Chapter 62
Translator: penny
Chapter: 62
Chapter Title: Great Sin (5)
The black storm swirling around lifted the debris of the lord's castle into the sky, and before it could rain down across the city, a red lightning bolt flashed.
Krraaaack—! A blinding flash soared high, reducing all those remnants to ash in an instant.
It was a battle that truly rent the heavens and overturned the earth. Against a demon duke, the damage was actually on the lighter side.
"……Ah, ugh."
Amid all this, one woman was suffering from a reason utterly divorced from the fight itself.
Isabel tried her best to heal her wounds calmly, but she couldn't stop her face from flushing red.
Evan's words from just moments ago still echoed relentlessly in her mind. Her heart spun in dizzying turmoil, leaving her unable to regain any composure.
'M-Mom...? Me, Evan's...?'
She knew she had to at least stabilize her internal injuries and join that precarious battle up above.
But in this haze of confusion, she kept forgetting that most obvious imperative.
It was as if the gravity of the situation slipped her mind for fleeting moments. And since yesterday had been the day she'd shared that intimate act with Evan, it hit even harder.
'At this rate, all the scolding I gave Israfeel last time is for nothing...!'
Isabel squeezed her eyes shut tight, berating herself fiercely. What had she said to Israfeel back then, when the girl had harbored lustful feelings toward Evan?
She vaguely remembered unleashing some pretty harsh words—even calling her an incestuous rapist.
Now, it left Isabel unable to tell what made her any different from Israfeel.
A double standard, perhaps. The circumstances differed slightly, but the end result was the same. Isabel's expression crumbled in abject despair.
'Of course... I wasn't entirely unaware.'
It had been a full decade living alongside Evan and Israfeel. How could she not recognize their dynamic after all that time?
If anything, she knew full well she'd occupied a position like their parent.
She'd always been the one scolding and looking after them—and truth be told, she didn't entirely hate it.
But declaring it so boldly in a moment like this was another matter entirely. Isabel found herself resenting Evan for it.
—"I don't know what went down in that alley, but if you had to hit the lord's castle anyway... wouldn't it have made more sense to link up with me first?"
Especially since it was the first time Evan had ever scolded her like that.
Resentment, guilt, spite, and gloom all swirled together, surging wildly within her.
"Hngh, uu..."
Isabel made every effort to cool her burning face. But it felt like she'd long passed the point where sheer willpower could help.
Either way, she was in no position to let filthy thoughts stain her mind any longer.
This was an emergency. She couldn't afford to waste mental energy on depraved fantasies.
She needed to heal her internal wounds and rush to Evan's aid. His prowess was awe-inspiring...
'...but even that won't be enough.'
His opponent was simply too formidable. A demon duke capable of toppling nations single-handedly.
And with a grand magus as its contractor, it could wield nearly its full power.
Evan alone stood no chance of victory. Even with her help, claiming triumph over that thing would be a stretch.
"Hngh, mmph..."
As she purged the demonic energy infiltrating her body, Isabel's complexion visibly stabilized at a rapid pace.
Yet the anxiety twisting her features showed no sign of easing. If anything, her mind grew cluttered with stray thoughts as time dragged on.
If Israfeel were here instead, could she have done something different?
'...Composure...'
It was a pointless hypothetical, but Isabel couldn't shake her inferiority complex that easily.
Israfeel was strong. Incredibly so. And Isabel knew it better than anyone.
Some might rank her on par with Israfeel... but that was only half right. There was a gap.
Which was why she couldn't help wishing Israfeel were here in her place.
But.
'...Get it together, Isabel.'
What a foolish thought. She was the one here in the city right now.
The Pope had said the swamp was even more dangerous than Duke Rayhem's territory. Israfeel was likely facing her own crisis by now.
And here, the only one with the strength to match her and aid Evan was Isabel herself.
"...Tsk."
Soon, Isabel quietly lifted her closed eyelids. Golden lightning flickered in her pupils.
The distracting thoughts cluttering her mind swiftly lost their grip and scattered as her divine power stabilized.
After all, she was a cleric who had reached her own pinnacle. She knew how to regain crystal clarity even amid turmoil.
Clink—
She gripped her crescent blade once more from where it lay beside her. With a faint metallic ring, golden divine power rippled along the pristine edge.
