A dull longsword and a heartbroken villager

"Shhhhh—" Bray was pushed more than ten meters away, scraping against the ground.

They were pushed right in front of the fortress gate.

It was as if the fortress was telling him not to worry about what was behind him.

"Hoo—" Bray exhaled a deep breath.

The broadsword flew from his hand and struck the third rider like a meteor.

The third rider used undead to create a thick shield, keeping the black meteor out.

The black meteor continued forward, consuming the shield.

Unfortunately, the sword ultimately failed to penetrate the shield and was deflected before it even touched the third rider.

With a muffled clang, the sword sank deep into the earth.

However, Bray never expected that his shot would hit his opponent.

The mission of this sword strike is complete.

The broken longsword was moved to his right hand, and the grenades, which were a dozen meters away, appeared in front of the third rider at some point.

A streak of ink appeared, and a dragon, its head and tail intertwined, was drawn around him.

Inside the circle are twelve symbols arranged in a ring, resembling ink strokes.

The number twelve is related to so many things.

It seems that just this one number can unleash countless mysteries.

However, there is no doubt that at this time, twelve symbolizes time.

Or rather, the passage of time—

As the sword gets close to the enemy, one of the symbols on the ground will disappear.

The moment he saw the blade, the third rider realized that it was too late to dodge.

He glanced at his upper body, then chose to drop the scythe and use his hands to block the inevitably heavy sword strike.

The moment the cold sword severed the dead man's hands, the dragon, its head and tail intertwined, vanished with a roar.

"Eighteen Styles" and "Twelve Seals"

Not a single drop of blood was shed.

The forearms, which were as rotten as a dried corpse, were severed by a single sword strike.

The third rider, who had been slashed, staggered back several steps for the first time.

Why block it like that?

Bray was certain that this sword strike would hit his opponent.

But even if you hit the target, the opponent will counterattack.

The third rider, as if not wanting Bray to strike his own body, abandoned his weapon and took the blow with his bare hands.

"So, why is that?"

"It was probably an unconscious action, don't worry about it," the third rider said after a pause.

"Besides, we're in battle. What good would it do to answer? You also asked a pointless question." The third rider, who had lost his forearm, let his black robe hang down, completely covering his hands.

Now, my hands are no longer usable.

But the third rider felt no pain at all.

After the other Deathbringers turned into monsters, they, like the Third Rider at this time, lost the ability to feel physical pain.

The only thing that can cause pain to those who seek death is probably the pain from their "soul".

The roars of monsters after being struck by swords may simply be expressions of their anger.

However, the third rider felt no anger.

He simply looked at Bray quietly through the hole in the mask.

Right now, he can't really be sure what the outcome will be.

Indeed, his strength is equivalent to that of a true god, and the Yellow Springs is his home ground.

The scavenger in front of him, who hadn't completely collapsed, gave him a feeling that the outcome was still uncertain.

No matter how big the gap in strength is, the balance of victory or defeat is still swaying.

If the opponent has the ability to deliver a fatal blow, then there is a possibility of defeat.

If it were an incarnation of Dizoka fighting Bray right now, I doubt He would have any idea of ​​a third rider.

Even if a golden seed is only a small part of the embodiment of power, it is still an existence that is unattainable for mortals.

They never think there is a possibility of defeat until they actually face the outcome of "defeat," at which point they realize it.

However, the third rider was not as confident as the golden-blooded ones, or perhaps he saw things more clearly.

Even an incarnation of Dizoca might be defeated by this person.

Without hands, weapons were also discarded.

The third rider has no other fighting methods besides using divine magic.

Of course, he could readily accept the remaining will of Dizoka on the skeletal mask.

In that case, he would probably be able to transform into an even more powerful monster.

Yes, it's a monster.

Having already been transformed into a dead person, he actually had no right to call himself a "monster".

But I still don't want to be controlled by others and become something else.

At that time, the third rider was no longer himself.

He has abandoned all principles and bottom lines for his own path, but there is one thing he is unwilling to compromise on.

