“Huh?” Zich blinked. From the situation, it seemed Condel was planning to infuse the shadows into Sia Rubrent. ‘I thought he still needed more shadows.’
Zich’s body moved faster than his thoughts. He poured a huge amount of mana into Windur until it looked as if it would burst and swung it.
Crash!
Condel blocked the attack. However, Zich had expected him to do that. It was a feint, and Zich flung his body in the direction directly opposite his sword energy’s path. Then, he shot a couple more blasts of sword energy. Glen, who didn’t want Sia’s resurrection either, swung Tornium multiple times.
However, Condel blocked all their attacks with complete disregard for his own safety. He showed his great resilience by blocking some of the attacks with his own body. Since the shadows protected him, he didn’t receive any serious injuries, but his actions showed how desperate he was in this situation. Thanks to his great efforts, the shadow humans were able to successfully enter Sia’s corpse.
Zich and Glen backed away for a bit. “What’s happening, Sir Zenard? I thought Sia Rubrent’s shadow human wasn’t complete yet,” Zich asked.
Glen couldn’t give him a proper answer. He only replied according to his experiences. “…I’m not sure. If it had been completed, there’s no way he wouldn’t have resurrected her already.”
“I guess so,” Zich agreed. “Then, is he just planning to move the corpse? Well, I suppose if it is the shadow human of that corpse, it should be much stronger than the other ones. It seems he’s planning to gather the other shadows too after pushing us off.”
“…From what I know, a shadow human that has been infused into a corpse can’t get out again.”
Zich narrowed his eyes. It didn’t make sense. “Are you saying he’s giving up on resurrecting his lover just to get out of this dangerous situation?”
“…I also can’t believe it,” Glen said.
Surprisingly, both Zich and Glen’s thoughts were in alignment. But they both knew that just talking to each other wasn’t going to resolve the situation. The two rushed toward Condel simultaneously. They planned to pass by Condel and stop the corpse Sia Ruebrent’s shadow human had been infused into.
And yet, Condel’s defense remained firm, and he thoroughly blocked all of Zich and Glen’s attacks. Soon, the reward for all his efforts came to light.
Twitch.
Sia Rubrent, who had been lying prone, twitched her fingers. Then, she began to move; her toes moved, while her palms flipped, her arms went sideways, and her knees jerked up slightly. Finally, her eyelids trembled.
Blink!
Sia Rubrent opened her eyes. Her body rose abruptly, looking at Zich, Glen, and Condel like a mannequin. Her lips were slightly parted. Like a baby babbling, she moved her lips wordlessly.
“…Condel?” A voice finally came out of her throat.
Swing!
Condel turned his head to face her. Although he was in the middle of a fierce battle and his movement would give his opponents a critical opening, he couldn’t resist. This was the voice he had lost a long time ago and had yearned to hear so much.
“Sia!” Condel shouted. Everything he had missed—her face, hair, voice, and beautiful eyes—came into view.
But in contrast to Condel, who was overwhelmed with emotions, Zich and Glen had no reason to do anything. Windur and Tornium each aimed for Condel’s neck and body thanks to the many openings he now showed.
Slide!
Sia stretched out her arm. Black energy burst out of her body.
Craaaaash!
A loud commotion erupted. The black energy launched Zich and Glen a good distance away.
Pop! Pop!
Two swords shot up in a wave some distance from the island.
“Zich!”
“Glen!”
Lyla and Lara called out their names in shock. Other people were also stunned. That was how much of a dangerous situation Zich and Glen appeared to be in, as they were stuck on top of the black substance. Fortunately, they didn’t seem to be injured.
“Ah, damn it! Lyla’s magic is enough for flying.” Zich grunted as he shook the black substance off from his sword. Glen also got up, using Tornium as his staff.
Condel, who was now free from the two, approached Sia. Pure happiness filled his eyes as he exclaimed, “Sia!”
“…Condel?” Sia asked. Condel tightly hugged her as she looked at him with blank eyes.
“Ah, Sia! My Sia! You’re finally awake!”
Tears fell from Condel’s scrunched-up face. He had wanted to see her so much, he had been willing to crush other people’s happiness and throw his own life into the pits.
However, her body, which had come back from the despair of death, was… very cold. Surprised, Condel took his face off Sia’s shoulders. She was still staring at him with blank eyes.
“Condel?”
“Yes, it’s me! Your lover, Condel!”
“Condel…”
“…Sia?”
“…Condel.”
Sia’s condition was strange. Anyone could see that she wasn’t responding like a normal human. Then, she suddenly lifted her arm.
Baaaam!
Black energy seeped out from her hand. Zich and Glen, who had been trying to ambush Condel, hurriedly retreated on both sides.
Zich commented, “What a fierce lady.”
The black energy didn’t lose any of its power as it stretched out and made a large hole in the cave. Zich clicked his tongue but soon blabbered on, “You worked so hard to resurrect her, but it seems it wasn’t done properly. What are you going to do now? Your lover seems long gone.”
Condel glared at Zich. “Nonsense! It’s just that her resurrection isn’t complete yet! That’s all!”
“Oh? Then, is there a possibility that she would be properly resurrected then?”
“Of course!”
Hearing this, Zich felt relieved. ‘Thank goodness. He won’t fall into despair just yet because his ritual failed.’ Zich still hadn’t given up on the idea of seeing Condel fall into a greater level of despair after failing to resurrect his lover because of his own lack of power.
Bam! Bam!
In the meantime, Glen continued to attack. Yet, Sia was immensely strong. Every time they clashed, Tornium was clearly pushed back.
