Chapter 187: The Indifferent Rhodes
It was still hovering in the air, but its once-dark-silver blade was now a deep, blood-red, with a web of ominous, dark lines running through it. The corruption was complete. They now had a way to draw upon the immense power of faith within the 'Light of Ersten'.
"It is done! Hahaha!"
He could no longer contain his joy, his every pretense shattered in that moment. And in that moment of distraction, he acted. He lunged forward and grabbed the hilt of the sword.
And the runes on the blade flared to life.
A torrent of an unbelievably raw and brutal power surged up his arm and through his entire body, a mixture of a searing pain and an incredible strength. He was forcing himself to accept the divine power of the sword, a power that, if he were not careful, would tear him apart from the inside. But Shurahat had foreseen this and had made the necessary preparations. The sword's power had been restricted; most of the faith was still bound within it, and only a small fraction had been released. But even that small fraction was enough to give him a feeling of absolute and utter control.
Even Rhodes was a little surprised. To be so reckless as to take the power of faith into one's own body... it was a thing that he himself would not have dared to do. If I could master this spell, he thought, his own mind now racing with new possibilities, then the formula of life itself...
"Is this the power of the holy sword? It truly is magnificent," he said.
"Stop!"
Serie raised her hand, and a brilliant spear of light appeared, and then shot through the air, aimed straight for his heart.
"Be gone!"
With the holy sword in his hand, his confidence was now boundless. He did not dodge, did not retreat. He just brought the corrupted blade down in a powerful arc, and a red blade of energy met her spear in mid-air.
BOOM!!!
The two energies collided with a thunderous roar. At first, it seemed to be a stalemate, but then, the spear of light began to crack and splinter, and the red blade of energy pushed through, its momentum unbroken, and continued on its path towards her.
Her own eyes widened in surprise, and a series of magic shields appeared in front of her. The first one shattered instantly, but the others managed to hold, though the force of the blow still sent her stumbling back, a look of grim realization on her face. With the holy sword, he was now even more powerful than she had imagined.
"Hahahaha! Did you see that, Serie? This is the true power of the 'Light of Ersten'!"
To have pushed her back with a single blow... he was ecstatic. If even she could not withstand its power, who in this world could? He turned to the other, to the one who had been so quiet, his eyes filled with a new and taunting arrogance. "And you, human... come! Let me show you—"
His words caught in his throat.
The man had moved.
The moment she had been pushed back, he had vanished. A faint ripple in the air was the only sign that he had been there at all. Org was now in his hand.
And a cold, unshakeable feeling of a great and terrible death now washed over him. It was coming from behind him. He spun around, and his own, corrupted blade came up to block, but it was too late.
A searing pain, a pain so great it was beyond all comprehension, shot through his right arm.
He looked down, and he saw that his own arm, and the holy sword he had been holding, were gone, severed at the shoulder. And behind him, Rhodes now stood, his own holy sword now glowing with a brilliant, dazzling light. And his own severed arm, and the corrupted blade it still held, were now falling to the ground.
"How!?" he screamed, his voice a disbelieving shriek. How could this be? How could he have been so fast? He had just been a moment ago, strong enough to push back the elven Saint, and now... he had not even been able to block a single blow from this mysterious human.
Rhodes reached out, as if to catch the falling sword.
"YOU WILL NOT!"
The pain had now turned to a pure and unadulterated rage. He did not hesitate. He detonated the crystal, the crystal that was now at the very core of the holy sword, the crystal that had been the source of its corruption. Shurahat had told him: if he could not escape with the sword, he was to detonate it. It contained not only the power of corruption, but also a pre-set teleportation circle, a circle that would send the sword to a place where he, his master, would be waiting.
BOOM!!!
A shockwave erupted from the pedestal, not an attack, but a blast of pure, raw force, a force that sent him flying back several meters.
And a rift in space opened. He grabbed the corrupted sword and threw it through.
"YOU WILL NOT!" she cried, and a volley of light arrows shot towards the rift, to try to knock the sword from its path. But he threw his own, mangled body in the way, and the holy sword, now free and clear, passed through the rift and was gone.
"Rhodes!" she shouted. He was the closest. He could stop it. He could disrupt the teleportation circle.
But he just stood there. He just... watched, as the rift closed, as the last of its energy faded away, leaving nothing but a faint and fading ripple in the air. Her own spears of light flew through the empty space and exploded against the far wall.
"Hahahaha!"
The only sound in the underground chamber was his own, maniacal laughter. "You were too late! With the holy sword, the Demon King will be invincible!"
His right arm was gone, and her light arrows had left him a bloody and broken mess on the floor. But he was still laughing.
She looked at the spot where the rift had been, and her own rage, a rage that was now as hot and as pure as a dying star, began to burn.
(End of chapter)
~~~
Get early access to 20+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
~~~
Every 150 Power Stones = 1 extra chapter