Chapter 509 – Knights of the Abyss: Part One

“You lot! It’s your time to shine!”

As the whale raised its voice, the Sea King’s Subordinates came flying out from deeper within the mausoleum. Rather than reinforcements, they seemed to be acting as guards around Waldom and his aides—in other words, they were likely the royal guard. Having been deep within the castle, they appeared to have escaped the effects of the Volcano Hammer as well.

“The magician who can use Great Magic will be dealt with by His Majesty Waldom. You shall follow me and defeat the remaining ones. Don’t you dare disappoint His Majesty or us, not when you’re the royal guard?”

“Yes! As General Lubald commands!”

The royal guard formed ranks around the aides in accordance with the whale—General Lubald’s—orders, then simultaneously took up stances with their weapons. The one-eyed subordinate in the center seemed to be their Leader.

Given that Oberk and the aides had kept them close, they were likely elites. The Evil Energy they emitted was considerable too. Perhaps because they had witnessed the Great Magic, their expressions showed no carelessness.

“But—stay away from that woman with the axes. Even if you all gang up on her, you won’t win.”

It was Oberk who said this. Oberk’s body, wearing a joyful smile, began transforming rapidly. His upper body remained human, while from the waist down, it became that of a marine creature. If his Familiar’s upper body was that of a killer whale, then its master Oberk was the opposite. When master and servant stood side by side, there was a contrasting quality. Green lines of light ran across Oberk’s white body surface.

“Well then—”

Grace enveloped herself in Fighting Spirit while taking a stance with her Dual Axes. Her expression showed neither arrogance nor fear.

“As I thought… Magnificent power and fighting spirit. It’s no wonder you stand beside the Demon Slayer.”

Oberk gave a faint smile, having completely identified Grace as his enemy, then charged forward with ferocious speed from both sides.

Closing the distance to the middle of the mausoleum in one go, the axe wrapped in Fighting Spirit and the sword of Miasma clashed violently. Neither gave an inch as sparks flew.

Immediately, another sword of Miasma formed in Oberk’s other hand. Slash Attack versus Slash Attack. Axe and Greatsword collided at high speeds. Oberk, who twisted his upper body and moved as if swimming, and Grace, who kicked off Shields to keep up with him.

They ran parallel while exchanging blows. Though the mausoleum walls approached, their weapons showed no sign of stopping. They sliced through walls like mud, crushed them like thin paper, and slammed their weapons against each other.

Between the two who wielded their weapons vertically and horizontally, a high-density blade sphere formed that allowed no one else to enter.

Making a wide detour around it, Oberk’s Familiar approached Grace from behind, circling around her back. Perhaps because it had become a demon’s Familiar, it was influenced by it. The killer whale with red eyes enveloped its body in Miasma.

It was Sheila who silently moved in to strike. Her Pearl Sword approached the killer whale’s neck while emitting a gleam of Fighting Spirit. But the killer whale dodged Sheila’s initial attack with a sudden trajectory change that seemed to ignore both inertia and water resistance.

Behind and diagonally above Sheila.

As if seizing a blind spot, it lit the tips of its tentacles with the glow of Miasma, then simultaneously fired Light Bullets from them.

Sheila vanished while sliding downward as if flying. She dodged the Light Bullets almost entirely by instinct without confirming the killer whale’s movements. She bounced repeatedly from Shield to Shield, flying without letting them lock onto her.

The killer whale didn’t try to follow Sheila’s movements either, instead firing Miasma Bullets in the general direction she was dodging. Its purpose wasn’t to hit her, but to prevent Sheila from closing the distance. From the killer whale’s perspective, disengagement was the goal. Though the Shooting was meant to control the space so she couldn’t be chased, it was easy enough to simply dodge. However, Sheila didn’t do that.

She deployed a charge Shield in front of her, then charged into an area where the bullet curtain was relatively thin. She neutralized the Miasma with the Moon Goddess’s Blessing, used the Shield’s angle to deflect the bullets, and pursued the killer whale while taking a sword stance—but something interfered.

Countless small fish-like creatures came flying as if to control the very space itself. Just as Sheila applied emergency brakes, General Lubald’s massive body closed in a moment later. Ignis flew in as if to cut between them, catching the spear tip with its claws.

Without a moment’s pause, a War Hammer was swung, and General Lubald distanced himself as if leaping back.

