episode_0237

“These insignificant wretches dare… ungrateful beings dare to challenge me…!!! Holy Blast!!!”

Camilla, witnessing me, Aria, and Dio V Runner flying towards her, deflected Bivi and Gid Uncle’s attacks, then immediately spread her palm and fired a beam of light from it towards us. Aria snickered, then lightly swung her staff and deflected the beam. Cecilia, who was fighting Remie on the ground and noticed this, was astonished to see Aria so easily deflect Camilla’s power, which had been strong enough to split the earth and create a canyon just moments before.

“W-what… what is that…?! Did she just deflect Camilla’s beam…?! But that black power Aria is using… what is that… it looks like magic…?!”

“Ugh… what I’m feeling is divinity, Cecilia…. Aria Lit… it seems Estur’s intuition was correct, she truly is an individual with immense potential…. To possess unique divinity that even contains a bit of magic’s properties…!!”

“….?! Is that possible?!”

Cecilia was greatly astonished by Merzel, who had been pushed back while blocking Remie’s sword, when he said that the power Aria was using was indeed unique divinity that even contained a bit of magic’s properties. Aria, wielding that immense power, lightly deflected all of Camilla’s continuous beam attacks with her staff, clearly imprinting the strength of her power upon others. She then reached Bivi’s side, and Bivi, seeing Aria unharmed, sighed in great relief and said.

“Ah… that’s a relief, Aria-nim. And thank you… I was just starting to get tired… By the way, you look quite refreshed… Hehehe… I wonder what happened down there?”

“It’s been a while, Bivi. Hahaha. About that promise you made before. It seems it will be alright now. Just a little while ago, I received not only Zeke-nim’s heart… but also his even more precious love.”

“Oh my…! That’s wonderful, Aria-nim. Then, later, should I tell you about a good place for us to travel together?”

“Hehehe… Rapien-nim already told me, so I think it’ll be fine….”

“Who are you chattering in front of, you traitor…!!”

Camilla, seeing Aria chatting amiably with Bivi, became enraged. She created three yellow circular formations around them and fired beams from them at Aria. However, as the three beams converged on her, Aria casually blocked them with her left hand while continuing to speak to Bivi with a relaxed expression.

“Don’t mind that nasty noise and go down below to recover your strength, Bivi. And Gid-nim, who is on Bivi-nim’s back, too.”

“Ah…. Ahahaha…. Then I’ll be in the way, so if you’ll excuse me…”

“See you later, Aria. And congratulations. Hehehe…”

Bivi, watching Aria effortlessly block Camilla’s attacks, realized that Aria had now reached a level completely transcending dragons, and calmly left, carrying Gid on her back. Aria then swung her arm, returning the beams she had been blocking directly to Camilla, who was struck in the face by her own light. Gid, watching this from Bivi’s back, let out a hollow laugh, recalling how he had surrendered when fighting Aria previously.

“Hoooh… Aria…. To think she’d become this strong… Wow… If I hadn’t surrendered in Ruam, I really… might have died….”

“Gid…. First, I must apologize… I’ve nearly exhausted all my strength releasing cold air since earlier, so all I can do is let you down to the ground…”

“No. I’m grateful enough that you came to help, and you even protected me until the end… I must repay that kindness too…!!”

“…?! G-Gid?! Why are you suddenly jumping down…!”

When Bivi apologized, saying she could do nothing more than return him to the ground with her current strength, Gid looked down, smiled, and jumped off Bivi’s back. Bivi startled, then realized she had already almost reached the ground before Gid jumped. Gid saw the believers waiting below Bivi and raised his two swords towards them, saying.

“Let me just say this. I’m not lenient, you see. I need to make a place for my benefactor to rest, so get out of here right now.”

“We cannot…!! That dragon who dared to disrespect Goddess Camilla-nim… must be punished…!!”

“In that case, I have no choice…!! Haaahp!!!”

As the believers, who could not forgive Bivi for having just unleashed cold air on Camilla, charged at him, Gid swung his two swords as if dancing, dodging their weapons and cutting them down. When a believer approached him with a sword brimming with divinity, Gid immediately blocked the approaching sword with the sword in his right hand and said.

“Can’t you see that your key figure, Aria, has turned to our side? And yet you have no intention of stopping this battle… You truly are incredibly stubborn fellows…!!!”

“Though Saintess Aria betrayed her and brought her sorrow… we shall fill her heart in Aria’s stead…!!”

“Ah… so desperate… tears blur my vision… But we were also desperate to survive from you!!!”

“….!!”

