Episode 170: The Realm of Transcendence (1)
The clones of Archbishop Alberich that had been blocking the path of the Liechtenauer Knights all stopped moving.
Camilo, who understood the situation, smiled brightly.
“It looks like Lord Brantley and Lord Heinrich have taken down Archbishop Alberich’s main body!”
“Yeah, I guess so.”
Professor Valentiano put away his sword and sighed in relief.
Camillo had just arrived and told them that Brantley was heading to Archbishop Alberich, but the clones had prevented him from pursuing them.
“Take me to where Vice-Chief Brantley went, Camilo.”
“yes……!”
Camilo took the lead, followed by the graduates, including Valentiano.
“It’s quiet. Is the battle finally over?”
Valentiano muttered, looking down the stairs where Brantley and Heinrich had descended.
“Professor Angela will be arriving soon… Let’s go down first.”
Valentiano took the lead and went down the stairs.
And then we arrived at a place that smelled like blood.
“no……!”
Valentiano opened his eyes wide.
Because there was a gruesome corpse lying on the floor.
Judging from his attire… it was definitely Brantley.
“Did it hit Deputy Commander Brantley?!”
“Ha, Heinrich… … !”
Then Camilo screamed too.
Because I found Heinrich collapsed in the corner.
“Is Heinrich dead too?!”
“Oh, no! Heinrich is alive!”
Valentiano checked Heinrich’s condition urgently.
Fortunately, Heinrich suffered no serious injuries.
“It seems like you lost consciousness from overusing your magic power like Ernas.”
“Oh, then… … .”
“There will be no danger to your life, so move to the rear.”
“All right……!”
Camillo hurriedly carried Heinrich on his back and climbed the stairs.
“But Vice-Captain Brantley died, and Heinrich became like this… … .”
After Brantley lost his life, did Heinrich muster up the last of his strength to knock Alberich down and then pass out?
Seeing that Heinrich was alive and well without any major injuries and that Alberich’s clones were silent, it was hard not to think so.
“Wait a minute. Where is Archbishop Alberich?”
A huge natural cave came into view for Valentiano.
Even though it was underground, a strong smell was emanating.
“That one looks suspicious.”
Valentiano took the lead and headed towards the cave.
But then I realized the floor was wet and stopped walking.
“Could it be the blood of Archbishop Alberich…?”
Was Archbishop Alberich heading that way, bleeding?
Just in case, Valentiano drew his sword.
And the moment I took another step towards the cave… … .
“Put away your sword, Professor Valentiano.”
A serious voice echoed through the space.
“… … !”
Everyone quickly drew their swords.
But everyone’s hands were shaking.
Even though everyone here is a graduate who has been through a lot.
Just a moment ago, I couldn’t feel anything, but suddenly an enormous presence appeared and overwhelmed everything.
“you…….”
Even Valentiano, a top-level inspector, had a trembling voice.
In front of a white-haired old man who suddenly appeared in the darkness.
“Are you… the patriarch of the Black Heavenly Demon Cult?”
“Yes, Professor Valentiano.”
The white-haired old man was sitting on a rock with his head bowed.
Although it seemed like a defenseless position, Valentiano could not move easily.
“I’m sorry, but I would like you all to put away your swords.”
“Put the sword… away?”
“I just woke up. I wanted to sit down and rest for a bit.”
The patriarch spoke in a calm voice.
“If you keep drawing your sword and showing your will to kill like this… I can’t rest easy.”
“… … .”
Everyone was embarrassed.
Because the Patriarch’s remarks were so unexpected.
“Patriarch, you are… … .”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
Valentiano swallowed and said.
“What are you doing here?”
“Didn’t I just tell you? I just woke up and am sitting down to rest.”
“Sitting and resting… … .”
“It’s not easy to be active right after waking up. You’re quite old, so you probably know that.”
“… … .”
The Patriarch’s relaxed voice left Valentiano speechless.
The Patriarch now spoke as if he were Valentiano’s senior in life.
“Patriarch… … .”
What on earth should I say?
After much thought, Valentiano asked the question again.
