Chapter 88.4: Vol12 C1 The Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth Part 4

Part 4

Remedios gripped her holy sword and slashed a demon — her Vice-Captains had told her its name, but she had completely forgotten it — in half. Imbued with holy power, the blade could inflict grievous wounds upon evil beings, and it was doing so to great effect. She had cut down the demons rampaging through the city one after the other. The fallen demons vanished as thick white smoke steamed from their wounds. Within seconds, there was no trace that the demons had ever been there.

However, the signs of how the demons had ravaged the city remained.

"How could this be!?"

She looked at a fallen soldier — not one of the vanguard troopers, but a local patrolman — and Remedios bellowed in rage.

His leather armor had been cleanly severed, and the hands clutching his abdomen were stained a deep red. She could even see the pink of his innards. His face was well past the point of paleness, now a bloodless white.

While she had almost no medical knowledge, her own experiences supplied enough information for her to make a judgement. There was no time to send the wounded soldiers back to a casualty collection point. She would need to treat them on the spot with magic.

The soldiers were not yet dead, but it was neither a miraculous survival, nor was it because the soldiers were simply that good, so was this the demons' aim? That said, she had no idea what the demons were planning.

Still, the option to simply let the soldiers die did not exist in Remedios's heart. Nobody would ever discard the brave soldiers who had chosen to become a shield for their nation in order to buy their country time. And the most important thing was that she was a paladin of righteousness.

"Begin healing him!"

Remedios was accompanied not just by the elite paladins behind her, but also by several priests. Her order was directed at them.

In response, one of her Vice-Captains stepped up and whispered in her ear:

"Would it not be better to let the medics in the rear aid him? If we use the priests' mana here, we might run out when fighting Jaldabaoth, which might be the demons' aim—"

"—Ahhhh, you talk too much! This is an order! Heal him to the point where he can move on his own! Also—"

At this point, Remedios glanced at the adjutant beside her and said:

"—I can't hear you muttering through your helmet, so speak up!"

"Ah, no, it's fine..."

"Very good!"

The healing magic mended the soldiers' wounds swiftly. Of course, the recovery was not complete. After all, this was only a first tier spell, and it could not fully restore a soldier on the verge of death. Even so, it was enough to heal the soldiers to the point where they could stagger around. Since the soldiers were no longer in danger of dying, there was no need to heal them any further. Remedios still remembered her sister's incessant nagging to wisely use limited resources.

"You brave gentlemen, stay that way and listen. We've performed first aid on your wounds, so fall back. After that, let the medics at the rear tend to you."

The pain of walking was probably enough to drive the soldiers to tears. However, she no longer had the time to hear them out. She had to reach her destination before Jaldabaoth arrived.

The soldiers also sensed the meaning in Remedios's powerful gaze. None of them spoke up or protested; they simply agreed with each other.

"All right! Then let's meet again later!"

Remedios broke into a sprint at the head of her troops. Her metal armor was lighter and easier to move in than it appeared, and given her physical abilities, she could reach her destination faster than anyone else. However, her sister, Calca and her adjutants often told her, "Don't charge in by yourself all the time!" so Remedios throttled back the desire to sprint with all her might and quashed the desire to make up for lost time.

Soon, Remedios reached her destination, which was a corner of the city.

The streets spread out before them. The evacuation had been completed long ago, and so there was nobody there.

"Captain, if we follow this avenue and turn right, then turn right again, we'll be at the plaza where we'll be awaiting Jaldabaoth. Do you want us to scout ahead?"

"No, wait for Calca-sama and my sister — and the adventurers. After that, make your final checks and then hoist the banner high!"

Obeying Remedios's orders, her subordinates tied a flag to a distant building. This was to inform the other units that the elite paladins led by Remedios had arrived.

Their operation would involve Calca and her personal guard, Queralt and the pick of the temples, high ranking adventurers, and a squad of Remedios's elite paladins. The four units had split up and then headed to Jaldabaoth's location.

There were roughly five hundred paladins in the order. Most of them were comparable to difficulty twenty monsters, and among them were great warriors capable of slaying a difficulty sixty monster one on one. All in all, there were twenty five of these ultra-elite warriors, who formed the core of Remedios's forces.

Incidentally, the remaining three hundred-odd paladins were currently standing watch on the city walls against the advancing demihumans.

Originally, they should have formed up into a single group and moved out as one. However, Jaldabaoth possessed an area-attack ability that could bring down the wall, so they had chosen to split up in order to avoid being destroyed when their forces were concentrated. The reason why they had hung the flag in the distance was so that even if Jaldabaoth saw the flag and attacked it, it would not hamper the rest of the group.

