CHAPTER 350: RESOLUTION (3)

0% Fierces blows were exchanged.

The Prophet’s two Holy Swords clashed against my fists.

As for why I was using my fists, well it was because even though I’ve used swords occasionally, my fists had always been my go to.

“—Spicy. Been a while since I felt that!”

“...”

She said that shit while grinning like an idiot.

Given the situation, it wasn’t weird, I guess.

I was fighting using the style I was familiar with the most, after all. From this, I could tell that she wasn’t bullshitting when she said that she was ‘used to me’.

Not in the way that she was extremely good at handling my attacks, but...

In the way that she matched my movements well. As if we weren’t fighting, but dancing.

This whole fight felt more like... A communion?

“You.”

Hell, we could even chat mid-fight like this.

“You’re going easy on me, aren’t you?”

“Oho? You finally noticed?”

“...”

“Well, if I wanted to kill you, I would’ve done it ages ago. I’ve had more than enough power and means to do so since the first time I became aware of your existence. You know that, right?”

“...”

She got a point.

But that didn’t mean I could just back down.

I took a deep breath and activated a bunch of skills in one go.

Swordsman’s Focus kicked in, maximizing my reflexes. My posture aligned with the martial arts engraved in my muscles, and my body launched forward.

Though the Fallen’s Seal was blocked by Talker, its ‘effects’ were still lingering.

With the physical boost from my ascension to a Devil, adding Desperation to the mix, meant that my current specs should have surpassed the Prophet’s.

Add my combat experience to that, I should be able to land an unexpected blow, even on her.

Darting between the opening of her sword strike, I spotted an opening, and shot a fist straight to her face.

-!

It connected directly with her jaw. That should at least rattle her brain a little.

“—Phew.”

“...”

But, she only calmly let out a sigh, prompting me to narrow my eyes.

That attack didn’t leave even a scratch.

-This.

I definitely felt the impact; a clean hit like that should have knocked her out cold.

But, this chick...

Right before the blow landed, her physical specs suddenly shot up.

As if something automatically kicked in response to a life-threatening situation.

A Skill that had that exact effect... I knew that too well...

Desperation.

The bread and butter Skill I received when I first awakened my Gift.

And the Prophet just perfectly copied it.

“...How did you do that?”

Cutting straight to the chase, I asked directly. She rubbed her neck, as if it was sore, and answered me.

“Teach gave it to me. He always hated seeing his loved ones getting hurt.”

“...”

“He extracted his ability and gave it to me. I don’t know how he did that, but thanks to that, I at least have the most important one.”

Teach, huh.

The way Iliya always called me, and the way this chick referred to me overlapped.

“...”

At the corner of my eye, I caught something dangling from her arm.

I hadn’t noticed it before because it was hidden below her clothes, but the moment I did, I instantly recognized them.

Divine’s Ultima and Soul Linker.

Two pieces of equipment that symbolized me.

However, unlike mine, they looked obviously worn by the passage of time. It was hard to imagine how long she’d been carrying them.

Beyond those traces, what stood out even more was...

The fact that they were spotless, without even a speck of dust.

It was clear they’d been polished, repaired, and mended daily. Except for the unrepairable parts, they almost look brand new from how meticulous they’d been cared for.

From that, it was obvious how much she treasured them.

“...Ah, these?”

Sensing my gaze, the Prophet let out a bitter smile and ran her hand over them.

I could sense longing, affection and fondness flowed out from her.

“These are your keepsakes.”

“...Look like you’ve taken good care of them.”

“Well, duh.”

A smile was still plastered on her face.

But, if you were to peel away that mask, I could tell that underneath it was a festering wound, dripping with blood and pus.

Like I said earlier, this was less of a battle and more of a communion. The reason I said that was because I could sense the torrent of emotions she was feeling.

To be more exact...

The ‘sense of loss’ transmitted from the tip of her sword.