“Archbishop Alberich… where did he go?”
“Alberich?”
The Patriarch tilted his head slightly.
“Alberich… Ah, that guy.”
As he muttered, the Patriarch raised the hand he had been resting on his knee.
And he threw what he was holding in his hand onto the floor.
“I ate it earlier.”
“… … !”
What the Patriarch threw away.
It was… a human sternum.
“I woke up hungry, so I ate everything.”
“Your Majesty, Patriarch… … !”
“Don’t get me wrong. I don’t mean to imply that I was munching on human flesh.”
The patriarch smiled and shrugged.
“I just absorbed all of its existence. It was so tattered… it didn’t taste very good, though.”
“Ugh… … !”
The Patriarch’s tone of voice was no different from before.
It was as if a senior was chatting with a junior.
But Valentiano felt it deeply at this moment.
The old man in front of me right now is the most evil being I have ever met.
“Patriarch… … !”
“Professor Valentiano, didn’t I tell you earlier?”
The patriarch spoke in a relaxed voice.
“If you keep wielding a knife and showing off your will to live like that… I’m telling you, you won’t be able to rest easy.”
“… … !”
That moment.
The Patriarch’s outstretched hand caught Valentiano’s sword.
It was so fast that Valentiano couldn’t even react.
“Ugh… … !”
Valentiano immediately deployed his sword.
Even if he is the patriarch of the Black Heavenly Demon Sect, he would not be able to hold on to the sword energy unleashed by a top-level graduate with his bare hands.
“… … ?!”
But it was no use.
Before Valentiano’s magic could fully coat the blade… the blade broke.
The Patriarch broke the sword with just the strength of his fingers.
“How could this be… … !”
“Professor Valentiano, you really are annoying me. I’m still half asleep and want to rest.”
The patriarch rose from his seat and extended his body toward Valentiano.
“There’s nothing I can do. To wake up properly… I’ll try to move my body slightly.”
“… … !”
The moment he heard those words, Valentiano unleashed his magical powers once again.
If you’re still half-asleep, as I just said, now is the perfect time.
Here, we must launch an all-out attack and cut down the Patriarch.
“Patriarch… … !”
He shouted and delivered his best blow.
Valentiano is the highest authority on Eastern swordsmanship.
The ultimate slash, practiced every single day for decades, sank into the Patriarch’s neck with perfect trajectory.
No… I had to dig deeper.
“… … ?!”
Before I knew it, the Patriarch had disappeared from my sight.
Instead… blood spurted from Valentiano’s neck.
“Ugh… … !”
A deep wound that cannot be completely stopped even with magic power.
No matter how I looked at it… it was a fatal wound.
‘how……!’
But it wasn’t the fear of death that dominated Valentiano’s mind.
It was a surprise at the speed that surpassed common sense.
‘How, at this speed… …!’
Of all the inspectors Valentiano had encountered so far, Brantley was the most agile.
But the Patriarch’s speed was incomparably faster than Brantley’s.
Until now, Valentiano had been completely unaware of the Patriarch’s movements.
The Patriarch had already grabbed Valentiano’s sword and was already tearing off Valentiano’s head.
Despite being a top-notch graduate, Valentiano didn’t react at all.
‘Is this the speed you get when you pass the peak level? Even so… … !’
I couldn’t understand it at all.
This was a speed that surpassed human limits.
Even if one were to master magic powers, it would be impossible to achieve this speed.
‘How on earth… …!’
Before I die, I want to find out the Patriarch’s secret.
Valentiano mustered all his remaining strength and swung his sword.
But the magic was focused not on the blade, but on the eyes.
I tried to increase my body vision to the limit to observe the movements of the Patriarch.
“My body is starting to loosen up a little.”
“… … !”
Chomp!
This time, blood gushed from his chest.
Valentiano opened his eyes wide and watched the Patriarch’s movements, but still he could not see anything.
If there was one thing I found out… it was that the Patriarch had truly become a transcendent being.
“Professor Valentiano… … !”
Then a voice was heard.
It was the voice of Professor Angela, who arrived late.
