Chapter 412 – Barisada

000

Otis’ rampage announcing the resurrection of the black giant.

Princess Amelia’s rampage.

The Exiled Church attacked Lyla.

Thanks to various incidents surrounding Cleon’s party and an unknown magical communication failure, Cleon and his party his were doing their best in their respective positions without properly grasping each other’s condition.

This monastery, too, is one of those places.

“How is it? Do you think it will?”

“Wait a little bit… Whoa.”

In response to the question posed by a lively girl’s voice, a white-haired woman is manipulating something while hanging upside down from the monastery’s ceiling.

It is slender and wipes her forehead with her white arms.

As if she did n’t care about the white nun’s uniform flowing down by gravity, her white inner skin her was exposed.

The upper body of her is a beautiful woman, but the lower body has the torso of a giant spider, ‘Anansi’.

She is a former Arachne who has awakened as a natural god of spiders and is one of the women who adores Cleon.

Her elevation to godhood allowed her to take full human form, in her spider body of her, a hallmark of Arachne, but that did not mean she lost her original powers of her.

Climbing walls and ceilings by changing the lower half of her body to the same shape as before, if desired, was not a task.

Even so, it was not possible to completely defeat her gravity her, so it was inevitable that blood and sweat flowed from her head her.

“Why did I do this kind of chimney sweep… “

“I’m sorry~ The only one who can go up there is Anansi-sama… “

“Really… There is no disrespect.”

Even as Anansi grumbles, she diligently moves what she is holding in her hand.

What she is holding is her magic crystal her with a golden orb shining in a blue crystal.

Among the barrier stones, it is a very powerful item.

Although it is now damaged and cannot be used.

A moment ago, a huge magical storm swept through this area, shattering the magical barrier that originally surrounded the monastery.

Fortunately, the barrier stone stored in the stricter vault was intact, but if the barrier stone originally activated at the top of the monastery was not replaced, it would be exposed to demons’ attacks, so it was necessary to fix the barrier as quickly as possible.

“But what was it? That magic storm earlier.”

Liza crosses her arms, raises her eyebrows, and looks troubled.

“It wasn’t natural. Perhaps, someone prepared it to make today’s march a mess…”

She clings to her high place her and doesn’t stop her moving hand her even as she speaks.

Using the sticky spider web made of magic, fix the new barrier stone in place.

And, if you put the ignition key in your mouth, the barrier that spreads out in the monastery is naturally redeployed, and the barrier that can respond to external invasion is recreated.

“It must have been this.”

As Anansi uses her thread to slowly descend to the ground, Liza hands her her drink her, nodding her head.

“You worked hard, Mr. Anansi. In the past, she had a nun who could use flight magic, but she retired a few years ago…”

“Then next time you learn and install it.”

“Ah, it’s not a barrier that can be broken that easily.”

Liza clapped her hand as if it were okay and looked at her as she spoke.

“Come to think of it, they say something big happened on the marching side… Can I not go? I heard that Mr. Cleon is participating in the march.”

“The West asked me to guard this monastery. No matter what happens, protecting you and the humans here is what I have to do now.”

When Anansi said that, Liza gave a thoughtful face for a moment before answering.

“But when the magical storm came with a thump earlier, you seemed restless because you wanted to go outside…”

Just a few tens of minutes ago, she kept looking at the other side of the monastery wall and the place where the barrier stone should be installed.

Soon she took a deep breath and barely calmed down, then she shouted, ‘I will set up a barrier, so bring your tools!’

“Ugh… Eh, my heart will always be by your side.”

“Hey… Well, if Anansi-sama is okay with that… However, I am worried.”

“What do you mean?”

When Anansi tilts her head with her arms crossed, Liza makes a nod with her arms crossed as if following her.

“I mean Eustes. Being scouted by the Battle Maid is definitely something to celebrate… ? As. He must be struggling outside.”

