Chapter 863 – Battle of Vajra -16-

000

The reason Cleon’s steps stopped was because the huge door blocking his path had a design that seemed more important than the rest.

Even compared to the internal map that was stuck in his head, he thought that he was in a good position to reach the power room by now, so it would be safe to say that he had finally reached the deepest part of the fortress that he was aiming for.

Above all, when Cleon’s body was attacked by the intense magical pressure felt inside, cold sweat naturally broke out.

Is it coming from the driving force, or is it coming from something else that is protecting the driving force?

In any case, in order for Cleon not to be crushed by the pressure of that magic power, he had to protect his body by emitting magic power equal to that of his body.

If you go beyond the door, the pressure will become stronger.

＂… Whew.＂

Take a deep breath and then exhale once again.

After the battle with Albaine, it was fortunate that he did not encounter any enemies on his way here and was able to recover his magic.

＂Caliburn.＂

When Cleon quietly calls her name, Caliburn carefully places the head of the automata she was holding in her arms, and she approaches Cleon and takes his hand.

Even without saying anything, Caliburn knew what he wanted.

Caliburn, who gradually turns into light from the tips of his feet, soon returns to its original form, a golden long sword, in Cleon’s hands.

Then, Cleon returns her to the sheath on her belt and lifts her head from the automata that was lying on the ground.

“Now, where should I put you to open this door?”

As Cleon asked that question, he looked around the door of her power room, and unlike the doors she had seen so far, there was nothing he could bring her to.

I saw that the door just before had a panel dedicated to cards.

As expected, the security system in the power room is different from that of a regular door.

Then, the automata tried to raise its voice as if to answer Cleon’s question.

＂The door to the power room is─＂

However, before the next words were spoken, Automata and Cleon simultaneously felt the rapidly rising magic power inside the power room, and realized that it was coming towards them.

Next moment.

Bang! When the sound was heard, it felt like something was exploding beyond the door, and a powerful wave of magical power hit the place where Cleon had been standing just a moment ago.

The blue pillar of magic is made of high-temperature plasma, and penetrates several walls while melting everything it touches.

After the magic slowly faded away, all that remained of the place where it touched the pillar was the metal of the wall, which had melted like slime, and the red-hot surface.

＂Ugh… Thank you, Galatea.＂

Cleon gets up from his seat, thanking Galatea for pushing him with her magic so that he could barely escape from the range.

Because it happened so quickly, he was unable to properly fall and fell from his shoulder to the ground. Although it was painful, he was fortunate to have survived.

“You destroy it quite spectacularly. Even if it’s your own fortress.”

And, looking at the devastation unfolding before my eyes, I saw that the straight pillar made of magic waves had stopped just before breaking through the outer wall, and then turned my eyes to the inside of the power room.

A huge blue magic crystal, similar to the magic wave just before.

A huge cylinder surrounding it.

Also, the intense magical pressure of the magical power emanating from there.

Cleon shifted his gaze, thinking that the power source was more ordinary than expected, except for the gigantic one.

Because someone was standing right in front of the power source.

“Tools don’t have much meaning. The only thing that has meaning is truth.”

There, a swordsman wearing a brown hooded robe and an owl mask on his face was quietly looking at us.

Holding the handle of a blue sword in both hands and pointing the tip toward the ground, he seemed like a famous swordsman somewhere.

And when Cleon saw that owl mask, he must have felt his heart pounding.

＂…＂

Even now, that moment appears in my dreams again and again, like a nightmare.

The being that erased Lesia from before his helpless self was the same as the owl-shaped mask he wore on his face.

＂It was you.＂

The thing that took his family away from him that day.

The person who tore their relationship apart.

The one who took away the brightest star from me.

The hatred boiling within amplifies Cleon’s dark magic.

When Cleon clenches the hand wearing the gauntlet tightly, the unpleasant sound of metal clashing against metal resonates inside.

＂…＂

However, upon hearing Cleon’s gaze, and what could be called a question, the owl mask said nothing.

As if he had no conversation with Cleon.

＂There is nothing to say…? But here, there is too much information to find out from you.”

When Cleon says that and pulls Galatea out with trembling hands, Galatea feels through his hands all the hatred and anger that Cleon holds in his heart.

[Cleon, calm down a little. Well, you know you’ve met the guy you’ve been looking for a long time…]

“Ah. I know. I don’t make mistakes.”

Even as Cleon says that, he does not suppress the pounding of his heart and the waves of black magic that explode around him every time.

If dialogue could not be established – there was no reason to stand still.

