Riser

25-262

Added 2025-09-13 21:15:57 +0000 UTC

EP.262. [The Appearance of Grand Duchess Marianne.]

“ Kkuuuuuuuuuugh!!!!”

The Minotaur, standing about 15 meters tall with a bull-like head roughly 2.5 meters in size, let out a desperate, pained scream as Eugene’s 1.5-meter greatsword pierced about a third of the way into its massive lower jaw.

“Screaming? I guess you’re still alive! Then I’ll just have to push in even deeper!”

But Eugene still had strength left, and the mana energy he had gathered in his greatsword was more than enough to drive it in further.

Puuuuuuuuuuush!!!!

The entire 1.5-meter blade of Eugene’s greatsword was driven deep into the Minotaur’s head.

“There’s still more!!”

Thunk!

Eugene grabbed the cracked hide of the Minotaur.

“I’m going in too!!!”

Puuuuuuuuuuugh!!

“ Kkuuuuuugh!!!”

He pulled himself in, squeezing out the last of his strength, and, just as planned, to destroy the Minotaur’s brain, Eugene actually plunged himself into the monster’s body.

Pshshshshshsh! Puuuuuuuuuuut!!!

As Eugene’s body entered, the crack under the Minotaur’s jaw widened even more, and dark red blood gushed out like a dam bursting.

“Greatsword Eugene’s attack was successful, Bishop-Nun Charlotte!!”

With blood spurting out, even the nuns at the rear of the battlefield could clearly understand what was happening. If things had gone wrong, they would have had to rush in to save Eugene Schneider from danger. So the gruesome fountain of blood erupting 50 meters ahead brought a wave of relieved cheers from them.

“Advance! Once the Minotaur falls, Greatsword Eugene inside could be left defenseless and swarmed by remaining monsters! Let’s secure a safe area for him!”

With things going so well, Charlotte must have felt immense relief. She surely wanted to cheer and shout more than anyone.

But ever professional and eager to help her beloved Eugene Schneider, Charlotte didn’t let herself relax; instead, she quickly assessed the situation and led the nuns forward.

Kudangtangtangtang!!!!

With Eugene’s plan succeeding and morale high, the nuns pushed back the monsters relentlessly, creating space for the 15-meter Minotaur to collapse. Its breath stopped, Eugene’s greatsword had destroyed its brain, and the Minotaur was dead.

And the man who achieved this feat, Eugene Schneider

Struggle! Struggle! Struggle!

was stuck, unable to pull his upper body out of the Minotaur’s head, and struggled desperately.

“Let’s help the Greatsword Master!”

“Hurry! Hurry! He must be suffocating!”

It was an awkward and undignified sight. But to the nuns, it didn’t seem that way at all. To them, Eugene Schneider was the warrior who had saved them from the terrifying Minotaur. So the nuns at the rear rushed to help, their eyes full of concern.

“Heave-ho! Heave-ho!”

Sluuuuuuurp!!

“Waaaah! Huff! Huff! Waaah!”

About three nuns worked together to pull Eugene out. Thanks to their efforts, Eugene was dragged out of the Minotaur’s huge head, flailing and gasping as if waking from a nightmare, covered in blood.

“Haha! Thank you, sisters, I’m fine. Are any of you hurt?”

“Thanks to you, Greatsword Eugene, we were never in any danger! You’re amazing! To defeat such a huge Minotaur!”

Eugene’s quick recovery was remarkable. As soon as he could breathe, he assessed the situation, straightened up, and played the part of the hero, enjoying his moment of glory. The nuns, completely taken by his warrior’s aura, forgot his earlier struggle and showered him with praise.

“Eugene! Eugene!”

Da-da-da-da-da-da!

At that moment, a worried voice called out as someone ran toward Eugene.

“Charlotte, sis! No, Bishop-Nun Charlotte!”

It was her. The woman Eugene Schneider admired, the woman he had taken as his own just days ago his big sister, Charlotte de Sel Oblaing. Hearing Charlotte’s emotional voice, Eugene instinctively responded as her little brother before regaining his composure.

“I was worried, Eugene! My brother, my beloved brother Eugene!”

