“…Get ready to depart.”
Lazarus’s voice quietly echoed as the fog began to spread. Though his voice was calm, the gravity it contained was hard to miss.
Splash! Splash!
At the same time, statues continued to emerge from deep within the water, climbing onto the port and onto the ship. “
“Careful! Watch out!”
Clank!
Sparks flew as the sound of metal clashing against stone echoed.
The situation reversed within just a few seconds as Lazarus, the one responsible for all of this, looked in Anne’s direction. His gaze was hazy as he looked at her, occasionally flickering between clarity and haze.
The sight left her slightly unsettled.
“While I do have faith in your ability to take on the Luminarch in a one-on-one situation, this is still the Temple’s land. More reinforcements will be coming soon. The best course of action for us is to leave this place as soon as possible.”
“…I am of the same opinion.”
Anne readily agreed, then turned with a cold glare toward those who had betrayed her. Their faces had gone pale beneath her gaze.
“Don’t bother with them.”
She was just about to act when Lazarus stopped her.
“What?”
“You’ll end up wasting time.”
Lazarus’s eyes turned even hazier as he looked towards the fog beneath.
“I need you to remain here to keep the Luminarch in check. I’ll take care of the rest. He won’t move if you don’t move.”
“I…”
Anne wanted to refute his words. She didn’t like the feeling of being commanded. However, taking into account his words, this was indeed the best course of action.
Her power was about the same as that of the Luminarch.
If she moved, so would he.
In that sense, she had to remain still and hope that the merchant would resolve the situation on the ship.
But would he be able to?
Anne clenched her teeth before mumbling,
“…Fine.”
Anne understood that this wasn’t the time for her to get upset over matters like this.
She ignored her surging feelings and focused her attention on the distant Luminarch. Although she couldn’t feel his presence, she knew he was still standing in the same exact spot he was previously in.
Her eyes narrowed as her entire body tensed, ready to strike at any given second.
Clank! Clank!
Meanwhile, the sound of fighting continued to echo.
Lazarus stared at the scene and flicked his hand. Several threads shot up, attacking the spies planted by the Luminarch.
Xiu! Xiu!
His actions were quick and precise.
Within seconds of him taking action, several spies were quickly disposed of as his eyes focused on a distant figure. He was fighting several spies, and he was somewhat familiar with them, having seen them with Anne.
He was a tall and burly man who fought with two large hammers, handling several spies at once.
Clank!
Sparks flew as he fought.
He fought quite well with his hammers, dancing across the ship. It was just unfortunate that he was currently outnumbered.
“Kh!”
Taking several steps back, Arnold glared at the spies before him.
“Bastards… Fucking sell outs. I’ll—”
He never got his words out before the people before him fell limply to the ground.
“….Uh”
Slowly turning his head, he saw Lazarus flick his hand back to retrieve his threads.
How in the world…?
Step.
Lazarus’s step gently echoed as he flicked his hand once again, taking care of several emissaries who were trying to climb their way up the ship.
His threads were fast, and with the addition of Owl-Mighty’s illusions, nobody was able to react to them. He was like a god of death, calmly walking around the ship while killing anyone who stood in his way with a single flick of his hand.
The scene didn’t go unnoticed by Anne as her eyes shook.
This…
From the statues to the strange fog, and now this… Just how powerful was this merchant?
“I need you to take control of the ship and start moving it back.”
Lazarus calmly whispered to the stunned Arnold, who was still struggling to make sense of the situation.
“….We don’t have much time, so I need you to do it now.”
“Uh, ah… yes.”
Snapping out of it, Arnold immediately got into action as he shouted.
“Retrieve the anchor! Retrieve the anchor!”
His loud voice echoed throughout the entire ship as the remaining crewmates followed his orders, moving towards where the anchor was, as a rattling sound soon followed.
“They’re trying to leave!”
“Stop them!”
The spies tried to stop them, but it was useless.
Splash! Splash!
More and more statues appeared, climbing onto the boat and forming a long line that stopped the spies from moving forward.
Rattle—
“What is happening? What is…?”
It was also just as the anchor was being pulled up that An’as got out from beneath, looking at the unfolding chaos with a look of shock.
He quickly scanned the surroundings before he saw several emissaries from the temple of light heading in his direction.
“Attack him!”
“W-what…?”
Taken by surprise, An’as took a step back.
It was also then that he saw the tip of a blade slash right at him.
“….!?”
An’as was just barely able to dodge the sword as he leaned back, his eyes tracing the tip of the sword.
“What are you doing!?”
He just managed to distance himself before turning to look at the emissaries.
At the same time, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden medallion, its surface engraved with the insignia of the sun.
“See? I’m with—!”
Swoosh!
