Chapter 28

We are still overwhelmingly outnumbered.

Normally, it wouldn't be easy for Flamm to take on five church knights with his current strength.

But strangely enough, he didn't feel like he was going to lose at all.

Gagon!

A powerful strike infused with prana was slammed into the side of the plate armor.

The steel armor dented and the impact penetrated through to the inside, destroying the knight's internal organs. He was blown away and fell to the ground, spitting blood from his mouth.

Immediately after, a spear aimed for his temple from the right.

Flamm leaned back, and the tip of the spear grazed his nose.

Then, another sharp thrust aimed for her unstable posture from the left.

They thought—taken aback, the five knights thought simultaneously, but Flamm kicked off the ground and performed a backflip to avoid it, vanishing the Soul Eater.

It was a reckless move, but it was made possible by consuming stamina and infusing prana into her legs.

She dodged a strike aimed at her landing with a backstep, then drew her sword again, exhaling and replenishing her prana.

On the other hand, Gadio thrust his sword into the air, targeting the approaching eyeballs.

Gagagagagaga!

The immense amount of prana he poured in raged like a storm, sweeping away everything in front of him.

“Thrust, concentrate and pierce through a single point!”

He said it with a strong tone.

It was probably a demonstration.

Taking his words to heart, Flamm launched a thrust at the knight, condensing prana from the tip.

—Knight Swordsmanship: Spirit Piercing Spear.

The thin, sharp strike penetrated the thick armor and skewered the knight's body.

A few centimeters of a perfect circle opened in the chest area, and as he tried to cover it with his hand, he collapsed with a clatter.

Three left.

The knights shared a moment of shock and momentarily halted their advance.

Flamm took the opportunity to steady her breathing.

“Phew... By the way, Mr. Gadio, why are you here?”

“It’s as you see.”

Gadio pointed with his chin to where—there seemed to be more eyeballs than when Flamm was being chased.

“Could it be, you were being chased by those things?”

“That’s right.”

He chuckled self-deprecatingly.

Upon closer inspection, his expression seemed somewhat tired.

He might have been chased for days, and probably hadn’t slept at all during that time.

Even so, the fact that he could take down several adventurers with a single swing in his exhausted state was a terrifying feat.

Well, the detailed circumstances leading up to their reunion could be discussed later—now, she needed to focus on the remaining three.

The subsequent battle was more like a kind of “training.”

When Gadio unleashed a massive sword aura on the ground with a single swing, Flamm did the same, striking down a knight.

When Gadio crossed his swords and created a wall of prana, Flamm drew a cross with the tip of her sword, creating a shield to block the knight’s magic.

Furthermore, when she asked about the nuances of prana refinement, a refined power infused the Soul Eater, and she cleanly bisected the plate armor that she had previously struggled to move.

“Last!”

One-on-one, there was no longer any reason for her to lose.

Flamm raised her pitch-black blade and drew a single vertical line.

The last one was split in two, armor and all, and fell to the ground in two pieces.

The wounds began to freeze, as if to stem the flow of blood and organs.

Sheathing her sword and turning to Gadio—

“Haaaaa!”

She shattered the approaching eyeball with sheer force, intimidating the enemy,

“Hn!”

and witnessed a scene that seemed like a joke—Gadio shattered a man with a single swing.

Gadio’s strength was well understood, but it was even more pronounced in a battle against humans.

Moreover, despite being useless, he didn’t look down on her and even took care of her, which made him all the more admirable.

“It seems you’ve finished as well.”

“Yes, somehow. Thank you for your help, Mr. Gadio. I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come.”

“Hn, it wasn’t just my strength.”

Gadio smiled gently.

“You’ve grown, Flamm.”

And he said it with a warm voice.

She was recognized by the hero.

Flamm was so happy she wanted to jump for joy, but quickly reminded herself not to get carried away.

...She was still weak.

She hadn’t saved anyone yet.

“With everything that’s happened up until today... I have a lot to talk about, but for now—”

“Yeah, let’s go.”

The eyeballs didn’t stop; they continued to emerge from somewhere and chase after them.

Flamm and Gadio started running in the direction Daen had fled, determined to resolve the situation.

◇◇◇

The two, a giant man in armor and a small, lightly dressed girl, wandered through the night town.

