Chapter 124

Chapter 124 – Divine possession

Sarah Ferrule was a great personality who was granted the title of Saint before her death, but her magical power was not that great. Originally, she was just an ordinary servant in the Kingdom of Thane. Later, the next to be canonized Saint was Liara Thane, who accompanied the Brave Leticia on her journey. Unlike her, Sarah could not use near-miraculous healing magic.

The reason Sarah was canonized as a Saint was because of her achievements in saving people. But behind the surface, she was an apostate, a follower of paganism.

Sarah Ferrule’s goal was to summon the God of Destruction, destroy the world, including the Demon King, and then rebuild it from scratch. To do so, she stole the research of Conrad Heisenberg, who saved her life and was her mentor in magic and learning.

When Corand realized that the power of the God of Destruction could not be accepted by a human vessel, Sarah devised two methods.

The first was to kill those who possessed magical power and extract their hearts, which were said to be the source of magical power. She would then dry and pulverize the heart and mix it with various chemicals to make a potion that would gradually increase the magical power of the person taking it. The other was to create a potion to suppress the magic power of the user.

To make her own body a vessel upon which the God of Destruction would descend, Sarah selected those who possessed magical power from among her followers who had gathered to admire her ostensible holiness. Then she killed them as sacrifices and took their hearts. There she mixed and made them drink a potion to amplify the magical power, gradually increasing it.

Then she made the potion to suppress the magical power.

Those with strong magical power also boasted strong resistance to the magical power of others.

Sarah, who had increased her magic power as well, needed a way to suppress it so that the God of Destruction could take over her body.

“I see… the reason they kidnapped so many people capable of using magic in the Imperial Capital was to gather people with magic power.” Wynn recalled the incident that Reynard provoked, in which he got involved because of the kidnapping of Miss Azalea, Count Baymond’s daughter.

At that time, Azalea and the others who became Reynard’s victims had their hearts extracted and their bodies manipulated to become his faithful servants. The brother of Reynard’s daughter Monica, whom Wynn had met earlier, had also been killed by Reynard and his heart extracted.

Lino’s father, an apothecary, discovered that the medicines seized by Royce’s platoon, which had supposedly been collected by Reynard, were materials used to create a drug that suppressed magical power.

Right now, Reynard’s body was shrouded in a pale red light.

“That glow…”

It was the same phenomenon that happened when Leticia manifested her power as the Brave, enveloped in a pale golden glow.

“…Hey, Mister. I’d like to ask you a question, what do you want to do with all that power?” Despite the lightning and wind crashing against the barrier, Mito, who was kneeling in a posture to protect his body, asked Reynard in a calm voice despite the situation.

“The power of the God of Destruction. It is indeed a tremendous power. However, the Demon King, who was to be challenged with this power, has already been destroyed, and this force is no longer useful to the world. What could I possibly want to do with such excessive power in my hands?”

“So, what do you want?”

Reynard glared at the old dwarf Sword Crafter.

“There is knowledge in front of me that I have not studied. Magic I do not know. Magic no one has ever seen. So why not attain it, what reason is there not to recreate it? I could not allow great wisdom to be buried unnoticed in the flow of time.”

“What, just for that reason?”

“Yes. But what you say is true… this magic was created to defeat the Demon King. Now that that being has been destroyed, it is necessary to experiment to see if it really has that much power. I will verify how much destruction it can do. The result…” Reynard cut off his words there. Then he lifted the corner of his mouth and smiled, and said, “I don’t care if the world is destroyed.”

“That unknown power will destroy you too.”

“Tch, tch… I don’t care. I just wanted to perform with my own hands that magic that neither Conrad Heisenberg nor Sarah Ferrule could perform.” Reynard said bluntly to Mito’s words. And with those words, the red light that was released blew the body of the man who had been praying at his feet. “Tch… Come on, I will prove that I have the power of the God of Destruction and that I have become an existence that surpasses even the Demon King.” The red light surrounding Reynard’s body became even brighter. A glowing crimson that was reminiscent of red jade. However, the glow was more chilling than beautiful. Reynard’s eyes glowed an intense yellow. “Come on, Brave! You can fight me… By defeating you, the woman who defeated the Demon King, I will have surpassed the great Conrad Heisenberg.”

Leticia, with a golden glow in her body, stepped forward.

“Letty!”

“You can take care of the others.”

