Chapter 203
"Oh, the power of the magic circle has weakened."
"Sasha must be doing well. There are probably skeletons on that side too, right?"
"Probably. Well, it won't be as fierce as this side."
"..."
Silence hung over the subjugation force.
The word 'fierce'. It was a word that didn't suit the current situation at all.
Boom boom-!
Wherever lightning struck, skeletons melted away.
The density of concentrated mana that melted bones just by passing by.
The overwhelming amount of magic power that showed no sign of running out even when sprinkling mana in the air.
What Adonis displayed was truly divine might. Itself.
When a god rages, what can be done? Weak humans can only watch.
So it was natural for the subjugation force to not readily agree with the word 'fierce'.
"Hmm, fierce? Our current situation?"
"...Yeah, I'll take back what I said earlier. Sasha is fighting on a fiercer battlefield than us. Are you satisfied now?"
Asteon pouted his lips.
Currently, the main force of the subjugation force was taking a break.
Of course, they couldn't just rest during a battle, so half were resting and half were on guard.
But even being on guard, there was nothing to do.
"Tsk tsk, this is all because of a lack of discerning eyes. You should have recognized it from the beginning like me."
"..."
"Instead of playing around saying there's nothing to do, watch carefully. Just watching the fight helps with growth."
At Kiel's words, everyone frowned.
Not only because his words were arrogant, but also because they had to frown just to barely see Adonis's movements.
Of course, even that quickly passed by, and they ended up missing his movements.
"Haha! As expected of Kiel. But it doesn't look like there's anything to learn. I'm an archer, not a spearman."
"Edwin, can you see that?"
"Yes! Because I'm an archer."
"That's amazing. Then give us a play-by-play. How can he move so fast?"
"I don't know that either. Because I'm an archer."
...What does that have to do with anything?
Asteon gave up on thinking.
'Even Kiel probably can't see it well in the first place. Seriously, the bluffing...'
But he didn't quibble.
Not only was it a very trivial issue right now, but Kiel was the only one who had information about Adonis.
Since they had been going along with him from the start of the break until now, it was about time to demand compensation.
Asteon asked as if he wasn't curious at all.
"So that kid... no, who is that person?"
The members of the subjugation force all perked up their ears.
A youthful appearance that looked thirteen? No, maybe twelve years old.
Such a child was displaying a sight comparable to a god, so it was natural to be curious.
Of course, Kiel also wanted to tell them. However.
"...Actually, I don't know well either. I just thought he was a skilled person since he subdued me in one go."
"Eh, what? You acted like you knew everything."
"If I remember correctly, I kept saying that there's a monster inside him! You guys were the ones who ignored that and doted on him!"
People flinched.
The actions they had done to Adonis came to mind.
Giving candy, patting him like a puppy, pulling his cheeks, hugging him, and so on.
Cold sweat began to flow down everyone's back.
"Should we run away now?"
"Do you have confidence in running away faster than that speed?"
"It would be better to kneel and beg."
Perhaps doing a handstand might also be a way.
As they were thinking that.
"Hii, hiiiek!"
"Save me!"
Five people ran towards the subjugation force. No, they fled to escape the lightning.
It was natural. They were.
"...Black Mages?"
Because they were Black Mages.
Wearing tattered robes, they ran desperately.
"It seems Adonis is guiding them this way?"
"He probably wants us to capture them. Not only for information, but also because it would be more troublesome if they die in this situation."
The information that when a person dies, they turn into a skeleton, and even a Black Mage skeleton can raise skeletons.
It was the information Otone had conveyed along with the holy power potions.
"To think we have to keep those guys alive..."
"Let's endure it for now. It's our loss if we kill them. And living would be more of a hell for them, right?"
Because Caron and the rats were here.
As soon as the battle was over, they would be dragged off somewhere by their hands.
And there...
"Eek! Enough. Kiel, can I go?"
Asteon got up.
Not only to shake off unpleasant thoughts but also because resting on the battlefield wasn't his style.
