Chapter 79: Chapter 73: Last Stand
The "witch" continued its advance toward the heart of the royal capital, destroying everything in its wake.
The citizens ran for their lives. They could only grit their teeth and weep as they watched their houses crumble.
Here, a young girl cried. She'd stopped running, unable to give up on her mother whose legs had been crushed by the rubble. There, a group of men who were trying to protect their houses with farming tools were mercilessly squashed under the abomination's foot.
The knights and soldiers who'd already collapsed extended their arms, trying to grab the giant's ankles to obstruct it. They could barely even crawl anymore, so they only managed to futilely grasp at the air.
Eterna, who'd run out of mana, fell to her knees. She was powerless to do anything but witness the "witch" as it continued its relentless march. Despair and helplessness filled her heart, but there was nothing she could do. Alfrea and the others had already fallen—this was the end.
"Stop right there! I won't let you through!" she heard someone scream.
It was Layla. She stood between the church and the witch, her sword at the ready.
Although the head of the saint's guard had always been an exemplary knight, she'd barely eaten or slept since Ellize's passing. She was in no condition to fight. Besides, her foe's power was so overwhelming that Layla wouldn't have stood a chance even at her best, let alone in her diminished state.
She jumped to attack, but her blazing sword was easily caught. Several witches moved across the giant's body to get closer to Layla—who was hanging off her sword—and extended their hands, grabbing her.
"Ah... Urgh..." she moaned in pain.
She felt as though every bone in her body would shatter under the witches' forceful hands. Layla let go of her sword as her consciousness started fading away. Her sight blurred.
Right before she passed out, though, Verner leaped. He'd wrapped his blade in darkness and severed the heads of the witches who'd been hurting Layla in one go.
Unfortunately, his attack didn't have much of a lasting impact. The severed heads disappeared in a cloud of dark mist before returning to the giant and reforming themselves.
The witches started laughing all at once, as if to mock their futile resistance.
Verner left Layla—who'd fallen to the ground after the witches had let go—and jumped once more. Before his blade could reach the monster, though, he was knocked back by one of the witches. He crashed into the church wall.
When he opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was the crowd of believers praying inside the church. In the center of this impromptu ceremony, Ellize rested inside her crystal. She looked exactly the same as she had in life.
"Damn it," Verner swore. His legs trembled, and he tried to use his sword for support to stand back up.
At this point, everyone could tell that the "witch" was after Ellize. It wasn't content simply trampling upon the people she'd given her life to protect—no, the monster had to desecrate her, even in death.
Verner was furious. He couldn't let the "witch" do that. He couldn't let Ellize suffer any more than she already had.
Was there anything he could do about it, though? Even if he were to manage to stand up, he already knew the answer. He'd failed to protect Ellize once before, and he'd fail again today. He wouldn't even be able to save her corpse.
Still, he stood up and dragged his body to the crystal, holding his sword in front of him.
He knew that what he was struggling to protect was nothing more than an empty shell. Ellize's soul was long gone, and that fact tore his heart to pieces. And yet, he still wanted to protect her. He couldn't bear to see her injured.
And so, Verner stood tall even though he was fully aware that he couldn't win.
Around him, the people were still praying.
"Lady Ellize..."
"Lady Ellize, please save us."
"O glorious saint..."
"Please have mercy and rescue us..."
"I promise I won't lust after your sleeping body anymore, so please save us!"
The witches' faces sneered at the powerless mob and their laughs echoed, drowning out the prayers. As the witches' laughter got louder and louder, the giant tore off the roof and kicked down one of the walls.
How could this be the fate of the past saints who'd once fought to protect the world? Now, they'd turned to heinous witches who could do nothing but curse it instead. They reached out for the only light of hope the people had left, paying no mind to Verner, who was still standing in front of the crystal. He'd surely be crushed alongside it.
Verner watched the giant's arm approach without averting his eyes. He'd made an oath on that day. No matter what happened, he'd believe in the light—in her light—until the very end. Even though he was faced with impossible odds, he wouldn't run away.
The giant's hand was right in front of Verner's eyes. Suddenly...
"Stop praying and fight!"
"When will you stop forcing a single person to carry the whole burden?!"
The two men who'd just shouted slashed at the giant's arm.
The previous head of the saint's guard, Fox, and his predecessor, Dias, had stepped in to protect Ellize. Dias had been thrown in jail a while ago for rebelling against the saint, but Fox seemed to have gotten him out.
