Chapter 23 TSH Vol. 1 Chapter 4 Part 6

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At the Lord’s Castle, in the Underground Teleportation Chamber—

When word came that the Sacred Guardian Barrier had been activated, the officials in the chamber cheered and clapped, overjoyed. Their supervisor let out a sigh of relief before barking orders at his celebrating subordinates.

“Hey! This isn’t over! Our duty is to maintain this gate and keep it ready for use at a moment’s notice. You can celebrate after you’ve done your jobs!”

“Y-Yes, sir!”

The young officials sheepishly returned to their stations. A moment later, an official who was adjusting the control panel shouted.

“…Huh? S-Supervisor! There’s a reaction on the magic circle! Someone is… someone is teleporting in!”

“What!? All personnel, away from the device! Now!”

The instant they backed away, the magic circle flared with a blinding light, and something heavy collapsed onto it with a thud. An alarm blared from the control panel. It was the alarm for an unauthorized, forced teleport from an unregistered location.

They all cautiously opened their eyes to see the figure of a man sprawled across the magic circle. He groaned in pain, shook his head, and began to sit up. When they saw his face, their eyes went wide.

“A-A mask!?”

“Who is he!?”

“Hey, shut that alarm off!”

The masked man looked around, seemingly stunned. A muffled voice came from behind the mask.

“Th-This feeling… They used the Sacred Barrier! I told them not to use it! …No… was I too late…!”

The gate’s usual guards were all at the battlefront, so the room was undefended. The supervisor drew a dagger and, though his hand was shaking, challenged the intruder.

“Who are you!? Do you realize you are trespassing in the Ecclesia castle!? Remove your mask!”

One of the officials reached for the control panel to seal the chamber. Seeing this, the man muttered, “…My apologies. I don’t have time for this.”

The next instant, everyone in the room stiffened and collapsed to the floor, one after another. The man caught the supervisor as he fell forward and gently laid him on the ground.

A true expert might have recognized it as a powerful wave of [Intimidation]. But knocking people unconscious with [Intimidation] alone was considered impossible by all common logic.

The man silenced the alarm and quickly exited the chamber. He shot through the maze-like corridors like an arrow.

The man was, of course, the Hero, Sieg. He had finally succeeded in activating the [Teleportation Gate] back in the ruins.

Using [Concealment] to erase his presence, Sieg slipped through the castle corridors unnoticed by the soldiers. He was out of the castle in an instant. He scanned his surroundings, and his face twisted. The presence of demons was everywhere.

He immediately identified the demon. A bitter memory from his previous life resurfaced. That demon was—

Legion!

Sieg cursed internally. Why is Legion here, in the first battle!? This is a mid-level demon that destroyed two major cities! …No, questions later!

Sieg raced through the city at a breakneck speed, assessing the situation. The soldiers and knights had taken heavy casualties, but the civilian losses were, by comparison, low. The High Grand-Priest must have taken command, Sieg thought. That old man… He really knows what he’s doing.

Sieg was impressed, but as he looked at the barrier overhead, he frowned. But, isn’t this strange…? The barrier is far stronger than I expected, and it’s lasting a long time. With the old man’s mana reserves, it shouldn’t be able to hold out this long…

Sieg shook his head to clear his thoughts and aimed for the outer wall.

I’ll figure it out later. First, I need to see the battlefield!

Leaping from roof to roof, Sieg reached the outer wall in moments. Wasting no time on the stairs, Sieg used small hand- and footholds on the wall’s surface to run straight up. He scaled it in seconds, landing on the side of a watchtower to survey the battlefield below.

“Wh-What was that!?”

“Just a gust of wind?”

“I don’t see anything…”

The guards in the tower called out at the sudden gust of wind, but they showed no sign of having seen him. Without a Blessing like [True Sight], no one could pierce his [Concealment].

Sieg scanned the battlefield. The soldiers and knights had taken heavy losses, but the line was still holding. Their morale remained high, a testament to their commander’s competence. Sieg looked at the knights with genuine admiration. They had held out well.