"...Don't take out your anger on them. If they get hit by your fist, it's a guaranteed death."
"I want to go too!"
Edwin followed behind Asteon with short steps.
One or two people from other teams also headed towards the Black Mages.
They judged that there was no need to move as a team in this situation.
"Ah, no! Knights! You mustn't capture us!"
"A knight capturing Black Mages, and you want us to let you go?"
"We need to leave this place right now! Otherwise, we will all die!"
"Black Mages these days make strange threats. Shut up and stay still. Or you'll get hit."
"No! We have to leave this place... Uwaaah!!"
"Huh? What's this? Why is it like this?"
Asteon, who was trying to use a restraint artifact, tilted his head.
The Black Mage had collapsed.
What was strange was that it wasn't just one who collapsed.
All five of them collapsed together.
"Poison... is it?"
"No way. They didn't look like the type to bite into poison themselves."
"A curse? Or a penalty for an oath?"
Everyone was puzzled, and it was at that very moment.
Kaboom-!!
With a tremendous explosion, people were blown away.
It was such a massive explosion that even the bodies of the subjugation force, who were relatively far away, were momentarily bent backward.
Through the rising cloud of dust, the faintly visible comrades and parts of their bodies.
The subjugation force, who had been blankly staring at the sight, rushed out.
"What! What just happened?"
"The Black Mages... The Black Mages exploded! They suddenly collapsed and exploded!"
"Damn it! Making people explode...! Is that something a human would do?"
Was it a suicide bombing, or were they made to explode?
There were many questions, but now was not the time to worry about such things.
Seven people had headed towards the Black Mages.
And all seven of them were scattered here and there.
"Divide into teams and start emergency treatment! Pour all the potions you have!"
"Asteon... This stupid bastard! If you die, I won't let you off easy!"
Asteon was in a state of serious injury that anyone could see.
Kiel didn't hesitate to take out the holy water. The holy water that was given only one per person.
The holy water that could reattach severed arms and legs if they were 'lucky'.
While pouring the holy water into the opened abdomen and clumsily putting up pieces of flesh from who knows where, Lindbergh ran over.
"How are the others?"
"...Edwin and Phelps are dead. The rest are seriously injured, no less than Asteon."
"...!!"
Kiel suppressed his shocked feelings and assessed the situation.
The loss of seven forces. It was a critical damage.
The five injured were also a problem. Because manpower was needed to take the injured out of the battlefield.
'Should we get help from the rats to move the injured? But can we safely transport them out of Kalos? Can the rats defeat the skeletal knights?'
The moment he thought that far, something flashed through Kiel's mind.
This place is not an ordinary battlefield now.
It's a place where that bastard Volkan, who governs death and commands souls, is present.
Kiel's eyes fell upon the people gathering the corpses of Edwin and Phelps.
"You idiots! Get away from there right now!"
"Huh?"
Sizzle-.
It was that moment. Edwin's severed arms and legs.
The flesh and muscle attached to them melted away, leaving only bones in an instant.
The torso and head also decayed in an instant. And...
Fwoosh-!
A dark purple flame rose from the skull.
Slash!
"Kuk!"
The knight holding Edwin's arm retreated, groaning.
His jaw was cut. Even though he was covered in mana.
Clack clack clack-!
The arms and legs that were only bones attached to the skeleton burning with dark purple light in its eye sockets.
Crack-.
The creature that finally succeeded in standing on two legs held a bow.
Edwin's bow. The one he used when he was alive.
"E-Edwin is..."
"Th-This is unbelievable...!"
The subjugation force unknowingly let out groans.
They even retreated step by step.
"Everyone, get a hold of yourselves! That's an enemy! It's no longer our comrade!"
Kiel shouted, but no one tried to fight.
Killing a comrade who had been fighting together until just now.
It wasn't something a human could do. And that was the same for Kiel.
The sword trembled.
With these hands, he couldn't defeat the approaching skeleton of Edwin, let alone the ordinary skeletons.
