Chapter 539: The Plan Has Changed. (1)

Slash!

Yulian's sword struck Hellnik's body once more.

Boom!

Ghislain's sword ripped through the space, piercing Hellnik.

Even though Hellnik deployed a shield, it was useless.

Yulian's sword ignored the shield and slashed him, while Ghislain's sword destroyed the shield outright as it struck.

Whoosh!

Black smoke billowed violently from Hellnik's body, which had been struck.

"Grr..."

Hellnik retreated, summoning Death Knights.

The Death Knights, imbued with his immense mana, glared fiercely as they charged at the two.

"Yulian!"

Ghislain called Yulian's name as he unleashed threads of mana.

Clang!

The charging Death Knights were bound by the mana threads, halting momentarily.

Swish!

Taking advantage of the opening, Yulian shot forward like an arrow and swung his sword at Hellnik.

Slash!

"Ugh!"

He had struck during the momentary gap created by the summoning. Once again, Hellnik failed to avoid the attack entirely and was slashed.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Ghislain spun, shredding the Death Knights to pieces.

Though they quickly regenerated thanks to Hellnik's mana, Ghislain ignored them and launched himself toward Hellnik again.

Boom!

Hellnik, repeatedly pushed back by Yulian's relentless attacks, managed to create some distance and summoned a curtain of bones.

Rumble!

An enormous wall of bones erupted from the ground. Simultaneously, Hellnik extended his hand toward the sky.

Whoosh!

A black sphere formed high above, emitting a deathly beam aimed at Ghislain.

Boom!

The beam carried overwhelming power. If struck, even a superhuman would suffer serious injuries.

"Ghislain."

Yulian called Ghislain's name softly as he gathered his mana. He had rarely unleashed this much power before.

Yulian stepped forward, slashing the air.

Slash!

The diagonal cut rendered the wall of bones powerless, collapsing it. The deathly beam aimed at Ghislain momentarily flickered and dissipated.

Ghislain seized that fleeting moment.

Boom!

Trusting Yulian completely, Ghislain didn't even bother defending.

Drawing a red line through the air, he flew toward Hellnik and gritted his teeth as he swung his sword.

Slash!

"Aaaargh!"

Hellnik's left arm was severed from the shoulder. In desperation, he extended his right hand, releasing energy.

Boom!

Ghislain was struck in the abdomen and sent tumbling backward. But Yulian had already closed the gap and swung his sword at Hellnik again.

Slash!

"Gah!"

Hellnik's neck was half-severed. Desperate, he released another burst of energy.

Boom!

Yulian, struck in the side, was forced to stagger backward.

Thud!

Yulian stabilized himself, planting his sword into the ground as he crouched to avoid falling.

Ghislain, who had rolled to his feet, laughed as he saw Yulian's stance.

"Oh, so even you tumble sometimes? You're finally looking human."

"..."

Yulian ignored him and straightened his posture.

Ghislain rotated his shoulders as he spoke.

"Ah, that one hurt a bit."

Though they had taken some hits, both men were unharmed. While the impact wasn't insignificant, it wasn't enough to render them unable to fight.

Hellnik, on the other hand, was in tatters. He had been struck repeatedly and was suffering.

Black smoke poured from his wounds, making it appear as though his body was burning with black flames.

"Grr... you bastards..."

Both were formidable opponents who could not be underestimated even in one-on-one combat. Yet these skilled fighters worked together seamlessly, leaving no openings.

Despite losing an arm and nearly half his neck, Hellnik had managed to land only a single blow on each of them—and neither had been a fatal strike.

Whoosh!

Ghislain, accompanied by Yulian, charged at Hellnik once more.

In his past life, Hellnik had been notorious for his cunning. He needed to be killed now, while they had him overwhelmed.

Roar...

The Death Knights surrounded them by taking to the air. However, they couldn't interfere in the fight.

Though strong, the Death Knights couldn't keep up with the speed of those who were among the continent's most powerful.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hellnik was continually pushed back by the two's coordinated assault. They had moved far away from the corpse-filled battlefield.

