A chapel was a facility that accompanied the residence of the nobility.
It was not reasonable to leave the castle to go to the temple every time to offer daily prayers, and it would be better to hold various religious ceremonies in a private space without being afraid to speak to anyone. Above all, having a proper chapel was a status symbol and proof of being a devout follower of God.
Even though Ciel-Terra was a small country, the lords who were confined to various parts of the country had the power to build magnificent chapels in their own castles. The castle of Marquis Edfeldt was no exception, with its chapel serving as a place of prayer for the lord’s family and the castle’s workers.
The serene and sacred place of prayer, however, was now crowded with people anxiously whispering to each other.
Many of them were dressed neatly. They were the families of the knights living in the castle who had evacuated after the “Rose Princess of Hellrage” had made her move. There were also servants of the castle. As expected, there were no ordinary citizens here.
“O God, forsake not thy servants: for thou art with us, and we with thee. O God, forsake not thy servants…”
An old woman with her hands clasped tightly together was praying at the altar.
The inside of the castle would be relatively safe, and since the other party was the undead, the chapel filled with holy energy … would be even safer, everyone thought, and although they had not received any specific instructions, people were gathering in the chapel.
Some were praying, some were anxious, some were engaged in aristocratic acts.
“Did you know, ma’am? I heard that there is a beauty treatment that is starting to become popular now that involves applying pearl dust to your skin. I forced my husband to order some for me and it’s doing very well…”
“Oh my, I’ve been getting Hraesvelgr’s claws for quite a while now. There’s something about it that’s supposed to be good for me, … so I have a concocter make a potion out of them and I take it every night.”
“You should be more careful about what you put on than about your skin. You are invited by the Marquis, despite the danger. My dress is in the latest model from the Federation…”
“If you say so, isn’t it important to wear something as valuable as possible? It can be used for money in case of emergency. Our behavior is also important to win the fights. Look at my necklace…”
The ladies sat on couches, which exuded poverty, and sheathed themselves in vainglory.
Catherine was standing in the corner of the chapel, somehow not wanting to be near that kind of atmosphere.
If Catherine’s feelings of bewilderment had a name in her adult vocabulary, it would be “Separation of Intent”.
Being here, Catherine couldn’t pray or be anxious. She felt like she was different from everyone else here,… and all she could do was mope around by the inconspicuous wall.
That was, of course, worrying about her father, her brothers, her sister, and even herself. But Catherine’s feelings were surely somewhat subtly out of sync with the rest of the population.
She saw different things. She saw the world differently.
Her feelings were darkened by the thought that she was being thrown into a tragedy in which no one would be saved.
–I wonder if I can do … anything … now, anything at all…
As if lured by her hesitation, she stepped out of the main hall and headed toward a corridor lined with rooms that looked like warehouses, and that was when it happened.
–What…!?
She felt a horrifying sensation.
It felt like a cold, rippling mass of sand had ripped through Catherine’s back and plunged into her body.
Catherine’s body trembled like she had been hit by lightning.
A sweet premonition of death shook Catherine’s mind.
A flicker of darkness blinked behind her eyes, and she thought she saw a black smile.
And then a storm of … emotions like a muddy stream rushing in from the depths.
–Ah, ah, ah…! Hard, sad, painful! This, my heart, burns…!
Then as it entered Catherine, it popped out.
“Ah!? … Puhah! Huh…”
Something connected to Catherine was broken into a thousand pieces.
Catherine stepped as she was pushed out of the way, and conversely, something connected to Catherine was blown the other way and spun around in a circle in the air.
Panting, Catherine turned around and … felt her whole body go fuzzy. She could no longer tell if it was from fear or excitement.
A silver moon shining in the darkness. The spirit of a silver-haired, silver-eyed girl. Like Catherine, she too looked startled.
A chirping light played on the surface of the spirit. The holy energy that filled the chapel was damaging the evil spirit.
“You … René!”
“…!!”
The moment Catherine called her name, René looked as what can only be described as ‘very angry and about to cry’.
Then she turned herself around and disappeared, flying faster than the wind.
“Oh wait!”
Catherine’s outstretched hand just gripped the air, and instead, something fell and made a thumping sound.
Something that looked like a sheet of metal that was smoking with white smoke. It was the protective charm that Catherine had received from Bertil. She had worn it with a sash over her clothes and carried it tucked in there.
The golden charm was 80% blackened, as if it had been dipped in ink, and was blowing white smoke like firewood.
“This is…”
Putting her hand over her pounding, noisily working heart, Catherine regulated her breathing.
It was as though the remnants of the passion that had been coursing through Catherine were still burning in her chest.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Geisha!!”
“Aaah!?”
A slash with the weight of a step was delivered.
Chenxi couldn’t avoid it, barely catching it with her gauntlet and losing her stance like she was being bounced off.
Udanosuke did not miss it.
“Hara!”
