Chapter 246: ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ (3)
Chapter 246: ■■■■ ■■■ ■■■ (3)
There was no doubt about the power of the attack that Ferzen had just unleashed.After all, the linear pathway itself, which was made by transforming the intangible electricity caused by the lightning into a solid state, was shattered by the recoil.
It goes without saying that Ferzen had consumed all of his magic power at that moment. As a result, Isabel plopped to the ground right away like a doll that had its string cut.
Feeling the gastric juices rise up to his throat several times due to exhausting his magic power, Ferzen was only barely able to raise his head after retrieving Isabel back in his subspace.
A warlock's main weapon was the elemental wizard’s corpse they controlled.
Who would have expected that a warlock could deal with such a physical strike rather than catching someone off guard by creating a natural phenomenon through magic and sorcery?
That too, was targeted towards an Auror Knight who had reached the peak.
“Cough……!”
Sure enough, it was something Gremory could never have expected.
Due to that, she was on her knees for the first time since the war began.
Since the speed of the metal bullet which was accelerated by electromagnetic force was several tens of times faster than the speed of sound.The only response she could muster against his attack was to extend her remaining arm to the front and open her palm.
Of course, it was a meaningless act because the accelerated metal bullet was nothing more than minerals even when it was covered with magic power.
Therefore, the metal bullet melted and tore through her skin, pulverizing her carpal bones, and went straight through her humerus.
However, as if proving that it was not a lie that her body had truly transcended human limitations, the metal bullet that hit her could not go any further from her humerus.
Instead, it bounced back and pierced Gremory's spleen.
If the angle had been just a little higher, it would have been the heart that would be pierced and not her spleen.
Although the spleen was one of the few human organs that could be removed, it was only true when it was removed through normal surgical procedures.
Because of that, the amount of blood pouring out of Gremory's body was mind-boggling, especially since it was an organ that bled heavily when damaged.
She should have moved immediately to stop the bleeding, but Gremory just laughed as she looked at her pierced body.
It was definitely a shame that she would no longer be able to use her remaining arm.
But once this war was over, she would no longer have any reason to hold the sword anymore in the first place.
Unless there were some people rebelling, what awaited her was a boring and mundane daily life.
“Your Majesty!”
The faces of her retainers who turned their horse heads towards her and approached her were pale as a sheet.
Was it because they knew what consequence awaited them if she died?
“L-let’s go to the rear and have a surgery……!”
Since her eardrums had burst because of the monster that Ferzen had summoned, she was unable to hear what they were saying.
After inferring what they talked about from the shape of their mouth, Gremory shook her head and raised her body up.
Since her body had transcended human limitations, there was no need to worry about infection even if the surgery was performed under difficult conditions.
In retrospect, if she was left in this state for a long period of time, she would bleed excessively.
However, the confidence she harbored whispered to her not to miss the opportunity that was in front of her.
After all, since a monster that had a bad matchup with her had been summoned.
The reason why Ferzen could not secure his victory by opening the gate of The Underworld when she was mortally wounded,
Was without a doubt because he no longer had any goods in his subspace.
That's why Gremory slowly walked towards him.
「 ■■. 」
Then, the whispers of a monster that gave her an order in an unknown language echoed several times in her mind.
The amount of her magic power did not increase the more her body broke down.
It only allowed her to control her magic power in a much more precise manner.
Gremory, who continued to defend herself, withdrew all the magic power from her entire body at that moment.
It was partly to save her magic power. But at the same time, it was also a show of courage because she had seen the fate of soldiers who were unable to respond to the voice.
The reason she dared to do so was because it would be impossible for her, who had no arms left, to cut open her stomach and take out her heart.
In particular, since the monster looked like it was about to melt completely soon, she was planning to intentionally provoke it.
Eventually, her legs, the one which was not a prosthetic, bent against her will.
Her upper body leaned back soon after before it moved forward and slammed her face into that knee.
Crunch-!!
“Keuk!”
Even though the body of an Auror Knight was sturdier than armor, in this state, their body could be said to have turned into a sharp blade.
In fact, the impact was so great to the point that Gremory briefly fainted.
Fortunately, she recovered quickly from her loss of consciousness...…
Crunch-!!
Due to the repeated self-harm, her focus became blurred and she started to see everything in two.
Judging from the fact that she became nauseous and even vomited several times, she was clearly suffering from a concussion.
Drizzle-!!
Furthermore, a tear near her forehead caused her face to become wet with bright red blood. At the same time, her conjunctiva also began to bleed from an orbital fracture.
“Keuk…… Ahahaha!”
