Chapter 58

I shook my head to clear the distracting thoughts.

A considerable amount of time had passed since that day.

Although there were still some lingering uneasy parts, now was the time to use the authority I had obtained with difficulty.

I put a strong force into the hand holding the sword.

Not just physical strength, but I also pushed in the power of the newly acquired authority.

Unlike Kenith's sword, which blazed brilliantly, my sword was quietly dyed black.

“……!”

I could feel Kenith's gaze, which met mine in mid-air, shaking violently.

His pupils, reflecting the crimson flames and glowing vermilion, were filled with the image of my sword covered in black mana.

It felt as if the confusion he was feeling was being transmitted to me, unfiltered.

But Kenith himself would know.

That he had come too far to retreat, and that there was no other way but to move forward.

Our swords headed towards each other.

A red sword with blazing flames.

A black sword silently being dyed.

The two swords clashed in mid-air.

Craaash!

A strong impact was transmitted to the hand gripping the sword.

Kenith's blow, in which he had put all his strength into the first strike, was so heavy that it almost made me gasp.

But it wasn't unbearable.

Thus, a power struggle began where neither of us retreated a single step.

The most dangerous thing in the current situation was not Kenith's strong physical strength, which came from his high level, but the element he used.

But I didn't need to worry about this either.

Because the elements handled by heroes were ultimately powers based on mana.

Fwooooooosh!

A powerful suction force was generated around the black-dyed sword.

The swirling wind raged as if it would suck in all creation, and Kenith's flames, which should have shot forward upon impact, were sucked into the sword by the gust.

“You…. What are you?”

Kenith spoke while we were locked in a power struggle through our engaged swords.

His voice, unlike before, held no trace of margin, as if the current situation was quite bewildering to him.

“Black mana…. You're not an Archmage, are you? An Archmage is enjoying the benefits of the nurturing system? What is this in the first place! Why is my mana being absorbed by your sword?”

“……”

“Answer me!”

It probably wasn't a question he expected an answer to.

It was simply a cry of anguish that he couldn't hold back, unable to cope with his extreme confusion.

Of course, I had no obligation to tell him the answer, so I put strength into the hand holding the sword and flicked Kenith's sword away.

For my authority, the Second Claw, to be fully activated, I had to make at least two attacks.

To do that, I had to end the power struggle first.

“Keuk…!”

Both of our postures collapsed.

Kenith immediately took a stance for his next attack.

I too composed my posture.

And.

Goooooo…!

The sword, which had absorbed all the red flames, now held an energy that was incomparable to before.

“…What is this.”

I knew that the new authority was powerful.

But I didn't know it would be this much….

Judging by the energy I could feel, it was at a level that was by no means inferior to the full power of a hero in the late Level 3 range.

A pleasant miscalculation.

“You monstrous bastard…!”

Kenith, who had belatedly confirmed it, changed his stance.

He chose to flee instead of continuing the attack.

It was a wise thought, but it was a good opportunity to destroy the enemy's main force, so I had no intention of letting him go easily.

“Selina, tie his feet.”

“I don't have much mana left, so I can't hold him for long.”

A reassuring voice came from behind.

Selina's gravity magic, which had been on standby after finishing all preparations, was cast, and Kenith's swift movements slowed down noticeably.

In Kenith's eyes, which were directed at me, anger, frustration, and fear were mixed.

Kenith, who had judged that it was impossible to escape, once again coated his sword in flames and swung it at me.

But it was not enough.

It was only natural that a blow swung in a hurry, with a hastily corrected posture, within the range of gravity magic, would not carry sufficient power.

I swung my sword with conviction, and Kenith, as if he also knew he was lacking, squeezed his eyes shut.

Fwooooooosh!

Black mana extended from the swung sword.

The black mana, which was the size of the sword, gradually grew in size as it moved forward.

As if simply growing in size was not enough, it split into two and left a large, deep wound on the deck of the airship.

Crash!

The sound of the deck being torn apart pierced my ears clearly.

Black.

Only jet black filled my vision.

My vision shook.

It felt as if the whole world was shaking.

The black mana, like the claws of a giant beast, tore everything in front of it to shreds as it advanced.

What was left in the place where the black mana had passed was Kenith's horribly torn corpse, and a White Hero’s airship, cut in half, plummeting towards the ground.

“Hah…. Heok….”

My hands were trembling.

Sweat poured down like rain.

My legs gave out and I collapsed.

The sky looked yellow and was spinning.

Crack.

The sword, unable to withstand the impact, shattered.

No, I wasn't even sure if it was right to say it shattered.

Looking at the cracks covering the surface of the sword, it seemed that if I touched it lightly, it would shatter into tens, hundreds of small fragments.

“I… can't use this recklessly.”

I could guarantee that its power was strong enough to be easily ranked among the many authorities I had seen so far.

However, I could also see that the risk was just as strong.

Both the weapon and the user, the level of the recoil was such that it could not be endured by an ordinary person.

A single-strike kill.

