Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou (WN) Chapter 173

Mankind’s Struggle (Second Part)

The fortress, at the front area.

There the apostles who were dropped down to the ground using gravity generation device ‘Gran Farensen’ were opening a fierce battle that was worthy to be called as mortal combat against the soldiers of the empire.

“oOOOOOOOOO-“

One of the empire’s soldiers raised a war cry while rushing at an apostle.

The large sword of the apostle was elegantly swung while emitting silver light, with a slash the head of that empire soldier was lopped off. And then her returning sword lopped the head of the empire soldier at the opposite side. The soldier’s armor could defend against the disintegration ability for several hits before giving out, so the apostle was aiming at the part where there was no armor.

“d.a.m.n it-, they are just too strong-! Our side is already breaking the limit twice already here-“

“You monsters-! Just die already-“

The specs of the apostles were already dropped by sixty percent, furthermore their movements were obstructed, in addition their side was fully equipped with age of G.o.d cla.s.s artifacts, despite so the number of their allies that got defeated when facing an apostle was still overwhelmingly a lot. That fact caused the soldiers of the empire to hurl out abusive language.

“FUNNURABAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“ (TN: Some kind of war cry, Kurita from Eyeshield 21 often use this.)

At that time when the soldiers were unconsciously getting cold feet from the apostles’ fierce attack, an angry yell that for some reason made a chill rushed through their spine and their groin tightened resounded. And then at the next instant, a fist that was like rock was swung furiously and pierced the back of the head of an apostle, the fist then pushed toward the ground without stopping――and it punched through.

The one who appeared behind hanging over the apostle whose head was pulverized, was a giant of a man, his whole body was covered by the provided set of equipment and his appearance was no different from other soldiers. However, the soldiers didn’t even praise that man for defeating an apostle, instead for some reason they were drawing away.

“Araaaan? What’s wrong everyone, are you all taking distance from moiiiii?”

“Hiih, forgive me!”

Thick lips and beastly eyes were peeking out from the opening of the helm. The man possessed inhuman level of muscle that was obvious even across the armor. Braided hair sprung out from the top of the helmet, a lovely pink ribbon was attached at the tip of the hair. That man who was a little bit strange was wriggling around while winking at the soldiers with feminine tone. It really was unavoidable for the soldiers to take even more distance while saying “Forgive me” reflexively.

After all even an apostle who was about to charge exactly right now came to a stand still with a twitch…

“NUURYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“

“DOOOSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-“

Even more throaty war cries resounded. When they looked, similar with the giant in front of their eyes――the monster nesting in the clothing shop at Brook city the shop manager Crystabel, an army of giants whose body was wrapped in so much muscle to the degree that made any onlooker wanted to say ‘you guys don’t actually need armor ain’t it?’ which was further equipped with similar set of equipment like everybody else was rampaging violently there.

One giant was hugging an apostle from the front, and then without even any time to activate her disintegration ability the apostle was bear hugged until death, and then another giant moved to another apostle with an artistic pile driver that pulverized the head of the apostle.

What was terrifying was, the embraced apostle received *puchuuuu* a feverish kiss from the giant, it was unclear whether it was for taking the aposlte by surprise or merely because of his tastes. While the apostle who received pile driver, perhaps because it was an irregular technique but the hugging direction was reversed from the usual pile driver, so the face of the apostle became exactly buried into the crotch of the giant in the end.

“How insipid this iiisss”

“Playing with a doll cannot make me fired up at aaallll”

The two giants who defeated two apostles also wriggled around while saying out such impressions with a feminine tone. The expressions of the two apostles who had been defeated and stopped functioning looked strangely teary eyed…but surely that was just their imagination.

The bizarre squad that was formed as a commando unit――also known as the manly women squad. The women(?) snapped their neck around to look for their next prey, and when they had finished designating their respective prey, the apostles who were confronting other soldiers shivered simultaneously. And then their gaze swam around expressing their wariness, which caused several of them to be taken by surprise and defeated.

They obstructed the movement of the apostles with mere (sticky) gaze and even forced the apostles to stiffen for an instant. That bizarre great contribution was decreasing the number of the apostles with certainty and backed up their allies. It backed up the ally…supposedly.

While monsters of a different kind were rampaging violently in the battlefield, a fierce fighting was unfolding at a slightly distance place.

One of the empire’s soldier readied the rifle he was provided with and fired in full-auto from middle range, nailing down an apostle in place. It was a hybrid weapon with excessive firepower that wasn’t influenced by the specs of the user. As expected even an apostle would have to be fixed in place if she defended against the swarm of flashes using her large sword.

However, an apostle wouldn’t be finished just with that. As though giving a return gift, an atrocious bullet that wasn’t outdone even by the railgun flew out――it was a counterattack using silver feathers.

The empire soldiers surrounding the apostle were mowed down. There were also people who barely endured using their defensive equipment or sword, but the low-level soldiers had their exposed flesh gouged out with certainty and their lives expired there.

*gachin* That sound of the bullet running out resounded. The empire soldier who was checking the apostle in place using his shooting was trying to reload the magazine in panic then.

Not letting away that opening, the apostle was going to fire silver bombardment. Despair flashed on the face of the empire soldier.

At that time,

“ZEAAAAAAAAAAH!!”

A loud scream of spirit that was clearly drawing a line compared to common soldier gushed out.

A large sword swung down from a sword held overhead at the apostle who was going to fire a silver flash.

The apostle looked annoyed while she lifted her large sword to block that attack…

“――”

The large sword that was swung down bent like a whip and its trajectory changed due to the holder’s arm, the vertical swing was transformed into a horizontal slash that made the apostle gazed in astonishment. And then, even when the apostle tried to defend but her movement was obstructed by the crimson light coiling around her and her neck got lopped off with her eyes still wide open.

The man who finished off an apostle alone, was the emperor of the empire who was emitting off unbelievable aura of supremacy――Gahard D Hoelscher was showered in the blood of apostle while he turned at the soldiers who got cold feet from that apostle’s fierce attack and raised a loud voice that sounded like explosion.

“You bastaards, don’t get cold feet-. Roar up! Fight until you turn into waste! This battlefield is a legend! All of you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds are the spinner of the new legend! Do you want to get laughed by the guys in the future huh-!”

This battle where the existential fate of the mankind was staked on――it was certainly a legend itself seen from the viewpoint of the future generation. They were all the actors on this grand stage that would be talked without end at the future.

The soldiers of the empire and the mercenaries that were overflowing with ambition got roused up by those words. Fierceness lit up in their eyes, they blazed up with the desire to carve their existence in history!

Gahard’s violent pa.s.sion swept over the battlefield.

“Imagine it. Whose figure is standing behind you b.a.s.t.a.r.ds!? If you b.a.s.t.a.r.d get defeated, then that guy will die next-! Can you permit that? You cannot right!? Then blaze up your killing intent! Whether they are an apostle or whatever, who the h.e.l.l cares, devote yourself to destroy all the enemyyy!”

