Chapter 146

Divine Descent

“……Now that I thought about it, you were like that before too, Lionhearted.”

The moment he saw Noel drawing out golden streams from her body, Magnus let out a snicker and said that.

“How about we go at each other just once—”

He could not finish what he was about to say because, before the words even left his mouth, Noel’s fist had twisted viciously into his jaw.

A chill ran down my spine at the sight of Magnus’s face—he who had endured every attack with a grin, even blows powerful enough to leave serious scars on his body—being crushed as if a bomb had exploded right on top of it.

To begin with, a deafening blast erupted, one that would not have lost out even if compared to a real bomb.

Magnus’s body, which had stood firm and taken every hit head-on until now, collapsed in an instant and slammed into the ground like a flattened dried squid.

……To be honest, it was a level of physical force that felt more terrifying than amusing.

‘……What is this?’

Aiden thought blankly.

No, I had definitely expected her to grow stronger in some way.

……But I had never once imagined she would become this strong.

Because I had been watching Noel from the sidelines all this time, I could say it with certainty.

Compared to before she infused something into her body, the difference in combat power was on the level of comparing an infant to a full-grown adult.

And that was even when compared to the top-tier fighters in the original world setting……!

And it was clear that it was not only that kind of strength which differed from before.

“You’ve been acting all macho since earlier.”

Noel, who had just driven that fist into him, laughed roughly and flicked Magnus’s blood off her knuckles.

“You’ll break like that.”

“…….”

Wow.

At that level of toughness, I might seriously fall for her.

I did not know what kind of effect this Divine Descent had or how exactly it worked. But if it was certain that Noel in the future would transform into that kind of form, I could not even begin to imagine what she must have gone through in between to end up like that.

No, more than that.

‘……Then why did she even draw her sword?’

Thinking that, Aiden looked at Noel’s sword, which at some point had been tossed aside into a corner.

She had confidently drawn it earlier, only to throw it somewhere else and charge into the fight barehanded…… What on earth was that about?

Sensing that gaze, Noel soon turned to look at Aiden and grinned.

“Well.”

“…….”

“Got a problem?”

With an atmosphere that felt like I absolutely should not say anything even if I did, Aiden quietly shook his head. Noel let out a short scoff and cracked her neck.

“More importantly, hurry up and get in.”

Noel’s gaze as she said that was fixed on the place where the Pontiff had entered after unfolding the teleportation circle earlier.

“You already have a rough idea why the Pontiff is doing something like this anyway, don’t you?”

“…….”

“Go quickly and settle it.”

……It was somehow uncanny.

It was as if she saw through every single thought running through his head.

When she had spoken about being the Noel of the future or whatever, I had wondered what she was talking about—but seeing her like this, I could clearly feel that she had spent a long time with him.

Though judging by her personality, they did not resemble each other at all.

“If I don’t do that, it feels like I can’t live.”

“……Pardon?”

“If I want to secure the position of that swallow’s lady of the house, I guess I can’t endure without my personality turning tough and relentless…….”

“…….”

Aiden opened and closed his mouth as if to say something, then broke out into a cold sweat and hurried toward the place where the Pontiff had teleported earlier.

No. I mean.

……Rather than worrying about something like that right now, wasn’t it only natural to deal with the important matter first?

“Dame Noel.”

“Mm.”

“……Please be careful.”

At those words, Noel’s eyes widened briefly, then slowly narrowed again.

“You know, there’s one thing I want to make clear.”

“Pardon?”

“For the sake of the future, you’d better get into the habit of holding back words like that.”

“……Pardon?”

“If you keep letting things like that slip out without even realizing it later, then from me, hm. You’ll suffer for it.”

“…….”

“You’ll suffer quite a lot.”

“…….”

“Not just from me, but from other people too—you’ll suffer quite a lot.”

……At least for now, it did not seem appropriate to ask exactly what I would suffer and how.

“And.”

As Aiden was turning those thoughts over in his mind, Noel’s body rotated smoothly.

Without even looking toward Magnus—who had leapt up from behind and charged at her—she deflected the descending greatsword simply by taking a single step to the side.

Then, carrying centrifugal force, her uppercut once again slammed violently into Magnus’s jaw.

If earlier it had sounded like a bomb exploding, this time it was a terrifying crash, like a battering ram had been driven into his chin, and Magnus’s body staggered.

Of course, even in that exchange, the pommel of the greatsword he had swung struck Noel in the side. The chilling sound of several ribs breaking echoed out.

But if one were to ask who gained more from that trade, it was unquestionably Noel. Magnus could not even properly keep his balance, as if he had suffered a concussion.

Even though he had used a weapon and launched a surprise attack, he had still taken a loss in an exchange against Noel, who was fighting barehanded.

That man, who had seemed like an impregnable fortress.

It was a complete reversal from just moments ago, when he had stood there at ease, taking on their combined assault.

“Who do you think is worrying about whom right now?”

……Well.

That certainly seemed to be the case.

After nodding at Noel, who grinned fiercely despite having several ribs broken, Aiden immediately grabbed Katya and threw himself into the teleportation spell circle.

▣

The moment the teleportation ended, the scene that came into view was one I had seen once before.

