearing Cleon’s voice calming her down, Galatea came to her senses and checked her surroundings. What she saw was a landscape of ruins spreading far and wide.

And – the two members of the dark horse clan, excluding Cleon, were looking at us with tired expressions.

There, Galatea, who understood everything, let out a small ‘K-K-K-H-H’ and cleared her throat as if to cover up the unsightly scream from before, and then she spoke to Cleon.

[It looks like I got caught up in a strange space again.]

“Okay. Still, I just solved it. Now all I have to do is get out of here. Galatea, can you feel Caliburn’s energy?”

[Wait a moment…]

At Cleon’s her words her, Galatea closed her mouth for a moment, as if concentrating her mind, and stretched out the thread of her magic towards Cleon’s her other sword her, which was connected with her magic her.

If the thread goes beyond this space, to the outside, to where Cleon’s real body is, Caliburn’s energy can be felt there.

[There is. It seems like Caliburn is outside guarding Cleon’s body.]

“Good. I’m glad it doesn’t seem to be far away. Then let’s go out too.”

As Cleon said that, he looked back at Cain and Rakshasa, and saw their bodies slowly fading away.

“Then, shall we go back inside you first?”

“Be careful, so you don’t get dragged outside like this time, kid. Because helping you is not my intention.”

After hearing what the two people said, especially Cain’s words, Cleon looked at him in bewilderment, but before he could reply, they disappeared.

＂… Compared to when it appeared, it ended up being much more empty. Those guys.”

[So who was it?]

When Galatea still speaks as if she doesn’t know, Cleon silences her for a moment and then answers her.

＂Shadows of the past.＂

[Hmm…]

Cleon, who caught Galatea reacting as if she was not amused, slowly took a stance for the final step to finally escape from this nightmare.

“─Here we go, [Liberate the Demon Sword]!”

The two people’s voices overlap, and a magical power that is close to 90% of the magical power that currently remains in Cleon and Galatea emanates from Galatea’s sword body

And, the magic power that explodes from the sword once again gathers into Cleon’s sword and forms a black blade.

A piece that contains everything that is possible for Cleon and Galatea right now.

The moment it appeared, this world collapsed from within.

001

The hall of Changgung (蒼穹) where stars twinkle in an infinite space where nothing seems to exist.

The woman standing in front of the golden cocoon that wrapped the girl stumbles as the reflection returns to her and falls to her back.

The cold sweat running down her forehead indicated that some of her sensations were not very pleasant, but she still had a satisfied smile on her face.

“Haha, I never thought the day would come when I would lose to Cleon.”

As she muttered, she placed her hand on the area of ​​her chest that contained her heart, remembering the feeling of her sword piercing her own chest.

The person there was the light armor he wore when he was an adventurer, but the person he is now is wearing a golden armor that cannot be pierced by anyone as a system – a device that destroys everything according to the commands of the will of the stars.

Even though all she could do was watch Cleon close to her, dwelling in the shadow of his own past.

“I’m glad I went to see you even though I had to force myself to do it. It was a shame that I couldn’t move it myself, but…”

Looking at her own holy sword, shining and responding to her, she answered.

“Huh. Me too. The day we meet again becomes even more enjoyable. If it’s Cleon, it’s definitely-“

The golden comet that fell into the gap stretches out her hand toward the twinkling stars in the sky and clenches her fist as if promising that day.

“You could kill me.”

When he knew that was his wish.

How will the boy, who has become a young man, react?

But – if you realize that it’s something you have to do, definitely.

That trust was also proof of fate.