“Don’t think of the rioters as mere humans! Soldiers, evacuate the civilians, hurry!”
“Yes, sir!”
Those who resonated with the Devil’s Chorus suddenly began to rampage. As destruction and fire spread through the Royal Capital, the knightly order and soldiers sortied from the castle.
Though they were clearly rioters, individuals influenced by the demon, the knightly order could only resort to suppression, not subjugation. Even if they were no longer “human” due to the demon’s power, the knights, sworn to protect the citizens, could not kill them.
It would have been a different story if their appearance was clearly monstrous or if they had become undead. However, those who resonated with the Devil’s Chorus were devout churchgoers, and even when attacked, their acquaintances and families obstructed the actions of the knights and soldiers.
“Please stop! This person is just delirious!”
…Without even realizing it was the demon’s ploy.
Gradually, the flames began to spread, illuminating the night sky with a blood-red glow. Rioters attacked the guards and citizens trying to extinguish the fires. Families obstructed the soldiers attempting to subdue them.
As the Royal Capital began to sink into such a quagmire, those possessing transcendent “individual power” were engaged in fierce, life-or-death struggles.
『GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!』
『Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh!!』
DOGON!!
The giant of burning Worms and the jet-black beast collided. Their two intertwined colossal forms destroyed the cityscape as scattered burning Worms spread the flames further.
However, fortunately or unfortunately, the spread of the Worms that parasitized humans—the very thing Elena and Aria had been most wary of—was being prevented.
Whether that Karla had considered this when scattering the flames was beyond comprehension, but Nero wasn’t the one to ponder which was worse: the burning city or the alternative.
Even Nero, who cared for no one but Aria, didn’t particularly want to destroy the city she lived in. But Nero also instinctively understood that unless Amor was destroyed, even greater damage would ensue.
—Darkness—
Nero opened his jaws as if to roar, striking Amor with particles of darkness like a dragon’s breath.
『NUGHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!』
Amor, who had felt no pain from any attack thus far, let out a cry of agony.
Nero’s strike, which sublimated his Dark Magic: 【Corrosion】 and 【Dark Gimlet】, inflicted damage exceeding Amor’s regenerative capabilities, which had allowed it to move even amidst the flames. Finally, Amor’s surface began to crumble.
But—
『IIIIKYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!』
As Amor shrieked, a shadow resembling a white maid momentarily overlapped its body.
Then, suddenly, Amor’s flame-enveloped body turned inside out as if being torn apart, consuming its exterior, and a giant Worm resembling an earthworm emerged.
Feeling Amor’s soul, which had barely remained within its Magic Stone after its physical body had already vanished, being consumed at the same time, Nero narrowed his eyes, glaring at what Amor had become as it evolved to a new stage.
The giant Worm, approximately thirty meters in total length and over a meter thick, destroyed surrounding buildings with its writhing colossal body. It bared countless fangs like a mortar and spewed forth a massive gout of flame, attempting to engulf Nero.
＊＊＊
“…What in the world is that?”
Viro muttered, dumbfounded, as he watched the distant spectacle of the giant Worm and the Phantasmal Beast fighting, destroying the cityscape.
Viro also had experience fighting Rank 7 Elemental Dragons. But those battles in the desert, where there was no need to worry about the surroundings, had a sense of surreal elation, fighting a dragon as an adventurer, even if it was a deathmatch.
Neither the Worm monster nor the Phantasmal Beast Kua’arl could match a dragon. However, the sight of the familiar cityscape being destroyed and people disappearing into the flames instilled a terror that was a gruesome “reality.”
They, the “Rainbow Sword,” had been requested by Chancellor Belt to guard the Royal Castle. Originally, Belt’s request, like Aria’s, was to protect the royal family. However, Princess Elena had advised that their presence might needlessly provoke the noble faction and that if damage were to occur, it wouldn’t be contained within the venue. Thus, the “Rainbow Sword” was stationed outside the castle.
“Viro and Jesha, you handle the suppression of the knights and rioters! Mira and Feld, you’re with me! We’re taking down that huge thing!”
“Eeeh~~, we get this job?!”
Jesha, who had been readying his two-handed axe, voiced his dissatisfaction at Dolton’s orders.
Unlike Viro, who specialized in anti-personnel combat, Jesha, who wielded large weapons, was suited for fighting Monsters. However, against enemies with high attack power, like the Minotaur Murderer in the Dungeon, there was a possibility that Rank 4 Jesha or Viro could be killed in one hit.
Especially now, the Worm monster and the Phantasmal Beast Nero were fighting. Dolton judged that if they tried to intervene, unexpected casualties could occur in a normal party battle.
The reason he was taking Mira, who was also Rank 4 like Viro and the others, was not only due to her high magic attack power but also because her attacks were primarily ranged. There were still risks, but Mira, who had been an adventurer for over a hundred years, possessed excellent crisis assessment skills.
