I Became A Thief Who Steals Overpowered Skills

Chapter 74 The Harmony of the Two

Inside the carriage, amidst the thunderous explosion,

Lakradiyon landed on the floor after slicing through the soldiers.

A shadow blade whizzed by, grazing her hair and slicing off a few strands.

“Huff!”

With a pulled breath, Lakradiyon immediately thrust her sword, splitting a shadow Armed Princess.

Yet, the shadow Armed Princess remained unharmed, not disappearing unless it received significant damage.

“Clang!”

Unlike the shadow Armed Princess, who could withstand hits, Lakradiyon couldn’t just dodge endlessly.

“Miss. Lakradiyon!”

“It’s fine. Focus on healing.”

Behind her were Pendalord’s vice-captain, Sodric, who was nearly fatally wounded, and the white mage Olivia, struggling to heal him.

If Lakradiyon dodged too far, Olivia and Sodric would be exposed.

Thus, she tried to block every attack from the shadow Armed Princess.

Consequently, Lakradiyon’s body was gradually accumulating wounds.

Even though the shadow Armed Princess was far inferior to the original, it was still nearly as strong as Lakradiyon.

‘If this is this difficult, then Kraush facing the real one…’

She thought of Kraush, fighting the real Armed Princess, and swallowed a lump of worry.

She was concerned for him, yet had no choice but to trust him.

“Miss Lakradiyon! Look, there!”

Another shadow Armed Princess appeared as a door swung open.

Judging by the blood on the sword, someone had already fallen to it.

More troubling was the fact that the shadow Armed Princesses had doubled in number.

“Leave me, go on without me.”

“Vice-Captain!”

Olivia cried out in shock, but Sodric, spitting blood, struggled to speak.

“It’s all, all my fault. If I hadn’t interfered from the start, none of this would’ve happened.”

Blaming himself for the team’s peril, Sodric bit his lip.

Had he not obstructed Lakradiyon and Kraush, and had they reached the eighth floor, perhaps the team wouldn’t have been scattered and killed.

“Save the other team members first, not me. They don’t know, only Ebbling and I knew the truth.”

The first casualty, Swordsman Ebbling, and vice-captain Sodric had secretly tried to hinder Lakradiyon and Kraush.

The rest were unaware. Even their Captain Pendal.

He hoped at least Olivia and Lakradiyon could escape and perhaps save even one more teammate.

“Vice-Captain, stop talking! You’re losing too much blood!”

“…Please. I can’t even face the Captain.”

Feeling guilty, Sodric wished for the safety of his team, and Lakradiyon sighed.

“We’ll talk about this later.”

Her words meant she had no intention of leaving anyone behind.

“Why!”

“Do you really think Pendal would be unaware of what’s been happening in his own team?”

Sodric’s face tightened.

“Pendal consented to it, too. For the sake of Pendalord.”

Pendal might have seemed to act impulsively, but he had been pondering and researching ways to take down Nakcheon on his own.

He simply hadn’t readily decided to challenge Nakcheon again, not because he’d been idle.

Lakradiyon realized that upon seeing Pendalord.

Pendalord was Pendal’s struggle to overcome Nakcheon.

“So, I’m just following Pendal’s request.”

His plea to save his team.

“Boom!”

But misfortune often comes in pairs.

Another shadow Armed Princess burst through the shattered door.

That made three in total.

For Lakradiyon, who could barely handle one, it was the worst-case scenario.

“Miss Lakradiyon!”

Olivia was on the verge of tears, sensing impending death.

“It’s okay.”

Lakradiyon, unfazed, quietly raised her sword.

“I made a promise.”

The promise made with Kraush.

To take care of Pendalord.

Even though they had once pointed their swords at her, she was asked to forgive and protect them.

That was the request from the man standing against the Armed Princess himself.josei

She couldn’t back down against merely three shadow Armed Princesses.

“Snap!”

At that moment, the three shadow Armed Princesses moved in unison.

One with a sword, another with an axe, and another with a spear.

Though not as versatile as the Armed Princess, the weapons they wielded were all perilous.

“Clang, clang!”

With the sound of clashing metal, Lakradiyon’s body accrued wounds.

Between spurts of blood,

Lakradiyon’s sword shone as a blade of aura, swinging determinedly.

Proving why she was considered a light of Demonic Bastion,

The bright light pouring from her sword unleashed its power more fiercely than ever before.

“Swoosh!”

Then, a single swing severed the head of one shadow Armed Princess, but at a great cost.

Another blade had torn into her side, embedding itself.

“Ugh!”

Suppressing a grunt, Lakradiyon quickly redirected her sword to decapitate the shadow Armed Princess that had landed the blow.

The shadow Armed Princess, letting go of the sword in Lakradiyon’s side, swiftly retreated.

In its stead, it formed a new shadow blade.

“Drip, drip…”

Following the trail of blood, Lakradiyon steadied her breathing.

The shadow Armed Princess with the double axe couldn’t withstand the damage and collapsed.

