The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 120

Chapter 120: Endlessly Pure White (2)

Humans are weak.

Not everyone who wields a sword and uses magic is as strong or as courageous as Cain.

“Group up━!”

“The elves are weakening━!”

That’s why humans choose to stand together.

Humans can stand because they are together, not alone. And the battlefield is where this is most evident.

Pitter━patter━.

The rain that had stopped during the night began to fall again. The raindrops were cold, a sign that the rain wouldn’t last long.

“This is…….”

As the knights who were fighting the elves in groups exclaimed, the elves had truly weakened.

The arrows that had seemed sharp enough to pierce through their heads in an instant had weakened, and the storm that had raged with hundreds of spirits had turned into a gentle breeze.

And then.

Rumble━.

In the distance.

A strange tremor was heard.

Oleciren raised her head.

Arna, who was next to her, spoke.

“Looks like they’ve arrived.”

Cain and Abel had entered the forest to kill Glumiêm, who had not left the World Tree, while diverting the elves’ forces to this location.

The plan was for the two of them to kill Glumiêm, the Elf Queen who had reigned as the despair of the northern Airian for hundreds of years.

The probability of success was close to zero.

However, when they thought that the protagonists of this operation were Cain and Abel, they felt a strange sense of faith.

“Glumiêm, who was descending among the elves, is no longer intervening in the battlefield.”

Oleciren’s pitch-black eyes scanned the battlefield.

She calmly assessed the situation and slightly shifted the formation of the offensive to a defensive one.

Glumiêm had been appearing alternately among the elves, making their attacks fierce.

The expeditionary forces had no time to fight while protecting their own lives.

Fight or die.

Humans had to risk their lives to fight against elves who wielded unimaginable power.

But now.

“We have no next time, and Glumiêm has disappeared from them. This is our only chance! Push them back!”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Oleciren’s orders reached those who were properly positioned, and they relayed the orders by using wide-area magic at once.

“Lady Arna.”

“Yes.”

She nodded towards the Storm Bow Hokma that Arna was holding.

“How many more times can you use it?”

“About four times is my limit.”

“I ask for your best.”

Screech━.

Oleciren’s hair, which had returned to its original gray color, slowly turned black.

The complete Black Witch, Oleciren.

She stretched out her left hand.

At the end of her reach, one elf struggled, caught in a formless force that had suddenly appeared.

“It’s an elder.”

She had caught it because it seemed to be particularly good at killing the expeditionary forces, and it was a big fish from the start.

Squeeze━.

Oleciren clenched her hand in the air.

Then, a translucent black hand rose and crushed the nameless elder elf.

The elf shattered into pieces.

Arna, startled by the surprisingly cruel sight, called out to Oleciren in a flustered voice.

“Y, Your Highness?”

“There’s no time.”

Whoosh━.

From Oleciren’s fingertips, a jet-black witch’s power, like a long whip, shot out. It was as if she had vowed to become the ruler of this battlefield.

“While we fight together like this, Cain is fighting Glumiêm. If either side falls first, we lose.”

Hold on━!

The witch’s wave resonated.

As if toying with the world, as if this were the right and original form, the black undulation that flowed from her words slowly enveloped the expeditionary force.

“Huh━?”

On their armor, the emblem of the Airian Kingdom, an axe and a white magnolia flower, was engraved.

“It’s light!”

“I feel stronger!”

“I feel like my fatigue is gone!”

The expeditionary forces erupted in admiration.

It was more certain than any other buff.

Those who believed in ‘light’, knowing that Oleciren was wielding witch’s power, had been wary of her.

But now, at this moment, they didn’t care about such things. They all looked back at her and bowed their heads briefly.

Faith was far away, but she was close.

The Holy See would only stand by and watch, but their princess had come to the battlefield herself to help them all.

At this moment, any knight facing the elves with their sword drawn couldn’t help but feel a surge of loyalty towards Oleciren.

“Tsk.”

Olivia clicked her tongue.

The emblem of the axe and flower was also engraved on her.

She felt her fatigue drastically disappear, leaving her speechless.

“So that’s what happened to the Gypsum Flower.”

It was as if she had soared to some unattainable height in an instant.

At the same time.

“…….”

Oleciren clenched her fist.

It was a little scary.

Thump━.

Her witch’s power had been growing endlessly stronger since entering the ‘Deep Forest’. Even though she had weakened it, she had strengthened hundreds of knights at once.

Was that power even possible for a human?

Was it even possible for a witch?

Shake, shake.

But she shook her head, dispelling the thought.

Rumble━.

The important thing was the tremor that echoed from the heart of the forest.

That tremor was a testament to the fact that Cain was once again fighting for his life, and that she was once again forced to watch helplessly.

“And if one side wins, we can go and help them first.”

Arna saw Oleciren’s determination.

“Yes, Your Grace.”

Thump, thump━.

Something began to awaken from within her heart.

🔹🔹🔹

Clang━!

Glumiêm was still sitting on her throne.

Cain dashed forward to kill her.

Screech.

But he couldn’t get close.

Dozens of the World Tree’s roots shot out from the ground, aiming for Cain like arrows, like swords.

《What amazing swordsmanship. Ethelred is certainly different.》

Glumiêm muttered to herself.

She hadn’t imagined that even another Ethelred, let alone the Ethelred or Edmund of the past, would be able to withstand the World Tree’s attacks for so long.

Each attack was powerful enough to crush a building built by humans.

It was amazing that Cain was enduring them with just a single black sword.

Glumiêm rested her chin in her other hand under the four golden leaves.

《Unfortunately, it seems that mongrel is still lost in the ‘Wall of Enchantment’.》

Cain glanced back.

