In the realm of magic, the angelic race possesses unparalleled advantages. Every attribute they possess is nearly perfect, reaching the peak in every aspect.
Even without using magic or special abilities, relying purely on physical combat, angels fear no creature in the world.
For Seraphs—the highest order of angels—even a True Dragon Lord could stand against them in battle.
Quaecaisse once believed these legends without question.
But now, doubt filled his mind.
On the platform, the battle had reached its final moments.
The once sacred and untouchable Seraph was now covered in wounds.
The Angel Holy Sword it had wielded had long since vanished.
Of the eight pairs of wings radiating holy light behind it, only two lonely pairs remained.
Blood dripped from the severed wounds, not pure red but tinged with a faint golden glow.
Even so, the Seraph's expression remained unchanged, staring blankly at Cocytus.
As a summoned being without self-awareness, the Seraph would never stop attacking until its HP was completely depleted.
Meanwhile, Cocytus stood firmly on the ground.
His originally pale blue carapace bore scorch marks left by flames. Yet with a simple swipe of his hand, the blackened ash scattered, revealing the shell beneath as pristine as before.
Clearly, the Seraph had managed to injure him, though only slightly.
Because of his race, Cocytus could not equip armor or similar defensive gear. Instead, his exoskeleton—the carapace covering his body—served as his protection.
The shell itself possessed high-level fire resistance and could be strengthened like equipment by embedding data crystals.
At the same time, its hardness and durability increased along with his level.
Although the carapace could never reach the level of a Divine-class Item, it greatly enhanced Cocytus's defensive power and could be easily restored through healing magic.
"This will be the final strike."
Cocytus exhaled a breath of cold air as he spoke in a deep voice.
The Seraph gave no reply. Instead, it spread its arms as a dazzling magic circle appeared.
[Eight Radiant Pillars of Flame]
Dense holy light transformed into blazing fire as eight pillars of light shot toward the heavens before converging into a single point.
Each pillar roared like a raging torrent. Now gathered together, they formed a massive wave powerful enough to swallow everything.
Warm radiance became scorching flames. Layers upon layers of blazing light stacked together, enough to burn any life into nothing.
Yet Cocytus, standing at the very center, remained completely calm.
Looking up into the sky, he raised the "God Slaying Emperor Blade" high. A faint, eerie glimmer flashed across its edge.
Cocytus's figure turned into a streak of red light and vanished in an instant, appearing before the Seraph at a speed it could not even react to.
[Rakshasa]
The blade's light tore through the air, instantly shattering the magic circle in the sky.
The Seraph instinctively tried to raise a shield, but such a hurried defense could not possibly stop this unstoppable strike.
"Boom!"
The blade pierced through the Seraph's chest. Golden blood burst outward as the two figures crashed violently to the ground from the sky.
The earth split apart, stones flying in every direction.
Within the smoke, Cocytus gripped the God Slaying Emperor Blade tightly before suddenly slashing upward.
"The battle is over."
With a flick of his wrist, he shook the blood from the blade, bringing the battle to its end.
As the smoke slowly cleared, the Seraph lay among the shattered stones, its body split cleanly in two from the center.
The Seraph slowly raised a hand. A faint glow emerged from its body, as though it were trying to cast a healing spell.
But it could not maintain it for long. The hand soon dropped again.
The sacred body shattered into fragments, completely dispersing into the world.
Only a crystal remained where it had fallen, emitting a faint glow.
"The Seraph… lost…"
The light faded from Quaecaisse's eyes as he murmured to himself.
He had imagined the possibility that the Seraph might be defeated.
But never like this.
The battle had ended far faster than he ever expected, and Quaecaisse found it difficult to accept.
That was a Seraph!
A relic of the Six Great Gods—the Theocracy's greatest trump card, second only to a True Divine Item!
And yet it had fallen so easily…
Quaecaisse sank into confusion, failing to react even when Cocytus approached him.
"Has the shock broken him?"
Cocytus thought silently.
Still, he had no intention of stopping. Raising his weapon, he prepared to cut the man down.
To Cocytus, this was the greatest respect he could show an enemy.
But just as the blade began to fall, a voice suddenly stopped him.
"Stop, Cocytus."
"Momonga-sama!"
Cocytus immediately withdrew his weapon and dropped to one knee in salute.
Several figures who had been watching from within the pitch-black vortex stepped out.
Momonga waved a hand at Cocytus, signaling him to stand.
At the same time, the sound of hurried footsteps echoed from a nearby tunnel.
"My lord!"
A gigantic hamster rushed over. Its scale-covered tail was wrapped around several unconscious figures.
They were the retired members of the Black Scripture who had tried to escape earlier.
After Naohara and the other two left the Kingdom last time, Hamsuke had returned to Nazarick together with a Doppelgänger.
