CH 32

Quenor realized that something was approaching from the forest. At the same time, the world faded to black and white and began to slow down. The crawlers were coming from three directions at once. ‘I could easily destroy them if I drew my mana and unleashed my aura, but there was a chance the patrol would be swept away in the aftermath.’

I was left with one of two options. Launch himself toward the party of heroes to defend them or fend off the crawlers from the front.

‘If I leaped backward, I could not guarantee the safety of the Knights with us,’ I thought, ‘but if I moved forward, I would be abandoning the Hero’s party behind me.’

Instantly, dozens of options crossed my mind. But in the next split-second, I see the Hero’s arm raising his Holy Sword. ‘He’s the Hero. He should be able to hold out for a while.’

My sword cut the body of one of the crawlers in half. Rhys managed to block another approaching crawler’s attack, but the impact threw him off his horse and rolled to the ground. I blew away the crawler that was ready to attack once more.

“Get into position, Rhys. We’re not done yet.”

Leaving him behind, I turned my horse toward the remaining crawlers. There were only three left. I reined in my aura. The charging crawlers calculated the range of my aura, staying out of it.

“Since you aren’t coming, I will.”

My sword started from above my head. The crawlers ran in different directions, trying to disperse and avoid the attack. One ran to the side, another jumped up, and the last charged straight ahead. The crawlers scattered, perfectly synchronized. Their ability to communicate and coordinate is what makes this monster deadly.

“The insignificant creatures are at it again.”

However, tactics were useless in front of absolute power.

The sword created three trajectories with a single strike. One to the neck of the crawler that darted to the side. One crawled across the ground and arched downward to slice the torso of the crawler above. One twisted in midair and plunged downward, splitting the last crawler’s skull.

Before their corpses could even drop to the floor, two more crawlers were slashed to death on the spot, but one barely survived by sacrificing one of its arms. Blood gushed out, and the crawler contracted its leg muscles to retreat. But nothing can go against my sword.

The crawlers that charged at me from the front were killed instantly. ‘It didn’t take long to kill them, so the Hero’s Party should have been able to hold out.’ With that thought, I turned my horse around and found Rhys.

“How are they holding up?”

At my question, he nodded dazedly and gestured toward the direction of the battle. My gaze shifted to the direction he was pointing, and my eyes widened in surprise.

“…Looks like they didn’t need the help.”

It was much more than ‘holding out.’ They were pushing the crawlers back. Georg, the Knight, held his shield up in front of him, drawing the crawlers’ attention and parrying their attacks. Meanwhile, Marianne, the spearwoman, skillfully exploited the gaps he made to attack to land hits. The wizard Daphne used a wide variety of spells to clear the crawlers that had been wounded. The five crawlers around them were quickly killed one by one.

“But more importantly…”

Quenor looked up and saw the Hero standing at the front of the party. He was taking on three crawlers at once.

A sharp screeching sound like tearing metal rang out. His sword shone with a brilliance that I had never seen before. He raised it high and swung it at the charging crawlers. The crawlers cried out as if especially sensitive to the blade’s light.

I stared at it, dumbfounded. It was broad daylight, but the light of the Holy Sword shone brighter than anything else around it. It was a light so sublime and pure that even the summer sun paled in comparison. The Hero who wielded it was upright and unbroken.

“That is the light.”

It was the dawn that drove away the darkness. The fear of the creeping horizon was slowly being erased from the minds of those who gazed upon the most radiant figure at the head of the formation.

‘Maybe, just maybe, the Hero who possesses that light will be able to cross the threshold and drive his blade into the heart of the Giant.’

***

(Sharpen your senses even more.)

The Holy Sword’s voice sounded. I grit my teeth as I channel my mana even harder in response to its words. My mana and blood rushed through my heart as I awakened it.

(My light will frighten and distract these creatures, Elroy. Follow the path it shows, and let it guide you.)

The crawler was a creature that looked like a mix between a mantis and a grasshopper. It hopped on its hind legs, making it seem slow, but its scythe-like arms were quick and sharp.

(Come on.)

My vision shook. Time seemed to slow around me. I thrust my Holy Sword forward, following the surge of mana flowing from my heart to the tips of my fingers.

A crawler’s body exploded. Another one lunges at me from the side and then another from behind.

I use the momentum of my forward swing to kick the ground and leap. The sword’s momentum must not stop. It sliced through the dirt and continued its path. Whirling, I spun a full circle in midair, watching the crawlers dodge my blade and charge again.

(Parry.)

