Ch.121Final Battle (4)

Admiral Dietz’s eyebrows twitched.

“How on earth did you manage to save three people with just one life, huh? What kind of magic did you use?”

“A forbidden spell.”

“A forbidden spell?”

“You heard me.”

I gambled on my mana manipulation skills, but I never expected it would succeed so easily.

“Are you saying your life is worth that much?”

“How can you put a value on life?”

“Then why…”

“I guess the devil likes me.”

The admiral laughed with a “heh” and rubbed his face.

“Not a pleasant answer.”

Salvira, the vampire, and even the golem had unbelievable reactions. The vampire’s response was particularly remarkable. She asked me with an expression of partial bewilderment.

“Erich Lohnstein, you… are truly an incomprehensible human. Why did you burn your life to save others? What benefit is there for you?”

“None.”

“What?”

Either everyone dies, or three people live and only I die. That’s all. Humans who use forbidden spells are destined to fall into hell. Despite that, I used it. To save female soldiers from an enemy country.

“It’s an irrational action. Yes, that’s right. I knew that and still did it.”

“But why?”

“Because I wanted to.”

My answer didn’t seem satisfactory as the vampire snorted. But contrary to expectations, no mockery followed. Instead, the vampire closed her eyes and kept her mouth shut as if deep in thought.

“Senior, have you lost your mind?”

“Erich, this guy is finally causing trouble.”

Meanwhile, David and Senior Johannes began to scold me.

The Valkyrie’s two companions also threw in their comments.

“I’ve never seen anyone use a forbidden spell for others. Should I call this a good deed? Or not? Is it evil since it involved a deal with the devil?”

“He must have some prepared means. After all, he graduated from a good university. Right? Hey? Say something in response.”

Since I was possessing a golem, the Holy Spirit Kingdom’s language came out directly. I can’t understand what they’re saying.

I stepped forward, touching my cheek where the Valkyrie had hit me.

“Admiral, let’s settle this now.”

***

The Holy Spirit Kingdom’s female soldiers easily deduced that Erich had used a forbidden spell.

However, only Tiria could hear whose voice had responded to his wish.

Without a doubt.

What she just heard wasn’t an incantation but a divine word, and it was a goddess, not a devil, who had revived them.

If a devil had touched Tiria’s soul, there would have been strong resistance.

But now she felt so refreshed.

“…Goddess.”

Tiria looked at the broad back of the man stepping forward.

He was dependable.

And at the same time, frightening.

She feared that after today, she might never see that back again.

In fact, the Holy Spirit Order had a similar concept to the forbidden spell that meant selling one’s soul to the devil.

Martyrdom.

A noble act historically performed only by a minority of saints and martyrs.

While typical martyrdom means sacrificing one’s life to protect faith, martyrdom mentioned in contrast to forbidden spells has a slightly different meaning.

It’s the sacred act of offering oneself to the goddess and pleading for blessings upon others.

Unlike forbidden spells, which can be used anytime by someone knowledgeable in magic, martyrdom is very difficult to perform.

First, one’s soul must be spotlessly pure.

One must have high merit and reputation.

Above all, one must know how to think of others before oneself.

Then devils avoid such souls, considering them inedible, and strangely, even incantations are understood by the goddess.

In other words, Erich is a person you might see once in a hundred years.

Tiria covered her mouth with both hands.

“Oh, Goddess, please…”

In the end, martyrdom is similar to forbidden spells in that the caster’s soul is taken.

Erich would go to heaven rather than hell, but it meant he would still die here.

Her head spun.

But the situation was too urgent to worry about that and shed tears.

“Admiral Abraham Dietz.”

Erich pointed at the admiral and said.

“I might forgive most people, but I don’t think I can ever forgive you.”

“So what are you going to do about it?”

“How about you get beaten up first and then attend a court-martial?”

“You sure talk smoothly.”

“You should be grateful I’m holding back my murderous intent.”

“What a gentleman.”

The admiral rose from his seat, holding his daughter.

“Are you alright?”

“Are you worried about me?”

“I guess not.”

Even while talking with Erich, Admiral Dietz’s gaze was fixed on his daughter. The child, barely six or seven years old, was breathing heavily with her eyes closed.

She looked fine on the surface.

People who could sense divine power, including Tiria, Rachel, and Riyo, felt discomfort from that girl.

They knew how dark a soul revived by a devil using numerous sacrifices would be.

The admiral didn’t seem to sense it, looking completely innocent.

“Listen, Major. This is truly your last chance.”

“What now?”

“Surrender.”

“No.”

“Every soldier from the National Security Department here is worth a hundred men. They all hold first-class combat mage qualifications. No matter how cleverly you maneuver with those women, winning would be like reaching for the stars.”

“Then I’ll reach for those stars.”

“…Fool.”

Click, click.

More than fifty heavily armed troops aimed their rifles.