“Look, Diboris! Can you believe these are movements in water?”

“Kaka! Quite the reaction speed, isn’t it? Seems we have worthy opponents after all!”

The one called Diboris was the dragon turtle magician. A swirling school of glowing fish surrounded him. Fish created from Magical Power. Likely Diboris’s Technique.

Diboris wore a combative smile as he lit the tip of his Staff with magical brilliance, manipulating the school of fish to swirl around and around.

“Everyone, be careful. Those fish fins probably have considerable sharpness.”

Sheila warned Ashley and the others behind her while looking at her own sword.

When she dodged the earlier school of fish attack, they must have grazed the tip of her Pearl Sword. She seemed to have inferred the quality of the attack from that.

“Yes! Please be careful too, Sheila-san!”

Ashley’s response came from behind. They were in the midst of dealing with the approaching royal guard while creating defensive positions with Defense Fields.

“Ooooh!”

A roar. Covering his entire body in Fighting Spirit, he exposed himself to the bullet curtain and even cut into the Defense Field. Dullahan repelled him backward with its Greatsword. As Dullahan tried to pursue, the royal guard fired water bullets to restrain its movements, which Ashley and the others countered with their own bullet curtain from the side. Furthermore, Marlene’s Lantern created illusions of their allies—but.

“They’re illusions! Don’t rely on sight alone for detection!”

“Tch! This bullet curtain density! How troublesome!”

The royal guard widened their eyes at Ashley and their group’s response. The royal guard returned fire while deploying Magic Shields. These royal guard members were essentially all like Magic Swordsmen. The cream of the crop among the Subordinates.

“Shooting battles and wars of attrition are difficult. They can keep fighting even after their Magical Power runs out.”

Rosemary frowned at the royal guard’s quality as soldiers while wielding her Wand and firing explosive bullets and Magic Threads.

“We’ll move forward!”

“We’re going in!”

“Crush… them.”

“Then—I’ll provide support.”

Sion, Marceska, and Sigritta sortied from the Defense Field.

Marceska charged in at tremendous speed, making a royal guard who had advanced take her double-headed sword, while Sion charged from her shadow. It was a perfect blind spot attack, but the royal guard barely dodged by turning his face away through reflex alone.

But that was as far as it went. From beside Sion, Sigritta thrust her book forward, making a huge Ink Beast with massive jaws latch onto the royal guard’s face from point-blank range. It was a somewhat strange creature with limbs disproportionately short compared to its jaw size, and no eyes or nose. Perhaps because it was under Marl’s Blessing’s influence, the Ink Beast seemed able to operate underwater without issue.

However, it didn’t cause direct damage. Perhaps because Sigritta was still conserving power, it wasn’t one of her larger Ink Beasts.

But the effect was more than sufficient. Seemingly caught off guard by the unexpected attack, the royal guard flailed his weapon trying to peel the beast off his face. Sion and Marceska wouldn’t let that opportunity slip.

Without any signal, their breathing perfectly synchronized as they slammed Slash Attacks from different directions, sinking the royal guard without letting him defend with his Shield.

“First one down!”

“Don’t get cocky, you little girls!”

The royal guard captain charged in as if to separate Sion and Marceska. Swinging his spear wrapped in Fighting Spirit like a windmill, he passed between the two, then twisted his body to pursue only Sion.

Almost simultaneously, other royal guard members charged at Marceska and Sigritta. Having seen how well the three coordinated, they likely planned to prevent that by dividing them.

Sion and her group—accepted the challenge. Coordinated fighting among three wasn’t their only method. Especially not when they had comrades now.

Marlene’s Saucers and Pietro’s clones charged in, stopping the reinforcements trying to reach Sion and Marceska, while the other royal guard heading for Sigritta had their movements restrained by Magic Threads fired from Rosemary’s Magic Slaves.

Ashley and her group also succeeded in dividing the royal guard, creating one-on-one situations between Sion, Marceska, Sigritta and the royal guard members.

“Kuh, th-these brats, disrupting our formation!”

As they stopped, a bullet curtain assaulted them. The royal guard returned fire with invisible Water Bullets while deploying Shields, but Ashley’s group had the advantage in long-range attacks. Unable to approach the Defense Field, they were pushed back along with their Shields, clicking their tongues.

