The change appeared instantly, without a moment for reaction.
As Luminous raised her left hand and snapped her fingers, my vision turned white again.
This time, unlike before when I saw absolutely nothing, it was as if the background color of a painting had been erased. We could clearly recognize each other’s tense expressions and Luminous, standing at a distance with a look of excitement.
“First, I need to take care of the fleeing vampires.”
With a light tap of her foot, an unpleasant vibration coursed through my body.
Reflexively, I looked down at the burning heat of the divine energy.
Even though I definitely sensed something, for some reason, this time I was unscathed, with not even a scratch.
However, in a situation like this, no one could feel completely at ease just because they weren’t hurt.
“You don’t have to worry too much. That was just a signal to the ‘outside’.”
The outside, huh.
I shot a shadow and a drop of blood towards the direction in which the invisible ripple expanded like a loop.
As the two projectiles flew quickly and reached a certain point, they melted away.
The pure white background that erased depth perception—is it also a kind of barrier?
It’s tough.
But contrary to my expectation that it wouldn’t budge an inch, I could feel a slight penetration.
At this rate… surprisingly, whether it’s Blood Magic or Dark Magic, if I go all out, I could probably make a hole large enough for a person.
However, as long as Luminous was watching with wide, blue eyes, I wouldn’t even get the chance to try.
I needed to be cautious.
The opportunity to attempt to create a hole in the barrier would likely come only once. I wouldn’t be able to keep it up beyond that.
If I intend to retreat, I must open the way out decisively at the right moment.
The fact that I—who might be the strongest here in terms of raw output—could only attempt a breakthrough once means that if I fail, there will be no way out of this place.
To survive, we must either break that barrier or kill Luminous right here. We must not fail at either option.
“Hmm, is no one going to ask what the signal was? From someone who prepared so much, such a cold reaction is a bit heart-wrenching.”
Cautiously. Cautiously again.
Gather information. Look for a gap.
Let’s retrace our thoughts.
Why did Luminous trap us here?
Just moments ago, I hadn’t even realized that my neck had been severed. Luminous had just waved her right hand from afar, and that was the end of it.
If she could perform such an attack over and over, there would be no need to trap us in a barrier. She could just kill us before we escape.
Yet, Luminous deliberately chose a roundabout way. And even now, she was unnecessarily giving us time.
“It’s nothing complicated. Just like vampires issue commands to their kind, I too share my power with—”
Why? Is there a reason not to kill us?
No, that wouldn’t be the case. The fact that I survived that earlier strike was pure chance.
If the cut had been just a little lower, I would have been dead on the spot, and even if that hadn’t been the case, if Plona hadn’t reattached my severed head, I might have used up all my life force in regeneration and died.
So then, is this to have a conversation?
No, that’s not it either.
Luminous doesn’t engage in pointless actions.
Wasn’t her earlier rambling about revealing her identity just to buy time to switch bodies with Jeref?
It’s probably the same now. If she’s chatting, she must have a reason to buy time.
In that case—
“Have you ever seen anyone lose consciousness on the way to the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace—”
“Prepare to attack.”
Ignoring Luminous’s rambling, I conveyed the order, and everyone widened their eyes momentarily but quickly assumed battle positions.
I felt grateful to them for not showing any questions and following my lead, but the pressure of knowing we absolutely couldn’t fail made my body tense up as well.
But this is likely the closest we’ll get to the correct answer.
Presumably, Luminous had expended a lot of strength with her preparations and that earlier attack.
She hadn’t just trapped us; she had also entered the barrier herself. This suggests she believed she could win, but her need to buy time indicates she sees this moment as a low point before recovering her strength.
If this is indeed a low point, we must fight rather than flee.
With just a flick of her wrist, Luminous could sever necks, and she created a large barrier merely to bind us, making it difficult to gauge her full strength when she’s at her best.
If fleeing means we won’t have another chance to win, we need to seize this opportunity now while there’s still a chance to fight back.
With her clear intent to end conversation, Luminous, who had been chatting idly, finally sealed her lips.
One corner of her mouth curled up slightly. With a cold, frozen gaze and a dismissive demeanor, I felt I was finally seeing the true Luminous for the first time.
“Hmm, you’re not making this easy.”
As if that statement were the signal, we all jumped into action.
