“Gotcha♪”
“What!?”
Amor, his Magic Stone exposed after being slashed by Feld’s Battle Art, saw the figure of a black-haired girl with a faint smile floating there.
“Karlaaaaa!!”
Amor, his Magic Stone—the vital point of his life—touched, frantically swung his arms. However, his enlarged body, which prioritized simple attack power and defense, couldn’t aim at Karla behind him.
“You were aiming for my Magic Stone from the start, weren’t you!”
“That’s right. Because you were a nuisance.”
If she had gone all out from the beginning, she could have burned even the immortal Amor to ashes. But that would have meant Karla sacrificing her own life.
She no longer had any attachment to “life.” Still, she had no intention of dying before plunging the Royal Capital into a sea of fire and blood, and before settling things with that girl.
More than that…
“Being bothered by a trivial existence like you is unpleasant.”
From the hand holding Amor’s halved Magic Stone, an enormous flame overflowed, burning Amor’s life and body.
Like Amor, she had asked the spirits for a Gift (Divine Protection), but while Amor sought power that didn’t suit him due to his low self-esteem, Karla asked for an advance on the power she would eventually obtain.
From the beginning, Karla had no intention of accomplishing anything with “someone else’s” power.
The reason why people can’t use magic above their rank is because they lack the Mana Control and the techniques to construct the magic, causing them to consume several times the normal amount of mana.
But Karla had estimated that with the infinite mana of the Soul Thorn, she could use magic up to two levels higher.
Karla was confident that in another ten years or so, she could reach magic level 7 with her own ability alone. It wasn’t because she was a genius, but because she was a talented type, she could see the path to that point. But at the same time, she realized that she wouldn’t live that long.
That’s why Karla, who was eleven years old at the time, thought of borrowing the “power of her own” that she would eventually obtain by throwing away her remaining life.
She was able to have that resolve because of that girl—Aria.
She fought that girl, seeking “salvation” in “death.” Dyeing this country, which had ruined her life, in blood had also become a “stage” for “dancing” with Aria someday.
Karla felt displeasure at the fact that a “fake” with no proper resolve was trying to step onto that grand stage as if it were their own.
“Now, what are you going to do? ‘Prince’… You’re going to die, you know?”
“Damn you!!”
Provoked by Karla’s words, Amor released mana from his Magic Stone in anger, trying to repel Karla. Amor’s mana rejected the flames, and although it rivaled Karla’s mana, even if it prevented the destruction of the Magic Stone, the overflowing flames burned Amor’s body, where the mana had thinned.
“…What’s that?”
“Jesha, don’t let your guard down!! There are still enemies!”
While the enemies and allies were dumbfounded by the sight, Dolton shouted at Jesha, who had muttered in a daze, to bring him back to his senses.
It’s not that Dolton wasn’t concerned. Feld, who had been fighting until then, was even more so. Still, he realized that that battle was like Aria’s “battle beyond the bounds of humanity” when she fought the Black Dragon, and he believed that concentrating on his own work was the pride of an adventurer.
However, not everyone could be so detached. Even though no one could interfere with the clash of mana, let alone get close to it, the Rainbow Sword, whether out of loyalty or instinct towards the higher-ranking Undead, immediately switched its focus and defeated the Second Order of Knights, who were confused as they tried to support Amor.
“Guoooo…”
As a result, that action became support for Karla, and seeing that, Amor, for the first time, let out a groan of impatience and desperately tried to shake off Karla.
“What’s wrong? Is that your limit? But don’t worry…”
But Karla, as if to provoke Amor further, whispered softly, so that only Amor could hear, while gripping his Magic Stone.
“–I’ll make sure to kill that parasitic woman too–“
“What…”
At those words, Amor’s only remaining “human” face, which had been halved, distorted.
There was only one person that Amor cared about, whom Karla used a derogatory term for. Realizing that, Amor’s spirit, which had been more than half-transformed into a monster, returned to being human, and the human heart that thought of her exerted power beyond its limits.
People’s thoughts, whether it be pure love or twisted obsession, create strong power.
“I won’t let you!!”
Amor’s power, released while shedding tears of blood and even sacrificing his soul, not to mention his life and lifespan, rivaled Karla’s mana, which was trying to crush him, and gradually began to push it back.
“Kieaaaaaaa!!”
Crack!!
Unable to withstand the clash of power and output, Amor’s Magic Stone cracked. But at that moment, an enormous power overflowed, and finally blew Karla away.
Karla, who had been blown away, brushed off the fragments of the Magic Stone that remained in her hand as if they were dust, and smiled faintly, as if praising a child who had successfully counted.
“Guoooooooooooooooooooo!”
Amor tried to hold his body together with the cracked Magic Stone, but his tattered body did not regenerate, and the dying Worms began to peel off.
“I will!!”
Gradually, the color of reason was lost from Amor’s eyes. Still, whether it was the power of his remaining will or the heart that thought of the girl he loved, his rolling eyeballs turned towards the Royal Capital.
“Liciaaaaa!!”
Amor, who raised a voice as if he had lost his mind, began to run in that direction with his collapsing body.
No one could stop Amor, who kicked the ground with his hands and feet like a beast and ran towards the Royal Capital. Karla, who was the only one with the power to stop him in this place, saw him off without stopping him, and flew into the sky, fluttering her wavy black hair, and chased after Amor.
“Saintess-sama… Should we not move?”
