༺ The Saintess And The Demon ༻
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Stella’s left hand pounded the ground rhythmically, almost as if she were starting the grand overture1Overture is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio. Composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which were independent, self-existing, instrumental, programmatic works that foreshadowed genres such as the symphonic poem. of a symphony.
Blood splattered in all directions, forming grotesque shapes of beasts in the sky, which then rushed towards us.
It was a scene reminiscent of sinners escaping from burning in hellfire.
Findenai swung her axe more aggressively at them.
“This seems never-ending!”
Findenai sliced through the heads of the rushing beasts. Her axe was already drenched in blood.
All of a sudden, the blood on the axe blade transformed back into the shape of beasts and began rushing at Findenai.
I sent a torrent of black blades towards her.
My magic quickly pierced through the beasts that were clinging onto Findenai’s axe, and she swung her axe in a wide arc through the air while whistling.
Splash!
Even though I had wiped away the blood, the situation remained dire. The more beast blood we shed as we continued fending off the oncoming beasts, the more beasts emerged at a point-blank range.
“This is the first time I have met such a lunatic!”
[You should think of it as fighting against a Hemomancer! Please pass this on to that idiot maid!]
The Dark Spiritualist created a protective barrier that prevented the spurting blood from reaching us.
Indeed, this fighting style resembled that of Dark Mages who manipulate blood—Hemomancers.
The problem lay with both Findenai and me.
“You should think of it as fighting against a Hemomancer!”
“What? But I’ve never fought against such a damn mosquito-like bastard!”
Similar to Necromancers, given the rarity of Hemomancers, it was natural that she had never fought one.
While the Dark Spiritualist seemed to have some experience fighting them, it wasn’t particularly helpful.
Although her fighting style resembled that of Dark Mages, she held the rank of Demon Lord and was several times far more superior to us.
Demon Lords were the monsters that usually appeared towards the end of the game [Retry].
Even Aria, who had just entered the second round, would be unable to defeat them by herself due to the vast difference in power levels among those seated at different tiers.
[Velica is one of the lesser-known Demon Lords. We don’t know what situation may arise!]
It meant that we wouldn’t know what attacks would come next. I calmly nodded while blocking the beasts made of blood that were still pouring out.
These beasts were obviously all liquid.
The more we fought against them, the more they spread and started to soak into the ground.
In the end, we only created another pool of blood.
The blood rushed in like waves from behind, hitting my entire body.
As I had been focusing on my frontal defense, my rear was inevitably exposed to surprise attacks.
“….!”
“Master Bastard!”
[Deus!]
My lack of combat experience was now glaringly obvious.
In an instant, my entire body was drenched in blood, and something seemed to protrude from my body.
Beasts made of blood began to materialize from all over my skin, preparing to lunge at my face.
The situation was so dire that they could have torn me apart at any moment.
Splash!
Suddenly, a waterfall-like stream of water cascaded down my head and washed away the blood covering my entire body.
“A-are you alright?!”
It was the result of the Abbess’ magic.
Although they weren’t able to handle Holy Power, the nuns had a decent grasp of magic fundamentals.
After sweeping back my soaked hair and thanking her, I made a genuine appeal for help.
“We need support. Please ask the nuns at the back to assist us as well.”
“U-understood!”
Following the Abbess, the five nuns began using mana from behind.
Indeed, they weren’t called Saintess candidates for nothing, as they seemed to be well-versed in magic.
“Please, use water-type spells. Try to push away the blood as much as possible.”
“Ah, Goddess Justia.”
“O God Raizel, please grant the Saintess salvation.”
“Sob, how did she fall into such corruption?”
“May the Goddess Demeter have mercy and grant forgiveness to Saintess Stella.”
I clicked my tongue in annoyance upon seeing tears streaming down the faces of the nuns as they looked at the Saintess.
“Stop with the nonsensical babbling.”
I would never let Stella be dragged to the judgment seat of the gods as they wished.
Just mere gods.
I wouldn’t let those gods point fingers, punish, understand, forgive, or save her.
“That is not part of their concern. Stop your useless chatter and focus on using your magic.”
Perhaps due to the hint of anger in my voice, the nuns began using magic with their mouths sealed shut.
With the addition of five mages, the situation became much more manageable.
The nuns’ magic pushed the blood away, naturally forming a boundary from which Findenai leaped.
Now, she no longer needed to worry about blood staining her axe or clothes. With the nuns’ magic washing it away, she could fight with a big grin.
“It feels like fighting on a rainy day!”
While Findenai snorted as the situation gradually improved, on the contrary, the Dark Spiritualist lowered her body.
[How about using the Holy Grail now?]
Since the beginning, the Dark Spiritualist kept bringing up the Holy Grail over and over again. However, it was a valid suggestion.
[She hasn’t used even one-tenth of her full power. From what I know about Demon Lords… we won’t be able to hold her off even for a moment with just these many people.]
“….”
[I don’t know why she is still going easy on us, but while she is complacent, this is the perfect opportunity to strike.]
“She is not going easy on us.”
I still looked in that same direction beyond the Dark Spiritualist, locking eyes with Stella.
Just looking into her Demon’s eyes made it hard for me to breathe. It was as if heavy air was pressing down on me.
“But she is unable to do anything more than this.”
Though the Dark Spiritualist couldn’t understand what I meant by that, I ignored her and pulled out a gem from my pocket.
The Necromancy Stone, Lemegeton.
Upon seeing it, the nuns were astonished. But Stella offered a serene smile.
“Is that your decision?”
Stella’s and the Demon’s voices overlapped.
“But can you really stop me by just using that? There might be a few public cemeteries around here, but what can a mere gathering of dead humans do?”
Her voice carried both mockery and concern, prompting me to ask with doubt.