Seizing a momentary opening, Dullahan broke through the enemy group and charged toward Diboris. Diboris deployed a large Shield to block the Greatsword strike, but couldn’t withstand the charge’s momentum and was forced backward.

“Not bad at all!”

Diboris laughed, pulling the school of fish he had directed at Sheila back around himself.

Thus, Sheila, Ignis, and Dullahan held against the Familiar killer whale, General Lubald, and Diboris. The Vanguard centered on Sion’s group and the Rearguard centered on Ashley dealt with the royal guard.

A chaotic melee ensued as they swapped opponents—those they crossed blades with in their respective battlefields, those they exchanged bullet barrages with.

This was likely an undesirable outcome from the royal guard’s perspective. Their ideal would have been to push through with organized movements.

Even so, no decline was visible in the royal guard’s fighting spirit. Being before Waldom and the others’ eyes, they couldn’t show disgrace, displaying vigorous combat intent.

“Keep at it!”

Flooding themselves with Fighting Spirit, deploying Shields, three royal guard members charged toward the Rearguard. Probably intending to push through relying on strength, numbers, and toughness. But—

“—How about this?”

Right at the moment the royal guard tried to charge the defensive position. Claudia gave a faint smile and activated Teleportation Magic. She didn’t teleport the personnel—that would consume too much Magical Power. What Claudia teleported to the Labyrinth was the seawater filling the space the royal guard was trying to charge through.

“Wha—”

The royal guard, suddenly unable to receive water resistance, flailed their limbs as if swimming through air. The next moment, Eclair’s powerful Lightning Strike was unleashed.

They had no time to block with their Shields. The radially spreading Lightning Strike swallowed the three royal guard members. The royal guard, soaked in seawater, were successively Shocked. Taking the Lightning Strike head-on—then, as if to fill the emptied space, the approaching seawater swept them up. With their movements sealed and unable to take evasive actions due to the complex water movements, they were entangled by Claudia’s Staff of Shadow Thorns and sent tumbling onto the mausoleum floor.

Without a moment’s delay, Ashley’s Mace, wrapped in a massive ice block, came crashing down from above.

“Guhah!”

That single blow silenced all three at once.

“Well done! What a waste to keep you land-dwellers on shore!”

The royal guard captain roared, rapidly thrusting his spear at Sion while making Magic Circles flash to assail her with water whips from all directions. Sion endured it all with reflexes and arm strength. Reading the Circles, she discerned the sorcery’s nature. Blocking with her Katana, catching the water whips with her Shield, she leaped back to evade. Bending her body, she kicked off her footing as if reflecting, then charged in. She completely received the spear thrusts meant to counter her, then countered back. She unleashed magical Slash Attacks at point-blank range, passing by each other.

Perhaps distracted for a moment by magic control, that Slash Attack grazed the royal guard captain’s cheek.

Clicking his tongue as they passed, the royal guard captain relied on physical ability to change direction, building momentum to accelerate. Sion kicked off a pillar to reflect—closing in while releasing numerous magical Slash Attacks, she collided head-on with the royal guard captain charging through them.

“Return!”

The magical Slash Attack waves that had been behind the royal guard captain curved in large arcs as they closed in on him from all directions.

“Kaaaah!”

Swinging his spear wrapped in Fighting Spirit in high-speed rotation, he deflected the Slash Attack waves, then blocked Sion’s frontal Slash Attack with his Shield. However, perhaps because using Magic Shield simultaneously with Martial Arts made control imperfect, he couldn’t completely negate the Slash Attack’s force. Concentrating Fighting Spirit to catch the approaching slash that tore through, the royal guard captain forcefully knocked Sion away with his spear shaft.

“To think I’d have to show such techniques against land-dwellers!”

The royal guard captain laughed cheerfully with a shallow cut on his arm, spinning his spear above his head. His entire body became enveloped in a whirlpool. A whirlpool—that he charged in with.

Sion released magical Slash Attacks, but whether the whirlpool served both offense and defense, he charged through regardless, scattering the Slash Attack waves. The spear rotating at high speed with the whirlpool slammed against Sion’s Katana, entangling and sending her flying far backward.

“Heavy—!”

