Chastille thought she could hear Barbatos’ voice from far off, but her consciousness had already slipped away. And at that exact moment...
“Outta the way!”
Blood flew across the office that Chastille was supposedly alone in.
◇
Barbatos pulled Chastille’s chair aside, making her tumble to the ground in a flashy manner.
“Wh-What are you doing!?” Chastille began reproaching Barbatos for interrupting her rest, but a warm splash of liquid flew across her face. And then, something tumbled on the ground right before her eyes. It was an arm. And not her own, but that of a man.
“B-Barbatos!” Chastille roared. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that he had come out of the shadows, and was squatting down with a missing arm.
“GAAAAAAAAAH! You fucking bastard!” Barbatos screamed, glaring at a bizarre shadow all the while. The figure was wearing a pitch-black robe like that of a sorcerer. They didn’t appear to be tall or short, but because they were hunched over and covered by the robe, their actual physique, and even their race, couldn’t be determined. That figure reminded her of how Valefor used to look.
If there was something that stood out about their appearance, then it was the bizarre mask they were wearing. It was pure white as if made of porcelain, but it had nothing resembling eyes or a mouth. The entire mask had the symbol of the church, a cross, engraved across it. Additionally, there were countless needle-sized holes spotted all over the mask, which were likely used to see through it. However, a mask with no semblance of a face was still quite offputting.
There’s a cross, so does that mean this is someone from the church...? That seemed likely, but their ominous presence was strange. The eerie assailant was holding a short sword in each hand in an underhanded grip. Blood was trickling down both blades, and Chastille finally came to her senses.
“Fall back, Barbatos!” Chastille yelled out while reaching out to pick up her fallen Sacred Sword. Unfortunately, the assailant’s mask appeared right before her eyes before she got the chance. It was close enough for her nose to touch the mask. She hadn’t even gotten her hand on the grip, yet they had closed the distance already.
“Collusion with a sorcerer discovered. Archangel Chastille Lillqvist has been deemed a traitor.”
A muffled voice came from the other side of the mast. However, it had no emotion to it. It spoke in a completely robotic voice, which sounded like the tone that came from those golems sorcerers created, as the short swords in their hands closed in on Chastille’s throat.
Fast!? Without her her Anointed Armor and Sacred Sword, Chastille was just an ordinary human girl. There was no way she could react to such speed.
“Tch! Such a pain in the ass!”
The moment she heard that voice, a hand stretched out from behind Chastille and pulled her down. She didn’t feel any impact against the ground, but let out a sound as if splashing into water. Her vision blacked out, and by the time it returned, the assailant’s back was in front of her eyes. Barbatos stood next to her, wheezing and out of breath, likely because he used sorcery to swap their positions. This time, Chastille properly brandished her Sacred Sword.
“Ugh, who are you!?”
The masked assailant inclined their head with a stiff motion akin to a tin puppet.
“Special Enforcement Squad Thirteen... Azazel. I’m under direct command of the pope.”
Chastille’s eyes shot open upon hearing that name.
Azazel... Isn’t that the name of the Thirteenth Sacred Sword that Zagan mentioned? Did that mean the assailant possessed a Sacred Sword? The short swords in their hands appeared to be sharp blades, but they didn’t look like Sacred Swords. They named themselves as under direct command of the pope, so they were surely an extremely special existence even within the church.
And they were sent over to kill me? The Unification Faction most definitely opposed the pope’s will, but that still seemed like a bit much. And just then, noisy footsteps could be heard approaching the door to the office.
“Lady Chastille! What is going on!?”
“Ugh, the door won’t open. Is it a sorcerer attack!?”
It seemed that some sort of trick was set up on the door. The knights who were stationed outside the office were ramming the door, but it showed no signs of opening. Moreover, the assailant showed no worry, clearly intending not to leave while Chastille was still alive.
