The conclusion of the battle with Amor.
“—Real Breaker—”
Particles of “darkness” scattered from the light and dark composite magic, Real Breaker, and my body teleported several tens of meters away.
Thwack!!
The moment I appeared, the Black Knife I swung, enveloped in particles of light, bisected a tree. But Amor’s body wasn’t there; his figure had already leaped to the next tree, and I could only see his back.
“—Tch!”
Amor, with his grotesque form, could leap high but couldn’t fly. I could also jump to a point I could see, but my gaze would momentarily shift from the target.
If he ran on the ground, I could catch up with teleportation, but the current Amor was more Monster than human. He was likely heading for the Royal Capital, leaping from tree to tree like a monkey, which prevented me from landing a proper attack.
Even though I’d taken a Dragon Blood Pill to suppress mana consumption, my mana was about to reach its limit.
I temporarily gave up on finishing Amor off, deactivated Iron Rose, and drank a mana recovery potion I took from my pouch while chasing after him.
“…”
I wonder if Melrose, whom I left behind, is safe… Even if I defeat Amor, there’s no guarantee the Undead will stop.
If that was Amor’s Gift (Divine Protection), they should stop. But, from my experience meeting two spirits in the Dungeon, I couldn’t believe that was a Divine Protection.
Nasanitar’s ability was the same. I can’t imagine being able to command such a demon with a Divine Protection.
If so, what is that demon? Just as Elena wished for Cure and reduced her attributes, if it was simply the result of seeking power, could there also be forced “contracts” with demons?
A demon is probably involved in this incident too. If Amor’s power was granted by a demon, then the one at the center of it all is… that “Saint”?
Back with Melrose, most of the Undead with any will of their own should have been defeated, so if they use their tactics well, there shouldn’t be a problem.
Praying for the safety of those I left with Melrose, I trusted them and raced across the ground, chasing Amor who was heading towards the Royal Capital.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Letting out an unhinged shriek from the left half of his face, Amor raced across the ground.
His words and actions could hardly be called human anymore, and as he mowed down the trees leading to the Royal Capital, he seemed to have transformed into a “Monster” in both mind and body.
Behind Amor, who was rushing through the forest at several times human speed… Karla flew in the night sky.
With Karla’s attack power, she should be able to stop him with rock bullets or ice lances. If she got serious, the forest would likely suffer damage, but she could probably burn it all down.
“Fufu…”
But Karla, with a faint smile, made no move to intervene.
Karla also has weaknesses. Her physical frailty is that of a sick person, and although she forcibly extends her life by healing herself with Light Magic, it’s merely postponing “death.”
Currently, Karla’s weakness is that she can’t overuse her Divine Protection (Gift) to maintain her life, but as things stood, it seemed she was letting Amor run free for some purpose.
Amor fleeing, and Karla pursuing him.
The closer they got to the Royal Capital, the higher the probability of encountering people. Even at night, large quantities of goods were transported to the Royal Capital, and merchants came and went.
Fortunately, they didn’t appear in Amor’s path. Instead, as Amor burst out of the forest onto the highway, he encountered the First Knight Order, which had departed from the Royal Capital heading for Dandole.
“What is this monster?!”
“All units, prepare to intercept!”
Faced with the suddenly appearing grotesque figure, a portion of the three hundred knights of the First Knight Order, unable to recognize it as Amor, took a battle stance.
“Don’t get in my waaaaaaaaay!!”
Amor, who had transformed into a giant, sent the First Knight Order’s mounted knights flying, horses and all.
Several mounted knights were incapacitated by that single blow, but fortunately, most of the Worms scattered by the impact had died when Amor’s Magic Stone shattered.
The Worms that had barely survived because they were connected to Amor turned into black dust and vanished upon being severed from him.
“Engage!”
Unlike other knight orders whose main duty was to defend the Royal Capital, the First Knight Order was equipped and trained for offensive operations. Instantly readying their charge lances without fear upon seeing Amor’s form was an effective tactic, but the problem was that the “monster” exceeded their expectations.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Multiple lances pierced Amor’s Worm body. But Amor, letting out a bizarre cry, entangled the spearheads with his Worm body and sent several knights flying with his powerful arms.
“How disrespeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeectful!!”
Several knights froze at the “voice” shouted from Amor’s mouth.
These were high-ranking knights who knew that the instigator of the current rebellion was the “King’s younger brother,” and they knew his appearance and voice.
The movements of the knights who realized that the grotesque Monster was originally “human” slowed, and they became victims of the rampaging Amor.
But just then—
“—Lightning—”
BOOOOM!!
With a deafening roar, lightning fell from the night sky, striking Amor and knocking down the surrounding knights as well.
