Chapter 263: Sauron Retreats from the Canyon
"I will remember you, human!"
Sauron cast a venomous glare at George, then immediately issued the order for a full retreat.
However, how could George let Sauron go so easily? Strike while the iron is hot.
If Sauron wasn't killed today, it wouldn't be so easy to kill him the next time.
"Your Highness, we can't let him escape!"
"Kill him!"
Finrod shared the same thoughts as George. Before George could even speak, Finrod had already charged forward with his sword.
"You're courting death!"
Seeing Finrod and George charging at him again, Sauron gritted his teeth and temporarily gave up trying to repair the fatal wound near his heart. He unleashed most of the dark divine power within him, which surged like dark clouds toward George and Finrod.
The immense dark power immediately pinned George and Finrod to their spots.
"The radiance of the Holy Tree shines upon the Elves! My Holy Sword shall sever your head for the glory of the entire Elven race!"
Chanting an incantation, Finrod's body glowed with increasingly intense golden light. He slowly advanced toward Sauron, pushing against the dark power.
George wasn't idle either. A golden magic array lit up in front of him.
"Light Magic: Domain of Light!"
A powerful burst of holy light exploded from within him, repelling the dark energy.
However, unlike Finrod, he didn't advance. Instead, using the moment of relief from the dark power's pressure, he cast Phantom Shift and vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was already some distance behind Sauron.
Phantom Shift wasn't invincible. For powerful foes, instantly teleporting in front of them to launch a sneak attack could easily get one killed the moment they appeared.
To stay safe, it was better to maintain a bit of distance.
His goal was to first break free of the dark energy's suppression.
"Fly to me!"
Reaching out, he summoned another Elven longsword into his hand. With a flash of lightning, George appeared behind Sauron and, using his left hand, executed a simple but powerful "Split the Mountain" strike aimed at the back of Sauron's head.
Sauron reacted swiftly. While still using the dark power to suppress Finrod, he raised his hand and blocked the strike with his demon sword.
George then followed through by thrusting his right-hand sword toward Sauron.
Clang!
The longsword was blocked by the demonic armor on Sauron's body. It didn't penetrate.
Without the blessing of the Holy Tree's radiance, George's regular Elven sword wasn't as powerful as Finrod's Holy Elven Sword. It couldn't pierce Sauron's armor.
But that was fine. He never intended to pierce the armor in the first place.
"Avada Kedavra!"
The death curse, glowing a dreadful green, struck Sauron's body precisely and at close range.
The soul-targeting damage caused Sauron's body to stiffen, and the oppressive dark force he was emitting vanished.
George never expected the Death Curse to kill someone as proficient in dark power as Sauron, but breaking his dark suppression even for a second was enough.
Because that single second was enough for Finrod to charge up to Sauron.
"Damn it!"
Sauron realized he'd fallen into a trap. He immediately let go of the hand clutching his chest wound, grabbed George's Elven sword pressed against his armor, and unleashed searing demonic fire to melt the sword on the spot.
Then, facing Finrod's sword aiming straight for his neck, he prepared to unleash dark energy once again to blast Finrod away.
Although doing so would worsen his physical injuries, he had no choice.
If his body were destroyed, it would take decades to reconstruct.
"Light Magic: Light Burst!"
Unfortunately, his spell was interrupted by George again.
After his right-hand sword had melted, a golden magic array lit up behind George.
A thick pillar of holy light shot straight into Sauron's body, freezing him in place once more.
The Holy Light magic he learned from Fairy Tail bore strong resemblance to the Elves' Holy Tree powers and was particularly effective against the dark forces used by Morgoth and his army.
"I really should become the guild master soon and learn Fairy Law..."
If the spell he had used now were Fairy Law instead of Light Burst, it might have done more than paralyze Sauron—it might have destroyed his body entirely.
He still remembered the magic array that had once lit up the entire sky above a town.
Squelch!
A spray of blood. Sauron's entire right arm—the one holding the demon sword—was severed.
Even as one of the strongest Maiar, Sauron managed to avoid a fatal strike at the last moment by unleashing all his power, narrowly dodging a hit to his neck. Still, he lost his weapon arm.
But judging by his pale face and weakened body, it was clear he had paid a steep price.
"Light Magic: Array of Light!"
Having achieved so much, George was not about to let him go. He followed up immediately with another Holy Light spell.
Worried that Sauron might dodge, he chose the less powerful but denser attack pattern of the Array of Light.
His combat strategy remained the same: he didn't aim to kill the enemy himself, only to restrain Sauron as much as possible so Finrod—who had higher offensive power—could deliver the real damage.
Finrod didn't disappoint. After severing Sauron's right arm, the millennia-old Elf leapt forward again, planning to finish Sauron off while George's magic kept him pinned.
But then, something unexpected happened.
A giant wolf suddenly leapt from behind Sauron and shielded him, blocking George's Light Array with its body.
At the same time, a seductive, demonic-looking female vampire with bat wings and two bone swords blocked Finrod.
They were Sauron's two most loyal subordinates, also Maiar in origin: the giant wolf Carcharoth and the Vampire Queen Thuringwethil, who had arrived just in time to rescue him.
Upon receiving the order for a full retreat, they had already begun pulling back with the army of orcs toward Angband.
"Carcharoth, hold the rear!"
After exchanging a few blows with Finrod, Thuringwethil turned into a cloud of blood mist and vanished into the retreating orc army, carrying the severely wounded Sauron. Carcharoth then transformed into a hundred-meter-long wolf and blocked George and Finrod's path.
"So close!"
George sighed internally. Then, spreading his hands wide, he aimed at the charging Carcharoth and fired a plasma railgun.
The beam traveled from the wolf's mouth down its throat to its belly, causing it to howl in pain and collapse.
Finrod then stepped forward and beheaded the beast with a single sword strike.
"What a pity."
Watching the orc army fade into the dark mist, George's eyes showed regret once again.
Beyond that black mist lay Morgoth's territory. Pursuing them would risk Morgoth himself intervening, so they had no choice but to stop.
The Elven army regrouped, now reduced to only a thousand—half of what they had at the start.
There was nothing to be done. Even though lightning and arrow barrages had wiped out half of the orc army, their numbers had been overwhelming. Though the Elves had won, it wasn't a decisive victory.
Seeing the situation, Finrod felt even more grateful to George.
He and those thousand Elves had essentially survived thanks to George.
(End of Chapter)