LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 21
First, two masked individuals popped out from the explosion.
Swish!
I immediately beheaded one of them.
The other one…
Crack!
Froze solid, head first.
Probably Lorentz’s doing.
…The freezing speed is insane.
Faster than my beheading speed.
Thud!
Thud!
The headless corpse and the frozen-headed corpse fell to the ground.
Whoosh!
After that, sharp arrows flew in from the broken door.
“These bastards.”
But.
Whoosh.
Lorentz, who had muttered a small curse, lit up a magic circle.
Thud-thud-thud!
The arrows stopped mid-air as if stuck.
“Attack.”
Right after.
Lorentz threw a glowing orb toward the entrance where the masked individuals had appeared.
Immediately, his subordinates rushed in.
**
It didn’t take long to subdue the masked attackers.
“Phew.”
Lorentz, who had taken down one masked individual and blocked all the arrows, didn’t seem too tired.
He left the small fry to his subordinates and conserved his energy.
“I heard there was a mage disrupting detection. I was right.”
Saying that, Lorentz kicked the frozen-headed corpse to flip it over.
“Mel, check it.”
At his words, a woman named Mel, one of Lorentz’s subordinates, stepped forward and placed her hand on the corpse.
Whoosh!
Light emanated from Mel’s hand, and the corpse began to decay rapidly.
“Definitely devil worshippers.”
…What’s going on?
“What did you do?”
I don’t understand why the corpse is decaying or why they’re considered devil worshippers.
“Mel is a devout priestess. Devils are the antithesis of the divine.”
“Ah.”
“It’s only natural that a devil’s lackey, dead, can’t go to heaven and instead goes to hell.”
…So, a dead devil worshipper’s corpse, when exposed to divine power, gets sent to hell at super speed.
“By the way, is hell really underground?”
But how does that work?
How do devil worshippers go to hell when they die, and how do devils exert their influence?
“Heaven and hell exist, with the mortal world in between. That’s common sense.”
“So, is heaven in the sky?”
“Where else would it be?”
Lorentz answered as if my question was obvious.
I was shocked again.
…Hell is deep underground, and heaven is high in the sky?
Shouldn’t they be in different dimensions in a fantasy world?
“Is it physically up there?”
“Yes, but if humans get too close, they can’t withstand the barrier and burn up.”
The woman named Mel answered my stupid question according to this world’s standards.
…Like the Icarus myth.
It’s hard to grasp, but in a world with magic, aura, gods, and devils, I guess it makes sense.
“Let’s get out of the underground first.”
“Is the investigation over?”
“Yeah, we confirmed the presence of devil worshippers. Mission accomplished.”
Saying that, Lorentz brushed off the frost on his gloves, a side effect of his magic, and turned around.
“Everyone, stay alert. We’re leaving now.”
Looks like they’re planning to retreat after the clash.
I’m not keen on sneaking into the enemy’s base either, so I quickly followed.
“The enemies can avoid detection, so don’t let your guard down.”
We moved through the third floor faster than during the investigation, staying alert.
The building, which I had admired on the way in, now looked like a hiding spot for enemies.
…Now I see how dangerous this place really is.
But thanks to Lorentz, I’m less worried.
He’s quick to judge and, above all, a skilled mage.
He keeps drawing magic circles in his hand as we move forward, ready to react to any ambush.
“This is the third-floor entrance. We’ll break through quickly.”
We arrived at the third-floor entrance where we had entered earlier.
“Rain.”
Lorentz called out to me, of all people.
“Yes.”
Hearing that, I immediately enveloped myself in aura and dashed forward, using Track to check the entrance and beyond.
Track not only slows down the world but also lets me see through darkness.
“No one’s here.”
“Break through quickly.”
After I confirmed, Lorentz and his subordinates quickly exited the third floor.
Bang!
Lorentz immediately erected an ice pillar at the entrance with magic.
“Now, let’s head outside.”
After blocking the entrance to prevent pursuit, we quickly headed for the stairs leading to the first underground floor.
We got through the biggest hurdle, the third floor, without much trouble.
Thanks to Lorentz’s quick judgment or the enemies’ decision, we made it to the long, dark sewer.
From here, it’s a place used by the Adel Kingdom, so I doubt there are enemies.
But we stayed alert, moving quickly with our lights.
“There’s a staircase ahead. Check it and let’s go up.”
As we neared the stairs leading to the first underground floor…
Whoosh!
The magic circle Lorentz had been maintaining lit up.
“Ambush.”
Ambush? Was that a detection spell?
I immediately stopped and looked around.
Ahead, where the stairs are? Or behind us, where we passed?
I was trying to figure out where they’d come from when…
“Below!”
Splash! Splash!
With Lorentz’s words, masked individuals surged up from the water in the sewer.
…Crazy, the water isn’t even that deep.
And…
“They’re coming from the front and back too.”
On top of that, black shadows started appearing from both the front and back.
…They were waiting here.
Swish!
I quickly cut down the ones that emerged from the water. We’re outnumbered, so we need to minimize the angles of attack.
“Be careful, there’s a skilled one among them.”
And as Lorentz said, an unusual presence was felt from the front and back where the masked individuals were coming from.
“Lorentz, where to?”
“I’ll take the rear.”
Lorentz’s subordinates are skilled, but…
The skilled ones are at least aura users, so…
I and Lorentz will have to handle them.
“Understood.”
