I Was The Hero, But I Woke Up as a Phoenix Princess! – Chapter 905

Chapter 146 Swordsman of Darkness (Part 2)
“Hordlea, why are you here?”
The girl’s voice, no longer soft and delicate as before, echoed in the dark and corrupted space. Golden light rippled in her pupils as she stared at the swordsman blocking her path.
Dark, demonic power surged wantonly, emanating a deathly cold aura. Compared to their last encounter, he was still in the Sacred Domain, but was far more powerful.
Hordlea before her… he was a swordsman who had fallen into the Abyss, and the world they were in was the first source of the Abyss’s erosion thousands of years ago. Of course, he should be here.
Hordlea’s gaze shifted. The girl’s staff ignited earthfire, piercing the darkness before them. As expected, he said, “This is the Abyss’s territory. As you can see, I naturally belong here.”
“Did… did Elice bring you here?” Verafia asked, gripping her staff, pulsating with demonic power.
This was Verafia’s question. The World Tree contained worlds eroded by the Abyss… perhaps, to existences like Zorgia, it wasn’t a secret. But for thousands of years, the Goddess of Life had sealed it away, and no one had ever set foot in it.
Even during the Black Moon Tide and the collapse of the Elf Empire thirty years ago, this world had not been taken by the Dark Elves.
Aside from Elice, who appeared incredibly mysterious and had a great connection with the Abyss, Verafia could not think of any other possibility that would allow Hordlea to arrive at this withered tree before Zorgia and even them.
“The Sword Saint once mentioned your name… Last time, I overlooked you due to contemplation. Please forgive me. However, whether it was your past self or the Goddess, please allow me to address you as Miss Verafia.”
Hordlea’s gaze fell upon the girl’s delicate and beautiful form as he spoke, “You are mistaken, ‘Saintess’ Elice. Whether in the past or present, I am nothing like her.”
The swordsman’s words made Verafia pause. She had always believed that Hordlea was serving Elice, which was why he had appeared in the Elf Empire alongside Dylan…
“‘Saintess’ Elice, in her Abyssal Church, harbors all the sins and corruption of this world. The so-called Abyss is merely a means for her to sweep across the world, which only disgusts me.”
Hordlea’s voice sounded again amidst the surging, silent darkness.
“Miss Verafia, having come to this world, have you seen the truth of the Abyss, the essence of the Abyss? This is not an interpretation of sin or good. It is even different from any scene we have witnessed—this is the essence of the world!”
“I chose the Abyss not just because of my teacher, but also because of the truth I witnessed. Elice… heh, she and her sinful church are nothing but blasphemy!”
Hordlea’s voice reverberated. Igert looked up at him, and on the swordsman’s incredibly cold face, a fanatical fervor appeared, like that of a zealot.
Verafia raised her head, her voice soft, “Since you have nothing to do with Elice, Hordlea, can you move aside?”
“You are still unmoved…”
The fanaticism on his face slightly subsided, and he shook his head with some disappointment, “Indeed. Miss Verafia, your intention is to find the Goddess who is destined to decay by blocking your path alone… Moonlight, and the high priest of the Dark Elves, are still pursuing you.”
Verafia said nothing. The stars flickered in her slightly raised, beautiful golden eyes, reflecting the firelight flowing from her staff. The demonic power in her hand had become scorching hot.
She did not have much time to waste on this fallen swordsman. Just as he said, behind her, Zorgia’s aura was like a thorn in her back, extremely close.
The swordsman in the black robe lowered his eyes, and a cold light flickered. “However, I do not care about your needs. Stay here…”
The flame’s light flared, and intense flames converged into a torrent at the tip of Mistetinn’s Staff, which the girl raised and unleashed towards the enemy’s figure with a roar!
The scorching heat instantly ignited the silent air beneath the Abyss. Hordlea’s black robe billowed, and the black greatsword revealed reflected a cold light. Without much emotional fluctuation, he placed his right hand on the hilt of the greatsword behind him and drew it out in one go.
The dark greatsword blocked the torrent of flames. The entire space trembled heavily, and the hard giant wood turned to nothingness in the terrifying fluctuations, with huge cracks rapidly spreading across the ground!
The firelight swirled, and the dark pollution simultaneously surged downwards. The girl’s pure and translucent lotus-like arm trembled, and the backlash of demonic power caused her to let out a muffled groan.
The swordsman before them was by no means someone Verafia could contend with in the Sacred Domain—back then, Hordlea was already the closest to the legendary Saint-level on the entire continent. He had reshaped himself with the Abyss, causing his realm to fall. Even when they last met, his presence was still far from the legendary realm.
However, the dark sword light that appeared before Verafia now was almost as powerful as the true legend, even making Verafia feel oppressed.
—In just one month of absence, Hordlea had undoubtedly returned to his peak state, even surpassing it, with only a thin line separating him from true legend!
A cold storm swept through the surging Abyss. Verafia gritted her silver teeth, but there was no hesitation in her pair of beautiful golden eyes. As she moved her delicate body, the spells in her hands did not stop. The magnificent blazing flames on her staff rapidly condensed, radiating brilliant golden light!
She no longer had any other choice. The only thing she could do was defeat the swordsman blocking her path.
With a roar, the flame spell was cut by the black greatsword. The swordsman landed, and the Abyssal power writhing on the Falanz Greatsword seemed to ignite with black fire, like flowing ink, tearing through the dense flames in one go.
Under the dark sword light, dazzling golden flames visibly eroded, and the fluctuations of the laws withered, extinguishing the scorching heat and assimilating it into cold fluctuations, solidifying between the black giant swords.
A burst of flames ignited around Verafia again, but this did not stop the Abyss’s fluctuations. The golden pupils reflected the black greatsword swung by the swordsman, and she could even clearly feel the surging Abyssal will emanating from the black greatsword.
Her pure white dress fluttered, and the icy aura traversed the high temperature, like sharp blades cutting across her delicate face. Verafia gritted her teeth, and the flames on Mistetinn’s Staff solidified, forming a straight blade, ready to clash with the descending greatsword.
A clash of blades echoed, a mixture of dull thuds and sharp ringing. However, the flames on the blade in her hand remained bright and unblemished, and even her lotus-like jade-like hands did not tremble in the slightest.
Verafia was shocked and raised her head. The fluctuations of the Abyss and the brilliance of the Sacred Sword intertwined and crushed, scattering a few broken rays of light onto her fair, snowy cheeks.
Before her, the black-haired youth blocked the descending black greatsword.
“Igert!” Verafia’s voice was tinged with anxiety, and her lotus-like steps instinctively moved forward, her slender hand gripping the sword of flames.
“Veer, you go first.”
The youth, swallowed by the surging black light, only managed to utter one sentence: “Zorgia is right behind us… and Hordlea’s target is not you, but only me!”