Arifureta Shokugyou de Sekai Saikyou Zero - Volume 1 - Chapter 4

Chapter IV: The Liberators and God’s Apostles

Miledi plodded forward, away from the Red Dragon’s Mountain. Oscar walked silently beside her, his umbrella shading them from the sun.

Miledi didn’t have the energy to summon a breeze or her ice block, so the umbrella was all that staved off the heat. However, ice lined the edges of the umbrella, and a slight breeze wafted from its canopy.

Oscar looked over at Miledi. She was clearly depressed.

This must be how she felt when I refused her too. Even now, Oscar didn’t think he had been wrong to refuse her back then. However, that didn’t make him feel any less guilty. It hurt to imagine Miledi wandering Velnika’s streets looking so depressed.

When she was happy she was a handful, and when she was sad she was still a handful. Oscar breathed a small sigh.

“Are you depressed because he didn’t join us? Or because of how sad his story was?”

“Both.”

“You can’t accept the choice he made, can you?”

“I can’t.”

“But he’s the one who made that choice.”

“I know. That’s why I won’t try and convince him anymore.” She didn’t sound the least bit happy about it, though. Miledi puffed out her cheeks and pouted.

Naiz had given them a reason now, so they had no choice but to respect his decision. Pushing any harder would have been the same as forcing their will on him. And Miledi knew that

Still, that didn’t mean she had to like it. Her feelings showed plain on her face as they walked back.

Naiz’s berserk rampage had caused irreparable damage. Like he’d said himself, he’d killed all of the villagers, and hundreds of soldiers. Most of them likely had families to return to, and had only been doing their duty.

However, he was also a teenager who’d just seen his family killed before his eyes. Even a fully mature adult would have been hard-pressed to act rationally in that situation.

Despite that, Naiz still blamed himself. And he would spend the rest of his life atoning for it, forever alone in the cave he called a home. Oscar knew even if they tried to go back he’d just run away and start helping people somewhere else.

Isn’t that just too sad?

“Haaah...” Miledi let out a heavy sigh. She looked utterly wretched.

Oscar adjusted his glasses, a conflicted expression on his face.

“Before I left, I asked him if we could visit again as just friends.”

“Huh?” Miledi instantly perked up.

“He didn’t exactly say yes, but he at least said he’d think about it.” Oscar watched Miledi’s eyes widen in surprise.

“We still have our own journey to complete. But one day, we’ll come back to see him again. Not to convince him to be our comrade, but to help him out. We’re his friends now. Surely he won’t mind... right?” The original goal of the Liberators was to save those who had been crushed by the injustices of the world. It would be well within the scope of their goal to help a friend who’d enforced such a strict lifestyle on himself. In fact, they couldn’t call themselves Liberators if they didn’t.

“O-kun!”

“Whoa!?”

Miledi flung herself at Oscar. Flustered, he somehow managed to catch her.

“That’s it! You’re right! Absolutely right! We’re Nacchan’s friends!”

“Uh, yeah, we are. Anyway, that’s why you don’t have to feel so down about it. We’ll just say the Fairy of the Desert incident ended with us gaining a friend instead of a comrade. Now, please get off me.”

“I knew I could count on you, O-kun! You’re the greatest partner ever! Now we’re friends with someone amazing! And if he needs our help, we can go back to save him anytime! Man, I feel way better now!”

“Great. Now quit clinging to me.” Despite his best efforts, Oscar was unable to peel Miledi off of him. Though Miledi wasn’t as well-endowed as Susha, she was still quite attractive. Oscar found himself troubled by her close proximity, especially since he’d seen her naked not too long ago. When he saw her smiling innocently at him, though, he berated himself for having such indecent thoughts. What mattered was that she wasn’t depressed anymore.

Oscar gave up on getting Miledi off him and stroked her back until she was satisfied.

After a while, the two started walking again. There was a new spring in Miledi’s step. Oscar too, walked with a lighter heart than before.

They crossed a number of sand dunes before the town of Liv came into sight.

“Hmm? Hey, O-kun?”

“Yeah, I see it. Something’s definitely not right.” Oscar activated his glasses’ Farsight spell.

“There’s an awful lot of iraks in the town. A bunch of wagons too. They all look pretty ornate... Miledi!”

“Huh, what is it? What’d you see?”

After a brief pause, Oscar continued in a strained voice.

“It’s the Holy Church!” Miledi’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Members of the Holy Church arrived late in the afternoon.

At first, the villagers thought the herd of iraks and wagons in the distance was a merchant caravan. Hoping to trade for supplies, the villagers had eagerly crowded the main gate.

When they saw the opulence of the wagons and the knights on the iraks though, the villagers realized their mistake.

It was not merchants, but the bishop of Doumibral who had come to visit them.

The bishop, Agares Myurie, stepped out of the lead carriage. He was accompanied by his priests and the templar knights. All told, he had brought sixty knights with him. Either he was here to threaten the village, or he wanted to impress upon them the power of the Holy Church.

Agares was a young bishop still in his twenties. His blond hair was swept back, revealing a handsome face. He spoke softly and always seemed to have a gentle smile on his face. All things considered, he looked like the very embodiment of a pious, humble man.

However, one did not rise to the position of bishop at such a young age by being humble. The Holy Church had only thirty bishops at any given time, one for each major city on the continent. As there were only seven archbishops, four cardinals, and the pope who ranked above them, few bishop seats opened up because a previous bishop was promoted.

The primary reason for the election of a new bishop was because a current bishop had lost their position. There were various reasons a bishop could be stripped of their rank. Some retired because of age or failing health, others were demoted for failing to fulfill their duty. Yet more were excommunicated because their faith had been found lacking, or some perished in unexpected “accidents.” Agares’ predecessor had been deemed a heretic and executed. He had been known to all as a very pious man, so the decision had come as a shock.

Moreover, the inquisitor who had unveiled the previous bishop’s heresy was none other than Agares.

Agares had made quite a name for himself as a very effective inquisitor, so the town could more or less guess what he had come to Liv for.

“Good citizens of Liv, there is but one reason as to why I have come here today. We have heard there is a heretic in this town who dares declare themselves a god. Such an act is an affront to Lord Ehit. Are there any here who know of the Guardian of the Desert?” Susha and Yunfa paled when they heard that name.

Someone must have told the Holy Church. Though Yunfa and Susha had tried spreading rumors that Naiz was actually the Fairy of the Desert, the number of people he had saved had grown so large that his old nickname had started making a comeback.

Still, his existence was nothing more than a rumor. To most, he was just a fairy tale. The Holy Church shouldn’t have had any reason to send an inquisitor after him, especially because Susha and Yunfa had worked so hard to misdirect the rumors. They were the one organization they hadn’t wanted finding out about Naiz.

And yet— We didn’t do enough! Susha grit her teeth.

These past two years, she’d done everything in her power to keep Naiz’s identity a secret. Plenty of adventurers, minstrels, and travelers Naiz had saved had also helped her out, but it still hadn’t been enough. The Holy Church was after him now.

“Sue-nee...” Susha wanted to reassure her younger sister, but she couldn’t. All she could do was tightly hold on to Yunfa’s hand. Agares smiled at the villagers, looking absolutely harmless. That smile terrified them.

Many in Liv had been saved by Naiz. Of them, a good number knew what he looked like.

None of them believed they would be able to survive Agares’ torture.

“All of the clergymen within the federation are out looking for this heretic known as the Guardian of the Desert. We will bring this accursed man to justice no matter the cost. Anyone who claims there is any god but Ehit deserves nothing but death. The same goes for all who try to hide him from us.” Agares gestured with sweeping hand motions as he gave his speech, almost like an actor on a stage.

“There have been more and more reports of this godless heathen appearing in the desert. In order to keep this blessed world pure, we must weed out all heretics. In order to bring in this one, we have decided to launch an inquisition. The archbishops have granted all bishops the authority to execute anyone they deem suspect.” As he said that, the knights unloaded a number of wooden beams and a giant blade from the wagon, then began fitting them together.

“A-A guillotine?” One of the villagers muttered. The contraption the knights were setting up was indeed a guillotine.

Agares fondly patted the scaffolding and swept his gaze over the villagers. They flinched back in fear.

“There is no reason for you to feel indebted to this Guardian of the Desert. Had he been a true believer, he would have used his powers in the service of Lord Ehit. The fact that he did not proves his guilt. Now then, let the inquisition commence.” Agares sat down on a magnificent chair that one of his priests brought out for him. His knights fanned out and dragged the villagers to him one by one.

Surprisingly, when the villagers told Agares they knew nothing he simply said “I see,” and let them return home.

An hour passed. The sun was about to dip under the horizon, and the curtain of night had begun to fall.

The villagers, who had been expecting to be tortured, started to look hopeful. This almost seemed like a formal, proper interrogation.

A middle-aged man was brought up to Agares and the bishop asked the same question he had to all the others.

“Do you know the Guardian of the Desert?”

Susha let out a barely audible gasp. The man was someone who had actually met Naiz.

Apparently Naiz had gotten him some valuable and rare medicine to cure his son. The man had swore he would one day repay the favor. He was also one of Susha’s conspirators, and had helped her spread rumors about the Fairy of the Desert.

