Chapter 114 - Holy War (3)

6

The wedding venue descended into chaos.

“Aaaaaah!”

“My God, wh-what is that...?”

A crack opened in the sunset sky.

The red sky fractured like a windowpane. Blood dripped through the broken gaps. I enhanced my vision with aura and looked up.

[The apostle of ‘The Ox That Harvests Ruins’ manifests.]

There was a girl wielding an enormous iron hammer,

[The apostle of ‘The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains’ manifests.]

a general mounted on a wing-beating pegasus,

[The apostle of ‘The Immortal Evangelist of Happiness’ manifests.]

and children holding hands and performing a strange dance.

“G-good heavens...”

The wedding guests stared at them in horror. Cracks opening in the red sky were unbelievable enough. With unidentified beings emerging from those cracks as well, the guests were too stunned to think straight.

Only three of us.

“They have arrived.”

Raviel, the Inquisitor, and I were ready to fight back. Of the three of us, Raviel held command.

“Special Task Force, assemble and protect the guests! Members of the Divine Dragon Order, gather in one place! My retainers, guide the guests to safety!”

Raviel, my bride and a duchess of the empire, shouted at the panicking guests—and above all, at her household’s retainers. People flinched.

Calling names.

Strangely enough, being called by name held a magic that could rouse people from confusion. All the more so when the one working that magic was the second-highest noble in the empire.

“Blue Lion Knights, form ranks!”

“Your Grace, what in the world are those...?”

“Enough questions. Collect yourselves and watch the enemy’s movements. You are the leaders who guide this empire. If you intend to disgrace yourselves before me, surrender your titles! Is that clear?”

“Y-yes, Your Grace!”

Raviel brought order to the venue in an instant. Even soldiers and nobles she would ordinarily have no authority over obeyed her commands.

They sensed it instinctively. They did not know why the sunset sky had shattered or why these unidentified apostles had appeared, but they could only survive this situation by following Raviel Ivansia’s voice.

“Can you determine their abilities?”

Having finished issuing her orders, Raviel turned to the Inquisitor.

“Yes! Please give me a moment!”

The Inquisitor formed a hand seal. White light burst from his hands, streaking into the sky like a beam and sweeping over the otherworldly apostles in an instant.

“Hmm, analysis complete! First, that young woman with the enormous hammer...”

But the Inquisitor never finished. Had the beam he fired been taken as a provocation? The hammer-wielding apostle leaped from the sky.

Her blond hair streamed behind her as she brought the enormous iron hammer down.

BOOOOM!

The ground was literally overturned. People screamed.

The wind pressure from the hammer alone whipped up a whirlwind. Red and white flowers brought from the empire’s south to decorate the wedding scattered wildly. Amid the countless blossoms swirling through the air, the apostle’s eyes blazed red.

“Raviel Ivansia!”

Those eyes and that voice were not unfamiliar.

“I won’t give you anything!”

Astonishingly, the apostle looked exactly like the baron’s daughter, Lady Golden Silk Blossom.

“L-Lady Golden Silk Blossom...?”

“What has happened to you?”

The guests murmured in bewilderment. Golden Silk Blossom was famous too, though not as famous as my husband. Naturally, many recognized her face. Some looked back and forth between the apostle and the Inquisitor in horror.

“Hmm.”

The Inquisitor murmured, “This isn’t good.”

“That is probably the true form of the person called Lady Golden Silk Blossom, the baron’s daughter.”

“Her true form?”

“To put it simply, it is like mortgaging your soul to a devil. In exchange for borrowing a constellation’s power, you offer up all your abilities, appearance, and memories! Aha. Apparently, that young woman had a wish she wanted fulfilled even if it meant sacrificing absolutely everything. Fascinating...”

The object of the Inquisitor’s fascination was swinging her hammer with great enthusiasm.

WHOOOOSH!

People caught in the wind pressure of her blows were sent flying. Knights with martial training at least managed to grit their teeth and hold their ground. Confusion still showed on their faces, but they had realized one thing: the person who looked exactly like Lady Golden Silk Blossom was not friendly.

“S-stop her!”

“Protect the guests!”

“Act as ordered!”

The appearance of a clear enemy brought the allies together. Some of the empire’s foremost warriors, whom Raviel had invited as guests or hired as guards for this day, charged with swords in hand. Their movements were honed—a coordinated assault by elite fighters.