When the believer showed their resolve, Gid declared that they too were just as desperate, and swung the sword in his left hand. The believer hastily pulled his sword back from him and immediately blocked Gid’s left-hand sword, and at the same time, Gid swung the sword in his other hand at the believer. The believer then seemed to be struggling to block Gid’s two swords, showing a bewildered and astonished expression.

“Th-this can’t be…!! My sword, imbued with divinity… why can’t it break your sword…?! Why…?!”

“My swords aren’t ordinary either, you know…!! They’re special swords made from a mineral called Pristi, which has a hardness comparable to Magnod’s Tears!!!”

“….!! Oh, son of a…!! Graaaahk!!”

The moment the believer realized Gid’s swords were made from a mineral called Pristi, comparable in hardness to Magnod’s Tears, he was greatly astonished. Gid, at that instant, swiftly swung both swords simultaneously, cutting the believer twice. Seeing that the area below was cleared, Bivi immediately landed on the ground, transformed into her human form, and said to Gid, panting.

“Hah… Haaah… I’m truly sorry for this… I didn’t expect to receive so much help….”

“No, not at all. Thanks to riding on Bivi-nim’s back, I was able to charge at Camilla and divert her attention. First, recover your strength, Bivi-nim. While I do that….”

“That’s enough, Gid.”

The moment Gid held up his two swords to block the believers, a sudden gust of wind erupted, causing the believers to lose their balance and stumble. At that moment, Protega, transformed into his human form, powerfully struck the believers with the wings that had grown on his back, sending them flying. He then approached his wife, Bivi, and said.

“Wife. To come to such a dangerous place…. And to even think of charging at Camilla as soon as you arrived… that was too reckless.”

“Hahaha… Still, thanks to me, Zeke-nim could come here… and it’s a relief I could see your face like this…. I’m sorry, Protega. My body isn’t what it used to be, and my strength is already depleted…”

“It’s only natural, you were taking care of the child. I’ll handle the rest.”

“Hahaha… They say all mothers are strong… but I guess this was a different kind of strength…. Hoo…”

After Bivi made a joke, she began to recover her strength by exhaling deeply. Protega then began fighting alongside Gid against the believers who were swarming around to save Bivi. Although Aria had turned to the side of the resistance, the situation remained the same. The resistance fighters, surrounded by countless believers, were defeating them, but were slowly growing exhausted by the overwhelming numbers of enemies, and began falling at a faster pace than before. Meanwhile, Camilla roughly wiped her face with her hand and then looked at Aria, saying.

“Aria Lit…!! I have cultivated you, a being with the talent to contain my great divinity, for a long time….”

“So what? There’s no longer any room for your divinity within my body. Only my divinity, which loves Zeke-nim, fills it.”

“Aria Lit…!! Why do you give up… why do you abandon the world where you can live happily with that man…!! Wasn’t that what you desired most…!!”

Camilla could not understand Aria at all. A world where she could live with him might have been realized if she helped Camilla, yet Aria had rejected both her whispers and her divinity. Aria then smiled at Camilla’s outburst and replied.

“Well… it’s because I now know for certain that Zeke-nim loves me, even without such a world. Love has already been realized, so do I need a world like that, which is nothing but empty air? It’s better to live with Zeke-nim in this world where his wishes can be fulfilled.”

“What did you say…?”

“And… you never even intended to create that world in the first place, did you? Yet you dare to utter such strange complaints…. How dare this liar, who dared to mock my love for Zeke-nim, interfere with our love.”

Aria glared at Camilla with a cold expression, mentioning how Camilla had mocked her love, implying she never intended to keep her promise in the first place. At that expression, Camilla involuntarily flinched, and Dio V Runner and I instantly realized… that Aria’s rage towards Camilla had exceeded its limit…. The moment we two, realizing this, were bewildered, Camilla roared, greatly enraged, at Aria.

“Shut up, Saintess Aria…!! Your love is a fake love that I artificially nurtured…!! And yet, you still like that man…?!”

“Ah~! I suppose I should express my gratitude for that, shouldn’t I? Thanks to you judging Zeke-nim to be a man easy to exploit and making me love him… I was able to discover the charm of such a wonderful and excellent person and fall into true love… But… how dare this woman with no discernment call Zeke-nim that before?”

“….”

Aria, feeling grateful that she had discovered my charm and truly came to like me thanks to Camilla, suddenly adopted a cold expression again and expressed her displeasure at Camilla’s previous remark about me being a man easy to exploit. It was then that I realized Camilla had brought Aria to me for that reason and became serious. “A man easy to exploit”…. “Easy man”… Hearing such words from someone like that makes me feel even worse… because she intentionally sent Aria to me and forced her to love me… Thinking that, my veins pulsed with anger, and I began to concentrate magic into Trahan.