Daen’s whereabouts were still unknown.

While continuing the search, Flamm and Gadio exchanged information.

“So, this girl Ink is creating the eyeballs, right?”

“That’s right.”

“Is she one of the children of the Spiral?”

“Is that something the church is researching?”

“Yes, it seems you know. It’s a crazy experiment where a substitute for a heart, called an Origin Core, is implanted into newborns.”

“Origin Core... and a substitute for a heart...”

In other words, if the core is destroyed—Ink will die.

However, as long as the core remains, her ability to create eyeballs will likely persist.

She would continue to track and harm those who pose a threat to the church.

“What’s your relationship with Ink?”

“I just happened to help her when I found her lying down. After that, we lived together for a few days.”

“I see. So, you want to save her, right?”

“...Yes.”

Flamm’s gaze fell.

If possible, she wanted to save her.

If there was a way to remove only the Origin Core.

But Flamm understood that it was difficult.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t think of a way. However, I understand that it’s not good to leave it with Daen.”

“You know Daen?”

“I’m an adventurer too, so I’ve heard of the guy who does as he pleases in the West District.”

“He sold his soul and that of his comrades to the church.”

“He can’t be saved... lured by short-term gains, he discarded the most respected asset.”

Gadio spat it out.

A T-junction loomed ahead, and they slowed down, turning right.

A large number of eyeballs fell from the rooftops on both sides.

Two streaks of light tore through the night, scattering them in mid-air.

“By the way, was it you, Mr. Gadio, who threw a knife at my window frame?”

“Yes, but was it not clear?”

Flamm’s shoulders slumped.

“It wasn’t clear at all. There was no name, and the writing was messy.”

“Forgive me, I had no time.”

It was a note written in the midst of being chased by eyeballs.

Finding Flamm’s location must have been difficult even then.

“I understand, but at first, I thought it was a prank by Daen and his gang.”

“Well, it seems it had no effect anyway.”

“Even if you tell me not to go out, it’s too late now. I’m part of this too.”

“Part of it?”

“It seems the Origin’s target is me. Thinking about it, it was odd that I, a weakling, was chosen for the journey to defeat the Demon King.”

Flamm jumped to avoid an eyeball that emerged from her feet.

Another corner lay ahead.

This time, they didn’t slow down and turned diagonally to the left.

“I don’t know why, but could it be targeting my attribute?”

“Reversal?”

“Yes, that Origin Core you mentioned earlier, I think it can’t be destroyed by normal means.”

Flamm recalled Negus’s reaction when she met him in the laboratory.

“That’s correct. It seems it can’t be destroyed by conventional means.”

Gadio had been investigating the church before he was chased, and he had this much information.

“But I was able to destroy it. At that time—actually, I fought a monster that used the core’s power once.”

“You seem to be more deeply involved than I thought.”

“Yes, well. At that time, I was desperate and poured all sorts of things like prana and magic into the core.”

“Is that magic the key?”

“If the Origin is powered by the ‘Spiral,’ then maybe by reversing the rotation with my reversal, something might happen...”

“I don’t understand the theory, but if you actually destroyed it, that must be the case. If prana is the reason, someone must have done it before.”

“It’s something only I can do. That’s why I have to—”

Flamm looked at her palm.

Even if she couldn’t save her, she could stop further tragedies.

But was that really the right thing to do?

“What!?”

At that moment, Gadio cried out.

Their eyes met.

He shouted reflexively.

“Don’t stop, Flamm!”

She didn’t know what had happened, but she ran as fast as she could.

Goooon—Doom!

A loud noise echoed through the quiet town.

“Guh... Nnooo...!”

Gadio was holding back the walls that were about to crush them with his arms.

The black gauntlets were embedded in the stone walls.

His arms were trembling, and it was clear that even with his immense strength, it was difficult to maintain.

Moreover, eyeballs were approaching from below.

He didn’t want to be separated again in this situation, but—

He seemed to have given up on reuniting, released the force from his arms, and escaped in the opposite direction from Flamm.

The walls closed completely, and the two were separated.

“Mr. Gadio!?”

“I’m fine, but it doesn’t seem like we can continue together.”

In front of Gadio stood a boy who looked to be no more than ten years old.

He was wearing a white outfit very similar to the one Ink had worn initially.

