Join our separate discord server now: The Imperial Of BL
175
An ominous atmosphere settled all around. Everyone standing there anxiously stared ahead, treading on ground dyed so dark blue it was unrecognizable, breathing the thick air.
Some took deep breaths repeatedly, others bit their lips mercilessly, and still others pressed their hands to their chests. As if trying to calm their pounding hearts that seemed ready to burst out.
Rohan was no different. His bitten lips were already ragged. Blood had congealed on one side, while fresh droplets trickled down his chin on the other. His heart felt like it would explode at any moment, and all sorts of negative emotions welled up to his chin, making it hard to breathe. And yet, he…
“…”
Stared straight ahead without blinking. He saw the wraith’s energy soaring to the sky’s end and heard their wailing cries.
That’s when it happened.
For a moment, the air rippled. Those with magical or holy power couldn’t miss the change happening before their eyes.
“What is this…!”
Someone shouted.
The massive whirlwind of wraiths that had occupied a huge area was lifting. No, to be precise, it was being sucked in somewhere. The same was happening to the wraith’s power that had densely filled the air.
The sensation of breathing becoming easier felt strange. Rohan’s face contorted as if about to cry. He felt like his throat was tightening even more. It was paradoxical. The air around them was rapidly clearing.
The sight of the dark blue energy scattered around converging to a single point was bizarre and awe-inspiring. An unknown priest let out an exclamation.
“What… what’s happening? Why are the wraiths…”
“I-Isn’t this good? We don’t have to stay on guard anymore.”
Even amidst the confusion, hope began to sprout. The idea that the ominous whirlwind of wraiths would disappear, that they wouldn’t have to stand guard trembling in fear anymore, began to bloom one by one.
It was quite an optimistic thought, but as time passed, it grew. This was because they realized that not only was the whirlwind gradually disappearing, but the ground they were standing on was slowly fading as well.
“Look at the ground! The color…!”
“The color is returning…”
The ground was slowly but surely regaining its original color, and the pitch-black rotten trees crumbled and disappeared. It was an incredibly beautiful sight, one that everyone would undoubtedly wish for.
“…God’s blessing.”
Someone muttered. That this overwhelmingly wondrous sight was nothing short of God’s blessing. Everyone who faced this surreal phenomenon nodded as if enchanted.
“…”
However, for Rohan, the current situation was utterly horrifying. Because he knew where the disappeared wraith energy was heading. Because he knew that this sight everyone was admiring in awe was not God’s blessing, but the result of an evil god’s descent.
‘Arpel.’
He slowly repeated that name. As always, he muttered it inwardly several times and strongly wished for him to come to his side, but there was no response.
He knew. It was natural. This matter depended on Arpel’s hands, and his own. But still, his mouth turned bitter.
Those around him couldn’t help but notice his reaction. Leriana and Casia watched him, holding their breath.
***
Daniel was also concerned about Rohan.
“Um, Sir Daniel. Isn’t it okay to stop watching now? The whirlwind seems to be disappearing on its own. I don’t know why, but the wraith’s energy in the ground is also fading…”
A priest standing next to him asked. It was an incredibly naive question. How could he have such an optimistic thought, not knowing how things would turn out?
“No, we must keep watching. Until the end.”
However, Daniel didn’t reprimand him. He only uttered consistent words in a cracked voice. Perhaps sensing something was amiss instinctively, the priest closed his mouth.
“…Huh?”
That’s when the anomaly occurred. Someone let out a questioning sound. Everyone’s gaze turned to one place, as if enchanted.
As the whirlwind lifted, the blue sky revealed itself. The figure of a person standing tall on the cleared ground was also visible.
No. Was that a person?
The man who had asked Daniel the naive question swallowed hard. In fact, the figure that appeared in the distance was one of the most familiar to him.
The quiet priest who always stood by Lord Rohan’s side. Surely… his name was Arpel. He was a man for whom he had developed a one-sided sense of familiarity, as he was seen so often.
Why is that person there? The question popped up. Originally, the priest knew that Rohan had thrown a demon sword into the storm of wraiths, not a person.
