Chapter 75 The Time Of Death Is Unseen
――Time rewinds a bit.
Nord's massive explosion occurred, and his physical body vanished, revealing the red-black, semi-liquid monster that had been parasitizing it.
The being, suspended in mid-air without any foothold or wind, transformed its shape right before Fiona and the others' eyes.
The transformed being took the form of a woman with 6 pairs of 12 wings, a beautiful and mystical creature that could be called a goddess or an angel. However, the red-black liquid that mimicked its shape was eerie, and the only part that didn't have eyes was filled with a golden light, as if it were a substitute for eyeballs.
The first to regain their composure was Aaron.
Aaron's aura bullet, fired like a restraint, easily blew away the red-black angel――the false angel.
However, no one thought they could defeat it with just that attack. The person who launched the attack quickly took off, shouting towards Io.
Immediately, Io grasped Aaron's intentions and gave the order, and everyone on the scene entered combat mode.
To prevent the false angel floating in the air from escaping, each of them launched attacks, creating a bullet curtain to trap it, and the battle began.
The false angel reacted most prominently to Aaron's attack. It showed an excessively sensitive reaction to specific attacks, releasing lightning bolts in all directions from its entire body and firing multiple lightning bolts from its palms to counterattack with certainty.
The battle continued for a while.
It turned out that the false angel was far stronger than just being a parasite on Nord.
Using lightning magic, it flew freely through the air, and even when its body was destroyed, it quickly regenerated――or rather, restored itself. Moreover, due to its liquid body, it was difficult to restrain it like Nord.
It was a strength that made one wonder if it was even more troublesome than the abnormal Nord.
The fact that it possessed such strength made the false angel's eeriness even more pronounced.
Fiona, sensing an ominous feeling, continued to launch aura blades towards the sky.
And then――
"――――!?"
The ominous feeling turned into conviction at the moment Aaron jumped into the air.
――The aura of death.
Fiona possesses a unique power――[Foresight]
It allows her to sense danger approaching herself or someone close, in the form of a black aura. This ability has been warning Fiona of unprecedented crises on the edge of her vision during battles.
Death is looming, but it's not hers――――.
Fiona scanned her surroundings, focusing on the center of the black aura.
(Eva)
Outside the boundary.
The place where her friend Eva Kirke should be was completely shrouded in a massive amount of "aura" that could be seen from afar, turning it pitch black.
(――――)
Her thoughts were momentarily paralyzed, unable to form into words.
Fiona quickly surveyed the entire battlefield.
Aside from Eva, there was no one else who could see the black aura. Confirming this, she took off in an instant.
Turning her back on the battlefield, she headed towards Eva's location.
There was no time to hesitate. Fiona had never seen such a dense aura before. The intensity of the aura she sensed not only indicated the magnitude of the danger but also the time until it arrived. In other words, the darker the aura, the shorter the time until death, as indicated by [Foresight].
There was no time to explain the situation and ask for help.
And how could she even explain it? The barrier might be broken, and...
With all her might, she sprinted across the snowy terrain, recalling the single black thread that stretched from the black aura covering Eva, created by another black aura.
The end of that thread was undoubtedly where something that would bring death to Eva existed. It was undoubtedly inside the boundary, and it was connected to the false angel floating in the air.
This indicated the possibility that the false angel had found a way to exit the boundary and kill Eva.
The trust in the [Four-Square Boundary Disruption] space magic, which was considered formidable, was so strong that even Io Suleiman, known as the "Sage," was almost blind to it.
Therefore, even if she explained that the boundary might be broken, no one would believe her.
Only Aaron might have believed her, but there was no time to explain the situation to him as he jumped into the air.
So, she'll go alone.
As she runs alone, she realizes it's impossible to stop that false angel by herself. But if she can buy some time, someone, maybe Aaron, will come to help her.
However, she might die before that.
(――So what?)
She remembers.
It was just last night.
On the overly large bed, Eva looked anxious like a child, and she hugged her tight and said,
"I'll protect you no matter what"――.
Those words weren't a lie. Those words weren't light. Those words weren't just an ideal.
"Really...!!"
Fiona came running, chasing after the false angel flying in the sky.
The false angel quickly reached the corner of the barrier, where Eva was, in an instant.
She could see Eva's figure, her eyes slightly open. The false angel raised its right arm, and she could feel an enormous amount of magical energy gathering in its fist. It seemed to be trying to break the barrier with magic.
Her reason judges.
It's impossible, and.
She doesn't know what kind of magic it's trying to use, but even with that amount of magical energy, it can't break the [Four-Square Boundary Disruption].
But in the next moment, Eva's expression changed to one of shock, as if she had realized something on the other side of the barrier.
Right after, the false angel's right fist struck the barrier wall――.
Incredibly, without any hesitation, like a joke, it shattered the massive barrier.
The light that constructed the barrier broke into pieces and fell, dissolving into sparkling light particles that vanished into the air.
As the fragments fell like a waterfall, the false angel began to move again, heading towards the other side.
And――.
"I made it, just in timeeee!!"
Fiona jumped in, taking her last step.
The false angel had descended to about 3 meters (≈ 9.8 feet) above the ground. That was a distance she could easily cover.
