Limit Release
Something was wrong. The forces that had been pushing forward with such momentum only moments before suddenly ground to a halt.
No—rather, they began to be driven back.
Kalpas thought. He had to think, and he had to decide. The slower his judgment became, the more needless soldiers' lives would simply vanish.
Why? What in the world was happening?
“We're in serious trouble!! The Four Heavenly Kings have appeared on the battlefield!!”
…So that was it. Only then did understanding begin to settle in.
Beings that had appeared only a handful of times across the Empire's long history. The Four Heavenly Kings.
Yet even so, the mere words “Four Heavenly Kings” were nothing short of catastrophe for the Empire.
The instant a Four Heavenly King set foot on a battlefield, the Imperial forces present were guaranteed to suffer losses bordering on total annihilation.
Retreat? Choosing retreat was no different from neatly packaging oneself so the Four Heavenly King could slaughter them more easily.
Nothing was easier to catch than a beast fleeing at a crawl.
With the Four Heavenly Kings present, this battle was already as good as lost. No—they had to steel themselves for annihilation.
Even so, he refused to stop thinking. Even a little, just the tiniest reduction in casualties would be enough.
And Kalpas reached his conclusion.
“No matter what happens, the Saintess alone must be sent back alive.”
If the Saintess returned living from this hellish battlefield where the Four Heavenly Kings had appeared—if that fact were suitably embellished and spread across the Empire as propaganda—and if, using this as the spark, the Saintess took her place as humanity's hope—
Then even if they lost, it would not truly be a defeat.
Silently offering an apology for the heavy burden he was about to place on her, he roared.
“Do not spare your own lives! This is the perfect chance to make those lives mean something! Protect the Saintess by any means necessary!!!”
The very moment the order left his lips—
“We've located the Saintess!!”
And the instant he heard her position, Kalpas's mind went completely blank.
Barely forcing the situation into acceptance, he managed only a single word.
“…Why?!”
Atop the hill. I stood where the entire battlefield lay open at a glance.
I had run myself ragged until I was soaked through with sweat. Was Andreus still holding out?
No. It'll be fine. He's the strongest Holy Knight there is.
I catch my breath.
Then I raise the Holy Relic and level the muzzle.
I set my aim toward the densest concentration of demons.
“Status Window.”
A translucent window opened, and I looked to the very bottom of it.
There, a newly appeared function was listed.
⚡ Limit Release: Releases the safety locks. Firepower can be increased, but places a severe load on the body.
This was the only thing left to rely on.
Praying with everything I had that this function would prove the trump card capable of turning the situation around, I poured my desperate hope into a full-throated shout.
“Limit, Release!”
…Yelling it out loud still felt a little embarrassing———
Limit Release
Safety locks disengaged. Output unrestricted.
?????????!!!!!!!!!!
In that instant, searing agony crashed over my entire body.
“Ah, uh, uugh.”
It hurt so badly I genuinely thought I might die on the spot.
My jaw wouldn't close. I couldn't draw breath.
To the point of dry heaving. That level of pain.
At the same time a sound rose from the Holy Relic—something spinning frantically, the exact noise an overloaded machine would make.
And holy power began draining from my body. Far more than usual.
“Th-this isn't enough.”
I grit my teeth. Enduring the pain, I forced the output higher.
The sound from the Holy Relic grew even more violent.
Gradually the relic began to heat until it glowed. It felt as though my hands were being seared away.
Even so I did not let go. No—I gripped it with both hands and held it steady.
Holy power kept pouring out. Gathering into a single point.
The sphere of holy power that had been swelling began to shrink.
No—it wasn't shrinking. It was being compressed.
Still not enough.
“More!”
In that moment something seemed to burst behind my eyes. My vision flooded red.
Something hot was running from my nose.
The taste of blood filled my mouth. Blood surged back up my throat.
Light began to pour from the Holy Relic.
The Fairy of Bombardment is screaming that this is genuinely dangerous—that you could die like this!
I'm dizzy. My vision is starting to blur.
Even so, I—
“More!!!!”
—shout.
The Holy Relic creaks. Smoke begins to leak.
My whole body creaks in answer. It feels as though every blood vessel is bursting open.
It would not have been strange to lose consciousness from the agony already.
Even so.
I—
“…Ah.”
In that instant I saw it.
Something streaking toward me.
I didn't need a clear look to know.
A Four Heavenly King.
Having realized how dangerous what I was about to do truly was, it was charging alone, determined to take my bombardment entirely upon itself.
“I knew you'd do that.”