The soldiers of the kingdom and the adventurers looked back over their shoulder for a moment, right now, even in this moment their eyes were seething violently with killing intent toward the silver monsters wielding fierce might. For whose sake they were standing in this place. That was obvious. It was to protect their friend, their lover, their family! This was a battlefield, where defeat was unforgivable!

At that time, the apostles who were offended by Gahard’s existence fired silver flashes at him all at once.

“Shield-, form up!”

Gahard immediately reacted. Just with that command, the imperial soldiers who had gathered around Gahard unnoticed combined their large shield and became the defensive wall for Gahard. The silver flashes were temporarily blocked with the special large shields that were also of Hajime made.

“Attack-!”

Gahard’s command surged once more.

Different imperial guards that were standing by behind the large shields kneeled and fired their anti-material rifle from the gaps of the shields.

The apostles who had just fired their silver flash were countered by the flying flashes which gouged their body and made them tumbled down.

And then, the moment the silver flashes stopped coming, Gahard rushed toward another apostle and then using his ever-changing sword attack that warped like a whip from the natural stance he began an equal fight against an apostle.

“Follow his majesty-“

“Surround and kill them-. They are not an opponent we cannot win against!”

“Don’t let these dolls doing whatever they pleased more than this-“

With that as the trigger, the allied force’s fervor rose and they battled with the apostles using similar teamwork. The soldiers wouldn’t shrink away anymore no matter how many of them were killed, that mettle and resolve that believed they couldn’t be defeated was gradually excelling the specs of the apostles.

In a corner of the fortress.

There a man that had been closing his eyes from the battlefield all this time quietly opened his eyes. And then, with a powerful voice that while sounded solemn yet contained pa.s.sion, he called at the commander Liliana.

“Princess Liliana.”

Just with those words, Liliana guessed what he wanted to say and judging that it was certainly the time she handed down the command.

“Yes, Adol-dono. Now that the battle is moving toward a land war, it would be extremely bad if we get sniped from above the gravity barrier. …Please show how the strength of the dragon race that rules over the sky will usurp the air superiority in front of all these people.”

“Fufu-, acknowledged.”

With solemn and powerful footsteps Adol went out to a terrace that continued toward the courtyard where they dragon race people were standing in a row. His brethren below him, roughly three hundred people were filled to the brim with fighting spirit and looked up straight toward their clan head Adol.

“The persecution of five hundred years ago. There is no way for us to forget that. All of you who survived that time and made an oath for the vindication of our honor, and also all of you who were born since then lamenting all the irrationality while living in hiding…no need for even a drop of mercy or reservation-! Roar following your rage! The sky is our territory! Make all of them know that! All dragon race…we are departing-!”

“ “ “ “ “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!” “ “ “ “

They all roared simultaneously.

That was the signal of the revolt of the proud race who had endured the rage and humiliation for five hundred years until now. All of the dragon race rolled upwind while flying to the sky at the same time.

The barrier of gravity was made undone with good timing by Liliana. The dragon race used that chance to rise to the sky, and then at the next instant they were all wrapped in light.

And then, the figures that appeared then were the flock of dragon that was the conqueror of the sky. They flapped their wings majestically and their pupils that split vertically glared at the puppets of G.o.d. The dragons emitted unbelievable pressure from their body alone. Right now, all of the dragons were fully equipped with Hajime’s artifact, turning up their majestic appearance even further.

Among those dragons, a majestic scarlet dragon that boasted a conspicuously huge body raised a roar along with an enormous pressure. Regardless of the distance of seven hundred meters that separated him from the ground, the rippling vibration of the air was also conveyed toward the allied force soldiers on the ground.

Right after that, it was as though the roar just now was the signal for the opening of the battle, three hundred dragons fired their breath attack simultaneously. The flashes that each had their own color based on the element of their forte rushed at the apostles who were dancing in the sky with a haughty face as though they owned the place.

The apostles wrapped their body with their silver wings and entered a defensive posture.

However, the breath of the dragon race bit and tore those defenses and exterminated the apostles.

{Hou, as expected from the spouse that Tio recognized. It’s astonishing for our strength to be raised up until this far.}

Adol raised a pleased voice seeing his breath that was displaying a might that was ten-odd times the usual. Adol and others who were equipped with similar equipment like the armed black dragons had their specs raised up by the sublimation magic that was enchanted into their armor. Naturally there was also the effect from the cheatmate and the limit break artifact ‘Last Zell’.

{Kuh, I won’t recognize him-! That kind of brat’s――}

An indigo blue dragon――Ristas made a voice that sounded vexed somehow. But, he held back his tongue after seeing an apostle who rapidly closed in on him in the middle of his speech swinging her large sword, yet that sword was splendidly blocked by the armor on his body and instead the apostle got blown away by the shockwave that was released by the armor.

Even though he wasn’t doing anything but the enemy got blown away. It felt like he got protected by Hajime that made his feeling to get really complicated.

{Then, you can just try to steal her. After all, that man too had said that he will accept anyone’s challenge.}

{Uguh}

There was no way he could do that. He could clearly imagine how he would be instantly killed the moment he challenged Hajime. The tone of Adol’s voice carried a tinge of teasing somewhere in it.

Ristas who was at disadvantage in this talk flapped his dragon wings and accelerated instantly to attack the apostles. It was like he was saying ‘I’m concentrating in defeating the apostles!’

The other dragon people were also smiling wryly at Ristas who was still young while beginning to wield their strength fully.

As expected from the ruler of the sky. With their jumped up specs and maneuverable midair battle, and also the blessing of the age of G.o.d artifacts, the competed against the apostles in more than even battle. The conflict where the air superiority was put on the line entered into a mortal combat where dragon roars and silver flashes mixed all over just like a presentation of a s.p.a.ce war in science fiction movie that was worthy of being in legend.

The powerful roars of dragon resounded through the reddish black sky, the allied force that was on the ground raised their war-cry at that gallantness while their morale was rising.

In a corner of the battlefield――at the position nearby the choir, there was a group that was clearly making a great contribution which drew a line from other soldiers and sacred knights at the area.

“UOOOOOOOH!!”

Along with a war cry a man made a step that split the ground and charged an apostle with a body blow――Nagayama Juugo the let his fist that was like a rock fell on the face of the apostle before she could do something.

The special gauntlet artifact of Hajime transmitted impact into the internal and destroyed the inside. Whipped up flesh and blood flew out from the n.o.ble face of the apostle and dirtied Juugo’s cheek with blood splatter, but he only fixed back his stance in a calm state just like his taciturn appearance.

An apostle vertically slashed her large sword from overhead stance toward that Juugo behind him.

However, with a backstep Juugo slipped into the bosom of the opponent smoothly and like that he crashed the apostle on the ground with a splendid shoulder throw. The ground was smashed into a radial shape from the excessive might and formed a small crater. Juugo stepped on the neck of the apostle whose movement was obstructed for an instant from the impact and gave her the finishing blow.

Juugo finished off two apostles in the blink of eye. Although the apostles were weakened and he himself was superhumanized, but the way he was fighting was splendid that made it clear that he had constantly trained without negligence.

There, two additional apostles arrived that approached Juugo in a pincer attack.

