For Sale. Fallen Lady. Never Used.

“Now’s the time! Restrain him below to the left with a binding spell!”

“Huh? Ugh!”

Wilfred, cluelessly charging in mid-conversation, had chains of blood pouring down on his head.

Clatter.

“Euk?!”

Wilfred was then suspended in the air. This signaled the other archbishops in the standoff to start moving all at once.

“Detonate the chains and launch any mass-based attack at the front! And watch out for the ambush coming from behind!”

Engulfed in a heatwave, Wilfred plummeted, and the empty space devourer shot from the front was neutralized by a hardened clump of blood.

Lastly, the Archbishop of Boiling Silence, sneaking in from behind, was…

“Force Grab!”

As Iona dodged, I counterattacked by throwing a dagger with telekinetic magic.

Even with the aftereffects leaving my body weak, it seemed I could still use simple magic.

Although, regrettably, it missed.

Silently, I smirked at the featureless facial features of the lurking Archbishop of Boiling Silence, who was staring at us.

Usually, he played the spy, but when necessary, he could mimic an assassin. He was quite a dangerous fellow.

But knowing his presence meant there was no need to be scared.

Assassination attempts by the Archbishop of Boiling Silence were just part of the daily routine in the latter half of H&A. You could roughly guess when and where he’d pop up.

“This…!”

Iona, who belatedly noticed the assassin’s presence, swung her hand vigorously.

A crescent-shaped blade of wind followed her motion, slicing through my side due to the hasty execution.

Holding my waist, the assassin melted into thin air, causing Iona to burst out in frustration.

“It’s so annoying how they keep popping up out of nowhere! Be careful, Student Yandel!”

“Ah, I’ll warn you before they properly ambush us, so don’t worry. How have you been handling it until now?”

“I just took the hits.”

“…You know that blade is poisoned, right?”

“My regenerative ability is stronger!”

“……”

The vampire on our side was seriously impressive.

Inwardly admiring, while we were synchronizing our breathing and fighting, Ayla began grinding her teeth with murderous intent.

Grind, crunch.

“You two seem close… I wish my future could’ve been like that! If it weren’t for my sister…!”

Ayla, picking an unimaginable nitpick, watched us with numerous eyes.

Some of those eyes began to emit light simultaneously. Looking at the different colors emanating from them, I grabbed Iona’s forearm firmly.

“You said you’d handle your sister yourself, right?! I know nothing about this!”

“Don’t worry! I’ve set up a Blood Shift, so even if you get hit a few times by mistake, you won’t die! And don’t touch the area below my forearm!”

“Eek.”

But there was nowhere else to touch. If not the forearm, then her chest was the only option.

…Despite being in the midst of a battle, there was a strange lack of urgency.

Either my senses were numbed from being overworked today, or the comfort Iona’s presence offered was no joke. It was one of the two.

However, there was no time to ponder which one it was. Explosive waves of hostility emitted from Ayla’s eyes engulfed us.

“———!”

Various colors of light, in various shapes, charged at us.

Muttering to herself, Iona twisted her body greatly. The landscape where we had just been grotesquely distorted.

Perhaps it was the Distortion Magical Eye.

An attack that distorts space itself, so once hit, the contents inside get completely jumbled.

Even with great regenerative ability, it would take her a long time to recover from being reduced to pulp.

She was holding me as well.

Even with her torso slightly bent, Iona diligently chanted a spell.

“Embrace it! Crimson Fog!”

A blood-tinged, crimson mist enveloped Iona.

Though it consumed both mana and vitality, it was a versatile spell.

In this case, it seemed to act as a substitute for mana. With substantial vitality, it was perfectly suited for the role.

Indeed, the Crimson Fog dispersed instantly after absorbing various attacks such as freezing, explosion, and petrification.

The level of a Cardinal was truly remarkable. Without the Crimson Fog, each attack would have led to fatal injuries.

Fortunately, it seemed she couldn’t use the same magical eyes consecutively; now, different eyes were twinkling.

Given enough time, we might be able to figure out her weakness through persistent observation of this limitation… but there is no time for that now.

As discussed earlier, Ayla was left entirely to Iona, and I scanned the surroundings for what I could do.

“Wrap your lower half with thorn bushes and descend vertically! Then swing a weapon made of blood magic aimed slightly below the heart!”

“These are not spells I can cast instantly!”

Though she complained, Iona wrapped her legs with sharp thorn bushes and let herself fall.

Perhaps she was able to cast quickly by limiting the range to her own legs.

By the time I somewhat understood Iona’s blood magic, she seemed to have grasped the reason behind my orders and nodded.

“This! This hurts, Student Yandel!”

“You said you’re used to pain! And don’t worry! I plan to take a hit, too!”

“That’s not comforting at all!”

While she was chiding me, Iona accelerated her fall. The descent was much faster than anticipated.

Thanks to the combined forces of Iona’s strength and the gravitational manipulation ability of the distant but startled Archbishop, such a feat became possible.

For him, the sudden change in gravity was probably meant to momentarily startle Iona.

All to support the giant charging tirelessly from below.

The reckless Archbishop of Roars. He was tough, having taken several of Iona’s attacks and still getting up to swing his fists… but that was about to end.