"Can Jaldabaoth's wall-breaking attack be used more than once, Isandro?"

There were two Vice-Captains in the Paladin Order.

One of them was an average swordsman, but excelled in other areas, and his name was Gustavo Montanjes. Right now, he was directing the paladins who were reinforcing the city walls, so he was not here.

There was another, who currently stood by Remedios's side. The person to whom Remedios addressed her question was one of the Nine Colors as well, Isandro Sanchez, called "the Pink."

"If he could use it multiple times, then I have no idea why he has not done so already. It might make more sense to consider that there might be some condition or some kind of delay until he can use it again."

"Pretty much. I guess splitting up was being too paranoid."

"No, it's nothing of the sort. Perhaps he's conserving his strength in order to bring forth some great power. We mustn't be careless."

"Yes yes, I know."

Remedios broke off their conversation. She was not suited to thinking, after all.

Politics in particular made her head ache. She was completely baffled by the reason why the nobles frowned upon the fact that a woman had ascended to the throne of the Holy Queen.

They felt the same about Calca's title, which was the combination of Holy King and Woman. They protested both the fact that they had a woman leading them and that a new term had to be coined for her.

On that note, it would be simpler to understand if it was just a matter of who was stronger or weaker.

"—Captain Custodio, the priest contingent and the adventurers have raised their flags."

"How about Calca-sama?"

"Not yet."

"Is that so... well, it's about time to start casting longer-duration defensive spells. Once Calca-sama arrives, we'll advance on Jaldabaoth first and act as bait to draw his attention. Keep your will strong and beware any special attacks the enemy has."

"No movement from the plaza."

They had confirmed that the advance force had been wiped out, and if their target had shifted location, the adventurers responsible for reconnaissance would have told them. If there was no news from them, that meant Jaldabaoth had not moved from the plaza where he had appeared.

"He's looking down on us, that miserable little demon. Probably thinks that if he can kill us all here, he can conquer the country easily."

"No, Captain. It's also likely that he's trying to stall for time. If we're pinned down here fighting Jaldabaoth, the demihuman army will be able to win elsewhere."

"...I see. So that's possible too... this Jaldabaoth is pretty smart, huh."

"I think he's good at scheming because he's a demon."

"...Hmph. He's just a demon who's gotten full of himself, I'll beat him like a dog and make him weep bitterly."

Just as Remedios swore that to the gods, the final flag went up, as though it were waiting for that moment.

"Vice-Captain!"

"Yes ma'am! Everyone, we're moving out!"

"All right! Follow me!"

Remedios began to run, determined to bury her sword in that demon's face.

She turned a corner, ran again, then turned a corner once more.

And so, she saw a suspicious-looking person, standing in the middle of a plaza painted bright red and strewn with the bodies of the fallen. A tail protruded from that person's waist.

His description was almost identical to the one provided by the fleeing soldiers.

He did not have bat-like wings or curled horns, and the only sign that he was inhuman was his tail. From that point of view, he was little more than a man in a mask.

However—

"Are you Jaldabaoth!?"

"Red ca — whoa!"

An acrid stench filled the air as they entered the plaza, that of blood and burst innards. There was a sound of squelching meat as she stepped in, but she was no longer concerned about such things. All that remained was charging with all her might and swinging her sword.

Her irritation built as Jaldabaoth effortlessly avoided her, and she swung again.

That too was evaded.

Remedios knew that however much time she put into her studies, she would never be able to excel in academics. For that reason, she spent all her time on improving her fighting skills instead, because she understood that she was more talented in that field. Thus, she had become known as the greatest warrior of this nation.

And now, the instincts of the paladin Remedios Custodio were screaming to her.

Jaldabaoth's evasion was not a coincidence. He put on a show of conceit because he had the strength to back it up. Few human beings could keep up with the battle that was about to take place, and she would need to further enhance herself with magic.

Remedios's instincts had never failed her at times like these.

"Fall back! All of you fall back! —No, form a cordon! This demon's strong!"

Saying so, she backed away with her men. Her subordinates retreated further than her, but she could not go too far away. At most, she could move four meters back, at a range where she could take a single step and then cut him down.

Jaldabaoth rounded his shoulders.

"Haaa... what a bullish girl you are. What is it? Could it be you've seen something red?"

