Chapter 118

“Stop right there, lady.”

“Who are you calling ‘lady,’ you crazy bastard?”

Escario, who had grabbed my wrist mid-swing, began to push my arm away with force. In terms of raw strength, Escario definitely surpassed me. It was unfortunate, but I had to admit it.

A white radiance enveloped Escario’s hands. I wondered how he could hold my gauntlet, filled with dragon poison, without issue, but it seemed he had some kind of protective gear.

Well, considering he’s a god, it’s only natural he’d have something like that. I roughly shook off his grip and took a step back.

– “First drink at twenty, a sip of dew~”

– *Boom!*

A deafening noise shook the air, and the ground trembled as if the heavens and earth had flipped. Glancing down, I saw a boar engulfed in flames charging across the land, setting everything ablaze. Angels in its path screamed, either fleeing or writhing in pain as they burned.

But that wasn’t all.

– “Even on days with heavy rain, her skin remains soft~”

– *Bzzzzzzzt…*

White lightning gathered, forming a long, thick spear that shot across the ground.

“Those pests.”

Magical Girls were swarming the mansion’s front yard, unleashing dazzling spells. White lightning streaked across the sky, crimson flames scorched the earth, and blades emerged from the shadows, cutting down nearby soldiers.

Even though there were only a few dozen Magical Girls, compared to Escario’s army of nearly a thousand, it was an overwhelming sight. But what could they do? Like a sandcastle before the tide, they crumbled and scattered, unable to hold their ground.

Escario, seemingly sharing my thoughts, frowned in dissatisfaction as he watched the scene.

“Escario.”

“Why are you calling me?”

He seemed in a terrible mood, his face filled with irritation. But so what? I’m feeling great. The more his face contorted, the happier I became. A smile I couldn’t hide began to spread across my lips.

“Surrender.”

As if that would work.

“Surrender? Hah. What a joke.”

I expected as much. I never thought he’d surrender, and even if he did, I had no intention of accepting it. But of course, all I got was a mocking laugh.

“Lady.”

“I told you, who are you calling ‘lady,’ you bastard?”

Honestly, this guy just doesn’t get it.

“Enough of this nonsense.”

With Escario’s words, his wings flared, emitting light.

“I’ll show you my true form, right here—”

At that moment, a flash of light streaked past the Mother-Body. A blue beam shot like an arrow, finally striking—

“Guh!”

—right in the center of Escario’s chest, just as he was about to unleash something from his wings. Though it didn’t pierce through, the blue light pushed him back, slamming him into a stone wall before dissipating.

“Trying something funny?”

It was Aquamarine.

“What, what did you do?”

“What do you mean? I threw a spear.”

She spoke as if it were nothing, but her face was filled with pride. Floating in the air, she flapped her wings and pointed with her chin toward the other side.

“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to finish him off? Just gonna stand there and watch?”

Finally snapping out of it, I realized I had been a bit startled by the unexpected turn of events. But now, the priority was not to let Escario escape.

“Everyone, get ready to swarm him once we’re done here. Just hold on a little longer.”

“…Fine.”

Though her tone was brusque, the underlying meaning wasn’t.

“I’ll handle it before then.”

Thanks to Aquamarine, things had become much easier. That cool sensation I hadn’t felt in a while…

“Didn’t you leave that thing on the ground…?”

Eve, who had flown to my side, asked as she looked at the Vesprede Rifle in my hand.

“It’s always been by my side. My beloved son. Besides, why would I leave it behind? I’d be in big trouble without it.”

I poured magic power into the rifle. This wasn’t something I could do half-heartedly.

My aim was Escario, who was embedded in the stone wall, shaking his head as if trying to regain his senses.

“Son.”

“Yes!”

“I want to kill that bastard.”

“Uh, then… just a moment!”

The Vesprede Rifle was relatively short for a cavalry rifle. This was its most basic form, and the other form I knew was a one-handed gun, a pistol. A very old-fashioned-looking pistol.

When I asked Bedel to give the rifle enough power to damage Escario, the Vesprede Rifle disappeared and reappeared in a new form.

