Chapter 76

"Wh-What? The capital has fallen!?"

"The evil god has been revived!? And, the succubus was alive...! Please, give me more details!"

The evil god has been revived. Moreover, by the succubus, who was supposed to be petrified...?

The saint, who had been talking about the night revels just a moment ago, is now frantically asking the knight for an explanation, her complexion changed.

"Though the details are unclear, according to the testimony of the knight who came from the capital... the evil god suddenly appeared in the capital, cast a barrier magic to seal off the city, and then immediately left the capital, beginning its advance toward this city of Melharts..."

"Is it heading for this city!? And it used a large-scale barrier magic!? Is it really the evil god!?"

Large-scale barrier magic. I've read about the evil god using it once in the Bible. It involves drawing a huge symbol on the ground and severing the space inside and outside the symbol. It takes time to set up, but once activated, its effects are immense. It's a very troublesome magic that no one can undo until the evil god cancels it.

But... the revived evil god has sealed off the capital and is heading for this labyrinth city...?

"What's going on...?"

—More and more questions are arising.

First, wasn't the succubus petrified? The distance from this labyrinth city to the capital is several days even for a dragon. Given the extent of the succubus's petrification I saw last time, there's no way she could have reached the capital.

The saint also said that the only people in this area who can use Exheal are me and her.

Moreover, why did they allow the evil god to be revived? The capital should have had strict security measures in place to seal the evil god. Even if the succubus attacked with monsters, the capital wouldn't fall so easily, and the defenses wouldn't be so easily breached by a single attacker.

"...Hey, wasn't there also the gemstones of other apostles of the evil god in the capital?"

"Yes, they were supposed to be stored in several places under strict guard..."

And why is the evil god advancing on this labyrinth city in a half-baked state, just sealing off the capital with a barrier? If the capital were taken, the country would no longer function. Also, if they searched the capital thoroughly, they would likely find some of the gemstones sealing the other apostles. I can't understand the benefit of leaving the capital and advancing on this labyrinth city.

"The evil god is gathering monsters with the succubus and advancing on this labyrinth city... and it's already within two days' distance... Also, the evil god is demanding that a saint be brought to its presence alone in exchange for the safety of the capital..."

"Hand over Shiki-sama...! ? ...Is that what this means...?"

"I see... The capital is being held hostage..."

The knight's words resolved one of my questions. The capital was sealed off with barrier magic to use as leverage against me. ...Probably, the evil god is aiming for a sure victory. To kill the only saint who has a chance of countering the evil god as quickly and without resistance as possible, it's using the capital as a hostage and advancing on this labyrinth city. If we don't comply, it's likely that a large-scale magic will be triggered within the barrier, causing massive destruction.

The knight who came from the capital was probably intentionally let go by the evil god to act as a messenger.

"My lord... I will protect you!"

Perhaps because she heard the words "hand me over to the evil god," Yuell drew a knife and stepped between me and the knight and the saint to protect me.

"Calm down!"

The saint panicked at Yuell's drawn knife. Astel had also stepped between the saint and Yuell at some point. Yuell and Astel, knives drawn, faced each other in a tense atmosphere.

"I have no intention of handing over Shiki-sama! If Shiki-sama, the saint, is gone, humanity will lose its means to counter the evil god. There's no guarantee that the capital will be safe even if we hand over Shiki-sama. Besides, we need to verify if the information is true first."

"Yuell, I'm fine, don't worry."

I grabbed Yuell's hand, which was holding the knife, and moved her behind me. I also patted her head from behind.

...Actually, the saint wouldn't hand me over to the evil god. Without me, it's highly questionable whether they could even defeat the succubus and her army of monsters. The capital, which has already been isolated and taken hostage, should be abandoned for the sake of humanity as a whole. And I think the saint, despite being the archbishop of the capital, is the type who can make such a decision.

...While stroking Yuell's silky hair, one thought came to mind.

I had been thinking about how the succubus healed her petrification. ...And I found someone who might be able to heal it.

"Hey... Could it be that the succubus was healed by that bald priest? If he could use Exheal, he might have healed the succubus and deliberately let her escape to bring down Filine, or something like that. Is that a possibility?"

The saint said that only she and I could use Exheal in this area. But what about the priest who came to this city afterward? That priest might have been able to heal the succubus.

If the succubus had stayed nearby after the attack with the Light Eater, she might have observed the conversation between the saint and the priest. The succubus's specialty is to discern and exploit people's desires. ...She might have targeted the priest, who was angry at the saint at the time.

"True, the priest might have had a motive to heal the succubus... but the priest can only use High Heel. It's unlikely that he could heal petrification..."