'I prided myself on having the strongest mental strength among anyone...!'
Creak-.
The skeleton Edwin pulled the bowstring.
Rumble-!
It was that moment. A bolt of lightning struck above Edwin.
And...
Crack!
Edwin's head split in half and turned to powder, scattering.
He had finally entered complete eternal rest.
Edwin, the one who never lost his smile in any situation.
The one who had smiled, saying they had finally become friends.
"...Thank you, Adonis."
"Thank you."
People began to express their gratitude to him one by one.
Kiel also deeply bowed his head.
About 3 seconds passed. Kiel, who had thought of something, raised his head like lightning.
"Wait, it's not over yet! There's one more!"
Everyone's gaze turned towards Phelps's corpse.
But even after being vigilant for a while, his body did not turn into a skeleton.
It was a really strange thing.
Because the other skeletons on the battlefield were still struggling to reattach their bodies.
'The number of Black Mages has decreased, but there are still some left. But why didn't they resurrect Phelps?'
Adonis became lost in thought.
Phelps is a strong knight. If they considered efficiency, they should have resurrected him.
But not only did he not resurrect, he didn't even turn into a skeleton.
'Do they need to meet special conditions to be turned into skeletal soldiers?'
What could those conditions be? The most noticeable condition was...
"Kiel, what is Edwin's rank?"
"Huh? Ah... He's a 6-star knight..."
"Is Phelps a 7-star knight?"
"Y-Yes, that's right."
A 6-star knight turns into a skeleton, but a 7-star knight doesn't.
The meaning of this was simple.
What? Governs death and commands souls?
"You left out the part about it being only up to 6-star knights. You crafty old man..."
Adonis smiled inwardly.
He thought Volkan had power comparable to a Legion Commander, but to think he had such a fatal weakness.
He was explaining the situation to Kiel when a rat hurriedly ran over.
"Contact with Sir Caron has been lost!"
"What?"
He must have been caught up in the Black Mage's explosion that happened a little while ago.
"He instructed us to follow Lord Adonis in case something happened to him. Please give us orders."
Adonis fell into thought.
He didn't think Caron would have been easily defeated, but there was no such thing as 'absolute' on the battlefield.
'I can't go to save Caron...'
The main force's troops, which were already small, had decreased further.
So he couldn't allocate personnel to search for Caron, whose life or death was unclear.
Therefore, Adonis erased Caron from his mind.
'We've exhausted most of our cards. It's about time to end the fight.'
Ending the fight. That could increase everyone's chances of survival.
The top priority was, needless to say, preventing Crowley's resurrection.
Boom boom boom! Crash!
Thanks to Elester's efforts, only the skeleton of the palace remained.
Soon, they would be able to remove the magic circle protecting the Legion Commander, and Volkan's final struggle would also begin.
'If we can't crush that struggle... the Legion Commander will resurrect, and it will be our defeat.'
That's right. At this moment, the place Adonis had to go was clear.
The palace of the Rohan Kingdom. He had to go there.
However, the subjugation force was a problem.
A force slightly over ten people.
How long could they last if he left?
Just as his contemplation was about to prolong, Kiel spoke up.
"Please go."
"...You may all die."
It would probably happen. No, it was certain.
Not only did the Sasha team and Otone's team leave from the original thirty members, but two died and five were seriously injured.
It was a force too pitiful to even call the main unit.
However.
"If the Legion Commander is resurrected, my family, our families, someone's family will die."
"..."
"Please go. We will handle this place."
Kiel's determination was firm. The other children behind him were no different.
Adonis could feel it.
This was not the place he should be.
"...I understand."
Adonis kicked the ground.
A lightning bolt heading straight for the palace.
Kiel, who was looking at his back, raised his sword and shouted.
"You bastards! It's time to fight! You're not going to fight worse than those guys lying there, are you!"
Ooooooh-!!
The moment to put an end to the long battle.
Was slowly approaching.
--TL Notes--
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