Chapter 89 - Vow

Cold sweat trickled down the Magician's face beneath her mask.

She took an involuntary step backward, and Aiden's gaze followed her.

At the sight, her mind went blank.

"... Wh-what...?!"

Calling this an overreaction to a pair of eyes following her would ignore the very nature of the technique she had cast.

If she stopped time using demonic energy, anyone affected could never escape unless they wielded that same demonic energy. That property was practically a law. Being able to move even the slightest bit like that was impossible.

Every supernatural power had its own unique qualities, but demonic energy took absolute precedence over all others when it came to dominance.

Wornil had been sealed because even the other gods of the pantheon feared his might, and his authority bore that same potent influence.

Even when supernatural powers—authorities granted by gods alike—clashed, demonic energy defeated every other kind so long as their quantities were comparable. It reflected the stature of its chief deity.

In other words, she, a demon, had released demonic energy on a level equivalent to unleashing her true name. If he could move within it, there were only two possibilities.

First, he possessed such an overwhelming quantity of supernatural power that it surpassed even the demonic energy she had unleashed.

But that was an absurd assumption. Not even the Lionhearted or Deathwish, currently outside the spire, could meet that condition.

This human had displayed some fairly impressive abilities, but not enough to accomplish what even those described as walking supernatural-power generators could not.

Then the remaining possibility was—

'... This bastard, don't tell me...!'

—that the supernatural power he wielded was equal in stature to Wornil, the sealed god.

That he possessed the authority of another god who could match their chief deity, feared even by the entire pantheon, made their common enemy, and sealed away.

In other words, an irregular who stood on equal footing with the demons, enemies of the entire continent. A heaven-sent genius and a heaven-sent calamity.

As a demon who had lived through hundreds of years, she knew what such a being was called.

"The Omnipotent One...!"

She spat the name through clenched teeth.

Demonic energy began coursing over her entire body in quantities incomparable to before.

Thank goodness she had found him this early.

She could nip him in the bud before he grew any further!

"I think that's crossing the line, demon."

But before she could proceed...

"... What? Who—?!"

"Hey, no cutting in line. We have an agreement with you lot, remember?"

As someone's voice rang out from somewhere,

"What do you think you're doing to my 'family'?"

Her consciousness was violently dragged away.

▣

-System Message

▶ Making contact with Azula, the 'Magician.'

▶ [Malice] increases by 1 level!

▶ A new function of 'Weaver of Fate' is unlocked.

▶ Copying a 'Mutated Skill' from the target!

Along with those messages, a bright flash burst before Aiden's eyes like a shower of sparks, and his consciousness returned.

"Hah!"

He looked around, barely suppressing the nausea brought on by the sensation of his temples contracting inward. Cold sweat drenched his body.

He didn't know what had just happened. But he had the feeling that all sorts of things had occurred beyond his awareness.

'Just now, someone was here—'

Someone had been here.

He felt as though there had been other people here besides himself and the prince. More than one.

But he clearly had no time to dwell on that.

Indeed, as he—

"... What?!"

Aiden looked toward the rocket in alarm.

A moment ago, he had still had enough time to somehow stop the launch. Now the engine and boosters were already igniting.

The instant he saw it, he knew instinctively.

It was already too late to stop that thing.

It would launch in a matter of tens of seconds...!

He had to stop it. If the demon-god fragment inside spread throughout the capital, it was over.

People would die. All of them!

But...

'How?'

How was he supposed to stop it?

Aiden gritted his teeth and scanned the rocket from top to bottom.

Obviously, it had been built to soar high into the sky. Even if he drew upon every last bit of his supernatural power, he couldn't think of any way to stop something like this.

'Still.'

He had to find one.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

He had already experienced more than enough plans going awry. In fact, things had been that way from the very first step.

But throughout those experiences, Aiden had learned one thing.

Even when a situation took an unexpected turn for the worse, calmly taking stock of his circumstances would always reveal some way through.

So, what could he use in a situation like this...?

"..."

A solution flashed through his mind like lightning.

There was one.

One option.

He spun Aether around and fed it into the Soul Connector.

This equipment had been made by throwing in Star Iron, ectoplasm, and every kind of rare material. It had even been specially crafted to allow spiritual communion.

If his thinking was correct, it should be perfectly capable of interacting with the other equipment he wore.

And he was right.

"Whoa!"

Teresa popped out of the Soul Linker and looked around with wide eyes.

"What's this? Am I alive again?"

"... No. I've only summoned your soul. I'm the only one who can see you, and the only one who can talk to you."

With that thought, he summoned a window before his eyes.

Right now, she was the only person he could rely on.

"Dame Teresa."

