The dagger pierced her neck.
At that moment, Yuria felt everything go wrong.
There was no sensation of piercing flesh.
The body of the woman whose throat had been cut transformed into a pink liquid and collapsed.
The others around, who had been caught in a frenzied feast, suffered the same fate.
A pale steam rose from the soaking wet floor of the hall.
“……!”
The instant she inhaled, her mind clouded over like fog.
Yuria hurriedly covered her nose and mouth, looking around.
Soares, who had descended from the ceiling following her, sat down with glassy eyes.
‘The pill that Arcs made!’
Yuria quickly approached Soares, pulled a pill from her bosom, and forced it into Soares’ mouth.
She took one herself.
It was an ingestible Artifact that granted temporary immunity to mental interference.
‘As expected of Zion.’
Though Arcs had made it, the idea came from Zion.
Since the enemy used powerful mental interference, they had layered preparations so that no matter the situation or form of interference, they could respond.
“I… ugh, my head…” Soares staggered to her feet, her expression hardening at Yuria’s words.
The rule was to retreat immediately if the assassination failed, but neither Yuria nor Soares had any intention of doing so.
After all, assassination was merely a means to an end.
“A strange barrier suddenly appeared over the city, so I had a bad feeling…”
If the assassination failed, they would just take the enemy down head-on.
“Not Klavis, but some unheard-of rat crawled in.”
Her entire body bristled; a chilling sensation as if her blood froze.
Yuria instinctively knew the woman standing before her was a ‘Demon,’ a powerful foe that Frey and Zion had once fought.
“Who… are you?”
But Soares’ reaction was unexpected.
Yuria was surprised to hear such a casual tone from her, but Soares repeated her question, flustered.
“Where’s Nadja? Who are you? That witch… are you a Demon ally?”
The woman smiled softly instead of answering.
That smile alone made Yuria feel like her breath stopped.
Unconsciously, she had held her breath for several seconds.
‘Zion fought ‘things’ like this.’
It wasn’t just a metaphor.
Every trivial action was so absurdly beautiful it was terrifying.
Even though the Artifact she had taken just moments ago was protecting her mind.
“Nadja… you mean this child?”
The pink liquid pooled at the woman’s feet began to bubble and splash.
From within, a new body formed as if molded from clay.
Soares opened her eyes wide upon seeing the face.
It was Nadja, exactly as she remembered.
“Hmm… ah, I see. You remember her? The child who fled with Klavis? It must have been terrifying, but you came back in the end. To kill Nadja? Uhuhuhu. How splendid.”
The Nadja body that the woman had created liquefied again and poured out.
Yuria hurriedly scanned her surroundings, piecing together the situation.
‘It’s clear. One of the Seven Deadly Sins. Among them, probably…’
“Lust?”
The woman’s expression changed at the word, genuinely surprised and caught off guard.
‘Frey said if it’s a woman, it’s likely Lust. He also said it was a wild guess and might be wrong.’
“You know me?”
“…Huuugh?”
The woman narrowed her eyes and stared straight at Yuria.
Her whole body trembled with fear, but Yuria didn’t back down.
She met the woman’s gaze with unyielding resolve.
Her demonic eyes opened, and though she felt overwhelmed by the immense MP surrounding the woman, her fighting spirit rose accordingly.
“Ah! So you’re the one who killed Pride!”
The woman clapped her hands, wearing an innocent smile.
She knew Pride, who must be her ally, was dead but showed no hesitation.
If anything, she seemed even more delighted than before.
“Ahaha, heh heh heh…! To find such unexpected luck in a place like this! I’m always like this, you see?”
“It wasn’t me who killed Pride, ma’am.”
“Oh my?”
“No, but… it’s fine. I’ll be the one to kill you.”
To stand as an equal companion alongside Zion, that was a step she had to take.
‘Still, if we face her head-on, there’s no chance of winning.’
Even Pride, an enemy on par with Lust, was only defeated after Frey and Zion combined their strength.
For just Yuria and Soares to clash directly was suicide.
‘Think carefully. It’s okay. I can do this.’
“Ah… wonderful. Truly delightful. That look. This is why I can’t help but love humans.”
Ignoring Lust’s sultry, excited voice, Yuria exchanged a glance with Soares.
No words were spoken, but they nodded almost simultaneously, as if by silent agreement.
Yuria and Zion, of course, along with Soares and the Prince, all had communication Artifacts.
—I’ll engage her and hold her back. Soares, find anything that could be her weakness, whatever it takes.
Soares cautiously began to put distance between them.
Yuria discreetly shielded her so Lust wouldn’t notice.
“Really splendid. An absolutely intoxicating stage.”
At that moment, Lust laughed.
Like an innocent child, like a girl experiencing first love, like a bride at a wedding, like a mother holding her child for the first time, like an old person peacefully closing their eyes after a long journey.
