13 Mink Street

The captain rolled his neck, and a series of sharp cracking snaps filled the air. The fingers of both hands trembled lightly, like a ferocious beast that had been imprisoned for ages and had only just been set free.

Slowly, a halo of sacred light gathered around him.

He was grotesque, yet holy.

He was furious, yet serene.

He was twisted, yet gentle.

Two utterly opposing natures had been forced into the same body. They did not belong together, yet both existed there in undeniable truth.

“I once swore... when I returned... I would drink my fill of Darkmoon blood.

“Roar!” The captain let out a howl as he charged straight at Karon and Ophelia.

By instinct, Ophelia stepped forward, putting Karon behind her. A scroll appeared in her hand. With a flick of her wrist, it dropped open, and the instant it did, a small ritual rune array appeared.

From within that rune, a sword hilt emerged.

Karon was very familiar with that sort of thing, because there was an old refrigerator in his own home that could serve the same function.

As the princess of Darkmoon Island, it was only natural for Ophelia to have access to equipment of such quality. Also, unlike Karon, she would never feel pain over the cost of summoning a weapon just once.

Still, Karon knew that when Ophelia used the scroll, the summoned rune array was very small. It could only work because the island they were on was not far from Darkmoon Island. Had the distance been greater, Ophelia would not have been able to summon her weapon at all.

In that respect, the old refrigerator in his own house offered a greater advantage, as it could be upgraded. The trouble was that the cost of upgrading it was absurd, and the price of using it would also grow accordingly. Put simply, even if Karon threw his entire fortune into the project, he did not yet have enough to even complete the upgrade.

Ophelia pulled a greatsword free. It was purple from end to end, with gemstones set in the hilt.

It was hard to say whether this sword or the Aelius Sword she had given to Karon was superior. In any case, Her Highness the Princess was clearly not short of weapons.

The moment Ophelia drew the blade, Darkmoon power erupted from her. The greatsword responded instantly, releasing a brilliant purple light as it slashed right for the captain as he charged at her.

Just as the captain’s body was about to be cleaved clean in two by the sword, he suddenly vanished, only to almost simultaneously reappear behind Ophelia.

In the same motion with which Ophelia brought her greatsword down, she swung it back up again, reversing direction to attack behind her.

The captain fell back, but a violet net burst from the greatsword, cutting off his retreat.

Thud. The blade pierced his chest.

Ophelia struck the hilt. The sword hummed violently.

Then, his body exploded.

From the moment the captain had first rushed forward, to when Ophelia had drawn her sword and the following collision between them, the entire exchange unfolded in the span of a heartbeat. It happened so quickly that Karon had only just instinctively formed the Sea God’s Armor and Darkmoon Blades, but had not yet had time to join the battle.

Then, right before Karon’s eyes, the captain blew apart.

Karon blinked hard. He had always believed that letting personal emotions interfere in battle was stupidity. Yet reason did not always govern feeling. The captain’s sudden derangement had already shaken Karon badly, and seeing the man’s body burst apart right in front of him left his mind blank for an instant.

“Careful, he’s not dead!” Ophelia shouted at Karon.

A pair of hands appeared beneath Karon’s feet, reaching right for his ankles.

Karon was still dazed, but the moment he sensed a threat to his life, his gaze instantly grew clear. “Order—Cage!”

A cage sprang up around Karon, closing him within it. He used it to seal himself, cutting himself off from the outside world.

Those pale hands lashed against the barrier, and cracks spiderwebbed across it at once.

Karon meant to bring both Darkmoon Blades down and sever them outright, but his heart suddenly clenched. “Order—Protective Wall!”

Layer after layer of walls rose beneath Karon, severing the space between himself and the pale hands. At that moment, the hands clenched into fists with both index fingers pointing at Karon. Two beams of white light shot out, piercing the walls Karon had summoned while also breaking apart the Cage barrier around him.

The Sea God’s Armor on Karon’s body immediately drew out the extreme water-element power of Progenitor Allen and froze over in an instant.