Remedios ignored the demon's playful words, and the troops led by Queralt and Calca appeared in her field of vision. Shocked by the sight of Remedios engaged with Jaldabaoth, they made haste.

Jaldabaoth turned to face Calca, exposing his defenseless back to Remedios. However — her instincts told her that Jaldabaoth might just be waiting for her to attack him from behind, and so she froze.

"You two! He's very strong! If you don't pull your men back, they'll only die for nothing!"

The two of them immediately responded to Remedios's shout, and they were the only ones to step forward.

Remedios kept her distance from Jaldabaoth while circling around him until she stood in front of the two of them.

"Remedios, please don't push yourself."

"She's right, nee-sama. Shouldn't you take him on with everyone at once?"

Her eyes had not moved from Jaldabaoth even as she listened to their quiet words from behind her. Perhaps he was planning to unleash that wall-breaking power of his; if he made a move, she would dash up and hack him down.

However, Jaldabaoth showed no sign of doing so.

His relaxed attitude made Remedios unhappy.

I must, I have to strike him down!

"So you are Jaldabaoth?"

Jaldabaoth's shrug in response to Calca's question only intensified her displeasure. Every little thing that demon did only served to make her mad.

"Indeed. ...Your slave charged right at me without saying a word. What would she have done if it was a case of mistaken identity? Well, it does interest me that there are savages in the Holy Kingdom who are incapable of speech. Ah, just to be sure, may I ask if you are the reigning Holy King?"

"Indeed."

"There's no need to tell him your name, Calca-sama."

Remedios levelled the point of her sword at Jaldabaoth.

"All you need to know is that he's Jaldabaoth, and all we need to do after that is kill him and send him back to hell. Talking with him is just going to taint your tongue—"

"A-Ah, Remedios. We're talking..."

Calca's puzzled words made Remedios tilt her head. Had she said something about this earlier?

Queralt seemed to have a spell from the rear, because a surge of heat blazed up within her body, accompanied by incredible strength. Her attack from just now had been evaded, but now she was confident that she could strike him in this state. At this point, Remedios thought, So that's it, because talking to him was meant to buy them time.

"—Still, I am magnanimous, so I shall chat with you for a while. Do you have any questions?"

Jaldabaoth pressed at the eye region of his mask, a motion Remedios had seen Calca, Queralt, and her Vice-Captains perform many times in the past.

"...Also, please, prepare yourselves until you are satisfied. The sight of you — who are desperately preparing yourselves to defeat me — being trampled and your lives taken by a power which surpasses even that; truly it is a sight to evoke ever greater despair in those who witness it with their own eyes. —What a wonderful sight it will be."

"I won't let that happen!"

"Sorry, Remedios, but could you quiet down for a bit?"

There was a hint of steel in Calca's voice, and Remedios shut up. It was merely a slight change of tone, but from experience, Remedios knew that Calca was angry.

"Remedios, step back for a bit."

"But, but if I move back, I won't be able to cut him down if he does anything weird..."

"Ah, that is fine. I will not attack until we finish speaking, or until you launch an attack of your own."

"As if we could believe what a demon say—"

"Remedios!"

"—Understood."

Remedios fell back as ordered, and her sister whispered to her through her helmet.

"Calca-sama is trying to learn more from the opposition. You need to ignore what that demon says and bear with it."

Muu, Remedios grimaced, her face seemingly saying, I'm not happy with this.

Their opponent was a demon. That being the case, they ought to consider that everything he said was probably a lie. Rushing in and cutting him up would save effort and brain cells. However, impeding her mistress was a betrayal of her loyalty. Thus, she had grit her teeth and endure this.

"Now then, Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth. I have some things to ask you. Why have you come here? If you wish to trample this country, why not move with the demihuman army from the fortress? Or could it be—"

"...Ah, you need say no more. I can imagine what you wish to say. It would seem you are mistaken. The reason I have come here alone is not to parley with you."

A quiet "I see," came from Calca, who was standing behind Remedios. She sounded clearly disappointed.

"There are two reasons why I have come here alone. The first is because crushing you by myself will deepen your despair that much more compared to if you were slain in a chaotic battle with the demihuman forces. The other reason is — in order to avoid making the same mistakes as from the Kingdom. I had not expected to meet a warrior there who was as powerful as myself. Therefore, the fact that I have come here alone is to see if there is a being comparable to me."

"There might be, you know?"

"Of this I am certain — there are none. That is why I have given you all this time. If anyone like that did exist, they would be in this city — by the side of you, the most important person in this nation. Yet, I have not found anyone like that. That includes those snivelling rats hiding themselves away."

