บท 238: Chapter 240: Countdown
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༺ Countdown ༻
A few minutes before Frey and Lulu went upstairs.
"…Damn it."
The Pope muttered through clenched teeth as he observed the distant, secret building with several bishops.
"It's a failure…"
The bishops' faces instantly darkened.
"Fa, Failure? But our plan was perfect…"
"Even the Hero Party would've needed a considerable amount of time to deal with all the duplicates. How did they do it so quickly…?"
They urgently asked the Pope.
"All the puppets… were simultaneously disabled."
"What?"
"I don't know the details. The important thing is… we've failed."
Breaking out into a cold sweat, the Pope added,.
"That person… had called this a crucial mission…"
Holding his head, the Pope sank into his seat.
– Yes, it was crucial.
"…!!!"
At that moment, something appeared in the air.
"A-All hail the True Su…!"
– Spare the greetings.
Upon seeing it materialize, the Pope paled as he fell to his knees.
After scanning in every direction, the huge eyes coldly spoke.
– Incompetent fools.
The eyes focused on the building, extending tentacles from all directions.
"Eeeeeeek!"
Once dignified, the Pope now trembled in fear.
– Had the god of this world not intervened, you would have met the same fate as them.
The eyes that had been watching from the Church's basement plugged tentacles into the backs of the bishops' heads, replenishing nutrients as they continued to stare at the building.
"What do you mean?"
Amidst his terror, the Pope expressed his curiosity.
– It wasn't by chance, but destiny. The Star God, the Sun God, and even the Moon God. The gods of this dimension have done something that even I'm unaware of.
"What?"
– A new turning point has been engraved on the world line.
The eyes answered.
– Inform the Demon God.
They gave the Pope another chilling look.
– Warn her not to be arrogant, having borrowed my power to seize the sun. She won't get a second chance.
"Y-Yes! Understood…"
– The 'Star God', the creator of this dimension, is gradually regaining their influence.
"What?"
– By using the Hero's 'Affection' as a detour… it's doing something rather amusing.
The Pope, whose head had been shaking, looked up as a chill ran down his spine from the anger in its voice.
– Moreover, even the Moon God has been up to something recently, so I'm running out of time. If nothing changes, even I, an external entity, might face defeat.
The eyes blazed with fury.
– Thus… hasten the 'prepared child's' Advent Ceremony.
"…!!!"
– Make the Demon God incarnate in that child and finish everything as quickly as possible.
"Y-Yes, understood…"
– Let the Demon God know in advance. She will convey it to the Demon King directly.
With that, the eyes began to fade.
– Before I go… I'll leave you with a gift.
"A g-gift… you say?"
Watching the Pope drenched in cold sweat, the eyes whispered.
– Since they broke the rules and intervened… I'm thinking about stepping in from now on.
That was the moment the core of the Church's prepared Collapse Magic started running amok.
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.
– Rumble! Rumble!!
As if on the verge of collapse, the surroundings shook as a loud bang echoed.
– Thud, thud…
I sprinted up the building's stairs in a flash and dashed through the corridor, observing my cat-form body while quietly mumbling to myself.
'…I'm going insane.'
All because of that darn alcohol.
I had expected some of their reactions, but the moment I arrived at the ceremony, I was despised by everyone, ignored by my previous servants, and I even had to deal with Ruby's unexpected actions.
It was inevitable that even my heart would be shattered.
Subsequently, I drank alcohol to execute the strategy of cutting ties with Isolet, which was the root of the problem.
I thought that revealing my allegiance to the Demon King's army and my intention to destroy the empire would turn her against me, even after I was captured.
The strategy was several times more effective than I had anticipated.
I never thought I'd hear Isolet, of all people, say that she'd abandon her knighthood and choose a different path.
That, combined with my drunken state and the already confusing situation, led to a knight's oath… Moreover, I was also turned into a miniaturized form with a scroll…
Of course, according to my plan, I had to escape from here without anyone noticing, so I didn't resist the scroll's effect.
However, being drunk when transforming had strengthened my animal instincts.
Combined with my several penalties, the result was that I found myself licking Isolet's belly after recovering from my slowed consciousness.
Only to heighten Isolet's suspicion of me to the limit.
