2-19 Subjugation of the Seed of Ruin (Priestess Kana - Pussy Peek-a-boo, Please Eat Me Up♥) (1)
『KAAAAAAAACK!!!』
The flying Seed of Ruin—Jabberwocky—howls into the sky.
The monster rolls its grotesque eyeballs, scanning every corner of the Holy Light Kingdom. It twists its lips upward in disgust at the goddess statues placed throughout the city and the good people still more accustomed to peace.
Suuuuck—
The beast draws in a deep, deep breath, tilting its head back. Its emaciated body swells bizarrely in the chest cavity.
Dragon Breath.
The ultimate skill of Jabberwocky, a creature with the attributes of both demon and dragon despite its devilish form. It intends to fire this skill as a brilliant signal flare of flames upon the goddess and her faithful city below.
-I will die, and the Seed of Ruin will revive.
-I saw the city burning in Jabberwocky's flames.
Coincidentally, the prophecy that the 1st Saintess claimed to have seen is on the verge of coming true right here and now.
Fwoooooosh—!!
The dragon's breath, fully charged, erupts from Jabberwocky.
Directly below in that sector were the homes of pious citizens and an orphanage where children gathered. They would have been incinerated and vaporized from the land itself by the demon-dragon's flames—but.
"......!!"
Yet the dragon's fire doesn't reach the buildings or the ground. It's blocked by a sacred barrier floating in midair, shielding them.
Jabberwocky's eyes roll wildly, searching for the priest who deployed the barrier.
It wasn't hard to find. Massive holy power was still emanating from her body. Like moonlight piercing the darkness of night, her presence made her immediately noticeable.
"I won't... let you...!"
3rd Saintess Lemon. Her sacred barrier spell protects the city and the innocent people below.
Jabberwocky whips its head toward Lemon even as it exhales. The immense flames and heat surge to incinerate the saintess.
The fire is still blocked, but it's obvious the sacred barrier is being eroded and burned away in real time.
The 3rd Saintess's authority is healing and defense. She's exceptional at both, but her level is still only 3.
In contrast, Jabberwocky's provisional potential up in the sky is Lv.7. No matter how cheat-like the goddess's authority is, she can't hold out.
It's going to break...!
Lemon herself can clearly feel it. Just as she senses her hard-won life hanging in the balance once more—
Shwaaaah—!
A crimson stream of blood shoots out from behind her. It touches Lemon's barrier, spreading rapidly along it to reinforce and support the crumbling shield.
"Why are you so reckless?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"
"...Sharon!"
It was Sharon who appeared behind her. Using her blood authority, she bolsters Lemon's defense.
A saintess's blood repels evil and deals extra damage to ruin-attribute targets. That's why they can withstand Jabberwocky's breath right now.
She's using enough blood to blanket the sky, but Sharon's complexion remains fine. Her blood authority also grants her far superior regeneration and healing to Lemon's—but only for her own body.
She can instantly repair even near-fatal wounds, revive as long as it's not instant death. Even if her heart is ripped out, her body will automatically create a new one to sustain her life.
"You're not alone anymore. If you die—"
"...I know."
Lemon briefly lowers her eyes, then looks back up at Jabberwocky.
"I know I should be careful. But I probably would've done the same thing anyway."
"......."
"So please protect me, Sharon. Not for my sake, but for Gaon-sama's. ...Can I ask you to?"
Lemon smiles mischievously like a cheeky kid. Sharon sighs at the sight.
They hadn't had much chance to talk before. She'd only admired her from afar.
Many people frowned on saintesses colluding. But after living together these past few days—and seeing her bold actions now—Sharon thinks maybe she's a bit different from what she imagined.
Not that she minds.
"...Fine!! If you die, I'll kill you myself!!"
Sharon joins Lemon in gazing skyward.
The barrier they've woven together is on the verge of shattering.
But before that, Jabberwocky's flames flicker out first.
The immense heated breath fades, leaving a quiet silence.
Moments later, their barrier shatters like glass and scatters, as if on cue.
But it's not over.
Jabberwocky inhales deeply once more.
The precursor to unleashing its breath again. This time, its body swells even larger than before.
It's clear this one will be even stronger.
As the dragon's breath gathers to spew forth again, the two saintesses brace tensely for the attack.