Her now-calm eyes first fixed on the decrepit old man in the distance.
'Duke Rayhem.'
Demon summoning differed fundamentally from standard summoning magic. Killing the sorcerer wouldn't dispel it, unlike with spirits or familiars.
Still, the summoner steadily supplied the demon with power—an indisputable fact.
And in this scenario, that grand magus himself made for a rather troublesome foe.
The moment judgment crystallized, hesitation vanished. Isabel kicked off the ground.
Boom!
"...What?!"
She cleaved through the air, closing the distance in a blink. Duke Rayhem, regenerating wounds from Evan, whipped his head around with bulging eyes.
Slash—!!
Even at lofty heights, the foes Duke Rayhem faced were anything but soft.
A single slicing sound, and he watched his remaining arm float away.
"...Gaaaaahhh!"
Pain arrived a half-beat later. A magus's reaction speed was a perennial weakness—especially against one of the continent's top warriors.
"Time to die, Dietrich."
"Ghk...! W-Wait...!"
No matter what new realms he'd attained through demonic power, it meant nothing now.
Isabel's eyes gleamed coldly as she raised her blade, and Duke Rayhem desperately cried out.
Not that she'd heed such pleas... even if there were time for them.
"Gr-Grand Duke! Help—!"
So he wailed for the demon he'd contracted with. He couldn't handle Isabel on his own.
His solar plexus still gaped from Evan's punch, to boot.
With both arms severed, he had no way to block her blade alone.
[Kyaaaaak!]
Behemoth had no desire to lose its contractor either. It whipped around with lightning reflexes, despite its massive bulk.
"Where do you think you're going?"
[...!?]
Kaboom!!!
The next instant, Evan's punch sent it crashing into the ground in a pathetic heap.
It seemed unscathed, staggering up quickly by bracing against the earth.
Slash—
That was enough. Isabel swung her blade coldly, and Duke Rayhem's head hit the dirt—demonic energy and all.
Thud, roll... A pitifully ignoble end for the lord of these vast lands.
"No prayers for your soul, traitor."
Isabel loathed killing, but that creed held no sway here.
This was the man who'd plotted to offer clerics as playthings to demons.
He'd even voiced his filthy desire to make her his sex slave. Severing his head brought not a shred of guilt.
[───────!!]
"...Tch!"
Right then, Behemoth's roar at its contractor's death flung Evan from his perch in the sky.
Thud! A heavy impact echoed, but Evan burst from the dust cloud, springing to his feet.
Quite hale for a vertical drop from on high.
Isabel kicked the headless corpse aside and hurried to his side.
Evan noticed her approach and turned.
Isabel let out a relieved sigh.
"Good thing I didn't arrive too late. You don't look too badly hurt."
"Took a few hits here and there, Mom."
"...".
Evan's cheeky retort sealed Isabel's lips on reflex.
Seeing her reaction, Evan smirked. Clearly deliberate.
Isabel's gaze chilled.
"...Having fun, Evan?"
"Ahem... Sorry."
Evan tucked tail swiftly. This wasn't the time for jokes anyway.
Just then, Behemoth lumbered over, upheaving the ground with each step, drawing both their eyes.
[...Grrrrrr...]
It growled low, visibly enraged. The demonic aura leaking out sharpened noticeably.
Evan cloaked his fist in red energy, and Isabel readjusted her grip on the blade.
She aimed the unwavering tip at Behemoth and murmured.
"Once this fight's over... we need to have a serious talk, Evan."
"...I've got things to say too, but doesn't that sound like a death flag?"
"A death... what?"
Isabel furrowed one brow and glanced at him. Evan chuckled dryly and shook his head.
"Nothing. As you say, Isabel."
"...Hmph. No fun."
His oddly suspicious response narrowed her eyes, but given the circumstances, she let it slide for now.
First things first: take down that demon duke.
Isabel schooled her features into solemn focus and began emanating golden radiance.
"I'll finish it. Buy me some time, Evan."
"Wouldn't have it any other way."
Evan replied and clenched his fist tight. He then swung it straight at the giant towering above.
Flash—!!
[...!]
The red meteor that had first torn into Behemoth's face launched once more.
This time surging upward from below, rather than raining down from above.