The saint said, looking puzzled. It seems I was off the mark. I thought the priest might have healed the succubus to bring down the saint, but that doesn't seem to be the case. Then, a voice came from beside me.

"My lord, even High Heel can heal petrification, I think."

It was Yuell. High Heel can heal petrification? Can it slow down the progression of petrification or something? I've never heard of that before.

"If I were the succubus and my lord were the evil god... I would do it to revive my lord."

Yuell said with a pained expression. Seeing her distressed face, I realized something. ...No, but, could it be...?

"I would cut off my legs and regenerate them with High Heel."

And Yuell said that definitively. ...Could she be projecting herself onto the succubus? Yuell has a slightly sad look on her face. Well, the succubus, in a way, is similar to Yuell in that she works hard for her master. They even look a bit alike. But, the succubus is an apostle of the evil god who killed countless humans in the age of the Bible, so I don't want her to be empathized with or pitied.

"Cutting off the petrified part and treating the missing limb with High Heel... If that's the case, it's not strange that the succubus survived... However, the petrification was quite deep... By the time of the attack, it might have reached her torso..."

The saint's shoulders trembled slightly. ...Cutting off a limb is not an easy task. It takes a lot of resolve to harm one's own body. In the case of the succubus, she would have had to cut off her legs from the very root to remove the petrified part. ...Even with the life force of an apostle of the evil god, cutting off her legs so close to her torso could have been fatal. The succubus can't use healing magic herself, and there's no guarantee that her legs would grow back even if she cut them off. If she couldn't be healed, she might have died from blood loss.

"...Determination, huh."

I don't know what drove the succubus to do this, but it seems she was determined to revive the evil god at all costs.

"If the priest cooperated, it would have been easy for them to reach the seal of the evil god in the capital. ...Perhaps the succubus was deceived into thinking she would become an apostle, as in Shiki-sama's case. The priest is a proud person... He couldn't bear to lose to me, even if it meant the end of the world..."

The saint said regretfully. ...The succubus had no reason to keep the priest around. Unless the priest had abilities that complemented hers, like me and the succubus, he was just a priest with some healing magic. If he was deceived, he's probably dead. He could have been used as a sacrifice for the evil god's revival, given his moderate magic power and ability to use High Heel.

"Lady Saint"

The knight urged the saint, who was still looking down with a troubled expression. The evil god is already approaching this labyrinth city, and the situation is urgent. The knight is probably asking her to take command quickly.

"...Now is not the time for regrets. I will question the knight who came from the capital. After that, I will consult with the lord... We will likely call for reinforcements from the surrounding cities. Shiki-sama, please wait in this room for now. ...Astel! Go warn the knights guarding the walls to be on alert. If they notice anything unusual, have them report it immediately."

With that, the saint hurried out of the room.

I was told to stay in the room. ...Probably, it would be inconvenient if I went outside. Many people have family and friends in the capital. It's not an easy decision to abandon the capital. The saint probably intends to face the evil god with me, but it might be difficult to unify the city's will for a while.

"My lord... Are you okay...?"

Yuell asked, looking worried, perhaps concerned about the knights rushing around outside. ...Honestly, I'm not okay at all. Even if we call for reinforcements now, how many knights can we gather? We'll probably be lucky to gather half the number of knights from last time. With the capital taken hostage, it's as if we're already in a checkmate position.

"It's fine. Yuell, you don't need to worry."

But I'll try to reassure her for now. We haven't lost yet. With my healing magic, even a small number of knights might be able to turn the tide against the evil god and the succubus.

"Let's start with what we can do."

I reached for the Bible. ...I know the succubus's abilities well, but I'm not sure about the revived evil god's. It's written that the evil god is skilled in magic, but I haven't read much about what it can do or its weaknesses. I need to find out. I flipped through the pages of the Bible.

—There it is.

The moment of the battle between the evil god and the saint of old. The open page shows an illustration of the saint holding a staff and a female swordsman, presumably a hero, approaching the evil god. It seems the saint, leading an army of ten thousand, launched a surprise attack on the isolated main camp of the evil god while the apostles and monsters were attacking a nearby major city. Reading further, it seems the saint divided the army into a large decoy force and a small elite surprise attack force, attacking the evil god from opposite directions. The decoy force advanced straight toward the evil god from a plain with a good view, while the surprise attack force approached the evil god unnoticed, hiding in the forest. However, the next sentence made me doubt my eyes.

"!?"

—The decoy force was annihilated in minutes. The army of nearly ten thousand soldiers was reduced to half by a direct hit from the evil god's large-scale attack magic. The surviving soldiers scattered and charged at the evil god, but they were all wiped out by the wide-ranging destruction magic. Only craters and rising dust remained on the battlefield.

"Large-scale attack magic..."

