Divine and Sword
A distorted space appeared at the location the spirit had indicated. From within it, a figure presumed to be one of the kidnappers burst out. Just as the spirit had reported, it seemed he had used a teleportation artifact to flee. I had heard there were three of them, but seeing him alone meant the others had probably been captured by Scarlet.
“Who the hell are you!”
“The guy who came to rescue the elf you’re carrying on your back.”
“You caught up to me without an artifact?”
I had been waiting here from the beginning. If I said that, he would probably ask how I had pinpointed this exact spot. I had no time to waste on small fry, so I stayed silent. After all, the right to ask questions belongs to the strong.
“Kgh! Just a little farther…!”
When I offered no response, the man began backing away before finally turning his back completely. He had decided running was better than fighting. But Aquila, who had been circling overhead, swooped down and blocked his escape route. Then she let out a piercing shriek right in his face.
“Kiiiik!!”
“U-uaaaagh!”
At the griffon’s cry, the man tripped over himself in a pathetic heap. He was nothing more than an ordinary thug who only knew how to run fast. Even his prized legs had gone completely stiff with terror and refused to move. It was the same reaction a human might have when facing a wild bear.
Griffons are carnivorous, but as divine beasts they don’t eat humans.
He lacked even basic common sense. In short, he was an idiot who had learned nothing except kidnapping. I had considered interrogating him for information, but I gave up on the idea. There was no point expecting anything useful from disposable trash like him.
“Aquila, take this guy back to your master.”
“Kiiik!”
True to her intelligent nature, Aquila clamped her beak around the man’s collar. In a single powerful flap she shot upward and flew off in Scarlet’s direction.
I had briefly considered ordering her to take Cattreya as well, but the high elf seemed to have lost consciousness, so I dropped the idea. If she fell midway, it would be a huge pain.
“Guess I’ll have to carry her myself…”
Carrying her in the sack would have been easier, but I worried it might cause unnecessary misunderstandings. I untied the rope securing the sack. Inside was Cattreya, her mind half gone.
Maybe leaving her on the triangle wooden horse for a full hour was a bit much?
I let out a small chuckle. But just as I was about to lift her into my arms, I froze. Someone was walking toward us. They made no attempt to hide their presence—the footsteps were loud and deliberate. When I turned, I saw a man wearing black clerical robes. The symbol of the Silverion Holy Kingdom was embroidered on his clothes.
A priest with narrow, squinting eyes. He stopped a short distance away and greeted me politely.
May the blessings of God be with you. It is a pleasure to meet you, brother. I am called Almat.
“So you’re one of those religious fanatics. Name’s Kadan.”
“Brother Kadan, may I ask what brings you to our Silverion Holy Kingdom? And in the company of such repulsive filth, no less.”
“I came to clean up the filth you’re talking about.”
It was a rude thing to say about Cattreya. Still, I had zero interest in arguing with a priest of the Holy Kingdom over whether elves were objects or filth. I tried to brush him off and quickly take Cattreya away, but Almat raised a hand to stop me.
“Your charitable deed is truly admirable. However, you must leave that filth here.”
“Why? I already said I’d clean it up for you.”
“That filth crossed the border, therefore it now belongs to the Silverion Holy Kingdom. I cannot entrust it to an unknown brother such as yourself. I will handle it personally.”
“So if a thief smuggles treasure from the Yudica Kingdom across the border, that becomes the Holy Kingdom’s property too?”
“Regrettably, yes. Which is why one must guard such things properly from the start, wouldn’t you agree?”
His relaxed, smiling eyes and the casual way he muttered such nonsense as if it were obvious made my skin crawl. The way he spouted complete garbage while trying so hard to sound reasonable killed any desire I had to continue the conversation.
I ignored Almat’s words entirely, scooped Cattreya up in my arms, and hurled her across the border into Yudica Kingdom territory. At the same time, Almat’s expression began to rot.
“There. Now it belongs to the kingdom, right?”
“Brother Kadan, do you even realize what you have just done?”
“Nope.”
“You have stolen property belonging to the Holy Kingdom and thrown it into another nation right before my eyes! You have just confessed to being a thief!”
“And if I did, what are you going to do about it?”
When I answered boldly, Almat let out a stunned laugh. He swept his bangs back and widened his eyes. There wasn’t a trace of warmth in those cold, emotionless pupils.
The great Rahatma has commanded us not to show mercy to sinners.
“So you’re going to kill me while hiding behind your god. Why not just say you’re going to kill me outright? You cultists always have to talk in circles, don’t you?”
