novelraw Chapter 32 : The Twin Gorge (5)
Chapter 32 : The Twin Gorge (5)
Chapter 32: The Twin Gorge (5)
The standoff in front of the flames dragged on.
Hellia glared daggers at Enrico.
Despite his singed hair and scorched robes, the Consul showed no signs of backing down. His attitude practically screamed that he knew she wouldn't dare hurt him. She bit down hard on her lower lip, nearly drawing blood.
This was getting messy.
She'd thought he was just some jumped-up rich bastard with a few hired soldiers and never in a million years would she have guessed he was the actual Consul of this region. His shabby appearance and pathetic handful of troops had completely thrown her off.
‘If it were anyone else, I could just burn them to ash and be done with it. But you can't just do that to a Consul.’
Those ragtag survivors following him weren't the problem. The real issue was the Council backing him up.
When a Consul gets hurt, their Council launches a full investigation into what happened. If it's political infighting within their own ranks, they might sweep it under the rug. But if an outsider's involved? That's a whole different story. If they found out a Paladin of the Empire was responsible, it wouldn't just be a diplomatic incident, it'd be a damn political catastrophe.
‘They'd demand massive reparations or concessions from the Empire. And His Majesty's not exactly known for bending the knee to those kinds of demands. Which means... we could be looking at an actual war between the Empire and the Alliance...’
The Lucanian Empire is the world's greatest superpower, and the Order of Elga's influence stretched across the entire continent. But that didn't mean a single Paladin could just start a war on a whim.
She had to avoid extreme solutions if possible. Hellia dimmed the flames slightly and spoke in a measured tone.
"Stand aside, Consul. I'm currently carrying out the sacred will of Elga of the Light. The one hiding behind you is a heinous demon who murdered innocent Paladins and fled. If you cooperate with his capture and step aside peacefully, I'll be on my way as soon as my duty is complete."
Enrico flinched and turned to look back.
The barbarian's face was hard as stone, showing no reaction whatsoever. The Paladin's eyes, on the other hand, were practically burning with excessive emotion. Enrico looked back and forth between them, weighing his options.
After a long moment of deliberation, he made his decision. He spoke to the Paladin in a sharp tone.
"Do you have any proof of your accusations? I speak of something like an arrest warrant or a writ of judgment, stamped with the seal of the Order, that details the culprit's name, appearance, and charges."
"...I caught evidence of his crimes and immediately began pursuit, so I don't have those. But I'll make sure proper documentation is delivered to the Council through the appropriate channels afterward..."
"Then how am I supposed to believe you? This man saved my soldiers from being slaughtered. You want me to betray my savior based on nothing but your word with no actual evidence?"
"..."
Hellia was genuinely taken aback.
Why was the Consul defending this demon?
His soldiers were almost massacred and this man saved them?
That vicious demon saved lives?
How the hell did that make any sense?
Confused, she slowly closed her eyes. Her wavering jade-green irises disappeared behind her eyelids.
She couldn't make heads or tails of the situation. But if the Consul was going to take that stance, she was stuck. This is the Alliance’s territory, and she'd crossed the border without permission. Even if she successfully took down the demon and returned to the Order, she'd probably face more criticism for reckless behavior than praise for her achievement.
‘So I guess I have no choice but to retreat for now and come back once my preparations are complete...'
But was that really what Elga wanted?
Did Elga truly want her to be bound by petty human politics and retreat when such a dangerous demon was right in front of her?
No. That couldn't be it.
"...!"
In that moment, her mind jolted as if struck by lightning.
Her darkened vision cleared. The storm clouds of worry and concern lifted. The eternal snow of doubt and inner demons melted away. Only pure faith and duty remained, shining brilliantly like the midday sun.
Finally, everything became crystal clear.
Why the demon had saved lives, why the Consul was defending him, and why no one was cooperating with her. She'd almost fallen for their cunning tricks and walked away when her mission was right within reach.
‘I won't... play into the demon's hands any longer.’
Hellia twisted her lips into a sneer. Then she thrust her Divine Armament, Flames of Gehenna, toward Enrico.
"How pathetic, you puppet possessed by a demon. I know now that the words coming out of your mouth aren't your own."
"...What?"
"Don't worry. The flames of this Divine Armament are fires of purification. If you offer your life as a sacrifice, even your sins of serving as the demon's pawn will be completely cleansed..."
RUMBLE!!!
A sudden commotion cut off the Paladin's words.
The source of the noise was from the rear.