Thud! With a sound, Cleon shot out like a cannonball and rushed at the owl-masked Holy Swordsman.

Cleon’s full-throated attack was straight, not using tricks or fakes like usual, but that was why it was so threatening.

The owl masked man quietly held the sword with both hands and struck it without any response.

Coogung! And the entire fortress shakes.

The holy magic flowing from the holy sword and the black magic flowing from the demonic sword repulsed each other, and sparks flew out in all directions.

Each other’s strength is like a whistle, the two people’s swords do not retreat even an inch, and they only repeat slight advances and retreats, as if screaming.

It seemed as if there was a battle of pride.

If it were a normal Cleon, he would have given up on this foolish power struggle and used martial arts to break the opponent’s gap, or used magic to disturb the opponent and forcibly let go of the opponent’s defenses.

However, bloodshot eyes and rough breathing.

When Galatea senses something about Cleon’s unusual appearance and tries to stop him-

＂Is that the sword of the swordsman’s unchecked sword?＂

The Holy Swordsman, who was just quietly receiving Cleon’s sword without a break in his breathing, asked that question.

＂Ah…?＂

Cleon asks what he is talking about.

“Indeed, it is a wild sword. Yet, the movements are restrained to a minimum. The method of giving strength isn’t bad either. Excellent.”

When he suddenly praised the other person’s swordsmanship, Cleon’s feelings turned to the negative side.

It seemed like they were mocking the time when they had no choice but to watch helplessly.

“Do you think you can evaluate our swords?”

Cleon lets out an angry voice and puts more force into his arms.

As the sound of swords rubbing against each other is heard again, Galatea slowly pushes her holy sword towards its owner.

However, Prosecutor Seong was slowly moving his feet and trying to move to the next posture without any sign of embarrassment.

“Dechecking saved the world! Be with her! A guy like you, who is trying to turn the world into a mess, has no right to evaluate my teacher’s sword!”

“You’re consumed with rage. What. It’s not that I don’t understand-“

The Holy Prosecutor listened quietly to Cleon’s words and then—.

The opponent’s sword, which was slowly approaching, clattered and was hooked with the sword grip.

Originally, it would have been difficult to push back the sword that came all the way—

＂If you have the qualifications, you have it.＂

Prosecutor Seong says so and puts down his sword.

＂!?＂

In a power balance that was close to supporting each other, once one side disappeared, what remained was Cleon’s body leaning forward.

That would be natural, because we were so focused on the offensive that we weren’t expecting to back down.

A mistake that a normal Cleon would not make—a mistake that occurred as anger and hatred filled Cleon’s head.

The next moment, just when I thought Prosecutor Seong’s body had disappeared, I felt his presence behind me.

The holy sword had fallen to the ground, so then-

Pow! As he heard the sound, Cleon felt a strong shock running down his back.

＂Kuh…!＂

Could it be a fist wrapped in magical power?

I tried to somehow turn my body to block the attack, but the subsequent attack was quick and sharp.

The consecutive strikes to the torso, sides, and back of the neck felt like part of a systematic martial art, and Cleon’s posture greatly collapsed due to the pain that overtook his body.

[Cleon!]

Galatea, who was being held in Cleon’s hand, screams when she sees Cleon like that.

And, based on her own judgment, she changed her appearance from her original black longsword to a black single-edged sword and attempted to save Cleon even while consuming a large amount of her magical energy.

[Cleon is near the Holy Swordsman.]

When the magic of refraction enveloped Cleon’s body, his appearance disappeared momentarily, and then Cleon reappeared a little distance away from the Holy Swordsman.

[Cleon is far away from the castle inspector.]

It was a refraction with vague standards, but it could not be helped because it was an urgent situation, and the consumption of magical power was greater than expected.

Although Cleon stumbled, he had no choice but to somehow prevent himself from falling and stand while supporting his body with Galatea.

“Being the sword that saved the world is nothing to be proud of.”

The holy swordsman slowly picked up the holy sword that he had let go of her hand and dropped on the ground as if it were a used tool.

The holy sword was still shining brightly, and the owl-masked man was quietly taking off the robe that covered his body.

Underneath, there was a man wearing full armor made of light blue metal like a sword.

Is his physique similar to Cleon?

＂…＂

Cleon couldn’t help but feel something similar to ‘Lesia’ in him, even if he didn’t like it.

“Because I too was a warrior who saved the world.”

─Just as you said.

He is a warrior of the sky.

This is because he was a true savior who protected the world from the devil in the past.

Likewise, with the light of a huge magic crystal shining in sky blue on his back.

He was looking down at Cleon with the attitude of a condemner.