"You bastard! Are you saying we're weaker than that warrior!?"

Remedios could not pretend she had not heard those words, and they made her forget her forbearance and shout in anger. Calca and her sister's words were already halfway out of her head, but the order not to cut him down just barely held on.

"That is exactly what I am saying. Did you not hear me? Is that all you wish to know, Holy Queen-sama?"

"While there's one more thing — Angels, advance!"

Calca's powerful voice filled the plaza, and the angels in the perimeter and hidden among the priests spread their wings and took flight.

There were five angels who held swords of fire, summoned through third tier spells — Archangel Flames. There were twenty more summoned through second tier spells, Angel Guardians. And then, there was a single angel which Calca had summoned before arriving here — a Principality of Peace.

While she did not remember what powers the angels possessed, she remembered that the Principality of Peace which Calca summoned could use low tier divine spells and could use abilities such as the ability to grant protection from evil, smite evil, and cause mass silence, among others. That was because she had often seen Calca summon it.

Sensing the murderous intent around her, Remedios understood that she no longer needed to hold back, and so she charged. Normally, the priests would have supported her with attack spells, but there were none. Perhaps they were conserving mana to summon angels.

Remedios activated a skill from one of her job classes, Evil Slayer. The divine power within her holy sword intensified.

In that moment, five adventurers suddenly appeared behind Jaldabaoth. They must have used invisibility magic to close in on him. She did not know why they had suddenly become visible. While she knew that there was a spell called 「Invisibility」, she had no idea what sort of spell it was or how it could be negated.

Jaldabaoth did not respond to the adventurers who had suddenly appeared. No — it did not seem like he had even noticed them.

At that moment, she wondered if she had been mistaken about the aura of intimidation from Jaldabaoth. Or rather, was this just an illusion or a copy, and the original was not here?

No — she denied the latter deduction. That could not be. Her instincts — her ability to sniff out evil — told her that Jaldabaoth was right there.

The adventurers looked shocked, and slashed at Jaldabaoth in a panic. Just as she thought that their weapons would be able to reach him, Jaldabaoth sprouted a set of strange wings behind him. They impaled the adventurers who had tried to attack him from behind.

Perhaps the frothy blood he was coughing up was because he had been stabbed in the chest and blood was flowing into his lungs, but with his last trace of life, a single adventurer swung his weapon down on Jaldabaoth.

However, Jaldabaoth let the strikes rain down on him, with no sign he had been harmed.

Since they were here, those adventurers ought to have been quite skilled. It was only reasonable to assume that they would be wielding holy-elemental weapons as part of their preparations. Even so, they could not leave a mark on him, showing that this demon was quite a highly ranked being.

In the few moments that it took the battle conditions to change, the charging Remedios screamed Yeeart! and slashed down diagonally with her holy sword.

Jaldabaoth hopped one step back, and those tentacle-like — no, they probably were tentacles — wings threw the perforated adventurers at her.

She had no intention of taking it head-on.

She took her left hand off her sword's hilt, beating them all aside —

"「—Flow Acceleration」."

—then activated a martial art, stepped forward, and thrust.

The holy sword stabbing in at Jaldabaoth's throat was blocked by a set of suddenly-sprouted claws—

"「Holy Strike」!"

She infused the holy power within her sword into the claws in the instant they made contact.

This was an elementary technique for paladins, and it was originally intended to be used in the moment one's blade bit into a foe's flesh, but that did not mean it could not be used as a touch attack. Since most of the divine power simply exploded on the surface, it would not do much harm, but she had still used it anyway. That was because in the moment that the adventurers had been killed, her instincts as a paladin — which her little sister called an animal instinct — screamed that she needed to show that they could still resist Jaldabaoth, and prevent the morale of the surrounding soldiers from falling.

"I see..."

The Angels jammed themselves in between Remedios and Jaldabaoth as the latter was backing off. They launched their attack while floating at roughly head height.

"Tch," Remedios clicked her tongue.

The metallic sound that rang out as her holy sword made contact with Jaldabaoth's claws showed how hard those claws were. In addition, the fact that he could easily evade a blow from her magically-enhanced self — although in a somewhat clumsy fashion — showed how high his physical abilities were.

There were only a few people who could contend with such a mighty being. While the angels summoned through third and second tier spells usually excelled at slaying monsters, they only served to get in the way during this battle. In particular, the greaves of the angels floating back and forth were an eyesore.

