Chapter 206:

Just before falling, Isaac exploded the condensed Color Beyond beneath his feet.

Boom! The fierce explosion propelled Isaac vertically upward once more.

Since learning to materialize the Color Beyond, Isaac had discovered that its properties could shift between solid, liquid, and gas depending on its concentration.

And the moment solid matter turned to gas, its volume expanded explosively.

This volume was large enough to engulf Calurien, the Sword of May, and everything else in a vast, dark mass. Though the force felt like he had been shot from a cannon, nearly causing him to lose consciousness, Isaac gritted his teeth and held on.

Isaac enveloped himself in the Color Beyond, adjusting his trajectory. As he glided through the air, he caught sight of Calurien, who seemed momentarily startled by the sudden obstruction in his view.

‘A bit too far.’

Isaac realized he was out of range to strike with his sword. Launching himself like a cannonball to hit the target had been a far-fetched idea.

But it didn’t matter. Isaac transformed his left arm into a tentacle. The tentacle, gripping the Luadin Key in its mouth, shot forward, piercing Calurien’s heart and burrowing into his chest.

At that moment, the rings around the Sword of May began to glow brilliantly. Though Isaac couldn’t discern the exact technique she used, he saw the front-facing Calurien shatter into pieces.

Now, the last one remained.

‘Hesabel!’

Isaac turned his gaze to the remaining Calurien on the right. If he cast a resurrection spell, the Caluriens defeated by Isaac and the Sword of May would revive immediately.

From below, a terrifying force propelled an arrow upwards.

The arrow, imbued with a crimson aura, was grotesquely large, composed of bone, muscle, and blood. Isaac didn’t even want to guess what it originally was. The unholy arrow shot skyward, aiming directly at Calurien...

But was caught in his hand.

“What the...?”

Crack! Although the arrow had ascended at an almost unavoidable speed, Calurien managed to catch it, preventing it from piercing his heart. However, the potent energy within the arrow caused blisters to form and his hand to burn.

But it seemed that was all. Hesabel’s attack appeared to have failed.

However, the attack of the unparalleled assassin Hesabel was never that simple.

***

‘What does he expect me to do?’

Hesabel had been baffled by Isaac’s command, but an assassin’s virtue is to obey orders. Above all, Isaac wouldn’t give her an impossible command. If he ordered it, it meant she could do it.

Hesabel believed this without a doubt.

But her crossbow didn’t have the range to reach Calurien’s altitude.

‘Is the crossbow my strongest weapon?’

No. Hesabel had another weapon entrusted to her by Isaac. A token of his trust. The Dagger of Division was in her possession. This dagger had been used by the Dancer to strike down Elil. It was undoubtedly powerful against the angels of the Red Chalice, and even more so against the angels of Elil.

‘I have a way.’

Hesabel mentally dusted off old doctrines she had forgotten. She recalled the trials and miracles of the Prophet of the Red Flesh, whose skin the Dancer had joyously peeled, reassembling her flesh, bones, and blood into a new form.

And a miracle began to manifest where she stood.

‘I can do this... because I must.’

Hesabel’s body melted and her bones restructured.

Flesh was added, and muscles unraveled into fiber strands.

It looked like a grotesque structure made from a human body. Hesabel thought her form might not be beautiful, but sometimes functional beauty can overshadow other aesthetic senses.

She twisted her joints and drew the bowstring.

It seemed difficult to pull her own body and shoot it, but she managed more skillfully than expected. It felt similar to the sense of handling tentacles she had developed under Isaac’s guidance.

Bang. The arrow was launched.

The dark Color from Beyond obscured her vision, but she could see her target, Calurien’s heart, clearly. Calurien easily caught her arrow, her spine.

That was exactly what Hesabel wanted.

Isaac finally sensed the discrepancy in everything.

Why did Calurien bring such a large army? Why did he choose a stormy night called ‘the night when angels clash’ as the backdrop?

The army and the storm did not significantly help in dealing with the Sword of May. But if it was all a distraction, it made sense.

“The sky!”

Isaac instinctively shouted.

The Sword of May, instead of asking for an explanation, immediately unleashed her rings and directed them toward the sky. Calurien had to summon the storm.

To hide his true form.

And to mask the noise of what he was doing.

Rumble, rumble, rumble...

The air vibrated with powerful waves, strong enough to wonder why it wasn’t noticed earlier. The Sword of May, too, seemed to realize what was happening above the storm clouds and roared.

Her roar tore through the clouds, revealing ‘it.’

A massive mountain of rock.

Hundreds of meters high, with an even greater diameter, it was falling upside down towards them. It was so high that its tip was glowing red from friction with the air as it plummeted.

And atop the falling mountain, a giant dragon was pushing the mountain with all its might.

The battle with the Caluriens had merely been a distraction to prevent them from stopping the mountain’s descent.

This was Calurien’s ultimate illusion.

Not magic or swordsmanship, but pure gravitational energy and overwhelming mass to annihilate the angel.

‘It’s over.’

Isaac considered all options but found no way to stop the falling mountain. It was pure, unadulterated force, impossible to negotiate with, deceive, or intimidate. It was too late to escape, and even with all their power, they couldn’t cut it down.

The Sword of May might be able to stop it if she was willing to sacrifice herself. But Isaac couldn’t think of a reason why she would risk her life to save him or Hesabel. To her, they were just useful tools. She needed to conserve her strength to deal with Calurien afterward.

However, the Sword of May did not flee.

Instead, she flew higher, accelerating towards the falling mountain. Her three remaining rings spun even faster.

[Holy Knight, brace for impact.]

Clang. The three rings extended into three long blades. It looked like three massive swords. Then, she unleashed her ultimate technique, a strike only the angel and the bearer of the sun’s flame could perform.

An immense flash blinded Isaac. He couldn’t see what was happening. The following explosion sent shockwaves that churned his insides. Gliding on the Color from Beyond, Isaac was blown away like a piece of paper.

Isaac plummeted towards the ground but was suddenly caught. Hesabel, who was gliding, had grabbed him. However, she too had not fully recovered from the impact of the storm, managing only to stabilize their fall.

Crash! Isaac and Hesabel tumbled across the field, but they were neither thrown nor broken. Though their bodies screamed in pain, surviving was a miracle in itself.

As soon as he stopped rolling, Isaac looked up at the sky. He was astonished.

‘I must be insane to think I could face an angel.’

The massive falling mountain had been sliced into six pieces.

It seemed to momentarily hang in the air, having lost its initial descent speed. Then, it began to fall towards the ground again. Isaac braced for the inevitable devastation.

But something felt off. He looked up again.

‘The Sword of May?’

She was nowhere to be seen. Amid the scattering mountain fragments, Isaac saw countless glowing weapons and drifting ashes. It was reminiscent of the leaves shed by Elil’s followers upon death.

“The Sword of May...”

Isaac groaned, sensing her demise.

–TL Notes–

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you want to read more than 25 advance chapters or support me, you can do it at /Akaza156