episode_0220

Clang! Kaang!! Keening!! Wooong! Kwaaaang!!!

The city was utter chaos.

The sky was dark as the sun was obscured by a black curtain, and Shadow Puppets born from this black curtain were appearing and rampaging wildly. The Holy Knights, pushed back by their momentum, were barely holding a defensive line, but it was precarious, as if it would collapse at any moment.

And in one of the battlefields.

A front defending the central area, probably leading to the Grand Cathedral, the very heart of the Holy Kingdom.

Headed to the battlefield between those trying to break through and those trying to defend.

“Foolish madmen who believe in a false god! Realize clearly what you should truly believe in!!!”

“Impudent ones! Beasts who have abandoned humanity while drunk on power, how dare you set foot here!!!”

Magicians drawing out ominous magic power and preparing to use powerful magic.

Holy Knights desperately trying to maintain the front line, but with clear signs of fatigue.

And Shadow Puppets blocking the Holy Knights who are trying to stop the magicians’ magic circles.

If left like this, this place will surely be breached.

“ ”

Drawing out the aura of the Holy Sword.

The dazzling pure white aura and the golden aura of dawn instantly dyed the Holy Sword, and the length of the sword’s blade increased by about 1.3 times.

“Everyone, get down!!!”

“!!”

“?!”

In that urgent moment.

The magicians turned their gazes to confirm the variable that had suddenly appeared, and the Holy Knights were also surprised by the voice coming from behind and focused their attention on me. The Shadow Puppets, perhaps reacting to the large amount of power, changed their target from the Holy Knights to me.

“Mountain Splitter”

A slash that divides the world.

Furthermore, it crosses space to target the target I intend to strike.

Ping, slicing!!!

“Keueok?!”

Slices through the magicians along with their magic circles and slices through the Shadow Puppets.

The tide of the battle turned with a single blow.

Furthermore, some of the Holy Knights who recognized me shouted with great joy.

“I, it’s the Hero! Hero Leon has returned~!!!!”

“We’re alive! We’re saved!!”

“May the Goddess’s blessing be with us!!!”

For them, the existence of the Hero, who had been the pride of the Holy Kingdom and the mercy of the Goddess, and who had defeated several fragments of the Demon King until now, was truly like a ray of hope found at the end, as the pure white fortress of the Holy Kingdom had been breached and they had been pushed back helplessly.

“From now on, I will cut down the enemy commander. You all, retreat from the front line and strengthen the defense of the Grand Cathedral even more.”

“A, understood!”

“Hero! There’s something we need to tell you!… Saintess… Saintess Bathory is single-handedly stopping the enemies’ advance right now!….”

Saintess Bathory.

The fact that it was revealed that she was a blood demon….

I guess it’s the result of drawing out all the power she has in order to stop the enemies’ advance.

“But, there’s something we need to tell the Hero…. Saintess Bathory is actually….”

“I know. So you don’t have to say anything.”

“…! A, understood! Please have good fortune!….”

The Holy Knights retreated from the front line.

After confirming with my own eyes that they were retreating, I turned my body.

I feel like I roughly know where Bathory is.

A strong energy that makes my skin tingle, along with a strong smell of blood, is felt not far away…, perhaps Saintess Bathory is there.

It seems like there are no more signs of enemies around here, so I ran towards the place where the strong smell of blood was coming from.

“!”

That place was a world of blood.

A world made of red blood.

Kugugugugugu!!!

The energy emanating from Bathory herself turns into red blood.

That’s not all.

The blood spilled by the enemies turns into Bathory’s own power, piercing through the Shadow Puppets and piercing through the magicians.

“Filthy blood demon!!”

“Why is a blood demon protecting the Holy Kingdom!!!”

“….”

Her appearance, wearing a dark red dress that is different from her appearance as a Saintess, created a strange sense of alienation that was different from before.

“The Goddess’s teachings do not distinguish between races. The Goddess accepts everyone…, so even if I am a blood demon, if I try to understand and follow the Goddess’s teachings, this place will be my home and my hometown.”

Bathory gestures once with her hand.

With that one gesture, the red blood scattered in all directions becomes sharp awls and pierces the enemies.

Is that Bathory’s power as the ‘Queen of Blood Demons’?

“You’ve returned, Hero.”

Even though I was quite far away, Bathory turned her gaze towards me, perhaps sensing my presence.

“You don’t need to help me.”

“Uh…. It looks like it.”

“Please deal with…. that instead of me.”

Bathory pointed above the sky.

The black curtain. She must be talking about『The Demonic Monster that Hides the Sun』.

Anyway, that’s the being I have to kill, so there’s no particular problem.