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

The creature, screaming incomprehensibly, reached out towards Iona.

Grab.

Giant gray palms instantly seized Iona’s slender legs, and the thorns around them.

Of course, he knew this wouldn’t harm him.

Indeed, Wilfred’s palms weren’t pierced by the thorns; instead, he crushed Iona’s legs.

“Ugh…”

“Argh.”

Pleased with Iona’s faint moan, he smiled. But it was too early to rejoice. The thorn bushes had a different purpose.

Swoosh!

The bushes sprouting between Wilfred’s palms intertwined Iona’s legs with his arms, binding them together.

“What?!”

The startled creature tried to pull his arms free, but it was too late.

My magic was slightly faster than the tearing of the bushes.

“Force Grab!”

It was weaker than Force Hand and harder to redirect, but it was still enough telekinetic magic to stab someone.

Whoooosh!

The shining lion’s dagger fell vertically, targeting the unprotected eyes of Wilfred.

Though even his eyelids were tough, he wasn’t invulnerable. A critical hit plus additional damage should pierce through him.

Thrust!

Followed by a flash of light and a scream filled with pain.

“ROOOOOOOOAR!”

As one would expect, a creature as tough as his size didn’t die from one blow.

Then I’d just have to stab him several times.

With Force Grab, I lifted the dagger again and repeated the stabbing a few times. Feeling the time was right, I abruptly raised my upper body.

Even though my body wasn’t moving well, there was no time to care about the pain around my waist.

Because the dagger aimed at Iona’s heart pierced through my lungs.

“Grrr…!”

Even though the shield magic device activated, it was shattered in one hit, and it was unexpectedly deep.

Thanks to Blood Shift, there was no actual wound, but the pain was vividly transmitted.

Well, this level of pain was tolerable since I felt it many times during sparring with Iona.

No matter how much the driven sword was twisted and prodded, the Archbishop of Boiling Silence still stood steadfastly without yielding, and I was slightly annoyed by his resolute stance.

Then, a large and beautiful shadow cast over his face.

A grim crimson axe, created by Iona’s blood magic, swiftly swung towards his head, a brutal weapon capable of tearing apart not only humans but also non-human creatures in an instant.

“Haah!”

The body, bisected without a chance for last words, collapsed. Soon after, Wilfred also met his end.

Fwoosh!

Thrust!

A brilliance erupted for the umpteenth time. This time, however, the dagger entered without much resistance.

The dagger was embedded so deeply that its handle was not visible.

Wilfred, with one eye mangled, convulsed for a moment before his body started to shrink.

His grey skin turned to a normal flesh tone. His giant stature was reduced to that of a petite adult male.

Naturally escaping the restraint of the thorn bushes, his lifeless body wobbled and fell to the ground.

That was the end. Wilfred could not rise again and was completely silenced.

All that was left was a blood-soaked dagger.

I dealt with it quicker than expected. Normally, it would have taken a few more struggles.

It wasn’t only Iona who was getting worn out.

The other archbishops, failing to comprehend how two archbishops were defeated so quickly, wore blank expressions.

Even Ayla, who had been continuously muttering curses, paused, slightly bemused.

It seemed Iona, staring blankly at the corpse on the ground, felt something similar; I poked her forearm.

“Professor, Professor.”

“Huh? Uh? What’s going on, Student Yandel?”

Still disoriented, she murmured to me as I leaned in close to her neck.

“Isn’t it about time for a drink?”

“Ah, hic, ah… uh. Right, right. Just stay still for a moment.”

“Hmm. That might be difficult, don’t you think? They don’t seem like they’ll just stand by.”

But now, the only opponents left were the God of Tainted Unity, the Noble Authority, and the Archbishop of Sloth.

Their main powers were devouring void, gravity manipulation, and barrier creation, respectively.

With those three, they probably wouldn’t be able to produce significant synergy, making it easier for us to handle.

The key here was how much Iona could keep her sanity, especially since Ayla was still a danger.

“What do you think? Can you manage to feed while fighting?”

“Well, well. If Student Yandel helps, maybe we could manage it?”

“I meant your sister.”

“…With Student Yandel here, I don’t need to conserve my magic and blood, right? Then I’ll just give it my all and set up a big barrier in front of us.”

“Oh. You sounded just like an old story’s evil vampire.”

“Grr! Grr! I’ll drain them all!”

With the enemy’s forces reduced and less pressure, Iona showed her usual playful attitude and leaned in closer.

At the same time, there was a slight tingling sensation in my neck, followed by a rush of euphoric dizziness.

“Huuuh…”

Before my mind became too clouded, I hurriedly grabbed a top-tier recovery potion from my inventory and took a sip.

Iona’s leg, twisted like a pretzel, quickly returned to its normal state.

Naturally, the enemy took advantage of this moment and launched a desperate attack.

But…

“There will be barriers set up around us, so don’t move unnecessarily. Instead, send out your most powerful attack towards the front as much as possible.”

Most wouldn’t even get through.

Just a few steps more, and this long battle would finally end.

Both Iona and I would be able to face the outcome alive.

That was enough.

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