Chapter 511 – Knights of the Abyss: Part Three

“What?!”

The royal guards who should have been defeated were being manipulated by Rosemary’s Puppet Strings, launching attacks from the flank. The guards who had been fighting Pietro’s clones while evading the barrage must have thought their comrades had come to assist, as they took the blows head-on.

At that moment, a wave of light fired from Rosemary’s Wand struck them directly. Staggered by the blast to their faces, they were shot through their limbs by Irmhild’s Light Arrows and sank.

Rosemary laughed as she watched the stunned royal guards.

“You damn—!”

Several guards flew into a rage. They charged toward Rosemary, but—

“Wait! Don’t pursue too deeply! The water temperature near the enemy lines is abnormal!”

“—That’s far enough!”

The warning came too late. The moment those who had stepped forward toward Rosemary were swallowed into instant freezing. The royal guards were caught in the suddenly formed massive ice blocks, their movements sealed.

This was—Ashley’s magic at work. She had lowered the temperature of the seawater under her control as much as possible beforehand, allowing her to instantly freeze the area upon activating her Technique. All that remained was for enemies to step into that space, triggering it as a Frozen Trap.

“Gwooh!”

Once immobilized, they could only be silenced by an overwhelming barrage.

Witnessing this, the remaining royal guards stared wide-eyed at the silver-haired girl looking down at them, astonished by her proficiency with Water Magic. Even setting aside the magician who had shattered the castle walls as exceptional—wasn’t that girl also a magic user beyond their comparison? They shuddered at the realization that they couldn’t gain an advantage even in the water. But there was no time for contemplation.

“Do not falter! Do not engage alone—reform the ranks! No deep pursuit! Take them down one by one with certainty!”

Despite this, the royal guards’ fighting spirit remained unshaken. They attempted to reorganize their formation. Then—Sion and the other two charged in.

“I’ll take care of Ignis’s opponent—I’m going to defeat it.”

“I shall provide support.”

As Pietro spoke, Marlene nodded.

“Yes. Please do.”

Rosemary smiled. The battle situation was gradually overturning their numerical disadvantage. With Sion and the others returning, the rearguard’s defense would no longer be an issue. Assessing the situation, Rosemary emerged from the Defense Field and moved to support Ignis. Pietro’s clones and Marlene’s Saucer escorted her as she cut through the enemy lines.

While Sion and the others engaged the royal guards in close combat, Rosemary reached Ignis, who was fighting Deboris.

“Hmph!”

While blocking Ignis’s War Hammer with his Shield, Deboris released a school of fish toward Rosemary advancing from the rear. Rosemary, as if anticipating this, deployed a Magic Circle.

Dark Magic, Fifth Tier: Black Drinker. A black shield materialized before Rosemary, swallowing and dissipating the magically created fish. The magic that summoned the fish school consumed a considerable amount of Magical Power during generation. It wasn’t the type of spell that could be cast repeatedly just because it was negated.

“Well done, little girl!”

Deboris praised Rosemary’s choice of defensive magic. Before he could cast his next spell, Ignis closed the distance and slammed its War Hammer. Deboris blocked it with his Shield, but as Rosemary’s Magic Threads connected to Ignis’s limbs, a consecutive second strike shook the Magic Shield, distorting Deboris’s expression as he sustained the Technique.

“This is—!? I see. So it’s not just assistance—you two function as one entity! Fascinating!”

He fired a water Shockwave at Ignis. However, whereas it had sent Ignis flying before, this time it didn’t retreat backward.

The moment he saw this, a Magic Circle appeared at Deboris’s fingertips. Gritting his teeth, he blocked another hammer strike with his Shield while simultaneously generating a magic fish.

Not small fish like before, but one large fish. Sitting cross-legged atop it, Deboris secured mobility and retreated while laying down a water barrage.

Ignis and Rosemary pursued. Only the head of the magic fish floated at Deboris’s shoulder. From there—he fired a Magic Bullet toward Rosemary.

“Ignis!”

Ignis shot down the Magic Bullet with its War Hammer. Severing the Puppet Strings to conserve Magical Power consumption, it chased Deboris with Rosemary on its back. Rosemary returned fire with Light Bullets from her Wand, accompanied by her Magic Slaves, which also launched ice pellets.

A shooting battle while performing high-speed maneuvers. They flipped through the water, each trying to engulf the other in their own barrages. Streaks of magical light and shards of ice grazed past them.

