System Notification

[ Using ‘Scan’. ]

[ Gathering information on the target. ]

[ A 24-hour cooldown applies before reuse is available on the same target. ]

[ Gideon Galestead La Tristan ]

< Character Info >

Characteristic: Duke TristanStatus: ...

< Status Info >

[ General ]

Strength: S+Agility: S+Endurance: ALuck: FPower: S+

[ Special ]

Magic Power: SS+Law Power: FDivine Power: F

[ Techniques ]

Swordsmanship: SSMana Mastery: SS+Intuition: SS+

< Misc. >

[ ‘Devil’s Fragment’ is currently encroaching the target! ]

[ Currently at 0%, 2 minutes left until encroachment is complete! ]

Amazing.

If I were to consider only the stat values, his stats were lower than Kraut, but they were incredibly balanced.

As expected, the title Strongest Knight of the Empire, was definitely not for show.

And even among such stats….

‘...This guy can’t be evaluated as human either.’

His Swordsmanship was SS+, the same grade as Kraut’s Unarmed Combat, not to mention that his ‘Mana Mastery’ and ‘Intuition’ were in the same grade as well.

To put it shortly, in regards to the usage of magic power, he was unmatched.

His ability to instinctively find the most efficient decisions during a battle was almost godlike.

There was a reason why he was Kraut’s equal despite the significant difference in their stat values.

From my perspective, who enjoyed fighting by hitting the opponent’s weak points with pre-planned strategies, his Masteries couldn’t help but make me sigh.

“So…”

After hearing the ‘goal’ of this battle that I just revealed, Kraut spoke with a sardonic laugh.

Gideon, with eyes gradually emitting a more sinister red light, slowly stood up, drawing his sword.

It was clear evidence that he was descending into madness.

“We’re supposed to suppress the Empire’s Strongest, who is completely raving mad, ‘alive’?”

“No.”

Strictly speaking, neither Gideon nor this person was the ‘Empire’s Strongest’.

Though, if it was narrowed to ‘Knights’ or ‘Holy Knights’, this would be somewhat accurate.

‘...If those monsters in the Imperial Palace didn’t exist, he wouldn’t be wrong.’

With a bitter smile, I contemplated such thoughts.

After all, those guys weren’t just at a level of being powerful.

Well, anyway.

There was one more thing that he got incorrect besides that.

“He isn’t completely insane. I’m pretty sure his combat decisions will be better than usual.”

The suppressed madness of the household should have erupted and the Devil’s Fragment, which wishes to kill any living being, would be encroaching upon him.

With those two being active, if anything, it’d only buff his capabilities for killing people instead of giving him debuffs.

“...Are you really planning to kill everyone here?”

Kraut growled in a low voice.

Needless to say, subduing someone was much more difficult than outright killing them.

Not to mention that this was the buffed Gideon. Even with Kraut’s assistance, it was doubtful that we could succeed.

However…

“When I said I would fight you, everyone’s reactions were the same as now, right?”

“...”

The match-up wasn’t good, subduing him alive was impossible, blah blah whatever.

There were many things to be anxious about but….

“Margrave.”

“What.”

“If this really was impossible, I would have already run away.”

“...”

The reason why I was doing this was because it was possible despite the dangers.

I mean, I also treasured my life, okay?

If I wasn’t sure that it’d work, I wouldn’t have attempted it in the first place.

“Anyway, uh, what was I saying? Oh yeah, like I mentioned before, the goal is to ‘endure’...for the next two minutes.”

As I scratched my cheek, I chose my words carefully.

“Since everyone heard the plan, let’s move accordingly. I keep repeating myself, but this really won’t take long.”

I continued with an apathetic voice.

“Let’s quickly dunk on the Duke and go home.”

“...”

As everyone looked at me as if to say, ‘How can you talk about the Duke like that?’

“—!”

Gideon charged towards us with a roar.

They said, to take down a Knight, you’d have to take down the horse they rode first.

To apply that in this situation, against us, the first thing one should do was subdue the Saintess, someone who lacked any sort of combat strength despite her capabilities for providing support.

“...!”

Even among top-tier Knights, Duke Tristan was praised for his unmatched tactics during battle.

By compressing and expelling magic power behind him, he even surpassed Kraut’s speed in an instant. No one could react properly.

However…

“You shall not pass!”

Fortunately, in that aspect, there was a very reliable bodyguard.

After all, there was a person who could sever anything within a close range.

As long as her opponent was within two steps in her range.

The Starsteel Circlet flashed. The ancient curse that had continued for so long that it bordered on eternity imparted a terrifying power into Yuria’s sword.

-!

However…

As sparks flew, Yuria’s eyes widened.

“He blocked that?!”

Iliya screamed in astonishment.