The Lightning magic was a spell that flew in a straight line and had little area of effect, so the knights who were thrown back by the aftershock, though groaning in pain, recognized the black-haired girl floating in the sky, their faces contorting.
The Thorn Witch… Karla Lester.
Many had witnessed her fighting demons in the Royal Palace and the Royal Capital, and many of their colleagues had lost their lives caught in those battles. Her existence was known with terror.
Seeing Karla’s surroundings become charged with electricity and dark clouds begin to gather in the starry sky, several knights let out voiceless screams, as if they had encountered the “Evil Lord” from a fairy tale.
“Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
Lightning struck again, hitting Amor and blowing away several knights who were too slow to escape.
“L-Lady Lester! What are you doing?!”
A knight who seemed to be the captain shouted at Karla, but she herself didn’t bat an eye at the criticism, opening her mouth with a slight hint of annoyance.
“You’re still here? Hurry up and go to the Dandole mansion. If you stay here…”
Karla curved only her lips into a smile, as if speaking to both the knights and Amor.
“…you’ll die.”
Feeling the uncanny, demonic aura emanating from the girl who was not yet an adult, everyone present unknowingly took a step back.
However, that instinctive fear, unbecoming of knights, saved their lives.
“…Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!”
Perhaps a side effect of becoming more like a Monster, or perhaps the Worms’ instinctive “dread,” the Worms encroached upon and devoured what remained of Amor’s human face. Amor, having lost his sanity once more, began to run towards the Royal Capital.
Karla pursued him, the corners of her lips turned up. The knights of the First Knight Order could only watch in stunned silence as they passed by, leaving destruction in their wake like a storm.
“Ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!!”
Amor, letting out a cry, reached the outer walls of the Royal Capital.
The countless short arrows and discolored patches on his back were the result of my struggles, but the arrows had no effect, and the poison only managed to kill the Worms on the surface.
Amor’s flesh, which had existed at first, was it now gone, leaving only the right half of his face…?
Neither poison nor slashes work on him anymore. The only way to defeat him is to crush him with overwhelming power. Can my Illusion Magic do that?
If he stops for even a few seconds, there’s a chance. The moment he reaches the outer wall, whether he climbs it or destroys it, there will be a few seconds.
But—
“Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!?”
A scream came from the direction of the outer wall. I put strength into my exhausted legs and sped up, and there I saw civilians.
“There are people from the outskirts here!”
Even though it’s called the Royal Capital, not everyone lives within the walls. There were simple inns and shops catering to those who couldn’t afford a house in the Royal Capital or individual merchants who couldn’t reach it before the gates closed, and several hundred people, including guards managing them, had formed a sort of settlement in front of the castle gate.
However, that was near the gate; I didn’t expect people to be this far away from it.
The people’s screams. As Amor began to climb the outer wall, a distraught, nearly naked man and woman spotted me and clung to me, as if begging for help.
I dodged them using footwork and leaped over a large, adventurer-like man, using his face as a springboard, but by then, Amor was already finishing his climb up the outer wall.
“――Levitate――”
Instead of scrambling up the wall, I used Levitate to clear the ten-meter outer wall in one go.
The difference in our methods of clearing the wall allowed me to close the distance with Amor.
“――[Pain]――”
Amor froze for just a moment from the [Pain] I unleashed. [Pain] was already losing its effectiveness. But in that instant, the rope weight type pendulum I threw shattered the back of Amor’s head, yet only the corpses of Worms scattered, and Amor kept running.
That direction is… the Holy Church’s temple, huh.
“――Iron Rose――”
My pinkish-gold hair turned a steely gray, like scorched iron, and as I spread particles of light like wings, trailing a luminous comet, I slashed off one of Amor’s arms from behind, grinding it up, Worms and all, as if engulfing it in the light particles.
“――!?”
But the arm regenerated in an instant, and I was sent flying by a swing of the new arm, crashing through the closed door of a shop.
Amor’s regeneration is stronger? What’s in the Royal Capital? I leaped out of the destroyed shop, popped a Dragon Blood Pill into my mouth, and continued my pursuit of Amor.
He’d pulled away. Using the screams of people who had finally noticed the grotesque figure as a guide, I jumped onto a roof and saw Amor’s back, also leaping across the rooftops.
But, as I tried to chase him, I saw a massive amount of fire-aspected Magical Element rising in the distance.
BOOM!!
Flames like a dragon’s breath flew in, scorching a large number of Worms as it grazed past Amor.
“Guooooooooh! Come, my other half!”
As Amor screamed while being burned by the flames, a giant Worm figure, identical to a scorched Amor, came running across the rooftops from the same direction the flames had come.
Other half? Don’t tell me he only had half a body because he’d split apart?
If the Amor I was chasing had his regeneration boosted by getting closer to that thing, then I couldn’t let them get any closer.
