Chapter 81: S2. Resentment To The Stars – 4
Was it the arrogance of the strong, or was he adapting to his mutated body?
The deformed Cult Leader remained motionless. If it was the latter, they should’ve attacked before the Cult Leader got used to his strange body. However, Bennett chose to run toward Niolle.
He cut off the protruding part of the lengthy bone spear with his longsword and helped Niolle who was on her knees. He didn’t pull out the spear. There were no priests here with healing abilities, so they wouldn’t be able to handle the bleeding.
“……Can you maintain consciousness?”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Niolle nodded weakly. Her strength drained and her vision became blurry, but the searing pain that felt like being stabbed with a hot iron allowed her to see clearly and helped her stay conscious.
Bennett picked up the Goddess’s Crystal and blurted out something vague.
“Niolle, I’ll leave it to you.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?” She couldn’t understand his vague wording. What exactly was he leaving to her?
Brilliant light began to flow from the Goddess’s Crystal. Colors that seemed to be singing enveloped Bennett’s entire body, seeping into every part of him.
“Burnt Offering – 『Mana Amplification』.”
The amount of Mana emanating from Bennett began to increase exponentially. The Mana, leaking out of him in the form of light, was overflowing. He rushed toward the Cult Leader with his body covered in a subtle golden hue.
Thud.
At the sound of something dropping, Niolle lowered her gaze and looked down.
The Goddess’s Crystal, still shining brightly, appeared to have been dropped by Bennett. She carefully picked it up and checked the amount of Mana remaining in the crystal, and discovered that it had barely decreased.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Was it because the Goddess’s Crystal is a near-infinite battery, comparable to a Dragon Heart? Probably not. If it had that much power, he could’ve summoned something like a meteor a long time ago.
Bennett had pretended to use the Goddess’s Crystal.
In that case, that Mana Amplification… was done at the expense of his own soul, using the Black Wizards’ secret arts. Bennett was burning his soul and lifespan right now. Though he was currently shining brighter than anybody else, it was, in fact, nothing more than a flashy suicide.
Niolle’s blood ran cold.
Bennett, unbeknownst to the Cult Leader, sneakily entrusted the unused Goddess’s Crystal to Niolle. There could be only one meaning to this. She had to become a deadly hidden blade.
Niolle hid the Goddess’s Crystal behind her back and began the incantation of a spell, watching Bennett burn out his life with desperate eyes.
===============================================================
It was hard to kill two birds with one stone. Following this reasoning, choosing to practice both swordsmanship and magic often led to mastering neither. If one became only mediocre in both, it was worse than if they had concentrated and excelled in just one.
Another fatal problem was the limit to an individual’s amount of Mana. Both swordsmanship and magic consume Mana. If one used them at the same time, the consumption would also be doubled.
Nevertheless, what could a Magic Swordsman, who overcame all these barriers, show?
“『Blinding Vermilion』.”
He unleashed a blinding red flash that pierced through his eyelids, burning the cornea.
“『Sinkhole』.”
The ground beneath the Cult Leader began to sink, causing him to lose his balance and miss Bennett with his whip.
“『Rock Induction』, 『Instant Glaciation』.”
When the Cult Leader’s right arm smashed into the ground, fragments of stone and dust were sent flying in all directions, before Bennett launched the fragments at the Cult Leader’s face. He then subsequently froze his joints, slowing his movements.
He leapt up.
“『Abyssal Slash』──!!”
His Mana Blade, its sharpness further enhanced by magic, was driven into the 3-meter tall Cult Leader.
Weaving various magic together organically to create variables and land effective hits. The completed Magic Swordsman could tie down an opponent of a higher level effectively.
But…
Grindddd-!
Even though the skin was clearly made of blood and flesh, the slash powered by all of Bennett’s Mana only inflicted a wound a finger’s width deep. The wound was enough to kill a human but inadequate against a monster.
His inability to land a decisive blow despite the increased Mana from the Soul Burnt Offering was bad news for Bennett.
