Chapter 8.41
The pa.s.sage to Arcazam opened right after the mirror was shattered.
Nozomu jumped into the white light and saw hundreds of rooftops spread out below him. He also saw the huge southern gate and two roads leading to the city of Arcazam.
He had popped up a few dozen meters above the south gate of Arcazam.
"This, I will die if I miss my landing..."
He timed his movements and swung his katana in rapid succession.
Qi technique [Fan Shaped Sail]
Using the Qi film produced as a foothold to kill the impact, Nozomu landed on the ground.
Where he landed, Mars and Feo were staring at Nozomu in surprise.
"What the h.e.l.l happened to you, suddenly appearing out of thin air?"
"Well, a few things happened. Sorry, right now I..."
"You have no time, right? Can you do something about it?"
Nozomu frowned at Mars" seemingly serious words, but he continued to move his feet forward.
The destination, of course, was Shina, who did not respond at all when her best friend called out to her.
"Nozomu, Shina is ..."
"Leave the rest to me"
Nozomu gently entrusted the weeping Mimuru to Tima, and stood in front of Shina.
Shina was staring blankly into the void, and Nozomu felt anger welling up from within his chest.
"Stay away, you scourge! Don"t touch my great-granddaughter!"
Triforium, the person who sealed Shina"s mind, raised his voice at the appearance of the source of the problem.
The old elf, whose spirit magic has been sealed by Rauls, has been separated from Shina, but his feelings for his great-granddaughter have not wavered.
At the same time, he expressed his anger toward the source of his great-granddaughter"s change.
The old elf said that his great-granddaughter was very important to him, and yet he tried to force her to go home by blocking her mind. The anger expressed by the old elf even after taking such an action was more than enough to arouse Nozomu"s indignation.
"Phew..."
He took a deep breath to calm his anger, which was trying to push away his reason.
The priority now was not to vent his anger on the old man. It was to release Shina"s cage that sealed her mind. And to help Irisdina, who was on the verge of becoming a ghoul.
Once again, Nozomu looked into Shina"s eyes. The depths of her eyes, which were blank and reflected nothing, seemed to shake slightly.
He concentrated his attention on the spirits surrounding Shina.
The connection between the spirits that have attached themselves to her and sealed her mind was so strong that Nozomu felt as if stiff vines were wrapping around her whole body and wrapping her in them.
(To rip off the spirits who have made such a strong contract, I need to ...)
Nozomu could perceive the spirits, but he could not communicate with them. This was because he was lacking in the necessary understanding of the spirits.
Then, there would be only one thing he could do. Nozomu, with determination, put his hand on the chains that bind him.
Tiamat"s element. The spirits were terrified of this foreign and heretical power that was tainted with hatred. With this power, it might be possible to scatter the spirits that sealed Shina"s mind.
But at the same time, it was an act that would completely expose Nozomu"s true ident.i.ty, which he had kept hidden until now.
There were still uninvolved civilians and clueless guards around him.
But he could think of no other way to help this girl than to break the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
Shina might not have wanted Nozomu to commit such an act. Even so, Nozomu did not hesitate.
"You have helped me many times before. So this time ... it"s my turn to help you."
With all his might, he ripped off the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
*Bang*
Along with the sound of the chain shattering, at the same time, a huge amount of elements began to gush out of Nozomu"s body.
(~ !?)
Tiamat"s elements suddenly began to gush forth, whirling and soaring into the sky.
The spirits that had enveloped Shina fell into a panic due to the outburst of such mighty power, and they all fled at once.
"Aa..."
Light returned to Shina"s eyes, which had been empty. The cage that had been confining her was broken, and along with it, her mind, which had been sealed up, was also released.
As light returned to her eyes, her cheeks also turned vermilion.
"Thank goodness..."
"You fool..."
"Yeah, I guess so. But you know how I am, don"t you?"
Even though she was saying that he was a fool, her heart was pounding and her face was burning up.
He"s back, the one she"s been longing for. The face of the person she had longed to meet, the face of the person she loved.
Although she had been so determined to meet him, just by seeing him like this, her resolve and determination disappeared from her mind.
And she thought he is a cunning person after all.
"... -I need your help."
"It"s okay, I know. Let"s go."
He needs her help. While interrupting his words in mid-sentence, Shina smiled.
