Chapter 19

　　He’s way faster than I thought… I couldn’t even see him move.

　　Cadel looked at the man who had handed over the believer. Stripped of his robe, he wore thin clothing that traced the outline of his muscles with every movement, paired with a light breastplate. It was efficient armor designed to minimize movement restrictions.

　　As if feeling Cadel’s gaze, the man turned his head. His blue eyes stood out distinctly even in the darkness.

　　“Well, we’ve secured one believer for now. Now we just need to take out that Witch, right, Captain?”

　　Lumen Dominic. Cadel nodded as he looked at him, wondering if that haughty expression was innate or just a habit.

　　“She hasn’t noticed your presence yet. Overwhelm her in one go.”

　　“That’s my specialty.”

　　With that reply, Lumen’s figure shot forward in an instant. All that remained where he had been was a small crater left by his explosive leg strength. Cadel laid the unconscious Mary down beside him and calmly conjured a barrier.

　　Good. Everything is going according to plan so far.

　　He had been targeting the believers the Witch summoned from the very beginning. His top priority was to secretly extract and protect them while the Witch was distracted. He had intentionally kept Lumen hidden for that exact mission.

　　[Knight of the Flash, Lumen Dominic]

　　Lumen’s attack speed could easily be considered the absolute best among all S-Class knights. His specialty was a lightning-fast quick-draw, and he possessed not only speed but monstrous strength capable of cleanly severing bone.

　　There was no one more suited than Lumen to rescue the believer by exploiting the Witch’s distraction.

　　Judging this, Cadel had pictured a scenario where he and Van would draw the Witch’s attention, allowing Lumen to exploit the opening and secure the believer. The result was a success.

　　“You bastards! You damned inferior creatures!”

　　Having lost one arm in the blink of an eye, the Witch glared with bloodshot eyes and fired magic indiscriminately. Pitch-black spheres flew wildly, crashing against the barrier Cadel had set up.

　　Carefully expanding the range and thickness of the barrier, Cadel watched the chaotic melee unfolding before his eyes.

　　The more injuries the Witch sustained, and the more of her blood was absorbed, the deeper the red aura wrapping around Van grew. The power and speed of the sword energy he unleashed noticeably increased. The glint in his reddened eyes flickered, leaving sharp afterimages as he moved.

　　Van was dodging only about half of the Witch’s attacks as he charged relentlessly. His ferocious momentum, rushing straight through her strikes, made even the furious Witch flinch.

　　Seizing on that hesitation, Lumen aimed for her blind spot.

　　Swift Sword Flurry.

　　In an instant, thin flashes of light grazed the Witch’s back. Dozens of long and short lines etched through the air. Sensing killing intent from a completely unguarded direction, the Witch quickly twisted her body—

　　She let out a piercing scream.

　　Lines of blood followed the silver afterimages, spraying into the air. Funnily enough, the spray of blood erupted right in Van’s direction, allowing his greatsword to drink its fill yet again.

　　Of course, this was all a planned combination.

　　“Once we enter full-scale combat, inflict as many wounds on the enemy’s body as possible. Unless you can kill her in one hit, that is.”

　　“…Aha, a berserker. I’ve heard the rumors, but I didn’t think there was actually a swordsman who gets stronger the more blood he drinks.”

　　“I’m not the one drinking the blood. My greatsword is.”

　　Feeling a subtle sense of displeasure that Lumen hadn’t forgotten his request, Van wiped away a drop of blood that had splattered on his cheek.

　　“You! It was you! How dare you take my arm…!”

　　Only then did the Witch finally notice Lumen. Seeing him openly sneering at her, her anger hit a boiling point. Through her disheveled hair, her pitch-black eyes gleamed with wild, murderous intent.

　　“I’ll kill you—!”

　　But Lumen’s attack was faster than her threat.

　　“I wondered what kind of great demon you were. Turns out you’re just a thug who picks on the weak. How disappointing.”

　　Lumen, who had been right in front of her a moment ago, vanished. Hearing his voice from behind, the flustered Witch quickly spun around.

　　But the one standing there wasn’t Lumen, it was Van. Van’s greatsword swung ruthlessly for her neck. The Witch immediately raised her remaining arm to create a barrier, but…

　　With a dull thud, her forearm hit the ground.

　　Just like before, her arm had been severed. She had lost another limb right before her very eyes.