“Kukaka! Impressive Magical Power for a land-dweller! How about this!?”

Deboris flashed a Magic Circle, creating a small vortex in his hand. Though small in scale, it was a spell directed at Ignis in this situation. Its power wasn’t necessarily proportional to its appearance.

Rosemary responded by deploying her own Magic Circle. She created ice to envelop and isolate the vortex mixed within the exchange of barrages, sealing it to cut off Deboris’s control and render it powerless. A contest of magic versus magic. The battle developed into a test of control, deepening Deboris’s smile.

Magic Slaves from both sides floated here and there. Some moved with their masters, others remained as fixed turrets. Shots from the main bodies and from unexpected directions. And shots to destroy the fixed turrets. Magic flew from all directions.

Trajectory calculations required diverting part of their magic control abilities. Ignis defended against attacks that didn’t require Magic Shields, while Deboris utilized not only his Magic Shield but also his own shell to block. A battle that wore down each other’s Spirit and concentration.

But—Deboris could see where this was heading if it continued. Though not to Gardinis’s extent, Deboris possessed the ability to detect Magical Power through his Evil Eye.

Deboris believed he likely had the advantage in total Magical Power.

If it became a war of attrition, victory would likely be his. In that case, the Doll’s Enhancement would become unreliable. The Spell Formula for enhancing the Doll was fairly advanced to begin with, and it required sending a corresponding amount of Magical Power to match the Enhancement. In other words, the more they exhausted themselves, the more advantageous close combat would become. Once they could no longer keep up, he could close the distance and crush them with a water Shockwave. The Doll aside, the human could be taken down that way.

Multiple Magic Slaves launched by Rosemary flew toward Deboris.

Deboris ignored some of them. Though multiple Magic Slaves were fired, there were differences in the Magical Power imbued within. They were cleverly disguised to be indistinguishable by adjusting size and brilliance, but Deboris could see through it.

He prioritized destroying only those with greater imbued Magical Power. The weaker Magic Slaves could be handled with just his shell’s defense.

Thinking she had wasted her Magical Power, Deboris laughed and glanced at Rosemary, but—

There stood Rosemary with a cruel smile.

The Magic Slaves that passed by at close range glowed and activated their Spell Formulas. The next moment, an explosive roar resounded, shaking Deboris’s body and thoughts.

Impact and dull pain. His body thrown from the fish. The spinning scenery. Amidst it, Deboris struggled to make sense of the incomprehensible situation.

An explosion via Fire Magic. That much was fine. But how did Magic Slaves of that small scale produce such power? It didn’t add up.

No answer came. What Rosemary had used was none other than an application of the underwater explosion magic Theodore had taught her. There was no way Deboris, unaware of this, could arrive at the correct answer.

He didn’t understand the true nature of the enemy’s Technique. But he could still move. The magic fish was intact. The position he was blown to wasn’t bad. He could ride the magic fish and escape before the enemy closed the distance—.

“Nwoh!?”

The magic fish that had circled around rammed Deboris’s back with momentum. Puppet Strings extending from Rosemary’s hand were entangled around the magic fish’s body. She had hijacked the magic fish whose control had weakened due to the explosion’s impact.

“Your plan failed.”

“O, ooooh!?”

He was carried. Carried straight toward the charging Ignis and Rosemary. Ignis raising its War Hammer. An absurd relative speed.

Instinctively, he deployed a Magic Shield. But Ignis clamped the Shield with its Claws, catching Deboris along with it—.

Another explosive sound reverberated. Shattering the Magic Shield, the protruding tip of the pile embedded itself in Deboris’s abdomen. Then, an electric discharge erupted.

“Gah!”

Only the tip of the Pile Bunker had pierced. It was shallow. But struck by the Lightning Strike, Deboris’s thoughts completely halted. Into that defenseless state, Ignis’s War Hammer descended mercilessly. Along with a heavy impact, Deboris’s consciousness faded.

Having broken through walls, pierced ceilings, and destroyed the castle with the battle’s aftermath, Grace and Oberk clashed with Dual Axes and Greatsword.

Collisions and shocks. Rebounds and reversals. Pushing against each other at close range, wielding their Weapons in the instant of separation to scatter countless sparks. Their Weapons sliced through the narrowest of margins.

