Volume 2, Chapter 3 Part 5

On the other side. In front of the state guest house of the <Tokyo life sphere>.

“Open the path you renegade!”

“You think god will forgive something like this huh!”

“I, I’m stupid so I don’t understand difficult things at all…-! And I don’t want to be told that by people that can still look unconcerned even after breaking a promise!”

“Guah-“

The straightforward hole made by sister Lily Hoegaarden’s <Gae Bolg> that went straight to the target Elfiena.

There Chikori pushed back the <Paladins> that were rushing in by herself.

The knights that entered the hole one after another were indiscriminately hit flying by Chikori to outside.

However her opponents were also <Paladins>.

They wouldn’t go down quietly just by one hit.

“You little girlll……-!”

“Doing something like this to the vanguard of god, the <Paladins>, don’t think that this is going to end well for you.”

“We will beat up our fearsomeness onto that small body…”

They woke up with bloodshot eyes and decisively charged no matter how many times.

Right now Chikori was obeying Sumika’s instruction that came from <Mind Transmission> which told her to [fight in a narrow place], she somehow fought hard by nullifying the disadvantage in numbers, but―while this tactic removed the disadvantage in numbers, the decrease of the number of enemies was slow in contrast. If her stamina ran out there would be a high possibility that Chikori would be pushed back.

Even for Sumika who was watching that situation from the side, she wanted to head there to help even for a second sooner but,

“<Gae Bolg>――–!”

The sister in front of her didn’t allow her to do that.

The spear of certain kill clad in demonic light was thrust at her.

Sumika sidestepped the thrust to evade but―

The tips of the spear instantly drew an impossible trajectory and bended in pursuit of Sumika who moved to the side.

“<Protection>!”

Sumika narrowly deployed a barrier and avoided direct hit, …however this was a feat that Sumika could do only because of her <Back Sniper>.

The <Gae Bolg> that Lily had was a power to overwrite cause and effect with its concept of certain kill.

A lance that would pierce the enemy without fail no matter where it was thrust at.

For that reason, it couldn’t be dealt with except by <Back Sniper> which foresighted that cause and effect.

Therefore until Sumika could subdue Lily, there was no way she could rush to Chikori.

But―

“<Quick Draw>!”

“HAAA-!”

She also really couldn’t manage that.

The bullet that linked cause and effect the moment it was shot, the bullet of the Hero Skill <Quick Draw> that would absolutely hit, was shot down by Lily too with her spear that was similarly driving cause and effect.

Both of them that possessed similar power were equally lacking in a decisive hand and this deadlocked situation was continuing.

“Lily, stop it already! You are being deceived! Homura-san is not an inhuman person like what you are thinking! He is always being considerate to the heart of the weak and fight for the sake of the weak! <Evil God User> being a traitor is nothing more than a false rumor spread by dirty adults in order to protect their own authority and power!”

“The one who is being deceived is you Sumika! There is no way that Father and the Pope who are the believers of god will spout out such lie! Besides, most damning of all, right now that man is really conspiring with a demon isn’t he!”

“Tha, that’s……-!”

It was also a sore point for Sumika.

Of course, she didn’t think that Elfiena was an unscrupulous demon or anything.

She was even thinking of wanting to protect her.

But, it was hard to convey this feeling to a human who didn’t know anything about Elfiena personally.

Elfiena’s courage that desperately resisted the cruel fate for the sake of her comrades, wouldn’t be understood except by the people who knew her.

“The repetitious talk is too much already. I won’t listen to Sumika’s opinion anymore. I will drag you back even by force! I don’t mind even if you hate or resent me. After all that’s the only thing that I as your best friend can give you!”

That was why Lily was naturally unstoppable.

She thrust her spear in even more fierceness, making sparks scatter between the two sides.

(She is hard to fight…-)

This was because Lily was acting with 100% good will.

She worried about Sumika from the bottom of her heart and so she tried to remonstrate her.

In reality, many of the people in the lowest rank of the <Holy Path Church> were like this girl, kind and compassionate people.

That was only natural. In this kind of ruined world, they still volunteered themselves to strive for the sake of other people, it was not something that they would do if they were not really good-natured people.

They truly believed in god with all their heart and entrusted their bodies to the church, and then because they had faith that they considered Homura hostilely just as they were told by the <Holy Path Church>.

Sumika who in the past was affiliated with the church knew that well.

(―But)

Sumika had realized that the pang of conscience that Lily was currently feeling was exactly the enemy’s aim.

The reason was that the <Special Missionary> Alfaro who was the general of the enemy was making a wide vulgar smile on that face, which looked similar to a Buddha, since a while ago from watching her fight with Lily.

One could understand from looking at that smile.

He instigated her friend and stole a trump card from Sumika.

That trump card was of course the <Grim Bullet>.

<Grim Bullet> was the ace up Sumika’s sleeve where she reproduced a part of <Evil God>’s power using a representative object, that was a <Grimoire> originating from <Evil God>.

And then, although the <Evil God>’s power she used was only an extremely small part, it was not something that she could point at a friend.

Because it was a power that she hesitated too much to use even against Chikori at the mock battle before when they were doing it inside a barrier of the training field where no damage would remain afterwards because it replaced [dream] and [reality].

There was no doubt that Alfaro took notice of that and went as far as making her clash with Lily.

(But that’s naïve. He doesn’t understand the diversity of the existences called <evil god>.)

There existed among the <evil gods>.

An existence that left no damage physically at all and drove the enemy to be unable to battle.

Although, even though it left no wound but the one afflicted would become unable to move for around two weeks,

(―However, I’ve made my choice.)

She couldn’t save any single thing just by praying to god.

Then, she had to protect the things she wanted to protect with her own hands, with her own power.

Right. Just like that day, where Homura destroyed Typhon in the burning sky.

That was why―

“Fu-!”

“―-! Yaaa-!”

Sumika shot all the bullets inside her <Arms> with <Quick Draw> and jumped far away from Lily.

And then she put herself in a spot where Lily and Alfaro were in her line of fire,

“Lily. I’m sorry.”

She summoned the red binder that was the compilation of written copies of <grimoire> that she copied by herself from the other dimension.

“……-!”

Immediately golden wind surged out from Sumika.

The wind filled with thick magic power that could be seen by eye made Lily’s face go pale.

She understood what it was that her friend was going to do.

If she let her finished that, she was going to be defeated, she understood that too.

“I won’t let you-!”

But for Lily, she mustn’t be defeated.

In order to quickly crush Sumika’s plan, she unleashed <Gae Bolg> that had pierced the state guest house before.

But― the flash thrust that elongated out from the tip of the spear dispersed before it hit Sumika.

“Kuh-, <Protection>…! Since when!”

Sumika had the self-awareness that the moment she shot <Grim Bullet> was her biggest opening.

That was why there was no way she would shirk her preparation at that timing.

And then the match was decided in this moment. Sumika opened the binder, then without hesitation she grasped a certain ancient scripture of esoteric teachings from among the several hundred sheets of loose-leaves―

Sumika’s view was dyed red.

“Eh…?”

Flowers of blood spots suddenly bloomed in front of her eyes. Sumika stiffened from great shock.

That red burst out from the body of Lily in front of her eyes.

“――Li, Lily…?”

Countless spear of white light stuck out from Lily’s chest.

Sumika lost herself for an instant from witnessing the figure of her friend that was turned into a cruel artwork.

“-――!?”

It became a fatal instant.

In that opening of an instant where all her thought was frozen at Lily’s condition, Alfaro who was standing behind Lily threw a lance of magic power that shined white, where it pierced the binder that was held in Sumika’s left hand.

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