Demon Sword Master of the Holy Sword Academy - Volume 3 - Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

THE FALLEN GOD’S GLORY

A snarling rumble shook the Third Assault Garden. A clarion song rang through the gloom, cutting through the dark, stormy clouds above the ruined city. A beautiful voice was reciting a hymn of the Holy Sect.

In the depths of the Central Garden, at the bottom floor of the Third Assault Garden’s military ward, from the place that could be called the very heart of this anti-Void fortress, something rose to the surface.

It tore through countless bulkheads, resounding as it slowly surfaced, dragging a large number of cables with it. Even the anti-Void weapons in its way were smashed aside all too easily. The mere peak of that monster’s form breaching the ground caused the surrounding area to sink in. Buildings toppled one after another.

“…Is that the Void Lord…?!” Riselia ran out of the mansion but still couldn’t believe her eyes.

A massive construct of stone and metal, made out of the Third Assault Garden’s structures, erupted forth, standing tall as if to lord over the artificial island. It towered hundreds of meters in height, like a cathedral of old. At the top of that titanic construct was a glowing crystal-like formation.

Half-submerged into that stone was a pale-skinned woman.

“The Holy Woman, Tearis Resurrectia.” Leonis whispered the name of his sworn enemy. She was one of the Six Heroes who had been granted the power to continually grow and evolve by the Luminous Powers. It was by way of that miraculous ability that Tearis had merged with the mana furnace.

No, that’s not accurate… She’s merged with the Third Assault Garden itself.

When the Archsage Arakael Degradios appeared in the Seventh Assault Garden, he’d attempted to merge with its mana furnace, as well. What Leonis saw now may well have been what the Archsage had tried to achieve.

“It took in the mana furnace!” Riselia exclaimed.

“Yes. It looks like those ghosts were telling the truth.” Leonis looked up at the Void Lord, that man’s words still clinging to his mind.

Nefakess Reizaad… He mentioned a goddess. That seemed to be how he’d described the Void Lord—a deity. While the creature certainly was imposing, something felt off about the conclusion to Leonis. No. That might be the Holy Woman, but it’s not the Goddess of Rebellion. Leonis shook his head in denial.

Most important of all, as one of the Six Heroes, the Holy Woman, Tearis, was the sworn enemy of the Dark Lords’ Armies. Even if Azra-Ael’s aide was mistaken, he would never regard one of the Six Heroes as the Goddess of Rebellion. There had been many divine beings in the past, but there was only one the Dark Lords honored. And that was the one being who had opposed the Luminous Powers: the Goddess of Rebellion, Roselia Ishtaris.

What’s going on here? Why did he call this monstrosity a goddess…?!

The Void Lord’s song echoed through the gray sky, like a hymn meant to bless, or perhaps condemn, the world. Suddenly, the mana furnace began to emit an almost blindingly brilliant glow.

“Wh-what’s going o—?”

As if to answer Riselia’s question, the mana furnace shot a shaft of light into the sky.

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

The bolt blew away the clouds that had blotted out the sun, revealing the boundless azure expanse above. The vibrations in the air reached the place Leonis was standing, making pebbles bounce off the ground.

Sunlight poured down from above, as though to bless the Void Lord’s arrival.

“It…can’t be…” Riselia swallowed nervously, her expression cramped with shock.

Had that blast been loosed at the ground, it would have wiped entire sectors of the Assault Garden away.

“If this thing reaches the Seventh…”

Excalibur Academy was home to many Holy Swordsmen, but would any number of them be enough to oppose this thing?

“…We have to stop it.” Riselia clenched her fists, resolute.

“Wait, just wait.” Leonis grabbed the young woman’s arm before she ran off impulsively. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“But if we don’t stop it, everyone will… It’ll happen again…”

Undoubtedly, this was calling up Riselia’s terrible memories of the tragic Stampede from six years ago. The poor girl was trembling.

“I’ll go fight it,” Leonis declared.

“Leo?”

“Miss Riselia, wait here for Regina and the others. Regroup with them.”

Leonis looked up, fixing his gaze on the Void Lord merged with the mana furnace. While his reasons were different, he couldn’t let the thing do as it pleased, either. Tearis Resurrectia was a sworn enemy of Leonis’s and placed his kingdom in danger, just as the Archsage Arakael had.

What’s more, he still wanted to know why Nefakess had referred to her as a goddess.

“Amilas, Dorug, Nefisgal, keep her here,” Leonis commanded as he turned his gaze to the three skeletons behind Riselia.

