novelraw Chapter 144
Chapter 144
Ch.144 Will You Keep Spouting That Nonsense?
I definitely dropped the spatial bag!
I sprinted toward it, but massive bones erupted from the ground, blocking my path.
“Get out of the way!”
I drew the Sword Saint’s Blade and slashed through the bones, charging forward.
If I could just take that—just that one thing!
I could stop Roy from teleporting around recklessly.
“Graaah!”
The King of the Dead descended from above.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
I fired ‘Equality’ point-blank into his face—
“Kuhh!”
Roy staggered backward.
Though he didn’t suffer the instant-death effect, his HP must’ve dropped to 1 from that shot alone.
Now I just needed to knock him down!
The problem? I needed divine power to pin him—
but for now, I had to secure the spatial bag at all costs.
Grab.
I clamped my hand tightly around the spatial pouch and shouted,
“You’re seriously done for now.”
Fireball!
“Gah!”
The King of the Dead shot upward, dodging the fireball.
If I could just knock him down now, I could capture him immediately!
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
I fired wildly to knock him out of the sky, while mages on the ramparts unleashed spells—but he evaded everything with uncanny acrobatics.
Damn it… Even just taking Altarion’s Staff would drastically weaken Roy.
Bang!
Roy dove toward me in a rapid glide.
Clang!
“You won’t enter paradise even in death,” he snarled, Selena’s beautiful face twisted like a demon as she glared at me.
He swung his sword—I blocked it with the Sword Saint’s Blade.
“Shut up already. Your breath stinks.”
Clang!
He unleashed dark sword energy.
I reached out and caught his blade mid-swing with my bare hand.
I aimed my gun at his gut—but he dodged the bullet with an unnatural twist.
“Tch. Infinite regression is such a pain. Everyone—stop focusing on me and just spam magic!”
Wearing the Arbiter’s Armor meant my HP bar didn’t even appear.
The King of the Dead dropped his sword and drove a fist straight into my helmet.
“Urgh!”
Clang!
The sharp metallic ring reverberated in my skull—but it was bearable.
“Damn it! Damn it! Die! Just die already!”
Clang!
What the hell were his fists made of?
How could punching metal armor produce such a clear, ringing sound?
I swung the Sword Saint’s Blade and kept firing ‘Equality’,
but he deflected every attack with bizarre, fluid movements.
“Hah… hah…”
Though he was the one attacking, cold sweat beaded on his brow and his breathing grew ragged.
Could it be… that his infinite regression has hidden conditions?
At that moment—
A meteor fell from the sky.
Watching the massive space rock plummet, I thought:
‘Wait… is that Meteor?’
I told them to cast spells freely—but Meteor? That’s excessive!
The King of the Dead saw it too and immediately shot upward in panic.
The meteor—big as a decent-sized building—slammed down right in front of me.
“Gyaaaah!”
It struck me dead-on, driving me deep into the earth.
Kwooaaang!
The sheer force pinned me to the ground.
Moments later…
As the heat faded and the meteor shattered above me, I struggled to my feet.
“Hah…”
A massive crater stretched around me.
I pushed aside the debris and climbed out.
“Where’s Roy…?”
I scanned the sky—but he was gone.
Did he flee?
“Hans!”
“Brother!”
Scarlet and Nekhuf scrambled into the crater.
“Are you hurt?”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine… but who the hell cast Meteor?”
I told them to attack—but launching a Meteor?
Do they even have common sense?
“Well… it seems Leah was the one who cast it.”
“Leah?”
Well… how many people here could even cast that spell, anyway?
***
As the meteor crashed down in a blinding flash,
Roy’s mind raced.
‘No choice.’
Losing Altarion’s Staff was a heavy blow—but he couldn’t afford to linger.
No matter how strong Hans was here…
Seeing Nekhuf and Scarlet closing in fast, the King decided to retreat.
‘Damn it… We’ll see about this.’
He vanished peacefully into the sky, but inside, he burned with humiliation.
After days of relentless flight, Roy finally returned to his capital—the heart of his fallen kingdom.
Exhausted, he collapsed to his knees the moment his feet touched the ground.
“Hah… damn… if not for the Seal Stone backlash…”
Breaking the Seal Stones came with severe side effects—
after all, they were powerful seals created by the gods.
His body would recover with time, but he’d been so eager to capture the dragon that he’d pushed too hard.
Losing Altarion’s Staff was a crushing mistake.
Now, he could only cast magic at Selena’s level.
She was a magic swordsman—capable of basic spells—but lacked the experience to wield high-tier arcane magic like a true mage.
Without Altarion’s Staff to teleport freely and shatter Seal Stones at ease, his entire plan was now tangled in frustrating delays.
The King of the Dead closed his eyes, desperate for just a moment of rest.
He was utterly drained—
he’d burned every ounce of magic in his body just to fly here.
He’d lost the dragon right before reaching the enemy Papal State.
And now, he’d lost Altarion’s Staff—the one variable that could’ve turned the tide.