Golden Silk Blossom snorted.

“Yes, of course you follow Raviel Ivansia’s orders too.”

Dozens of warriors lunged at once.

“I’ll destroy everything before I give it to that woman.”

Dozens of aura-charged blades struck simultaneously.

CLANG...!

The blades bounced off Golden Silk Blossom’s skin.

“What...?”

Bewildered groans rose all around. Golden Silk Blossom had not suffered a single wound. Some warriors kept their composure and swung again, but it was useless. Every sword was stopped by her flesh. Their aura merely burned away some of her clothes.

“O Ox That Harvests Ruins!”

Golden Silk Blossom brought her hammer down.

“Grant me your blessing!”

CRUNCH!

Crushed beneath the iron hammer, a warrior burst like a watermelon. Blood splattered. Before the airborne droplets could even hit the ground, Golden Silk Blossom swung again.

“W-wait...”

Someone’s head was smashed by the hammer.

THUD!

Blood burst forth, again and again. The slaughter continued unabated. As their comrades died, the warriors desperately struck at Golden Silk Blossom’s openings, but not a single sword tip left a mark on her skin.

“Everyone, be careful!”

The Inquisitor shouted.

“She is clad in one of Mutia’s blessings, [Uninjurable Body]! She literally cannot be wounded. Aha. To be precise, the effect is [Reduces physical harm to oneself by 99.9%]!”

A body that could not be wounded.

“Unless your blow is powerful enough to demolish a mountain peak at the very least, you will not be able to inflict meaningful damage! Please do your best!”

“Raviel Ivansiaaaa!”

The warriors were bewildered. Among them was the elderly gentleman who had become my adoptive father for today alone—the imperial chamberlain and commander of the Special Task Force.

The old gentleman, the strongest man in the empire, spoke in disbelief.

“Demolish a mountain peak? Who could possibly accomplish something so absurd?”

“Indeed. It is truly a difficult task. But if you cannot do it, you will die!”

The Inquisitor beamed prettily. If you captured just that smile in a photograph, you might forget that, at this very moment, people were being crushed by a hammer and scattered as chunks of flesh. Crazy psychopath.

“That one alone is a monster.”

Raviel sighed.

“And now another is coming.”

My husband was right. That apostle, whether Golden Silk Blossom’s soul or true form, was only one of the enemies we had to fight. She might even be the easiest to deal with.

“You pitiable souls.”

Against the red sunset, the general on the pegasus slowly descended with the sky at his back.

“Blame that poor girl. Blame the one who dwells in her original body, and blame that young man. Because of them, you shall be trampled beneath our hooves. It is fitting that you all should grieve.”

The general looked at Golden Silk Blossom, then the Inquisitor, and finally me. His heavy helmet concealed his expression.

“Warriors who follow the Warhorse.”

The general raised his banner high. A speck of red sunset seeped into it.

“Awaken.”

At that moment, translucent ghosts were summoned around him. Dozens, hundreds, thousands. Perhaps as many as ten thousand.

“Groooo...”

“Graaah, aaaah...”

Everyone was speechless.

Even when Golden Silk Blossom swung her iron hammer, even when people were caught in its blows and torn apart like sheets of paper, the guests had managed to keep their wits. They resisted. They fought back. But the army of ten thousand that appeared in the crimson sky was on an entirely different level.

“R-run...”

Someone murmured in a hoarse voice.

“Run!”

Someone else took up the same cry.

“Charge.”

With a single word, the general cut off their murmurs and shouts.

“Groaaaah!”

“Krrk, kreeee!”

Countless ghosts poured down. They wore old armor like soldiers from ancient times. But the spearpoints they thrust were not worn.

THUNK!

A guest struggling to escape was pierced through the back.

“P-please spare me!”

“Aaaaaagh!”

A massacre.

The guests fell, bleeding. Their blood spilled over the white flowers, staining them red. What should have been the empire’s most magnificent wedding venue had become its most harrowing hell.

“... Inquisitor.”

I spoke. Only after speaking did I realize how cold my voice was.

“What is that apostle’s ability?”

“I have just finished the analysis. Hmm. One of Mahos’s blessings, [Battlefield of the Stellar Domain], is active.”

The Inquisitor spoke while maintaining his hand seal. Just as only I could see the Character window, he seemed to have text visible only to him.