"「Penetrate Magic - Holy Ray」."

Her sister cast a spell. However, it vanished before Jaldabaoth's face like it had been deflected.

"「Twin Penetrate Magic - Holy Ray」."

Calca emitted two rays of light. She was probably thinking that it would be fine as long as one of them could pierce Jaldabaoth's spell immunity, but unfortunately her attack was ultimately as ineffective as her sister's.

That meant he possessed very high magic resistance. In other words—

I need to give it my all!

She shouted a battle cry to fire herself up.

"Use your head and let the angels fight! There's no point in this!"

The fact was that even though the angels had the advantage of height and surrounded him on all sides, Jaldabaoth was still quite composed. But that was only natural. Even after being surrounded by so many people, not a single attack had hit Jaldabaoth.

The adventurers ran over to collect their comrades who had fallen by Remedios's feet. While their immobile bodies were clearly dead, they still believed in the faint probability that it might nor be so.

"...How bothersome. Even if they are nothing more than insects, a swarm of them is still unpleasant."

Jaldabaoth sounded perfectly composed.

Indeed, being able to negate the spells cast on him from the rear and perfectly evade physical attacks made him seem overwhelmingly superior. However—

Do you think we've never fought enemies like this before?

Unless their summoners were specialists, summoned monsters were generally weaker than the ones who called them forth. Therefore, there were cases where angels' attacks ended up being useless.

Against a powerful foe, the best way to use angels was—

The airborne angels rushed Jaldabaoth as one. They did not use their swords, but tackled him.

—To hinder their opponents' movements in this fashion.

It was quite effective.

Perhaps he was starting to grow tense, but Jaldabaoth went on the offensive, and a single swipe of his claws caused several angels to vanish into nothingness.

However, the angels from behind filled the gap, continuing the attack in place of their absent fellows.

This was the frightening thing about summoned monsters. Since they were beings that did not die even when they were killed, they could be fully utilized in this fashion.

The angels came like a ferocious waterfall, without rest or respite, and Jaldabaoth's flowing counterattacks left Remedios staring in awe. However—

That's carelessness on your part!

Remedios had moved subtly to step into an opening in Jaldabaoth's defense, a fatal flaw that was exposed when he was on guard against the angels coming from above.

"—What!?"

"Yeeart!"

She activated a skill, and then her martial arts, using her holy sword to strike a blow with all her might.

She had chosen to conserve the greatest power of her holy sword because her instincts told her that then was not the time for that powerful move, which could only be used once a day.

Stricken by the mightiest blow she could muster apart from that move, Jaldabaoth flew back as though he was being smashed to the horizon, until he crashed into a store on the other side of the plaza.

Remedios looked down at the hands which held her blade.

"—Oh crap."

"Nee-sama! You did it!"

She shouted angrily in response to her little sister's excited exclamation.

"It's not over yet! How could he have flown so far!?"

"Given your brute strength, I think it's possible, Nee-sama..."

"He flew out by himself!"

Indeed, not only had she allowed Jaldabaoth to escape the encirclement, she had even given him the chance to hide in a house.

The reason why they could take on enemies like Jaldabaoth was because they could encircle their opponent and force them to face many people at once. Allowing him to hide in a cramped home was too dangerous.

In addition, Jaldabaoth's actions would change now. It was possible he would stop playing around now.

"Remedios! What should we do?" Calca shouted.

Usually, Remedios would ask and then Calca would answer, but now the opposite was the case. During battle, she was better able to make the right choice than the other two.

"Demolish the house without going near it!"

After hearing that, the priests cast attack spells one after the other.

They collapsed the house in short order. However, it was hard to believe Jaldabaoth had been crushed under the falling debris. Even Remedios in her enchanted armor could survive that much unless she was very unlucky. Also—

Remedios looked down at her blade, which was unstained by blood.

Could he have rolled with that blow just by flying away? Had he used a martial art like 「Fortress」 or something? Or was it a demon-only skill? There were many possibilities for that, but things would become troublesome if she could not see through it.

Amidst the sounds of destruction, the neighboring houses crumbled under the area-effect spells. Dirt and dust filled the air, and she could not help coughing.

"Say, Remedios, why hasn't Jaldabaoth come out yet?"

"...Nee-sama, could it be he's already escaped by teleportation?"

That demon, who spoke so arrogantly? I can't imagine he'd escape without being hurt...

"...We ought to use fire. Pour on the oil and ignite it. May I ask you to bless it, Calca-sama?"