Two remained.

But Lakradiyon’s wounds were nearing a breaking point.

“Thud!”

Then the shadow Princess with the spear lunged at her.

Lakradiyon couldn’t dodge; the spear was aimed behind her, at Olivia.

“Ugh!”

Forcing a stand-off with the spear, Lakradiyon then faced another strike aimed at her neck from the sword-wielding shadow Armed Princess.

Death briefly flitted across her vision.

“Clang!”

Then the shadow Armed Princess’s sword was stopped by a jade-colored blade.

Recognizing the weapon’s owner, Lakradiyon’s eyes widened as Pendal stood there.

“I’m late.”

Marred by a scar on his neck from a forced healing potion, Pendal stood beside Lakradiyon wielding Jade Heaven.

“Captain!”

As Olivia called out, Pendal gathered his breath, aiming with Jade Heaven.

“…Pendal, there were two more.”

Two shadow Armed Princesses beyond the three.

As she inquired, Pendal gathered lightning through Lioner.

“I took care of one with the others. Still chasing the other one. Jorcia’s dead, though.”

Pendal muttered, seething with the anger of scout Jorcia’s death.

“Then it’s a simple matter.”

“Yeah, we finish off these two, and then the last one. That leaves only the monster.”

Lakradiyon and Pendal’s eyes met.

And in that moment, they launched themselves at the shadow Armed Princesses without hesitation.

The two shadow Armed Princesses also swung their spear and sword as soon as they were attacked.

“Clang!”

The carriage filled with the sounds of swords slicing through the air and weapons splitting the atmosphere.

The shadow Armed Princesses were strong.

They were, after all, incarnations of the same person.

Their actions and thoughts were in sync, making their harmony nearly perfect.

In contrast, Pendal and Lakradiyon were different people.

They had been comrades in the past, but neither had synchronized nor spent time together in recent years.

So why was it that the shadow Armed Princesses were the ones being pushed back?

The coordination between Pendal and Lakradiyon was clearly off.

Yet this misalignment kept creating variables.

When Lakradiyon parried an attack by the shadow Armed Princess, Pendal’s lightning struck at just the right moment, unexpectedly hitting the shadow Armed Princess directly.

Oddly, these accumulating variables continued to pile up damage on the shadow Armed Princesses.

It was a curious thing, but the two had always been like this.

The least compatible pair, creating the most unpredictable outcomes.

That’s what everyone said about them in Demonic Bastion.

“Pendal!”

“I know!”

Lakradiyon, realizing the shadow Armed Princesses were starting to falter under accumulated damage, called out to Pendal.

Then Pendal, lying low on the floor, began to gather lightning on Jade Heaven.

Realizing that Pendal was preparing his finishing move, the shadow Armed Princesses rushed to attack him.

But Lakradiyon displayed incredible swordsmanship, blocking both the spear and sword with a shining aura.

Offensive and defensive unity.

It was a realm that only Lakradiyon, who valued the basics, could show, as she could make her attack and defense one complete entity.

As Olivia exclaimed in awe,

Sparks of current burst violently from Pendal’s body.

“Crackle!”

And with a brief sound of sparks flying past,

Pendal’s figure blurred, and with the scattering sparks, Jade Heaven was thrust forward.

Lightning Wolf Sword Technique

A burst of lightning in the form of a wolf tore the heads off both shadow Armed Princesses at once.

Though the blow that should have been decisive against the Armed Princess was blocked,

This critical hit sent the shadow Armed Princesses crumbling.

Just as Lakradiyon and Pendal simultaneously felt certain of victory,

The collapsing shadow Armed Princesses’ arms wrapped around Lakradiyon’s arms like shackles.

“Ugh?!”

Taken aback by the unexpected counter in their collapse, Lakradiyon let out a perplexed gasp.

Then, she saw a door swinging open.

And there, standing in the doorway, was the shadow Armed Princess that Pendal had said disappeared.

Holding something like a giant column, the shadow Armed Princess pulled on something.

“Click! Whoosh!”

Inside, the sound of metal clicking into place was followed by the ignition of flames.

Sensing danger, Lakradiyon tried to escape, but the collapsing shadow Armed Princesses clung on more fiercely, leaving her unable to flee.

Meanwhile, the other shadow Armed Princess had gathered flames around the column-like device.

Lakradiyon’s eyes shook violently.

She was about to die.

Was this really how she would die, without even challenging Nakcheon, without telling Kraush?

Was this the end?

It would be a lie to say there was no regret.

In fact, the regret only now surfacing was almost maddening.

If she was to die so pointlessly, she should have at least swung her sword at Nakcheon.

As a bitter sentiment filled her eyes,

Suddenly, a figure stepped in front of her.

A man with fluttering grey hair stood with his back to her.

Seeing his shadow cast by the light of the fire, Lakradiyon’s eyes bulged.

“Pendal?!”

“Dammit, this doesn’t suit me.”

Pendal swallowed a resigned chuckle, and then the fire engulfed the carriage.