Everyone worked together to put up a barrier against the rain of divine flames. Fran and I invoked the flame spell Flame Barrier, as Urushi, Avenger, and Maleficent set up a normal mana barrier. Persona cast some sort of ward.
「!」
『Tch!』
Our barrier was not a moment too late, as the impact came immediately.
The embers of divine flame appeared small and weak. Yet the moment the first one came into contact with our barrier, I felt an immense amount of mana draining away. Each of these tiny sparks exploded with the destructive force exceeding a high-tier spell.
No, it wasn’t just due to the power.
The residue of divine energy from Roaneth’s relic continued swirling around us, interfering with our magic. This wasn’t enough to disable our spells completely, though it certainly doubled the mana consumption.
My gut was warning me not to escape by teleportation, and it’s a good thing I listened. I can’t say for sure if teleporting out a divine energy vortex will work, and failure would render us defenseless
We withstood the initial few embers, but then the brunt of the divine flames came down.
I could only watch in awe as our barrier became engulfed in a curtain of red. That was all we could see as the tremors and shockwaves shook us through the barrier.
The divine flames literally poured down on us like a sudden shower of rain, but the barrier we used as a roof wasn’t enough to negate the sheer destructive force.
Ours was no ordinary barrier either. We have several of the strongest people on the continent backing it up.
Yet each hit shook it more and more. This barrier was capable of easily blocking supreme-tier spells, yet it felt so fragile and unreliable.
「Kuh…」
「Grr…」
『Guys, keep at it!』
A few seconds passed, though it felt like an eternity. We had infused every last bit of mana and barely managed to stand our ground. Fran, Urushi, Maleficent, and Persona all wore pained expressions. Maybe we can make it through to the end at this rate?
However, it was much too early to say for sure.
The ground below our feet shook with a jolt, and we all started falling.
The fort had practically melted apart, causing the rooftop where we were standing to collapse. I quickly caught everyone with my telekinesis, but it wasn’t possible to support them completely.
A minor fall would normally not be an issue, but I can’t say the same thing for our current situation. The slightest lapse in concentration could mean our deaths.
Avenger and Persona’s barriers turned unstable first, followed shortly by a distortion in Fran and Urushi’s barrier. The remaining Maleficent grit his teeth in pain.
I continued maintaining my telekinesis and barrier as I prayed for an end to the divine flames. Can we keep going? No, at this rate…
As soon as I began panicking, I felt a sudden stir of evil energy deep inside me. This phenomenon happened before, very recently.
It’s the Evil God Fragment again. I know you’re not trying to screw with us, but doing that out of nowhere really scares me! Actually, why can you even act on our own if you’re supposed to be sealed? Seems weird that the Evil God Fragment’s seal is so half-assed.
There it goes again, spraying out evil energy whenever it feels like it. And it seems that wasn’t all.
「Nrrgggh!」
「!」
『Avenger?』
To our surprise, Avenger suddenly leapt up with a roar.
He spread out his arms and legs to shield Fran and the others, as well as putting up a jet black barrier, which we instantly recognized as a barrier of evil energy.
Why? Because it was so dense that it gave us goosebumps.
I know from past experience that evil energy has the effect of disrupting the skills of others. However, Avenger’s barrier did not impact our barriers at all, perhaps because he controlled all the evil energy perfectly.
On the other hand, his barrier was incredibly effective against the divine flames. While it wasn’t powerful enough to nullify the flames completely, it certainly reduced the load on us. This may be some sort of higher existence than evil energy, like “evil divinity” or something?
The Evil God inside me must have shared a portion of its power.
At long last, the downpour ended… as the last few drops broke through and burned into Avenger’s body.
Maleficent and I failed at the last moment, but we managed to survive thanks to Avenger.
Amidst the searing smoke, I slowly lowered everyone using my telekinesis. However, the fort had completely vaporized down to the last brick, leaving only a giant crater in its wake. The bottom of the crater looked a bit shiny because it had melted into glass.
Dropping Fran and the others into the crater would be too dangerous, so I used my telekinesis to create an invisible slide instead.
「Avenger!」
「Gah… Just… Fleshbag is fine.」
「Nn. Fleshbag, are you okay?」
Fran propped Avenger’s head up despite the bodily fluids leaking out of him. Everything below his neck had disappeared, so he was practically a decapitated head.
He can’t possibly regenerate after getting caught in those divine flames. There’s no way to save him, and Fran knew it.
「My priestess. I am afraid this is where we part…」
「…You said you wouldn’t die.」
「At long last, I can finally move on. A majority of the grudges within my heart originate here. I was born from the peoples of a fallen country…」
「A country, here?」
「My homeland… the Kingdom of Sophiard suffered an invasion from Raydoss… The South Conquest Duke… He enslaved us…」
As an undead, Avenger’s power comes from the grudges of the departed. We had assumed he was born from recently purchased slaves, but this proves otherwise. I know Raydoss has been performing inhumane experiments for a long time, so maybe he has some relation to the research on the floating island.
「My priestess… Please… avenge me…」
「Nn!」
「Thank you… My God…? You came to receive me? I am honored…」
「!」
Fran widened her eyes as a black light enveloped Avenger. Then, he got sucked into me without any action on my part. The Evil God Fragment did all of this on its own.
Like I keep saying, you have way too much freedom!
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