Editor 122

Article and Attribution (2)

Kleio did not know what triggered Melchior to experience the flood of madness. That was not mentioned in the previous manuscript either.

The drop of blood forming at the sharp chin of the crown prince and falling to the floor sounded like a kind of early century.

The [Transformation] of the beast was stopped as if burned by Melchior’s skill. Neither Arthur nor Taetherton dared to intervene between the clash of that tremendous ether.

The outlines of the two trembling and howling beasts overlapped as if they would stretch out several times, then merged back into one.

“Unique Skill: ‘Structure Sight of Insight’

?Additional Function ‘Obedience'”

With terrifying coercive force, Melchior blocked the beast’s division. The movements of the two completely stopped.

At the same time, Kleio thought of the worst possibility. Arthur thought of a possibility he had not even considered.

‘Grendel can use the Duke’s skill. What if he escapes Melchior’s skill with the “Slash of the Sea-Bent Star”?’

So what if not Grendel but Melchior reached his limit first?

The boy magician used all his remaining strength to pull the protagonist towards him.

“Ray, why….”

The prince, though puzzled, leaned his body toward Kleio without resistance. Kleio whispered urgently.

“Let’s get out, we need to avoid this.”

Though his eyebrows drooped in a most troubled expression, Arthur did not grant Kleio’s request.

“…I can’t. It’s hard enough for just Taetherton and my brother to handle that beast. Even if we ask for help, the situation is too urgent.”

Kleio sighed inwardly.

‘Damn, I can’t even knock this bastard out and drag him out.’

The confrontation between Melchior and Grendel did not last long. Grendel’s fingertips began to twitch.

“Ray, I’ll stay here. You go and bring the master!”

At the same time as he shouted, Arthur took a stance to swing his sword.

Screeeeech!

Awl-like ether formed at the elongated claws of the beasts. At last, the activated [Slash of the Sea-Bent Star] broke through Melchior’s skill.

As Arthur said, if they fled now, there would be no corpses to recover later.

‘For a beast to use the Duke’s skill. This is insane. The world will end before I even get out of this hallway!’

The crown prince, who lost his strength again from overexertion in such a short time, was caught by Taetherton with one arm. It was already a disadvantageous situation, lacking even the freedom to move.

The forms of the beasts crawling on all fours no longer looked much like people. Grendel leapt at a bizarre angle, ignoring gravity.

Perhaps because it was suppressed by Melchior’s skill, it did not divide again, but freed from the restriction of movement, the two Grendels rushed towards Melchior and Taetherton, and towards Kleio and Arthur.

KREEEE!

From the gaping mouth of the beast, mercury from the magic stone dripped.

The few remaining furniture and objects in the bedroom began to freeze and shatter as soon as they touched the magic stone mercury. It was a magic stone with a chilling cold.

Arthur resolutely extended his sword energy. Beg’s sword, imbued with ether, began to shine even in the tiny flaws of the blade.

The sword, enveloped in the greatest sword energy Arthur could use at the moment, looked like a spear of light.

It seemed as if Grendel’s darkness would be broken by the raging golden ether, but instead, it became fiercer. Each time Arthur’s sword energy collided with the beast’s elongated claws, a chunk of it was chipped away.

Sizzle!

At the same time, the parts of Grendel that touched the sword energy did vaporize a little, but the amount was negligible.

The boy’s firmly planted feet were pushed back by the sheer force, scraping along the floor.

Kleio no longer hesitated and activated ‘Editor Authority’.

He decided not to think anymore about how ‘Editor Authority’ did not properly apply to Arthur, or what errors might occur if he used that authority on Melchior.

‘Promise’ displayed a message.

“Unique Skill: ‘Editor Authority’ (2/3).

…cannot be used.”

“—This is an impromptu development that cannot be interrupted. The outline for this section has not been written.”

Kleio’s brown eyes widened. That despair could not be expressed in words.

