Campione: Strongest# 491: An Unqualified Magus

Along the winding mountain road, rows of pitch-black searchlights inscribed with complex patterns shot forth light that pierced the night sky.

The incandescent brilliance plunged the entire mountain path and forest into a sea of white.

Within the dense forest, figures with glowing red eyes glared hatefully at those blindingly radiant searchlights.

Whenever that light touched them, the Dead Apostles' exposed skin immediately sizzled with crackling sounds. Faintly, the rich aroma of roasting meat seemed to permeate the forest.

Finally, unable to endure the agony, the Dead Apostle horde charged toward the searchlights with savage faces, claws bared.

Tens of thousands of Dead Apostles converged—viewed from above, they resembled a black cloth covering the entire mountain range.

Seeing the Dead Apostle assault, the Knight Captain coldly raised his body-height spear-shield, pointing the blood-stained shield forward.

"Twenty-first wave. Three minutes to devour them."

"Gospel of John, Chapter Seven, Verse One!"

Resolute voices erupted with determination.

As solemn choral chanting slowly arose—

Knights in blood-stained silver armor, reciting gospel, stepped forward with firm strides. They moved before the searchlights, solemnly pointing their spears at the incoming Dead Apostles.

Brutal close combat erupted. The knights who'd fought for hours began taking casualties, but now, no one cared about fallen comrades anymore.

A silver light suddenly flashed through midair.

Then instantly turned back.

Haru gazed expressionlessly at the knights surrounded by masses of Dead Apostles below, light flashing through his eyes.

Twelve full moons manifested around Haru. Invisible gravity suddenly emanated from the moons, then pressed downward.

The sudden high-gravity pressure perfectly avoided every knight, applying only to the Dead Apostles below.

Splat! Splat! Splat!

In less than a second, Dead Apostles covering the entire mountain range had their cells crushed under vicious gravitational suppression, becoming puddles of meat paste slowly flowing across the dark earth.

Coldly glancing at the meat paste below, Haru immediately turned, transforming into silver light again, flying toward Tokyo.

The Knight Captain on the ground removed her helmet, revealing a beautiful face beneath. She looked gratefully at the departing silver light, performing a solemn knight's salute.

"Captain Liz Byfe? Was that—?" A nearby knight wiped blood from his face, staring dumbly at the departing figure, his eyes carrying the relief of survival.

"Probably... some passing saint." Liz Byfe smiled with relief.

"...A saint, huh~" The knights responded dumbly.

"Quickly, quickly! We have ten minutes to rest this time. Hurry and replenish your strength."

"It's all you idiots' fault I'm trapped in this damned Reality Marble. Get moving!"

Liz Byfe waved her arms urgently, rousing the dazed knights. Emergency battle preparations began.

—————

His relatively thin frame rippled with faint spatial fluctuations, interfering with the surrounding chaotic space.

Haru held Kiyohime, flying through the hundred-meter altitude toward the city center at high speed.

"Did you hear? Did you hear? Those knights called my lord husband a saint." Amber eyes blinking, Kiyohime in Haru's arms wore an expression of admiration, smiling brilliantly as if she were the one being praised.

"Just a momentary burst of kindness." Haru curled his lip, speaking dismissively.

"I don't care! Kiyohime's husband is a saint." Kiyohime wrapped her arms around Haru's neck, pressing her small face against his chest, speaking petulantly.

"Whatever you say." Haru smiled helplessly, turning his gaze toward the massive red iron tower three hundred meters away. "Get ready, Kiyohime. We're approaching the central area."

"Oh!" Kiyohime responded obediently, turning her head forward. Just then, a figure entered the girl's amber pupils.

—————

"Words of Tempest!" The low chant suddenly emerged from Lorelei's mouth.

The silver conductor's baton danced lightly, tracing an elegant arc. Wind followed the arc's formation, suddenly howling forward.

Dozens of Dead Apostles ahead were swept up by the suddenly appearing gale, then shredded to pieces in the blade-like winds.

Crimson blood immediately splattered across the asphalt road like a rain of blood.

Scattered droplets splashed onto Lorelei, adding another vivid touch to her already blood-dyed white suit.

"Is there no end to this?" Standing at the crossroads, Lorelei frowned, coldly surveying her surroundings.

On the interconnected roadways, thousands of Dead Apostles continuously scanned Lorelei's body with malicious gazes.

Though these citizens had been forcibly transformed into Dead Apostles with their original memories intact, the sudden upheaval had completely broken the already mentally strained Japanese, displaying the nauseating human depravity that society had suppressed.

Lorelei slightly tightened her grip on her Mystic Code. Though her face remained calm, fine sweat slowly seeped from her smooth forehead.

The Chorus that usually stood behind her had all vanished. Even the accompanying Clock Tower combat magi had lost their way in the previous encounter.

Of course, the price was the complete destruction of the attacking Eleventh Ancestor, Stanrobe Calhin.

Those magi hadn't all died in battle—they'd encountered numerous traps during intense mobile combat.

In this Great Labyrinth Reality Marble created by the Twenty-Seventh Ancestor Caubac, even moving half a meter could trigger spatial transfer traps.

Facing the Eleventh Ancestor's attacks, who could avoid dodging? Because of this, magi were transferred to dangerous zones while evading.

And Lorelei, after destroying the Eleventh Ancestor with full force, had suddenly been transferred to the Dead Apostles' center, facing nearly ten thousand low-level Dead Apostles surrounding her.

Even when Lorelei tried to escape, after advancing a few steps and repeatedly falling into large Dead Apostle circles, she abandoned that option.

"Still about 2,300 remaining." Estimating the Dead Apostles' numbers, Lorelei reached her free hand into her suit pocket.

The empty sensation made Lorelei's expression change drastically. She spoke somewhat lost: "No more mana potions?"

Feeling the emptiness within, realizing her magical energy was below ten percent, Lorelei subconsciously stroked her abdomen with her palm.

Lorelei's face showed struggle. Now there were only three paths: drain her magical energy and die to these Dead Apostles, then be transformed, finding no peace.

Or take a step, testing her luck to see if she could escape to an area with fewer Dead Apostles and attempt a breakthrough.

The last was—refine the divine child in her womb, exchanging it for massive magical energy accumulated over years, annihilating these Dead Apostles, perhaps even glimpsing divine mysteries.

Lorelei lowered her head, her light brown eyes looking at the ground as she slowly took a step. "Even though option three is most suitable..."

"As expected, I'm not a qualified magus." Lorelei spoke self-mockingly.

"But you are a qualified mother, aren't you?"