Sion’s expression twisted from the single blow. The royal guard captain’s massive whirlpool, emitting a gleam of Fighting Spirit, was likely created by enhancing the water flow generated by his spear with Fighting Spirit. Without weakening over time, the fierce water flow wouldn’t cease as long as the royal guard captain’s Fighting Spirit lasted.

The royal guard captain charging in. Sion flying around while releasing numerous Slash Attack waves for restraint. But perhaps because being enveloped in the whirlpool reduced maneuverability, the royal guard captain couldn’t fully pursue Sion. From above the whirlpool. Or below. Finding weak points in defense due to the technique’s nature, she slammed magical Slash Attack waves into them.

“Don’t think you can win by running away!”

With those words, the royal guard captain’s movements changed. He performed an emergency brake in the direction Sion was dodging.

It was similar to Sion—no, perhaps it should be said similar to Grace and the others. He had learned those movements through imitation. By kicking off Shields as footholds, he forcibly changed his movement direction to pursue Sion.

“Kuh!”

The spear tip swept by at the last moment. The royal guard captain watched Sion’s movements while rotating. Magic Shield gleams flashed here and there. Sion sensed it was more an experiment to increase Success Rate rather than testing usage feel.

It was the same during the earlier combat too. The royal guard captain probably wasn’t originally that skilled at magic use. When used simultaneously with Martial Arts, control imperfections appeared. But his Martial Arts were first-class. Even if his Shield control was clumsy, he would surely—make his move at the crucial moment.

“Really—. People from the outside world are strong. Truly.”

Sion tightened her expression, stopped her feet, took a sword stance, and began increasing her Magical Power.

The royal guard captain seemed to sense the changed atmosphere. Sensing that the opponent was also planning something, he strengthened the whirlpool enveloping his own body further, circling around Sion like a large carnivorous fish targeting prey while gradually accelerating the movements themselves.

Sion didn’t move. She focused entirely on increasing her Magical Power. The royal guard captain’s movements also grew increasingly faster. The moment his speed reached its peak, as if trying to circle behind Sion, a Shield gleam flashed within the whirlpool.

Almost simultaneously, Sion also moved, catching that gleam in the corner of her vision. Deploying a Magic Circle, a dazzling flash burst within her palm as she thrust it toward the general direction of the royal guard captain.

A blinding flash from Light Magic. Sion—leaving a trail of brilliance behind—soared upward. In that same motion, she readjusted her grip on her sword. Aiming for the Captain of the Royal Guard, who had charged into the spot where Sion had just been, she dove down from directly above the vortex.

“From above—I knew you’d come!”

The Captain laughed, his eyes still closed. It was unclear whether he had detected Sion’s movements through smell or hearing, but he seemed to have sensed her even while blinded. As he thrust his Spear upward to shoot her down, the vortex Armor enveloping his body moved in sync.

A single Thrust of the Spear transformed into a massive whirlpool, shattering the Mausoleum’s ceiling to pieces. Sion’s body, swallowed by that vortex—vanished just as the Spear was about to pierce her.

“Wh—what!?”

The Captain let out a gasp of astonishment. A Magic of tangible clones. It was a tactical move precisely because his opponent possessed detection abilities sharp enough to see through illusions.

The Captain remained frozen in his Stance, Spear held high above his head. He opened his eyelids and saw—Sion was right beside him. The blinding flash, the clone’s movement at maximum speed. By keeping her own Dodge to a minimum, she had deceived the enemy’s perception.

And then, the Captain saw it. The Magical Power Slash Attack waves that Sion had been firing repeatedly moments before were converging back into one on the single-edged sword she held at the ready.

“This is—”

“I’ll cut you down!”

A massive Slash Attack was unleashed. It sliced through the water, through the crumbling debris, through the Captain’s hastily raised Fighting Spirit Defense, through the Spear in his hand, through the Armor covering his body. It carved a massive fissure into the Mausoleum’s wall and floor behind him.

The Slash Attack was over in an instant. Both Sion and the Captain stood motionless.

“You—what’s your name…?”

The Captain asked.

“Sion.”

“Sion, huh. I’ll remember that. I am—Eckels.”

Eckels bared his teeth in a grin. A moment later, the Spear in his hand was severed in two, and a crimson flower bloomed from his body as blood spread.

The Captain of the Royal Guard, having taken Sion’s Slash Attack full on, slowly sank to the bottom of the Mausoleum, his fresh blood drifting through the water.