CHAPTER THIRTEEN: A SWORD (4)

He knew, at this moment, both of them would be in danger. He could only hope Klein could get that woman faster. Allen opened his skill set and read all the rewards that he received before. They were all useless! Couldn't he have some sort of offensive magic? He wasn't a pushover. He hadn't even learned how to control his mana yet; the only thing he could use was light mana manipulation.

Even as a former swordmaster in his world, Liam was aware of the fact that this body had been neglecting the training. No matter how strong you are, if your body cannot wield the pressure of a technique, it will be useless. All the fighting techniques he had in mind would only strain his body more. Not to mention he was carrying baggage with him, the fourth prince.

If he passed out or was incapable of fighting, all of his hard work would go down the drain. His priority was to stall the enemy until Nathenia arrived and protect the fourth prince. Madness stared in shock. Did the temple already know that the child had the light magic ability? How troublesome.

The shield fell and broke into pieces. Allen still hugged the fourth prince while looking at the enemy. As he expected, Madness would think that he was affiliated with the temple, so he wouldn't make a rash movement. He would stall the enemy for the time being. Light magic. The essence of light mana is both divinity and mana from the human body. All types of light magic are categorized under Divinity.

Magicians used an artificial divinity that allowed them to manipulate mana from the vitality of a living being. But Divinity falls into the category of a priest who uses the collective mana from their surroundings by praying and keeping their faith in the God who oversees the world. True light magic has its amount of limitations of energy but not divinity. Because it comes from the world itself, the source is endless. But divinity can't be used freely, as most of it is focused on blessing and purification.

Right now, Allen could use both light magic and divinity. He should be able to use or think of a way to fight. The fact that Blessing and Healing in the reward status were under the light magic section meant he should be able to manipulate them as he manipulated mana. The fourth prince looked at the light barrier in shock. Was the Duke a bishop? Was he perhaps secretly working with the temple?

Those rumors were deliberate so the Duke could hide his real identity. As a proud and creative conspirator theorist writer, the prince looked at the Duke with admiring eyes. Allen looked at the child who was looking at him. For some reason, it felt heavier than before.

"Your Highness, my companion will soon arrive. I won't ask how you came to my territory nor will I ask what you were doing here. Right now, I need you to stay close to me so I can protect you." The prince just nodded vigorously and looked again with admiring eyes. Allen felt that the eyes somehow felt heavier.

The swordmaster and the gatekeepers were busy fighting the demonic beasts. He only had to keep this man down or stall him before Nathenia came. To change the structure of divinity to a magic mana formula.

This is crazy. Allen stood up and confronted the man. The fourth prince closely followed him behind, still looking at him with those eyes. Allen thought to himself, it's better if he hides his light magic and divinity from everyone else. The old man gritted his teeth. "You stupid servant of the light! How dare you show your face here!"

"With the sacred flame, I banish shadows, cleanse the impure, and ignite hope in the hearts of all." Allen cringed to himself. Never. If it weren't because he needed to keep a low profile, acting like a follower of the temple, he would bury himself six feet deep. A former demon king acting like a lamb of a God he loathed.

This is embarrassing. How in the world do the Holy Knights say something like this to their enemies? They will lose in embarrassment instead. First, he needed to gather the divinity from his surroundings.

His light mana manipulation was still on the lowest level. If he made a mistake, they both would lose their lives right here. Instead of letting it out in large amounts immediately, Allen rearranged the size and shape of the divinity particles, making them as strong as an arrow that could explode by inserting concentrated divinity at the tip of the arrow. The only thing strong that he could use right now was Blessing Lv2.

Unfortunately, he had to use purification. Light arrows appeared surrounding Allen, ready to pierce the enemy. Madness chanted another large dark flame and threw it at Allen. He had to escape! There had never been a person in history able to bend the will of divinity! This was bad news. He only knew that the fourth prince went to search for a present for his mother.

He wanted to buy the pearl from the Wolf monster. Not to mention the child used a teleportation scroll. He managed to destroy it and prevent the child from escaping the underworld! Who knew there was a priest following him around? He summoned a large number of crows, but none of them were able to touch Allen. A large amount of divinity protected him.

The last thing the old man saw was a thousand light arrows coming at him, piercing his body. Allen fell to his knees as he felt some of his blood vessels explode. The amount of divinity was too large.

He expelled all the divinity he gathered and cast a purifying spell near the arena. He coughed up some blood and felt the trembling hand of the prince who was hugging him. The boy looked scared. Allen patted the boy's head and looked at the notification screen.

[Tutorial has ended!]

[You managed to defeat the enemy! A large amount of tutorial experience is being calculated! Please wait for the calculation to be finished.]

