“Do you think I’ll allow that?” Zagan coldly stated, shooting his fist out at Raphael’s face.
Any average sorcerer would have had their head caved in by that blow, but the large Angelic Knight merely bent backward and flew through the air. Still, there was definite feedback in that strike. Zagan could also tell that the bones in his jaw were smashed. And because the jaw had many nerves which connected to the teeth, a blow to that spot jolted the brain greatly.
Be it a sorcerer, an Angelic Knight, or a dragon, there was none who could stand up after that. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’ll render you powerless for the time being.
Raphael crashed into the ground headfirst, losing consciousness immediately... Or at least, that was what was supposed to happen.
“Hnnngh!” Somehow, with agility that didn’t befit a man with such a large frame, Raphael twisted around and landed on both feet. It seemed his tenacity surpassed any sense of pain.
“What the?”
And then, just like that, he slipped by Zagan’s side and rushed past him. Since he’d been convinced he had delivered a fatal blow, Zagan was unable to react immediately, which left only a defenseless Foll in his path.
“Don’t... underestimate me!” Foll screamed, charging powerful sorcery in her hand.
“Stop that, Foll!” Zagan called out to her in restraint, but Foll stood her ground and fired off sorcery toward Raphael instead.
I won’t make it in time! And just as he thought that... a sharp clang rang out, and blade collided with blade.
Two white Sacred Swords collided, a shockwave akin to a pallid chime echoing into the surroundings. Like a ripple of water, the ring of light that accompanied it ran through the entire underground hollow as well as Archdemon Palace’s interior and vanished.
Yes, another Sacred Sword intercepted his blow.
“...Will you not stop this already, Lord Raphael?” And the one who caught that sword, appearing out of nowhere, was Chastille.
“Ah, crap. I forgot to close the shadow,” Barbatos muttered in a deadpan tone.
It seemed that while Zagan was fighting, Chastille had crossed over through the shadow and chased them all the way here. Luckily she’d arrived in the nick of time. Though there were tears in the corner of her eyes and the tip of her nose was red for some odd reason.
Unfortunately, as one would expect, she had no time to don her Anointed Armor. But still, she at least held her Sacred Sword in hand as she appeared in her ultramarine shirt and skirt.
Chastille had managed to stop the strike of an Archangel without the divine protection of Anointed Armor. An admirable feat, all things considered, but there was something that amazed him far more than that or her sudden arrival.
This girl... stopped both Raphael’s Sacred Sword and Foll’s sorcery at the same time.
Foll had fired out sorcery to intercept Raphael, but it had vanished before piercing her target. And it wasn’t like that happened by accident, either. No, her sorcery had been dismantled. From that, it became clear that Chastille was far more focused than when she fought Zagan.
“What... are you planning?” Foll growled as she glared at Chastille.
And yet, Chastille replied in a subdued voice as she repelled Raphael’s Sacred Sword.
“You’ve been pulling pranks on me nonstop, but I’ll admit I’m the one at fault for disturbing your peaceful life. So tell me, can we not try to talk things over?” Chastille’s words were clear and composed, as if her gloominess in the castle was a mere facade.
Seems like she’s gathered her resolve. Zagan didn’t sense even a hint of hesitation or fear in her. And, in order to ease the tension in the air, Zagan walked up to Foll’s side and bopped her head.
“Well, you two should definitely try to talk things out... but wait a little for now.”
“Why?” Chastille uttered that question in confusion, but Zagan turned his attention to Raphael instead.
“I’d really like to interrogate this guy right about now, but he probably can’t talk with how his jaw is, huh?”
Zagan’s blow had completely shattered Raphael’s jaw. And though he started regenerating already, it was still not in a state where speaking was possible. Really, it was admirable that he could grip his sword and run around like that with such energy despite all the damage he’d suffered.
At that very moment, Raphael fell to his knees. It seemed he’d finally exhausted himself. Similarly, Chastille sank to the floor, clearly out of breath. It had probably taken everything she had to hold back his blow.
