Fall of a Hero (6)

I don’t remember ever wanting to be a hero.

I don’t remember ever wanting to be an apostle either.

But still, what Peter Englov had to do was clear.

He had to become an apostle like a hero.

That was the only path given to him.

“How arrogant and foolish.”

As he poured his strength into his sword, he saw a dark boundary filled with shadows.

He felt omnipotent as the power of the uninitiated flowed through his body.

He felt a sense of fulfillment as if he was connected to the heavenly god.

He was no longer alone.

He didn’t want to admit it, but the evil god he feared so much was behind him.

The god’s power would protect him wherever he was.

“Do you think you can be my opponent just because you became an apostle?”

Crackle.

A lightning bolt shot out from Arein’s hand.

It was a different level of magic from the thunderbolt he had fired before.

Arein’s hand, covered with lightning, aimed at him.

It was the magic that the mage who defeated Eutenia used with full force.

If it were normal, he would have run away as soon as he saw that magic.

But he didn’t feel like running away this time.

“I don’t know that either.”

Peter understood why Eutenia didn’t back down and fought against Arein.

Behind him was a great being that supported him.

A being that was overwhelming and awe-inspiring, impossible to comprehend with the shallow knowledge of a mere human.

So it was natural for her to make a reckless attempt.

Even Peter himself didn’t know what to do with the omnipotence that overflowed from his body.

“The price of ignorance is always death.”

“…”

Peter’s eyes, filled with light, checked the boundary drawn between him and Arein.

Peter quickly understood the meaning of the boundary line that reflected in his eyes.

The domain of the sword.

The dark boundary line drawn in the air indicated the space that Dainsleif dominated.

He was not a master of swordsmanship.

But at this moment, Peter had the confidence to overwhelm everyone in the domain.

“—-Dainsleif.”

The name of the divine weapon came out of Peter’s mouth.

And right after that.

Peter’s blurred figure popped out right in front of Arein.

Dainsleif, imbued with red light, aimed at Arein’s neck and flew out.

Bang!

The shield that blocked Arein’s front exploded with a loud noise.

Arein, who faced Peter, opened his eyes and mouth wide.

“Blink.”

Ziiiiing—-.

With the sound of space tearing, Arein appeared far away.

It was the teleportation magic he had shown when he fought with Eutenia.

Peter’s eyes turned to the tip of Dainsleif that conveyed a regretful sensation.

He felt something breaking, but unfortunately, he failed to take Arein’s neck.

Arein’s eyes, who jumped into space and appeared, glared at Peter.

“You bastard…”

“You almost died by someone who just became an apostle.”

Peter smirked at Arein as he retrieved his sword.

He was there as soon as he realized it.

That was Dainsleif’s ability.

It was possible to fire a super-fast attack that even Arein barely avoided.

Even someone who didn’t know the sword became a master of swordsmanship in an instant.

The convenience of the power borrowed from the evil god made it possible.

“…Lightning Burst.”

Arein’s fingertips, soaked in annoyance, stretched out a magic of thunderbolt.

Peter lifted up his white holy sword to counter Arein’s magic.

Just like he had blocked the magic that aimed at Eutenia, he intended to block Arein’s magic this time as well.

Paat–!

The holy sword emitted light and Arein’s magic that approached him began to blur.

As Peter ignored Arein’s magic weakened by the holy sword and tried to pass by,

The blurred magic became clear again.

“Could it be, this is…!”

“Burst.”

As Arein’s voice echoed, the twisted thunderbolt burst out.

Boom!

A huge explosion threw Peter’s body backward.

Thud. Crack.

Peter, pushed back by the aftermath of the explosion, stabbed his sword into the ground to brake.

“Ugh…!”

Rumble.

The ground that touched the stabbed sword cracked, and two straight lines were engraved on the surface.

Peter’s body, which kept being pushed back, stopped after pushing back some rocks.

Peter, who barely stopped, looked at Arein with blood dripping from his lips.

He felt a hot sensation from his forehead that was torn by the explosion.

“Spit–. As expected, the same method won’t work all the time.”

Peter pulled out his sword from the dusty smoke.

The white holy sword he had had the power to weaken magic.

But even with that power of the holy sword, it was impossible to erase Arein’s magic completely.

Arein seemed to have prepared a countermeasure for the holy sword.

Peter loosened his stiff wrist from braking.

He felt a slight pain from his body that was caught in the explosion.

As Peter took a breath with his sword raised, Arein opened his mouth looking at Peter’s holy sword.

“That thing you have is Crossbridge’s property.”

“So what?”

“It means that the research on the white holy sword was finished decades ago. You’d better give up on stopping me with the holy relic.”

The research on the holy sword was done long ago.

In other words, Arein knew how to destroy the holy sword.

The power of the holy sword was strong but not omnipotent.