“You have crossed the line. Prepare yourself. God will grant no rest to heretics like you!”
“Oh.”
Almat summoned swords forged from divine power and floated them around himself. He must have held some decent rank among the clergy, because he clearly knew how to fight with holy energy.
“Normally this would be the job of an inquisitor, but today I shall carry out the judgment myself.”
“You talk too much. If you’re going to attack, then attack already.”
“Repent beneath the radiant light of Lord Rahatma!”
Almat fired all the holy swords at once. I tracked their trajectories with my eyes and dodged them with ease. For the ones that came from difficult angles, I simply knocked them aside with my own blade.
“You’re still far too slow!”
Almat retrieved the holy swords he had already launched and immediately fired a fresh barrage. There was no gap between the attacks coming from front and back. I had no choice but to deflect every single one.
“This level of…”
Suddenly I caught sight of Almat’s sneering smile and felt a chill run down my spine. I quickly scanned the trajectories again and immediately understood his intention. The holy swords weren’t aimed at me at all. If I ignored them and let them pass, they would strike Cattreya behind me.
“I knew you’d pull something like this, you sneaky bastard.”
I activated my Void Aura and charged forward. Even with aura enhancement, I couldn’t move at the speed of wind or lightning. The specialty of the Void was erasing or devouring existence itself. I thrust my arm out and caught the holy sword flying toward Cattreya on my forearm.
For a split second I felt a pain like my bones and muscles were burning alive. Then the Void Aura wrapped around my forearm, corroded the divine power, and swallowed it whole.
“……Hm?”
The burning pain vanished. Instead, a fierce heat began spreading through my lower body. It didn’t feel painful at all. On the contrary, it started to excite me, and I felt myself growing hard against my will.
What the… is this…?
Thud. Thud. Thud. Crunch─!
“Mmm…!”
The sound of blades sinking into solid flesh. At that noise, Cattreya’s consciousness returned. How long had she been unconscious? Still half-dazed, she rubbed her eyes and looked straight ahead.
The back of a man who looked somehow familiar. She blinked several times before realizing it was Alvin. Her face twisted with rage.
“I remember now! You’re the human who humiliated me!”
The memory of the triangle wooden horse came flooding back. Cattreya immediately reached out to strangle him. But she felt a strange sense of unease and stopped her hand midway.
Alvin stood perfectly still with his back to her. Only when the sounds of impact rang out did his body tremble slightly.
“What exactly are you… Hic!”
Before Alvin were countless holy swords embedded deep in his body. Shoulders, arms, legs, abdomen—almost every part of him had a blade sticking out. It was harder to find a spot that wasn’t pierced. Yet he remained standing in silence. As if he were protecting her.
“W-why would you let yourself get hurt this badly…! Are you alright?!”
Even with her hatred of humans, Cattreya knew how to feel concern for someone who had protected her. The moment she realized Alvin had taken every holy sword in her place, she began to panic.
“S-stop it! I’m fine now! You don’t need to protect me anymore!!”
“Not yet!”
Even as he shouted, Alvin stubbornly remained in the same spot. Meanwhile, Almat laughed with pure delight and continued creating and launching more holy swords. Because Alvin was enduring them all.
“I shall grant you endless agony until that soul of yours burns away completely!”
“Dodge! Hurry!”
“……”
Even after Cattreya regained consciousness, Alvin stood firm in place, glaring at Almat as if he would kill him. That only fueled Almat’s competitive spirit. He wanted to see how long the man could last. He gathered all the holy swords into one massive blade.
Pouring every ounce of his divine power into it, he created a greatsword. Instead of throwing it, he raised it high overhead. With all his strength, he brought the massive blade crashing down toward the top of Alvin’s head.
“This should be enough.”
Crunch─!
Alvin caught the holy greatsword with one hand and casually snapped it in two. The divine power at the broken edge tried to scatter into particles and dissolve into the air. Before it could, Alvin reached out and sucked every last particle into his body.
“Huh…?”
At the same time, all the holy swords embedded in Alvin’s body suddenly turned pitch black. Then, like molten liquid, they melted and were absorbed into his flesh. Simultaneously, Alvin’s eyes began to glow.
“Hup!”
With a powerful shout, the accumulated divine power within Alvin’s body erupted all at once. The blinding explosion of light forced both Almat and Cattreya to squeeze their eyes shut.
After some time, the flash subsided. Both of them slowly opened their eyes. And what they saw left them stunned.
“Rahatma, oh my god!”
“Ugh! Just looking at it makes my womb…!”
Alvin’s towering, rock-hard erection was glowing with sacred, holy light.