CH 198

Mistilteinn

Translated by SoundDestiny

Edited by SoundDestiny

“I feel light. It’s as if I’m a waterfowl…….What’s happening to my body?”

(waterfowl:a name for groups like swan,ducks and geese)

Neferte Athena swung his dagger and sliced through the countless arms that attacked him.

As he wielded her dagger, following his instincts and guided by his dagger, he was confused by the abnormalities …… occurring in his body.

He was exhausted a moment ago, but now his body is filled with new energy. His senses have been sharpened to the limit, and every hair on his head seems to have a nerve. He is able to handle attacks from behind with ease.

It was as if his heart had been replaced by that of a dragon. All fears and anxieties disappear and are replaced by an overflow of bottomless confidence.

“I knew it! I knew you were the holder of the Holy Sword! How dare you deceive me! You’ve even prepared a fake holy sword!”

“The Keeper of the Holy Sword …… me…..?”

Neferte blinked in confusion at Wilfred’s shout.

On the ground, a short distance away, lies the holy sword that was entrusted to him by his father the king – Mistilteinn.

It was a heavy and large sword for Neferte, who is not a holy sword holder….but was it not the holy sword?

“If you are the keeper of the Holy Sword….then I will have to do everything in my power. There will be no more mercy to eliminate any threat to Queen Osman!”

“Gh…!”

Wilfred threw Justy from his captivity.

Justy’s left arm was broken and his right arm was sawed deep,slammed into a tree.

“Sir Justy!”

“Don’t lose your focus now!　You damned sword-bearer!”

Swords, spears, axes, clubs and all manner of weapons emerged from the ground. Numerous hands sprouted from Wilfred’s body and grasped the weapons.

“I’ll chop you up into little pieces and eat you!　A Chick with a holy sword!”

“That’s unacceptable. How far do you have to go to hurt someone to get what you want?　What has Sir Justy done to you?　What have the people of Athena done to you?”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!　It’s all started by you people in power! The royalty, the nobility, the knights, the……commoners who follow them!　You oppressed me and my sister, and now you dare lecturing me?!”

He sounded like he was having a tantrum.

Neferte didn’t understand what it was or what it meant, but he was convinced that Wilfred and him would never be able to understand each other.

“……I won’t forgive you either way! I’ll avenge my father and everyone else!”

“Do it! You know what you’re going up against!”

Armed hands came at him from all directions at once. Dozens and hundreds of swords and spears, too many for a single dagger to hold.

But there was no fear in……Neferte. It’s like a clear mirror, and his mind is strangely clear.

He holds his dagger in front of his chest and murmurs in a quiet tone.

“…… you were the real Mistilteinn. I’ve been with you all my life. I’m sorry I didn’t recognise you.”

A blue-white aura rises from the dagger, which has a blade of about ten centimetres.

It was as if the Mistilteinn was saying “don’t worry” as it gently enveloped Neferte.

The dagger was once given to him by his father, the late King of Athena, as a guardian sword.

Neferte doesn’t know why his father kept the identity of the Mistilteinn a secret and gave it to Neferte. What was his intention in hiding the real mistletoe, even preparing a fake one?

“I can no longer confirm this with my father, but I do know this…… My father was trying to protect me.”

If Neferte had been chosen for the holy sword, and his father the king had known about it perhaps the kingdom of Athena would not have been unilaterally destroyed.

If Neferte had been given a holy sword and sent to the front, he might have been able to strike a blow against the Osman and their undead army.

“But my father chose to let me go to a neighbouring country. As a king, he preferred to protect the lives of his subjects and his people, but as a father, he preferred to let me go.”

Perhaps it was a personal decision that no ruler should make. He could not be allowed to put his own children before hundreds of thousands or millions of people.

“Father, you were wrong as a king. But……I’m not qualified to blame you. I’ll always love you and I’ll forgive you.”

