Full Clearing Another World under a Goddess with Zero Believers (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Makoto Takatsuki Speaks with the Crimson Witch

The crisis facing Canaan had passed. Lucy’s mother—Rosalie J. Walker—had single-handedly defeated the demon Sciulli and her army of five thousand undead. She was called the strongest in Springrogue for a reason.

Isn’t she too powerful? I thought.

She was a hero that had once defeated a demon lord... I was starting to think that we’d manage against even Iblis if we had her.

“Hurray for me!” she said on her way over to us.

The apple didn’t fall too far from the tree as far as their voices went.

“You utter moron!” the chief said, smacking her head.

“Oww! Why, dad?!” she complained, holding her head.

“I thought you’d died! Don’t worry me like that!”

“That’s right!”

“I thought my heart was about to stop!”

It had been a real shock when she’d been stabbed. It must have been even more so for her actual family.

“I wouldn’t die from a piddly little thing like that.” Rosalie cackled. The chief and Lucy’s siblings all put their hands to their heads.

Considering how old the chief looked, Rosalie seemed almost too young. I could barely see them as father and daughter. Honestly, she still just looked like one of Lucy’s older sisters.

“Hey, Lucy?” I asked quietly.

“What?”

“How old is your mom?”

“I want to know too!” Sasa added.

“Ah...well. Um, mama uses a rejuvenation thing she found while adventuring, so she doesn’t look her age. She’s actually over two hundred, so don’t fall for her tricks, all right, Makoto?”

“Huh, over two hundred?” I mused. “She doesn’t look like it at all.” That’d map to about forty to fifty for a human. It wasn’t on the same level as the Grandsage’s millennium, but it was still a fair number of years.

As I was thinking that, Sense Danger began blaring in my head. Sasa and I whipped around.

“Owowow! Mama! I didn’t say anything!”

“Luuuucyyy, I’m pretty sure I said my age was a secret to everyone but family,” Rosalie said as she rubbed her fist into Lucy’s head.

Did Rosalie teleport? Also, that looks painful.

“Makoto’s near enough to family!” Lucy exclaimed.

“Oh? He is?” Rosalie moved her hand to prop against her chin and looked between the two of us. Then, she moved it to Lucy’s stomach. “How many months are you?” she asked.

“Zero!” Lucy yelled angrily.

Why does her family always get so carried away about that?!

“Well, you said he was family. Didn’t you come back because you’re pregnant?”

“I-I’m not!”

“That’s right,” Lucy’s sister added in support. “She’s too earnest, so she came to talk about her marriage.”

“Yup, ‘kids come next,’ she said.”

“Right, right. It won’t be long.”

Nope, they weren’t adding support at all!

“We’re not like that!” Lucy shouted.

There was a look of shock from the chief, Rosalie, and all of Lucy’s sisters.

“You really haven’t done anything with Lucy?”

“What’s wrong with my daughter?! She’s cute like me!”

“You’re the straight-laced type!”

Lucy’s female relatives were waaay too eager about having kids. The chief seemed happier, though. The hell?

“Takatsuki, I’m tired. Can we rest now?” Sasa murmured into my ear.

“Ah, sorry, Sasa. We were up all night investigating. You go ahead and rest. I’ve got stuff I need to do.” Honestly, I was tired too, but I needed to report about Zagan’s subordinate. That was when Sasa decided to say something dodgy.

“Aww, I wanted to sleep with you, though.”

“Sasa?!”

“Aya?!”

Lucy and I yelled in unison while Rosalie and her other daughters looked at us with gleaming eyes.

“What kind of relationship do you have with Lucy’s boyfriend?” one of the elves asked. “A three-way one?”

“You mean sleep in that way, right?”

Come on, ladies, Sasa and I aren’t like—

“It’s a physical relationship☆!” Sasa cheered.

“Hey! Sasa?!”

Oh no, the girls were all grinning.

“You’re just a playboy!”

Well, there went my positive impression with the chief.

“A-A-A-Aya!” stammered Lucy. “Wait! When?! We said it’d be the three of us together!” I didn’t understand why she’d taken it seriously, but she started in on Sasa.

Together? That’d be a real marathon... Also, I hadn’t heard about that promise before. That was their plan? Where’s my veto?

“I’ll be waiting in bed then, Takatsuki!” Sasa trilled, leaving the area in chaos as she vanished inside.

“Get back here, Aya!” Lucy yelled, chasing after her.

Wait? You’re leaving me on my own?