A large pistol with a long barrel and a massive muzzle. No decorations, just a rugged, heavy black pistol.

“This is the limit for now. Sorry, Mom.”

“No, it’s fine.”

I liked this. The moment I gripped it, the amount of magic power it absorbed was no joke. Compared to the basic rifle, it absorbed several times more, amplifying my expectations of its power.

I took a step forward and fired.

– *Bang!*

My arm nearly flew upward from the recoil. It was incomparable to the rifle. But it definitely seemed powerful—

“Guh!”

A satisfying sound reached my ears.

I took a couple more steps and fired again.

– *Bang!*

Wow, this is heavy.

“Ugh…!”

– *Bang!*

– *Bang!*

– *Boom!*

– *Bang!*

– *Boom!*

– *Boom!*

By the time I reached Escario, he looked quite the sight. White bloodstains were splattered all over him. Yet, his eyes, looking up at me, were still alive.

Of course. You can’t kill a god with Bedel.

“Wow, this is powerful. A few more shots and he’ll die, right?”

Eve, who had followed me, was also admiring Escario’s state.

“Elphim, you…!”

“Well, Elphim or whatever. I’m not your subordinate anymore. Don’t you get it?”

“How dare you humiliate a god like this…!”

Escario seemed pretty angry.

“How dare you stage a coup…!”

“Hah, a coup? Crushing an enemy organization is hardly a coup.”

Eve, your player privileges have been revoked.

Anyway, Eve approached Escario, who was still stuck in the stone wall, unable to move. She poked his wounds with her Fanatic Spear, grinning mischievously.

What a bully. But as long as she’s not like that with us, it’s fine.

“Hey, you dimwit.”

“Stop it!”

“Stop, you say? Mother-Body, what should we do?”

Why are you asking me? Without answering, I fired another shot at Escario with Bedel.

“Ugh, guh!”

But does it really hurt that much? I was skeptical when Edell mentioned it. When I shot Aquamarine with this, it didn’t seem to do much damage. Just because the form changed, does it really hurt that much when Bedel hits him?

“It hurts… Don’t you remember when you absorbed Light Magic Power before, Mom?”

Ah. I remember. I remember, I remember.

When I absorbed Light Magic Power from Escario, I thought my head would split.

“Shooting pure Dark Magic Power like this, of course it hurts…”

That’s true. It hurt a lot… So Escario must be in pain too. Well, Aquamarine is Water Element, so it’s not the opposite of me.

But.

– *Boom!*

“Gaaaaah!!!”

Not my problem.

“Stop, stop! Ves, no, Mother-Body! Stop! I was wrong!”

– *Boom!*

“Guaaaaaah!”

“What did you do wrong?”

– *Bang!*

“Ugh…!”

“See, you can’t even speak. You don’t even know what you did wrong.”

– *Boom!*

“Can you even talk?”

He said he was wrong and to stop, but why can’t he speak? Watching this, Eve looked at me with a fed-up expression.

“Eve, why are you looking at me like that?”

“No, you need to give him a chance to answer. You never intended to listen, did you?”

“Of course not. Do you think I’m crazy enough to listen to nonsense?”

Eve shook her head in disbelief and looked down at Escario.

“But it really is effective. Edell wasn’t lying.”

As Eve said, the Vesprede Rifle was effective, just as Edell had claimed.

I was slightly worried about how to time it when Escario would let his guard down, but when light burst from his wings, I tensed, thinking he was up to something. That’s when Aquamarine made her move.

Thanks to her, I was able to bring out the Vesprede Rifle without any interference and easily gain the upper hand.

“Escario.”

“Ugh…”

Escario’s eyes were rolled back, clearly out of his mind. His body, riddled with holes, was drenched in white blood, creating a stark contrast against his dark skin.

“What are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

Listening to Eve with half an ear, I stepped on Escario’s wounds with my boot. A pained groan escaped him.

Feels good. You bastard.

But I’m not done yet.

In this world, only a few people can change. Someone like him will never repent. If I let him go out of pity, I’ll definitely regret it later.

