SWNOVELXO Chapter 541
Chapter 541: Just for This Moment. (1)
Fwoosh!
“Guh!”
Suddenly attacked by Jerome, Helgenik received a severe wound on his back.
“You… you’ve already recovered…?”
“I told you that I would definitely kill you, didn’t I?”
Jerome grinned. He was kindhearted, but as a mage, he had a stubborn side too.
Without replying, Helgenik unleashed his magic power.
Bang!
Jerome’s shield shattered. He stepped back, clicking his tongue. The power was monstrous. It was completely different from when they met last time.
It was clear he had used hidden skills. His appearance alone was abnormal.
However, Helgenik couldn’t pursue Jerome because Ghislaine and Yulien were swinging their swords.
Thwack!
“Guh…”
Now it was hard to find any part of his body without wounds. The black smoke he emitted had noticeably decreased compared to the beginning.
Jerome shouted at the two.
“I’m not the enemy! I came to help! My name is—!”
“I know! Focus on the fight!”
Ghislaine shouted loudly. She understood that he also tended to talk a lot.
Now that I think of it, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a quiet mage.
No matter how kind-hearted they are, they basically think they are the center of the world.
“Yes!”
Jerome answered immediately, realizing the urgency of the situation. Still, he wasn’t in as dire a state as Claude.
Bang!
Ghislaine swung her sword, her red eyes shining.
He was currently in a state of five activated cores. He couldn’t use them for long, but there was no situation where he could save power.
The red line was swirling chaotically, leaving dozens of wounds on Helgenik’s body. Ghislaine particularly targeted the heart, trying to destroy it multiple times.
“Guuuh!”
Helgenik was a mage. He couldn’t possibly excel in close combat techniques.
Even so, he endured Ghislaine’s attacks with his body and cast magic. He was only concerned with minimal defense to prevent his heart from being destroyed.
Bang!
Dozens of dark arrows instantly struck Ghislaine’s body. Ghislaine vomited blood and was thrown back.
Swoosh!
Yulien’s sword relentlessly targeted Helgenik’s neck. It was an extremely bothersome attack for Helgenik.
It didn’t matter if other parts were destroyed. But if the source of his magic, his heart, were to be destroyed, it would be catastrophic. He also had to be cautious about his head that controlled his magic.
So whenever Yulien attacked, he concentrated his energy around his head and neck.
Bang!
Suddenly, a massive black hand burst from the ground and struck Yulien. Helgenik demonstrated some astonishing high-level necromancer spells.
Unlike the two, Jerome did not engage directly.
‘That energy is being consumed continuously. No way…’
He quickly grasped the situation and formed an excellent deduction as a mage.
‘Was that the hidden power? The fact that he can no longer resurrect corpses means… he must have used that power for himself.’
Helgenik appeared strangely desperate. This wasn’t a mage-like fight at all.
It seemed more like a battle of a mere mortal who could use magic.
The reason the sly fellow was hiding his true nature was simple.
‘It’s a power with a time limit. His magic energy is continuously depleting.’
The black energy gushing wildly from his wounds was clearly visible. While it was somewhat different from magic, it wasn’t entirely alien either.
That energy was overflowing from Helgenik’s body like an explosion. It gave the impression that’s how he could wield enormous strength.
If they dragged this out, he would likely collapse on his own. But if he fled now, his allies would be in danger.
That must be why the two weren’t fleeing either.
‘Alright, let’s do this.’
[Whoosh—!]
Jerome cast a shield for Ghislaine and Yulien. At the same time, a healing spell was unleashed.
Helgenik’s counterattack was so fierce that both of them were becoming disordered.
While it wasn’t as potent as divine power, as a high-level mage, his healing magic had significant effects. Ghislaine and Yulien believed it and became even bolder in attacking Helgenik.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As the two pressed against Helgenik, Jerome stepped back a little.
He couldn’t use area-of-effect magic. He couldn’t afford to involve the two.
Even aiming strictly at Helgenik wasn’t easy. The three of them were moving at remarkable speeds together.
