Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Chapter 159
Evangeline (5)
"You say it's unacceptable? Did you sense some ominous premonition?"
While Demon Eaters don't possess the ability of future sight among their powers, as any power system ascends higher, one gradually becomes able to sense the flow of the world.
By following the flow of the world in this way, even if not to the level of a true precognitive, it was entirely possible to at least detect premonitions of fate related to oneself.
In that sense, if Rebecca, who had fully bloomed the power of the Demon Eater and now become one of the world's great pillars, felt some unease, it could be seen as a problem that absolutely could not be overlooked.
Rebecca nodded with a serious expression.
"Yes, it feels like an unexpected stray cat suddenly appeared..."
"...Huh?"
"The weight might be small, but I can't let my guard down... After all, the other targets of vigilance are in the same situation as me now..."
'...What is she talking about?'
Her expression was that of a heroic warrior facing the end of the world, but the actual content was so trivial it caused cognitive dissonance.
"So what's your conclusion?"
"I think I need to go out."
Rebecca, who had been trailing off her words, made a firm decision.
Sarah Bloodrain narrowed her eyes and fell into thought.
'A stray cat... I think I have an idea what she means...'
Sarah was also a heroine who had lived quite an eventful life.
Though she had lived her entire life in pools of blood, the fact that she could remain sane and teach successors in the Hall of Heroes was absolutely due to the existence of her husband, who had protected and supported her mental state.
'Thinking about it that way, it does seem like a serious problem.'
Demon Eaters are a solitary clan who, from the moment they take on the profession of demon hunting, must fight against their bloody instincts until death.
In that regard, the existence of a companion they could depend on psychologically could be said to occupy the largest portion of their lives.
"Would it be... okay for me to go out?"
At those words, Sarah looked over Rebecca's current condition and pondered slightly.
'Probably among everyone who came here, the child with the fastest achievement would be this child.'
Even though less than ten years had passed, Rebecca's achievement was approaching Sarah's own level.
No, if judged purely by purity of power rather than magnitude, Rebecca had already surpassed her.
Considering that Rebecca's other colleagues were still struggling without catching up to their assigned masters, it was truly remarkable talent and growth.
"Rebecca, try gathering your power once more."
"Ah, yes."
A Demon Eater who had fully awakened their blood could handle magic purer than any demon race without separately absorbing magic power.
That's why during the ancient ancestral empire era, the Demon Eater clan was called 'Demon People' and faced persecution...
But that wasn't important right now.
SWOOOSH!
A very clear red aura that didn't bring to mind the word 'demon' at all.
A power of pure 'red' that was completely different from the characteristic dark red of the clan enveloped Rebecca's entire body.
'As expected, this child is special.'
At first, Rebecca had wielded the same dark red power as herself, but as time passed, the black began to drain from Rebecca's power, leaving only the red.
Moreover, even without applying the mental maintenance methods containing the clan's know-how, far from her mind becoming diseased, she had become lively enough to be called a tomboy.
'This is definitely not a normal case.'
There wasn't a single person of this type among the clan.
The Demon Eater clan was destined to self-destruct sooner or later, whether quickly or slowly.
But that didn't mean it could be viewed entirely negatively.
"Good. With that level, you won't get beaten up wherever you go."
If the opponent was a demon race, even if a high-ranking Demon King appeared, Rebecca could probably defeat them easily.
If the opponent was Baal, who had instantly dominated her own mind in the past, it would be somewhat dangerous, but at least escape would be possible.
"Then...!"
"You're graduating. Anyway, all the technical instruction is finished, and while building power remains... well, it should be fine."
Sarah smiled warmly while patting Rebecca's head.
"Go and seize what you want."
"Yes, Master!"
Rebecca answered vigorously.
Though Sarah hadn't said exactly what to seize, Rebecca and Sarah's thoughts were perfectly aligned.
***
Iskar Territory of the Morian Empire.
The battlefield where the Morian Imperial Army and the Kingdom of Rohans Army faced each other.