Everyone’s eyes focused on me and I ended up reporting on the Forest of Fiends by myself. The comments from the crowd were a real pain as well! Afterward, I headed to my room and slept like a log.

◇

It was around noon when I woke up. Lucy and Sasa weren’t at my side, obviously. We had different rooms. I stepped outside into a wall of noise.

“What’s happening?” I asked.

Prince Leonardo turned to me. “Makoto, you’re awake?”

“Makoto Takatsuki, we have a guest.”

In front of us was a large demihuman warrior surrounded by the villagers.

“The hero of Springrogue always looks so gallant. I want him to hold me...” one of them said.

“He has more aura than before.”

“We’ve got nothing to fear from the demons.”

“I, the Hero of Swaying Trees, Maximilian Lagavulin, have arrived.”

“Welcome to our small village,” the chief said. The hero was a demihuman, a dragonoid, by the looks of it. He stood over two meters tall and was built like a rugby player. On his back, he carried a sword that was bigger than me. His skin was also covered in a thin pattern of scales.

So this is a dragonoid... He looks super strong...

He was ranked fourth out of all the heroes on the continent. Apparently, he’d just lost to Gerald in the last tournament. Dragonoids were weak against lightning.

There was also something the chief had said that I was curious about.

“Lucy, is Canaan a smaller village in Springrogue?” I asked quietly.

“Yup. Why?”

She’d told me about the village’s scale before. There weren’t even a thousand inhabitants, while larger villages apparently had several thousand that lived within them.

“Why are the heroes and priestess all gathered here?” Sasa followed up.

“Ah, well—” Lucy started. Before she could finish, Maximillian interrupted her.

“Oh!” Maximillian grinned and looked at Prince Leonardo and me. “Are you the heroes of Roses?”

“It has been a while, Hero of Swaying Trees,” the prince answered.

“It has indeed, Hero of Ice and Snow. Well met to you too, new Hero of Roses. I am Maximillian, Hero of Swaying Trees.”

“N-Nice to meet you. I’m Makoto Takatsuki,” I answered.

He’d come to meet the heroes of Roses, apparently. Maximillian smiled and offered a hand. He was so tall and slightly intimidating, so I ended up feeling rather shy.

“Makoto, you should be bolder,” Lucy told me.

“You’re both heroes, Takatsuki.”

“R-Right...” That was easier said than done—he looked terrifying.

“It’s been a while, Lucy,” he said. “I’ll have to go and greet Lady Rosalie soon.”

“It’s been too long!” Lucy replied cheerfully.

“You know him?” Sasa asked.

“He was in an older year at school,” she explained.

He looked scary, but turned out to be fine once we started talking. He had an earnest personality and was always training in the holy regions of the forest to become a better hero. He also patrolled around the various villages. On top of that, he and Lucy had gone to the same school. He’d been the student president, even. A whole different world...and they still had student councils.

After introductions, we spent a while chatting. It turned out that there would be a feast to welcome the man. Though with that said, we’d be fighting to prevent the demon lord’s resurrection soon, so it wouldn’t be too excessive.

After a while, our conversation naturally turned toward the impending fight against Bifrons. The demons would be able to tell if our troops amassed in force ahead of time, so all of Springrogue’s fighters would actually join up on the day itself as we headed toward the Demon Lord’s Grave. Would we be able to forge a chain of command that way? Well, Springrogue had used this method up until now—they were a country of many small villages with little forceful direction.

Freya’s priestess, the two heroes, the chief, and Janet were all talking. Their conversation was mostly about how succeeding in stopping the resurrection would strengthen the alliance between Springrogue and Roses. Janet had then joined to talk about Highland. She was a member of one of their five highest noble families, so there might have been more involved to the alliance than I was aware of. Regardless, I was just a commoner hero, so it was all too much for me. I’d kept an ear on the conversation at first, but all the political talk eventually put me to sleep, so I left.

I fancied taking in some of the night breeze, so I stepped outside. The sky was clear, with the almost-full circle of the moon hanging above us.

It’s called...waxing gibbous, right?

The moon would be full the day after tomorrow...which meant that, the day after tomorrow, the demon lord Bifrons would be resurrected.

“Elementals,” I called, trying to see the ammunition I would be working with on the day of the battle. Water elementals...were in pretty short supply here.

Will it be all right? I wondered. We’re going to be up against some strong enemies. There was Zagan’s Jvāla and Setekh as well. On top of that, Bifrons was on the verge of resurrection.