Reflexively looking down at his right hand, Kleio called ‘Editor Authority’ several more times.

Even that was not enough, so he pushed ether into the back of his hand, but there was no ether reaction from the stigmata at all.

No matter how hard he tried, the blue lines did not appear, and the messages from ‘Promise’ also went dark.

In the gap of time created by “Separation”, all sorts of thoughts arose simultaneously in Kleio’s mind.

Could Arthur defeat Grendel?

No, impossible.

At least Taetherton was desperately blocking one, but as long as he prioritized Melchior’s safety, whom he was protecting, he could not exert his full ability.

Moreover, he too had long since had his insides battered by lack of ether, his front soaked in blood.

Mietz had to come.

Even a swordmaster could not fly. Could they hold out until he arrived?

Somehow, I must save this kid—.

Kleio gauged the remaining ether in his vessel. With just a handful, it seemed impossible to properly perform any magic.

‘If I faint from using magic, we’re completely screwed. Arthur isn’t the kind of guy to abandon a fainted companion and escape by himself.’

It was maddening.

He had to help Arthur somehow. But the trusted ‘Editor Authority’ was silent at the critical moment. Lacking ether, it was also impossible to cast magic on his own.

Shhhh!

The beast, having fully adapted to the Duke’s body, was undaunted even with [Origin of Assault] and [Transformation] blocked, and pressed in on Arthur and Taetherton from all directions.

The elongated ether-imbued claws of the beast sought the blood of the two swordsmen.

With tremendous fighting spirit, the two faced Grendel, but even Kleio could see that they were gradually falling behind.

Even with “Perception” activated, Grendel moved so swiftly that he could not be detected, skillfully wounding the boy and the young man and then retreating.

Though the two were swordsmen with few equals among their generation, it was not easy to keep up with Grendel’s movements.

Grendel’s trajectory was unpredictable. While avoiding the sword and retreating, he would suddenly change direction in midair, or, while falling, would shoot back up to the ceiling.

‘If only we had an area attack, there would be a chance, damn it.’

Taetherton, having been damaged when capturing Phyton, seemed already unable to activate [Origin of Assault].

Arthur and Taetherton, practically back to back, faced the two Grendels. Light and darkness crossed each other multiple times, wounding and scraping each other.

Slash!

Grendel’s mercury, when touching human flesh, turned the skin blue and burst the flesh. Taetherton and Arthur’s blood froze, scattering on the floor like rubies.

Ruby.

Kleio, hiding behind the door frame, hurriedly upended his subspace wallet. He found a few rubies he had brought to try making a heating pad.

‘Even if I’m short on ether, if I consume magic stones, I can somehow activate magic.’

As proven when treating Melchior, using a magic stone for a magic formula within a circle consumed less ether.

Fortunately, the Duke’s bedroom was within the range of Kleio’s circle.

Clang! Screeeech!

One of the Grendels wedged Taetherton’s slower sword, dulled by protecting Melchior, between its claws and neutralized it.

Though the relentless sword energy cut through the beast’s fingers, in that moment—crack!

Grendel bit into Taetherton’s sword with its black teeth.

Sizzle!

The black mercury began to corrode Taetherton’s sword.

Though his skin around the jaw peeled away from the vapor caused by ether and mercury, exposing bone, the beast, feeling no pain, tenaciously held onto Taetherton’s sword.

Crunch!

Taetherton was not a knight who only knew courteous sparring. He kicked Grendel with his [Enhanced] leg.

But the beast, even with a broken collarbone and ribs piercing its lung, did not budge. Instead, it began to drag Taetherton, who held the sword, toward the broken wall.

If he lost his sword here, Taetherton would be barehanded. Then there would be no chance against Grendel.

With merciless force, the knight rammed his sword straight into Grendel’s mouth.

As Taetherton’s body drew closer in the struggle, Grendel stretched out all its limbs, hooking around Taetherton’s shoulders and legs.