This century's battlefield, where the great armies of both countries totaling over 200,000 had clashed, was finally meeting catastrophe on the 126th day since the war began.
However, that catastrophe was not the result of battle.
Making a mockery of their pride in fighting for their nations' destiny, today both countries' armies were conducting such unseemly retreat operations that the term "rabble" would be fitting.
"Run away!"
"Retreat immediately! Don't get swept up in that!"
RUMBLE!
KWAKWAKWAK!
But both armies had no choice but to retreat, even accepting some material losses and casualties.
Despite this battlefield area clearly being inland territory, tremendous tsunamis were striking the plains, and it had become a hellish place where earthquakes and lightning appeared constantly.
"The third wave is coming!"
"You'll die if you get swept away! Bring the psychics!"
"There's no sea or even rivers around here, so what the hell is that tsunami!"
"Stop complaining and just run!"
Devout believers made the sign of the cross and offered prayers to God even while retreating.
The weather and climate changes were so sudden and dramatic that such behavior was warranted.
At the soldiers' request, psychics temporarily installed defensive barriers to block the tsunami, but that was merely a stopgap measure.
"Damn it, what the hell is going on?"
Being psychics as sensitive to magic flow as magicians, they knew this phenomenon absolutely could not have occurred naturally.
Well... even by ordinary standards, it wasn't something that would happen naturally.
"This artificial natural phenomenon... could it be Maria?"
"No, I don't sense Maria's distinctive psionic energy at all. Someone else is fighting over there."
High-level psychics of 7th class and above had the ability to roughly pinpoint where the culprit of this situation was located.
"Where the hell did such monsters come from?"
Once the evacuation was roughly complete, the psychics who had gained some breathing room began conversing while sensing the flow of battle occurring in the distance.
"Maria always used to say this. That monsters equal to or surpassing her exist in the world."
"Are those bastards over there those monsters?"
"If not, there's no explanation. But it seems like one of them is probably a high-ranking Demon King..."
From the underworld conflicts with Gude Belstad in the past to the battles with demon races during the 'Imperial Capital Uprising.'
The psychics of the Psychic Tower were more skilled than anyone at distinguishing between ordinary auras and demonic energy.
"It seems like some hermit master is fighting a Demon King."
"Shouldn't we help?"
At one colleague's words, the psychic who had spoken first shook his head.
"We have our own duties. Besides, even if we tried to help, looking at that scale, we'd just be baggage. Just like that time."
Everyone here knew exactly when 'that time' was.
That battle where Maria Kepler, whom they revered like a goddess, had suffered the only serious injury of her life.
Thinking of that battle, another 'bastard' naturally came to mind.
"Speaking of which, where the hell did that bastard go? A Demon King of that class is openly roaming around."
"Hmph, he's probably somewhere enjoying himself with beauties again."
"Sigh, how did Maria end up giving her attention to such a scoundrel..."
"For now, let's pray for that master's victory. The opponent Demon King's level probably doesn't yield to that bastard from back then at all..."
"Death to the Demon King."
"Death."
...A conversation that would have made Rudian burst with indignation at the misunderstanding was endlessly taking place somewhere.
***
Evangeline's power, which could control not only the four great elements but all 'natural phenomena' existing in this world, could easily erase all civilization on the planet's surface with a little time, should she wish to shake the continent's crust or cause massive floods.
RUMBLE!
Lightning reaching hundreds of millions of volts, and flames exceeding tens of thousands of degrees.
Baptisms of raindrops each harder than steel, and wind pressure blades that could easily cut even diamonds.
Having such power, and with a range covering entire continents.
However, Evangeline's power, lacking the 'Yellow World' among the Seven-Colored Worlds, had surprisingly clear limitations in certain areas.
While each individual attack was certainly an absolute power that even 9th Class couldn't approach, the most fatal weakness of Evangeline, who could wield such power, was...
Precisely that she couldn't handle 'chaos.'
'Well, that doesn't mean she's easy to deal with at all.'
