The Southern Saint vs. Stepping Nick’s and Nargava’s heavy breathing echoed in the otherwise quiet facility. Nargava had reawakened after losing consciousness, but he didn’t move a muscle; he seemed to have lost the will to fight. Nick also sat on the floor, feeling utterly exhausted. The intense fight had left both the victor and the loser equally spent. “Why have you done all this? Explain yourself,” Zem asked after approaching Nargava. “I already told you,” he responded. “If what you said is true, you would have had no reason to treat patients without yellow demon fever or perform any other priestly services.” “I only helped those people because I was asked to. Refusing and starting a conflict would have caused trouble.” “You are contradicting yourself. You kidnapped children and started an epidemic. That is the work of an evil fiend.” “Then go ahead and finish me off or hand me to the guild.” “But while committing those crimes, you performed charity work for the people of the Garbage Heap despite that having nothing to do with your goals.” “I did that on a whim.” “Why were you so sloppy about keeping your actions hidden?” “What do you mean?” “You didn’t change your kidnapping routine after we began to obstruct you. You remained in your clinic even after we visited and asked about the Steppingman. You submitted a thesis under your real name. You didn’t try very hard to hide that girl’s identity, either. Even with that magic item, you can’t say the chances were slim to none of someone figuring out who she was after you left her in the morgue. I could go on.” Nargava didn’t answer. “Hey, we’ve got more questions to ask you. Where did you obtain the phantom king orb?” Nick asked. Nargava didn’t answer that, either. He just sat there in silence. The Survivors remained alert just in case he decided to attack them again, but Nargava did not care. He took a deep breath and sat up, crossing his legs. He had regained enough energy for that. “Haah… Fine. I’ll talk until he arrives,” he said. “Huh? Who are you talking about?” Nick asked, just as the doors they had blocked with chairs and shelves burst open. “Looks like you’re having a rough time, priest,” came a muffled voice. A person garbed in black walked through the doors. He looked so strange that Nick was unsure if he was actually a human. A black helmet and a white mask covered his face. His sleek armor was neither iron nor steel and was shaped like a vicious beetle. It clearly was not made by a local blacksmith. The pure-white mask looked like it was cut from porcelain or a jewel. Nothing about the person or his equipment seemed normal. “Hey… It’s a different color, but…,” Tiana muttered, her face stiff. She and Nick both shuddered at a certain familiar sight. “That’s…cognition armor, isn’t it?” Nick asked. “That’s what I thought. And that sword is like Bond…,” Tiana responded. “Yeah, it’s an aura blade. Its color is unsettling, but that blade is definitely made of mana,” Nick said. Tiana nodded quietly, and someone audibly gulped. They were all overwhelmed by the knight’s bizarre appearance. His very presence was intimidating. “What do you want, White Mask?” Nargava asked the mysterious knight. “Consider this an after-sale service. You appear in need of saving,” the knight said. “I don’t want your help.” “Don’t say that. I can’t lose you yet, priest. Your work is not done. There are still many people in that disgusting landfill who need to die. If you don’t continue to harvest them like ripe wheat, giving you that magic item will hardly have been worth it.” “I have nearly accomplished my goal. I do not care if people die as a result of my work or not. I made no firm promises.” The man Nargava called White Mask sighed. It sounded inhuman and devoid of emotion. He didn’t even seem to breathe; instead, Nick thought he could hear air being expelled through some kind of vent. “I’d like to go back over the contract with you right now… But this is hardly the place for a relaxed chat,” he said. The knight’s form flickered, and Karan and Tiana once again attacked simultaneously, Karan using Fire Breath and Tiana using Lightning Burst. “…Huh?” The spells passed through empty air—the knight had moved. “Aaaah?!” “Ngh…!” Nick then heard Tiana and Karan scream behind him. “Not a bad reaction. Especially for mortals