The underground altar to which the Pontiff had once dragged Katya and me down.

However, what differed from before was this.

“…….” 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

The floor was plastered with countless symbols and spell formulas, so steeped in religious overtones that they were hard to even make out properly.

As I stared at them, my steps came to a halt without me realizing it.

It felt as though something horribly writhing was crawling inside my brain. Just looking at it alone stimulated the survival instinct inherent to a living being.

I was ignorant of religion and not skilled in interpreting it, but at the very least, I could clearly tell that this did not carry any kind of positive meaning.

And it was obvious that Katya beside me understood that as well.

“……This. It’s a sacrificial burnt offering.”

It was also clear that she knew far more precisely what all of this meant.

“Pardon?”

When I asked blankly, Katya continued in a grim voice.

“……You offer a sacrifice to summon a god.”

“…….”

I remembered it.

The burnt offering ritual.

I even remembered the time when I had tried to burn myself as the sacrifice, and Sia herself had personally appeared.

“However, this one is much more insidious. It’s saying they’ll ‘burn the sacrifice alive’ as the offering, so they must grant their wish…… It’s different in nature from what you did.”

As my eyes narrowed, Katya ground her teeth and spoke.

“……What on earth is that man plotting?”

Plotting something, was he.

……I ran a hand through my hair and let out a sigh.

The first emotions apparent in her words were disgust and distrust.

But because I had been watching her closely all this time, there was another emotion I could sense, faintly underlying them.

And in my opinion,

if she went forward without even properly realizing that emotion,

Katya would surely regret it later.

“Katya. What do you think of His Holiness?”

“……What?”

A look shot toward me, clearly questioning why such a thing was being asked at a time like this, but I stubbornly kept my gaze fixed on her.

“……The person who took everything from me. Why are you asking something so obvious?”

“Then, do you hate him?”

“……Of course I hate him. What kind of—”

“Truly?”

“…….”

When Aiden asked back in a serious tone, Katya pressed her lips shut.

It seemed she had sensed from his expression that he was not saying this thoughtlessly.

She stood still for a moment, thinking, then eventually spoke in a halting voice.

“I do hate him, but.”

Yet she soon closed her mouth again.

Silence fell once more.

It was as if she was barely managing to untangle the sentences that were involuntarily becoming jumbled in her head and bring them out past her lips.

“……I don’t think he would do something like this without any reason.”

“Yes.”

With a faint grin, Aiden corrected her answer.

“That’s enough.”

“……What?”

“Have you thought about why you’re thinking that way?”

“What are you talking—”

“It’s because you’re worried about His Holiness, Katya.”

“…….”

“You must have vaguely realized how he has been treating you as well.”

There had not been a single moment when the Pontiff had not shown goodwill toward Katya.

By his own mistake, by his own wrong action, he had provided the catalyst that nearly twisted her beyond repair.

But at least from my perspective, there had been more than a few moments when his concern for her, on a human level, had seemed sincere.

Then a few questions remained.

Why had he left this woman to the point of being treated like a discarded princess within the royal house, and why had he not tried to protect her publicly?

‘……I have a rough guess.’

And if that guess was correct,

……then Katya needed, all the more, to realize how she truly felt about the Pontiff.

Only then would she not regret it.

“……So, you’ve come.”

As I quickened my steps while turning those thoughts over in my mind, I heard a voice that sounded as if it were on the verge of death.

There, seated at the very center of the great cavern, directly beneath the pale flames rising in reverse from the original Altar, was the Pontiff.

After quietly observing him, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Your Holiness.”

“…….”

“……It was you, wasn’t it?”

“What was.”

“The one who colluded with the demonkind.”

“…….”

Instead of answering, the Pontiff merely twisted the corner of his lips slightly. At that sight, I let out a hollow laugh and ran a hand through my hair.

Whether it was Alester, Julius, or Milene, any effort to search for a traitor among them had likely been meaningless from the start.

Because the reaction I was seeing now made it clear that the traitor I had been trying to find in this scenario had never existed in the first place.

“……Are you saying you betrayed the Holy Crown Kingdom?”

Katya, who had been listening, spoke in disbelief.

“It’s not betrayal.”

“It’s not betrayal.”

When the same answer returned simultaneously from Aiden and the Pontiff, her face went blank in an instant.

……Her expression seemed to say, what are these two, still in sync even at a time like this?

“What do you mean it’s not betrayal……? You let those bastards run wild in the middle of the succession ceremony, didn’t you?”

“I mean, that part’s true, but it’s not betrayal.”

“What do you mean it’s not—!”

“Well.”

Aiden slowly looked toward the glowing spell formation on the floor.

The Pontiff, coughing as if vomiting blood, struggled to his feet.

What he assumed was unmistakably a combat stance.

“……Hey, brat.”

“Yes, Your Holiness.”

“Judging by the look in your eyes, it seems you know what I’m thinking.”

“…….”

The Pontiff grinned.

“See this through to the end for me.”

I met that smile with my own gaze. While Katya looked back and forth between the two of us in confusion.

Then, at last, I gave a calm nod.

“……Yes. Gladly.”

Final boss battle, Phase 2.

–Abigail III.

The battle began.