In terms of reach, the Greatsword had the advantage over hand axes. But Grace’s Axes could be thrown, and she could project her Fighting Spirit. And once she closed in, she held the advantage in maneuverability.

On the other hand, Oberk’s Weapon was a Miasma Sword, so he wasn’t constrained to a Greatsword. At a distance, he returned fire with Miasma Bullets. When pressed, he split the Miasma into two, transforming into sword and shield forms, demonstrating high adaptability.

Parrying the thrown Axe with his Shield, he flowed with the motion, swinging his sword as if to behead her. A moment faster, Grace moved outside the sword’s range.

Concentrating Fighting Spirit in her legs, she kicked the Shield and retreated backward at an absurd speed. Simultaneously, an Axe flew toward him with ferocious velocity. He caught it with his Miasma Shield. A heavy impact. A numbing sensation shot through his arm.

Oberk’s eyes widened at Grace’s judgment, movement, and the power of her attacks.

“To move like this in the water. The power of a blessing must be at work… but engaging you further in direct combat would not be a wise choice.”

Oberk glanced at his own palm. A lingering weight remained in its core. Each of Grace’s strikes was heavy. Even with an awakened Demon’s strength and skill, the power was enough to make him sense danger.

Yet, or rather because of it, Oberk laughed joyfully.

“This place—absolutely no sunlight reaches it, so the aura of night is strong. I’m in good form.”

Grace assumed a Stance with her Dual Axes, brimming with Fighting Spirit.

“Kukuku, I see. So it’s a place convenient for both of us. But I too bear the epithet ‘Water Fang.’ I cannot afford to fall behind here!”

Oberk dissipated his Miasma sword and shield, causing Miasma to rise from his entire body—from a seemingly relaxed posture, he swept his hand in a Horizontal Sweep.

Instantly, Grace leaped on instinct. A violent water current synchronized with Oberk’s hand movement. The water swept through where Grace had been moments before. A strike that could easily bisect thick pillars.

Consecutively, Oberk swung his arms. Matching his movements, Grace took evasive actions.

Scratching from above to below. The movement of his hands amplified several times over, holes matching the shape of Oberk’s fingers were bored into the floor. Thrusting out a Palm Strike crushed the wall as if pushed.

Grace leaped. Right to left. Kicking off the ceiling to a pillar. From pillar to Shield. Creating footholds, she ricocheted in unexpected directions, darting about to prevent Oberk from predicting her movements or capturing her. She narrowly avoided the water Slash Attacks amplified from hand chops, closing the distance with the swimming Oberk while throwing Fighting Spirit-imbued Axes.

Oberk opened his palms and swept the water, forming a water wall. He swam to avoid the Axe whose trajectory was diverted, but the chain controlled by Fighting Spirit broke through the water wall and coiled around Oberk’s fin like a living creature.

“Tch!”

Oberk clicked his tongue. He wouldn’t let Grace’s main body approach. He fired water Slash Attacks, but she dodged, and he was swung around with brute force. He collided with pillars one after another. Crossing his arms, he pierced through pillars.

Baring his fangs in a laugh, Oberk abandoned defense, allowing himself to be swung while rapidly firing water Slash Attacks and Strikes at Grace.

She repelled the incoming water Chain Attacks with her other Axe. But that alone wasn’t perfect as a response.

The essence of Oberk’s attacks was amplifying the movement of his hands several times over, manipulating the synchronized water. It was like a massive, intangible arm pressing toward her.

The attacks were too large to offset with Slash Attacks alone. But she could weaken their momentum. Concentrating Fighting Spirit forward to break through, but in the current exchange, Grace seemed to have been injured somewhere, as slight Bleeding was visible. The same applied to Oberk, who had been slammed into pillars by Grace’s strength. Both wounded, yet he escaped the restraint and retreated to put distance from the chain.

Immediately, they closed the distance as if the injuries posed no hindrance to the fight.

Oberk changed his movements. Avoiding large swings, he manipulated water rapidly and finely with both arms to avoid predictability. Unlike his previous large-scale Techniques, the power was lower, but the origin of the attacks was harder to discern. However, such Techniques, while perhaps evadable, were also easier for Grace to intercept.

Grace swung her Dual Axes, attempting to cut through Oberk’s Techniques and break through.

There—he mixed in a full-powered main strike, blowing her away. Seizing the opportunity, he manipulated water and laid down a barrage. Grace crossed her Axes, brimming with Fighting Spirit, and blocked it.

