NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 288
Final Battle – 8
A golden aura spread along the trajectory of Kaiquilia’s Holy Sword. The golden trail left by the old man’s Holy Sword was there too, but it appeared a bit duller.
When the bright golden light clashed with the dull one, the two light masses swallowed each other, intertwining and twisting together. Geometric patterns emerged between the tangled lights.
Exactly one second later, the aura exploded, creating a boom! The surroundings briefly brightened before returning to their original state. Darkness enveloped the place where the light had disappeared.
Kaiquilia dashed toward the strange-looking old man through the residual shockwave. Her golden eyes were fixed directly on the bizarre creature.
‘Looks oddly familiar.’
Thinking it was strange that the old man wielded a Holy Sword that resembled the one she used to wield, her suspicion only grew thicker rather than fading after a few exchanges of blows.
It was one thing to believe he could somehow have brought a copy of a famous sword, but his swordsmanship being similar was simply beyond explanation.
Except for the slightly duller color, even the golden aura that just engulfed the area matched hers eerily.
‘This is disgusting.’
It felt repulsively unbearable for Kaiquilia that an old man, akin to a crazed lunatic, resembled her.
His very existence was a blasphemy and an insult to her.
Kaiquilia swung her Holy Sword, infusing it with rage and murderous intent. The dazzling gem-embellished sword clashed with the rugged iron one. A flash of golden light erupted from the point of contact.
At first, it looked like an equal contest of strength, but the outcome soon became evident. The old man had already lost one arm to Kaiquilia’s attacks, so there was no way he could win in a battle of strength.
His body was gradually pushed back. Kaiquilia growled.
“Will you not reveal your identity?”
“……”
Once again, there was no response.
Kaiquilia scoffed, channeling power into her arm. There was no use in spending more time here; he likely wouldn’t speak anyway. She decided he must die.
While she was curious about his identity, there was no point in wasting time torturing him, so killing him was the right choice.
The old man’s legs were pushed back even further. Just as his balance was about to break, he seemed to alter his strategy. He twisted his arm wildly and swung the Holy Sword wildly.
“Understood! I shall give you what you desire.”
She slashed down toward the flailing arm. Swish, the blade made of light cleanly cut through the old man’s wrist. The severed wrist fell to the ground, still clutching the iron hilt.
Even with his left arm completely torn off and his right wrist severed, the old man continued to charge forward as if intent on biting her.
“This is utterly disgusting.”
Kaiquilia took a step back and held her Holy Sword with one hand. She prepped to thrust, pulling her right arm slightly back.
Though it appeared as if both sides were charging at one another, the one with the initiative was solely Kaiquilia. The old man no longer had any weapon in hand.
Whoosh!
The blade of light pierced through the old man’s neck. Kaiquilia pushed her arm forward, the blade shifting horizontally as it remaining unsevered, slicing through the remaining part.
The head was severed from the body, creating a thud as it landed in a puddle of red liquid.
“If you refuse to answer, you will pay for your crimes with your life.”
Kaiquilia fiercely kicked the old man’s abdomen. The sensation of his insides rupturing accompanied his headless body, which soared into the air before crashing into the ground.
Red liquid splattered, and the jewels and trinkets clinging to his clothes clattered as they scattered everywhere. That body no longer moved.
After carefully watching the corpse, just to be safe, Kaiquilia confirmed it hadn’t moved for over five seconds and recalled her Holy Sword.
‘I wonder where the Popes might be.’
At first, they fought in a place where they could moderately check each other’s positions, but the Popes had retreated farther away, worried about being caught in a blind sacred spell.
It wasn’t an unfounded concern, considering how close they had come to being caught by the strange entity’s used sacred spells several times.
“……How far did they disappear?”
While scanning her surroundings, Kaiquilia muttered aloud. Divine power and anything of the sort were nowhere to be seen.
In the end, Kaiquilia drew her Holy Sword once again. Though it would be impossible to pinpoint their exact location, she could at least determine a rough direction by sensing divine power through her sword.
“……”
Kaiquilia was about to sense the divine power when she quietly turned around, as something strange sounded in her ear.
“It would have been better to tear off all the limbs.”