A considerable number of Legion clones remained. But ultimately, the number was irrelevant. No matter how many there were, the task remained the same. He had to destroy every last clone. With Legion, it was all or nothing.

He scanned the battlefield again. Confirming that Princess Cordelia was nowhere to be seen, he let out a deep sigh of relief. She must have been teleported to safety.

Good. That’s one less thing to worry about.

In the center of the battle, a large knight fought, wreathed in white holy energy. Sieg’s eyes widened when he saw the knight’s sword.

That’s a Holy Sword! So that’s the Ecclesia Holy Knights. Which means… that sword must be Durandal.

He had wielded the Holy Sword Durandal himself in his previous life.

If that’s here, this will be over quickly.

Down on the field, the knights were starting to be overwhelmed by a giant beetle-type Legion.

It’s time to go. The old man has to be near his limit!

Sieg leaped from the watchtower, kicking off the air itself. Using [Air Jump], he raced through the sky toward the battle.

At last—the Hero of this age was joining the fray.

Sieg looked down on the horde of Legion clones and declared internally:

Now, let the annihilation begin.

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“Alright, men, we’re hunting that big bastard!”

A giant beetle-type demon was charging straight for them.

At the Commander’s word, the Vice-Commander immediately issued an order.

“Shields, to the front! Taunt it and draw its attention!”

Several heavy knights raised their shields and roared, their voices laced with the [Taunt] skill.

“Come on, you insect! Your fight is with me!”

“KYSHSHUSHUUU!”

The beetle demon fixed on the knights and charged. The rear guard switched to bows, aiming for its eyes. The arrows didn’t do any damage, but they successfully broke its momentum, and the charge slowed. The demon slammed into the shields.

“Gnuuuuuuugh!”

The heavy knight barely managed to halt the charge. Another knight rushed in to support him.

“Doryaaaaaaaaaah!”

Now that it was stationary, he slammed his shield upward from below.

The demon’s soft underbelly was exposed. The knights did not miss their chance. The vanguard unleashed a furious assault. Their coordinated attacks struck true, and black blood gushed from its belly.

The Commander leveled his holy sword at the open wound and charged.

“Take this—[Holy Impact Thrust]!”

“KYZZZZZZYYYY!”

The powerful thrust, glowing with holy light, tore into the creature. A huge chunk was gouged from its underside, and black blood gushed out, staining the ground. The demon staggered.

The knights let out a cheer.

“We did it!”

“That’s our Commander!”

“Follow his lead!”

But—

“What?”

“Wait!”

“There’s something in the blood!”

“More insects!?”

Inside the beetle demon’s blood were smaller, horned insects. They turned toward the knights with a skree-skree sound and shot out, all at once, at a speed that tore the air. There were countless of them, flying in every direction.

“Gyaaaaah!”

“M-My shield is pierced!”

“It’s punching right through the armor!”

The knights who had closed in were impaled by the insect demons, falling one after another. The insects’ horns punched through leather, steel, and even silver plate armor with ease. The Commander and Vice-Commander were both wounded protecting the knights behind them.

The battlefield was filled with screams of agony. The warhorses were nearly wiped out. Not a single man was left uninjured. The shield-bearers who had been hit were on their knees. It wasn’t just the squad that had been fighting the large beetle; knights from other squads, caught in the wide-ranging attack, were also wounded. In just a few short moments, the tide of battle had completely reversed.

The Commander gritted his teeth, forced himself to his feet, and readied his holy sword. But if he unleashed a major technique now, he would hit his own wounded men. And to make matters worse, he saw that more of the giant beetle demons were forming. His squad was now surrounded, with giant beetles closing in from all sides. They had spent too much time fighting just one.

The Commander let out a shaky breath, looked up at the surrounding beetles, and forced a grim smile.

“Heh… So you’re to be my death. Fine. But I won’t be dying alone! I’m taking all of you with me!”

