Blood sprayed from her nose once again, but Thesaya didn’t even blink.
Her gaze remained fixed beyond the writhing violet tide, sweeping over the blazing red waves as they crashed against it.
"Die—"
"O Karha!"
She couldn’t hear Mev’s response. Divinity was mixed even into the roars of the warriors locked in desperate combat with the parasites. On top of that, the sparks bursting where divinity and chaos collided carried disruptive waves that scrambled the senses.
Even so, Thesaya had no trouble picking Mev out from among them. It wasn’t merely because Mev held a sword slick with dark crimson divinity high above her head.
Swoosh...
Mev still stood at the very front of the barbarian warriors, completely engulfed in dark red divinity. It shimmered so densely that her armor’s outline seemed to flicker like a shadow beneath it.
Even among the barbarian warriors clad in red divinity, her alien and unsettling presence stood out unmistakably.
At this point, you could call her an Avatar of Vengeance, not just an Agent of Vengeance.Thesaya raised an eyebrow slightly as she peered into the dark crimson glow filling Mev’s visor. Either way, Mev had clearly sensed her gaze.
Slash, crunch!
Mev brought the sword down in a slanted arc from above her head. The dark red crescent it released cleaved straight through two parasites lunging forward with flailing tentacles, splitting them cleanly in half.
Squelch... Sizzle...
The severed parasites writhed weakly for a moment before melting into formless sludge. Mev didn’t spare them a glance. She simply let the blade hang at her side and strode forward once more.
"Do not stop, do not retreat!"
"Eternal battle!"
There was something strangely calm about her advance. That stillness made her stand out all the more sharply against the savage melee raging behind her.
Crunch, crack! Thud!
The parasites that did not burn away in the heat of the sacred flames were clearly not easy opponents, even for barbarian warriors with the Blessing of Battle.
Slice—
Yet Mev split and dissolved them every time with a single, clean stroke.
Dead warriors and horses came back, too. Is that why she’s grown even redder? Or is it...
One corner of Thesaya’s lips twitched in a sinister curl. The thought followed naturally that Selim, too, might have become a host to the parasites.
It would be a tragedy for Mev, but for Thesaya, it might actually be a fortunate turn of events. After all, it would make approaching the Avatar of Agony much easier.
Growl...
Even as Thesaya reflexively wrapped the reins tightly around her wrist and forearm, she caught sight of its blazing violet eyes. From its brow down along the bridge of its nose, long blade-like horns had grown in a jagged row.
Swoosh—
A chilling violet hue seeped out between the plates of barding that had transformed into something like a carapace. It looked as though its entire hide was coated in a faint violet sheen.
Whether this was its complete true form was unclear, but it had mutated into something far more fearsome than before.
What truly surprised Thesaya was that she felt not the slightest discomfort or aversion toward the chaos emanating from it. If anything, it left her strangely calm.
Is this also the aftereffect of drinking Ian's blood and reviving in the past?
The thought went no further. Moro thrust its horned head forward and plunged straight into the heart of the writhing tide of parasites surging toward them.
Crunch!
A heavy vibration and thunderous impact swept through Thesaya. Flattened against the saddle, she reached out and gripped its edge tightly. The reins wrapped around her wrist and forearm slackened, then snapped taut again and again.
Roar—
Moro whipped its head violently. Its long mane, steeped in violet light, lashed through the air, scattering severed tentacles and chunks of host flesh in every direction.
Splat! Slash—
Tentacles writhed closer from both sides. Still, Thesaya remained draped over the saddle like a frog, merely turning her head to watch it all without much tension.
Crack! Crunch—
Though its speed slowed slightly, Moro’s charge never stopped. The reaching tentacles failed to latch onto it, slipping away instead, pushed back by the chaos it was emitting.
Not bad at all.
Moro didn’t merely tear apart whatever came close. It smashed straight through them, trampled them underfoot, crushed them into pulp.
Compared to when it had fought Akihatara’s minions, it looked even more ferocious now and at the same time, strangely delighted, like a fish finally returned to water.
