CH 77

Chapter 77

When Peaceful Times Cease To Exist : Attack On Church Of Arnelia, Part 5 — Doom's Aggression

Translated by KaiesV

Edited by KaiesV

「What?」

「How regrettable.」

Doom transforms into a black mist-like form and dodges Roxanne’s sword, and immediately afterwards, Doom appears behind her.

「Is that Metamorphose Magic!?」

Metamorphose magic is a non-attribute system of magic that was relatively common in the past, but today it is not the first to be used. The main use is to form wings and head for high places, etc. However, if even the slightest defect occurs in the deformed part, the deformed part will not return to its original shape successfully. It was therefore considered extremely dangerous and was used in the past after various transformations on one-time disposable assault soldiers, etc., but nowadays its use has been banned by international magic societies due to its brutality. There is also magic that transforms non-life into pseudo-life, or vice versa, but it is a very advanced magic and consumes a considerable amount of magic power, so few people use it today. Instead, the『Familiar』magic used by Miliazar and Tetrastin is much more cost-performative.

Roxanne was both surprised and horrified by Doom’s ability to use it so easily. Doom realizes what the girls are thinking and tries to explain, but on second thought, he wonders if there is any need to be so nice to the enemy.

「It’s not exactly Metamorphose, but whatever. This is—— your end!」

A moment after Doom was about to use his dark magic on Roxanne——

「No, you’re the one who’s meeting your end.」

More than 20 water arrows surround Doom, and when Beliace shouts,「Release!」and they are all shot at Doom at once. But the timing, which should have been perfect, is once again a dud.

「I told you it won’t hit me!」

「How about this?」

Doom dodged in a haze, but the arrow he should have dodged flew precisely to the transition point.

「Homing, eh?」

「You can’t use Metamorphose continuously either. Dodge this!」

This time it was inevitable. Beliace and Roxanne were convinced, but once again their hopes were betrayed.

「Wha……」

「The arrows weren’t reaching?」

「I told you why you can’t hit me, that’s why you can’t hit me. I don’t even need to dodge.」

The arrow rests in mid-air and then suddenly vanishes. The two men feel impatient with this situation, which they are unable to come to grips with.

「I would win if I went through with this, but I don’t have time and it’s too much trouble. I’ll make a special effort to show you how I really feel.」

With these words, a black mist-like object floats around Doom. At first, Beliace and Roxanne had no idea what they were, but as their shapes became clearer, their faces turned pale.

「W–What is that…」

「What a horrifying…」

Ohohohohohoh….

A group of evil spirits appeared around Doom, moaning with regret. They numbered no more than 10 or 20. More than several hundred evil spirits had acted as shields to prevent the earlier attack.

「Ahaha, these kids are kind of adorable, aren’t they? Well, if I had to give myself an occupational name, I’d say I’m a『Wraith Master?』These kids are useful. They automatically protect me without asking, so surprise doesn’t work physically or magically, and of course I can use them consciously. So, without any magical power, I can twist a person by entangling this evil spirit, or in some cases, I can possess the evil spirit. By nature, I don’t need magic or sorcerery.

Incidentally, the evil spirits around me that I am bringing this time are all people I have killed. Because the people I kill are semi-automatically incorporated into this. Isn’t it hilarious that they’re supposed to hold a grudge against me and yet they protect me?」

「That’s the worst idea I’ve ever heard…」

「Even the lowlifes are lukewarm. I don’t have the words to describe this guy.」

「Don’t worry, I’ll add you ladies to my collection too. Come have fun with me!♪」

With Doom’s joyful voice, the evil spirits around Doom begin to buzz and rustle. The voices gradually transformed into a human flesh tone, so much so that Beliace and Roxanne could hear it.

「No, where am I…」

「Okaa-sa–n, it’s hot here!」

「Kill, kill, kill!」

「Help, me…」

「You–! Run now!」

Beliace and Roxanne begin to shiver at the sound of the voices they hear. The two have more than their fair share of experience as fighters, but they have found that the entity in front of them is an opponent that is too much for them to handle. If they lose, they will not only die, but they will be held captive by this boy forever, sucking them to the marrow of their souls. There was no decent way to die, no honorable death in battle.

Besides, the evil spirits cloaked in Doom have a terrifying effect on the viewer. It is not something that can be prevented unless mental tolerance is prepared beforehand.

「Now… Where shall I start? Hands? Or legs? Ah, but mermaids don’t have legs, so why not start with those beautiful breasts?」

「Hiek!」

「You monster!」

「I told you that’s too much of a compliment, I’m so embarrassed!」

At that moment, the evil spirits become a vortex and attack Beliace and Roxanne. The two were so consumed by the presence of Doom that they did not dodge, but curled up and took the direct hit.

「Kyaaahh!!」

「Uwaahh!!」

The two were blown through the corridor and rolled around until they reached the Palace of the Deep Green. They finally stopped when they hit the wall of the entrance room, called the first section. Beliace can barely move despite being wounded all over her body, but Roxanne is not twitching, perhaps because she was not struck properly.

