“Oh, he’s fighting well.”
Shekina muttered as she looked up at Lucart in the sky.
Lucart had Lucifer’s neck in his grip, twisting his arm and restraining him. Lucifer was struggling desperately but couldn’t move properly, and even Gabriel, who stood nearby, couldn’t attack Lucart outright because of concerns for Lucifer’s safety.
– Leave a small fry like Lucifer to me.
Lucart had said before flying off. At that time, Shekina had thought, ‘Will he really manage…?’ but now he was actually fighting him.
“Well, that’s a relief. If he couldn’t handle it, I would’ve had to summon a monster.”
Summoning a monster wasn’t particularly difficult, but since this was the territory of the merfolk, summoning a monster full of dark energy would have been awkward. What if the merfolk fainted from fright?
The merfolk were already mentally and physically exhausted, and she didn’t want to create any more panic.
Shekina stopped herself from drawing the summoning circle and instead looked up at the sky with satisfaction.
That was when it happened.
“Lady Shekina.”
Dehan approached and spoke.
“Are we just supposed to wait like this? Until… I mean, until the Count wins?”
“Not really.”
Shekina wiggled her index finger.
“No matter how strong the boss is, handling this alone is tough. There’s a chance he might even run.”
“Then what should we do…?”
“I told you earlier, didn’t I?”
One hour earlier.
Shekina already knew Lucifer’s group was coming. So, she had devised a strategy to counter them.
“One of his underlings will definitely come to us. When that happens, we catch him.”
Boom!
Shekina spoke as she looked at Virtus, who had just landed directly in front of her.
“See, I told you so!”
As expected, Shekina’s predictions were never wrong. She patted Dehan on the back and exclaimed.
“Go, Dehan!”
***
Virtus was in a state of desperation.
Until now, he had been overshadowed by Gabriel and had failed to achieve anything noteworthy.
If he failed again this time, he would surely face death. He would be absorbed by Lucifer, losing both his body and his mind.
Thus, he was more desperate than ever.
At just the right moment, standing before him was Shekina Daimon—the homunculus that Lucifer had been so eager to capture.
“You wretch!”
Virtus clenched his fists and glared at Shekina.
“You dared to mock me before, didn’t you?”
He recalled the time Shekina had escaped from the capital. Since then, he had lived under constant scrutiny. How much effort had he put in to avoid displeasing Lucifer? Even now, the mere memory of it made his chest burn with anger.
“This time, I will drag you to our lord! I swear it!”
He spoke with such resolve that his words were imbued with immense mana. The sheer power of his shout was enough to rupture the eardrums of anyone who heard it.
But…
“Dehan, what’s he saying? I couldn’t hear him because of the earplugs.”
Shekina removed a tiny earplug from her ear as she spoke. Virtus’s face turned red with fury.
“Y-You…!”
“Well, ignoring nonsense has always been my motto.”
Shekina smirked as she shrugged her shoulders, looking more irritating than ever.
“And by the way, it wasn’t me mocking you—it was you being dumb enough to let it happen. Does blaming others make you feel better? Hm?”
“Shut your mouth!”
Unable to endure Shekina’s provocation any longer, Virtus leapt toward her. But he didn’t reach Shekina.
“Huh?”
His path was blocked by a child. Virtus’s face twisted in further annoyance.
“How dare a mere human stand in my way!”
“Yes, a mere insignificant human is blocking your path. So why can’t you get past me?”
“You… You insolent…!”
Virtus growled through clenched teeth as he gripped Dehan’s sword, which had stopped his claws.
“I’ll cut your throat. No, no—first I’ll slash it halfway so you can feel your ears being torn off, your eyes being gouged, and your nose being ripped apart. Then, I’ll sever your neck and feed it to the vultures!”
His words painted a gruesome image. Yet Dehan, standing directly in front of him, remained calm.
“Go ahead.”
With a flash, Dehan flipped backward and regained his stance.
“Try it if you can.”
“Y-You wretch! Arghhh!”
Virtus forgot his initial target, Shekina, and lunged at Dehan instead. Once, twice, three times… Surprisingly, Dehan was holding his ground well against Virtus’s attacks.
“Oh…”
Watching Dehan and Virtus fight, Shekina slightly furrowed her brow and muttered.
“Why’s he suddenly trying to act so cool?”
Just because he managed to cut a strand of Salmon’s hair doesn’t mean he should be bragging about it.
Virtus might seem hot-headed and foolish, but being by Lucifer’s side meant his abilities couldn’t be underestimated.
“He looks like he’s about to get himself killed.”
As expected, Dehan was starting to be pushed back. It was inevitable.
Shekina glanced up at the sky. Up there, Lucifer, Gabriel, and Lucart were still engaged in a fierce battle. They didn’t seem to have the capacity to worry about what was happening here.
The plan was taking longer than expected.
“Well… there’s nothing else I can do.”
Whether or not the merfolk freaked out, the first priority was to deal with this guy.
Having made up her mind, Shekina focused her thoughts and began drawing a summoning circle in her mind. She intended to summon three mid-level monsters.
But just then…
“Dehan! Duck!”
Boom!
A beam of pure white light shot out like a cannon. Shekina looked up at the person who had grabbed her by the back of her neck and pulled her aside. It was Yuriel.
“Huh? Why are you here?”
Shekina widened her eyes and stared at Yuriel. According to the plan, Yuriel was supposed to be on the other side of the island.
“I told you to protect the merfolk. They’re weak right now, and they need someone with them.”
“I-I couldn’t just s-stand by and watch. H-how could I just w-watch and do nothing?”
Yuriel, trembling, gently set Shekina down. He then turned his gaze to Virtus, who had just taken the direct hit from his attack.
Despite the powerful attack, Virtus appeared mostly unharmed, save for the tips of his hair being singed. Yuriel wiped his sweat-covered palms on his priestly robe and raised his chin.
“You… you’re one of His Holiness the Pope’s aides, aren’t you?”
Virtus, who had been brushing his scorched hair, turned his gaze toward Yuriel.
“Yes. So what?”
“How… how could you…”
Yuriel’s anger flared at the indifferent response, and he raised his voice.
“How can someone claiming to be a priest attack a child?!”
“What?”
“Moreover, as an aide to His Holiness, you are second only to him in serving God! How could you do this?! Why?! Why are you doing such things?!”
“Hah?”
Virtus let out a mocking laugh.
“You’re spouting nonsense.”
He stepped into the air, and in an instant, he was standing right in front of Yuriel. Compared to the force he had shown when fighting Dehan, this was nothing but child’s play.
“Lowly beings like you will all die anyway. Whether it’s now or later, the result is the same. Why waste your time with pointless resistance?”
Yuriel stared directly at Virtus, who was now only inches away. His body trembled uncontrollably. Tears welled up in his eyes, and his vision blurred.
“A-At first, I didn’t… I didn’t believe it. T-That His Holiness had changed. T-That the Holy See had betrayed us. I-I thought there must be a reason, s-some kind of circumstance…”
“You talk too much for a stuttering fool. Isn’t it normal for people like you to just shut up?”
“T-There was no reason. T-There are no circumstances. Y-You’re not saving people… Y-You’re killing them…!”
Now, Yuriel was certain.
The Pope was no longer the Pope.
The Holy See was no longer holy.
The servants of God had vanished.
Only those who exploited God remained.
“I cannot forgive this.”
A brilliant, pure white light erupted from Yuriel’s eyes, radiating a power that seemed untouchable.