A horizontal slice ripped through the body armor!
” Kiri!
A vertical slice ripped through the body armor!
“SMAAAAAAAAAASH!!”
An all-out slash with all his might!
Udanosuke crossed and ran past Chenxi, sheathing his katana with a popping sound.
“Cut down and be forgiven!”
And then.
A nearby tiger-shaped holy beast was blown to pieces with a spray of blood and guts.
“… Nun!?”
“Hii!!”
“Nuoh!”
Chenxi’s leaping kick pierced the back of Udanosuke’s head. Despite the damage, Udanosuke jumped forward to catch himself, then turned his body and readjusted his stance.
“Dangerous… I thought I was going to die.”
Chenxi looked pale and drained.
She tore a long ribbon-like tasseled decorative cord from her own clothes and tied it over her torso, which had been exposed by a Harakiri Smash.
The smooth white skin peeking out from under her street clothes remained unscathed. Not a drop of blood had flowed.
“A mystery! What kind of bizarre thing is this?”
Udanosuke swore in an incomprehensible manner.
The wounds that Chenxii should have received were all taken by a nearby tiger-shaped holy beast.
The ability “Sacrifice” was given to the holy beasts as an optional extra. It took on the damage that should have been inflicted on the nearby allies instead.
This ability could be used to its fullest when accompanied by a single knight as an assistant. Yes, what if, for example, a member of “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear” were to be slain ten times and not die?
“…It looks like we’re going to have to take care of that holy beast, too. “
“Would that work?”
“It’ll work.”
At the same time as Udanosuke smiled his cruel grin.
A magic circle, shining brightly, enveloped one of the tiger-shaped holy beasts, turning it into a mass of randomly spliced bones and muscles with a puff of blood smoke.
“What!?”
Udanosuke had one hand off his katana. Clasped between the fingers of his left hand was something that looked like a throwing knife.
–What did you just do!?
Did he throw that throwing weapon, perhaps?
It seemed to be a magic item with some kind of magic in it, but even so, it was hard to believe that it could kill the holy beast with a single blow.
The bird-shaped holy beast let out a warning cry, and as if on cue, the surrounding holy beasts moved away from Udanosuke.
“I won’t let you!”
Chenxi rushed forward, kicking the ground and gliding. But.
“Ugyaaaah!!!”
A scream came from behind, and Chenxi slammed on the brakes.
“Behind!?”
“Geho!” “Gyaa!” “H-Help!”
By the time they turned around after hearing a series of screams, it was already too late.
The low-level adventurers who had followed “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear” into the battle against the undead soldiers had been slaughtered in a messy manner, like wheat being cut down.
In just a few seconds, half of them were dead. The rest were pushed backward by invisible walls, fleeing to “Sub-Zero Crystal Spear”.
After stepping over a sea of blood and piles of corpses, two undead appeared.
One was a Fighter ghoul in red dragon-scale armor. The other was an earthy-skinned muscle man with every part of his body replaced by brass-colored machinery.
“What’s the matter? I’m not getting any action at all.”
“These five guys look like fun. May we take your prey? Udanosuke-sama!”
Two undead men with bloody swords.
It was like taking a stroll around the neighborhood, but without the carelessness.
“You are late, Coxon-dono. But you are welcome to help.”
–An ambush …! Two more undead as good as this samurai …? Damn!
The one that emerged from the rear was also an ace. They didn’t expect such a force to still be lying low.
It was a pincer attack. The adventurers, who should have cut into the ranks of the undead soldiers, were surrounded before they knew it. In front of and behind the adventurers and the holy beasts were three powerful opponents. Surrounding them was a small army of undead.
And further in the back was a corpse giant.
On the shoulders of the giant, which had stabilized itself on its knees and hands, another magic circle was deployed in a ringing motion.
Zupon! The rock mass, propelled by a unique gliding sound, flew out from the magic-powered projectile cannons. A few of them were destroyed by the magicians on the castle wall before they hit the ground, but the rest crushed the city wall.
“Kuh…!”
This was what it meant to be in a tight spot.
Moreover, the adventurers who came along with them died considerably. If this many people died at once, it would be impossible to revive them all.
–No, this is no time for regrets. For now, the first thing we need to do is wound the giant. If we can do that, we’ll have a chance to win!
But the situation was grim.
The enemy was even stronger than expected. On top of that, they had prepared a surprise attack weapon for the holy beasts that were supposed to be their trump card.
The surviving adventurers, on the other hand, were so dismayed that they could no longer fight properly. Even the holy beasts were shaken up, glancing about.
“The holy beasts are … upset? No…”
Zeft denied his own emotional thoughts. They had no emotion to be “upset”, Zeft knew that. If that was the case, there would be something that would compel the holy beasts to react…
–What is it? What happened?
The holy beasts were constantly looking toward the city, and were whining low to each other as if appealing to Zeft for something. They seemed to want to fly over there right now.
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