Trash of the Count's Family Vol 2. Chapter 449: …Can I Take It All? (12)

“!”

“...!”

The moment they saw the pure white bloom from Clopeh’s sword, both the top-tier holy knight and Mol, leader of the Third Army, failed to hide their shock.

It was a dark night.

Moraka Castle was brightly lit inside and out by battle, but those lights were different from this pure white glow.

A radiance so immaculate it looked as though not a speck of anything else had been mixed into it.

Anyone ignorant of what it was might have found that pure white light beautiful and stared at it for a long time.

“You lunatic...!”

But General Mol blurted the words out in horror.

“Dead mana—!”

That pure white light contained dead mana.

And that light did not feel merely beautiful or holy.

It felt ominous, as though a shadow, a darkness hidden behind the pure white, lay in wait beneath it.

For a swordsman who lived on the edge of death, that was more than enough to feel.

Damn it, he wasn’t a demon at all!

Mol’s scalp prickled.

That bastard Kase was not a demon.

The moment he saw his aura, Mol became certain the man was human.

A human in the Demon World?

Was he with Aurora’s mediator group?

Those questions rose one after another in his head, but something else astonished him even more.

How is he handling dead mana like that?

Humans—living beings—could not handle dead mana like that.

Mol knew nothing about the Heavenly Demon’s internal energy, so to him Clopeh looked human and yet not human at all, wielding dead mana that should have been no different from a supreme poison to a human.

And more than anything—

That madman!

Yes. He just looked insane.

The man holding that sword was no merchant, no nobleman.

Especially not now, smiling while looking at the holy knight’s shield.

He looked undeniably mad.

“Mm.”

A groan escaped Mol before he knew it.

His eyes met those of the madman.

Over the top-tier holy knight’s shoulder.

That man showed Mol an elegant smile.

“General Mol. I’ll get you right in front of the Pope. I swear I will.”

At that moment, Mol could imagine it.

Ssssss—!

The pure white gleamed even whiter.

As Clopeh’s steps, his sword, the end of his gaze all turned toward the top-tier holy knight.

...This might actually...

change the board...!

Because Kase’s pure white aura was far stronger than Mol had imagined.

Because the moment he saw that light, the unknown sense of dread it stirred in him made him grip his scabbard hard without even meaning to.

A Sword Master.

That bastard Kase was at the very end of that level—or perhaps even beyond it.

And if someone like that had decided to conceal his strength, Mol might well have failed to notice.

Because—

He’s someone who has tempered his swordsmanship for decades...!

The step stretching toward the shield.

The body moving with it.

The arm extending forward.

The unmoving tip of the sword.

The way he used that sword as though it were a hand.

Kase.

That madman was a true swordsman.

And at that, one so exceptional that he had reached such a realm while still that young.

BOOOOOOM—!

Shield and sword collided.

Tension spread across Mol’s face, while the top-tier holy knight’s expression settled.

Woooo—woooo—

The gray shield trembled under the attack and let out that strange cry.

Gray smoke rose from the shield.

Smoke that burst out in an instant.

There was no avoiding it.

A strange light entered the top-tier holy knight’s eyes.

Clopeh’s green eyes, already burning with a bizarre heat, were touched by the gray smoke.

Even if he did not breathe it in, once the smoke merely touched him—

he will see an illusion.

A battlefield.

A battlefield so desperate and horrifying it defied description.

A dreadful scene where countless, uncountable figures rushed at him for the sole purpose of killing him.

That illusion—

one might endure it once, but in the end no one endures it forever.

And so this shield did not break.

The deeper the enemy fell into illusion, the more his certainty of victory eroded, the more he sank into chaos—

the stronger this shield would become.

Because he, the one holding the shield, was certain of victory.

The top-tier holy knight.

So long as he believed this shield would not break, so long as he did not think he would lose—

it will not break!

This shield, imbued with the power of the God of Chaos, would never be defeated.

That was truth.

That was law.

A faint smile touched the holy knight’s lips.

He was curious how the eyes of one trapped in the illusion of that horrific battlefield would begin to change.

“...!”

And then the holy knight froze.

Watching from the side, Mol cried out before he could stop himself.

“That madman is smiling—!”

Clopeh Sekka.

He was smiling.

The illusion of a battlefield descended on him.

Dozens, hundreds—no, from everywhere his sight could reach, weapons were thrust toward him.

A battlefield attacking him.

Under a dim sky.

On wasted land.

An illusion in which not a single ally could be seen.

It was too real to be called a mere illusion—sight, sound, smell, touch, even the mood of the battlefield itself pressed in on the senses.

Everything was reality itself.

“Ha—”

And yet Clopeh laughed.

Seeing that, the holy knight responded calmly.

He already knows it’s an illusion. That’s why he’s acting like that.

The illusion appeared for a few seconds when the shield and sword struck.