Condel was filled with exhilaration at this sight. “Sia will come back, and she’ll also become stronger! You bastards who blocked my love! You damn bastards who ridiculed my love! Look clearly at Sia’s resurrected form!”
Pop!
Pillars of water and the black substance shot up from their surroundings. Glen gritted his teeth and called out, “Don’t let Sia Rubrent’s body absorb the black water! If the ritual continues, a monster incomparable to the one right now will be formed!”
‘I guess the black substance isn’t just for show,’ Zich thought after learning the true purpose of the substance.
“Hmph! How are you going to stop that from happening!? Your companions are struggling with my shadows, and you guys have your hands full fighting me!” Condel’s voice sounded confident. Even though his plan had gone slightly awry in the middle, everything else was still roughly going according to plan.
Zich also admitted that Condel had every right to be confident. ‘Even though support will probably arrive soon, the current situation is too dire for me to just rely on help arriving.’
If Sia Rubrent really was completed here, the situation might become impossible to deal with. For that reason, Zich used one of his abilities—his shrewd tongue.
“Are you going to complete Sia Rubrent?” he asked.
“I will!”
“Really, that’s great.” Zich smiled as if he couldn’t understand the seriousness of the situation and said, “As soon as she gains consciousness, I’m going to tell her about all the evil acts you committed.”
“…”
Condel’s face stiffened. At the same time, the black liquid approaching Sia also stopped.
Zich lowered Windur, and he even pushed it upside down into the ground. He leaned on Windur like a staff and continued, “What are you doing? Weren’t you in the middle of finishing your lover? Do it quickly. I need to have a serious talk with her.”
Zich encouraged Condel to complete Sia, and Condel glared at Zich as if he wanted to kill him.
“…Condel?” Sia called to him, but she looked at him without intelligence like a doll.
Splash!
The black liquid pillars crashed into the ground.
“…Just Sia and I are enough to defeat you all,” Condel said.
“Is that your reply?” Zich smirked. “Even if you die, you don’t want your lover to find out about your dirty deeds? Fine. Then, why don’t we battle it out again?” He suppressed his laughter and said, “But mind you, it’s going to be different from now on.”
“What?” Condel asked.
“Mr. Zenard, take care of that corpse!” After saying this to Glen, Zich rushed towards Condel.
Crashhh!
The battle started again. Condel tried to stretch out his shadows and strike Zich’s feet. However, Zich moved his feet away as if he could predict the future, and while moving back, he swung Windur again.
Crash! Crash!
Zich’s Windur continued to target Condel’s vital organs. However, Condel blocked his attacks with ease. Even while partnering up with Glen, Zich was unable to hit any of Condel’s critical areas. Moreover, Glen was busy fighting with Sia, so he also couldn’t be of much help to Zich.
But Condel could feel that the situation was slowly turning a bit strange. ‘Why is it getting harder?’ he thought.
Crash!
Condel struck Windur as it targeted his neck. Even though it seemed as if he had struck it away with ease, he frowned; Windur had definitely gotten closer to him than before.
‘Tch! This is nothing!’ Condel swung his fist, but Zich evaded his attack with complete ease.
Zich smiled brightly and said, “Yep, I got used to it.”
Thud!
Zich’s fist hit Condel’s temple squarely. As Condel had protected himself with his shadows, he was able to prevent his head from bursting, but he lost his focus. And Zich didn’t miss this opportunity. His swings pierced Condel’s body like a storm.
“Ugh!” Condel retaliated. He pushed back Zich’s attacks and also threw in a counterattack. He successfully protected himself; Zich stopped attacking and was even pushed back instead. However, the situation just now was enough to instill dread in Condel’s heart.
‘How?’ The current situation was different from before. More and more of Zich’s attacks were landing on him.
‘But nothing about him changed?’ Zich’s power and speed hadn’t changed; it was at a level he could easily keep up with. For that reason, Condel was even more confused.
“Haat!” Condel shouted loudly and stretched out his shadows.
Zich evaded his attack and snorted inside his mind. ‘I can see everything now.’
Condel’s speed and power were definitely above Zich’s right now. Moreover, the fluidity and shapelessness of Condel’s shadows made his attacks unpredictable and dangerous. ‘But so what. The person using it is just a beginner.’
Before Zich had gotten used to Condel’s power, it had been extremely troublesome to fight him. Of course, Condel was still a dangerous opponent now, but Zich had a much easier time dealing with Condel’s shadows than he had in the beginning. Condel swung his fist, but Zich was already one step ahead. ‘I can see where his fists are heading.’
Of course, it was difficult to avoid Condel’s shadows just by seeing where they would go, since his shadows could easily change shape. However, Condel used his flexible abilities in a structured and mechanical way. ‘Since I moved away, he’s now going to stretch the shadows on his arm.’
Swoosh!
As Zich expected, Condel’s shadow stretched out in front of him. However, Zich moved one step away and the shadow was unable to reach him. Zich saw Condel bend his knees. ‘Are you going to jump forward using your shadows?’
Push!
Condel jumped forward, and Zich used that chance to push Windur toward Condel’s body.
Flinch.
Zich saw that Condel was startled and thought, ‘Now, he’s going to spread his shadows wide.’ It was the type of method Condel constantly used when he received a sudden attack. Even though it was a method that let him block a large number of attacks, it also blocked his sight, especially while he was in the middle of a landing. And it was also a critical mistake for Condel to miss the movements of an opponent like Zich.
Pierce!
“Ack!” Condel cried.
An exhilarating sensation climbed up to his shoulder; Zich let out a small smile. ‘I finally got one hit in!’