Jerome first cast a suitable magic spell.
Fwoosh!
From Jerome’s outstretched hand, dozens of beams of light shot out.
This was a true ‘magic missile,’ not the slingshot he had used to catch bandits before.
Dozens of magic missiles flew toward Helgenik. The guided spells skillfully weaved through the gaps of the three, targeting only Helgenik.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Even though it was lower-circle magic, it was being cast by an eighth-circle mage. Each one carried tremendous power.
Ghislaine and Yulien widened their distance instinctively as the magic missiles approached.
No matter how much guidance they had, if the fighters moved too quickly, it was easy to miss the target.
“Guhhhh!”
Helgenik looked back after being struck by a magic missile.
Jerome was dodging the spells he had cast annoyingly well.
He clearly confirmed that his magic was running low, so where was he replenishing it from!?
In truth, Jerome was also slightly surprised.
‘Was that person really a 5th circle mage?’
He had a significantly greater amount of magic power than an ordinary 5th circle mage. Plus, it was such pure quality.
Mages with such magic power were rare. He was superior to most elders and tower masters.
‘Why hasn’t he reached the 6th circle with this kind of magic? Why did he let me easily drain all his magic? Judging by the quality of his magic, it looks like he rigorously cultivated it to perfection.’
Alfoy had also eaten a Dragon Heart and regularly operated massive amounts of magic due to construction work, so when it came to the quality of magic alone, he was not inferior to anyone.
However, he was a ‘lucky mage’ whose will didn’t match it. It was an unknown fact for Jerome.
Nevertheless, Alfoy’s magic was indeed of great assistance. With Jerome joining, Helgenik began to consume energy even faster.
Moreover, Jerome wasn’t only attacking. As someone who could cast numerous spells, he was particularly adept in the fields of space and absorption.
‘I can pull it out!’
Bang!
As Jerome stretched out his hands, Helgenik’s wounds opened, letting more black energy seep out.
And that energy started to be sucked into Jerome’s hands.
“Guh!”
Jerome’s robe billowed out. His body swelled up grotesquely, and black veins ran rampant.
This power was of a kind that he couldn’t handle.
‘Damn, that guy is truly something else.’
Jerome clicked his tongue inwardly. He was fighting while enduring this power. A normal physique could never withstand such force.
How in the world was he able to endure such power? No, it was absurd just to be moving with those wounds.
Reluctantly, Jerome stopped absorbing and scattered that power back into the air.
“Ggah!”
Helgenik screamed in pain.
For a moment, considerable energy had drained out. He truly was a mage. Instead of directly attacking, he was weakening his own strength.
Due to the divine power, the barrier of energy had significantly crumbled. Moreover, that divine power still remained, hindering his recovery.
“Guhhh, if it weren’t for that girl!”
If it weren’t for the divine power, he would have ended it long ago. He couldn’t endure it.
He wanted to kill the saint, who was collapsed far away, immediately, but for now, facing Jerome was the priority.
He had no idea when that spell would again siphon energy like before.
Fwoosh!
Helgenik closed the distance to Jerome with a blink.
But Jerome was a mage too. He distorted space to evade Helgenik’s attack and fled to Ghislaine’s side.
“You bastard!”
Fwoosh!
Helgenik moved again. But in front of him were Ghislaine and Yulien, swinging their swords.
Bang!
Helgenik sustained a large wound on his body. In the meantime, Jerome moved again and extended his hand.
Bang!
Another wound opened, and energy spilled out. Although Jerome’s activation time was short, it was deadly for Helgenik, who was already losing energy simply by existing.
“Guhhh!”
Helgenik cast spells mercilessly.
The surroundings were already destroyed to the point where their shapes were unrecognizable, yet he still couldn’t kill his opponents.
Jerome fought smartly too. He was also running low on magic energy.
No matter how much purity there was, magic that wasn’t his own was merely a disposable substitute that was hard to absorb properly.
Moreover, the overall quantity was necessarily limited compared to his original levels. While it was quite a lot for a 5th circle, it was still just 5th circle magic.
