Ch.128128. Then Die

The thoughts I had when I previously met Fanatic Zealot resurface in a similar way.

Fanatic’s main weapon is a sword. A greatsword, at that.

It’s a weapon that doesn’t match his small build, but in a world full of inflation, how important could weight class be?

He’s holding a greatsword now too, but I was certain that he had many more types of greatswords stored in the spatial pocket hidden in his clothes.

After all, he was a man obsessed with swords, though not quite to the extent of being obsessed with the Holy Maiden.

Back then, I had similar thoughts and drew my sword as well.

But not today. Back then, I was just planning to fend him off since he was only stalking, but this time he had crossed the line significantly.

Kidnapping. He might be talking about some plan, but it certainly wasn’t anything proper.

Therefore, there was no need to deal with him the way he wanted.

“Wait, please wait a moment! Why are you doing this? First, let’s talk…!”

Fanatic was thrown back after being hit by my sudden Guard Break attack. Despite his panicked shout, I ignored him and charged again.

I tried using Guard Break again, but nothing happened, probably because it was on cooldown.

“…Are you willing to talk now?”

How did he interpret that? Hope flickered across Fanatic’s face.

“No.”

Talk? What talk? I just tried again to see if there was no cooldown, but my original purpose was simply to approach him.

I put the shield I was holding into my inventory, along with the greatsword Fanatic was holding.

“…Huh?”

Having lost his sword, Fanatic instinctively leaped backward and fled.

It was truly a fast speed. So fast that I couldn’t catch up with my stats at all.

Of course, that’s assuming I chase him directly on foot. If I spam dodge, it would be quick.

I can even catch up to Alkine at that speed. There’s no way Fanatic could escape.

Looking at his empty hands, Fanatic couldn’t even react properly before I grabbed him by the collar.

“Damn it…! Please just listen to me once…”

THWACK-

I punched him in the face because I was sick of hearing him say the same thing without understanding the situation.

Since Fanatic is quite tough, it probably wouldn’t hurt that much with my stats.

Honestly, I’d like it if he felt some pain. But in my position, that might be asking for too much.

But. Whether it hurt or not didn’t really matter.

[Attack (Effect Changed)]

The damage would definitely be applied anyway.

“…Huh?”

Fanatic, who had been hit by my cotton-soft fist, seemed to sense something was wrong.

I slightly released my grip on his collar, and he stepped back two paces and started staring at me.

Curious about how he would react, I stayed still, and soon Fanatic asked in a trembling voice.

“W-what did you just do to me? That was… that was extremely blasphemous.”

“Blasphemous? So kidnapping the Holy Maiden is a sacred act?”

“That’s why I said I would explain that to you!”

This guy really doesn’t get it.

I wonder if he’s thinking the same thing about me right now.

“You still don’t understand why I’m beating you up?”

“That’s right. If you just listen to me once, I’m sure you’ll understand me, Lord Ludion.”

I asked after hitting him once, but it seems his stubbornness hasn’t been broken yet.

“What if I don’t want to listen?”

“I really don’t understand. Why are you trying so hard to interfere with my plan?”

Perhaps realizing that I had no intention of listening to him, Fanatic carefully drew a new greatsword.

“I stand here to fulfill God’s will. For humanity. Therefore, I have a duty to move forward without stopping, no matter how great the barrier that blocks my way.”

His words might sound impressive, but it was essentially a declaration that he would kidnap Lilith again and take her away.

If he had bowed his head and apologized even now, I would have at least listened to him. He’s really stubborn.

In this situation, there are two options.

One is to continue with time-consuming, boring, and pedantic persuasion, and the other is…

“Then die.”

Well. Something like that.

I put the new greatsword that Fanatic had drawn into my inventory and swung my fist again.

///

While Ludion and Fanatic continued their scuffle.

The two women watching were completely at ease.

No, more than that, they were enjoying it.

It was natural, given that the situation had a predetermined ally who was winning one-sidedly.

In the midst of this, Celia spoke up.

“That guy is really stubborn. I thought he might be like this when I saw him before.”

“When you saw him before? You know that crazy guy?”

“Don’t you remember? You’ve seen him before too, Lilith.”

“I have?”

She didn’t seem to recall anything despite hearing this, but Celia had no intention of playing twenty questions with Lilith, so she decided to just give the answer.

