126. Declaration of War
126. Declaration of War
Unable to stomach the insult any longer, he flew into a rage and lunged at me.
Through the cracked mask, I glimpsed his face burning with fury.
"You... you heretical scum...!!! You've been possessed by an angel...?!"
"Wow, you're really spouting some delusional bullshit... Me, possessed by an angel?"
"Fine... I don't need it...!! Even if my Authority doesn't work on you....!!"
"When Belphegor can't use his Dominion Authority, his combat ability drops below that of even a high-ranking demon... How do you think it is for you, his Magically Infected Human?"
At the unrelenting provocation, the Demon Archbishop, boiling over with rage, screamed, coughing blood.
"[[I, alone, am the mightiest warrior!!!]]"
In a final, desperate thrash, Belphegor commanded himself.
[[Haaaaaaaaagh!!!]]
The Demon Archbishop, having turned his Authority upon himself, began to transform with a tremendous surge of power.
His body swelled until his once-baggy robe looked like a tiny shirt, and from between the collars, tentacles tipped with unidentifiable thorns sprouted and stretched out.
The shattered mask fused with his head, transforming as if it were a part of his actual body.
A crimson glare flickered within the eye sockets of the skull.
It was a visage reminiscent of the descending Belphegor.
He had become a form befitting Belphegor's Magically Infected Human.
[[Faithful servants of my lord, aid me...!!!]]
His mouth moved, but the words no longer came out as speech.
His thoughts, laden with Authority, spread in all directions, binding the weaker-willed magical beasts.
The magical beasts released for the Hunting Festival and the ogres and other beasts personally drawn in by the Demon Archbishop were all seized by the Dominion Authority and drawn this way.
It felt like being a single piece of candy dropped into the middle of an ant nest.
"Atlas... Let me help too..."
Liber tried to stand behind me with his sword drawn, but I refused and pressed the Sacred Orb into his hands.
I had already changed it so that instead of charging up my Aura and releasing it all at once, it would discharge little by little.
Prioritizing the protection of those who couldn't move right now was the better option.
"Urgh... My head hurts... I'm not sure what the... situation is, but did that Magically Infected Human... attack the Academy?"
The Headmaster, who had been under such a strong Authority that it rendered him unconscious, seemed to be suffering a headache.
He said he'd help in his own way, but he was a nuisance.
"Old man, you're a nuisance, so get lost over there."
"Wh-what...?! I'm a nuisance??"
"Headmaster-nim, I'm not confident I can subdue you without hurting you if that bastard controls you again, so stay back."
Facing the Magically Infected Human, my Aura Blade began to shine even brighter.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
[[I'll show you what I'm truly made of...!!!]]
Black Demonic Energy tore across the Black Forest.
Belphegor's Magically Infected Human was holding out much longer than the imperfectly descended Belphegor himself had.
It seemed the ability to use his Authority to command magical beasts as his limbs was a major factor.
He was a demon whose specialty was restricting his opponent's movements with the beasts under his dominion while launching powerful long-range attacks.
The magical beasts, gathered from who-knows-where, surged forward like a tide.
Even the growing plants were dark-toned magical beasts native to the gloomy Black Forest, swarming like a pitch-black horde of ants, while behind them, Belphegor's Magically Infected Human indiscriminately fired off Demonic Energy.
With his physical abilities drastically enhanced, Belphegor's Magically Infected Human widened the distance between us at an incomparable speed.
It appeared he was convinced that if I got close, he'd have no way of avoiding my blade.
But what did any of that matter?
-Seogeok!
[[Kyaaaaaagh!!!]]
No matter how much he tried to widen the gap, the result was the same.
The Magically Infected Human's thick arm and tentacles flew through the air.
He had bulked up his body, but frankly, my only impression was that the hits felt a little more satisfying.
With combat ability barely on par with a highest-ranking demon, at best, he could not oppose a Master.
Forcibly regenerating his severed body parts, Belphegor's Magically Infected Human cried out as if it were unfair.
[[How... how do you keep catching up to me!!]]
Though well over a hundred magical beasts stood between me and Belphegor's Magically Infected Human, it was as if he was just a single step away; he could not flee.
I hadn't even used my Law.
I had simply cut down every magical beast and every attack of Demonic Energy that tried to block my path and advanced straight toward him.
"Belphegor, you stupid, unteachable demon. You're listening to me through that Magically Infected Human, aren't you? I'll tell you one more time, so listen carefully."
I gripped Squete with both hands and drew it back.
I was going to use my family's Secret Swordsmanship.