But, at that moment,

“――Wind blowing from the bottom of the earth, dye the thing with life white――’White Majestic Breath’!!”

White smoke rode with the wind and rushed through the air like a snake, it whirled and became a protective wall around Juugo. The two apostles that approached Juugo were slightly entangled by the white smoke, yet they used their silver wings and blew them away while withdrawing for once.

“tsk, petrifaction.”

The spectacle of the body part that was touched by the white smoke petrifying creakingly from the tip made the apostles showing an expression that seemed to want to say ‘how impudent’ while they attempted to use magic power of disintegration to unmade the curse.

“I won’t let you.”

The caster that blew the white smoke of petrifaction――Nomura Kentaro waved a conductor stick artifact. Immediately the white smoke coiling around Juugo in protection parted into two trails and attacked the withdrawing two apostles.

The apostles judged that it would be dangerous for them to get hit with that in their current state where their magic resistance was lowered so they attempted to withdraw further, but unnoticed the ground swelled up and bound their legs and their attempts didn’t bear any fruit. The apostles pitched forward from the sudden restrain. That became a fatal opening.

At the next moment, the white smoke that Kentaro manipulated swallowed the two apostles whole.

What were left later were only two artistic sculptures that were completely made from stone.

Other than them, there were also Nakano Shinji and Saitou Yoshiki who had gotten back on their feet after Hiyama’s betrayal and Kondou’s death, they were unfolding a really great contribution with bloodcurdling look, while protecting the hole in their formation were Tamai Atsushi, Aikawa n.o.boru, Nimura Akito unfolding a fierce battle against the apostles without taking even a step back.

They were all perfectly supported from behind by Son.o.be Yuuka, Sugawara Taeko, Miyazaki Nana, Tsuji Ayako, and Yoshino Mao.

The members of Ai-chan bodyguard squad were able to operate almost at the same level with Juugo’s party and Shinji and others who were already fighting at the front line since the very beginning were because since Hajime and others departed from the capital, they encouraged their heart thinking that at this rate they would be no good and so they performed extra hard training since then.

Other than them, there were also the other students whose heart had been completely broken, even though they were unable to go as far as fighting directly, but with their abilities that had been heightened they were launching support magic from the rear, performing healing magic, using rifle or magic to add in laying out barrage, and so on. They too were desperately backing up the other’s battle.

Every one of them had their broken heart to be lit up once more by Hajime’s speech at the devil king castle. If Hajime’s speech at that time were merely words, then the moment an apostle appeared before their eyes their heart would surely break again because it was only supported by paper thin words. However, everyone of them had seen Hajime.

He lost one of his arms and one of his eyes, what he had gone through even changed the color of his hair, he was in a tattered state and even his beloved lover was taken away. The wailing that he raised because of his lover’s disappearance was something that caused them to feel pain in their heart. Even so, at the end he stood back up and proclaimed that he would crush everything and take her lover back. That appearance of him at that time was too powerful, burning their soul that were smoke-stained all this time.

It wasn’t for the sake of the world or anything like that. It was merely a wish for returning home. A wish of not wanting to let their friend died. In order to grant just that much wish, they had to fight with everything they had leaving nothing to spare, finally they were convinced of that and they mustered their courage.

For the front line group, this support that they received came from a group who even though their heart was once smoke stained but they were still a group of cheat holder from another world.

As expected, even though the enemy was the apostles but with their specs lowered, taking on the cla.s.smate group who had been strengthened put them at disadvantage. Seeing the apostles being exterminated one after another, the allied force soldiers at the area raised their acclamation.

But, at that time, one of the apostles that broke through the front line rapidly approached one of the girl student.

“Hih!?”

The female student reflexively screamed.

But, at the next moment, the fear of death changed into shock.

The head of the apostle flew up with a plop, the body that lost its strength slid in vain beside the girl student.

Furthermore the apostles who were trying to surround the front line group had their necks reaped up in turn from the outside and their lives expired instantly. Regardless when they moved their gaze over there, other than the corpses of the headless apostles, there was nothing and no one there.

One of the apostles turned her gaze around at the surrounding with a grim gaze toward this obviously strange situation.

“Kuh, just where in the world the attack came fro-“

“Right in front of you here! s.h.i.thead!”

The apostle was startled that her murmur was replied right from the front and her gaze returned forward. In her eyes, the shadow of a kodachi being sucked toward her neck was reflected. And then that became the last view of that apostle.

Displaying a thorough covert action(thinness of shadow) that couldn’t be noticed even by apostles, this ghost crossed over from crowd to crowd and in an instant, it approached to reap the target’s head.

Cutting down the apostles who had the figure of a human female was a really great burden mentally. What became salvation was that all the apostles had the same appearances, their cold figure where no emotion could be felt made anyone that saw them felt that they were like a puppet.

Coupled with the miserableness of having a shadow so thin that made even the worst enemy to show expression of “Eh? He is actually there!?”, the young man with the vocation of ‘a.s.sa.s.sin’――Endo Kousuke was earning kill point that was the highest among his cla.s.smates while half giving in to despair.

“As expected from you, Kousuke-! I don’t know where you are though!”

”Aawesome, Kousuke! Though I don’t know where you are!”

“Endo-kun do your beeest! Though I cannot see your figure doing your best!”

“Eh, ah, I see, Endo-kun is also fighting! Thanks for helping ‘kay!”

With a drop, something shining fell from Kousuke’s eyes. It appeared there was a rain falling down. If he said it was raining then it was raining.

There, “Ufufu” a voice that was slightly filled with bewitching tone resounded.

Kousuke who slipped inside a crowd peeking for an opening made by apostle felt something chilly in his spine before he turned his gaze over there. What he found there was a woman from rabbit race, she was giving a glance at Kousuke.

“You, your presence management is really skilled. Perhaps even I am no match against that.”

“He, ah, is that, so?”

The rabbit ear female smiled widely toward the perplexed Endo. Kousuke’s cheek unconsciously turned red from seeing that smile. In the first place, the rabbit race who was the greatest popularity as treasured slave in general had well-arranged face and figure. The female who was talking at Kousuke right now was also an amazing beauty.

Having such a beauty, added with her lovely rabbit ears on her head smiling at him, the virgin young man with the history of having no girlfriend was equal with his age had his heartbeat increasing without stopping. Although there was also the fact that he was feeling stimulation from being in a battlefield right now.

But, that violent throbbing in his chest that felt similar from heart fluttering was immediately supplanted by a cramping face.

“My name is Ranainferna Hauria of Rapid Shadow. I rushed like a gale, sneak up like a shadow, and presented a single lethal attack, one of the stealthy hand of Hauria race!”

“…I, is that so.”

“But, when I saw you, I became embarra.s.sed to introduce myself with that nickname. That’s why, it’s vexing but I’ll hand over the nickname of ‘Rapid Shadow’ to you. Your name?”

“…Endo, Kousuke.”

Kousuke was unable to say that what was embarra.s.sing was actually introducing one’s own nickname. If he was asked ‘do you like a beautiful Onee-san?’, then Kousuke’s answer was decided already.

