RBCT Chapter 152
Chapter 152
Chapter 152
Tsutsutsuts-.
A dazzling mass of light sliced through the pitch-black darkness and collided with Baphomet.
A power on a completely different level than before. Even for an ancient demon like Baphomet, it seemed impossible to take it lightly, as he cautiously pulled in his massive greatsword and raised it in front of himself.
Paaaah-!
The flames of hell that had burned through my entire body and inflicted fatal wounds rose up along the greatsword and clashed with the mass of light.
The aftermath alone released a shockwave powerful enough to make the surrounding space ripple, but soon, it burned away without a trace.
“…Baphomet, was it. As expected, an ancient demon is indeed different.”
In the midst of the pitch-black darkness, the Sword Saint, who was raising a wave of light over his blade, muttered with a heavy expression.
“If you’ve got time to chat, attack at least one more time. At this rate, we might collapse from exhaustion first.”
Behind him, Chris frowned and urged him on.
It had already been two hours since I collapsed.
But the mist of demonic energy connected to the present world showed no sign of disappearing. Even when the Sword Saint cut it with all his might, or when Chris struck it with magic, it only flickered briefly before returning to its original state. From that, she could draw one conclusion.
“Baphomet himself is acting as the core of the entrance. We have to drive that bastard out of this space.”
However, Baphomet had no intention of retreating. If even the slightest opening appeared, he stubbornly pushed his body forward, exuding demonic energy as he bared his fangs toward the Middle Realm.
That was why they made a bold decision.
They charged directly into the mist of demonic energy.
Chris didn’t want to invite danger upon herself, but it was the only option to begin with. And with the Sword Saint at the forefront, she calculated that even if danger arose, they would somehow be able to escape, and thus initiated the operation.
However, contrary to her expectations, that mist wasn’t acting as an entrance but rather as one enormous passage.
‘Probably a dimensional rift.’
I could recognize that there was ground beneath my feet, but I couldn’t even begin to gauge how wide it stretched to the sides or how high it reached above. The Sword Saint was the same, so at first, he looked around with a bewildered expression.
“…Is that the end— the Demonic Realm?”
At the opposite end of the passage, the sky, stained in blood-red, came into view.
Who in this world had ever seen the landscape of the Demonic Realm? Curiosity stirred, but for now, driving away the demon before them took priority.
Clench.
The Sword Saint tightened his grip on his sword once more.
The aftereffects within this dimensional rift did not leak outside. That meant he could unleash his full power.
When they first entered the mist, he had refrained out of concern that those outside might be caught in the aftermath of the battle. But from the previous attack, he had confirmed that the effects here did not reach beyond.
‘It must be because this is a separate space.’
Thus, he no longer held back and displayed his full strength.
Starting with the Sword Saint Style Secret Arts he prided himself on, the very essence of the sword he had honed his entire life unfolded. Yet even that was only enough to reach a stalemate, not gain the upper hand.
‘If she hadn’t come, this would have truly ended in the worst possible outcome.’
Just as Baphomet, who had faltered at his sword, began to move again, countless magic circles formed above him.
With a snap of Chris’s fingers, blue lightning struck down, and countless spells began to pour down upon him all at once.
“…Hoo.”
Taking that brief opening, the Sword Saint steadied his breathing and let out a quiet exclamation.
In all his life, he had met countless mages, but never one who used magic with such power and fluidity as she did.
Even if they brought the most skilled archmage in the Empire, they wouldn’t be able to reproduce even thirty percent of that.
“I’ll bind him!”
As if sensing danger from his flesh being torn apart, Baphomet ignited the flames of hell once more and swung his house-sized greatsword.
Just as Chris was about to shout sharply at the sight, the Sword Saint had already kicked off the ground and rushed forward.
Chwarrrrk-!
From the magic circles that formed all around him, purple chains surged upward.
It was her signature binding magic that had once restrained the Hell Archduke Aloken. Just like before, it wrapped around Baphomet and soon bound his entire body.
Uuuuuuuung-.
His movements restricted, the creature let out a strange cry.
But having already witnessed how it had affected me, and having prepared in advance, both the Sword Saint and Chris easily endured the shock.
“Be cut.”
Closing the distance in an instant, the Sword Saint arrived before him and swung his blade downward vertically.
A long vertical line of blood was carved across Baphomet’s entire body, but it only managed to cut the surface.
“…Disgustingly tough.”
Even his sword, which had never failed to cut anything until now, couldn’t cleave through Baphomet’s body in one strike.
As the Sword Saint grabbed his wrist and stepped back, Chris tilted her head and said to him with narrowed eyes,
“You really are the Sword Saint?”
“…….”
Within the Empire, the title of Sword Saint was a sacred domain that even the Emperor could not recklessly touch.
The Sword Saint’s expression twisted slightly, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
As the Headmaster of Bayern Academy, Chris was well aware of that fact.
Of course, it was meant as a joke, but after having his dignity bruised several times today, he couldn’t easily brush it off.
“…I’ll show you why I’m called the Sword Saint.”
Letting out a light breath, he cast aside his impatience. Then, with utmost seriousness, he grasped the tip of his sword.