Chastille took a keen look around the area. There was a dark red puddle forming under Barbatos, since he had already lost an arm. He likely had no time to use sorcery to regenerate it at the moment. He may have been able to at least run away, but there no chance of him helping in a fight. This office also wasn’t all that spacious. It was far too cramped for Chastille to brandish her Sacred Sword. On the other hand, the assailant used short swords and was fast enough to close the distance between them in an instant. Chastille had a hunch that she would be decapitated if she even so much as blinked.
Still, that’s no reason for me to give up... After calming her nerves, Chastille propped her Sacred Sword up onto her shoulder and held it with a loose grip.
“Barbatos. Bear with it a bit. This will be over soon,” Chastille claimed as she stared right at the assailant.
“Shine — Azrael!” Chastille barked as her Sacred Sword emitted a dazzling light. She had no intention of using the Sacred Sword’s aura to cut down a human opponent. Nevertheless, the light fired out by her sword was capable of snatching away the assailant’s vision. On the other hand, the light didn’t burn Chastille’s eyes, since her sword was hoisted up on her shoulder behind her head. Using that small window of opportunity, she swung the flat of the blade at Azazel.
I got them now... Or so she thought, but...
“I see. Smart.”
The assailant wasn’t where Chastille had brought down her sword. They were clinging to the ceiling, looking down at Chastille through their eerie mask.
They read my move? Chastille was a public figure. When it came to the church, it was possible to investigate the powers of her Sacred Sword and her personal skills. It wasn’t all that strange for all her capabilities to be studied. However, knowing about them and being able to deal with them were entirely different matters.
This is a tough opponent...! When it came to sheer sword skills, it was possible that the assailant matched both her and Raphael. They weren’t an opponent she could take in alive. Chastille slid her left hand down her hilt and gripped it properly to swing it at full strength. And at the same time, the assailant came down from the ceiling.
“HAAA!” Chastille swung her sword horizontally, aiming for the moment they landed, as she let that war cry loose. Unfortunately, the assailant simply matched that with their short sword and rotated in midair.
They parried a Sacred Sword in midair!? That feat wasn’t something that could be done with sheer skill. They were likely wearing Anointed Armor under their robes, but their reflexes were already beyond the realm of humans.
Chastille hoisted her grip and pulled back her Sacred Sword. And as they landed, the assailant’s other short sword came soaring in. Dazzling sparks fell down in front of Chastille’s eyes. The short sword drilled into the small gap between Chastille’s hands, hitting right into the Sacred Sword’s hilt. If she was off by just an inch, she would have lost her fingers or even her neck.
She felt a cold sensation run down her spine, but she didn’t waver. There was no way she could. If she wavered for even an instant, she would be cut down.
If I don’t counterattack, I’ll be driven into a corner.
“YAAA!” Chastille let out a roar and pushed back the short sword using sheer strength. Perhaps because the assailant didn’t have much physical strength, they staggered and bent backward. And before they could correct their posture, Chastille took a swing in from below.
However, the slash that should have caught their flank was dodged as the assailant lowered right to the floor. They were supple movements, much lik
e that of a snake. With the jump from earlier and that dodge just now, their superhuman movement reminded Chastille of the chimera from the afternoon.
Chastille continued to swing her Sacred Sword, but because of the cramped room, she wasn’t able to fully brandish it and her strikes came out weak, failing to even graze the assailant. On the other hand, the assailant’s attacks with the short swords all aimed precisely at Chastille’s vitals, forcing her gradually into a defensive battle.
The office was far too cramped for her to be able to wield her Sacred Sword without Anointed Armor. The situation was far too disadvantageous. Not only that, but she had an injured person behind her and Nephteros in the next room that she had to protect. If she were to retreat, the two of them would be killed.
“TAAA!” Chastille slammed her sword into her office table with a cry. A boisterous sound broke out, and the shattered wood rained down on the assailant.
“Ugh!?”
As one would expect, they were unable to dodge all the fragments. The assailant huddled down onto the ground and endured the downpour. However, Chastille felt a sense of unease there.