I allocated my Iron Rose’s Physical Enhancement to speed, readied my knife, and closed in on Amor’s back in an instant.
“――!?”
But just then, lightning struck, and as I barely dodged it, my eyes caught sight of black hair fluttering and waving higher in the sky.
“Karla-!”
“Fufu.”
Why is Karla here? Did the other Amor run away from her? I confronted Karla in the night sky as she stood blocking my way, as if to interfere.
“Why are you interfering?”
“You’re the one interfering.”
Karla simply replied to my question.
“――Real Breaker――”
“――Soul Thorn――”
Particles of light and darkness mixed from my entire body, and my silver wings fluttered.
Black thorns entwined Karla’s entire body, and an immense amount of magical power overflowed.
GOOOOON!!
Karla cut in as I tried to pursue Amor, and in a clash exceeding 5000 combat power, a deafening roar and shockwave, like heavy iron striking iron, echoed through the Royal Capital.
Multiple bolts of lightning unleashed by Karla passed through my body.
The countless Phantom Image blades I unleashed were deflected by Karla with thorns so dense they dyed her whole body black.
Is this what you want… Karla-!!
“――Firestorm――-!”
“――Dancing Reaper――-!”
I cut through Karla’s explosive flames by layering Battle Art upon Battle Art, and blood spurted from my overexerted right arm.
“But who cares about that!”
I tossed the dagger from my still slightly-moving left hand into the air, then, as if snaring it with my foot, kicked it into Karla with the sole of my shoe.
GOOOOOOOOOOOON!!
Once again, a deafening roar echoed above the Royal Capital, and the surrounding roof tiles were blown away by the shockwave of magical power.
“Kafu-”
Karla, who took the dagger with the force of my leg, retreated while spitting blood from her mouth. But Karla’s fingertips twitched slightly, and lightning shot out from them.
Can I dodge it at this timing? The moment I was about to leap out, prepared to take damage, an “electric shock” unleashed from the darkness collided with the lightning, and a large black form took the lightning as if to protect me.
“Nero-!?”
“Gaaaaaaaah!”
Why is Nero here? But I had no time to think about it, as the roar of a “Monster” came from the direction of the temple.
“Uoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh!!”
The two Amors merged, and the right half of the face of the single remaining Amor, wearing an expression of terror and ecstasy, shed tears of blood and looked at me for a moment as if seeking salvation, before disappearing as if swallowed by the Worms.
The giant Worm body swelled… The massive form, exceeding twenty meters, roared directly above the temple. Its ominous appearance perhaps reminded them of a demon, as the screams of the residents, who had experienced that terror many times, reached me even here.
No… those aren’t screams.
“What is that…”
It wasn’t just the nearby residents. Residents who had gathered from all over, likely still in their nightclothes, were raising their voices around the temple.
At the center of it all was That Woman――the “Saintess.”
“Everyone, God is testing our faith! Now, pray to God!!”
“Pray to God!”
The people’s voices joined with the Saintess’s “words” and “appearance.” They offered prayers to the Saintess and Amor. My attention wavered for a moment at the sight of the residents, who seemed as if they were being manipulated by someone.
“Well then, see you later, Aria. That was fun.”
“Karla-!”
Seeing that, Karla, who was still alive, smiled with her bloodstained face and headed towards Amor.
“Nero-!”
――Affirmative――
Nero, understanding instantly, let me onto his back, and chased after Karla.
But we were a moment too slow. Karla, having reached the sky above the temple, aimed her fingertips at Amor and its surroundings with a smile more demonic than any demon.
“――Stop it!”
My voice echoed in the sky, and as if in response, Karla’s voice spilled into the night.
“――Freeze――”
An immense chill was released, dyeing the completely monsterized Amor white.
In its wake, even nearby residents froze, fell, and shattered.
“Karla… is this what you wanted to do?”
As I glared at her and spoke amidst a scene like hell itself, Karla wiped the blood from her half-frozen lips and turned back to me.
“Yes. My business here is done. Though, it seems even that was used by ‘that thing’.”
“……”
Karla’s wish was to defeat Amor in the Royal Capital?
Saint Alicia used that as material for incitement?
What are those two thinking?
The Saintess’s wish is to instill fear in the populace and crush Elena’s plans…?
Even if those were emotions implanted by a demon, the people would come to believe in the Saintess even more, and for that, she even used her supposed ally Amor as a disposable pawn.
But Karla… what is your true “wish”…?
Karla disappeared somewhere via spatial transfer, and as I stood there with my hair and robe half-frozen, watching the Saintess praying with the people, I couldn’t help but feel that they were the victors.
Karla’s “stage” has been set.
And what Saintess Licia desires is…
Next time, the conclusion of this event and the prologue to the final phase.