Chapter 27: The Final Convergence

Death Knight.

A powerful undead created by a wicked necromancer using the corpse of a knight.

Of course, all the knowledge I had about it was purely fictional—products of imagination.

But the figure before me was no illusion. It was real.

Cold sweat trickled down my back.

From what I knew, a Death Knight’s strength was beyond comprehension. Empowered by sinister mana, it wielded power far surpassing its former self when alive.

Still, this one might not be the same as the legends I knew.

Clank!

In that instant, the Death Knight charged forward.

Its legs moved swiftly, enhanced by the glowing purple mana surrounding it.

The suffocating killing intent of its assault made my body react instinctively.

Clang!

“Ugh…!”

The sword I raised reflexively intercepted the Death Knight’s strike.

In that moment of contact, I realized just how overwhelmingly powerful it was compared to me.

“D-Damn it! Ceris, just hold on a bit longer!”

Isoline’s urgent voice echoed behind me.

Could I really hold out? Using only swordsmanship against this monster?

There was no time to dwell on it.

Another swing from the Death Knight’s blade came crashing down, leaving no room for thought.

A relentless storm of strikes followed, offering no respite.

Clang! Clang!

“Argh…”

Groans escaped through my tightly clenched teeth.

With every clash of blades, the jarring vibrations traveled up my sword, through my arms, and into my core.

Even with my body reinforced by mana, I was losing in sheer strength.

Counterattacks were unthinkable.

I couldn’t even find a moment to catch my breath.

All my focus had to go into defending myself.

Yet, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t block every attack.

Unlike me, who grew increasingly fatigued, the undead Death Knight knew no such limitation.

Then, the Death Knight’s blade curved in an unnatural arc.

Its movement resembled a serpent—a sinister mana-coated snake that slithered around my defense and lunged straight at my chest.

It was a sudden, precise strike.

There was no time to block, nor did I even think to evade.

Thud!

The blow landed cleanly, and my vision flickered as I staggered, my balance shattered.

It felt as though every ounce of oxygen had been forcefully expelled from my body in an instant.

“Gah…!”

Using the force from the strike, I stumbled backward, clutching my chest.

Beneath my fingers, I could feel the torn leather of my armor and the sticky warmth of blood.

The wound wasn’t deep. It wasn’t enough to hinder my movements.

At that moment, I was grateful for the expensive ogre-leather gear I had invested in.

Boom!

A sudden explosion shattered the tense silence.

The Death Knight stumbled backward, caught in the explosion.

I turned my head slightly to find Isoline surrounded by a storm of mana, her wand pointed resolutely forward.

But the Death Knight quickly regained its posture and began moving again. Its powerful strides closed the distance rapidly, now heading straight for Isoline.

Clearly, it had decided to eliminate the most immediate threat first—the one casting dangerous spells.

In this world, mages are defenseless while casting spells.

I couldn’t say for sure if that applied to all mages, having only met two so far.

But one thing was certain: Isoline needed my help.

Pretending to be an ordinary swordsman was no longer an option.

Even if Isoline would confront me about it after this fight, hesitation wasn’t an option.

Vwoom!

The mana circle in my heart began spinning rapidly.

Mana, blending white starlight with icy blue frost, surged through a burning ring of flames, racing toward my sword.

The mana traveled through my chest, climbed up my arms, and flowed to the tip of my blade.

Whoosh!

A beam of starlight-laced mana shot forth, laced with a frigid chill that froze everything in its path.

The air itself froze first, a layer of white frost forming in its wake.

However, even as the Death Knight was struck directly by the mana, it did not stop moving.

Though its speed slowed, its blade still aimed unerringly for Isoline.

Clang!

The reduced speed made all the difference.

Gasping for breath, I managed to intercept the Death Knight’s sword.

I could feel Isoline’s piercing gaze on my back, but I couldn’t afford to turn around.

Creak!

As the icy chill dissipated, frost began falling off the Death Knight’s body, and its movements returned to normal.

At that moment, Isoline’s voice rang out.

“Ceris, get out of the way!”

I felt the chaotic swirl of mana building behind me—her second spell was ready.

I quickly dodged to the side.

Boom!

A ball of mana flew straight into the Death Knight, exploding on impact.

The fiery explosion rippled through the air, shaking the dungeon violently as if it might collapse.

I frowned.

Even amid the destruction, the Death Knight remained standing.

Its armor was heavily dented, but its movements were unfazed.

“Hah…”

Exhaling deeply, I summoned my mana once more.

The starlight swirling in my heart surged to my blade.

With my sword enveloped in the glowing radiance, I swung at the Death Knight again.

Its swordsmanship was precise, sophisticated, and unrelenting.

