Chapter 262 : Chapter 262
Chapter 262. Overloading (17)
He had anticipated it to some degree from the start.
That in this operation at the 19th Outsourcing District, the odds of Enoch himself sustaining severe injuries were extremely high.
At the time he received the mission from Teano, considering every factor led to no other conclusion. There was no need for lengthy deliberation — Enoch's growth with the sword had stalled not long ago.
Bringing Lily from Holy Sejour as the Saintess's proxy for this operation had been in the same vein.
But that approach clearly had its limits.
Glancing to the side, he saw Lily staring blankly this way, staff clutched to her chest, mouth agape.
Lily was certainly an outstanding healer, but she was not a Mage who had reached the realm beyond 10th Rank like Saintess Amelia.
Therefore, given that Enoch was experiencing the effects of the Growth-Type Magic Resistance Reagent, he had anticipated that care for critical wounds exceeding a certain threshold — like now — would be impossible for her.
Enoch's flickering vision cut out there.
—That was why Saintess Amelia was needed.
She, a user of healing-type Unique Magic whose power far surpassed even the reagent's magic resistance effect.
Just then, he felt warm heat envelop the back of his hand. Somehow he understood that it was the body heat of Saintess Amelia, who had taken his hand.
The next moment, warm green light filtered through Enoch's eyelids, and an incomprehensible sensation tore through his entire body.
"......!"
His eyes snapped open.
Chills swept his entire body. As sensation returned, a dazzling green light seeped into the hole blown through his abdomen, and a regeneration began that left even Sirocco stunned.
Blood poured and flesh regenerated. Organs expanded and nerves reconnected, blood was produced and body temperature dropped.
"Kh!"
Bones were reconstructed and cells died and regenerated.
Enoch's body recovered at a terrifying speed, pain receptors came back online, and the gut-wrenching agony of the wound tore into him as if devouring his organs.
And simultaneously, the wound healed at breakneck pace and the pain faded — a crucible where suffering and life intertwined in a clash of opposites.
BOOOOM—!
Just then, a clamorous metallic crash erupted from the bulkhead side of the underground cavern.
Everyone in the shelter felt the ominous premonition and turned their heads toward the sound. Within seconds, cries of horror followed.
"No, that! Over there......!!"
Through the gap in the shelter's bulkhead, a massive carapace-encased hand pushed through, and the sound of crumpling metal rang out as dust scattered in every direction.
CRUMBLE—!
Then the artificial angel forced both hands into the gap of the thick metal shelter bulkhead, pried it wide open, and tore it away before gliding in with all six wings fluttering grandly.
The instant they beheld the silhouette crowned with overwhelming despair hovering above them, shouts erupted from all around.
"AAAAAAHH!"
"Help! It's, it's coming in!"
The crowd screamed in terror and scrambled backward.
But unlike the other civilians around her, Amelia remained utterly still, kneeling in place with Enoch's hand in hers.
The dust blasting from the shattered bulkhead surged inward, engulfing both her and Enoch.
The green cluster of mana the Saintess had deployed bled outward through the hazy fog.
The beast, hovering above the underground space with three pairs of wings spread wide, slowly turned its gaze toward the Saintess, clearly recognizing who the most dangerous enemy here was.
Then it began drifting through the air, slowly approaching the center of the underground shelter.
In the dim darkness, Amelia let her emerald eyes shine as she gazed only at Enoch.
Several freelancers nearby were backing away when they noticed the motionless Amelia and froze in shock.
"Saintess, you must flee!"
"No, I am fine."
The Saintess kept her upright gaze fixed on Enoch, Tin Staff still planted against the ground, quietly looking down at him.
The instant the beast closed in directly behind Amelia and raised its lance high like an executioner, a lightning-fast thrust launched from midair and drove straight at her.
"NO......!!"
Others watching from the side screamed belatedly, but no one could stop the razor-sharp lance tip hurtling toward Amelia.
Then, CLANG— a metallic crash rang out, and crimson sparks flew through the darkness.
The intense resonance that upended everyone's expectations at the critical moment brought a sudden hush over the room.
Before the metallic vibration of the hum had even faded, Amelia's calm voice followed.
"Medical support is now complete."
The Saintess paid no mind to the great lance that had pierced through right beside her cheek, and with tranquil eyes still fixed on Enoch, she asked.
"How is your body, Lord Enoch?"
"At its best."
Enoch, gazing back at the Saintess with equally composed dark blue eyes, tightened the arm he had wrapped around Amelia's white shoulder, expression unchanged.
Before anyone noticed, he had risen to a sitting position and answered in that calm tone.
The Saintess, held in Enoch's arm, rested one delicate hand on his chest and glanced to the side, her emerald eyes looking behind her.
"Then, I am glad."
The Magical Beast in the form of a black angel flinched in midair, visibly startled by the gazes of the boy and girl staring at it in unison.
Only then did the beast seem to realize that its great lance, aimed at Amelia, had been deflected by Enoch's axe handle.
Enoch gave the axe a light swing.
The jet-black axe handle struck the enemy's weapon and sent the stationary Carapace Lance rocketing in the opposite direction.