Bennett briefly thought of defeat but shook it off. It wasn’t the time to think about such things.
Rippp.
The Cult Leader opened his mouth so wide that the upper jaw seemed to flip backward completely. From the depths of his throat, ominous colors flashed.
A sense of crisis so intense it made his hairs stand on end.
“『Mana Rope』⋯⋯!”
Bennett flew into the air. He tied the Mana Rope to the handle of his longsword and threw it like a boomerang.
The longsword spun through the air, wrapping a magical rope tightly around the Cult Leader’s ankle. With the rope secured, it was then forcefully pulled downwards.
KUAAAAAAAK──!!
The Cult Leader fired a Mana cannon from his mouth, destroying the spot where Bennett had just been. The ground bubbled and boiled as the soil turned to gas and evaporated. In that state, the Cult Leader moved his neck to track Bennett.
PZZZZZZZZT──!!
A beam of light capable of melting even stone chased after Bennett. Bennett jumped onto the Cult Leader’s head, grabbing his shoulders and hanging onto the Cult Leader’s back. Bennett took a shaky breath.
Since Bennett was using the Cult Leader himself as cover, there was no way that the Mana Cannon would…
Rippp.
The Cult Leader’s upper body was torn apart like a hot knife through butter, literally creating a hole. Bennett blinked rapidly in confusion.
“⋯⋯Keuk, did his body turn into slime or something?!”
Bennett gripped the Cult Leader’s shoulders for stability. Then, he gathered all his Mana into his legs and kicked the Cult Leader’s head, bending it backward.
Boom-! Keeeeeeeeeee-!
With a noise unimaginable from merely a head kick, the Cult Leader’s mouth was forced shut. An explosion erupted inside him, blowing his head apart.
Boooom-!
The impact threw Bennett back, and he crashed to the ground.
“⋯⋯Keok!”
As his back hit the ground, knocking the wind out of him, Bennett grit his teeth and stood back up. Normally, you would think that someone would die if their head exploded.
But he had no intention of letting his guard down against the Cult Leader, who had already become something beyond human. He needed to deal as much damage as possible while the Cult Leader was stunned from his head blowing off.
“Ugh⋯⋯.”
Bennett, overcoming the shock spreading through his body, forced himself to stand.
Bubble bubble. Bubbles rose from the cross-section of the Cult Leader’s neck as his head began to regenerate. Bennett gripped his longsword and targeted the Cult Leader’s legs, judging that if he reduced his mobility, he would take the initiative.
He had to prolong the fight for as long as possible. Since he couldn’t win one-on-one, he needed to endure this tightrope walk for as long as possible and therefore aimed for the legs.
Even with a slash enhanced by sharpness, it only left a finger-deep wound. To inflict significant damage, he had to use a spell that required more time to cast.
Since his head is gone, there should be enough time to finish the incantation of a spell.
After about 10 seconds of chanting, he intended to strike the Cult Leader’s legs with 『Magma Blade』 before sensing a chill down his spine and pulled back.
Immediately thereafter, dozens of eyes sprouted all around the Cult Leader’s body.
Booom-!
A tentacle, swinging at an almost blinding speed, split the ground and retracted.
Slash-!
Bennett’s left arm flew through the air.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯!!”
Niolle, who was watching the battle, let out a silent scream. The left arm severed from his shoulder flew through the air, then landed with a thud before rolling on the ground.
The cut from his shoulder was clean, as if cut by a blade. Bennett hastily grabbed the wound and attempted to cauterize it before he bled out. The smell of cooked meat filled the air.
A line of cold sweat ran down Bennett’s face, which contorted in pain. If he had been just a little late dodging, he would’ve died instead of merely losing his arm.
The Cult Leader sprouted a mouth from his shoulder and spoke.
“You have good instincts.”
“⋯⋯What kind of body are you? You’ve already given up on being human.”
“I thought you would let your guard down if I let my head blow off, but you seem to have a rich imagination. Now then⋯⋯ enough playing around. He said it’s getting boring.”
Bennett forced out a twisted smile.
