Ch.130Chapter 130: The Fierce Battle at Year’s End (5)

I felt as if the blood circulating throughout my body had frozen in an instant.

After being dragged away by Lenium, the Demon God of Time, and desperately struggling to escape from the space governed by his twisted divinity.

After donning the Dragon Scale Armor made from Fafnir’s scales.

The brief relief I felt after barely escaping from his clutches thanks to the armor—or more precisely, the power Fafnir had lent me—was short-lived.

No sooner had I emerged from the white rippling that filled my vision and realized I had reached Night Haven than I came face to face with Siz, who was about to be “executed” by Adorator.

If seeing this doesn’t make my blood run cold, is there any reason for something like blood to flow through this body at all?

Fortunately, though.

The power Fafnir had lent me apparently had no intention of letting that blood freeze.

My body reacted before my mind could even think, displaying remarkably nimble movements.

The crimson flames that had been softly rippling around my body flew toward Adorator as if they had a will of their own, forcing her to retreat from the execution site.

I seized that opportunity to catch Siz in my arms just before she fell.

At least I had somehow managed to prevent Siz from suffering Adorator’s “execution.”

I shouldn’t have been able to feel Siz’s body temperature or the sensation of her body in my arms while wearing the armor.

Yet for a moment, I felt my arms grow warm, and relief at having saved her began to warm my heart.

But I couldn’t afford to indulge in that relief.

*Wheeze* *Wheeze*

Because I had to witness up close the nearly broken state of Siz, who lay unconscious in my arms, breathing heavily.

My heart aches.

Even though I was dragged to some unknown place against my will.

How could my heart not ache seeing someone precious to me in such a state during my absence?

…That’s why.

“…Hey.”

I directed my anger toward the one responsible for Siz’s condition—my voice was quiet but filled with a coldness that surprised even me as I spoke.

It was simply the righteous indignation one would naturally feel when someone precious is gravely injured by someone who had been a source of bitter enmity before my regression.

But Adorator’s reaction to my outburst, heard from a reasonable distance, was quite unexpected.

As she straightened her clothes that had been disheveled while hastily avoiding the flames I had summoned.

“…Fafnir.”

She immediately recognized what armor I was wearing and called out the name of its original owner, displaying intense wariness.

It’s a bit disappointing that her wariness was directed at the armor I was wearing rather than at me personally, but what can I do?

She wouldn’t remember me from before my regression anyway.

Rather, it’s fortunate that this dangerous being is showing wariness and not approaching me.

The best course of action would be to enter the fortress while carrying Siz, request treatment for her, and continue this standoff with Adorator.

But I couldn’t even imagine what kind of attack Adorator might launch if I created an opening by turning my back.

So I carefully observed Adorator while maintaining my grip on Siz in my arms.

Having shaken off the flames that had troubled her moments ago, she wasn’t just showing wariness with her furrowed expression.

Stealthily

While maintaining her guard completely, she was skillfully backing away.

Gathering her battle energy, ready to strike me at any moment.

This display of preparedness—showing no openings and always ready to strike, so unlike her cruel nature—was exactly the Adorator I remembered.

The one peculiar thing was that.

From the mouth of this famous quasi-deity dwelling in the magical realm beyond the mountains, known for attacking anyone who provoked her without hesitation.

“…I can’t believe it. I never thought you would still be alive. I was under the impression you had disappeared without a trace in that armor at the hands of my lord.”

Who could have guessed such words revealing intense tension would come out?

This side of Adorator was extremely rare even for me, who had frequently encountered her in various forms before my regression.

But the one who had caused her to gather such wariness seemed quite familiar with this aspect of Adorator.

[Looking at her state, it seems she still hasn’t shaken off the fear from that time.]

He was reminiscing about some past event that only he knew about and I didn’t.

Just what had this dragon been doing during the Great Holy War era?

How had he gained such absolute recognition among the Demon God with twisted divinity and his followers?

Well, in any case, if this matter ends safely, I’ll get to hear stories about his past.

For now, I’ll stop fixating on information I’ll soon learn anyway.

I need to focus on keeping Adorator in check.

That’s more important if I want to protect Siz, who’s now in my arms.

But as I was racking my brain worrying about dealing with Adorator before me.

[Well, seeing her still afraid is actually fortunate. Kid, let’s buy some time.]

Fafnir’s voice, tinged with a strange playfulness, reached my mind, signaling he was about to do something.

‘What are you planning to do?’

I couldn’t even guess what he was going to do, so I tried to probe his intentions.

*Whoosh-!!*

Fafnir answered my question by intensifying the fiery energy imbued in the Dragon Scale Armor I was wearing.

Whether he intended to avoid affecting Siz in my arms or not.

The flames that had been rippling only on the back part of the armor broke free in an instant.

Changing from formless ripples into round spheres.

They flew at tremendous speed toward where Adorator stood with her unwavering wariness.

In numbers too dizzying to count with the naked eye.

The effect was tremendous.

From the mouth of this invincible quasi-deity, famous for her abnormal resistance to divine weapons—having faced the holy sword Lumen without suffering fatal wounds.

“Eek!!”

A scream clearly revealing her terror erupted.

“Fafnir, you bastard! So you were alive after all!!”