such as yourselves.” Nick turned around and saw Tiana being crushed underneath Karan. The knight had sent them flying with an attack that Karan had blocked by using her sword as a shield. “You call yourselves the Survivors, correct? You are as tough as your name implies. I can see why it took him so long to obtain the dragon king gem,” the knight said. “Wh-what?!” Nick gasped. Nick couldn’t move. He knew he would be finished if he took one step toward the knight. He made the amalgam golem feel like a baby. He was probably stronger than Leon with the Sword of Evolution, or, heaven forbid, Argus. Karan and Tiana barely survived his attack, thanks to the Dragonbone Sword, but a direct hit would kill. What should I do, then? Think. I have to get everyone out of here, Nick thought. “You’re the leader, yes?” the knight asked, turning to Nick. This is where I die, Nick thought the moment their eyes met. He focused, and time seemed to slow. “Zem! Get Karan and Tiana out of here!” he yelled, casting Light Body with all the mana he could muster. Become a feather. Become a running stream. Obtain flexibility great enough to survive the worst of storms. “…Interesting,” White Mask said. The knight was before him in a flash. He swung his sword down, and Nick slipped under it. He was only able to dodge because he had predicted what the knight would do beforehand—one could only gamble against an opponent with significantly superior speed. He was lucky. “Got you!” Nick yelled. He grabbed the knight’s arm, dispelled Light Body, stepped firmly on the ground, and used all his strength—as well as White Mask’s—to throw him in a perfect parabola toward a giant washing tub. “Hi-yah!” The knight crashed into the tub with a dull sound. That was the strongest move currently in Nick’s arsenal. He suppressed his excitement from pulling it off and called out to his party members. “Run, you all!” “Hmm. Fascinating. You have similar capabilities as Nargava.” One negative consequence of Nick’s attack became immediately apparent—he made the knight get serious. He had bought about five to ten seconds. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zem reach Karan and Tiana. They might be able to escape to safety if they bolted now. “As a reward, I’ll send you to the next life without pain.” The knight was extremely fast. That didn’t just apply to how quickly he could swing his sword or run, but to his reaction time as well, which was what made him most formidable. Nick was not capable of maintaining the level of concentration needed to fight this man. That meant there was only one option. “Oh? You’re giving up?” the knight said. He had no choice but to risk his life again. He wasn’t going to dodge like last time—he was going to counter while letting the knight hit him. Nick was unlikely to survive. He lowered his arms, relaxed his muscles, and kept his eyes peeled for the moment the knight swung his sword for his neck. His one regret was that he wouldn’t live to see whether his attack succeeded or not. “Karan, what was it that you wanted to do?” Nick muttered. It’s fine. I don’t need to know, he thought, feeling strangely calm. “That’s the spirit,” the knight said. His black blade began to glow. Guess this is it, Nick thought. “Yaaaah!” Just then, a woman kicked the knight in the back of the head with a birdlike cry. “Gwah!” the knight grunted. “Wh-what the…? Hey, it’s—!” Nick shouted. “Never mind my identity. Pull yourself together!” A hooded woman with loose sleeves stood before the black knight, calmly assuming a fighting stance. Nick couldn’t contain his joy at being saved. “What took you so long, Olivia?!” he yelled. “Hey, can you—?” Olivia began before Nick interrupted. “Actually, it doesn’t matter! You saved me! I owe you one!” “Listen—” “Hey, Zem! Olivia’s here!” “I told you not to worry about my identity! Why do you think I’m wearing this hood?!” “Oh, uh, my bad. I didn’t realize that was a disguise…” The knight stood up as they spoke. “Who are you?” “I guess this is our first meeting. Your reputation precedes you, White Mask,” Olivia responded. “White Mask? Oh yeah, I’ve heard that somewhere before…,” Nick said, trying to remember where. Olivia offered an explanation. “White Mask is rumored to be a vigilante thief who steals from wealthy nobles and wicked merchants, but the