"Nee-sama, are we going to conduct the ritual of Holy Fire? Doing so to harm an opponent... is that really what a paladin ought to be doing?"

"That's fine, if Remedios thinks that's the best way, then we'll go with it. No, we should do it. Since he's a demon, there's no reason he won't be hurt."

Many demons were resistant to fire, but the Holy Fire was of the holy element, and fire resistance was only half as effective against it.

"Then, Calca-sama, the preparations for the ritual—"

"We don't have time for that. Please use the simplified version."

Calca looked straight ahead as she said that, and from the corner of Remedios's eye, she saw her little sister wondering if she should go "But that—"

Simplifying the Holy Fire ritual spell would place a great deal of strain on the user's body. This was not something which she, as one of Calca's subordinates charged with keeping her safe, ought to recommend. However, it would be even worse if they gave Jaldabaoth time.

"If you think this is the best way, then we'll do it. However, if I perform it by myself, I won't be able to help you after that. Please keep that in mind... Then, can you light the fire right away?"

"Understo—"

"—Kukuku. My, this is quite vexing."

Suddenly, Jaldabaoth's voice issued from the pile of debris.

"Nee-sama!"

"I know!"

Remedios immediately stood in front of Calca and readied her sword.

Jaldabaoth had been buried under the house after all. Therefore, bringing up the Holy Fire attack just then was the right choice. They had not thought that he might have lost consciousness because of the shock of being buried under the fallen house.

"It would seem that it is time for me to get serious."

"Oh? Then we should have done it earlier. I'll wait, so why don't you show me your power? ...Calca-sama, Queralt, get back."

Remedios whispered her directions to the other two. At the same time, Remedios fell back as well, allowing the resummoned angels to form a wall along the path between themselves and Jaldabaoth.

"Oh yes. In that case, please get back. It would be quite disappointing if you were to die from my shockwave."

The collapsed pile of timbers and bricks swelled up. As they collapsed to the ground, something massive slowly stood up from among them.

"...Jaldabaoth?" Remedios could not help muttering under her breath.

That was because he looked completely different from the previous Jaldabaoth. It made her wonder if he had changed places with another demon. However, there could not be many demons who looked like that.

Indeed, that was Jaldabaoth. That was Jaldabaoth's true form.

It flapped its fiery wings, and flames burned at the end of its long tail. Its brawny, frightening arms were also on fire. Its wicked face bore a wrathful expression.

"Priests, order the angels to charge!"

Obeying Calca's order, the priests commanded their summoned angels to rush in. Jaldabaoth did not strike back at the angels as they swung down with their weapons, it simply endured the blows in silence. Even though it was surrounded and pounded, it did not seem hurt in the slightest. It looked just like a horde of children trying to hit a fully armored paladin with sticks.

"This is my true nature."

Jaldabaoth spoke in a coarse, basso profundo voice that seemed to shake the pits of their stomachs. It took a step forward, and the mass of angels pressing against it were forced back.

It ignored every single attack the angels made as it slowly raised its flame-wreathed hands, and then clenched them into fists. Its fiery form resembled a red-hot volcanic bomb.

"Now, you foolish and bothersome insects — disappear."

With a bang, the angels which should have been in front of Remedios vanished.

Jaldabaoth had punched with extraordinary speed, and even Remedios's trained motion vision could not capture a single frame of its movement. Just that single hit was enough to exterminate all the angels that were forming a wall for Remedios.

This was Jaldabaoth's true form.

Remedios gulped as she witnessed that overwhelming power which could easily slaughter multiple angels in a single blow, and then she gripped her holy sword tighter. Her sweat gushed forth and it seemed like it was making her clothes change color under her armor.

Could — could she win this? No—

"—Yeeeeeeeaaart!"

Remedios shouted to banish her fear. While it was a thoughtless move, if she did not charge right now, she would be essentially admitting defeat to him in her heart. She gripped her holy sword tightly, and leapt forward.

She used the full might of her body in a massive downwards chop.

Jaldabaoth did not block or dodge it.

And then — it bounced off with laughable ease.

"...Eh?"

The sword, made of an unknown metal that was harder than adamantite, bounced off Jaldabaoth's skin.

She looked up and saw that Jaldabaoth was not looking at her. It was similar to how a human being would not care about a worm writhing around on the ground.

"Dealing with you empty-handed is a little troublesome... no, there is an excellent weapon here."

Jaldabaoth stepped forward, paying no heed to Remedios. His massive body shoved her aside.