No matter how real it felt, one still knew in the end that it was an illusion.

That was why someone could stay calm at first.

Though this is the first time I’ve seen one laugh.

Even so—

then I’ll make the illusion into reality.

Then he would not be able to laugh anymore.

The illusion vanished.

And Clopeh’s sword swung toward the holy knight again.

BOOOOOM!

The second collision came.

“Damn it! Kase, be careful!”

Mol shouted urgently and rushed toward the holy knight, who had his back turned while clashing with Clopeh.

But other holy knights blocked his way.

Bang, bang!

“Damn it!”

Mol could not easily reach the holy knight while dealing with those minor nuisances, but that was not the real problem.

“Half of them...!”

Half the holy knights who had been attacking Mol turned toward Clopeh.

Exactly what Mol had experienced while gradually losing confidence in victory.

Several seconds of illusion.

And inside it, real attacks flew toward Clopeh.

Blades difficult to distinguish from the rest.

A grin spread across the holy knight’s lips.

“!”

Because Clopeh flinched, twisting the sword that had been headed for the shield and slashing in another direction.

Clang! Boom, boooom!

Explosions rang out in quick succession.

The pure white aura blocked the dozens of attacks aimed at Clopeh, the strikes lancing toward him from every side.

He’s different.

Mol, and this man before him as well.

The stronger they were, the more they could identify the real attacks and block them.

Barely.

“Keep pressing the attack!”

The holy knight raised his voice.

And with shield in hand, he charged Clopeh first.

BOOOOOOM!

This time Clopeh blocked, and the holy knights did not miss the opening.

Watching that scene, the top-tier holy knight became certain.

Hesitation must have set in.

Compared to the first time he attacked the shield—

now, not knowing when an attack might come at him, that hesitation would keep him from focusing on victory.

And the more he forgot victory—

the more real the illusion becomes.

And the harder it would be to avoid the holy knights’ real attacks.

And the stronger the shield becomes.

Then the illusion would strengthen again.

And the more that cycle repeated—

the more he would, in the end, lose certainty in victory with his own hands.

What remained at the end was only the unbreakable shield.

The top-tier holy knight trusted the experience he had accumulated until now.

Even the highest-ranking holy knight trusted this power, at least.

After all, it was strong enough to drive back even Mol, a general of the Third Army.

The top-tier holy knight swung his shield first at Clopeh again, who had barely managed to fend off the attacks.

He did not know when Mol of the Third Army might come from behind, so he had to finish this quickly.

His shield technique was full of certainty.

Certainty of victory.

“How dare—”

The shield slammed against the sword once more.

This time he let his emotions show.

He forced them down as calmly as he could, but he could not hide the heat inside them.

“How dare you speak of breaking the power bestowed /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ by Chaos—how arrogant...!”

BOOOOOM—!

The shield struck again.

“!”

And the top-tier holy knight lost his smile.

His pupils shook.

But he had no time to react.

BOOOOOOM—!

This time the pure white aura came crashing at the shield.

Blades around them seized the gap and attacked—

Sss—

But the sword wrapped in pure white aura paid them no mind.

Instead—

BOOOOOOM—

it drove closer to the shield and crashed into it more violently.

The pure white aura slammed into it recklessly, one blow after another, as if it did not care about the incoming attacks at all, forcing the holy knight to raise his shield in haste and answer it.

But surely...!

BOOOM!

Right now, this man should be experiencing a battlefield where he might die!

BOOOOOOM—!

Most of them attack me only in the moment they break free of the illusion!

Because inside the illusion, the shield could not be seen.

And only when they broke free of the illusion did the dozens of real attacks pause.

BOOOOOOM—

Then why was this Sword Master attacking without pause like this?

BOOOOOOM—

As the sword kept attacking, the other holy knights no longer dared leap between shield and sword.

Ssssss—!

Because the force spreading out each time the pure white aura struck the shield was becoming more violent by the second.

Of course, the holy knights kept attacking as best they could.

Slice!

Slice, slice—

But Clopeh feared no wounds, avoiding only the worst of them.

BOOOOOOM—!

Instead, he crashed in even harder.

The illusion—no—

He should be moving through death itself right now! Then why—

The holy knight could not believe it.

As he swung the shield, he could see Clopeh’s face.

“You mad—!”

He was smiling.

Clopeh Sekka was smiling as he swung his sword.

And—

He can’t see it...!

This man’s eyes were open, but he was clearly seeing nothing but that horrific battlefield, not the shield.

There was no doubt.

And yet he was smiling in the middle of that horror.

With a face that looked utterly, completely happy.

BOOOOOM—!

And the holy knight finally understood why the sword kept striking the shield without rest.

Because that made it easier to track the shield’s position.

No, more than that—

Why was this man not afraid?

Why, why was he smiling?

The top-tier holy knight wanted to stop swinging his shield and find out why this man was like this.

