The Remaining Ones (7)
The Remaining Ones (7)
By the time Melanie arrived, there were no survivors left.
Alina collapsed on the spot upon seeing the refugees' tents, all completely burned.
"What... is this...?"
Melanie looked with bewildered eyes at the figure confronting Lili.
Though it was quite grotesquely distorted, that was unmistakably Lancelot.
"Oh, you've arrived as well."
Seer Murgan stood beside Lancelot and greeted Melanie.
Behind her, Imperial Knights who seemed to have come from the capital were visible.
"Ah, you seem surprised to see Lancelot-nim again? Under His Majesty the Emperor's will, the Empire's greatest guardian has opened his eyes once more to face the Demon God."
"Uuugh..."
Lancelot groaned with a dry voice, as if he hadn't drunk water for a long time.
No matter how many times she looked, this was no returned hero.
"Don't make me laugh...! You call that opening his eyes? You used the same sorcery as Professor Jerahl!"
"Hmm, it would be problematic to view this as the same crude technique. Lancelot-nim is not some moving corpse. He is clearly alive."
"What...?"
"Well, wouldn't it be an entity driven by endless greed for life?"
Melanie realized Murgan was talking about the Demon God Gula.
The delicious food that made Gula turn his steps was none other than Lancelot himself.
"You brought Lancelot here because of Gula?"
"We must eliminate the Demon God for the Empire's sake. Both redirecting the Demon God's steps away from innocent places and slaying that Demon God should be easy tasks for Lancelot-nim."
"If it's to deal with the Demon God, why kill these refugees? These people weren't heading to the capital! If you'd waited just a bit longer, they would have gone elsewhere!"
"You seem to have a slight misunderstanding. This is something Lancelot-nim did of his own judgment, following no one's orders."
"What does that..."
"It seems Lancelot-nim considered them 'enemies threatening the Empire.' After all, Lancelot-nim is a knight who eliminates the Empire's foes."
"Uuugh...!"
Lancelot roared, the blood vessels in his eyes bulging.
It was impossible to tell if he agreed with Murgan's words or not.
"A threat to the Empire?! The ones threatening the Empire are the demonkin! These were all humans! What happens when humans kill humans!"
"This, this isn't something a knight should do! Unilaterally massacring the weak is not honorable!"
Lili and Pia both flared up and shouted simultaneously.
A woman who sought to protect people from demonkin, and a woman who, however falsely, had once admired the greatest knight.
However, it was unclear if their words were reaching Lancelot.
Murgan approached Melanie and whispered in her ear.
"Just because I decided to observe you doesn't mean I've abandoned my plan to kill all the Demon Gods. Lancelot will kill Gula."
"Ugh...!"
"However, this is also quite a deviation from my plan. You probably know better than anyone why I'm pushing myself to this extent."
Because she had contacted Yuri.
Of course, Murgan hadn't precisely identified the entity named Yuri, but she at least suspected that Melanie had met someone interfering with her plans.
"Ugh...?!"
Murgan suddenly frowned and looked back.
Lancelot was trembling all over, staring directly at Melanie.
"Thiiis womaaan... womaaan...!"
"Lancelot-nim, calm down. This person is a mercenary we hired. She is not an enemy."
"A womaaan... who commmuunniiccaateess with the Deemmonn Gooodd...!"
"Kuh... Why is he suddenly like this...!"
"What? What's happening?"
There was no time for Murgan to answer.
Wreathed in flames like the sun, Lancelot's sword shot forward like a cannonball, reaching the space between Melanie's eyes.
"...!"
"Melanie!"
If Lili, who flew over with astonishing reaction speed, hadn't kicked Lancelot in the side and sent him flying, that sword would have split Melanie's skull in half.
"Yooouuu chiiildiiish... baaastaaard... of the Empeerooor——!!!!"
"Hey! Why is he acting like that! Weren't you controlling him..."
Melanie, who had nearly died, tried to grab Murgan by the collar, but she was no longer there.
Murgan exchanged a few words with the knights in the distance and then began moving away from the scene.
"You damn bitch! Shouldn't you clean this up before leaving!"
[Control failed, I see.]
A voice spoke in her head.
It wasn't Luxuria, but the Demon God of Avarice, Avaritia.
[Bringing the dead back to life. Indeed. That woman is certainly...]
'Th-that talk can wait! Explain what you mean by control failed!'
[No, I'm curious, who is that woman...]
[You said talk later, so talk later we shall. That woman Murgan probably revived Lancelot thinking he was just human strong very. But that's not it. Lancelot is a <distortion>.]