That damn Raphael... Why’d his bloodlust vanish right as he charged at Foll?
The timing was suspicious. Plus, just as he thought, the blow Zagan dealt him was actually fatal. That meant even if Chastille didn’t force her way through, he didn’t possess enough strength to kill Foll.
She may have looked like a child, but Foll was an Archdemon candidate, one of the strongest sorcerers in the world. That was why Zagan told her to stop, as he didn’t want Raphael dead quite yet.
Zagan loomed over Raphael threateningly, then spoke up.
“I’m a villain. A sorcerer won’t think twice about torturing an Angelic Knight. However, I’d feel bad beating on an opponent with no real will to fight. Come now, tell me exactly what you’re trying to do here.”
There was absolutely no way he felt any sense of compassion or mercy toward this man, and Zagan had no intention of getting all buddy-buddy with Raphael, either. It was just that the whole situation didn’t sit well with him. It unnerved him that Raphael was fighting with a death wish.
“Killing someone who seems to be asking for it isn’t my style. Frankly, I find the thought repulsive.”
Those words made Foll’s eyes shoot open in shock.
“What... do you mean?”
“I’m not too sure. That’s why I’m trying to talk to him,” Zagan responded, though it wasn’t like he didn’t have a guess.
When he heard the name Orobas, his bloodlust vanished. It was the name of the dragon Raphael was said to have killed. If he lost his fighting spirit upon learning that Foll was that dragon’s daughter, then an obvious reason for his actions sprung to mind.
‘Atonement.’ Zagan didn’t think an Angelic Knight would ever feel indebted to a dragon or a sorcerer. And yet, that simple explanation made all the pieces fit into place.
And while Zagan was looking down on Raphael, Chastille pulled at the hem of his robe.
“H-Hold on, Zagan.”
“...Things will only grow more complicated if you get involved. Just stay quiet for a bit.”
“No, listen,” Chastille rebuked Zagan, then turned her gazed to Raphael and continued, “I find this hard to believe, but I’m right, aren’t I?”
“What are you talking about?” Zagan asked, clearly exasperated, as Chastille resumed her questioning in a clear tone.
“You are... the hooded man who visited me in the church... Orobas, correct?”
“What...?” Zagan and Foll exclaimed.
Their shock came as no surprise, as Orobas was the name of Foll’s father... It was the name of the dragon Raphael had killed, so hearing it made both Zagan and Foll doubt their ears. The only one among them who couldn’t follow the conversation was Barbatos, and he looked completely flabbergasted.
“Hey, what do you mean by that?”
Right as Zagan said that and stepped closer to Chastille... ‘something’ broke with a crack.
◇
Correcting the grip on her Sacred Sword, Chastille let out a trembling voice.
“Zagan...”
“I know.”
The sound rang out from Archdemon Palace. And from deep beyond the smashed gate, they could sense something had begun moving.
Is something... there...? It was ‘something’ that wasn’t there the other day when Zagan and the others investigated the place.
At that exact moment, an eerie atmosphere filled the room. It was a strange wind that seemed to coil and creep around one
’s skin, making it difficult to breathe. Even though there was no odor, Zagan’s stomach felt like it was contracting, which made him nauseous.
A harmful aura... seemed like an apt description for it.
The cursed wind tore away at the flesh like it was a matter of course, but most remarkable was its ability to gnaw on the soul.
“Ugh... Guh...” Chastille pinned down her chest in pain. In addition to her recent poisoning, she was now without her Anointed Armor, which left her the most defenseless out of everyone present. And so, since there were no other options, Zagan stood in front of Chastille to cover for her.
Barbatos then let out a flustered voice.
“H-Hey... What happened?”
“Hell if I know,” Zagan replied. Eventually, that ‘something’ showed its figure from the other side of Archdemon Palace’s gate. And it... resembled a human.
From the top, it had a cranium, two arms, and two legs. However, it absolutely was not a human. Its skin was made of something as stiff as stone, and it throbbed in an eerie manner with every single breath. Black fissure-like tendons ran along its body, and Zagan could somehow tell these were its veins.