Fireballs flew toward the "witch" and hit it in full force.
The woman who'd just arrived had also been in jail for the longest time: it was Farah Dremy, a former teacher of the academy.
"H-Headmaster Dias?! And Miss Farah?!" Verner exclaimed.
"It's been a while, my boy," Dias said, pointing his lightning blade at the "witch." "I sure wish I didn't have to face such a monster... But I suppose the time has come to repay the debt I owe you and your friends."
"We couldn't stand idly by when the world is in danger!" Farah added. "We'll fight too!"
Dependable allies had made their entrance, but that was far from enough to turn the tables on the "witch." What could three more ants do against a giant?
Needless to say, Dias, Fox, and Farah were well aware that the odds weren't in their favor, but where there was a will, there was a way. They had no choice but to try!
"Layla Scott! How long are you planning to rest for?! How dare you call yourself Ellize's knight in that state?! Get up! Stand tall and fight! Prayers won't get you anywhere!" Fox screamed.
Layla opened her eyes and stood back up, grinding her teeth in pain. She forced her wobbly body to stay upright, clutched at her sword, and roared, "I don't need you...to tell me any of that!"
Three generations of head knights rushed at the "witch" side by side. While they hadn't discussed anything beforehand, they worked together flawlessly. One of them attacked the giant's limbs to throw off its stance, another drew its attention toward them, and the last went in with a strong move in the hopes of dealing some damage. Finally, Farah supported them from the back with her ranged spells.
Though they put up a good fight, their efforts weren't remotely enough to match the "witch" and its might, much less seize victory. Sooner, rather than later, they'd bite the dust. That was the harsh reality, regardless of whether Verner joined them or not.
Still, they weren't ready to admit defeat. They'd give everything they had to protect Ellize to the bitter end.
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"You can't beat that thing... There's no hope..." one of the citizens whispered.
"They're fighting to protect Lady Ellize..."
Verner and the others' inevitable defeat was evident to the onlookers. However, looking at these warriors who refused to give in filled them with a sense of shame. They looked down at their hands, which were clasped in prayer. What could they achieve like that? Nothing, they realized.
If they stopped praying, they could pick up weapons instead. Hell, they could band together and carry the crystal away from the "witch."
One of them slowly unclasped his hands. Now that they were free, he crouched and picked up a rock. The others followed suit, one by one. Some picked up weapons, while others worked together to lift Ellize's crystal.
"Fight," a man said, as if to persuade himself.
"Yes, fight," a woman repeated, encouraging everyone.
None of them cared about the process that had prompted them to act. It could be mass psychology, or simply a moment of shared madness. It didn't matter. They had to fight—they would fight.
Prayers wouldn't help anyone, nor would they save the world. Even if God truly existed, He had proved time and time again that He wouldn't help them. The past thousand years had been proof enough.
The one who had saved them was a young girl. She'd given them hope and done everything she could for them. Yet they'd still dared ask for more when she'd already entered her eternal slumber? After all that, they were still asking her to defend them?! They couldn't.
"Don't pray! Fight! We can't keep locking our hands away pleading for someone to rescue us! Pick up a weapon instead! Do something, anything!" someone screamed.
All those who were still praying stopped on the spot. They'd made their choice.
It might have been their imagination, but the "witch" seemed to falter. It had stopped in its tracks for a moment. However, it soon grew even more frantic. It was more convinced than ever that Ellize's body was the source of all hope. It needed to crush it, so it ignored the mob that surrounded the crystal and reached out for it.
Verner got in between the humongous hand and Ellize's resting space and tried to push it back, but that was far too reckless. The "witch" did not stop. Instead, it tried to squash him along with the crystal.
"Good grief... I can't tell if you're courageous or just reckless."
Verner suddenly felt a surge of power well up inside of him and he succeeded in pushing back the "witch." At the same time, he felt something flow into him from the crystal behind him—or rather, from Ellize's body.
He soon realized that it was the dark powers Ellize had taken from him years ago to protect him—a part of the powers Alexia had cut off before she'd turned into a witch.
A female phantom, arms crossed and clad entirely in black, appeared next to Verner. His first instinct was to clutch his sword tighter when he saw her. After all, while the shadow apparition had a different atmosphere and complexion compared to when he'd last seen her, there was no doubt that she was Alexia, the witch.
Dias was astonished. He couldn't take his eyes off his old master.
