Shade, Miss Annette, Miss Beatrice, and the Silver-Eyed One had all entered the range covered by the Words of Sublimation.
With double wings sprouting from its back and vines entwined around its body, the mutated monster roared toward the sky in the twilight of a blood-red sunset. A blood-colored greatsword appeared in its hand; it raised the blade high, aiming it at Shade, who had only just managed to draw the longsword from his shoulder.
The construction of the Words of Sublimation was complete. A blood-red halo completely swallowed everything in the vicinity, as if dragging the entire world into this crimson twilight. Strangely, however, the giant tree and the divine statue's holy emblem in the distance remained, appearing like a jarring collage of another artwork spliced into an oil painting of a blood-red sunset.
This made the scene even more eerie; the giant tree glowing with a faint blue light and the stone statue watched everything in silence beneath the blood-red sun.
Blood-light erupted upward from the blade in the towering vampire's hand, as if intending to pierce the heavens, and the sword cleaved down toward Shade's position. Shade took a deep breath, the soaring crimson reflected in his eyes, yet his heart remained incredibly calm. He had been prepared
"Lagrai's Leap."
His figure vanished, and the blood-red greatsword, which seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth, struck nothing but air.
The monster dragged the greatsword as it turned, the blade carving deep grooves into the ruins of the ground. It saw Shade appear before Miss Annette, who, along with Miss Beatrice, supported him.
The three stood amidst the ruins of the blood-red twilight, the sunset illuminating their faces. In this moment, it felt as though it were the end.
After delivering that strike, the out-of-control vampire's power had weakened significantly, but the Words of Sublimation had not yet ended.
"Ever-Youth Leaf," Shade whispered. At the site of the wounds on his body, wooden tentacles were nearly touching his face.
"What?" Miss Beatrice asked, then immediately understood, stuffing the leaf she had been holding into Shade's mouth.
With a few chews, Shade crushed the leaf and swallowed it. A cold sensation spread from his esophagus throughout his entire body, completely replenishing the Spirit consumed during the intense battle. The wound on his shoulder tingled, and the wooden tentacles receded bit by bit.
The [Ever-Youth Leaf] possessed an extremely powerful healing effect. Coming from the power of the highest-tier [Tree], it could naturally suppress the power of a lower-tier [Tree]. The World Tree was superior to all trees in this world.
In the hands of the severely mutated vampire, the blood-red greatsword cleaved downward for a second time. Fully recovered, Shade wanted to intercept it; wasting a drop of Divinity to clash with the [Words of Sublimation] was not a bad trade. However, Miss Annette reached out at that moment.
She snatched the Holy Bell from Miss Beatrice's hand and gave it a forceful swing, her fingers twisting into a strange gesture. A pentagram ritual array manifested above the three of them, and its purple light actually suppressed the blood-red twilight summoned by the [Words of Sublimation] for a fleeting instant.
The greatsword collided with the pentagram, taking a full three seconds to shatter it. In those delayed moments, the three managed to dodge in time. Miss Annette's face turned pale as she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Shade reached out to touch her, and [False Undead] took effect; that strike had not been easy for her.
The blood-red twilight persisted. It seemed that a Ring-Warlock in an out-of-control state could maintain the Words of Sublimation for a longer duration.
The monster roared. Amidst the drifting blood-mist and beneath the blood-red sunset, the blood-red greatsword was raised above its head for a third time.
"I'll handle it!" Miss Beatrice shouted. She took the Holy Bell from Miss Annette, shook it lightly, and gritted her teeth, exerting all her strength to hurl golden lightning from her right hand. However, it was easily shattered by the blood-red greatsword.
"Is this the end?"
"Of course not."
Shade blocked the two girls behind him, gritting his teeth as he watched the descending greatsword. Yet, he still did not use Divinity, because a transparent, robed female figure had abruptly appeared by his side.
[Not me, but the person who was spying on you in the burial chamber just now.]
The figure did not speak, merely stuffing a candle into Shade's hand before vanishing once more. Shade looked at his hand; it was indeed the [Labyrinth Candle] that had gone missing earlier.
"What does this mean... I get it!"
Raising the candle high, the firelight illuminated the area, and a brick-wall labyrinth seemed to erode the dim sunset, abruptly manifesting around the three of them. But this was still not enough; as the third strike fell, the brick labyrinth shattered like foam.
The twilight of the sunset became blurred; the power of the Words of Sublimation could still support one final strike.
"Detective!"
Miss Beatrice tried to pull the nearly exhausted Shade behind her, but she couldn't budge him despite several attempts. Miss Annette, whose life was being sustained by [False Undead], tried to raise her hand again, but she couldn't even summon her Life Ring.
Eerie blood-light flickered under the dim sky. The raised sword did not fall immediately; instead, it paused as if accumulating power.
"Is there still a way?" Miss Annette's weak voice sounded from behind. "If there isn't, you go first. Your spatial leap ability can let you escape."