He looked at his surviving knights and spoke, his voice pained.

“I’m sorry… Forgive me for dragging you all into this. If you have any complaints, you can give me an earful in the Hall of Heroes after we’re dead! Now—let’s go!”

The Commander roared, and the Holy Sword Durandal began to pulse with a blinding light. Seeing his valiant figure, the knights’ expressions grew calm. They had all prepared themselves for death.

“Dwell in my blade, O power of Holy Annihilation!”

The Commander raised his sword, and as he chanted the activation phrase, a holy crest appeared at his feet. It was the crest for [Holy Shock Halo], one of the ultimate holy sword techniques. [Holy Shock Halo] was an indiscriminate, wide-area annihilation technique, releasing concentric rings of holy energy from the caster to destroy everything nearby. It was a last resort.

The Commander lowered his sword, ready to unleash it. The knights closed their eyes. At that very moment—

“[Flash Step]… [Storm Dance Flurry].”

A quiet voice drifted down from above. In the same instant, one of the giant beetle demons was sliced to ribbons and exploded. The massive demon dissolved into black mist, gone in an instant.

“What!?”

The Commander cried out. The knights stared, wide-eyed.

The figure who had dropped from the sky, wreathed in a visible [Mana Barrier], slammed bodily into the next giant demon. The monster was sent flying, crashing into another and sending them both tumbling across the ground. The figure turned, instantly appeared next to the final demon, and, incredibly, kicked it, launching it into the air.

“GGYYY!?”

The giant beetle demon was launched high into the sky. At this unbelievable sight, the Commander, Vice-Commander, knights, and soldiers all just stared, mouths agape, watching the demon fly.

The figure kicked off the air, leaping up after the demon, and then unleashed a flurry of slashes from every direction. The demon, now in pieces, was swatted back down to earth by the figure. A skilled observer might have realized he had expanded his [Mana Barrier] into a pseudo-hand to strike it down.

The falling pieces slammed into the ground and shattered on impact. The figure, descending from the sky, raised his hand and brought it down one last time. The still-twitching remains were crushed flat, becoming nothing more than a stain on the earth.

Without a single glance at the demon dissolving into mist, the figure landed. Everyone stared in shock at the person who had landed. He was wearing a mask. Confusion spread across the battlefield. What had just happened? No one understood. But there was no doubt that this man had just slaughtered those giant demons in an instant. They were all speechless, staring blankly, their mouths agape.

The masked man looked around, spotted the Commander, and walked over. The Commander instinctively recoiled, his face a mask of awe and fear.

The masked man spoke in a casual tone.

“Hey, Commander. Mind if I borrow that sword for a bit?”

The Commander swallowed, his voice trembling as he replied,

“A-A holy sword can only be wielded by the chosen… And, wh-who are you?”

The man held out his hand expectantly. “Who I am doesn’t matter. I can use a holy sword, so that’s not a problem. Lend it to me, and I’ll annihilate all of those for you.”

All of them… Annihilate… The Commander’s breath caught. Those meant the demons. Annihilate the entire, still-multiplying swarm? All by himself? He understood nothing. He had no idea who this man was. He understood absolutely nothing—but the Commander of the Ecclesia Holy Knights was, in his own right, a great man. He obediently offered the holy sword to the unknown masked man.

The Vice-Commander cried out in protest. “C-Commander! Handing over the holy sword? To a man we don’t even know? Are you insane!?”

But the Commander silenced him with a gesture and, unbelievably, knelt before the masked man. He assumed the posture of a vassal and respectfully offered the Holy Sword Durandal with both hands.

The Commander was now almost certain. This strength, so far beyond the human realm, and this overflowing, immense magic power. Anyone capable of sensing an opponent’s strength could feel a fragment of this man’s terrifying power. It was a bottomless strength.

This person… is almost certainly…

The man accepted the sword.

“Thanks. I’ll just borrow it for a bit.”

“C-Commander! —Huh!?”

