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Chapter 318: Aiden's Rescue
If this is it... I can finally... join Alise and the others...
Finally, she could join her companions. Finally, she could kneel before them and apologize. Finally, she could let them... vent their hatred to their hearts' content on the one who had survived.
Finally, I can... escape... escape the sin of having killed them with my own hands...
She could finally find release from the guilt that she had buried deep within her heart, the guilt that had gnawed at her soul day and night.
To Ryuu, that was a form of salvation. It was a long-overdue ceremony... one that would completely bury this deeply sinful girl who had prolonged her meager existence for nearly five years.
A poignant, all-seeing smile slowly surfaced on her pale lips. A scalding, crystalline tear slipped from her azure eyes, eyes that resembled a clear sky after a storm.
In this moment, the scales of her heart completely tipped away from her attachment to life and slid toward the eternal, tranquil shores of death.
The claws, radiating their blue-purple glow of death, raised high into the air and rapidly magnified in her pupils.
Accepting her fate, Ryuu slowly closed her eyes.
Farewell, Syr. Farewell, everyone at the Hostess of Fertility. Farewell, this world... I once loved so deeply. I'm sorry, Goddess Astrea. Alise... everyone... I've come... to apologize...
However, the expected agony never descended.
Instead, it was replaced by a sound...
CLANG—! A crisp, resonant, and overwhelmingly powerful symphony of metal—the sound of a sharp blade fiercely colliding with something completely indestructible—exploded beside her ears like a thunderclap tearing through the night.
The sound was so abrupt, so intensely real, that it forcefully yanked her consciousness back from the tranquil sea of death.
Immediately following, a clear, gentle, yet incredibly familiar voice pierced through the overlapping fog of despair, ringing distinctly beside her ear.
"If it ends here, Goddess Astrea will be heartbroken, Miss Ryuu."
This voice... This voice... shouldn't be here... Ryuu's body, which had surrendered all vitality, jolted violently. Her tightly shut eyelids snapped open.
Reflected in her tear-soaked emerald eyes were no longer the blue-purple claws symbolizing destruction, but a broad, resolute back, steady as a mountain.
He stood before her in a protective stance. In his hands, he tightly gripped a bizarre, crimson-glowing greatsword she had never seen before. It was this very sword that, in an almost unreasonable display of brute force, firmly blocked the devastating, all-tearing claw strike of the Juggernaut.
Sparks flew wildly and brilliantly like midsummer fireflies at the point where the crimson blade and blue-purple claws collided.
"...A... Aiden?"
Ryuu's lips moved unconsciously, letting out a hoarse whisper filled with shock and disbelief that even she could barely hear.
"W-Why... are you... here?"
Before she could finish, a blurred shadow that seamlessly blended into the surroundings quietly emerged beside Ryuu. Before Ryuu could even react, a slender yet powerful arm scooped her up by the waist.
"Hold your questions for now, Ryuu."
A calm and familiar female voice spoke.
"Asfi?!"
Ryuu was completely stunned. Her brain had thoroughly short-circuited. One unexpected person after another was appearing during her most desperate moment.
"Hold on tight."
Asfi barked softly, affording Ryuu no time to process. Holding the elf, she turned and sprinted away from the battlefield at maximum speed.
Meanwhile, at the center of the battlefield.
"ROOAARRR—!!"
Having its strike blocked, the Juggernaut's hollow eye sockets flared. The blood-red orbs burned intensely like two supernovas about to explode. It let out a roar brimming with fury and sadism.
It seemed utterly enraged that this suddenly appearing, insignificant creature dared to directly block its attack.
The blue-purple radiance on its terrifying claws surged, its power elevating once more as it sought to crush this annoying red greatsword along with its wielder.
However, no matter how much force it applied, the horrifying claws capable of snapping a First-Class adventurer's top-tier armament couldn't push even an inch further against the Godslayer: Surtr in Aiden's hands.
A total stalemate!
The Juggernaut's movements paused for a split second. Now. A sharp glint flashed in Aiden's eyes.
Instead of retreating, he took a fierce step forward, ruthlessly invading the Juggernaut's wide-open guard.
The Godslayer: Surtr in his hands followed through, trailing a vicious crimson sword light that looked as if it could sever space itself. It slashed across the Juggernaut's black-armored chest in a flash.
Squelch—! An ear-piercing sound, like a hot knife slicing through butter, echoed out. The black exoskeleton was easily cleft open by the sword, leaving a ghastly wound deep enough to expose bone.
"ROAR!!!"
An unprecedented surge of agony ripped a roar of pure pain from the Juggernaut's throat. A tremor born from biological instinct instantly rippled through its entire body.
It launched into motion immediately. Its six claws, flashing with the light of death, blurred into a chaotic, sky-filling storm of blue-purple afterimages, swiping madly at Aiden who stood at point-blank range.
Yet, Aiden's reaction speed was in no way inferior.
Facing claw strikes that could shred a storm of steel to pieces, Aiden displayed unimaginably honed reflexes. The Godslayer: Surtr in his hands likewise dissolved into streaks of crimson radiance, accurately meeting the sky of claw shadows head-on.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! A dense, dizzying barrage of metallic clashes exploded madly within the cavern. Streaks of blue-purple and crimson light collided hundreds of times in less than a second.
Finally, after the fiercest clash, the two figures crossed paths.
One man, one monster. They re-established their footing ten meters apart, turning to face each other once more. Two icy gazes dripping with killing intent collided violently in midair.
Listening to the Juggernaut's roar filled with murderous rage, Aiden's face revealed not a shred of fear. He slowly exhaled a breath of stale air and, head-on, faced the pitch-black figure symbolizing absolute destruction.
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