“Then, from today you are ‘Rapid Shadow’…no, you have surpa.s.sed me so…you can introduce yourself as ‘Kousuke E Abyssgate of Rapid Fang Shadow Claw’ then! It’s vexing for me though!”

“No, that’s fi――”

“Well then, so that both of us won’t die, let’s reap the enemy’s neck with our all♪ See you! Kousuke E Abyssgate of Rapid Fang Shadow Claw!”

“…”

Kousuke already wanted very much to give a retort like ‘how can you say something like “let’s reap their neck♪” with such a lovely smile’ or ‘just where did this abyssgate something came from’, but the most shocking thing for Kousuke was that Rana had discovered him when he already even used his skill to kill his presence. She had discovered him.

And then,

――Do you like beautiful Onee-san, with rabbit ears on their head?

“Kousuke E Abyssgate of Rapid Fang Shadow Claw, has arrived!”

It seemed that a love that budded in battlefield really existed.

The claw and fangs of Kousuke began to become even more well-executed, it was to the degree that anyone who knew him might suspect that he had received some kind of other strengthening. He went on to take the head of all the apostles. (TN: Here the writing of Kousuke’s name changed, from the normal kanji of Kousuke into the katakana of Kousuke E Abyssgate)

On the other hand, nearby such cla.s.smates there was one other person who was making a strikingly great contribution. It was Aiko.

At the rear, she kept glancing at ‘You Can Do It-, Agitator! Compilation of Lovely Speech Learned Case by Case’ that was handwritten by Hajime while in a certain interval she encouraged the allied force so that their moral wouldn’t plummet using words that the cla.s.smates felt like they had heard from somewhere. She was also raising her voice for the sake of her own battle.

“I command in the name of Hatayama Aiko! O transient life, stand up once more and destroy the enemy!”

Right after she said that, several of the apostles that should have been defeated already were standing up in a swaying motion. And then, they attacked the apostles who were supposed to be their ally with a force that looked as though they had recovered their original unrestrained spec.

That was the effect of Aiko’s soul magic. She reproduced a pseudo-soul from her own soul and manipulated it to possess the flesh of the apostles. This magic combined ‘Soul Reproduction’ that created a transient soul and ‘Necromancy’ of darkness magic.

Aiko whose vocation as ‘Farming Master’ was the only non-combat vocation among the cla.s.smates if Hajime was excluded, became aware of her own powerlessness, since Hajime departed on his journey she became strongly conscious of looking for a way of fighting for the sake of protecting her students.

There she thought hard of how to make use of the soul magic that was her only advantage, and the result that she reached was this magic. It was really ironic that what gave her the hint was the betrayer Eri’s necromancy and soul bind, the aspect where this magic was making use of corpses also caused a fierce conflict in her heart, still Aiko took the plunge in developing this magic.

That time at the sky above the G.o.d Mountain, she had already stopped staying at a clean place while only making her students dirtying their hand.

Besides,

“Until he return, we absolutely won’t lose-!”

Yes, for the sake of the man who she gave her heart to despite understanding that such relationship must not happen, she absolutely wouldn’t lose. Because she wanted to meet him, one more time.

“Ahahah, good grief Ai-chan, her motivation of hiding it already dropped to zero isn’t it?”

“If Ai-chan mentioned ‘he’, then there is also one person it can possibly be isn’t it.”

Son.o.be Yuuka and Miyazaki Nana grinned a bit at each other while glancing at Aiko.

“Nagumo-kun is seriously a demon king. It should be impossible to even make one’s own teacher to fall for her student.”

“There are also several girls in cla.s.s that look like they fell already…a real harem is formed right in front of our eyes, what a sight. Well, exactly because of that they can think of something like ‘me too’ though.”

“Normally just by looking at his relation with that child named Yue, anyone would draw back already. Like, when you see a girl that is too earnest toward a boy, you will give up then, something like that. I wonder if this is also the attraction of the demon king. We too have to be careful, if not we are going to get charmed inadvertently too.”

“Isn’t that righttt”

This time the two of them smiled wryly. And then, they looked up to the sky together.

There, they could see the figure of their female cla.s.smate who had earned the most kill point in this battlefield. She rushed through the sky freely, using two large swords, or black silver flash, or black silver feathers, or magic, she used them all depending on the situation to overwhelm the apostles.

Four jet black wings mixed with silver radiance spread on her back and dress armor with black tone covering her body. Her hair that was fluttering from the caressing of wind was also black. That figure with an appearance that was worthy as a fallen angel which was slaughtering the apostles who looked like angel, no matter how anyone looked at it that person should be called as a general of a demon king.

Despite so, the angel side was the force that was trying to devastate the mankind, and the fallen angel one was the force trying to protect the mankind, it was really an ironic story.

That rampaging fallen angel which was Kaori was clad in silver black light while moving with a speed that left afterimages trailing behind, right now she was cutting down one more apostle.

Two apostles who aimed at that moment swung their large sword horizontally. Kaori blocked those using her twin large swords and black silver wings and then she rotated with fierce momentum. Immediately the two apostles were repelled away and their lives came to an end when black silver feathers pierced their forehead without delay.

Just how many apostles had she slaughtered with the addition of those two Kaori wondered.

“There is no end to this…”

Kaori complained like that unconsciously.

“Then, give up and fall.”

The one who replied was an apostle. When Kaori noticed, she was completely surrounded in a sphere shape, she was literally buried from all directions without any opening left.

And then, at the next moment silver flashes were fired. The apostles ignored the possibility of friendly fire against their compatriots in front of them and fired simultaneously without any reservation or mercy, they all aimed at the center of the formed sphere encirclement and fired.

However, Kaori was unshaken.

“I don’t know any words like giving up you know?”

Kaori made such frivolous talk before attempted to make a breakthrough from the front in a straight line. She used her twin swords as a shield and charged to the torrent of light.

The apostle whose gaze met Kaori’s was convinced that Kaori would break through and she readied her twin large swords.

Right after that, Kaori whose whole body was smoking came through, regardless of her state the glint of her eyes didn’t weaken even by a little bit and she approached the apostle rapidly with fierce momentum. And then, she shot out black silver feathers, aiming accurately at spots like shoulder or ankle in a dirty method.

Similarly the apostle fired her silver feathers in the attempt to offset the attack. However at that moment chain of light stretched out from below her feet and constricted the apostle’s movement for an instant.

The restrain was immediately disintegrated and dispersed, but that was enough. The black silver feathers caught the body of the apostle and broke her posture greatly. Kaori arrived at that timing. She drew back the large sword on her hand to the limit, and in an instant, she dealt a stab in G.o.d speed.

*gi gi gi* The sound of fellow large swords sc.r.a.ping at each other resounded, but in the end Kaori also had the momentum of her charge which the apostle was unable to neutralize, like that she was then skewered by Kaori’s large sword.

But, it seemed that it was still within the apostle’s expectation. The handle of the skewered sword――the hand of Kaori that grasped there was gripped tightly and the apostle restricted Kaori’s movement.

There silver feathers rushed in.