The Vice-Commander’s protest died in his throat. Hordes of demons were now closing in from every direction. No matter how strong this man was, scattering such a massive swarm was impossible. The Vice-Commander and the other knights turned pale, bracing for the inevitable.

But the masked man merely glanced at the approaching swarm and spoke calmly. The words he spoke were—

“Dwell in my blade, O power of Holy Annihilation.”

The Vice-Commander, the knights, and even the Commander himself stared in disbelief. That was the activation phrase. The key to unleashing a holy sword technique.

The Vice-Commander let out a desperate cry.

“Y-You’re planning to annihilate us along with them!?”

Everyone froze, their faces twisted in despair.

The man readied the Holy Sword Durandal and calmly declared: “Vanquish evil, O Holy Light—[Holy Shock Halo].”

He swung the holy sword in a spinning slash. A circular, silver, glittering blade of light shot out from its tip, expanding rapidly in all directions. The knights, braced for death, felt the ring of light pass harmlessly through their bodies. It touched only the demons, slaughtering them instantly. Bisected by the halo, the demons vanished one after another.

The shocked knights looked down at their own bodies, patting themselves down, confirming that they were completely unharmed. The Commander and Vice-Commander stared in absolute awe at the perfect technique. This was the complete [Holy Shock Halo]. This was the true form of the holy sword technique. Perfectly refined holy energy does not harm people. It destroys only that which is demonic. As the purity of holy energy rises, its light turns from white to silver. This silver light was the genuine article.

Having annihilated the surrounding demons, the man raised Durandal and drew a circle in the air. As he moved, countless silver orbs of light materialized. Everyone stared blankly, having never seen such a technique before. Surrounded by holy light, the silent, masked man looked almost divine.

As if he had finished creating them, the man pointed his sword to the heavens and declared: “[Chasing Holy Light]—Fire.”

As he spoke, the orbs compressed into conical bolts and shot off in all directions. The holy bolts struck the demons one after another, exploding on impact. They were detonating on impact, destroying the demons from within. The demons tried to flee, but the holy bolts relentlessly chased them, hunting down and destroying every last one. The hidden, the tiny, the overlooked—all were purged.

[Chasing Holy Light] tracks demonic energy. Its assault does not end until the demon is utterly destroyed.

After a moment, having confirmed that every last demon was destroyed, the man sheathed the sword. He approached the stunned Commander and handed the holy sword back.

“Alright, it’s done. I’ll be going now.”

“…Huh? Ah! Please wait! This Holy Sword Durandal… surely, you should be the one to carry—”

The man silenced him with a gesture. “You use it, Commander. Protect this territory with that holy sword. Oh, and I poured a large amount of pure holy energy into Durandal, so its energy conversion efficiency should be much higher now.”

The Commander, overwhelmed with emotion, accepted the holy sword with reverence, tears streaming down his face.

“On behalf of all our people, thank you for annihilating the demons! I will devote myself all the more to protecting this land!”

“Good. Keep up the good work. See you.”

With those parting words, the man leaped into the air. He accelerated in an instant, his cloak flapping, and vanished over the city horizon.

He left behind the knights and soldiers, still staring blankly in utter disbelief. It took a long time for them to fully process the miracle they had just witnessed.

As the soldiers’ cheers finally began to erupt, the Vice-Commander lowered his voice and asked his superior.

“Commander… could he possibly be… this generation’s…”

The Commander shook his head. “Keep that thought to yourself. He deliberately hid his identity to come to our aid. He must have his reasons. We have no need to broadcast what we suspect.”

“You’re right… Still, to possess such strength…”

The Commander grunted in agreement. From the moment the man appeared to the total annihilation of the demons, not even five minutes had passed.

“I suppose that’s what you would call a miracle…” the Commander muttered. Then he composed himself and raised his voice. “Alright! All troops, withdraw! Return to the city at once!”

“We’re setting up a triage station outside the gate! All wounded, this way!”

The two commanders gave their orders, their hearts filled with gratitude as they headed back to the city.