Apostle of the Goddess of War

Chapter 49

Ch.49 Apostle of the Goddess of War

Paaang——!  

Blood magic poured down.  

An overwhelming output of magical power.  

Like a pillar of light touching the ground and bringing life to it.  

The pillar of blood, in contrast, poured down to take all life away.  

Sion’s eyes flashed sharply.  

Pouring every ounce of strength he had into a desperate slash. He ignored the overwhelming disadvantage surging through his entire body.  

He put everything into this one strike.  

Blood filled his vision completely. There was no way to escape now. He gritted his teeth.  

divine power exploded from Sion’s chest. Following the path granted by the Goddess of War, divine power surged through his entire body, injecting it with fierce strength.  

He leaned his upper body forward. He brought down his sword in a textbook motion. A trail of light, colored like the night sky, left a lingering afterimage.  

Whoosh!  

The die was cast.  

Kwaaaaaa—!  

The pillar of blood and the black blade energy collided head-on. A tremendous shockwave exploded outward in all directions, accompanied by a deafening roar as if the entire cave were collapsing.  

The marble floor crumpled like paper, and the rocky walls turned to dust and scattered into the air.  

Sion’s sword clearly split the pillar of blood. The hue of the night sky tore through the bloody curse, advancing as if it would reach Belzama.  

But that was as far as it went.  

Crack-crack!  

The blade, having poured all its strength into cutting through the blood pillar, began to develop cracks.  

The light of divine power rapidly faded. The backlash from forcibly cutting through the overwhelming wave of magic violently struck Sion’s entire body.  

“Kuhak……!”  

Red blood burst from his mouth. Sensation in his arms and legs vanished, and his vision blurred.  

He had succeeded in blocking Belzama’s fatal blow, but Sion’s body had long since reached its limit.  

Thud.  

Sion’s body collapsed weakly onto the ground. The sword slipped from his hand, clattering as it rolled away.  

“……Impressive. I never thought you’d block this. What have you done in just one month?”  

Belzama approached, brushing dust off her clothes.  

Even she seemed significantly drained of magic, a faint weariness evident on her face. Yet, she hadn’t lost the composure of a victor.  

“But in the end, this is where you fall, darling.”  

She roughly grabbed Sion by the hair. Sion, with no strength left to resist, could only weakly gaze at her.  

‘Not yet…… Just a little longer…….’  

His consciousness flickered, but Sion desperately reviewed Belzama’s blood magic.  

He struggled not to miss a single detail—how she manipulated blood, how she condensed magical energy, the flow and principles behind it.  

An agony, as if his brain cells were burning up, surged through him, but if he missed this now, he would never get another chance.  

Slurp.  

Belzama licked Sion’s bloodied cheek, where a fresh wound had opened. Blood spread across her tongue.  

“……Indeed! Delicious. The most delicious ever!”  

Belzama trembled with ecstasy, as if convulsing. Drunk on the taste of blood, she kept licking Sion’s wounds over and over.  

“Belza. Bring the child to me.”  

“Yes, my Lord.”  

Belzama immediately stopped her vulgar, sensual act and straightened her posture.  

She dragged the unconscious Sion toward the Apostle of Blood near the pool of blood.  

“Excellent, Child of War. It’s been so long since I enjoyed such a thrilling battle—I completely lost track of time.”  

The Apostle of Blood looked down at Sion with eyes filled with madness.  

He burst into a satisfied laugh and stretched out his hand. From his fingertips, a deep crimson aura rose, and the blood scattered around began to writhe.  

“……Now, become one with me.”  

The blood writhed like snakes and coiled around Sion’s body. Sion’s limp form rose into the air.  

The Apostle of Blood began chanting a spell, then plunged his long, fang-like teeth into Sion’s neck.  

Belzama watched the scene with satisfaction and took a breath.  

It was the moment she thought everything was over.  

‘Now.’  

Sion’s eyes, pretending to be unconscious and as if he had given up everything, snapped wide open.  

He read the flow through which the Apostle of Blood controlled the blood wrapped around him, the pulse of his magical energy.  

A different, more fundamental and vast flow than Belzama’s, yet essentially the same—mastery of magic mediated through blood.  

‘Reverse control the blood.’  