The man, whose name was Porukka, stared unflinchingly at Agares.

“No, Lord Bishop. I do not.” His voice didn’t stutter. His poker face was perfect.

Agares smiled and responded in a calm, cold manner.

“It’s not good to lie.” The villagers exchanged worried glances. Porukka’s expression stiffened.

“Wh-What do you—”

“You have met this man before, have you not?”

“N-No, I haven’t!”

“That’s a lie, isn’t it? You have a child, correct?”

“...Yes.”

“Now see, that is the truth. Is your child a girl?”

“Yes.”

“And that is a lie. You have a son, not a daughter. This Guardian of the Desert met with your son, did he not?”

“No, Your Eminence.”

“Another lie. He saved your son’s life, did he not?”

“No he didn’t! I’ve never even—”

“More lies. He saved your son’s life, which is why you’re lying to protect him.”

“You’re mistaken, Lord Bishop! Please, believe me!” Porukka shrieked, terrified.

Agares’ smile didn’t waver. He repeated the question.

Those that knew Porukka trembled in fear. Agares had guessed everything despite Porukka’s answers. No matter what the man said, Agares somehow divined the truth.

“It seems you really don’t know any more than this. Hmm, well, I was at least able to ascertain this man’s appearance. A step in the right direction.”

“Wh-Why? How...”

Porukka looked at Agares with lifeless eyes. Still smiling, Agares explained.

“Because I am an Apostle, one who carries the blood of Ehit in my veins.” The villagers began muttering to each other. Agares basked in their fear for a few minutes before addressing them.

“I have the power to see into people’s souls. You cannot lie to me. No matter how good a liar you are, your soul shall show your falsehood.” In other words, this was the special magic he had inherited. Like Oscar and Miledi, he possessed inhuman powers. It was also what made him such a good inquisitor.

“Now then, it’s time for your divine punishment. For the sin of lying, you and your entire family are condemned.” Even now, there was still a smile on Agares’ face. He hadn’t hesitated to condemn them all.

“Wait! Please wait! Spare my family at least!” However, it was too late. The templar knights dragged his family up to the scaffolding.

“The inquisition is not over yet. We must hurry the process along, or it will be dark before we’re finished. Surely you good people would not want to force the templar knights to do something as menial as create light for us?”

Even though Agares had just condemned a man to death, he was lecturing Porukka as if he was the unreasonable one for not agreeing to die quickly and quietly. Agares’ gaze held not even a hint of remorse. There was no hope for Porukka or his family.

Tears sprung to the villagers’ eyes as they watched Porukka and his family get dragged to the guillotine. Many of them couldn’t bear to watch and turned away. However, one brave soul was different.

“Is it a sin to thank someone who helps you?” Her voice rang out clearly through the crowd.

The knights stopped what they were doing and started looking for the voice’s owner.

The crowd hastily parted out of the way, leaving two young girls standing alone. However, Susha didn’t try and hide. She stood firm and met Agares’ gaze, her eyes glimmering with resolve.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Could you say it again?”

His gaze seemed to be saying, “Say that to my face, if you dare.” However, neither Susha nor Yunfa flinched. This time it was Yunfa who replied.

“You don’t know? When someone helps you, you say thank you. And when you do something bad, you say sorry. I’m eight and even I know that. How come you don’t, Bishop?” Yunfa’s words dripped with venom. They echoed clearly through the night.

For the first time since he’d arrived, Agares’ smile slipped.

The priests and knights were amazed. On the other hand, the villagers watched on in abject horror.

“Bishop, please forgive our desire to help this man who has done so much for us. Our faith in Ehit is in no way false. We simply wish to show our gratitude to him as well. That’s all. Please allow us this shred of humanity. I’m sure Lord Ehit would show us mercy as well.” Now it was Susha’s turn to speak. She knew that once her turn came, she wouldn’t be able to keep hold of her secrets. Not in front of this man who could use ancient magic, anyway.

She had a rough idea of where Naiz lived because of the two odd strangers she’d talked to this morning. They’d told her they went to meet Naiz relatively often, and the two of them were staying at Liv’s inn. In other words, Naiz’s house had to be somewhere in the area. There was only one place you could hide yourself that was nearby. The Red Dragon’s Mountain.

Perhaps if they confessed, Susha and Yunfa’s lives would be spared. But neither of them would, even if they knew lying was futile.

No matter what happened, their lives were forfeit. If they were dead either way, they decided to go down fighting instead of begging. And now was the time to fight. Porukka had done his best to protect Naiz, so they had to do what they could to protect him as well.

Susha and Yunfa clasped each others hands and walked forward.

“Please forgive Porukka-san and his family. At the very least, spare their lives.” Susha looked far more mature than any twelve-year-old the village had seen. Yunfa, too, bowed her head and begged Agares to forgive Porukka.

While everyone else just looked on stunned, Agares grinned. His smile was far more sinister than before.

“I see. Such splendid children. To think you would lecture me on morality. Fufufufufu, it has been some since I have enjoyed myself this much. Indeed, this is wonderful. As thanks for bringing me such joy, allow me to explain something to you.”

“Explain what?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding what morality is. It is certainly something very important. Indeed, almost as important as worshiping Ehit.”

Susha gulped. She knew where Agares was going with this.

“However, there is nothing more important in this world than Ehit’s will. Compared to that, something as trivial as human morality means nothing. In fact, what you’re doing is not truly moral if it contradicts the word of god. Besides—” Agares raised his hands up to heaven and brought his face close to Susha’s, his movements like a broken doll’s. Susha was terrified by his bulging pupils.

“What right do you have to speak of Ehit’s will?” Out of everything Susha had said, that was what irked him the most.

A ball of glowing fire appeared in Agares’ hand. He had used no magic circle, spoke no incantation, yet he had managed to cast one of the strongest fire spells known to man, Solar Blast. Normally, the spell created a sphere of fire over eight meters wide, but Agares had compressed it into the size of his hand and made it far more powerful. This was the power of one of God’s Apostles.

Originally, Agares had been planning on questioning Yunfa and Susha first, but their blasphemy had driven him over the edge. He would wipe them off the face of Tortus.

“You are not even worthy to breathe the same air as me. Disappear.” No one moved. The sight of him creating such a powerful spell had left them rooted to the spot.

Only Susha, who was hugging her little sister, still had the courage to glare back at Agares.

“Then Ehit’s will is wrong.” Her voice didn’t waver.

Agares unleashed his fireball, which was powerful enough to blow through the whole crowd and leave not even ashes behind, as the girls looked on and accepted their fate.

“Ability Ten, Hallowed Ground, Partial Activation!” A black shadow interposed itself between Susha and the fireball. He was holding something no one expected to see in a desert, a black umbrella.

He thrust it in front of him, and it began to glow with a vibrant light. The fireball smashed into it head-on. At the same time—

“Miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiileeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeediiiiiiiiiiiii” A girl’s voice rang out from somewhere far away. Then, a second later—

“Kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiick!” A girl’s foot slammed into Agares’ face.

She slammed into him from the side, and the force of the kick nearly shattered his cheekbones.

He was sent flying away from his chair. The villagers watched as Agares flew through the air.

He flew straight through a number of buildings and skidded across the ground. His legs slammed into a tree, which flipped him around, and kept going. He skipped across the oasis and finally came to a halt on the far bank.

No normal kick could generate that much force. It had looked like she had almost been falling sideways.

Miledi, for the girl was obviously Miledi, alighted atop the chair Agares had been sitting on seconds before. She looked down at the dumbfounded templar knights and winked.

She made her characteristic peace sign as her ponytail fluttered behind her.

“It’s everyone’s favorite magical girl, Miledi-chan!” Miledi posed for the crowd.

A second later, Agares’ fireball flew off into the sky. Oscar had deflected it with his umbrella. It exploded safely above the heads of the villagers, illuminating the early night sky with its radiance.

The light framed Miledi perfectly, making her look like a goddess descending from heaven.

“Nice one, O-kun! I never knew you were such a good showman!”

“That was actually just a coincidence.”

Oscar swung his umbrella over his shoulder and adjusted his glasses. Whether it was on purpose or just a coincidence, he struck quite a theatrical pose as well.

The templar knights finally returned to their senses.

“L-Lord Bishoooooop!”

“Agares-samaaaaaaaaa!”

“We need a healer! Quick, bring a healer over to the bishop!”

A detachment of knights ran over to where Agares fell. Most of them expected to find him dead.

Oscar ran a finger over the temple of his glasses and nodded to himself. He had wanted to make sure.

“Miledi, you broke his neck. He’s definitely dead.”

“Can you really see that well in the darkness?”

“These glasses have night vision too.”

Just how many features did you put inside those glasses...

“Wh-Who on earth are you guys!? And what have you done!? Accursed heretics, prepare to face Ehit’s wrath!” One of the priests pointed a finger at the two of them and started yelling.

Killing a bishop of the Holy Church was one of the worst crimes imaginable. Harming a member of the clergy was the equivalent of besmirching Ehit’s name. It was the equivalent of declaring the entire human world your enemy.