In the end, it meant that he couldn’t rely on the power of the holy sword when fighting Arein.

Of course, Peter didn’t intend to rely on the white holy sword alone.

The white holy sword was ultimately a defensive weapon.

He had a better offensive weapon than that.

“Yeah? But you haven’t finished researching this yet, have you?”

Peter lifted up Dainsleif that he dusted off.

From the moment he was hit by Arein’s magic, Dainsleif’s red aura had grown stronger.

As if to prove that it was a divine weapon of an evil god, this crazy magic sword welcomed its master’s injury.

But he didn’t feel too bad about it.

As much as Peter was hurt and wounded, Dainsleif gave him more power.

“You’re obsessed with power.”

“Of course. It’s finally time for Apostle Peter’s era.”

“What are you…”

“The time to hide in the corner of a carriage is over!”

As he finished speaking, Peter swung his sword and leaped forward.

His figure spread out and then converged right in front of Arein.

Arein looked flustered again at the sight of Peter who approached him in an instant.

There was a translucent shield between Arein and Peter.

Whoosh!

Peter swung Dainsleif, filled with red aura, and shouted the name of the evil god.

“O evil god–!

“Absolute Shield!”

“O goddess–!”

Peter hastily switched to the holy sword and yelled loudly.

There were six goddesses who ruled the heavens, and he didn’t know who was who, but he just shouted anyway.

There was no particular reason for that.

He felt like he shouldn’t shout the name of the evil god while using the holy sword.

“Bastard apostle! Don’t insult the goddess!”

But as Peter unleashed the light of the holy sword, Arein burst out in rage and unleashed his magic.

Even Arein couldn’t stand the blasphemy.

Boom!

The magic released from Arein’s hand pushed Peter’s body back with a strong pressure.

It was a magic of density comparable to the magic that Peter, an apostle, was scattering.

Peter used the power of the divine weapon as soon as he faced the storm of magic that hit him in the air.

“—-Dainsleif!”

Peter’s figure spread out and converged to another location dominated by Dainsleif.

Peter, who escaped from the storm of magic, checked the boundary line around him.

Arein’s body had retreated to the front of the boundary line.

He could fight evenly with Arein in the domain of the sword, but that didn’t mean he was equal to him outside the boundary line.

If Arein left the domain of the sword, Peter had no way to deal with him.

Peter started to move his steps, measuring the distance between him and Arein.

‘I have to drag him into the domain.’

Arein also seemed to be calculating Peter’s movement, as he watched him from the boundary line.

Crackle. Crackle.

Peter slowly raised his sword at the sight of thunderbolts rising from Arein’s hands.

He was going to move forward and attack Arein as soon as he fired his magic.

“Come on, mage!”

As Peter aimed his sword and glared at Arein,

Arein suddenly frowned and started to act strangely.

“This is… a bit troublesome.”

Arein raised his hand with a frown.

And right after that, thunderbolts rained down from the sky towards Arein.

Clang! Clang!

Boom!

A huge thunderclap tore through the atmosphere and echoed repeatedly.

The thunderbolts shattered against the thick shield.

“Could this be…”

Peter, who watched the falling thunderbolts, soon understood who dropped them.

The evil god.

The great being who gave him Dainsleif was helping him this time.

Clang! Clang!

Every time a thunderbolt stabbed into the shield, a clear crack appeared on Arein’s shield.

Arein seemed unable to hold on any longer, as he frowned and used his magic.

“Blink.”

Ziiiiing.

Arein’s figure suddenly disappeared with the sound of space twisting.

The thunderbolt that lost its target pierced the empty ground.

Arein reappeared in the middle of the domain of the sword where Peter was standing.

Peter didn’t miss Arein who escaped his attack by teleporting.

He aimed Dainsleif at Arein and ran forward again.

“—-Dainsleif!”

Now Peter had the evil god he feared so much with him.

He had nothing to fear as he fought with the god.

He could fight recklessly now without any problem.

As Peter activated the power of the divine weapon, his figure flashed and spread out.

The afterimage of Peter brushed past Arein and went by.

Clang!

With a sharp sound, Dainsleif’s blade scraped off Arein’s shield.

“Absolute Shield!”

Arein raised his hands in a hurry and restored his shield.

But the god of heaven didn’t just watch him do that.

Peter’s only ally dropped another sharp lightning bolt.

Boom! Boom!

The thunderclaps overlapped and created an unpleasant harmony.

Arein’s face twisted as he saw his shield cracking and used his magic again.

“Blink!”

“—-Dainsleif!”

Peter swung his sword and chased after Arein who teleported.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The trajectory that stretched out with afterimages delivered three attacks in an instant.

No matter how powerful Arein was, he couldn’t keep up with Peter’s speed in the domain of the sword.

Arein, who was quickly caught up by Peter, pulled up his magic again.

“…Blink!”

“—-Dainsleif!”

