Ch.318318. Convergence

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A hero must always maintain composure and thoroughness.

Of course, there’s the aspect of maintaining dignity that comes from being the symbolic last bastion of humanity, but more importantly, it’s an essential quality to avoid personal disaster since heroes often find themselves in extreme situations.

Needless to say, this is an extremely difficult task.

Elia Krisanax was currently experiencing this reality quite acutely.

Just maintaining such an attitude while dealing with the person before her was already quite challenging.

“…Miss Yuria. I’m telling you, you haven’t been abandoned.”

“D-Darwood isn’t, a-answering my calls, huu- huuuuk-“

“…”

“H-he disappeared without any c-contact, th-this is the third time, s-so this time, r-really, don’t you think I’ve been abandoned?”

“…”

“If that’s true…!”

As she spoke, white energy began creeping up from within Yuria’s body, causing Elia to widen her eyes and grip her holy sword.

Yes. Now was her chance.

She swung the sword while still in its scabbard, instantly cutting away the white energy and causing Yuria to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut.

Suppressing the demonic energy with the holy sword had apparently caused a tremendous shock to rebound through Yuria’s body.

Immediately, Lucien Greyhounter, who had been anxiously watching the whole process from the side, rushed forward to catch Yuria’s falling body.

“…I apologize for asking every time I see this, but is this really-“

“-It’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Elia let out a heavy sigh after saying this.

Of course, even after being subdued like this, Yuria would regain consciousness and, after some time, fall back into anxiety attacks like she was having a seizure.

So this had become part of her daily routine.

‘Subduing’ Yuria, who frequently had attacks because Darwood had disappeared without properly leaving any contact information, to make her behave.

“Good work, my lady.”

Of course, suppressing demonic energy like this was quite taxing for her as well. Handling a holy sword always required a high level of concentration.

As she wiped away the sweat flowing like rain, an attendant approached and offered her a dry towel with those words.

This was evidence that such activities were now being accepted as part of the duties of the Margrave of Kendrid Borderlands…

“…By the way.”

Wiping her sweat, Elia narrowed her eyes and looked at Lucien.

“The Holy Maiden doesn’t seem to be in great condition either, does she?”

“…Pardon?”

At that question, Lucien flinched and her face instantly turned red.

The way she slightly averted her gaze suggested that Elia had hit the mark.

“No, it’s just that sometimes you go alone to the room where the professor stayed and lie down there.”

“…”

“You also occasionally caress the furniture he used with a melancholic expression.”

“…”

“And according to the servants, you sometimes even wear something like a collar at night, lost in thoughts as if longing for-“

“…I, never did that…!”

“…”

One fact to note.

Whether it’s because of her title as Holy Maiden or not, Lucien Greyhounter is terribly bad at lying.

As she was pondering this thought, she heard the door behind her burst open.

“M-my lady!”

“…”

To Elia, who had just caught her breath, it sounded almost like the footsteps of the grim reaper.

“…What now…”

“A huge fire has broken out in the main hall of the mansion…!”

“That crazy woman again…!”

Unlike the other Demonic Vessels she was somewhat friendly with, the protagonist of this incident was someone Elia couldn’t have good feelings toward. That was evident just from how curses immediately flew out of her mouth.

Running to the mansion’s garden in one breath, she saw that, as the servant had said, a noticeably large inferno was already rising there.

It was less intense than during the Red Night incident, but it was enough to melt all the snow in the perpetually snow-covered Kendrid Borderlands, creating thick steam—a sight that instantly revealed how out of control the situation was.

And upon discovering the red-haired woman floating naked in the center of that pillar of fire, radiating heat, Elia’s eyes widened in anger.

“What’s your problem now, you b-!”

“…My lady, please mind your-“

The sound of a servant clearing their throat and trying to restrain her came from behind, but Elia’s movement was faster as she kicked off the railing and launched herself toward the fire.

Unlike the White Demon’s temptation, which Elia believed she could shake off quickly if she just maintained her sanity, this power had a physical manifestation, making it a bit more difficult to deal with.

The blade of her drawn holy sword cut through the flames and struck the crown of Faynol Leiphec’s head.