However, Miledi didn’t seem the least bit worried.

“Good grief,” she said and shook her head sadly. Then, she pointed at Susha and Yunfa and shouted.

“Clean out your ears and listen up, all of you! You see these two girls over here! See how cute they are!? That right there is the truth of this world! Cute is justice! Screw your god!”

“I’m not sure I like this world order any more than Ehit’s.”

Miledi ignored Oscar.

The priest, shocked by how blatant Miledi’s blasphemy was, could only sputter in shock.

“Sue-chan’s right, any god that would dare hurt a pretty girl like her is totally wrong!”

“U-Umm, that wasn’t exactly what I meant.” Susha was the kind of person who could articulate her opinion regardless of the circumstances. Even now, she managed to say that through her tears.

“O-Oscar-san, Miledi-san. Do you realize what—”

“Oh yeah, don’t worry. We’re prepared for the consequences.”

Yunfa and Susha looked worriedly up at their saviors. But Oscar gently patted their heads and reassured them.

What do they mean, they’re prepared for the consequences? Susha thought to herself.

Oscar saw the question in her eyes.

“We’re here precisely to fight against people like this. We’re here to liberate those oppressed by madness, by malice, and by this unreasonable world.”

“To liberate people?”

Oscar smiled at Susha. Before he could explain further, however, Miledi called out to him.

“O-kun, let’s go!”

“Yeah, yeah. Go ahead, I’m ready whenever.”

Suddenly, the templar knights charging at Miledi were thrown into the sky. Almost as if they were falling upward.

She’d used the gravity spell Inverse Square. It reversed the gravitational pull of anyone she targeted.

Far off in the distance, the sun’s last rays shot across the night sky. They illuminated the dozens of knights that were now falling upward. Miledi manipulated the direction of their fall so that when they finally came back to earth the knights landed outside the village. She wanted to move the battlefield to avoid getting the townspeople caught up in the fight. Both her and Oscar remembered all too well how Forneus had blown himself up at the end.

Miledi and Oscar leaped over to where she’d deposited the knights.

The villagers slumped to their knees, defeated. A few of them glared at Susha and Yunfa. They probably blamed the two girls for sowing the seeds of their doom. The villagers were too scared of pointing fingers at Miledi or Oscar, so they vented their frustration on the helpless girls who couldn’t fight back.

Susha and Yunfa ignored them though. They exchanged glances.

“Sue-nee.”

“Yep.”

They were satisfied with how things had turned out.

With the villagers’ angry glares at their back, they dashed out of the village.

“Impossible... How are you...” One of the knights groaned, his body sunk into the ground.

He was the last to have been defeated. He’d watched as Oscar and Miledi tore through the squad of templar knights like they were nothing.

Most of the knights were skilled magicians so they’d been able to soften their landing enough to avoid injury. The priests hadn’t been so lucky. The only reason they hadn’t died outright was because the sand cushioned their falls.

Perhaps it would have been luckier if they had died. The slaughter that followed was merciless.

None of the knights had been able to mount any kind of resistance. They’d been mowed down.

“Why? You’re God’s Apostles as well, aren’t you!? Why do you oppose us!?”

“Actually we’re god’s enemies~”

Despite being one of the most dangerous things you could say in this world, Miledi said it lightly.

The knight was stunned. He couldn’t believe anyone out there could blaspheme so casually. Once he recovered, he spat, “Heretics!” Those were his final words before Oscar crushed him to death.

“Always leaves a bad taste in my mouth when I kill people from the Holy Church.”

“Is there any kind of killing that doesn’t leave a bad taste in your mouth?”

Miledi sighed as she surveyed the destruction they had wrought.

She smiled sadly and chose not to answer Oscar’s question.

“Now then, what are we going to do about Liv? Even if they tell the Holy Church they had nothing to do with us...”

“I’m sure if the townspeople cooperate, the Holy Church won’t just kill them out of hand. Unlike Naiz, we’re not even from here. They have no reason to protect us. If you’re worried, we can hide out at a nearby oasis after this and see what happens.”

“Yeah, you’re right. We can totally do that. Do you think we should tell Nacchan too? Though it feels kind of awkward to go back right after we said we’d leave. He probably won’t like it either.”

“W-Well, you’re not wrong there. But I think we should still tell him.”

This is something that affects him directly. He’ll probably find out on his own eventually, but the sooner he knows the better.

“Anyway, what about Sue-chan and Yun-chan?”

“They sure went off on that bishop. The whole town heard them, too.”

Oscar doubted they’d be able to continue living in this village. The next time a bishop comes to interrogate the town... Chances were, they’d be taken.

“I want them to join the Liberators.”

“They certainly have the courage for it. The real question is whether or not they’ll want to leave the desert so long as Naiz is still here.”

Oscar and Miledi looked at each other.

Just then, they heard a voice behind them. They turned to see Susha and Yunfa heading their way. The two of them were riding an irak they’d stolen from the knights. They waved to grab Oscar and Miledi’s attention.

“And now they’ve stolen the Holy Church’s irak... They’ve got guts, and the ability to manipulate information on a large scale. I’d say they’re a pretty valuable asset to have.”

“I bet Nacchan would have been caught ages ago if it wasn’t for them.”

The two girls gulped as the sixty dead knights came into view.

But they quickly recovered and turned back to Miledi and Oscar.

“Thank goodness we made it in time... I was worried you two might leave before we got here.”

“Thank you so much for saving us, Onee-chan, Onii-chan!”

Yunfa hopped off the irak and skipped over to the two of them. Susha slipped off the irak as well, and bowed.

Then, with a look of determination, she said, “Miledi-san, Oscar-san. I know this is an unreasonable request, but please take us with you on your journey!”

“Please!”

Yunfa bowed her head as well.

Miledi and Oscar exchanged another look.

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to convince Naiz to join us. If you come with us, you won’t get to see him.”

“I see. Even so, we’d like to come with you. I may just be a burden when it comes to fights, but I’m sure I’ll be able to help in other ways. I’ll do my best to be useful!”

“I’ll try hard too! So please let us come!”

Neither Oscar nor Miledi missed the few seconds they spent gazing longingly at the Red Dragon’s Mountain.

They really were clever. With just the limited information Oscar had given them, the two had figured out roughly where Naiz lived.

Despite that, they still chose to go with Miledi instead of trying to meet him.

Harsh though it may be, they were facing reality. Even if they went to see Naiz, they knew there was no guarantee he’d really meet with them. Furthermore, as long as they stayed here their lives were in danger. If they wanted to survive, their best option was to go with Miledi and Oscar, who had already declared themselves heretics.

Their unbending will and tenacity to stay alive was impressive. Miledi and Oscar respected them for it. The two girls swallowed their complaints and their dissatisfaction, and continued struggling desperately to survive. Their determination was dazzling.

“Umm, it’s true that we’re here because we can’t go back home anymore, but that’s not all.”

“Huh?”

“Hm?”

Miledi and Oscar were both surprised that Susha had guessed what they were thinking, and curious what else could be motivating the two girls. Yunfa sighed. She’d just explained this a few minutes ago.

“When someone saves your life, you’re supposed to thank them. That’s the right thing to do.” And so the Liberators were lectured on morality by an eight-year-old girl.

“O-kun, I never realized I’d turned into such a calculating person.”

“Don’t say it, Miledi. That just makes me feel even worse about it.”

“U-Umm! We were also thinking that if we went with you the chances of us meeting Naiz-sama would be higher than if we left on our own. So we’re calculating too!”

Susha’s attempt at cheering them up only made them more depressed.

That reminds me, even though Susha’s in love with Naiz, the main reason she was looking for him was to give him her thanks. That was why she’d started spreading false rumors, even though she couldn’t meet him.

It seemed what drove them even more than a desire to survive was a desire to repay their debts.

“Okay, okay, we got it. But it’ll be too dangerous for you to come with us, so—” -So we’ll take you to our headquarters and you can help our organization from there. However, Miledi wasn’t able to get the second half of her sentence out.

Susha and Yunfa looked curiously at Miledi, wondering why she cut off halfway. Their eyes widened in shock as they saw Miledi break out in a cold sweat.

“O-Oscar-san, Miledi-san’s—” Susha didn’t finish her sentence either. Because Oscar looked just as surprised as Miledi. He gulped.

The two of them started panting.

They both turned around, their necks creaking like badly oiled machines. Susha and Yunfa followed their gaze, wondering what it was that had the two of them so terrified.

“To think you would notice me despite my attempts to erase my presence...” They heard a voice from above. It was a beautiful voice, one that rang out like a bell. At the same time though, it was completely devoid of emotion.

The sun dipped below the horizon, and darkness fell.

Floating in the night sky above them was a beautiful woman.

She was wreathed in silver light, and looked like a miniature incarnation of the moon.

Even in a shapeless nun’s habit, her stunning figure was clearly visible. Her clear blue eyes and silver hair looked like they’d come out of a painting. From her back sprouted a pair of glowing silver wings.

Her beauty was beyond that of mere mortals.

“Hiii!”

“Uwaaah!”

Susha and Yunfa squealed in terror as they slumped to the ground.

Though the woman soaring above them looked like a divine creature, She was utterly and unbelievably terrifying.