“Are you Stella? Or Velica?”
“….”
She didn’t answer my question. Even the smile, which she had been wearing, gradually faded.
“I see.”
However, did she know that she had already given me a hint?
As I began to infuse my mana into the Lemegeton, the black gem started emitting an ominous light in all directions.
A vast array of light poured towards the dark sky.
“The Necromancy Stone was an item given by the Demon to fulfill the wish of a child who desired to see his mother again.”
The spreading light soon converged, quickly condensing at a single point.
And that point touched down at the public cemetery near the convent where we had just been.
Crack. Crack. Crack!
Something from the graveyard started being pulled in this direction. It seemed to resent being woken up or perhaps it feared the entity up ahead that it would have to confront.
It was resisting and fighting against the force of compulsion from Lemegeton and me.
However, in the end, this object called Lemegeton was also a legacy of a Demon.
It had no choice but to come under my control.
“The original owner of this stone was a Demon.”
Generally, the strength of a Necromancer depended on the evil spirits they manipulated. Therefore, Necromancers always sought out powerful and vengeful evil spirits.
And in that sense, the soul I was about to control was essentially an entity that every Necromancer on the continent would covet.
[Krrraaaah!]
A dreadful scream echoed from afar. It seemed to be suffering, yet it was clearly drawn in this direction.
[Grr, eeeeek!]
The scream resembled the annoying sound of bat wings, but even that was welcomed now.
With its horns and tails severed,
Charred black, barely distinguishable from shadows,
Yet emanating intense resentment and malice.
Along with the screams and the agony of people spreading like mist from its entire body,
The Superior Demon, now in its soul form, knelt and glared at me.
It was the Demon that Stella had summoned with the two other nuns and then immediately killed.
[A-amazing!]
Seeing that the Dark Spiritualist sincerely applauded and praised me.
[No Necromancer has ever dealt with a Demon like this before! Even though you summoned it with the power of Lemegeton, it’s truly remarkable!]
As someone who was willing to accompany me to witness the limits of Necromancy, it was natural for the Dark Spiritualist to get excited on witnessing the use of Necromancy skills beyond her comprehension.
Of course, I understood where she was coming from, but this wasn’t the time for her to be impressed.
The black chain extending from my hand entwined around the limbs of the Superior Demon.
I used that to start controlling the Demon, as if I were pulling the strings of a puppet.
Honestly, even after learning about it from the Dark Spiritualist, I never thought I would ever control souls by forcibly inflicting pain.
Until now, I merely awakened them, converted the mana they possessed into magic, and let them move on their own.
Yet.
“It is different for that evil.”
The screams of people the Demon had killed echoed through its demonic soul like mist.
The Demon, who had carried the screams and agony of its victims as if they were loot, was unable to escape from their resentment even after death.
Ultimately, the soul of the Demon trapped in the Necromancer’s chain finally lowered its head in agony, succumbing to the excruciating pain.
I kicked it in its face and turned it towards Stella’s direction.
“Go and fight until your soul is extinguished.”
Crush.
[Krrraaaah!]
As I exerted force on the chain held in my hand, the Demon writhed in pain before hurtling towards Stella.
“Are you also comforting the soul of the Demon?”
“No, I am just using it.”
However, Stella’s expression was still overflowing with composure.
Since it was a Demon she had killed once before, it shouldn’t have been too difficult to deal with it as the Superior Demon was now weaker compared to when it was alive.
At the very least, it should be able to buy us some time.
“Findenai, take the nuns and go to the carriage.”
“What? Are you saying that we should run away?”
Findenai frowned with displeasure. However, it was not because we were losing or fleeing without fighting.
Having actively participated in the resistance, she had probably fled more often than she fought.
What mattered was what came afterwards.
“What good does running away do? Illuania might end up getting caught up in this as well if we’re not careful.”
Indeed, I, too, didn’t want to drag her into this battle either. However…
“We can win.”
Upon hearing my words, Findenai immediately turned around without saying another word and shouted at the nuns.
“You bitches, follow me! I’ll show you heaven!”
She seemed to be making all sorts of noises, but she had certainly caught the attention of the nuns who were distracted by the battle between the Demons.
It was obvious that she was accustomed to dealing with crowds in extreme situations.
After effortlessly lifting one of the nuns, who had stumbled and fallen due to her trembling legs, onto her shoulder, Findenai headed towards the carriage with the Abbess and the other nuns.
Thud!
The result was obvious: the Superior Demon wasn’t a match for her. The one who had just been struck by Stella’s left hand rolled towards me.
I infused mana into the chain once again, inflicting pain on the Demon, who seemed to be losing consciousness.
[Kaaaaacccckkk!]
Ignoring the Demon, who immediately regained consciousness, I glanced at Stella.
“Running away won’t help. In the end, everyone will die.”
Crack! Crack Crack!
Cracks began to appear on Stella’s black legs. They began to swell up strangely, like a balloon.
Almost immediately…
Crack!
Eight giant spider legs erupted from within her legs, each roughly the same size as her left hand.
It seemed like this was the true form of the Demon Velica.
The grotesque sight of Saintess Stella and the Demon Lord Velica merging evenly conveyed a sense of unspeakable horror, no matter how positively I tried to describe it.
As her legs grew bigger, I had no choice but to look up due to her enormous size.
[A-are you sure that we can win this?]
The voice of the Dark Spiritualist trembling next to me only served to heighten my tension unnecessarily.
I tightened my grip on the chain, exerting control over the Superior Demon as I responded.
“We must win.”
It wasn’t a matter of whether we could win or not.
It was a fight we had to win, no matter the cost.
Especially if it was for her, who had endured nothing but misfortune for so long, solely to bring happiness to others.