“““By your will!””” the bony heroes answered in chorus, and they sank into Riselia’s shadow.

“Leo, let me come with you!”

“No, it’s dangerous. Forget it.” Leonis shook his head.

Riselia had undoubtedly grown quite strong, and the day when she’d be able to lead Leonis’s undead legions as a full-fledged Vampire Queen was fast approaching. However, Leonis couldn’t ignore the fact that she was still inexperienced.

“Leo…” Riselia squatted down and looked the boy straight in the eyes. Leonis felt his heart skip a beat.

“Six years ago, I couldn’t do anything,” she began, and Leonis noticed a faint wavering in her voice. “Father and the other Crystalia Knights… They all laid down their lives for me. All I could do was sit in the shelter, praying for the Dark Lord from the fairy tale to save me.” Riselia bit her lip and continued with a hushed voice. “I don’t want to feel that way ever again. I can’t let you go alone, Leo.”

Riselia wrapped Leonis’s head in her arms and hugged him close.

“Miss…Selia…”

With his head cuddled like a child’s, Leonis could only concede. Riselia’s mind was made up. Nothing Leonis said would deter her.

She’s bright, but stubborn. Though I suppose that’s part of her merit. Leonis broke into a bitter smile. If Blackas heard of this, he’d comment that Lord Magnus was being too lenient with his minions.

“Very well. Come with me.”

“…Leo!”

“But just this once.” Leonis sighed.

Either way, so long as the Void Lord was out there, no place in this ruined city was truly safe. To that end, Riselia was probably better off at Leonis’s side. The two watched as the gigantic thing slowly began to move.

“Let’s hurry. There should be a two-seater vehicle behind the mansion.”

A military vehicle ran over the damaged wreckage of the road. And sitting in its carrying tray…

“…What’s what?!” Regina shouted, the wind whipping her blond pigtails around. The Central Garden was ahead, linked to the rest of the city by a bridge. She pointed at the peculiar structure that was floating above it.

“That’s the Void Lord,” Elfiné said nervously, gripping the steering wheel in the front seat. An orb floated above her, busily processing information. “It’s on the same level as the Void Lord who attacked the Seventh Assault Garden… No, it might even be stronger,” she concluded.

“…A Void Lord, eh?” Sakuya whispered, her expression dark.

“Then Lady Selia’s report…” Regina trailed off.

“Yes, it was accurate,” answered Elfiné.

The vehicle ran over a bump, its tires jolting hard.

“This goes beyond the scope of an investigation,” Elfiné commented, glaring at the gigantic structure in the sky. “We have to retreat immediately and report this to the academy.”

“But Lady Selia and the kid are still in the Central Garden,” Regina tried to argue.

“I know that,” Elfiné interjected, biting her lip as her fingers tightened around the steering wheel.

In this situation, the safe course of action would be to abide by the anti-Void combat manual and pull out. However, Elfiné had already lost two comrades once in what should have been a simple investigation mission. That was when her Holy Sword, the Eye of the Witch, had lost its original power.

I won’t let that happen, not ever again! Elfiné stomped down on the accelerator pedal. With that massive monster in the sky, leaving the Third Assault Garden via the tactical fighter wasn’t much of an option anyhow.

What do we do…?

Sitting inside the shaking carrying tray, Arle Kirlesio glared up at the Void Lord. “Roselia Ishtaris. To think she would resurrect using one of the Six Heroes as a vessel…!”

“Hang on tight, Leo!”

“O-okay!” Leonis replied, wrapping his arms around Riselia’s waist as hard as he could.

Her silvery hair trailed in the breeze, brushing against Leonis’s cheek. The two-wheeled vehicle’s magical motor roared to life. It took off, scattering rubble in its wake as it sped. Gritting his teeth to keep from biting his tongue, Leonis clung to Riselia’s back.

He squinted against the wind that beat incessantly against his eyes. The Void Lord was moving, gliding through the air.

“We won’t catch up to it at this rate… It’s a bit dangerous, but we’ll have to take the highway!” Riselia turned onto a wider road, which was thankfully still mostly intact. Leonis held on to her waist tightly to not be thrown off.

I—I have no choice but to do this! Leonis told himself as he felt his cheeks redden at the soft warmth of a girl’s body.

Unfortunately, the pleasant moment was short-lived.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

“…?!”

Numerous fractures formed in the air around them.

“Voids?! Leo, be careful!”

Crack… Crack… Crack… Crack…!

