Chapter 135: Fall of the Hero (4)

-Krrrrrrr…

Alpha let out a short scream and started to hide in the shadows.

Rough breaths escaped from his mouth, pierced through the abdomen.

He was trying to heal his wounded body in the shadows.

It seemed unlikely that I could summon Alpha for a while.

“I’m sorry, Alpha.”

I squinted in pain as I said a brief farewell to Alpha.

It was my mistake.

I grabbed my bleeding shoulder and put the compass I was holding in my pocket.

I was sure of it after the attack that pierced through Alpha.

He was not someone I could fight with my magic sealed.

‘He’s not an easy opponent.’

The magic that flew at me collided and caused another change.

It was the first time I encountered such a skill since I became an apostle.

An unbearable pain came from my shoulder with a hole in it.

Pain was poison for a mage, disrupting their concentration.

I moved the shadows to cover my wound and faced the mage who was looking down at me from the hill.

“Peter. You should back off.”

-Krrrrrrr…

With a short scream, Alpha retreated into the shadows.

He was bleeding from his abdomen, gasping for air.

He was trying to heal his wounded body in the shadows.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to summon him for a while.

“I’m sorry, Alpha.”

I muttered a brief apology to Alpha as I squinted in pain.

It was my fault.

I clutched my bleeding shoulder and put the compass I was holding in my pocket.

The attack that pierced through Alpha confirmed it.

He was not someone I could fight with my magic sealed.

‘He’s not an easy opponent.’

The magic that flew at me collided and caused another change.

It was the first time I encountered such a skill since I became an apostle.

A terrible pain came from my shoulder with a hole in it.

Pain was poison for a mage, disrupting their concentration.

I moved the shadows to cover my wound and faced the mage who was looking down at me from the hill.

“Peter. You should back off.”

“Huh? But…”

“He’s not someone I can protect you from while fighting.”

Peter stepped back a few steps, holding his sword, at my words.

I felt sorry for him, but giving him the sword was for his own protection.

Besides, the effect of the sword I gave him could also interfere with me.

I checked on Peter as he backed off and started to shape magic in my palm.

“Lightning Spear.”

Crackle. Crackle.

A bright spear of lightning emerged from my fingertips.

I overlaid my shadow on the spear of lightning.

The spear, vibrating with darkness, aimed at the distant enemy.

As I was about to shoot the spear at him,

A short voice echoed in my ears.

“—-Teleport.”

‘He disappeared…?’

The target I was aiming at vanished from my sight in an instant.

But not for long.

Soon, he reappeared right in front of me.

I was startled by the sight of the man who had jumped across space.

The spear of lightning I was holding also flew towards the empty hill.

“Barrier!”

The man who had shifted in front of me had a bright light flashing in his palm.

I didn’t know how he had moved in front of me, but it was clear that he had prepared an attack magic to take me down.

I hastily stretched out my shadows and created a barrier.

Five layers of barrier, covered by shadows, blocked between me and the man.

And right after that,

A dazzling flash burst out of his hand.

“Lightning Burst.”

Bang! Zzzzzz!

The barrier was shattered by the light that came out of his palm.

The flash that broke through the barrier flew towards me beyond it.

Shadows rose from below me and wrapped around me in an instant.

“Ugh…!”

Zap!

The flash collided with the shadows and scattered in all directions.

The lightning that came at me slid off the surface of the shadows.

After most of the bright lightning faded away,

I released the shadows and got out.

I gasped for air after completely neutralizing his magic.

“Who are you…?”

I asked the man in front of me, trying to endure the pain.

It was a short exchange, but I could gauge his skill a bit.

The mage in front of me was no ordinary one.

He was definitely the most powerful one among the mages I had faced.

“Arein Crost.”

“Crost… You can’t be.”

Arein Crost.

There was no mage in the world who didn’t know his name.

She also knew his name well, as she had exchanged opinions with mages like Roan and Elbon.

Eutenia bit her lips as she heard Arein’s name.

Arein, who had revealed his identity to Eutenia, asked her about hers.

“I’m just a mage. Which apostle are you?”

“I am the first servant of the great one, Eutenia Hyrost.”

Eutenia, who had raised her shadows while staggering, looked straight at Arein and said.

The eyes of the two people who met in midair began to analyze each other’s condition.

Arein, who was looking at Eutenia, soon gave a brief impression.

“So this is the first apostle… The minions of this evil god are nothing special. The evil god must have lowered his standards.”

“I can’t let your insulting words about the great one go easily.”