"There is a way," Shade said through gritted teeth, looking down at the Labyrinth Candle in his hand. "You said the labyrinth created by the candle is similar in nature to a Maze-Lock."
[Yes.]
"Miss Annette, Miss Beatrice, please don't be too surprised in a moment."
Holding the final [Ever-Youth Leaf] in his mouth, he took the Holy Bell in his left hand and shook it lightly, while his right hand grasped the necklace around his neck. Within the Life Ring behind him, the [Little Match Girl] flickered with spiritual light. Dropping the Holy Bell, he gripped the long candle, and the [Little Match Girl] rune in the rotating Life Ring suddenly erupted with brilliance.
The phantom of the brick labyrinth appeared again, but vanished instantly. The Labyrinth Candle burned violently, consuming itself at a visible speed.
"It really works! This candle can enhance a Maze-Lock!"
Miss Annette and Miss Beatrice were bewildered, but seeing the candle seemingly merge with Shade's hand, they realized that the instability of the [Labyrinth Candle] could actually help Shade.
"What Maze-Lock?" As she asked, she saw snowflakes carving arcs through the air and drifting down.
"Snow?"
The two ladies looked up in surprise to find that a portion of the sky above was no longer the terrifying blood-red twilight, but a snowy night sky with a silver moon hanging high.
The deep night sky was spliced together with the blood-red twilight; the distorted imagery caused them to feel an instinctive sense of discomfort. Looking around, behind the three of them was a snow-covered street in the long night, while in front of them were the ruins under the blood-red setting sun.
"A Maze-Lock... so that incident back then was—"
But even with the combined empowerment of the [Labyrinth Candle], the [Judge's Holy Bell], and the [Ancient Witch's Golden Necklace], the Maze-Lock could not fully unfold; it could only temporarily suppress the final power of the Words of Sublimation. Conversely, Shade, possessing power far exceeding a First-Ring warlock, felt as though his entire body was about to burst from the surging Spirit and elements.
The fire of the Labyrinth Candle supported the Maze-Lock—The Little Match Girl—to appear on such a scale, but it would be completely burned out in about thirty seconds. But that was enough. Under the massive silver moon of the snowy night, Shade finally understood where the hope for victory lay.
Behind him, Miss Beatrice was somewhat dazed, countless past memories flooding her mind at this moment. Almost instinctively, she placed her hand on Shade's shoulder, her golden power providing him with assistance.
This was like the final straw that broke the camel's back. Sensing the power within the descending blood-red greatsword, Shade suddenly looked up at the night sky, the reflection of the high silver moon shimmering in his eyes.
In this moment, the dream scene of standing on a ridge looking up at the silver moon seemed to overlap perfectly with the present. Naturally, his right hand grasped the air, his eyes looking forward.
The towering monster gripped the blood-red greatsword with both hands, its power peaking, and finally cleaved forward. This would be the final power of the Words of Sublimation.
"Balance!"
Miss Beatrice's voice rang out at the perfect moment, golden ripples touching everyone present. "Detective, it's up to you this time."
Snowflakes drifted past his cheek, and the figure of a little girl carrying a basket flashed past Shade. He had once wanted to save the innocent, and now, he was doing the same thing
"This time, I will save you as well."
Feeling the empowerment the Maze-Lock brought to his body, with the silver moon reflected in his pupils, his right hand began to glow.
Both Miss Beatrice and Miss Annette felt the sharpness of that silver light; even the sword-wielding monster felt confused by the extreme radiance appearing in Shade's palm.
After a brief instant, Shade drew a pure silver hilt flashing with a dazzling luster from the air.
Radiant, brilliant, holy—the two ladies behind him could find no better adjectives to describe it. It was like a holy sword used by an ancient hero in a fairy tale, or a divine artifact bestowed upon mortals by a god to slay demons.
The silver moon hung high overhead. The empowerment of five forces—the leaf, the holy bell, the necklace, the Maze-Lock, and Balance—temporarily freed Shade from the shackles of a First-Ring warlock.
The blood-red greatsword before him had already cleaved down. A momentary tremor made Shade think of many things.
The sharp aura of the Thirteenth-Ring warlock "Sun Greatsword," the greatsword before him that seemed poised to destroy everything, the giant silver moon he gazed upon while standing on the ridge in his dreams, the lunar disk illuminating him in the snowy night, and her laughter.
Closing his eyes
"Smile."
Her laughter appeared right against his ear, still so gentle, as if she were embracing him from behind.
Following the feelings in his heart, Shade completed the construction of a brand-new奇术 (Strange Art). The long adventure of this night would end here; everything was finally coming to a close.
Opening his eyes, he looked at the blood-light that would split his skull in the next second. His voice was low and steady, but to the two ladies behind him, it felt as if the Shade before them had transformed into a great mountain.
That sword was finally drawn completely from the air
"Moonlight Greatsword!"
At the intersection of the blood-red twilight and the snowy midnight, a silver light met the descending blood-light.
(End of Chapter)