The Holy Sword’s advice was simple, and I dutifully followed it. With my back to a tree, I limited the angle from which the crawlers could attack me. One swung its forepaws wildly. I slightly raised my sword and parried its attack. I then turned and kicked another lunging crawler.

Another crawler used its flying companion’s torso to sneak toward me and swung its forepaws. A sneaky strike aimed before I could recover my stance. I raised the hilt of my sword to block its attack, and the light of my Holy Sword burned off its forepaws.

The crawler writhed in pain. I threw it toward the first crawler I parried and quickly recovered my stance.

The moment the two creatures were close to each other, I instinctively swung the blade of my raised sword. The mana emanating from the open Holy Sword struck the two crawlers like thunderbolts.

The awakened Holy sword slashed the crawlers into pieces. The tree behind them was not safe either, as a giant fir tree was split in half vertically. The destroyed branches fell on top of the crawlers’ corpses, creating an evergreen grave for the monsters to rest.

“It’s over…”

I breathed a sigh of relief and returned the Holy Sword to its original form. I turned around to find the patrol, including Archduke Quenor, and my party watching me like an actor in a movie. It was the first time they had seen me fight with the awakened Holy Sword.

“…I apologize for finishing late.”

I stomped my foot over the corpses of the crawlers and walked back to my horse. He whinnied and lowered his head as I approached. I patted him on the head and mounted him. But the patrol was still staring at me. ‘This is a bit awkward.’

“Let’s go,” I said, “we don’t know when we’ll be attacked again if we stay here.”

Unable to see, I shook my head shyly and sighed. ‘As soon as I started talking, I suddenly became the leader. The Archduke is still alive, you know?’ I slowed my horse down so he could take the lead again, but instead, he approached me. He had been looking at me for a while.

“Is that the power of you and the Holy Sword?”

I shrugged at the difficult question. Archduke Quenor gave a wry smile and nodded.

“I understand. The Hero is not a Hero for nothing. Perhaps I’ve been thinking wrong all these years, and all this time in the North has narrowed my view of the world.”

“I’ve never been able to defeat a monster as skillfully as the Archduke.”

“There’s a difference between being powerful and being special, Hero. A miscalculation on my end, but a pleasant one nonetheless.”

The Archduke smiled bitterly.

“I’ll make sure to include your party in the regular patrols from now on because if you do what you did today, the soldiers of Evernode will be your most ardent supporters..”

I shrugged. ‘Well, I’d hoped they’d be less hostile, not more enthusiastic.’

“Does this mean I’ll be busier in the future?”

“Of course. You were sent here to help the North, so I better maximize the resources I received.”

“Wasn’t it only a few hours ago that you asked the palace to reconsider my dispatch?”

He chuckled.

“No. I said I would do so when you fell short of my standards. If you took my words to heart, I apologize. It was my mistake.”

The Archduke spoke mockingly, and I frowned.

“… I’m not that much of an idiot. I know it was to quell the soldiers’ discontent, but you’ve taken on a villainous role.”

“It wasn’t so much villainy as it was using the soldiers as an excuse to be mean to you. It was childish of me.”

The Archduke spoke self-deprecatingly. I looked at him and opened my mouth to talk with a hint of impatience.

“Since I’ve come to Evernode to fight alongside you, it’s only right that I prove yourself worthy of being your companion.”

At my words, Archduke Quenor raised an eyebrow. Then his expression changed to a fierce smile matching his blue eyes, and he held his hand to me.

“Well, you’ve just demonstrated your worthiness to us.”

I took Archduke Quenor’s outstretched hand. So firm, so strong. I felt a sturdiness in his grip, like the roots of an old tree. I recognized it as the steadfastness of those rooted in this land for so long.

“Welcome to the Evernode, Hero Elroy.”

I smiled and shook the Archduke’s hand, trying my best to ignore the envious glare Georg gave behind my back.

***

The evening of the same day.

It was barely night, the afternoon sunlight peeking through the darkness. I had asked Archduke Quenor for a quiet place to train, and he had graciously granted me a warehouse outside the outbuilding after it had been cleaned and organized.

Standing in the tidy warehouse, my face was probably the most crumpled since I’d been possessed, and the Holy Sword spoke sternly.

(Some things must be done even if you don’t like them, Elroy.)

I’ve heard that phrase before.

“I know.”

I sighed deeply and nodded. In my hand, I held a wooden box with a solemn atmosphere. I hesitated several times while looking at the box, then quickly exhaled and opened the lid.

Inside, a crown of thorns awaited me.