"Wha—? D-Dammit!"

Remedios and the freshly-summoned angels chopped at Jaldabaoth's back. However, his metallic-gleaming skin remained untouched beneath their blades.

They hit him with attack spells. However, all of them bounced off.

This bastard's not stopping at all, what's he looking at—

Remedios's face turned pale as she looked in the direction Jaldabaoth was headed. Calca and Queralt were there.

"You lot, do something! Stop him! Hurry up and stop him!"

Remedios barked her orders at the paladins behind them. She could not think of what use they could be, but she could not let Jaldabaoth reach Calca and Queralt.

"Let Calca and Queralt pull back! He's going for the two of them!"

The paladins and priests closed ranks in front of the two of them, forming a wall. What a pathetically weak wall.

"Stop! Stop!! STOP!!!" Remedios screamed as she swung her sword over and over again.

However, nothing she did managed to pierce Jaldabaoth's skin.

The paladins swung their swords, the priests cast their spells, but even so, they could not impede Jaldabaoth in the slightest. He walked on nonchalantly, without saying a word.

The people who touched the flames coiling around him wailed and collapsed to the ground, but Jaldabaoth did not look like he intended to attack.

"The two of you, run! We can't stop him as we are now!!" Remedios shouted, her head in a state of total confusion.

Jaldabaoth should have been driven off by the adventurers of the Kingdom. She was in the same league as adamantite ranked adventurers, perhaps even stronger. In that case, why could she do nothing about Jaldabaoth?

There's got to be something I can do! I have to find it! I have to find something I can do to harm him!

There must have been some reason for Jaldabaoth's invincibility. Just like how some monsters were highly resistant to all metals besides silver, there must be some kind of racial defensive ability protecting his body.

But what kind of ability is it!!!!!?????

Her ever reliable instincts told her nothing.

Until this point, it had always been her Vice-Captains or Queralt or Calca giving orders. All she had to do was carry them out. However, all three of them had nothing to say now.

Frustration began to build in Remedios, but she was clear about one thing.

As long as the two of them escaped, they would prevent Jaldabaoth from achieving his aims.

The two of them seemed to understand that too, because they turned and ran without looking back.

That was good. There was no time for people to lollygag around like idiots on a real battlefield. Even if Remedios died, so long as the Holy Queen, the head of state, survived, there would still be hope, And even if the worst-case scenario unfolded and the Holy Queen died, so long as her sister was still alive and they managed to recover her body, they could bring her back to life.

Several priests — probably capable of third tier spells — stood guard by Calca's side. With them serving as walls, that ought to be able to buy the two of them more time to flee.

"Hmph. 「Greater Teleportation」."

Suddenly, Jaldabaoth vanished, and the sword in her hand struck nothing but air.

"What!?"

Remedios panicked and looked around, and then a piteous wail reached her ears. Remedios's heart lurched. The sound had come from the direction where the two of them had run.

However, the wall of paladins kept her from seeing what was going on.

The power of the magic items she possessed suppressed her terror, but her anxiety continued welling up. If her sister and their guards were killed, then only Calca could stand against Jaldabaoth. She was the pinnacle of the Holy Kingdom; if she was lost, then the country would fall with her.

"Out of my wayyyyy!" Remedios shouted as she broke into a sprint. The paladins hurriedly parted their ranks for her.

She was too far from Calca.

How slow her body was.

Remedios had always thought her strength of arm and fleetness of foot were at the zenith of human ability, and it was a silent source of pride for her. However, this moment was the first time she learned that it was nothing but false vanity.

All she needed to do was survive a single hit. However badly hurt she was, there were many priests here. There was a way, so long as she did not die.

While Remedios told herself that as she ran, she saw that Jaldabaoth had taken hold of Calca. She did not have the luxury of verifying Queralt's safety.

Jaldabaoth's massive hand was closed around Calca's legs. Those hands were wreathed in flame. She heard something like her flesh sizzling under the heated armor, and her helmeted face seemed to have gone mad with pain as she clenched her neat rows of teeth.

The despicable bastard! He's taken a hostage!

Was Jaldabaoth going to make some kind of demand — having taken a fighting stance, Remedios found herself doubting the words he said next.

"An excellent weapon."

"—Huh?"

Remedios glanced at the holy sword she was holding.

Did he want that?

"From the moment I first saw it, I felt that it would make an excellent weapon."

He raised his arm, lifting Calca to his line of sight. Jaldabaoth flexed his arms. It looked just like he was making practice swings.