She expressed intense anger toward the one responsible for these flames.

Using every gesture of hands and feet.

“Tch! This is really hard to dodge!!”

She was desperately trying to avoid the crimson flames flying toward her.

Adorator, famous for her tactic of overwhelming opponents by taking their attacks head-on without dodging.

Demonstrating the overwhelming difference in capability and instilling deep despair in her opponents.

I never imagined I would see her struggling to dodge attacks coming her way.

It reminds me of memories from before my regression, when I was an Agent.

The memory of when her already notable belligerence and ferocity worsened day by day until she was finally abandoned by Desire and purged by my hand.

Even though it ended one-sidedly.

Compared to that time when she proudly took my sword without dodging, displaying arrogance until her dying moment…

“Stop unfairly targeting my weakness and face me properly!”

Seeing Adorator now, terrified of Fafnir’s flames, a near-laugh twisted the corners of my mouth.

It was fortunate that my face was covered by the helmet, hiding such a twisted expression.

Of course, as if unwilling to let me laugh for long.

[No time to waste. I hear movement behind the collapsed wall—hand the Proxian lady over to them and prepare to fight that damned woman.]

With Fafnir’s deeply lowered voice echoing in my mind, telling me to prepare for battle with Adorator.

The twisted smile on my lips immediately straightened into a firm line.

One of Fafnir’s relentlessly flying flames finally made contact with Adorator’s body.

*Whoosh-!!*

With a loud noise signaling that flames had caught on her body.

“Kyaaak!!”

If she hadn’t let out such a piercing scream, completely stripped of her usual eeriness.

“…”

I would have certainly maintained my straight face while preparing to face Adorator.

“Hot!!”

Thanks to Adorator, who was screaming in pain and desperately trying to extinguish the flames on her body, my carefully hardened expression twisted subtly again.

And this sight of Adorator seemed unexpected even to Fafnir, who had launched the flames to keep her in check.

[…The effect is much better than I thought.]

Fafnir’s voice echoing in my mind was filled with both bewilderment and astonishment.

[The wounds she suffered back then must have been quite severe. To be so terrified at the mere sight of my flames.]

He was again muttering things only he understood, so I couldn’t know the details.

Well, whether Fafnir felt bewildered or not.

‘You’ve certainly bought us time.’

[That’s quite the stingy praise, kid.]

‘It’s only proper time-buying if we can hold out until someone comes to take care of Siz.’

[Oh my, I’m sure you know best.]

‘Still…’

[Why don’t you finish what you were saying?]

‘At least we’ve gained time to examine Siz, so it wasn’t meaningless time-buying.’

[…This is serious. You’re seriously afflicted.]

I have no complaints since I’ve gained the opportunity to check on Siz’s condition in my arms.

The state of Siz, still unconscious in my arms, was terrible.

Her clothing, which had always been kept clean, was tattered in places from the fierce battle.

Due to the penetrating wound on her right shoulder.

Even now, though not severe, the bleeding hadn’t stopped.

And because of that, her complexion was rather pale.

“…”

My heart ached and my teeth clenched as I examined each of her injuries.

But if there was one fortunate thing.

It would be that her breathing, which had been very irregular when she first came into my arms.

*Inhale* *Inhale*

Was becoming more stable as time passed.

[It’s not just her breathing. Look carefully once more.]

Following Fafnir’s words, I examined Siz’s condition more thoroughly.

As her breathing stabilized, the blood that had been continuously flowing from her shoulder wound, though faintly, was gradually stopping.

The wound itself hadn’t disappeared without a trace.

But it was very fortunate that bleeding from a wound caused by Adorator’s negative energy-infused battle aura was stopping naturally so quickly.

Moreover, I could see color returning to her skin as the bleeding stopped.

The guilt I felt for not being able to do anything when she was injured was slightly easing.

[When one becomes the master of a holy sword, the divine protection imbued in the sword increases resistance to things related to twisted divinity that oppose it. Even if wounded by such forces, the wounds heal in the blink of an eye.]

‘So it’s almost like regenerative ability.’

[It’s a bit different from regenerative ability where wounds disappear without a trace. Let’s say… it’s more like a protection that prevents being ‘contaminated’ by twisted divinity.]

‘You seem to know a lot about this.’

[Considering the time I spent with the woman who first wielded this, it would be strange if I didn’t know.]

As my conversation with Fafnir, who was conveying words with quite subtle nuances, was coming to an end.

*Tap tap tap-!!*

From behind me, that is, from the direction of the fortress with the collapsed wall, came the sound of footsteps approaching at a fierce pace.

Focusing my ears on the footsteps, I could tell there were two people.

I was about to feel disappointed that only two people had come when such a formidable figure as Adorator had appeared.

But as the footsteps grew louder and I sensed the energy carried in those steps and.

“Tsk. Am I a bit late?”

The disappointment instantly faded as I heard the straightforward voice from behind me.

Because the owner of those footsteps, who had arrived here in haste yet without disturbing their breathing, was the strongest person in this fortress at present.

“Hey, you armored weirdo! What have you done to the girl I care for like a little sister? Take your hands off her right now!”

…I should clear up the misunderstanding my senior might have first.