Bang! Karon felt as though two heavy punches smashed into his chest at the same time, and he was sent flying backward. While still in midair, he quickly adjusted his posture, only to discover that at the exact point he was about to land, the hands had already appeared. They looked to be waiting to catch him.

A cloud of black mist wrapped around Karon. His body rapidly misted over, and he forcibly changed direction and shifted away.

Those hands seemed ready to continue chasing after him, but at that instant, a purple greatsword fell from above and stabbed directly into the space between them. Then, Ophelia yanked upward with all her strength.

Boom! The ground exploded, yet when the greatsword was pulled free, there was no blood on its tip. It had merely skewered a cloth doll.

Karon recognized the doll. It was one of the spoils taken when Luke the Adjudicator had been killed. There had been two of the dolls. Apparently, the captain had taken them for his own use.

The greatsword in Ophelia’s hand let out a hum, and the doll split apart.

Karon appeared at Ophelia’s side. He intended for each of them to cover one direction, but Ophelia spoke at once, “I’ll take the lead. Support me.”

Karon nodded. “All right.”

By now, he had already steadied his mind. All hesitation was gone from his heart. Since the captain had already fallen into derangement, he was no longer the captain. Karon could not afford any lingering scruples.

“Heh heh...” Laughter came from ahead as the captain’s figure emerged from the darkness.

Ophelia lowered the tip of her sword and prepared for another charge.

Karon simply dismissed the Darkmoon Blades, leaving only the Sea God’s Armor as protection. Without a real weapon in his hands, the power of the Darkmoon Blades could not be brought out to their full potential. It was better for him to focus entirely on supporting Ophelia.

“God said, let there be Light.” As the captain’s words fell, a ring of light appeared beneath Ophelia and Karon’s feet. The moment it formed, it began expanding rapidly.

Karon dropped into a crouch at once, both hands pressing to the ground. Darkness spread across the area in an instant, sealing it off, but the very next moment, one swelling bulge after another appeared across the blackened area. It looked like something below was about to burst up again.

Karon threw his head back and poured more spirituality into the Art. “Order—Veil of Isolation!”

It was an Inquisitor Art, and its purpose was to fill the surrounding atmosphere. Under normal circumstances, it was actually a rather useless Art, most commonly used when one was about to recite the Code of Order, because it helped to create an air of greater mystery and solemnity.

But now, the otherwise useless Art was precisely what best suited the situation at hand.

At last, the ground beneath them fell quiet again. The captain’s technique was smothered before it could take full effect.

“He was only testing us just now,” Ophelia stated.

If anyone was being tested, it was you.

But almost immediately another realization came to Karon. Not even the captain had ever known Karon’s true strength, so, was it possible that the captain had been testing him as well?

No. Even when the captain had been trying to absorb that man’s memories, it had taken time. So the “him” who was currently occupying the captain’s body might not know anything at all about Karon, or at least not everything. He likely did not understand the full extent of Karon’s abilities.

“I’ll try to hold him in close combat. You sneak over and activate the teleportation array.” As Ophelia adjusted her breathing, Karon moved behind her. A layer of black purification power settled over her body, and then he placed a hand on her shoulder. A layer of Sea God’s Armor manifested over her as well.

She said, “Thank you.”

“Be careful.”

“Hurry.” Ophelia spun her greatsword and drew a flower of the blade, a gesture of formal challenge before a duel.

Seeing this, the captain tilted his neck slightly to the right. “Interesting.”

He then raised one arm. From the black night above, a beam of white light suddenly descended, falling upon the captain. Armor manifested over his entire body, and a greatsword of Light hovered in front of him: Light Knight Art.

Fully armed, the captain advanced upon Ophelia. This time, there was seriousness on his face. Clearly, he was taking the fight seriously now. When Karon withdrew, widening the distance between himself and Ophelia, the captain completely ignored that someone had left the main battle.

He seemed absolutely certain that everything was still within his control.

Karon appeared atop the platform, where he immediately began feeling out the array and familiarizing himself with its structure. He needed time.