They weren’t unacquainted with Nero either. Just as he decided to head out to support Nero, hoping Nero would remember them, one of their number… Feld, spoke to Dolton with a grim expression.
“…Dolton. Sorry, but I’m going to support Aria.”
Feld’s action was not planned. According to their predetermined course of action, if a demon appeared, the “Rainbow Sword” was to eliminate anyone who would interfere with Aria’s battle, such as the Saint’s faction or the demon’s kin.
Aria, Karla, a high-ranking demon… Only humans in the hero-class domain, those who would accompany a Hero, could intervene in a battle between inhuman-class beings with combat power exceeding 5000. Just stepping in required risking one’s life.
More than that, it was because Aria had wanted to settle things with Karla herself.
“Are you going to interfere in their fight?”
“That’s not it.”
Feld quietly shook his head at Dolton, who was trying to ascertain his true intentions.
“No matter how it ends, Aria, having shown her power, will be seen in a special light by others. As a hero, or a monster… But as her comrade, I have no intention of letting her become ‘alone’.”
As Feld spoke, looking into his comrades’ eyes, they all understood his meaning and fell silent for a moment. Among them, the man who had known Aria the longest was the first to move.
“Ah… Isn’t that fine? If I went, I’d die, but you’ll be alright. Probably!”
“Viro…”
As Viro patted his own shoulder with an old-man-like gesture, he started walking towards Dolton, looking thoroughly reluctant.
“Leave that side to us. If we hold back at a time like this, my woman will chew me out! I’m definitely making you guys treat me to drinks later!”
“…Understood, Viro.”
Viro decided to head towards the giant Worm in Feld’s place, rather than remaining on standby in the rear. Seeing this, Dolton grinned and turned back to Mira and Jesha.
“If you have that kind of resolve, it’d be boorish to stop you. Jesha, you want to fight too?!”
“Yeah!”
“Then it’s settled! Everyone, lay your lives on the line!”
Finally, Feld and Dolton bumped fists, and the “Rainbow Sword” scattered towards their respective battlefields.
＊＊＊
Chasing after “That Woman” who had flown off in the demon’s direction, I too raced through the night city.
DODON!
“—Hk.”
The impact sound echoing from my direction of travel told me Karla was still fighting.
Increasing my speed further, I ran up onto the rooftops of buildings. Piercing through the black smoke that enveloped the flames and rubble, I saw Karla and the demon (Collette), looking unchanged from when I saw them at the venue.
『DEEEEVIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIL!』
That Woman, who had arrived first, approached the demon. While remaining wary of Karla, the demon, with Collette’s face, smiled like a benevolent mother.
“What’s wrong, Contractor-dono? Were you bullied? You poor thing… But you don’t have to cry anymore.”
DSHU!
Collette thrust her Worm-like left arm through That Woman’s chest without hesitation.
It couldn’t have been an attack. Even as her chest was pierced, That Woman wore an ecstatic expression. As she was absorbed, Collette grew That Woman’s upper body in place of her Worm-like left arm.
『…KIIKAKAKAKAKAKAKAKAK!』
“Now we’ll be together forever, Contractor-dono.”
Collette gazed lovingly at That Woman, who was laughing maniacally as the demon’s left arm.
The price of the contract may have been Licia’s soul, but the demon’s contractor was That Woman. Licia might have been deceived, but for the demon, it seems the contractor is not the soul, but their will.
Still, can one become a contractor with just the “memories” sealed in a Magic Stone?
The fact that the demon sees a mere recording medium like a Magic Stone as a contractor made me think that Licia’s soul was still bound.
“Have I kept you waiting?”
Collette, who had absorbed That Woman, bowed gracefully to Karla-san and me.
“You’re welcome. It’s easier to dispose of them when they’re gathered, isn’t it?”
Karla-san retorted to Collette’s provocative words. However, Collette had realized why Karla-san had waited.
“Were you able to rest a bit? It’s about time you two got serious, you know?”
Karla-san, who had been on the verge of death for so long, had the stamina of a toddler. Even if she gained infinite magical power with her Gift (Divine Protection), there was a limit to her activity.
I had thought that Karla-san wasn’t using her Divine Protection because, just as I was conserving my magical power, she was conserving her meager stamina.
If Karla-san had fought seriously, even a demon wouldn’t have escaped unscathed. If that had happened, the damage to the Royal Capital would have been even more widespread.
But, the reason Karla-san didn’t use her Divine Protection felt a little different from such uncharacteristic compassion, or mere conservation.
“You don’t expect me to get serious against a mere “opening act,” do you?”
Karla-san remained unchanged even when facing a demon. She sneered, haughty and arrogant. But Collette responded to such a Karla-san with a demonic, crescent moon-like smile.
“Try me.”
『Kyaaahahahahaha!』
Collette unleashed a rain of Miasma Bullets from the mouth of That Woman, who was letting out a shrill cry.
I, who had been on alert to move at any moment, used Martial Arts to leap and dodge across the rooftops, while Karla-san, still floating in mid-air, swung her right hand, which had been accumulating magical power.