More and more of the fissures carved their way into reality until they entirely obscured the way ahead. An army of humanoid Voids, the same ones Riselia and Leonis had encountered on the school rooftop, emerged from the rifts.

“The Crystalia Knights’ ghosts…,” Leonis heard Riselia whisper sorrowfully despite the air rushing in his ears.

This was all that remained of those brave, proud warriors who had fought to protect the Third Assault Garden to the very end. The Holy Woman had resurrected them as monsters, barely even recognizable as the people they once were.

“…How…dare you…?!”

Riselia’s silvery hair lit up with an intense mana glow. She was furious at the Void Lord who had sullied the knights’ souls. Fate had already stolen everything from her six years ago, and this was just another twist of the knife.

The Voids stood to bar the vehicle’s path forward.

“Black Lightning, Flashing Through the Demonic Night, Shatter These Wandering Souls… Vuras Reiya!” Hanging onto Riselia’s waist with one hand, Leonis chanted a sixth-order annihilation spell. Bolts of ebon electricity thundered forth, destroying the Voids in a single blow.

“Miss Riselia, I’m sorry, but these creatures are already…”

“…Yeah. I know,” Riselia replied, holding back her sorrow. “Please put them to rest. It’s the least we can do.”

“Okay.” Leonis nodded and began another spell.

Not being thorough in their destruction would mean their souls would continue wandering through these ruins. That was why Leonis used magic of fifth order or greater.

“Gather in My Hands, the True Fire That Consumes All—Al Gu Belzelga!”

The eighth-order fire spell burned the Voids away as soon as they manifested, destroying even the tears they emerged from. The sounds of battle filled the highway as Riselia urged the vehicle faster.

It wasn’t until the Voids had all been slain that Leonis realized the Holy Sect hymn had died down.

What?

Filled with a grim sense of premonition, Leonis looked up at the Void Lord. Instead of a song, the thing was now reciting an incantation. Countless magic circles, a number large enough to obscure the sky, appeared over the Holy Woman.

That’s…!

The next moment, a shower of burning meteors rained down from the many conjured arrays.

Brrrrrrrrrrr, boom! Brrrrrrrrr, boom!

A shower of fire and brimstone barreled down from the heavens. Pillars of flame shot up in the Central Garden. It was like a vision of the end times.

“…Wh-what…? What’s going on?!” Elfiné whispered in shock.

“That’s an eleventh-order area destruction spell,” Arle Kirlesio muttered. “The Smiting of the Heavenly Stars, Io Nemesis… Damn monster.”

“…L-Lady Selia, kid, can you hear me?!” Regina tried to contact the other two members of the eighteenth platoon for what felt like the dozenth time, but there was still no response.

The Eye of the Witch orb Riselia and Leonis had with them may have been destroyed in the explosion. Elfiné turned their vehicle off the road and toward the bridge that led to the Central Garden.

The plumes of flame had died down, but ash and dirt choked the air.

“Elfiné. They’re coming,” Sakuya said suddenly, manifesting Raikirimaru in her hands.

“Huh?”

Crack…!

A massive fissure ran through the air in front of the four. At first, Elfiné thought the windshield had cracked, but she soon realized it was one of the fissures that heralded the arrival of Voids.

The next moment, the fracture erupted, and innumerable gray hands burst out of it.

“…?!”

Elfiné nearly hit the brakes but changed her mind at the last second. Stopping now would mean everyone would fall prey to the Voids.

“Hang on tight!”

Stomping down on the accelerator pedal, Elfiné pushed ahead. The vehicle rammed into the Voids, knocking them away as it ran over the bridge at full speed. Unfortunately, more cracks in space appeared up ahead.

“…This is just like what happens before a Stampede…!” Regina observed, manifesting Drag Striker in her hands and shooting down the Voids in their path.

“Elfiné, they’re coming from above, too!” Sakuya shouted, cutting down Voids that had leaped from gaps above.

Curiously, even as chaos raged all around her, Arle Kirlesio kept her eyes fixed on the floating Void Lord. Her green ponytail danced in the wind.

“Sit down! It’s dangerous!” Regina called out to her.

“Listen. I need you to do me a favor,” Arle said, her gaze refusing to budge from the monster floating over the Central Garden.

The highway was little more than chunks of stone now. The Third Assault Garden had been buffeted with meteors. The barren land was dotted with craters.

“Eleventh-order holy magic, the Smiting of the Heavenly Stars… That’s some impressive power,” Leonis said, standing in the center of the overwhelming destruction. He’d erected a Power Spot Barrier to protect Riselia and himself.

