The Crown Prince Who Raises a Side Character-Chapter 31: New Adventurer Bern (29). Protect

“Ah...”

Blanca realized that when there are so many things to say, you often can’t say anything at all.

She had to ask what had happened after the spatial translocation and how Bern had ended up in such a ragged state.

She had to explain that the Guild Master had been defeated, that the adventurers had suffered a tragic loss and were now being hunted down.

She had to explain the nature of the Lich’s magic, how even after they had defeated him once, he had resurrected. All of it had to be said.

But despite all of that, Blanca couldn’t find the words.

As her emotions swelled, tears began to well in her eyes.

“Get up, Blanca.”

The voice was gentle, as if showing consideration for her, but there was firmness beneath it.

“The fight isn’t over. There is still something you must do.”

So, get up.

Take the sword.

Crying and lamenting could wait, the red-haired adventurer was telling her that.

It wasn’t a word of comfort.

It was more like a stern rebuke.

Bern didn’t try to soothe her frustration, despair, or resignation.

“This is ‘our’ adventure, isn’t it?”

But when asked if she had given up, the answer was no.

She was not a pitiful, powerless princess, and Bern was no knight from a story.

They were adventurers.

They had vowed to turn the fantasy of hunting down the Lich into a reality.

The one who had not ridiculed her goal, the one who understood her, was now speaking those words.

“Let’s fight together.”

Now was the time to make their dream come true.

Blanca gripped the sword that had been discarded on the ground.

It was a keepsake, carefully maintained by her mother, perhaps something her father had left behind. Responding to its owner’s will, the sword gleamed sharply.

Casting aside all weakness in her gaze, Blanca locked her eyes on the enemy, standing side by side with Bern.

“I’ll fight just like we practiced. Is that okay?”

“Is there anything I need to know?”

“Four Death Knights at minimum. One of them is the Guild Master. Be careful, we don’t know when they’ll intervene. The mist carries all kinds of negative spells, so it’s best to avoid contact. It also has the effect of restricting your senses.”

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Bern nodded and then shouted loudly.

“Renya! No special instructions, so do what you need to do!!”

“Yes, yes, yes, sir! Good luck! Please, destroy that damned skeleton!”

Renya’s foul-mouthed remark drew an annoyed glance from the Lich.

Renya quickly covered his mouth and shrank back, but no one minded his behavior. Why would anyone complain about the best aggro-puller, who distracted the enemy’s attention?

As the Lich’s attention shifted, Bern and Blanca both surged forward.

Clang!

Two Death Knights in black armor blocked their path, trying to protect the Lich.

The swords of the Death Knights surged with a thick, oil-like aura.

The sword energy, already formidable on its own, was further strengthened by the Lich’s spells, creating blades that were close to pure aura.

These blades could clash with a 5th-rank warrior and would easily overwhelm anyone below that level. They were swung to cut through Bern and Blanca.

And Bern, with little effort, parried both of their sword strikes.

Clang!

It was a scene that almost looked like magic.

Bern’s sword met one of the Death Knight’s blades, redirecting its path to an unexpected direction. The distorted blade of Death Knight A collided with the sword of Death Knight B.

Blanca didn’t miss the opening, and in between the entwined weapons of the two Death Knights, she unleashed a mid-level fire spell.

Bern had already distanced himself, as though it were the most natural thing.

Boom!

The heat and shockwave from the explosion blew away the purple mist that had been gathering again, clearing the air.

Blanca charged directly toward the Lich, while Bern swung his sword at the Death Knight that appeared through the explosion.

The Death Knight tried to counter with his own sword, but Bern easily deflected it and cut off the knight’s arm.

Another Death Knight lunged at Bern’s back with a sword, but Bern spun gracefully, using the momentum to pierce through the knight’s chest.

The two Death Knights, seriously injured, staggered, but before they could regroup, Bern was ready to strike the final blow. However, at that moment, two more black blades surged toward him.

Whoosh!

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One of Bern’s shoulders was grazed, and blood spilled onto the ground, slowly evaporating into light.

The enemy had reinforcements—two more Death Knights, bringing their number to four.

One of them exhaled an aura from their sword, and Bern clicked his tongue inwardly.

He had to keep up the offensive to avoid losing control, but the moment the purple mist thickened again, the Death Knights didn’t charge at him. Instead, they retreated into the mist.

Bern concentrated his magical senses, trying to pierce through the mist, but the layers of it were impenetrable.

It was a blatant trap, but Bern had no choice but to enter.

If he hesitated to enter the mist, he knew the Death Knights would simply go after Blanca.

The moment he entered the mist, three black blades converged on him.

Each aimed at his neck, abdomen, and ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ legs.

Bern’s eyes sharpened.

Clash!

He dodged the blade aimed at his neck, blocked the one targeting his abdomen, and stomped on the blade aimed at his leg.

The fourth attack, arriving just a beat late, grazed his chest, but in return, one of the Death Knights’ heads flew into the air.

It seemed like he had succeeded in reducing the number of enemies, but the headless knight simply picked up its own head with his left hand and continued fighting.

Bern sighed quietly.

‘This isn’t easy.’

Even now, as he entered the mist, his condition was deteriorating.

While the enemy had to get within 1 meter to reveal themselves and make a sound, the enemy could observe him from a distance, using the mist to their advantage.

The enemy had three at the 4th rank, further enhanced by spells, and one 5th-rank. They were capable of ignoring injuries that would be fatal to a human.

Though Bern was technically at the 4th rank, his actual abilities were far beyond that, even so, it was impossible to wipe out the enemies in an instant under these conditions.

