Chapter 216 : The Usurper and the Invader (2)
Chapter 216: The Usurper and the Invader (2)
Clang!
When one attacked, the other blocked.
Clang!
When one thrust, the other dodged.
Claaang!
Throughout the relentless exchange, Fransia obsessively targeted nothing but Charlotte's vital points.
She hadn't intended to fight this way from the beginning, but her instincts kept urging her to make that decision.
'Even Instructor Eugene barely managed to land an effective hit on her... Ordinary attacks won't even leave a scratch.'
Still, there was one fortunate piece of news.
Charlotte remained so overconfident in her own abilities that she hardly bothered to defend against most attacks.
As long as she could continue luring her into lowering her guard, then if she could drive the Aura Blade into that woman's neck just once—
this battle would be hers.
Whether she realized Fransia's intentions or not, Charlotte continued pressing the attack without changing her approach.
Screeech! Creeeak!
Sword and hand blade collided repeatedly, producing harsh metallic shrieks.
Creeeak...!
If she could land an effective blow even without relying on the Aura Blade, that would be ideal.
There was no way Charlotte didn't already know about her abilities, so hiding all of her cards wasn't necessarily a good strategy.
Taking advantage of every opening, Fransia employed Phantom Swordsmanship, sending precise slashes toward Charlotte's vital points.
Even so—
Charlotte's body remained completely unmarred.
Not even the smallest scratch appeared.
And in the process—
Fransia's own sword began to show signs of giving way.
'Even if she made a contract with a Beast... how can a human body possibly be this tough...?!'
The blade had been heavily damaged during their previous battle.
She had left it at the academy's forge, where it had been meticulously reforged over several days.
Afterward, she had reinforced it with mana, increasing its durability severalfold.
Yet—
after exchanging only ten blows—
its edge had already been completely ruined once again.
Then—
“Possessing a good weapon is part of one's strength as well. Wouldn't you agree?”
Charlotte instantly rushed in, unwilling to let the opportunity slip away.
“Ghk!”
Fransia immediately raised her Barrier Sword to block the thrust.
The mysterious slash that came immediately afterward from behind was barely deflected after she poured an enormous amount of mana into her blade.
Crack!
But that was the end of it.
The sword she had carried ever since enrolling at Carvena—
split cleanly in two.
“Tch...!”
“How dull.”
Charlotte charged forward to finish her off.
In that fleeting instant—
Fransia's thoughts raced.
'...No.'
'This is my chance.'
'It was the same during the battle at Maret.'
'I'll make her believe I can't counterattack with a broken sword...'
'Then I'll instantly form an Aura Blade and stab straight through her vital point.'
'She can have my shoulder.'
'In exchange... I'll sever her neck.'
Having made up her mind, Fransia gritted her teeth and began condensing a crimson Aura Blade.
She intended to ignite it over the broken blade before striking.
However—
before the blade could even take shape—
the gathered mana suddenly shattered and scattered apart.
“H-How...?!”
“A human's pitiful method of controlling mana is easy enough to break.”
Thud!
“Ghk!”
The unprecedented situation delayed her reaction for only an instant.
Even so, she desperately twisted her body.
She managed to limit the damage to her shoulder, just as planned.
But Charlotte had no intention of stopping there.
Fransia squeezed every last bit of strength from her body and swung her broken sword before quickly retreating.
Yet the shattered blade couldn't even slow Charlotte's advance for a moment.
Charlotte immediately swung her hand blade toward Fransia's neck.
Right then—
Creeeak...!
Rubia Magnus stepped perfectly between them.
With both hands protected by Divine Armor, she caught Charlotte's hand blade.
“Get away from Miss Fransia, Beast!”
“...You're the one holding onto me.”
“Haaah...!”
Activating Divine Enchant and Saint's Touch, Rubia drove her left fist into Charlotte's chest.
KWAAAAAANG!
Even though Charlotte managed to guard against it, Rubia still blasted her nearly a hundred meters away.
“Huff... Huff...”
“...Professor.”
“Don't speak, Miss Fransia!”
Rubia examined Fransia's left shoulder, which had nearly been pierced through, and clenched her teeth.
'How can simply being stabbed inflict a curse...?'
She immediately dispelled it with Divine Cure Magic.
But in that brief span of time, Fransia had already lost a tremendous amount of stamina.
Not long afterward, Charlotte returned to the battlefield.
She still hadn't suffered a single wound.
“So this time my opponent is a Divine Mage... Rubia Magnus?”
Without another word, Rubia drew her wand and unleashed a barrage of offensive magic.
Six different attributes.
Eight magic circles.
She intended to determine which element Charlotte was vulnerable to.
Charlotte simply stood there without reacting.
She dispersed the dust and smoke covering the battlefield in an instant—
then charged once more.
Boom...!
Rubia layered Divine Armor over her Barrier to stop the body slam.
Immediately afterward, she cast Needle Magic.
Ting! Ting!
Even though she used Iron Needles—the most durable and penetrative variant among its kind—
they failed to leave even the slightest crack anywhere on Charlotte's body.
“......”
“As expected... Divine Magic has poor compatibility against this body.”
Charlotte took several steps back.
As the demonic energy enveloping her body disappeared, the jet-black blades that had replaced both of her arms reverted into the delicate hands of an ordinary young woman.
“Well then.”
“Shall we continue?”
Charlotte suddenly assumed a martial arts stance.
Rubia instinctively stiffened.
'...What's she planning?'
'Did she suppress the Beast's power because the more dominant it becomes, the weaker it is against Divine Magic?'