Allen took a deep breath. He saw a large smoke rising from the area of the bar. They were attacked. That's why Nathenia was late. Someone was distracting her. Allen tried to push the prince away and find Klein. He suddenly saw the notification.

[Bonus scenarios have been generated!]

[Prevent the existence of the corrupted knight, Alexius. Save her daughter who was injured badly during the attack.]

Allen stood up, looked at the notification, and accidentally pushed the fourth prince. Due to his weakened state, he ended up falling again.

That's why Alexius fell into darkness. The happy smile on the child's face, Mia. Allen wished to protect it. At this time, a normal Liam would be thinking of convincing Alexius to help him for revenge, but he couldn't do that. The face that resembled his brother overlapped again.

The fourth prince held up Allen, who was muttering something. "I have to find him... I have... to... I must..." Blood flowed out of his mouth as he tried to speak. He wanted to help that person, but he was too weak. He prayed again, but no one answered him. He lost consciousness as he saw the notification turning red.

*****

The man with black hair looked around, feeling his stomach twist. Blood, blood, and more blood. He tried to ignore it, but he couldn't. The twisted feeling was overwhelming.

He had been to war many times, but it was nothing like the sickening scenery he saw. Rain dropped from the sky… bloody rain droplets. Chains were scattered around, hanging from a bloody rainy cloud, and some vines were stuck on the floor. Floor? It was like he was standing on a pile of endless red oceans. Black flames scattered around as he walked slowly.

Then he stopped. A boy no older than ten was standing alone in the middle of the madness, more like a horror scene. A pair of black wings were attached to the boy, and chains kept the boy from moving. The boy just stared into emptiness. Then, he turned back and met someone's eyes. Allen halted in his tracks. It's...him...Claude.

"*******, what are you doing here? Did you travel through heaven to meet a sinner like me?" The boy asked as he reached out for Allen. "I miss you guys so much, but I don't regret it."

"…." Allen remained silent as he watched everything around him change.

"Wait. I caught the wrong person. Who are you, sir?" Allen remained silent, but the child kept talking to him. With his soft eyes, he smiled in delight as he knew who he was.

"Please be happy. It hurts here." The simple sentence caught his attention as he stared at the blond boy before his eyes. "My name is…" Allen's eyes widened for a moment as he stopped listening. A slight but powerful storm hit him harder than he thought.

*****

Allen woke up and started to cough non-stop. Blood slipped through his fingers as he smiled solemnly. A knock could be heard on his door as he opened it. Klein was looking at him with a worried face. Allen ignored the man and kept looking at the notification he received. Instead of blue, it turned red.

[Bonus scenario failed]

If he were stronger, could he have helped Alexius and let him have a normal free life? Allen always thought that life was such a beautiful thing. When he first woke up, he realized he didn't want to die. He thinks again and again. He can return to his normal world but is it worth it? Is it worth the revenge? Claude, Theoris, Larissa, everyone is dead.

He was happy with everything. The smells of the trees, the sight of people walking, the warmth of a child. Allen believed if he tried to cherish and protect everything within the circle he created, everything would be fine. But it'll be unfair to the world he destroys because of his blindness. It won't be enough to kill the God of Calamity.

The fourth prince looked at the Duke. Even though the Duke had different hair and eye color, with his instinct, he recognized the man immediately. The man looked tired. Allen stood up and walked past Klein, who tried to stop him. He soon realized the artifact was still intact. Dragging his frail body, he got out. No one tried to stop him. The emotions reflected in the Duke's eyes were heartbreaking.

*****

As he walked next to the arena, the area looked brighter. The mana stone directly sent information to the lamp inside the underworld, signaling it had been a day. People were trying to find any victims and clean up the demonic beast. Some of them were lifting fallen boulders and ashes from the arena.

He then saw them, a group of people sitting and mourning. Among them, he found the man he had failed to save. He was kneeling with the same emotionless eyes that Allen had seen before, filled with despair. Call him blind, tell him it's denial, but he would walk forward. Yes, this was his brother. He would protect him this time. A happy family, peaceful, safe, and protected?

He could do that. He would raise Adrian and bring Isabella to become the greatest ruler in the continent's history. Whether they hated him or not. This was his purpose, to prevent more tragedy and fight against the flawed fate of this world. Allen stood next to the memorial and knelt in front of Alexius.

He held out his hand and smiled sadly. "Will you be my sword?"

[You encounter the last choice that can lead to humanity's glory and destruction.]

[You have made your choice.]

[You didn't choose any of the answers after three minutes; the systems were aware that you rejected all these choices.]

[To walk on your path and choice. We, the watchers of the world, welcome you, Liam Ascente, as the Apostle of Light!]