Chapter 171
Since her first attack failed, Brillie had been waiting for only the most decisive moment.
She could only cut through the extreme darkness using the Radiance given to her, so she intended to prevent the worst-case scenario at all costs.
'It feels a little strange, but he's still managing to hold him off well.'
Brillie faintly sensed something off about Alter.
He had used magic to protect the holy apostles and even drove the Knight of True Flame into a corner.
But the cold air seeped in at such precise moments that she couldn't quite accept it without question.
'It's not so much that he's reacting to movements as if he... already knows what's coming and counters ahead of time.'
Brillie made her own guesses, but never doubted his skill.
Alter and she had been through many battles together, and not once had he been defeated.
Even when things seemed dangerous, he always managed to secure victory in some way.
That's why, she thought, perhaps she must remain by her companion's side with faith.
'If things become truly urgent, I can always step in to help...'
"Khhaha... Kahahat!"
The Knight of True Flame burst into wild laughter, swept up by a strange sense of release.
It had been somewhat troublesome, but at last, he had broken through the next great mage's magic.
Of course, that magic would continue, so he had to be cautious until he fully adapted.
"Haven't you got anything else up your sleeve? This alone won't be enough..."
"..."
"Ah... I suppose you won't reveal it so easily. Maybe you're even hoping I'll fall into a trap."
"..."
"What an absurd world. Even after I've devoured three dragons! I'm still struggling against you! How can this be?!"
Because he had only managed to overcome that magic with great difficulty, the Knight of True Flame grew ever more intoxicated with his anger.
He had been bound by concepts like talent or luck, but he too had power worthy of the name.
Yet he'd been pushed even briefly by the next great mage, which left him feeling strangely, pitifully small in his own eyes.
"Not everything can be equal... But fairness should exist. And yet, why do you get to nullify even that?"
"..."
"I see... Perhaps you don't know either. Unable to even perceive fairness..."
The Knight of True Flame did not even try to attack, merely watched Alter from afar.
Those without, desperately long for what they lack, but those who have, like him, cannot truly comprehend such feelings.
On the contrary, enjoying everything, people like him never even consider any other circumstances.
"Kukuk... Khuh... Did commoners who looked at nobles feel this way? Is that why nobles craved power, slandering one another?"
"... Whatever reason you give, you've committed a crime. That's why you became a feat of the Empire."
Only then did Alter speak, locking eyes with the Knight of True Flame.
He had understood, in rough terms, what the Knight was trying to say.
Yet it was an empty desire, leading inevitably to a twisted result.
Making excuses now would never justify his actions.
"You made me this way. Everything you have! You crushed me mercilessly. For the likes of someone who barely scraped by each day to block my path—what could be more unfair than that?"
The Knight of True Flame vomited up the emotions he'd long harbored and slowly bowed his head.
He knew it was ugly, despicable, wicked, and empty.
But there was no turning back—he could only keep moving forward.
Otherwise, his will, his longing, this very moment, would all collapse.
"No one will ever understand me. So... I will break this world. Since I cannot understand the world, after all..."
The Knight of True Flame fixed them with his ever-reddening gaze.
They were the powerful of the Agnes Empire, and guardians of this world.
Thus, even as they opposed him, they would not abandon their noble will.
But he, himself, was nothing but the source of malevolence, a monster wishing for destruction.
"I was not wrong. I... will prove it... Because I have... reached the summit..."
The Knight of True Flame unleashed flame and electricity at the same time, sharpening his murderous intent.
He would only be able to accept this choice if he managed to prove his own worth.
Until he achieved his goal, he would never escape contradiction.
"It won't work anymore... Alter Radiant!"
The Knight of True Flame charged violently at Alter, fully aware of him.
Alter hesitated for a brief moment, then immediately froze time.
To release the freeze, however, he would have to bear an immense burden.
Because of this, the Knight of True Flame would be weakened, and he and his allies could approach victory.
'How long can I hold him? He'll try to break free soon...'
Alter quickly manifested cold air, keeping his eyes on the Knight of True Flame.
For a moment, the Knight's movement paused, but already the frozen time was trembling.
At the same moment, crimson light blazed in his eyes, shattering the freeze right away.
"I told you, it doesn't work!"
The Knight of True Flame rushed past the holy apostles, charging straight at Alter.
That magic was certainly hard to counter, but even the next great mage couldn't use it repeatedly.
Right now, the next great mage's life could be ended in an instant.
"If only I get rid of you, victory is mine! I'll crush you completely!"
The Knight of True Flame hurled his right hand at Alter with all his might.
Though Alter protected his body with cold air, that magic could not restrain the Knight.
Moreover, with such quick movements impossible, dodging this blow would be out of the question.
"... I told you to get lost."
A voice trembling with rage accompanied a leaking golden light.