“Ah. That human…”

Anansi shut her mouth for a moment as he pictured the image of Eustes in her head.

Instinctively, she saw that her fate was engraved on the skein of her —no, her destiny her…

“Worrying here doesn’t change anything. Wouldn’t it be better to pray to the god you believe in? If you are a nun. If you give your faith, God sometimes repays it.”

“Oh-as expected, Spirit God… Then, I will pray for peace in the royal capital in this chapel.”

“Apart from whether there is a God who will listen.”

At Anansi’s words, Liza said, ‘Eek!? She was just trying to do something like a nun-!’

With her behind her, Anansi leaves her chapel first.

Quietly, she speaks with her back turned to Liza, who sits down to pray.

‘In this capital, there are no gods left who can answer your human prayers. Everyone got caught up in the mighty will and disappeared.’

Anansi thought so and looked down at her own hand her.

As a nature deity, what she felt while living among humans.

It was just that, for the humans of today, there really is no such thing as “God”.

The sacred protection church they believe in does not believe in gods, but only in humans and in systems created by humans.

‘However, if there is a God who favors humans to the point of being a little ridiculous in this world, it’s a mess to the point where the balance is right.’

Even if Anansi pulled the thread of fate, he could not guess the fate that humans would face in this world without such a god.

001

“Ha… Ha… Kuh…”

As Aruru tries to lift herself off the ground with her tired face, she feels that one of her legs is no longer working properly.

What pierced her leg was a plant stem full of thorns.

At first it was in the form of mud – it had a plant-like surface in the middle.

Now, the black crystal had become a harder, sharper, and more threatening weapon.

As if she had absorbed Arondite’s power, Aruru feels that Amelia’s power her is getting stronger and stronger.

“Are you alive… Lady Aruru.”

Next to him, standing still, supporting himself with a barisada, was a black-haired girl wrapped in a tattered maid uniform.

His body her, which had become covered in scars thanks to being cut and torn over and over again, creaked like a scream just by giving strength to it.

Even in such a situation, is it composure or mere bravado to care about Aruru struggling next to her?

“Ah, it might be a bit difficult… Whooping…”

“…If you can laugh at this situation, you still have room. I’m fed up.”

When Aruru, who seems to have suffered damage to the extent that her mind becomes hazy somewhere, smiles hard, Rubera shakes her head at seeing her like that.

And- Amelia, who was looking at those two with clear, unlit eyes.

“You will know this. That now I have enough strength to overwhelm the two of you.”
“… I hate to admit it, but it’s a really heinous force.”

The ever-surging black magic, and the stems controlled by that black magic.

Sometimes with a wall, sometimes with a spear, sometimes with a sword, it defends and counterattacks Rubera and Aruru’s attacks from all directions at 360 degrees.

Thanks to this, it was rather the two of them who were hurt each time they attacked.

“Even if you push through the volume or poke a gap, it responds, so there is no answer.”

“Yes. It looks like she has eyes on the back and sides of her head… Phew.”

“… Does it look difficult? Do you want to get some sleep?”

“Is that so? Well, just five minutes-“

In the next moment, the thorns of the black crystal, which looked like dozens, poured like a shower towards the place where Rubera and Aruru were standing.

The vibrations that shook the ground and the smoke of the rising dust.

And, a swamp of dense magic created by the turbulence of magic power.

“It would have been nice to rest inside me forever, not for 5 minutes.”

Amelia gazed nonchalantly through the smoke, at the two who rolled her body her to dodge her attack.

To be precise, Ruba, whose legs were still intact, jumped in as if pushing Aruru and saved it.

Ruba exhaled a sigh of relief at having saved Aruru with her single car, but then she raised her body and stood as if confronting Amelia.

To Lubera, Amelia spoke with a smile on her face.

“…As expected, Ruba. You are strong Thanks to that strength, I was also saved by Cleon several times.”

“… “

“But, today I resent you. Why did Cleon and I switch positions and put Cleon in danger of dying?”

