Chase (3)

* * *

The shockwave and blood mist that blanketed the entire Cherenell region… The moment I smelled that acrid scent of blood, I teleported to Hajin.

I never imagined Hajin would retaliate against Pluton. Considering my personality, I would’ve quietly gone along, thinking it was amusing, but he not only fought back but also launched a near-suicidal attack.

Seriously, he went all out. To surpass his limits using blood as a medium. Just like me, he doesn’t hesitate to do crazy things.

“Get ready.”

“…I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

-Kugugugu… A terrifying surge of energy erupts from the portal. Pluton’s demonic energy, combined with Pawin and Shuriel’s divine power, is exploding. I squinted against the gale-force winds pushing me back and planted my feet.

“――!!”

Instantly, a wind pressure that could slice hair flies by. It was a battlefield where it was hard to even open your eyes. I quickly lowered my head and shouted.

“Duck―!”

I grabbed the nape of Hajin’s neck and pulled him down, as he didn’t sense the sword energy. The wildly fired sword energy grazed Hajin’s forehead as it passed.

“――Yujin!!”

A familiar voice echoed from afar. I urgently raised my head towards the source of the sound and saw a man floating in the sky.

Shuriel. The ninth proxy of Lushellini. Shuriel, who had kicked off the ground and soared into the air, held Caravan in one hand and emitted a blue glow from his eyes.

It wasn’t just his eyes. He was glowing. Light poured out of Shuriel’s body, enough to illuminate the entire night street.

The light flowed from his horns. The white, shimmering light extended to his back, forming the shape of wings. They weren’t just decorations. Shuriel floated in the sky without the aid of magic. He flapped his wings leisurely and shouted.

“Requesting a defensive barrier!”

A request to minimize civilian casualties.

Because this is a downtown area. Especially since Pluton is a Demon who controls fire. Special care was needed in the North, where wooden buildings were densely packed.

I nodded at Hajin, gesturing with my head.

“I’ll be there in a bit. Take the lead for me.”

Erecting a barrier over the entire Cherenell region. Creating a protective formula so that not a single building is damaged, and not a single person wandering the streets dies. This alone was crazy enough-but I’m the magician who makes it possible.

A victory without casualties, rather than an overwhelming victory.

But an Archmage could do both. And I could trust Shuriel. He could hold out long enough while I set up the barrier. Or, he might just push through. Me stepping in from the start would have been overkill.

“…Alright. Let’s do this.”

As I opened my eyes wide and began to control Cherenell, Hajin inscribed magic circles on his arms and legs, loosening up his body.

Pluton enveloped himself in a large, sticky mass. Black slime that flowed down in a disgusting manner. It was as big as a building, making it difficult to approach.

Analysis revealed that it was all soul residue. Normal magic wouldn’t be able to penetrate it. This is when the power of the proxy was needed.

“Light to the seeker who harbors poison―――!!!”

__

A prayer, almost a scream, flowed out from within the black sphere. Mandragora’s curse. But there was no need to burst eardrums.

“…Pluton, the Demon of Incineration.”

The sanctuary designated by Pawin Angheln.

“―――I hereby designate you as a heretic.”

Designation as a heretic.

Sanctuary. Anyone designated as a heretic within it has restrictions placed on all their abilities. Black magic was no different. No, it was even more restricted because it was black magic. This place was a space designated by God. There was no place for a Demon to invade in this sacred space.

“Heup!”

Hajin jumped into the battlefield where blue sword energy was surging.

“Hey, Stretch! Need some help?!”

“―!”

Chwaaak! He completely cuts down the incoming shadow attack. Shuriel, shaking off his sword, widened his eyes as Hajin approached.

The same face as me. But a slightly different aura. Shuriel immediately recognized that the approaching kid was Hajin.

“I’ll split the sphere! Enter after the attack is over!”

Shuriel’s eyes widened. His blue-tinged eyes were no longer human. Threateningly protruding horns, wings stretching out on his back. As the appearance showed, Shuriel had already transcended humanity.