So…
After quickly dealing with the ones from the water, I charged toward the incoming enemies with my aura fully activated.
Crash!
“Ugh!”
First, I sent two masked individuals flying with the impact of my charge.
Then I beheaded the ones following them.
I was trying to quickly reduce their numbers when…
“I’ll handle this one.”
A voice came from among the masked individuals, and…
Whoosh!
A sword thrust out from the darkness.
Clang!
I blocked it and momentarily stepped back.
This one’s no joke.
At least stronger than Darren or Kaiden.
Even I need to be cautious.
So…
Tap.
I drew my sword, aura at full power.
Clang!
The opponent also thrust their sword to block.
That one exchange was enough to gauge each other.
…This guy’s stronger than I thought.
Facing him, the sense of danger is stabbing at my head.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After the first clash, the blades kept crossing.
I mixed Void Family swordsmanship into my attacks, but he calmly blocked them all.
And around us, other masked individuals and Lorentz’s subordinates were clashing.
Lorentz is probably holding the rear alone, while most have joined the front.
That means Lorentz is under a lot of pressure, so I need to end this quickly.
Whoosh!
The opponent seemed to think the same, as I felt their aura condensing on their blade.
…A Rush?
Feeling that, I used Fleet.
If they’re using an attack, I need to dodge.
As Fleet activated, I pulled my sword back, lowered my center of gravity, and spun my sword once.
Then…
Almost crouching, I swung the sword at the opponent.
Using Track along with Fleet, I watched the opponent’s movements.
Their eyes were fixed on me, but they didn’t react.
…Not using Fleet?
Even as my sword aimed for their neck, they didn’t dodge, which confused me.
Clang!!
Even as I struck their neck, it felt like hitting steel, and the recoil strained my arm.
Then, a moment later, the opponent’s Rush exploded in the air.
I was stunned and quickly stepped back.
…A Guard? How is it so tough?
I’ve seen Guards used on armor or other parts, but…
Blocking a sword strike to the neck with just a Guard? Never thought of that.
Anyway.
I took the opponent’s back but waited for their next move instead of pressing the attack.
Because…
I’ve already used Fleet, and they’ve conserved theirs.
Whoosh!
Right.
They’ll use Fleet to end this.
In the slowed world of Track.
I watched their sword coming at me.
I can’t follow their movements since I’ve already used Fleet.
So I crouched to minimize exposed areas.
Then, their sword stabbed toward my abdomen.
I trusted the armor there and focused my Guard on that spot.
Then…
Thud!!
“Ugh!”
The impact felt more like a hammer than a sword, and I was pushed back.
…My Guard isn’t strong enough to absorb the impact.
I should’ve trained my Guard more instead of just relying on Fleet.
I always thought dodging was enough, but…
Seeing an opponent at this level changes my mind.
But…
I need to survive now to train my Guard later.
Then, their sword thrust at me as I staggered.
Clang!
I barely managed to block it.
My stance was off, so I should’ve been pushed back.
But…
I still had one move left.
‘Rush.’
As I used the technique I’d been saving.
My sword swelled up.
Boom!!
The impact of Rush shattered both our swords.
“…!”
“Phew!”
Damn it, my sword!
I only meant to break their sword, but I must’ve used too much force in the rush.
But.
This time, the opponent lost their balance from the Rush.
Crack!
I twisted my knee to use the ground as a foothold.
I grabbed the broken sword and thrust it at the still unbalanced opponent.
In the dark sewer, even at this distance, I couldn’t see inside their black hood.
I planned to thrust the silver blade into their heart.
But.
Twitch.
A sharp pain shot through the back of my neck.
Why the danger signal now?
Does the opponent have a hidden move?
Their stance is broken, and there are no allies around.
In a normal situation, I would’ve thrust without hesitation.
But this sense has saved my life too many times.
Crack!
I forced myself to stop, straining my joints.
Then…
Whoosh!
From the darkness.
No, more precisely, from inside the opponent’s dark hood.
A large hand stretched out.
‘…!’
What the hell!
I bent backward, dodging just in time.
Snap!
The nails barely grazed my nose as the hand grabbed at the air.
…That was close.
What kind of body structure has an arm growing out of their face?
If not for my sharp senses, I would’ve been caught.
“Ugh…”
Luckily, I dodged, but my stance is broken.
I forced myself to stop and bent backward, leaving my abdomen exposed.
The opponent’s broken sword stabbed toward my side.
‘Guard…!’
I barely focused to deploy a Guard on my abdomen.
But.
“Rush.”
With the opponent’s words.
Boom!!
“Ugh!”
The Guard on my side shattered, and I rolled on the wet ground.
“Ugh! Cough!”
A dizzying pain shot through my head.
“Ugh…”
But at the same time.
My mind became clearer.
I’ve endured this level of pain before.
I rolled further, using the momentum to regain my stance.
Focusing on the opponent trying to finish me off.
A normal person would’ve been out by now.
But I’m not normal.
At the brink of life and death, I focused all my heightened senses not on the opponent but on my aura.
Then…
Whoosh!
The opponent swung their broken sword.
A shallow line was drawn from my right collarbone to below my left armpit.
But.
Whoosh!
No blood spurted out.
“…!”
Their sword passed through my afterimage.
Using Void Family’s secret technique, Fleet, I had taken the opponent’s back.
I thrust the broken blade into their exposed back, right where the heart should be.
Thud!