Honestly, it felt like we’d be better off just leaving it to Lucy’s mom, a proven hero in fighting demons. I was representing Roses both diplomatically and as a hero, though, so I knew I couldn’t just shirk my duties.

I started to train, mind not fully on my practice, when someone called out to me.

“Oh, Lucy’s boyfriend. You training?”

“I-I am!” I answered, turning to Rosalie. “Good evening.”

The woman had just shown up out of nowhere. Her blonde hair was shining in the moonlight. She approached, smiling like a temptress of the night.

“The water elementals like you quite a bit,” she commented.

“That’s right. You can see them.”

Her hand touched my cheek. She wasn’t as warm as Lucy, just a normal body temperature. The sensation was soft, though, and set my heart racing.

“Even among the elves, there are few that can use elemental magic nowadays. It’s boring.”

“Well, no humans use it,” I said with a reluctant smile. That’s what made learning it so difficult.

She chuckled.

“Right, the church doesn’t like it.”

She snapped her fingers, causing a spark of flame.

“What was that?” I asked.

“You couldn’t see the fire elemental?” she retorted.

“I’m a water specialist...”

“What an interesting one you are. Did you specialize in the weakest on purpose?” She giggled.

Sorry, they’re the only ones I can see. Though, if I kiss your daughter, I can see fire elementals too.

Not that I could say that to her mother...

“The day after tomorrow will be the full moon,” she stated.

“Right. The day the demon lord returns.” It was more than I’d ever expected. What made a demon lord? Rosalie didn’t seem to be bothered at all, though. I’d honestly expected a little more concern.

“That ‘high-rank’ demon Sciulli was such a letdown. I hope that one from Zagan and Setekh will have a little more bite.”

I had no response to that. Well, Rosalie was a battle maniac, so I guess she wouldn’t be worried.

“That Setekh has the legendary Eyes of Petrification, though,” Rosalie continued. “I’m impressed you came back safe.”

“What?”

“You didn’t know? It’s pretty famous.”

I hadn’t really heard of it, no... I vaguely recalled hearing something about Petrification being one of the strongest magic eyes. The demon had such a powerful ability? But, hang on...

“Setekh had no eyes, though,” I said. Where his eyes should’ve been, I’d seen only black hollows.

“Hmm...so they haven’t come back. What a shame.”

“He said he was regaining his power,” I told her. I guess that’s why he’d been sacrificing the forest wolves.

“I’ll look forward to it then.” The Crimson Witch smiled widely. Honestly, I couldn’t think of anything more heartening.

If he’s got eyes again, I’ll run right away, I swore to myself.

“That reminds me. You’re an otherworlder, aren’t you?” she asked, changing the topic.

“I am.” Her face—so similar to Lucy’s—looked at me with interest.

“Does your world have a moon?”

“Of course.” The topic had changed again...? Where was she going with this?

“Did you know?” she asked, looking meaningfully at me. “There are many worlds, but only one moon.”

“Huh...” So, did she mean that the moon in my old world and this moon were one and the same? That was kinda romantic.

I doubt it, though. After all, in my world, people had landed on the moon.

“Oh, you don’t believe me. It’s true, you know. Every time I’ve gone to other worlds, it’s via the moon.”

“Wha?” She’d been to other worlds?

I then asked exactly that.

“Of course. Lucy’s father is an otherworlder demon.”

The hell? So Lucy was half otherworlder? That was a bit much.

“So you can go to the world we’re from?” I asked.

“I can go. Your world has no mana, though, does it?”

“People can’t use magic, no.”

“Then I wouldn’t be able to come back. That’d be a shame. I can’t go, but I could send you back, probably.”

S-Seriously?

This was a complete shock.

“Makoto! You’re going back?!” Lucy demanded suddenly. Apparently, she’d been listening.

“Are you?” Sasa added.

“I’m not,” I told them both with a strained smile.

“Ah, here come your girlfriends,” Rosalie chirped. “I’ll leave you younglings to enjoy yourselves.”

“Ah! Wait!” I called, but she’d already teleported away. I wanted her to teach me one of those elemental magic techniques... I’d have to find her later.

“Hey, Makoto, what were you talking about?” Lucy asked.

“You can’t fall for Lucy’s mom.”

“I won’t!”

What kind of guy did they think I was?!

The three of us spent a while chatting before they got too tired and decided to head to sleep. I stayed around to train my elemental magic, thinking hard as I did.

You can go through the moon to other worlds...

It was an interesting thing to learn. The moon here was special. People hated moon magic, so the temple hadn’t taught me anything about it. There was still so much to learn here.