However, Karon had overlooked one thing. When the captain had defeated Anita, successor of the Gravekeeper Clan, Karon had only arrived after the fight had already finished. He had never witnessed just how terrifying the captain was in close combat. If he had, Karon would never have agreed to Ophelia trying to stall the man with a brawl.

The captain closed in, raising his sword of Light. Ophelia lifted her own purple greatsword. The two blades clashed in a rapid series of flashes.

Yet Ophelia, who held a real weapon in her hands, was gradually being forced backward, step by step, by the captain, who held only a weapon conjured by an Art. Signs of strain and disorder were already beginning to show in her movements.

This was a direct clash, pure and simple. It was a contest of strength. Ophelia had originally assumed she would hold the advantage in such a contest. Only now did she realize that she was wrong.

The man she faced was not merely skilled in Arts. His vast, terrifying Light power and overwhelming physical strength gave him an absolute and undeniable advantage in close-range combat.

In this kind of direct exchange, once either side began to lose ground, they could only keep gritting their teeth and pressing on. The moment someone retreated, an opening would appear, and the opponent would immediately seize it and unleash the most devastating blow possible.

Karon, still working his way through the array, glanced up at the fight, immediately grasping the situation clearly. At a moment like this, he needed to help Ophelia break the rhythm. In the next instant, two Spears of Punishment formed beside his hands, and he hurled them straight at the captain.

The captain kept using his right hand and sword to suppress Ophelia, while on his left arm there suddenly appeared a large ancient white shield.

Bzzz! The Spears of Punishment struck the light shield, but instead of exploding, they dissolved into two black points that were directly absorbed.

Seeing that, Karon did not leave the platform to join the fight. He forcibly calmed himself and refocused on the array beneath him.

Ophelia exchanged more than twenty subsequent blows with the captain. As she gradually grew unable to endure, she started to deliberately lower her defenses, shifting into a style that would force an exchange of wounds.

Sensing Ophelia’s intent, the captain abruptly abandoned defense completely and brought his sword down in a direct slash toward her.

Seeing this, Ophelia did not dodge or evade at all; Her purple greatsword swept out horizontally. This was an exchange that neither side intended to defend.

However, at that moment, the light shield that had just been on the captain’s left arm reappeared directly in front of him. Ophelia’s purple greatsword struck the shield, and all of the purple light was drained away from the blade in an instant. It no longer shone at all, yet the captain’s sword of Light was already falling towards her head.

A red glow burst from beneath Ophelia’s clothing. A tall crimson figure appeared behind her, raising both arms to catch the descending blade. Yet as Light power boiled madly, the blood-red figure started to rapidly evaporate.

Clearly, this was intended to be Ophelia’s hidden reserves. She carried some holy relic that could summon that crimson figure behind her, and that was why she had been willing to risk such an exchange of blows.

But even so, the situation remained firmly within the captain’s control.

Ophelia reached out, intending to wrench her purple greatsword free, but the light shield suddenly melted and flowed over her blade, binding to it and making it impossible to pull back. Meanwhile, the red figure behind her was already just about to vanish.

Ophelia had no choice but to retreat.

The instant she did, the crimson figure was completely annihilated. The captain swept his sword at the retreating Ophelia. The blade itself never touched her, yet the sword light struck her body and sent her flying.

If not for the Sea God’s Armor Karon had placed on her, as well as a layer of purification power that offset a part of the damage, she would have suffered far worse. Even so, when she struck the ground, she tried to stand, only to spit out a mouthful of blood and drop into a crouch.

The captain gave her no chance to recover. He appeared directly before her, raising the sword of Light once more.

Ophelia flicked her left hand, and a small mirror fell to the ground, its face turned upward. At once, countless phantom tentacles reached out from the mirror’s surface, and they coiled around the captain’s entire body.

He instantly lost his center of gravity and dropped to a knee.