The Paladin halted her blade and raised her head.
Everyone's eyes turned in unison, and to their surprise, the blocked rear path had been partially cleared.
Kadim had used a tree as a lever to move the burning debris out of the way and tossed the massive log before speaking, "Consul, take your men and get out of the gorge first. I'll kill this Paladin and catch up with you."
"Wh-what? Did you just say you're going to kill a Paladin?"
"Yeah. This bitch is insane. Looks like the flames of fanaticism have burned her brain to a crisp. You can't reason with her, so the only solution is to crack her skull open and cool down that heat."
Enrico was left speechless.
Flames of fury ignited in Hellia's eyes.
"How dare you wag that filthy tongue of yours! You think I'll just let those worms scurry away?!"
She pulled back her hellfire-wreathed blade. She planned to sweep the flames in a wide arc and burn all the fleeing soldiers to death.
But her attempt was blocked by a throwing axe.
CLANG!
"Ugh!"
The heavy impact struck her sword, and Hellia stumbled back. The violent shock transferred through her sword and sent a tingling sensation up her wrist. If she hadn't wrapped herself in divine energy, that attack might have broken her wrist.
She adjusted her grip and looked at the demon.
His emotionless eyes now glinted with a bloody aura. She could see his brutish muscles rippling and expanding even larger.
'Showing your true form already, are you? What a cunning bastard...’
The others had mostly escaped by now. She'd deal with the stragglers later. For now, she'd focus on taking down the demon. She placed a hand on her chest and offered up a solemn prayer.
‘O Elga, grant me the strength to face this mighty demon.’
Her crimson divine energy blazed even more fiercely and power far beyond that of ordinary humans filled her entire body.
At last, the time of judgment had arrived.
***
Kadim had finished his assessment of the Paladin.
She was cunning but far too reckless. Her mind was damaged beyond the point of rational judgment, and she didn't seem particularly experienced. Still, her equipment was definitely worthy of an Archpaladin.
‘Judging by how it's not melting or even scorching in hellfire, that armor must be something special... And that red sword she's holding is definitely a Divine Armament.’
Divine Armaments were different from Blessed Armaments that Elga's priests consecrated. The latter were blessed by priests; the latter were blessed by Elga themselves. Even the weakest ones were Unique grade, and most were Epic or higher in terms of performance.
As expected, the Divine Armament's power is extraordinary.
When Hellia swung her blade, fierce hellfire painted the air. The flames lingered along the sword's trajectory, seemingly burning the air itself as fuel. Even though he dodged with room to spare, Kadim could feel the searing heat stinging his skin.
The hellfire's range was several times longer than the blade itself. He couldn't engage in a sword fight by crossing blades with flames.
Kadim lowered his body and tried to close the distance as much as possible.
But Hellia read his movements and struck first.
"Where do you think you're going!"
BOOM—!
She slammed the glowing blade into the ground.
All moisture evaporated instantly, and a pillar of fire erupted at her feet. The surging flames surrounded the area and blocked his path from all directions.
WHOOOOOOSH—!!
There were no gaps to exploit. Kadim quickly pulled back before getting caught in the flames.
Hellia twisted her lips into a smirk.
She pulled the blade from the ground and this time raised it toward the sky and the pillar's peak bent downward.
In an instant, the fire column transformed into a wave of flames that swept across in all directions with threatening force.
Kadim hadn't just retreated blindly either.
While pulling back, he'd retrieved the axe he'd thrown earlier. The moment he gripped the handle, he aimed at his target, tensed his muscles to their limit, then put a sharp spin on his wrist and hurled it.
CLANG!
A direct hit.
Sparks exploded as the Paladin's blade wavered. Like an army losing its commander, the wave of flames scattered in all directions. The lingering afterimages of fire in the air faded dimly. Hellia ground her teeth and glared savagely at Kadim.
Meanwhile, Kadim made a decision.
‘Guess I'll just have to accept getting cooked from here on out.’
He'd been trying to avoid getting burned by that hellfire.
He'd suffered like hell before just from a wound left by a Blessed Armament. If he got injured by a Divine Armament, the side effects would be even worse.
But the flames' range was just too damn wide. Trying to dodge all of that while taking down the paladin was like trying to swim without getting wet. If he wanted to get close enough to cut the Paladin's throat, he'd have no choice but to take the flames head-on.
‘I drank that demon's blood, so I should manage somehow...’
Kadim kicked off the ground and charged in.
Hellia sneered.
