Fwoosh—
A wave of searing azure flames surged like a tide, closing in at once. From the hilt of the divine sword, a chill spread through Ian’s hand—a sensation so sharp it was impossible to tell whether it was scorching heat or biting cold.
Mev, sprinting ahead and carving a dark red trail through the air, was likely wrapped in the same sensation.
—Really now... this is the absolute worst...
It seemed his advisor, whose resistance to divinity was steadily increasing, felt the same.
—If you had listened to even one of my pieces of advice... we wouldn't have to see such a pathetic sight... friend...
I would have seen something even more pathetic and filthier.
Ian snorted inwardly. As always, most of Yog’s suggestions were unwelcome, such as merging with chaos.
The archduke and the Great Church are enough of a headache.
Even while fighting the avatar, Ian was occasionally overtaken by a transcendental sensation. For a fleeting instant, it felt as though he were observing the entire battlefield from a higher plane.Because of that, he knew that more than ten spellcasters were still alive atop the wall, watching this scene with great amusement.
I can’t afford to get tangled up with those lunatics.
Whether they were the archduke’s lackeys was a secondary issue. He couldn't rule out the possibility that the magic tower was secretly watching as well. If he showed himself wielding chaos or transforming into a demon, it would cause endless exhaustion later on.
—Well, I suppose I shouldn’t grumble at you. This happened because that blood relative of Lucy’s, the one from your dreams, arrived…
Yog added the remark just as Mev plunged into the dense fog of chaos stretching beyond the sacred flames.
There were irritating notes mixed into the whisper, but it was not wrong.
Ian had been on the verge of drawing the black sword. If Mev had not intervened at that precise moment, he would have had no other choice. In that sense, she had pulled him back from a crisis.
"The moment of the oath approaches... so even blood of the same weight as my grudge, I give with a joyful heart..."
Mev’s support continued. As her murmured words brushed past his ears, Ian fixed his gaze on her back a few meters ahead. She had already crossed her arms before her chest, lifting both swords upward like a pair of horns.
Ssssssssh—
The words that followed barely resembled a prayer, steeped instead in naked bloodlust, but the effect was unmistakable. The dark crimson divinity surrounding Mev thickened and grew viscous. As it spread outward, it began to take the shape of ominous wings.
The divinity surged heavily over her raised blades.
Sizzle—
Ian stepped into the silent, sunken fog of chaos as well. Red divinity flared, burning the mist away, while an azure trajectory traced forward from the divine sword like a line drawn through the air.
Even within this maelstrom, he could feel divinity steadily refilling the sword’s source.
—Can you feel it, friend? She has half-escaped its shackles. That freedom will last only as long as her master allows…
Yog let out a low chuckle. It was clearly observing Mev. The mocking tone was nothing new.
—It seems that fellow felt it too.
At that whisper, Ian’s eyes twitched faintly. He did not need to consider who "that fellow" referred to. Even through the fog, he could feel the avatar’s gaze fixed on them.
Ssssssssh—
The creature’s presence sharpened the instant Ian closed his eyes. Beyond the fog, an eye of chaos blazed like a sun.
The countless trajectories beginning to press through the dense chaos became just as vivid. Even so, with his eyes still shut, Ian did not bother warning Mev running ahead. He knew she had already sensed it.
She looked like an angel forged from blood, boiling with power.
Mev swung both arms outward, as though spreading wings.
Splat, swoosh!
Dark red crescent-shaped trajectories burst out in a crossing arc. They faded after traveling only a few meters, but it was enough to cleave through the blazing mist and sever the tentacle paths advancing from beyond.
Of course, that was only the beginning.
Boom, boom, boom!
Countless dark red trajectories sprayed outward around Mev.
When Ian opened his eyes, her back came sharply into view as she sprinted ahead, swinging her swords without pause, her movements almost like a dance.
Rumble! Crash—
Thanks to her, the trajectories flying in from all directions could not even graze him. Ian watched fragments of tentacles which were now hardened into thorny vines, scatter and tear apart in midair.
—I felt it earlier, but she really is something.
Yog let out a chuckle.
It was likely the highest praise it could offer.
Ian shared the sentiment. Even with all the combat experience he had accumulated, her movements were something he wouldn't even dream of imitating.
—At that level… I think you could even take her as your vassal. What do you think, my friend? If you asked, she’d probably accept without hesitation.
