I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

76 – Assault (4)

“Sanctuary 『Sanctuary』.”

As Orcus pointed to the ground and said that, golden energy began to spread around the ground centered on the hand. The divine power that dyed the land golden light instantly covered a certain area, and with that boundary, the divine power became a wall that blocked the darkness.

However, it only blocked the darkness from coming over, but it did not have enough protection to block the sword flying from beyond the darkness towards the two. After passing through the sanctuary, the swords hidden in the darkness reveal themselves.

Noel stood in front of Orcus to stop the flying sword that was divided into five branches.

The blade of the sword held in Noel’s hand was completely stained with gold in a moment. Noel quickly moved his hands to easily deflect the sword energy flying toward him.

The trembling of her hands, which did not stop easily after the block, gave her a little idea of the skill level of her opponent, but it did not frighten her. Rather, the fact cooled Noel’s head and made him a more sober judgement.

While blocking the attack, Noel’s eyes were not on the sword, but on the beast that attacked him.

A mysterious swordsman with a steel helmet covering his face.

There were no distinct characteristics that appeared in the prosecutor’s costume. Dark-colored cloak with light greaves. Most of those who participated in the competition were dressed similarly, so I looked closely to see if there was anything that looked like a family crest.

I have no regrets about that.

This was just a confirmation, just in case, because it was a fact that I knew where the prosecutor in front of me belonged from the first time I met him. There was only one thing in this world that made them feel so strongly against their divinity.

Before the prosecutor continued his follow-up attack, Noel took a step forward and rushed toward the prosecutor.

After all, do siblings have something in common?

Instead of being taken aback by Noel’s sudden action, Orcus expanded the sanctuary according to Noel’s movements. Thanks to this, the darkness spread by the swordsman completely retreated from the area where Noel’s attack could reach, and Noel swung his sword at the swordsman with full power in his hand.

A sharp blade forged with a golden aura cut through the surroundings and headed for the swordsman.

The giant trees that had been standing there for a long time began to split in two by Noel’s swordsmanship. However, Noel’s sword was stopped by the sword pointed at by the swordsman without being able to cut what he intended to cut. It must have been weakened by the sanctuary, but the sword of the swordsman who received it still contained mighty power.

Noel wasn’t stupid enough to be embarrassed by one failed attack.

As if revenge for the first time the swordsman fired at the two, Noel added just four sword strikes from there and then ducked back.

The swordsman wasn’t so merciful as to leave Noel alone, who had come within range at best, but Orcus’ magic had already been completed while the swordsman crossed swords with Noel. In order to avoid the fireballs flying towards him, he had no choice but to distance himself from Noel.

When the swordsman stepped back and seemed to have secured some distance, Orcus asked Noel.

“Do you think it’s worth doing?”

“Not at all. It’s like hitting a hard rock. I thought I did my best, but it’s too easy to block.”

“Then shall we run away?”

“I don’t know because the opponent isn’t showing their strength, but at least I don’t think we have faster legs than that person. Brother, are you confident in running?”

“I’m not even a knight… I don’t have one.”

Orcus replied as he looked at the bow that had not yet been released from his hand.

So far, what Orcus learned from Damian was archery, not how to become a knight.

Even if he uses magic, he doesn’t have the confidence to run through the forest at the same speed as Noel. Orcus knew of magic that improved his physical abilities, but he knew that he couldn’t have abilities equal to those of Auror users.

It would be nice to be able to use teleport, but due to the nature of Rune Proud, in order to use such high-level magic in the forest, you had to be at least the level of an archmage, so even Orcus, who had a talent called a genius, could not use it now.

‘Then I have no choice but to endure like this for now.’

Although he had left an attendant at the camp, his safety could not be guaranteed under the current circumstances. The same goes for the rangers who were said to reside in the forest. Unless that prosecutor was an idiot, he would have put away things that would interfere with the plan in advance.

Fortunately, there was a way to signal others. The problem was whether even if they saw the signal and came to them, they would still be alive by then.

Orcus looked at Noel standing in front of him for a moment.

There was no expression of fear or horror on Noel’s face. Her tomboy sister was so calm and serene, observing the enemy in front of her that she forgot for a moment how she usually acted emotionally.

It’s not official, but after he was chosen as the next emperor, there were numerous threats to his life. Even if it is a position protected by the name of the emperor and god, the greed for power will blind people. That’s why Orcus had a tolerance for living to some extent.

Noel stayed away from this strife because the power within the imperial family was over. That was what Orcus wanted. However, seeing Noel now, he suddenly thought that Orcus might not have fulfilled his role in the imperial palace.

This must be the first time he has been put in such a life-threatening situation, but Noel’s behavior is calm. It’s almost like someone who has been through this often. Since Orcus knew that Noel had never been involved in court strife, I thought Noel’s appearance was both mysterious and proud.

‘What did Damian teach that child…’

If you think about it, it was definitely after meeting Damian that Noel appeared like that.

Just like how Orcus taught archery, Damian took Noel and sparred from time to time. Perhaps he had taught him something at that time, but Orcus knew nothing about it.

What was certain was that the Noel in front of him now was not an immature sister, but a knight in charge of his front.

On the contrary, Orcus must provide support so that it does not become a burden. The only one who could directly confront the prosecutor was Noel in this situation.

Orcus applied several buffs to Noel while reducing the area of the sanctuary. Just maintaining the sanctuary consumes a huge amount of divine power, so I thought it was important to save even a little bit of divine power now that the possibility of going to a long-term battle is very high.

“I’ll prepare to send a signal to the camp, so take the lead for a while. Let’s refrain from going ahead first. From now on, we’ll focus on staying thoroughly. The most important thing right now is to survive and when those who come to help us come. It’s because you’re going to stay there.”