"Y-You're—" Verner started.
"Ah, my host, we finally meet face-to-face," Alexia said, cutting him off. "I've been watching you for a very long time, and I've always wanted to apologize to you. The same goes for you, Dias—I've made your life quite difficult. I'm sorry."
She sounded sincere; both Verner and Dias were surprised. They'd expected her to curse them like a haughty witch. Verner, in particular, had never imagined Alexia could be so soft-spoken. He was reminded once again of how much damage the witch's curse could do. Alexia must've been like this when she was the saint, he thought.
"L-Lady Alexia... Is it...truly you?" Dias struggled to ask.
"Yes, Dias. Although I'm only just a small fraction of my own soul," she answered with a soft smile, then turned to Verner. "Verner—I know that, by entering your body, I've made your life terribly unhappy. I also know that it was my fault that Ellize's life was cut short. I... After I killed Griselda, I started to feel myself turn into a witch. During that time, I experimented with different methods to find a way to chase the witch's powers outside of my body. Although I didn't do it on purpose, I ended up cutting off a part of my soul and expelling it."
The fact that Alfrea had been sealed with her soul intact had already proved that dark magic could influence souls.
"After drifting away from my main body, I found you—a suitable vessel with a similar wavelength—by chance and settled within you. I couldn't allow myself to disappear, because I... I wanted to find a way to stop myself from destroying the world. However, I ended up destroying your life and hurting others... I understand why you hate me, Verner. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..."
As far as Verner was concerned, Alexia was his sworn enemy. She'd wormed her way into his soul like a parasite, made his family throw him away, and cost Ellize precious years of her life. Now was not the time to talk things through with her, though—doing something about the current menace was much more urgent.
"Keep your apologies," he said. "Give me your strength instead. I need to stop that thing!"
"I will. I'm here because I believe you're ready. You can finally handle my powers."
Alexia had never wanted to hurt Verner. In fact, she'd spent most of her time worrying about him and blaming herself for her mistakes. When Verner was young, though, her voice hadn't been able to reach him. Her dark powers were too heavy a burden for his small body. After Ellize had taken a part of her powers, she hadn't even had enough strength left to call out to Verner.
With Verner so close to Ellize's corpse, she had managed to return to him. At last, the part of Alexia's soul that had entered Verner was whole again, and the boy was strong enough to withstand it.
"Great! Let's go, then!" Verner exclaimed.
He reinforced his body with mana and slashed at the "witch." Sure enough, it turned into mist, and Verner's claymore passed right through without dealing any damage.
The "witch" immediately retaliated by throwing a punch at Verner, but dark magic erupted out of the young man and pushed away the giant instead. The darkness turned into a whirlpool that grew denser and denser until it took the form of Alexia. She lifted her hand toward the "witch" and twisted the space in front of her, pulverizing the monster on the spot.
The "witch" began to regenerate itself, and the first two heads to pop up cursed Alexia.
"Alexia, my nemesis..."
"Why am I there?! I hate you... I hate everything!"
The second one was Alexia herself. As for the first one, it was her predecessor—the witch Alexia had defeated.
"It's been a while, Griselda. And...I assume you are me," Alexia replied. At the sight of Griselda and herself overcome by their hatred, she found herself torn between contempt and self-derision. "You both look terrible."
She might have hurt the abomination's feelings, because it tried to throw another punch at her. Alexia didn't move a finger. With her arms crossed, she created a barrier to block the hit. Its fist and Alexia's barrier collided. It looked like she might lose the battle, but she didn't falter.
"Don't look down on me! Who do you think I am?!" she screamed, a look of haughty disdain on her face. "I'm Alexia, the saint who survived the worst era of them all!"
Her barrier spread and pushed the "witch" back.
Verner, who'd been watching them carefully, didn't miss his shot. He slashed at the "witch" while Dias, Fox, and Layla threw themselves at it. The giant was forced to take a step back.
Once again, the witches all opened their mouths at once. They were planning to use the attack that had destroyed Supple's golem again.
As soon as she noticed that, Alexia disappeared. She reappeared in front of Verner and put up a barrier just in time to block the witches' magic.
They'd just finished firing when the three head knights attacked again. Along with Farah's support, they managed to make the giant retreat further.
Everyone was finally on the same playing field.