[Yes. Even now, it's enough to turn one's stomach.]
Luxuria had just finished vomiting profusely after seeing Lancelot.
[One can utilize a Distortion, but it's a power one cannot fully understand, so there are limits. Just as Luxuria can attach things to her body but cannot remove them.]
It meant that because he was a Distortion, Murgan couldn't control Lancelot perfectly.
Through the recent attack, Melanie keenly felt that Lancelot was still more than deserving of the title humanity's strongest.
It was still difficult to guarantee victory with their current forces.
But Melanie had one remaining method.
"Lili! Pia! We have to hold out here!"
"Empeerooor——!!!!"
Lancelot's brilliant flames erupted like a volcano and surged toward Melanie.
But the flames suddenly changed direction, heading toward Pia, who was far away.
"Kgugh...!"
The torrent of flames engulfed Pia, and she wrapped herself in a dark aura to withstand the attack.
Seeing that, Melanie realized Pia had chosen the class.
That was why she had abandoned the sword and used a spear after becoming Avaritia's Chosen One.
【Scream of the Black Swamp】
Black mud generated beneath Lancelot bubbled and boiled, forming a quagmire.
Lancelot immediately flung himself backward to escape the mire, but it wasn't enough.
— Kyaaaaah!!!!
"Kguoooh?!"
Black, lip-like forms sprang from the mire, gaping open, and a deafening black shockwave exploded forth.
The scream didn't stop at attacking the ears; it shredded Lancelot's skin to pieces and momentarily drove back the flames he had created.
"Die again, you disgusting pervert bastard!"
Lili charged at the off-balance Lancelot and unleashed a fist wreathed in dark energy.
The punch sank into his abdomen, and dark energy erupted from Lancelot's back.
"Kghheook...!"
While his raw power might be the same, his speed had decreased significantly compared to before.
Lili thought she had a good chance of winning, but the next instant, she reversed that thought.
Despite landing a direct hit, not a single wound appeared on Lancelot's body.
"Wh-what is this hardness... Ugh?!"
"Womaaan... womaaan...!"
Lancelot's arm bent through numerous joints, moving like a snake's body, and grabbed Lili's arm.
Just as Lili's face paled at the thought she would turn to ashes if she couldn't break free immediately—
"Waang~"
Something flying at a speed barely visible to the eye collided violently with Lancelot's body.
Lancelot, who had lost his grip on Lili, tumbled roughly across the ground with the entity.
Each time he bounced off the ground after flying several meters, a huge crater formed alongside the explosions Lancelot caused.
After repeating this collision several times, finally, that someone completely crushed Lancelot.
Crunch!
Teeth sank into Lancelot's nape, and blood spurted out like a fountain.
The revived strongest knight of humanity convulsed briefly before going limp.
[Even someone like him probably can't do anything if he's caught off guard like that and has his throat torn out by Gula.]
"Gula... Is that woman the Demon God Gula?"
[Yes. She's certainly a formidable one when it comes to destructive power.]
After just a few bites, Lancelot's neck completely disappeared, separating his head from his torso.
Gula chewed the hard bones and tough muscles effortlessly, as if eating soft bread.
Having just tested how resilient that body was, Lili could only marvel at the Demon God's superior jaw strength.
"Munch munch... Hmm... What is this? The smell was amazing, but the taste is really... Kehk?!"
Gula, who had been grimacing and complaining, suddenly grabbed her own throat and groaned.
"Wh-what the, crazy, what did, they put, in the food...! Kehhek?!"
[Gula seems to be in distress. Melanie. Quickly make contact with Gula...]
"Ah, Lancelot-nim. Truly a noble second sacrifice."
Murgan, who had disappeared somewhere during Lancelot's rampage, reappeared leading the knights.
But Gula showed no reaction to the changes around her, only suffering in agony, and Melanie felt a sense of dissonance.
"You... You put something inside Lancelot's body. From the beginning, to feed it to the Demon God...!"
"That is correct. Since he had already been defeated by a Demon God once, a sure method was necessary. Now then, everyone, in the name of His Majesty the Emperor..."
"W-wait a moment!"
"...What is it? Surely you aren't planning to interfere with slaying the Demon God? That can't be, right?"
"Kuh...!"
Melanie, who could only move according to Luxuria's will, had to protect Gula.
But if she tried to protect Gula here, it would be tantamount to admitting she was a Demon God worshipper in front of all these knights.
Watching Melanie, unable to do either, Murgan smiled faintly.