If you become a complete monster, will you eventually forget the purpose of your actions?

He willingly became Dizoca's tool, simply to chase after what little hope remained.

Thinking about this, he suddenly had nothing to worry about.

The Yellow Springs began to tremble, and thirteen unstable spheres were distributed in a fan shape behind the third rider.

Each of those spheres was something that Bray had almost risked his life to destroy.

They are all small parts of the underworld.

“Breclas, I have another pointless question to ask you.”

"Whether you die or I die, no one will answer this question for me."

"So, answer one question for me."

He was a mortal, and even in death, he remained a mortal.

Dizoka's power was so great that it was beyond what he could withstand through willpower alone.

Just like "Divine Source," the power that Dezoka imposed on the Third Rider was a poison.

If this continues, he will transform into something akin to an Aragami.

The power of the true God flowed through his entire body, constantly urging him to embrace this power.

It's instinct, and it's so hard to resist.

Therefore, he decided to use all his strength for one last battle.

It's already a miracle that Dizoca has persevered this long through sheer willpower.

He was not capable of creating a second miracle.

"Breclas, do you think we have a future?" the Third Rider asked quietly.

“Of course,” Bray replied decisively.

His tone was so certain that it made everyone who heard it believe him.

The world has become a wasteland, and people don't know when they will be devoured by demigods.

But it seems that the future of all mortals can still exist.

"Really? I think so too."

"This question may not mean much to you, but it does to me."

"At least it lets me know that there are people who believe that hope is something to be pursued."

He believed that people had a future, so he chose to become a tool of Dizoca, doing everything he could to bring him down to earth and ruthlessly slaughtering all the demigods.

The price is blood and sin, and one's own life.

"Even if you help Dizoca, you can't save the world."

“In the end, you’ve only become a murderer.” Bray said, his right eye fixed on the Third Rider.

"You have no way of guaranteeing that Dizoca will keep his promise."

“We are dispensable to them.”

Bray didn't think the Deathbringers' actions were right; even if they killed until the very end and destroyed the cemetery, they were still right.

Will Dizoka really help the Black Iron race, who are as insignificant as ants?

"Yes, there's no way to guarantee that."

"Perhaps in the end, we who seek death will gain nothing but become great sinners."

"But this is the only method I know."

Yes, the only way.

The third rider, and the other killers, had no other choice; from the very beginning, they were destined for death.

They were praying that by leaping from the precipice of their dead end, they could reach a distant hope.

"..." Bray was stunned and remained silent for a long time.

He did not refute anything the third rider said.

"Or do you have another way?" the third rider asked seriously.

“No.” Bray shook his head helplessly.

Yes, this is the only way the Third Knight knows that could potentially change the world, while Bray knows nothing about it.

So what right does he have to comment on this guy?

"Is that so..." With a regretful tone, thirteen spheres in the sky transformed into shooting stars, striking straight towards where Bray was.

The sandstorms brought by the mental world were directly dispelled.

The fortress began to crumble.

Only Bray remained, standing there like a lone boat on a vast ocean.

This was the third rider's all-out attack, exhausting all his divine power in order to end the battle before he himself became a monster.

Anyone standing under the thirteen spheres would feel a sense of powerlessness.

Bray wondered what he could do in the face of such an attack.

He had faced a similar situation before.

That was during the battle with the demigod, both of whom were equally unreasonable forces—ruthlessly and directly telling you that you would be destroyed.

That's why he couldn't help but think about what he needed to do.

But Bray thought about it for a very long time and could only come up with one approach.

He's a guy who only knows how to use a sword; he can't do anything else besides swords.

Honestly, at a time like this, all he could do was swing his sword; there was nothing else he could do. The sphere in the sky appeared to be falling very slowly, but its actual speed was quite fast.

It might only take five seconds to destroy the spot where Bray is standing.

Five seconds sounds like plenty of time, after all, speed is no longer a major issue in combat at this level.