Those eyes that stared down at them were inhuman.

Because the sisters were wise beyond their years, they understood at once how dangerous she was.

However, the presence of Miledi and Oscar bolstered their courage.

“Miledi!”

“Got it!”

The woman vanished the same instant Oscar deployed his umbrella’s barrier.

A second later, there was a thunderous boom and a shockwave spread out from his umbrella.

“Ngh!?” Oscar grunted and fell to his knees. He’d managed to block the woman’s radiant sword with his Hallowed Ground.

But it had been a near thing. The woman’s vertical slash had left deep cracks in his barrier. In a single attack, she’d done more damage to his Hallowed Ground than a barrage of spells from a squad of templar knights.

Still, Oscar had managed to buy the time they needed.

Miledi had successfully sent Yunfa and Susha flying back to the village. Or rather, unceremoniously flung them to safety. It was a pretty bumpy ride, but she didn’t have time to give them a controlled landing. The best she could do was throw them in the relative direction of the oasis so the water would at least cushion their fall.

She was not a moment too soon, either.

“Gah!?” There was another boom. When Miledi turned around, Oscar was nowhere in sight.

The strange woman held her twin swords aloft, prepared for any counterattack Miledi might mount.

A second later something slammed into the dunes a good distance away.

Putting the pieces together, it was obvious that the woman had sent Oscar flying. But Miledi couldn’t spare the time to worry about him. Because she had her hands full dealing with the woman’s next attack.

“Ah!?” Miledi barely dodged the diagonal slash by “falling” backwards.

The woman’s longsword grazed her hair as it swung past. Had she spent even a half-second longer on the spell that had sent Susha and Yunfa flying away, Miledi’s head would be rolling on the ground right now.

Cold sweat poured down Miledi’s back as she realized how close of a shave that had been.

She continued falling backward, parallel to the ground, but the woman chased after her with a speed that surpassed Miledi’s own.

“So annoying!”

“Your struggle is futile.”

This time Miledi dodged by falling into the sky.

With one flap of her wings though, the woman was able to catch up. This time, there was no escape.

Miledi paled as she saw the sword close in on her. Even if she tried to counter with a spell, she knew at this distance it would avail her nothing.

Five small daggers came out of nowhere, deflecting the woman’s death blow.

They’d come from such an angle that even the slightest change in trajectory would have resulted in them hitting Miledi instead. Oscar had enchanted all of his blades with gravity magic as well, though, which allowed him to freely control their flight in mid-air.

The woman faltered. It should have been impossible for throwing daggers to come at her with such speed and such accuracy. She then noticed that one of the daggers was glowing red-hot, while another was emitting sparks. These daggers are enchanted.

The woman struck down the burning and electric daggers with her sword, while she swatted the rest away with her wings. One emitted a powerful gale as it spun away while another spewed petrifying smoke. The last froze the air as it flew off.

The woman was easily able to defend against all three with a barrier of light, but that gave Miledi enough time to get away.

“Nice save, O-kun!” —Heavensfall! Miledi summoned a massive black sphere and crushed the woman to the ground.

At the same time Miledi flew over to where Oscar was waiting.

“Sorry. I nearly hit you with those.”

“It’s all good. It’s only thanks to you that I’m still alive.”

The two kept a watchful eye on the cloud of smoke in front of them and took a moment to exchange information.

“What on earth is that?”

“Remember what I told you?”

A silver-haired nun. Oscar remembered now. Miledi had mentioned meeting her after destroying her family. According to Miledi, she’d barely escaped that encounter with her life.

“It’s not a person, whatever it is. It has no future, no destiny. And it’s quite a handful.”

“Told you.”

Though their voices were playful, their expressions were grim.

They watched as a massive pillar of silver light rose up to the sky. It spiraled away into the heavens, and blew away the dust cloud surrounding her. The night sky blazed with its light.

“The ability to manipulate gravity... So that is your special, no, your ancient magic. I remember you. You escaped from me once before.” The sky quaked. The earth trembled. The very heavens cowered in the face of her might. The woman unleashed a wave of pressure so potent it was palpable. Oscar found he could hardly breathe. If his focused slipped even a little, the woman’s aura alone would knock him unconscious.

“To think my opponents would be humans who have inherited a fragment of my lord’s powers. I suppose it is only proper to introduce myself then. I will be using my full strength against someone of your caliber.” The sand surrounding the woman was blown away. Her nun’s habit vanished, replaced by a white battle uniform. She now wore a helmet, gauntlets, greaves, and a waist plate.

She flapped her wings once, and swung her swords in front of her. A declaration of war.

“I am one of God’s Apostles— Hearst. My duty is to rid my lord’s game board of undesirable pieces.” Why’s a “God’s Apostle” or whatever here?

By undesirable pieces, does she mean us? Has she been chasing after us this whole time? But if she only just remembered she fought Miledi before, then she couldn’t have been chasing her. Does that mean she came here to eliminate someone else? There was only one other person she could have come for. That foolish, kind man who’d consigned himself to a lifetime of repentance.

It appeared Oscar and Miledi would have to make good on their promise to help Naiz sooner than they thought.

Despite the fact that they were clearly outmatched, the two of them grinned fearlessly.

“Bring it on.”

“Do your worst.”

Their voices melded together as they roared out a challenge.

“Just try and kill us!” They wouldn’t let anything stand in their way.

Meanwhile, Susha and Yunfa had managed to crawl out of the oasis they’d been flung to. Fortunately, neither of them were hurt.

As they were coughing out the water they’d swallowed they heard a deafening boom.

“Sue-nee. What should we do? That lady was scary.”

“Yeah. Even Miledi-san looked like she was having trouble. And she defeated all those templar knights like it was nothing.”

The two sat silently on the sand for a few seconds. Water dripped from their soaked clothes. Their breath misted in the air. Desert nights were freezing. However, neither of them seemed the least bit bothered by the cold.

As they sat there, they noticed that the sound of fighting was growing further and further away from the village.

“Are they leading her away from the village so it doesn’t get caught up in the battle?” Though she had no proof, Susha was certain they were.

She hadn’t known them for long, but she felt as though she understood them well.

“Sue-nee. I don’t like this. We can’t just leave them alone.” Yunfa and Susha both knew they were less than useless when it came to fighting. Yunfa bit her lip and clung to her big sister’s arm. Susha was proud to have such a brave little sister. Despite seeing firsthand how terrifying the enemy Oscar and Miledi faced was, she still wanted to help. Susha wracked her brains, trying to think of something they could do.

Her thoughts turned to the man who’d saved their lives. After their parents had died, Susha and Yunfa had found it difficult to stay with their parents’ friends. So they’d tried to run away. But not long after heading into the desert, they’d been attacked by monsters. Susha had cradled her sister’s poisoned body, thinking all hope was lost, when Naiz had come to save their lives. She’d been able to help him; surely she could help her two new friends as well.

“That’s it! I know what we can do! Let’s go find Naiz-sama!”

“Yeah! Naiz-sama should be able to help them!”

Yunfa nodded in agreement. The two sisters exchanged glances and stood up.

Naiz sensed a massive outpouring of mana, one greater than any he’d felt before.

He dashed out of his cave and saw bursts of mana flashing intermittently in the direction of Liv. Whoever’s fighting over there, they’re not normal people.

Oscar and Miledi’s faces appeared in the back of his mind.

“I should at least see what’s happening.” Naiz created a tiny portal the size of a small window and surveyed the village with it.

The first thing he noticed was the villagers’ confusion. Next, he saw the abnormal amount of iraks and carriages in the town square. A closer look revealed that they were the Holy Church’s carriages. However, he didn’t see any templar knights or priests. He then moved his portal to the outlying desert.

“Wh-What on earth happened...” He saw an army of templar knights lying dead on the sand. Wisps of residual mana covered the battlefield, the remnants of a few extremely powerful spells.

A great battle had taken place here. Only Oscar and Miledi could have defeated such a large contingent of knights.

But then, who is it they’re having so much trouble with? More importantly, why did someone so strong come to Liv? Were they chasing after the Liberators? A pair of young voices interrupted the thoughts whirling like a maelstrom inside his head.

“Naiz-sama! Naiz-sama!”

“You have to help Onii-chan and Onee-chan!”

How do they know my name?

He moved his portal closer to the voices and saw two girls shouting his name.

They were asking for his help. The way they talked, it sounded as if they were certain he’d come to their aid.

“......” For a moment, Naiz hesitated. But then he remembered that those two girls were the ones he’d saved two years back. Miledi had mentioned she’d told them a little bit about him. Seeing as they already knew both his name, and what his magic could do, he decided there would be no harm in revealing himself.

A second later, Naiz was standing behind the two sisters.

“What’s wrong?”

“N-Naiz-sama!?”

“Naiz-sama!”

The two started and turned around. After a moment’s surprise, tears began spilling from their eyes. They’d finally met him again.

Naiz panicked when he saw the two girls start crying. Before he could say anything though, Susha wiped away her tears and said, “Naiz-sama, thank you so much for saving us before. Forgive us for asking your help again before we even had a chance to thank you for the last time.”