I grinned and immediately raised the muzzle, locking onto the Four Heavenly King.
I had never intended to target the demons at all. Even if I swept every last one of them away, failing to bring down the Four Heavenly King could still mean our defeat.
I had no solid basis for the certainty—yet I was certain all the same, so I aimed solely at the Four Heavenly King.
In the most ostentatious way possible, announcing myself so it would have no choice but to come for me.
A single strike with my life on the line.
“Let's see who wins.”
I had not the slightest intention of losing.
“The one who wins—is me!!!!!”
A sword stroke that looked ready to split the heavens themselves came crashing down upon me.
And in the same breath I pulled the trigger.
The compressed holy power expanded in a single explosive instant.
Everything before me vanished beneath pure light.
….
…….
A warm sensation. A soft, enveloping feeling.
I couldn't see a thing, yet I knew.
Goddess… right?
Don't even try to deny it. This feeling is identical to when I received your blessing.
Goddess.
Am I dead?
No answer.
Well, I figured as much. Acting that recklessly without a second thought—surviving would have been a genuine miracle.
But I didn't have a choice. If I had run away alone from that place, I don't think I could ever have forgiven myself for the rest of my life.
I want to live, of course. I do want to live.
Ah, I don't know. I really don't. At the time it simply felt like that was what I had to do.
……Goddess? Do you happen to know how the battlefield turned out?
Did Andreus survive?
Are the Holy Knights safe?
Did we… win?
I'm already a dead person, so can't you at least tell me that much? It would feel a little unsettled to set off for the afterlife without knowing.
……Still no answer, I guess.
That was when it came.
“Wouldn't it be better to see it with your own two eyes after all?”
The same voice I had heard when receiving the blessing.
The Goddess.
Without thinking I turned my head toward the sound.
I don't know why. Maybe simple curiosity—wanting to see her face just once.
Anyway, I turned.
And—
“…Huh?”
“I think I made the right choice selecting you after all.”
That was—
“I'll be counting on you.”
—me. Maria.
“My———”
….
……Ah.
I opened my eyes. The ceiling of a tent filled my vision.
What happened? Did I not die? Or has heaven's latest trend become living in tents?
I tried to sit up so I could at least get a handle on the situation.
“…Uh.”
My body wouldn't move.
Move. Move, damn it. Please!
The moment I forced every scrap of will into making my limbs obey, white-hot agony tore through my entire body.
“Ah, aaaaaah, aaaaaaaah!!!!!”
It hurts it hurts it hurts so much it feels like every single muscle is being ripped apart!!!!
I want to thrash and twist from the pain but since nothing will move it feels like I'm going to die even harder!!!!
While I was screaming my throat raw, a translucent window appeared right in front of my eyes.
The Fairy of Bombardment asks whether you honestly expected your body to be fine after pulling a stunt like that.
“Aaaaaah!! Aaaah!!! Aaaaaaaaah!!!!”
The Fairy of Bombardment rebukes that if you are a Saintess, you should at least speak like a proper human being.
I desperately wanted to snap back that if it were her being diced to ribbons by a thousand blades she wouldn't be speaking like a human either—but the pain was so overwhelming I couldn't get a single word out.
At least it didn't seem I was dead. If I were dead and still hurt this badly, the world would be truly unfair and miserable.
As I forced myself to stay still, the pain gradually began to ebb, just a little.
Panting, I closed my eyes for a moment.
“…I shouldn't have used it.”
If I'd known it would hurt this much, I would have held back more.
To think that charging in so completely without a second thought would leave this kind of aftermath. I was drowning in regret.
I wanted to know how everything had turned out, yet I couldn't move an inch.
That said, I had zero desire to feed that arrogant Fairy of Bombardment's ego.
If I asked, she'd almost certainly lace the explanation with a mountain of unnecessary nagging.
In that case—
“I-Is anyone there?!”
I forced my voice as loud as it would go, desperately calling for anyone who might be outside.
Immediately the tent flap was thrown open and someone rushed in.
“Y-You've woken up? Are you all right?!”
“Ah, Andreus. I'm… not all right, no. My body won't move at all.”
I managed an awkward little smile as I said it. Andreus—himself wrapped head to toe in bandages—let out a long, heavy sigh.
“Saintess. I apologize for saying this, but… if I had reached your location even a little later.”
“If?”
“No matter how much holy power I poured into treating you, unlucky and you would have died. Even with the best possible luck, you would have been confirmed never to walk again for the rest of your life.”
“…What?”
Apparently my condition had been far more critical than I had imagined.