Until we see it with our own eyes, we can’t know what form Invidius will take or what power it possesses. You only know if you’ve fought it before.
Still, recalling what Valenstein said, this world must also have a limit to strength—in other words, a level cap.
So, I decided to prepare for Invidius’s strength as if it were a formidable enemy that could emerge at this point, or perhaps one step above that. Something like a fully awakened dragon or calamity-level monsters.
…Honestly, even that alone would be enough to abandon the city and flee.
Of course, my prediction could be wrong, and an even stronger enemy might appear. But if something stronger than a dragon shows up, let’s be honest—there’s no point in worrying. In a world where the Empire’s strongest is just a mediocre hero-level, if a being surpassing a dragon appears, it’s game over. Everyone, whether human or other races, would end up as corpses. So, why bother worrying about such a future?
Right. What I need to do now isn’t to overestimate an enemy that hasn’t even appeared yet and collapse under the pressure. It’s to prepare everything I can so that no matter what enemy shows up, I can fight without hesitation.
“…Yes, you’re right. Sir Median is correct. Let’s fight. We’ll fight and stop it. With my faith and the divine name of Elpinel.”
“Good, well said.”
Lacey nodded. Her eyes, once clouded with confusion, were now clear and resolute. Yeah, this is the Lacey I know.
“If you’ve made up your mind, let’s retreat first. Come on, hop on.”
“…Huh?”
Lacey couldn’t hide her confusion. Well, she just agreed to fight, and now she’s being told to retreat right after. Of course, she’d be baffled.
Of course, I didn’t mean we should just run away.
“Retreat…? But you just said we’d fight…”
“Whatever comes out, if we fight, the area around the bell tower will be devastated. Maybe the entire city will be caught up in it. So, before we fight, we need to evacuate the people of Arvil. I don’t know how much time we have, though.”
If we weren’t going to fight, it’d be different, but once we decided to fight, this was a necessary step.
Even I can’t afford to worry about collateral damage while fighting an enemy stronger than me. If we fight like this, most of the city’s residents would likely lose their lives in the aftermath.
“Ah…! You’re right, this is no time to hesitate…!”
Lacey quickly scanned the city, turning her head left and right. I crouched down and offered her my back.
“Right. So, let’s meet up with the others first. We’ll need some help from Shaulite’s paladins too.”
I couldn’t evacuate the entire city’s population alone. That’s not a matter of strength but numbers. So, first, we needed to regroup with our companions.
I carried Lacey on my back and dashed away from the bell tower plaza toward the city walls.
Seilon, Agnes, and the others must have seen the blackened sky by now. They’re probably panicking and rushing toward us. We’ll meet them soon.
—
“Good heavens…! The sky! The sky!!”
“Everyone, run! Monsters! Monsters are coming!”
As I sprinted toward the city walls, the citizens I passed were, thankfully, screaming and fleeing in the opposite direction upon seeing the black pillar. Some were even half-naked.
Seeing them undress, it was clear they hadn’t fully escaped the brainwashing. They just instinctively realized that this wasn’t the time for leisurely affairs.
Come to think of it, even when I was racing through the city in a carriage, they didn’t run. Even animals in heat flee when there’s a forest fire.
I glanced down at them as I ran across the rooftops.
The city-wide brainwashing authority that Belcus, Diraid, and Eljure had unleashed was collapsing after Belcus’s death. The miracle of mental protection Lacey had cast was still holding, which was proof of that.
Probably, the brainwashing spell would completely shatter and disappear soon.
What would happen to the city’s residents once the brainwashing was gone? I’m not sure about that.
They might return to their normal selves as the “common sense” implanted in their minds disappears, or the “common sense” Belcus planted might remain until purified by divine light.
Or maybe, they’ll just stop like puppets with their strings cut.
Personally, I’d prefer if the “common sense” remained. If they regained their original minds, they’d likely panic and go insane, and we don’t have the luxury to deal with that right now.
“Princess Ha-shal-leur! You’re safe!”
While I was thinking this and racing through the city, I finally met up with my companions. Not all of them, just Seilon, Nigel, and Leonor.
It seemed they had left the carriage outside the city gates and only the combatants who could run faster than the carriage had come.
“How are Damien and Milia? Are they both safe?”
“They pushed Eljure to the brink of death before collapsing. Both are seriously injured, but it’s not life-threatening.”
Good, that’s a relief. I thought they’d be defeated by Eljure, but it seems they almost took her down with them. They must have fought harder than I expected.
“Wait, miss. What the hell is that? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“It’s a horrifyingly ominous sight. It’s like the gates of hell have opened.”
“What has Belcus done?”
The three of them bombarded me with questions. Instead of stopping, I kept running toward the city walls and gestured for them to follow.
“It’s similar to what Nigel said. He’s summoning my mother from hell.”
“Huh…? Belcus had a mother?”