It was a special move that could finish off the enemy in a single blow, but if it missed or failed to kill the enemy in one strike, it was a technique where you had to quietly offer your neck without being able to do anything, so it was dangerous to use recklessly.

“Rian. Good work.”

Selina, who was on the verge of death like me as a result of squeezing out her last bit of strength, came up to me, supported by Ririsa, and offered her congratulations.

Her voice, cracking like a drought-stricken rice paddy, was pitiful to hear.

I wanted to show a composed appearance, but I didn't even have the strength to lift a finger.

I suppose I should be glad that I still had the strength to move my mouth.

“You did well too. How's the situation?”

“It's almost over. I think it would be faster for you to see for yourself, Rian, rather than me explaining. Ririsa. I'll just stay here for a bit, could you support Rian?”

“Understood.”

Selina, who had left Ririsa's hand, collapsed to the floor like a puppet with its strings cut.

On the other hand, with Ririsa's support, I managed to raise my upper body and take in the overall situation of the battle.

First, the operation was proceeding smoothly.

Under Count Dman's command, the fleet was engaged in battle against the enemy without yielding an inch, and the airship carrying the bomb was smoothly penetrating deep into the enemy lines, escorted by our allied airships.

In a large-scale battle like this, it's normal for one or two disobedient and troublesome guys to show up.

But it was as if the entire fleet had become one body, and everyone was carrying out their tasks flawlessly.

To me, who had commanded a fleet of an even larger scale, it was simply astonishing.

“Good work on defeating the named character. You killing the named character has boosted our morale, and thanks to that, the tide of victory is slowly turning in our favor.”

Count Dman, who seemed to have some leeway, spoke to me.

Unlike his words, his expression as he looked at me was somewhat complicated.

He was probably contemplating the black mana I had used.

I had used the authority out of necessity given the situation, but I thought I should start slowly thinking about how to explain it.

“Co-Count!”

A frantic cry came from Count Dman's rank insignia.

It was a cry in name only; in reality, it was no different from a scream.

Before Count Dman's hand, which was furrowed at the brow, could reach his rank insignia, another voice was heard.

“Enemy airship, going berserk!”

“……!”

We hurriedly raised our heads and looked in the direction of the medium-sized airship.

The gunports of the medium-sized airship, which had been silent until a moment ago, were wide open.

The main cannon was sucking in a large amount of mana from the surroundings.

It was clear that the enemy player had become anxious after confirming the death of their ace, Kenith.

To block the medium-sized airship's main cannon, a Joint Incantation was necessary, but Selina was no longer in a state to use magic.

The moment the enemy's main cannon was fired, not only Unit 917, but also the allied airships lined up around it would all be annihilated.

Of course, the enemy airship would also be half-destroyed by the close-range bombardment.

But they would rather seize a victory full of scars than be defeated.

It was a desperate situation, but this too was just a part of the operation.

[Brother. I have arrived at the target point.]

Sergel's calm voice came through Count Dman's rank insignia.

I could tell that victory was just around the corner.

All that was left was to detonate the Mana Bomb.

Count Dman opened his mouth with a trembling voice.

“Sergel.”

There was no answer.

In fact, an answer didn't matter.

As long as he carried out the operation perfectly, what did a mere answer matter?

[…I am prepared.]

An answer came back after a long while.

Although it was only about 5-6 seconds, the brief silence felt as long as an hour due to the situation.

Our allied fleet acted swiftly.

The airships engaged in battle disengaged from the enemy and retreated quickly, as did the small airships that had been blocking the enemy medium-sized airship's retreat path, and the airships that had been escorting Sergel's.

Everyone retreated to a safe distance from the explosion.

With this, the airship Sergel was on was completely exposed to the enemy.

Since it was using the auto-pilot function, Sergel was the only one on board.

If it were to be attacked by the enemy now, the operation would inevitably fail.

There was no time to hesitate.

“Sergel….”

Count Dman called his brother's name in a low voice.

I couldn't even begin to guess what meaning was contained in that single word.

[I have arrived at the target point. Please give the order.]

The reply that came back was simple.

His voice was trembling, but there was not a hint of regret or hesitation in Sergel's decision.

The one who was hesitating was Count Dman.

Time passed relentlessly.

In the meantime, an ultra-small airship launched from the medium-sized airship began to approach Sergel's airship at high speed.

If that ultra-small airship made contact with the airship carrying the knight, the Mana Bomb would fall into the enemy's hands, and this operation would end with only sacrifices and no achievements.

More importantly, the medium-sized airship's main cannon was on the verge of its charging limit.

In other words.

It meant the Alliance's defeat.

Everyone stared at Count Dman.

Because the only one here who could give the order to Sergel was Count Dman.

“……”

Under the barrage of gazes, Count Dman said nothing.

I, who was watching Count Dman, was the same.

How many people in this world could order their own family to die?

But regardless of my understanding, I felt anxious.

Too much was at stake in this operation.

The fate of the war depended on Sergel's success.

If he failed, everything we had done so far would turn to bubbles.

Count Dman was trembling.

His forehead was covered in cold sweat as he stared at the rank insignia in his hand and gasped for breath.

[Brother.]