The enemy's lance was flung far away, sparks scattering in all directions, dyeing the darkness red for an instant.
SCREEEEE?!
The beast roared in the opposite direction, and as if sensing something was wrong, hastily spread its wings and retreated.
Enoch rose to his feet and glanced down at his own waist.
Before he knew it, every wound on his body had healed as if washed clean.
Not only had his usual strength returned, but the Inner World erosion that had been gnawing at his body and mind as he weakened also seemed to have stopped once more.
Enoch slowly passed by the Saintess, who had been watching him quietly.
The enemy had retreated a considerable distance in its alarm, so Enoch walked a good dozen paces before stopping to face the enemy hovering in the underground airspace and assumed his stance.
"This has dragged on needlessly long. Don't you think?"
Enoch gripped the axe offset behind his back, let his dark blue eyes shine vividly, and smiled faintly.
"From here on, the tables are turned."
***
The beast, seeming enraged, gripped its lance and staggered backward through the air.
Then it let out a bizarre roar as if calling for allies, raising its left arm and clenching its fist.
That appeared to be the signal.
Beyond the torn bunker bulkhead, green lights characteristic of Magical Beasts began piercing through the darkness.
Below the airspace where the Master Class beast hovered with its lance held offset in low flight, surviving beasts that had descended from the surface streamed through the breached bulkhead.
Before long, humanoid beasts that had lost all reason were clawing at the ground and convulsing as they flooded inside like a tide.
"All squad members, I'm taking command."
Gazing straight at the approaching beast horde, Enoch spoke quietly.
"Sirocco and Alicia take the vanguard and intercept the Magical Beast incursion. I'll handle the decisive battle with the Master Class. No deaths during this operation."
The squadmates beside him, hearing the orders, glanced over, exchanged looks, and nodded.
Sirocco and Alicia immediately charged forward.
Watching the two girls sprint past him in low stances, heading toward the enemy forces, Enoch slowly turned his body to the side.
Just then, he noticed something hurtling in from the side and widened his eyes.
Jet-black carapace feathers, fired like bullets at the Saintess, were storming in wildly.
The carapace bullets were targeting the Saintess beside him.
Enoch immediately reacted, extending his arm to wrap around the Saintess and shielding her with his back. The carapace bullets embedded themselves in his left arm and back, scattering crimson blood.
"Lord Enoch."
Amelia looked up at him with concern. Enoch met her gaze quietly.
Saintess Amelia had a weakness, too.
The most critical risk of Amelia's own Unique Magic was that she herself was unable to heal her own wounds with her magic.
That was precisely the weakness of Amelia's Unique Magic and the reason she couldn't be brought to the front lines. But in this situation, it couldn't be helped.
Enoch, paying no mind to the blood spattered on his cheek, asked her quietly.
"This is a battlefield. Will you be all right?"
"What an obvious question."
The Saintess said that and spun a half-turn, glancing back at him.
Amelia's vestments, which revealed much of her white skin in a highly exposed design, contrasted with sleeves so long they nearly dragged on the floor.
Watching the sleeves dance through the air like waves in rhythm with the Saintess's turning motion, Enoch slowly looked at his own body.
The embedded carapace feathers were being pushed out of Enoch's body as if expelled, immediately crumbling into black ash and vanishing.
The Saintess planted her Tin Staff straight into the ground.
A clear, bell-like chime rang out, and a cluster of green light gathered at the tip of the modern, metallic Tin Staff, swelling and expanding.
The essence of magic that purified and healed life itself unfurled in a translucent magic circle, then swept once around both the Saintess and Enoch.
The formless, fluttering sleeve of her vestments gently wrapped around Enoch's back as he turned away.
"The Saintess of the Empire hereby declares."
Amelia gripped the Tin Staff at a diagonal and declared, her long sleeves billowing.
"As your Follower Family, I shall lend what meager strength I possess to aid the path Lord Enoch walks."
Enoch gazed at her quietly and gave a small nod.
The greatest healer in the Empire, and the Saintess of this generation. The Divine Maiden and Divine Healer of the Magic Empire, capable of curing any wound.
Her very existence was the last resort Enoch had kept in mind from the very beginning.
But it was also a double-edged sword.
What Enoch needed to prioritize above all else right now was protecting the Saintess — who would be recognized by the enemy as the single greatest threat on the battlefield.
The constraint on combat was something he would have to accept, but such things didn't matter in the slightest.
Right now, he had not the faintest intention of letting the enemy lay so much as a fingertip on Amelia, who had pulled him back from the brink of death.
And the same went for the squad members here who were following his orders with everything they had — not just Amelia.
He had no desire to personally become anyone's hope, but at the very least, he could seize hope for them.
Enoch walked forward.
The enemy, too, seemed to have judged that ignoring Enoch to target the Saintess first was no longer viable. The black angel slowly leveled its massive Carapace Lance at Enoch.
Both sides instinctively sensed that this would be the final clash.
Killing intent collided with killing intent, sparks flew, and suffocating bloodlust filled the underground space.
Without either side going first, the beast swept its wings and Enoch kicked off the ground — charging at each other in the same instant.