I’ll ask our own priestess about it at some point, I decided. After that, I focused on training alone for a while.

Eventually, a small figure made its way to my feet.

“Nrow, nrow.”

“Hm? Twi?”

My so-called familiar, Twi, was winding between my legs. I thought she’d been focused on the massive fish they’d given her.

If Twi’s here, then...

“So, my knight. How goes your training?” asked Furiae, her beauty melding perfectly with the moonlight.

“It’s going, Princess,” I answered, still looking away.

“You’re my guardian knight. You should protect me some.”

“What?” Well...I had heard some of Lucy’s brothers hitting on her. I mean, she was good-looking, so it was bound to happen!

“Why you...” grumbled Furiae.

“Next time!” I promised hurriedly. Whoops, I’d annoyed her.

We kept talking, but then, out of nowhere, I felt a chill run down my back. Sense Danger blared in my head.

Suddenly, a dark figure leaped out and attacked us.

◇ Furiae Naya Laphroaig’s Perspective ◇

The second feast in a row at the mage’s home was to welcome the hero Maximillian.

These countries all love the noise, I thought.

I’d been born and raised in (the ruins of) Laphroaig. It was always quiet and everyone spent their days struggling and wearing dark expressions. This clamor was a fresh experience for me—I wasn’t used to it, but I didn’t hate it either.

“Pretty miss, perhaps we could stargaze together?”

“This is a hundred-year-old wine, perfect for a woman such as yourself.”

“Wanna come out with little miss me? I’ll make sure you enjoy yourself.”

All the flirting was getting annoying, though. Men and women alike would often fall for me and hit on me.

My status as the Priestess of the Moon meant that everyone I met ended up charmed. The mage’s siblings were all proactive with romance as well. No one tried to force things, but I wanted to be alone.

After a while, I left the feast and struck out on my own.

“Nrow, nrow,” the black cat Twi mewled.

I’m not your master, I thought toward her.

That made me wonder where my knight had gone. I couldn’t see him anywhere. As I walked through the quiet village, I could only hear the wind and the humming of insects. Eventually, I came across two others.

“Ah, Fuuri, out for a walk? Make sure to stay inside the barrier.”

It was the mage and the warrior. Perhaps the two of them were doing the same.

“Don’t worry, I can see it.” I was something of a mage myself, after all. Though I possessed no directly offensive magic, I had confidence in my control.

“Takatsuki’s training up this way,” the warrior said. “Anyway, g’night, Fuu.”

The two of them headed back, hand in hand.

“Hey, Lu, let’s share a bed tonight,” the warrior cooed, talking to the mage.

“Fine. Just don’t strip me while you’re half asleep.”

“But your skin feels so nice.”

“Seriously, quit it.”

The conversation trailed off as they left earshot.

They have a nice friendship. Aren’t they rivals in love, though? And don’t women usually get really catty with each other when they’re after the same man? They just seemed like the best of friends, though. I didn’t want my party to end up awkward so I was on board with that dynamic, but...

When I’d used fate magic to look at their threads, I’d seen a massive tangle. Most of them had been intertwined with Makoto Takatsuki.

You sure are loved...my knight.

Almost scarily so, in fact. They were rather heavy with their feelings—I was always slightly worried he might get stabbed. I still wasn’t sure how much of it he actually realized. My knight always had that lost look on his face.

After a while of walking, I felt the sensation of thick mana beneath my feet.

That mana...

I followed it to its source and came upon a small clearing around the outskirts of the village. My knight was there, sitting in the moonlight and calling for the elementals. Apparently, he was still training. On the portion of his face that was visible, I could see a serious expression.

He’s my guardian knight...

And yet, it felt like I was often being abandoned. It wasn’t like I wanted to be with him constantly. It was just...no one had been willing to be so apart from me before.

“So, my knight...” I began.

I didn’t want to interfere with his practice, but my knight would keep training until he couldn’t otherwise. Even when I spoke, he didn’t turn to answer.

At least look at me when you’re talking to me.

The two of us conversed idly for a while, when suddenly...

Hm?

I could sense an enemy.

Suddenly, a dark figure rushed us. It was aiming for...my knight?

“Watch out!” I yelled, diving for him. Black claws cut through the air behind us.

Makoto Takatsuki was prone on the ground, but he soon climbed to his feet. Twi had run into the trees. Clever girl.

“That was close... Thanks, Princess.”

“Why is the princess the one saving the knight...?” I asked. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, thanks to you.”

