### Chapter 206: Sacrifice
‘Burn Schurz’s corpse?’
Duke said that.
If they don’t burn Schurz’s corpse, he would become an Apostle too.
But the fact that he brought it up now…
Stella checked the massive knight Duke was confronting.
‘Beron?’
It was the huge guy she often mentioned, the one with the bulk.
That silhouette certainly resembled Beron.
‘Damn.’
If Duke’s words were true, it was clear.
They absolutely had to burn Schurz.
They couldn’t allow him to be used by the High Priest even after death.
‘But…’
Schurz was currently within the High Priest’s barrier.
All types of magic were vulnerable to that barrier.
It was proven by how her Meteor didn’t affect it and how Schurz’s wings were completely neutralized.
‘Then…’
There was no choice.
Duke’s orders couldn’t be followed.
“Duke, you have to choose. Is it you or Schurz?”
She had no choice but to pick one of the two.
Though if she chose Schurz, Duke would have to pull him out of the barrier himself.
“Ugh, damn it.”
Yet, Duke chose Schurz even in that situation.
Clang!
He thrust his spear forward.
An enormous shockwave burst forth, clearing a path ahead.
As if seizing the opportunity, he dashed forward.
“Gah!”
Within the barrier that constricted him.
Even there, he swung his spear and moved forward.
Despite being a wreck, his relentless movements looked more fierce than the resurrected Apostles.
“Schurz…!”
Before she knew it, he reached the collapsed Schurz, who lay before the High Priest.
“What’re you splitting apart?”
Schurz must have thought the plan succeeded even in death.
But…
“You failed, you idiot.”
They were only a few paces apart from the High Priest.
But Schurz eventually didn’t reach him.
That was true for Duke too.
“Tch.”
A black thorn was now embedded in his thigh.
And it began to tear through his body at high speed.
Maybe this was where it ends.
“High Priest.”
So now, all he could do was one thing.
“No matter what your goal is…”
Curse.
“It won’t go your way.”
He seized Schurz and hurled him outside the barrier.
Apostles rushed in to catch him.
“I can’t let that happen!”
He gripped the last remaining spear reverse and threw it at Schurz.
The spear pierced Schurz and sent him flying outside the barrier.
Even the Apostles followed after him…
Ignition.
As Stella’s magic activated, Schurz was instantly turned to ash and vanished.
“Duke…!”
She called out to Duke inside the barrier one last time, but he shook his head.
It was a signal to escape.
Blink.
A high-grade spell that teleports one’s position elsewhere.
She didn’t hesitate.
From the moment he entered the barrier, it was already determined.
She immediately began to flee using Blink.
But it was then.
‘What is this…’
A black thorn.
Even the High Priest called it a thorn.
It was flying towards her.
‘If it hits, I die.’
Of course, nothing was certain.
But without knowing the antidote, she had to assume that getting hit meant death.
Blink.
She activated Blink in quick succession.
Of course, using Blink continuously, which already put a lot of strain on the caster was risky, but there was no other way.
To evade the black thorn that seemed to change direction freely in mid-air, she had no choice but to keep using Blink.
Just as she disappeared and appeared somewhere else…
‘Huh?’
For some reason, the black thorn was still right in front of her.
‘What the hell is this…’
Did it predict her movement?
By what means?
Sight?
Or…
‘Had it sensed me?’
There wasn’t time to think.
She quickly grabbed something from mid-air and cast Blink.
Blink.
She activated her third consecutive Blink.
And then…
Cough!
‘Oh no…’
The thorn couldn’t follow her past the third Blink.
Luckily, she had completely escaped the High Priest’s chamber with her third Blink.
But…
‘Was three consecutive Blinks too much?’
Her lifespan had drastically decreased.
‘In this state…’
It’s going to be hard to escape.
Just as she was about to burn herself as well.
“Stella?”
It was a voice she hadn’t heard in a long time.
“Allen Pleuk?”
She thought he would be late after hearing about Schurz, but why was he already here?
‘Is it a relief for now?’
No, it might not really be a relief.
His presence here meant he could also get caught up in the current situation.
“Allen, we need to escape first!”
“Yeah?”
“Schurz is already dead!”
*
‘Schurz is dead?’
I had rushed here as quickly as I could.
Moreover, since I heard a tremendous noise just moments ago, I thought they were still fighting.
But the reality in front of me was despairing.
It was too late.
Barely a moment too late.
“Everyone retreat!”
There was no way Stella would joke in this situation.
If both Schurz and Duke were really dead, retreating was the right call.
“Sara, carry Stella!”
Stella didn’t look well at all.
She appeared to be in a state similar to how she was during the third trial.
…No, it shouldn’t be as bad as that.
‘Back then, she had died.’
Now, there were still things I had to hear from her.
Why Schurz went ahead to attack the High Priest leaving me behind.
And what exactly happened inside the High Priest’s chamber.
‘Damn it.’
The situation isn’t looking good.
Even now, the Apostles from the High Priest’s chamber were determined to track us.
Could we really shake them off?
Of course, I had never fought directly with the Apostles.
But judging by Schurz and Duke’s defeat, facing them directly and winning would be incredibly tough, not to mention escaping.
‘How do we shake them off?’
As I pondered that, Stella spoke.
“Allen, don’t panic and listen carefully. This might be a bit shocking for you.”