Yuria’s one blow had even cut the Starsteel Automaton in half at this exact same distance. However, Gideon managed to block it even while he was in the middle of rushing forward.

His flawless Mana Mastery, the angle of his arm, the gait of his footwork, and even the exact surface of contact with his sword. In real combat, an ordinary human would find it difficult to properly consider even one of these. However, Gideon managed to control every one of these tiny variables, thus creating a miracle-like result.

And Gideon, who blocked Severer, ‘pushed’ Yuria aside, with movements akin to that of flowing water.

“...!”

Seeing this, Yuria’s eyes widened.

In reality…

Yuria exhibited near-invulnerability in combat against opponents who entered her range, but if she was simply ‘ignored’, it would completely neutralize her.

There was no way Gideon knew about Yuria’s ability. After all, I hadn’t introduced my party members to each other.

It was just that his Intuition, which always chose the path closest to the correct answer, judged that there was no reason to confront her any further after exchanging a single blow with her.

‘...What a monster.’

Even though he didn’t have something like my ‘game knowledge’ to help him analyze information, his conformance and timing was at a level almost comparable to mine.

In other words, it meant there was virtually no gap between someone with a strategy guide built into their head and someone who was fighting in real-time.

It wasn’t without reason that such flashy stats were attached to this man’s status window.

Subsequently, Gideon’s sword, emitting a sinister light, flew towards the Saintess. Lucia’s face, exposed in the killing intent that seems to burn all the surrounding air, paled.

However…

There was already someone ‘waiting’ in front of him.

It was me, who knew from the very beginning that he would aim for Lucia.

System Message

[ A moment of danger has been detected.]

[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]

[ Skill: Desperation raised to EX-Grade. ]

System Message

[ ‘Skill: Proof of Faith’ activated. ]

[ All stat bonuses are converted to ‘Endurance’ and ‘Divine Power’. ]

System Message

[ ‘Skill: Stigmata’ activated. ]

A skill combo with 3 stages.

All the inflated stats converted into endurance and divine power. Influenced by that, an even more reinforced shield of divine power was created.

Of course, this was a strike from the one who held the title of the Strongest Knight of the Empire. There was no way to block such an attack with only this much.

The shield, which had decently withstood against Valkasus’s Forbidden Sorcery, tore apart like parchment. The sword continued to descend upon Lucia, but…

Following this…

“Caliban.”

System Message

[ ‘Skill: Image World’ activated. ]

The buffs I received were directly transmitted to Lucia, enhancing the durability of the defensive Graces she had barely erected in time.

Thanks to this, Gideon’s sword, which charged like an enraged wild boar, stopped as sparks flew.

It was absurd. This was the amount of effort required to block a single strike from him.

However, such efforts did not seem to be in vain, as counterattacks flew in from the surroundings.

Yuria, Iliya, and Kraut.

The Margrave, who was no different from a human-shaped tank, stood at the forefront before seizing the opportunity.

As Gideon swung his sword again after noticing others approaching, the Margrave caught it ‘barehanded’.

“...”

What a fucking lunatic. Truly.

Of course, his hand was cut. The sword penetrated into his hand and even dug into part of his arm. The flawless steel-like physique, which I couldn’t penetrate no matter how much I attacked, was injured.

But, if I were to put it more positively…

This guy actually parried Gideon’s strike with ‘only that much’.

He wasn’t called his rival for nothing.

“Get him!”

In response to those words, Yuria and Iliya, who were waiting nearby, simultaneously leaped.

Of course, they were attackers with many flaws compared to Gideon or Kraut. But in a situation like this, where Kraut had sacrificed his own body to completely block Gideon’s attack, they could still deal effective damage.

However…

“...”

Gideon took a deep breath, then ‘released’ his sword. Kraut was flustered and Gideon, after distancing himself a bit, ‘closed his eyes’. It was a situation where a swordsman gave up his sword and even closed his eyes voluntarily.

For an ordinary person, it could seem like a suicidal act.

“Oh shit—!”

From the empty air, an attack, seemingly capable of even tearing apart steel, suddenly materialized.

Pre-movement, body movement, and Mana Mastery.

Yuria and Iliya were simultaneously bounced away from a strike that was void of any indications of its existence.

Both Yuria's and Iliya’s face was filled with horror at the sight of a technique that seemed to be on the verge of a Miracle.

If it wasn't for the Grace created by the Saintess just in time, they would have suffered severe injuries.

A shimmering shield of various colors was overlaid on their bodies.

‘...Divine Gloves?’

A defensive Grace with very high resistance to physical impact.

Seeing her create something like this on the spot without Prayers or Holy Relics made me realize once again that there was a reason why she was the Saintess.

