Chapter 99 : Chapter 99

Chapter 99

All that could be heard was the Death Knight’s dry voice.

[Carpe.]

The advanced technique of a knight, which should not have been uttered by an undead.

[Illusion.]

It unfolded before Killian’s eyes.

Jjeojeok.

As the trapped Evil Energy spread in all directions, the field that had unfolded beneath the three spheres began to be consumed.

Within the domain made of blue mana, a new domain took shape.

“You got me there.”

Killian muttered, looking at his own domain, which had begun to waver.

The essence of Aether was absorption and emission.

The three spheres formed with the sword as a medium each held dominion over ‘time’, ‘space’, and ‘mana’.

Jjeojeojeok.

“…”

Killian silently looked up at the three cracked spheres.

If the Total Solar Eclipse sought stability and slowly neutralized the opponent, the Total Lunar Eclipse was a technique optimized for absorption.

Its power had already been proven in the battles against Hegel Cornelia and Konrad Norton.

He had thought it would be no different for Evil Energy, but it was not.

“Agnil.”

The Death Knight’s body belonged to the one who had been called the ‘Sword Master of the Greatsword’.

The power he had thought was merely a remnant left by a Grotesquery that had failed to become a radiant being was now, uncontrolled even by the Total Lunar Eclipse, slowly suffocating him.

Jjeok. Jjeojeok.

He realized that fact as he looked at the three spheres, which were now on the verge of shattering.

‘It’s too late to try and rebuild the domain now.’

If he were to recklessly strengthen his mana, the risk of reflux would be even higher.

“What happened to you?”

Killian asked, looking at the Death Knight who had become the focal point of the domain.

“Why are you in such a state?”

How was it that a man who had died 200 years ago was now containing something like the Grotesquery’s Evil Energy?

He knew he would not get an answer, but he could not help but ask.

[Enemy of Eurasia.]

“…”

It was not the answer he had expected.

[Kill Adamas.]

“I never thought the day would come when the words of an undead would hurt me.”

A smile played on Killian’s lips.

It was different in nature from his characteristic harmless smile, but it was not something the opponent before him would care about.

The greatsword, lifted with one hand, was aimed at Killian.

Seureureuk.

The Evil Energy enveloped Killian like a haze.

“This isn’t the Carpe Illusion I know.”

[…]

“Agnil. You can’t kill me by relying on something like Evil Energy.”

Killian, cloaking his body in the remaining mana, stared into the red eyes of the being that had once been his friend.

[Adamas.]

The moment he met the two red, flickering eyes within the helmet.

Kwaaaa.

His vision instantly darkened.

[Kill the enemy of Eurasia.]

The undead’s eerie voice echoed in his ears.

And.

Before Killian’s eyes, where light had seeped in.

“Adamas…”

There was his dying friend.

***

[Edan.]

It was a familiar voice.

[You fool. Stop pretending to be asleep and open your eyes.]

The owner of the voice ringing in his head was not a person, but a sword.

[We won.]

That was ‘my’ voice from 200 years ago.

The moment his vision, which had darkened from being consumed by the Evil Energy, brightened, what unfolded before his eyes was a sea of blood and mountains of corpses.

The bodies of countless knights, their lives drained, formed a mountain.

‘This is…’

It was clearly that day from 200 years ago when they had climbed the mountain range to subjugate the Grotesquery.

‘Carpe Illusion, he said… is this a hallucination?’

His head throbbed as if it would shatter.

Among the Curses the Grotesquery possessed, there was one related to hallucinations.

In the past, he could have deflected its power with his numerous Authorities, but not now.

‘If only I had the Authority of Observation…’

If he could have imitated even a fraction of that power, it would not have been difficult to block a single Curse from the Grotesquery.

He lamented the Authority that had not recovered even after mastering 7-stars.

If there was a silver lining, it was that the current hallucination was not strong enough to make him lose his sense of self.

It did not cloud his five senses like Serena’s Green Zone, nor did it drain his mana and stamina like his own Total Solar Eclipse.