“So……Here we are to destroy the witch’s apostle!　Help us, Mistilteinn!”

As if in response to his voice, an enormous amount of aura was released from the dagger. The pale aura turned into a mist that covered the entire forest and swallowed Neferte and Wilfred.

“………!”

A number of figures appeared in the mist which covered the surroundings like a curtain. Dozens and hundreds of mirror images of Neferte’s image appeared.

“The work of the water gods—Vivian The Lady Of Lake”

(TL: Britain’s myths) 

The words came out of Neferte’s mouth naturally.

A myriad of apparitions floating in the mist. Wilfred would no longer be able to tell which one was the real Neferte.

“All I have to do is skewer them all!Penetrate!”

With a furious shout of fire, the giant with a hundred hands begins to move.

Hundreds of arms sprouted from his body, wielding weapons and attacking the countless Nefertes from one side to the other.

Neferte’s figure disappears like a bubble bursting from an attack, but soon another mirror image emerges from the mist.

“This! You, you, you! Get out of my sight, get out of my sight!”

Wilfred continued to swing his arm, but to no avail.

It was the complete opposite of what they saw earlier. The giant, which Neferte and Justy had been unable to damage with any of their weapons, was now trapped in a dead end, forced into a battle with no way out.

“This guy…. can’t be allowed to live after all!”

Neferte has just awakened to the power of Mistilteinn. He hasn’t yet been able to fully use the power of the holy sword. And yet, such a newborn chick is making Wilfred’s life a struggle.

If Neferte could fully master the power of the holy sword, how much more powerful would it be?

The blade might even reach Osman.

“No, you won’t! I’m a knight of the great Osman! I’ll make sure the cheeky sword-bearer like you is killed right here!”

Wilfred shouted and waved his arms in the hundreds, but there was no reduction in the number of mirror images.

On the contrary, the mist seems to be spreading through the forest and increasing in number.

“No matter how huge the magical power of the sacred sword holder, it is impossible to continue to activate such large-scale magic forever! Eventually, the magical power will run out. However……”

The time limit for running out of magic. This was also the case for Wilfred.

It takes a lot of magic power just to change into the form of a giant. In addition, the regeneration of the cut arm has been reduced, Wilfred’s magic power is nearing its limit as he has created a weapon out of clay.

At this rate, Wilfred’s giantization will be neutralised. Or, he will use up all the blessings given by the witch and return to the underworld.

“It’s either my magical power running out, or that kid’s magical power running out………Hmm, magical power?”

Wilfred realised. If he looked for a magical reaction, he would be able to find the real Neferte.

He stopped the movement of his arms and sharpened his senses. As he searched for signs of his surroundings, and……….there he was.

“I’ve found you ……!”

Neferte was in a position where he could be hidden behind a tree. There was a strong magical response.

“Now…… is death!”

Dozens of swords and spears rushed to the spot where the magical reaction had occurred. Neferte, who was hiding behind a tree, was pierced by the blade.

“……..!”

This time the response was clear.

It was not an illusion. It was not a phantom, but a definite penetration of something real.

“That’s a fake, too.”

“……?!!”

The voice echoed from the direction of the rising sun.

Neferte’s body collapses under the attack. It was not an illusion born of mist, but a real and imaginary image made up of water.

The real Neferte was some distance away, holding Justy’s fallen body in his arms.

“Kuuuu…..there you are!”

Wilfred shouted and a question popped into his head. It was soon answered.

“This is the end! Disappear!”

“Disappear into the underworld, knight of the apocalypse!”

Neferte and Justy shouted at the same time.

A moment later, one of the big trees in the forest flew towards Wilfred.

“……!?”

It was a spell that Justy, who had injured his arms and could no longer hold a weapon, cast with all his might.

Wilfred is immune to earth magic. Therefore, Justy attacks indirectly using a large tree as a weapon.

A large tree, plucked out of the ground by earth magic, crushed countless arms and pierced the giant’s body.