[Vol. 9] Chapter 84: The Absolute Sword — “All Stars Return to the Court”
“Also, move all the remaining shells to the east wall of the city. If that girl loses the fight, launch a full-scale bombardment immediately. We must buy time for that thing to activate.”
The adjutant was shocked.
“Y-you mean… you’re planning to—?!”
Barton didn’t explain. He just gave the man a cold look.
“At this point, do you really think we have any other choice?”
“...Yes, sir.”
………………………
On the battlefield.
“Cough...”
Forcing herself to activate the [Void Energy] technique again, Hongyan let out a muffled groan. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips, and her aura weakened instantly. Even so, her eyes, bright like stars, remained locked on the struggling monster’s core.
She truly hadn’t expected that this creature’s life force would be so stubbornly strong. The sword technique she used focused on being extremely fast and sharp, defeating the enemy in a single moment. But when her move [Absolute Sword: Swallow Reversal] failed to kill it instantly, the power of that strike dropped by almost seventy percent.
Still, the enemy was also on its last legs, which was the only reason she managed to keep her blade steady long enough to try finishing the job.
The young hero could clearly feel that the power she used to drive both her divine weapon and the [Void Energy], the energy Miss Violet called SP, was draining faster than ever before. In just a blink, she was nearly running on empty. The true [Void Energy] was far too strong, even now, she needed to pour in everything she had to use it once, leaving her unable to strike again.
“So in the end... all my training still wasn’t enough...”
Just as Hongyan reached her limit, sighing inwardly and glancing toward the distant sky, she suddenly felt a gentle warmth flowing from her left palm, which rested on her sword’s sheath.
“...?”
The power was soft like a drop of water, yet vast as the stars. It flowed backward into her nearly dried-up core, soothing the violent turbulence inside her body.
ZZzz... ZZzz... ZZzz...!
Hongyan watched in shock as the once-ordinary lines engraved on her sword’s sheath, [Guardian Edge], began to light up one by one, glowing with a brilliance she had never seen before. Her heart, which had stayed calm even in the face of defeat, now surged like a stormy sea.
What... what’s happening?!
[Guardian Edge]... was giving energy back to her? Restoring her strength and even healing her wounds?!
You’ve got to be kidding me! That’s impossible!
Ever since she received this divine weapon from the goddess herself, the young hero had spent nearly all her time studying [Guardian Edge]. She carried it everywhere—even while eating and sleeping—and she knew every bit of power it could use.
How to put it... this divine weapon wasn’t just powerful—it also had personality. And its most obvious trait was...
Stinginess.
Simply put, [Guardian Edge] would only return the exact amount of power she fed it. If she gave it magic or SP, it would respond with a matching output. If she didn’t, well, tough luck. Even if the sky was falling, this thing wouldn’t move an inch. Its motto seemed to be, “I refuse to take a loss.”
As its master, Hongyan had long been helpless about it. She had no idea why the goddess would create a divine weapon with such a personality, nor how the other six divine weapons behaved. But since things were already this way, she had no choice but to live with this miserly companion.
That was why what was happening now shocked her even more, so much that she almost forgot about the ongoing battle.
A stingy tree suddenly blooming flowers? The sun rising from the west?!
No... no, that’s not it. The weapon’s nature hasn’t changed...
The next instant, Hongyan suddenly realized the truth.
Something, or someone, was secretly helping her through [Guardian Edge]!
To interfere directly with the power of one of the Six Divine Weapons, and even use it to restore the wielder... could it be...?!
Just as that thought flashed through her mind, Hongyan instinctively looked up, and saw that the vast barrier covering the world above the battlefield had begun to shine with the same brilliant light as her sword’s sheath.
The brilliance of the sun quietly faded away, and in an instant, the stars shifted in the heavens, until the entire sky was filled with countless shining stars.
The two lights, sun and stars, reflected each other, as if some transcendent being was using them as its eyes, casting a divine gaze upon this place and this very moment.
ZZzz... ZZzz... ZZzz... ZZzz... ZZzz!!!
[Guardian Edge] began to tremble violently, filled with overwhelming excitement and joy. A mysterious power surged out from within it like a rising tide, flooding into Hongyan’s body. The sword’s sheath in her hand burned hot, and all the noise of the world vanished completely.
In that deep silence, the girl looked up at the endless sea of stars. Her gaze seemed to meet that of some indescribably great being. A flood of revelation so intense that it made her very soul tremble poured into her mind.
In that moment, she seemed to merge with the stars themselves, as if all the chains binding her had been broken one by one.
All rivers flowed into the sea, all stars shone together, and at last, they gathered into one, rising into the ultimate strike.
This was the light bestowed by Her!
The Absolute Sword — Third Form!
“All Stars — Return to the Temple!!!”
Zheng!!!
It was like a sword, but more than a sword.
Across the night sky, the countless stars lit up all at once. When the blade left its sheath, every star seemed to open its eyes, bursting with life. Thousands of streams of light fell like a reverse waterfall from the heavens, all converging into one single point!
Whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—whoosh—!!!
It was a storm of light!
Unstoppable. Unbreakable. A sword forged from the stars themselves!
Wherever the blade passed, the giant black-flame monster’s body was pierced through by the endless rain of light. Its entire form riddled with countless holes. The blinding brilliance tore apart the clinging black flames, grinding them into nothingness.
A clean, instant kill.
“Hah...”
At last, Hongyan let out a long breath.
When she opened her eyes again, all the visions and miracles faded with her sword returning to its sheath. The remnants of the black flames scattered into the air and vanished, leaving no trace of the enormous monster behind.
She knew very well. This time, it was truly dead.
“We... we won?”
“Hooray!!!”
“OOOOHHHH!!!”
“Bless the Snow Goddess!!!”
After a brief silence, thunderous cheers and shouts erupted from the walls of Gore Fortress, echoing all the way up to the sky!
The sea of black flames retreated like a falling tide. Hongyan stood alone in the middle of the battlefield, the glow on her sword sheath fading away, as if that scorching warmth had never existed at all.
She looked up to see a girl with fluttering ribbons landing lightly on the city wall, the same friend who had stepped in to help at the critical moment. But right now, the young hero didn’t have the energy to think about that.
She instinctively raised her head, her sharp gaze sweeping toward the distant cliff.
“......”
Just moments ago, when [Guardian Edge]’s power faded, she had faintly sensed something through the resonance she felt with the stars above, the presence of that being.
It wasn’t far away, not some unreachable existence beyond the heavens.
That being, the one they called the Goddess—
Felt as if she had been right there, only a few steps away.
Hongyan looked hard into the distance, but the cliff was already empty.
Only the cold wind stirred a few scattered snowflakes, spinning them gently into the air before they drifted away into the distance.