noveltune Chapter 87
Chapter 87
Not long after the witch disappeared, I heard Sylvia’s shout from a distance.
“Scarlet!!!”
“Sylvia! Over here!!!”
As I ignited my arm and waved it, I saw Sylvia, riding something that looked like a cluster of stars, rapidly approaching my direction.
Looks like she’s got a high-speed movement spell.
I remembered she didn’t learn that until much later in the original story, but somehow, here she was.
Just as I was impressed by her abilities, Sylvia grabbed me and shouted.
“What happened?! Are you okay?! I saw the flames and came rushing over!”
“I’m fine! But over there, surrounded by those people, there’s something that looks like a cocoon! If we break it, we might be able to stop the controlled people, but I can’t figure out how to breach it alone!”@@@@
Upon my shout, Sylvia looked at the cocoon tangled with the controlled people.
“There’s a way to stop the controlled people... then we need to separate them first.”
Murmuring that, Sylvia closed her eyes, and a brilliant light flowed from her body.
As the light enveloped the people, I saw strength draining from their bodies, making them loosen their grip on each other.
As the strength drained away, the people, who had been huddled together, began to drop off one by one.
It was astonishing how tightly they had been holding on, and when we finally separated them, we revealed the glimmering cocoon hidden within.
“If we can just break this...”
Finally, we could put an end to this horrifying situation.
My fist enveloped in flames slammed into the cocoon.
It broke apart as if it were shockingly simple, burning away.
“Is it over... now?” Sylvia asked.
And I murmured, feeling a strange sensation in my hand.
“Something’s... off...”
Even after breaking the cocoon, I felt nothing in my hand.
When I first witnessed it, the cocoon had been pulsating.
If it were empty, that wouldn’t make sense at all.
But now, the broken cocoon felt as if it were nothing more than an empty shell.
What did the witch say again?
Definitely, somewhere inside...
All the hairs on my body stood on end.
Quickly checking the floor where the cocoon had been, I noticed a hole as if something had escaped.
“Damn it! It got away!”
“What... what’s happening all of a sudden?”
“A monster! There was a monster inside that cocoon! If we don’t find it quickly—!”
As I shouted and searched for where the monster had escaped, I heard Sylvia’s voice.
“Scarlet! Over there!”
Turning to where Sylvia pointed, I saw a large, insect-like monster flapping its wings and flying high in the sky.
Upon checking its altitude, it was just a bit lower than the flames I had shot earlier.
I quickly made a judgment and manipulated my prosthetic arm, gathering the flames as I shouted.
“We have to take it down!”
“Got it!”
While Sylvia began chanting her spell and my flames gathered, I kept my eyes fixed on the monster’s movements.
If it had flown erratically, hitting it would have been difficult, but the monster was flying straight, as if on a direct path.
But could I hit a target that high?
—Alf Ad Astra!!
“I’m ready!” Sylvia shouted, finishing her incantation.
When I checked my prosthetic arm, the gem in the center of my palm glowed a fiery red.
I extended my hand toward the monster.
My arm was trembling.
The metal arm shouldn’t tremble, so I realized it was my whole body shaking.
Nervousness caused my breath to quicken; I couldn’t afford to miss.
At that moment, Sylvia, who was standing to my right, gently leaned against me and whispered.
“I’ll hit it for sure, so you can relax.”
“...You’re so full of yourself.”
Even saying that, I didn’t think Sylvia would miss.
After all, she was the main heroine of the original work.
Yoon Si-woo looked at me, then turned his gaze to the sky.
After silently looking at the scattered monsters for a while, he spoke.
“You don’t look good. This is all because of those things, isn’t it?”
Despite appearing calm from the back, his voice was filled with anger.
“...Yeah. But now, there’s nothing we can do.”
I replied helplessly to his question.
But then, without a word, Yoon Si-woo drew his sword from the air.
A radiant, golden-glowing sword.
The Holy Sword of Radiance, which prevents its wielder from falling into illusions and enchantments.
While firmly gripping the sword with both hands, Yoon Si-woo silently looked up at the sky.
...It can’t be.
I thought this while watching him.
No matter how much of a genius Yoon Si-woo was, and even if he managed to form a new contract with Lucia faster than in the original work, the timing was still impossible.
Just as I was thinking this,
Yoon Si-woo quietly murmured.
“A beam of light that can pierce even the deepest darkness.”
Hearing this familiar phrase made me catch my breath.
There are many famous and magical swords in the world, but only a few are special enough to be called Holy Swords.
The reason they are called Holy Swords is that their power is too immense to be considered just a regular sword.
Thus, a wielder without the skill and capability to withstand that power cannot be recognized by the Holy Sword and cannot use its true power.
Even Yoon Si-woo in the original work only managed to use it much later, requiring immense effort and revelation.
Yet now, what Yoon Si-woo was saying was a kind of ritual to summon that true power.
“Holy Sword—”
The Holy Sword of Radiance in Yoon Si-woo’s hand sparkled brightly,
“Release.”
In the next moment, a brilliant light flooded the surroundings.
The sword blade that had been glowing softly disappeared,
Leaving only the light that illuminated the world.
The Holy Sword of Radiance revealed its true form, shining brilliantly in Yoon Si-woo’s hands.
I captured the light with my eyes.
Some might call it a blessing,
Others might call it a miracle.
And right now, that light was our hope.
The hand of Yoon Si-woo, holding hope, slowly swung toward the sky.
Originally, light descends from the heavens to illuminate the earth.
But contrary to that principle, the light starting from the ground shot up swiftly toward the sky.
The light from the earth illuminated everything in the sky evenly.
The raindrops pouring down from the heavens.
The monsters soaring in the sky.
Even the dark clouds filling the sky.
Each of them being swallowed by the light felt like it was driving away the darkness that had shrouded the world.
Sylvia and I held our breath as we watched this magnificent sight.
The light, which seemed like it would never end, gradually began to fade.
But even if the light that started on the ground faded, the world was no longer dark.
There was no more despair or dark clouds in the sky where light had shone.
And then the boy slowly turned around and said,
“It’s not too late.”
The boy, with the clear sky behind him, shone brightly.
“I’ll make sure it doesn’t come to that.”
Reflecting in his eyes that met mine,
“So please, don’t cry.”
I no longer cried.
I lifted my head and looked at the sky.
As if to say that even in a world filled with despair, hope exists.
The sun, once hidden behind the dark clouds, now shone brightly.
The rain, which I had so despised, finally ceased.