Chapter 198: The Last Apostle [1]

Chapter 197

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Episode 49 - The Last Apostle [1]

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Lumina blinked in confusion, looking around.

She looked up at the sky. Sunlight poured through a crack in the clouds, as if someone had split them in half.

Then she looked around her. She was standing amidst the corpses of Phlegra Devils.

In front of her stood Adel, and in front of him lay a set of loose robes, as though someone had thrown them onto the ground.

Adel held his sword and remained standing before the robes. Like Lumina, he looked bewildered.

Then Adel noticed he was holding something in his hand. It was a letter and a pendant.

At that moment, something crossed his mind.

’I have to deliver this to a little girl in the Astral Plane... but who gave this to me?’

He tilted his head in confusion. It felt as though something was missing, yet he couldn’t understand what it was, much less remember it.

He only knew that he had made a promise... to someone, but that was all.

Then he lowered his head and noticed the robe lying on the ground. It was covered in snow, and there wasn’t a trace of blood on it.

’This is strange. What was I doing just a moment ago? I was chasing... what was it?’

Then something clicked in his mind.

’Ah, right. I was chasing a villainess, but it looks like she managed to escape.’

He nodded, finally understanding what he had forgotten.

Lumina seemed to have reached the same conclusion. Adel turned toward her and said,

"We shouldn’t waste any more time here. It’s better to head back."

"I think so too."

Shortly afterward, the two of them disappeared, while the robe on the ground was slowly buried beneath the snow.

The wind let out a faint whistle, and the clouds in the sky returned to their previous state. Soon after, the sunlight vanished from the area.

And where there had once been footprints and a robe, everything was buried beneath the snow, as if nothing had ever existed.

***

After finishing the final exam, I went with Professor Ashly to turn it in, accompanied by Noelle.

After my performance in the assignments and the Field Exploration Squad had been confirmed, the exams came to an end. Well, at least for me and for those who had finished that same day.

The exams would officially end tomorrow for everyone, although most of the cadets had probably already finished.

Only the slowest ones would still be completing them tomorrow.

In theory, almost every cadet had already finished their exams.

’The vacation starts in three days.’

Tomorrow will be the last day we spend on this continent. The day after tomorrow, we’ll return to the Academy, and finally, on the third day, all the cadets will be free to leave.

My next goal is, naturally, to prepare myself to finally reach Five Stars.

’Mhm, let’s see. Chapter Three begins in October. There are still several months left, so... it might be possible to reach Six Stars by then.’

After reaching Six Stars, my growth would become much slower.

It could take my entire second year at the Academy to reach Seven Stars, and my entire third year to reach Eight Stars.

’But anyway, for now it’s better to focus on what will happen tomorrow.’

At last, Chapter Two, Part Two, will come to an end tomorrow after noon.

’According to my memories, tomorrow there will be a mana storm.’

A mana storm would be the veil that concealed the Apostle’s existence, which was why no one would notice its presence until it ended.

And as it happened, the mana storm would end approximately twenty minutes after the Apostle awakened.

’Well, I should go over my preparations one more time.’

With that in mind, I left the Central Tower.

***

The following morning, just as expected, the remaining cadets finished their exams.

And shortly afterward, at around eight in the morning, the mana storm appeared.

Everyone’s mana became impossible to detect, and because of that, security was increased by at least fivefold.

At that moment, any villain could have infiltrated the area without anyone noticing.

The Abyss Containment Team was fully aware of that.

Crowds of knights moved back and forth.

On the walls connecting the four outer towers, knights in full armor stood guard.

There were also mages on the top floor of all four towers, and above all, an enormous dome surrounded the entire Abyss Containment Team.

However, since the Central Tower was far too tall, only a barrier protected that structure.

Meanwhile, the cadets were touring the Central Tower together with the professors.

The rest of the main characters were there as well, except for Lumina and, of course, me.

After walking around for a while, we reached a bench and sat down.

Yesterday, while I was chasing the villainess who managed to escape, I at least managed to gather some information.

’The Apostle’s strength can grow within minutes, and it can recover all of its power in about three hours.’

More than a mission, eliminating the Apostle was an obligation.

And I still wasn’t sure how strong it would become.

"We have about two hours left..."

That was the time remaining before the Apostle awakened.

It would take approximately one hour to reach the place where it would appear, and the remaining time would be used to raise a barrier.

My goal was to make sure no one noticed.

Unless the Apostle recovered so much power that neither Lumina nor I could kill it in time.

If that happened, the barrier would have to be dismantled, and all that would be left was to hope that one of the three Commanders William had left in charge during his absence would arrive and kill the Apostle.

After going over a few things with Lumina, we finally left.

***

It wasn’t difficult at all to leave the Abyss Containment Team, since we weren’t bound to the Squads.

Since the examinations had officially ended, the cadets no longer had to follow the Squads’ rules.

At that point, they were simply tourists who had been given the opportunity to tour the Abyss Containment Team.

Lumina and I first headed to Ortlock City to avoid attracting attention.

Then we circled around the city and finally made our way toward the mountains.

After about an hour, we finally reached the mountaintop.

I took several scrolls from my Inventory that enhanced a Swordsman’s abilities. They increased mana, overall stats, and, of course, granted a 45% boost to total power.

In theory, with the scroll’s temporary enhancements, I could kill a Class 6 villain in a single strike.

I also put on the armor I had obtained in Black City, which could protect me from three attacks, as long as they did not exceed the power of a Class 8 or Eight-Star attack.

’The effects of these scrolls last for one hour and thirty minutes, which is more than enough time to finish everything.’

Just like me, Lumina also used the scroll.

Not long afterward, the barrier completely covered a radius of fifty kilometers.

By using an Isolation Scroll and an enormous amount of mana, it was possible to raise the barrier.

With that, all the preparations were complete.

The sound of the wind, the mana storm, and a thick mist engulfed the surroundings.

Meanwhile, a profound silence reigned as I waited for the emergence of a being that had once served an entity known as the Lords of the Abyss.

I gripped my sword tightly as I recalled some of the things I had discussed with my master.

Naturally, my master knew a great deal about this Apostle.

From its weaknesses to its greatest strengths.

My master had gathered every piece of information possible about the Apostle Kaiser, along with the knowledge I retained from my own memories.

I knew everything about my enemy, but my enemy knew nothing about me.

’I have the advantage, but that doesn’t necessarily mean this will be easy.’

Time passed quickly.

At some point, the mana in the surrounding area began to move erratically.

Shortly afterward, my senses detected a strange presence several meters beneath the ground.

Before long, a colossal amount of the Power of Chaos began to spread throughout the entire area.

The snow began to melt as a wave of heat flooded the surroundings.

Soon, blackened earth appeared before me.

Then the ground shook, and cracks spread in every direction.

’That’s Class 7 power.’

However, using my senses, I noticed that the Apostle’s power was recovering at an astonishing rate.

It wouldn’t take long for it to reach Class 8, and it would probably even attain Class 9 within thirty minutes.

’This time, I have to make the most of the short period during which the Eyes of the End increase my power.’

I couldn’t afford to waste the ten minutes during which my power increased by Two Stars.

I had to kill the Apostle within those ten minutes.

Otherwise, the game would be over.

Boom!

A deafening explosion erupted from beneath the ground.

A strange pillar, cracking the space around it, emerged from the depths.

The ground beneath my feet exploded, the earth was thrown into the air, and then...

A figure slowly rose, floating from the center of it all.

A figure with two horns and a pair of wings like an angel’s.