The attack intended to bury the apostle together with Kaori.

“Even though she is your comrade but you all treat her too lightly.”

Kaori who whispered that while making an exasperated expression prioritized at giving the finishing blow to the apostle before her eyes without feeling concern against the rushing silver feathers.

The eyes of the apostle opened wide slightly.

Although currently their specs were limited, but their disintegration ability was still working in full. Because Kaori had the same flesh with the apostles she would be able to resist the disintegration if she activated the same ability, but even so she would still be overwhelmed by the amount of attack and bore damage to the degree that couldn’t be ignored. Kaori herself should also understand that. Despite so, just why…that was what the apostle pondered.

Right after that, the body of the apostle was bisected by Kaori’s sword, almost at the same time Kaori was swallowed by many silver feathers.

“She is supposedly able to trace our experience but…after all she is just an imitation in the first place. What a foolish act.”

“That’s not actually true.”

The words that one of the apostles who fired the silver feathers whispered were immediately replied to.

The eyes of the apostle narrowed quietly from hearing that voice which didn’t sound uneasy or agitated at all.

Ahead of the apostle gaze, she could see the figure of a wounded Kaori at the spot where the silver feathers were fired at.

As expected, she could be damaged but she was merely putting up a brave front. The apostle who made that judgment deployed innumerable silver feathers to deal the finishing blow wordlessly. The other apostles were also deploying their feathers at the same time, so Kaori who was at the center of the attacks looked like she was drowning in a sea of stars.

But, just before those silver feathers could be fired the apostles reflexively stopped their movement completely.

The reason was because the wounds of Kaori were healed in the blink of eye before their gaze. With speed and vividness that resembled Yue’s ‘Automatic Regeneration’, even the wounds that were pierced by a silver feather or the gaping open hole returned to their former unblemished state, not only that even her clothing returned to as good as new.

The apostles couldn’t see her using magic. Apostle body also wasn’t provided with a function of automatic regeneration.

The bewildered apostles gazed fixedly at Kaori――and they noticed, behind the forelock that was swept by the wind, on Kaori’s forehead, there was a cross crest shining silver black that was carved there.

“That is…”

“’Holy Crest of the Fallen’――this is my magic. I used this before the opening of the battle. It’s not as great as Yue’s regeneration, however even if I’m wounded it will activate by itself and heal me, really a convenient magic.”

Metamorphosis and regeneration composite magic ‘Holy Crest of the Fallen’――by carving a cross that shouldered the role of a magic circle on a part of the body, this magic would activate regeneration magic in a prescribed time. This magic could even be called as a powerful version of auto-regen. Furthermore, by using metamorphosis magic the holy crest that was like a tattoo could be erased.

“…However, if we continue to fire saturation attack, sooner or later the damage should surpa.s.s the healing. Your magic power is also not unlimited.”

Hearing Kaori’s words, an apostle intentionally said out words to pull herself together. It was unclear whether the apostle was trying to persuade herself with those words or if she was seriously thinking so…

Kaori made a fearless smile. It was a provocative smile that was something Kaori from before would never make by any means. The influence that she received from a demon king somewhere or his wife was keenly conveyed through that action.

“You have two misunderstandings there.”

“…What?”

Kaori’s atmosphere made the apostle asked back with her greatest possible vigilance.

Toward such apostle, Kaori prepared her twin swords and spread her two pairs of wings widely while leaking out her words in a small volume.

“First――”

“――!?”

At the next moment, Kaori’s figure vanished and appeared right behind the apostle. She was in the stance of swinging out her sword.

“If I will it, then I am able to avoid any kind of saturation attack.”

“To, too, fast――”

While the other apostles surrounding them were bewildered, the apostle who Kaori conversed with until just now was gazing in astonishment with half her body sliding down diagonally and blood spraying everywhere.

Kaori swept her large sword to shake off the clotted blood, the apostles who witnessed that returned to their senses and fired simultaneously.

But,

“――’G.o.d Speed’.”

Kaori’s figure had already gone by the time they fired, at the next instant two apostles were bisected and fell toward the ground.

Even when the apostles moved their gaze to that spot in shock, just as expected Kaori’s figure was already gone by the time they looked, and another apostle at a different place was bisected again.

“Spa, s.p.a.ce teleportation?”

One apostle raised a questioning voice. But, right after that, she felt the wind gently stroking her body and a diagonal split appeared in her field of vision. Like that her consciousness fell into darkness then.

“No way that’s true. I am not in possession of s.p.a.ce magic just so you know. This is merely me moving at high speed.”

“Nonsense-. Something like a speed that we cannot detect is just-“

“I can produce such speed. More accurately I am merely shortening the time though?”

Saying that, the apostle who talked with a shrill voice from shock was instantly cut apart by Kaori.

Regeneration magic ‘G.o.d Speed’――a magic that shortened the time affecting every single event. If the time for an attack to reach an opponent was shortened then it would become a G.o.d speed attack, if the time for traveling was shortened then it would be possible to move with a speed that could be mistaken as teleportation.

If the root of regeneration magic was traced back then it was a magic that interfered with time. It was merely that the usefulness of this magic stopped at ‘regeneration’ as the limit if used on the human body. Since Kaori obtained this magic from Meljine, she had trained in it all this time until now. It was the first age of G.o.d magic that she obtained and something that fitted her perfectly who had the role as healer, so her attachment to this magic was also especially all the more.

As the result, just like her success in creating the hour crystal, Kaori also became able to directly interfere with time although within a limit, her possession of the body of an apostle was also a factor in her mastery of this magic.

Of course there was also demerit, this magic consumed a vast amount of magic power for every single use. That was the reason why Kaori didn’t immediately use it right after the battle started…

Seeing her brethren got exterminated one after another by an overwhelming speed that they were powerless to do anything against, an apostle changed the aim of her argument. Perhaps it was also her scheme to make Kaori got agitated even just by a little.

“Indeed, you are strong. As to be expected from someone who serves that irregular. However, a war is not something that can be influenced by an individual.”

“What do you want to say?”

“Look at the surface. Even while you are facing all of us, the people are dying continuously. It seems there are also places that are putting a good fight, but in the end they are humans after all. They cannot avoid the acc.u.mulation of fatigue and damage. Before long they too will be reduced into mere corpses.”

“…”

“We are still arriving here from the Holy Precincts you know? There is nothing that you can protect. Everything, is just a pointless struggle.”

Kaori stopped moving and looked back at the talking apostle quietly. And then, she gently smiled at the apostle who was pointing the point of her sword at her while proclaiming mankind’s death and opened her mouth.

“Your second misunderstanding. Something like the amount of damage, or something like the amount of magic power…just who are you saying that to?”

“What are…”

“Even if my body has changed, I am ‘Shirasaki Kaori’. I possess the vocation ‘Healing Master’, and I am the ‘healer’ of the demon king(Hajime-kun)’s party you know?”

Saying that, Kaori held her large sword in reverse grip and pointed the tip to the surface. That sword which had been added with improvement by Hajime so that Kaori could go all out in exhibiting her ability as ‘Healing Master’ shined brilliantly in black silver color.