Flames dyed in radiant hues leapt up, barring the Knight's approach still further.
Alter, surrounded by golden fire, turned to Brillie.
"Alter. Cover me, please."
"... Understood."
Unable to dissuade Brillie, Alter could only agree.
Now, the Knight of True Flame could no longer be contained with time stops alone.
All they could do was keep applying pressure, hoping for the darkness to be severed.
"You're coming towards me first... If you die now, who will stop me?"
"I'm not so weak as to lose to you."
Brillie's voice was icy as she leveled her blade at the Knight of True Flame.
He was so insincere and disgusting, a determination to execute him was engraved in her mind.
Above all, she could not ignore his blatantly murderous intent toward her husband.
"Even if you could cut me down... you're only human. A human can never—reach me!"
Consumed by madness, the Knight of True Flame hurled himself at Brillie.
He would no longer be swayed by the past.
Once, she had been his subordinate, one who'd harbored affection, but faced with this overwhelming force, he felt only emptiness.
"You shouldn't even exist."
Brillie summoned her heavy resolution and conjured golden flames.
She could not cut through his inner darkness yet with Radiance alone.
Therefore, she had to first strip away his outer mana using the Flame of a Thousand Days.
"This power... Kuuh..."
The Knight of True Flame staggered backward, oppressed by golden flames.
It wasn't a form that directly threatened his darkness, but it was surely suppressing the dragon's mana.
Radiance itself was a transcendent concept, so how had she acquired yet another ultimate skill?
"So, Sword Flower really is different!"
"Hmph!"
Berhan and Ronit attacked the Knight of True Flame simultaneously.
Unable to withstand their onslaught, he was instantly driven back.
Yet his mana did not diminish; rather, it seemed to surge out of control.
'So it was set from the start... My very existence was already...'
The Knight of True Flame was again struck by the plain truth of his ordinariness.
The next great mage had long harbored the power of dragons within him, and Sword Flower had created forms beyond human comprehension.
In short, there was no way, as a human, for him to stand as their equal.
'Absurd. Do I have to give up being human... just to reach you?'
The Knight of True Flame unconsciously confronted the fate given to him.
Either he or those two would fall here, he thought.
Until a moment ago, he'd been sure of victory, but now he could predict nothing.
Maybe, having always walked a crooked path, even this moment was bound to twist out of shape.
'Is this the fate I could never escape...?'
The Knight of True Flame questioned himself, but found no answer.
Until you experience it, you don't realize, but after seeing the result, you understand too late.
If he had never encountered Brillie, could he have made a different choice?
'No. I wasn't someone else's puppet. This was my own decision. Fate is just an illusion...'
He braced himself for battle again, determination renewed.
He had arrived at this ending solely through his own choices.
Brillie may have been part of his turning point, but did he really need to blame something as hollow as fate?
"I'll prove it. When I've killed you all... Then it will be clear."
The Knight of True Flame drew out every bit of his mana buried beneath darkness.
Flames flared even more violently, and thousands of streams of electricity shot out in every direction.
Soon, a sinister aura seeped out, corroding the earth itself.
"... This is the end."
The Knight of True Flame launched himself at Brillie without hesitation.
This time, he would extinguish those dazzling flames, no matter what.
If he could endure the Radiance, he could surely slay Brillie instantly.
"..."
Alter coldly froze time again, spreading cold air.
He could pause things, at least briefly, enabling them to prepare.
Surely, the Knight would prioritize targeting Brillie, trying to eliminate her in one blow.
"Looks like you've gotten a bit more used to this."
The Knight of True Flame instantly shattered the freeze, dispelling the cold.
This magic could no longer restrain him.
Even if his body was frozen by the cold air, he just had to thaw it instantly.
In fact, the next great mage was now doing nothing but draining his own mana one-sidedly.
"Nothing can stop me—"
He suddenly stopped, gripped by a strange sensation.
At some point, his left foot had frozen over, and even with dragon flame, he couldn't thaw it.
What's more, the mana concentration in his body had dropped, and now even its outline was beginning to blur.
"My husband was right after all."
At last, Brillie raised her sword, filling it with the colors of the Celestial One.
Then, gathering all her strength, she struck downward—golden light flashed, and the Knight of True Flame began to burn.
He cycled between incineration and regeneration, but in the process, his inner darkness was bared.
"You were far too arrogant."
Brillie followed through, breaking her sword and infusing it with the current of Radiance.
The color of darkness grew fainter than before, its very form now distorted.
No doubt the source of darkness had weakened while offsetting her companion's cold.
"Kuhak—"
"Disappear. Forever."
Brillie cut away the darkness within him and swiftly retreated.
A violet streak traced a diagonal, piercing deep within.
The Knight of True Flame, sensing the loss of his darkness, managed with difficulty to force his body upright.
"Not yet! Like this... nothing's proven!"