However, the priest couldn’t find an answer to that. He didn’t even try to find one. As everyone held their breath facing this being that felt like nothing, like the calm before a storm.
–!
Because an overwhelmingly huge presence began to burst from him.
“Urgh…!”
Simultaneously, someone collapsed, foaming at the mouth. They had been swept away by the terrible wraith energy pouring down again. Daniel clicked his tongue, noticing this.
He had earnestly warned them to never let their guard down and keep protecting themselves no matter what happened.
“Hold your positions! Wait for the signal! Endure as much as you can!!”
A voice filled with strong power dominated the surroundings. That voice brought realization to those who hadn’t grasped the situation yet. Ah, that is the enemy.
The power of wraiths spread in all directions. Although the sky didn’t turn black and the ground didn’t rot, they felt it. This power was nothing short of a calamity. One wrong move and they might die senselessly. So…
<—.>
To survive, they had to join forces.
It started with a strange voice resonating in their minds. The muffled sound scattered in their heads without forming any words.
That’s when a massive magical power was shot towards the sky. The black line embroidering the blue sky alone captured everyone’s attention. Then Daniel shouted.
“Now!”
It was the signal. A signal to attack the calamity in the distance that had not yet hatched. The priests who understood the meaning gathered all their strength at their fingertips and shot it high into the sky.
Dark and bright lights crossed the firmament at once. The stream of light forming a circle was like a star. A priest who had scraped together the remaining strength in his body to shoot magical power harbored quite a sentimental thought.
The numerous lights that soared into the air and fell like meteors reached one person, no, “something” all at once.
Boom–!
A thunderous sound arose. The ground shook greatly and the atmosphere cried out. The wind empowered by it sharply brushed past their cheeks. Not only did neatly tied hair become a mess swept by the knife-like wind, but it also came undone completely.
“Ugh…!”
A priest who struggled to arrange her hair that was obstructing her view suddenly stopped moving.
‘Just now…’
Didn’t I hear something like a breaking sound? She furrowed her brow and began to recall a few seconds ago.
It wasn’t an illusion. Although a deafening noise rushed in due to the massive force that struck at once, the priest clearly heard it.
A sharp sound… like hard metal breaking.
But her contemplation didn’t last long. Because something soared high into the sky the moment the thunderous sound ceased and the ground’s shaking gradually subsided.
“Ah…”
Someone exclaimed. No, was it despair? That’s how horrifying the “something” was. Pure wraith energy like they had never seen before rose from it, so terrible that there was no way to express it other than calling it horrifying.
<■■■■! ■■ ■ ■■■, ■■■ ■ ■■■!>
It screamed. However, that bizarre sound didn’t reach anyone’s ears. It wasn’t that the pronunciation was muffled, but it was incomprehensible. As if this world was rejecting the words of that unknown being.
While some collapsed, some trembled uncontrollably, barely able to stand, staring blankly at it. The sky opened.
“…!”
A gigantic hand descended through the pitch-black gap. Overwhelming magical power like the ocean, enough to take one’s breath away just by looking at it, engulfed them. There were many who gaped but couldn’t make a sound.
At the same time, they instinctively knew. The owner of this overwhelming power, this pure magical power that made their vision blur, was predetermined. There was only one answer from the beginning.
“Oh God…”
A choked voice flowed out. One by one, they began to kneel and look up at the sky. Until the ominous being still spouting incomprehensible words was caught in God’s grasp. Until it disappeared into the crack in the sky.
The crack from which the hand had withdrawn began to gradually subside. The sky filled with blue again.
Finally, just before the small crack completely disappeared. Through that gap, a stream of voice flowed down. It was literally a resonance that penetrated their minds.
<You can save him, if it’s you.>
It was a meaningless statement. One priest who had been kneeling like the others, swept up in a wave of emotion, suddenly raised her head.
With that voice, the crack in the sky completely disappeared. Faced with a situation like a midsummer night’s dream, the priest could only blink blankly.
Then, she inadvertently noticed. The sight of Rohan dashing away from his spot right after the sky was dyed a clear blue.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