Despite being outnumbered by more than tenfold, two women stepped forward past Erich, drawing swords and spears.

Rachel and Adora.

Though they couldn’t communicate verbally, there was a bond evident in their actions.

Adora pointed to herself and the right side, then to Rachel and the left side. Rachel nodded and began to defend Erich’s left.

Meanwhile, Riyo and Tiria stood on either side of Erich.

“Erich.”

“Let’s not… talk about other things now.”

Seeing Erich growing increasingly stiff, Tiria couldn’t continue. She just bit her lip and raised her baculus high.

“———.”

Light spread widely with the sacred divine word.

“Hah.”

Admiral Dietz sighed.

“Everyone’s making such a fuss about dying. Well, let’s grant your wish.”

With that command, the rifles spewed fire.

In the next moment, the admiral doubted his eyes.

Despite the hail of bullets, the two women at the front charged forward.

A reckless movement, as if they wanted to die here.

Are they not afraid of death?

Of course they must be afraid. They must be terrified.

Yet those women rushed forward without hesitation because they trusted their comrades behind them.

That was indeed true. Both Rachel and Adora trusted the man named Erich Lohnstein.

But there was one thing the admiral overlooked.

Having already used a forbidden spell, Erich had little life left, so they were expressing their willingness to follow him if they could.

In Rachel’s case, hadn’t they all sworn together while looking at the night sky?

That they would all return alive together.

The opposite of that meant they would all die together.

But Erich would never allow that. With a flick of his hand, stalagmites rose from perfect positions to block the bullets.

“No, how…!”

This wasn’t human reflexes.

The problem was that the troops were also excellent mages. Being mages, they inevitably left traces of magical energy. Erich, having reached the level of precision, could predict their next movements based on the fluctuations in their mana waves.

A level that existed only on paper, above first class.

Special-grade mage.

As Erich’s magical skills entered the special grade, the qualitative advantage was trying to overturn the numerical disadvantage.

That wasn’t all.

The two women charging forward were the ace of the White Lotus Battalion and a general of the Seven Swords.

Though the National Security Department members were also elites and moved quickly, their practical experience couldn’t compare to the two women.

Repeated concealment using structures and fearless charges.

Rachel and Adora, who had slipped through the gaps, took down two soldiers from the front line.

“Kuhak!”

“Ugh!”

The widely spread troops hurriedly chanted spells.

The magic they created was easily deflected by Rachel and Adora with their respective powers.

“Grant me strength.”

[“Dispel.”]

Jjaeang—!

The two female soldiers who deflected the magic rushed toward the admiral.

“Stop them!”

A soldier hiding in the rear rose from his position and secretly aimed his gun. Contrary to the admiral’s order, he turned his muzzle toward a more distant target.

The immediate threat wasn’t the two women.

Erich Lohnstein. He was playing the central role for the enemy. If they could take him down, the rest would be easy to handle.

But his hand trembled.

Putting a bullet between the eyes of a soldier known for his good reputation? Wouldn’t that make them seem like the criminals?

Still, duty was duty.

A soldier must follow orders when given by a superior, even if they seem unjust or strange.

“Hoo.”

The man who took a deep breath calmly aimed his gun.

Click.

The moment he put his eye to the scope, he saw something.

It was a fox beastkin aiming a crossbow at him, wagging her tail.

Pyut!

“Urgh!”

A sharp arrow pierced the shoulder of the man who was about to snipe.

Then Erich created several more golems. Stone lumps rising from the ground began to move as if they had will. Since they didn’t actually have will, they could only follow simple commands and were merely lumps of magical energy, but…

“What’s that now!”

“Shoot! Stop them!”

It was enough to draw attention.

As time passed, the battle situation was turning increasingly favorable for Erich’s group. The desperate admiral shouted loudly.

“Why can’t you handle them when you have guns!”

“We can’t aim properly!”

“What?”

“Thread! There’s thread! Thread caught in the gun barrels!”

Something felt off.

Come to think of it, not everyone in the major’s group was human.

“…Spider woman!”

The admiral looked up with a chilling feeling. It was around that time that Salvira, who had somehow climbed to the ceiling, began pulling the threads she had spun.

Since the threads were so tough and strong, it was only a matter of time before the troops lost their guns.

Salvira glared directly at the admiral with her red eyes.

“…Huh.”

It gave him goosebumps.

Who would have thought that her stillness all this time was to erase her presence?

Having allowed this level of approach, he could be killed at any moment.

Salvira didn’t do that and only took the guns.

“Ah! Damn it!”

The troops who had their rifles seized reflexively drew their secondary weapons in surprise.

But the tide had already turned.

At the front were golems and female warriors.

Above was a swarm of spiders.

[“Beep beep!”]

And Bepisya.

A sigh like smoke flowed from Admiral Dietz’s lips.

“…There’s no solution.”

And that’s when it happened.

[“Ugh.”]

The girl in the admiral’s arms began to twitch her shoulders.