Hard Carried by My Sword-Chapter 42

Chapter 42
It was a profoundly unpleasant darkness. Coming into this tunnel felt like diving into a pit of filth, like sinking into a sticky mass of tar that clung to every inch of one’s body.
There was no vision or sound. It was something one must neither perceive nor comprehend, and Leon instinctively understood that much without even knowing why. This was outside the world he knew of, and the darkness there wasn’t simply the absence of light.
Then, all at once, sensation returned to his body.
“
Pwah
!”
Leon gasped for breath. With all five senses sealed off, the suffocation he’d just endured was nothing like ordinary breath-holding. The others seemed to be in similar states.
However, there was no time for complaints. The moment they exited the tunnel, they were met by a group of enemies already arrayed in combat formation, surrounding them.
“Everyone!” Caesare shouted urgently.
The difference between those prepared and those who weren’t was massive. Fortunately, their earlier planning proved effective. Each member of the team immediately scattered into position and drew their weapons.
The atmosphere was tense, on the verge of eruption. One spell, one step—anything could snap the taut string of tension.
And just then, a voice rang out.
“Well, you certainly took your time getting here!”
It was one that was completely out of place in the gravity of the moment, nothing short of flippant. It was bright and cheerful.
The man who emerged from the center of the exolaw wielders laughed with infectious glee. He wasn’t mocking them, nor was he pretending. He was genuinely, helplessly delighted.
“We put quite a lot of effort into this one, but to think you’d dawdle this long! Truly, thank you!”
His exaggerated gestures made his red robe sway. The symbol embroidered on its surface shimmered with a blasphemous shape that made onlookers feel dizzy—just like the darkness they’d passed through.
What he possessed was knowledge and power that should never have existed in this world.
“You... you’re a priest...!” Caesare shouted in a thunderous voice.
The man, nodding with pride, answered, “Yes! That’s right!”
Even within Evil, there was a hierarchy. There were devotees who merely used the exolaw they were given, followers who delved into the exolaw themselves and became consumed by it, and finally—priests, those who spread it and were treated as true leaders.
They were equivalent to bishops in the Holy Church. And in Evil, where personnel were few to begin with, they were elite.
“What a wonderful day this is! The ritual has succeeded, the sacrifices have given meaning to their worthless lives, and now—before the narrow-minded servants of the false goddess—we shall reveal the teachings of the true god!”
The same thought crossed every member of the rush team,
He’s mad.
The fanatic ranted and laughed while there was no reflection of the rush team in his eyes. His gaze registered them no more than pebbles on the ground or empty wind.
They spoke to him, but there was no communication. Trying to reason with him would be a waste of time.
However, Leon latched onto one detail.
“Hey,” he called out to the exolaw priest. “You said the ritual succeeded? Doesn't look like anything’s happening.”
“
Ah
! How utterly foolish! You can’t see even a step ahead of you—what hope is there for your kind?” the priest rambled as his eyes rolled in a frenzy. “The great work has already begun! The sacrifices have been offered, and all that remains is the moment of fulfillment! Now, come and witness how meaningless your struggle has been!”
Abandoning all formality, the priest shrieked—and that seemed to be the signal for the exolaw wielders to move.
Leon exchanged thoughts with El-Cid at once.
El-Cid, he says the ritual succeeded. So we’ve already lost?
—Not yet.
El-Cid’s voice remained calm.
—The principle behind City Swallowing is like fishing. The essence of compressed life force is used as bait to lure a monster drifting in the space outside of this dimension. In other words, until that monster finds the bait and bites, there’s still time.
Fishing... so we don’t know when the monster will see the bait or take it.
—Exactly.
It could be over an hour away, or it could very well come crashing down in seconds. In the end, it was a race against time.
Grasping that truth, Leon shouted, “Bishop Caesare!”
Cesare bit his lip. There were twelve exolaw wielders surrounding them. Plenty had been lurking in the labyrinth, but these were the real deals. If the scales tipped even slightly, they’d lose everything.
Resolute, Cesare raised his left hand high and recited, “O merciful Goddess, guide us so we do not lose our way in the darkness of night. Let Your gentle light shine down upon us here.”
At the same time, a glowing orb, a bluish sphere of light, appeared. It flew from Cesare’s hand to the high ceiling, then began to radiate a soft glow like the moon hanging in the night sky, and the exolaw wielders all recoiled a few steps and let out twisted screams.
El-Cid let out a light murmur of appreciation and said, —A combined technique of sacred spell and Aura. Not quite as much as the Sun, but it’ll suppress the exolaw just fine.
Is that because it’s the Moon type?
—Yup. With more training, you might manage it too. Though honestly, using my light is more efficient.
In any case, they’d seized the initiative. The pale moonlight overhead clearly agitated the enemy—some twitched uncontrollably, unable to even chant spells.
That moment was the opening they needed, and Karen was the first to move. Four daggers whipped from her waist like lightning bolts. Streaks of green Aura tore through the air, and that marked the start of all-out battle.
***
The battle between the two sides erupted into a frenzy the moment it began.