The three of them had always taken good care of this newly tamed little pet.
Not only did they provide the highest-grade "True Dragon Lord" version of hamster feed, they also prepared a large supply of precious magic potions for it.
As Demiurge had put it, since Hamsuke was the shared pet of three Supreme Beings, its strength was far too weak. It needed proper, intense training.
That left Hamsuke both happy and miserable.
With Nazarick pouring resources into it without restraint, Hamsuke's level had shot up past level seventy. (P.S. That was only part of the reason. The main factor was the bloodline inherited from Hamsuke's father.)
The scales on its tail had also transformed into tougher dragon scales after consuming dragon meat.
For someone like Gazef, a hero-level warrior in his prime, the current Hamsuke could deal with him with a single swing of its tail.
"Hamsuke-sama, please slow down!"
Behind Hamsuke, Brain ran along helplessly.
He trained tirelessly every single day. Even after becoming a vampire, he never once relaxed his efforts.
Yet now he could not even keep up with a hamster that just knew how to act cute.
Hard work really was useless.
Brain felt like he had finally grasped the true nature of this world.
"Good work, Hamsuke."
Momonga gently stroked Hamsuke's smooth fur, offering praise without hesitation.
When Albedo saw this, her teeth clenched and her face twisted with frustration.
Ah! Why wasn't Momonga-sama's pet her instead?!
"Momonga-sama."
Brain bowed respectfully, then quietly stepped back into a corner.
As someone who had joined Nazarick halfway through, and a former human at that, he knew there was no real place for him here.
Although, to be fair, his joining had not exactly been voluntary.
"Honestly… why didn't they just listen…"
Crouching in the corner, Brain shook his head at the group from the Black Scripture, feeling somewhat helpless.
He had taken a huge risk to warn them to run. If they had listened, they might have had a sliver of hope.
But they refused.
Now look at them. Completely beyond saving.
Just as Brain was shaking his head, a hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
A chilling touch spread through him. Even though he had already become a vampire, Brain could not stop himself from shivering.
"Shall… Shalltear-sama."
Recognizing the figure instantly, Brain forced out a smile that looked worse than crying.
At that moment, only one thought filled his mind.
I'm dead.
"It seems you're having some thoughts you shouldn't be having. Looks like your training still isn't thorough enough~"
As the source of Brain's bloodline, Shalltear could sense his thoughts the moment she got close.
A bright smile spread across her face.
She would not kill Brain. After all, he had been brought back by the Supreme Being, Herohero-sama.
Herohero-sama had said that unless Brain committed a serious mistake, this human could be forgiven to some extent.
However, while killing him was off the table, a little discipline was perfectly acceptable.
Brain: Danger!
...
On Momonga's side.
After receiving praise, Hamsuke strutted past Albedo with a smug look.
Toward this succubus who was trying to steal her position as Momonga-sama's pet, Hamsuke remained extremely vigilant.
Seeing this, Albedo's expression twisted even further, dark energy practically seeping out of her body.
Frightened, Hamsuke quickly scurried over and hid behind Pandora's Actor, who was standing there at a perfect forty-five degree angle, gazing into the sky with an extremely cool pose.
Watching this lively scene, Momonga felt a sense of quiet satisfaction.
Then he reached out and smacked Pandora's Actor on the head.
"My glorious reputation…"
Momonga shook his skull helplessly before turning his gaze toward Quaecaisse and the others.
Through surveillance magic and some discreet eavesdropping, Momonga had already learned their true identities.
Retired members of the Black Scripture from the Slane Theocracy.
However, according to intelligence from the Captain of the Black Scripture and Clementine, this group should have been assisting the Empire in its attack on the Kingdom.
So why had they ended up in Nazarick?
Frowning slightly, Momonga extended his slender skeletal hand.
Forget it. It would be faster to just read their memories.
Normally this kind of task was Herohero's specialty, but since he was currently asleep, Momonga would have to handle it himself.
As an elder lich who had mastered more than seven hundred spells, Momonga was capable of extracting memories as well.
He simply was not as skilled at it as Herohero, who could do it as easily as breathing.
The World-Class Item [Eternal Seal] appeared, sealing the self-destruction magic inside the target's mind.
Momonga's skeletal hand grabbed Quaecaisse's head. A green glow seeped into his brain as the memories were forcibly extracted.
After several dozen seconds, Momonga released his grip.
The unconscious Quaecaisse collapsed to the ground.
"I see… the Empire, huh?"
The Slane Theocracy could be ignored for now. With the Captain of the Black Scripture and Clementine there, Nazarick would learn about any developments immediately.
Even if they planned to take action, it would have to wait until Naohara and Herohero woke up.
But if the opponent was only the Empire…
Then perhaps something could be done.