Nothing could come to his aid.

'To think I would be pushed to such a corner!'

The relentless pressure from the two fighters prevented him from utilizing the full potential of a necromancer's abilities.

There wasn't even time to cast lengthy spells. All his focus was consumed by dodging and blocking their attacks.

'At this rate, I'll die.'

The wounds he had suffered would have already killed an ordinary person. The opponent wasn't surprised at all to see him moving around with such wounds.

It meant they knew exactly what condition his body was in.

'How?'

It was incomprehensible. The Salvation Church, which had allied with him, didn't even know some of these secrets.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His thoughts didn't last long. The number of wounds increased, and his mana drained relentlessly.

'I can't escape.'

Nor could he win.

Even his massive army of undead was useless if the necromancer controlling them was captured.

He had made a mistake. He had underestimated the Allied Forces—or rather, the strength of Duke Fenris and Prince of Turian, Yulian.

In the end, only one option remained.

'I'm not the type to rely on luck, but...'

Now, he had to hope for some luck.

Hellnik, resigning himself to death, unleashed all his remaining mana in a single explosion.

Boom!

An enormous storm of mana erupted. Ghislain and Yulian were blasted backward before they could react.

Ghislain rolled effortlessly as usual, while Yulian, for once, failed to regain his footing and tumbled across the ground.

Both had sustained cuts and tears in their clothes. The attack had been powerful enough to leave visible damage.

Ghislain quickly rose and looked at Yulian.

"Wow, you actually hit the ground this time? You're starting to seem human now."

"..."

Yulian ignored him, once again raising his sword and taking his stance. Ghislain spat blood onto the ground and stared ahead.

Hellnik looked strange. His tattered body was trembling violently.

Above him, four orbs floated and began to crack simultaneously.

"The Orbs of Life?"

Ghislain recognized what they were—artifacts capable of creating superhumans.

He had assumed Hellnik had used them to command his massive undead army.

'And he still had four left?'

Moreover, he wasn't using them to raise the dead.

Boom!

An immense force erupted from the four orbs, flowing into Hellnik's body.

"Madness."

Ghislain's face twisted in disbelief.

Hellnik was already a superhuman. Absorbing even one orb would push his body beyond its limits, risking his life.

Yet, he was absorbing all four. There was no way his body could withstand such overwhelming power.

But Ghislain understood. If death was inevitable, a desperate gamble was understandable. If it worked, Hellnik might be able to eliminate them in an instant.

"Aaaaah!"

Hellnik screamed as the immense energy coursed through him. From his severed shoulder, an arm formed purely of mana burst forth.

The orbs' power wouldn't fuse with his own mana—Hellnik knew this.

Even so, he absorbed all of it, intending to expend that power entirely in this battle.

'I'll kill them, no matter what!'

Absorbing even one orb was already life-threatening. In that case, it was better to gamble on overwhelming strength to swiftly annihilate his enemies.

Groooan...

The surrounding Death Knights began to dissipate into smoke. Even the mana that composed them was absorbed into Hellnik.

Crack! Crack! Snap!

Hellnik's body twisted violently. Bones shifted out of place, and his body swelled in various areas, unable to handle the overflowing energy.

His body was growing larger, much like the crusaders of the Salvation Church had. At this rate, his body would soon explode.

"Grrr..."

Realizing this instinctively, Hellnik began to release his power.

Flailing his arms wildly as if clawing at the air, he unleashed his mana.

Boom!

Ghislain quickly raised his sword to block, but he was thrown backward.

The force was immense. Ghislain could count on one hand the number of times he had encountered power like this in both his past and present lives.

As Ghislain was knocked back, Yulian moved. In an instant, he closed the distance to Hellnik and swung his sword.

Clang!

Even though he aimed precisely for the neck, the sword didn't penetrate. Hellnik retaliated with a punch aimed at Yulian.

Boom!

Yulian, like Ghislain, was sent flying. The sheer force was incredible.

"Kehehe... such overwhelming power..."

Unlike the crusaders, Hellnik retained his consciousness, a testament to his advanced level of mastery.

