The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped - Chapter 123
123 – 123. The Fallen (2)
The bullets, accelerated to the extreme like lightning, erupted.
For the first time, Belashiel, who had relentlessly pushed through the calamities of war, faced fear.
‘Am I afraid? No, that can’t be!’
As the calamity of hunger revived, he was momentarily pierced by a gap, but the sacred artifacts remained intact. To prove this, he positioned the Shield of Exorcism in front of him, enduring a torrential downpour of bullets like a celestial being.
The speed of the lightning-laden bullets relentlessly battered against the shield.
However, the defensive barrier deployed by the Shield of Exorcism to protect Belashiel completely blocked the electronic projectiles accompanied by lightning, like an impregnable fortress.
Kwah-chik-!
A bullet aimed at the Seraphim failed to penetrate the barrier and ricocheted away.
The same was true for other bullets.
No barrage could reach the Seraphim.
Did the byproducts born of evil dare to challenge the sanctity of the One True God? As he thought this, Belashiel, who had been calmly deflecting the hail of bullets, suddenly felt a wave of confusion wash over his face.
Kuguk-.
Gguguguk-.
The barrier that had withstood thousands of bullets began to thin rapidly. The output of energy emanating from the Shield of Exorcism had slowed down.
Belashiel gazed at the shield, now adorned with platinum, with a look of bewilderment.
Could it be that it was overwhelmed by blocking too many attacks at once?
The Shield of Exorcism, which had been guarding Belashiel against the torrential downpour of bullets, began to lose its strength as if it had entered a groggy state. It was experiencing an overload from bearing an immense output that exceeded its limits.
Soon, the shield would become inoperative.
Feeling a sense of crisis, Belashiel mobilized other sacred artifacts to replace the Shield of Exorcism.
Chwaaak-.
The Whip of Binding Magic moved gracefully, deflecting the bullets.
And Belashiel himself wielded four pairs of wings to counter the hail of bullets.
‘It was just a momentary overload due to excessive output. If I pause for a moment and stabilize the output, it should return to normal…! I just need to hold out until then!’
Tuaang!!
As Belashiel mobilized all the sacred artifacts to fend off the attacks, a sinister threat flew toward him.
A barrage of shells wrapped in black lightning.
And the projectiles carrying explosive shells reinforced by lightning.
It was a display of firepower incomparable to the barrage of bullets that had been held back until now. The relentless rain of bullets had merely been a war of attrition to clear away the shield of Jinma, and now a full-scale artillery battle unfolded.
– Th-this…!
As the projectile armed with high-explosive shells detonated, it unleashed a tremendous heat. Belashiel slashed through the flames with the wings of the divine, but the shockwave generated battered his entire body.
He had to buy time until the shield activated again.
But could he truly endure?
The sacred artifacts that had been deflecting the barrage of lightning began to lose their strength one by one. If this war of attrition continued, he would face a humiliating defeat against the innocent’s calamity.
Belashiel, staring intently, clenched his teeth tightly, his eyes wide open.
– Don’t make me laugh!
He grasped the Bow of Annihilation.
Then, pulling the bowstring taut, he aimed at the countless shells pouring down like a torrential rain.
Strength and skill would not falter.
As if to prove this, a storm of arrows shot forth, forming a barrage that intercepted the shells.
Kugugugugugugung!!!
The black barrage carrying lightning.
And the countless arrows concentrated with the light of destruction.
A space filled only with collisions and explosions was dyed in black and white. The Seraphim and the calamity engaged in a fierce contest, repeating a struggle akin to acrobatics.
The first to exhaust their strength would be the loser.
Edanant and Belashiel knew this well.
The deafening sounds that threatened to tear their eardrums and the blinding flashes that disoriented their vision surged around them. Yet, Edanant and Belashiel, drenched in sweat, poured their hearts into the war of attrition.
Thud—!
The clash of brilliance and calamity.
In the unimpeded exchange of firepower, a sudden variable emerged.
Like an assassin hidden in the shadows, a bullet flew in without any warning and pierced the Bow of Destruction. As the bowstring snapped, the bow itself, which had been responsible for the elasticity, broke.
– The Bow of Annihilation…!
The invincible shield became useless.
And he lost the bow that had threatened the innocent’s calamity.
The tide of battle turned against him.
All the sacred artifacts responsible for the strongest offense and defense had been lost.
Yet, even faced with the peril of being surrounded, the Seraphim did not lose heart. Throwing aside the broken bow, Belashiel grasped his secondary weapons, the longsword and the arming sword. It was the manifestation of his noble will to fight until he lost all his weapons.
– I will never back down! Even if it means being defeated by you, I will fight to the bitter end!!
It was not merely reliance on the power of the sacred artifacts.
The sight of Bellashiel wielding her weapons with both hands, slicing through the shells, evoked the image of a starving beast. Each time she cleaved a shell and clashed with a projectile, her wings tore and her armor rapidly deteriorated, yet she did not cease her assault.
She knew.
Even Edanant, who commanded the barrage, was gradually reaching his limits.
If she could just endure, she would win.