The serpent-like movements of its blade were particularly troublesome—each time the tip twisted unnaturally, it bypassed my defenses and aimed directly for my vital points.

As the fight dragged on, blood loss from my wounds increased.

The once-sturdy ogre leather armor was now shredded, and my cloak had been torn off long ago.

My body was reaching its limits.

Clang!

As I parried the Death Knight’s powerful strike, the strength in my hands gave out.

Exhausted, my body finally gave up, and the sword slipped from my grasp.

It spun through the air, clattering against the ceiling before falling to the ground.

“Damn i—”

A curse slipped from my lips, but it remained unfinished.

The Death Knight’s next attack left me no time to complete the thought.

It targeted my now undefended upper body, bringing its sword down in a vicious arc.

I hastily raised my hands, channeling mana in desperation.

Cold energy gathered at my fingertips, forming the unstable shape of a sword made of ice.

Clink!

The fragile ice weapon shattered instantly upon impact.

Shards of ice scattered through the air like frost, but the Death Knight’s brutal slash continued unabated.

Crunch!

Its blade tore through the sturdy leather armor, cutting into the tender flesh beneath.

The impact sent me flying to the side.

“Argh!” I cried out in pain.

The Death Knight didn’t finish me off.

It seemed confident that I was no longer a threat, instead turning its focus to Isoline.

At that moment, her spell was completed.

A glowing sphere of mana shot forth from her wand, colliding with the Death Knight and exploding in a massive blast.

“Ahhh!”

Caught too close to the detonation, Isoline was flung backward by the force of the explosion.

Her wand, her only weapon, fell to the ground and rolled into a corner.

Groaning, I slowly lifted my head.

The fallen wand had rolled near me, stopping just at my feet.

“Ceris! Throw it!”

Isoline’s urgent voice rang out. She was asking me to toss her weapon back.

It was the logical thing to do.

But I didn’t.

I picked up the wand from the floor and pushed myself to my feet.

Though my legs trembled and part of my vision blurred, my arms still functioned perfectly.

“Ceris!!!” Isoline screamed, her voice filled with panic and disbelief.

Isoline’s voice faded into a muffled blur.

A severe headache throbbed, and my body began to heat up uncontrollably.

This world was one where swords and magic thrived, where mages and dragons existed, and even the Death Knight, a manifestation of dark magic, had appeared before me.

All the things I had once imagined were now a reality.

A sudden thought crossed my mind:

Could I, too, bring my imagination to life, just as everything else had manifested?

I became aware of the existence of mana and began to build my own inner world.

Beyond my blurred vision, countless starlights spread out before me.

Each one of those stars represented another world I could perceive, and the potential contained within the mana.

Whirring!

The sound of rotation, audible only to me, filled the air.

The mana circle within my heart began to spin rapidly.

A fiery ring erupted, its violent nature beginning to consume my body.

Hot…

“Ha…”

A breath escaped my lips, tinged with the burning heat.

At my current level, I couldn’t handle Calvine’s mana, but using the power of the magic crystal, I could still direct its movement.

The heat that had been consuming me started to dissipate, moving towards the wand I gripped tightly in my right hand.

Whirring!

Simultaneously, another mana circle began to spin.

Drawing in all the remaining mana within me, I formed a cold blue energy.

The starlit mana wrapped around my left hand.

Now, my hands each held opposing forces.

At that moment, through my hazy vision, a star twinkled, and a man’s figure appeared in my mind.

He was someone from another world—someone only I knew.

The Emperor of the Northern Sea, with opposing energies wrapped around his hands, adopted a strange stance.

I, too, moved in sync with his motions.

As the opposing forces converged, they pushed against each other with tremendous force.

A fierce storm raged between my small hands, and the shockwave shattered the wand, leaving only the magic crystal behind.

I couldn’t hold on any longer.

With gritted teeth, I extended both hands forward.

The violent storm, which had been tearing me apart, now surged forward.

It obliterated everything in its path.

The floor was torn away, and the blocked wall collapsed, revealing the other side.

Caught in the storm, the Death Knight was no longer standing.

Its upper body was nowhere to be seen, and the sword it had been holding was buried in a corner.

In that moment, the Death Knight’s lower half crumpled to the ground.

The violet mana that had infused its body vanished, signaling its final death.

Though it seemed odd to say a dead undead had died, I couldn’t think of a better way to express it.

“Ah…”

My body began to tilt, and I collapsed onto the cold floor.

The backlash from using all my remaining mana overwhelmed me.

“Wh-what was that spell…?”

Through my fading consciousness, I could hear Isoline’s voice.

I smiled, though I wasn’t sure if my answer reached her, my words barely audible.

“Polarity…”

And with that, my mind descended into darkness.