SWNOVELXO Chapter 457
“Huh. Is this all?”
Shail, who had endured to the end and tried to exploit the ghost’s opening, ultimately failed. He was the only Transcendent among us, aside from me, so his failure was a more painful loss than anything else.
However, the ghost showed no particular emotion even after driving the final nail of victory. To him, this fight was no longer a battle but merely the final cleanup before opening the gate.
He descended to the ground slowly and leisurely.
“The story has ended. I’ll make one last offer. Will you join me? Let’s stop this meaningless fight, return, and enjoy a feast while gazing at the night view of the gate.”
When he first asked me, I wavered. Defeat was already certain, and it became even more so when Shail was petrified. If defeat was inevitable, wouldn’t it be better to join him and at least save Mari’s life? After all, this was my second life, so death didn’t scare me, but the lives of my companions were different.
But now, as he asks me again, I no longer waver. Even if I break and die, I won’t yield. I won’t listen to the ghost’s temptations testing my will.
I didn’t answer, but the ghost understood my response from my expression.
“Is that so? What a pity.”
“…Let’s have dinner in the afterlife.”
Swoosh! Clang!
I mimicked Shail’s last strike and thrust my spear as sneakily as possible, but the attack couldn’t even pierce the ghost’s barrier. Instead, the scratches Shail and I made regenerated in real-time, rendering them meaningless.
“After all, a wild beast untouched by human hands since birth cannot be tamed.”
The ghost sighed in disappointment at my refusal of his offer. But that was all. He felt regret at the rejection but wasn’t deeply saddened or attached. To him, I was only worth that much.
“Then let’s wrap this up. Unfortunately, I’ll have to watch the gate activate alone.”
Tick. Tock.
The second hand of the clock embedded in the ghost’s chest ticked, completing another cycle.
And then, the final flash…
Clang!
But at that moment, a figure intervened between me and the ghost.
The sword was sharp and powerful, but it had no chance of piercing the barrier that even Shail and I couldn’t break, and it was deflected helplessly.
However, the interruption allowed me to escape the ghost’s sight for a moment.
“Sharl! Protect Kurt at all costs!”
The person who intervened between me and the ghost was Sharl, Liche’s golem guard.
And then, Liche’s magic shot toward the ghost.
Of course, even those spells vanished before reaching the ghost with a mere wave of his hand, but Liche remained undeterred, as if she had expected it.
The two of them were the last of my companions remaining, while everyone else had been petrified.
16 minutes.
“Kurt is our last hope! I won’t let him be petrified!”
“Hmm. Aila. Recall the golem. Even if you’ve opposed me, you are a wizard descended from the noble blood of the Ancient Empire, so I have no intention of harming you. Do you think I left you and that lizard until the end for no reason? We wizards are destined to rule over slaves and humans in the new world I will create. So, don’t be afraid and go with the flow.”
“I refuse your so-called kindness! A Dragnity Empire I’ve never heard of holds no value compared to my friends!”
“Calling livestock or elves, inferior races, your friends? The children of this era have been corrupted. But you’ll change your mind once you see the new world I create. So, sleep for now. By the time you wake, it’ll all be over.”
Clang!
As Liche continued to interfere, the ghost attempted to shoot a flash at her, but Sharl, sensing the hostility, quickly turned to shield Liche with his body.
“Hoo. I tried to petrify the lizard, but the wizard girl interfered, and now the golem is bothering me. Fine. If that’s what you want, I’ll deal with the golem first… Hmm?”
The ghost, annoyed, looked at Sharl and suddenly noticed something.
“Is this… Andelia’s Divine Soldier?”
For the first time, his eyes showed delight and greed.
“I didn’t expect to encounter this in such a situation. I didn’t realize it sooner. I didn’t think it would still be functional. Well, Andelia’s Divine Soldier is better than a wild beast master.”
His eyes gleamed with greed far greater than when he tried to recruit me.
“Indeed, is it loyal because that girl carries the blood of the Ancient Empire? But if so, it should serve me even more. After all, the purpose of Andelia’s Divine Soldier is to protect the Imperial Palace and the royal family.”
The ghost drew a complex seal on his palm, and Sharl silently stared at it, still holding his sword.
“Do you recognize this seal? This is the bloodline magic of my family, flowing through my veins. I am the true noble of the Ancient Empire, with even a trace of the royal bloodline. I am the highest priority of your loyalty and your true commander.”