Ruba didn’t answer her words and pointed her sword at her.

There was no reason to make excuses.

That was what Cleon wanted, and Cleon himself must have been prepared to hurt her instead of Amelia.

“…How about an answer? Lubera.”

“What should I answer? Amelia. What can I say, so you can calm down?”

After Ruba took a deep breath, she felt the weight of Barisada’s scabbard and felt the limit of her body.

“It was Cleon’s request. I was trying to save you. Cleon was also prepared. I can’t help it because I’m in a hurry.”

Again and again Hangul, Hangul.

Slowly, so that it reaches Amelia’s ears. And with correct pronunciation.

“If I could stop you by saying this, I would have done it sooner. But how are you now? Anger with nowhere to go. Uncontrollable power is scattered like a disaster due to the sense of betrayal of the things you have trusted. You got stronger? Admit it, your powers have definitely grown. … But if you don’t use that power rightly, it means nothing.”

“… “

At Rubera’s words, Amelia stood still and held her hand tightly.

Her sharp fingernails her pricked her palms, and her blood her gushed out.

“I will tell you smartly. That you now are weaker than Amelia before. You, who cannot hold on to her broken heart Her, what are you going to achieve with that power?”

“—A broken heart… ?Haha… !”

To Ruba’s question, the words contained in it, Amelia reacts excessively, holding her forehead.

And she stumbled and almost fell, then she answered, showing unsteadiness.

“…Lubera, I want you… Colleagues- Friends-… No, more than that. … If Aurelia-sama had been in place of my mother- the time I spent with you wasn’t that long… I already thought of you as a real sister somewhere in my heart.”

“… “

Amelia’s honest feelings.

Amelia is reluctant to entwine herself deeply with others, and is reluctant to reveal all of her heart her.

Her voice her, drawn from the depths of her heart her, could be heard ironically only now, when she had lost her most control her.

“She believed that with Ruba she could understand me… Why… Why are you even rejecting me…!”

In the next moment, the fragments of the black crystals scattered around her Amelia swirl around her as if creating a whirlpool in her her.

The fragments swept away by the storm of magical power collided with a sharp sound that pierced the ear canal, and formed the shape of a huge sword.

Looking at that figure, Aruru thinks that what she felt was not her illusion.

‘The power of Arondite… !’

Amelia, who does not simply absorb her mana and life force her, but takes that absorbed power as her own her.

If I leave it as it is, I might even get Rubera’s distortion ability.

But before she could worry about that, she had to do something about the huge black crystal greatsword that appeared in front of her.

“—If everything to be protected is false and ephemeral… The meaning of my existence is nowhere!!!”

At the same time as a cry full of anger, despair, hatred, and sadness, her great sword her swung while creating a huge wind pressure.

If Ruba was alone, she would use twists and move her legs to her.

She could have dodged that greatsword.

But, what about Aruru behind that moment?

She may still have been able to create a wall to defend herself by using her mobile arm her to break the arondite.

However, even such defensive actions require her magic power of her, and it was hard to imagine that Aruru’s defense of her, which had already taken away a large part of her from Amelia, could be formed perfectly.

Therefore, if Ruba gets out of here, what awaits her from Aruru is death-

Or, serious damage close to death.

Either way, she will be so badly damaged that Aruru will no longer be able to hold her sword.

Even Ruba understood that for Aruru, it was no different from her death.

“Lubera!”

Aruru’s voice hits her ears.

I know it’s foolish not to get out of the way now.

No matter how you look at it, Amelia’s trauma was creating a huge gap in her.

If I ignored Aruru for now and moved to Amelia’s side immediately with Distortion, I would be able to inflict great damage on her, if not critically.

Abandon Aruru.

Hurt Amelia?

Both of those were options that couldn’t exist for Ruba.

That’s why, I ignored Aruru’s cry of her.

Pounding. Pounding. Her body her must have already reached its limit, but Rubera’s heart sees her eyes more clearly and vividly than before.