Thus, rather than directly attacking Helgenik, Jerome prioritized casting defensive spells.
He protected himself and the two from Helgenik’s indiscriminate explosion of magic and, whenever there was a chance, siphoned Helgenik’s energy.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The three began to pressure Helgenik in this manner.
Ghislaine’s eyes shone. Though she and Yulien were exhausted, Helgenik was weakening faster with Jerome’s involvement. They just needed to push a little more.
“Gahhh!”
Helgenik realized he couldn’t hold on much longer. If he dragged this out in this state, he would just collapse.
No, even now he was starting to falter. As the Lord of the Undead and the Monarch of Death, true death was looming over him.
‘No!’
Helgenik was a master of souls. He was well aware that his sins had piled up high enough to pierce the heavens and cover the earth.
If he died like this, his soul would wander the river of the undead in eternal pain.
Just like he had made others suffer.
That was the final fate of someone who had touched dark magic without becoming an Transcender.
Eventually, Helgenik decided to truly gamble his life for strength.
[Thud-thud-thud-thud!]
Helgenik gathered his energy. It wouldn’t be as strong as at the beginning, but it could still deal a fatal blow.
Ghislaine saw this and shouted.
“Jerome! Distract him! Hold on somehow! I’ll take care of it!”
Jerome felt something serious and exhausted all of his remaining magic to absorb Helgenik’s energy.
Bang!
“Guhhh!”
Helgenik couldn’t bear the pain and screamed. Being interrupted, his energy twisted into chaos.
But at least Helgenik could handle that energy better than Jerome could. It was a power that was very similar to the magic he originally possessed.
As he focused his mind, the energy began to regroup and gather again.
In stark contrast, Jerome still couldn’t withstand the pressure of the energy’s focus.
“Ugh…”
With his black veins bulging all over, Jerome ultimately vomited blood.
His magic energy was too low to withstand this power, and his body was exhausted.
Jerome had no choice but to scatter the absorbed magic power into the air, crumbling away.
But the brief opening created a surprising opportunity.
To begin with, Helgenik needed a bit of time to unleash that technique. Jerome allowed that time to lengthen a bit more.
Ghislaine dashed forward, shouting.
“Yulien!”
Fwoosh!
With his still chilly gaze, Yulien appeared right in front of Helgenik.
He poured all his mana into his sword. Upon seeing Yulien appear, Helgenik unconsciously poured energy into his neck.
However, Yulien’s sword, which had been obsessively targeting only Helgenik’s neck…
Thrust!
Pierced deep into Helgenik’s heart.
“Gahhh!”
Helgenik screamed. His energy began to thrash within his body. The rampaging energy was slipping out of his control.
But that was fine. He could explode it at any moment. At least that thing in front of him would be shattered into pieces.
In the very moment Helgenik was about to detonate his energy…
Yulien quietly spoke.
“Ghislaine.”
Fwoosh!
In that moment, Ghislaine jumped high from behind Yulien.
Whoosh!
A burning black energy completely enveloped Ghislaine’s body. Only his two eyes emitted a bright red glow.
Since reaching the fifth level, Ghislaine had not used amplification.
Not because he didn’t want to. But because using amplification with the power he had gained by reaching the fifth level would make it impossible to endure even for a moment.
He was now risking it all, not wanting to miss the opportunity created by Jerome and Yulien.
Banggggg!
An immense storm of magic energy surged into his sword.
In that fleeting moment, Helgenik could only widen his eyes in surprise.
‘Time…’
Even without his awareness, time slowed down. That overwhelming power approaching him had affected the surroundings.
Nothing could move. Everything came to a stop. Helgenik was trapped in the distortion of time.
Ghislaine clenched his teeth. Just swinging the sword brought immense strain to his body.
He felt like he would drop the sword before reaching the target. No, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say his body might explode.
But he somehow endured.
With this monstrous strength, he could surely behead that monster.
Just for this moment.
He had transcended the strength of his past life.
Crack!
Ghislaine’s sword tore through space itself as it passed.