“Bli…nk!”

“—-Dainsleif!”

Arein used his magic to avoid Peter and teleported to another place within the boundary line.

But Peter wouldn’t let go of his prey in the domain.

Peter’s sword, faster than before, created illusions and hit Arein’s shield.

Clang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

The six illusions that spread out broke Arein’s shield with their attacks.

Arein’s face became more fierce as he saw Peter hitting his shield with dizzying eyes.

“Absolute Shield!”

Beyond the restored shield, lightning fell from the sky.

Boom! Boom!

The falling lightning bolts scattered as they collided with the shield, spreading fragments of light everywhere.

Through the dazzling lights, Peter’s sword lunged at Arein.

As the white holy sword shone and touched Arein’s shield,

Arein’s figure was wrapped in a stronger light and teleported.

“Blink!”

“Dain–!”

Oops.

Peter’s body stopped as he tried to chase after Arein like before.

Arein’s body had teleported out of the domain using Blink.

While Peter hesitated at the distance that had widened, many magic circles appeared around Arein.

He had been preparing his magic while running away from the attack.

Peter felt that he had been outsmarted by Arein, who was breathing heavily.

“Haa, ha…”

‘Did he prepare his magic in that gap…!’

A stronger magic would unfold than before.

Maybe the powerful magic that had aimed at Eutenia would pour down on Peter this time.

Could he avoid it by moving to another location in the domain?

As Peter calculated that,

Arein, who had widened the distance, restored his shield and opened his mouth.

What came out of Arein’s mouth was unexpected for Peter.

“I don’t have the confidence to hold on against the evil god any longer. I’ve taken care of one apostle, so I’ll retreat for today.”

“…What?”

Peter looked at Arein with a puzzled expression as he scattered light and said that, having left the domain.

Boom!

Arein raised his hand and blocked the lightning bolt that struck him.

Even though the light created by the collision scattered, Arein’s eyes were still fixed on one place.

Only then did Peter realize what Arein was looking at.

Arein’s gaze was directed at Eutenia, who had fallen.

“Could it be…”

Peter’s eyes slowly turned to Eutenia.

What he saw was Eutenia’s face, pale and breathless.

Blood was still flowing from Eutenia’s wound.

There was no time for first aid.

There was no reason for Arein to leave him alone.

“Could it be, in the meantime…”

He had spent too much time on the battle.

Even as he fought against Arein, Eutenia’s wound was getting worse.

It was too late to save her now.

Unless a miracle happened, there was no way to bring her back to life.

“Pray to the god. Maybe that will help your friend in her last moments.”

“…”

A wave of magic spread around.

It was a sign of a powerful magic being unleashed.

As Peter looked at Eutenia’s fallen figure, he reflexively lifted his white holy sword high in the sky.

The white holy sword emitted a pure white light and tried to scatter the surrounding magic.

But Arein bid him a short farewell.

“See you next time. Traitor.”

“…White one.”

“It’s useless, unfortunately.”

With that, Arein’s body turned into light and scattered.

Peter’s eyes followed Arein’s figure for a moment, then turned back to Eutenia.

Eutenia’s eyes were closed and she wasn’t breathing.

Her face was pale and lifeless, with no trace of blood.

What he saw was nothing but a cold shell of Eutenia.

“Don’t lie to me…”

His enemy was dead.

The one she hated so much, the human of the temple, met his end.

The enemy who killed the villagers was dead.

The apostle of the evil god who trampled on his family, his village, and even his dream was dead.

But Peter felt no relief in his heart.

Only a bitter resentment that had nowhere to go remained in his chest.

“Don’t die like this– You should have died by my hand–!”

Peter’s scream echoed in the barren mountain.

He couldn’t understand it.

Who tricked him into walking the path of an apostle?

He had gained a great power and escaped from his lowly farmer status.

But the damn apostle of the evil god who made him an apostle, returned to the embrace of the evil god he longed for.

“Do you want to play with me till the end…”

Peter’s hand that held the sword slowly lost its strength.

The weight of Dainsleif in his right hand suddenly felt heavy.

Peter didn’t resist the overwhelming weight that reached his fingertips.

Thud.

Dainsleif stabbed into the ground.

“O evil god… show me… the way…”

Peter dropped his sword and called out the name of the evil god.

Maybe there was a god in the high sky who would look down on him.

Maybe he would revive Eutenia and let him finish her with his own hands.

That was what he thought when he did it.

But his voice was weak and stuttering, as he lost his strength.

“Show me… the way…”

The white holy sword fell from Peter’s grip as he uttered a faint voice.

Thud.

The white holy sword stabbed into the ground on the opposite side of Dainsleif.

Peter’s eyes looked at the two swords stabbed into the ground.

“…”

The sixth apostle, Peter Enklov.

He felt like he had fallen into an eternal swamp with no end.