Covering his eyes with his hand, Roy felt something he hadn’t since his resurrection:
Despair.
If only he hadn’t lost Altarion’s Staff…
Seal Stones would’ve crumbled effortlessly.
The Adversary was strong, and his heroes were no joke.
Worse—they knew the future, thanks to that ‘game.’
“Hah… it’s fine. This isn’t over yet.”
He couldn’t give up.
He hadn’t reunited with his family.
“I’ll never surrender.”
Forcing his exhausted body upright, Roy staggered toward his ruined palace—
a barren wasteland with nothing left but dust and silence.
Thud.
He collapsed again, voice hoarse with fatigue:
“Davinus… Davinus, are you there?”
His weak call echoed faintly—
Thud-thud!
Footsteps approached rapidly.
“Your Majesty! What’s happened?”
Davinus rushed over, shocked to see his king slumped and broken.
“Are you alright?”
“I’m fine… just tired.”
Alarmed by his king’s condition, Davinus asked carefully,
“What occurred?”
“The Adversary took my spatial bag.”
Davinus’s pupils widened. “What?! How?!”
“I tried using the dragon to crush the capital…
but the Adversary appeared and killed it.
I tried to retreat, but a dagger flew from nowhere and struck my hand—I dropped the bag…
and he took it cleanly.”
Regret. Bitterness. And fury.
“I won’t let any of them go. Not the Adversary, not his followers, and certainly not that dragon.”
Davinus’s eyes glowed with fierce red light.
“Prepare for the next Seal Stone immediately.”
“But… your body hasn’t recovered yet…”
Davinus looked at him with concern, but the King forced himself upright.
“It’ll heal as I go.”
Fueled by rage, Roy began his slow march toward the next Seal Stone.
***
We’d driven back the King of the Dead—and recovered Altarion’s Staff.
Soon after, news came that Giovanni had returned.
“Icira! Bring Giovanni here—now!”
She sighed at my urgency.
“Ugh, I’m not your servant.”
Seeing her frown, I scratched my head and gave a sheepish smile.
“Please?”
“Hmph. Fine. Teleport.”
She vanished in a burst of blue light.
There was no reason for Giovanni to stay in the capital anymore.
What could that fragile guy possibly accomplish there?
If he died because of me, I’d have nightmares for weeks.
Moments later, she returned with Giovanni in tow.
“You’re back?”
“Have you been well, my lord?”
Giovanni bowed politely.
I clapped him on the shoulder.
“You rascal! Had to go and get weak just to worry me.”
He rubbed his cheek, embarrassed.
“How could I ever become as strong as the heroes, no matter how hard I try?”
“Well… that’s true.”
He pouted. “That’s hurtful to hear.”
“What can I say? It’s the truth.”
I knew full well Giovanni would never reach Scarlet’s level.
Sure, if I trained him to near death and dumped top-tier gear on him, maybe—but as my secretary and guard, I’d never invest that much.
“Anyway… I still can’t believe Eltakantara is gone.”
Eltakantara—the dragon who’d joined the special detachment.
And likely the one who took my ‘Equality’ shot head-on.
“I feel the same.”
Auros told me Eltakantara volunteered for this mission—
joined to help me, only to meet this end. A true shame.
“But it’s not all bad. Now the King of the Dead can’t teleport.”
“Huh? Why not?”
“Ta-da!”
I held up the spatial bag and pulled out Altarion’s Staff.
“This is the conceptual artifact—Altarion’s Staff. It lets you cast any spell.”
“Oh! So this is the one you lost to a ‘honey trap’?”
‘Honey trap?’
Did that jab have a hidden edge, or was I imagining things?
“Honey trap? Ahem… I thought we were dating back then!”
“Sure, sure. The womanizing Baron—how could such a man fall for a honey trap? That’s hard to believe.”
Giovanni grinned sweetly as he teased me.
“Hey! There’s no limit to what you’ll say to your lord?”
“But isn’t seducing women your greatest talent? Especially the dangerous ones.”
“That’s a useless skill, honestly…”
Truthfully, my fatal flaw was not understanding this world’s culture.
Who could’ve guessed such dangerous women would cling to me?
“By the way—was it you who told Scarlet I was having tea with Mia?”
He shrugged. “She threatened to kill me! Last time, she blackmailed me with that letter I sent to the Saint—said it was ‘sacrilege’ or something. I had no choice.”
He admitted his betrayal with shameless ease.
I sighed. “Thanks to you, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest.”
Giovanni giggled. “You always said you reap what you sow.
Seeing you loved by so many women is enviable.
Since the King of the Dead is a woman too… why not try seducing her this time?”
Annoyed by his teasing, I scowled.
“Will you keep spouting that nonsense?”
Just then, Icira stepped forward—and surprisingly agreed.
“Oh? That’s actually a good idea.”
“Huh? What’s a good idea?”
“Isn’t your specialty charming women? Use the magical artifact Edward and I built to infiltrate her mindscape and charm her.”
“What?!”
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