Nigel tilted his head as he ran, confused.
…Maybe that was too abstract. I was trying to avoid shocking them into stopping.
“What else would a demon’s mother be? The evil god they worship.”
Whether it’s a mother or father, I’m not sure. Honestly, does that distinction even matter?
“An evil god…? Did you just say an evil god?”
Seilon, who had caught up to me, asked as if he’d misheard. Unfortunately, your ears are fine.
“Yeah. That bastard, Invidius. He was planning to summon it. And it seems he succeeded, albeit clumsily.”
Like Lacey and I had been earlier, the three of them were stunned. So much so that they almost tripped and fell off the roof.
“Invidius? That’s impossible…! How could that even be possible!?”
Seilon, who had face-planted into the ground, jumped up and asked again.
“I don’t know. But he said it himself. And looking at that, it wouldn’t be surprising if something like that came out. So, let’s evacuate the citizens first.”
“Good heavens, Astraea…!”
Seilon, who had climbed back onto the roof, muttered as he made the sign of the holy cross.
“An evil god? You’re not joking, are you?”
“Was Belcus that strong? Strong enough to summon something like an evil god?”
Nigel and Leonor, baffled by the sudden mention of an evil god, pressed me for more details.
As we headed toward the city walls, I explained to them what had happened during the fight with Belcus and our plans moving forward.
—
Outside the city walls, near the carriage, Shaulite’s paladins had gathered. As Seilon had said, Damien and Milia showed no signs of waking up, but Hersh was surprisingly fine.
Instead of telling them about the evil god’s summoning, I explained that Belcus was summoning a powerful monster as a last resort.
If they panicked over the evil god’s summoning, it would be a problem, and if they decided to martyr themselves and charge in like moths to a flame, that would be trouble too.
Especially Rana, who would undoubtedly cling to my leg and beg me to run.
“Agnes, you stay with Shaulite’s paladins and help evacuate and protect the citizens. If we undo the brainwashing, they might panic, so it’s better to put them to sleep.”
“Understood.”
Agnes nodded. She knew well that she was the only one who could quietly put the citizens to sleep.
“And Hersh… you guard the carriage thoroughly. If something dangerous happens, you don’t need to fight. If necessary, just run. Make sure Damien, Milia, and Rana don’t get so much as a scratch. Got it? If you do that well, I might even appoint you as my knight.”
“Got it!”
Hersh also nodded with a determined expression. She didn’t seem to realize that being appointed as a knight wouldn’t change much from her current situation.
“Sis… are you really okay?”
Rana looked worried. She seemed to sense that I was about to do something dangerous again. She’s oddly sharp about these things.
“I’m fine. I’ve never lost to a monster before? It’s not dangerous at all, so don’t worry. When have I ever lied to you?”
“You lie all the time…”
…Well, that’s true.
Rana looked like she was about to die from worry, but given the situation, I couldn’t waste too much time comforting her.
I patted Rana’s head, sat her down in the carriage, and told her to take care of Damien and Milia before turning away.
It was good that I said it was a monster. If I’d told the truth, I wouldn’t have been able to get her off me without knocking her out.
Anyway, the evacuation operation began.
Most of the citizens were already fleeing upon seeing the black pillar, so knocking out those who had crossed the city gates was enough. But not everyone was running.
Those deeply affected by the brainwashing were still clinging on.
The paladins used a simple method to lure them out of the city.
The women of the city moved to be “chosen,” and the men moved to select women to serve them. So, if we removed all the women, the men would naturally follow.
We began emptying the city in this way. Except for the five of us who needed to recover our strength to prepare for the battle with the evil god.
Nigel, Leonor, Seilon, Lacey, and me. While the others were busy evacuating the citizens, the five of us sat around the pillar of dark energy, waiting for the summoning ritual to end.
Seilon and Lacey were praying to their gods for victory, while the other two sat beside me, sipping water from canteens to calm their nerves.
“…Can we win?”
“We won’t know until we see it. But Elpinel and Astraea will surely help us, right?”
I flicked the ash off my cigarette and pointed the lit end toward the sky.
“There are two saintesses here. If their daughters are in trouble, the gods in heaven won’t just sit back and do nothing. They’re not that shameless or incompetent.”
Nigel and Leonor, who had been staring at my hand, burst into awkward laughter.
“Miss, I think you might be a little crazy.”
“You just realized that now?”
I forced a smile and took a deep drag from my cigarette. I was pretending to be calm, but I was just as anxious.
About ten minutes later.
When about half the citizens had been evacuated, the endlessly surging black pillar quietly subsided.
And then, the anomaly began.
—
*Crack!*
The sky.
It’s breaking.
In the void, as black as pitch, a long crack appeared, and fissures began to form.
Like ice struck by a hammer, the sky began to split apart.
It was a bizarre and alien sight.