“Stella, let’s talk about that after we escape!”
“No, we have to talk now.”
Her expression was serious.
‘Is it really something that must be discussed now?’
There wasn’t much time to think.
If she believed so, there was probably a high chance she was right.
“Alright. Please tell me.”
However, her words about not panicking worried me.
‘What on earth happened…’
Nevertheless, I steeled myself to hear.
No matter what she said…
“Freira was killed by the High Priest.”
Huh?
The moment I heard that, an inexplicable sensation gripped my heart, as if it had stopped.
Then, Luel, who was riding on my back, shouted.
“Allen!”
Thanks to that, I barely caught my balance using Wind’s Power.
But…
‘Freira is dead? How come?’
The shock still wouldn’t wear off.
Even before that shock could fade, the next revelation hit me.
“And the High Priest has a barrier that nullifies magic and Stigma… or perhaps even all powers related to gods.”
“What does that mean…”
“It seems not all Apostles are like this, but the High Priest has the ability to turn dead humans into Apostles that act as puppets.”
That revelation didn’t hit as hard as Freira’s death.
But as those details piled up, my mind slowly began to get tangled.
“Finally, be especially careful of the black thorns. They can change direction freely in mid-air, and if you get hit, it’s essentially a death sentence.”
Yet, I made sure to engrave her words in my mind.
“Understood.”
Once I heard that Freira had been killed by the High Priest, everything around me began to make sense.
The High Priest was clearly the enemy.
So the words she was saying to me now were indeed dire but helpful nonetheless.
However, one question nagged at me.
“Then why exactly are you telling me this now…”
It was then.
“Was it Sara? Take this.”
She handed Sara a ring.
It looked like a transparent ring, resembling an ice sculpture.
“That’s…!”
It was the 5-star Relic, Wings, that Schurz possessed.
She must have grabbed it while fleeing.
“Well, now there’s no way to find the pure bloodline of the Ice Valley, so it’s pretty useless. But it shows Schurz existed.”
She smiled ruefully.
“The High Priest ordered the Apostles to kill me, Schurz, and Duke. So the Apostles are likely pursuing me now.”
“Stella?”
At that moment, I realized why she was providing me with this information.
“It can’t be. If you die, there’s no guarantee that those guys will give up on us…”
“Of course, they carry out the High Priest’s orders with their own autonomy. But one thing’s for sure, they will never do anything that the High Priest hasn’t commanded.”
That moment.
Suddenly, she vanished from Sara’s back.
And from behind came her voice.
“This way!”
Turning back, she was hovering directly above the Apostles.
Holding her hand up was a gigantic fireball.
Woosh!
In an instant, that fireball absorbed her and dropped into the midst of the Apostles.
The gust produced by its impact blew from behind.
Through that wind, I steadied myself using Wind’s Power and began to run forward again.
“Luel, what about the Apostles?”
“…They aren’t following us after all.”
It seemed Stella’s choice was indeed the right one.
…Although saying it was the right choice was quite tragic.
“Still, we should leave this place quickly. There’s a chance that the High Priest may have already issued a command that includes me.”
That command wouldn’t take long to reach this place.
Moreover, for some reason…
“Allen, it seems one is still following us.”
Luel said.
One was still lingering behind.
“Lingering means what exactly?”
“It’s following but not aggressively… Wait a second, an archer?”
An archer, you say?
At that moment, I sensed several arrows within my Wind’s Power.
‘This is…!’
I manipulated the arrows using Wind’s Power.
But I felt a shiver run down my spine.
‘These arrows…’
They had a strange spin to them.
Had I not faced them before and if my mastery of Wind’s Power hadn’t risen, I might not have dodged those arrows.
Wilhelm.
Only he could shoot arrows like that.
That meant he had become an Apostle, right?
‘But why?’
He was acting independently from the High Priest’s orders.
I was perplexed by this.
Just then, Luel spoke.
“There’s that strange black thorn… black thorn?”
In that moment, Stella’s warning came back to me.
“Finally, be especially careful of the black thorns. They can change direction freely in mid-air, and if you get hit, it’s nearly a death sentence.”
If she was right…
“Luel! Cast a defensive spell on Lucy and Sara!”
“Both at once? Well, it’s not impossible…”
A blue barrier appeared around Lucy and Sara.
“But we…”
We could dodge with Wind’s Power.
Thinking that, I turned my body around.
And…
‘Albert, please set up a barrier.’
Understood.
A barrier surrounded me.
Simultaneously…
‘It’s coming…!’
The black thorn entered the domain of my Wind’s Power.
I attempted to manipulate it…
‘Huh?’
For some reason, it wouldn’t bend.
Luckily, the barrier seemed to slow it down, but it changed direction as I dodged.
‘Oh no…!’
At that moment, Luel’s hand shot out behind me.
Her hand was aimed at the thorn.
‘Luel?’
She must have heard Stella’s words.
That meant she had chosen to sacrifice herself for some reason.
‘Luel, no!’
It was then.
A tremendous noise echoed from somewhere.
Bang!
It sounded like Lucy struck the ground with tremendous force.
And she…
“Gah!”
Unexpectedly rammed into me.
Not expecting that, the black thorn struck Lucy instead.
“…Sister?”
I could hear Luel’s voice filled with disbelief.
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