The combined power of the priestly order and hundreds of ordinary believers was no match for Iris.
The void sphere she unleashed not only shattered the highest-level yang magic Dragon Scale, but also erased Ismael and all the other combatants from the world without a trace.
If the knight captain, who served as the spell’s central axis, had been on the level of the Triple Star, things might have been different—but that’s a meaningless hypothetical.
Moreover, Iris no longer had the guardian knight order or the priests on her mind.
“…That brat.”
In the brief instant right after activating Void, during the fleeting gap that appeared, the image of the boy who had snatched the cape she was wearing flickered in Iris’s golden eyes.
However.
She couldn’t pursue the boy.
“Eliminate… the enemy….”
The moment she broke free from the backlash and was about to kick off the ground and leap, a voice like scraping metal brushed past her ear.
Turning her gaze, she saw something grotesque rising from the marble floor.
They were skeletal soldiers, each varying in shape and size. Some resembled humans, others animals, and there were even ones that evoked small dragons.
This wasn’t movement through spatial magic.
These were the cathedral’s guardian soldiers, possessing a unique ability to move through the building as if swimming.
Dragon Tooth Soldiers? Did that kid summon them through the Flame Dragon Scale? I knew the relics of each cathedral, which hold the power to control the barriers, had such a function, but…
She possessed divinity higher than anyone in the cathedral, yet even if she obtained the Flame Dragon Scale, she couldn’t command the Dragon Tooth Soldiers. The key to handling those skeletal soldiers, a crucial security measure of the cathedral, wasn’t divinity but “qualification.”
And only two people, the core figures of the Sun Cathedral, held that qualification.
The cardinal, the cathedral’s de facto leader, and
The priestess, its symbol.
Thus, the boy just now must have deep enough connections to borrow that qualification from one of them.
According to Hagel’s report, the Priestess of the Sun died in an accident at some ruins. So, connections to the cardinal? But if he knew that much about us, he wouldn’t have handled this so complacently…
Her mind grew complicated.
There was no time for leisurely contemplation.
Iris glanced at the chapel entrance, which had somehow opened. Hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at her, filled with fear.
“Did the guardian knights and priests really all disappear…? Who the hell did this?”
Elkoro, hit by Second-Void, had at least left bloodstains. But Ismael and his group, struck by Third-Void, had literally vanished from the world.
Someone pointed at Iris as the culprit.
“Didn’t you hear what the Dragon Tooth Soldiers said? It’s that woman’s doing!”
“Damn it, if we stay here, that crazy witch will kill us all! Run!”
Dadadadadadak!!
Hundreds of believers poured out of the chapel in an instant.
Grasping the situation, Iris clicked her tongue.
This was definitely that boy’s doing.
He must have used the Flame Dragon Scale to adjust the barrier’s filter so everyone except her and Regenshauer could escape outside, then induced the believers to flee by sending a message through the Dragon Tooth Soldiers.
For the Schnifelt family, who had to worry about heavenly punishment, this was truly the most troublesome situation.
And the fact that he deliberately induced this meant the boy had a detailed grasp of the heavenly punishment’s mechanism.
The boy’s identity was becoming more and more shrouded in mystery… but regardless, this was clearly an unforeseen emergency.
She activated a communication spell.
Sweet Voice
“Resha. Some annoying brat stole the Flame Dragon Scale from me. He’s around mid-teens, carrying a Machine God Tribe member equipped with Red Flow Iron on his back….”
She relayed the target’s features to her spouse.
Though it was one-way, with Iris sending her voice unilaterally, Regenshauer would handle it well on his own.
Soon after.
Iris shouted with bloodshot eyes.
“Stop right now!”
The fleeing believers collapsed, their legs giving out from the massive mana infused in her cry. To compare, their reaction was like a flock of sheep encountering a predator’s roar for the first time.
And in the next moment,
Wiing—
Pushuk! Pashuk!
All hundreds of those little lambs had their foreheads pierced and died from the beams of light originating from Iris’s Prism Clip.
Immediately after, she glared at the floating metal plate.
Secret Numbering Counter (S)
-Number of personnel to process for secrecy maintenance: 71 people
“………”
Iris’s eyes sank gloomily.
As expected, the chapel’s personnel weren’t all of them.
My heart was pounding wildly.
To snatch the Flame Dragon Scale from that Iris!