And then,

“――’Mighty Breath of Heaven Turning’.”

Right after that, a single black silver drop fell toward the ground from the tip of the large sword.

That drop when it reached the height of several meters from the ground, it went *KA-!* with light exploding from it that spread a ripple of black silver through the whole battlefield. Two layers, three layers, the black silver waves surged above the allied force.

Then, at the next moment a soldier of the allied force that should have died already opened his eyes with a snap. And then he raised his body with a bewildered look and touched all over his chest that should have been slashed open, when he realized there was no injury there he tilted his head further.

There were also others, people who were gouged out by silver feathers or killed by elemental magic woke up one after another. And then when they understood that their body was somehow alive with their wound healed, they immediately stood up and rushed forward in order to a.s.sist their comrades who were fighting the apostles.

Not only the people who had died, naturally even the people who were still alive but got wounded were also healed in the blink of eye.

“Wha-, they are revived-!?”

From above, the apostle who confirmed that situation exposed her shock as though the claim of the apostles that they were emotionless was just a lie.

Soul and regeneration composite magic ‘Mighty Breath of Heaven Turning’――this magic picked out which were the allies using soul magic and carried out convergence-fixing-attachment of the souls that were in the process of dispersing, moreover it performed healing using regeneration magic. As expected, in the case where the corpse didn’t maintain their original shape like being bisected until the body become in pieces or the head was gone, or the time of death had gone past ten minutes, the effect of this magic wouldn’t work on the corpse that was in those states, but other than those cases all the allies inside the radius of four kilometers with the black silver drop as the center would have revival and healing performed on them by this army use recovery magic.

Even with just those properties, this magic was already like a joke. However, the show of Kaori’s true ability didn’t stop just there.

“――’Divine Binding of Layered Usurpation’.”

Different from the large sword that was held in reverse grip its tip pointing below, the other large sword was held in front of Kaori’s chest with its tip pointed straight above. And then, along with that proclamation, the readied large sword became clad in silver black radiance.

It was like a black hole that swallowed the galaxy, and it exhibited a result that didn’t contradict that appearance.

“ts, this is, my strength is leaving-“

Even though they were already had their specs shaved off by the choir right now, but right now when they felt that their strength was shaved off even further the apostles showed their agitation.

Looking carefully, radiant lights were leaking out from all the apostles in the range of several hundred meters around Kaori, and then those lights converged toward the large sword Kaori held like a meteor shower.

And then, right after the lights were absorbed by the large sword, magic power was overflowing from Kaori’s body. Not only her consumed magic power recovered, it even looked that the magic power she possessed grew a lot more. Not only that, through the tip of the large sword facing the ground, a silver black drop fell to the ground once more.

Silver black ripples were spreading below once more like before. And the result, the movement of the allied force soldiers was obviously becoming better. The sharpness and power of their movement, and also their reaction speed were increasing.

“I just stole the strength of all of you.”

“Such thing…”

“It’s possible as you can see. I am a healing master. Transferring magic power to other people is also our role. Though it takes a bit of time to seize the magic power of you all.”

Saying that was easy but to actually do it was another matter altogether.

Soul and light element composite magic ‘Divine Binding of Layered Usurpation’――this composite magic designated its target using soul magic, and then it used sublimation magic to light element magic ‘Divine Transfer’ in order to transfer magic power to other people. It plundered the magic power of the seized opponent forcefully to recover one’s own magic power, and then that magic could also be reused for things like ally’s strengthening and so on.

Of course, normally even using sublimation magic stealing magic power from apostle without even touching them was impossible. What was helping Kaori in using this magic was the twin large swords her hands were holding.

――Demon Sword of Circle Calamity Anima Erunte

――Holy Sword of Gospel Bel Rexion

The demon sword plundered the power of the opponent and turned it into its food, while the holy sword made that power into unlimited power to share with the ally. These two swords exhibited their maximum strength when they were used together, a demon sword and a holy sword that exclusively a.s.sisted Kaori in her use of ’Mighty Breath of Heaven Turning’ and ‘Divine Binding of Layered Usurpation’.

“…Even so, even so, all of you cannot win. We the apostles are infinite. No matter how many little tricks you all play, no matter how much you all struggle, in the end only the destiny of ruin awaits you all. Because that is the great will of the G.o.d.”

“Human won’t perish. Surely it will be the same result no matter what kind of world it is. Just like how a boy without any considerable strength crawled up from the bottom of the abyss by himself, even when human is swallowed by difficulty, they will surely find out their path to survival. You see, human just doesn’t know how to perish. As long as there is just one person who wishes to live, wishing to protect someone, their determination will force something like a mere ‘destiny’ to yield.”

The gaze of the apostle and Kaori crossed.

“…Then, please show me the proof of that.”

With those words as the signal, the fierce battle was restarted once more.

The apostles attacked Kaori in a group, and Kaori exterminated them who attacked her.

If she saw the allied force became exhausted she would heal them, in a certain interval she would perform revival. When her magic power decreased she would steal from the apostles, sometimes she would carry out support bombing toward the surface.

At the other places too, the dragon race people were holding back the apostles with fierce efforts, on the surface too every single person were continuing to fight to the death.

It was unclear just how much time had pa.s.sed.

Even the shadow of the sun had already gone from the reddish black world, the people was gradually losing their sensation of time. If they didn’t have Kaori’s healing magic, perhaps the allied force would collapse already since a long time ago. That was just how endless the force of the apostle was.

Even so the allied force soldiers believed that Hajime, the ‘Sword of G.o.ddess’ who stepped into the Holy Precincts would bring an end to this for them, with that belief they mustered their willpower. There was already a lot of soldiers who met their end because the revival didn’t make it in time.

Gradually the sensation of being pushed back by the violence of number began to rule over the allied force.

But, at that time, suddenly one soldier who looked up at the sky above G.o.d Mountain whispered with small volume.

“Oi, what the h.e.l.l is that…”

Ahead of that soldier’s gaze, there was the scene of the miasma reaching toward the surface with an obviously growing momentum.

Right after that, the muddy miasma overflowing from the crack of s.p.a.ce increased in force all of a sudden.

And then, the miasma fell and covered all over the surface of the collapsed G.o.d Mountain, without stopping the miasma flowed and headed toward the fortress. Ahead of the miasma there was the capital, it pa.s.sed through and touched the gra.s.s plain in front of the fortress. Just like the dust cloud that was produced when G.o.d Mountain crumbled, the black miasma approached them with a terrific force like an avalanche.

Reddish black lights were materialized in succession inside that miasma. Right after that, a great number of roar rose and countless monsters leaped out from inside the miasma. It seemed that it was the second wave of the monster army.

Furthermore, several thousand apostles also flew out all at once from the crack in s.p.a.ce.

“Oi oi, a battle force augmentation after this far. Bring it on…this is a time to say something like that but…this is really bad huh.”

With a body that was dyed bright red from the blood spurt of the enemy, Gahard’s expression turned like someone who just had bitten a bitter bug. Not to mention the other soldiers, their expression were turning into despair.