Unlike earlier when she had cut through demonic energy with the scabbard, this time she struck with the blade, causing a tremendous sonic boom around them.

If Elia hadn’t controlled her strength, the surrounding area could have been completely devastated by that single blow.

The pillar of fire instantly disappeared, and Faynol’s body, having received the blow, was driven into the garden floor at a terrifying speed.

“…E-Elia?”

However, perhaps because she was a vessel with all the pieces assembled, Faynol blinked her eyes without sustaining major injuries and muttered dazedly.

“What made you go berserk this time?! How many times do I have to tell you that if you’re struggling, you should get counseling or talk to someone to relieve your stress-!”

Elia’s angry shout fell with a terrifying intensity.

For Faynol, who had to listen quietly since she had caused trouble by going berserk, it was such a tremendous scolding that her face turned pale.

Because of this, it was quite a while before she could stammer out an explanation of why she had done such a thing.

“Well, I was thinking, you know.”

“You’d better think carefully before you speak.”

“…”

With Elia glaring as if to say she should be prepared for another hit if she had gone berserk for some trivial reason again, Faynol swallowed dryly and opened her mouth.

“…W-well, I don’t know about the others, but he took the Tristan Duchess with him when he disappeared.”

At those words, the tip of Elia’s sword twitched slightly.

It was such a subtle movement that probably no one but herself would have noticed it properly.

After all, the topic Faynol had just brought up was something she herself was deeply concerned about.

“…That’s right.”

In response to her reluctant answer, Faynol suddenly spoke in a voice that had become extremely depressed.

“…Doesn’t that mean she’s the one Darwood trusts the most and keeps closest to him?”

“…”

“Conversely, it means that we aren’t properly trusted by Darwood. In the end, he can never get truly close to us-“

Before Faynol could continue, the scabbard of the holy sword struck her head forcefully.

It was such a powerful blow that even the attendants helping her nearby flinched in surprise.

“…Shut up.”

Looking at Faynol, who had fainted without even uttering a death cry, Elia muttered in a grumpy voice.

“I’ve known that for a long time already.”

Even so.

There’s a part of her that doesn’t give up.

She prides herself on knowing exactly what she needs to do to stand by his side.

As she said this and tried to catch her breath in front of the unconscious Faynol…

“…Um, my lady…”

“…”

Before she could calm her breathing, a servant who had suddenly appeared again started to speak, causing Elia to squeeze her eyes shut.

“…What is it? Tell me.”

No, it might not be what she thinks.

These people must be human too. No matter what, just because one man disappeared without clearly stating his reasons or making any contact, they wouldn’t continue this insane emotional expenditure, claiming they lost in the competition for his affection or were abandoned or whatever—

“There are reports from the servants that an enormous amount of fur is flying around in one part of the mansion.”

“…Fur?”

“…It’s a common precursor symptom among the Furries. They say that when they completely lose their reason, fur often grows all over their bodies.”

“…Is it where the Evatrice sisters are staying?”

“Yes.”

“…”

“Additionally, there are observations of violet energy-“

Elia strongly struck the back of her neck to keep her increasingly dazed mind focused.

‘These insane people…!’

To be honest, it’s a bit overwhelming.

It’s not just one or two Demonic Vessels, but all existing vessels gathered in one place, whining and crying—even as the owner of a holy sword, it’s natural to feel extraordinary pressure.

‘I told him to at least contact us before disappearing, that man-!’

This is an incredible nuisance. He should have considered how many mentally unstable women stake their lives on his every move.

Thanks to him, she’s running around frantically like this, cleaning up after them!

The next time they meet, she’ll give him such a scolding that he’ll be crying his eyes out…!

“…Ah, you’ve arrived just in time.”

“…?”

Elia’s expression went blank when she saw an unfamiliar ‘hover car’ at the place she had rushed to in order to subdue the Evatrice sisters.

No.

Where on earth did this come from?

“Darwood Campbell needs your help now, hero.”

A cyborg emitting blue flames characteristic of magitech cores all over its body said this to the dazed Elia.

“Will you bring all the vessels and follow me? Time is of the essence.”

…Perhaps.

It seems she won’t need to wait long to give Darwood that scolding after all.

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