What was even more terrifying though, were the undead who were not completely swallowed. They were just like the walls and bedrock in that only the portions that were touched by the globes were gouged out, but there was no blood coming from their wounds, they just crumbled away like rotting wood.
“It’s the same as five years ago...”
It was the power used by the young man whose name he didn’t even know. Even Archdemon Shere Khan was completely powerless and butchered by this destructive force and speed that far surpassed human understanding.
It’s the same as Zagan’s Heaven’s Phosphor.
It was a forbidden spell which could even burn the Sludge Demon Lord Shax saw at the Archdemon’s evening ball to ash. Moreover, Alshiera’s weapons completely overcame the defects when it came to range, area of effect, and penetrative power. The only ones who could even understand what was even going on here were Shax and Alshiera. Setting aside the undead, Kuroka had completely stiffened up in astonishment.
Alshiera pulled the triggers of her Seraph Hunters once more. Small explosions broke out within the iron boxes and spherical black projectiles came flying out. At the same time, the top portion of the iron boxes slid backward as smoke came fuming out the hole in the tips.
Watching it for the second time, Shax could see that it wasn’t just bullets and smoke being ejected from the weapons, but there was also a small cylindrical tube being thrown out the back. The tubes were dizzyingly packed with intricately detailed spells and magic circles.
The projectiles once more struck the wall of undead, the globes of darkness broke out again, and the second wave perished. It wasn’t clear whether they even possessed the concept of fear, but it seemed they were cognizant of the weapons being pointed at them.
“Gyiih!”
One of them let out a scream, and the undead turned around and ran as if roused by that one scream. But it wasn’t like Alshiera was doing nothing while firing her second volley. Bat-like wings made of shadows pierced out of her back. The wings split apart into what looked like threads, ran along the walls and floors and spread out at the feet of the escaping undead. The shadowy threads looked like some sort of spider web the more it spread out.
“Oh, how pitiful... Alas, I cannot allow you to escape.”
With that, black chains and stakes shot out of the shadowy spider web.
“Gyaah!”
The undead pierced by the stakes and chains became stuck in place and served as obstructions to the others. Nevertheless, the escaping horde showed no signs of stopping, and trampled and tripped over each other.
They were far too defenseless. The vampire let out her third volley of fire, and the escaping undead were forever erased from the world.
She’s really damn used to fighting.
It was entirely possible that the chains shooting out of the shadows were a mechanism to amplify the effect of the Seraph Hunters. Nevertheless, she only fired three times. And in just three volleys, half of the undead were annihilated.
Can she just fire those indefinitely if she feels like it?
If so, this was a destructive force that even surpassed Zagan’s Heaven’s Phosphor. It could surely even destroy the monster at the evening ball with ease. But at the same time, a certain doubt came to mind.
Do monsters that require this sort of power to defeat even exist in this world?
Yet, as he contemplated that, Alshiera suddenly turned pale.
“Oh...? How troublesome. My dear brother, you really did treat these far too roughly, didn’t you?”
Taking a closer look, the sliding portion on the iron boxes were stuck back and weren’t moving anymore.
“Just three shots? To think there weren’t any bullets left...”
Judging from what she said, there was a reason the weapons couldn’t be used anymore.
“Wh-What now?!”
“Oh dear, is this not the time for a gentleman to step forth with resolution?”
The undead noticed that the next attack wasn’t coming, and once more rushed in toward Alshiera. She resorted to using the sides of the Seraph Hunters to bash them in the face. Even without their powers, they were still sturdy lumps of iron. The undead struck by the weapons had their jaws and faces mercilessly pulverized and were sent flying into the air.
They likely perished before even falling back down atop the horde behind them. And with corpses falling on them from above, the undead began tumbling over.
Alshiera swung her arm in the air while still gripping the Seraph Hunters, and shadowy wings once more spread out from her back, piercing the undead and bringing them to a stop.