Titan's swordsmanship had been steeped in nothing but unpleasant memories of anger, pain, and oppression,
but the only swordsmanship I knew that could most effectively unleash what was boiling up inside my heart right now was Titan's Secret Swordsmanship.
"Huuuup...!!"
I drew in a breath with all my might.
The Essences in my dantian activated, drawing in mana from the ground and from the atmosphere.
Harnessing the full power of the earth and the sky is the fundamental principle of Titan's inherited Secret Swordsmanship, the Sword of Taesan.
A great mountain, they say, must be a grand structure that harmonizes heaven and earth — or whatever.
The gathered mana circulated through my body,
and though my body stood perfectly still, a power beyond any description surged within me, whirling faster than anything else.
The rapidly circulating mana converted into Aura and coursed throughout my entire body.
With all my strength, I swung Squete upward from the ground and unleashed the colossal force circulating through my body.
'Sword of Taesan, Blade Mountains.'
-Hwoong..!!!!
A 'mountain' erupted from the earth's surface.
The slash of the Aura Blade, pushed to its extreme, arced from the ground toward the sky, and the earth and sand caught in the momentum of the strike soared high into the heavens.
The image of the strike, rising from the surface to the sky, resembled the Blade Mountains, the most famous mountain range in the Empire.
[[Gryaaaaaaaaaagh!!!!]]
Belphegor's Magically Infected Human screamed.
Inside the slash, as massive as a mountain range, the Aura raged like a waterfall, not simply bisecting the Magically Infected Human's body, but tearing and disintegrating it until its form was unrecognizable.
It was a rather empty death.
The soil and sand, which had risen to the ends of the sky, came crashing down with a thunderous noise.
I looked at the spot where the Magically Infected Human had stood, now without a single trace remaining, and spoke.
"Belphegor... I don't care if you vow never to invade this side again. Because even if I have to chase you to hell, I will absolutely, without fail, kill you. So wait for me."
Since the Magically Infected Human was dead, he probably hadn't heard what I just said.
But, well, it didn't matter.
What I just said wasn't a request for agreement; it was a formal notification, after all.
--------------------
The moment the Demon Archbishop disguised as a professor revealed his true colors, Casey thought of just one thing.
Protecting the students as asked,
that was the only thing on her mind.
The Demon Archbishop possessed the Dominion Authority.
He dominated the magical beasts and dominated the Headmaster and Andy, making them attack everyone.
The magical beasts were all weak specimens, so it didn't matter how many of them came at her, but the Headmaster and the students, who were occasionally dominated for a few seconds by his Authority, were a different problem.
She couldn't just comfortably chop them into pieces like the magical beasts.
She took several hits from the Headmaster's magic in the students' stead.
A rock magic spell from a suddenly dominated student struck her in the back.
She should have worn her armor if it was going to be like this.
When her stance crumbled, Andy cut her.
She would never forgive Andy.
Even if he came back to his senses, she would not forgive him.
She was being driven further into a corner, but since she knew little, she couldn't find the answer to what she was supposed to do here.
All she did was endure as much as her body could handle.
At some point, the feeling in her body dulled, and her head stopped working.
Was it because she'd been hit too many times?
She couldn't even speak properly.
She missed him.
When she was sick as a child... he had always nursed her by her side.
When she got lost, he had come to find her.
She'd thought that day would be the same.
When he'd left only a single letter and disappeared, she'd thought it was just a prank.
She'd thought he'd reappear soon.
But after that, he had truly vanished without a trace.
Having centered her entire life around Atlas, she fell apart after that.
Where had he gone? Why had he abandoned only her and left?
He'd said he would stay with her, so why had he disappeared alone?
She couldn't sleep properly.
She'd always slept in the same room, but the spot beside her was so terribly cold.
She wished he could be by her side again.
She would be a good kid, so she just wished he could stay by her side.
"Casey... you little runt...!!"
"Ah... He came...?"
When she opened her eyes to the familiar voice, Atlas was holding her hand.
"I did... what you asked... Did I do... well...?"
"Yeah, you did well. You're far better than the other knights..."
He wasn't just holding her hand. She was cradled in his arms.
He hadn't held her like this in years... Was she dreaming right before she died?
But even if it was a dream, it was a pretty good one.
If that were the case, it would be okay to act a little more spoiled, right?
"I did... well? I'll listen to everything you say... so please... don't abandon me... this time...
I... without you... I don't know what to do..."
With a desperate effort, she buried herself in Atlas's arms and sobbed.
It wasn't a very broad embrace, but it was a comfortable one.
"That won't ever happen... so just go to sleep now, okay?"
"Okay..."
For the first time in a long while, she felt like she could fall asleep peacefully.