Verner's opinion of Alexia was rapidly changing. When he'd fought her, he'd thought that she didn't have an ounce of dignity. The woman he was seeing today was completely different—her presence and majesty were worthy of a saint. The solemn woman's arms were still crossed. The former witch—or rather, the former saint—turned to face Verner, her hair fluttering gently.
"Verner," she said, a serious expression on her face.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry, but...I've just used up the last of my strength."
"HUH?!"
He'd only just started viewing her in a good light, but she had to immediately ruin it!
Now that she'd mentioned it, though, Verner did feel like he was almost out of mana. After all, he was Alexia's vessel. It stood to reason that the more mana she used, the less he'd have left. Still, he hadn't expected it to run out after she'd only blocked two attacks from the "witch"!
"That monster's mana is ridiculous," Alexia said. "Besting it in a direct fight is impossible. We need to come up with a better plan, so I recommend fleeing for the time being. As long as you're not dead, you haven't lost. Did you know that's how I fought when I was the saint? I escaped whenever things looked dangerous and looked for a chance to strike back. Running away is a valid strategy, Verner. So run! It's time for us to escape! Come on, flee!"
"And you're proud of yourself?!" Verner screamed despite himself.
Alexia's suggestion reminded him of their earlier fight. Ellize had sent them to exhaust her because she knew that Alexia would have teleported if given the chance. Verner had thought that it was because Ellize's strength was simply out of this world, but it didn't seem to be the case—perhaps Alexia had always been ready to flee at the smallest setback.
"Lady Alexia..." Even Dias sounded exasperated. She must have acted the same during her days as the saint.
"Is she okay...?" Farah asked. "She doesn't seem as reliable anymore..."
"Indeed..." Fox agreed, his voice full of apprehension.
Alexia's appearance had given them hope, but her shiny golden plating had already started to rub off. By now, everyone was a little unsure of what to do.
To be fair, Alexia hadn't been wrong. Sure, she'd sounded pathetic, but it was simply survival instincts at their finest. If a foe was far stronger than you, running away was the best option. After all, bullheaded pride couldn't overcome brute strength.
Besides, she wasn't the only one who fought that way. Each and every saint had been taught that their priority was to survive. Since only the saint could slay the witch, she always had to put her safety first and flee whenever the situation required it. As long as the saint was alive, there was still hope. If she died, humanity would have to wait another fifteen years—on average—before they were given another shot.
Alexia had taken those teachings to heart. She'd taken to escaping whenever she felt like she was in danger. Instead of fighting armies of large monsters, she'd prioritized scattering their forces and picking them off one chunk at a time. She'd also chosen the best possible time to challenge Griselda. She'd isolated her and created a favorable situation by attacking with an army of her own. She was sneaky and unfair...but she'd carried through and accomplished her mission.
In a fair, one-on-one fight, the balance was usually in favor of the witch. After all, the witch was a former saint, only with more fighting experience and greater powers obtained during her time as the witch. It was only natural that most of them would be stronger than the saints.
That was why using soldiers and knights as meat shields had been the only way for the saint to triumph over the witch. Alexia hadn't been the only one to use that strategy either—pretty much every one of her predecessors had done the same thing.
It also explained why Alexia had been so terrified of Ellize. She hadn't needed knights to protect her—she'd been enough on her own.
"If you keep fighting that monster now, you'll just die. So you need to—"
"Sorry, Alexia," Verner interrupted.
"Huh?"
"I can't run away," he stated, raising his sword.
He stood his ground and got ready to face the "witch."
Verner knew he wouldn't win. His end was likely near, but that didn't mean he could leave her behind. Even if she'd already turned into a lifeless corpse, he couldn't abandon her. His struggles were meaningless, but he didn't care. There were times in the life of a man when he couldn't back out.
"You're a fool," Alexia said.
"I am."
"But I have to say, I don't dislike your spirit. Fine, have it your way. I'm already at my limit regardless, so I'll stick by your side until the end."
Verner increased the strength of his grip on his sword—Ellize's last gift to him.
He didn't have any more dark magic left. All that was left was him and his muscles. He'd trained as hard as he could to become strong enough to protect Ellize, and he intended to use every last bit of that strength for that very objective.
He grabbed his large sword with two hands and tried to stop the giant's oncoming fist. It was so heavy that he felt his feet sink into the ground. Still, he held on. Veins popped out on his arms and legs as he pushed back the arm with his sheer power.
"AAAAAAAAAAAH!!!" he roared.
He managed to fling the humongous arm away and immediately thrust his blade toward the "witch."
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