Sion squeezed the last remaining shred of divine power.  

Then, sharpening it like a fine-tuned spike, he drove it into the blood being sucked into the Apostle of Blood.  

Hiss.  

The Apostle of Blood briefly stopped feeding.  

The flow of blood rushing toward him twisted momentarily. The blood spike Sion had driven in ran wild inside the Apostle of Blood, causing discord.  

“……Urk?”  

It was the instant the Apostle of Blood felt a faint, alien sensation.  

Bam!  

Suddenly, the Apostle of Blood extended his hand and hurled Sion away. Sion flew far off, crashing into the wall.  

“Kuh! Bel—za—ma!”  

Something had gone wrong. The Apostle of Blood, spitting blood from his mouth, frantically sought Belzama.  

“Uh—Kuaaaaaak!”  

Blood gushed from the Apostle of Blood’s mouth like a burst dam. Sion had taken control of his own blood and turned it inside out against the enemy.  

An attack completely unforeseen.  

Who could have imagined someone capable of controlling blood even against the Apostle of Blood himself?  

An unimaginable idea.  

And the shock of someone actually accomplishing it.  

Even the Apostle of Blood couldn’t hide his bewilderment.  

The blood kept gushing.  

Sion staggered and barely managed to stand up.  

He didn’t forget to send a victorious smile toward the Apostle of Blood.  

“You… you bastard…! How dare you! What did you do?!”  

“My… my Lord…?”  

The Apostle of Blood glared at Sion with a face twisted in pain and rage.  

Belzama herself was shocked, unable to believe what she was seeing.  

The madness and killing intent in the Apostle of Blood’s eyes boiled over even more. He opened his mouth wide and exhaled a rough breath.  

Blood around him began to churn violently. But for some reason, it wasn’t obeying him. It was because of the impurity Sion had inserted.  

“You…! How did you do this?!”  

The Apostle of Blood screamed. Sion’s gamble had succeeded. Even Sion himself hadn’t been fully confident he could pull it off.  

“Guwaaaaak!”  

The Apostle of Blood continued vomiting blood, as if expelling every drop he had ever consumed and stored in his body.  

“Huh… huh….”  

Soon, his skin withered like an old man’s. His limbs became skeletal thin, to the point he could barely control his own body.  

His words—that he maintained his physical form by consuming blood—were true.  

Sion found his sword. This was the perfect opportunity. Perhaps the only chance he would ever get to kill the Apostle of Blood.  

“Kuh!”  

Thud.  

The Apostle of Blood, sweating profusely, plunged his hand into his own chest. Then, he pulled his entire heart out.  

He collapsed to his knees, his body unable to endure any longer. In that weakened state, he threw the heart away. The sound of labored breathing, like lungs with holes, filled the cave.  

“Bel… za… ma……”  

The Apostle of Blood called out to Belzama. She stood frozen like a statue, still unable to comprehend what was happening.  

She didn’t know how to react or what to do.  

What Sion had shown was so shocking—controlling blood outside the Sovereign’s control.  

The impossible had happened.  

“Yes, yes…! My Sovereign! I will kill that child immediately!”  

Belzama snapped back to awareness at the Apostle of Blood’s call, raising her blood-stained fingernails.  

“No. Come here……”  

“What?”  

“Come to me……”  

The dying Apostle of Blood barely blinked his eyes and called out to Belzama. She approached him with trembling steps and knelt before him.  

“Shouldn’t we… retreat for now?”  

Belzama asked, her eyes glistening with moisture.  

“No.”  

The Apostle of Blood gestured for her to come closer. As Belzama leaned her upper body toward him, close enough to feel his breath,  

“Ah… Ugh.”  

The Apostle of Blood plunged his fangs into Belzama’s neck.  

Then, before Belzama could resist, he began devouring all her blood.  

“Ugh, hah… My… My Lord…”  

Belzama struggled to escape, but it was useless. Those who had received the Lord’s blood were absolutely under the Apostle of Blood’s control.  

Thud.  

Belzama’s lifeless body was thrown at Sion’s approaching feet. Drained of all blood as payment for her loyalty, she lay cold and motionless.  

“…….”  

Even as enemies, he never wanted to see something like this.  