“Sharl! Don’t listen to him!”
“Damn it, this dirty trick!”
The ghost smirked as he tried to seize control of Sharl.
Liche urgently commanded Sharl, and I desperately swung my spear to stop it.
But all our struggles were meaningless.
He easily blocked my strikes and even had the leisure to erect an ice wall to prevent Liche and me from interfering with Sharl.
And amidst it all, Sharl silently stared at the seal on the ghost’s palm.
“Good. You recognize this bloodline magic. Then you know who your true master is, don’t you?”
“…”
Sharl remained silent.
He was a golem who couldn’t speak, but at that moment, I felt that even if he could, he would have remained silent.
And then—Swoosh! Clang!
He swung his sword at the ghost again.
Though Sharl was just a golem, his actions seemed to mock the ghost’s offer.
“Tsk. Is it broken? I had hoped it would function properly, but time takes its toll. Fine. I’ll repair it later. You’re already mine.”
Flash.
Despite Sharl’s resistance, it was as futile as a fly before a person.
And so, Sharl was also petrified.
14 minutes.
.
.
.
Now, there was no one left to stop the ghost.
The ghost slowly approached Kurt.
Kurt, too, prepared for the end with unwavering resolve.
Liche was still there, but she wasn’t a warrior.
She alone couldn’t turn the situation around.
How could a mere mage, when even the Master couldn’t defeat him, protect Kurt?
The warriors on the frontlines, especially Sharl and Aila, who specialized in defense, had all been rendered powerless.
But that didn’t give her a reason to give up.
Even though he was the detestable lizardman who had stolen the hearts of Karina and Serena, the first friends I made.
He was, after all, our last hope.
‘Perhaps this is… my last magic.’
Liche prepared the most powerful spell she knew.
A magic of the Ancient Empire, a bloodline magic unique to her family, just as the ghost had shown.
Yet, the ghost didn’t even glance at her.
As if she wasn’t worth guarding against.
Humiliating, but the spell required a long incantation, even for a wizard like Liche, allowing her to complete it.
The ghost reached out toward Kurt, and Kurt knelt.
At that very moment, Liche activated her magic.
“Judgment of the Everlight Family!”
Liche didn’t hold much hope.
‘I don’t expect to damage the ghost. But… if only my magic can distract him for a moment…!’
But the result was something Liche hadn’t anticipated.
No, not just Liche.
Neither the ghost nor Kurt had expected it.
“Gah!”
Liche’s magic pierced through the ghost’s barrier as if it didn’t exist.
The spell struck the ghost’s defenseless back, sending him flying like a stone skipping across water.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“H-how…?”
Liche, unable to believe what she was seeing, stood stunned, unable to follow up.
But the shock she felt was nothing compared to the ghost’s.
“W-what…! How…! How can you use that magic?!”
For the first time, the ghost, bleeding from the mouth, struggled to his feet and shouted at her in disbelief.
Though she had no obligation to answer, still dazed, she replied without thinking.
“W-well, it’s a bloodline magic passed down in my family…”
“Your family…? Are you saying the Everlight family is your family? Impossible! You’re lying! Your name! What’s your name?!”
The ghost seemed out of his mind.
As if he had seen a ghost.
Of course, after such a devastating blow, it was natural for him to be unstable, but his state was different from simply being hit by a powerful spell.
Feeling an inexplicable eerie aura from the ghost, Liche, despite being in the midst of battle, found herself revealing things about her family she hadn’t even told her companions.
Somehow, under the ghost’s gaze, she felt compelled to do so.
“Clarice Everlit. But Everlit is a changed family name to avoid the Holy Kingdom’s eyes… The original family name and my name are Clarice Everlight.”
“Aah…! Aaaaah!!”
The ghost was now weeping bitterly.
Seeing this, Kurt, who had been compressing his aura to exploit the ghost’s opening, watched with suspicion.
“P-perhaps, what is your middle name?”
‘Polite speech…?’
“I don’t know that much. My parents said it wasn’t necessary to know since the family had already fallen. Only that it starts with D…”
“Dragnity.”
“Huh?”
“Your middle name is Dragnity… Your true family name is Dragnity Everlight. That is your true family name and the name of the Dragnity Empire’s royal family.”