novelraw Chapter 123 : For Whom the Bell Tolls (4)
Chapter 123 : For Whom the Bell Tolls (4)
Chapter 123: For Whom the Bell Tolls (4)
“…Hey, Carter.”
“Yeah.”
“I’m realizing this again, but…”
Gustav spoke with an expression close to awe.
“You’re insane.”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
At his sharp remark, Eugene replied without the slightest change in expression.
As Gustav looked at the ten cores already made, he let out a hollow laugh.
He still couldn’t quite believe what had just happened before his eyes.
“You’re going to modify the cores?”
“Yeah. They’re not perfect enough to use as they are.”
“…You do know that to modify a core, you have to extract the soul that’s already been sealed inside, right?”
“I know.”
“You went through all that trouble to subdue them and turn them into cores, but now you’re just going to release them all…?”
“That’s the problem.”
“What?”
“I’ve been forcing spirits that don’t even want this to submit and work for me. There’s no way I can operate them efficiently that way.”
“I mean, what evil spirit would want to be used as a golem’s core? Even if it’s inefficient, there’s no other option—”
“We’ll see about that.”
What Eugene did afterward shattered every last bit of the Mallet members’ expectations.
‘…To think he’d use his contract with Clina White like that.’
If it had been an ordinary human trying to persuade them, it wouldn’t have worked at all.
But if the Queen of Banshees herself — one of the twelve highest-ranking evil spirits — used her mana to persuade them, it was a different story.
Eugene presented the act as a stepping stone for future liberation struggles, igniting the spirits’ motivation.
As a result, twenty-seven souls willingly offered themselves.
Among them were even three high-ranking evil spirits.
‘Those same ones that wouldn’t even respond, let alone answer, to anything before.’
While the agents began golem production using the newly made cores, Eugene moved on to check the status of the turrets.
Gustav and Meriel, who silently followed behind him, couldn’t help but be impressed again by his sharp and delicate observations.
“Here, there’s a gap in the barrier. Even a small crack like this is enough for them to squeeze through. Maybe not as bad as when we faced Sabnac, but seal every opening you can.”
“Fill this turret mostly with low-grade mana stones. There’s no reason to waste high-grade ones on inefficient formulas.”
“The zero point’s off. Let me see that. You’re the gunner, right? Your deviation radius is way too wide right now. You got blank rounds? Fire five. I’ll calibrate it.”
“These coordinates are off too. Let’s see… move four meters left and eleven right.”
In no time at all, Eugene finished inspecting over twenty turrets and even checked the positions of the combatants.
Most of them were long-range mages, so he focused particularly on those capable of covering mid to close range, assigning tactics that would reinforce their effectiveness.
Even among the long-range casters, attack, defense, support, and healing roles differed; he made sure no one overlapped positions by organizing the formation again.
Once that was done, Eugene gave a satisfied nod.
“This should wrap up the checks…”
“……”
“If there’s nothing else to verify, I’ll take a short break. I won’t be getting much sleep for a while after tomorrow.”
With that, he quietly headed alone toward the tower terrace.
Watching that scene, Gustav muttered to Meriel beside him.
“…Maybe this battle… might actually be winnable.”
“…Perhaps.”
They, too, needed rest, so the two entrusted final orders to the lookout before returning inside the tower.
“I’ll stop by the 21st floor for a moment. I left a few artifacts charging there.”
“While you’re at it, check the Barion Orb again. A slow read means slow response.”
“Understood.”
After sending Meriel off, Gustav was just about to head to his room when an agent came running in a rush.
“Sir Gustav!”
“What now?”
“Um… near the Forest of Delusion…”
“Don’t tell me they’re attacking already?!”
“N-No! It’s not that, but…”
“Then it doesn’t matter. If it’s not about Dellowell, don’t report it to me.”
“But…”
“That’s enough. Get back to your post. We can’t afford to be distracted by anything else right now. Understood?”
“……”
“I said, understood?”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
The subordinate, cowed by his rebuke, forced down his unease and returned to his assigned station.
Meanwhile.
As planned, Meriel arrived at the 21st floor and threw open the door—only to find an unexpected figure inside.
“You’re late, Meriel.”
“Rubia? Why are you here…?”
Rubia smiled, her hand resting on the outer rim of a radiant golden pillar.
“Could you lend me a hand, Meriel?”
Facing each other with the supreme-class artifact, the Episode Gazer, between them, the two sat back-to-back.
They didn’t have much time, so it would’ve been better to finish their work first before talking.
Yet, knowing that well, Rubia still waited silently until Meriel spoke up.
“……”
Meriel found it strange that she couldn’t open her mouth easily.
She thought she’d already sorted out her feelings.
So why was it so hard to say a single word?
Still—
She decided to be brave.
