Episode 101
Archbishop Salecius.
In her human days, she was known as Charlotte, the beloved sister of the heroine Alicia.
Her overwhelming talent as a hero shone brighter than Alicia’s, capturing the attention of the villagers.
A picture-perfect family that seemed painted in happiness.
But, it didn’t last long before it all crumbled.
The scene of her death as revealed in Alicia’s flashback left her with a massive shock and a haunting trauma.
Alicia lived with a sense of helplessness and self-loathing for not being able to do anything while believing her sister was dead, along with a deep-seated hatred for Altife.
As Alicia directly mentioned in the past, she never found her sister’s body.
Though the whole village mourned, Charlotte was never discovered, leaving Alicia to carry that burden in her heart forever.
Charlotte’s existence is incredibly precious and significant to Alicia.
But, the truth is, Charlotte wasn’t dead.
What Alicia saw wasn’t the truth.
So, what is the truth?
The Altife that enveloped her village in flames coveted Charlotte’s unprecedented talent as a hero and took her away.
Everyone in the village died.
Parents, the kind neighbor next door, even the village chief from afar.
Everyone, except Alicia.
Isn’t it strange? No matter how much Charlotte hid her sister in a small warehouse, how could she be the only one to survive?
It suggests a different scenario.
Alicia didn’t ‘survive’; Altife ‘let her live.’
To prevent the breakdown of Charlotte’s personality, which would turn her into a new type of Altife.
In the future, when Salecius is complete, she would directly eliminate Alicia, the last remnant of her love, to confirm the perfection of her creation.
…
As time passed.
Charlotte first revealed herself in the episode titled ‘Tragedy of the Academia’ during the first term of the Second Year.
At that time, it had been a short while since she became an archbishop, and not much was known about her.
Many were shocked and terrified by her newfound power, but naturally, the most notable reaction came from Alicia.
The sister she thought was dead was alive.
Just that alone was an overwhelming reality, and now she was an archbishop of the Goddess Church, slaughtering people.
What kind of emotions was Alicia feeling at that moment?
Her idol and the sister she had longed for her whole life.
Now turned into an enemy she had to slay, who couldn’t even recognize her.
“I’m so glad Alicia isn’t here right now.”
As I continued fighting Charlotte, that was the thought that crossed my mind.
No matter how strong Alicia became, she couldn’t possibly stand against Charlotte, the Archbishop Salecius.
This was beyond a realm of power.
Like a fixed rule in a game of rock-paper-scissors where paper can’t beat scissors.
Alicia was set up to never defeat Salecius.
She was someone who couldn’t slay her beloved sister, having been born and raised that way.
But by this point, Salecius was—
“Ha, can you really break a curse of this level?”
I remarked as the curse aimed at Charlotte vanished before it could even reach her.
This was the first real battle since possessing this body.
Usually, I kept a little leeway or had a backup plan, but this time, the situation was different.
Having the luxury of gold or backup plans is one thing, but this time is different.
It’s the same in assessing the situation quickly and reading the opponent’s numbers, but every single spell is heavy.
When swords clash, the stronger the opponent is, the more your hand goes numb, requiring seasoned skill. Magic is no different.
The stronger the opponent, the higher the power and precision must be to inflict effective damage.
And when it’s the Archbishop and crazy genius Alicia’s sister, there’s no need to say more.
Crack! Crash—!
I stab a dagger into the air, dispelling Salecius’s curse. This is the third time already.
In other words, despite my specialization in curse magic, I’ve already been hit by the opponent’s curse two times while being aware of it.
Knowing that Salecius has curse magic in their talents, I had tried teaching Alicia, but she seemed to learn it way too quickly.
If Alicia keeps growing like this, is this how it turns out?
That’s terrifying.
Boom—!
Taesan’s massive fist comes crashing down on Salecius.
The ground shakes from the powerful impact.
One, Salecius, who shouldn’t even have seen Taesan’s attack, dodges and slashes in one go.
I had no choice but to reverse summon Taesan. If he gets hit harder, recovery later will be tough.
Through the swirling snow in the shock, I see Salecius’s blank eyes. Even while fighting intensely, there’s no intent to kill or anything.
Just locked onto the target, completely empty.
It feels like I’m going against a robot or a golem.
Not some mediocre ones, but boss-level ones.
“Charlotte, aren’t you curious about how your only precious little sister is doing right now? The situation of the existence you desperately tried to protect.”
『…….』
“Choosing to remain silent, are we? How boring.”
Instead of answering, Salecius chose to charge in wielding the sword.