An’as’s words were with the single slash of a sword as his pupils dilated, and he tapped the floor, just barely avoiding the sword again.
“What are you doing?!”
His expression changed again as he looked at the emissaries.
He pulled the medallion again.
“I’m on the same side as you. I—”
“If you’re from the same side as us, you should just die and make our lives easier.”
“What?”
Stepping forward, the emissary raised his sword once again, his eyes narrowing.
“You don’t understand the situation, do you?”
His voice was deep as he glanced past An’as, noticing another emissary emerging behind An’as. A smirk tugged at his lips.
“….Whether you are part of the temple or not, you must die. This is a direct order from the Luminarch. You’ve been abandoned.”
Making eye contact with the other emissary, the two slashed down at the same time as An’as looked at the scene with a blank look.
The temple abandoning him?
No, that wouldn’t make sense…?
How could they abandon him? He was one of the most devout believers.
Was it because he displayed his medallion? But he had to… If not, they would’ve attacked him. It wasn’t like he revealed his position as team leader.
An’as’s thoughts started to spiral as he forgot all about the situation.
If—
Thump! Thump!
“….!?”
An’as’s thoughts were broken by several ‘thuds’ as he looked up to see Lazarus staring at him from a distance, his gaze hazy.
“The temple isn’t on your side.”
Despite the chaos around and the fact that he wasn’t close, his words still managed to reach An’as.
“…They’re here to get you.”
“I, but—”
“Get a grip. Right now, you’re my assistant. Whether you can kill them or not is irrelevant. Just don’t throw your life carelessly.”
Lazarus turned his head away shortly after as he flicked his hand, killing several emissaries at once.
An’as raised his hand, trying to reach for him and get some words out, but the moment he tried, he found that his voice was gone.
He…
Felt lost.
Fight against the temple? He… couldn’t.
They were his everything. The meaning of his existence. How could he fight them?
His life was theirs. If they really…
“Akh! My head…”
An’as clenched his head while scrambling back. He looked completely lost.
“…..”
The scene didn’t go unnoticed by Lazarus as he quietly shook his head.
He began to question whether he had made the right choice in selecting An’as. Still, he sensed there was likely more to An’as’s behavior than he yet understood.
There had to be a reason for his obsession with the temple.
Lazarus was curious, but he understood that this wasn’t the time for him to think about it.
[Human, I can’t hold on for much longer.]
Upon hearing the mind-hive’s voice, Lazarus noticed the number of statues steadily dwindling as the emissaries and spies joined forces to take them down one by one.
“Get on the boat quickly!”
“Quickly get on the boat before it moves!”
“…The anchors are up!”
“Get the boat moving!”
Utter chaos unfolded on top and outside of the boat as many emissaries moved past the statues and jumped onto the boat, climbing their way up.
The situation was starting to turn for the worse.
…Thankfully, only half of them leapt in the right direction—many ran the wrong way, and others plunged straight into the water.
“Uh?”
“What’s going on…?”
Lazarus looked up, his gaze falling on the Owl above before pulling his eyes away.
‘Looks like the ship is finally starting to move.’
At that moment, he felt the ship finally begin to pull away from the dock.
That was also the moment he felt a tremendous pressure bear down on the entire ship.
“Ukakh!”
“What’s going…!”
Several people slumped to the ground under the terrifying pressure.
And as Lazarus slowly turned his head, his gaze fell on the radiant white figure that stood atop the fog, his finger floating in the sky as his glowing white eyes fell on Anne, who forced a smile.
The Luminarch…
He had finally made his move.
“Shit…”
With her grip over the whip tightening, Anne didn’t waste a second.
With her back tensed, she cracked her whip through the air, striking at the hovering Luminarch. A thunderous clap reverberated in the air as the whip streaked through the air, appearing right before the Luminarch.
And then—
BANG!
A thunderous sound reverberated throughout the surroundings as a shield formed in front of the Luminarch, a circular wave of pressurized wind spreading throughout the surroundings and forcing the ship to rock back and forth as large waves formed.
“Woooow!”
“….Ah!”
Several people lost their balance in the terrifying wind.
That was until…
Tap.
Lazarus gently pressed his foot against the ground.
[Step of Suppression.]
Immediately, the water calmed, and the ship settled.
As the chaos settled and the waves stilled, the Luminarch appeared, unharmed as he glowed radiantly while suspended in the sky, looking like some sort of Angel of Judgment.
His glowing eyes bore down on Lazarus, who remained unmoved, his gaze turning even hazier.
Eventually, his lips pulled into a smirk, a dark membrane forming beneath him as it slowly enveloped the area around him, a stark contrast to the radiance from the Luminarch.
All eyes fell on the two.
Everything came to a standstill.
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