Now that the Soul-Sealing Chains] have been broken, words were not necessary to know his heart, which was connected by the blood-covenant ritual.
No, even without such a thing, she knew what he would do after this.
"Mars, I"ll leave the rest here to you."
"Wait-, oi!"
Before Mars could reply, Nozomu took Shina in his arms and started running with all his might.
The impact blasted off the ground as they sped down the road leading from the south gate to the commercial district.
Then, as soon as they reached the center of the city, they leapt. Using the roofs of the lined up houses as footholds, he headed straight for the Francilt mansion.
The people of the city look up at the sky in surprise as Nozomu accelerated with a shockwave and a roaring sound.
And then, seeing Nozomu sprinting at full speed while scattering an enormous amount of elements, they were immensely surprised.
With this, Nozomu"s true ident.i.ty was completely exposed, but he didn"t care one bit about that.
"... Did you notice?"
Shina, who was being held in Nozomu"s arms, murmured in a whisper. It was obvious that the words were referring to the meaning of the blood covenant ritual.
"Well, umm..."
"It"s okay. I"m the one who wanted to do it..."
Indeed, it was for Nozomu"s sake that the ritual was performed, but at the same time, it was what Shina wanted.
It was a one-sided contract. Even so, the heat and feelings within her wished to be connected with him through the blood-covenant ritual.
However, this one-sided situation had become a source of frustration for her.
"Still, let me say this. Thank you..."
"… Un."
Nozomu"s words gently wiped away the last of the lingering frustration.
The elf girl who finally let out all her feelings, smiled broadly and laid her body on Nozomu"s chest, as if she had entrusted her entire self to him.
"Phew~!"
Nozomu, blasting through Arcazam, quickly ran through the commercial district and reached the central park. It was only take a few dozen seconds of time.
However, the power of Tiamat, which was released, surely acc.u.mulated damage deep inside Nozomu"s body.
He had to reach the Francilt mansion as soon as possible.
At that moment, countless magic bullets attacked Nozomu from in front of his sprinting body.
"~ !"
Immediately, he leaped to the side and moved away from the trajectory of the storm of magic bullets.
The magic bullets came down like a shower, crushing the stone floor and scattering debris.
"W-, what!?"
"This is probably..."
"It"s been a while, Nozomu-dono."
"It is you after all, Rugato-san."
The person who appeared was an old butler with a monocle. It was Rugato, Vitora"s trusted confidant who had once tried to recover Somia"s soul and the furnace.
The vampire butler, dressed in his crisp butler"s uniform, was waiting for them on the roof of a building just as they were about to enter the administrative district from the central park.
Perhaps he had been ordered by Vitora to stop Nozomu in his tracks.
Nozomu frowned at Rugato, who stood looking down from the top of the building.
There is no time to waste. Even amidst all this, Irisdina"s time for life is surely running out, and Nozomu"s body is also being eroded by Tiamat"s power.
But it will be extremely difficult to break through this old man.
He is a powerful enemy who boasts of his mighty magic power as a vampire and his ability to manipulate ten magics with the fingers of both hands at the same time.
Having fought him in the past, Nozomu is someone who has Rugato"s prowess literally etched onto his body.
Rugato raised both of his hands and intensified his magical power.
His outstretched fingers move with the subtle precision of a skilled pianist, forming multiple magic circles in the air in the blink of an eye.
It"s coming!
The moment Nozomu prepared himself, and the magic circle that Rugato had formed lit up, ... a powerful wind rushed towards the old butler"s side.
"Hmm~!"
The spiraling winds expanded their jaws and swallowed Rugato as they gouged out the top of the building.
The debris that was swallowed and blown away by the fangs of the torrential wind was crushed to pieces in the blink of an eye.
It was a technique that Nozomu had seen before.
"Good grief, don"t go away without listening to me. It took me quite the effort to catch up with you."
"Mars, you, how..."
When Nozomu heard a voice along with a sigh, he turned around to see Mars, who was supposed to have been left behind at the south gate.
That"s impossible. To begin with, Nozomu is now in the state of releasing the [Soul-Sealing Chains].
The abnormality of his physical ability is exceptional even among S-ranks.
"Well, I"ve got a little secret. But you see, you"re running out of time. So leave the old man to me, and get going."
