Chapter 90
Battle (2)
Turavak surged through the veil of night.
A sharp sound tore through the air.
Yuri twisted her body in midair.
The Demonic Spear grazed past her and embedded itself in the ground.
The earth shook as though it were about to collapse. Stones and debris scattered in every direction.
The ground around the spear had turned pitch-black.
Yuri landed and looked up at the castle tower.
Beneath the moonlight, the sinister being was smiling.
His red eyes gleamed within the darkness, while his two snow-white horns absorbed the moonlight and emitted a faint glow.
Tension filled Yuri’s face.
She muttered quietly,
“...White Horn.”
White Horn’s appearance had already been recorded in the Demon Bestiary.
As its name suggested, the Demon Bestiary was an illustrated compendium of demons.
Knights belonging to either the kingdom or the Church memorized the entire book, so Yuri was certain that the demon before her was White Horn.
Cold sweat ran down her skin.
She had encountered an Apostle of the End.
According to the manual, she should immediately leave the area and request reinforcements from the Church.
But that was impossible.
Yuri could not abandon Gawain and flee.
A profound sense of alarm washed over her.
She had no idea what she was supposed to do.
Should she risk her life and face him alone? Her opponent might be an Apostle, but he had not yet reached maturity. Perhaps she had a chance of winning.
Countless thoughts filled her mind.
As she agonized over her decision, White Horn spread his enormous wings.
The moonlight vanished in an instant. The night sky was submerged in an even deeper darkness.
Within the lightless night, only his red eyes flickered.
An eerie voice drifted out.
“Why do you hesitate so? This is your chance to subjugate an Apostle. Come at me with everything you possess.”
White Horn slowly took flight.
He descended from the castle tower toward the ground.
Yuri bit her lip.
No matter how she considered the situation, she could not afford to fight him here.
She first had to secure Gawain’s safety.
Yuri turned her back on White Horn.
Just as she was about to run into the lord’s castle, an unfamiliar voice reached her.
“Stop right there, young lady. Settle things with Lord Mapheltan before coming back.”
A middle-aged man sat casually beside the castle gate.
He placed a long pipe between his lips and looked at Yuri.
Yuri swallowed a groan.
“...Hakain, the Sword Demon.”
Hakain gave a small exclamation, his expression languid.
“Oh, you recognize me?”
Hakain was a Class-One criminal.
The Church had even declared him incapable of repentance.
In other words, he was a target for execution at the highest priority level.
As a knight, Yuri could not possibly be unaware of him.
Her duty demanded that she arrest or kill Hakain immediately.
That would not be easy.
Hakain was far too powerful.
It would likely take one of the Stars to subdue him.
Yuri spoke with a grim expression.
“Hakain, as if murdering His Eminence the Cardinal were not enough, have you now reduced yourself to serving as an Apostle’s lackey?”
Several years ago, Hakain had brutally murdered a cardinal of the Holy Kingdom.
That incident had earned him the designation of a Class-One Apostate.
The Church continued to pursue him even now.
Hakain exhaled a long stream of smoke.
“When it comes to blasphemy, doesn’t the Third Prince you serve have me beaten? He is an unfilial wretch who murdered his own mother.”
Yuri’s expression contorted violently.
“...Watch your tongue. His Highness was caught in a conspiracy.”
Hakain gave her a lazy smile.
“Everyone has their circumstances. The same goes for me.”
“How dare you place yourself on the same level as His Highness? Such insolence.”
Hakain shook his head.
“You’re awfully close-minded for such a young lady. This is why I hate even speaking to knights.”
Yuri drew the sword at her waist.
A slender rapier emerged.
It was a long, narrow, straight weapon specialized for thrusting attacks.
She spoke.
“Then stop talking and get out of my way.”
“If the Apostle agrees, I will step aside without resistance.”
Hakain looked toward Mapheltan.
Mapheltan had already descended to the ground.