But that also means it’ll stand out in every way. The barbarians already know Ian tamed a demon beast, but still….
Because of that, Thesaya was able to spare enough presence of mind to think through contingency plans.
That pretty little half-wit noble has probably been spreading the story all over the center already… If commanders or spellcasters start asking questions… then I’ll—
Truth be told, part of her hoped people would stir up controversy after seeing Moro like this. She could crush the noses of those fools who sided with them and sweep them away along with the archduke.
Grrr—
Moro suddenly let out a thunderous roar. Even pressed flat against the saddle, Thesaya understood why at once.
The shouts of the barbarian warriors and the din of the battlefield were now echoing from not too far away.
Moro had pierced straight through the dense swarm of parasites like a living battering ram.
Splat... Crunch...
Behind them stretched a path of crushed, ruptured monsters—so thoroughly mangled that they couldn’t regenerate, or even move properly. That, too, was the result of the chaos carried in Moro’s blows.
"Keep going, Moro. Open the way to Redhead."
Lifting only one hand, Thesaya slapped Moro’s back as she shouted. The beast answered with a growl and continued its charge. Though it rampaged like an enraged rhinoceros, the violet glow clinging to it only grew more vivid.
Whether it was replenishing its strength by devouring the parasites, Thesaya couldn’t tell.
In any case, it was not what mattered.
"Thesa—"
From ahead, a thunderous shout tinged with divinity rang out.
Thesaya snapped her eyes wide open and shoved her arms outward, lifting her upper body.
"Here! Redhead!"
On the left flank of the advancing front line, Mev was charging toward them, trailing dark red arcs.
She held her sword extended to the side, hacking apart lunging tentacles indiscriminately. She cut away anything that met her blade like sticky mud.
"Don’t stop! Keep running! We have to pass through before the path closes!"
The barbarian warriors behind them halted and spread apart, clearing the way as she shouted.
Growl—
Moro roared and slammed all four hooves into the ground, twisting sideways almost simultaneously. It skidded as it slowed, shoving the writhing parasites ahead of it aside with sheer mass.
Crash!
Half a dozen parasites sent flying by the impact tumbled straight into the midst of the barbarian warriors.
"Kill!"
"Ooooooo!"
Even as they were shoved backward, they didn’t panic. They swung their weapons wildly at the parasites, having spotted Moro charging in well in advance.
Moro twisted to the left and finally came to a stop.
Rumble—
Trailing a dark crimson arc, Mev raced past the beast, pivoted sharply, and sprinted into the newly cleared space. She trampled over the writhing remains of the parasites without slowing.
"Run to the brazier! I’ll catch up right after!" Thesaya shouted as she watched Mev slide her sword back into the sheath on her back.
She kept beating Moro’s broad back with the hand wrapped tight in the reins as she yelled.
"That’s enough! Turn around again! Let’s go back, Moro! …Hey. Don’t tell me?"
Thesaya froze and looked toward the back of Moro’s head, framed by its surging mane.
The beast had not turned. It was staring intently toward the far left, crouching its legs as if about to charge again.
"N-no, not this way! Moro! This is—"
Her shout cut off as her head snapped back. Moro surged forward without warning, ramming itself at an angle straight into the oncoming wave of parasites.
Crunch!
Its mane billowed magnificently as it lashed out wildly with its blade-like horns.
"Ugh!"
Thesaya slammed the side of her head into the saddle and flattened herself against it, grimacing. When she looked up again, severed tentacles and flung parasites were flying in every direction.
"The demigod’s beast has opened the way!"
Beyond them, a wave of barbarian warriors was rapidly closing in.
"That’s the beast the demigod tamed?!"
"So the Third Consort is still riding it! Brave, I’ll give her that!"
"Hahaha! No wonder it eats so much meat—look at the size of it!"
Even while locked in brutal combat, they shouted boisterously, eyes following Moro and Thesaya as they cut straight across the front lines.
Thesaya, however, wasn’t listening.
"This leads toward the inner fortress, you lunatic!" she shouted, clutching Moro’s mane as though she meant to tear it out.