truth is much more sinister. He’s actually an agent of the grand demon worshippers, who steals magic items from anyone by any means necessary and performs shady rituals. He occasionally aids and gives weapons to criminals and denizens of the darkness who suit his needs, which has led villains to call him the ‘Dark Saint’ or the ‘Southern Saint.’” “Huh? I don’t know what you’re talking about…,” Nick responded, but comprehension dawned on Nargava’s face. “That is why you helped me and encouraged me to kill all those people. You’re also the one who tried to steal corpses from me… Were you planning to use them as sacrifices?” he asked. “That is not for you to know. Or have you finally developed a conscience after all the deaths you’ve caused? Don’t make me laugh,” White Mask sneered, swinging his sword. “Geez, you’re strong…!” Olivia gasped after blocking his sword with her arms. The grating sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the building; she must have had some kind of defensive equipment under her sleeves. “You’re fast, whoever you are. But your physical strength is inadequate,” the knight uttered. “Right?! I’m just a delicate girl, after all!” Olivia said before dashing toward White Mask so fast she seemed to blur. “What?!” Olivia dealt blow after blow with speed even greater than White Mask’s. She kicked his knees when he stepped toward her, elbowed his chin when he lowered his head, and delivered three punches to his open side when he tried to swing his sword at her. White Mask stepped back reflexively, and she pursued with a stance so low she was nearly crawling. He responded with another sweep of his sword, which Olivia dodged smoothly, as if she were a petal in the wind. She then avoided a large swing and struck him with five palm strikes to the stomach. “Damn you!” the knight yelled. Olivia had cracked his black cognition armor. A sinister red light poked through, which disappeared as the armor slowly repaired itself. “Yeah, it’s gonna take more than that to break holy armor from the ancient civilization,” Olivia said. Nick was captivated by the bizarre scene. It looked like Olivia was using Stepping like Nick and Nargava, but she wasn’t using any other special skills. She had gone beyond the fundamentals of the art and achieved true mastery. The way she flowed as she fought, almost as if she were dancing, was a level all martial artists sought to reach. “I-incredible…!” Nick said. “Quit gawking and help me out! His armor is too hard for me to break through!” Olivia shouted. “I don’t know what to do…” “You think you have time to talk, do you? You’ll pay for that arrogance!” White Mask yelled. He released a strange, reddish-brown aura from his body. It took on the shape of a sphere and cracked the floor as it expanded. “Labyrinth Creation: Great Red Spot.” “O-oh no!” Olivia gasped, coughing. The sphere quickly expanded and trapped Olivia within. Her glasses broke, and blood dripped from her ears. “Within this range, gravity, atmospheric pressure, and temperature greatly increase. It was originally an experimental barrier spell meant for creating a training environment, but if you keep the range small like so, the pressure within becomes great enough to kill a person,” White Mask explained. “Olivia!” Nick shouted. “Th-this is really painful… Sorry, I should’ve known I didn’t have time to talk…” “Stop talking, you idiot! Hey, Nargava! Use your chains to pull her out!” Nick commanded. “No, don’t worry about me,” Olivia said, smiling confidently as blood streamed down her face. “I’ve bought enough time. He should be here any second now.” A sword zoomed through the entrance right after she finished speaking and stopped before Nick’s eyes. It was floating in the air. “Sorry I’m late!” A voice reverberated from the sword. “About time you showed up!” Nick yelled. “It wasn’t my fault! I cannot return to my sword form until my copies rejoin!” “I know that! Anyway, I’m glad you’re here!” It was Bond—or rather, the Sword of Bonds. Nick grabbed the handle without hesitation. “I have a lot of things I wanna say and ask, but…Zem! I know this is sudden notice, but let’s do this!” Nick yelled. “Very well!” Zem responded. He stood up from treating Karan’s and Tiana’s injuries and raced toward Nick. ““Union!”” they both yelled.
Chapter 57
12 min read