Letting the familiar nonsense pass through him without comment, Ian lifted his gaze over Mev’s head.
Beyond the torn veil of chaos, the avatar’s form was coming fully into view, its wings spread wide.
Whoosh…
Above the crown of thorns on its head, which was hidden by a pair of small membranous wings, the eye of chaos blazed ominously. The pupil, which looked like layers of purple and yellow circles, stared intently at the rapidly approaching Mev.
"Mev!" Ian shouted as he noticed violet light surge instantly through the pupil.
The next moment, a wave of chaos erupted at a speed that could neither be avoided nor blocked.
Ian’s eyes twitched for a brief instant. It was not only because the passing wave sent pain crashing over him, as though his skin were being flayed alive.
At the same time, countless visions flooded his sight—friends dying in grotesque, brutal ways, and the shattered ruins of his destroyed homeworld.
Combined with the pain that felt like his nerves were being incinerated, he for a moment even forgot the flow of time.
Is it inflicting maximum pain on both body and mind?
However, Ian did not scream or lose his reason. It wasn't just thanks to his high Mental Fortitude or the Blessing of Battle.
He was simply able to endure it.
Pain was the sensation most familiar to him, and the visions he had just seen were worst-case scenarios he had already imagined countless times.
—To think I once found this painful… How interesting…
As Yog cackled, Ian broke free of the visions and immediately focused forward.
He reflexively tightened his grip on the divine sword, ready to move to Mev’s aid after the mental wave struck her.
Then he realized it was unnecessary.
Mev was still running. Not only had she not slowed, but she had accelerated, her swings growing even more violent.
"----------!"
Ian finally realized she hadn't resisted the mental wave. She had simply sublimated all of that pain into vengeance. Instead of stopping or collapsing, she had charged straight into it and shattered it head-on.
Boom, boom, boom!
After releasing two of the largest dark red arcs yet, Mev glanced back. The bloodlike tears flowing from her eyes vanished the instant her gaze met Ian’s.
Ian gave a slight nod. He had no intention of ever wondering what visions she had seen—neither now nor in the future.
Whoosh!
Mev turned forward again and continued her charge. Her movements grew faster and rougher. If an avatar of vengeance were ever to descend upon the world, this was what it would look like.
—An unlucky fellow, indeed. To face enemies who do not fear pain.
Yog snickered. Judging by how much more relaxed its voice had become, the psychic wave seemed to have turned into nourishment for it.
Of course, it might simply have been licking up the chaos thickly saturating the area.
—Looks like that thing’s surprised, too.
At Yog’s added remark, Ian gave a slight nod in agreement.
Above the crown of the avatar, now drawing ever closer, the eye of chaos spun slowly in place. Thorny tentacles writhed, and another mental wave lashed out.
Boom, boom, boom!
The result did not change. Neither Ian nor Mev slowed, and neither let out a scream. Unlike before, Mev did not even glance back.
"--------!"
That reality was clearly throwing the Avatar of Agony into disarray.
The creature, which had been shrieking as waves of chaos burst from it, leaned to one side like a withered ancient tree.
Sizzle…
It spread its two newly sprouted pairs of membranous wings wide. From the thorns protruding along the membranes and joints, streaks of violet light radiated outward.
—Does it plan to blow us away?
Yog’s mockery rang more clearly than ever in Ian’s mind.
—How foolish.
Indeed.
One corner of Ian’s mouth twisted faintly. Unlike the flying tentacles, those wings were part of its main body. And its main body drawing closer was exactly what he wanted.
Boom, boom, boom!
Mev continued her charge without hesitation, likely because she understood the same thing. Or perhaps she simply had no intention of stopping in the first place.
Sssss….
Either way, the outcome would not change. Ian’s right hand tightened around the hilt of the divine sword. The blade boiled with a cold intensity, heat compressing within it as though it might erupt at any moment.
Whoosh—
As the two pairs of outstretched membranous wings closed in, Ian leaped with all his strength. Looking up at the violet trajectories spreading from the wings, he swung the divine sword with everything he had.
An azure line shot upward at a slant, sharp enough to look as though it had split the space itself apart. Even the membranous wings streaking in while scattering chaos were swallowed by that line and erased from sight.
Swoosh—
The azure arc flared and expanded the instant Ian spun, kicked off the air, and surged forward. Mist, the tentacles, and the chaos-carved trajectories hanging in the air were all split apart. The two pairs of membranous wings were slashed deeply as well, engulfed in flames.