“For all that, haven’t you only gotten beaten up so far?”
“We don’t say that getting bitten by a mosquito is ‘getting hit’. But you seem pretty worn out. Not only is your arm cut off, but your entire body is already soaked in sweat.”
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Bennett wiped his sweaty palm on the hem of his clothes and tightly gripped his longsword with his remaining arm.
The Cult Leader thought calmly. This strange body gifted by God was a masterpiece that would never be repeated in the entirety of history. Throughout the battle, he had never once felt that his life was in danger, and he did not think he could ever be defeated, even if he played with that young man all day.
However…
His only concern was the Goddess’s Crystal.
Before the battle began, the young man had used some of the Goddess’s power. But that was not the extent of its strength. His God had also given him some advice.
His God had warned him to be cautious, so he had been taking his time cutting down the young man. If he wouldn’t pull out his last resort even after pressuring him this much…
The Cult Leader shifted one of his many eyes. He noticed a girl clinging to her stomach and seated on the ground. Since they appeared to be close, perhaps… perhaps, he could draw it out.
The Cult Leader lunged toward Niolle at a speed unimaginable for his gigantic body.
“⋯⋯STOP-!!”
“Heh, hahaha! Hahahahahaha! Try running a bit faster! If you’re too late, the girl will die!”
His speed was superior. The distance between Bennett and the Cult Leader grew, and the gap between Niolle and the Cult Leader rapidly closed. Come on. Hurry. If you don’t want to see your friend die──.
Right as the Cult Leader was about to strike Niolle with his tentacle…
Brilliant golden light burst out from behind.
“Finally⋯⋯ You intend to properly use it!”
The Cult Leader turned around to face Bennett. He was confident that he could handle any attack. If it was something that strengthened his body like before, he could just wait it out.
If it was an attack that he couldn’t deal with, he could simply twist reality to dodge or wrap the girl as a shield.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯?”
He felt a sense of discomfort somewhere.
The Cult Leader looked closely at the golden light emanating from Bennett’s grasp. What he was holding was not the Goddess’s Crystal but a mere ordinary stone. He was just using magic to make it shine a golden light.
If that young man doesn’t have the Goddess’s Crystal⋯⋯ then where is it?
The intense burning sensation from behind him provided the answer. Niolle clutched the Goddess’s Crystal as she finished her long incantation.
A pronouncement of death escaped from her unimpressive voice, mixed with a wheezing sound.
“『Flames of Purification』.”
A huge pillar of fire soared upward. High enough to be seen from anywhere in the city.
===============================================================
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHH──ACK!!!”
Inside the pillar of fire, shadows of inhuman shapes danced. The Cult Leader changed his appearance countless times in an attempt to escape the flames—mantis, butterfly, toad, lion.
The shadows that constantly changed form seemed to be dancing at a glance.
However, the flames burned his body faster than it could regenerate. His cells, empowered by his God, turned black one by one, reduced to charred dust.
If only I couldn’t regenerate!
If only I could turn to dust and scatter away without any pain, like a regular human!
In the end, the Cult Leader resented the power of the Outer God dwelling within him.
It was a long, painful death.
“⋯⋯It’s over.”
[It’s… over.]
“Can you still move?”
[I feel like I’m about to die, but yes. What about you, Bennett?]
“⋯⋯I feel like I’m about to die.”
Niolle and Bennett looked at each other and burst into laughter. It didn’t make sense. One had an arm cut off and the other had a stomach pierced.
“Let’s complete the ritual. If we move quickly, we can finish it before we die.”
[We’re literally doing this prepared to die⋯⋯.]
When it came to death from bleeding out, it was uncertain how the Wizard’s Emergency Return would function. If more blood were lost, the magic might decide they were in grave danger and forcibly send them back to reality, enveloped in blue light. So they had to hurry.
“⋯⋯It’s a shame that there’s no Divine Magic.”
[Right? But umm, what would happen to Tara?]
“If you think pessimistically, a Saintess who has lost her Divine Power wouldn’t be treated as a Saintess. She’ll likely be expelled from the Academy.”
