49. I’m going to fall…
“Don’t even think about it!!! Corpse Taker, rip her to shreds!”
As Emilia picked up the fallen golden longsword, the Black-robed Man couldn’t care less about anything else. A complete angel’s corpse was precious, but not as important as his own life! Besides, even if he allowed the Corpse Taker to turn Emilia into mush with a single punch, it wouldn’t affect his ability to capture Emilia’s soul. After all, only the soul was the key to the sacrifice; as long as the soul was intact, everything else was trivial.
Thus, he ordered the Corpse Taker to launch an attack without hesitation.
“Roar—”
The Corpse Takers, originally standing like large statues in a circle, instantly erupted into chaos. The one closest to Emilia jumped high, accurately descending towards her like a launched missile, its arm, formed from countless corpses, crashing down on her like a mountain.
Then the Black-robed Man saw a hint of a smile appear on Emilia’s lips—she used her still-moving hand to hold the longsword horizontally in front of her, bracing it with her broken hand, and received the Corpse Taker’s overwhelming heavy blow head-on.
Oh no! That move is…
The Black-robed Man immediately realized something was wrong. Days ago, on that night, this angel used the exact same move to defeat his Corpse Taker while rebounding its strike! This is… the Seraph Sword!
“Clang—”
With a long sound of the sword ringing, the Corpse Taker’s massive seven-meter body was actually knocked into the air by the longsword in Emilia’s hand! At the same time, the golden longsword, having absorbed the force of the Corpse Taker’s attack, radiated brilliantly, like a dazzling star born from the earth, piercing through the night like an angel’s light. Emilia charged towards the Black-robed Man with unprecedented determination.
“Magic… Yes! Magic! Corpse Takers blessed by the Deity! Use magic to stop her!!!”
The Black-robed Man hurriedly retreated while continuing to command the Corpse Takers in an attempt to block Emilia, who was ready to fight for her life.
“Roar!!!”
The blood patterns on the Corpse Takers suddenly glowed red, and fireballs, water cannons, wind blades… all sorts of basic magic were unleashed from the long-dead corpses. Although not even a single intermediate magic was used, the sheer volume was overwhelming. In an instant, various magical attacks flooded towards Emilia like a burst dam!
『So many… and I can only move one hand…』
Watching the numerous spells coming at her, Emilia gritted her teeth, beads of sweat trickling down her forehead. Facing such a dense onslaught with one hand broken, even she, who had always prided herself on being a genius angel, felt considerable pressure.
『Emilia, remember, even if the enemy is numerous, don’t retreat even an inch. For you, attacking is the best defense!』
At that moment, Emilia suddenly recalled her teacher, Seraph Gabrielle, who once told her these words. For Emilia, who could not use the angelic talent, Blessing Spell, prolonged and attrition battles were her greatest weaknesses. In battle, other angels could heal their injuries or restore magic through Blessing Spell, but she could not: once injured, she could only rely on her angelic physique to recover; if her magic was exhausted, Emilia had no means of recovery.
Thus, Emilia had always favored swift and decisive combat. She was adept at seizing the moment that decided the outcome of the battle, delivering her most powerful strike to determine victory in an instant!
And now, that moment had arrived; she had to seize it!
Emilia took a deep breath, her gaze gradually becoming firm and confident. Since this was her area of expertise, there was no reason for her to lose to this scum who disregards human life!
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang—”
With several crisp sword rings, Emilia forcefully deflected those magical attacks that were not physical! This is why the Seraph Sword is called a miracle! I don’t care if it’s physical or magical attacks! Even if it’s an ethereal mental attack or a soul attack, as long as it enters my parry range, I can deflect it!
And as more and more attacks were deflected by Emilia, the golden sword in her hand became even more solid! Six meters, five meters, four meters… the distance between Emilia and the Black-robed Man rapidly closed! Three meters… two meters! Finally, Emilia’s sword was right at hand, just needing to advance slightly more, and her gathering sword light would undoubtedly slice the Black-robed Man in half!
“Boom!”
However, just as the sword in Emilia’s hand was about to strike the Black-robed Man, a Corpse Taker fell from the air without warning, crashing onto Emilia’s frail body! In an instant, clouds of dust rose, and there was no movement beneath the Corpse Taker. Looking at the howling Corpse Taker, the Black-robed Man’s face displayed a triumphant expression.
Little wretch, you finally fell into my trap!
“Heh, what are you looking at?”
“What!?”
Suddenly, a faint voice came from above the Black-robed Man. He froze for a moment, his face changing as he looked up—only to see Emilia had somehow moved above him, her pure white angelic wings spread wide, as she brought down a cross-shaped longsword that seemed to materialize in her hand!
“Seraph Sword!”
Emilia shouted, and an endless golden light instantly cascaded down from the sky, engulfing the Black-robed Man like a surging tide. So swift was the speed that the Black-robed Man didn’t even have time to let out a miserable scream before being submerged in that golden ocean.
“Hah… hah… hah… this should be enough, right?”
Exhausted, Emilia fell from the sky, rolling awkwardly on the ground as her originally brilliant platinum hair became tainted with dirt and dust, looking quite pitiable.
Her wings were too weak to support her flight any longer.
The Seraph Sword was not a move to be used carelessly; even Emilia could only use it to deflect the magic attacks unleashed by the Corpse Takers while in a near-overloaded state. If other angels had used it three times, they would likely faint from the strain, but Emilia managed to push through and used it no less than six times. Her genius reputation was well-deserved.
Though the Black-robed Man was peculiar, he was likely just an ordinary human and couldn’t withstand her all-out strike. Once he was dead, the Corpse Takers under his control would presumably collapse as well.
Emilia panted as she looked into the depths of the thick smoke, her heart, which had been tight with anxiety, finally starting to relax a little.
But the next moment, her heart tightened again.
The reason was that she saw a tattered figure slowly walking out of the smoke!
“Very good, angel…”
The Black-robed Man’s cloak was now very ragged, filled with holes and tears, and on the palm of his right hand floated a blood bead, emitting a sinister red glow.
“You have successfully angered me.”
…
Whether she had angered him or not, Emilia didn’t know.
But what she did know was that today, she was truly going to fall…
