Chapter 205

Damian’s body was turning into dust and scattering. His body was filled with wounds that were hard to believe he could still move after enduring such things.

The traces of injuries were too many. No, there was no part of his body that wasn’t injured. Scars and stitched marks covered his face and upper body.

“Damian…?”

Damian smiled and threw Media’s arm and a purple glowing gem at me.

The purple core gem and the powers engraved on that arm were absorbed into me. An indescribable sense of euphoria stimulated my brain, but that was the least of my concerns now.

“Ah… I sent the younger ones back… so don’t worry… I’ll be the only one dying. Just a worthless beast dying… so don’t be sad… don’t remember me…”

Damian smiled at me for the first time. His face, which looked like a mix of mine and Lorcha’s, gazed at me with a bright smile as it gradually turned to dust.

“Being your child was… too much for me… I’m sorry. If… I can be born as your son again, then next time I’ll…”

Damian vanished before he could finish his words.

“Such a pathetic bug dares…!”

“I’m impressed. To launch such an attack while prepared for death, truly a splendid warrior. I acknowledge you as a hero.”

“Lancelot! Whose side are you on now? Do you not realize what we’ve lost?!”

“It’s the resolve of someone who risked their life. Such resolve makes a sword or an arm a small price to pay.”

“That arm and sword aren’t ordinary! Whose side are you on? Do you even realize you’re supposed to be our ally? If we lose those, what will you do…!”

“Foolish. First, I am not your ally. Our interests merely aligned, and you bestowed upon me a ridiculous title. And that sealed sword is specialized for defense. It didn’t suit my swordsmanship style, so I was already considering it.”

Black magic flowed from Lancelot’s body, soon taking the shape of a sword. Though it bore no decorations, the sharp aura emanating from it was enough to make one cower.

“Then… as a tribute to that warrior, I will now fight you with my full strength.”

I was scared. No, terrified. But I couldn’t stay still. Those bastards killed my son.

“Do you plan to step forward with that body? You can’t even control, let alone use, the power you just gained. In fact, your body is likely in no condition after absorbing such immense power.”

He was right. The euphoria was there, but my stamina was at its limit. But it didn’t matter.

Even if it meant death, I would take those two with me. Using [Ars Magia], a great magic or even beyond, would make it possible.

“A resolve to die together… Not bad. I’ll acknowledge that you’re no ordinary man.”

Lancelot was a man who couldn’t be left alive. No matter what, he had to be killed.

As Lancelot charged at me and I was about to activate Ars Magia, someone struck my neck, interrupting the activation.

Then, a glowing holy sword blocked Lancelot’s sword with a loud clash.

“Trying to lay a hand on my younger sibling is deplorable, Master. Sure, he’s a bit of a pervert and loves money… but he’s still a kind sibling who can’t refuse requests. If there’s a problem, shouldn’t you go through his older brother?”

It was Zick.

“Father…!”

“Older brother…!”

“Save the reunion greetings for later. For now, let’s deal with these guys first.”

Lancelot stepped back, changed his stance, and gripped his sword.

“Now, this is a worthy opponent. But it’s a shame. If you had arrived a bit earlier and teamed up with that black sorcerer, you could have killed me easily, and that black sorcerer wouldn’t have died.”

“That black sorcerer opened the path for me to come here, Master.”

“A path… For a dog of the goddess, you should be wandering on a stroll. You came a long way just to die.”

“That’s something we’ll find out by fighting.”

Zick gripped the hilt of the holy sword and infused it with magic.

“Holy Sword Form Transformation 47, Lumen Aeternus (Eternal Light).”

The holy sword transformed into a glowing blade, scattering particles of light, and clashed with Lancelot’s sword.

“You’ve grown so much…! I never thought the snot-nosed brat who begged me to teach him swordsmanship would develop like this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about from decades ago, Master. Many things have changed since then. My strength, our positions, and the one I swore loyalty to.”

From what I heard, Lancelot was Zick’s master. Camellia’s swordsmanship and Zick’s were distinctly different, so I had never even suspected this.

Then, a holy spear flew towards Zick from afar.

“Oh my~ Don’t forget I’m here too.”

Zick caught the spear with his bare hand and chuckled.

“Hmph, I wanted to avoid a marital spat in front of the child… but is this how you want to play? Deliberately targeting openings and picking a fight in front of the child, how disgraceful, Media.”

“Oh my, aren’t you surprised that your beloved wife is a traitor?”

“I knew your true identity from the moment we met. But back then, there were more pressing matters, so I cooperated. After that, I kept you close to prevent you from setting your sights on Werner.”

“How sad~ A loveless marriage. Truly, you’re a heartless man. You’ll regret this marriage~”

“Neither of us has love, nor blood nor tears… but I don’t regret the marriage. I gained a daughter and was able to save my younger sibling because of it.”

Thus, the battle between Zick vs. Lancelot + Media seemed to begin. Honestly, I was a bit anxious. Even if the enemies were injured or weakened, they were still top-tier fighters.

No matter how strong Zick was, it seemed impossible for him to handle them all.

“One last thing. If you retreat now, I might consider forgiving you. Choose.”

Zick threatened them with the holy sword. Whether they knew the threat of that sword or not, they remained relaxed.

“Ha, if we were the type to run away with our tails between our legs at this point, we wouldn’t have rebelled against the gods in the first place. You’re just a dog in heat for the goddess.”

“True, my skills may be inferior to yours, but there are two of us with power to match. And you think you can take us down? What a laughable display of bravado.”

“Negotiations have broken down.”

Zick patted my head to tidy my hair before the fight.

“Don’t worry, it’ll be over soon.”

With that, Zick leaped into the fray. The radiant light from Zick’s holy sword, the divine magic Media scattered, Lancelot’s swordsmanship and various magics…

The three elements intertwined, creating a spectacle of battle beyond words.

Then, a silver-haired girl passed in front of me and placed her finger on Media’s forehead.

“You…!”

Media was instantly flung away, and Lancelot, sensing the anomaly, turned his gaze towards me. There stood a silver-haired girl with purple eyes—our mother.

“You…!”

“You are…”

But upon seeing our mother, the other women also seemed greatly shocked.

“Damn goddess!”

“Damn mother!!!”

Mother sighed briefly, then blocked Lancelot’s sword with her bare hand.

“That boy opened the path, allowing me to intervene briefly. This is not the place for you to decide life and death.”

But Lancelot, unlike before, contorted his face grotesquely and charged at our mother.

“I’ve been waiting for the day to kill you! Now, your neck…!”

“Sigh… Damn kids these days don’t listen to words.”

Despite Lancelot swinging his sword, mother didn’t take a defensive stance. It was clear her head would be severed if this continued.

[Oh, mad tyrant of dragons.]

What happened next is a blur.

All I know is that in a flash, Lancelot and Media completely vanished from sight.

“Today’s not my day, so I told you to leave. Is that so hard? Ah, what am I going to do with them?”

As mother spoke, a massive golden dragon’s head appeared behind her. Apparently, that breath attack was from the dragon.

[Oh, shameless swordsman.]

[Oh, greedy warrior.]

[Oh, witch who cannot control her maternal instincts.]

[Oh, wolf testing the king.]

Then, a huge wolf and three human figures appeared. Their forms were blurry, and they lacked vitality, suggesting they weren’t living humans but something akin to puppets.

“If you want to fight more, I can accommodate you anytime.”