William’s and Belle’s battle raged on as the Half-Elf used his fists to pound Belle with devastating blows that even her Holy Sword was unable to fend off.
In truth, the blessing that Belle received from the Goddess of Light had weakened considerably, preventing her from using her sword, Claiomh Solais, to its fullest potential. Right now, it was similar to any ordinary sword that could be found anywhere.
The only difference was that it was still a Divine Weapon, and wouldn’t break easily.
Feeling that she was reaching her limit, she knew that she had to do something to turn the situation around, but William’s current strength was so strong that even exchanging blows with him made her feel as if she was fighting while carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders.
Just as Belle was feeling desperate, she caught something at the corner of her eye. Suddenly, the black-haired beauty roared as she channeled all of her remaining strength in her Divine sword, making it shine brightly.
“Purify the Darkness with your Holy Light!” Belle roared as she thrust her sword towards William’s chest. “Claiomh Solais!”
The Half-Elf sneered as he prepared to kick the sword upwards before smashing his fist on the black-haired beauty’s annoying face.
Just as he was about to execute his move, his sixth sense kicked in, informing him that someone had snuck up behind him. The black-haired teenager tried to dodge, but it was simply too late to do anything.
“Sorry, I didn’t keep my word,” the white-robed person wearing a mask said as she thrust her sword into William’s back, piercing his body, and holding him in place. “Forgive me, Einherjar.”
A pained roar escaped William’s lips not because of the sword that stabbed his back, but because of the Holy Sword that had stabbed the Obsidian Gem in his chest, making him feel a pain beyond anything he had ever felt before.
The pain was even stronger than the one he felt when Elliot and Conan died. It was as if his entire soul was burning due to the Holy Flames that were now spreading across his entire body.
“Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh!”
William’s shout created a powerful shockwave that tried to blow away the two people who had locked him in place, but it was of no use.
In a last desperate attempt to free himself from the blades that were stuck inside his body, he flew towards the sky and spun around, with the intention of shrugging them off completely. However, Belle and the white-robed person clung to his body with their swords still embedded inside it.
William’s entire body was burning with white flames, making the Half-Elf scream in pain as if he was being burned alive.
“Noooooo! Will!” Loxos as well as the other members of William’s entourage cried out in alarm when they saw the Half-Elf’s current state.
Before any of them could come to his rescue, the Pope who was standing on the Altar of life pointed her scepter towards the three people that were struggling in the air.
‘Although it is a shame to have to hit two allies with this attack, it is for the greater good,’ the Pope thought as the power of the Scepter of Light shone brightly.
“Lux Sanctus!”
A brilliant light exploded from the tip of the Holy Scepter and shot straight for the place where William, Belle, and the white-robed person were.
Suddenly, William’s black pupils flickered and turned golden, looking straight at Belle whose sword was currently embedded on his chest.
Time seemed to move very slowly as the Half-Elf gazed at the black-haired beauty whose tears were streaming down the side of her face.
She had never wanted to hurt William, but in order to save him, she had to steel her heart and use the power of the Light to cleanse his body from Darkness.
The Goddess Freya had already told her that this was the only way to save William, whose soul had been tainted by Darkness.
Freya had also told Belle that the current William was under the control of the Primordial Goddess, who wished to claim his body, heart, and soul, for herself.
This was something that she didn’t want to happen, and because of that, she agreed to Freya’s request to undergo the training of the Valkyries in her Domain, and gain the power to save her beloved from the whims of a Goddess that wanted not only his heart, but his entire soul.
William’s golden pupils stared at the crying lady in front of him.
Although he couldn’t remember her, he used the last remaining strength in his body to push her away, preventing her from getting hit by the magical attack that came from the Pope.
The white-robed-person looked at the approaching light in disbelief because she didn’t expect that the Pope would attack them with the Holy Light that could erase almost everything in existence as well.
Pooling all the strength in her body, she teleported away, leaving the Half-Elf behind, whose body was still impaled by their swords.
The radiant light then hit the Half-Elf. But instead of screaming in pain, William simply closed his eyes, and accepted his fate.
The Holy Light washed over William’s body like a tide, destroying everything, including his clothes. The two swords that were embedded on his body were blown away, leaving faint trails of golden blood sprinkling in the sky.
When the light receded, the Half-Elf fell from the sky. If one were to look closely, no injuries, or impurities could be seen on his body.
No signs of pain could be seen on his face, only a calm and peaceful expression that no one had seen since he had become the Prince of Darkness.
“You’re mine!” the Pope cackled as countless silver chains erupted from the tip of her scepter and snaked towards the Half-Elf like living snakes about to attack their prey.
Her true intention was to capture the Half-Elf alive because once he was captured, everything would be hers for the taking.
When the silver chains were only a few meters away from the Half-Elf’s body, two figures appeared and swatted them aside.
“Don’t even think about it,” a beautiful lady with long silver hair, which fluttered in the breeze, and crimson eyes, that were as red as newly drawn blood, stated, while riding a golden winged serpent.
“You’re already this old, and still want to lay your wrinkled hands on our husband? You’ve got guts, old hag.”
The blonde-haired beauty, who was riding on top of a lightning clad wolf, glared hatefully at the Pope of Light who planned to capture her husband.
“Will!” Erinys shouted as she guided her flying ship to catch the Half-Elf who was falling from the sky.
Shannon waved her brush in the air, and a red-colored lasso wrapped around the Half-Elf’s body, pulling him towards the flying ship, and into her arms.
When William was finally in her embrace, a mischievous smile appeared on the fox’s lady’s face.
She then shifted her gaze towards the Pope of Light and giggled.
“Thank you for the gift,” Shannon said. “Bye, everyone. See you on the other side. Don’t worry, I’ll take good care of Will.”
Without another word, a purple misty portal appeared in front of the flying ship, and swallowed it completely, leaving Estelle and Wendy to deal with the aftermath.
“… Did she just ditch us?” Estelle asked. “This isn’t part of the plan.”
“… I knew she can’t be trusted,” Wendy said helplessly. “But, it’s fine. We’ll just track her down later. Let’s first deal with this old hag, and end this war once and for all.”
Although the two ladies were disgruntled by Shannon’s actions, they knew that now was not the time to pursue her.
They still had things to do, and one of them was to deal with the organization that had made things difficult for the man they loved.
