Ch.140First Battle – 4

“……My lord.”

Serena staggered to her feet. She couldn’t remember the last time she had suffered such severe wounds. It must have been well over 10 years, at the very least.

From the moment she first met her lord, what unfolded before Serena was not humiliation and pain, but honor and glory.

But now it was different. Each wound on her body stung terribly, ached horribly, and caused excruciating pain. Her body, pushed to its limits, screamed for rest.

She gritted her teeth. No, she couldn’t allow this. She couldn’t collapse here. She whipped herself mentally, summoning her strength.

Get up, she told herself. Quickly grab your sword and go reclaim your lord. How can you call yourself a knight who protects her lord?

“My lord, my lord…!”

However, her body, nearly drained of life force, refused to obey the commands from her head. Her legs gave out, knees buckling, and Serena once again buried her face in the dirt.

The metallic taste of blood mingled with the bitter taste of soil in her mouth. There was no strength left in her body. Now, even staggering to her feet seemed impossible.

With a harsh cough, a clot of blood spewed from her throat. The scent of blood in her mouth grew stronger.

The Wind Shear in her right hand transformed into wind. The disappearance of Wind Shear wasn’t Serena’s will. It meant her concentration had completely crumbled.

Serena desperately struggled to move forward, pressing her fingers into the dirt. Of course, it was a futile effort. She couldn’t even manage that much before collapsing completely.

“…My dear.”

Charlotte was similarly helpless, buried somewhere in the earth that had once been the kingdom’s capital.

Unlike Serena, who was sprawled on the ground, Charlotte was buried in the debris of buildings that had melted and collapsed into purgatory—that was the only difference.

And compared to Serena, whose body was covered in wounds and whose clothes were reduced to rags, Charlotte didn’t appear to have such severe injuries.

Of course, this was only in comparison to Serena. In absolute terms, Charlotte’s injuries were by no means trivial. They just weren’t as apparent thanks to the healing magic she had cast by squeezing out her remaining mana.

Moreover, she was still suffering from serious mana exhaustion, so the sense of powerlessness Charlotte felt was no less than Serena’s.

For Charlotte, this was her first experience with mana exhaustion, which made the feeling of helplessness even worse. She had never been in a battle fierce enough to require depleting her mana reserves.

She could easily crush ordinary enemies with the flick of a finger, and when she fought fiercely with Serena, they had stopped at a critical moment.

The only thing Charlotte couldn’t resolve with magic was severing her husband’s immortality. Naturally, that wouldn’t have caused mana exhaustion.

“So this is what it feels like when all mana is depleted. As you said, it is not a particularly pleasant sensation.”

A hollow voice escaped her lips. Charlotte recalled what her husband had once told her.

That experiencing mana exhaustion once wouldn’t be such a bad experience. That she needed to experience that powerlessness firsthand to properly manage her mana in actual combat.

Charlotte had refused. The total amount of mana she possessed could be compared to an ocean. Why prepare for something that would never happen, she had argued.

The boy who had brought it up had even smiled and agreed with Charlotte, so it was just advice she had tucked away in a corner of her memory and forgotten.

Why that advice came to mind only now, after a defeat so devastating that “pathetic” was the only word that came to mind, she didn’t know.

She had to admit it.

It wasn’t a particularly good feeling.

“Oh, my God. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. The sin of this lamb who failed to protect God is so deep and heavy that it cannot even be measured by human power. Do not forgive this disloyal lamb. Do not forgive me. I, Christine, will take my own life to seek forgiveness if that is what you wish. So please—”

Christine was sobbing, begging her God for forgiveness.

Christine was in the worst condition of the three. Because Olivia had unleashed attacks on her several times more powerful than those directed at Charlotte or Serena, there wasn’t a single uninjured part of her body.

Thanks to Charlotte’s recovery magic, she was only suffering from mana exhaustion, and while Serena could at least try to stand up, Christine’s injuries were so severe it was a miracle she wasn’t dead.

Her body was sprawled awkwardly on the ground, and her nun’s habit was so torn and tattered that it was embarrassing to even call it clothing anymore.

Her left leg was bent at an odd angle from the hip. Her right leg was twisted in no less than four places. Broken bones had even pierced through her skin.

Her right shoulder was dislocated, and her left elbow was bent outward rather than inward. The area around where Christine lay was covered in blood that had flowed from her body and congealed.

“How can I repent for this sin? How should this lamb beg? I’m sorry. It was my negligence.”

The reason she could survive despite all this was thanks to her divine power.

More precisely, it was due to Christine’s faith and belief, which were the source of her divine power.

The belief that the only saint serving the immortal God could not die. Without that belief, Christine would certainly have lost her life.

Of course, she had only preserved her life; moving her body was impossible. No matter how great her faith and divine power, she would have to remain pinned to the ground for at least a few hours.

Whether one should be amazed that recovery would take only a few hours when her entire body was completely shattered is debatable.

A great sense of powerlessness weighed on all three of their hearts. This was the first such experience for all of them—the feeling of being overwhelmingly defeated by someone.

Serena had lost, and her lord had been taken away. It was an indelible disgrace as a knight serving her lord. She had to reclaim her lord, by any means necessary.

Charlotte’s situation was no different. Unlike when she faced Christine, she had given her all but was overwhelmed head-on and had her husband taken away. She wanted to somehow repay this humiliation.

In Christine’s heart, there was still light. That’s why Christine burned with faith. Her God was not dead and was illuminating the path she must follow.

Though the three were at each other’s throats, they shared the same determination to reclaim the boy.

And all of them recalled the last words the boy had left behind.

Just one phrase: surpass it.

“…It is not over yet.”

Charlotte was the first to start moving.

Despite repeatedly dry heaving from mana exhaustion, despite staggering precariously as if about to collapse at any moment, she summoned mana to her hands.

Charlotte was not dead. Charlotte de Gargantua was not dead. So, there was still a chance. A chance as precious as gold.

“I swear I will repay this humiliation by any means necessary, my dear.”

Though the palace had literally melted away and the kingdom’s capital had disappeared without a trace along with its citizens, Charlotte was still standing strong.

“So wait for me.”

Charlotte’s figure disappeared in an instant. It was teleportation magic. Used even in a state of mana exhaustion.

“I will carry on my lord’s will, without fail.”

The next to leave was Serena. Clutching her dangling left arm, she limped forward toward somewhere.

The last words her lord had left for Serena—they clearly meant she should achieve greater growth and come to reclaim him.

If her lord had given an order, it was a knight’s duty to follow. Determination shone in Serena’s eyes. Determination to reclaim her lord no matter what.

Her lord had given her his trust, and she had to repay that trust.

“My God…”

Christine remained in place long after Serena and Charlotte had departed. Due to the severity of her injuries, recovery consumed a considerable amount of time.

Only when that faith became even stronger through adversity and divine power once again enveloped her body did Christine manage to stand up.

The barren wasteland stretched beyond the horizon. Looking at that desolate scene, Christine recalled the last words her God had left.

The word to surpass. Christine was deeply grateful for those words.

Her God had not abandoned her yet. He still believed in her and told her to come find him.

“I understand. I will do as you say. How could this sinful lamb disobey God’s words?”

Deeply grateful that her God still believed in her despite such disloyalty, Christine slowly began to move forward toward somewhere.

To follow the faith bestowed by God.