'…Sigh.'
By then, I was already surrounded by the Hero Party, making it very difficult for me to change back.
So for a while, I had no choice but to stay in this form…
'I can't stay like this forever.'
With that thought in mind, I continued to sprint through the corridor, gathering my strength.
– Shaaa…
Then, stellar mana appeared in the surroundings. It seemed that I could use 'Stellar Magic' even as a cat.
– Thud…!
But, I didn't intend to stay in that form. Somehow, it felt like I was losing my human dignity.
– Tssss…
With that feeling of aversion, I quickly deactivated the transformation, shaking the dust off my body as I stood up.
"Ma, Master!!"
At that moment, a familiar voice rang from behind.
"Let me come with you! Please…"
The voice belonged to Lulu, who was desperately calling out.
"I told you not to follow. Don't tell me you didn't realize…"
I didn't want her to get hurt, so I coldly responded.
"....."
"What is it?"
Lulu stopped running towards me, covered her eyes with one hand, and tilted her head.
"That… your clothes…"
She peeked through her fingers and whispered.
"Oh."
It was then that I realized I was naked.
"…He, here."
"Hmm."
So, I received the clothes from Lulu, who was still blushing while covering her eyes with a hand.
"We don't have time… I'll scold you later."
I quickly dressed and talked with her as we ran through the corridor.
"Tell me about the groups of survivors in the building now."
"Um… well…"
"Quickly."
Urged by my anxious voice, she gradually regained her composure and answered.
"First of all… the Hero is in the main hall, and Serena and Clana are upstairs leading a group of survivors, but… at that speed…"
"Next."
From the beginning, the plan was for Serena and Clana to be buried in this building's collapse to sway public opinion.
Of course, the activation time of the Church's bomb was faster than expected, so I had to intervene.
Serena would definitely have calculated the time accurately, so why was there an error?
"In the entire building… a few members of the Demon Army are spread out."
"Those guys…"
"They seem like weak, low-ranking demons, so it shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"…..?"
There was no need to worry about the Demon Army, either. They were inherently evil, but they weren't the type to just die from an explosion.
But did Lulu just refer to them as weak, low-ranking demons? Even the powerful combat officers?
"And… There's a group of survivors in the basement. Quite a lot of them."
"…Tsk."
The people in the basement were the very reason I intervened in this situation. They were originally supposed to be rescued by the Demon Army, but at this rate, they would be left stranded.
"And around the building… a very small number of survivors are scattered. Isolet is looking for them."
"They couldn't escape?"
"They might be trapped under debris… or are young children, something like that."
After listening to Lulu's last report, I went up to the second floor with her and ordered.
"Gather the scattered people with Isolet and get out of here within 3 minutes. Your puppets should be able to handle it."
"… Are we doing a good deed?"
With a puzzled look, she asked a question.
"I'm going to do something to the Hero… You get what I mean, right?"
"Ah."
"Don't send people towards the lobby. I need to show them an example."
As I said that, I unsheathed the sword on my waist and showed a sinister smile, which she returned with a quiet one.
Hopefully, Lulu doesn't get corrupted by evil. I might need to give her some moral education later.
"Then, I'll go now… Huh?"
As I was heading to the lobby.
"Why is the Saintess inside the building…?"
I looked at Lulu with an expression of confusion as she looked somewhere.
"…Just leave her be."
"Huh?"
I shook my head and continued walking.
"She must have a reason to be in this dark building."
After speaking, I looked behind at Lulu, who hesitated for a moment before sending her puppets in all directions.
"…That girl."
Although I avoided a suspicious situation by ordering the Demon Army to rescue me, I'm still concerned about her.
– Tap tap…!
However, I couldn't waste any more time, so I kept up my strenuous running.
– Boom!!
After kicking away the debris blocking the main hall's entrance, I entered.
"Frey?"
Then, Ruby came into view, lying on the ground spitting out blood while surrounded by Arianne's various defensive spells and the Youngest Paladin's barrier.
By the looks of it, the radio message I received from Clana while I was a cat seemed to be true.
"What is it? Did you evacuate here?"
Judging from her continuous vomiting of blood, she doesn't look well.