「R–Roxanne… Are you okay?」

「…」

Roxanne is lying on the ground, bleeding from the mouth, but there is no answer. There are signs of other elite guards here and there, but the top priority here is to protect the Master Bishop of the Church. In front of them, each soldier’s life is worth as little as a grain of rice. The soldiers, who have been thoroughly trained to do so, never move until they are ordered to, no matter what they feel inside, even if these two ladies are to be torched to death here. Beliace and Roxanne are also demihumans and serve as the Elite Guards of the Palace of the Deep Green. They are well aware of the situation. If they want to be saved, they must either retreat to their allies on their own, stick around until they are ordered to cover them, or do something about it. Besides, if they were only thinking of defeating Doom, it would be more probable to attack him from all sides when he was preoccupied with beating them.

But when Doom reached the entrance to the Palace of the Deep Green, he stopped and ruthlessly intended to torture the two ladies from a distance.

「What’s the matter… Are you intimidated?」

「I won’t play that game. I’m not going to walk into a place full of traps like this. The fact that you guys just took a direct hit and made a show of it was your intention to lead me to your vantage point by pretending to be outnumbered, wasn’t it? I will not play into your hands.

I’m going to torture you reasonably well from here, and then I’ll take out the soldiers lurking on either side. If I can afford it, I’ll take you guys home and dissect you. I tried the elves last time with the Seekers, but not the mermaids yet. I’ve heard that you can turn your lower body into a human at will, but I’m curious how you change…」

「Speak not, foul spirit! You’re filthy!」

「Ahaha, she hates me. But a virgin mermaid is something I’m looking forward to!」

「Are you making fun of me!? I have a husband! …Ah…」

Beliace thought she had said it and then put it away. Doom’s face contorts happily and ugly.

「Heeh… Come to think of it, I’ve never tried a married woman. Well, that just doubles the fun.」

「Get away from me! I’d rather bite my tongue and die than let you defile my body!」

「Well, fine, but it would be faster for me to stop it, or kill you, than for you to bite your tongue and die. By the way, when I die, I join my fiends, and one of my guys is good at corpse preservation and anti-spirit techniques. The effect of the anti-soul technique has a time limit but can be used as many times as I capture souls, so you know what it’s like to have those combos. There are any number of people, even human beings, who are fine with necrophilia. And if it’s with a beautiful woman, well, there’s no need to say anything.」

The color drains from Beliace face. What a horrifying idea for the being in front of her. Beliace, who is basically good-natured, could not believe it.

「W–What a horrible thing to say…」

「That’s why I was told that such things only make me happy. You, you’re a mermaid, but maybe you should do something about that easily offended personality or something.」

「Mind your own business!」

「That’s why I said that’s it, but I’m a kid who doesn’t listen to others. Well, that’s fine, I don’t know who he was, but if I put your husband’s head on the side of your neck, he’ll grow up a little… What!?」

A shadow flew over Doom. Doom had intended to intercept it, but his instincts sensed the danger and he jumped into the back room, knowing the danger. But the flying shadow closes the gap without any mercy. Doom dodged a sword swinging from the shadows by flying backward as fast as he could and entered the middle of one of the inner rooms. In the rush, Doom did not even have time to take Beliace and Roxanne, who were lying at his feet, to be his hostage.

「I can’t believe that you could make me fall back more than one room at a time without giving me time to fight back. You’re good!」

However, as if not hearing Doom’s words of praise, the shadow positions itself between Beliace and Roxanne and Doom, where it calls out to them for the first time.

「Sister, check on them both. Are you all right, Beliace, Roxanne?」

「Albert-sama! I am safe, but Roxanne is very ill.」

The shadow was Albert, who was trying to save them and lead Doom inside. They may have thought that it would be more advantageous to fight in the Palace of the Deep Green, where there are many traps to their advantage, rather than in the corridors where there are few footholds.

「You did a great job, I’ll take care of the rest. Now back off and get some rest.」

「No, I too…」

「If anything happens to you, I will be angry with my brother. Justin has only just been born, he’s probably not back to full health yet, so don’t push yourself too hard.」

「Yes, Nii-sama. Godspeed.」

「I will. All other soldiers withdraw immediately. I will take over here! Stand by in the outer corridor of the Palace of the Deep Green until further orders!」

「「「Understood!」」」

Under Alberto’s command, the trained soldiers rescued the two ladies and withdrew. Within this deep green palace, Alberto’s word is absolute in conveying Miliazar’s orders.

Surprisingly, Doom watches quietly until the soldiers’ withdrawal is complete. Only two people were left, Albert and Doom.

「Are you sure? You made the other soldiers retreat.」

「It doesn’t matter. They would rather be a distraction to our fight.」

「Hmm. Incidentally, is that woman you’re sister-in-law?」

「That’s right.」

「Then I wonder what she would look like if she could see you, her husband… and the corpse of her newborn child laid out in front of her?」

Doom smiles cruelly. But Albert is unfazed. Albert’s weapon of choice was not only his sword, but his steel will. Without the need for magic of mental resistance, Albert faced Doom with his great sword poised with ease.

「That’ll only forever remain a mystery.」

「Why is that?」

「Because you will be cut to death by me here and now.」

「You say? But don’t get carried away, you knightly bastard!」

「The same goes for you.」

The fierce battle between Alberto and Doom was about to begin in the Palace of the Deep Green.