He could see the wall of bushes he had passed through. Abel, who had entered, had yet to emerge.

‘This is normal, but…’

It was impossible for an ordinary boy to kill his way through illusions as ruthlessly as Cain did.

The best he could do was to wander within the illusion until he realized the strange sense of discomfort and then break free.

In other words, it would take time.

Glumiêm smirked.

《How boring.》

Then she rose from her seat.

Just as the eye of a typhoon was calm no matter how fierce the storm, so too was the space around Glumiêm.

She took a step forward and placed her hand on the World Tree.

《Our World Tree will continue to stand here for a thousand, ten thousand years to come. I will make it so.》

Saaaaaah━.

As soon as she finished speaking, the branches of the World Tree collided with each other, making a noise.

Then it began to glow faintly with a green light.

Whoosh━.

The roots became faster.

They became heavier.

And their numbers increased.

Cain gritted his teeth and blocked the roots’ attacks.

《I suppose that power you showed on the train wasn’t something you could use easily?》

Glumiêm stroked her neck.

Once when he descended on the train to save Sigma, and twice in front of the forest.

No matter how little it felt, having her neck cut wasn’t exactly pleasant.

《But it wouldn’t be good to just keep wasting your stamina like this. Do you want to cut my throat that badly?》

Glumiêm taunted Cain.

Or rather, she was urging him to use ‘Winter of Night’.

“You seem confident that you’ll win.”

Her intention to restore her pride, which had been damaged by being overwhelmed by Cain in his strongest state, was evident.

Glumiêm shrugged.

《You might stand a chance outside the forest, but on this land, I will never die.》

“There are no absolutes in this world.”

《Then show me.》

Cain glanced at the four golden leaves visible behind her.

‘In essence, those four leaves are Glumiêm’s spare lives.’

As an incredible material that enabled long-distance teleportation, the magical power it contained was immense.

It was only natural, considering it was a leaf produced by the World Tree once every hundred years.

Sensing the power contained within the leaves, Cain gritted his teeth.

‘I have to end this quickly.’

The holy sword, ‘Summer’, granted its wielder as much power as they could handle. There was no special price to pay; one only had to become the owner of ‘Summer’ to receive it.

On the other hand, the magic sword, ‘Winter’, granted its wielder as much power as they needed. It was called a magic sword because the more one exceeded their limits, the greater the price it demanded.

TL: Term change – demonic sword > magic sword

Clench━.

Cain gripped Agweska.

He couldn’t hold out like this any longer.

He acknowledged that this was the limit of his strength enhanced by ‘Winter’s’ Passive, Pure White Thunderbolt.

And Cain decided to break through that limit.

‘Winter.’

Losing the future was a frightening thought even for Cain.

Rather than his lifespan intuitively disappearing, it was scary because he didn’t know what would happen if he used up his future.

[‘Winter’ lends its ear to your words.]

However, if there was no today, there was no tomorrow. If he didn’t live today, he couldn’t live tomorrow.

Cain had always lived for today, and he gripped his sword to survive today.

‘Awaken.’

Cain was sure of it.

He knew that if ‘Summer’, which only granted appropriate power, had been his sacred treasure, he would never have made it this far.

‘Winter’, which transcended limits, suited him.

Fssssss━.

A freezing chill arose around Cain. As always, when the chill centered around him…

『Samhain’s ‘Winter’…… On hold.』

[The nearby ‘Summer’ objects.]

Thud━.

The power of ‘Winter’ did not awaken.

Cain was bewildered because ‘Winter’ had never once disobeyed his will.

[‘Summer’ wonders if the owner of ‘Winter’ knows the weight of wielding unlimited power.]

[‘Summer’ desires you to prove yourself.]

The holy sword, Summer.

‘……That damn Saintess.’

If the Saintess had made a move, then the holy sword she was supposed to protect must have moved as well. And since she had entered the forest, he had expected the holy sword to be somewhere nearby.

‘I never thought it would come to this.’

Seeing Cain’s troubled expression, Glumiêm smiled faintly.

《It seems something isn’t going your way.》

Whoosh━!

At that moment, a root that had been hidden in the ground shot up, aiming for Cain’s chin.

With astonishing reflexes, Cain drew back his chin, dodging the root.

Whoosh━, Whoosh━.

This time, roots swung horizontally, aiming for his head and knees. Cain thrust Agweska into the ground, deflecting the lower one.

Crackle━.

He concentrated the Pure White Thunderbolt that ‘Winter’ had been pouring into his body into his right hand.

Cain-style Ardvark.

Lu Rabada.

Crash━!

He deflected the root aiming for his head with his fist.

‘……Damn it.’

That single blow had consumed half of the lightning he had stored in his body.

Normally, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

‘Winter’ would have continued to replenish him with its Passive.

However.

[‘Autumn’ agrees with ‘Summer’s’ will.]

Even the Holy Crown, ‘Autumn’, which was always above the saintess’ head, opposed the power of ‘Winter’.

Fizzle━.

Cain felt that even ‘Winter’s’ Passive, which had been enveloping him, was fading away.

[‘Summer’ and ‘Autumn’ wish for you to fight with the pure strength of a human and prove your worth.]

Glumiêm’s eyes curved beautifully.

Seeing Cain gradually being driven into a corner, she couldn’t hold back her laughter.

《You’re nothing special when I face you directly, third Ethelred. All the preparations you’ve made so far seem meaningless.》

Rumble━.

The roots stopped attacking.

Or rather, the dozens of roots in front of her gathered and transformed into one giant root.

Glumiêm pointed her index finger at Cain.

《Now, die.》

Crrraaaash━!

A tidal wave of earth came crashing down.

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