‘…’

When he had thought that far, one inference came to Killian’s mind.

‘Memory manipulation.’

In a situation like this, it was the most likely technique.

Sure enough.

“Eurasia will fall because of you.”

The Edan before him uttered words that were not in his memory.

“We should not have antagonized the Empire.”

“…”

“We should have joined forces with the Empire to drive out the Grotesquery.”

“…”

“You… you of all people… should have stopped me.”

A deep resentment was laced in Edan’s voice.

Listening to the lament, which also sounded like the grumbling of a petulant child, a part of his chest ached.

A hollow laugh escaped him.

To think that he, who now lacked flesh and bone, who could not use the Authorities that replaced human organs, could feel such vivid emotions.

He could once again confirm the enemy’s intention in showing him such a hallucination.

‘Trying to break a superhuman’s spirit. What a crude method.’

Just as he had lost his Authorities, the opponent’s power was also not whole.

Not a radiant aura, but Evil Energy.

A power closer to that of a monster than a Grotesquery.

‘If I endure, an opportunity will come.’

It was while he was thinking that.

Suddenly, the memories became jumbled and began to replay in a distorted form.

“We should not have gone against the Empire.”

“…”

“We should have borrowed the Emperor’s power… and subjugated the Grotesquery together.”

“…”

“The Empire… is not our enemy.”

“…”

As Edan spoke, coughing up blood, all he could do was remain silent.

And yet, he engraved the words that pierced him like daggers into his heart, and silently looked for an opportunity within the distorted memories that replayed over and over.

‘Hallucination, manipulation, and shackles.’

There was little point in thinking about what kind of Curse this was now.

What he needed to recall amidst the endlessly replaying death was a way to break it.

‘I have become a sword again… but I share the physical abilities of Killian Eurasia.’

It was thanks to the fact that the Curse had not fully manifested and that the mana of the Total Lunar Eclipse was resisting, however faintly.

‘It’s impossible to cut through a space of this extent without a sword.’

A single dragon came to his mind.

A member of the Annihilation Squad who had the potential to cut through the current space on his behalf.

The range of the Total Solar Eclipse was the entire cavern, so it was natural that Hazard had also entered this domain.

‘With that fellow’s claws, there’s a good chance.’

He had brought the creature along for that very purpose, so he just needed to make good use of a single opportunity.

The next possibility was the pendant hanging around his neck.

Although he could not borrow the Magic Tower’s power from this distance, Sharle had engraved several spells on the pendant.

‘Subspace, transformation, movement. Looking at it now, she only engraved the choicest spells.’

He had thought he was in a rather desperate situation after his Carpe Illusion was broken, but after a little thought, he realized he had quite a few cards up his sleeve.

The thought did not last long.

‘I’ll use all three methods.’

“I must tell our descendants… Do not antagonize the Empire…”

“Shut up, Edan.”

“Adamas. The Empire…”

“Even if you’re a fake, you’re spouting words that are so unlike you.”

“Even now, Eurasia should…”

“Well, still.”

“Pledge loyalty to the Emperor…”

“It was good to see your face again.”

“Adamas. I…”

“Leave it to me and rest.”

“…”

The man said something, but he did not listen.

He simply called forth the senses of Killian Eurasia in his mind and focused on the symbol of Cornelia hanging around that body’s neck.

‘I’ll use Cornelia’s mana.’

It was the subspace magic engraved on the pendant.

Cheujeujeu.

Violet mana flowed over Adamas’s blade.

Familiar mana rose from the pendant, and the Shik manifested.

Seureureuk.

The image of Edan that had been before his eyes disappeared.

He, too, was no longer a sword.

As Killian put his hand into the shimmering space, another sword, stored in the subspace magic, was grasped.

Red Flame Sword.

Another sword he had received from Emma Eurasia, just like Julian.

It could not be called a masterpiece, but it was more than enough for use in an emergency.

As he channeled the violet mana dwelling in the pendant into the Red Flame Sword.

Hwareureuk.

Red flames erupted from the blade.

“Cut the crap with your shoddy hallucinations.”

