Chapter 197
Episode 197
― KWAJIK!
Barnes quickly drew his sword from the dead's body and stood there, gripping his weapon in stunned silence.
The moment the energy originating from Erich enveloped his entire body, a mysterious surge of power welled up within him.
Barnes realized, as he withdrew his blade, that he had not expended the slightest bit of effort dealing with the dead.
It didn't feel like he was slicing through the tough flesh of the dead, but rather as if he were cutting through bread.
'... Is this the Commander's power?'
Barnes, for his part, possessed only a faint aura—barely enough to manifest abilities, albeit crudely.
Even that put him among the top twenty in the Empire.
But Erich's power was entirely different.
In this moment, Barnes felt his pupils dilate, granting him a completely new perspective on the battlefield.
He could perceive the tiny gaps between the dead's muscles and even sense their faint tremors whenever they moved their joints.
― WHIIISH.
Barnes instinctively dodged a sword that came flying from behind him. He didn't twist his whole body, merely tilted his head slightly.
Without even sparing a glance, Barnes gripped his sword in a reverse grip and drove it into the dead behind him.
― KWAJIK!
Once again, he was able to tear through the dead's body and withdraw his sword with hardly any effort.
― Uwaaahhh!
― Cut down all those corpses!
Soldiers' shouts echoed from all sides. Frenzied by Erich's power, they mowed down the dead with reckless abandon.
But unlike those simply intoxicated by power, Barnes sensed something more nuanced.
The power Erich bestowed was more than just raw strength. It was layered with complex elements.
The aura Erich had honed over many years. And a power so holy it could be called divine.
Finally, a faint, instinctively precious ember.
'Is it life force?'
Barnes realized it instinctively. The source amplifying all these powers, the true nature of what Erich had given him: it was 'life force.'
And then Barnes realized that even he possessed that same life force.
He'd never thought about it before, since he'd never felt it. But the potential to wield strength like Erich's was pulsing inside his own body.
Now he knew.
This life force was the very foundation that could elevate aura to its greatest potential.
― KKUUK.
Barnes tightened his grip on his sword. He knew as well as anyone that using one's life force meant shortening one's lifespan.
But Barnes, whose own life had already been drastically shortened by excessive experiments, understood that using his 'life force' was as good as embracing death.
If not today, perhaps tomorrow. If not tomorrow, then the day after.
Barnes's life force was tenuous, flickering, always on the verge of fading.
So, despite being able to draw on it, he hesitated. Though Barnes was known for neglecting his own body, that didn't mean he wanted to commit suicide.
But then—
― KWAGWAGWANG!!!
In midair, a tremendous explosion of white light and dark energy erupted. On the ground, countless members and the dead clashed, but overhead, a sonic boom surged that would be fatal to touch.
Erich was fighting.
Facing the immense power of the Lord of the Dead, he was even sharing his own strength to fight back.
Barnes cut through the dead, his movements almost mechanical, as he scanned in another direction. His eyes caught a subtle energy.
Frederick.
The white aura surrounding him was even stronger than that of the others. Thanks to this, Frederick was fighting on equal footing with the death knights, even succeeding in severing their heads after fierce struggles.
'Life force?'
Barnes realized Frederick, too, had sensed the power of life force given by Erich. That wasn't all—Frederick was burning his own life force, transmuting it into aura.
From the dead surrounding Frederick, thick ice spikes shot out. Barnes was witnessing Swordmaster-level abilities that he would have never seen otherwise.
Frederick was setting his aura ablaze at the cost of his life force.
Barnes slowly closed his eyes.
― SHIIIISH.
He sensed the faintly flickering life energy within his core.
"......"
He drew it forth.
Instinctively, he felt profound aversion, as if someone had ripped out his heart and held it in front of him.
But Barnes knew. The energy Erich had passed on would never be enough.
If it were, Erich would have finished off the Lord of the Dead alone from the start.
But he hadn't, which meant Erich needed others to resolve themselves as well.
Barnes decided to answer that expectation.
Soon, a strange spark crackled from Barnes's forearm.
― PAZIJIK.
***
― KWAAANG!
Erich's sword hand trembled. Each attack from the Lord of the Dead was lethal. If he didn't block them with supreme concentration, even Erich risked dying from a single blow.
'How unfair.'
Unfair. That was the perfect word to describe the Lord of the Dead's power. The sword enveloped in the energy of erosion showed no sign of breaking, not even from Erich's strength.