However, these undead would keep crawling out as long as their bodies weren’t completely annihilated. Even if they were restrained with chains, the next would come crawling out. And after handling the second, then the third wave, they were beginning to overtake Alshiera. One of the undead crawling across the ground managed to grab her leg.
Kuroka began squirming out of Shax’s arms.
“Please let me go! She can’t do this alo—”
“It’s gonna be alright now.”
Shax began brushing Kuroka’s head to calm her down. Yes, everything was alright now. Lights like powdered snow had wrapped themselves around the flood of undead pouring in toward Alshiera.
“Heaven’s Phosphor Will O’ the Wisp.”
The frenzied undead who were leaping in all suddenly turned to ash and crumbled away. An annoyed voice then rang out in the room.
“Goddammit, you’ve sure brought a huge pain to my door here. I’d have killed you already if Kimaris didn’t plead for your damned life.”
The Archdemon was standing there with his arms arrogantly folded before him, accompanied by a giant sorcerer with the face of a lion.
“Mister...?”
Kuroka finally realized that this was Zagan, and mumbled in relief. Upon seeing her, Zagan’s expression also softened up in relief.
How unexpected. Never thought the boss would look like that for anyone but his bride.
After awkwardly scratching his head, Zagan hesitantly stretched out his hand to Alshiera, who had fallen down.
“...But, how do I put it... You have my thanks for protecting Kuroka and my subordinate.”
“Oh my, gratitude from the Silver-Eyed King. I’m honored.”
The vampire took the Archdemon’s hand with nowhere near as much dissatisfaction as she was letting on. And before they knew it, the song that had guided Kuroka and given Shax a push had come to a stop.
◇
Just a little earlier.
“Okay! Let’s confirm it one more time!”
Stella put her hands to her waist and shouted out triumphantly.
It may be somewhat imprudent of me, but Miss Stella certainly looks happy.
Nephy found this to be quite charming as she nodded in reply.
“Yes. Please do, Miss Stella.”
“Mrrr, how stiff. You’re Zagan’s girl aren’t you? Just call me Big Sis!”
“Umm... very well, Stella.”
“Big Sis?”
“Stella....”
“Big Sis!”
“...Understood... Big Sis.”
Nephy lost to her tremendous smile.
“Okay! Let’s get back on track. First I’ll look for the culprit. Then the ominous boy there will open a path.”
“Hah? My face ain’t as evil as that ass Zagan’s, at least.”
“...What?”
Stella glared at Barbatos with a look that could even make Decarabia beg for mercy.
“N-Nothing! All I gotta do is open the shadow, right?” Barbatos flinched back.
“Mhm. And then Nephy and her little sister will give him a big ole walloping.”
“I’ll do my best!”
“Well, it’ll work out one way or another.”
Nephy and Nephteros nodded in reply. Stella then pointed to Gremory.
“And at the same time, you’ll link with my artificial eye an
d turn the threads of mana to ash!”
Gremory and Barbatos had completed the sorcery to share Stella’s vision in under half an hour. With that, they also succeeded in transmitting Balor’s Evil Eye to target the mana revealed by the King’s Silver Eye.
“Keehee, all the love power we managed to build up here will be lost if the festival is ruined. This cannot be allowed to pass!”
“You’re right. Peeping... I mean, love stories are sweets for a maiden’s ears.”
Gremory looked astonished at Stella coming to some unreasonably deep understanding.
“How unexpected. I feel like we have a lot to talk about!”
“Yeah! Somehow I feel like we’ll get along great!”
“Keehee, I see, there is a comrade that I must introduce you to. Come along with me later.”
The two sorcerers shared a firm handshake to affirm their newfound friendship. The scene would surely give Zagan stomach pains were he to see it. And finally, Stella pointed to Chastille.
“And last, the Angelic Knight girl!”
“M-Me?!”
“This isn’t really something we should be doing in the middle of town. We’re all gonna be totally defenseless. So protect us!”