Hwareureureureu.

The hallucination burned.

The opponent’s Evil Energy had swallowed the blue mana, but it did not have resistance to the violet mana.

He poured out all the violet mana contained in the pendant.

Kugugugu.

As he imbued the Red Flame Sword with Haki, the sword, unlike Aether, cried out, unable to contain the immense power.

“Hazard!”

No response.

He swung the sword wide.

Kwajik.

The Red Flame Sword, unable to handle the Haki, signaled its limit.

“Hazard!!”

[…ong…]

“…!!”

A faint groan could be heard.

Killian, concentrating his senses to their utmost, confirmed a single figure struggling, trapped in a coffin, within the space distorted by the flames.

Eurasia Shik.

“Wave.”

Following the elegantly swung sword path.

Cheolsseok.

The violet mana raged like a wave.

Kwaarrrrr.

Cheolsseok.

Each time the wave of violet mana struck the space, control of the blue mana returned.

[Yoong!]

Hazard, having escaped the coffin, flew over, battered and bruised.

It was panting, having seemingly struggled on its own.

“Don’t let your guard down from now on.”

[Yong!!]

Paseuseuseu.

The Red Flame Sword, which had been forced to contain an unreasonable amount of power, melted down.

Shaking his hand, he saw Aether rolling on the floor.

The Total Lunar Eclipse had already been dispelled by about 80%. What filled the space was not mana, but Evil Energy.

“Can you suck this up?”

[Yong!]

“Then begin.”

Seueueueup.

Hazard, who had settled beside him, began to inhale the Evil Energy.

[Yoooooong!!]

As the creature let out a roar as if to psych itself up, the Evil Energy in the air rapidly thinned.

He had asked, thinking that a black dragon that could handle Evil Energy might be able to absorb it.

‘Is it because the blood of a black dragon is mixed in?’

It seemed its uses were more numerous than he had thought.

Kwang!

Killian deflected a sword strike flying towards Hazard.

[…]

He met the eyes of the Death Knight, which was watching him silently from a distance.

“The greatsword wielder Agnil, resorting to hallucinations. The other knights wouldn’t have believed it if they heard.”

[Adamas.]

“Yes.”

[Enemy of Eurasia.]

“That’s not right.”

[Kill.]

“If you can.”

Kaaang!!

The now-worn masterpiece and Aether clashed.

They had each broken the other’s Carpe Illusion once.

‘Reflux did not occur.’

The same was true for the opponent.

Killian checked his own physical condition.

‘One more time.’

He could use Carpe Illusion again.

Kaaaang!!

Not avoiding the sword aimed at him, Killian thrust his head forward.

“Agnil is dead.”

[…]

The Sword Master of Eurasia who had assisted Edan, the first to break away from the main force to face the army commanded by the monster lords.

He recalled his final appearance as he departed after performing the sword salutation.

“You were not one to fear death.”

Not just Agnil.

To reach the summit of the mountain where the Grotesquery was, the superhumans had thrown away their lives one by one.

When Edan had slain the Grotesquery, Adamas had vaguely thought that they, too, had died.

[…]

The one who had not died was silent.

Violet mana shimmered in Killian’s eyes.

Kaaang!!

The two swords clashed, producing a metallic sound.

Agnil’s weapon, no longer cloaked in Evil Energy, was closer to a blunt weapon than a sword.

“Tell me, Agnil.”

He continued to clash swords while manifesting the magic engraved on the pendant.

He adjusted the Shik, adding a slight variation to the transformation magic that Sharle Cornelia had engraved.

A spell made of violet mana manifested.

“Contact Memorize.”

A spell that reads the memories of the opponent it touches.

The pendant spewed out its last handful of mana.

It was enough to read the memories of the Death Knight, who had lost its Evil Energy.

“Show me the truth.”

Kaaang. Kaang.

Into the mind of Killian, who was endlessly clashing swords.

“Your Majesty. I will open a path.”

The Commander of the Black Dragon Knight Order.

Agnil’s memories flowed in.

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