"You didn't think I would let you in here, did you?"
As she staggered to her feet and smiled, I approached her.
"Well… if you join me, maybe…"
"Shut up."
Eventually, I interrupted her nonsense.
"Ugh…"
I took a deep breath.
– Claaang!!
I wielded my sword forcefully.
– Boooom!!
"....!!!"
Then, Arianne's defensive magic and the Paladin's barrier shattered all at once.
"You…"
Only then did the Demon King, after spitting out a bit of blood, glare at me as if to kill.
"It's a small revenge, so stay put."
Even though my attack didn't hit her, the falling debris would still deal considerable damage.
Of course, it wouldn't be enough to kill her, but she'll definitely feel the pain as she's in a human form.
"Frey… you'll regret… cough"
I sneaked a glance at the Demon King, who had fallen and started crawling for some reason.
"We don't have enough time."
I quickly started running to the basement.
Now, the time had come to put an end to this tedious Inauguration Ceremony.
.
.
.
.
.
– Rumble…!
"Ugh…"
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"What, what should I do…"
Glare, who had led a group of survivors into the basement, was sweating as she stared at the rotating core of an Explosion Magic in the center of the room.
"This… isn't good…"
She had successfully led a significant number of people down to the first floor with her abilities.
However, the entire floor was engulfed in a potent hallucinogenic fog, and she was at a loss.
As a result of this, she had decided to move everyone to the underground space, but the problem was that the core of the Explosion Magic set by the Church was in the basement.
If nothing was done, they would be swept away and killed by the core of the spell instead of the collapsing building.
"Uh…"
With little time left before the explosion, both going to the first floor and staying in the basement meant certain death.
She looked nervous in such a desperate situation.
"…Gulp."
She swallowed hard and approached the core.
'I'm sorry… Hero…'
She had a near-suicidal plan in mind, to go inside the core and neutralize it by releasing her vast magical power.
'I wanted… to repay you…'
Feeling the warmth of the kind-eyed Hero who once stroked her head, she moved slowly.
"Everyone, step back…"
She waved at the group of survivors approaching her and closed her eyes.
"Ughhhhhh!"
She was frightened as she tried to rush to the core.
– Ting!
"…Ugh."
Soon after, something blocked her way, causing her to hold her forehead and fall on her bottom for the third time that day.
"Not… again…"
She worried that she might not have a bottom left at this rate. Then, she looked up to see what had blocked her path.
– Fzzzz…
"…..!"
A barrier filled with divine power surrounded the core of the Explosion Magic.
"…It's dangerous."
Ferloche, who had entered the basement at some point, looked at her intently.
Navigation Complete
> You have arrived at the location of the Hero!
At the same time, a notification window popped up in front of her.
[F ]
"…..Could it be?"
Met with the unexpected situation, she cautiously approached Ferloche.
– Shaaaa…
"....!"
Her eyes widened in surprise as the entire basement was engulfed in shimmering mana.
"This, this is!"
A power she had felt before, different from her divine power.
This twinkling power that had once filled the underground prison beneath the market alley was unmistakably the Hero's.
"Hero…"
Then, Glare finally noticed someone standing behind Ferloche.
"HeroOOOO!!!"
She shouted desperately and reached out her hand.
– Shaaaa…
"I have a debt…"
She was soon overwhelmed by that shimmering force, and drowsiness began to take over.
"To repay….."
Struggling to finish her sentence, she slowly closed her eyes.
– Shaaaa…
The last thing Glare saw was the sparkling mana covering Ferloche's barrier.
"I….."
The warm touch she once felt, caressing her head.
'I have to….repay…'
With those murmured thoughts, Glare's consciousness faded completely.
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.
Meanwhile, at that moment.
"…..Oh."
She saw the video of Ruby attacking Frey, and she ran through the building in shock before Glare rescued her.
And after that, having joined Glare's party and followed them here, Roswyn stood behind watching everything.
"...….."
When Ferloche appeared and protected everyone, and the system notification indicated they had reached the Hero, she had no choice but to dismiss her previous expectations.
[F ]
Staring blankly at the window before her, Roswyn's consciousness quickly faded.
You can read 505 episodes for $10. p.*atreon.com/Astrid02
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