“This is…”
“That’s your new Holy Sword.”
Johann said, looking at Rudell, who was staring at the staff in his hand with a look of wonder.
“This… is my Holy Sword?”
No matter how you looked at it, it could only be described as a staff.
Whether it could be called a sword was a different story, but just like its name, the staff radiated immense magic power.
It was an amount of magic power that far surpassed the one imbued in the bracelet he received from Kahlan in the past.
If Rudell could handle such magic power without the help of the Holy Sword, he might have already been called a great magician by now.
“How does it feel? Do you sense anything?”
“Uh… I can’t really feel much besides my fatigue disappearing.”
Perhaps it was because he had only absorbed a fragment, Rudell shook his head in response to Leje’s question.
“Well, whatever. Now that we have a hero, we should have a proper showdown, right?”
“Showdown? With that thing?”
Looking at Rudell, Leje drew her sword from her waist, and Rudell exclaimed in surprise.
Even though he had become a hero, the situation wasn’t exactly favorable.
The magic power within the Holy Sword was indeed immense, but it wasn’t enough to overwhelm the Main Dragon head-on.
“What’s wrong? Are you scared?”
“I’m not scared. I’m just being cautious.”
The opponent was the Main Dragon.
A being on a completely different level from those they had faced until now.
Rushing in without any plan against such an opponent would be akin to suicide.
“Rudell.”
“B-Count Weinstein!!”
Just then, Kurt and Silphier emerged from the crowd, approaching Rudell.
“What was that just now? I felt an incredible power.”
“Could it be that Count Weinstein is…!!”
“That’s right, I somehow became a hero.”
As the two asked, Rudell showed them his staff.
A staff made of an unknown pure white metal.
At a glance, it didn’t seem like an ordinary item, and Kurt and Silphier expressed their intrigue.
“I don’t know what it is, but I believe you can handle it.”
“Amazing!! A hero!! That’s a tremendous honor…!!”
“Alright, enough chit-chat. Let’s figure out how to deal with that lizard’s skeleton first.”
Feeling the conversation dragging on, Leje clapped to change the mood and pointed to the Main Dragon rampaging outside the barrier.
The Main Dragon was still relentlessly attacking the barrier, exhaling breath and swinging its claws and tail as if it wouldn’t tire.
Every time the Main Dragon’s attack hit the barrier, boom echoed, vibrating the air inside the Holy Kingdom significantly.
“It won’t last long like this.”
Though it seemed to be holding up, the collapse of the barrier was just a matter of time.
In fact, thanks to awakening as a hero, Rudell could clearly see the flow of magic, which indicated that the barrier was gradually weakening.
“And once that breaks, it’s game over for us.”
“Can’t argue with that.”
Nodding at Rudell’s words, Leje and Eleor agreed.
If Rudell had a complete Holy Sword in his hand, it might be a different story, but they couldn’t defeat the Main Dragon with merely a fragment.
However…
“Still, I guess we have no choice.”
No matter how much he thought about it, there was only one conclusion.
‘This is a dead end.’
That was the conclusion Rudell arrived at after much contemplation.
Fight and win against that thing.
Or just sit back and die quietly.
There was literally no choice except that worst-case scenario.
“That’s right, that’s how you be Rudell.”
“My body may be weak, but this time I will also help.”
“I-I’ll help too…!!”
“Mm.”
Hearing Rudell’s reaction, the group, including Leje, nodded in agreement.
Rudell, looking at them with a satisfied expression, turned to Johann and spoke.
“Your Holiness the Pope. I hope it’s not too presumptuous, but may I ask one thing?”
“Speak. I shall grant your request no matter what it is.”
“I ask that you maintain the barrier for as long as possible. I hope that’s possible?”
The best course of action in their current situation was to strike the Main Dragon with a big hit and weaken it as much as possible.
For that, they needed a lot of time and magic power.
“Of course.”
“Thank you.”
Though it was a difficult request, Rudell bowed his head gratefully to Johann, who nodded willingly, and then slowly began to draw out his magic power.
The magic power flowing from his body began to create a massive aura…
“Everyone, get ready. This won’t be an easy opponent.”
With a firm determination on his face, Rudell declared.
*
“Jade! You need to get out of here, now!”
In the streets of the Holy Kingdom.
Amidst terrified citizens running frantically to escape, Paris suddenly shouted towards Jade, who had stopped in her tracks.
“Where to?”
But Jade looked up at the sky as she responded to Paris.
Despite being daytime, the sky had turned pitch black due to thick storm clouds.
Below that sky, the gigantic Main Dragon was wreaking havoc on the barrier covering the Holy Kingdom.
Even with almost no magical knowledge, she could surmise that the barrier would soon be destroyed.
“Do you think there’s a safe place here?”
The Holy Kingdom had turned into complete chaos.
People running to survive, priests from the Church desperately trying to restore order.
They were all tangled together, and the situation was rapidly spiraling out of control.
“Outside the Holy Kingdom…!!”
“What do you plan to do once we get out?”
“That is…”
At her question, Paris hesitated, trailing off.
Outside the Holy Kingdom was nothing but a sea of fire.
The Main Dragon’s breath had set everything ablaze.
It was a hellish inferno that would turn everything to ash unless it extinguished itself with time.
If they went out now, they would surely find nothing left but ashes.
But…
“Even so…!!”
“I know, we can’t give up. I am the Kingdom’s princess, after all.”
Her father, the current king, had long since stepped back from governance.
Due to continuous health deterioration, he could no longer oversee matters of state.
Currently, it was practically she who was leading the kingdom.
That meant if she died here, the foundation of the kingdom would be shaken.
“But… now I don’t know what to do, either.”
Her social standing mattered little in this situation.
She was just a human trying to survive a little longer.
“Is it really going to end like this?”
“Jade…!!”
Looking despondently at the Main Dragon, Jade spoke.
At that moment, Paris looked at her with a face filled with concern.
Then suddenly…
crack!
“Aaaahhh—!!”
“We’re done for!! It’s all over!!”
The barrier began to crack under the weight of the Main Dragon’s attack, and upon seeing this, people screamed and started to flee.
In the midst of the confusion, Paris and her escort formed a circle around Jade to protect her.
In a situation where death was imminent, it wasn’t a very meaningful act, but that didn’t matter to Jade and her guards.
They would protect Jade until the very end.
They were simply doing what they felt was right.
crack!
With an unpleasant sound, cracks spread along the barrier, and soon, with a sound like shattering glass, the barrier was obliterated.
[Grrooooar!!]
Through the large hole in the barrier, the Main Dragon thrust its long neck in, opening its mouth wide to start sucking in the surrounding magic power.
At the same moment, a purple flash began to shine from the Main Dragon’s empty skull, causing those who witnessed it to freeze in horror.
And then, in the next moment…
[————————-!!]
With a blinding flash, all the sounds around disappeared.
Shortly after, a massive beam shot from the ground, piercing the Main Dragon.
The beam didn’t stop there; it penetrated through the barrier that covered the Holy Kingdom, even clearing away the thick clouds and creating a blue sky.
“What the hell is that…?”
“Oh…!!”
Paris gasped, and Jade seemed to understand the situation, letting out a low groan.
In this situation, only one person in the world could possibly pull that off.
“A hero…”
Muttering that name, she prayed to the gods.