We looked at our attacker.

“Tch, missed.” A black-haired, red-eyed demon beauty stood before us. Her body was scorched all over, though.

This was the woman that had called herself Bifrons’s subordinate—Sciulli.

“Oh? Didn’t Rosalie beat you?” I asked.

“Apparently not.”

This was bad. The barrier couldn’t stop a high-rank demon. The only two people present were me, a powerless priestess, and my knight, who...wasn’t all that strong.

Couldn’t Future Sight have warned me about this...? Unfortunately, it wasn’t something I controlled. I could only see big events, not influence the visions.

The demon was covered in wafting black miasma as she appraised us. “That irritating witch isn’t here now... I’ll just eat the two of you to recover.”

Ah, right! She was a vampire. A predator, one that would devour us...and my curse was meaningless to the undead. Sciulli approached slowly.

“My knight! We need to run!” I shouted, grabbing Makoto Takatsuki’s hand.

“I doubt we can.”

“It’s no use.”

For some reason, their two voices overlapped.

“We’re caught right now,” he said.

“What? When? Ugh, I can’t move.” A small barrier had been erected around us. Our legs were fixed in place too! I looked down to see black shadows wrapped around our lower halves.

“It’s called Shadow Gaol,” spat Sciulli. “It was a very useful spell back when we raised humanity like the cattle you are. Food shouldn’t speak, so be silent.” She grinned cruelly as she moved in, her mouth opened wide to reveal sharp fangs. “I’ll drain you dry while you’re still awake...make sure you’re good and scared. It tastes so much better that way!”

A “tch!” made its way from my lips. The battle earlier ought to have damaged her, but she seemed as powerful as ever. A cold sweat ran down my back.

All I had left was...

Closer...closer... Now!

Charm Eye!

I activated my trump card. It was most effective during the full moon, but the amount of moonlight shining down should have been more than enough.

“Pity,” Sciulli remarked indifferently. “That won’t work on me.”

“No...”

“We are the reincarnations of the greats. We exist above you, so what effect would a lower being’s charms have?” she said mockingly. I was done for. “Still, those eyes... Are you the Priestess of the Moon?”

“And what if I am?”

“Hmph. So the whore that once curried demonic favor turns back to the humans. No loyalty.”

“I’m not her!” I yelled. The priestess from a thousand years ago was a different person, damn it!

“It was such an eyesore watching her, a mere human, try to ingratiate herself.” Sciulli raised her hand, and the miasma thickened around it. “Die where you stand!”

What do I do...?

My knight had just been holding my hand and saying nothing. It was starting to irritate me. However, the demon also wasn’t speaking to him—I suppose that, because he lacked sufficient mana, he hadn’t captured her interest. Couldn’t he do anything?!

“Say, my kn—”

“Pardon, Princess,” he interrupted, suddenly tightening his grip.

“Hey! What are you...it feels weird.”

“It’s a Synchro.”

The moment he said that, a massive bubble of mana burst around us.

“Wh-What?”

The demon stared at us, puzzled. My expression was probably much the same. I could still only feel the usual weak mana from Makoto Takatsuki, but the swirling mana around us couldn’t be missed.

“Ah...so that’s where you were, Undyne,” my knight said easily.

Something’s there?

I couldn’t see it, but it was. If he was to be believed, it was Undyne. The demon was now clearly wary of my knight.

“An elementalist... How annoying. You can both just die.” She was right next to us, black claws reaching for our necks.

Water Magic: Flood Gaol.

Suddenly, we were submerged in water.

Whaaaaat?! A-Air... Wait, I can breathe? 

“What in the world...?” Despite the water, I could still hear the demon.

“What is this, my knight?” I asked. I could talk, even underwater. What was going on?

However, my knight ignored both the demon and me, speaking instead to...someone else. “Come on, Undyne. Right, I did say I wanted water, but the amount was a shock... Well, it doesn’t look like Lucy’s place is going to flood at least.”

“Damn you!” Enraged, the demon tried to approach, but...

“Impossible!”

She couldn’t move. Flood Gaol was stopping her. Makoto Takatsuki was still speaking to someone who was invisible to me.

So surreal...

“That’s just what I’d expect from you,” he said, speaking to the water again. “Not even a high-rank demon can move at all. Well, that Shadow Gaol has us in the same boat.”

Then, he laughed.

“What are you laughing at?!” I demanded. Why did he lack any sense of tension at all? Was he stupid? We were going to die!

“Princess?” he asked.