What the? It looked like they stopped moving for a moment there? Would someone who was able to dodge an attack from outside their field of vision really waver in the face of such a cheap trick? Having said that, Chastille had no time to think about it. She used that chance to cut into a sofa. However, the assailant wasn’t so dim-witted that they would fall for the same attack twice. After leaping backward a great distance, they escaped the fragments of the sofa.
I got you! The wall’s back there! It was a small office, so if they were pushed back all the way to the wall, then there was no way for them to escape the Sacred Sword range. The assailant’s back collided with the wall, and their movements... didn’t come to a stop.
“Huh...?”
The assailant twisted in midair and landed on the wall feet first. Chastille was left staring wide-eyed at those movements, which made it seem like they had eyes on the back of their head. And having swung in expecting an opening, Chastille was the one who completely exposed herself to an attack. The assailant kicked off the wall and closed in like an arrow.
“Cra—”
And in the next instant, their short swords closed in on her neck.
I’m done for.
“...Tch, you’re such a pain in the ass, crybaby.”
The moment she thought she would be cut down, a large back obstructed her vision.
“Barbatos!”
The short sword plunged into Barbatos’ stomach.
“Heehee, finally got you!” Barbatos grabbed the arm and kept the short sword stuck inside him, but the assailant had two swords. The other sword came down into his shoulder. However, instead of crying out in pain, Barbatos merely laughed.
“Clean out your fucking ears and hear me! I’m Barbatos! One of the ex-Archdemon candidates, Purgatory Barbatos! Eat this, you shithead... The Fourth Rank of Purgatory, Flames of Indignation!”
Flames of Indignation was powerful sorcery that was comparable to a dragon’s breath. It was also the sorcery that Barbatos fired off against Archdemon Orias the other day. Glowing mana gathered in front of him as he howled.
“Ugh, let me go!”
The assailant stabbed Barbatos multiple times, but he had a vice-like grip on their arm, leaving them unable to escape. And then, a heat ray was fired out that burned everything to a crisp. The ray burst through the wall and reduced the interior of the office to ash. The strike was even powerful enough to incinerate the atmosphere and didn’t even leave behind a single flame.
“How’s that, you asshole? Aren’t I... strong...?” Barbatos collapsed as he spoke. By the time the flash dissipated, the assailant was nowhere in sight.
Did he get them? Or did they get away? Chastille searched for the assailant’s presence, but couldn’t sense them anywhere nearby. Deeming the threat gone, she rushed over to Barbatos.
“Barbatos, hang in there!” Chastille exclaimed, propping him up in a panic. On top of losing an arm, he had been stabbed many times over. It felt like even a sorcerer of Barbatos’ level couldn’t survive that. Chastille had turned pale, and glass fragments came tumbling down from Barbatos’ body.
“What the... Is this glass? No, crystal...?”
It was likely that the many amulets Barbatos had around his neck had broken. Luckily, it seemed his wounds weren’t all the deep, and there weren’t that many of them either. He looked to be in pain, but was still properly breathing. And as she picked up those fragments, a voice called out to her from nearby.
“It seems... they ran away...”
After turning toward the familiar voice, she could see that the door to the nap room was partway open, and a dark elf girl was crouching on the ground, leaning against it.
“Nephteros, is it fine for you to be up?”
“Does that really matter... when there’s such a ruckus going on right next to me...?”
In truth, she seemed to have crawled out of bed to come and help, yet Nephteros’ voice implied that she didn’t even have the strength to stand up. Chastille then remembered that Nephteros specialized in celestial mysticism that manipulated crystals.
“Could it be that you protected Barbatos?”
“I couldn’t... block all of it. If you don’t treat him quickly... he’ll die...”
We may be able to save him. The moment she thought that the door behind her finally opened.
“Lady Chastille!”
“Ugh, what happened here...!?”
“An assassination attempt! Track them down!”
The ones who burst in were the three knights led by Alfred. Reassured by their presence, Chastille was finally able to let go of her Sacred Sword.