In contrast, Erich's own energy felt as if it could shatter at any moment. There was no better word for it than unfair.
― SWIISH.
Yet the Lord of the Dead's attacks halted. He seemed to be evaluating the situation on the battlefield. Erich, too, glanced downward.
Since Erich bestowed his power, the coalition forces began repelling the enemies explosively. But that wasn't all.
A subtle smile crossed Erich's lips.
'Some of them have already found the answer.'
What Erich had provided in terms of white energy wasn't a large amount. No matter how great his power, it was impossible to share much with so many.
Yet among those below, a few shone more intensely than the rest. They had accepted Erich's power and reached the essence of life force.
If someone didn't know how to approach it, if they had never, even once, felt life force, it would be incredibly difficult to find that source.
However, the power Erich passed on contained his own life force. Those with the potential or knack for awakening aura could comprehend its essence.
So now, those shining with the brightest light among them... were the ones who could sense their own life force. And those who could burn it to unleash power.
Barnes.
Frederick.
Hrung-ga.
Milon.
Even old companions like Kurz, who'd stood with him at the outpost long ago.
They were all sacrificing their own life forces.
If what Erich passed on was a power of one, theirs was a power of ten. And that was precisely what Erich anticipated and hoped for.
'Incensus must have thought the same way.'
That was why Erich, like Incensus, had shared his strength with them—so that they could make their own choices and bolster the battlefield.
Should they be defeated by the dead?
Or, should they burn this fleeting moment to seize the future?
Surely, Incensus had likewise given such a choice when passing on his power.
'But with this... I think I know why Incensus hasn't participated in the war until now.'
― SHIIIISH.
Just distributing power to this many people left Erich feeling as if all the vitality had been drained from him.
Meanwhile, Incensus had shared power by humanity's side for countless ages.
He even used immense strength to send Erich into the past.
Unless someone was a being like the Lord of the Dead, who absorbed the power of others, surely Incensus had already exhausted all his power.
'A god without divine power.'
One could speculate that Incensus no longer had the strength even to maintain his own existence as a god. And if he remained, perhaps he was little more than a corpse.
'Can one even use the word 'death' for a god?'
Yet, his name was still spoken by the people.
― Incensus!
― Give us strength!
The power they now wielded clearly did not come from Incensus. Yet simply invoking his name seemed to grant them courage.
The Lord of the Dead bit his lip in irritation.
― Do you really think the outcome will change because of that?
"Well, you won't know until you try. But hasn't the result already changed before?"
Erich grinned. After all, the results had changed already. Hadn't humanity's destiny as eternal slaves to the dragons already been broken?
This was hardly different from then. The only thing that had changed was that now, humanity themselves would alter their fate.
Bit by bit, the white energy passed on by Erich surged more powerfully. From only a handful at first, now many could be seen burning their own life force.
Not everyone, of course, but that was enough.
Erich was satisfied with these results.
Once again the Lord of the Dead let out a grotesque voice.
― So, you wish for it to be so desperately?
An immense darkness surged around the Lord of the Dead. So powerful that even the sky's scenery distorted. But Erich had no intention of letting him do as he pleased.
Here and now.
Erich resolved to hold out until the others could drive out the dead and resist the Lord of the Dead together.
― KWARURURUK!
A cross-shaped surge of black energy shot from the Lord of the Dead's sword toward Erich. But this time, it was not aimed only at Erich or only at the others.
It was a forceful blast meant to sweep away both sides entirely.
But Erich gripped his sword tightly and flew through the air at blinding speed.
― KWAGWAGWANG!
Erich's hand swept through the air, and white sword-light instantly split apart, each blast meeting the black energy, exploding and nullifying the Lord of the Dead's power.
The Lord of the Dead immediately summoned even more power. Erich found himself uncertain how long even he could hold on.
The Lord of the Dead's assault grew fiercer and fiercer. Now, Erich was on the complete defensive, while the king had switched fully to the offensive.
He even stripped away the black energy he'd used as protection, using it instead for attacks.
But at that moment—
― PUSHUK!
A silver sword burst from the Lord of the Dead's chest. Erich narrowed his eyes as he watched the area behind the Lord of the Dead.
Tearing through the sky's scenery and revealing himself—
It was Albrecht, whom they all thought to be dead, plunging his sword into the Lord of the Dead's back with a strange smile.