Looking around, he eyed the demolished two-wheeled vehicle. Though the Void Lord’s spell had blown everything away, other Voids included, the attack hadn’t been explicitly directed at Leonis. The Holy Woman hadn’t even paid his presence any heed.

“Are you all right, Miss Selia?” asked Leonis.

“Ugh… Y-yeah…” Riselia moaned, sitting behind him and cradling her head. She was a bit dizzy from the shock of being knocked off the vehicle. Had Leonis chanted the incantation for his Power Spot Barrier spell any later, she wouldn’t have gotten out of this unscathed, even with a Vampire Queen’s vitality.

Leonis looked up at the sky. Floating above the clouds of dust it had kicked up, Tearis Resurrectia had begun to move again.

Is it trying to leave the Central Garden?

Leonis chanted a gravity control spell to fly up, then landed on a higher piece of the highway.

“You’re not getting away,” Leonis spat with a dauntless smile. He raised the Staff of Sealed Sins with both hands as he began chanting a grand feat of sorcery.

“Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Obey Thy Fated Ruin—Arzam!”

A magic circle formed at the tip of Leonis’s rod, and from it burst a tenth-order spell that boasted destructive power of the highest level.

Booooooooooooooom!

A massive sphere of destruction expanded and then shot forward. It shook the earth as it traveled. The sheer power of this magic was enough to strike down a low-ranking god.

However, the Void Lord’s massive shadow stood haughtily despite the flames licking at its form. Anti-Void weapons it had incorporated into itself had coated its body like armor, but now they melted away, revealing white flesh beneath that writhed like tentacles. The Void Lord then glowed faintly as its body began to regenerate.

Tearis Resurrectia’s healing powers.

The monster shook off even a tenth-order destruction spell. It continued to float along in the air, chanting its holy hymn all the while.

The Archsage still seemed to have some of his intelligence left, but this one…

Arakael Degradios, while significantly decayed and corrupted, had retained a portion of his intellect and consciousness. The same could not be said of the Holy Woman.

Yes, I’m definitely overthinking this, Leonis decided, relieved. I was foolish even to consider that a Void Lord could be Roselia’s vessel. Her noble soul would never incarnate into such a mindless monster. But if that’s the case, what did Nefakess mean by “goddess”?

Either way, it was clear that Nefakess was involved in this Void Lord’s awakening.

So be it. I will eventually drag him before me and have him speak. For now…

“Holy Woman of the Six Heroes, Tearis Resurrectia.” Leonis gripped the hilt of the Staff of Sealed Sins. “You pitiful creature who has succumbed to the Voids. I shall visit eternal destruction upon you this day.”

Leonis twisted the hilt of his staff, removing the dragon jewel inlaid at its tip. With this, he drew forth the Demon Sword sealed within the rod.

Thou Art the Sword to Save the World, Gifted by the Heavens.

Thou Art the Sword to Ruin the World, Made to Rebel Against the Heavens.

A Holy Sword, Sanctified by the Gods.

A Demon Sword, Blessed by the Goddess.

Tearis Resurrectia was a hero with the power to heal and revive. Perhaps Leonis could have defeated her with sorcery alone when he was the Undead King. However, now that he was in the body of a boy, destroying her with his spells would be difficult. Thus, Leonis drew the Demon Sword, a deity-slaying weapon given to him by Roselia, the Goddess of Rebellion.

Leonis could only release the seal on the weapon if his kingdom was in danger, and he’d fulfilled that condition. The blade of the Demon Sword blazed with malevolence.

As if reacting to the fearsome power of the Demon Sword, the Void Lord, who had thus far ignored Leonis, was now turning to face him.

So you finally deign to recognize me. I’m afraid it’s too late now, however…

Leonis drew out the Demon Sword, keeping the dark light it unleashed contained.

Let Your Name, Submerged in Darkness, Ring Forth—

“The Demon Sword, Dáinsleif!”

“Perish, ye of the Six Heroes!” Leonis held up the Demon Sword with both hands.

But just as he filled the sword with mana and prepared to swing down…

Kriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii! Dáinsleif let out a terrible screech.

The Demon Sword is resonating?! Leonis shook in confusion. This was a markedly different reaction from when he’d faced Arakael.

It can’t be… No, there’s no way that’s true…!

That moment of doubt made Leonis lose control of the Demon Sword’s power. In the same instant, the Void Lord’s mana furnace lit up with a blinding flash.

Oh no.

A blade of pale light, bright enough to white out the area, ran through Leonis’s body.