Even though it was already absolutely the limit facing the apostles who were a.s.saulting them without any pause, but after this long, tens of thousands of monsters swarm and several thousands of apostles were coming again――perhaps this deadlocked state would crumble for the worse like this.

“First and second division, concentrate at the front! Don’t let the monsters ride the momentum and charge into melee battle-! Stop them in place-!”

A formation was immediately formed by Gahard’s command.

The earthquake was spreading, the air was rumbling. The sound of the monsters charge and the roars’ shockwave were getting closer.

Looking at the overflowing large swarm of monsters while taking along an avalanche of enormous miasma behind them, damp sweating was flowing all over Gahard’s body. The dragons and Kaori were also held back in place by the similarly overflowing apostles. The cheat group from another world was also having their hands full with protecting the choir squad.

The distance was approximately one kilometer.

The expressions of the allied force soldiers were convulsing from the excessive pressure.

Perhaps this is hopeless. Unintentionally anyone was giving off that atmosphere. It was at that moment,

“――’Kalpa of Destruction’.”

The ground vanished. Along with the monsters.

“――’Kalpa of Destruction’――’Kalpa of Destruction’.”

A voice of a woman resounded thrice. That voice resounded with clarity even at the battlefield which was filled to the brim with noises.

But, rather than that voice, Gahard and others were shocked even more by the spectacle happening before their eyes.

The leading pack of the advancing monsters was completely vanishing into the bottom of the earth altogether. They were unable to even raise the scream of death agony.

Right after that, the voice that excessively reverberated and excessively irritated the listeners, the cause of this phenomenon showed her appearance sluggishly from a gate that opened at the plain in front of the allied force.

“Yahoooo☆ Appearing when the situation is in a pinch, the world idol, Miledy-chan has arrived-! Ahahaaa, isn’t this the greatest timiiing! Just-as-ex-pec-ted, me♪ A woman that can read the mood! Everyone of the allianceee, falling in love with me is-no-good-y’know♡”

What appeared was a giant golem, and a really tiny humanoid wearing a smiley mask, clad in a milky white robe riding on its shoulder. Miledy’s appearance that looked like she was s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around a lot was taking a pose that felt like ‘Kyarurun☆’ toward the allied force army from the giant golem’s shoulder while making ‘tehehe-pero’ expression. The smiley face mask was somehow looking like that by some unknown mechanism. (TN: Tehehe pero. Imagine winking while chuckling tehehe and the person’s tongue sticking out.)

Including Gahard’s, the time of the allied force army was stopped.

Everyone without exception was having a genuine confusion of “Just what in the world is that” while at the same time their expression was turning into an indescribable irritation.

There an explanation came from Liliana toward the allied force. According to her, this person was a helper that Hajime and others called for, putting aside her annoying speech and conduct, this person was really quite useful. It was unknown what she had been doing until now, but she finally arrived right now, something like that.

“Geeezzz, everyone, what a tough crowd all of youuuuu. ‘Perhaps this is hopeless’…you all seemed to act pointlessly serious like that so I tried to enliven this placeee. Yet now you all are making Miledy-chan’s good will to go to wasteee, hmph hmph, Miledy-chan is extremely angry here!”

The irritation gauge of Gahard and everyone else almost exploded with that.

But, even while acting s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g off like that, Miledy pointed one of her hands at the approaching miasma behind and said a word.

“――’Severance Catastrophe’.”

The star of catastrophe created above the miasma immediately began to swallow the miasma with outrageous force. There was also the figures of monsters that were mixed inside the miasma there.

“Geeez-, daring to be a nuisance of Miledy-chan is something uuuunforgivable! Punishment timeee. ――’Demolish Yoke’.”

The gap between her s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g around voice and her chanting voice was absurd.

A voice of absolute zero resounded only in that instant of chanting.

The result from that was different from before, the feet of the monsters left the ground all at once and they flew beyond the sky with a preposterous momentum. Gravity was the resultant force from gravitational pull and centrifugal force. Therefore, those who had their gravitational pull severed would be flown away to the beyond.

The ten of thousand monsters were curbstomped by a lone person while helpless to do anything. Even the monsters who escaped the range of the large scale magic were exterminated by the rushing giant golems and knight golems one after another before the monsters could reach the allied force.

The allied force didn’t know that this person was one of the ‘liberator’, but even so they greatly comprehended that this was a helper that Hajime relied on. That this person was similarly a monster cla.s.s character.

The advance of the monster of the ground was managed by Miledy and her golems, and then the monsters who broke through that was somehow managed by the allied force, like that relieve was slightly spreading among the soldiers.

But, that relieve was immediately crumbling right after.

The apostles who overflowed from the crack in s.p.a.ce before this gathered into a single cl.u.s.ter. Their number was approximately a thousand.

The thousand apostle that formed their ranks like a single spear completely ignored the attack of Kaori or the dragons and began to descend in a straight line.

Naturally, anti-air artillery was also fired from the surface, but even while the apostles were falling one after another like scattered flowers, they relied on their number and kept advancing without hesitation. …They were heading toward the choir.

“tsk, I won’t let you-!”

{All hands, stop that apostle swarm-!}

With desperate look Kaori and Adol exerted all their strength to crush the large spear made from apostles.

Several hundred apostles were blown away in their descend to the ground, but even so the swarm of apostles that completely became a single cl.u.s.ter couldn’t be broken up completely…

“No good-, run awaaay!”

Kaori who was unable to oppose that pressure raised a scream while getting blown away.

Right after that, the large spear of apostles was emitting silver radiance like a divine spear that was thrown by G.o.d while stabbing at the barrier of the choir squad.

And then, before the people in the area could do something about the divine spear, cracks were spreading on the barrier that was protecting the choir squad…finally, the barrier was completely pulverized along with a thunderous sound.

The powerless members of the choir squad were vainly scattered to death before that tremendous might.

At this moment, the wedge that bound the apostles was broken.

The apostles of G.o.d exerted their ability in full.

b.l.o.o.d.y wind was sweeping over the battlefield. Here and there silver lights were bursting up, the allied force soldiers that were making their resistance in those areas were instantly turned into a lump of meat in an instant. Their heroic war cry was turning into a mere scream.

“This is only a stopgap measure but――’Demolish Yoke’.”

Miledy was maintaining the picture of h.e.l.l behind her while exercising the magic that cut loose the target from gravity toward the battlefield. The targets were easy to understand. The conspicuous silver magic power. She was only selecting those as her target.

Right after that, the apostles were simultaneously blown away to the sky. They were spinning while pulled until the distance of a kilometer from the ground instantly.

But, for the apostles in the strengthened state who had recovered their specs, this magic was really nothing but a temporary measure against them. They immediately fixed their posture. There the apostles who turned into the divine spear gathered. They didn’t stop there. As though to invite despair for mankind, a great number of apostles were coming out further from the crack in s.p.a.ce.

The reddish black sky was filled to the brim with apostles to the degree that they could be mistaken as stars in the sky. And then, the apostles of G.o.d, as though to declare that fighting bit by bit was troublesome already, it even seemed to say that right now they would forget all the humiliation of the apostles of G.o.d being killed, they would merely rely on the overwhelming violence of number and began to focus their silver magic power.