If she didn’t speak now, she felt she’d never have the chance to confess for the rest of her life.
“…At first, it was jealousy.”
That was the first sentence she finally managed to utter.
“You were far more talented a mage than I ever was, and you carried yourself like one. I didn’t just acknowledge you—I admired you. I wanted to support you.”
Until you met Eugene Carter.
“I thought he had corrupted you. I resented him—and I was disappointed in you for being influenced by someone like him.”
But even then—
Meriel could never surpass Rubia.
After Rubia was dispatched to Karbenna, Meriel took her place as the Mallet’s second-in-command.
Outwardly, it seemed she had surpassed her.
The inferiority complex that Meriel harbored—knowing all too well what the truth was—only continued to grow.
When she had taught Eugene how to use the Episode Gazer and helped him operate it,
she, too, had witnessed a part of it.
What exactly had transpired between the two at that time.
And she realized it.
That she, consumed by jealousy, had committed something truly unforgivable.
In that moment, all traces of jealousy and resentment vanished like they had been washed away,
leaving only lingering regret and guilt in their place.
And she came to understand.
What Rubia was looking at— what she was aiming for— was something far beyond the reach of someone like her.
That was why, on the day she left the Mallet, she had asked Eugene for that favor.
“But even so, a trial came to me as well. The unavoidable calamity called Dellowell.”
“…I’m sorry about that.”
“No, there’s nothing to be sorry for. It’s an opponent I had to face sooner or later. I don’t plan to run away.”
I just wanted to be honest with you.
“Because we might never get the chance to speak like this again. I was lucky even for this much.”
“Meriel…”
She rose to her feet.
Rubia followed.
For a while, the two of them simply looked at each other.
Then, a faint but fiery smile began to bloom on Meriel’s lips.
She placed her hand atop the pillar and asked, as though she’d been waiting for it.
“Alright… what should I do?”
At the same time—
While waiting for Rubia’s return and continuing her search for clues, Francia slammed the desk in frustration.
“What on earth should I do…!”
The more she searched, the clearer the limits became.
Summing up all the information she had gathered so far, this was the conclusion:
Even among those who had awakened the trait of the Sword Saint, only a handful ever reached full bloom.
Aura Blade was indeed an outstanding technique, but for the Sword Saints, it was nothing more than a basic form—something they could maintain ten or even a hundred times if needed.
Beyond that lay the realms of Illusion Swordsmanship and the Divine Sword, yet in all of history, there had never been a single Sword Saint who had reached both at once.
Sword techniques such as Illusion Swordsmanship could, in theory, be combined with flame blades or frost blades, but no doctrine had ever been established for it.
In short—it was possible, but the method was unknown. The user had to discover it for themselves.
That meant everything depended on the user’s own ability.
Francia bowed her head, berating herself for her own powerlessness.
“…There’s no more time.”
At most, she had two days left.
She had practiced endlessly until now, but not once had she succeeded.
Expecting a miraculous turnaround in just two days was, frankly, impossible.
But—
“…No.”
The more desperate the situation, the more she knew she had to struggle with all her might.
No one understood that better than Francia.
Until the very moment of battle, she wouldn’t give up.
If there was no method, then she would create one herself.
That’s what Eric had done, too.
Don’t give up.
At the very least, that person wouldn’t have been frightened or resigned in the face of a trial like this.
As she steeled herself and began to move forward— a shadow appeared before her eyes.
“You seem troubled, young lady.”
An elderly man with a long brown beard smiled kindly as he spoke.
“Would you allow me to offer some help?”
Thursday, the 31st. 2 A.M.
An unfamiliar crowd had gathered at Dellowell’s main gate.
Burly soldiers, cloaked in black from head to toe, stood perfectly aligned in strict formation.
Beneath their cloaks, thick plated breastplates gleamed dully.
Their weapons varied, but their condition was the same— old, cracked, caked with mud and blood.
A single man strode confidently among them.
They were the chosen five hundred elites of Dellowell— the most loyal and powerful among their ranks, assembled for this surprise assault.
Once the vanguard had completed their preparations for battle, Director Heinrich of the Inquisition raised his voice.
“Raise your weapons, all of you! The time of judgment is upon us!”
At his command, the soldiers lifted their weapons in unison.
Instead of a weapon, Heinrich held the flag of Dellowell aloft and shouted even louder.
“Kill them! Before their sins consume you!”
Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!
As the soldiers stomped the ground in fervent unison, madness began to gleam in their eyes.
Satisfied with the sight, Heinrich pointed the flag forward.
Toward Duel—Mallet and Karbenna, he declared the sentence.
“Now… it’s time to judge.”
“Waaaaah—!!”
At that same moment—
From the tall spire within the Velut Fortress, a familiar peal of bells began to ring.
It was the bell that heralded the beginning of the Holy War.