“After living among humans for two thousand years, I must say, humanity is truly fascinating.”
Luminous shook his head in disbelief as he glanced at the fleeing vampires, dragonkin, and elves, taking Aria in his arms.
“Spending half of your power trying to resurrect a corpse that’s already dead? I mean, it’s a bit late to say this, but haven’t you considered that two of you stopping the acolytes and the rest ganging up would have been much more advantageous?”
“How can you compare the value of a victory gained by saving the Emperor to one obtained by losing him? You, who treat your own followers as mere expendables, would never understand.”
At Martini’s cold, sarcastic remarks, Luminous scoffed.
“The likelihood of the Progenitor surviving is virtually zero, yet you’re wasting half your power on a corpse that could expire at any moment? How irrational.”
With the Progenitor down, Luminous felt confident he could win even if all the remaining ones charged at him.
Although he had already overexerted himself during a time when he needed to be stable, he still had a massive divine power accumulated over two thousand years at his disposal.
It’s why he set up a barrier as soon as he transferred into the Knight’s body.
While it would be difficult to eliminate all the desperate foes fleeing, he was sure he could kill every foe rushing at him.
The only variable he miscalculated was the unexpectedly bold and sharp fourth Progenitor, but he had already assessed the combat strength and personality of the remaining three. There was no way he could lose to just three.
Luminous turned his gaze to the three vampires.
Two Grand Dukes and one who was deemed to be on par with them.
Since the fourth Progenitor, calling herself Aria Scarlet, established the Allied Kingdom, the number of Grand Dukes had increased, but the three left in this place were true vampires, unlike the fledglings who could only boast about their bloodlines.
“Even so, the time when you have a fighting chance — no, the only time you have a chance is now. However, the difference is that you will die here today, while those who escape will die a little later.”
Having lived for a similar length of time, one couldn’t help but want to applaud the foolishness of the vampires who allowed their emotions to cloud their judgment.
The peak of the old generation of vampires, who had written history in blood and flaunted their existence, surely couldn’t be oblivious to the vast power difference between them and Luminous.
In other words, they remained here to buy time, fully aware they would lose, for the trivial reason of retrieving the corpse of the fourth Progenitor they assumed might still be alive.
“No. It will be different. She will definitely survive, just as she always has.”
“I would assert that will absolutely not happen. But, let’s say that’s the case. If the three Grand Duke level vampires die here, what can the Progenitor do? A bird without wings cannot fly. Furthermore, my current power doesn’t even amount to two-tenths of what it used to be. Even if I buy time, the only change will be the order in which we die.”
“Is that what you think? And it seems you’re under some misconception—”
Martini wore a cynical smile.
Seeing the unwavering confidence in her eyes, Luminous, despite knowing it wasn’t possible, couldn’t help but wonder.
“Why act as if you’ve already won? Killing you now could be accomplished with just the three of us.”
“Ha! So you’ve gone crazy after all.”
With a short, loud shout, Luminous swung his sword with his left hand.
In the blink of an eye, the shadow that had been creeping unnoticed was severed cleanly.
“Was it you who taught the Progenitor the techniques of dark magic? I see your bad habits are quite similar.”
Stella didn’t respond.
“Perhaps it’s time to clean up,” thought Luminous, gripping his sword with renewed strength.
Having lost the Luminous Church, there was much to be done from here on out.
For now, he would lay low until this body fully embraced him, then he could try a slightly different approach.
That seemed like a decent idea.
In the past, when he was weak, he had to pretend to be human and beg for faith, but the essential element was always a mental connection made with mutual consent.
If he could force them to submit with power and have them choose to die or to embrace the light, he would no longer need to struggle to expand his influence as he had until now.
“Now is the time to make the entire continent kneel beneath my feet.”
Since coming close to death at Ophelia’s hands, Luminous could no longer tolerate any beings that could threaten him.
He had ambitions to one day stand at the pinnacle of this world and become a true god. It was finally time for him to take center stage after all this long preparation.
“The Elder Dragon who killed the first Progenitor is also an eyesore.”
If he’s talking about being at the pinnacle, Yustelein was a contender that would have to be dealt with someday.
But bringing down that old lizard was his ultimate goal. Before that, he needed to finalize the cleanup of the surface.