It might be cruel, and I might face consequences later, but it’s best to finish things cleanly.

“Kabe!”

I called out to my beloved daughter. Watching a wolf sprint toward me from a distance, I grabbed Escario’s ankle.

“…If there’s a next life, I hope you’re born as a good person. Escario.”

I don’t know if he’s conscious or not. Considering what’s to come, it might be better if he’s not.

Grabbing his ankle, I pulled him out of the rubble with a grunt.

With my weight behind it, I threw Escario into the air with all my strength.

“…Eat!”

– *Growl!*

The wolf in the air caught Escario’s body in one swift motion. With its large mouth, it bit into Escario’s body, landing on the ground and beginning to chew.

The sound of bones crunching and flesh tearing. White blood dripped from the wolf’s mouth.

After chewing for a while, the wolf’s throat bulged.

“Wow, I didn’t think you’d actually kill him.”

A pink-haired woman in a suit appeared before us.

“Edell… ma’am?”

“My, my, you were so formal during the day. You’ve become much more polite, haven’t you? Vesprede.”

“…”

The Magical Girls, who had been cleaning up Escario’s remnants, began to gather around us.

Standing side by side, Eve and I. And before us, the pink-haired beauty.

“Magical Girls, it’s nice to meet you.”

She smiled brightly and introduced herself as Edell—

“The highest-ranking god of the Divine Realm, the Supreme God of the Divine Realm.”

—she said, with a somewhat arrogant tone.

“Well… I’m not here just to say hello.”

Edell walked toward Kabe with clicking footsteps. Kabe, sensing something from Edell, obediently lay down and lowered her head.

“Good, good. Very obedient. Now, just a moment.”

Edell smiled and stroked Kabe’s nose. After a moment, she lifted her hand, and a dazzlingly white mass followed.

A radiant, glowing sphere dangled from her palm.

“Though he was foolish, reckless, and couldn’t see an inch ahead, he was still the God of the Light Realm. It wouldn’t do to let him die completely.”

Edell opened her other hand, and a glass bottle appeared. She placed the glowing sphere inside.

“Vesprede, do you know what this is?”

“I… don’t know.”

Edell took a lid from her pocket and sealed the bottle. She then approached me, holding the bottle out as if to show off.

“It’s Escario’s soul.”

“What… did you say?”

Escario’s soul. Escario is dead, but his soul is being taken?

“I know what you’re thinking… Well, let’s just say you’re right. As the God of the Light Realm, it’s unprecedented for a god to die completely, so we can’t let that happen now.”

But still. Taking his soul like this, won’t it come back to haunt me later? And without my consent? I’m the one who fought him.

“You look like you have a lot of questions, Vesprede.”

How did she know? Edell chuckled and patted my shoulder.

“Next week, tea time. You haven’t forgotten, have you? As a novice god, you have a lot to learn from me. Don’t you think so?”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Taking Escario’s soul, just understand that. If we left it, his soul would go to the Dark Realm. That would be problematic. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, so don’t worry.”

Edell smiled brightly at me.

“And don’t be so wary of me, Vesprede. I may have been a bit forceful earlier.”

Edell slowly approached and stood before me.

“You’ve worked hard. Everyone knows Escario was a troublemaker. I feel like a weight has been lifted now that you’ve dealt with him.”

“…”

“Don’t look so stiff. I’m genuinely grateful. In fact, I’m thanking you for handling it.”

“Then where’s my reward?”

“Huh?”

Now it was Edell’s turn to be flustered.

What, haven’t any of you done social interactions? If you’re going to say thank you, say it a hundred, a thousand times. Since ancient times, gratitude has been expressed with cash. How can you not know such a simple truth?

“If you’re grateful, you should give a reward. Isn’t that right?”

“Well… that’s true. Alright. I’ll prepare something that won’t disappoint you.”

“Of course you should.”

After all, this revenge, which started for personal reasons and involved everyone around me, ended up like this. So I deserve to be thanked.

It’s only fair.

“You’re really… bold. Not in a bad way.”

Edell looked at me and smiled.

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