The beast slid through the air on the thrust of its wings and extended its lance in a secondary acceleration from its arm — a lethal strike.
In response, Enoch angled his body low and barely deflected the enemy's attack with the raised axe.
The beast stumbled as its attack slid off target. Immediately, the axe around Enoch traced a spiraling jet-black trajectory and accelerated again as he pushed off the ground.
Enduring the pain that threatened to tear his body apart from deflecting the attack through sheer arm strength, he closed to point-blank range in an instant.
The Master Class beast, recovering from its stagger, immediately thrust its lance and scored a hit on Enoch's arm. The grazing Carapace Lance tore a deep gash, scattering crimson — but in that same instant, a cluster of green light wrapped around the wound.
Like fine threads stitching a wound closed, the green light intertwined and rapidly bound Enoch's wound, healing it.
At the sight, a flash of despair crossed the beast's eyes.
Enoch fixed the artificial angel with his fierce gaze and, still mid-sprint, assumed his stance.
The Empire's Last Sword Saint, Form 1. Explosive Sword.
What he wielded was not a sword, nor was mana projected — an inefficient strike that merely mimicked the principle and shape of swordsmanship alone.
But this alone was enough.
A purely offensive form that abandoned all defense — its violent slashes rained upon the enemy's heart and head.
The long polearm's trajectory, like a storm of fire, wrapped in a white whirlwind that danced wildly around Enoch, carving into the enemy in rapid succession.
The beast could do nothing but retreat, carapace shattering everywhere under the strikes.
Seeing that, Enoch narrowed his eyes.
Master Class though it was, in terms of weapon-handling technique, it was no longer a match for Enoch.
It could only rely on its terrifying grip strength that surpassed Enoch's and the defensive power of its carapace, weathering every attack while waiting for an opening to turn the tide.
Unable to endure any longer, the enemy leapt backward to create distance and swept its wings wide.
Jet-black carapace bullets fired toward Enoch, forming a rain-like barrage.
Enoch didn't stop. He stamped his foot hard against the ground, and with the bone-jarring impact, accelerated once more.
He charged straight through the hail of bullets.
The artificial angel immediately drew jet-black powder from surrounding beast corpses into its lance and dropped its body low.
SCREEEEE—!
[Sword Saint of the Waves - Swordsmanship Form 1]
The beast spun its body and pulled its right arm back with all its might, preparing the lance that was beginning to grow.
Almost simultaneously, Enoch's arm spun the axe and unleashed a rising slash at menacing speed, scooping upward from below.
CLANG-CLANG-CLANG—!
[Lethal Strike———]
The next instant, the green-lit lance collided with Enoch's axe, scattering a thunderbolt-like crash throughout the underground.
The unyielding Carapace Lance of incomparable hardness and the jet-black axe — a blunt weapon that might even surpass a sword in striking power — collided, sparks flying and dyeing the surroundings bright as midday.
Enoch gritted his teeth.
The aluminum reinforcement plate beneath his firmly planted feet caved in, and panels around the deck were ripped away by the shockwave. The bitter taste of adrenaline filled his mouth.
The lance's transcendent power was gradually pushing his arms back. But before cold sweat could even form, the sword's principle flashed through his mind like lightning.
Remember. Being eroded by the Sword Saint of the Waves is nothing less than a double-edged sword.
But for this one moment, that risk was more than worth bearing.
—If it's a force that can't be overcome, deflect it and turn it against them.
Enoch instantly twisted the axe handle sharply to the side, sending the enemy's attack sliding away.
The lance that had been locked in a deadlock slid off the axe handle at a precise angle, and the force loaded into the Carapace Lance shattered its owner's balance entirely, breaking the stalemate apart.
The instant the beast's all-out strike was deflected helplessly—
With an eardrum-shattering crack, a supersonic slash sent the beast flying several meters into the air.
The expressionless face of the beast, launched skyward, seemed to freeze in an expression of incomprehension at what had just happened.
SCREEEEE—!
Enoch immediately kicked hard off the ground and spun twice in midair.
After leaping to an altitude higher than the Master Class beast, he tilted his body horizontally and drew the axe far back overhead.
In that instant, one blade of the magic-stone alloy double-bladed axe, unable to withstand the accumulated powerful impacts, shattered completely, scattering into the air.
All or nothing.
For a moment, the world flowed in silence.
Everything seemed to stand still, as clear and tranquil as an undisturbed water surface. Fragments of silver blade drifted across his vision in slow motion.
Amid the rain of falling blade shards, his eyes met the green gaze of the beast, blazing with fury through the gaps in its carapace.
He could intuitively read what it was saying with its eyes.
—Impossible. That I lost. To the likes of you, who isn't even a Mage.
A whooshing wind brushed past his ears, and the flow of time returned.
The Empire's Last Sword Saint - Swordsmanship Form 2, Fire Wheel.
——Fall.
A single, devastating descending slash that whipped the air in a circular arc before driving straight down.
The axe blade punched clean through the carapace on both arms the beast had crossed in defense, then precisely obliterated the heart area into dozens of fragments and blew them away.