["Hm?"]

"The capital is in grave danger. Please help me."

["..."]

Hearing that, Teresa smiled and nodded.

["What do you need me to do?"]

"..."

Aiden chuckled.

Yes, that was the Lord Protector for you.

What was happening, whether she could do it—all of that was secondary.

If it had to be done, if it was her duty, she would do it.

Whatever it took.

If there were people to protect, she simply acted.

The problem was...

"To be honest, I'm not really sure how this works either. It's my first time."

["... What do you mean?"]

Teresa sounded puzzled, but Aiden had no way to explain.

-Skill Info

◆ Remnant: Lord Protector – Resolve

A will that reaches the heavens can become the makings of a miracle. A great being watches over you.

▶ Embody the target's 'essence' as a skill and use it.

▶ Exercise caution when using this skill.

... He couldn't understand what the skill effect described here actually meant either.

But whatever it was, he had to try something right now. It was do or die!

Gritting his teeth, Aiden looked at the rocket.

Now fully prepared for launch, its engine was spewing a horrific amount of heat. It really was about to take off.

If it rose into the sky and scattered the demon-god fragment everywhere, the capital was finished.

He couldn't prevent the rocket from launching, so what he needed to do was—

"..."

Aiden closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Dame Teresa."

["Hm?"]

"Ever since I was little, whenever I saw rockets and things on TV, there was something I wanted to do. A dream of sorts."

["What is it?"]

There didn't seem to be any need to explain.

... After all, most men's dreams were reckless by nature.

▣

It was nearly over.

Noel sighed and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

Thanks to the grand-ducal House of Aslan's Black Guard, most of the magical beasts rampaging through the capital had been subdued, and the groups attacking its military installations and key facilities were all being rounded up.

Katya and Reaver had also burned away nearly all the birdlike magical beasts that had blanketed the sky.

The assault on the capital led by the imperial prince was now on the verge of being completely suppressed.

"Your Highness. Are you finished?"

["Yep! I think doggy and I have gotten a little closer, too!"]

["... You damned human. One day, when I get the chance, I'll kill you for this!"]

["Sure! Go ahead and try, doggy!"]

"..."

Hmm.

Maybe they really had gotten closer.

Mulling over that odd impression, Noel looked into the Central Spire.

All that remained now was Aiden's task inside.

"Good. I'll head in to support Aiden, then—"

Her sentence broke off.

Probably anyone would have reacted that way upon seeing something burst through the roof of the Central Spire, the tallest building in the capital, shattering it completely.

Recognizing the object's shape, Noel let out a stunned murmur.

"... A rocket?"

A missile-shaped rocket, at that.

Before she could even wonder why such a thing had emerged, she hastily clapped a hand over her mouth.

A superhuman's ability to track moving objects—especially that of someone ranked among the very best—was extraordinarily keen.

Even from a considerable distance, she could see exactly what was suspended inside the rocket.

And the mere sight of it...

"Urgh...!"

Barely suppressing the urge to retch, Noel breathed heavily.

Then her face went deathly pale.

She didn't know what it was, or why it was suddenly inside a rocket.

But a horrifyingly ominous sensation ran down her spine.

She felt as though leaving it alone would bring a great calamity upon the entire capital!

She hurriedly raised her communicator to her mouth.

"Your Highness, come to my location immediately! There's something we must stop right—"

Once again, Noel's sentence snapped off.

... To reiterate, a superhuman's ability to track moving objects was extraordinarily keen.

If her eyesight was sharp enough to see what was stored inside the rocket, it was also sharp enough to see what was clinging to its exterior.

The thing clinging to the rocket soared high into the sky along with its boosters. Alongside something so unholy and ominous that merely looking at it made even a superhuman of her caliber nauseous.

... Hmm.

But that looked a little familiar—

"..."

Noel rubbed her eyes once.

Well.

Perhaps she had seen wrong.

No, honestly, she had to have seen wrong.

"..."

She rubbed her eyes again.

Rubbed them hard.

Rubbed them diligently until they were a little bloodshot...

"..."

What she was seeing didn't change.

"... Uh, huh, huh, huh—"

Noel made a sound somewhere between laughter and sobbing.

Considering she wanted to burst into laughter and tears at the same time, it was probably quite appropriate.

["... What? What is it? What's wrong?"]

She heard Katya's voice through the communicator, but she had no composure left to offer a coherent answer.

What she barely managed to get out was this:

"Ai."

["... Ai?"]

"Ai, Ai..."

["What, have you suddenly regressed into a bab—"]

"AIDEEEEEN?!"

... Even to her own ears, her voice sounded utterly bizarre.

But surely there were mitigating circumstances.