Chapter 1294: On the Defensive

We hastened our mission of eliminating the giant fiends, but the situation had worsened by the time we were done.

When faced with all four fragments of the Evil God, Chariot had been forced on the defensive.

The Tear Gland and Malice had pinned Chariot down with a barrage of evil energy pellets, as the whip-like strikes of the Blade Tail and explosions from the Flame Sac whittled down its barrier of divine energy.

Chariot’s once gleaming armor was now blotted with black spots, meaning it was sustaining damage faster than its regeneration rate. The incarnation of the divine sword had been pushed into a corner.

Maleficent and Persona were nowhere to be seen. All I can say is that they’re probably still alive as long as the poison mist hasn’t dissipated yet.

Should we go ahead and help Chariot with the fragments? Or would it be better to search out Maleficent and support him?

However, we soon lost our chance to decide.

「!」

『No way… This is bad!』

The four fragments had gathered together and began releasing vast amounts of evil energy. It all flowed into a single location, forming a giant black mass in the sky.

More and more energy was poured in, eventually resulting in the creation of a sphere containing a terrifying amount of both evil and divine energy.

In other words, it was similar to the evil-divine energy I use.

The fragments coordinating against us was surprising enough, but now they’re trying to pull off some kind of combination attack! This was clearly a bad sign.

Just how much of a disaster would it be if we let them continue unchecked?

Of course, Kareid and Maleficent weren’t just twiddling their thumbs. They launched another offensive in a desperate attempt to stop the fragments from releasing any more evil energy.

Yet for some reason, the fragments had forsaken any attempt at defense or regeneration. They refused to stop at any cost, even if it meant exposing themselves to the full power of the divine swords.

『Run! Get as far as you can!』

I shouted on instinct, and all of our comrades immediately broke into a sprint.

There was no hesitation. It’s as if they already knew this was the only option. Perhaps their instincts were telling them the same thing.

I opened a Dimension Gate to a point outside the city walls, where Sibylla and the others were waiting. Of course, this was no coincidence.

「Sibylla! Over here! Quickly!」

Fran gathered Sibylla and the other Red Knights, who obediently followed. Perhaps they too had sensed the impending crisis.

And so, the moment of destruction arrived.

The accumulation of evil-divine energy had finally reached the critical point. The giant ball in the sky distorted, before collapsing outright. That instant, it turned into a violent explosion.

Or rather, the vast amount of condensed evil energy flooded outward so quickly that it was practically an explosion.

Our allies deployed their barriers upon witnessing the approaching wall-like tsunami of evil energy. Meanwhile, Fran stood in front and erected a huge version of her Guardian Diety’s Shield.

This took the form of a dome enveloping everyone. Amanda gave her mana to Marle, who then transferred it to Fran. Forrund reinforced the Guardian Deity’s Shield using a magic sword with barrier enhancement capabilities, and everyone else layered their barriers on top of ours.

The Red Knights even packed themselves in like sardines to reduce the size of the necessary barrier, and by correlation the burden on Fran.

We braced ourselves as the tsunami enveloped us without a sound.

The power contained on the other side of the dome was ridiculous. The barriers from our friends shattered instantaneously, leaving only our Guardian Deity’s Shield to protect us.

「Gnrgh…」

『Fran! Hang in there!』

Fran’s expression was grim. So not even the seemingly omnipotent Guardian Deity’s Shield could withstand the tsunami of evil-divine energy? The torrent of pure energy was whittling away at it, until it was thin as a sheet of paper.

Fuck! We might really be screwed!

I drew upon my inner evil-divine energy to invoke an additional barrier, but it evaporated instantly. The difference between my reserves and the power contained within this tsunami was like heaven and earth.

『In that case, how about this!』

If I have no way of blocking it, then I simply won’t!

My next idea was to absorb the energy into myself.

I took in the torrent of evil-divine energy, converting it into my own mana. And it wasn’t just me, I also diverted some of the flow to my deepest depths, where the Evil God Fragment was sealed.

Shit! It’s still too much, so my mana capacity hit full in a matter of seconds…!

『Uroooooh!』

Fine, then I’ll spend it! By continuously consuming my mana, I can make room to absorb more! I repeatedly deployed maximum output barriers while absorbing as much energy as possible.

Absorb, deploy, absorb, deploy… Repeat ad infinitum.

There’s no time to think! Just keep the power flowing in a loop!

〈Detected sharp rise in Sword Transformation Rate. Exceeded 75%. Entering critical terri――〉

Did Announcer-san just give me some kind of warning…? No, I can’t afford to worry about anything else right now! I won’t be able to maintain the barrier if I lose concentration for a single moment! Sorry, Announcer-san! This is to protect Fran, her friends, and the Red Knights!

『Grgh… Gagah…*GRAAAAAAAAH!』

It happened almost simultaneously. Countless cracks appeared on my blade as the black torrent finally let up. Fran canceled the Guardian Deity’s Shield and dropped to one knee.

「Master! You okay?」

『Yeah… I’m… fine…』

For some reason, my telepathy wasn’t working too well. Maybe due to the damage from taking in too much evil-divine energy? At least I can feel myself regenerating, albeit slowly. Those cracks should close up in a few minutes.

『Just let me… rest a bit…』

「Nn…」

Nevertheless, this sight was truly terrifying.

The location that was once the royal capital had been transformed into a wasteland. Thousands upon thousands of buildings had vanished, and the bare earth was deeply gouged and overturned.

The castle, aka ground zero, was of course completely gone, along with the towering walls that once protected the entire city. There was literally nothing left to indicate that a city had once stood here.

What about the Red Knights we didn’t reach in time? I could faintly sense Madred and Roza, so at least those two seem to be alive.

That said, there was no time to relax. The fragments responsible for the tsunami wouldn’t even give us the time to breathe a sigh of relief at our survival.

「This is bad.」

Forrund muttered the short sentence, and we all turned to look at the horrifying sight.

「Kareid!」

Chariot must have suffered considerable damage from the tsunami, and the fragments didn’t let up the pressure one bit.

The Blade Tail had impaled Chariot’s torso and hung the mech in the sky for all to see. The red giant was exposed to a concentrated beating from the other fragments, as more and more chunks of its mechanical body fell off.

「The divine sword is… losing…?」

Amanda murmured the frightening truth in a hoarse voice. Her spirit seemed to be wavering in this hopeless situation. At this point, it’s only a matter of time. We have to run.

Fran bit her lip and embraced my still damaged blade.

But that moment, a lively sound echoed through the battlefield as if to push back the despair.

Pwooon! Pwooon!

Where is it coming from? My detection skills seemed to be malfunctioning, so I had no idea what was going on.

Was someone playing a trumpet or something?

Pwoooooooooon!

An especially long trumpet note passed through the battlefield, Fran and the others pointed their gazes northward.

「…A lot of people over there.」

「A cavalry division? There’s even more people behind them too.」

『You’re right…』

There were countless banners fluttering atop a hill to the north. Beneath those banners stood knights clad in silver armor, lined up in a row. Their numbers exceeded 3,000.

The most fitting word to describe them would probably be “majestic”.

Moreover, I saw knights equipped with red armor behind them. Could they be additional Red Knights? Sibylla, who had come to Fran’s side, scanned the view with astonishment.

「That’s… the banner of the North Conquest Duke!」