“――Typhoon――”
Gwoooooooooooooooh!!
A giant whirlwind, imbued with magical power, blew away the black smoke along with the Miasma Bullets.
Karla-san’s strength didn’t rely on her Divine Protection. It was precisely because of her overly precise magical power control that she could handle such vast amounts of magical power without waste.
As proof, even though Collette lost her balance in the whirlwind, neither I nor Karla-san herself were hardly affected. In that instant, I readied my knife and leaped into the night sky, just as Karla-san was about to release the magical power accumulated in her left hand――
『――Fire!!』
Karla-san’s movements stopped for a moment at that voice.
An instant later, from the dozens of figures visible in the direction of the castle, countless Fire Arrows were loosed, raining down on everyone present.
“――Magic Shield (Shield)――”
I produced two Magic Shields (Shields) from my hands to deflect the Fire Arrows, and Collette, too, swung the left arm that had become That Woman’s to block the attack.
Who used attack magic? Even if it’s effective against demons and Worms, are they sane, using fire indiscriminately again in a city already this ablaze?
Vwoosh!
“…”
Karla-san, who had brushed off the Fire Arrows with the hem of her Mithril dress, wiped the usual smile from her face, her gaze turning towards the direction the Fire Arrows were fired from—a dark, chilling look.
“…Ah, I had forgotten.”
Saying that, Karla-san turned her eyes back to me, her usual smile returning as she pinched the hem of her silver-white dress with her fingers.
“A small matter has come up. I’ll leave this place to you, Aria.”
With those words, Karla-san flew off towards the plaza. Collette frowned and tried to follow her, but I, also frowning, swung my Pendulum, and the battle between me and the demon began, almost as a matter of course.
“Impact!”
“What’s the effect? The demon?!”
The Court Magicians and members of the Magician Division who had unleashed magic towards the demon and its surroundings strained their eyes to confirm the effect.
“Report concisely.”
Count Lester, the Head Court Magician, frowned at his subordinates’ behavior, yet the corner of his mouth twitched slightly upwards.
Using low-ranking attack magic as a barrage is a common tactic to achieve stable results. While its effect against a high-ranking demon is minimal, there was definitely someone present there who could easily die from a single hit.
When the demon appeared at the Royal Castle, Count Lester, who had been protecting the royal family, personally led his division out of the castle once Karla and Aria moved the battlefield to the city.
Count Lester saw this as a good opportunity. The demon, rumored to be Rank 6, was certainly a threat, but for Count Lester, there was no greater threat than his own daughter.
The daughter he had once used and discarded in an experiment to acquire all attributes had gained power on her own and killed his sons.
Though also tools, his sons had been carefully raised as useful tools. Karla, who killed them before he could use them, and whom he had spared only because she still had use as the Crown Prince’s fiancée, suppressing his anger, had obtained a Divine Protection and surpassed her father in actual strength.
That girl, who might bare her fangs at any moment, was dangerous. Now that Elvan had fallen from grace, there was no longer any meaning in keeping her alive.
“No movement from the demon!”
“Very well, second volley, prepare to fire!”
Seeing no movement from the demon’s side, Count Lester ordered the next volley. However, just then, a man stepped forward from among what appeared to be the observation team’s Magicians.
“I-I have a report!”
“…What is it?”
“Your daughter, who was pursuing the demon, may also be present at the location. A full barrage is deemed dangerous!”
“…”
Count Lester’s mouth twisted at his subordinate’s report.
He was one of those dispatched for the Dungeon exploration conducted by the royal family, and he knew Karla’s face.
Count Lester had not dispatched his noble Magician retainers for the Dungeon exploration, but instead sent Magicians who were close to Commoners. He had intended to send those whose deaths would incur no loss, but all of them had returned alive.
Such an unnecessary subordinate was trying to ruin this perfect opportunity. With Karla’s stamina, even a single direct hit could be fatal. Count Lester silently waved his hand to the subordinates around him, towards the one who had made the obstructive remark.
“Your Excellency, what are you――”
“――Ice Lance――”
“――!?”
Suddenly, pierced in the stomach by an ice spear launched by someone who had been his comrade, the man collapsed without a sound. Because it was ice, no blood flowed, and as the man continued to suffer with his internal organs crushed, Count Lester and the noble Magicians around him looked down on him with expressions of contempt.
“I’ll heal you when this is over. If you don’t die by then. Second volley, prepare!”
At their atrocious act, the common Magicians looked down, frightened, while the noble Magicians began to chant magic without a care for the fallen man, just then――
――ROAR!!
“What?!”
Flames suddenly unleashed from the heavens engulfed several Magicians. Count Lester, who had instantly backed away while looking up at the sky, saw a black-haired girl floating before the moon.
“Good evening, Father. Don’t you think it’s a lovely night?”
The Rainbow Sword has begun to move.
Within it, the battle between parent and child begins.
Next time, ‘Father and Daughter’
Settling the score of fate…