“Guuuh!”

“Ooooh!”

With a spirited shout, Oberk swung his arms through, sending Grace flying to the wall. As Oberk assumed a Pursuit Stance, Grace shattered the wall behind her with her Fist, flew backward, and disappeared beyond it.

Oberk thought she had fled for only a moment. An Axe flew toward him with ferocious momentum through the wall.

He swam to dodge. But the Axe, despite being beyond the wall, accurately targeted Oberk’s position.

Whether she was rapidly throwing both Axes in succession, the Axes were pulled back with tremendous force, breaking through the wall one after another to press Oberk.

Swimming at increasing speed, he launched counterattacks. But since Oberk didn’t know Grace’s exact position, the throwing momentum didn’t weaken. She seemed to be running parallel beyond the wall, keeping up with Oberk.

She must have a means to grasp his location. Magic? No, even when using Shields, it should have been through Magic Tools. Then, that was—.

“Blood!”

The blood of Oberk drifting in the water. Is it because he’s a Vampire that he possesses such keen senses toward the scent of blood? No, with all this rubble scattered about and the water being churned up, it seems unlikely he’s tracking by scent alone. Especially not through walls.

It’s probably not the physical sense of smell, but rather another perceptual ability dependent on his race.

Vampires use blood to create magical connections and use blood to subjugate others. Wouldn’t it be possible for them to track the location of someone whose blood they’ve memorized to ensure their prey doesn’t escape? Or perhaps it has something to do with this place being underwater?

In any case, if I want to prevent this, I’d likely need techniques like magical Purification or Barriers that can block magical detection.

But there’s no time or preparation for that. The water is rapidly growing murky before my eyes. This should create unfavorable conditions for Oberk.

Oberk—dismissing the option to flee as laughable—instead charges straight into the barrage of Axes. Smashing through the wall into the adjacent room. Heading straight toward the direction from which the Axes were thrown, timing it with their retrieval, he assumes a Stance with his Miasma Spear and charges forward.

He advances through the murky water filled with flying debris and swirling dust—but Grace isn’t there.

The Fighting Spirit-infused Chain leads upward—to the ceiling. Oberk realizes she detected his Charge and moved to the floor above, using Fighting Spirit to manipulate the Chain to lure him out.

Looking up and Grace crashing through the ceiling to strike happen almost simultaneously. Wreathed in Fighting Spirit intense enough to emit purple lightning, she delivers a Slash Attack with her Claws as if tearing through Oberk’s body. Using the Moon Goddess’s Blessing for neutralization and an absurd amount of Fighting Spirit, she breaches his Miasma Defense and slices through half his body.

The equivalent of a leg on a human. The wound isn’t shallow. Oberk understands he’s lost his mobility as a card to play.

Then, next? The Vampire will retrieve his Axe and deliver a fatal blow. Even if I create distance, dodging that Axe throw seems unlikely now. If I’m to decide this match, it has to be here.

“Crush, Vampire!”

With the shout, he makes a gesture as if clamping both hands together from above and below. The water around Grace responds, applying water pressure to her like giant jaws.

This—Grace withstands by enveloping her entire body in Fighting Spirit, crossing her arms above her head in a defensive posture. Oberk applying pressure with an unseen force, and Grace enduring through Enhancement with Fighting Spirit.

Perhaps there’s recoil in Oberk’s hands as he controls the Technique, producing a creaking, grating sound and scattering sparks from his palms.

“Ooooooh!”

“Haaaaaaah!”

With both their roars, a shattering sound echoes. The one who lost the contest of strength—was Oberk. Both his arms are violently thrown backward.

His Defense left wide open. The Axe being retrieved through Fighting Spirit. The red-eyed Vampire stepping in with heightened Fighting Spirit. He tries to focus to spit out a Miasma Bullet, but it’s too late.

He feels the fatal Flash from the Axe racing through his body. Staggering. Leaving behind the lower half of his marine-like form, Oberk’s upper body sinks downward.

“Well done, Vampire.”

“I’m a Dhampir. Not a Vampire.”

“I see. That… my apologies.”

With only a gleeful, implied chuckle, “kuku.”

Oberk’s body crumbles, dissolving into bubbles that scatter through the water. After watching this, Grace lets out a deep breath, as if suppressing her heightened destructive impulses.