While flying in mid-air, she rotated her body to swing her swords to the left and right.
"――Aaaaahhh!!"
Sword Dance Maiden Skill――[Dance of Final Flash]
She unleashes multiple slashes.
The aura blade easily cuts through the false angel's back and tears it apart, blowing it away in pieces.
The false angel's body floats in the air, gathering at a single point, but She doesn't bother to watch or interfere. She knews from the start that the false angel would naturally regenerate.
Fiona lands and passes through the light veil created by the remaining barrier, standing before Eva.
Then, she floats a faint smile.
"I'm here to help, just as promised."
"Fiona...!!"
Eva looks back at her with a stunned expression, and she averts her gaze, turning to look behind her.
There are 8 other guards around Eva. Even if she's defeated, someone else will come to help until then.
――No, it's certain that someone will come to help.
Fiona already "knows" that. When she arrived here, she confirmed that the black mist covering Eva had cleared.
Now, it's just a matter of her――.
(Don't I...?)
Strangely, she doesn't see the mist surrounding her.
She wonders, and looks up at the distant sky.
There, she sees Aaron's figure, with a desperate expression she's never seen before, flying through the air.
However, the distance is too far, and it's unlikely he'll make it in time. The false angel has already finished regenerating its body and is approaching us. It seems it has no intention of letting us escape. According to the pre-investigation report, it should prioritize escaping to survive, but this is unnatural.
However, she doesn't have time to think about this mystery.
(Hmm...)
She comes to a realization, like a flash of insight.
The reason she doesn't see the mist in this desperate situation is that maybe her death is already certain, and that's why.
The future shown by [Foresight] can be changed. However, if a thick, black mist that blocks her vision appears, it's the opposite――it's dangerous. So, her instincts might be hiding it from her.
She's thought about this before. If she's surrounded by a terrifying black mist when she dies, it would be awful, and...
So, I won't be able to see the moment I die, Fiona thought.
Thinking that, she looked up at Aaron in the distance and smiled. She knew that his desperate expression was for her sake, and that made her happy.
(I don't plan on dying, though.)
She readied her sword.
The false angel, already within striking distance, raised its right hand. Its arms had transformed into swords, and for some reason, they had turned black.
The false angel swung its right-hand sword down. Fiona received it with her sword at an angle.
――[Parry]
The false angel's attack clashed with the aura on Fiona's sword, producing a loud, piercing sound.
"――――!!?"
She deflected the attack. She had deflected it, but her body was slightly blown back by the extremely heavy blow. It was a miracle that she didn't let go of her sword's hilt after deflecting it with [Parry]. The impact was like being hit by an ultra-heavy object at high speed.
"Still――!!"
The false angel swung its left sword, and Fiona's body felt like it was floating in mid-air.
She desperately held on, and this time, she received the attack with her sword. The sound of metal scraping was enormous. [Parry]. She somehow managed to deflect it.
"Ah――――."
But the cost was fatal.
The massive shock caused her body's axis to waver. Her balance was disrupted, and she lost her sense of grounding. Her body felt like it was floating in mid-air, and she was about to fall.
The moment she felt herself falling seemed to slow down. The false angel was already preparing its next attack. With her unstable stance, she couldn't receive this attack.
――――Checkmate.
If...
If she hadn't used [Dance of Final Flash], and her body had been strengthened by the accumulated buffs, it wouldn't have come to this. However, an attack that could buy time to recover and slash the false angel was impossible without [Dance of Final Flash]. She had to do it to save Eva.
So, she had no regrets about this outcome.
Fiona gazed at the false angel's sword, which was about to come down on her.
――――But it's a lie.
She had no regrets? That was a blatant lie.
(Or rather I wish we could've been together longer――)
* * *
Fiona Ackerman had greatly improved her abilities under Aaron Gale's guidance.
This was undoubtedly "growth".
And "growth" was also a condition to unlock the power of Jobs. However, the growth required for specific Unique Jobs was extremely high, beyond what was normally achievable. This was because it sought an ability worthy of inheriting the true techniques of the heroes from the ancient era.
Sufficient Talent and growth comparable to that of the heroes from the ancient era.
Only when these two were combined could Unique Jobs unlock their true power.
Swordsman-type Unique Jobs――'Sword Dance Maiden'
In recorded history, there was no one who had grown this Job to its limits.
But at that moment, Fiona's left hand, which was gazing at the false angel's sword hovering above her, suddenly had a black crest emerge on its back.
This symbolized Growth Limits――'Limit Mark'.
However, Fiona's mark was not an indication of her Talent's limits.
It was proof that she had acquired the final skill of the 'Sword Dance Maiden' Job.
(Ah――――)
Whenever she acquired a skill, it was always like this.
The unknown name of the skill, the unknown knowledge, the unknown technique. It was as if they were revelations from heaven, and she found them within herself without realizing it.
Fiona understood at this moment what kind of power the skill she had just acquired possessed.
So, she realized.
She hadn't seen her "limits" because she hadn't been in a life-or-death situation.
In an instant, Fiona used the skill.
She didn't need to move. She just wished for it with her consciousness.
'Sword Dance Maiden' final skill――――[God's Descent]
Oh, God, come forth...
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)