“Tears shed in blood, as the spirit harboring evil casts a shadow, the river shall overflow with poison――!!!”

Pluton screamed and chanted a curse. A prayer of poison. A curse that turns everything within range into a wasteland and bursts the hearts of those who stand on the ground. Immediately, corrupted souls flew out from the black sphere. Dozens at least. Each one was powerful, a malevolent spirit that couldn’t be easily shaken off.

“Ha! A Demon praying?”

Shuriel scoffed and swung his sword.

He cuts down the evil spirit grazing his cheek with divine power.

“Get lost!”

Seogeok! Kwaaaang! It was a light swing, but it caused a shockwave. Shuriel’s swordsmanship, known as the strongest in physical strength among the proxies, was crude. However, it wasn’t like Shuriel was just swinging his sword recklessly.

Lushellini’s swordsmanship culminates in powerful swordsmanship. Among them, the most used technique was a simple and brutal swordsmanship that concentrates all sword energy at the tip of the sword and strikes down.

But the concentration and precision required for it were so overwhelming that even the most skilled Aura Knight would struggle. The main reason for failure was that no matter how much Aura was concentrated, the power written in the textbook couldn’t be achieved.

Everyone agreed that it was exaggerated. The forms and breathing methods written in the textbook were undoubtedly top-notch in their effectiveness, but the content itself was ultimately just the illusion of an idealist, according to the general opinion.

Nevertheless.

Shuriel cherished that technique more than anyone else. When he was with me, when he was catching the twin Demons, even when he had nothing to do, he was always honing that technique.

And now.

Only after spreading his magnificent wings and containing the endlessly amplifying power at the tip of his sword could he understand the mysteries of the textbook.

“――Hoo.”

Lushellini-style Power Sword Technique.

Heaven and Earth Split.

A short breath. The world of the one holding the sword turns half a circle. Shuriel, who filled the void of the crescent moon, fell, drawing a clear circular trajectory. The sky looked up at was a full moon. The residual light filled the cup of moonlight and overflowed.

And finally, when his sword strike manifested in the world, heaven and earth were split. ―Kagagagak! A sound like steel tearing apart. The boundary between earth and sky was clearly defined in one strike. The grass and trees were laid down by the sword wind, unable to even think of rising, and the clouds were split along the trajectory of the sword. It was a sword strike worthy of the name Heaven and Earth Split.

Also, Shuriel took care of the details within the brutality. The condensed sword energy accurately cut down only Pluton. He tears apart all the surrounding evil spirits and realizes the will of God.

“Shit, damn―!! Say something before you use ittt!!”

He hadn’t even resolved the wind pressure, though. Hajin, swept away by the typhoon-like wind, barely returned to the front line using explosive maneuvers.

“Hajin!”

Pawin, who was also swept away by the wind, returns. She looked at the sphere that Shuriel had split and shouted.

“We must break through!”

Jjeojeojeok! The tightly closed sphere splits. And a little further inside, the translucent membrane that surrounded the inside of the sphere tore, revealing its dirty insides. In the middle of it, Pluton’s main body, endlessly shedding bloody tears, was visible.

“Ah, ah… The lamb hungry for evil seeks salvation, so look down upon this humble seeker…”

Pluton, praying in a reverent posture, was truly depraved. That bitch is a Demon called a mass murderer. Pluton didn’t even deserve to repent for his sins. Moreover, the things that answered the prayer were not the God he so admired, but corrupted souls, so it was a depravity that couldn’t be watched with open eyes.

“….”

Pawin clenched her mace, veins popping out on her forehead.

“…I’ll go first.”

Pawin injected divine power into her mace. The size of the mace increases. It was a technique she had shown during mock battles with me. She could increase the size of the mace indefinitely as she wished.

• Tak!

