Act 2-40 - Ace in the Hole

Chapter 40 : Ace in the Hole

「T… Tahlia?」

Bishop Ornoa was moving his fingers as color drained from his face.

I turned around to see the situation behind me.

《Beloved Guide; Tahlia》 had already crouched on the ground, not moving an inch.

「O-O Beloved Guide Tahlia, w-why… you’re not moving?」

Edda stepped on 《Beloved Guide; Tahlia》’s head, and pierced its head with her sword.

Its body shook due to the impact. Only then did Edda pull her sword out of the puppet’s head.

「Sorry but… maybe I should just cut off the head. No, made it’s faster if we uproot the demon core inside.」

Edda muttered with her usual flat tone.

We were treading a dangerous bridge made of thread but… we passed.

The connection between bishop Ornoa and 《Beloved Guide; Tahlia》 has been completely severed.

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As long as bishop Ornoa didn’t hide a small enchanted tool with space-time magic(paradox) and took out a new enchanted weapon with 《Box》, he was literally barehanded.

Since my mana was so close to the limit, I cancelled 《Petit Dimordi》.

Though we just barely succeeded… we still managed to incapacitate 《Beloved Guide; Tahlia》.

It might not be that impressive but if we leave those two on their own device, the adventurers would be annihilated in a short time.

Fortunately, we managed to crush one of those two before it was too late.

I felt a euphoria upon accomplishing that job.

It was only this time I felt like this.

「It turned out to be a doll huh!」

「C-Can he turn that doll into such a monster?」

The adventurers who had been struck with despair since bishop Ornoa and his puppet made their entrance had regained their fighting spirit.

「Are you telling me that brat is the one… who stopped THAT?」

Even Gamdon who was in the middle of fighting his opponent couldn’t hide his shock, eyes opened wide as he looked at Edda and me.

In reality, the one who fought Tahlia was Edda, but looking at me who confronted bishop Ornoa, he might find a link between the two.

「TAHLIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

Bishop Ornoa suddenly plucked out his own hair with his huge hands while raising such a beastly roar.

There was only a sense of horror upon seeing such a big man suddenly screaming like a madman with tears and mucus soiling his face without minding his surroundings.

It felt like he was full of opening.

I knew that this was the best chance to kill him but my fear and vigilance held me back from jumping recklessly.

In addition, I’ve quite exhausted myself.

「OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH! TAHLIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」

Bishop Ornoa twisted his body as he roared like a madman again.

I stepped back slowly to get away from the dangerous madman while pointing 《Demon Eater Sword; Beelzera》 at him.

… Actually, there was a safer way to kill him by using 《Petit Dimordi》 but, my mana was truly almost exhausted.

If it’s just a need for magic just to check the situation without wasting my almost emptied mana, I still have THAT.

The current me should be able to use THAT with my current condition.

After I took some distance, I held my breath, and chanted the aria for THAT.

「Trick Do—-」

That moment, bishop Ornoa’s eyes opened wide.

「IT’S YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!」

Bishop Ornoa roared for the third time.

His giant, burly figure swelled up as black aura rising from his body.

It was the same skill used by Vlad before, 《Demonic Erosion Fighting Spirit》.

It was an atrocious battle art in which allowed the user’s entire body to be clad in extremely powerful fighting spirit to the point that it transformed the user’s body in exchange for their life force.

Bishop Ornoa stretched his right hand to grab my throat.

I couldn’t dodge the attack that combined the power of 【Lv:42】 and the skill since it was simply too fast.

Despite some distance between us, that distance meant nothing due to the difference between our speed.

「Ugh….!」

I raised 《Demon Eater Sword; Beelzera》 in a hurry and swung it toward bishop Ornoa’s arm.

Bishop Ornoa’s index finger was fluttering in the air. Following that, I cut off his thumb too.

But, that was far from enough to stop Bishop Ornoa.

He pushed back my sword with brute force.

When someone reaches that level, they’re no different from an atrocious demon beast in the flesh.

The base of his palm sunk into my chest. I tried to protect myself by using 《Transcendent toughness》 around my chest but I couldn’t kill the impact of his palm strike.

I felt that something was caught inside my throat. And in the next moment, I vomited blood.

My original plan was to jump back to reduce the impact but my body couldn’t move.

My chest hurt like hell.

But then, I realized that the pain didn’t come from the palm strike. When I looked down on my chest, I saw three lines tore my leather armor, and blood was gushing out from there.