“Saintess Bathory. …. What happened to my teacher? He wouldn’t be the type to stand idly by in the back in this situation.”

“…That person…. has passed away.”

“…I’ll hear the detailed story after this situation is over.”

“Understood. I will definitely defend this place until the Hero returns.”

* * *

I started moving after leaving Bathory behind, but I have no idea how to deal with that thing that has no visible form.

In the case of『The Demonic Monster that Swallows the Sea』Leviathan, it was easy to kill because its form was clear.

But I had no idea how to deal with that thing.

“First of all…. Should I cut that at least?”

I lightly cut down the Shadow Puppets rushing at me and gripped my sword again.

“ Sky Splitter”

The Sword Demon’s sword that splits the sky.

I faintly imitate the sword energy I saw once before and launch a slash towards the sky.

My slash, which has the power to not even allow ‘Fragments of the Demon King’ to withstand it if hit, but the black curtain only temporarily split after being hit by my slash, and soon the covering curtain covered the sky again.

“I can’t deal with it using ordinary methods.”

“Leon?”

“?”

The voice I heard at that time.

I turned my head to the voice that was familiar yet awkward, and there was a girl with short bobbed hair.

“You’re….”

“It’s been a while. I’ve heard the story well…. Have you been doing well?”

For a moment, the words “Who was it again?” were about to come out of my mouth, but I swallowed them back.

“Marie? Why are you here?….”

“Why? Can’t I be here?”

“It’s not that you can’t be…. It’s dangerous here, so go back quickly.”

“…Why do you say it’s dangerous?”

…Huh? What does that….

Feeling something strange, I looked at Marie, and Marie had a strange….

She was looking at me with an alien expression.

“Why? Why? Because I’m weak? Because I’m not needed? Is it because I’m a useless person?”

“What are you….”

Why is this girl suddenly like this?….

I didn’t know how to react and was feeling embarrassed, so I looked at Marie, and something strange caught my intuition.

“Marie, why do I feel….”

“….”

“Why do I feel that power from you?”

The corners of Marie’s lips slightly turned up.

That smile was so ominous that I almost instinctively swung the Holy Sword.

Thud

“….”

It stopped.

My sword, the world, everything stopped.

At the same time, the power of the that was felt in Marie began to erupt as if it had gone out of control.

“Look. This is my power. The useless Marie is gone now, gone!! Hahahahahaha!!!”

Marie, laughing like crazy.

Her eyes began to show a very ominous…, extremely dangerous madness.

“Even that couldn’t do anything in front of my power and died! I have become a being more superior than a legendary existence!!!”

“!”

I heard a story that I couldn’t easily dismiss.

Who did she kill? The ? Who? The Marie in front of my eyes?

“….”

“Hahahahahaha!!! Then…. Let’s finish it now, Leon. I’m going to become more and more amazing. To the point where no one can hear my name and not know me…. So that my family can no longer ignore me.”

Marie slowly approaches.

Probably to completely finish me off.

I have a rough idea of how to move in this stopped world.

Because I’ve seen a ‘similar world’ to this before.

Strengthen all the senses of the body and break through the consciousness into a world where everything is stopped.

“Then…, die!!”

“Will you die…, like I’ll let you!”

“!!”

A magic circle appears at Marie’s fingertips.

I swing my sword at that magic circle and cut it down.

Marie, perhaps thinking that I wouldn’t be able to move, is startled and steps back.

I have no intention of letting that go.

I leaped greatly and caught up with Marie, who was stepping back.

“H, how?! How are you moving!!! In this ‘Veiled World’!!!”

“I already learned it a long time ago!!!”

“Earth Splitter!!”

“!!”

Bisects.

This slash that splits the earth accurately splits Marie.

“Marie, you went too far.”

I knew that she was the type who had a lot of need for approval.

I knew it, but…. I never thought she would become so corrupt.

When I think about it, it was the same with Phiria.

A feeling that something has gone terribly wrong.

In the end, even that is their own choice, so I have no intention of sympathizing….

“Haa…. But how do I deal with that…. Huh?”

It’s quiet.

It’s very quiet.

As if everything has ‘stopped’.

“Could it be?….”

I turn my gaze and move my gaze to Marie, who I split in half.

In that place, she was regenerating her body while tangled with ‘black shadows’….

Marie’s appearance was visible.

“…This is crazy.”

“Haa…, hahahahaha!…. I won’t die…. I!!…, I won’t die!!! Kkyahahahahahahahahat~!!!!”

『The Demonic Monster that Hides the Sun』Hati

It swallowed Marie’s body and appeared in front of me.