Even I thought it was utterly insane.
Flame Dragon Scale (S)
-Sun Cathedral system adjustment
-Spell: Ignition Boost
*Can be activated consecutively based on divinity value
-???
-???
Was this turning misfortune into fortune?
By challenging Iris, I obtained the Sun Cathedral’s relic, which I had essentially given up on. Wearing the cape, I flew down the corridor toward the exit.
A toneless voice echoed in my mind.
「Spare, Lady Chesa is asking about the progress of the matter.」
“…It ended safely! Prepare Padio Blink!”
As a contractor of the Nano Eater myself, as long as we weren’t too far apart, I could communicate with my partner Chesa through it as a medium.
I crossed the hall and passed through the shrunken barrier.
「Levitation time limit.」
As soon as I exited, Respinel notified me of the limit.
I stopped the thrusters and landed on the ground.
Soon, Chesa came running toward me.
“Aiden!”
“Stay calm. That woman will be busy just cleaning up the people inside. If we’re lucky, some believers besides us might survive…”
“Get out of the way!”
What?
The moment I felt puzzled.
Chesa activated Padio Blink herself, attempting a spatial leap with me—and a massive Void shaped like a crescent moon grazed past us by a hair’s breadth.
Paaaat!
The blade of void extending in a straight line passed us and stretched deep into the forest.
An uncountable number of trees evaporated as if swallowed.
I almost died.
“Damn, that woman is busy cleaning up the other believers right now… and she still sniped outside the barrier in the midst of that? She’s a monster alright.”
More than that, the view beyond the barrier should be distorted—how did Chesa sense the void’s presence?
I had various questions, but now wasn’t the time to zone out. I infused Clara’s mana into the Flame Dragon Scale (S) to repair the damaged barrier.
Kwaang!
But at the sudden roar, I couldn’t help but scowl deeply.
Kkang! Kang!
A variable sword flowing naturally like running water.
Cracks like spiderwebs appeared on the barrier that was just about to be repaired, and a man squeezed through the gap to emerge outside.
“The Thousand-Man Slayer….”
Chesa muttered with parched lips.
A tingling sensation brushed against my skin.
It was the activation of Regenshauer’s unique trait, Impenetrable Fortress (U).
And within the 30m radius where Impenetrable Fortress was deployed, he became practically omniscient.
The flow of qi.
The circulation of mana.
The movement of muscles.
He could easily see through all changes occurring within the area.
Moreover, he could manipulate any inorganic matter within 1m to some extent at will.
This made his sword strikes, enhanced by the trait, precise beyond imagination.
Not only could he interfere with attacks, but he could even finely adjust the direction of a sword already swung afterward.
If I entered the opponent’s area.
I’d die immediately.
Knowing this well, I unconsciously pulled Chesa back, retreating far from the Impenetrable Fortress’s area.
It might seem like simple caution.
But my action had a clear “intent.”
Regenshauer, reading this with senses transcending human categories, showed a glint in his eyes.
“You seem to know a lot about us. Not just about the ‘heavenly punishment’ and Void, but from what I see, even about the ability I newly awakened a few years ago.”
With that cautious action just now, I exposed to Regenshauer the level of information I possessed about Impenetrable Fortress (U). Still, getting this exposed was far better than risking entry into that dangerous area.
Padio Blink was a high-level spatial spell, but its maximum movement distance was only about 50m. However, it could be used up to 5 times a day, with a cooldown of about 1 minute.
About 30 seconds had passed since Chesa used the spell. If I could hold out for another 30 seconds or so, spatial leap would be possible again.
I had to buy time somehow.
A topic that might interest the Thousand-Man Slayer…
“The Sword Saint asked me to pass on his regards.”
Regenshauer’s eyebrow twitched. For him, the duel with Edval was a priority above even his family’s safety.
“I have a letter in my bosom—shall I take it out?”
“Stop.”
Regenshauer said lowly.
His right hand was on the sword hilt.
“If you raise your hand any further, I’ll strike.”
I was planning to pretend to take out the letter and touch the Flame Dragon Scale to manipulate the barrier, but it seems he caught on.
“A letter? I can just kill you and read it afterward. If you were trying to induce a gap, that’s a pretty clumsy lie.”
“No. The moment you kill me, a big problem will arise for the Sword Saint’s safety as well. Once you confirm the letter’s contents, you’ll understand why, and even at the risk of ‘heavenly punishment,’ you’ll have no choice but to let me go here.”