The Saintess of Protection murmurs prayers. The Saintess of Blood draws fresh blood to envelop the area.
In that brief standoff, as if competing who moves first—
Suddenly, an explosion erupts on Jabberwocky's flank.
"...!?"
The explosions don't stop at one or two. Holy flames and invisible mana blasts rain down.
Fired from the ground, they relentlessly assail the flying monster to drag it down.
The disrupted beast turns its head that way.
The attacks come from the church's direction. Gathered there are the priests and holy knights on standby.
They unleash their skills and holy magic to drive away the goddess's foe and the city's enemy.
"Goddess, oh Goddess, bless those who trust in you, those who seek to protect your beloved flock. Guard us, we pray."
Leading them is none other than the 1st Saintess.
Even before Jabberwocky fully appeared, amid the chaos of the sudden earthquake, she swiftly gathered what knights and priests she could and positioned them optimally for interception, launching an immediate assault.
A vivid formation array etches itself around the 1st Saintess. Those standing within it, those teetering on its precarious edge—all their bodies glow with sacred golden light.
The 1st Saintess's authority is blessing and curse. She fully utilizes the goddess's blessing to empower the holy knights and priests here.
Low-tier priests and knights gain mid-tier power. Mid-tier ones ascend to high-tier.
Flames that would normally only dispel minor ghosts now become powerful fireballs even a beast of that size can't ignore.
"Fear not! Advance! For you are the warriors of the Goddess!! She stands with you!!"
Her clarion voice rings out, intensifying the light enveloping the holy knights.
Bathed in the goddess's blessing and grace, they forget their fear for a moment, swept instead by an unprecedented sense of omnipotence. With mighty roars, they charge forward.
Jabberwocky spews its gathered flames not at the saintesses, but at the puny priests and knights swarming like flies.
But the immense conflagration is blocked—just like before, no, even more solidly—by the barrier of blood and light.
Sharon and Lemon's magic shields the knights and nearby residents.
Their bodies now shimmer with golden light and scatter luminous particles—something absent before. The 1st Saintess's blessing has reached them too.
Reinforced by the blessing, their barriers grow stronger than before, expanding in range and intensity.
Jabberwocky's flames fail to reach anyone.
The even fiercer breath scatters against the saintesses' protection, and the wall that safely blocks it shatters and disperses like before.
—KUAAAAAAAACK!
Jabberwocky bellows in rage. Its dragon breath, meant to raze the masses and city—blocked twice, even at full power.
It can't burn them. Abandoning that, Jabberwocky decides to descend and slaughter them with its talons.
Its claws will shred those sacred armors and soft flesh, its horrific fangs will tear out their torsos, devouring the goddess-infused meat and blood it loathes so much.
As it roars and shifts its angle to dive—
Before it can steady itself, the saintess's chant resounds.
As if she knew it all already. As if she'd seen the entire future.
Impeccably perfect timing. Seamless, without a single wasted moment.
"O Goddess whom we gaze upon in the lofty heavens."
"O holy divinity reigning in the exalted skies."
⟨ Your Chosen Daughter Prays ⟩
Prayers and praises rise to the heavens. With the 1st Saintess's incantation, an anomaly manifests in the sky.
Higher than the Seed of Ruin Jabberwocky—a radiant aurora illuminates the heavens.
The light banishes the night like the sun itself.
The form materializing is a colossal cross. No—it's the shape of the cross-spear the goddess holds.
The goddess of war and abundance wields weapons or farming tools in her hands at times.
"This body stained with fear, dread, and shame. Yet humbly, I pray to our great Goddess."
In ancient tales, the goddess brought abundance to the land while repelling invaders with the weapon in her hand.
One legend tells of her piercing a massive church dragon's body with her cross-spear and pinning it to the ground for eternal seal.
The knights and priests witnessing the light—and the citizens peering fearfully from the streets—all recall that legend identically.
"Let not your great enemy dare raise its head."
And.
The 1st Saintess points her hand skyward.
As if designating the goddess's foe, her slender fingertip aims at the hideous monster above.
In that instant, the spear of light plummets.
Enormous enough for the whole city to see, the massive light targets Jabberwocky—who was diving for the knights below—and pierces it in one thrust.
『―――――!!』
The monster.
The Seed of Ruin crashes down.
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