Chapter 63

“Whoo… here I go.”

Lisa exhaled deeply, then lifted her greatsword high.

And she swung it down toward the massive egg.

Blood energy surged from around the blade and shot toward the egg.

The aura struck the egg squarely, but it didn’t inflict much damage.

“…Hmm.”

Lisa looked a bit flustered.

Then she scratched her head and turned to me.

“Attacking from a distance doesn’t seem to be working. We’ll have to get closer and hit it directly.”

“Understood. I’ll assist you.”

“Stop them! Don’t let them near!”

The Lord, who had fallen earlier, got back up while shouting hysterically.

“Don’t let them approach the egg! Stop them! Will you let our long-cherished wish crumble like this?!”

At his desperate cry, Rhaineus’s followers rushed toward Lisa.

But with a single swing of her greatsword, Lisa sent them all flying.

Watching that, the Lord grew increasingly frantic, and then suddenly bolted toward the altar.

More precisely, toward the female student bound atop it.

It was obvious he meant to take her as a hostage.

But I had already anticipated his move.

“Not happening.”

Coating my body in aura, I charged at the Lord.

Then I struck him square in the face with my fist.

“Ghk?!”

My punch sent the Lord flying to the opposite side of the massive egg.

After confirming that he was down, I turned my gaze toward the girl tied to the altar.

“I’m sorry I’m late. But you’re safe now, so don’t worry.”

“Th-thank you.”

“There’s no need to thank me.”

I cut the ropes binding her with my sword.

“Please stay still. Lisa and I will handle the rest—”

“Stop them! Don’t let them through!”

“…Excuse me for a moment.”

I deflected a spear that came flying toward us.

Then three of Rhaineus’s followers charged at me, swinging their swords.

I used the Mistcatcher to parry all three of their attacks at once, then pushed them back with force.

“Now then…”

I gripped my sword with both hands and raised it above my shoulder.

Then I swung it powerfully at the three.

Bang!

“Uagh!”

The trio was struck by my blade and sent flying backward.

As Lisa approached, she smiled faintly at the sight.

“You’ve improved a lot. But you’re still using too much arm strength. Use more of your shoulders.”

“Thank you for the advice.”

“No need to thank me. Anyway… breaking this egg, huh…”

Lisa stepped closer to the massive egg that stood right behind the altar to take a closer look.

The enormous egg was like a solid boulder.

“I can break it, but it’ll take some time. Can you protect me while I do it?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Good. If there’s one thing I can trust you with, it’s guarding.”

Lisa nodded with a smile.

“Then I’ll leave it to you, Gideon. Protect me—and this girl… what’s your name?”

“Ah, um, I-I’m Basher.”

“Gideon, protect me and Basher. I’m counting on you.”

“Leave it to me.”

“Alright, then…”

The blood energy swirling around Lisa grew thicker.

Then, in that state, she brought her greatsword down upon the massive egg.

Boom—!

A deafening explosion reverberated through the cave.

Soon after, a massive crack appeared on the egg’s surface.

“What are you doing?! Stop them! If that egg breaks, all our decades of effort will be for nothing! Move!”

At the Lord’s desperate scream, dozens of Rhaineus’s followers rushed at us all at once.

It was quite a number, but I calmly raised my sword.

‘None of them are particularly strong.’

In other words, small fry.

In game terms, the Lord was the boss, and he was the only one with any real strength.

But without drawing power from that massive egg, even he was just an ordinary man.

Which meant I only had to worry about the dozens of followers.

Taking them all down alone would be tough for someone at my current level.

‘But if I’m only defending, that’s a different story.’

I was, at my core, a defensive swordsman.

When it came to defending—and protecting someone—I had absolute confidence.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Lisa continued to swing her greatsword against the massive egg.

With each strike, the cracks spreading across the shell grew wider.

‘Almost there. A few more hits and this egg will shatter.’

Lisa didn’t fully grasp what was happening or what kind of situation this was.

She didn’t know what this egg was, or who those people in green masks were.

She simply trusted Gideon’s words and acted accordingly.

Ordinarily, Lisa wouldn’t follow anyone’s orders so easily—but Gideon was different.

Gideon was someone she could trust.

‘Come to think of it, is Gideon alright?’

Several minutes had passed since she began striking the egg.

But during that time, she hadn’t been attacked once.

Not even the faintest sign of an approaching threat.

Puzzled, Lisa swung her sword again while glancing back.

“…Heh.”

Seeing what was happening behind her, Lisa let out a faint laugh.

‘Seeing it for myself… he really is incredible.’

She couldn’t help but be impressed as Gideon blocked every single attack from dozens of enemies.

Regardless of the weapon—sword, spear, or axe—Gideon blocked every attack flying at him from all directions with swift movements and a single blade.

Even when arrows rained down, Gideon managed to deflect each one with his sword.

“Throw it!”

At that moment, glass bottles filled with green liquid began flying toward him.

It was the same poison Gideon had been struck by hours earlier.

Several poison-filled bottles flew through the air, but Gideon stayed calm.

He didn’t try to block them—instead, he dodged every one.

And for the bottles that flew toward Lisa, he lifted his school uniform jacket to shield her.

Gideon made sure that the poison didn’t touch his skin, nor Lisa’s or Basher’s.

‘How is he blocking everything like that? Unless he knows exactly when and where they’ll strike, there’s no way to defend that perfectly.’