The evil god can also use barrier magic like the one it cast on the capital. ...An expert in large-scale magic. That's the appropriate description. It seems to be a mage who, if I could use all kinds of magic, would be something like this.

—It's a perfect upper-level version of me...

But the saint of old sealed the evil god. I'll read on with hope.

The surprise attack force led by the saint approached the evil god, hidden in the dust, and engaged in close combat. The Bible describes several pages of the intense sword fight between the hero and the evil god.

But there's no mention of the evil god using magic. ...I might have found one of the evil god's weaknesses. The weakness of the evil god, who uses large-scale magic, is being approached closely. If the enemy gets too close, the evil god can't use magic that might harm itself.

I see.

A surprise attack and getting close enough to prevent the enemy from using magic means there's a chance to win in close combat. Well, that's how mages are. Once you get close, it's not a big deal. But as I turned the page...

—The hero was cut down by the evil god.

It doesn't seem the evil god used any magic that gave it an advantage. It simply defeated the hero, the strongest swordsman of the time, with pure sword skills.

"Seriously...?"

Even in close combat, the evil god is in the top class. It's no wonder it's called the evil god.

It seems the saint sealed the evil god by taking advantage of a momentary opening when the hero was cut down.

—Considering what I've read.

If we gather our forces and fight the evil god head-on, the large-scale attack magic will cause massive casualties. The chances of winning are probably low.

Even if we try a surprise attack, the evil god has sword skills that even the strongest swordsman of the time couldn't match. It won't be easy to succeed.

...Is this hopeless?

The method used by the saint of old can't be replicated by us now. I don't have a magic seal that can be used to instantly defeat the evil god. Also, using a large army of over ten thousand as a decoy is impractical both in terms of numbers and psychology.

The saint will probably try to gather knights like when we dealt with the succubus and have me use healing magic. ...But that will be difficult. My healing magic is powerless against the evil god's large-scale magic. Human bodies are too fragile and will vaporize before I can use healing magic. If the large-scale magic is used, I can't save the knights within its range.

Even if we can get close enough to avoid the large-scale magic, the succubus and her army of monsters will hinder the knights' advance. It's impossible to heal in time against the evil god's firepower. Even if we manage to get close, the evil god is a top-class swordsman. There's no chance of winning.

...But the evil god is already within two days' distance.

"My lord..."

My face must have looked pretty bad, because Yuell called out to me.

"Ah, yeah, it's fine. This city has me. You don't need to worry, Yuell."

I tried to reassure her, but I'm not really fine. If only the succubus and the evil god were separate, we might have a chance. With the succubus's army of monsters near the evil god, a surprise attack is impossible. I think the only way to defeat the evil god is to catch it off guard, but I can't see a way to do that.

But I can't give up thinking. If we can't defeat the evil god, Elise, Ruruka, and Yuell will be in constant danger. We have to find a way, somehow.

As I was thinking, I realized my throat was dry. I reached into my item box to get some water. My hand touched something. I suddenly realized.

—I might have found a way to defeat the evil god.

If I go to the evil god alone, I might be able to use this. This method won't result in unnecessary sacrifices of knights. I can handle everything on my own.

The possibility of victory came to mind, and I felt a slight lift in my spirits. But then I felt a tug on my waist.

"My lord... I will definitely protect you. No matter what, I will protect you. ...So, please don't go alone."

Yuell said, as if reading my mind, and clung to me from behind, trembling slightly.

"Yuell...?"

I was surprised by her words, but... probably, that's it.

...Yuell was there when my magic power went out of control during practice. The saint said that the power was so great it could destroy a mountain. Yuell might have thought I was planning to use that power to take down the evil god in a mutual destruction.

...But I won't do that. I don't want to die. I still have things to do with Elise and Ruruka. If I leave Yuell behind, she will definitely cry.

I don't want to die, and I don't want the knights to die. I just want to use the best method to defeat the evil god.

"...Of course. What can I do by going alone? Besides, I'm a very cowardly person. I can't just go to the evil god alone."

"My lord has risked his life many times to save others. You are very noble and very, very brave."

Yuell said, gripping my clothes tightly. I could feel her determination not to let go.

"It's fine. I'll be right here with you, Yuell."

...Well, I will go.

The success rate of this plan is probably quite high. And because of the timing, the chances of success are very high. If we miss this opportunity, we might never be able to defeat the evil god. If that happens, I will eventually be killed by the evil god.

"...Really?"

"Really. My lord wouldn't lie, would he?"

My lord never lies. I've always been a clean, kind, and respectable lord in front of Yuell. Yuell will believe me if I say so.

"Yuell, get some rest until the saint calls. We don't know what might happen."

Then, I told Yuell, and we both got into the futon.

The next update will be in about three days.