In front of Wynn and Mito, who were about to sit up, the ground shifted as it rose, and from it appeared several stone statues.

“Gargoyles!”

Gargoyles were a stone statue that moved, known as famous guardians among adventurers who specialized in exploring the ruins of the ancient Kingdom of Rentheim. This stone statue with magical powers, which resembled the shape of a demon, flew freely through the air and slashed enemies with its sharp claws.

It was the first time Wynn had seen a real one, although he had heard of them from Oort and others who specialized in exploring ruins.

“Liara, cover everyone.” Leticia said without taking her eyes off Reynard, sword still facing downward as usual.

“I’ll cover you too.”

“Don’t worry, I don’t think I need it.”

“Okay.” Liara nodded at Leticia’s words and ran to one of the pillars to cover Wynn, Mito and Abel. Leaning her back against the pillar, she prevented herself from being attacked from behind. “Everyone, please make sure you don’t get too far away!”

They knew immediately why Liara had shouted.

“Whew!” Abel tried to catch the gargoyle’s attack with his sword, but it was heavier than it looked, causing him to lose his stance. The gargoyle’s sharp claws went straight for Abel’s shoulder, and just as he was about to be sliced…

Gan!

There was a sound like two hard objects colliding with each other, and the gargoyle’s claws were stopped. A white light, the size of the palm of a hand, hovered over Abel’s shoulder.

“What is it?”

“Abel, behind you!” Wynn shouted as he saw another gargoyle approaching from behind Abel, who had stopped moving, unsure of what had happened.

However…

Gan!

Another small light that appeared behind Abel chased away that onslaught as well.

“‘I beseech you. Great Goddess Anastasia, be the light that thwarts evil, fulfill my wish and my will! Shield of light!’” It was Liara’s magic drawing its power from the goddess Anastasia.

The shield, made of scales of light, was a magic that materialized and became a shield at will within Liara’s sight. Even the heavy blow of a gargoyle would be repelled.

“Be careful. Gargoyles are made of stone, so their attacks are very heavy. If they strike hard on you, you will die.” While deflecting the gargoyle’s claws with his halberd, Mito advised Wynn and Abel.

“I wish you had told us that advice earlier!” Abel gave up defending himself with his sword and held the shield in his left hand with both hands. He thought that the iron-reinforced shield would be able to withstand the strong attack of a gargoyle if he held it with both hands. “But what am I supposed to do with them? It won’t do any good if all I do is defend!

The only one who could wield the heavy halberd was Mito, who, thanks to his physical strength, had managed to smash one of the gargoyles.

“Eei, you’ll have to defend yourself like a turtle until I can help you!”

“Damn it! Really?” Abel desperately raised his shield to protect himself while raising his voice as if he was about to cry at Mito’s words.

“Abel-san! Please go to the pillar opposite mine. That way, you won’t have to worry about back attacks.”

“Yes, that way it will be harder for them to reach me…” As he said that, he crawled towards the pillar.

With Abel’s voice behind him, Wynn tried to cleave his sword into the gargoyle’s body. But he couldn’t cut it.

The gargoyle’s body, which was made of stones imbued with magical power, received only a light scratch from Wynn’s knight sword, never mind that it was enchanted.

Wynn abandoned the idea and quickly retreated backwards. It was impossible to cut them with a sword.

Before he could cut them, the blade of the sword would be bent or nicked. It was then that Wynn’s eyes picked up on Mito’s fighting style. The old dwarf was using the axe part of the halberd to strike and destroy the gargoyles in thin places, such as the neck and limbs.

I see! Wynn raised his sword as if to thrust it into the gargoyle that was flying through the air and approaching. He aimed for the base of the arm. It lunged downward with great force, hoping to slice Wynn with its sharp claws. He ducked under the attack and slashed as hard as he could at the base of the gargoyle’s arm. He concentrated his strength only on the tip of the sword. His plan worked, and from where the tip of the sword had slashed, the gargoyle’s arm had cracked and rolled to the ground with a loud thud.

However, the gargoyle, moved by magical power, felt no pain even though its arm was severed from its body. As it was, it attacked with its remaining arm and Wynn again distanced himself. This was the same strategy he used when he fought the queen ant and broke through its hard shell. The experience from that time was still alive. Using his opponent’s strength, he multiplied the power of his attack many times over. Finally, after repeated lunges, the gargoyle lost both arms, its neck and one of its wings. Now it could no longer fly. Nor could it wield its sharp claws.