But even he struggled to control the power of the orbs. His consciousness flickered, and his body seemed on the verge of bursting.

He needed to expel the energy as quickly as possible.

"Dark Spear."

Crack!

Dozens of massive dark spears materialized in midair. Each one carried the destructive power of a superhuman attack.

The spears hurtled toward Ghislain and Yulian.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Ghislain and Yulian scrambled to deflect and evade the dark spears.

The overflowing energy allowed Hellnik to continuously cast spells.

Rumble!

An immense number of bones erupted from the ground, filling the space until there was no room for the two to stand.

"Bone Explosion."

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The rising bones exploded simultaneously. The two couldn't fully escape the blast and bore the brunt of the impact.

"Cough!"

"..."

Both Ghislain and Yulian were shaken, their bodies covered in wounds.

In an instant, the tide of battle had turned.

Hellnik had become a complete monster. He even maintained some degree of control over the immense power with his superhuman will.

Only someone like Hellnik could manage such a feat. If a Salvation Church priest had attempted this, their body would have exploded immediately.

But even the strongest had their limits. In time, his body would inevitably rupture and he would die.

Before that happened, Hellnik was determined to kill the two of them, unleashing his magic relentlessly.

'If I can just expend all this energy... as long as I have even a sliver of mana left, I might survive!'

As a necromancer, he excelled at evading death. For now, eliminating his enemies took priority.

Whoosh!

Dozens of black spheres formed in midair. At the 8th Circle, summoning one or two was a monumental task, but now he had conjured dozens.

The spheres fired death rays in every direction like rain.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The two were forced into constant evasion. Blocking the attacks didn't end them.

Even if they counterattacked, it was clear Hellnik wouldn't suffer any injuries.

As Ghislain dodged frantically, he spoke.

"No way we're running from this."

"...We'll have to endure."

They could run if they wanted. If they kept dodging long enough, Hellnik's energy would eventually run out.

But the problem was their allies, who were still battling the undead.

Though they had moved far from the main battlefield during their fight with Hellnik, retreating now would leave their allies vulnerable to immediate attack.

In the end, they had to hold their ground here until Hellnik's energy was depleted.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Both Ghislain and Yulian, masters of their respective arts, managed to minimize damage while evading the barrage of spells.

For unavoidable attacks, they concentrated their mana to absorb the blows with their bodies.

Any other individuals would have died long ago from such an onslaught. Only these two could endure for so long.

"Haaah..."

"..."

Still, even they were accumulating deeper wounds. If this continued much longer, they would eventually collapse.

"Change of plans. We can't handle this alone."

"...Agreed."

Their original plan had been for the two of them to finish Hellnik. If not for the orbs, they might have succeeded.

But with the situation changed, their response had to change too.

They needed another person.

Someone who could weaken Hellnik's energy and strengthen their own, since their attacks had no effect.

'Dark, bring them here.'

High above, Dark, who had transformed into a massive raven and was watching, began to move.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Hellnik's attacks grew more ferocious. To survive, he unleashed every spell he knew in an indiscriminate barrage.

His spells tore apart the surroundings, making them increasingly difficult to dodge. Ghislain and Yulian's injuries mounted steadily.

As the two were pushed to the brink, Dark returned and shouted.

"Ugh! So heavy!"

Simultaneously, something descended from the sky like a beam of light.

The light cleaved through the darkness of Hellnik's magic as it fell.

"Grrr..."

Hellnik, sensing a bothersome energy, looked up.

The descending figure wielded a massive mace. A brilliantly shining mace swung toward Hellnik's head.

Boom!

"...??"

With a force beyond comprehension, Hellnik's head was slammed into the ground.

Thud!

The one who had fallen from the sky landed on the ground and immediately unleashed overwhelming holy power.

Whoosh!

The darkness that had encroached upon the surroundings began to dissipate. At the same time, Ghislain and Yulian's wounds started to heal.

The "Princess of Destruction," Elena's inspiration and ultimate ideal, the nemesis of all things evil—

Parniel had joined the battle.

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