◇
“This should at least keep him alive...” Nephteros said as she finished treating Barbatos.
“I’d say it’ll help more than that...”
It likely wasn’t sorcery, but mysticism. Nephteros herself seemed to be downplaying her abilities, though, as even his dismembered arm was reconnected, and his deathly pale face had regained color. Not only that, but the shadows that were always around his eyes had vanished, and he looked healthier than normal.
Nephteros let out a tired sigh, and leaned back against the wall. Chastille then fell to her knees next to her.
“Sorry. You should also be lying down and resting, but...”
“...That’s not true,” Nephteros said as she slowly shook her head. Then, she continued, “You said before that the hidden elven village was like a sanctuary of the church, right? It seems that we high elves have affinity with such places. I’m recovering faster than usual here.”
It didn’t really change the fact that it would be difficult for her to stand up and walk around, but it could also be said that the pain in her breath had receded.
“That’s why... I’m saying... this is nothing special... I think... there’s more... I can do,” Nephteros said as she timidly looked up at Chastille.
“Huh...? Meaning?” Chastille cocked her head to the side as she asked her to explain more, and Nephteros averted her gaze while blushing.
“You sure are bad at sensing things. I’m saying there are other injured people... Um, the survivors... are here, right? Like... the ones who saved me in the forest...”
With that, Chastille finally understood that she was volunteering to treat the wounded Angelic Knights.
Despite being the polar opposite of Nephy, she may be similar to her in this regard... Though she felt that way, she still thought it was a little different.
Oh, I see. This girl is a lot like him... He was blunt, curt, haughty, and acted like humans were garbage. And yet, he was more sympathetic than anyone else.
Back then, I was a coward who couldn’t do anything despite wanting to save him... As a result, Chastille was the one who always ended up relying on him. If she didn’t worry about her own appearance at the time, held out her hand to him, and embraced him, then
right now, she may have been the one by his side. And with a sudden thump in her chest, she found her answer.
“...I see. That’s how it is.”
“Huh...? What are— Eek!” Nephteros looked at her with a curious expression, and Chastille embraced her. She didn’t want to regret her actions ever again. She truly believed that this girl was someone that had to be saved.
“Allow me to give you my heartfelt thanks for your offer. Please save my precious subordinates.”
“D-Didn’t I say it’s no big deal!?”
“It’s a big deal to me,” Chastille said as she squeezed Nephteros even more tightly.
“The one who is here, the person who saved both me and Barbatos, and is now offering to save my subordinates, is none other than you, Nephteros,” Chastille said, pouring her emotions and gratitude into her voice while gently brushing Nephteros’ beautiful silver hair. Then, she said, “Remember this. If you ever need help, then I’ll definitely be here for you. No matter what it costs, I’ll protect you.”
“...You’re exaggerating.” Nephteros muttered. However, as she looked up at Chastille’s face, she was completely taken aback. Confused by what she saw, she asked, “Are you... crying?”
“Huh? Oh, you’re right,” Chastilled concluded. Before she knew it, her cheeks were wet. However, it wasn’t a bad feeling. And so, Chastille put on a crisp smile.
“Please don’t worry about it. This just means I’ve noticed my own unrequited love.”
Yes. A long time ago, the man she loved was in pain. At that time, even when she was thrown out, rejected, and hurt, Nephy didn’t care about her own appearance and tried to save Zagan. On the other hand, Chastille was unable to cast away her position as a wielder of a Sacred Sword or her title as an Archangel to do the same.
Everything was already settled at that moment. That was why she decided that she would merely wish for the happiness of those two. However, even if Chastille understood that intuitively, she didn’t understand it well enough to put into words. That was surely why she was left with such hazy feelings on the matter.
“Hm...” Nephteros continued to stare up at Chastille, and though she did so timidly, she embraced her back, saying, “...I’ll let you stay like this... for just a little while.”
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 5 Page 13