Chapter 222 - Renegades (5)

Kieren looked tense as he spoke.

“Go, Niberis.”

“Kieren?”

Niberis was so surprised that she called out his name.

He had wordlessly appeared out of nowhere. The fact that he had come to save her was surprising. Kieren was probably shocked by his own action, yet his attention remained fixed on Niberis. He was worried about her.

“Are you planning on meeting Saibein-nim?”

“How did you know…….”

“We’ve known each other for a long time. Of course, I know about it.”

Kieren glared at the Dragon Demon Undead magicians as he spoke towards his back. He didn’t want to show Niberis his sad expression.

“I’ll block them here. I can buy you enough time, so you can escape from this place.”

“I refuse.”

“What?”

At Niberis’ firm reply, Kieren became surprised. He turned to look at Niberis. The Dragon Demon Undead, who had manifested the Queen of Darkness, attacked Kieren at that moment.

Kwahng!

The sound of an explosion rang out as Kieren was pushed backwards. He had been so surprised that he had opened himself to an attack. He had almost died. The one to block the attack was Niberis.

“It is my selfish wish to want to meet my father. I won’t be able to forgive myself if you are sacrificed in the pursuit of my selfish wish.”

Niberis was firm with her words. Darkness started to appear around her like wildfire.

“They’ve experienced the holy war.”

She greeted the darkness, which arose like a tsunami.

“I acknowledge that you are powerful. However, we also fought on the frontline in this era. We won’t go down so easily.”

<Mmm?>

All the Dragon Demon Undead became surprised. Something unexpected was occuring. The Dragon Demon Undead had created the Queen of Darkness, but Niberis was slowly absorbing the magical energy of Darkness created by this spell.

The magic hidden with the Dragon Demon weapon called the Book of Dark Soul was creating a change within the great spell. Niberis glared at them with cold eyes as she spoke.

“You have been asleep for over 200 years…. Did you really think my father would have done nothing during that time?”

<Ooh-mmm!>

The Dragon Demon Undead groaned.

“Niberis…….”

Kieren looked at Niberis with a truly complicated expression on her face. He felt resentment and frustration by the fact that she wasn’t following his will. On the other hand, she had made it clear that she wouldn’t sacrifice him. He felt admiration and love for her. His mixed emotions made him speechless, and it caused confusion within him.

“It doesn't matter what I want. It’ll be meaningless if I obtain what I want through objectionable means. Kieren, if you want me to meet my father….”

Niberis spoke.

“Let’s fight together. Let’s defeat them.”

“Ha…….”

Her words were brazen, yet he couldn't help but laugh.

“Ha ha ha ha! Splendid.”

His shoulders shook as he laughed. He looked unburdened as he spoke.

“Yes. This is the Niberis I know. I’ll do as you wish.”

The Dragon Demon Undead just shook their heads.

There was a gap of 220 years between the two groups, yet they clashed once again.

In a fight between high ranked magicians, it all came down to how much resources one had.

The quantity of magical energy, and the ability to manifest spells was important. However, the outcome usually came down to how effective one’s specialty magic was in the battle. Moreover, it depended on how much preparation one had made beforehand. These factors greatly influenced the outcome.

An analogous example was a fight between two armies with same number of soldiers. The outcome of the fight depended on which army was better equipped and supplied.

This was why the result of this fight was already determined from the start.

“Ooh-ook…….”

The bloodied Kieren fell in place. A hand of a skeleton grabbed his head before he could fall on his face.

<Excellent. In the end, you pushed all three of us to this state…….>

The fight between the two young Dragon Demons and the three Dragon Demon Undead had been fierce.

In the end, all three Undead chose to sacrifice their time. They decided to use the great magic that would significantly amplify their power. It also meant that they would have to go back to sleep for a long while after this fight. Despite using this measure, the Dragon Demon magicians had lost all their Corrupted Beings of Black Death. Moreover, the body of the two Dragon Demon magicians were half destroyed.

If they were living foes, the Dragon Demon Undead magicians might have lost this fight. However, they were Undead. The destruction of their body didn’t even decrease their power. These weren’t fatal wounds for them. The power of the curse slowed down their recovery a little bit, but the broken bone fragments were returning to their body. Their original form was being restored.

Suddenly, one of the Dragon Demon Undead spoke.

Unlike the fallen Kieren, Niberis remained uncaptured. Her fighting spirit was still alive. However, the Book of Dark Soul had been unsummoned, and she was injured. She was breathing hard.

The Dragon Demon Undead held up Kieren towards her.

Niberis raged. She glared at him with scorn in her eyes.

“You bastard! You are trying to take him as hostage? As someone that participated in the holy war, do you have no pride?”

“Koohk…….”

<I’m suggesting the most peaceful solution I can come up with. Even if we continue this fight, the result is predetermined. However, we can ill afford to hold back anymore. We might kill you by mistake, and we want to avoid such an ending..>

Niberis bit her lips. She knew the Dragon Demon Undead was sincere in his words.

Her bloodline had little to do with their problem. If one looked at it objectively, Niberis’ Book of Dark Soul wasn’t under the control of the Great Darkness. It could only be passed on through her will. She had to voluntarily hand over the Dragon Demon weapon. On the other hand, Kieren’s Bleeding Star would be returned to the Dragon Demon palace when he died.

These powerful figures hadn’t tracked down Niberis, because of her station within the Plain of Darkness. The Book of Dark Soul was what they wanted. The Dragon Demon weapon was worth too much to let it go.

Niberis was being crushed by the enormous pressure of her current situation.

‘I have no choice……’

The problem was the fact that the outcome was fixed. Niberis felt humiliated. Her body shook as she opened her mouth.