BOOOOOOM—

But he could not.

Slice. Slice.

Because this madman, who did not stop even as shallow wounds opened across him, kept attacking the shield.

BOOOOOOM—

“Damn it!”

For the first time, a coarse curse burst from the top-tier holy knight’s mouth.

Again!

Again, the pure white aura came toward the shield.

Without rest, it came.

BOOOOOOM—

And in the middle of one crashing roar—

Crack.

The top-tier holy knight heard a sound he could not believe.

What?

What was that sound?

He had no time even to form the question.

BOOOOOOM—

The attack came again.

Crack.

That same tiny sound came again.

The top-tier holy knight’s pupils shook.

Then a gentle voice spoke.

“It’s breaking.”

The top-tier holy knight lowered his shield slightly.

Beyond it stood Clopeh, no longer swinging his sword.

And beyond him, the other holy knights too, frozen in shock with their attacks halted.

Clopeh and the top-tier holy knight met each other’s gaze.

Still smiling, Clopeh said,

“You wanted to run away, didn’t you?”

Ah.

Only then did the top-tier holy knight understand what that feeling was—the desire to stop swinging the shield.

It struck him like lightning.

I—I wanted to run away?

I, who bear the shield bestowed by the God of Chaos, wanted to run?

Why?

The holy knight could not turn away from the answer that rose in his own mind.

It came naturally.

He did not feel like he could win.

At the very least, he did not think this man would ever believe he himself might flee or lose.

No. That’s not it.

Victory or defeat was not the issue to begin with.

This madman had clearly said it.

That shield will break. No matter what.

Yes.

It felt as though this madman, to whom victory and defeat mattered less than nothing, really would break the shield.

Because the holy knight knew he himself could never smile while throwing himself again and again into a horrific battlefield, into an illusion as real as death itself.

He did not feel like he could beat a madman like this.

“Heh.”

The madman approached with a smile.

Then he asked,

“Have you ever fought while carrying dozens of lives on your back?”

No.

That was not enough.

“Have you ever fought while carrying tens of thousands, millions, the lives of an entire world on your back?”

The holy knight had no idea what this man was talking about.

But Clopeh had no intention of answering the puzzled look on his face.

“So you don’t know.”

You—

“You’ve never even experienced such a sight.”

Clopeh pitied the holy knight before him.

I have seen it.

Cale Henituse.

He had seen him fight while bearing the lives of the people of Henituse territory.

He had seen him fight the White Star in order to protect the Roan Kingdom, and beyond that, the people of Unnamed 1.

At times, countless eyes had looked to Cale alone.

So many gazes had rested on him, wanting him to resolve everything somehow.

Bearing all of those gazes, he had fought on the edge of death.

Surrounded by innumerable enemies.

And Clopeh had watched the path he walked.

He had watched, with all his heart, the battlefield the Hero had crossed.

It was suffocating.

A horrific battlefield where dozens of blades were aimed at you?

That was less frightening than bearing the lives of an entire world, bearing all those gazes begging to be saved, and fighting new enemies who kept surpassing every limit.

Yes, it was truly frightening.

And I follow the one who walks that terrifying road.

And yet I fail to carry out the order granted to me by that light?

That can never happen.

Clopeh moved.

Sss—

The pure white aura no longer hid the longing it carried.

As a shadow following behind one who walked on while bearing countless weights.

As one who followed a man who stood even against gods.

How could he possibly lose to someone who relied on something as petty as hallucinations?

“Cowards.”

Clopeh had already decided to offer everything for what was real.

Compared to the times when he could not move his own body.

Compared to the times when he could not walk alongside the road where legends were born.

What he was enduring now was truly nothing at all.

Smile.

Drawing a gentle smile, Clopeh swung his sword and spoke to someone beyond the top-tier holy knight’s shoulder.

“I bought enough time for you, didn’t I?”

There stood Mol, with all the holy knights around him already cut down, wearing a look of utter disbelief.

“Ha, haha! Yes, you lunatic!”

At Mol’s voice, the top-tier holy knight snapped back to himself, but he could not turn around toward Mol.

Sss—

Because the pure white aura was coming for his throat like a giant venomous snake.

It felt as though if that snake bit him, he would die from the sinister force hidden inside the pure white.

Was it because of the dead mana?

Or because of the nature of the man wielding that aura?

That ominousness made the holy knight raise his shield again.

Woooo—

And he had no choice but to feel Mol’s sword approaching from behind.

Fear surfaced on the holy knight’s face.

And then—

BOOOOOOM—

the shield and the pure white sword collided.

Craaack—

The shield was pierced as though bitten through by a serpent, leaving behind a white wound.

Clopeh kept his word.

*****

“Do you think Clopeh Sekka will get there in time?”

At the Heavenly Demon’s question, Cale answered as if it were obvious.

“Yeah. He’s good at this.”