　　The horrified Witch hastily retreated, but it was already too late. Van’s greatsword was carving deeply into her neck.

　　“Urgh!”

　　Staggering back, she tried to clutch her half-severed neck. But with no hands left to grab it, she could only struggle to press her profusely bleeding forearm stumps against the wound.

　　Between the massive blood loss soaking the floor beneath her and a neck dangling as if it might snap off at any moment, her death was only a matter of time.

　　“She was nothing special.”

　　Muttering as if his excitement had faded, Lumen sheathed his half-drawn longsword. He had assumed she’d be a fairly formidable demon, given that she’d caused an incident large enough for the temple to request an order of knights. He was disappointed.

　　Turning the believer over to the temple would surely yield a hefty reward, but it offered little personal accomplishment. Lumen clicked his tongue and turned toward Cadel and the believer. Just as Van was reigning in his aura…

　　“You idiots! It’s not over yet!”

　　Along with a blast of hot air, a chilling laugh rang in their ears.

　　There was a reason the “Witch” race had left such a strong impression in Cadel’s memory. They had a phase that continued even after they were killed. A chain reaction self-destruction show driven by a sheer, spiteful will to “screw the opponent over.” That flashy, explosive finale was disgustingly memorable.

　　He dropped the barrier protecting himself and the believer, quickly throwing one up in front of Van and Lumen instead.

　　“Ugh…!”

　　The Witch was exploding. Literally. Black embers sparked from her open wounds, setting off a chain of massive blasts.

　　He could feel the barrier tearing and shattering in real time as it absorbed the explosions. Cadel practically poured out his mana, continuously generating new barriers to replace the broken ones.

　　“What the…!”

　　Van and Lumen’s flustered voices rang out. Should he have warned them about the Witch’s self-destruction from the start? But before confronting her, Cadel had already told his knights: “Never let your guard down, and make sure to kill the enemy definitively.”

　　They answered so confidently, I thought they’d score a one-shot kill for sure! Who would’ve guessed they’d just stand around feeling relieved while she slowly bled out?

　　“Die! I’ll use you bastards as playthings in hell!”

　　Even as her body detonated, the Witch cackled loudly. Raising her severed stumps high into the air, her voice rang out with pure madness.

　　Van and Lumen were pinned down behind the barrier by the relentless explosions. Van, his greatsword planted in the ground, looked at Cadel anxiously, while Lumen furrowed his brow, staring at the Flame Barrier as it repeatedly shattered and restored itself.

　　“To think you couldn’t even cleanly chop off a head with that massive sword. Feeding it blood was a waste.”

　　“Shut up. You only made those shallow cuts because you weren’t confident you could kill her in one hit either.”

　　“I’m pretty sure I chopped off both her arms so you could kill her easily.”

　　“And this is the result of your useless generosity. It’s like that woman has cannons attached to her forearms.”

　　It was obvious to tell that the explosions were originating from the wounds they had inflicted. Ending his brief argument with Lumen, Van bit the inside of his cheek and checked Cadel’s condition.

　　He said maintaining the barrier takes a lot of mana. If he has to keep blocking an endless string of explosions, the Captain’s body will…

　　Maintaining the barrier was a problem, but the bigger issue was the blast radius. The powerful explosions were bypassing the shield and reaching Cadel’s position. Because he was busy protecting Van and Lumen, Cadel couldn’t spare the mana to conjure a barrier for himself. At this rate, he could suffer heavy injuries if he failed to dodge a flying fireball.

　　Just imagining it made Van’s blood run cold.

　　If only I had swung just a little wider!

　　He never thought failing to take her head in one strike would bring him such agonizing regret. Instead of feeling relieved seeing her on the verge of death, he should have dealt a definitive finishing blow.

　　The Captain had repeatedly urged them from the start never to let their guard down. Just a moment ago, Van had boldly declared he wouldn’t do such a thing, wanting to look reliable. Now, he wanted to go back in time and beat his own confident face to a pulp.

　　As Van agonized over when to dash out and protect Cadel without getting swept up in the blasts, Lumen, who had been focusing on the cracks in the unstable barrier, spoke in a low voice.

　　“Let’s abandon the barrier.”

　　“…What?”

　　Lumen rose from his crouch and rested his hand on his scabbard. His eyes, now cold and resolute, locked onto the Witch beyond the barrier.

　　“I’ll finish the job you couldn’t. Buy me some time with that massive sword of yours.”