Amelia spoke.

Although it was only a few months that she got to know her.

Overcoming life and death together, sharing what we want to protect.

When we got to know each other’s situation and came to recognize it strongly.

The fact that Ruba also thought of Amelia more than her friend and colleague her-more like her sister her.

Admonishing her sister when she goes astray is what her sister her has to do.

Although she had no siblings herself, she must have had an older sister who served as an example for her to play such a role.

From a while ago, the sound of a pounding heart dominated Rubera’s ears her.

The sound grew louder inside her than outside herself.

“It’s Barisah.”

[——Yes.]

She called the name of another sister-partner of her own, and of the demonic sword.

As for the sister on this side, she is an existence that is too smart to be a waste of herself, and she understands what she wants and does it.

“I will leave it to you.”

In the next moment, most of Rubera’s magical power her escaped from her body her, and flowed through her hand her towards her demonic sword-Barisada.

Aruru shouts.

Right now, in Rubera’s body her, she has neither the energy nor her magic power her left to hit that black crystal greatsword.

Standing still like this is just an act of suicide.

But the next moment, Rubera’s barisada pulsates greatly.

Mana Control Institution, limit limited release.

[To engrave the light of the stars that illuminate the ground.]

The first thing I saw was the sight of Barisada’s blade turning black from the tip of her sword.

Opening of the Thought Distortion Institution begins.

[Engraving of clouds flowing in groups.]

It throws off the steel clothes that wrapped around her sword body her, as if to shed her skin and fable like Cleon’s Galatea.

Process completion – causality control.

[A group of people. Herd of beasts. Accomplished and recorded.]

At that time, when magical powers gathered and overlapped, the surrounding gravity and even the flow of time became strange.

Access overloaded organs. Spell formation complete.

[When the world is jealous of you dancing in the flow of time created by all of that]

It was the embodiment of Amelia’s anger and her to aim for Ruba and Aruru at the same time.

Shake the balance, flip it over. The truth.

[Everything is fleeting, fleeting. It’s just futile.]

However, Ruba moved her own sword—her arm her, and received it with her demonic sword.

〈 Barisada 〉

[Moksha Nirvana]

Its movement was her leisurely one, the complete opposite of Rubera’s usual swordsmanship.

Barisa with a black sword moved slowly, leaving behind an afterimage, as if only her body had become slow motion.

Her ‘one flash’ of her, so quiet, touched the blade of the approaching greatsword.

Caen-

The moment after I thought I heard a clear sound like a bell ringing.

As the extremely compressed mana exploded.

Amelia’s Black Crystal Greatsword collapses on the spot and disappears.

No, it would be better to say that the magical energy that maintained it disappeared, and it collapsed without being able to maintain its form.

“──”

Amelia didn’t know what had just happened.

Somewhere, even looking comfortable, Lubera’s eyes quietly looked at Amelia.

The blade of Barisada she held in her hand was returning to its original color, and the remaining magic power slowly dissipated into the air.

And, falling as if scattered around, the ‘petals’ that used to be black crystals have changed.

‘What happened? The moment I touched Rubera’s sword, all the magic I had stored in was scattered and the spell was erased… ‘

Is this Barisada’s true ability? Just that?

Amelia feels fear like never before from Lubera’s power over her.

The next moment, as if Ruba had just poured everything into it, she staggered and almost fell backwards.

The next moment, at a speed that does n’t even leave an afterimage, someone jumps in and grabs her body her.

Ruba, she confirmed the figure of someone hugging her, and quietly raised the corner of her mouth her.

Then, in her consciousness, she slowly sinking into the darkness, she muttered as she grabbed the arm that held her.

“… Amelia… “

“——Ah. Of course.”

And then, her young man, who answered her words her, laid her carefully on her floor and looked at her her Amelia.

“Cleon-“

Finally, he returned to her own battleground, and her runaway her Amelia faced off.