“Naiz-sama. Onii-chan and onee-chan are in trouble! They’re fighting this scary person who looks like a person but isn’t a person!”

“What do you mean, looks like a person but isn’t a person?”

The sisters hesitated. They didn’t know how to explain it.

Regardless, Naiz could tell from the urgency in their voice that whatever it was, Oscar and Miledi were having a hard time against it. From Susha’s fragmented explanation, Naiz gathered that it was likely some kind of trump card the Holy Church had been saving.

Once she finished her explanation Susha brought her hands together, like she was praying.

“Please, please, I’m begging you. Help them! You’re the only one who can!”

“Naiz-sama!”

The two of them had absolute faith in the Guardian of the Desert. He was far more reliable than the Holy Church’s god, who they couldn’t even see and whose servants had brought them nothing but misfortune.

Though he had never hesitated to lend someone a hand before, Naiz hesitated.

“Naiz-sama?” He had sworn never to use his powers to fight. Would he even be of any use to those two? Whatever they were fighting was far stronger than any monster. Wouldn’t he just get in their way? Sure, he could help them flee.

But for how long? The Holy Church had sent this powerful creature after the two of them. Even if he teleported them to safety, it would just chase after them.

Would he just help them escape again? How long would he keep that up for? So long as he wasn’t fighting, would he be of any help to them? Besides, he’d told himself he’d never meet with them again.

More than anything though, this situation brought back unpleasant memories. His mind flashed back to that day.

He’d obliterated his village and everyone in it. Not even a trace had remained.

His powers were too dangerous to be used in a fight.

There was no telling what he might accidentally destroy this time.

Which is why, I... Over and over, he repeated excuses not to go to his friends’ aid.

“I’m sorry, Naiz-sama.”

“Huh?”

He looked down, confused by her apology. Yunfa, too, bowed her head and apologized. They weren’t berating Naiz for hesitating, in fact they looked almost sad.

“I don’t know what exactly happened, but I do know my request is causing you pain. I’m sorry. I never wanted to force my savior to make that kind of face.”

“I’m sorry too, Naiz-sama...”

“What face?”

What kind of face am I making right now?

Naiz unconsciously brought a hand up to his cheek.

“We’ll go ourselves.” Susha and Yunfa turned around.

Naiz asked automatically, “Go where?”

“To help Miledi-san and Oscar-san.”

“Wha— What are you—”

“We know we’ll just get in the way. But maybe we can distract that woman, even if it’s only for a second.”

“I can do a little magic. Maybe if I make some sparks it’ll surprise the not-person.”

Though they spoke lightly, their resolve was the real deal. Naiz could see it in their eyes. They wanted to help, even if it meant their death.

“Why would you go so far for them? You can’t have known them for more than a few days...”

“Because they saved our lives.”

“Yeah!”

Susha and Yunfa jumped onto their irak. Susha took hold of the reins. She didn’t even look back.

Naiz couldn’t believe it. They had said that like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

If someone saved your life, it was only natural to risk yours to save theirs.

Anyone would agree; that was the moral thing to do. But few people would be able to actually follow through with that line of reasoning.

Suddenly, Naiz realized something.

In their explanation, Susha and Yunfa had mentioned why the Holy Church had come to their village.

The bishop, Agares, had launched an inquisition. Oscar and Miledi had saved the two girls just before the bishop had executed them for heresy.

But what was it that had gotten them suspected of heresy in the first place? There was only one thing that came to mind.

“Wait! Wait a second, you two. Why did the Holy Church declare you heretics?”

“Well...”

“Please tell me.”

Susha hesitated. She and Yunfa shared a look. But when Susha saw the sincerity in Naiz’s eyes she sighed and told the truth.

“Because I told the bishop there was nothing wrong with wanting to help the Guardian of the Desert.”

“Ah—”

So it is my fault after all.

Even Miledi and Oscar only got wrapped up in this because of me.

Though he’d told himself over and over he was keeping his distance to protect them, he’d only been protecting himself.

And now he was making excuses for himself, trying to pretend like this had nothing to do with him. Could he really let these two girls throw away their lives because he was too cowardly to help? I’m an embarrassment!

“I hope we can meet again one day, Naiz-sa—”

“Wait. You don’t have to go.”

Those words spilled out of their own volition.

These girls had risked their life for him, and now they were about to do the same for Miledi and Oscar.

He was done making excuses for himself.

Powerless as they were, these two girls were trying to do the right thing. Yet he’d just been trying to shirk his duty.

He didn’t want to shame himself any further.

How could I have forgotten? I’m a warrior’s son. I’m Solda Gruen’s son. My job is to defeat anyone who threatens our people! The chains of his sin still bound him. His guilt would never disappear.

This power of his was repulsive. He didn’t want to hurt anyone with it ever again.

But did that mean it was okay to abandon these two brave girls who were begging him for help? Absolutely not. He was done running from his past.

If he abandoned them here, he’d never be able to face his family in the afterlife.

Naiz made his decision.

“I’ll go.”

“Naiz-sama!”

“Naiz-sama!”

Susha’s eyes went wide with surprise, while Yunfa’s sparkled in admiration.

“Thank you so much for trying to protect me. Wait here for me. I’ll be back. With Miledi and Oscar.”

The thought of fighting still pained Naiz, but his mind was made up. His resolve wouldn’t waver.

The two girls looked up at Naiz in wonder.

“Good luck!”

“We’ll be waiting, Naiz-sama!”

They waved farewell to their reliable Guardian of the Desert.

A localized thunderstorm raged a few kilometers south of Liv.

“Gah!?”

“Ah!?”

Flashes of lightning illuminated the torrential downpour. Oscar and Miledi were in the middle of it all, trying their best to dodge the deadly rain.

Oscar’s umbrella was groaning from all the abuse it had taken. Miledi had put out multiple Spatial Severances, and each had absorbed so much energy it had collapsed.

They didn’t even have time to grumble to each other. Even a moment’s lapse in concentration would lead to their death.

“You better not underestimate me.” Oscar flung a volley of daggers at Hearst. He controlled their flight freely, and had them close in on Hearst from all sides.

“I have seen that trick already.” Her silver wings smacked down Oscar’s missiles before they could reach their target.

They burned, scorched, and froze the air as they fell.

“But now you’re wide open!” Miledi fell upward into the sky. Once she was above Hearst, she unleashed a powerful gravity sphere at her.

Hearst crossed her swords above her head and blocked the sphere. Normal swords would have been crushed to a pulp, but Hearst’s weapons were made of sterner stuff.

Miledi’s lips twitched, but she wasted no time in increasing the sphere’s pressure.

Oscar jumped up next to her using his Onyx Boots and thrust his umbrella at Hearst.

“Ability Nine, Thunderlord’s Judgement! Full power!” Originally, he’d had Spark Plasma as his ninth ability. It was the most cost-effective lightning spell he had. But now he was fighting together with Miledi, and his own skills had improved. So he’d swapped out the ninth ability for the most powerful electric spell known to man.

His umbrella turned inside-out, and concentrated balls of lightning formed at the tips of each rib. They traveled down the umbrella’s ribs, combining into one massive lightning sphere at its ferrule. That massive sphere of lightning hurtled toward Hearst.

There was a blinding flash of light. For a few seconds, all Oscar could see was white. Hearst vanished inside the dazzling light.

Though the recoil sent Oscar flying backward, he was able to recover in midair thanks to his Onyx Boots.

“O-kun!”

“I’m sure that hit! But—”

He wasn’t able to finish his sentence.

There was a dull thud, and both Miledi’s gravity sphere and Oscar’s lightning were blown away.

Hearst leaped up to where Oscar was and crossed her swords around his neck.

It was only thanks to the heightened perception his glasses gave him that he was able to bring up his umbrella in time to guard.

Her swords bit into his umbrella. He could feel them cutting into his neck.

He’d avoided being decapitated, but only by a hair’s breadth. The swords slowly digging into his skin reminded him that his head could still fly at any moment. That one attack had shaved a decade off his life just from the fright it had given him.

“You’re surprisingly tenacious.” Hearst’s lifeless eyes bored into Oscar. They were the same shade of blue as Miledi’s.

He knew this wasn’t the time to be comparing eyes, but Oscar couldn’t help it. While Miledi’s looked like a clear blue sky after a storm, Hearst’s resembled empty glass spheres.

There was only the tiniest hint of light in those glass globes. Up close, it felt as if her gaze was piercing right through him.

“O-kun!” Miledi fired a barrage of wind blades at Hearst.

Hearst turned to face the onslaught. She sent Oscar flying with a roundhouse kick as she turned, then cut down the wind blades with her swords.

Oscar slammed into the ground faster than he could blink.

“Cough Cough Gah, this isn’t good.” Coughing up blood, he struggled to all fours. Despite his coat’s protection, one kick had been enough to knock the wind out of him. Had it not been for his Ebony Coat, he’d be dead right now. As he struggled to his feet, he heard a scream above him.

“Kyaa!?”

“Miledi!”

Oscar willed his wounded body into action, and leaped over to where Miledi was falling.

He caught her in midair, swallowed down the bile and blood that threatened to spill out of his mouth, and landed on his back. He wasn’t going to let her go, no matter what.