“What are you going to do if it’s hard? Are you going to try to kill me?”

Unlike Arein’s expressionless face, Eutenia’s mask was slowly cracking.

She didn’t hide her anger towards Arein and raised her magic.

She didn’t care if she was ignored.

But she couldn’t stand by when her master was insulted.

“…If I have to, I will.”

Shadows spread from Eutenia’s feet in all directions.

Arein Crost was definitely strong.

He was an formidable enemy that couldn’t be compared to the mages she had met so far.

But Eutenia knew how to subdue such an opponent.

She had actually tested the effect on other people before.

“You’re arrogant. That’s typical of those who serve the evil god.”

“Well, we’ll have to see how it turns out.”

She only needed a brief moment.

She could do it if she had time to make an altar for the great being and pray to him.

The shadows on the floor were a great device to hide Eutenia’s intention.

He wouldn’t see the words of praise engraved under the shadows.

All Eutenia needed was to hold Arein for a moment.

“Lightning Spear.”

Crackle.

A bright magic light burst out of Eutenia’s fingertips and shot out a huge spear of lightning.

The lightning, cutting through the ash-gray world, rushed towards Arein.

At the same time, countless shadowy hands began to draw an altar on the ground.

The spikes of shadows rising from the ground and the sharp spear of lightning flying from the front.

Arein raised his hand to face the attacks that came at him.

“Shield.”

Boom!

The spear of lightning that flew in with a loud noise was blocked by Arein’s barrier and faded away.

The spikes of shadows that sprouted from the ground also had no different result.

Clang. Clang clang clang.

The spikes that rose with an unpleasant sound bent in a grotesque direction.

The shadows continued to draw the altar under the split spikes.

“You’re not using your overflowing magic properly.”

“Is that so? It’s a pity that the person who would teach me will soon die.”

“It’s hard to become a great mage if you just push in a lot of magic stupidly.”

With a sneer in his words, Arein raised his massive magic.

His magic, wriggling with an incomparable density to before, began to gather in his palm.

It was an awe-inspiring amount of magic even for Eutenia, who had endless magic.

Eutenia had to think about what to do with the magic that was being shaped in Arein’s palm.

Should she stop the magic she was preparing? Or should she pour her power into the altar instead?

Eutenia quickly decided to finish the sacrifice ritual.

“…Giga Lightning.”

“Shield.”

Eutenia used her magic while counting down the time left until the altar was completed.

Crackle. Crackle.

The shield that appeared above Arein’s head blocked her magic, but Eutenia’s attention was all on the altar.

5 seconds. 4 seconds. 3 seconds.

Eutenia’s hand continued to shoot out the next magic as she counted down the time.

2 seconds. And 1 second.

Eutenia finally counted the last count in her mind.

She stretched out her countless shadowy hands to Arein as soon as the count ended.

“—-Life. Build a stairway.”

Woo woo woo woo.

The air vibrated and a strong pressure spread in all directions.

Eutenia was the one who ruled the world of shadows.

It was not a difficult thing for her to buy time under the shadowy area that dominated the surroundings.

She moved her shadows to crush Arein and kept reciting prayers to God.

“—-One path leads to glory.”

“—-One path leads to death.”

Arein’s eyebrows twitched slightly as he heard Eutenia’s prayers.

But Arein didn’t care about her and just kept completing his magic.

Ziiiiing.

The magic that gathered in Arein’s palm shook violently.

Their eyes watched each other’s next move.

“—-Revere. Adore. Sacrifice.”

“Do you intend to sacrifice me to the evil god?”

A strong light burst out of the altar engraved on the ground and shook the shadows.

It was the scene of a grand ritual that offered a sacrifice from the earth to the heavenly god.

Arein, who was watching Eutenia, also noticed her plan and tried to sweep away the shadows.

But it was not easy for Eutenia’s shadows, which had completely filled the surroundings, to disappear.

Eutenia believed without doubt that Arein in front of her would become a sacrifice and vanish.

“—-Sing the hymn of life.”

As Eutenia recited the last prayer,

Pssst–.

The light of the altar faded and the ritual ended.

Eutenia looked at Arein beyond the dimmed light.

Arein was still standing on the altar even after the ritual was over.

Eutenia wondered at the sight of Arein, who was still on the altar.

“What is this…?”

“Too bad. I’m immune to sacrifice. I’m already dead.”

Immune to sacrifice.

Eutenia’s mind stopped at his words.

Her plan to sacrifice Arein by spending time had failed.