Mars waved his hand and urged Nozomu to go ahead.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but it was also true that he didn"t have a second to spare right now. While swallowing down the questions that were rising in his throat, Nozomu rushed toward the Francilt mansion.
"I won"t let you."
"That"s my line."
Rugato fired five magic bullets to intercept Nozomu, who was trying to go on ahead, but Mars intervened in the line of fire of those magic bullets.
The great sword wielded with a single left hand was enveloped in a blade of wind, and with a roar, it shattered all of Rugato"s magic bullets with a single stroke.
"~ !"
Rugato"s normally nonchalant expression suddenly turned serious when he saw Mars manifesting physical abilities equivalent to that of the boy who had once one-sidedly cornered him.
"That power. That"s something you didn"t have before. How..."
"It"s not just Nozomu who is growing, you know."
Mars abruptly removed the cloth that held his right hand in place.
What was visible was a tattoo that ran from his shoulder to his upper arm. It is a formation that imitates the wind swirling in the atmosphere, and is used to control the magical energy raging in the air through the magic and Qi combination technique.
It was a more advanced version of the technique that Tom had once carved on Mars" gauntlet. A technique that was developed with Tima"s help.
"That"s... a fusion of magic and Qi techniques..."
"Let"s go. I got beaten up pretty badly before. This is a revenge match."
With Mars" relentless training and with Tima and Tom"s control techniques, a fully controlled magic-Qi combination technique is activated.
The physical strengthening of both magic and Qi techniques is activated, which drastically increases its effectiveness.
Rugato abandoned all restraint and launched his own magic at Mars, who was enveloped in a superior Qi comparable to that of Nozomu Bountis, the man who had once brought him down.
===================================
Irisdina, whose neck was being infused with Vitora"s blood, desperately endured the pain running down her neck that felt like an insect crawling around inside her body.
However, the power of Vitora"s blood, which eroded inside her body, swept away her resistance like a drifting fallen leaf, and eroded her body.
"Ughhhh!"
While letting out a cry of anguish, Irisdina bit her lip and tried to keep herself conscious.
The condition for becoming a ghoul is that the person must succ.u.mb to the magic power injected by the vampire.
In other words, the moment Irisdina faints is the moment her consciousness is defeated by Vitora"s power, and the moment she is reduced to a ghoul.
"Ane-sama!"
Somia, who was by Irisdina"s side, raised her hand and poured her magic power into Irisdina"s body. She was probably trying to suppress the effects of Vitora"s magic power even if only a little.
However, even the magic power that Somia poured into Irisdina"s body was instantly smeared by Vitora"s blood.
"It"s useless. In the first place, there is no way that such insignificant magic power can stop me."
(Mother! ...)
Somia called her late mother"s name in her heart.
She has always been the one who was being protected. That was why this time she wanted to save her sister, who had protected her all her life.
As if in response to her words, a pure white shining light, different from that of magic power, overflowed from her body.
"Hou~..."
What overflowed from Somia"s body was a pure white radiance of elements. Pure soul power.
The power of the magic tool that her mother once used to dedicate her soul to her youngest daughter, who was about to be born stillborn. And it was the root cause of this whole affair.
Somia had begun to use the power of the magic tool that had saved her life in exchange for her mother"s life, to save her sister"s life.
"Come to think of it, you were a.s.similated with the [Furnace of Spiritual Flame], weren"t you? I see, then it makes sense that you can use the elements, which stem from the power of the soul."
Vitora stroked her slender chin and watched with amus.e.m.e.nt as Somia subconsciously began to use the power of the magic tool that she had a.s.similated with herself.
"Though that"s still not enough."
But even so, that was not enough to push back Vitora"s power.
The black vein-like streaks of foliage spreading from Irisdina"s neck, though slowing down slightly, still spread from her neck to her face and then to her body.
And, perhaps under the influence of the encroaching magic power, Irisdina"s hair, which had been plain white, gradually turned silver. It was as if she was taking on the image of the parent, Vitora.
"Ane-sama, hang in there!"
"Ku-, uuuuu!"
Irisdina also desperately fought back when she heard Somia"s encouragement. But contrary to her desire, her will slowly faded. Her vision faded to black and her hearing grew dim.