...It was so deep that I couldn’t even begin to imagine.

“—If you get it, then let me kill all the Devils.”

“...”

“How do you think I felt watching you die?”

Even so...

I couldn’t leave her be.

Of course, no matter how much I tried to stop her, it would be pointless. Her actions were rooted from what she had experienced, so no matter how much I tried, she wouldn’t stop.

“How about this?”

That was why... What she needed wasn’t persuasion.

But an ‘action’ that would give her a completely ‘closed possibility‘.

“—I’ll erase your worries for you.”

If her worry was the Devils destroying the world.

Then, I could solve that for her, as that was something I could do best.

●

Usually, family reunions would be a touching event.

Just imagine a little sister meeting her brother’s soul after he died. It wouldn’t hard to imagine what kind of heart-wrenching event that would—

[Iliya, calm down a li—]

“Brother, shut up for a moment!”

[...]

...That was what Caliban thought, once upon a time.

Too bad, all he got was a fierce shout from his beloved sister.

“—Seriously, our teamwork couldn’t be more shitty!!”

“Who are you to say that when you’re the one who keeps messing up?”

If not for the dire situation at hand, the two women would’ve probably thrown their weapons aside and started yanking each other’s hair.

It was so bad that even Spinning Fire Wheel—who had been throwing attacks at them—could only scratch his head awkwardly as he watched them.

“...Look, I know I’m just a Cursed Spirit User and not like, you know, a Devil or something, but don’t you think this isn’t a good time for internal strife?”

This was their exact problem.

When they fought against the Prophet—whose power exceeded their own—they didn’t have any issues whatsoever, but now, their teamwork couldn’t be more off.

The fact that the enemy was on defensive the whole time made it even more frustrating.

“Student Council President, be honest with me.”

“...What?”

“You’re worrying about Teach, aren’t you?”

“...”

She couldn’t deny that.

But, she did know one thing.

“You too, no?”

“...Yeah, I guess so. Well then, our goal is clear.”

Iliya narrowed her eyes and murmured.

“We gotta finish this quickly and go help Teach.”

“...”

Eleanor just stared at Iliya silently.

After crossing swords with her so many times, she could easily read her intentions.

Right now, Iliya was dead certain.

That there was a ‘way’ to break through this.

With the Boy King’s soul Dowd left behind, Iliya knew what their goal was.

The Boy King, who’d been cooped up in there for years, had prepared a small, sharp dagger.

But that dagger...

...Could definitely piece that Cursed Speech User‘s heart.

“—The problem is that his defense is pretty solid.”

Their opponent, who had been cycling through attacks, defense, and various other support spells, was undoubtedly powerful. Terrifyingly so.

Though not quite on the level of the Prophet, it still felt like they were facing an entire fortress rather than a person.

It was like trying to break a rock with eggs.

In fact, the only reason why they could still continue to fight him was none other than...

“Whatever, all I gotta do is to stall for time anyway.”

Spinning Fire Wheel said those words, almost yawning.

His attitude clearly showed he saw through their little plan.

“You’re planning to stab me with something you’ve prepared, but do you think you’ll get the chance?”

“...”

He didn’t know exactly what they had prepared.

But his attitude made it clear he was confident he could sit still and win without giving them any openings.

And he definitely had the skills to back it up.

But, there was one thing...

“We’ll see about that.”

...The last person who had such an attitude—the Pope—got his head smashed by a certain guy who had just stopped by here.

And these two women, one of them especially, was heavily influenced by that guy’s ways of doing things.

“Cocky, aren’t you?”

Noticing Iliya’s glare, Spinning Fire Wheel chuckled before snorting, refusing to fix his attitude even a little.

“Well, it’s not like he’s the only one who can do crazy things!”

“...”

“Listen to me, I have a plan!”

Eleanor silently stared at Iliya, who was panting as she declared as such.

...That man’s influence runs deep.

Such was her honest and sincere thought.