Assuming she couldn't handle chaos, even if hundreds or thousands of 9th Class Great Magicians or Grand Masters swarmed her, they absolutely could not defeat Evangeline in her spirit form.
Such was Evangeline's power—displaying absolute compatibility against lower-ranked beings.
Rudian looked at the five Spirit Kings that had appeared beside Evangeline.
Each the pinnacle of spirits that served as the source of fire, water, wind, earth, and lightning attributes.
To inflict damage on Evangeline, one would need to break through their protection, but...
'But if I really inflicted even the slightest damage, who knows what would happen to her already limited lifespan of just a few days...'
Moreover, there was no guarantee what would happen to Evangeline from the backlash if those Spirit Kings were reverse-summoned.
"Whew..."
In other words, conquering Evangeline meant subduing only Evangeline's main body without inflicting any damage on her whatsoever.
'If I were to rate this difficulty... maybe Penance 16?'
After that, I couldn't play anymore and was dragged into this world, so I don't know what happened.
'Well then, shall I give it a try?'
Fortunately, Rudian possessed the most convenient supreme authority system of all—'divinity.'
'In preparation for when I have my own divinity later, I must become proficient in handling divinity.'
With Rudian's original abilities, he could barely manage to create a Chaos Sword, let alone divinity.
Now that he had temporarily approached divine power through Shub's whim, he needed to become as accustomed as possible to divine-level combat to survive the great war that was soon approaching.
Just as Rudian was slowly trying to draw up his divinity.
The Spirit Kings, who had been quiet until now, began speaking one by one.
—I don't like fighting you.
—But we must respect the contractor's will.
—You who would save the world, shall we see your skills once?
'As expected, spirits know everything.'
The Spirit Kings, who had been watching every move Rudian made until now, couldn't possibly not know what Rudian's purpose was.
—Well then, let's see!
CHARRRRREUK!
Instantly, thousands of high-ranking spirits appeared around the Spirit Kings.
Kesillus, the blazing fire spirit.
Neira, the undulating yet smooth water spirit.
Noah, the earth spirit emanating presence from underground.
Sylphid, the troublesome wind spirit without form.
Even a single one could create typhoons, summon tsunamis, and cause great earthquakes—what would happen to the surroundings when thousands of such beings gathered?
Rudian avoided the spirits' chaotic rampage filling heaven and earth while muttering a quiet observation.
'What a mess.'
The Iskar Territory, famous for its beautiful surrounding scenery, was somehow transforming into a death-filled land brimming with vitality after being struck by natural disasters.
It was a contradictory statement, but that was the best way to describe it.
"You'll have to restore everything to its original state after the battle ends."
—Don't worry about that. We're adjusting our power so the surrounding humans won't be harmed... Gah!
KUKWAKWAKWANG!
As soon as the Fire Spirit King finished speaking, the surrounding high-ranking spirits simultaneously spewed fireballs.
"How underhanded."
—If you don't like it, then you fight with numbers too.
It was quite an insolent response, unbecoming of spirits who were the pinnacle of pure elements.
Having dodged one round of the spirits' attacks, Rudian grinned and retorted.
"Of course I will."
—What?
"My victory condition is to keep you spirits occupied."
Rudian looked at Leviathan's emblem carved on his forearm.
'For Leviathan to show such generous attitude, treating it as more than just a simple pattern, and Diablo had a similar reaction.'
This emblem obtained separately from the 'core' that allowed him to use Leviathan's authority had too many suspicious aspects to end as merely an identification proving authority to command legions.
In the past, with Adi who could do anything with sufficient magic, Rudian hadn't investigated this pattern in detail.
But as he began handling the divinity of Outer Forces, Rudian vaguely realized what this pattern's true purpose was.
The phrase 'authority to command legions' could also mean 'authority to summon legions,' couldn't it?
DIIIING!
He infused divinity into the pattern and made his wish.
"Numbers against numbers."
Originally, demonic power would need to be infused for proper function, but divinity was also a supreme power, so it should probably work.
Rudian spoke the name of a Demon King-level being who had trained him in the past.
"Summon, Kimaris."