Ch.135Stimulus

Serena fell into momentary contemplation as she watched Christine simultaneously emanating holy power and killing intent, wondering how to deal with this situation.

If it had been elsewhere, she might have tried to buy time by dodging attacks, but right now Serena was in just one room located on the top floor of the royal palace.

Of course, befitting a space designed for Charlotte to reside in, it was extraordinarily large for a single room, but the reality was that no matter how spacious a mere room might be, it couldn’t compare to being outdoors.

A few evasive maneuvers would bring her back against a wall, and with her lord behind her, the already confined space became even more restrictive.

How the hell was she supposed to avoid that crazy woman in such a place?

Moreover, if they fought recklessly, there was a risk of the entire palace collapsing. Given Serena’s current situation, this was an additional factor she had to consider.

Normally, she wouldn’t have cared at all whether the palace collapsed or not. Considering she had once cut through a wall and jumped out because she couldn’t stand the sight of Charlotte, such consideration seemed absurd.

Besides, Charlotte had defensive magic formations spread throughout the palace. Though she hated to admit it, the defensive magic surrounding the palace was not to be taken lightly.

The problem was that those defensive spells could potentially become targets of mana nullification and disappear. Without magic, the palace was just an ordinary stone structure.

While Serena was racking her brain over these concerns, Christine spoke first, seemingly oblivious to her thoughts.

“Did you not hear what I said?”

The venomous question pierced Serena’s ears. Now it seemed she had even infused holy power into her voice, as Serena’s ears rang with a high-pitched sound.

Serena shook her head vigorously to clear her mind. There was nowhere left to retreat, and she had no intention of handing over her lord. That left only one option: to fight.

She pointed her Wind Shear, perfectly transparent without mana supply, forward. She could feel the swirling wind in her palm.

“I asked why you wounded my god.”

Wounded? Serena glanced back at her lord, who was still coughing up black blood and struggling to move somewhere.

It was a miserable sight. If Serena hadn’t been her lord’s knight, if she hadn’t been a knight who always had to maintain composure, she would have burst into tears while guarding her side.

“I didn’t do it.”

So Serena simply stated the facts. It truly wasn’t her doing, so there was no need for lies.

Despite being told the truth, Christine showed no signs of believing Serena’s words.

“You vile heretic, now you spew lies with that filthy tongue of yours?”

“Why do you think I’m lying? I said I didn’t do something I didn’t do. Stop talking nonsense.”

“You didn’t do it? You didn’t wound my god? Can you truly take responsibility for those words? Can you bear the weight of your lies? The sin of wagging your tongue carelessly before my god must be atoned for by offering yourself as a sacrifice.”

By this point, Serena was starting to feel irritated at having to respond.

For whatever reason, this religious fanatic believed that Serena was the culprit who had reduced her lord to such a state.

To suggest that a knight had attacked her own lord was a grave insult to Serena. Now her blue eyes began to fill with killing intent as she stared at Christine.

The times Serena had wounded her lord were solely to fulfill her wish to sever immortality, nothing more.

Attacking one’s lord and wounding one’s lord—though seemingly similar at first glance, these were vastly different acts.

Sometimes, very rarely, Serena derived pleasure from covering wounds inflicted on her lord by other women with wounds of her own making, but that was merely incidental.

She would never realize that this was the slight leakage of a very faint sadistic tendency residing in her heart.

“I am a knight who serves my lord. You think I would wound my lord?”

“Did you just call yourself a knight? You, a mere heretic, dare to call yourself a knight serving your lord?”

A sinister smile spread across Christine’s lips. It was an ominous expression.

“So that’s why my god is in such a state. How excellently you’ve fulfilled your duty.”

A large crack appeared in Serena’s consistently expressionless face. This was provocation that touched on two of her sore spots at once.

Not only did Christine refer to the boy as her god rather than Serena’s lord, but she also mocked Serena for failing to protect her lord despite being a knight.

Naturally, Serena couldn’t maintain her composure after hearing such taunts.

“If you’re so eager to die, I’ll grant your wish.”

“Kill me? You say you’ll kill me? Can you do it? Do you really think a mere heretic like you can harm me, who is watched over by God?”

To deal with Christine, Serena needed to empty her mind, but that was impossible in the current situation. Anger boiled in her head.

If she hadn’t heard such provocations, if her lord had ordered her to remain calm despite Christine’s taunts, she might have maintained her composure.

But now her lord was in a near-death state, and the provocations had already been heard. The possibility of calming herself was virtually zero.

“You’ll regret those words.”

Serena sprang forward, kicking off the ground. Though she hadn’t enhanced her body with mana, it was still a speed that ordinary humans couldn’t handle.

Seeing this, Christine stomped her foot hard. The impact cracked the floor with an ominous sound. Fragments fell to the floor below.

The severely weakened floor couldn’t withstand Serena’s next leap and collapsed beneath her. Her body suddenly sank, causing her to stagger greatly.