“All right. If I accept your proposal…….”

It happened at that moment.

「Found.」

「Target acquired.」

「Secured…….」

Niberis was shocked. She swiveled her head.

It sounded as if little kids were whispering from every direction. Niberis could never forget these voices.

White phantom-like beings were rushing towards them. They slid across the ground. They kept appearing and disappearing like mirages. It was the Guardian Shadows.

The Dragon Demon Undead were taken aback.

Around 30 Guardian Shadows had approached them without being noticed. The Guardian Shadows capable of long ranged attacks focused their attack on the Dragon Demon Undead magicians. The Guardian Shadows capable of melee used this time to get close.

<Shit! We have to protect sir Baldazark and the princess!>

The Dragon Demon Undead sounded annoyed as they decided on a course of action. Since they were in an uninhabited region, they had no idea as to how the Guardian Shadows were able to find them. Still, they knew the Guardian Shadow’s sole purpose was to wipe out the Dragon Demon King worshippers. They were probably going to attack everyone here.

That’s what they thought….

The Guardian Shadows ignored Niberis, and they only attacked the three Dragon Demon Undead. Moreover, they even took possession of Kieren when the Dragon Demon Undead retreated in shock. The Guardian Shadow threw Kieren towards Niberis. She reflexively used magic to catch him.

Afterwards, a Guardian Shadow slid towards her, and a familiar voice was heard from the Guardian Shadow.

「Hmm. I never expected a day to come when I would have to save you, Niberis.」

“Cold-blooded Queen?”

It was Leticia’s voice. Leticia’s voice had answered Niberis.

「Yes. We don’t have the time to for a long conversation. Also, I don’t want to have a long conversation with you either. I’ll buy you some time, so fuck off. There isn’t many on our side, so we won’t be able to hold out for too long.」

In terms of controlling the Guardian Shadows in a fight, Leticia was much better at it than Kairen. Even if she was good at it, the number of Guardian Shadows gathered in this location was too low. She was limited in what she could do.

Niberis was confused only for a brief moment. She spoke.

“…I’ll pay back this debt someday.”

「I’ll remember that promise.」

Niberis left behind that voice, and she escaped with Kieren in tow.

“Shit. That felt dirty”

Leticia grumbled, while she kept her eyes close.

Kairen had assigned half of the Guardian Shadows to the waypoints of the Road of Darkness. They were placed there to keep surveillance. This was why they had caught sight of Niberis using the waypoint near the Plain of Darkness. They saw her head towards the Albatan forest.

The number of Guardian Shadows sent to rescue Niberis was low. The location of the waypoint was to blame. They had placed enough Guardian Shadows to observe a waypoint, but they hadn’t placed enough to act as a fighting force.

Kairen let out a bitter laughter as he spoke.

“I understand why you feel that way, but it can’t be helped.”

Laura was the first one to suggest that they rescue Niberis.

She had spoken with her heart, not her head. The party quickly debated their next action, and in the end, they decided to save Niberis.

Leticia spoke.

“I understand that. That is why I’m trying my best. Anyways, these bastards are quite skilled. They are tired, yet…..”

The three Dragon Demon Undead had fought Niberis and Kieren, so they were in a rough state. Despite this fact, they were able to easily withstand the fierce attack of the Guardian Shadows.

Suddenly, Leticia furrowed her brows.

“Mmm?”

“What is it?”

Kairen asked her a question.

Leticia’s expression hardened as she spoke.

“We are in trouble.”

“What happened?”

“It seems our efforts will be for naught.”

“Again, what is going on….”

“Reygus has appeared.”

Kairen flinched.

Since Reygus had appeared, the Guardian Shadows wouldn’t be able to buy any time. Niberis and Kieren would be caught in no time.

“Shit!”

Kairen struck the tree next to him. Leticia had a defeated expression on her face, but her expression changed. It changed into a peculiar expression.

“Wait a moment. Something weird just happened.”

“What is it?”

“It seems Reygus wants to talk to us.”

When Reygus showed up, the fight between the three Dragon Demon Undead and the Guardian Shadows came to a halt. Reygus acted as if there wasn’t a fight going on. He just walked in between them.

<Hmm. Stop for a brief moment.>

The Guardian Shadow had shot a pillar of light, and the Dragon Demon Undead magicians had shot a fireball. Reygus took on both attacks with his body. He was hit full on, yet he continued to walk as if nothing had hit him. Both sides stopped when they saw this.

<Hey, Ms Ice. Are you still watching us?>

「…….」

<We’ve had such fun battles against each other, so I’ll feel a bit hurt if you ignore me. Well, it is said that a woman’s bashfulness is a virtue. It can’t be helped. Please wait a moment.>

After he spoke those words, he turned to look at the three Dragon Demon Undead.

The Dragon Demon Undead were nervous. They could tell that something was off with Reygus.

<…….>

<Well…….>

Reygus scratched his cheek as if he was reluctant to do this.

<You’ll have to fight me.>

If they were still alive, they would have stopped breathing. However, the three of them were Undead, so they just flinched as they froze in place.

Reygus spoke.

Reygus didn’t deny it.

Reygus was an Undead that was subordinate to the Great Darkness. However, his will wasn’t under the control of Atein. When the revived Atein spoke his goal, Reygus had decided he wasn’t going to serve Atein as his king.

<You’ll regret this.>

In the end, the three Dragon Demon Undead gave up on their hunt. They retreated. After seeing them off, Reygus turned to speak to the Guardian Shadow.

<Well…. Ms Ice. Will you let me hear your voice? I have something important I want to talk to you about.>