In a sense, this was a large scale ritual being done by several famous sorcerers. It was typically something that required for more meticulous preparations and wouldn’t be done in the middle of the streets. It was inevitable that they needed some means of protecting themselves.
Chastille was completely overcome with emotions and moved to tears.
“W-Will I really be useful?”
“Mhm. We’re counting on you. I kinda remember you cutting off my arm with amazing vigor. So it’ll totally be okay leaving it to you!”
“...Um, should I apologize for that?”
Chastille strained a smile, unsure whether she was being encouraged or whether she was being criticized.
Strangely enough, everyone present was assigned an important role in the task at hand. Rather, it was impossible if it were anybody else. This ritual couldn’t be done without these six exact members.
But, I’m surprised we could all gather together so conveniently...?
Nephy held suspicions as to whether this was all orchestrated, but everyone here truly did gather together by coincidence or just by the natural flow of events. Nephy wanted to buy Zagan a present. Nephteros and Chastille wanted to help her. Barbatos tagged along while watching Chastille. Gremory sacrificed her body so that Nephy and Zagan would not bump into each other. And Stella just happened to drop by aimlessly and bumped into Nephy.
It was impossible even for a god to manipulate this group of powerful individuals in such a way. In short, this was the result of an unbelievable amount of good fortune, a miracle. After confirming everybody’s roles, aside from the spectators Kuu and Lisette, Stella thrust her fist into the air.
“Okay! Let’s all do our best to hand out some punishment!”
““Yeah!””
The only ones to play along with her were Kuu and Lisette, but Stella looked satisfied nonetheless. She closed her left eye and brushed back her bangs. Barbatos then spread open a shadow.
Next is our turn.
As Nephy’s body stiffened up from the tension as she waited for her signal, Gremory whispered in her ear.
“I must thank you for earlier.”
“...? Did I do something?”
Nothing in particular came to find and Nephy cocked her head to the side.
“You stopped me when I was about to run off on my own just now, right?” Gremory replied with an unusual air of embarrassment about her. “I would have lost my chance to enjoy the festival.”
“Oh. That?” Nephy replied with a smile. “I’m sure that Sir Kimaris is alright. I believe that he is strong in both body and soul. He will surely return to your side, Miss Gremory.”
“M-Mrr...”
Gremory’s cheeks turned red as she averted her gaze, unable to say anything back.
I see. I certainly do feel like I want to watch over their future from afar.
This was likely what Stella called ‘sweets for a maiden’s ears.’ Nephy unintentionally grinned, leading Gremory to stiffen up in fear.
“You’re somewhat scary, Lady Nephy...”
And just then, Barbatos called out to her.
“Right on! We got him! Give him hell!”
Nephy and Nephteros exchanged nods.
“[He who rules over the journey to death.]”
“[He who blows over the reeds, and passes wisdom to man.]”
The two sisters sang in chorus as mana gathered around them like fireflies.
“So pretty...” Lisette muttered in fascination.
Guided by Nephteros’ voice, Nephy could naturally grasp what song she should be singing.
“[The golden bridge runs a thousand miles for but this instant, and the serpent’s staff shall bring forth news of prosperity and ruin.]
“[The reeds are tempted to an eternal slumber. Such is the divine scythe whose might can even reap the progenitor.]”
It was their first duet, but they sang in perfect harmony. However, an eerie shadow began crawling out beneath the dancing lights.
“Shine — Azrael!”
Chastille’s Sacred Sword cut down whatever was crawling out before it could even reveal itself. There was far more than one of them, but to the Archangel extolled as the fastest, they were all perfectly still targets. Every single one of them was cut down within seconds.
““[Even if seen by hundreds of eyes, even if thousands rebelled against the eternal slumber, even if millions attempted to flee over the horizon, even if guarded by the wisdom of billions, it comes for all creation.]””