Not a battle of attrition considering regeneration, but a pure clash of strength.
Jeil and Martini’s darkness, Plona’s black light, and my and Stella’s shadows closed in on Luminous from all directions.
There were no blind spots. Luminous remained still.
Was she planning to counter? Having successfully approached her without any interference, I unleashed my shadow with all my might.
Just before Luminous’s form vanished behind the raging torrent of shadows.
“It seems switching to the Knight’s body was indeed the right choice.”
Boom!!!
With a dazzling flash, my body was flung away like a bullet.
Just a moment too late, the ground shattered and the remnants of the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace were sent flying and embedded everywhere.
But this time, I wasn’t hurt. In the moment of impact, I instinctively concentrated shadows in that direction, and although the light forcefully pushed against the darkness, it couldn’t break through.
“You’ve definitely weakened compared to before. Keep focusing on draining her strength.”
“If it weren’t for this body, I’d be in serious trouble.”
With a whoosh, the thick fog in my vision cleared again.
In Luminous’s hand was now a sword of light.
Her posture looked relaxed yet perfect, more natural than any Knight I had ever seen.
Suddenly, recalling the ceremonial sword I had seen before, I observed closely, realizing this one was indeed different— a proper Knight’s sword.
In any case, given that the hypothesis of Luminous being weakened seemed increasingly plausible, there was no need to retreat any longer.
The chaos of battle began immediately.
Lavina’s arrow zipped past me, launching towards Luminous.
The sword of light flashed, and the wind-filled arrow exploded.
Seizing the timing, Eleonora unleashed a breath attack. The flames, consuming the air, erupted with a thunderous sound and immense heat, and through the thick smoke, Plona charged in, enveloped in black light.
With every clash, the terrain altered. Nothing resembling a structure remained inside the barrier, including the Luminous Kingdom’s Palace.
Every time debris flew, a small shadow would appear, and Stella would fire off hundreds of shadow bullets.
While Luminous deflected erratic shot patterns, Jeil and Martini engaged her, finally allowing me to circle around.
Luminous’s frantic gaze met mine.
With the maximum speed I could muster, I dove in, gritting my teeth and compressing shadows into layers, driving my right fist toward Luminous.
This… this is going to work.
In a world that felt like it slowed to a crawl, I fixed my gaze on the light sword heading towards me and was filled with conviction.
Then the next moment, without warning, the barrier shattered.
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Woof.
It was just a fleeting moment.
The barrier collapsed, revealing the night sky once again. Droplets of light cascading down crossed paths as they fell like comets.
“――!!!”
I steadied myself on trembling legs and looked down at the point where the light particles had crossed my path.
The world began to lose color. In this black-and-white world, I found a huge hole pierced through my chest.
“Ah.”
Knowing it was futile, I tried to cover the gushing blood spewing from the hole with my arms.
That was when I realized that below my elbows, there was nothing.
…Ah. I found my two hands. They were right there on the ground, rolling.
When the barrier was lifted, and the light particles poured towards me, I instinctively crossed my arms to block, but the area near my forearms had simply evaporated, leaving only hands behind.
It felt strange. It was something that had happened to me, yet it felt surreal, like it was happening to someone else.
Before I knew it, the blood pouring down had soaked my legs.
Just that much caused my legs to feel immobilized, as if candied wax had been poured over them.
Something feels… empty.
As I contemplated the source of this odd sensation, I realized my heart, which always beat with a steady rhythm, was no longer thumping.
The world flipped upside down.
“――!―――!!!”
Sleepiness washed over me.
This can’t be happening. It shouldn’t be like this.
But regardless of my will, everything I could see or hear became muffled, as if sinking into the ocean.
It was a strangely familiar feeling.
In the dark, cold hospital room, after struggling desperately to survive, I succumbed to an inescapable death. This sensation resembled the helplessness I felt in that final moment.
…But I actually kind of enjoyed it. Did I at least land a hit on Luminous?
I hope so. That way, the others can finish things up.
It was unexpectedly scary, and rather than painful, it was just sudden and slightly sad.
As the world teetered on the brink of complete darkness, I captured the figures rushing toward me in my final vision.
I felt uneasy about not being able to see their faces, but on the other hand, I thought it might actually be a relief.
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