At the Holy Church in the Royal Capital, a Temple Knight who was attending to Saintess Licia asked in a hushed voice. The girl, who was gazing at the scenery of the Royal Capital from the window, quietly shook her head.
“No, it’s not necessary.”
Within the Holy Church, there was the “Saintess Licia Faction,” centered on the Temple Knights, and those at the center of it had grasped the actions of Prince Amor.
On the contrary, Amor and the hard-liners centered on the Second Order of Knights and the Temple Knights had secretly conspired, and the Temple Knights were supposed to stall the First Order of Knights, who would be dispatched at the same time as Amor attacked the Frontier Count House.
Saintess Licia was not involved in that operation. It was partly because she herself did not have the education to understand it, but Amor and the Saint’s followers among the Temple Knights deliberately did not involve her in such “trivial matters.”
But it was that Saintess Licia who gave the devil instructions to do so.
“…But, what will you do if His Highness fails?”
The Temple Knight showed an uneasy face at Licia, who firmly stated that she would not provide support.
The purpose of this operation was to have Amor stand on the surface and weaken the power of the Royalist faction in the form of a “rebellion.” The Temple Knights would only be behind the scenes and would not appear on the surface.
Amor was planning to defeat the two Frontier Count Houses, then defeat the First Order of Knights individually while weakening their forces, and then hide. Even if it looked like a short-sighted act of drawing a bow against the Royal Family from the sidelines, the neutral faction, which was currently leaning towards the Royalist faction, would hesitate to openly participate in the Royalist faction.
In the meantime, the Noble faction would seize control of the Knights and the central government, allow Crown Prince Elvan to seize real power as the next king, and the Holy Church would incite the people to push Licia as the queen. If the Noble faction seized practical power, they could do whatever they wanted.
In noble society, no matter how “black” it may be, if you have power, you can make it “white.”
But that’s only if Amor can defeat Dandole and Melrose. No matter how much power Amor has individually, victory will be difficult if the First Order of Knights arrives in time.
If even one of Dandole and Melrose were to escape, they would not allow Amor’s reckless actions, which were the Saint’s faction, and it was easy to imagine that they would attack Crown Prince Elvan and Saintess Licia for that reason.
Licia turned to the Temple Knight who voiced such concerns and smiled softly.
“It’s okay. Let’s believe in Amor-sama.”
Saintess Licia did not believe Amor could win. Now that Amor possessed the devil’s power, there was a chance he could succeed on his own, but Licia thought that even if she managed to delay the First Order of Knights, the probability of Amor’s rebellion succeeding was low.
To increase those slim chances of victory even slightly, she had made Amor split into two.
By using the devil’s power, it was possible to create an infinite number of Worm replicas sharing a common consciousness with Amor. However, without his “Magic Stone”—what could be called Amor’s main body—they couldn’t gain regenerative abilities, and the more the Magic Stone was divided, the more their regenerative power would diminish.
Even so, sheer numbers would provide fighting strength. However, as the Magic Stone grew smaller, it would become difficult, even with the devil’s power, to make them recognize that as Amor, and consequently, there was a risk that the pawns known as the Second Order of Knights would become unusable.
Furthermore, the more he was subdivided, the weaker Amor’s ego would become, and Amor himself had shown terror at the prospect of degenerating into a mere Monster.
In order to simultaneously attack the two Margrave families, they had succeeded in splitting Amor in two by distorting his mind with the power of the devil and Licia. Yet, even after going to such lengths, a certain victory was not assured.
The reason for this was the existence of two girls whom Licia recognized as her enemies.
She had a premonition, almost a certainty, that at the very least, that Pink-Haired Girl would definitely interfere.
That was why she had decided to use her final “trump card” here.
Even within the temple, this was not Licia’s private room. Licia moved away from the window where she had been gazing at the Royal Capital by night. She approached the only bed in the room, took out a small glass vial filled with liquid from her bosom, and knelt beside the bed.
“Nasanitar-kun. Can you hear me?”
“…”
Nasanitar, his skin ashen and his body reduced to skin and bones, faintly opened his eyes. His lips trembled, but they formed no words.
Looking at him now, no one would think he was still a fourteen-year-old boy. He was in such a state that it was a miracle he was still alive.
The dregs left after his soul and life force had been continuously drained… The only reason Nasanitar had been kept alive until now was because he was the devil’s “legitimate contractor.” He, who possessed no proper knowledge of devils and had been tricked into a contract tantamount to fraud, was still alive only because the devil had acknowledged her as a “provisional contractor,” judging that it would gain greater benefits by conspiring with Licia.
Nasanitar had been kept alive by Licia’s will. But that, too, was about to end.
“Tonight, I came to say ‘goodbye.'”
“…”
At Licia’s words, Nasanitar’s eyes opened. Still, he couldn’t move. Licia, gazing at him with an affectionate look, uncorked the vial, applied the liquid to her own lips like rouge, and then gently pressed them against the lips of Nasanitar, who was trembling in terror.
“――――Hh!”
Nasanitar’s previously unmoving body jolted, and the light vanished from his tear-filled eyes.
At that moment, the maid who had been waiting like a Shadow behind Licia… the “Incubus” Collette, smiled radiantly, her eyes shining a deep crimson.
“Now, shall we begin?”
What is Saintess Licia plotting?
And as expected, it couldn’t all fit, so it will continue for one more chapter.
Next time, the final battle with Amor! (Probably)