“Run away, Professor Angela… … .”
Before the flame of life went out, Valentiano mustered up his last bit of strength to speak.
“The Patriarch is not someone we can deal with… … .”
Leaving those last words behind.
Valentiano fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.
* * *
“Professor Valentiano… … !”
Angela, who was running towards Valentiano, suddenly stopped walking.
Because I noticed that Valentiano had died.
If he were still alive, I would have helped him somehow, but if he was already dead, there was nothing I could do.
“Follow Professor Valentiano’s instructions! Everyone, retreat!”
“yes……!”
Although they were far away, Angela also saw the Patriarch attack.
How Valentiano was fatally wounded… was completely impossible for Angela to comprehend.
‘How fast is it?’
Angela has the fastest speed among the Academy professors.
But there is no way a speed race would work with the Patriarch.
The Patriarch was so fast that even the expression ‘invisible speed’ felt inadequate.
“Professor Angela.”
“… … !”
Just then, the Patriarch turned his gaze to Angela.
At those cold eyes, Angela felt goosebumps all over her body.
“They said he was the fastest in the academy.”
The Patriarch began to walk leisurely towards Angela.
Angela wanted to get away immediately, but other knights were still running up the stairs.
And even if you run away, the Patriarch will catch up with you anyway.
“I’m not quite recovered yet… Could you please just talk to me for a moment?”
“Ugh… … !”
Angela drew on all her magical power.
He unleashed the Bertinski Black Chain Sword Technique he had created himself, and unleashed a black sword energy towards the Patriarch.
A deadly black sword energy stretched out, aiming for the Patriarch’s head.
“Hmm.”
The patriarch did not move an inch from his spot.
Instead, an unidentified attack was launched.
“… … !”
It was a huge storm of magical power.
It was similar to the wide-ranged destructive attacks that Ernas had occasionally shown, but its power was one level higher.
A massive magical force engulfed everything around it… and the underground space began to collapse.
“Everyone, deploy your defensive equipment… …!”
Kwakwakwakwang!
The mountain collapsed as if a tectonic shift had occurred.
It’s a good thing that everyone here now is a graduate of intermediate level or higher, otherwise everyone would have been buried alive.
Of course, not all those who survived were safe.
Because everyone was affected by the Patriarch’s attack.
However, the reason there weren’t that many casualties was because Angela used all her strength to block the Patriarch’s attacks.
“Excellent, Professor Angela.”
“Ugh… … .”
Angela vomited blood.
He deployed the sword energy of Bertinsky’s Black Chain Sword Technique like a defensive barrier to block the Patriarch’s attacks as much as possible, but his entire body was in tatters.
“Your swordsmanship has some aspects in common with Archbishop Catoleas’s Black Heavenly Hand Swordsmanship.”
“what……?”
“What do you think? Have you any intention of joining the Black Heavenly Demon Sect?”
“haha…….”
At the Patriarch’s suggestion, a hollow laugh escaped Angela’s mouth.
Although Angela was nicknamed ‘Witch’ at the Academy, she had no intention of joining a cult or anything like that.
“Stop talking nonsense, cult leader… … .”
“That’s too bad.”
The patriarch shook his head.
Then he slowly raised his hand.
“Then, this is goodbye.”
“Ugh… … .”
Once again, an attack comes at a speed that cannot be seen with the eyes.
But for Angela now, it was impossible to avoid or stop it.
Angela closed her eyes tightly, prepared to die.
And then an invisible attack hits Angela… … .
“It is too early to despair, Professor.”
Kwaaaaang!
There was a loud noise, and the sound of a huge force colliding was heard.
Realizing that someone had defended against the Patriarch’s attack, Angela opened her eyes hastily.
“ah…….”
And then Angela realized.
There was a man standing against the Patriarch, with his back turned to Angela.
“iced coffee……!”
When I first met him, he was just a promising student.
But at this moment… he was the best prosecutor in the world, showing a more solid back than anyone else.
“Sorry I’m late, Professor.”
“Ernas… … !”
Ernas Landstein.
He returned to the battlefield to face his worst enemy.