Ophelia’s gaze sharpened. She opened her right palm, revealing a pin. She deliberately let it pierce her own palm. Stimulated by her blood, it blackened and then transformed into a mass of silver light. Ophelia raised her right hand and stabbed the silver light straight at the captain’s head.

As she attacked, a helmet suddenly formed.

Bang! The terrifying penetrative force of that silver light only shattered the helmet apart. The captain’s neck snapped to one side with a small crack, but he did not suffer a fatal injury.

When even this sudden counterattack failed, Ophelia could only show a helpless smile. She was not his opponent. She had lost.

The captain thrust one hand forward, imprisoning her and severing all of her awareness of the outside world. He then raised his sword with the other hand, preparing to cut across. At that moment, Ophelia could only close her eyes in despair.

At that moment, a cloud of black mist appeared behind the captain, and Karon emerged from it. In his hands was the purple greatsword Ophelia had thrown aside earlier. With Darkmoon power infused into it once again, the greatsword burst back into radiance.

The captain sensed the attack from behind. The immense shield appeared at his back once more, again locking against the purple greatsword. Yet this time, the shield that had previously seemed capable of defending against anything, was pierced.

Pfft! The purple greatsword passed not only through the shield, but through the captain’s armor as well, emerging out his chest.

This was because at the moment that the sword made contact, Karon had wrapped it in a layer of Light power. Powers of the same attribute naturally accepted one another, and of all such interactions, the effect was especially pronounced between Light powers.

After all, every trait possessed two sides, and when one possessed the ability to transform other attributes, certain weaknesses were also buried within that power.

Ophelia opened her eyes. She sensed the weakening of the confinement that isolated her. Though cut off from the outside world, and not knowing why this change was happening, her hope that had almost completely died surged up within again. She opened both hands, Darkmoon Blades forming in her grasp and then slashing at the prison binding her.

“Light—Incineration!” Terrifying flames erupted across the captain’s body, as though he intended to raze both of the people attached to him.

The Sea God’s Armor that covered Karon’s body spread across the captain, moving along the greatsword itself. The rising flames began to violently evaporate the moisture suppressing them, and the water-element power of Progenitor Allen was at last completely roused within Karon.

For a long time, his greatest advantage had been his abundant reserves of spiritual power. At this moment, he pushed that advantage to the absolute limit.

In that instant, fire and water on the bodies of Karon and the captain began colliding violently against one another.

Bang! Ophelia shattered her prison and regained her freedom. She saw Karon holding the sword that was stabbed through their enemy’s body. The two men were locked with each other in near-mad struggle, while the forces of fire and water clashed with terrifying violence across them both.

Karon’s whole face had already twisted. He shouted, “The array only needs one last step, go!”

Ophelia bit through her lip, but she did not hesitate, nor did she waste a single word.

Using the last remnants of Darkmoon power in her body, she drove herself toward the ritual platform as fast as she could.

Indeed, Karon had already completed almost all of the work needed to activate the array. Only the final step remained. Ophelia poured her spirituality into that final point, and the array activated successfully. White light appeared.

She looked back. Karon was still clinging to the other man with all his strength, the searing heat roasting his skin until it had turned red, white steam already rising from his body.

“Roar!” That being seemed to sense the activation of the array and tried to force himself upright.

“Ahhh!” Karon let out a furious roar. The rapid outpouring of spirituality was already twisting his consciousness, but even so he locked both hands around the purple greatsword and forced the captain back down again.

“Karon...” Ophelia’s body vanished from within the array. She had been teleported away.

Karon let out a long breath. He was already at his absolute limit. The captain was simply too powerful.

He then suddenly remembered what the captain had said to him at dusk: “If you fail to notice the hints yourself, you can just die with me.”

But Captain, you never said it would be this soon.

The captain’s white flames were of a purer grade than Karon’s water-element power, which meant that Karon had to expend even more spiritual power in order to neutralize them. As the spirituality within his body neared exhaustion, Karon knew that he was about to be incinerated.

As his Sea God’s Armor finally gave out and dispersed, the flames vanished with it.

“She’s already gone. Pull the sword out already.”