"--------!"
From beyond the waves of azure flames, a tearing scream, a mixture of ecstasy and pain, erupted. The avatar’s form became visible only after the blazing judgment fire that had flooded the sky began to recede.
Rumble—
Though spreading and fading, the sacred flames continued to gnaw at the membranous wings. The eye of chaos atop the crown of thorns wavered erratically, and incoherent screams mixed with chaos poured from the creature’s gaping maw.
—Hmm… now I can feel it clearly. It’s inside there.
However, Ian didn’t look up at the creature. And the same was true for Mev, who was running ahead and swinging her swords.
Boom!
That was because the avatar’s lower body, grown tall like an ancient tree, was bearing down on them. Its appearance was reminiscent of a cursed ancient tree. It was then that Mev, having stopped her swords, twisted her waist and thrust both swords in the same direction.
"Ian! Don't... stop—"
Her suppressed shout spread as the blades she thrust forward darkened, turning almost pitch black. At the same time, she wrenched her waist violently in the opposite direction and swung both swords with all her might.
Splat!
Two dark red trajectories tore forward, driving deep into the avatar’s lower body and carving straight through it.
Clang!
Mev did not slow even then. She kicked off the ground and hurled herself forward, her entire dark red–stained body slamming like a cannonball into the trunk where her sword strikes had just torn through.
Kaboom!
A viscous explosion of dark red divinity erupted. The massive lower body swayed, and the avatar’s upper form, rising above it, lurched and tilted backward.
It was not severed or completely snapped, but it was more than enough.
Ian, charging in behind her, leaped again with all his strength.
Tap, tap, tap!
—It's not easy to be more reckless than you. This is impressive in many ways.
Ignoring Yog’s casual commentary, Ian fixed his attention on the looming lower body.
Sizzle—
Blazing sacred fire of judgment poured once more from the divine sword drawn back behind him. In the next instant, his feet struck the diagonally tilting trunk.
Swoosh—
Ian ran straight up the avatar. He dragged the divine sword downward as he moved, carving a brilliant azure line in his wake.
Rumble—
Waves of azure sacred fire spiraled outward to either side, surging upward as though climbing the creature’s flesh.
Ian’s speed never faltered. As he sprinted up the slanted body, the smoldering red divinity fed steadily into his limbs, driving him faster still.
Grind—
He reached the avatar’s upper body in a blink. Across the near-exoskeletal surface, azure lines and sparks flared violently where the divine sword passed.
"---------!"
Ian did not look back even once. His gaze was locked on the avatar’s head above, which was slowly rising again.
—It's inside there, Friend. It's certain...
Past the gaping maw vomiting screams tangled with chaos, Ian could see a flickering violet light. It was the symbol of the ritual; the glow born of the mark of the void.
—If you miss this chance... things might get tiring.
Sensing the slight loss of momentum in Ian’s climb, Yog whispered again.
—Can you do it, my friend?
As always, Ian did not answer.
He bent one knee and kicked off the avatar’s chest with everything he had, launching himself upward once more.
Whoosh!
He shot skyward like an arrow.
The screaming maw rushed toward him.
I'm sorry to the goddesses, but...
In the next instant, Ian hurled the divine sword straight into the open maw with all his strength. He even extended Willful Grasp, forcing it forward again in midair.
Whish—
The azure trajectory streaked like a bolt of light into the depths of the maw. The scream was severed as though sliced apart, and just as Ian surged past the giant eye of chaos, azure sacred fire detonated outward from within the creature.
Boom—
The avatar’s upper body reeled and tilted yet again.
Fwoosh!
Almost simultaneously, Ian spun in the air and unleashed a violent whirlwind toward the ground. His falling body rose instead, suspended for a fleeting moment.
Rumble—
He was aiming to land on the avatar. He couldn't be at ease until the creature was certainly dead.
As azure sacred fire poured from the avatar’s maw like molten lava, a chuckle-laced whisper slid into his mind.
—What a spectacle. How about leaving the sword where it is, my friend?
Ian did not so much as acknowledge the suggestion. He focused solely on his landing.
—Then how about repaying at least a little of the debt we owe that half-breed fellow who toyed with us?
Ian’s eyes narrowed slightly as he landed on the avatar’s chest. "How?"