It doesn’t add up.
It’s an obvious lie.
Regenshauer knows this too.
But my acting, bolstered by Serene Clarity (A), was boldly confident to a surprising degree.
Moreover, if he’s the Regenshauer I know, with Edval’s safety mentioned, he’ll consider even the slimmest possibility.
And now, the finishing blow.
I put his prized unique trait’s power, Impenetrable Fortress (U), on stage.
“I’ll step into your ‘area’ myself and hand over the letter. If things go wrong, you can snap my neck right away.”
“…The moment you stop walking, I’ll aim for your heart.”
At that terse reply, I feigned a leisurely attitude and smirked. Then, without delay, I strode toward Regenshauer’s area.
-6 seconds.
I stepped into the Impenetrable Fortress with slow, deliberate steps. To make it as natural as possible, my heartbeat rate remained the same as usual.
-3 seconds.
I reached into my bosom as if searching for the letter, touched the Flame Dragon Scale (S), and attempted to adjust Sacred Cradle.
Flash!
Regenshauer sensed the anomaly.
He struck without hesitation.
A burning pain rose from my side and both shoulders.
-2.5 seconds.
But he could only widen his eyes.
The qi strikes aimed at vital points had grazed odd spots instead.
The Fortune Passer dwelling in the Fortune Wheel Amulet (S) had activated, twisting causality. It forcibly deflected attacks that absolutely shouldn’t miss.
-2 seconds.
But disaster.
Despite buying as much time as possible, there were still 2 seconds left until Padio Blink.
That’s enough time for Regenshauer to unleash a dozen slashes, and I had no cards left.
At that moment, Chesa shouted.
“Aiden!!!”
「Spare Master, get down immediately.」
An extremely urgent situation.
No time to question.
Following the instruction the Nano Eater shoved into my mind via telepathy, I fell to the ground in an ungainly motion.
-1.5 seconds.
Right after, something grazed over my head.
A void sphere that swallowed everything—Chesa’s First-Void.
-1 second.
Void was an undefendable strike.
The only answer was evasion.
Visibly shaken, Regenshauer halted his continuous strikes and hurriedly stepped back.
-0 seconds.
Padio Blink
The scenery changed abruptly.
Looking around.
It wasn’t near the cathedral but in the nearby forest.
“…Respinel!”
「Charge. Complete.」
“Fly at a moderate speed to escape while saving levitation time! Don’t leave traces!”
「Executing.」
Burung!
“Aah!”
I snatched Chesa, who was catching her breath, into a princess carry and began low-altitude flight through the forest.
Today, she had saved my life twice and even succeeded in manifesting Void. The me who had deeply pondered whether to bring her here before coming felt like the world’s biggest idiot.
Yeah.
We survived that extreme situation in the end.
And high risk comes with high return.
Not only did I acquire the Sun Cathedral’s relic, Flame Dragon Scale (S), but by reporting this later, I could impose maximum ‘heavenly punishment’ on the Schnifelt family.
In short.
Smooth progression until the end of Part 2 became possible.
Secret Numbering Counter (S)
-Number of personnel to process for secrecy maintenance: 2 people
“…”
Iris Schnifelt stood atop the sea of corpses she had created, gazing at the metal plate with a blank expression.
Suddenly, her spouse entered the chapel entrance.
“I lost him.”
“I can see that.”
Iris’s expression hardened.
“…This means I’ll be stuck on that snow-only island for a while. With the old fogeys’ nagging as a bonus.”
That boy was keenly aware of the Schnifelt family’s heavenly punishment.
If such an opponent deliberately manipulated perceptions, no matter how cautious they were, a few direct descendants might die when the next ‘heavenly punishment’ came.
Regenshauer spoke blankly.
“Should I say… sorry?”
“…No. Fundamentally, it’s because I let some brat like that steal the Flame Dragon Scale.”
Iris stretched once.
She lightly stepped toward the chapel.
“Though we paid a bigger price than expected, I had to come here myself. After all, this place had a high possibility of holding traces related to that ‘Dragon Slaying Sword.'”
She found a secret door in a corner of the chapel. A place designed so that only ‘traitors’ could visit.
At this moment.
A secret history unrevealed to the readers of Reca Chronicles was about to be exposed.