“Ugh. Th-Thanks, O-kun.”

“Looks like you’re...not okay.”

There was a deep gash running from the top of Miledi’s shoulder to the tip of her breast. Though she was pressing on it with her hand, blood still dripped between her fingers. The wound wasn’t fatal, but it was certainly grave.

Oscar looked down at his umbrella. The earlier scissor cut had hacked it nearly in two. Despite the fact that the umbrella’s cloth was made of the hardest material in existence.

He mentally reviewed his remaining trump cards.

He knew his chains had no hope of binding Hearst. If she had the strength to cut through his umbrella, his chains wouldn’t last seconds. The same held true for the threads in his gloves. Just what is her body made of? They hadn’t been able to get a scratch on her. Oscar was all out of enchanted daggers.

Even his strongest spell, Thunderlord’s Judgement, hadn’t been able to touch her.

“What kind of monster is she?”

“Ahaha, don’t ask me.”

The two smiled bitterly at each other. No matter what attack they threw out, it would probably be nullified by that barrier surrounding her. Even if they could get past that, her equipment and her body were both so tough they doubted they could dent it.

Not only could she fly, her physical specs were through the roof, she had a seemingly inexhaustible supply of mana, and her combat skills were unparalleled. She was an absolute monster.

“Have you finally given up?” The woman who called herself God’s Apostle looked down at Oscar and Miledi.

“No way.”

“I’m not sure I understand the question. The word give up isn’t in my dictionary.”

The two of them glared at Hearst. Though their wounds had left them pale-faced, neither of them even felt the pain.

Hearst observed the two of them dispassionately.

“Even though my charm spell is supposed to be quite powerful, it seems it’s not working on you at all.” Her eyes shimmered. It appeared she’d been using brainwashing magic on them this whole time.

“Hmph, don’t even bother. These glasses of mine—” Are enchanted to defend against dark magic. Except he never got to finish his sentence.

“You’re trying to charm my O-kun!? You little thief! Too bad, O-kun’s so head over heels in love with me that your feminine wiles won’t work on him! How does it feel knowing I’m way prettier and way better than you? Huh? You mad? Are ya?” Despite their perilous situation, Miledi continued taunting Hearst. Is it just me or is she acting even more annoying than usual? It seemed Hearst had really ticked Miledi off. Hearst raised her twin swords.

It looked like this was all the time they’d managed to buy.

“With your wounds, you won’t be able to dodge anymore. Pitiful creatures who could not even become my master’s pawns. I will grant you a painless end.” Silver feathers fell from her wings. They hung in the night sky like a sea of stars.

“I’ll block the next attack. You try and finish her with your strongest spell, Miledi.”

“Looks like I’ll have to do it. Even if I can’t control it, it’s the only option left.”

The two bumped their fists together and steeled themselves. This would decide it.

“Disappear!” Thousands of glowing feathers plunged to the earth like a meteor storm.

Oscar transmuted the sand around his feet and stuck his umbrella into the newly worked earth. Once again, he activated his Hallowed Ground.

All noise vanished.

Or at least, Oscar was so focused on the attack in front of him that no sound reached his ears. The feathers demolished any part of the ground not protected by Oscar’s barrier.

“Gaaaaaaaaaaaah!” Oscar screamed and poured more mana into his tattered umbrella. He was simultaneously maintaining the barrier while also repairing his umbrella with transmutation.

Sustaining both at the same time was a herculean task, and his mana drained away at a prodigious rate.

His damaged body cried out in pain, and he felt more blood fill his mouth.

Still, he managed to hold out. He’d bought enough time for Miledi to cast her most powerful spell.

“It’s over! Nether Burst!” A two-meter sphere of pure destruction formed around Hearst.

“This is...” For the first time, there was emotion in Hearst’s voice. Surprise.

The meteor storm of feathers vanished.

“Gah!” Oscar spat out a mouthful of blood and grinned triumphantly at Hearst.

Miledi’s sphere closed in around the apostle. She still wasn’t able to regulate the spell. Once she cast it, it wouldn’t stop until it drained all of her mana.

So she had to make sure it would hit when she used it. Hearst was too strong for them to force an opening on their own. Which was why they’d waited for her to use her ultimate attack. That would be the only time she would show an opening.

“Wait, Miledi. Is it just me or is it smaller than last time?”

“Shut up! This is...the biggest I can...make it right now!” Miledi’s words were punctuated by sharp gasps. Casting such a powerful spell had left her drained.

Her Nether Burst been so much larger last time because Miledi had also used the six years’ worth of mana stored in Oscar’s Divinity Stone.

“I see. But this should still be more than enough to—”

“N-No way!? She’s trying to break out of it!”

“What!?”

The walls of Hearst’s gravity prison grew thin in places, making it possible to see inside.

Oscar saw that she had her eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating on something. What surprised him most was that she’d been able to maintain her form. Anything stuck inside Miledi’s Nether Burst was crushed.

Miledi started groaning.

It was taking all of her concentration just to keep the skill going. Hearst’s mana and Miledi’s warred inside the gravity prison. For the moment, they appeared evenly matched.

“Shit. The only thing I can think of is throwing this in there and—” Oscar twisted his umbrella’s handle. Before he could do any more though—

“O-Oh no!” There was a huge explosion, and Miledi’s Nether Burst was ripped apart.

A huge cloud of dust blossomed where Hearst had been standing. Oscar and Miledi were both sent flying.

Oscar managed to keep them together with his chains, but was unable to mitigate the force of the blow.

Their bodies had been battered to begin with, but now they didn’t even have the strength to get back to their feet.

“You really don’t know when to give up.” Oscar couldn’t tell whether she was impressed or just exasperated. There was too little emotion in her voice to be sure one way or the other.

Oscar and Miledi were unable to do anything more than raise their heads.

There was a massive ball of fire burning as hot as the sun above her head.

Still glaring at Hearst, Oscar silently took Miledi’s hand in his own. She squeezed his hand back.

Just then— “Void Fissure!” Space itself warped.

“Ah!?” The burning sun vanished, and Hearst was blown backwards. She quickly recovered, but was then battered by a series of invisible explosions. Unable to defend herself, God’s Apostle was sent flying off into the distance.

“You’re still alive, right?”

“Nacchan!?”

“Naiz!?”

Naiz smiled at them and lifted each of them up with one arm. A few hundred meters away, there was an explosion of silver light. Even after Naiz had ripped apart space around her, Hearst was still fine, it seemed.

Still, he’d bought them a few precious seconds.

“Let’s regroup.” Naiz opened a portal and retreated from the battlefield.

Hearst returned to find everyone had vanished. She swept her gaze back and forth before stopping at a point some distance to the south.

“Th-This is...”

“We’re about one hundred kilometers south of the volcano. This is as far as I can teleport in one go.”

Naiz sounded tired. Miledi cautiously looked around. When she didn’t see any silver-haired women chasing after her she raised her arms in joy. Except she was still injured.

“Owww!?”

“What are you doing, idiot?”

Tears spring to Miledi’s eyes and she writhed in pain.

Oscar deployed his umbrella’s Benison Aura to heal their wounds.

“O-kun...we’re sharing an umbrella.”

“Uhh, yes?”

Miledi purposely snuggled closer to Oscar. Oscar was too tired for a proper retort.

“It looks like I’m interrupting something. Should I just go back?” Naiz stared pointedly at the two of them. He pulled some mana potions out of his pouch and tossed a few to Oscar and Miledi. The rest he downed himself.

The two thanked him and gulped down their own potions.

“Why did you come?”

“Those girls begged me to help you.”

“Sue-chan really knows what she’s doing.”

Miledi smiled.

“At any rate, you saved our lives. Thank you. I know how hard it must have been to make this choice.”

“Yeah, thanks for saving our hides again, Nacchan.”

“Don’t mention it...”

Miledi and Oscar both knew he must have agonized over his decision a great deal.

Naiz did his best to keep a straight face while they thanked him.

This was the first time he’d used spatial magic offensively since that day. Attacking Hearst had brought unpleasant memories back to the surface of his mind, and even now he felt like he might puke. Still, he was glad he’d come to save them.

“Now then. If there’s a hundred kilometers between us I think we have enough time to strategize at least... What should we do? Keep running? I don’t think we’ll be able to escape for long though.”

“No, no running.”

“Yeah, we wouldn’t be able to get away anyway.”

Naiz groaned as he heard their reply.

“But how are we going to beat her? Even my Void Fissure couldn’t scratch her.”

“And that’s exactly why we can’t run. You may as well assume it’s impossible to get away from one of God’s Apostles. I was able to do it once before, but the situation was completely different that time.”

In the past, Miledi had infiltrated the head chapel to ascertain whether or not Belta had told her the truth. Back then, she’d just scouted the area out. She’d only gotten close enough to monitor the building with Farsight. When she’d been discovered, she’d tried to flee right away. She’d kept the apostle busy guarding the chapel by firing wide-area elemental spells at it and had only used her gravity magic to flee.