“You know, when we met outside the academy before, that stalker who was following you.”

“Oh, I remember. That… Wait a minute. So…”

“Yes, that’s right. That stalker that Ludion chased away back then is this guy.”

“…Really?”

Lilith looked at Fanatic, who was being toyed with by Ludion’s strange techniques, finding it hard to believe.

Ludion with his sturdy build bullying a man with a small frame…

“Ah, I remember now. That was this bastard?”

Lilith was somewhat shocked.

She had teased Ludion for bullying the weak back then, but he wasn’t weak at all.

“Damn it…! You are essential to my plan! Please listen to me!”

“No, I don’t want to.”

…Wait, isn’t this still bullying the weak?

Lilith began to feel a bit confused, but she couldn’t defend a criminal who had committed stalking and kidnapping.

So even though Ludion seemed like a bad guy bullying the weak, she decided to support him since that wasn’t actually the case.

After watching for a while, Lilith suddenly became bothered by Celia, who was just grinning and spectating beside her.

“Hey, Celia.”

“Yes? What is it?”

“Is it okay for you to just watch from here without helping?”

“You’re just watching too, aren’t you?”

The confident retort almost left her speechless for a moment, but Lilith had a sufficient reason to counter it.

“Well, I can’t join in there.”

“If you’re aware of that, you should also realize that no help is needed.”

“That’s true. Um… Never mind. I said something unnecessary.”

As Lilith awkwardly tried to end the conversation, Celia smiled slightly and continued.

“I understand what you’re trying to say. But Ludion would prefer that I stay here and protect you.”

“Oh, was that it? I guess so.”

It didn’t seem like Ludion would be unable to block if Fanatic charged at them, but having someone to guard her would allow him to fight without dividing his attention.

Though it didn’t feel good to have her powerlessness highlighted, it was certainly a rational judgment.

Just as she was about to accept and move on… Celia added one more thing.

“But even if that weren’t the case, I wouldn’t have helped anyway.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Well… I don’t want to interfere with Ludion venting his anger.”

Anger? At the unexpected word, Lilith tilted her head, and Celia answered with her gaze still fixed on Ludion.

“Despite how he looks, he’s quite affectionate toward his people. He must be quite angry right now. It’s only this mild because nothing serious happened, but if you had been injured, he would have charged in without giving any chance to talk.”

Hearing Celia’s words, it was clear that Ludion was indeed giving Fanatic time to speak.

Even though Fanatic was only saying things like “Please listen to me” or “Your thoughts will change after you hear me,” and was still getting beaten up…

Whatever the case, he was showing enough mercy to listen.

But that aside, Lilith didn’t think Ludion would be more violent if she had been hurt.

“Well, I’d prefer if he was only affectionate toward me… but I like that side of him too.”

But Celia said so, as if denying her thoughts.

…Is it true? Is he angry? Him? For me?

She was dumbfounded as it was something she hadn’t even considered.

So she decided to stop thinking about that part for a moment and just continued to blankly watch Ludion beating up Fanatic.

THWACK-

THWACK-

THWACK-

At some point, it had become a repetition of similar actions, but somehow it didn’t get boring.

Meanwhile, Fanatic was bewildered. He was also appalled.

The man who had been the most important part of his plan—he was shocked because he hadn’t expected him to beat him up like this, and he was appalled because everything the man did showed contempt for life.

Making the greatswords he drew disappear was one thing, but how could he make human life disappear as well?

He was used to fighting.

He was used to getting injured and bleeding.

But what was this?

There was no fight, no injury, no blood. Only death was approaching.

So, Fanatic fell into confusion.

Was it right for him to oppose this? Why had God demanded something that was impossible without this man?

Without realizing it, the object of his questioning had shifted from Ludion to God, but Fanatic was too beaten up to notice.

But his will was still alive, and he desperately tried to persuade Ludion.

Since Ludion showed no intention of listening, from the middle, he just started explaining one by one about the voice of God he had heard and the plan to execute it.

How many beatings did he take to explain everything?

He couldn’t even remember, but he finally succeeded in explaining everything.

Now this man would also agree with his plan.

“What do you think? Won’t you join me in saving humanity?”

With such expectations, he asked the question.

What came back was…

“I don’t want to.”

Another punch, and his vision turning black.