Despite all that, what differed above all else... was its face. Its mouth, which was filled with tightly packed little fangs, was on its forehead, and its bloodshot glaring eyes were in the center of its face and around the left ear. It had no nose, but in its stead were barnacle-like cylinders sticking out here and there that sucked in and spat out air. No, not air... mana.
Zagan could tell just by looking at Chastille’s reaction as she gripped her chest. Be it human, creature, or nature, it coveted the mana of all who possessed it, devouring it incessantly.
However, Zagan knew of this air. In fact, he even recalled the very figure before them.
“This is... a demon?” Zagan muttered, then immediately realized he was wrong.
I don’t feel as much fear toward it as the demon from back then.
He was, of course, recalling the incident where Barbatos summoned a demon. The monster before his eyes clearly resembled it, but the demon he’d met before was a more heterogeneous creature.
Before long, Foll spoke as if groaning out.
“Wrong. This is... Archdemon Palace’s... gatekeeper.”
It was a sculpture modeled after a demon sealed by some sort of magic circle.
“...I see. So it’s the aftermath of the collision between the Sacred Swords just now, huh?”
Either the seal was broken, or perhaps it was coincidentally activated. No, it was probably the seal.
Marchosias was not so senile that this could be mere coincidence.
“So it’s a type of golem...?” Even if it imitated a demon, its origin was completely different. At the very least, it was not an absolute existence that Zagan feared he couldn’t defeat.
Having said that, it was Marchosias’ legacy. That surely meant it wasn’t a poorly made puppet like its appearance suggested.
To Zagan, this was an exceedingly unknown existence.
“Im...possible...”
The one to let a hoarse voice... was Raphael. It appeared he’d recovered enough to at least talk.
I’d like to hear this guy’s story right about now...
Unfortunately, it didn’t seem likely that the monster before his eyes would just listen to what Zagan had to say. Nothing could be done about having to eliminate it first.
“Now then, what’s to be done here?”
And just as Zagan muttered to himself... The eyeball at the monster’s side wriggled and glared at him.
Bloodlust! Sensing that, Zagan’s consciousness was drawn over to the Sigil of the Archdemon on his hand. If this monster was an existence which conformed to the rules of a demon, then just like before, it may have been possible to send it away with a wave of his hand. And so, Zagan held out his right hand and yelled out.
“By this Sigil of the Archdemon, Zagan commands you. Oh grotesque being, return to your slumber.”
Answering his call, the Sigil of the Archdemon fired out an eerie light.
The demon Zagan had met before bent a knee and vanished upon being commanded in that manner. So, speaking to the one in front of him in the same way resulted in...
“Shit, it’s no good. It’s coming!” Zagan sharply clicked his tongue.
The mouth on the monster’s forehead opened wide, and a destructive mana began to converge there.
An attack was coming. And as Zagan sensed that, he worried about what was behind him, and the first thing to catch his eye was Chastille who was... still standing in place.
This girl... She must know that she doesn’t stand a chance without her Anointed Armor... Doesn’t she fear death? Zagan reflexively grabbed the nape of Chastille’s neck and jumped as he thought that. And that was why he overlooked the simple truth... He completely missed the fact that Chastille was covering for the young girl right behind her.
“Get out of the way, Foll!”
“Eh...” Foll stood stock-still as if completely puzzled. And the light from the monster’s mouth shot right toward her.
The light pierced through where Zagan was just standing and mowed down Foll’s figure. And right before that, Zagan thought he saw something hanging over Foll.
As the torrent of light settled down, the ground fused into a glassy surface. And within that hideously burned earth, a gaping section of stone surface remained safe. Most curiously, the shadows of two people also remained within it.
“U-Ugh...”
The one letting out a small groan was Foll, and the one hanging over her... was Raphael.
Everything from Raphael’s left shoulder down was missing. The sight made Zagan seethe. Was that anger because he was unable to protect Foll? Or perhaps it was because his enemy, of all people, had been the one to save her?