—An enemy.

Probably one of the children of the Spiral.

Regardless of his age, Gadio aimed his sword at him without mercy.

“Ah, right, Flamm, there’s something I forgot to tell you. A message from someone you know.”

His voice came through the wall.

“From who!?”

Her voice was tinged with anxiety.

Eyeballs were approaching Flamm, and it was difficult to stay in this place any longer.

She intended to run as soon as she heard the message.

“It’s from a girl named Sera. She wants you to know that she’s safe.”

But—Flamm couldn’t help but be overjoyed upon hearing this.

“Sera...!”

Tears welled up in her eyes, blurring her vision.

The reunion with Gadio and the news of Sera’s survival brought back the hope she thought she had lost.

“She’s alive. So, so...!”

If Sera was alive, Milkit and Eterna must be safe too.

Hope reignited in Flamm’s heart, and her eyes regained their light.

“Thank you, Mr. Gadio!”

She shouted loudly and ran off.

Darting through the gaps between the eyeballs that were tracking her, she ran at her fastest speed, forgetting her fatigue.

Gadio, with his back to the wall, smiled at the sound of her bright voice.

“You have time to smile, sir?”

“Yes, I do.”

The boy, who was clearly older, became visibly irritated at the immediate response.

He ran his right hand through his long, wavy blue hair, which barely covered his ears, and looked at Gadio with cold eyes.

“Since you’re being chased, you must know I’m one of the children of the Spiral, right?”

He maintained his condescending tone even with Gadio, who was clearly older.

“I have my suspicions.”

“My name is Nekt Linkedge. I am of the second generation of the children of the Spiral, and the power given to me by Origin is—”

Nekt, with a cold smile, raised his palm and thrust his arm forward.

His face began to distort, turning into a red spiral, just like Ink had.

Gadio, on guard, gripped his sword and took a step forward.

Nekt, now completely transformed, closed his open hand into a fist.

“Connect.”

His throat vibrated, and from somewhere on his face, he announced it.

A high-speed movement that even a hero’s eyes couldn’t catch.

No—such a thing couldn’t exist.

It wasn’t movement, but teleportation.

Sensing something behind him, Gadio turned and swung his sword.

“Oh, connect.”

Nekt disappeared again.

This time, he seemed to have returned to his previous position.

And for the third time, he closed his palm.

“So, connect!”

His voice was filled with power, and the fleshy vortex pulsed, shaking the air with a great force.

The houses on either side of Gadio connected, and the walls pressed in to crush him.

Moreover, they connected to another location, and a stone house fell from above.

“Ahaha, how anticlimactic, even for a hero!”

Nekt was certain of his victory.

But—

“My will, Knight Swordsmanship—”

In a life-or-death situation.

However, Gadio remained calm, not letting his breathing falter, and faced the situation with his own technique.

He didn’t just use prana.

His attribute was earth.

Magic flowed through his arms into the great sword, and the blade was enveloped in rock.

The sword, which was already as long as a person, grew to two or three times its size.

It was so heavy that even Gadio’s strength couldn’t hold it without prana assistance.

Furthermore, he infused prana into the sword itself, which towered high into the sky, and unleashed his technique.

It was a knight swordsmanship he had created, for himself alone.

“Rock Blade Desperate Slash!”

Goooon—!

As the massive sword was swung, for a moment, time seemed to stop, and all sounds disappeared.

And in the next instant—

Gbaaaa!

With a loud crash, the walls and the falling buildings were shattered into pieces.

Nekt’s fatal strike was easily countered.

But amidst the falling debris, the boy was laughing, distorting the vortex.

“...Wow, I take it back. Heroes are really something, after all.”

“There’s no need to worry about involving others now. From here on, I’ll go all out.”

“Please, please, it’s what I want! And I have to prove that we are superior to heroes!”

◇◇◇

From where she had parted ways with Gadio, the sound of a tremendous clash of powers could be heard.

Is he really safe—Flamm suppressed the urge to turn back and continued forward.

There was no way to know where Daen was.

But based on the direction he had gone, the most suspicious place was the church in the West District.

At this hour, when everyone was asleep, the main hall would be empty.

The living quarters for priests and nuns were separate.

It would be an ideal place to hide or to meet up with someone.

“Persistent!”

Kicking away