[Then… how about⋯⋯ taking Tara in as a servant? Of course, not in the sense of actually making her serve us. It would be nice to have her at the Academy. If Tara is fine with it, then⋯⋯.]
“Sure, that’s a great idea. We can’t just sit and watch her get kicked out.”
They briefly discussed the future. The future of Bennett, the Black Wizard, and Tara seemed unclear, like it was covered in fog. But, they hoped that together, they could find a way through, just as they were doing now.
He felt relieved. The tension that had built up in his shoulders eased somewhat.
Then, a charred finger pointed at Bennett.
“⋯⋯Be, net, t⋯⋯!”
The Cult Leader pooled all his remaining strength for one last time and activated his magic. The power to send his victims 100 years into the future. If he couldn’t kill them, he wanted to disrupt their plans at the very least.
Niolle threw herself to shield Bennett, and the two were caught up in the magic. They vanished, as if erased from a drawing.
As the caster moved to another timeline, the 『Flames of Purification』 also extinguished. However, the Cult Leader, who had exhausted all his power, died without being resurrected.
Thus,
Only Bennett’s severed arm and a corpse burned beyond recognition remained in the meteorite pit.
===============================================================
What’s happening now?
Did Bennett and Niolle successfully complete the ritual?
Tara couldn’t stay still, pacing around the room. She felt anxious. Could it be that they were caught up in another accident? What if they ran into the Cult Leader?
“⋯⋯Please, O’ God.”
The only consolation she found while trembling with anxiety was that they couldn’t truly die here.
When faced with the threat of death, you’re enveloped in blue light and transported back to your original world. So even if they couldn’t save this world, Bennett and Niolle’s survival was definitely assured.
It’s fine if they couldn’t save it. Just please let them be alive.
Time passed excruciatingly slowly for her. Every minute and every second felt like an eternity, and her anxiety echoed and grew louder. Tara prayed earnestly, clinging to the window as she gazed outside.
The party went there. Right there. In that direction visible right outside of the window.
Tara waited patiently.
Then, a pillar of fire surged upward, rising so high it seemed to reach the heavens.
What’s that…
“What is that? Did Bennett do something…?”
“Sally, I think I need to go. See you later.”
“Wait, Tara! You said you lost your power…!”
Tara couldn’t resist the impulses and anxiety gnawing at her. She slung a wooden bat onto her back for self-defense and strapped the Demonic Sword to her waist. She quickly picked up three stones to throw and set out.
Despite Sally’s efforts to stop her, she couldn’t break Tara’s determination.
On her way to the meteorite pit, Tara walked hurriedly. Because her body no longer had Mana, her energy was not what it used to be. Like an average girl, she tired easily after walking for a while.
The feelings of the Demonic Sword and wooden bat weighed heavily upon her. The anxiety that fanatics might suddenly appear gnawed at Tara’s heart. But, but…
She had to check.
The pillar of fire that reached the sky snuffed out. It seemed the battle had concluded. She quickened her steps, not caring how branches scratched her arms or if sharp blades of grass cut her calves.
Tara dearly hoped to catch sight of Bennett and Niolle beyond the bushes.
Bennett would undoubtedly scold her for being there, asking why she came when it was so dangerous. Worried for her safety, he’d fuss over what would’ve happened if something bad occurred along the way.
But if she explained that she couldn’t help but worry… He would soften and pat her head. Niolle would ask if her injuries were hurting her too. Then… then, she would…
Tell them they worked hard. That they did incredibly well. That they should hurry home for a simple celebration. To commemorate saving this world.
All together.
Just like they had once done at Abraham’s house—laughing and chatting. Eating delicious food. Even though Abraham was no longer there, in his memory, they’d raise their glasses and move on.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯Ah.”
Tara cautiously stepped forward.
Traces of a fierce battle were evident. It seemed a monumental struggle had occurred here. No matter how much she searched, she couldn’t find Bennett or Niolle.
So they must have returned.