Hug!

“Whoa! Sis! Hahaha!”

But Charlotte’s explosive love for her brother couldn’t be stopped. While Eugene had been fighting desperately against the Minotaur, Charlotte had been anxiously watching from afar. As the leader of the nuns, she had suppressed her feelings, but now, with all the monsters defeated, her emotions for her brother burst forth. She ran to Eugene, her enormous chest bouncing, and hugged him tightly, not caring that he was covered in Minotaur blood.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere? You seem fine when I check you.”

Pat! Pat! Pat!

“I’m fine, sis. See? Not hurt at all. Please calm down. Haha!”

Charlotte, not caring that her habit was stained with blood, checked Eugene all over, fussing over him with warm, heartfelt love. Eugene, a bit embarrassed but happy, couldn’t hide his smile as he comforted his big sister.

“ Kieeeeeeeh!!!!”

“ Kreeeeeeeh!!!”

Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da!!!

About twenty goblins, shrouded in a dark purple energy, charged forward.

“Welcome to Pangaea, you bastards!”

Bwaaaaaaaaah!!!

Their opponent was none other than Eugene Schneider. After defeating the Minotaur, Eugene’s group immediately headed to the suspected location of the dimensional rift. When they arrived, a horde of goblins, just crossing through the rift and surrounded by its energy, were wandering nearby. Eugene called out to them, and as they charged, he swung his blood-soaked greatsword.

“My god... Eugene was right... A dimensional rift really has opened on the continent...”

There were quite a few goblins, but Eugene, now a high-level Sword Seeker, dispatched them in just a few swings. Afterwards, Charlotte, now face-to-face with the rift that had just spat out the goblins, couldn’t hide her amazement. Even as someone who had worked with the Holy See since childhood and was now a bishop-nun, she had only ever read about such phenomena in ancient texts.

“The rift is much bigger than the one I saw before. It looks three times as large.”

Even Eugene, who had already experienced a rift, was astonished. He had expected it to be impressive, since it had transported a 15-meter Minotaur, but this rift was far larger and exuded an incomparable amount of demonic energy.

“If I had to guess, I’d say the demonic energy here is much thicker than in the middle regions. In the end, the plague that’s been rampant since the start of the year must be related to the rise of demonic energy, just as mother theorized.”

Charlotte, now serious, offered her explanation.

“It seems to be in a dormant phase now. We need to eliminate this rift before it becomes active again.”

Step, step, step.

Hearing Charlotte’s analysis, Eugene Schneider slung his greatsword over his shoulder and calmly walked up to the rift, which was about six meters wide. He was preparing to seal it.

“Can you really close the rift, Eugene?”

Charlotte still looked uncertain. Even as a sister who trusted her brother completely, she had only ever heard of two ways to deal with a rift: exhausting its energy by killing the monsters that came through, or sealing it with a holy relic like the Goddess’s Mirror.

“Haha! Just trust me, Bishop-Nun Charlotte. Have I ever lied to you? I’ll seal it perfectly.”

Thunk!

This was, in fact, the reaction Eugene had wanted from Charlotte. He could have explained in more detail, but chose not to he wanted to surprise his beloved big sister even more. Eugene took a stance for a horizontal slash.

‘It’s possible. This one is bigger and has more energy than before, but I’ve gotten stronger too.’

Eugene’s eyes turned serious as he prepared to cut the rift. He could feel his mana being used when sealing a dimensional gate, meaning the size of the rift he could seal depended on his own energy. Though this rift was bigger than expected, Eugene trusted in his growth.

Fsssssssst...!!

Eugene’s greatsword was soon charged with mana energy.

Swoooooosh!!!!

With a sharp arc and afterimage, he slashed.

“Oh!!!”

Charlotte’s eyes went wide.

Swoooooosh!!!

The rift split along Eugene’s sword’s path and began to swirl away like a light vortex, disappearing.

“The rift is disappearing, Bishop-Nun Charlotte!”

“It’s a miracle! Greatsword Eugene’s blade is blessed by the Lord!”

The nuns behind Charlotte erupted in excitement.

“Haha! See, sis? Wasn’t I right?”