Cassis

I concealed Ellie, who was catching her breath, with my body and materialized a Shadow Spear. It’s not like Cassis came looking for Lily, but whatever the reason, the fact that we are enemies aiming for each other’s lives doesn’t change.

I focused my concentration to respond immediately to Cassis’s movements, and glanced sideways at Estelle standing next to him. Estelle, who is restricted from resisting the cult, will not be able to refuse Cassis’s orders. Even if Estelle doesn’t want to, she has no choice but to follow the order to kill us unconditionally.

Then it’s right for me to deal with Cassis and keep Estelle and Ellie together. If it’s those two, they can safely buy time while fighting a battle that is threatening enough to each other. For that to work, there is a prerequisite that I must make Cassis’s gaze not reach Estelle and Ellie, and be completely focused on me.

Then do I have to go all out from the beginning?

I recognized all the space coordinates around me. There is no ‘space’ that I cannot attack between the island that appeared in the sea and my island. Cassis’s ability to lead the legion of the dead will not be compatible with me, who specializes in dealing with ‘many’.

“Lily, I have a proposal for you.”

But Cassis seemed to want to talk first instead of choosing a fight. The more time passes, the more it helps Ellie’s magic recovery. I deliberately hesitated before answering.

“…What kind of proposal is it?”

“The Pontiff-nim recognized you, the only space magician, as an apostle he has appointed. So, he ordered me to politely guide the apostle so that they can return to the cult.”

“…I’m an apostle?”

“Yes. The one with the undeniable destiny to open the firmly closed door for him is the apostle, and that is your role.”

I couldn’t figure out where to start refuting Cassis, who was speaking in a monotonous voice as if explaining an obvious truth. Could it be that he forgot that Lily was going around killing those related to the cult?

“The cult wants your return. No one in the cult will attack you or question your sins. Because the Pontiff wants you, Lily.”

“For someone making such a proposal, you showed up pretty aggressively.”

At my sharp question, Cassis shrugged and said.

“I didn’t know it was your island because it was in the sea. I was just thinking of swallowing the island I saw. Just think you were unlucky.”

Ellie quietly patted my back. It seems she has recovered some magic. Feeling Ellie matching her shoulder to mine, I said to Cassis.

“If I agree to that proposal, are you willing to back down from here?”

Cassis scoffed at my question.

“Do you think I’m stupid enough to give freedom to someone who can escape at any time with space magic?”

A huge book emitting ominousness appeared in front of Cassis.

“Either be bound and dragged away without resistance, or have your body divided into several pieces and then be treated by the cult. Those are the two choices you can make.”

“Why are you leaving out the option of killing you and absorbing the island?”

Kaaang―!

A skeleton knight that popped out of the book raised its shield and blocked the surprise attack aimed at Cassis’s head.

Cassis, who twisted one corner of his mouth with ease, said.

“I didn’t know you were a fool who talked about the impossible.”

As soon as Cassis finished speaking, all sorts of evil things appeared from the numerous holes in the island. There were completely skeletal ones and corpses with rotten flesh still attached. It seemed that they were using those to increase the weight of the island and sink it into the sea.

I called Ellie by something other than her name so that Cassis wouldn’t notice her identity.

“Strawberry, you take care of the woman. I’ll take care of Cassis.”

The quick-witted Ellie didn’t panic at the word Strawberry and replied.

“…Lily, are you okay? The opponent is Konfision who leads the legion. Wouldn’t it be better for me to deal with the legion with synthesis magic?”

“It’s okay, if it’s just an opponent with a lot of numbers… I can make it so they can’t even approach my island.”

When I showed confidence, Ellie didn’t ask any more questions and stepped aside, widening the distance. Cassis also seemed to want to face me alone, so he gestured to Estelle to order her to face Ellie.

“Then, shall we check your skills?”

As Cassis tilted his hand, numerous enemies jumped into the sea in an instant. I took a moment to catch my breath and spread magic throughout my body, creating numerous dimensional exits. The entrance to stab the spear is one, but the exit for the spear to pop out is dozens.

Reaching the realm of the Transcender, I was able to gain a lot. In addition to melting and absorbing all the talents related to the spear that remained only as images in my head with a quantum jump, I also gained the magic amplification that I had been trying to engrave in my brain at once.