At the very least, if she was one of his own… she shouldn’t have been treated this way.  

“You… you’re truly the worst.”  

At Sion’s words, the Apostle of Blood wiped the deep crimson liquid from his lips and smiled.  

“I really thought I was going to die, kid. You were even more dangerous than the Apostle of Light.”  

Apparently having regained some strength, he stood before Sion looking healthier than before—likely due to absorbing the blood and magic of a vampire lord.  

Twitch, twitch.  

The Apostle of Blood’s hands and feet trembled. As if convulsing, blood vessels bulged on his neck. Snap-snap, bones cracked and realigned themselves.  

Afterward, he calmed down, and his pupils glowed red. The Apostle of Blood glared at Sion.  

“Now, it’s your turn. Surrender your body quietly.”  

Sion gripped his sword with trembling hands. He had exhausted all strength and divine power; merely standing was all he could manage.  

‘In this state… there’s no hope.’  

All he could do was trust in the Goddess. She would show him the path to victory.  

Thud, thud.  

The Apostle of Blood drew closer. The scent of blood grew stronger.  

As he approached, his limbs irregularly grew and shrank repeatedly. Was Belzama’s blood rebelling from within?  

“To be honest, I’m surprised. A human who can control blood. In such a short time, you really deciphered Belza’s magic, didn’t you?”  

“…….”  

“So what I sensed was right after all.”  

He grinned, tearing his mouth open.  

“A perfect body. I’ve never seen natural talent like yours. If I use you as my vessel, I can rise even higher. Then……”  

Grrr.  

A demonic, low-frequency curse seeped from his voice.  

“The Apostle of Light. I could grind her bones and drink her too.”  

Whoosh!  

“What?!”  

By the time Sion’s eyes snapped open, the Apostle of Blood’s hand was already around his throat. Even drained of strength, the speed was unnatural.  

It was more accurate to say he had teleported.  

This was the level of the Apostle of Blood after regaining even a little strength.  

“Good expression.”  

The Apostle of Blood chuckled and moved to plunge his hand into Sion’s heart without hesitation.  

—Sssak!  

A blade of energy flew in and slashed the Apostle of Blood’s wrist. Sion collapsed and rolled on the ground. As he fell, he smiled—because the blade that flew in was black.  

“Sion!”  

Garfenn’s voice resounded loudly through the cave. It was urgent.  

“Sion! Are you alright?!”  

“……Yes! I’m fine!”  

Only after hearing Sion’s voice did Garfenn breathe a sigh of relief. He walked forward steadily.  

“Apostle of War……”  

The Apostle of Blood glared at Garfenn as if to kill him. His wrist had already regenerated, but the pressure Garfenn exerted was something even the Apostle of Blood couldn’t ignore.  

“A wretch who fled with torn limbs, now daring to dream of resurrection here.”  

“What business does the Goddess of War have with me?”  

Crack!  

Garfenn slammed Dragon Slayer into the ground. An immense wave of energy burst from him.  

“To destroy evil. That’s all.”  

“As always… you war fanatics are impossible to talk to.”  

The Apostle of Blood rolled his eyes around.  

Garfenn charged at him, his black cloak fluttering.  

From the start, he intended to cut down the Apostle of Blood with full force.  

Whoosh!  

The Apostle of Blood leapt away before Garfenn could reach him. He stuck sideways to the cave wall, staring back at them.  

“With this body, fighting the Apostle of War is difficult.”  

“Running away?”  

“Let’s meet again. Next time, I’ll take that child’s heart and Emily’s too.”  

He took one last look at Sion, punched a hole in the wall, and vanished. Watching him fly away as a stream of blood, the will to pursue faded.  

This was the same being who had excelled at escaping even against the Apostle of Light, so Garfenn and Sion had no means to chase him.  

[You arrived just in time, Garfenn. We nearly had a catastrophe.]  

‘Thanks to your divine guidance, I came running immediately. Who would have thought the Apostle of Blood would appear.’  

The Goddess had much to say—the supreme talent and performance Sion had shown, and everything about the Apostle of Blood.  

But for now, she was busy dealing with the immediate situation. First, they needed to assess the circumstances.  

Garfenn supported Sion. His body was completely broken.  

“Just how exactly did you…….”

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