In either case, it was enough of a reason for Zagan to swing his fist at it as the monster opened its mouth once more.
“...You good for nothing doll. Don’t get carried away, you hear?” By the time he spat that out, Zagan already jumped high above the monster.
“I’ll grind you to dust... Heaven’s Scale!”
In the blink of an eye, 2000 circuits combined in Zagan’s palm, and he spun together his firm shield in a violent manner.
Crushing that magic circle in his hand, Zagan then swung his fist straight down, and Heaven’s Scale pulverized the monster’s cranium, along with its mana gathering mouth to boot.
Even under normal circumstances, Zagan’s brute strength could shatter rock, and now he added the strength of Heaven’s Scale to his fist. As such, the destruction didn’t stop at its head. It continued along the torso and split the monster right in half. The pieces which split off to the left and right were now nothing but stone, which slowly sank to their knees and fell over.
Soon after ascertaining its fate, Zagan ran over to Foll and Raphael who had taken on the brunt of the light.
“Hey, are you two alive?” As Zagan called out to them, Foll dimly opened her eyes.
“I’m... okay...”
Zagan didn’t understand what he was planning, but Raphael had used his body and Sacred Sword as a shield in order to protect Foll. The little girl didn’t have a single wound on her.
However, that didn’t apply to Raphael at all. And looking at his figure, which had his arm blown off along with his entire shoulder, made Foll let out a bewildered expression.
“You bastard, what are you planning?”
With his consciousness still seemingly intact, Raphael opened his eyes and spoke.
“...I only did my damn job. It has nothing to do with you.”
His wounds were far too deep and had probably paralyzed his sense of pain. The anguish in Raphael’s voice was faint.
However, it’s too close to his heart.
Zagan didn’t understand the theory behind Raphael’s healing ability, but the wound which blew away his left shoulder even reached his heart. The hemorrhaging was surely already a l
ethal amount. Even with the power of a dragon, Zagan didn’t think he could be saved. Or so he thought...
“Guh... Hngh...!” Raphael grunted, then stood back up.
He had sustained a fatal wound, discharged a large quantity of dripping blood that dyed his silver Anointed Armor red, and even had a deathly complexion on his face, yet he still stood tall.
Why was it that he had to stand up?
Even while vomiting out blood, Raphael opened his mouth to speak without losing his composure.
“You said... that I am Orobas’ damned foe, didn’t you?”
“...Th-That’s right.” Foll was terrified by the tenacity of the dreadful man, but she still managed to nod as she spat out those words. And in response, Raphael gazed straight at the young girl and told her the truth.
“That is a mistake. That great dragon... was nowhere near weak enough to fall to the likes of me.”
Zagan also held doubts regarding that matter. The Sacred Sword is certainly a nuisance, but is it really something that can defeat a legendary dragon? To be honest, he wasn’t even sure if all thirteen Archdemons together were powerful enough to do that.
Raphael certainly may have possessed power far outside the norm even for Angelic Knight, but if he was overwhelmed by Zagan, then he couldn’t have possibly killed Orobas. And, as if unable to accept that reality, Foll howled at him.
“That’s a lie! I saw it. I saw you greedily devouring father’s husk! You’re the bastard who struck Father down with a sneak attack.”
“Then let me ask you... was the Orobas you know of... such a weak dragon that he would taste defeat at the hands of a few humans?”
“...At this last moment, do you still show contempt for Father!?”
“I’m saying that the bastard making a mockery of Orobas... is you...” Raphael said, his words bewildering Foll. However, he continued, “I do not give a damn what you think of me. However, I will say this for the sake of Orobas’ honor. That great dragon... in no way fell behind the lowly likes of we humans.”
“What... do you?”
At that, Raphael let out a quiet breath.
“That day, for the sake of butchering a certain enemy, I pleaded for the assistance of Wise Dragon Orobas. And he listened attentively to my wish.”
An Archdemon's Dilemma: How to Love Your Elf Bride: Volume 2 Page 15