As a magic doll, the gargoyle’s head was only an ornament, and even if it lost it, its senses of sight and hearing would still be intact, but if it lost only its legs and body, all that would be left would be to hit it directly.

“Take that!” Wynn kicked the gargoyle in the abdomen, and it fell backward.

It struggled to get up, but it would be impossible for it to stand up on its own.

Okay, first one.

One less gargoyle to worry about.

I think I can handle this one. What about Letty? With an idea of how to defeat the gargoyles, Wynn felt more relaxed and turned his attention to the unusual battle taking place at the altar. He was amazed.

The golden glow of Leticia’s body and the crimson glow of Reynard’s body were clashing against each other.

The inside of Liara’s magical barrier protected them, but the other side was no longer safe for any living being to set foot there. The thick pillars were full of cracks, and the ground seemed to have been punctured by something. The lightning flashes erupting between the pillars were becoming more numerous and intense.

“Ooohhhhhhhh!!!!” When Reynard waved his hand in the darkness, countless bullets of red light floating in the air flew towards Leticia.

Leticia put her magic power into her sword and slashed the red light bullets, sometimes creating her own light bullets to intercept them. Then, suddenly, she closed the distance between them and skewered Reynard’s torso.

“Gah…”

Leticia’s attack hit Reynard, while Reynard’s attack didn’t even graze Leticia.

“Why!? Whyyyyyy!?” Along with Reynard’s loud shout, a red light ball larger than the others was shot out.

However, Leticia dodged the projectiles fired at her at close range by deflecting its trajectory with a small ball of light she created and, as Reynard launched another small red light ball, his arm was cut off.

“Gyaaaaah!” Reynard shouted and stepped back, “W-Why? I don’t understand. Why…?”

The difference in power between Leticia and Reynard was evident, though Reynard’s severed right arm immediately regenerated due to the power of the God of Destruction he drew.

“Reynard. It is true that the power of the God of Destruction you summoned is tremendous. But the problem is you as the recipient. Even if you increase your magic power, a vessel like you could not extract enough power to even destroy the Demon King.” As Reynard fell to his knees, his strength sapped, Leticia spoke to him as she stood in front of him with an air of serenity.

“But I can draw the power of God infinitely. You are a mere human being. There is a limit to the amount of power you can hold. There has to be, doesn’t there?”

“Yes.”

It was true that, as a human being, Leticia also had a limit to her physical strength. When Leticia’s strength was exhausted, Reynard’s power could surpass her own. However, Leticia did not feel that she could lose to Reynard.

Because….

“But, you see, there is a big difference between you and me. A big and crucial difference.”

“A difference?”

“Yes, and this difference lies in combat experience.”

Reynard’s eyes widened like saucers.

“I have fought in dozens, hundreds even, of battles. I have destroyed thousands, tens of thousands of enemies. It is natural that there is a big difference between you and me, who have spent all your time studying.”

“Wha-what nonsense…” At that moment, Reynard understood that he could not defeat Leticia. It was because of the difference in combat experience that the girl mentioned. No matter how much power he got from the God of Destruction, combat experience would not come to him in the same way.

So… you’re telling me that I can’t even recreate the magic to defeat the Demon King, let alone surpass Conrad Heisenberg? His despair welled up at those words. And fear of the absolutely strong person standing in front of him. Or maybe his spirit was already about to be broken by the God of Destruction at this moment.

“…No… I won’t admit it, I don’t intend to!” Then he looked around with bloodshot eyes.

Something! Something! Think of a way to defeat the Brave! Then Reynard smiled as he noticed something.

“…Kukuku, hahahaha! Not yet! This isn’t over yet, I can’t let it end! Brave, I’ll get the magic to destroy the Demon King, gain more power and surpass Conrad Heisenberg and you!” With that statement, Reynard once again created a red light bullet. However, unlike before, the red light bullet was not spherical, but took on the shape of a spear.

“It’s useless.” Seeing this, Leticia prepared herself as she applied magic power to her sword. Her intention was to shoot down the flying spear.

“Kukuku. You’re going to regret underestimating me!” Reynard’s shout echoed in the room again. The red light spear was thrown at high speed.

“Huh!”

The red light spear didn’t fly to Leticia, who was preparing….

“Gah…”

Behind was Mito, who ran to cover Abel, and whose heart had been pierced.