It looked like they had gone back due to serious injuries. If that’s the case, the celebration party will need to happen… without Sally. For now, I should go out and at least tell them they worked hard.
“⋯⋯⋯⋯.”
Huh?
Tara lowered her head. Something completely charred lay there. She squatted down to examine it closely. It was somebody’s corpse.
Most of their clothing and skin were burned away, making identification impossible. Tara’s heart sank for a moment, but she reassured herself. It can’t be. That’s impossible.
There’s a safety measure.
The safety measure must have activated, ensuring that Bennett and Niolle made it back safely. This isn’t one of their bodies; it must be someone else’s… a fanatic passing by. That must be it.
That’s how it should be.
But what about that arm…?
That’s… Bennett’s arm. It has been severed. Bennett’s sword is lying on the ground as well.
No.
No, that can’t be.
“No… no, no, NO──!!”
If the safety measures worked, there wouldn’t be any corpses left…
It can’t be. Tara strained her eyes to find evidence that the charred remains didn’t belong to Bennett. However, lacking keen perception like Niolle’s, she couldn’t find anything.
All she could see was Bennett’s severed arm and someone’s charred corpse.
“⋯⋯『Heal』.”
Tara placed her hands on the corpse and began to chant a spell.
“『Heal』, 『Burn Recovery』, 『Regeneration』…!!”
There was no way it would activate. After all, her Divine Power was entirely depleted.
In the first place, reviving someone who had burned like this was impossible. Yet, Tara cried out the invocation until her voice grew hoarse, from the moment the sun set until the world was shrouded in darkness.
Kneeling, Tara prayed desperately.
“Answer me… Please, answer me…”
Bowing her head to the ground again and again, she fervently called for the Goddess.
“I’m sorry. From now on… I will do it properly. I will serve you daily, praise you, and do everything like a Saintess should…”
But only the stars and moon gazed down at her.
“ANSWER ME, PLEASE──!!!”
Tara’s cries scattered meaninglessly across the night sky.
She remained there for a long time.
Her tears had dried up. No matter how loud she cried, scraping the dirt until her nails broke, no one listened. Tara gazed down at the corpse with a blank expression.
The body remained motionless, of course. Every plea, request, and threat yielded no result. Tara felt an overwhelming loneliness, as if she were utterly alone in this vast universe.
Then she whispered softly.
“You’ve already taken my family away from me. Are you… trying to be late again?”
She calmly expressed her resentment. Quietly.
“This time, too? Are you waiting until everything has been taken away from me, only to appear and toss me some Divine Power as if doing me a kindness…?”
A wildfire began to spread from a small spark.
The fire that had lingered deep within Tara’s eyes began to seep out, gradually rising. A fiery crimson flame erupted, consuming the ashes as if devouring them all.
If you’re not going to answer me… If my misfortune is worthless and means nothing to you.
“IF SO, IF THAT IS HOW IT IS—!!”
Then…
“I will no longer cling to you. I will not be swayed by your pretentious help. With only my own strength, with my own will──!!”
Tara sprang to her feet and drew the Demonic Sword.
Thorn vines sprouted from the sleeves of her Saintess attire. They grew, filled with Tara’s blood and pain, radiating a crimson hue as they wrapped around and dug into the Demonic Sword.
Are you my new ma-, m, m-mas, ter…?
Crunchh, Crackkk.
The thorn vines squeezed in tightly on the Demonic Sword. The blade began to gradually turn red. After the beautiful moment of predation passed, the Demonic Sword became completely hers.
Tara realized that her soul had been dyed red.
What was truly wrong was faith. Religious belief. My laziness, where I only prayed and resented God, never trying to achieve anything on my own. And now, I bitterly regret that fact…
Metamorphosis, 『Thorns of Lament』.
As dawn broke, staining the sky red, Tara announced her grudge against the Silver Twilight Order, the monsters, the Goddess, the corrupt clergy, and those who had killed her comrades. Anyone who had any involvement, every single one of them.
“I’ll kill them all.”
On that day, many fanatics were killed by the Fallen.
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