At this rate, Melchior’s life would also be in danger.

A thunderous shout burst from Taetherton. ‘Promise’ flashed.

“Shared Skill: ‘Transformation’

—You can create a duplicate with the same abilities as the original.

*Due to the caster’s level and ether shortage, it will be implemented imperfectly.”

“Taetherton is still level 7, so how…?!”

One Taetherton, barehanded, tangled with Grendel in a melee. That one seemed to be the duplicate, as its extremities blurred whenever it moved violently.

Taetherton, holding the sword, promptly enhanced his entire body to protect Melchior. He stretched out his long limbs to shield his lord and tried to escape the room.

KIEEEEEE!

Grendel, mounted on Taetherton’s duplicate, tore at the ether construct’s carotid artery. The duplicate, its artery ripped, dispersed into ether, brightly illuminating the half-destroyed ceiling.

Losing the imperfect duplicate, Taetherton’s real body staggered heavily. Not missing that gap, Grendel’s rattling lower jaw lunged, as if to crush Taetherton’s real thigh.

Arthur tried to help Taetherton, but it was all he could do to handle the one clinging to him.

It was a desperate situation.

‘Damn!’

Fwoosh!

Kleio spread his circle.

The circle deployed in the Duke’s bedroom, half of which was already blown away, made the high tower of the main building shine like a lighthouse under a sky without even a moon.

While the attention of the two Grendels was drawn by the sudden flood of ether, Kleio shouted.

“Arthur! I’m going to set your sword on fire. Cut them down with it!”

Arthur had used the mica magic stone shield Kleio had made for him before.

The prince resolutely nodded.

Instead of questioning ‘how’, the boy gripped the tattered hilt of his sword, now ragged with his own pus and Grendel’s mercury.

The protagonist of this story was one who never doubted. Therefore, Kleio had to answer his trust.

‘I can only cast magic once. If I fail, the world will end.’

With three magic stone rubies on his cold, frozen palm, the boy loaded the magic formula. Even with ‘Promise’ safeguarding him, his hands trembled.

A manuscript developed incorrectly by a moment’s mistake, a chapter written when his mind was unclear.

Either way, the author would not want the story to end at this point.

‘I haven’t even started the story yet, would all that damned fuss have been just to end it in a massacre like this?’

The patterns beginning to form on the ruby were the magic formulas for [Ignition] and [Tracking]. The light of the magic stone ruby mixed with Kleio’s ether, burning red like a sunset.

The beasts, reacting to ether, slowed down as if losing their aim in the ether explosion, and Kleio seized the chance to stretch his arm toward Arthur.

The magical fire rising above his thin hand, sleeve pushed up, transferred to Arthur’s sword like the first flame in myth.

Please.

The incantation was scraped up from below his consciousness. A line of verse he had read in passing surged up from memory as if it had a will of its own.

Though he spoke in his own voice, Kleio recited the incantation in an explosive exaltation that did not feel like his own.

“[Whoever has once orbited the track of the flame shall remain as the satellite of the flame!]”1) Having transferred the magic formula to Arthur, Kleio leaned against the doorway, exhausted. As the prince’s worried gaze followed, Kleio barely added a word.

“Go!”

Arthur knew what he had to do.

Arthur, wielding the sword of fire, was as powerful as a judge.

Beg’s sword burned with such a great flame that Arthur’s back was visible only as a silhouette.

Arthur leapt up as if flying, cutting down the Grendel that was driving its claws into Taetherton.

Sizzle!

The beast’s back split and its arms spread on the floor like wings. The black mercury, trying to restore its form, was enveloped and annihilated by the swinging sword of fire.

The flame subdued the darkness.

Kleio pressed the blood rising in his throat with his sleeve. Even the magical clothing could not fully absorb that black blood. A pool of blood formed on the floor.

1) “The Star of the Covenant”, Stefan George.