It’s hard to keep up with the lightning-fast speed. It’s ridiculously fast. The sword strikes with not a single opening.
Ah, but it’s slowly getting through now.
Just like that, my neck gets sliced. My head rolls away.
Then, the black mold oozing from the wound starts eating away at Salecius’s sword shrouded in red aura.
It climbs up and reaches her hand.
It’s my curse interpreted in my own way, a fresh take on Ami’s corrosion.
Ignoring it, Salecius twists her body and targets the rear with the now-blackened sword.
She knows my curse worked and that she saw an illusion. I was trying to hit her from behind but got caught.
Crash—!
I shield her attack with a mace wrapped in aura. But it won’t hold for long. The aura’s performance is different.
Clang! The mace gets sliced off.
In the end, defending against her attack is too much. The sword comes flying.
I hurriedly try to evade Salecius’s sharp strike, but the tip of the red aura grazes past me.
At the same time—
Grrr, cack!
Six wolves I had activated the spell for in advance charge at Salecius, biting her. The wolves chain together, sealing her movements.
The ends of the chains bury into the ground.
Every time she tries to move, the chains tighten and forcibly hold her down.
I’m not a swordsman, and fighting fairly is fundamentally wrong.
I have to use tricks and the environment. The problem is that this seal seems likely to break soon…
Managing to create some distance, I gather mana around her.
The magic orbs I crafted repeatedly during Heilon’s training. I used them even when dealing with Zagan.
Magic Cannon.
The mana infused with physical force acts like a beam.
It requires an astonishing amount of mana and precision, but the conditions align perfectly for me.
Salecius, bound by chains, with three floating blue orbs around her. It’s the maximum number I can create at once.
I fire the completed mana without stopping.
A tremendous sound and shockwave spread as Salecius’s instantaneous movements get captured.
It was a brief moment, but I saw it.
Just when the beam of mana was about to close.
I forcefully infused mana into the sword, which seemed to have corroded black, drawing forth the red aura, slicing through the chains and cutting the beam.
I forcefully channeled mana, drawing forth a red aura as I sliced through the chains with a beam.
In a ridiculous display, the shattered magic cannon shot past her and embedded itself in the ground.
“…Insane.”
A gasp of admiration escaped my lips.
Even though she had turned into a monster, a human body was still the basic structure—how could that be possible?
Each of the wolves that had bitten her was a high-level familiar.
Moreover, the magic cannon from earlier, even if not fully mastered, had enough power to pierce through an average bishop in a single shot.
And she did that in just one move.
Even if she explosively released her power, it was still astonishing.
Come to think of it, she was among the stronger archbishops. With that level of strength, she’d easily rank within the top 10 if assessed as a hero. I’m certain of it.
‘…But. My curse with the right conditions will take effect.’
To be precise, our curses had affected each other.
Just looking at the level of our simple curse magic, she was superior by a notch, but her vast understanding of mana acted as a supporting role.
By disrupting Salecius’s senses, she stretched our battle out longer.
Put another way, aside from Helion, I was the only one who could face Salecius on this battlefield. There was no way to leave this place.
As I was preparing for different spells, her tightly closed lips finally parted.
『…⎯⎯.』
It wasn’t human language.
It was a bizarre voice that might be used only by Altifes when communicating. Was that directed at me, or…
“……!”
Sudden changes occurred inside and out.
First, my vision blurred sharply, a dizzying sensation hit me as if all my blood had drained. If I didn’t focus, I felt I’d collapse soon.
Damn it.
How many things had I been managing simultaneously in the midst of battle?
With the red aura, swordsmanship, hallucination magic, and my curse’s counter. Had she also employed some debuff-type curse magic?
And yet my brain wasn’t overloaded? This was insane!
⎯Thunk!
I plunged the dagger into my chest. With the help of the inherent magic, I initiated the release.
This would be the last time the relic would be destroyed. Considering how long I’d held out against the archbishop’s curse, it was impressive enough.
I forced a wry smile and called her by her original name to divert her time and attention.
“Why is that, Charlotte? You seem to be waiting for something.”
Behind her, the dragon Frikkanrisk, now recovered enough to move, was quietly preparing extreme ice magic.
If that magic hit, the situation would change completely. Even if it didn’t, the divine beast that had regained some strength joining forces would give us a slight advantage.
It would be soon.
Maybe I could even take down two archbishops at once.
In the future, I might connect this to Alicia and generate other benefits, but capturing them so swiftly and perfectly would yield the greatest gain of all.