There was a crack, and Calca whimpered in barely-suppressed agony.

Unable to bear the force of Jaldabaoth's overwhelming power and the weight of her own body, the joint of her knee now bent in a direction it was never intended to face.

It was then that Remedios realised Jaldabaoth's meaning.

He meant to use the Holy Queen, Calca Bessarez, as a weapon.

"You, what are you..."

She could not understand it.

However, she had no choice but to understand it.

"All right, is it my turn now?"

A wicked smile appeared on that furious face, and Jaldabaoth approached her.

What should she do?

Remedios backed off, and the paladins behind her retreated as well.

What, what can I do at a time like this? What should I do?

Remedios looked around for help, and behind Jaldabaoth, she saw the priests protecting Calca and Queralt collapsed on the ground.

While the priests were motionless, her sister was still moving faintly. Perhaps she had secretly cast a spell.

Queralt's still alive! But who should I save first — I have to ask Isandro.

"Isandro! What should we do!?"

"Retreat!"

"Understood! Everyone, retreat! Fall back! Fall back!"

"—What? Not fighting? And after I went to all this effort to obtain a weapon with which to crush you... 「Fireball」."

Jaldabaoth extended the hand that was not holding Calca and discharged a third tier attack spell. The fireball flew over and burst, immolating the paladins within its area of effect.

Protected by fire resistance spells, the paladins barely managed to avoid being fatally wounded. However, it was simply that they had not died.

Calca squirmed and struggled desperately, but she could not escape Jaldabaoth's hold.

"What an annoying woman. You are a weapon now. Act like one."

Jaldabaoth's body flexed slightly as he raised the arm that held Calca.

"STOP!" Remedios cried out in mournful agony as she realized what Jaldabaoth intended. And then, Jaldabaoth swung down, ignoring her wails.

Splat.

Calca could not protect herself in time, and her face smashed viciously into the ground.

After that, Jaldabaoth slowly raised his arm again, and Calca dangled limply from his hand, having lost the will to resist him.

Her helmet was open-faced. That was to raise the troops' morale with her beauty.

However, that beautiful face was now a mass of fresh blood. It would seem the bridge of her nose had been crushed flat, because that part of her face was a smooth expanse now.

"You son of a bitch!"

"You idiot! Stop!"

One of her men — a paladin — could not stop himself from drawing his sword and charging out. She wanted to stop him, but it was too late.

Jaldabaoth swung his weapon at the paladin, with a speed that did not seem like he was holding a human body

The two of them collided, and the paladin was sent flying with a thunderous crash of metal.

His armor was staved in like he had been hit by a giant, showing how intense the collision with Calca had been.

Remedios's eyes could not leave Calca's body.

Humans might have softer skins than other species, but strong humans could enfold their bodies in ki or magic, and if they were still conscious, they might be able to be endure a slash without being hurt.

Indeed. If they were conscious.

Perhaps it had been knocked loose by the impact, because her helmet had flown off and her long hair played wildly in the wind. Her inverted face was a bloody mess, her nose smashed and her front teeth shattered, her eyes rolled up and a faint moan leaking from her throat. Her beauty, regarded as a national treasure, had vanished without a trace. Her present state was too tragic for words.

"What should we do, Isandro!? How can we save Calca!?"

"I, I don't know!"

"What the hell are you good for, then!? Doesn't that brain of yours exist for times like these!?"

"I never imagined something like this could happen! There's nothing we can do but pull back!"

"So you want me to abandon my sister and Calca here!?"

"What else can we do!?"

And Remedios had nothing to say.

"Good grief. The sight of humans squabbling before their enemy is a fearsome sight. Well, it is about time. Playtime is over."

"What?"

Jaldabaoth slowly looked to the sky.

"It is about time that my army arrived at this city. I need to smash the gates and usher in a storm of slaughter and carnage."

"Do, do you think we'll let you do that?"

"Allow me? I do not need you to allow me anything. All you need to do is accept it. Like say, the gift of a star."

Jaldabaoth raised the hand that was not holding Calca, and then, like he was searching for something — he pointed to the sky.

"—STOP!!!" Remedios shouted because she did not know what he was going to do.

However, everyone was frozen in place, their hands tied. That was because they could not attack Jaldabaoth, who held the Holy Queen hostage.

No, everyone was afraid that if they attacked him, he would block it with Calca's body. What would they do if Calca died from their blows?

Heedless to the confusion of Remedios and the others — the star fell.