...Of course, he wasn’t concerned about winning or losing right now. What bothered him more was the fact that he couldn’t finish things quickly.

‘This will take some time. I just hope Blanca can hold on as long as possible.’

***

“Foolish girl. Even if there are no guards, do you think someone like you could ever reach me?”

The purple mist surrounding the lich gathered and transformed into multiple arrows, which shot toward her.

Blanca swung her sword and deflected one of the arrows flying toward her face, but still, more than three arrows pierced her body.

The mist that formed the arrows, along with the magic contained within, tore through Blanca’s body, spreading inside through the wounds.

Her limbs began to numb, chills ran through her as if she had been drenched in cold water, and the intense dizziness nearly caused her to collapse, making it hard to even stand.

Yet, Blanca gritted her teeth and refused to fall.

Sustained by healing magic and enhancement spells, she continued to close in on the lich.

At a distance where they could almost touch, Blanca fired a fireball.

"Fire Magic that Burns Trees"

A low-level fire spell. While it might work against small animals or weaker monsters, it was far too weak to be effective against a powerful lich.

“Trivial, trivial. Everything you do is futile.”

The lich seemed to feel no need to even use a hand, simply gathering the purple mist to nullify her spell.

However, Blanca was not disappointed.

‘To block it means at least it’s effective if I hit.’

“Fire Magic that Burns Trees” “Fire Magic that Burns Trees” “Fire Magic that Burns Trees”

She kept firing and firing and firing again.

The attacks were all blocked, but each time, the purple mist around the lich thinned.

The lich, seeming more and more annoyed, tried to shake her off with an attack spell. However, using a strong area-of-effect spell against Blanca, who was right in front of her, would inevitably harm the lich herself.

Thus, the only spells she could use were weaker ones, like the curse arrows, which had lower power but could prevent friendly fire.

Blanca either blocked or dodged these attacks with her sword, but even so, she failed to perfectly counter them and sustained some injuries.

It couldn’t be helped. After all, she wasn’t a proper warrior, and even though she had been trained by Bern, that training was far from extensive.

However, she could avoid fatal wounds.

If she could avoid fatal injuries, the rest could be endured with magic.

...At first glance, this seemed like an unfair exchange.

No matter how much Blanca fired fireballs and swung her sword, she couldn’t deal any damage to the lich, while the lich’s relatively mild spells continued to inflict harm on Blanca.

Healing magic isn’t all-purpose, and Blanca’s body was slowly accumulating wounds and poison.

But Blanca didn’t mind.

‘I can still fight.’

As a child, she had nothing but tears to offer.

But now, even if the odds were against her, she was fighting with everything she had.

‘With the spells I learned from my mother.’

She was facing the one who had taken the most precious thing from her without retreating.

‘With the tactics Bern taught me.’

The fact that she had comrades who believed in her, that fact alone gave Blanca endless strength.

“Annoying little flies!”

The lich, clearly irritated by Blanca’s persistence, summoned undead creatures that had been dealing with the other adventurers.

The death knights facing Bern couldn’t be withdrawn, but there were still other forces left.

Skeleton soldiers and monsters, under the lich’s command, lurked behind Blanca, waiting for an opportunity to strike.

“Stone-Burning Magic”

A massive explosion!

Blanca didn’t even turn her head as she fired a fireball, turning the undead soldiers to ash.

For a moment, the lich was speechless, and from her glowing eyes, Blanca read her unspoken words.

—Summon as many as you want. I’ll burn them all.

“You... you dare, you dare? You, a mere half-wit, neither a swordsman nor a magician!!”

The lich now felt a burning fury.

Under normal circumstances, a girl like her should never have gotten this close to him.

His dungeon was filled with a vast number of undead and traps, and he had placed disciples in the human world to deal with any situation. Moreover, he had powerful summoned death knights made from corpses he’d obtained during the chaos in the Birka Kingdom.

But the undead and traps were being raided by the adventurers, his disciples were being hunted down, and the death knights couldn’t even handle the red-haired adventurer, let alone defeat them.

In fact, things had gone so far that now, he was the one being attacked.

When he was overwhelmingly superior, the lich had shown a certain dignity and majesty, but now that real danger was closing in, his shallow nature was beginning to show.

In the end, the lich decided to bring out his trump card.

The sacrifices he had prepared to ascend to the sixth rank would be used now to deal with the current situation.

“You foolish humans, you will learn that your arrogance has led to the death of your kin!”

With a grand declaration, the lich activated the spell to convert the souls of the sacrifices into his own power.

Naturally, nothing happened.

“...?! Why, why?! No, could it be?!”

It was then that the lich realized that the space Bern had transported to was connected to the space where he had stored the sacrifices, beyond the “door.”

Of course, the dungeon was designed with great complexity to suit the lich’s tastes. Even if someone had survived the traps, it would have taken them a long time to find their way. However, Bern had a friendly and courteous guide.

The sacrifices, which should have been trapped in their cages on the magic circle, were now vacant, thanks to Bern.

This caused the lich’s carefully prepared ritual to fail.

The realization that his meticulously planned ritual had failed completely broke the last shred of the lich’s sanity.

“You lowly vermin!!!”

The purple mist, which had been enveloping the surroundings, immediately gathered in one place.

Blanca, feeling the powerful force gathering right in front of her, was struck with a chilling sense of dread.

She realized that the lich, who had been passive and cautious until now, was finally about to unleash a true attack spell.

Blanca tried to block the lich’s advance, but the lich paid no attention to the fire burning her body or the sword piercing her, and completed the spell.

A massive black orb descended from above her head.

At the moment Blanca had resigned herself to death...

Suddenly, someone embraced her tightly.

—Boom!