She remembered what connected directly to the inner fortress—and who would be up there right now.
"Nila? Are you heading for Nila right now? There’ll be parasites swarming up there too!"
She shouted in disbelief, but Moro only lifted its head and roared. That alone was enough to twist her expression completely.
"You’re dumber than a beastfolk, you stupid monster! You’re going to ruin my mission over your feelings! Turn your head right now! I’m the one who’s supposed to throw that divine sword to Ian!"
She shook the mane she’d grabbed as if she meant to rip it free. Of course, it didn’t change Moro’s course in the slightest. At best, it earned her an irritated growl.
Eventually, Thesaya closed her eyes, turned her head to the left, and shouted, "I can’t follow you, Redhead! So you have to get the divine sword to Ian! And don’t forget to tell him it was my plan! Got it?"
She poured magic and pure irritation into her voice until blood streamed freely from her nose. However, thanks to that, her voice reached Mev’s ears despite the distance.
I will. No matter what.
Answering only inwardly, Mev continued sprinting.
Though torn apart and crushed, tentacles still lashed out from every direction, grasping desperately for her. None could hold on. Her armor was completely wrapped in divinity.
Sizzle... Splat—
Anything that touched it bubbled and melted away like tar. Sharp pain still pierced through the armor, but it wasn’t enough to slow her.
The writhing tide of parasites continued to swell, devouring the space to either side as it closed in.
Rumble—
Yet the glow filling her visor never wavered. Mev’s gaze swept past the faintly shining braziers in the distance—and beyond them, to the battlefield of the gods, where massive explosions were tearing space apart with no clear sense of distance.
Boom!
Through the roiling haze, a colossal shadow flickered into view, wings spread wide. Around it, tentacle-like trajectories surged and lashed in violent arcs.
Fwoosh, crunch—!
The narrowing, writhing passage suddenly burst open. In the next instant, a stretch of land coated in bubbling slime and charred remains spread out before her.
She’d made it through the path Moro had carved.
Sizzle— Splat—
The parasites pursuing her thrashed helplessly as they melted away, consumed by the lingering heat saturating the area.
Even then, Mev turned her head to the right, never forgetting her duty as vice commander.
Beyond the tangled, burned-out wreckage of the supply wagons, another brazier cart glowed faintly into view, along with a roofed carriage. Warhorses and ponies strained at the reins; legion soldiers clustered protectively around them.
Fortunately, it seems Her Highness is safe too.
Spotting Phaden and other figures from the imperial capital among them, Mev finally felt a quiet sense of relief. If the princess had died, there was no way they’d be acting so calmly. For Ian’s future as well, they had to survive.
"Vice Commander is coming!"
"Vice Commander! Run!"
Mev snapped her gaze forward as voices rose from ahead. Barbarian warriors wrapped in red divinity were calling out to her.
Like the warriors on the opposite side, they were clearly wounded, being evacuated from the rear. Even so, they looked perfectly fine now.
As expected, the Blazing Goddess has lent her aid.
Mev concluded without difficulty. The faint sparks drifting from them made it obvious.
"We’ll clear the way to the Demigod!"
"We’ll go with you—"
At the shouts that followed, Mev clenched her teeth instead of answering. The dark crimson glow in her eyes, which had brightened slightly, dulled again in an instant.
Their help would be valuable, no doubt.
However, it was equally certain that those approaching the heart of the battlefield would not return alive. The odds that not a single one of them would make it back were far higher.
She had already seen more than enough of her subordinates die in this war.
"Stop talking nonsense and back off!"
The shout rang out thunderously from the direction of the wagons.
As the barbarian warriors hesitated and turned, a priest leaped down beside the brazier wagon, tearing off his hooded cloak.
"If you all go charging off, who’s going to protect the Saintess and the priests?"
It was Miguel, with faint sparks flickering around him.
Rubbing the prosthetic on his left arm with his right hand, he continued, "So don’t move an inch from here. I’ll open the path to the Agent of the Saint."