“Don’t look blank like that! Do something!”

“Neither of us can move, though.” After that, he cheerily said that someone would probably come to save us.

The demon’s face twisted again. “Hah! Impressive mana, human mage. Water magic won’t beat me, though! You can’t destroy me—I’m undead! You are our food! Act like it and let me devour you!”

This haughty demon considered herself our ruler. The miasma around us increased. She had even more power? Slowly but surely, she was starting to move.

Even while bound in this Flood Gaol?

“My knight!” I panicked, pulling at his arm. “We need to do something!”

“Yeah, getting eaten would certainly put a damper on the day. Let’s do it.”

“Huh?”

He sounded so calm that I almost thought I’d misheard him.

“Hah! Beat me! You wish you could!” the demon declared, confident in her undead nature. My knight didn’t say anything—he just quietly unsheathed his beautifully engraved dagger.

It was coated in mana, and the metal began to shine blue. A blessing to destroy the undead...would be good, but there wasn’t one. This dagger was just a normal magic weapon. Sciulli still wore a fearless smile. My knight held his blade in both hands as if praying.

Then, he whispered. “I offer this to you, Eir.”

What? That wasn’t the goddess he followed. Eir was one of the Sacred Deities.

Suddenly, the dagger began to glow ominously. The water around us morphed into a humanoid shape, glowing as mana compressed into it. Eventually, it formed the shape of a child floating in the air.

No, it wasn’t just the shape—the figure had eyes and a mouth. Its eyes rolled as the naked child laughed. What a bizarre sight, almost as if life had been formed within the water. The child had two small, adorable wings on its back, and it was followed by several more of its ilk.

Young angels...the tenth rank...Angely?

H-How? Only saint rank magic could summon angels. On top of that, it ought to be impossible to summon an angel of a god you didn’t follow.

“Wh-What are you! Stay away!” the demon screamed. She must’ve sensed that she was in a bad situation.

“Throw,” commanded my knight. He launched his dagger, sending it toward the demon.

The blade plunged into her chest.

“What?” Normal weapons shouldn’t have any effect on the undead... In fact, Sciulli started mocking him for exactly that.

“Hah! That puny weapon won’t do anyth—”

Makoto Takatsuki seemed wholly uninterested, just following the motions as he spoke.

Sacrificial Magic: Offering.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the adorable little angels leaped at the demon and began...eating her.

She let out a bloodcurdling scream, audible over the sound of something chewing.

“L-Let me...go! Sto...p...”

They wolfed the demon’s body down, even as she screamed and bled black. I could hear nerves snapping and bones breaking. My knight watched it for a time before letting out a quiet murmur and glancing away with a disturbed expression.

Y-You were the one that did that!

I couldn’t even speak in the face of such a sight.

As the Priestess of the Moon, normal things didn’t move me... I controlled death, darkness, and curses. The grimoires and writings for those magics were full of all kinds of gruesome depictions and having studied them, I had developed quite the strong stomach...but I still shuddered at this sight.

“You okay, Princess?” asked my knight, his voice unchanged. I nodded clumsily, confused by how he was so unbothered.

“Thank you, Undyne,” he said. “I’m fine now.” The Flood Gaol holding the demon broke apart as my knight offered his thanks. Sciulli was still being eaten by the angels. I looked closer.

They weren’t just eating her flesh.

Her mana...? No...it’s like they’re eating her very soul...

Defeating the undead usually required holy purification magic...usually...

Still, Sciulli’s threads of fate were snapping one after another. Those threads were the connections between the soul and the world. Cutting them...meant an end. Her life would finish here.

“He...lp...me...my...ki...ng...”

Her final words were almost unintelligible since she was missing most of her body. That pitiful voice was all that was left of her, and it soon vanished. Then, with a giggle, the angels vanished as well.

Despite her strength, Sciulli’s body was now crumbling away into dust. The wind blew away that dust like ash. It swirled through the air and vanished—the onetime subordinate to the demon lord left nothing behind... It was as if she’d never existed in the first place.

All that was left was my knight’s dagger, motionless where he had thrown it.

“Well, those wanting to eat should be ready to be eaten...” he said in an almost silly tone. “I’m sure someone’s said that before.”

I didn’t know what he meant—I was too scared. His back was facing me, so I couldn’t see his facial expression, and I was honestly scared to find out.

“Phew, we beat her.”

His voice was calm. It was the same tone he used to talk to the mage and warrior. When he turned my way, his face was softened by a kind smile—from my perspective, it looked almost demonically innocent.