Airi's Battle
Honestly, I couldn't care less whether the crown prince or those nobles lived or died. They were nothing but trash that had wounded and burdened my master. Still, given my master's stance and orders, I had no intention of half-assing this.
A few enemies tried to approach through the chaos, but I handled them all without issue. At best, their skills were only slightly better than an orc's. Ah, if this were the old days, I would've swept away vermin like them single-handedly. Damn that brat of a goddess—watching me struggle and laughing every chance she gets. I really wanted to spank that little runt.
"Lightning, become arrows."
Lightning arrows shot from my fingertips, piercing three enemies' abdomens at once. It was my original spell, an enhanced version of the lightning-attribute magic my master favored, with added speed and power. But even if I showed off a spell I'd created myself in front of the genius of magic development that was my master, he wouldn't praise me for it... and the base was still his magic to begin with.
Honestly, there was no point in showing off against small fry who couldn't even block magic. I'd need to take down someone with a bit of real skill if I wanted my master to acknowledge me. The executives of that Black Round Table bunch might earn me some praise. In the old days, I could've handled opponents like that alone...
Frustrated, I stomped my foot.
"Damn brat goddess!"
[You called?]
"Wha—! Shit, you scared me!"
Before I knew it, a crow sent by that brat goddess had perched on my shoulder. The crow flipped over laughing, then spoke in the goddess's voice.
[I went out of my way to visit you while you're busy, and you curse at me? Isn't that a bit much?]
"Why are you here? Did you come to laugh at me after sealing my mana and magic? If anyone overhears me talking to you, it'll be a problem, so get lost."
[No one can hear our conversation anyway, can they? You're being awfully strict with the goddess who even turned back time for you.]
"Who asked you? Why do you keep showing up and causing a scene? Are you interested in me or something?"
At that, the crow started vomiting on the ground. Ah, so this crow had eaten small fish today.
[...My apologies. This crow vomits when it hears disgusting things... Ah, the reason I came isn't anything grand. I just wanted to temporarily release your power seal.]
"What?"
[I'll temporarily release one-tenth of your sealed mana, and two of your contracts with the Spirit Kings.]
I'd learned this lesson thoroughly as a child. Sweet, alluring contracts always came with traps. My master had told me to suspect anyone offering such terms—they were all bastards. And this brat goddess was definitely a bastard.
"...What's the price? You're not the kind of goddess who'd give something like this for free."
[Sharp, aren't you? The price is...]
The crow whispered the price into my ear. It was an infuriating request I couldn't possibly accept, a condition my pride wouldn't allow.
"Get lost. These are just small fry anyway. This is enough for now."
[Hahaha... Is that so...?]
"What the hell do you mean by that all of a sudden—"
Before I could finish, I understood what she meant. A dangerous presence I could feel now. A familiar, repulsive mana. One of those bastards. One of the vermin who had killed my master... So one of them had been part of the Black Round Table.
Before I knew it, a woman in a robe stood before me. She pulled back her hood and spoke.
"My, my~ You killed them quite spectacularly. Those were subordinates I rather liked~ You were definitely Werner's disciple, right? You've got a real talent for being a nuisance."
A beauty with vibrant pink hair and green lipstick—the witch Sibella, who had helped kill my master.
"...Sibella."
"You know my name? Where have we met before? I've watched you from afar, but we've never crossed paths, let alone introduced ourselves."
"Sibella... you bitch..."
"Isn't it a bit rude to treat the name my parents gave me that way?"
"Shut up. You're dying here."
Threats had to be eliminated. I'd wanted to hunt down these pieces of trash, but I'd been too busy with my master. Yet here she was, walking right into my hands. I was both delighted and furious.
"I know you're skilled, but... do you really think you can beat me?"
"Who the hell are you?"
"An executive of the Black Round Table. The one sitting in Galehaut's seat is me—Sibella."
"Oh, is that so."
So what? That didn't change the fact that Sibella was fated to die. My current state would make this tough, though.
"Lightning, become a beast that devours the enemy."
I fired a lightning beast shaped like a gaping maw at Sibella. One hit from this would turn an ogre into barbecue in an instant...
"Hmm... Not bad."
"What?"