However, rather than completely shattering her skull and kneecap, the monster was forcibly pulled back to The Underworld.
It had finally reached its critical point after demonstrating its ability several times until now.
Seeing the monstrous appearance of Gremory, the leaders around Prince Raymond called out to him in urgent tones.
"Your Majesty……!”
“We shall continue to fight.”
However, the answer they got from Prince Raymond was rather unexpected.
After all, there was no way that he would not know how helpless a warlock was when they had used up all of their magic power and goods.
"Your Majesty!"
“……Count Louerg asked me to trust him. So I could only do so. Even if we turn our troops to protect the Count, retreat is impossible because the water level of the river blocking our retreat has not yet lowered. The Count himself must know how helpless he is in that situation.”
In fact, even as he said that, Prince Raymond wanted to give instructions to all of his soldiers to immediately retreat.
However, since he had heard Ferzen's request and his assurance that he would not sacrifice himself in advance, he could only trust him and maintain the front line.
On the other hand, the leaders felt relieved by Prince Raymond's answer.
That's because a warlock had only one means left when they were in that kind of situation.
Since Gremory's condition wasn't good either.
If it’s a descendant of Brutein blood,
Wouldn’t they wrap up the war here even if it meant throwing away their life?
Prince Raymond clenched the sword harder as he could easily read the thoughts of the nobles from their expressions alone.
Even though the Imperial Family had been on the receiving end of their loyalty for a very long time,
They never once took Brutein’s sacrifice for granted.
So, how come these nobles take their sacrifice for granted?
Eventually, Gremory stood up and took a step forward.
Due to her blurry vision, her body staggered as it could not maintain proper balance. However, that blurry focus was solely pointed at Ferzen.
Now……
What choice would Ferzen make now?
No, the choice he would make was likely to be passive rather than proactive.
If it was true and not a hypothesis that he had made a deal to make the gate of The Underworld appear when he faced a situation that could lead to his death, couldn’t this war be said to be her victory?
If that were to be the case, Ferzen would have opened the gate of The Underworld by sacrificing his own life at this point.
But the reason he didn't do that was probably because he still had a final trump card left.
“Heuk……!”
So, once Gremory cleared the nausea that she felt due to the concussion, she stepped forward with her left foot, her only weapon left.
Of course, Ferzen couldn't react to her movement and speed, but he didn't care.
From the beginning, he had planned to use his unique ability to force the monsters from The Underworld to come to him as many times as possible.
The reason he didn't use it by harming himself was because he didn't want her to notice it too quickly.
Like it or not, Gremory would end up noticing it. However, if she realized that his unique ability was a passive one,
The effectiveness of her attack would be greatly reduced, and at this point in time, where she had no defenses, it would be a distinct advantage.
With only two uses of unique ability left, it wouldn't hurt to have the monster that was summoned to defend him.
In fact, it would have been best from a power standpoint if he had harmed himself and made the monster appear while he was controlling Isabel. But with only two uses of his unique ability left, Ferzen's mind didn't have the guts to do that.
Even though by doing that he would have the highest possibility of killing Gremory and winning the war,
He thought that his chances of surviving and creating his own happiness would be highest if he did it now.
If honor, history, family, bloodline, etc. were taken into consideration.
He would not have used the bodies of his ancestors as a stepping stone in the first place.
What was currently there was not the second son of the Brutein.
But just a villain who was struggling to pursue his own happiness and life.
Thud-!!
Soon, Gremory, who had disappeared, appeared before his eyes with her left foot raised while she stood on her prosthetic leg.
Crunch-!
Then, his right arm where his altar-his ring was positioned,
To be exact. his wrist was stomped and crushed by her.
“Keheuk……!”
Ferzen almost screamed out loud at the indescribable pain that directly assaulted his mind.
However, his thoughts moved faster than his mouth. His left arm whipped into his chest in an instant and pulled out a dagger from it.
As the warlock who was in front of her was a warlock who seemed to have no goods left.
And had all of his magic power exhausted.
Why bother separating the item used as an altar from the warlock's body at this golden opportunity?
Of course, she would feel doubtful.
However, there was enough merit for her to ignore those doubts.
It really didn't make sense for her to stick to such a strict approach.
That's why when Ferzen aimed the dagger he held towards his own heart to satisfy the trigger of his unique ability...…
Bam!
Gremory, who had subdued Ferzen with her left foot and her right foot, which was equipped with a prosthetic leg, sat on top of him and spoke with the corners of her mouth curled up.
“Maybe because you look so pretty, your embarrassed face looks like a girl.”