She kicks off the ground, and the stigmata of the Twin Wings shines. Pawin sprinted, spreading pure white wings on her back. Although they were insignificant compared to Shuriel’s wings, the anger and murderous intent in her eyes were no less than Shuriel’s.

‘I wondered why there were no Angels in this world.’

The adversary of evil was the Angel.

“Shut that unholy mouth―!!!”

Just before reaching the main body, the stigmata of Rupture shines.

Pawin split the end of the giant mace, turning it into an indescribable weapon.

“Get away from meeeeeee――!!!!!”

Pluton screamed at the incoming Pawin. A mental contamination attack containing unholy energy. Kaang! The mace is pushed back by the scream.

Her wings were broken by that violent scream. Pawin, who fell to the ground and brushed off the dust, distorted her face like a demon and muttered.

“…Alignment start.”

At that time.

The ‘Constellation Stigmata’ densely engraved from her neck to her pelvis reacted.

“Align the first and third stars.”

As Pawin commanded, two stars moved to either side of her pelvis.

“Align the fourth and seventh stars.”

Adding two more stars, one on each shoulder blade.

“Align the second and sixth stars.”

And one on each instep.

And finally. Pawin’s body, leaving only the fifth star, burned hotly like a fireball.

It was a gentle flame.

The blue flames flowing from Pawin’s body spread out, gently watching over the surrounding things.

“…Align the fifth star.”

Thus, the last star is engraved on her heart. Pawin, engulfed in flames, recited in a cold tone.

“Give me the flame to burn evil….”

Celestial Alignment.

The stars rotate rapidly. Amplification of power. The more the stars rotated, the more energy was condensed. Soon, she led her flame-burning body and charged.

It was a blink of an eye.

It was really like a meteor falling. Pawin, who became a meteor shower herself, swung her mace, leaving behind a trail of brilliant light. Before Hajin could weave a spell, before Pluton could recite the next prayer, she reached the main body.

―Bbaak! After such a dull bursting sound, a few seconds later. Pawin emitted a flash of light so strong that it briefly illuminated the North, which was immersed in the night.

“Ah, evil! My eyes!”

Hwaaaak!

Hajin shook his head like crazy. He was blind. These crazy proxy bastards. First, they caused a typhoon, and now they’re blinding me? I can’t even try to join in. Hajin looked at me with a tearful face.

I chuckled and withdrew my hand. The defensive barriers were all set up. Now, no matter what Pluton did, Cherenell was safe.

And it seemed like it would have been fine even if I hadn’t stepped in. It seemed that the Black Tower Lord had evacuated the residents. It seemed that the magicians’ rooms were used as shelters.

“Hey, hey! Quickly restore my eyes!!”

“Oh my, I told you to take the lead, but you didn’t do anything?”

“Those bastards are doing everything themselves! More importantly, hurry!”

I laughed and accelerated the reconstruction formula. Thanks to that, the blinded eyes returned quickly. Soon, Hajin, whose eyes had recovered, turned his eyes towards the ground where hot heat was rising.

There.

“…Yujin. Thanks to you, I was able to fight without controlling my power. I express my gratitude.”

Pawin, kneeling in a mess.

“I can’t, die. I can’t die like this… Humans… Humans. Can’t…”

And Pluton, whose face was half melted, was wailing.

“The situation is over.”

The situation is over even though Hajin and I didn’t do anything.

Did Shuriel and Pawin become unbelievably strong, or was Pluton originally a weak Demon?

To be able to use black magic by breaking through Pawin’s sanctuary and my defensive barrier, he shouldn’t be an easy Demon… Was the fatal wound inflicted by Hajin the problem? No, even with the fatal wound combined, he was almost a Great Demon.

Hajin is appalled as he watches the proxies beat up such a Demon like a dog. Hajin pouted his lips and grumbled.

“When I look at them, they’re not human.”

“You think so too?”

“You’re the same, you crazy bitch.”

Hajin cursed with a disgusted face.

It seemed he was disappointed that he couldn’t take the lead.