Back then the apostle had mistook her flight for wind magic and so hadn’t realized what Miledi was. Hearst, however, knew Miledi and Oscar were Atavists. Furthermore she knew they were a threat to her lord, and would not stop until they had been eliminated.

Hearst would continue chasing them down. Miledi doubted they would be able to escape her notice indefinitely.

“Besides, you’d stay even if we ran.”

Naiz started. He remembered again why the Holy Church had come here.

It hadn’t been to chase down Miledi and Oscar. It was purely by accident that Hearst had discovered Oscar and Miledi were Atavists.

Her original goal was to eliminate Naiz.

“Remember, back when I asked if we could come visit again as friends? You said you’d think about it.”

“As your friends, there’s no way we’d leave you to die on your own.”

Even though I never once actually called you guys my friends. Still, they were both willing to lay their lives down for him. Naiz couldn’t help but be moved.

Ah, it’s the same as last time. Once again, other people are protecting me.

“Alright, how do we defeat her then? Void Fissure’s my strongest spell.” He was sure if he thanked them he’d become a blubbering mess. So instead he focused on the enemy they needed to face. At the very least, he’d share his friends’ fate.

Miledi and Oscar understood the intent behind his words. And they both smiled happily.

“She even broke out of my Nether Burst...I’m not sure we’ve got any cards left to play.” Miledi rubbed her forehead.

Naiz’s expression grew grim and he lapsed into thought.

Only Oscar didn’t seem defeated. He looked at his two companions, then looked up at the sky.

“I do have one idea. I have no idea if we can actually pull it off though. The odds are going to be stacked really high against us, and even if we make it work we might end up killed along with her.”

“R-Really, O-kun!?”

“At this point, I’ll take anything. It’s still better than rolling over and dying.”

Miledi’s eyes shone with renewed hope, and the corners of Naiz’s mouth twitched up in a faint smile.

Oscar nodded. Just as he was about to explain his master plan though—

“Ah!?” All three of them looked up.

Oscar instantly activated his glasses’ Farsight ability. A shining silver meteor shower was headed toward them.

“She’s here!”

“Are you kidding me, this is one hundred kilometers away!? Just how fast is that thing!?”

“I’m starting to realize now that I didn’t escape last time. She let me run away!”

Despite their complaints, all three of them still prepared to intercept her.

Oscar started talking as fast as he could.

“I need an opening to stab her with my umbrella! Then when I give the signal, hit her with another Nether Burst, Miledi!” The storm of silver feathers reached them the moment he finished.

The three of them scattered in different directions.

A second later the feathers slammed into the ground with more force than any feather should rightfully have. Dust clouds puffed up one after another.

Hearst flew out of the dust with such speed that the air groaned in her wake. Her first target appeared to be Oscar.

Oscar backed out of the way and tried to counter with Spiral Blaze. A tornado of flames erupted out of his umbrella. Spiral Blaze was one of the strongest fire spells.

However, Hearst didn’t even bother to dodge it. She crossed her swords in front of her and powered right through the flames.

“Uwaaah!?” The force of her charge pushed Oscar’s umbrella up into the air. Hearst then tried to ram her sword through his now exposed chest.

“Not on my watch.” Naiz suddenly appeared behind Hearst. He grabbed her head and they both disappeared. A second later, they appeared high up in the sky. Naiz pushed Hearst in front of him as they fell. She took the brunt of the impact as they hit the ground.

“Void Fissure!” Naiz followed that up with his strongest attack. A huge shockwave spread out from Hearst’s helmet.

She turned her head to the side and glared at Naiz.

“Ah!” Naiz knew his magic wasn’t powerful enough to kill her, but he’d been hoping to at least give her a concussion. It seemed even that had been too optimistic. Hearst fired a barrage of feathers at him at point blank range.

“Gaaah!?” Naiz had managed to teleport away fast enough to avoid being turned into a pincushion, but he’d still been hit a good few times. His entire body was covered in blood.

“Naiz!?”

“Don’t worry about me! It wasn’t fatal!” Hearst flew up after Naiz. Miledi cast six Heavensfalls to box Hearst in from all directions. All six sheets of gravity pressed in on the apostle. Hearst attempted to weaken one of the sides, planning to break out from there.

“!?” However, her body was pushed in an unexpected direction.

“Even if I can’t crush you, I can mess with your sense of gravity! Good luck flying now!” As Hearst was tossed this way and that, she began gathering her mana. Her body glowed with an intense silver light. She held out her hand, and waves of fire exploded in every direction. She’d just cast the strongest area of effect fire spell in existence, Hellfire Tsunami.

Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz all dealt with the flames in different fashions.

“Shit—” However, just as Oscar had blown away the wave of fire, Hearst appeared next to him. She drew one of her swords back and thrust it at him.

Oscar’s Hallowed Ground cracked as it took the blow. A second later it shattered and Hearst’s sword punched through.

It kept going and stabbed Oscar through the chest.

“Gaaah!?” Hellfire Tsunami’s flames dispersed and both Miledi and Naiz were able to see Oscar floating in the air, stabbed through by Hearst’s sword.

“O-kun!”

“Oscar!”

Miledi and Naiz screamed in horror.

“One down.” Hearst brandished her second sword. The first had missed Oscar’s heart by a paper-thin margin. Hallowed Ground had held just long enough for Oscar to move a few centimeters to the side and angle his Ebony Coat to deflect the sword another few centimeters.

There was no way he’d be able to dodge the second blow, not with a massive greatsword already stuck in his chest. Nor would Hearst give him the any time to recover.

“It’s not over yet!” Oscar poured a huge amount of mana into his boots and hugged Hearst’s torso. The problem with greatswords was that they were useless at close range. As long as Oscar was sticking to her, she wouldn’t be able to swing her sword at him.

Of course, that also meant he drove the sword already inside him deeper. The pain nearly caused him to black out.

“Futile—”

“Miledi, Naiz, now!”

Oscar sent out all of the threads in his gloves. They wound around both him and Hearst. He then threw his umbrella out. It flipped around in midair, the point aimed directly at Hearst. Once more, he activated Hallowed Ground. This time though, the barrier covered both of them. He was using a defensive spell as a cage to trap Hearst. The greatswords in Hearst’s hands vanished, and she made to strike Oscar with her bare hands.

Before she could hit him though, Miledi acted.

“Nether Burst!” Miledi’s black sphere covered both Hearst and Oscar. Even an apostle of god needed to focus to shatter it. In other words, it would hold for at least a few seconds.

Of course a mere human like Oscar wouldn’t last even a second inside it. Fortunately, Naiz opened a portal and saved Oscar seconds before the sphere finished fully forming.

“Gah!”

“Do you have a death wish or something!?”

Though it was only for a split second, Oscar’s body had been put under the immense pressure of Miledi’s Nether Burst. Blood was pouring out of his mouth, his nose, his eyes, his ears, every orifice that he had. The hand Naiz had grabbed Oscar with was bleeding as well.

“But we got her.”

Oscar raised a hand, and his umbrella flew into it. He thrust his left hand forward and pulled his right hand back, like he was drawing a bow. His pose was similar to the one Hearst had taken when she’d stabbed him through.

“Naiz, give me a portal!”

“R-Roger!”

Naiz opened a portal in front of Oscar. Its exit point was directly behind Hearst’s heart. Oscar transmuted the ferrule into a razor-sharp point and flung it as hard as he could into the portal.

Hearst had no armor protecting her there. When he’d hugged her earlier, Oscar had transmuted away the armor behind her heart.

The umbrella’s point pierced the apostle’s white skin.

But it didn’t drive in much further. Hearst’s ridiculously sturdy muscles prevented it from reaching her heart.

“But can you handle this?” Oscar snapped his fingers and the ferrule ejected from the end of the umbrella. The propulsion drove it even further into Hearst’s body.

A second later, a jolt of electricity traveled down the wire connecting the ferrule to the umbrella and then directly into Oscar.

“Let’s get out of here.” Naiz teleported Oscar, along with the umbrella down to the ground. The only thing left near Hearst was the ferrule and its connecting wire.

“Gaaah!”

“Oscar, don’t die on me!”

He’d paid a steep price for his reckless antics. Rivulets of blood poured out of the gaping wound on his chest.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” He grit his teeth and cast a fire spell on his umbrella. Once the metal cloth was red-hot, he pushed it against his chest, cauterizing the wound. He screamed in pain as his flesh burned.

“O-kun, are you okay!?” Miledi looked like she was about to cry. Oscar didn’t have time to reassure her.

“What about her!? Did we get her!?”

“Huh? Well... Wait? I think my spell is winning?” Last time Hearst had been able to overpower Miledi and break free. This time though, Miledi’s mana was winning out against Hearst’s.

“Haaah, haaah, think you’ll be able to kill her with this?”

“No way! This just means she’ll be trapped for longer.”

“Figures,” Oscar said with a grim smile.

“But still, we managed to restrain her for a little bit. That means we can move on to stage two. Naiz.”

“I’m here. What do you want me to do?”

He didn’t ask for details because he had absolute trust in Oscar.

“Teleport me to the mouth of the volcano.”

“Understood.”

Naiz put a hand on Oscar’s shoulder.

“Miledi, I’ll be right back! Just hold her until I return!”