Once again, she tried to block his approach by sweeping the flames blazing from her blade.
WHOOSH—
But she failed.
Kadim didn't dodge the flames. He raised his forearm and broke through head-on. Helia's eyes went wide with shock.
"What the—!"
SWOOSH!
Mosquito's blade shot out viciously.
Hellia reflexively ducked.
The strike aimed at her throat unfortunately failed to draw blood.
CLANG, CLANG!
Before she could recover, Kadim was swinging again, trying to find a gap in her armor. She barely got her own sword up in time to block. The corner of her eye was twitching, a dead giveaway she was rattled.
"H-how...? How did you walk through hellfire and not have a scratch on you...?"
Kadim had to laugh to himself.
Not a scratch was a bit of an understatement.
The forearm that had blocked the flames was scorched, the skin charred and the muscle beneath cooked. But the wound regenerated almost immediately, allowing him to keep fighting.
‘That snake-headed bastard evolving to regenerate even from fire turned out to be unexpectedly helpful.’
The regenerative effect he'd gained from drinking the Hydra's blood and its boast in its resistance to fire weren’t just empty words.
However, he hadn't gained complete flame resistance or immunity to pain. If he suffered burns that were too severe, recovery would take time. Kadim continued fighting while being careful to avoid the flames as much as possible even while closing in.
"..."
Hellia seemed to realize this soon enough.
She reined in the extended hellfire and concentrated the firepower to just the range touching her blade. But every time she tried to unleash the flames, Kadim brilliantly blocked the sword path, causing each attack to fail.
Eventually, the battle devolved into close-quarters combat where they aimed for each other's vital points and tried to disarm one another.
The clashing of steel against steel made sparks fly.
A quick step back and then two steps forward, a blur of slashes in the blink of an eye, the counter-parry, a flick of the wrist to throw off a strike, a pure shoving match of strength.
CLANG, CLANG, SKRRIIEEEK, WHOOSH!
The fierce exchange continued for quite some time, but anyone watching could tell.
This was an unfair fight.
The difference in equipment was too vast.
Unlike the Archpaladin wrapped head to toe in plate armor, every part of Kadim's body was a vulnerable target. Mosquito wasn't a bad weapon by any means, but it was no match for a Divine Armament's power. The only reason the fight had been even this long was entirely due to Kadim's exceptional combat sense.
But even that was reaching its limit.
The Archpaladin's skills were no joke either.
His sword was starting to whine from the heat and stress. Little cuts and burns kept popping up on Kadim's body before healing over. And worst of all, his demon-blood buff was starting to fade, while her holy aura buff was getting stronger.
Kadim's expression hardened.
‘That damn Elga.’
A buff that got stronger over time felt like cheating. At this rate, his buff would run out first and he'd lose for sure.
‘...Guess I'll have to use a desperate measure.’
Having gained the upper hand, Hellia was driving Kadim backward while looking for an opportunity to land a decisive blow. In that moment, Kadim deliberately loosened his grip on Mosquito's handle.
Hellia didn't miss the opening.
Swift as a soaring hawk, she slashed diagonally upward, and an ear-splitting metallic ring echoed out as Mosquito flew from Kadim's hand and spun away into the distance.
A blade of light shot in like lightning.
The red blade pierced through Kadim's abdomen.
Blazing flames burned his flesh and organs from the inside.
Seeing his fierce face contort in agony, Hellia let out a vile laugh.
"You let your guard down, demon. Well, even the mightiest evil cannot defy the Judgment of the Light... The time has finally come to cleanse your sins."
Kadim didn't respond to the mockery.
He simply grabbed the Divine Armament with both hands to prevent her from pulling it out. The leather of his palms sizzled and melted, but he didn't care.
"...Do you know what the most common mistake made by inexperienced, arrogant, reckless, and childish Paladins is?"
Hellia's golden eyebrows twitched.
A sudden chill ran through her.
An ominous premonition wrapped around the back of her neck.
She tried to pull back her weapon and retreat a step. But the blade wouldn't budge, as if wedged between boulders the size of mountains.
Kadim pushed the blade in even deeper as he stepped forward.
His huge shadow fell over her, and the color drained from her face. When the berserker was right in her face, he gave her the answer.
"They don't wear helmets, the most important piece of armor."
Then he pulled out the axe he'd been hiding and brought it down like a bolt of lightning.
CRUNCH!
The crimson divine energy scattered, and the fanatical Archpaladin's forehead split in two.