He spoke.
“I will not repeat myself. If you wish to protect the prince, you must first kill me.”
Yuri turned her gaze toward Mapheltan.
Despite her tension, she forced herself to smile.
“Protect His Highness? You fools. He is the Great Saint’s chosen child. He has no need for anyone’s protection. You fiends will soon face His Highness’s judgment.”
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth stretched into a wide smile.
“Mortal, do you not find it strange? Gawain should have come running out by now.”
Mapheltan was openly revealing his demonic energy.
The presence of a high-ranking demon was reverberating throughout heaven and earth.
Yet Gawain had shown no reaction whatsoever.
The interior of the castle remained deathly silent.
In truth, Yuri also found that strange.
She clenched both fists tightly.
“...What have you done to His Highness?”
Mapheltan shrugged.
“Discover that with your own strength.”
Yuri hesitated briefly before steeling her resolve.
The energy core in her lower abdomen began spinning fiercely.
Translucent aura enveloped her entire body.
Mapheltan’s red eyes curved into crescents.
He was highly pleased.
‘She is capable of projecting aura.’
Someone of Yuri’s caliber would make a suitable opponent for testing his strength.
Mapheltan pulled the spear from the ground.
At the same moment, Yuri kicked off against the earth.
Her body shot forward like an arrow.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
“White Horn—!”
Her aura-coated rapier shot toward Mapheltan’s eye.
Mapheltan did not move in the slightest.
Yuri found it strange.
Why wasn’t he reacting?
At this rate, the blade would pierce his eye and run through his brain.
It was already too late for him to evade.
Yuri’s victory seemed assured.
She did not let down her guard until the very end.
She thrust her sword with all her strength.
The slender rapier pierced the red eye.
Instead of black blood, pitch-black mist scattered through the air.
Mapheltan’s figure abruptly vanished.
Yuri landed on the ground and quickly looked around.
White Horn had disappeared without a trace.
She could not sense his presence either.
“An illusion...?”
Some demons possessed Authorities of that nature.
Yuri pulled a bottle of holy water from her clothes and immediately swallowed its contents.
That should make her immune to most forms of illusion.
Yuri projected her aura.
A translucent curtain spread out in every direction.
Yet she still could not detect White Horn’s presence.
Yuri was bewildered.
Hakain spoke.
“You should refrain from using Deep Night in this battle. If you use it, the fight will become far too one-sided.”
Deep Night was an Authority that completely erased Mapheltan’s presence.
At first glance, it appeared similar to invisibility, but its capabilities were overwhelmingly superior.
The moment Mapheltan concealed himself within Deep Night, not even an elite knight’s senses could detect him.
Deep Night was the act of becoming one with darkness itself.
Yuri tensely whipped her head from side to side.
Just as she realized that finding him was impossible, an eerie voice rang out.
“Indeed, it would make things far too easy.”
The voice came from directly behind Yuri.
She failed to react in time.
Crack!
A numbing pain spread across her back.
The aura protecting her entire body shattered into pieces.
Yuri’s body was lifted from the ground and slammed back down.
She had been ambushed.
The attack had come without warning from behind.
Had she not been clad in aura, she would undoubtedly have died.
Yuri immediately rose and assumed a fighting stance.
Cold sweat ran down her forehead.
“...How in the world...?”
Mapheltan chuckled.
“The night and I are one.”
Mapheltan vanished once more.
Yuri swallowed dryly.
She desperately tried to locate him.
It was pointless.
Crack!
Excruciating pain surged through her ribs.
The Demonic Spear suddenly appeared and stabbed her in the side.
Her aura shattered again.
Yuri’s body was sent sliding backward.
The ground was deeply gouged along her path.
Yuri felt a profound sense of helplessness.
She had no means of defending against his ambushes.
At this rate, he would gradually wear her down until she finally died.
Yuri bit her lip.
“Y-You coward...”
Mapheltan shrugged.