Swaeaaaaak-!
In the next instant, a light that seemed to split the world erupted from him. Baphomet, who had just broken free from the chains binding his body, saw it and once again pulled his greatsword in front of himself.
KWA AAAAAAAAAANG-!
A massive explosion swept through the space, vast beyond measure.
Baphomet was pushed back far more than he had been from all their previous attacks combined.
The flesh on his arms, which held the greatsword, hung as if it might tear off at any moment, and the flames of hell covering them flickered precariously, as though they might go out.
“Hm.”
Chris let out a soft exclamation at the sight of the Sword Saint unleashing his attack with full resolve.
‘Not bad. As expected of someone called the strongest in the human world.’
This prolonged battle was not something a human body could endure. Even a Sword Master or archmage who had reached the pinnacle would not have been able to withstand it.
But the Sword Saint, like her, was one who had transcended the limits of his race. Though he showed signs of fatigue, he still stood firm.
“I can’t lose either.”
Standing at the opposite extreme of martial prowess, she couldn’t help but feel competitive.
Snap.
As Chris snapped her fingers, even more magic circles than before were drawn in the air.
“…Hah.”
The immense mana distorted space itself. Even the Sword Saint couldn’t hide his astonishment.
‘This is pushing it quite a bit, but…’
Three highest-tier spells, five high-tier spells, and nine auxiliary spells amplifying their power.
Magic of a scale that would normally require at least ten archmages working together—she unleashed it alone.
“[Elemental Burst].”
One of her signature spells boasting overwhelming power. Encompassing all elemental magic, Elemental Burst turned into a raging storm and crashed down upon Baphomet.
It trapped that massive body within its domain as if to grind even his soul to dust.
Baphomet twisted his body with a grotesque sound, but Chris extended her hand and prevented him from escaping.
“…So an ancient demon is still an ancient demon. He endured that.”
After all the magic ended, Chris wiped the sweat from her forehead and let out a weary sigh.
Baphomet’s body was undoubtedly in a horrific state. Both arms were torn to shreds, and it would have been quicker to find a place without wounds than with them.
Uuuuuuuuu-.
Yet despite that, he still radiated a fierce presence, his ominous gaze declaring that he remained standing.
“If this were outside, maybe things would be different, but…”
Frowning at the sight, Chris turned to the Sword Saint.
A mage activated magic by resonating the mana within their body with the mana in the atmosphere, while a swordsman replenished consumed aura by accumulating mana through breathing. But this place was neither the Middle Realm nor the Demonic Realm—an ambiguous space.
Though they could still breathe due to its connection to the outside, the only thing filling this space was murky demonic energy. If this battle of attrition continued, they would be the first to collapse.
But the Sword Saint, seemingly unconcerned, pointed ahead and spoke calmly.
“…Didn’t you say so? That even if we couldn’t defeat him, there was a way to drive him out.”
“What?”
She had indeed said that, but why bring it up now?
“To drive Baphomet out, we have to push him out of this passage— Ah!”
Just as Chris frowned, about to respond sharply, her eyes widened as she checked Baphomet’s position.
Guuuuuuung.
His body had already been pushed far beyond the passage and into the Demonic Realm by their earlier attacks. Having achieved their goal, there was no longer any need to continue this meaningless fight.
Understanding the situation, she grinned and quickly clapped her hands. With a sharp clap, the archmage’s mana took control of the space and began collapsing it from the far end.
Baphomet realized it as well and tried to step back inside, but the opening had already shrunk too small for his body to pass through.
When only a hole the size of a fist remained, Chris poked her face through it and said to Baphomet,
“…Hey, goat-head. Wash your fur nice and clean. Next time, I won’t let you off this easy.”
---
“…….”
Feeling warmth envelop my entire body, I slowly opened my eyes. An unfamiliar ceiling—and separately, a heavy sensation on my arm.
Turning my head slightly, my gaze met with a figure blinking at me.
“…Es, meralda.”
It must have been quite some time, as my throat cracked and a hoarse voice escaped. Regaining her senses, Esmeralda threw herself at me, her eyes brimming with tears.
“Le, Leios-ssi Oppa…….”
Calling my name in a nasal voice, she grabbed my collar and rubbed her face against me. When my chest became soaked with her tears, I finally realized that things had ended well.
“…Who are you calling Leios-ssi? My name is Leios.”
With difficulty, I raised my arm and gently patted her head.
Leios-ssi… it had been a while since I heard that name.
Back when this novel was being serialized, the author often submitted manuscripts just barely before the deadline.
Although I finished proofreading and feedback as quickly as possible before uploading, there were rare occasions when typos slipped through.
Leios-ssi was one of those cases. If I recall correctly, people joked that the protagonist had changed nationality and called him ‘O-seung.’
Anyway, I did my best. The fault lay with the author for submitting late. Anyway, that’s how it was.
“…Ugh, I’m dying.”
In any case, seeing that I was alive and well, it seemed the matter with Baphomet had been resolved. When Esmeralda, who had been sobbing against my chest, finally calmed down with her swollen face, the door burst open and a group of figures appeared.