The protection by the great barrier was already gone. The anti-air artillery and sniping attacks were shooting down the apostles with certainty. The dragons and Kaori were also exterminating the apostles who weren’t moving because of their concentration in focusing their magic power and they were falling like flies from the sky.

However, the apostles didn’t pay them any heed. They abandoned their dignity, they didn’t give any care of the damage done to them, they were merely focusing a light of destruction for the sake of destroying the mankind. No matter how many of them were killed and killed, the apostles’ number were replenished one after another, their number that was focusing their magic power was just too many that the rate of the allied force annihilating the apostles couldn’t catch up.

Right now, if the silver sun was fired, the result wouldn’t end with merely tremendous damage toward the allied force. The result that arrived would be ‘the defeat of mankind’.

“I won’t let you, absolutely-!”

Kaori glared at the sky with a gaze filled with determination while lifting both her hands above. In antic.i.p.ation of this situation, the crystals that were placed in certain places on this battlefield reacted to Kaori’s will. Those lights connected to each other with lines of light and formed a single enormous magic circle.

――Kaori’s exclusive use Large scale protection barrier stone ‘Shutzengel’

This artifact a.s.sisted the barrier magic of Kaori who wasn’t a barrier master to deploy a large-scale barrier that was even more powerful than the great barrier using an enormous magic circle that covered the whole battlefield.

“Perish.”

“――’Indomitable Holy Severance’–!!”

When the silver sun was fired, a super large scale protection wall covering the allied force was deployed at the same time.

The silver spear and the black silver barrier collided.

Thunderous roar.

Flash.

The world was filled with those two things.

“Guh, UuuUUUUUaAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!!”

Kaori’s scream burst out.

The impact felt like she was stopping a comet in its track, the pressure felt like it was crushing her. Her black silver wings were flickering, her alt.i.tude was gradually dropping.

The black silver barrier was Holy Severance that was enchanted with disintegration ability. Therefore it neutralized the apostles’ disintegration ability and changed the attack’s nature into mere bombardment. But, even so it was a full power bombardment formed from several thousand apostles, it caused cracks to form on Kaori’s barrier by pure might. Kaori was resisting that using regeneration magic that instantly restored the barrier.

Her magic power was flowing out from here in the blink of eye.

Kaori gritted her teeth while maintaining her alt.i.tude and the barrier desperately.

The apostles didn’t circle behind the barrier to attack from the rear, perhaps it was because of their minimum dignity as apostles of G.o.d, they were merely adding to the silver bombardment continuously to smash the resistance from the front.

{All hands, deploy barrier! Don’t let that girl shouldering this alone-!}

Adol’s angry voice roared. The dragons gathering behind Kaori laid out their barriers one after another to layer with Kaori’s.

“This should lighten up the burden more or less. ――’Calamity Sky’.”

Miledy’s gravity magic created gravity spheres around the part of the barrier that was directly impacted and weakened the bombardment by scattering its might.

Other than them the people on the surface that could use barrier magic――with Liliana and the cla.s.smates in the lead, all of them deployed their barrier and supported Kaori. The people who couldn’t use barrier magic were also desperately supporting Kaori by using another effect of ‘Shutzengel’, the effect of transferring the magic power of the soldiers to Kaori, in that way they were sending their magic power to help.

A few second pa.s.sed, or perhaps it had been several minutes.

The world of thunderous roar and flash that felt like an eternity finally announced its end.

At the same time the barriers were also dispersing.

“Haa haa, we, endured…”

Kaori who had endured through the disintegration bombardment of several thousand apostles were breathing heavily.

Her complexion was obviously looking exhausted. The dragons at her surrounding were also the same. Liliana and others and also the allied force soldiers on the ground who had mustered their magic power were also in similar state. The expression of everyone was turning grim.

Even so they had pulled through. Thinking that Kaori was smiling while she was going to activate ’Divine Binding of Layered Usurpation’…

A silver sun was illuminating the world once more.

“We the apostles of G.o.d are infinite――hadn’t we said that?”

Not only their number, their magic power was also infinite. The glaring apostles were whispering so while creating a new silver sun.

Kaori’s magic power recovery wouldn’t make it in time.

She wouldn’t be able to endure if they were attacked one more time by that.

Not only Kaori, all people of the allied force who looked up at the sky also realized that.

Despair,

Resignation,

Were filling the heart of them all.

The silver sun was falling down from the sky. It was the end…everyone thought like that.

But…

Kaori quietly lifted both her hands with her breathing still ragged. Her strong gaze that didn’t show anything like even a spec of resignation was staring still at the light of direction directly, a fire was burning in her soul, she sc.r.a.ped up even the fragments of magic power still clinging somewhere inside her――

She didn’t abandon her will to fight.

She didn’t give up.

It was unclear just how many people among the soldiers of the allied force could see her figure. If they could see her, then surely they would shed their tears from that n.o.ble and beautiful appearance without any doubt. Just like Adol and others whose heart was stolen by seeing that gallant figure from right beside her.

“Even just a second longer is fine. We are going to survive!”

If they could only just survive a second longer, at that time, perhaps that person that she loved the most would bring the end to all of this.

No, surely he would end all of this.

She believed that.

That was why, even at the verge of death, even just for a fragment of a second she wouldn’t give up!

The whole world was dyed silver.

The barrier that she could deploy looked so frail like a toy.

But, for a second.

Without any doubt, the attack was stopped in that second.

At the next moment,

“…Fufu-, see, just as I thought!”

Kaori made an expression that was enchanted from affection and unequaled trust. Ahead of her gaze, there was the scene of the silver light dispersing with a puff and the swarm of apostles slumping powerlessly.

Right after that, like a marionette that had its controlling string cut, the apostles stared at nothing with lightless gaze and they were falling to the ground like flies.

{This is, no, wait, what in the world is that…don’t tell me, is that Holy Precincts?}

Even while feeling bewildered from seeing the falling apostles, Adol’s voice was caught from an even stranger situation.

Ahead of his gaze, there, s.p.a.ce itself was shaking, the sky was in an abnormal state where various sceneries which were projected like video recording were appearing and disappearing. It was as though there were several different worlds at the sky above, the sky looked like it was going to crumble and fall off anytime now.

That situation was like the prelude of the world crumbling, furthermore the atmosphere was starting to rumble which spurred on that bad imagination even more.

“Hajime-kun, Yue, everyone…”

Kaori too felt deeply moved only for a brief time, her expression immediately changed into a worried one. Looking closer the crack of s.p.a.ce was also trembling, it looked like that it might vanish anytime.

With her state that had run dry of magic power, Kaori flapped her silver black wings to head toward the trembling s.p.a.ce while maintaining her consciousness that was going to sink into darkness even now.

There was a person who caught her shoulder tightly.

“Leave them to me. To the one loved by everyone through many months and years, this Miledy-chan, ‘kay☆”

Saying that, Miledy Raisen stopped Kaori with an extremely gentle voice that ran counter with her tone.