I traced the inside of the torn leather armor.

「Huhm, failed huh, even though I wanted to tear your heart apart.」

Bishop Ornoa spoke while looking out of breath.

Fortunately, I managed to slice his index finger and thumb, weakening his attack before guarding against it with 《Transcendent Toughness》.

If I received his attack as it is, I’m afraid that my heart might’ve already been gouged out by him right now.

In that situation, I would die for sure.

I tried to prop myself up but I ended up falling to my knees due to exhaustion.

My field of vision is still shaking due to bishop Ornoa’s attack. My body refused to move.

「D-Dammit…!」

Bishop Ornoa’s attack came to end my life.

Crap, I would die for sure if I received that attack head on.

I almost ran out of mana and stamina but, I guess I had no choice but to use 《Moon Reflection》 to save myself at the last minute.

That moment, Edda who came from the side stabbed toward bishop Ornoa’s arm till it came out from the other side and pierced his flank.

It seems she came to help me as soon as she confirmed that 《Beloved Guide; Tahlia》 couldn’t move any longer.

「GUOOOOOOOOO!」

Red blood was spraying from bishop Ornoa’s body.

「Crying just because we robbed you of your plaything, how childish.」

Bishop Ornoa forcibly swung his arm to repel Edda who kept stabbing at him.

What a monster, it was as if he didn’t feel any pain from the wounds on his body.

Bishop Ornoa kept swinging his arm like somesort of blunt weapon but Edda dodged all of it within a paper-thin margin.

「STOP MOVING AROUND YOU FU*CKING BI*TCH!」

Despite the huge difference between Edda and bisop Ornoa’s level, Edda’s enchanted sword was a top class weapon.

I guess that the status correction given for her fighting spirit was also incredible.

Moreover, in terms of swordcraft, Edda was several levels higher than me.

She was making full use of the difference in reach between the length of her sword and arm length of bishop Ornoa, toying around with the latter.

In addition, Edda mercilessly poked into any opening created from bishop Ornoa’s lukewarm attack.

Even though he dodged the slash that was aiming for his head, the blade still cut his shoulder.

And then, just when I thought that Edda had overwhelmed her opponent.

Her sword’s blade stuck in bishop Ornoa’s shoulder.

I saw black smoke rising from bishop Ornoa’s shoulder, who activated 《Demonic Erosion Fighting Spirit》 locally on his shoulder to expand his muscle and lock Edda’s sword in there, effectively stopped her movement.

Anyhow, that was an eerie spectacle.

Bishop Ornoa’s face warped in pain, as expected, it looked like he really could feel pain.

But, his eerie-crescent shaped eyes were looking at Edda from point-blank range.

Edda tried to pull her enchanted sword from bishop Ornoa’s shoulder but it didn’t budge at all.

「GUH!」

「Fufufufu, I should do this from the very beginning. Now you can’t escape anymore.」

Bishop Ornoa’s hand were about to catch Edda’s head.

「EDDA! LET GO OF YOUR SWORD AND RETREAT!」

Though Edda’s face was confused for a moment upon hearing my voice, she didn’t let go of her sword.

「GAMDON STRIKE!」

Suddenly, a flaming disk that was rotating at high speed struck the back of the head of bishop Ornoa along with that loud voice.

Blood sprayed from the cut on bishop Ornoa’s head.

Bishop Ornoa turned around toward where the flying disk came from, and breathed his last.

The disk that hit its target fell on the ground.

Upon a closer look, I realized that I mistook Gamdon’s enchanted weapon that was clad in fire, 《Strong Axe; Gigantes》 for a flying disk..

「Great… with this I can at least preserve my pride as the leader.」

When I turned around in the direction of Gamdon’s voice, I saw Gamdon who threw his only weapon and spoke with ragged breath.

Right in front of him was the corpse of a grey cult member whose head was crushed by his axe.

Bishop Ornoa who was already enraged the moment he lost 《Beloved Guide; Tahlia》, had his attention distracted from me by Edda, and just when he was about to vent his anger on Edda, he was once again disturbed.

《Gamdon Strike》… it doesn’t seem like a formal name of his attack just now but, it might be some sort of throwing type battle art.

It’s power and reach was top notch.

Although its user lost the status correction of their weapon the moment they used that battle art since they let go of their weapon, they’re literally vulnerable for that moment, but it was still an excellent attack.