I watched as a massive sword wreathed in black-purple flames emerged from the center of Archbishop Taunes' chest.
Right now, I probably looked like one of those idiots who waited for the opponent to power up, but I was simply mesmerized at the fact that the archbishop could fit such a large thing inside of his body.
Wait, that came out wrong.
What matters is that this sword was at least twice the length of his body, and it was still going. Blood poured out of the crevice that had appeared in his chest and pooled around his legs, filling up the depression that was he was standing inside.
I had a feeling that the blood was actually supposed to be filling up the magic circle he'd prepared before we came, but that wouldn't be happening anytime soon now that the room was a complete mess.
Odds are, he probably expected to finish me off as easily as last time, using magic that wasn't fueled by Darkness in order to avoid accidentally buffing me. Unfortunately for him, it didn't go as planned and now he was bringing out his trump card.
At least, I hoped it was. I don't think I could deal with any more power-ups. [Complete Analysis] was already telling me that this sword was bad news and it was buffing the shit out of him just by existing.
At last, the sword had completely exited his body.
It floated there above him for a few seconds before the blood around him whirled around him violently like a cyclone before it rose into the air only to be absorbed by the sword. The wound in his chest closed rapidly and he exhaled.
Archbishop Taunes stared at me with an oddly vacant gaze, but the smirk on his lips was anything but gone. The weapon flew into his hand with surprising alacrity, and he wielded it with a dexterity that made the blade seem far lighter than it looked.
The sword was broad and menacing, especially with its aura of flames and now a double-helix of blood whirled around it.
It was honestly over the top with that addition and I felt that it detracted from the overall feel, but aesthetics of the archbishop's weapon wasn't exactly a concern that I should be dealing with right now.
After all, he was already coming at me. Two steps forward sufficed thanks to the length of his weapon. It cleaved down toward my head at an alarming speed, but that wasn't what worried me.
Normally, I'd simply dodge and that would be the end of it. It was a simple swing that I could still see coming way ahead of time despite the archbishop's new increase in stats thanks to the weapon buffing him, but the problem laid behind me.
Lucrezia and Aurelia were still frozen in place, probably as a result of the archbishop's killing intent or just plain fear. I didn't have the luxury of mulling that over or even trying to dispel whatever gripped them.
All I could do right now was try my best to block the archbishop's strike.
I really wish I was creative or smart enough to try and make something like a "locked" space or an area where space was stretched infinitely so that the blade could approach me, but I just couldn't visualize it.
I wasn't a physics major back on Earth, nor did I understand the fabric of space well enough to do something like that.
So I did the only thing I could. I raised my hands upward just as the blade neared the end of its descent and clapped my hands together, attempting to catch it just like they did in those samurai manga I'd seen in my previous life.
To my surprise, it actually worked.
My strength was pitted against the archbishop's so my knees buckled briefly and the blade nearly slipped from my palms, but the length of the blade worked against him this time. Thanks to the principle of leverage, I was saved.
My hands held fast, but leverage or not, I wasn't going to last long like this. The archbishop right now was unfathomably strong, and the black-purple flames actually fucking hurt.
Thanks to [Demonic Enhancement], my innate [Magic Resistance] was dealing with most of the damage that it dealt, but I knew that it wouldn't protect me forever.
From the beginning, I'd known that this sword wasn't normal. It was called [Brighnajt, Courier of Despair] and classified as an Artifact-level weapon. According to the rulebook, such weapons were pretty much only available through the power of a god.
Not only that, but the rulebook's equipment section should've included a list of all Artifact-level weapons, yet this particular one wasn't there. It wasn't too much of a surprise though.
[Complete Analysis] had told me that the weapon possessed a quality known as [Divergent]. Items or creatures with such a quality were apparently "above" the system, and those who managed to obtain [Breakthrough Permission] also gained such a quality.
It was pretty much a given then that [Devouring Healing] wouldn't be able to negate its properties.
With a roar, I managed to shift the sword just far enough away from Lucrezia and Aurelia before I let it drop. Even with that, the blade would've clipped my shoulder had I not immediately teleported away.
I appeared several meters away from where I was standing, teleporting next to the archbishop and bringing my leg up in a quick side kick.
The attack connected with his abdomen, but it looked like he barely even felt the hit as he pivoted with alarming speed and swept his massive weapon at me again in a horizontal arc.
I jumped upward to avoid the blow, my mind desperately running through ideas to actually beat him now.
As hard as I tried, my mind was blanking.
The archbishop pointed the tip of his sword at me while I was still in the air. A second later, a massive blast of black-purple energy exploded from it and pierced straight through me, knocking me from the air and creating a massive hole in my chest.
For some reason, it didn't hurt as much as it should've. Falling from the air and landing on the ruined floor hurt a lot more. I couldn't feel much—if anything—at all where I was hit.
I laid on the ground and I felt something warm and sticky pooling around me. I wanted to complain, but I couldn't find the energy to move my lips.
Ah. It's just my blood.
The archbishop walked slowly toward me, his face devoid of any emotion aside from that ever-present smirk of superiority.
He raised his blade above me to deliver one final blow.
I'd already died once, so the prospect of dying again didn't really frighten me. If anything, I was probably just as emotionless as the archbishop right now.
Besides, I'd already done enough with this life. I managed to experience what I couldn't back on Earth, even if it was just for a brief while.
My only regret was that I couldn't see Lucrezia's face one last time.
No... That's wrong. I want to see Priya too, and I want to meet Aurelia... I've never had a family before, so...
There was no point in dwelling on it.
In another second, I would be dead.
I closed my eyes, welcoming the Darkness.