“Come at me.”
Then, all that was left was to deal with the remnants of the Scarlet Allied Kingdom, and there would be no rivals among humans.
Radiating dazzling white light, Luminous declared, “You are merely the first sacrifice to usher in the era of light.”
*
Madmen wandered the streets.
Humans who had lost control of their bodies had turned into living bombs imbued with light, assaulting the legions of darkness.
The chaos of the clashes between vampires and former humans was evident in the heart of Rusher.
In the midst of it all, a gale swept through.
With a slicing sound, moonlight reflected off the dagger, carving a path through the humans.
Eleonora simply ran forward.
She cut down the enemies before her without hesitation, feeling as if every second was precious, clearing a path back to Randell.
Unlike vampires, who were vulnerable to divine magic, the dragonkin skin she bore was highly resistant to most magic, making the mindless humans nothing more than fodder.
With every swing of her dagger and flick of her tail, Luminous’s acolytes fell helplessly, trailed closely by Plona, who cradled Aria, and Lavina, who provided cover.
“The blood, it won’t stop!!”
As Plona rushed forward under the moonlight, she kept glancing nervously at her own body, the expression on her face crumpled.
While she wrapped her abdomen with Eleonora’s cape, it was obvious that merely doing so wouldn’t fundamentally solve the problem.
Feeling the dampness of her cape as it soaked with the ever-flowing blood, Plona couldn’t shake the word ‘death’ from her mind.
‘……Sister’s, death?’
Although it was Aria who had lost half her heart, the thought alone made Plona’s heart feel as though it would burst.
It could not happen. Her sister had to live.
Sister was the only one who had treated Plona as a normal family member, despite the heavy obligation and responsibility she bore as a Knight.
She had no resolve to accept her death.
‘But at this rate….’
However, Plona’s desperate longing and the harshness of reality were two separate matters.
The true blood of Aria flowed through Plona’s veins, signaling that the Progenitor was still alive, yet that connection was gradually weakening.
No matter how much she wanted to deny it, it was somewhat inevitable. It was almost miraculous that Aria was still alive, considering her heart had completely stopped.
Yet, if this continued, the conclusion was clear.
It would mean the end of the world for Plona and a betrayal of the last hope left by Martini, Jeil, and Stella.
For both herself and them, Plona had the duty to save Aria and bring her back.
At that moment, Lavina, who was guarding Plona with her bow drawn, spoke up abruptly.
“Plona, to be honest, this situation seems hopeless. You realize that, right?”
Plona almost reflexively denied it, but upon seeing Lavina’s resolute expression, she bit her lip and nodded curtly.
Lavina wouldn’t adopt such a demeanor if she were going to suggest giving up without a thought.
As if she shared the same sentiment, Eleonora, who continued to fight fiercely, suddenly glanced in their direction.
“In the end, we have to restore Aria’s regeneration ability. If we don’t, she will continue to bleed like this, and once her stored life force runs out, that will be the end. We need to act before that happens.”
That was indeed the right thing to say.
The issue was not whether it was right or wrong but how to realize it. Without a concrete solution, they were merely going to tread aimlessly back to square one.
However, unexpectedly, Lavina answered seamlessly to Plona and Eleonora’s unspoken question of ‘so what now?’
“The one preventing regeneration is essentially the light spirit remaining inside Aria. All vampire abilities are derived from dark spirits, and regeneration is no different. Right now, the light spirit is obstructing the dark spirit, which is why her wounds aren’t healing. If we can revert that to normal, Aria might be able to recover.”
Plona bit her lip.
She hadn’t not thought about that.
But spirits were exceedingly delicate. The discipline of magic that meddles with spirits to produce artificial distortions was why it was so difficult and complicated.
Magic invariably accompanies risks where even the slightest deviation can lead to accidents.
And Aria’s existence was akin to a collection of spirits with its own will; without restoring her to a perfectly normal state, any half-baked interference could worsen her condition or lead to unpredictable aftereffects.
“…I also looked during our run, but the remnants of divine magic and my sister’s wounds are completely intertwined. Unless we know precisely where to slice, it would be another matter—”
“I know that.”
Plona turned her head sharply.
If Lavina knew that, the conversation could change. Plona felt a glimmer of hope.
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