"Oh, you didn't know~? My ability is magic devouring... No matter what spell you fire at me, I can absorb it and convert it straight into mana. Mages are no match for me."
When my master fought, he'd driven me outside the barrier, so I hadn't known... How the hell had my master beaten this thing? An enemy that was practically the natural predator of mages?
This was an opponent I couldn't beat in my current state. Damn it, what do I do...
"If you step aside, I won't kill you. I wasn't ordered to kill you."
"How touching. I'm moved to tears."
"So what will you do? Should I go deal with the crown prince who fled inside first? Or... should I head down to the first floor and kill Werner, who seems like he'll get in the way later?"
"....Hey."
"Huh?"
"What did you just say? A filthy whore rolling in the gutter is talking about killing who?"
She was trying to take my master from me again, just like back then... I couldn't let this bitch live.
"Your spirit is impressive, but... do you really think you can beat me with just spirit? That's called recklessness~"
"You know what what you're doing is called? Suicide."
Unfortunately, if I wanted to crush this woman, I'd need to regain at least some of my old power. As expected, the brat goddess hadn't been entirely honest, but I had no choice but to accept her terms.
"Hey, brat goddess. Is that deal still valid?"
The crow perched on my shoulder again and spoke with a laugh.
[Added an extra condition as punishment for your insolence. Spread your arms wide and shout it out.]
"Your personality really is rotten..."
I spread my arms and shouted as the brat goddess instructed.
"O... almighty goddess! Please lend your power to this foolish girl! For I am a powerless and ignorant maiden!"
Ah, damn it... This is so embarrassing... I want to kill that brat goddess right now.
"Has she gone crazy..."
Even Sibella was looking at me like I was insane. The crow clutched its belly with its wings, laughing, then spoke again in that damn goddess's voice.
[Ahaha... Now that I think about it, you're not exactly a 'girl' anymore, are you...? Considering your age before regression, you should probably change the first-person pronoun to...]
"Shut up and give me my power back. Before I actually kill you."
[My, how scary. Yes, yes, understood.]
I could feel a portion of my power returning. The Spirit King contracts that came back were... fire and ice, huh...? I'd have to make do with what I had.
I poured out a denser wave of mana and spoke to Sibella.
"Will you burn to death in flames? Or will your body be torn apart by ice?"
"Why did the quality of your mana suddenly change..."
"Wrong answer. Then you die. Not that you'd have lived even if you guessed right."
"W... wait. My magic devouring can absorb any magic without exception! No matter how powerful the spell—"
"Yeah? Then try absorbing this."
I grabbed both of Sibella's hands. Then I poured mana into them. Come forth, you senile Spirit King grandpa and grandma.
"O flames of the dragon spewed by the Fire Spirit King, burn away evil and restore order this very moment."
"What are you—"
"O breath of the beast exhaled by the Ice Spirit King, freeze all that is impure and overturn it in pure white this very moment."
From my left hand came the samadhi flames spewed by the grandpa Spirit King. From my right came the absolute zero breath exhaled by the grandma Spirit King.
"No matter how powerful the magic, if I absorb it— what? I can't absorb it..."
"They're a bit senile and foolish, those grandpa and grandma... but did you really think you could absorb the fire and cold they spew, you monsters? You're an idiot."
One half of Sibella's body burned fiercely while the other half froze solid. Ah, now that I think about it, I should've just killed her with a sword or my bare hands. I ended up giving that damn brat goddess an entertaining show for nothing.
"Please stop... just kill me..."
"These spells burn and freeze the soul itself... so even after you die, they'll continue... That pain will—"
"No..."
Sibella collapsed mid-sentence. The thought of her suffering even in death filled me with a petty sense of satisfaction. If I could make these bastards suffer, what did a little humiliation matter?
[Well then, service time is over! I'll be taking that power back now.]
"Wait, hey! I went through all that embarrassment for this..."
[I told you. It was only temporary.]
"That 'temporary' was way too short! Hey, you damn brat goddess!"
[See? This is why I do this—calling a goddess a 'brat' and acting so vulgar. You should show a little more piety. Besides, I can't forgive regression privileges. If I gave those out, do you think only one or two people would cause chaos?]
As expected, someday I really wanted to kill this brat goddess. Once everything with my master was settled, that is.