A Wish to Grab Happiness - Book 12: Chapter 303
Chapter 303: Vice
The silver blade drew a beautiful line and approached the golden eyes in a straight line. In front of the blade, the air screamed and tore itself apart, and the wind howled.
Caria’s wielding flash was no longer within the realm of humans. The unrivaled strength of the demonic pressure emitted by her power could neither be released nor received by a human.
If people tried to catch it with their own swords, they would be crushed to the ground immediately. The imagination given just by looking at it was definitely true.
In other words, this one swing was like a powerful, otherworldly swing. The fierce aura surrounding her body let out a loud roar.
The golden eyes that met Caria raised its hand at the same time as it cast off the black curse that bound it. The golden person’s slender arms, whose whiteness stood out, caught the impossible blow with its own skin.
The future was almost predicted for a moment. Normally, the arm would break apart, and blood would stain the hollow.
But in reality, nothing happened. Ariene’s body didn’t even lie down on the ground. There wasn’t even a drop of fresh blood. But she was there, intact.
Caria had already accepted that strange outcome as the real future. After all, it was a sight that she had seen before. “That’s why I can’t put down my blade.”
Two swings, three swings, and if that didn’t work, another swing, another flash.
A continuous attack of flashing light that gave no time to breathe changed its target one after another from the skull, neck, and heart, in order to inflict damage in Ariene’s body.
Each attack was an unmistakable lethal blow. It must had been a swing intended to kill the enemy. Each attack was too violent.
“But can I say that it worked, or must I say that the strangeness continues regardless of my attacks?”
All of those attacks were stopped before they even touched Ariene’s skin. “I don’t know why. It may be a miracle invoked by the saint herself, or it may be something unknown.”
The only thing Caria knew was that her sword didn’t seem to pierce Ariene no matter what she did. A deep sigh escaped from Caria’s small lips. Her eyes narrowed.
“…Is something like this even possible?”
Something that resembled a complaint spilled out of Caria’s heart.
Originally, human skin did not have a structure that allowed iron to be hammered into it and escape unharmed. A human who had a blade inside the skin and did not vomit blood was no longer human.
No, amid the flash released with all the power of a magic beast, it was enough to show a little reaction.
But what about this woman? Ariene didn’t seem to react at all, and she didn’t even care at the constant fearsome attacks exerted by Caria.
Even though Caria embraced these weird thoughts, she couldn’t stop herself from wielding her silver blade. After all, her current role was not to overthrow this woman, but to buy some time. Even if she could only earn as much time as a grain of sand, it would be very meaningful.
For Filaret and Eldith, and most importantly for him, to get out of here. Caria bit hard on her molars and pulled back her blade for a moment.
Caria’s throat let out a giant roar. At the same time, she swung the silver blade with all her might towards Ariene’s eyes. Even if there was no meaning, the flash that was swung could at least be useful.
Just as it touched Ariene’s skin, her lips moved loosely.
「Is it possible? Is it not? What a trivial matter that you’re thinking about. Even if it’s physically impossible, it’s possible because it’s not physical.」
Almost at the same time as those words ended, the silver blade stopped moving. No matter how hard Caria tried, she couldn’t push it through.
As if to symbolize the spoken words, Caria’s silver longsword was held back by Ariene’s white fingers. Caria heard her own throat trembling in her ears.
She understood. The woman in front of her had some kind of magic power around her body, and that was what supported this strangeness.
Therefore, no matter what kind of abnormality and no matter what was originally impossible, it was possible in front of this woman. “I know that now.”
But understanding was one thing, and whether her brain could process what actually happened before her eyes was another matter.
The silver longsword Caria wielded with all her might was caught by those tinny fingers.
That was a great deal of shock for Caria, who had devoted her life to her sword. Her silver eyes opened reflexively, and a cold fluid licked her neck.
“It can’t be.”
Caria’s thoughts were engulfed in distress and her body stopped all the movements for a moment. And that very moment was fatal in front of this golden person.
The iron made a strange creak. After making a noise that hurt her ears, Caria blinked her eyes.
…In Ariene’s hands, the longsword shattered into pieces. The silver danced in the air while giving off its final sparkle.
It was around the same time as her sword shattered that her body fell dramatically. Without even having time to take in the shock of losing her beloved sword, her body fell to the stone floor. Caria let out a painful breath.
“Is this the end?”
Suddenly, those words slipped through Caria’s chest. Of course, none of her blows hit the enemy, and even her beloved sword was taken away.
“I don’t have other means to oppose this enemy now. Therefore, it’s over.”
“But it’s not that bad.” Caria pressed her lips.
“I couldn’t create that much time, but it was still good for Filaret and the others to run out of the Great Temple. From there, it will depend on their luck.”
“If so, it doesn’t matter. I think this end is good.”
Caria put such emotions on her cheeks, which were neither self-deprecating nor resigning, and laughed.
A miserable death. Licking the ground after being defeated by the enemy was too much to bear. For Caria, a follower of her power, it was a humiliation that would tear her guts apart.
She gritted her back teeth so hard, and her fingertips trembled numbly. However, there was also one satisfaction in her heart.
“With this, at least, I was able to save Lugis’ life. I have succeeded in protecting him from the anomaly itself.”
That was a supreme thing for Caria, who was Lugis’ shield. Caria felt that her thoughts, which she would never have had in her past, were now in her heart.
“Oh, and that.” Caria squinted her eyes and was able to move her body, which was still wobbly, to get up.
“Besides, it’s about Lugis. Surprisingly, he doesn’t have the bold personality to shake off everything from the past. He is not the kind of person who can easily forget those who died for him and accept his happiness.”
Caria knew that very well. “That’s why I’m sure he’ll never forget me for the rest of his life. Oh, this end is not so bad after all.”
Caria smiled as she carved a thin line on her face.
She could see the golden person moving its hand before her eyes. She couldn’t read any kind of emotion in that person’s eyes. However, it had only a color that seemed cruel.
Ariene’s lips carved something. Caria couldn’t understand the meaning of her words, but even she knew that something like magic would befall her soon.
That magic would bring devastating things to her body and soul.
Caria was glaring at Ariene until the very end. Even though she knew she was going to die, she did not want to expose the unworthiness that would distract her eyes from the cause.
“Otherwise, how could I act as his shield?”
Within a single breath, golden person’s fingertips waved. Something like a silk thread was approaching the tip of Caria’s neck, which was reflected through her silver eyes.
Caria no longer had the means to stop it. She had no way of resisting.
However, on this very moment…the deadly thread was cut in half and disappeared. It wasn’t Caria who cut down the golden magic thread, but the purple blade. Both gold and silver. Those eyes were wide open.
A voice that echoed through the earth resounded in the Great Temple.
「…You’re doing whatever you want while people are sleeping, aren’t you?」
It was a voice that seemed somewhat aloof yet filled with extreme anger.
「Is God really so great that it needs to use the body of someone’s childhood friend to trample on that someone’s companions, huh? 」
A man put his body in front to protect Caria, pretending not to care about the blood dripping from his shoulder. The vice whispered.