Noel nodded at Orcus’ words.

Orcus also didn’t open his mouth after saying this.

It was because the prosecutor, who had been watching the two of them quietly after opening the distance, began to act again.

***

As soon as Orcus confirmed that the swordsman was moving, he shot a fireball high into the sky. The fireball exploded in mid-air, but the sound it left behind was loud enough to be heard by everyone in the forest.

Seeing the explosion of the fireball, the mind seemed to be in a hurry, but the swordsman’s movement toward the two did not show any leeway.

The swordsman did not throw his sword or move the darkness like he did before, but rushed towards Orcus and Noel with his sword wrapped around his sword. Even though the sanctuary was still being maintained, there was no hesitation in the prosecutor’s steps.

The point of the swordsman’s sword pointed at Orcus, probably realizing that the rearguard was quite troublesome due to the short skirmish that had just happened. Upon seeing the swordsman running toward him, Orcus immediately deployed a defensive wall and prepared an attack, but of course Noel was ahead of him.

When swords collided with swords, the resulting shockwave shook the forest.

“Kuk!”

“…”

Since the location was already known, there was nothing more to cover as a prosecutor. The swordsman struck down Noel’s sword with an incomparable force, enough to make him think that the previous engagement was a joke.

Contrary to Noel, whose overall stats increased due to the buffs placed in advance by Sanctuary and Orcus, the swordsman’s power struggle, which was unable to bring out the darkness due to the influence of Sanctuary, was surprisingly successful.

A small moan escaped from Noel’s mouth.

His complexion was also not very good, not because his body was overworked, but because he did not have the upper hand even though he was in an advantageous condition.

The contest of strength did not last long because Orcus kept an eye on him.

Noel swung his sword through Orcus’ fireballs. The multiple fireballs, although small in size, were perfect for hiding Noel’s blade from the swordsman’s eyes. However, the swordsman was not a very friendly opponent and immediately found the dagger hidden among the fireballs.

The red light aura formed on the sword of the swordsman burned ominously, and the sharp sword air that came out erased all the fireballs directed at him. Naturally, Noel’s sword, like the other fireballs, was pushed back by the sword and bounced back.

As soon as the swordsman shook off Noel’s sword, Orcus launched an additional attack, but the swordsman in front of him evaded it at a close level. Seeing him leisurely avoiding his body seemed like mocking him saying that the two success techniques were of no avail.

When the distance widened beyond a certain distance, Noel stopped approaching and thoroughly guarded the front of Orcus, just like Orcus had said before.

She blocked the swordsman’s advance, limiting her activities to the interior of the sanctuary. This, in turn, was the right decision. The moment he left the sanctuary, the swordsman would bring out the darkness, and it was unknown what would happen to Noel, who received even a single attack.

As Noel seldom tried to leave the sanctuary, the swordsman had to enter the sanctuary in order to complete the attack.

When the swordsman entered the sanctuary, Noel and Orcus exchanged glances for a moment before attacking. As before, the swordsman succeeded in destroying all attacks coming towards him, but this was not a meaningless battle of attrition for the two.

“Keep pushing!!!”

Even though Orcus saw that all of their attacks were blocked, he didn’t care and fired his magic. In addition to maintaining the sanctuary, he had been using magic non-stop since earlier, so it wouldn’t be strange if he collapsed from mental exhaustion at that point, but Orcus’ face looked like someone who was far from tired.

It was the same for Noel, who was blocking the swordsman’s attack from earlier. Occasionally, moaning sounds leaked out due to uncontrollable force, but there was no sign of rough breathing or exhaustion.

For Orcus and Noel, who possess enormous divine power, what they are most confident about is their physical strength.

The opponent in front of him could also be said to be a kind of paladin who uses divine power, but that doesn’t mean that the total amount of divine power he possesses cannot be compared with the two.

The healing power of divine power makes them into bodies that do not get tired easily. Therefore, the two decided to make the most of this strength.

Being on the defensive side, having an indefatigable body was definitely a huge advantage.

However, after bumping into the prosecutor, the two knew. The fact that the opponent’s skills overwhelm the strength of the two, so even if they concentrate on defense, they are in danger of not knowing when they will die.

As the saying goes, the best defense is an attack, so the two decided to attack the swordsman first.

It was a fact that Orcus and Noel knew well that even if they attacked with a hundred blades, they could not defeat the swordsman with only their strength. But it wasn’t winning or losing that mattered to them. It was to buy time for those who would help him to come, and killing the prosecutor was never the goal from the beginning.

The purpose of the two is to take the flow from the opponent and lead the battlefield in the direction they want.

Taking the championship doesn’t necessarily mean that the flow goes to the two, but if it’s an attack that continues continuously, the story is different.

“Suck!”

Noel’s sword grazes the swordsman’s mantle.

The swordsman turned around and fired a sword attack, aiming for the empty right side of Noel, but Orcus’s magic was already flying in that empty space as if he had been waiting for it. The swordsman escaped the sanctuary from the continued attack. Noel backed away as well, and when the swordsman came back into the sanctuary, he started attacking as before.

It was true that the swordsman’s attack was more powerful than the two, but that didn’t mean that Noel and Orcus were weak. The attacks of the two were enough to threaten the life of the other person, and as these attacks continued to rage, naturally, the prosecutor’s actions were bound to be restricted.

No matter how strong a swordsman might be, he only had one life.

Since neither attack could be ignored, the swordsman, who was the attacking character, ended up defending on the contrary. Of course, his attacks continued. It only looked like that as the opponent responded with an attack.

“Damn it…”

As a result. For the first time, profanities full of emotions began to flow from the mouth of the prosecutor who had been silent until now. The prosecutor also knows that the current situation is going badly for him.

It seemed that the situation was going the way the two intended.