The more she watched, the more Lisa couldn’t help but admire his swordsmanship.

But soon, she turned her focus back to the massive egg before her.

‘I need to end this quickly.’

Though she was impressed by Gideon’s movements, she could also tell he was gradually tiring.

He was human, after all—there had to be a limit to his stamina.

Lisa intended to smash the egg completely before Gideon reached that limit.

‘Almost there. Just a little more.’

She swung her greatsword hard once again.

The crack in the egg widened further, and at that moment, Lisa instinctively felt it.

‘One more strike. A single, powerful blow will do it.’

With that conviction, Lisa drew forth every last bit of blood energy within her.

Her palms split open, blood flowing out to wrap around her greatsword.

The blood energy surrounding the blade thickened and began to glow a deep crimson.

“……”

Lisa raised the greatsword above her shoulder and waited for just a second.

Then she brought it down on the egg.

Kwakwa-kwang—!

It was the strongest blow she had unleashed yet.

The sound that echoed through the cave was unlike any before.

“……”

Lisa silently looked up at the egg.

The crack on its surface spread even wider.

And moments later—

Pasa-sasak—!

The egg began to break apart.

More precisely, the shell crumbled to powder as it collapsed.

“No… No! If that egg breaks, the resurrection ritual will—!”

The Lord collapsed to his knees with a look of utter despair.

But Lisa ignored him and kept her eyes fixed ahead.

As the dust settled and the shell disintegrated, what was inside began to reveal itself.

“They called it the Great Falcon… right?”

Inside the egg was a falcon—an enormous falcon, nearly five meters tall.

But what stood out was—

“It’s turned to stone?”

The Great Falcon was a statue.

So lifelike it looked as if it could start moving at any moment.

It was as though it had been petrified mid-flight.

“Gideon, what should we do about this?”

“Smash… huff, hah, smash it. We need to destroy that too.”

Gideon, breathing heavily, managed to reply.

But upon hearing his words, the Lord shouted furiously,

“Stop! You’re going to destroy that?! Do you even understand what you’re doing?! That Great Falcon is the sacred beast that defended the Empire against the dragon Intezer—how dare you…!”

“The Great Falcon, Peregrie. Yes, I know.”

Though visibly exhausted, Gideon cut him off and spoke firmly.

“It’s the sacred beast that protected the Empire from the dragon Intezer and vanished without a trace after defeating it. Peregrie is believed to have died—but in truth, it didn’t. Cursed by the dying dragon, it was turned into stone.”

“That’s right! It didn’t die! We’re going to resurrect the Great Falcon, and with its power, we’ll restore the Empire—destroy those corrupt nobles who mocked us—”

“Peregrie wouldn’t want to be resurrected.”

Once again, Gideon interrupted.

“And he definitely wouldn’t want to be used by people like you.”

He spoke with confidence—this was something he had confirmed in the game’s lore.

“After the battle with Intezer centuries ago, Peregrie accepted his death. But because of the curse, he couldn’t die—he suffered for ages, trapped in stone. If you truly care about Peregrie, you should help him rest, not force him back into torment.”

“What do you know, boy?! We’ll use Peregrie to destroy the Empire and the nobles who humiliated us! You have no idea what kind of suffering we’ve endured—”

“You’re right. I don’t know. And frankly, I don’t want to.”

Gideon turned his gaze to Lisa.

“Lisa.”

“Got it.”

Lisa nodded, raising her greatsword once more.

The Lord tried to shout something, but before he could, Lisa had already swung.

A deep crack split through the falcon statue.

Kwakwa-kwang—!

And then, the Great Falcon shattered completely, collapsing into rubble.

‘Good. That’s it. This episode’s done.’

Panting, I stared at the broken remains of the falcon statue.

My body ached from blocking so many attacks, but it hadn’t been for nothing.

‘With this, Rhaineus—the rebel group—no longer has any chance of causing trouble in the future.’

If Peregrie’s resurrection hadn’t been stopped, I might’ve faced that enormous falcon on the battlefield a few years later.

But thanks to Lisa’s help, that possibility was erased completely.

‘…Damn, I’m exhausted.’

I wanted to rest, but the situation wasn’t over yet.

The masked men in green still surrounded us.

The chance of the Great Falcon’s revival was gone, but I couldn’t let the rebel group escape either.

‘Luke should be arriving soon with reinforcements, so I just need to buy a bit more time.’

I was tired, but I still had enough strength to fight—and most importantly, Lisa was by my side.

With her, handling these small fries was nothing.

I was about to speak to move together with her, when suddenly—

—Thank you. For freeing me from this curse. You have my deepest gratitude.

A voice spoke from behind.

When I turned around, a faint avian form shimmered above the shattered statue.

A shape of pure light—a massive bird. No—

A great falcon.

—Thanks to you, I can finally rest. You have freed me from the curse, and from the wicked ones who sought to use me.

I glanced at Lisa.

She looked visibly startled, clearly not expecting this.

Even the Lord wore an expression of shock, as if he had no idea what was happening.

‘…I don’t know what’s going on either.’

I had played through this episode many times before, but something like this had never happened.

What was I supposed to do in a situation like this—

—Now that I look at you… that white hair, that face… even the scent of your blood. Yes, you must be a descendant of my old friend. I’m certain of it. Hahaha, to think I’d receive help even from his bloodline… perhaps this too is fate.

“…Huh?”

What the hell was that supposed to mean?

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