“To a demon, that is a compliment. However, I shall conceal myself no longer. I will fight you openly and honorably, in the manner of a knight.”
In other words, he was saying that he would go easy on her.
Yuri’s entire body trembled.
“...Are you toying with me?”
“Well, I suppose you could put it that way.”
Immediately afterward, aura enveloped Yuri’s entire body.
She charged with a furious shout.
Moving at a speed almost impossible to perceive, she flashed past Mapheltan.
She resembled a streak of light.
The sound of displaced air arrived only afterward.
The skin over Mapheltan’s abdomen had been slightly torn.
Black blood burst from the wound.
His carapace-like skin had been breached.
Yuri flicked the blood from her blade.
“I’ll make you regret that.”
She launched herself forward again.
Every time she flashed past Mapheltan, black blood scattered through the air.
One shallow wound after another appeared across his body.
Yuri continued increasing her speed.
Her afterimages resembled clones.
Mapheltan was genuinely impressed.
‘She is fast, and she targets vital points with precision.’
He managed to block her attacks somehow, but could do little beyond that.
Mapheltan was utterly incapable of catching Yuri.
He could only perceive her afterimages after she had already passed him.
The strength of an elite knight was considerable.
But it remained entirely within the range he had anticipated.
Mapheltan gripped the middle of the spear shaft with both hands.
He began spinning the weapon.
The Demonic Spear Turavak revolved with a thunderous roar.
The Spinning Spear Technique he had learned from Hakain generated tremendous wind pressure.
Yuri’s afterimages were swallowed by the gale one after another.
Mapheltan now resembled a pitch-black whirlwind.
Black mist billowed around him.
Yuri could no longer approach.
The corners of Mapheltan’s lips rose.
“Are you finished with your petty tricks?”
Yuri put some distance between herself and Mapheltan.
Her expression revealed her frustration.
Mapheltan chuckled and spun the Demonic Spear even faster.
The atmosphere trembled.
Pitch-black hellfire enveloped Turavak.
Hakain lightly tapped the ash from his pipe.
“Now.”
At that moment, Mapheltan hurled the Demonic Spear.
Driven by centrifugal force, Turavak shot forward, tearing through the darkness.
Space rippled briefly.
Anyone struck by the spear would die instantly.
Yuri sharpened her senses to their absolute limit.
The curtain of aura she had spread calculated the trajectory of the spear.
The Demonic Spear Turavak was closing in.
Just before it touched her skin, Yuri threw herself sideways.
Whoosh!
The Demonic Spear flew past her and vanished into the distance.
Pitch-black flames followed in its wake.
Yuri breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, an ominous voice reached her.
“You should remain vigilant until the very end.”
Yuri raised her head.
It was already too late.
Mapheltan had somehow appeared directly before her.
“Damn it!”
Before she could react, a pitch-black demonic hand seized her face.
He slowly lifted Yuri into the air.
Through the gaps between his fingers, Mapheltan and Yuri locked eyes.
The corners of Mapheltan’s mouth rose.
“It is over, mortal.”
If Mapheltan tightened his grip, Yuri’s head would burst apart.
Yuri must have understood that perfectly well, yet her expression remained calm.
No—she was even wearing a peculiar smile.
Yuri slowly spoke.
“...You may be an Apostle, but you are still young.”
Mapheltan chuckled.
“Do you still have some hidden move remaining?”
“You were too slow to catch me.”
At that moment, Yuri pressed her palms together.
Mapheltan’s body began glowing pure white.
Every shallow wound she had inflicted upon him moments earlier was emitting light.
Mapheltan’s expression contorted.
“Could it be...?”
He could not finish his sentence.
A tremendous explosion drowned out Mapheltan’s voice.
The light leaking from his wounds detonated in succession.
Black blood scattered in every direction.
The pressure of Mapheltan’s grip gradually loosened.
Yuri dropped to the ground.