As this hopeful route emerged among many crossroads, laughter escaped me.
The longer this dragged on, the more favorable it became for us.
If Helion, who had captured Ami, regained his left arm and joined with the Judgment Weapon…
“…Human. It seems she didn’t come here alone.”
Frikkanrisk’s voice was tense. The first to notice the external changes was the ice dragon.
From afar.
A creature approached furiously, still invisible from a distance. It was a single presence, yet the aura felt like many.
A complex mix. Similar to the chimera created by Craine, but more complete and intense.
I also grasped its identity and spoke up.
Moving the muscles near my mouth, I feigned natural expression, but internally alarms were ringing.
“Archbishop Glashalabolas…”
The archbishop Glashalabolas—who Craine had mentioned.
In other words, Charlotte and Archbishop Salecius had not come alone; they had brought another archbishop along.
No wonder it felt strange.
This wasn’t the phase for Charlotte to come out, so what was her purpose?
After removing all curses with the power of the relic, I shouted.
“Charlotte. I admit it. You’re stronger than me. Overwhelmingly so!”
There’s no need to split hairs. I’m not foolish enough to be unaware of this difference.
However, the reason I’m not feeling well right now isn’t because of the disparity with Salecius, but because of her master, who has been manipulating everything from the shadows.
“Cardinal Jephar.”
It’s because I tasted the feeling of having been outmaneuvered by him.
Such intense emotions are rare for me.
“So you followed your master’s orders and came to this battlefield with Archbishop Glashalabolas. You’re assessing my character and the current power situation to decide whether to remove me, while Glashalabolas is here for other business…”
I could have reasonably expected the Archbishop to show up.
But both of them?
Those utterly independent and merciless beings, without even having made a deal, showed up in pairs?
Sure, it was an extremely low possibility, but I had considered that two Archbishops could come to rescue Ami.
Because she’s a valuable asset to their Cardinal.
But the troubling part is that it was Salecius who appeared on this battlefield.
Salecius and Glashalabolas are among the stronger Archbishops.
Ami and Salecius belong to the same Archbishop, but they’re following different Cardinals.
In other words, this indicates a bit of a drift from the goal of rescue.
Moreover, knowing exactly what kind of Cardinal Salecius serves, the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew this game was slipping from my hands.
Hence, the displeasure.
“The signal you just sent was a long-distance communication with Glashalabolas, wasn’t it? It seems we’re about to proceed in earnest.”
The perverse thrill of showcasing the ability to manipulate the battlefield and escape at any moment. A plan deliberately emphasizing how lightly they regard my presence.
No matter how I react, they’re likely to enjoy themselves.
Not amusing at all.
Not one bit. It’s infuriating.
Having my initiative taken away is this irritating.
The relic I held crumbled to dust, losing all traces of form. I shrugged it off.
“However, what should I do about this? Charlotte, you won’t easily escape from here.”
I can’t just let things unfold as they are.
How can I allow myself to only be a spoon placed on the feast I’ve prepared?
Gooooroo⎯.
I summon an additional Familiar. That child will serve as both a repository for my mana and a standard for mana training.
With the addition of the Familiar, six orbs of blue mana gather energy.
Frikkanrisk’s magic is also ready.
And lastly.
Her weakness. The only option to restrain her, who is likely still incomplete.
『……!』
She possesses pure white hair.
When I show her a specific image through an illusion, there’s a reaction. Her emotionless eyes widen as she attempts to capture that form.
There’s no weapon, but emotions begin to surface.
“Have you grown a lot?”
The Tragedy of Academia.
Back then, Charlotte hadn’t yet properly become Archbishop Salecius. Though she had killed without hesitation, she displayed a clear reaction upon seeing Alicia.
Now is even earlier than that time.
Thus, it was highly unlikely for Charlotte to be here. Cardinal Jephar, being mindful of this fact, clearly knew.
…Yet he sent her.
That means I’ve considerably piqued her curiosity to the extent that he’d send out an incomplete Charlotte.
“Don’t you have something to say to your long-lost little sister?”
I placed my hand on the shoulder of the illusionary Alicia.
What can I do if I’m called a coward for this?
This is how I fight.
All the calculations and precautions I prepared for an ‘if’ are pouring into this single target. I’m going to go all out with the maximum power I can muster.
“I enjoy toying with others, but I absolutely abhor being toyed with.”
If I can’t control the game, then at the very least, I should give a proper greeting to the one who might be sneering at the current situation.
Let’s see who has the audacity to test the waters right now.
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