“So… you looked down on people that much, didn’t you…? Although it’s fortunate that Aria came to love me of her own accord and not by your intentions…. Still, recalling how you’ve mocked Aria all this time makes my anger surge…. I feel like you’re the first person I’d be okay with killing!!!”

“….!! You arrogant Promoter… do you think you’re strong enough to compare to me just because you mastered a bit of magic…?!”

“I’m sorry, but I’m just a support role…. My revenge will be carried out by my lover, who’s even angrier than I am… Aria!!!”

When Camilla provoked, asking if I could defeat her with magic, I shouted Aria’s name, saying that Aria, not I, would take revenge instead. Aria then smiled as if she had been waiting for my words, and began to rapidly gather black divinity in her staff. Aria then glanced at Dio V Runner next to her and said to him.

“Dio V Runner! Let’s cooperate like we did during Omega! Since Zeke-nim called me his lover, fire something powerful enough to be a worthy reciprocation!!”

“This… being next to you two feels a bit awkward, which is a strange feeling…. Very well, I’ll do as you say, Aria…!! Tyrant Black Orb…!!!”

“Don’t trifle with me, Otherworlder!! Do you think you, who can only block my beams, can contend in this fight!!! Sacred Break!!!”

Dio V Runner equipped a dark red orb into two flamethrowers from his pocket, then began concentrating the orb’s power until a dark red light emanated from the flamethrowers. Camilla also began creating a circular formation in both her palms, from which electricity seemed to spark. When both had gathered a certain amount of power, Dio V Runner unleashed a massive black flame from his flamethrowers, and Camilla emitted beams of sparking electricity from both her hands. However, Camilla’s power seemed stronger, as Dio V Runner’s flame began to be pushed back. Camilla, seeing that she was pushing his power back, smirked and said.

“I am stronger than before, Otherworlder…!!! And I will grow even stronger, and finally become perfect enough to swallow you all….?!”

“But wouldn’t that be meaningless if our power becomes stronger than yours? Black Encouragement.”

As Aria slowly began to wrap her black divinity around Dio V Runner’s flamethrowers, Camilla had a premonition and felt a chilling sensation. But as if it were already too late, Aria snickered, mocking Camilla, and then began to envelop the flame itself with black divinity. As a result, Dio V Runner’s black flame, now enshrouded in black divinity, grew even larger and more powerful, then began to push back Camilla’s beam. Camilla was once again astonished by Aria’s ability and frantically began to increase the output of her beam.

“Foolish beings…!! Though you may have gained new power, I will not yield to such things….!!”

The moment Camilla was still asserting her pride, proclaiming she could not lose, she suddenly saw a black arrow whiz past her side, startled, and turned around. She then became flustered upon seeing me, who had teleported behind Camilla via the black arrow, forming a condensed ball of magic in my right hand.

“W-when did you…!!”

“It’s not a new power…!! It’s the powers of the people I’ve met so far!!! Demonic Cannon!!!”

The moment Camilla grasped that I was behind her and began to create a circular formation behind herself, I fired the condensed magic ball in my right hand directly at Camilla. Camilla then took the magic ball directly to her face and began to suffer greatly.

“Graaaahk!!! Ughhh…. M-magic…. This dreadful… power with opposing properties…!!! How dare you fire magic at me…!!! I won’t hold back any longer…!!!”

“….?! W-wait, something ominous….”

“Judgement Shockwave!!!”

Perhaps because she had continuously taken our attacks to the face, Camilla declared she could no longer hold back and began to unleash intense divinity from her entire body. She then released a shockwave from her body, sending all three of us, including Aria and Dio V Runner, flying backward. Aria, who was being pushed back, saw me flung away by the shockwave, swiftly flew towards me, caught me with both hands before I hit the ground, and landed.

“Oh…. Ooh…. That was a surprise…. Looks like I didn’t die thanks to your divinity, Aria…”

“Hehehe… Of course. I told you I would protect Zeke-nim, didn’t I? But… this is a problem. We’ve been pushed away from Camilla, and in front of us is….”

“…. Even flying might not be useful…”

Aria and I, having been thrown far back, saw the path to Camilla was filled with many believers and judged that it would be impossible to ignore them by flying. But even in this situation, we snickered as if we saw a chance of victory, loosened up, and spoke to each other.

“Zeke-nim. You can rest and watch this Aria defeat them.”

“I don’t want to make you suffer, so I’ll decline, Aria. Shall we go again?”

“If it’s with Zeke-nim.”

I declined Aria’s suggestion and looked at Aria. Then we both nodded at each other and immediately charged towards the believers rushing at us, unleashing our powers.