“Heroes, please put on a performance worthy of my satisfaction, will you?”
In the next instant, all that pleasure, lust, and ecstasy mixed together and melted away without a trace.
The pink liquid covering the floor surged upward all at once, flooding the entire hall in a hemispherical wave.
***
“Oh?”
Zion looked up and let out a small exclamation.
He could feel a sinister aura swelling explosively from the direction of the Imperial Palace.
‘Assassination failed?’
It would be a lie to say he wasn’t hoping otherwise.
It would have been best if a powerful foe fell easily.
But there was no need to be disappointed.
They still had options.
The real problem wasn’t the Imperial Palace but somewhere else.
‘The scent of Monsters… quite a few of them.’
A massive number of Monsters were rushing toward Jedo.
It seemed they had gathered every Monster hiding throughout the Empire.
There wasn’t much time left.
At most, thirty minutes.
Zion’s mind raced rapidly.
‘Frey, we’re going to need your help. Monsters are pouring in.’
Zion explained the situation succinctly.
Frey silently nodded but soon returned with a puzzled look.
[Alone? What about you?]
‘I have to go to the Imperial Palace. Since the assassination failed, it’ll be hard for just Yuria and Soares to handle the Demons head-on. Arcs can’t assist immediately either.’
A fair point.
But Frey’s expression was far from good.
[I really hate to say this… but it’ll be tough for me to stop so many Monsters coming from all directions by myself.]
‘Whaaat?’
Zion plainly showed his disappointment.
Frey quickly added:
[Of course, if I could use my full power, ten times this would be no problem! But you know the Pendant has many restrictions. Even though Naia… no, the AI entrusted you with full control and then disappeared, not all restrictions are lifted.]
‘What’s the problem?’
[Awakened summoned through the Pendant can only exert about 20% of their original power. It’s a safety feature to prevent you from careless self-destruction. Without it, you might get drained of all MP and faint immediately.]
‘Is there a way to disable it?’
[Well, if the final controller directly connects to the Pendant’s core and releases it…]
‘That shouldn’t be difficult.’
[…What?]
Since meeting Naia’s vision and fully inheriting her will, Zion himself was the final controller of the Pendant.
He grabbed the Pendant, closed his eyes, and focused.
The vast ocean, descending deep into the pitch-black abyss—it was like sinking his consciousness into the depths.
Soon before him appeared tens of thousands of tangled paths, a labyrinth-like maze.
He had said it lightly, but connecting to the Pendant’s core and controlling its functions wasn’t easy.
Especially with safety mechanisms to protect the owner.
Yet Zion had no hesitation as he navigated the three-dimensional maze spread across the deep sea.
‘I disabled the safety. No need to worry anymore.’
[What? That fast? No, that’s not the point. Are you sane? You could be in danger.]
‘I know. That’s why from now it’s a race against time.’
Zion hadn’t recklessly started this.
He had been in a state of MP overload for a week, with MP to spare.
He had already calculated that he wouldn’t collapse immediately.
“Mr. Klavis, have you rested enough? It’s your turn now. Monsters are flooding into Jedo. I’ll call Frey, so you can command him…”
“Klavis?”
Zion suddenly sensed something off while explaining to the Prince beside him.
The Prince’s expression was unusual.
Pale as death, he clenched his teeth as if suppressing something.
Zion frowned faintly as he noticed a dark red glow flickering in the Prince’s pupils.
“…I’m listening. Keep talking.” He answered with a delay, his voice surprisingly calm.
Which made it sound all the more dangerous.
‘Damn it.’
Frey cursed lowly after confirming the Prince’s state through his demonic eye.
[Zion, get away from him immediately. It’s still the early stage, but…]
“Mr. Klavis, are you alright?”
Ignoring Frey’s urgent words, Zion looked directly into the Prince’s eyes and asked.
The Prince nodded very slowly.
“I’m fine. Tell me what I need to do.”
“Protect Jedo. Your country.”
The Prince nodded again, faster and more firmly than before.
Though his complexion was still bad, his eyes did not waver.
“The situation isn’t great. Frey has the power to defeat tens of thousands of Monsters, but he’s alone. Enemies are closing in from all directions.”
“That’s not so difficult.”
The Prince sneered.
Seeing that expression, Zion finally felt reassured.
No matter what condition he was in now, he would protect his country to the very end.
‘Frey, I’m counting on you to cover the rear. If the worst comes to worst…’
[Don’t worry. Unlike you, I’m not swayed by attachments.]
Frey emerged from the towering pillar of light, smirking with a casual tone.
“So you’d better go and do your job.”
Zion looked at Frey and the Prince one last time.
Neither of them was watching him anymore.
Taking in their steadfast backs as they prepared to face the incoming enemies, Zion turned and began running toward the Imperial Palace.
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