'Is something like that even possible?'
'But if that's true... while she'd become weaker against Divine Magic... wouldn't ordinary magic become more effective instead?'
“If you won't come to me...”
“Then I'll come to you.”
As if refusing to give Rubia even a moment to think, Charlotte instantly closed the distance.
“Not so fast!”
Rubia immediately tried to keep her away with long-range magic.
But Charlotte's movements were incomparably swifter than before.
“Tch...!”
It was common knowledge that mages specializing in long-range combat were weak in close quarters.
That was why they normally fought alongside close-range specialists who prevented enemies from getting near them.
However—
Rubia Magnus, who served Eugene Carter as her master, possessed close-combat skills capable of matching even Robert Bernhardt.
Even against Charlotte—
she should have been able to hold her own for at least a while—
“H... Urgh...!”
That expectation—
collapsed so absurdly easily.
Fransia, who had finished stopping the bleeding and was watching their clash from barely ten meters away, saw everything clearly.
She saw exactly what Charlotte had done during that brief instant.
Forced into close combat, Rubia dismissed her wand, enhanced her body with Divine Enchant, and threw a straight punch toward Charlotte's abdomen.
Normally, one would either block such an attack—
or evade it completely.
Charlotte did neither.
Instead, she gently redirected the punch with both hands.
At the same time—
she caused two different types of mana to collide directly in front of Rubia's abdomen.
The opposing energies repeatedly clashed.
They condensed.
They amplified.
Then—
they burst outward as a single shockwave.
It pierced through Rubia's skin—
striking her internal organs directly.
“Kh... Ghh...!”
Rubia desperately struggled to stay on her feet, refusing to fall to one knee.
But that didn't erase the damage she had taken.
Both of them had fought with everything they had.
Yet the outcome was unmistakable.
The victor of the exchange—
was Charlotte.
Looking down arrogantly at her new opponents, Charlotte sneered.
“Hah.”
“You think this level of strength is enough to save the Empire?”
“You insignificant fools?”
“Rubia!”
Seeing Rubia cough up blood in the distance, Meriel hurriedly tried to run toward her.
Gustav immediately stopped her.
“No! Don't go near her, Meriel!”
“But, Master!”
“Even if you go, it won't accomplish anything! We'll transport them remotely from here—!”
As both of them hurriedly drew their wands—
another figure stepped between them.
“Amplify Field!”
“Wind Explosion!”
Michel Bernhardt and Edel Ribenia simultaneously unleashed wide-area magic.
A violent gale swept across the entire battlefield.
Boom! Boom!
Fwoosh!
At the same time—
the battle before the Imperial Palace's front gate had entered its fiercest stage.
“...I'm exhausted.”
After three and a half hours of desperate fighting—
the Special Task Force finally succeeded in suppressing the Erosion Pillar.
Lieutenant General Alvin Caldwell, who had played the central role throughout the operation, immediately gathered every member of the force.
“There are still Beast remnants in the area. Teams 6, 8, 9, and 11 will prioritize eliminating the remaining enemies.”
There was no time to rest.
Even at this very moment—
the battle that would determine the Empire's fate continued elsewhere.
“The rest will accompany me to reinforce Princess Edel.”
“To the Imperial Palace!”
“Yes, sir!”
While the four designated teams spread out in four different directions—
the remaining main force quickly advanced toward the Imperial Palace's front gate.
Before long—
they encountered another enemy.
“Commander! Those bastards...!”
“...I see them too, Adjutant.”
About one kilometer from the front gate—
they came face to face with the Platinum Dawn Society's main force.
Most of the enemy's principal executives had already entered the Imperial Palace and were clashing with the Imperial Guards and Carvena's forces.
But that wasn't all of their strength.
'We can't allow them to gain the advantage in numbers.'
Especially against enemies whose intentions remained unknown—
they absolutely could not allow them to enter the Imperial Palace.
Just as both sides slowly closed the distance while watching each other's movements—
a series of battle cries suddenly erupted from the right.
“There they are! Pursue them!”
“Don't let them reach the Imperial Palace!”
“They're the organization that's been operating in the Empire's shadows all this time!”
“Stay alert!”
“Yes!”
The newcomers wore the uniforms of the Imperial Defense Force.
At a glance, there were more than twice as many of them as the assembled Special Task Force.
For a brief moment—
Alvin was left speechless.
Then a woman suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder.
“You missed me, didn't you, Alvin?”
It was Natalie Siegman—
Commander of the Defense Force.
“...I can't deny it.”
“My two thousand direct subordinates.”
“This should be enough for now, shouldn't it?”
After exchanging a brief glance with her, Alvin pointed toward the enemy and shouted.
“Now!”
“Everyone, reinforce the Defense Force!”
“Charge!”
“WAAAAAAAH!”
Roaring at the top of their lungs, the members of the Special Task Force joined the Defense Force.
Faced with an enemy whose numbers had suddenly multiplied several times over—
the atmosphere within the Platinum Dawn Society's main force began to change.
The warriors who had looked ready to charge only moments earlier now showed unmistakable hesitation.
War was decided by momentum.
Once that momentum was lost—
it was over.
If they intended to wipe the enemy out completely—
they needed to raise their own side's morale even further.
His body was already battered beyond recognition.
If possible, he wanted nothing more than to withdraw and recover.
But he knew all too well that there was no time for that.
Alvin charged into the midst of his soldiers, adding his own battle cry.
Natalie followed immediately behind him.
The battle for the capital continued to escalate in scale.