Their songs melted together, and reverberated far into the distance through the shadow Barbatos opened, following the path of mana that Stella was tracing. It didn’t give birth to untold destruction, but was like a ripple spreading across a quiet lake. Nephy and Nephteros put their foreheads together, and the two high elf sisters sang the final verse.
““[Such is the flute’s melody which slaughters the masses] — Algea Pathi!””
The gentle ripple was reversed. The silent stream suddenly became a rampaging avalanche. It was like a tempest of mana possessing a will. If it was invoked here in this place, it was entirely possible that it could swallow the entirety of Kianoides.
But that’s not where it’s being fired!
Nephteros was invoking it on the other side of Barbatos’ shadow. And just as their celestial mysticism activated, Gremory’s eyes let out a golden glow.
“Turn to ash — Balor’s Evil Eye!”
This is everything we’re capable of!
She definitely felt a response. Nephy looked to Nephteros, who nodded with a smile. Their celestial mysticism hit the mark.
Silence.
Though they could feel the response of their attack succeeding, they had no way of verifying whether it finished off their target. They could hear neither the sound of destruction nor their enemy’s screams, after all.
“Is it over...?”
Lisette mumbled anxiously. Nephy didn’t possess the answer herself, and was somewhat bewildered as well.
Just then, something like debris came tumbling down from the clear skies. But it wasn’t debris...
“Huh? It’s snow...”
The first to realize this was Kuu. Gremory’s evil eye was supposed to turn its target into ash. There were no clouds in the sky too, so where was the snow coming from? Finding this rather curious, Nephteros muttered in admiration.
“I see. It’s the cold. The ash created by Gremory’s evil eye gathered the moisture in the air and turned into snow.”
“What do you mean?”
“Snow is the crystallization of water vapor getting affixed to debris in the atmosphere. There’s no mistaking this is a byproduct of sorcery, but it’s quite amusing that this happened without any intention to do so.”
It m
ay just have been a perfectly appropriate spectacle to pull down the curtain on their quiet incident.
“Indeed, it’s beautiful.”
The two sisters stood side by side and looked up at the snow on this sunny day.
◇
“Mom...”
Back at Archdemon Palace. Almost all of the undead were obliterated by Zagan and Alshiera, but there was still a single survivor left. The undead which was Kuroka’s mother. Perhaps as a blessing in disguise, or perhaps in a turn of misfortune, she was thrown out of range of all the attacks due to being struck by the coffin Alshiera threw. Kuroka had her Moonless Sky stabbed into the ground next to her, forming a simple barrier to prevent any new undead from crawling out.
It was entirely possible that this was all calculated by Alshiera beforehand. Even so, it was an attack from a vampire who could pulverize the human body with a simple blow. She was still breathing, or perhaps it was better to say she was still maintaining her existence, but it wouldn’t last much longer.
Furthermore, she was just staring blankly into space while muttering meaningless groans. Kuroka definitely heard her mother say her name, but in the end, she didn’t seem to possess an ego, just like all the other undead.
Kuroka timidly stretched out her hand to her mother’s face. First her middle finger, then her ring finger, her index finger, her pinky, and finally her thumb came in contact, verifying the contours of her mother’s face. Nothing had changed from her memory of her mother from five years ago, a face frozen in time. However, her face was dead cold. She could tell full well that her mother was no longer alive.
Her mother’s lips then trembled faintly.
Is she trying to say something?
Kuroka brought her face closer.
“Mom! It’s Kuroka. I’m right here.”
She called out to her mother earnestly, but no words left her mother’s lips. Would her mother curse the name of the one who killed her? Or perhaps they would be words searching for a survivor other than Kuroka? Or even, were they words for one of her people that were also turned into the undead?
These were to be her final words on the verge of death. They absolutely couldn’t be left unheard by Kuroka.
Yet... I can’t... hear them...
Thanks to Zagan and Lilith, Kuroka was finally able to touch the faces of others. She was able to distinguish people by their faces.
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 8 (Premium) Page 17