The corpse that had been motionless suddenly began to convulse. Its body twitched and contorted, and its legs flailed. It dripped with the red liquid pooled on the ground.
“You’re not dead yet?”
The tip of her sword pointed once again at the old man’s corpse. The twitching body slowly began to rise.
The severed arm regenerated, the body elongated as if being pulled up and down, and with a crackle, the spine bent forward at a 90-degree angle.
The regeneration of the arm didn’t stop, surpassing even the two severed parts. Two, three, four… The number of limbs kept increasing until over ten arms sprouted, covering half of the upper body.
“If you thought that would change anything, I commend your foolish intelligence.”
Kaiquilia infused her Holy Sword with power. If the number of arms had increased, she would simply cut them down, one for each. It was a straightforward and sure method.
Just as she concluded and was about to charge, she suddenly stopped upon seeing the dull golden light gathering in the old man’s arms. The gathered light gradually took the shape of swords.
Seeing multiple Holy Swords aimed directly at her, Kaiquilia frowned.
In the midst of the frantic battle, she realized an unfamiliar yet familiar presence had appeared.
Including Aurora, the other six who had yet to awaken their True Death until Kaiquilia and the Popes left to help Delta had made it here. From the looks of it, they had successfully awakened.
Except for one unexpected individual.
She had oft asked for the Empire to be spared while handing over the Empress’s role, and it puzzled her why they would step into such a dangerous place without a care, risking a vacant position of Empress.
No, Aurora’s arrival here meant that the person who would give orders was already gone.
‘……Where is Minerva?’
Among those present, it was also strange that the short-statured lady and Minerva were absent from the group. Where had those two gone?
“Kaiquilia! Do you need help?”
A booming voice resonated. The one who called out was Iris, joined by the remaining three Knight Commanders of the Silver Dawn Knights, Stella, and Selene, all in combat-ready stances.
Except for Aurora, who had been forced to step back.
“This one is my responsibility! I will kill it by my hand, so you all search for the Popes!”
Kaiquilia firmly rejected their offer for help.
The unpleasant, disgusting feeling from when she first met this creature still lingered. Although it was slightly less intense now that its appearance had grotesquely twisted, it hadn’t disappeared entirely.
Fighting alongside others to subjugate it felt off. Decapitating the beast should solely be her task from start to finish.
Though Iris was outright refused aid, no one present found it difficult to understand her actions.
“……So that one too?”
“Given they want to kill it by their own hand, it seems likely.”
Everyone around had just faced a copy made in Kaiquilia’s likeness.
Upon encountering that sight, they felt an inexplicable wave of nausea and murderous intent, strong enough to declare they must capture it themselves.
Seeing the bizarre creature wielding a Holy Sword made it highly probable that it was a fake of Kaiquilia. Thus, it was understandable she would want to confront it alone.
Though it differed somewhat in appearance.
“Let’s follow her lead. Claudia, Erica, Lize. You will remain here to protect Aurora. Stay alert in case you might have to assist over there.”
“What about you, Iris?”
“Didn’t Kaiquilia just say… to search for the Popes? The Popes are likely fighting their copies as well. We will go help them.”
“Understood.”
The three Knight Commanders nodded obediently. After allocating roles, Iris turned back to Stella and Selene.
“Can you ascertain where the Popes might be?”
“Hmm… This way. I can feel immense divine power coming from that direction.”
Iris vanished, trailing behind the Inquisitor and Inquisitor, while the remaining four scrutinized the bizarre entity fighting Kaiquilia.
“How strange. That’s supposed to be Kaiquilia’s copy? It doesn’t even look human other than holding the Holy Sword.”
“……I’m not certain, but I have a hunch.”
Aurora, who had heard Lize’s murmur, cautiously spoke up. Three pairs of differently colored eyes were fixated on her.
“That could likely be another part of an experiment. A combination of several abilities into one.”
It was merely a speculation, pieced together from memories, but it was a crucial one that couldn’t be ignored.
Aurora anxiously awaited the return of Nix and the goddess, whom she said would accompany her on a quest to find Minerva.
A sense of foreboding continued to plague her.