“[Battlefield of the Stellar Domain] is an area-of-effect ability. It affects this entire region. Its effect is extraordinary: [Locks the summoned beings’ abilities at their peak during life]! Every one of those ghosts is the elite of the elite. They are the souls of warriors who followed Mahos!”

“... We are outmatched.”

Raviel lowered her fan.

“The difference in numbers is too great. Mutia’s apostle has an ability that makes her unbeatable one-on-one, while Mahos’s apostle has an overwhelming advantage in group combat. A dilemma with no way out.”

“Lu.”

And then.

“Lu, lulu, la. La.”

The final apostle began to move.

“La.”

“Lulu, la. Lala. Lu.”

“Lululu. Lala. La. La.”

The apostles in the shapes of children sang. Their song descended from the sky and rang out over the ground. The children danced in a circle, as though performing a traditional circle dance, and the faster they danced, the more forceful their singing became.

“La.”

“Lu, la. Lala.”

THUMP.

Guests fleeing the ghosts suddenly toppled over. It was not just one or two. They collapsed one after another, losing consciousness where they stood like puppets with their strings cut.

“Oh.”

The Inquisitor quickly formed a hand seal. Light spilled from his hands and enveloped Raviel and me.

“Aha, this is very bad indeed! Hmm. It is a form of mental attack. Exposure to that song forcibly traps you in [Your happiest memory]. Unless you possess considerable mental fortitude, you will not be able to resist!”

“...”

The hammer apostle, immune to physical attacks.

The Warhorse apostle, specialized in group combat.

The happiness apostle, who ravaged the mind.

“... Really. They’re horrible in every possible way.”

“Yes! If there were only an apostle specialized in one-on-one combat, we could manage somehow. Even if forced into group combat, we would have ways to respond. If mental attacks were the problem, we could assemble a small elite force with strong mental fortitude. But if we have to fight all three kinds of battle at once, aha. It is extremely difficult!”

The Inquisitor smiled brightly.

“Death King.”

“Yes.”

“May I trust that you will win?”

The wedding venue was already fading into the sunset.

Song rang ceaselessly through the sky. On the ground, the dead slaughtered the living.

At last.

CRUNCH!

The Special Task Force commander, who had resisted to the very end, had his head crushed.

With her foot planted on the old gentleman’s head, Golden Silk Blossom, the hammer apostle, glared fiercely at us.

“Raviel Ivansia!”

“...”

Raviel wore a black dress. At a glance, it looked more like mourning clothes than a wedding dress. But this was imperial custom.

The person who would become head of the house after marriage wore black. The other wore white. Thus Raviel wore a black dress, and I wore a white tuxedo.

“Gongja.”

Raviel turned to me.

“I should have said this sooner.”

“Yes.”

“That tuxedo suits you very well.”

“...”

I smiled. The constellations’ apostles had invaded. Every guest had been slaughtered. Yet at this moment, Raviel complimented my wedding attire. It meant she did not accept this outcome as the end.

That was right.

We would never give up on our wedding.

“You are the most beautiful person in the universe, too, Raviel.”

I took my bride’s hand. Her lace glove felt soft.

BOOM!

Heavy footsteps approached. Golden Silk Blossom was probably charging at us. Soon, the iron hammer would crush us. Feeling the ground shake, I spoke.

“We made a promise. That I would never take my own life without your permission. That even when the moment came to die, I would only ever accept death after doing everything I could.”

“Yes.”

“Please allow me to die now.”

Raviel smiled.

“You have my permission.”

One word. All it took to make me invincible was a word from the person I loved.

“Raviel Ivansiaaaa!”

The moment Golden Silk Blossom swung her hammer, I wrapped myself around Raviel.

So I would die even a tenth of a second before her.

Understanding my intention, Raviel willingly let me shield her. We tightly interlaced our fingers. Then the enormous hammer struck my body.

[You have died.]

The same death as always.

[Recreating the trauma of the enemy who killed you.]

The same sight as always.

[Regressing twenty-four hours.]

But.

This was not the same regression as always.

“Gongja.”

When I opened my eyes, Raviel was there, holding my hand. The moment our eyes met, we understood. There was no need to explain what we had experienced. We were sharing the same time.

Just as we had moments before dying, even after returning to life, we still had our fingers intertwined.

She and I were no longer solitary regressors, each alone.

“Let us devise a strategy.”

Together, the two of us were invincible.