Serena took a deep breath. Even without body enhancement, she had long since passed the stage where such tricks could throw her off balance.

She forcibly pulled out her left foot. The distance was sufficient anyway. After freeing her left foot, she used her right foot, still stuck in the crack, as a pivot to spin her body around.

Adding the rotational force to her swing, she slashed at Christine with Wind Shear.

Though Wind Shear couldn’t be seen with the naked eye due to the complete absence of mana, Christine instinctively sensed that Serena was holding something in her hand.

She clenched her fist and thrust it forward to counter the attack.

“I told you, I’d make you regret it.”

Christine’s fist, which should have collided with whatever was in Serena’s hand, felt nothing. With nothing to counter her punch, her body lurched forward.

Christine quickly tried to regain her balance, but Serena had already slipped to her side. Serena crouched low, preparing to thrust, and the transparent sword reappeared in her hand.

Reverting the sword to wind just before Christine’s fist and Wind Shear’s blade collided, causing her to lose balance—

This was a technique only possible with Wind Shear, and a deception only effective against someone like Christine who fought purely on instinct.

With Christine, who would swing her fists regardless of whether Serena used deception or not—

Serena recreated Wind Shear in her hand and thrust the sword with all her might. The transparent blade pierced precisely into Christine’s side.

“Hiiik?!”

Christine’s body bent sharply. Intense pain radiated from her side where Wind Shear had struck directly. It was a pain she had never experienced before.

Not only Christine was surprised, but also Serena who had delivered the attack and Charlotte who was watching.

Both were seeing Christine wince in pain for the first time.

Although Serena had considered the attack merely a delaying tactic, she was so surprised that it had worked that her eyes widened in shock even as she thrust.

Her body, trained to the extreme, continued the attack despite her mental surprise. She withdrew the blade from Christine’s side and immediately delivered an uppercut to her chin. Christine’s head snapped back.

Stepping firmly with her left foot, Serena nearly doubled the size of Wind Shear. This was possible because Wind Shear had no fixed size.

Usually, she created it at the length most suitable for wielding, but in a situation like this, destructive power was more important than handling comfort.

Serena gripped the Wind Shear, now transformed into a greatsword matching her height, with both hands and slashed at Christine.

Taking the full brunt of the attack, Christine’s body was lifted into the air and flew toward the opposite wall. Her body completely shattered the wall upon impact.

A loud crashing sound came from beyond the collapsed wall.

Only then did Serena look at the Wind Shear in her hand with a dumbfounded expression. She still couldn’t understand what kind of situation this was.

“My dear, you have bestowed an excellent weapon against that beast,” Charlotte muttered, cutting off the boy’s regenerated limbs as he struggled to move somewhere.

Charlotte knew very well what kind of woman Christine was.

Setting aside herself, whose magic was sealed and couldn’t even be a match, it was mainly Serena who had faced Christine.

Each time, that religious fanatic had shrugged off Serena’s attacks and charged at her as if nothing had happened.

Whether she was slammed into the ground, buried under buildings, or beaten all over her body, Christine would charge like a madwoman, seemingly unable to perceive pain.

This was the first time. The first time Christine had shown any reaction to being hit like this.

And without even using mana.

“…My lord.”

Serena’s eyes turned tender as she looked at Wind Shear. Her gaze contained various complicated emotions.

If this was her lord’s will, she would gladly follow it. Serena returned Wind Shear to its original size and pointed the tip toward the wall.

It was an excellent development that she now had a means to counter that crazy woman. With a means to attack, she was confident that even if she couldn’t win, she at least wouldn’t lose.

After all, Christine was someone who moved purely on instinct without any technique. Serena had plenty of tactics to deal with such a person.

It wasn’t that Wind Shear’s performance was exceptional enough to cause Christine pain, but rather that faint traces of its past recognition of the boy as its master remained imprinted on it, though no one knew this.

“Heeheeheehee, heehee.”

Christine emerged from beyond the collapsed wall with a chilling laugh. She looked surprisingly clean for someone who had just been thrown through a wall.

“You dare, you dare to attack me?”

Her eyes, fixed on Serena, were devoid of any light. Two yellow pupils containing the familiar color of the abyss were directed at Serena.

The spot where Wind Shear had hit was slightly red and swollen. Probably pain she was feeling for the first time in a very long while.

“This proves it.”

Christine didn’t answer. Perhaps she was too lost in her own world, muttering to herself like a madwoman to hear Serena’s words.

“Not your god, but my lord.”

The muttering stopped abruptly. The smile disappeared completely. A pair of yellow jewels, completely devoid of light, stared at Serena.

“What did you say about my god?”

“Didn’t you hear? Then I’ll tell you as many times as needed. Not your god, but my lord.”

And then, she drove the nail in. It was time to return the provocation she had received earlier.

“My lord must be tired of playing the role of your god. You were probably just a mere plaything.”