If she could hold on just a little longer, victory was within reach.
Her glassy eyes sparkled with a madness directed toward triumph.
– Grrr!!
As she flew through the air, continuously slicing through the shells, her crescent blade shattered into pieces.
Sharp fragments of the broken blade, swept up in the explosion, flew toward Bellashiel.
Thud-.
They pierced through her armor and lodged into her shoulder.
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She could have screamed at the pain of the deeply embedded shard, but she steadfastly endured.
Wounded gravely, Bellashiel spread her four pairs of wings and grasped her holy spear. However, the relentless barrage of shells showed no mercy, offering not a moment’s respite to the Seraph.
Shells and projectiles detonated in succession.
With each explosion, she regrettably had to expend the sacred artifacts bestowed upon her by her mother.
Was it a manifestation of her will to never yield to the innocent’s misfortune? Bellashiel swung her spear, radiating a brilliant light, blocking the hail of shells. She repeated her defense and offense, nearly giving up her resplendent wings and armor that showcased the Seraph’s magnificent might.
– Hah, hah…! Damn it!!
But—.
The limit had come.
Despite her desperate resolve and all her strength, she could not escape her limits.
All the sacred artifacts that had been overworked were now depleted. The holy spear that Bellashiel held in both hands emitted only a dim light, like a streetlamp at the end of its life.
– To think that the Seraph would be defeated by such innocent misfortune…!
Dozens of projectiles approached the now tattered Seraph.
Seeing this, Bellashiel had no choice but to accept her fate.
────!!
───────!!!!
The thunderous roar echoed.
The explosion of high explosives and the scattering of fragments.
Belashiel, who had been fending off the countless blackened embers, ultimately faced defeat. With wings charred black like a lump of coal, he plummeted to the ground, now transformed into ruins.
* * *
An angel, stripped of its wings, fell to the earth.
Yet Edanant, without even a moment to rejoice in victory, gasped for breath and collapsed right there.
He had overexerted his divine power.
The blood coursing through his veins bubbled and churned, wreaking havoc within him.
Blood streamed from every orifice of his face.
Having used divine power far beyond his limits for an extended period, he was met with the backlash. Drenched in the divine essence of the reek, close to a lethal dose, Edanant fell into Jeblinne’s arms like a puppet with its strings cut.
– Did… I… win?
“Yes! Of course you won! Edan won!”
A pain surged through him, as if his very organs were being scorched.
But Edanant, forcing himself to suppress the agony, asked Jeblinne about the outcome.
He had brought down Belashiel.
The seraph of a thousand weapons, who had boasted countless divine artifacts, had finally fallen.
He tried to express the joy of victory with a faint smile. Yet, it seemed difficult to voice anything further, and only an unintelligible murmur escaped his lips.
– Please, just help me up.
“Just lie down. I’ll take care of everything from here!”
The heart of the sanctuary had been reduced to complete ruins.
Only desolation and destruction remained.
All that was left were piles of stones, remnants of the many structures that once stood.
As expected, there were no witnesses left in the site that had turned into a wasteland. Confirming this, Edanant let out a sigh of relief and tossed aside the helmet that had become as crumpled as a crushed can.
“I really thought I was going to die this time.”
If fortune had not favored him until the end, the outcome would have been entirely different.
If the shield hadn’t overloaded,
If the bow hadn’t been destroyed by a blind bullet,
If the many divine artifacts, including the whip, had continued to withstand the barrage of shells—.
Edanant had emerged victorious not only through his desperate strike but also because fortune had smiled upon him. Knowing this all too well, he faced the result in a daze.
– I… dare you…!!
Clank.
Crash—.
In an instant, the pile of stones collapsed.
And from the ruins, the dust-covered Seraphim emerged.
Unbelievable.
Surely, their entire body must have been burned away.
How on earth are they still alive? How have they regained their senses?
I witnessed the superhuman tenacity of someone who would never kneel to calamity. Facing the bloodied Belasiel, Edanant smirked, raising his hand.
“It’s over now. Just like your shattered wings and armor.”
All four pairs of wings had been burned away.
The once-majestic armor was no different.
There was no means to overturn the outcome.
Belasiel, whose minimal strength and divine essence had been completely exhausted, was in a state so weakened that even an ordinary human could threaten their life.
-Not yet…! It’s not over! I will surely annihilate you…! I swore it so!
Belasiel trudged forward with feeble steps, approaching Edanant.
Even in a precarious state, as if about to collapse at any moment, they displayed superhuman resolve, igniting the will to fight.
Szzzz-.
A chain, forged from platinum, appeared.
It was the only divine artifact left to Belasiel, one that had not been summoned in the battle.
It was undoubtedly the weapon that had turned the calamities of tyranny and famine into puppets of the earth. It must possess the power to completely dominate the mind and soul of an opponent reduced to a dying state.
“But now, you’re the one in that condition.”
Bang-!
As Edanant drew his pistol, he shattered Belasiel’s grip on the chain.
With the Seraphim’s sharp scream, the chain clattered to the ground. Then, Edanant lifted the platinum chain in place of its original master.