But Arein’s palm still had a massive amount of magic.

Eutenia felt a sense of crisis and a huge amount of shadows flowed from her shadows.

“Bar, rier…”

“Blaze.”

In front of the dozens of barriers that appeared,

Arein’s magic flashed.

Boom!

The world of shadows was torn apart by the explosion that shook the heavens and earth.

The blazing flash tore through the barrier and burned away the wall of shadows that covered Eutenia.

And as Eutenia, who was covered by shadows, faced the light,

She was thrown back with a strong impact.

“Argh…!”

Thud. Thump.

She was pushed back to near Peter, who was hiding behind a tree, after flying far away.

She felt her strength draining from her palm in the pain that engulfed her body.

Her back was torn and her stomach was pierced.

It was a fatal wound that she couldn’t even guarantee her life, let alone continue the fight.

Her blurred vision lit up Arein.

He was still preparing his magic in perfect condition.

“I told you. It’s hard to become a great mage if you just push in a lot of magic stupidly.”

“Hu, ugh…”

“Besides, if you had a brain, you wouldn’t do such a foolish thing as following the evil god.”

Arein raised his hand towards Eutenia.

Crackle. Crackle.

A spear of lightning formed in his hand aimed at Eutenia.

As she faced the magic that came at her, Eutenia sensed her end.

‘My magic… doesn’t move well.’

Eutenia’s body, which had suffered severe damage, couldn’t use magic as before.

Her broken body only held onto a faint thread of magic.

She felt the fullness that came from the great being gradually fading away.

‘Is this the end?’

She couldn’t use proper magic in her current state.

Although her shadows were weakly wriggling below her, it was impossible to block Arein’s magic with that much.

The wound she received from Arein was too deep.

If she went on like this, she would eventually meet her end from bleeding out.

“Pe, ter… cough, run away…”

Eutenia said to Peter, who was watching her behind the tree.

He was likely to be caught up in the magic that aimed at Eutenia if he stayed there.

Peter was just an ordinary young man from a rural village, whom she had dragged along from the beginning.

She regretted that she couldn’t convert him until the end, but she couldn’t leave him to die here either.

Peter looked at Eutenia with a conflicted expression as she fell down.

“…”

“Al, pha… you too… don’t interfere…”

Eutenia also ordered Alpha, who was swaying under the shadows.

Alpha was injured, but he was trying to step forward to protect Eutenia.

But there was no reason for Alpha to sacrifice himself for her as well.

She would die anyway if she left him alone like this.

It would be troublesome if Alpha died for her sake.

“Just die. Apostle of the evil god.”

Arein’s palm clearly formed a spear and started to fly towards Eutenia.

It was her end that she faced with her weakness.

She had already made several mistakes.

There was only one fate for a mage who lost in a fight.

She had met the heavenly god and given a second life, so Eutenia had no regrets left.

She smiled bitterly as she faced the flashing lightning in front of her eyes.

“Great one…”

Eutenia sensed the last moment of her life and prayed to God.

As she aimed at Eutenia, the spear of lightning flew in.

Boom!

With a short blast, Eutenia’s hair fluttered as she sensed her end.

She saw a blue flash of lightning spreading in front of her eyes.

But even after the thick thunderbolt exploded,

The pain from Eutenia’s body remained unchanged

“…”

What appeared in front of Eutenia instead of Arein’s lightning was a sword with a pure white blade

The sword that stopped in front of Eutenia emitted a bright light

Pah!

The holy sword emitted light and scattered Arein’s lightning in all directions

Eutenia lifted her head and looked at the owner of the sword, a familiar sight she had encountered once before.

“This is…”

At the end of the holy sword that held the light, she saw Peter holding the sword.

Peter, who held the holy sword with both hands, blocked Eutenia’s front.

Peter swung the holy sword to cut off the magic despite her dissuasion.

Peter’s eyes stared at Arein as he blocked the magic.

Arein, who saw Peter suddenly jump out, also opened his mouth in confusion.

“What is this… What are you doing?”

Right in front of Eutenia, who was bleeding from her abdomen.

Peter’s arm, which stretched out the sword, emitted a light of honor.

Everyone who saw Peter’s mark froze.

The pattern of a sword piercing through wings meant only one thing.

Everyone in this place knew the weight of Peter’s mark.

“Hero of honor…”

The hero of honor, chosen by the goddess of honor.

That was his identity.

Eutenia, who faced Peter’s identity, smiled emptily and dropped her hand.