And finally, she was left with only a needle-like hole in her vision, and her vision was completely stained black.
Resignation crept into Irisdina"s mind.
If she became a complete ghoul, the first victim would be Somia.
Suicide. With this word surfacing in her mind, Irisdina put her hand on the rapier she carried at her waist.
In front of her sister, her father, and her maid, who had been like a mother to her. She tried to pull out the rapier while apologizing to Nozomu in the back of her mind.
"Really, it can"t be helped."
At that moment, a voice sounded, strangely out of place in this tense situation. The storm that had been raging subsided, and a slight breeze of crimson calmed it.
"Lisa-kun..."
Irisdina"s tiny bit of vision caught sight of the red-haired girl.
How long had she been there? Lisa Hounds leaned against the open reception room door, staring at Irisdina.
"… Who?"
"Ah, I"m a cla.s.smate and a love rival of that big idiot over there."
Vitora voiced her suspicion at the sudden intruder. On the other hand, Lisa walked into the reception room with light steps, pointing at Irisdina, who was suffering.
The magic power overflowing from Vitora"s body still continued to surge, and its momentum had not diminished at all. The torrent of power that surged through Vitora"s body would cause the weak-minded to faint just by being exposed to it.
The fact that Lisa maintained her impudent att.i.tude even in the face of such intimidating power was a source of amus.e.m.e.nt for Vitora.
"Don"t mind me. Frankly speaking, I have no interest in getting involved in the affairs of the Francilt and Waziart families."
"Hou~, then why did you come here in the first place?"
"As I said earlier. The woman over there is my love rival. But still, it would make me feel bad if she were to die, and if she dies, she will blame herself. That"s a little unacceptable..."
Lisa walked steadily to the center of the reception room and stood in front of the cowering Irisdina.
Somia, who had been frantically giving her sister magic powers, also looked up at her with a look of amazement.
"Lisa-san..."
"You don"t have to worry about it. This is just me paying my debt."
Saying so, Lisa held up her hand in the same manner as Somia and began to pour her magic power into Irisdina.
The erosion rate of the black veins on Irisdina"s body became even slower.
"So you think your level of magic power is going to help her?"
"No way. At best, I can only stall for time. To put it bluntly, there is almost no chance."
Although Lisa was giving her magic power to Irisdina, she herself didn"t think she could stop Vitora"s power.
Just by looking at her, she felt fear welling up from within her heart. Although she looked like a human being, Lisa felt as if she was facing a natural disaster, and a sense of oppression was a.s.saulting her mind and body.
Besides, even though she managed to suppress it somewhat, it was only a matter of time before Irisdina turned into a ghoul.
The black veins were already spreading all over her body. Before long, Irisdina would lose all sense of reason and be reduced to a monster that simply attacked anything that moved in its vicinity.
"But ... that guy is a man of his word."
Even so, she had something to believe in. Even when her heart was broken, her childhood friend was still there to fulfill his promise to her to the end.
*Bang!*
The next moment, a huge column of light appeared outside the window.
A five-colored light rose up. A manifestation of power of incomparable magnitude that could be clearly perceived even from a distance.
Vitora"s eyes widen even more than before, followed by a full smile that was both fascinating and terrifying.
"Rugato."
"Ha..."
The old vampire butler nodded in response to his Lord"s call.
After transforming his entire body into a swarm of bats, he broke through the window and flew away toward the rising five-colored light.
With the squeaks and cries of countless bats at her back, Lisa looked down at Irisdina once more.
"Come on, be strong. If you lose to her, I will meddle with you, no questions asked."
Lisa directed a provocative smile at Irisdina.
What"s wrong? Is this your limit? She taunted her with her upturned mouth and a taunting look.
"And then I will say to you, who has turned into a hideous ghoul, Sorry, Nozomu is now mine!"
"Don"t screw ... with me ..."
With one of the greatest provocations of all time, her vision, which had been painted all black, became clear at once.
Forgetting the intense pain that was coursing through her body, the silver-haired girl howled at the red-haired girl looking down at her.
"I won"t lose to you!"
"Then be strong, sweetie! If you make Nozomu sad, I"ll go to h.e.l.l and kick your a.s.s!"
The next moment, with a roar, the walls of the reception room were cut open, and a shadow clad in rainbow-colored light flew into the room.