"…Having obtained Saint Selena's Ashes and riding high on his triumph, Ince Zangwill decided to crush the insect who'd repeatedly spoiled his plans — only to be wounded when Klein used a 'Shadow Jump' ability he'd acquired from parts unknown."
"In his fury, he tried to strangle Klein to vent his hatred, but Klein then produced an unexpected second Flaring Sun Charm… At the same time, Leonard stole his Underworld Gate ability. Thus, Ince Zangwill was gravely injured by the Flaring Sun Charm… He abandoned the kill without hesitation, used spirit-world creatures to traverse the spirit world, and arrived in the Feysac Empire."
"Brimming with rage, he silently swore to one day exact his revenge — but in truth he was nothing more than a rabid stray, whose bark, no matter how loud, could never change its craven, wretched nature. Nor did he notice a wisp of 'air' that had quietly arrived at his side…"
Ince erupted: "It's you! It's YOU!"
As a Grade 0 Sealed Artifact, the Quill of Alzuhod was incomparably powerful — but its side effect was an unending compulsion to write its owner to death.
But by rights, if it had been writing this much content, I should have noticed something.
A sudden chill of realisation. Just as he moved to grip the quill and write something of his own, a slender, pale hand appeared before him — reaching for the quill with leisurely, unhurried grace.
He tried to recoil, but his body refused to obey. All he could do was watch, helpless, as that hand effortlessly plucked the quill from his grasp.
That's MY quill!!!
Ince raged inwardly.
But he could do nothing — just as helpless as the girl he'd killed moments ago.
"The Quill of Alzuhod."
A languid voice accompanied the appearance of a woman in a long black dress adorned with starlight. She held the quill between her fingers and smiled. "It's mine now."
She gave a soft laugh, glanced at Ince Zangwill the way one might look at a clown, and then her entire figure — like a pencil sketch — was silently erased, leaving not a trace behind.
Several seconds passed before Ince Zangwill regained control of his body. He collapsed to the ground, gasping raggedly. The notebook lay beside him, its pages whipped open by a gust of wind, displaying the story Ince had been writing from beginning to end, all the way to the final lines…
"Oh — it turned out that wasn't air at all, but the 'Daughter of Concealment' of the Church of Evernight, the daughter of that Goddess. Her name was %¥&%…&"
Whoosh!
The last two paragraphs of the notebook vanished abruptly, leaving the text ending at: "Ince Zangwill was nothing more than a rabid stray, whose bark, no matter how loud, could never change its craven, wretched nature."
...
Meanwhile, Backlund.
The two demigods had barely shaken off the pursuit of the Spears of Longinus, and before they could catch their breath, Bernadette opened her mouth and spoke the Words of Order:
"You are guilty."
"You have killed!"
Ace Snake and the female demigod blinked in confusion — but the next instant, both felt the descent of an unknown force potent enough to threaten their lives.
Hum!
Black flames ignited around them both, moving as though alive, devouring inward.
The female demigod decisively waved a hand at the black fire, "banishing" it to some unknown dimension. As for Ace Snake, he erected layer upon layer of walls made of cerulean seawater, brute-forcing his way through the black flames' scorching assault.
Seizing the opening, Bernadette formed a dark, ancient horn in her phantom grip and blew it with all her might. A sound heavy with power and gravitas thundered across the sky.
Under the stacking shockwaves, space itself seemed to tear apart. Cracks rippled outward in all directions, weaving together, thick with a dangerous and terrifying aura.
Ace Snake and the female demigod immediately dodged to the side, but the second blast of the horn followed — and the very air around them seemed to fracture.
Caught at the epicentre, one managed to transform into lightning and escape with only minor injuries. The other couldn't dodge in time and took the full brunt head-on. Her demigod-level body looked as though it might shatter. She was drenched in blood from head to toe.
Bernadette didn't press the attack — after all, there was no telling when more demigods or even angels might appear. She transformed into a streak of starlight and shot into the distance. Even without spirit-world travel, she could use starlight abilities to fly at high speed.
Once she'd cleared the "prohibited zone" set by the female Arbiter demigod, Bernadette immediately crossed into the spirit world and swiftly left Backlund behind.
"Make a stop in Tingen."
Vincent's voice broke the silence.
"Why? What's happened?"
Though Vincent had never explicitly said he didn't want to go to Tingen, Bernadette could sense his reluctance. She sometimes wondered whether it was some kind of psychological trauma from his first exchange — all that time as a vagrant, being chased around.
"Just now, Klein — that is, Mr. Fool's Blessed — prayed to me for help. Said they were under attack by an evil god's spawn. Sounded pretty dire."
"The evil god's spawn? Is that the True Creator's 'progeny' that Mr. Z mentioned was being cooked up in Tingen?"
"Should be."
"Hm?"
Something occurred to her. "Why would Mr. Fool's Blessed be praying to you, a false god? And where did he even learn the Lord of Chaos's Honorific Name?"
"That… I honestly don't know either."
Vincent put on his best baffled expression. "Maybe Mr. Fool couldn't intervene for some reason? Maybe the Honorific Name was something Mr. Fool told Klein?"
Bernadette raised an eyebrow. "Heh. You do realise… I can sense your emotions. What exactly are you feeling guilty about?"
"…Me? Guilty? Where?"
I'm screwed!
If this keeps up, I won't be able to keep anything from this woman for much longer!
Hmm, worst case I just come clean… tell her I've discovered Mr. Fool's secret, that he's another knockoff, and throw him under the bus. Better him than me!
Thankfully, Bernadette didn't pursue the matter. She shifted topics: "Weren't you extremely wary of that angel in Tingen last time?"
"We're just popping in for a look. Should be fine."
Besides, by my estimate, the whole thing's probably already over by now.
...
Half a minute later, Bernadette stepped out of the spirit world and arrived at the "ruins" of Blackthorn Security Company in Tingen. "Ruins" because the building that had once stood there was now nothing but rubble.
Crimson moonlight bathed the ground — scarred and cratered by the clash of multiple powers — draping it in a thin red veil.
Members of the Mandated Punishers and the Machinery Hivemind were combing through the debris.
Dunn's severed legs had been bandaged and the bleeding staunched. His face was pale enough to carry a sickly golden tinge, but after regaining consciousness he was still gritting through the pain, explaining what had happened to the captains of the other two Churches.
Klein sat propped against a half-collapsed wall, Melissa's body across his lap, her eyes closed by someone's hand. His gaze was hollow, unfocused. Leonard sat nearby, head bowed, saying nothing.
"Well, boy — now you know the price of weakness?"
In Leonard's mind, an aged voice spoke with quiet detachment. "You've always found excuses for your laziness. Always figured you were the one-in-a-million protagonist. But when real danger came, you were just another weak little Sequence 8."
"You couldn't protect yourself. You couldn't protect your comrades. You couldn't do a damn thing."
Leonard's fingers dug into his palms. "Stop talking."
"In fact, just now, it was within a hair's breadth. You, your captain, and that Klein — all of you would have been killed effortlessly by that one-eyed man. Fortunately, your luck seemed rather decent. But do you think that kind of luck will come a second time? A third?"
"..."
"But I'm not telling you this to make you feel guilty, or wretched, or to pile on the self-blame. I'm telling you that in the world of Beyonders — especially as a member of the Church — things like tonight will happen again and again."
"If you don't want to repeat tonight's outcome, it's time you made some changes."
After a moment's silence, old man Pallez said in a hesitant tone: "Oh — one more thing. Just now, for the briefest instant, I thought I sensed something familiar… and very old… on Klein."
To be continued…
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