Cesare’s iron ball and chain came crashing down on one of the exolaw wielders, but the man’s body had transformed into some unknown substance, tougher and harder than metal. Instead of bursting apart, he was flung away with a thunderous boom.
Despite his effort, though, he couldn’t withstand the impact. Blood spurted from every orifice, and he died shortly after. Now, eleven enemies remained.
As bizarre incantations rang out, multiple exolaws entangled, distorting reality itself. Grotesque monsters were summoned, and the very air, tainted with indescribable hues, twisted like a living thing.
There was a dog writhing with dozens of tentacles, a serpent with four heads, and lumps of flesh too alien to resemble any beast. Regardless of what they looked like, each one of these alien creatures had the power to wipe out an entire village.
“How the hell are all of these things so damn ugly?!” Khan shouted, ripping off the monster dog’s head with one hand.
Even with all the monstrosities he’d seen in the slums, these things were repulsive beyond measure. He almost hesitated to smash them with his fists. Some of them even had poisonous fluids—his hand had nearly melted when he struck one without cloaking it in Aura.
Karen was struggling too, unfamiliar as she was with these enemies.
“Where the hell is their weak spot?!” she shouted, realizing they had no head or eyes.
She’d stabbed them with poisoned daggers, but there was no reaction. With her limited offensive power, figuring out their vulnerabilities was too hard. She might’ve done better using her shadow, but that would risk exposing her identity as the Keeper.
And so the stalemate dragged on.
As for Leon, he cut down the alien serpent that had been lunging at Karen from behind. After severing and stomping down its four heads, it no longer moved.
Normally, he’d have to burn it down to the last scrap of flesh, but the Holy Sword nullified its regeneration. The Sun-type Aura helped too, and as if instinctively recognizing the threat, the monsters hesitated to approach Leon.
He’s not moving yet.
Having slain another, Leon turned his gaze. The leader of the exolaw wielders—the priest—still hadn’t entered the fight. Did he think there was no need, or was he simply waiting for the right moment?
Either way, it wasn’t a favorable situation.
This is turning into a war of attrition. We don’t know when the monster summoned by City Swallowing will show up, but the longer this drags out, the more dangerous it’ll become.
Leon’s eyes locked onto the space behind the priest. The core of the ritual activating City Swallowing—its terrifying energy spread outward from that space.
We have to take them all out and destroy the ritual before City Swallowing happens.
El-Cid had compared City Swallowing to fishing, meaning that the sacrifices were bait at the end of the hook. The monster was just a fish taking the line that would devour both bait and city.
The priest had said it had already begun, and that meant it was too late to stop the ritual now. Even if they sealed the dimensional door, the scent had already gone out—the monster might still come. The best move now was to cut the line, bait and all.
“Dammit,” Leon spat a curse.
He needed to break through the situation as fast as possible, and yet, he couldn’t intervene the way he wanted. The Holy Sword he held was Evil’s natural enemy, but if he used its full power even once, the enemy would know immediately.
Unless he could wipe everything out in one blow, the moment they realized a Hero was among them, they’d throw their lives away to pin him down. Leon was well aware of his role.
I’m here to deliver the final strike.
Leon was the secret blade that would destroy City Swallowing and crush whatever trap the priest had prepared, and he had to be saved until that moment in the very end. Just like a flipped joker card became worthless, it only worked if it struck an unexpected blow.
Just as Leon was calming his boiling blood with sheer will, everyone in the field of battle froze.
A loud thumping sound threatened to rip their ears apart. At first, they wondered where it was coming from—until they realized it was echoing under their own collarbones.
Their hearts were pounding like they might burst from their chests. It was fear.
They were afraid—without knowing why or of what. It was fear for the sake of fear. Goosebumps brushed against their clothes like crawling static.
Perhaps this was how ants felt when looked down on by humans. An overwhelming gap in scale created fear by itself.
And in the midst of it all, one man laughed: the priest. Clutching his trembling body, he laughed like a madman, his face alight with ecstasy.
“It has come! Yes, it’s here! The Apostle of God has answered our call!”
Leon’s face went pale at those words. City Swallowing was coming. If they didn’t cut the line immediately, the city was doomed. The end had crept up behind him—and now shoved him forward.
El-Cid!
Sensing Leon’s desperation, El-Cid responded, —Don’t reveal the Holy Sword yet. Still, we do need a breakthrough. I’ll use half the power we’ve stored to cast a divine law.
Will that be enough?
—Barely. But that bishop kid’s moonlight gave me an idea. To fully recreate the goddess’s symbol, you need both the sun and the moon.
By coincidence—or perhaps by fate—those with Sun and Moon Aura had gathered here. A bishop capable of compound divine laws, and a Hero bearing the Holy Sword. It was terribly unlucky for Evil.
—All right, repeat after me.
El-Cid recited the words, and Leon opened his mouth to speak a high-tier sacred spell.
And the moment he voiced the first verse, in the underground space lit only by Cesare’s dim moonlight, a warm radiance like sunlight spilled across the entire area.