Thanks to that, the magic-related elixirs I had eaten and the magic increased as a reward for the labyrinth. With the addition of magic amplification, I was able to use more space magic than before.

Shuuk―!

The head of the corpse approaching the island was pierced by a Shadow Spear. It’s not like before, when I barely pierced one head from afar. Spears that popped out simultaneously from dozens of dimensional exits simultaneously pierced the heads of the rushing enemies.

That was the beginning. By endlessly pouring consecutive attacks towards the entrance of the dimension, the heads of Cassis’s legion that fell into the sea were pierced and began to sink into the sea before they could even approach the island.

Pueoreoereoreoereoreoereokpeok―!

The sound of heads being pierced, which rang out simultaneously, overlapped into one and vibrated throughout the island.

Having reached the realm of the Transcender, I completely understood the spear, a weapon, and felt as if I had become one with it. At the same time as stabbing the spear, I adjusted the space coordinates, increased the shape of the spear into dozens again so that the Shadow Spear could come out of dozens of dimensional exits at the same time, and accurately pierced the enemy’s head.

It’s not difficult. Rather, with each consecutive attack, my skill increased more and more. Now, there were more enemies sinking into the sea than enemies endlessly jumping from the island into the sea. Finally, the dimensional exit that had been pushing back the enemies that had approached the island and moving forward gradually reached Cassis’s island.

As if grinding the jumping enemies in the air, numerous spear blades popped out of the dimensional exit and rushed in all directions. Even so, the enemies endlessly came out of the holes in the island and jumped into the sea, but I continued to defeat the enemies without any signs of fatigue.

“Hu, huuu.”

Even my breathing is stable. I was just repeating the act of stabbing the spear into the entrance of the dimension, so I didn’t feel any physical fatigue.

Perhaps realizing that it was meaningless to just blindly pull out the legion, Cassis waved his hand in the air, and no more enemies poured out of the holes in the island.

“…My numerous subordinates can’t even approach, as expected of an apostle. To defeat tens of thousands of numbers so easily.”

I twisted one corner of my mouth while looking straight at Cassis, who was glaring at me with eyes that didn’t like the situation.

“I needed materials to grow the island… Thanks to you, I got a lot. Thank you. For helping me.”

Cassis frowned at my provocation, then soon stretched his mouth wide and laughed silently.

“Thank you… Rather, that’s what I should say to you for giving me the best quality material.”

“…?”

“If I have to fight with quality instead of quantity… Yes, there’s nothing better than this.”

Cassis’s arms crossed in front of the book. The pages of the book turned arbitrarily, and something stretched its arm out of the book. Cassis grabbed the arm, which looked as if pieces of flesh of various colors were stuck together, and took it out of the book.

The one with the nucleus of chaos embedded in the center of its chest was not half human… But the remaining face was so familiar to me that I could recognize it at a glance.

“Nel… son.”

The proudly stroked, well-groomed beard was gone, and the skin was distorted by burns. Something else was wriggling in the place where the eyes should have been, and something like a worm was coming out of the mouth instead of the tongue, replacing the lips. The number of arms had increased to four, and the lower body was replaced by something that I didn’t know which monster it belonged to.

“Mercifully, the Pontiff-nim gifted me the corpse of the Archmage. Even though only a part of it remains, the Pontiff-nim knew that I was the one who could use Nelson’s corpse more usefully than anyone else. Hehehehehehe!!!”

Cassis leaned his upper body forward and smiled broadly.

“Controlling the corpse of the Archmage has been my old dream since I was young. So, of course, I have to say thank you to you who killed Nelson and the foolish disciple who fell into the trap―”

Kwaaaang―!

“…Shut your yap.”

The attack was blocked by the transparent barrier created by Nelson, but I, who had crossed over to Cassis’s island with space magic, warned while staring straight into Cassis’s eyes.

“Shut your yap, before I tear that mouth apart.”

“Oh dear, Nelson’s mouth is already torn.”

As soon as Cassis’s mockery ended, I used intangible breathing and swung the spear with all my might. Then, a staff appeared in Nelson’s four hands, and tremendous magic rushed towards me.

Kwaaaang―!

A tremendous vibration and an exploding roar swept through Cassis’s entire island.