“You got it! I’ll show her what I’m made of!”

The next second Naiz and Oscar were standing on the terrace overlooking the volcano’s magma chamber.

“Naiz, recover as much mana as you can. You’re going to need to cast two more long-distance teleports.” Naiz nodded and began gulping down as many mana potions as he could.

Oscar pushed away the blackness gathering at the edge of the vision and brought out his Metamorph Chains.

“It’s time we try a new vector of attack.” He dropped all five of his chains into the magma.

Every second, a little more of Miledi’s mana drained away. That mana was her lifeline. Once it ran out, the reaper would be coming for her.

But she wasn’t worried.

Hearst stared at Miledi through her black prison.

Miledi smiled fearlessly at that emotionless face.

“Looks like you’ve gotten a lot weaker. Did O-kun’s hug get you so flustered you couldn’t fight back?” Her mana may be running out, but she still had an unlimited supply of snark.

Miledi knew it was Oscar’s ferrule that had weakened Hearst and not the hug, but she still wanted to say it.

Her Nether Burst creaked ominously. It wouldn’t be long before her prison failed.

“O-kun, Nacchan...” She whispered the name of her two comrades.

Just then, a bright light appeared directly above her.

“Is that a star? It looks too bright to be one...” Miledi looked up and saw what seemed to be a star. Though she hadn’t recalled any star existing in that spot before. It was also far brighter than the others. Before she could question it any further, she noticed it was growing larger.

“Wait? Is it just me or—” Cold sweat poured down her back. Her lips twitched.

Unable to believe her own eyes, Miledi continued staring at the burgeoning light.

“Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait! No way! A star’s falling down!” This wasn’t just a meteor shower. A giant burning hunk of rock was hurtling toward the earth. By Miledi’s calculations, it would land in another 20 seconds. She’d seen a lot in her life, but this was far beyond anything she’d experienced.

A voice broke her out of her stupor.

“Miledi!” Oscar and Naiz had returned. Oscar looked whiter than a sheet, and Naiz was so exhausted he couldn’t even speak.

“Guys, a star’s falling from the sky!”

“We know! Control its descent so it lands directly on her!”

Oscar started transmuting the ground as fast as he could. He dug a hole big enough for the three of them and surrounded it with as many layers of metal as he could.

You’ve gotta be kidding me! Still, Miledi flew over to Oscar and started working her magic.

There was a sharp crack, and her Nether Burst shattered.

“Unbelievable...” Hearst looked up at the massive blazing boulder of lava bearing down on her. Even a God’s Apostle was stunned by the sight of it.

She beat her wings, trying to fly out of the way.

“It’s over now!” Oscar’s chains had been waiting right outside Nether Burst’s sphere of influence. The moment it shattered he sent them flying up to Hearst. Hearst expected she would be able to shake them off easily, but the chains began to glow golden and wouldn’t budge. Oscar had enchanted them with one of Naiz’s spells, —Spatial Anchoring.

Ten seconds until impact. Great gouts of golden mana pulsed out of Oscar’s chains. Hearst used all of her strength to try and shake them off. The chains began to creak.

Five seconds until impact. “You’re not getting away!” Naiz burned the last of his remaining mana to cast as many Void Fissures as he could. The chain of impacts left Hearst rooted to the spot.

Oscar cast Hallowed Ground around their makeshift bunker. Miledi gave him the last dregs of her mana to help him bolster the barrier as much as possible.

Two seconds until impact. Miledi— “Don’t you ever underestimate humans!”

Naiz— “Looks like we win.”

Oscar— “Rot at the bottom of the earth, you puppet of the gods.” Their voices were far too quiet to be heard through the din of battle. Still, at the last second, Hearst turned to the three of them and— Impact. The world went white.

The force of the meteor’s landing knocked Miledi and the others out, even through all of their barriers.

The first thing Naiz felt when we woke up was pain. His whole body hurt.

He grimaced as he felt the buzzing in his ears and pushed himself to his knees.

“Ngh. Did it work...” He looked around. He spotted Miledi and Oscar right away. They were half-buried in the sand, and neither of them were moving.

“Oscar! Miledi!” He was so drained of mana that he couldn’t even walk. He crawled over to where the two of them were. Oscar’s umbrella was still in his hand. It was so battered it hardly resembled an umbrella anymore.

He somehow managed to get them both out of the sand and lie them down. Fortunately, they were still breathing. They were alive. Barely, but they were.

“Ugh. Where am I...”

“Nhaaah.”

He slapped their cheeks a few times, and they woke up. Miledi groaned in pain as she opened her eyes.

“Are you two alright?”

“In what world do we look, ‘alright’ Nacchan?”

“Heh. I suppose so. You look especially bad, Oscar...”

“Fortunately, I’m pretty tough. Owwwwww...”

Oscar took Naiz’s hand and rose himself into a sitting position.

“How long were we out for?”

“I’m not sure. A few minutes at most. Your blood’s still wet.”

The three of them somehow managed to stand while leaning on each other’s shoulders. There was a huge crater in the earth a good distance away. White smoke still rose from it.

They nodded to each other and began walking toward it. They reached the lip of the crater and looked down. There was still a huge pool of lava at the bottom, bubbling and smoldering.

After staring at it for a few minutes, Miledi raised her hands. Oscar and Naiz silently followed suit. The three of them exchanged high-fives.

“So what exactly did you do?” Miledi asked.

“While you were keeping her trapped we went back to the volcano. I turned a bunch of magma into a kind of magma boulder. Then I had Naiz teleport that into the sky above her.”

“Not only did I have to teleport it a hundred kilometers away, I needed to put it a few kilometers in the air as well. Then I had to teleport the two of us back too. I thought I’d pass out doing it.”

That had been Oscar’s plan. His last-ditch plan had been to turn a giant sphere of lava into a mini-meteor. He’d taken the idea from the huge Nether Burst Miledi had used to obliterate part of the Greenway.

“Th-That’s pretty extreme. Oh yeah, what did you do that weakened the Apostle anyway?”

“Oh. I stuffed the tip of my umbrella with liquified stillstone.”

“Ah, that was what Nacchan was making last time!”

He’d liquified and compressed as much stillstone as he could into that tiny umbrella’s tip. Honestly, he’d wanted to use it on a monster and see what happened when that monster tried to use magic.

“Even with the stillstone and the lava meteor I wasn’t sure we’d be able to pull it off properly... I’m glad it worked.” Despite all of the barriers they’d put up at the end, it was still a miracle that they’d survived. Oscar breathed a sigh of relief, and Miledi and Naiz smiled at him. Just as they were about to say something, the three of them heard a rumbling noise from inside the crater.

“There’s no way, right?” No one responded to Oscar’s muttered comment.

They watched as something began to rise up out of the lava.

The burning hot lava fell away to reveal Hearst, surrounded by a nimbus of silver light.

She’d lost an arm, her armor had completely melted away, and her clothes were burnt to cinders. Her entire body was covered in burns. But her mana burned as brightly as before.

She lifted what remained of the boulder with one hand and tossed it into the air.

As it fell back down, she jabbed up with her hand and broke it to pieces.

Despite her wounds, she was still raring to go.

Miledi, Oscar, and Naiz exchanged despairing looks. Grudgingly, they readied themselves for a fight. They had no mana and no weapons. Their chances of winning were less than zero.

But that was no reason to give up.

However, it looked like fate was on their side for once.

“Ah. But Noint, these irregulars must... Yes, ma’am. Understood. I shall return immediately.”

Hearst took to the sky. She glanced one last time down at Miledi and the others.

“Rejoice. I have been summoned to my lord’s game board.” She flew off to the northwest, a silver meteor shooting through the sky.

“What... just happened?”

“I don’t know, but it looks like we were spared.”

“I thought we were dead for sure.”

All three of them sighed in relief and fell backwards.

They lay there on the sand, looking up at the starry night sky.

After a while, Miledi mumbled, “We need to get stronger.” “Yeah,” Oscar and Naiz said in unison.

“Hey, Nacchan.”

“Yes?”

“Come travel with us.”

Miledi had exhausted all of her well-formed, eloquent arguments. Her final attempt at solicitation boiled down to a single sentence.

Naiz closed his eyes. He thought back to the village he’d destroyed. The pain of his sins weighed down on him even now. But would he really be able to protect people without going berserk? Now that Oscar and Miledi meant so much to him, he was worried he might accidentally...

“Don’t worry. If it looks like you’re going to lose it, we’ll stop you.” Oscar’s voice was quiet, but filled with conviction.

Of course. If I’m with these two, then there’s nothing to worry about...

Oscar followed up, jokingly, with “Besides, this tomboy’s too much for me to handle on my own. I need someone to help me with her.”

“Heeey! What’s that supposed mean, O-kun!?”

The two started trading insults again. Naiz found the noisy atmosphere pleasant.

He smiled, his eyes still closed.

“I want to be worthy of calling myself a Gruen again one day.”

“......”

“And I get the feeling that if I keep traveling with you, that day will definitely come. So—

“I’d be glad to join you.” Naiz raised a fist into the air.

Miledi and Oscar followed suit. Three tiny fists joined together under the vast starry sky.