However, during the time when the attack was slowed down, Gideon had already retrieved his sword from Kraut’s body. He kicked away Kraut, who tried to stop him, while smoothly extracting the sword stuck in his arm before distancing himself once again.

Surprisingly, it meant that Gideon gained the upper hand in close combat against Kraut.

“...This fucker. Before, if he came this close, he wasn’t able to do anything…!”

Well, that was because of the Devil’s Fragment that was attached to him.

As evident from Eleanor, when a Fragment was infused, it somehow enhanced the strength of its host. As the encroachment progressed on Gideon, there was a high probability that his stats were increasing.

In other words, the longer this fight went on, the more disadvantageous it became for us.

The subsequent clash seemed to reflect this.

All of our attacks were deflected while all of his attacks landed, thus damage was being one-sidedly accumulated on us.

Surprisingly, he was pushing back members of such caliber. Even if I had ordered to kill instead of suppress, it was highly likely that the situation wouldn’t have changed much.

“...”

No, let me rephrase that.

It was only possible to endure this much because our party members were so remarkable.

That was how overwhelming of a force Gideon was currently displaying. It was at the level of a one-man army. Even after considering that his combat strength had increased more than usual, it was still too much.

And as I looked at him performing as such…

“...”

Well, I knew this wasn’t an appropriate thought to have, but…

It made me happy.

No, listen. The fact that Gideon, infused with a Devil’s Fragment, could exhibit that much combat strength was undoubtedly a good sign.

Because…

There was definitely a point in the scenario where I would gleefully utilize that combat strength.

“So, just like you planned, Teach, we’re somehow holding on for now!”

It was so natural of Iliya to scream in such a situation.

“But how are we supposed to capture something like that alive-!”

However…

“He’s already done for.”

“...Huh?”

As Iliya widened her eyes, I gave her a smile before standing up.

We shouldn’t misunderstand the goal of this battle.

After all, I clearly stated at the beginning that our goal was to ‘endure’ for two minutes.

[ Gideon Galestead La Tristan ]

< Misc. >

[ ‘Devil’s Fragment’ is currently encroaching the target! ]

[ Currently at 90%, 12 seconds left until encroachment is complete! ]

[ The ‘Grey Devil’ begins to infuse into the target! ]

As I glanced at the window, I sneaked a look at Gideon’s appearance.

Gideon, who hadn’t even shed a drop of sweat previously, was now breathing roughly. Grey demonic aura spurted around his body.

It was evidence that the Grey Devil was starting to completely infuse into his body. It was a process that every Vessel had to go through at least once.

Subsequently, I summoned the only member who had been inactive until now.

“Eleanor.”

“...”

Eleanor conveyed her words to me with just her gaze.

It seemed like she was asking, ‘Are you really sure about this?’, but I just nodded without saying anything.

“...”

In the end, Eleanor exhaled a sigh and took reluctant steps forward.

Considering that she was someone who would do anything for me without question, her current behavior was an exceptional sight. However, given her subsequent actions, it was only natural of her to react as she did.

As she moved towards the area where the violent battle was taking place, she walked straight into the heart of it defenselessly.

She didn’t draw her sword nor did she receive any Graces and defensive techniques. It was just her body.

“Wait, what are you doing!”

The horrified Saintess was about to cast a Grace before I stopped her.

“It’s okay.”

“...What?!”

“Just watch.”

Subsequently, Eleanor finally stepped into the range of Gideon’s swinging sword.

If she continued as such, it would be a life-threatening situation where she would get fatally wounded.

However…

As soon as Eleanor stepped inside of that range…

Gideon’s sword stopped.

The terrifying sword that would ruthlessly take lives without hesitation.

That very sword stopped as soon as Eleanor entered its trajectory.

“...”

“...”

Eleanor, who had widened eyes, and Gideon, whose eyes were now entirely red, stared at each other.

Gideon’s sword trembled.

Even though he was encroached by the Devil’s Fragment and should be tormented with the impulses to kill anything alive. Even though the madness of his household should have overlapped with such impulses, putting him into a state where even his sanity had disappeared.

Even considering all that, in front of Eleanor, the sword stopped. His movement stiffened.

“What…?”

“What the–?!”

At this sight, everyone else also stopped their movements in bewilderment.

-!

Subsequently, demonic aura cascaded out into the surroundings.

I had seen this scene several times.

Wherever the demonic aura touched, everything slowed down; It would continue doing so until everything came to a complete halt.

And…

There was one person who had been waiting for the exact moment.

“...”

I swiftly approached Gideon.

With the encroachment completed, the Grey Devil infused, and Gideon completely frozen, this state right now, where I could approach without issue, was the key to this battle.

System Message

[ Confirming a Devil’s Aura. ]

[ ‘The Fallen’s Seal’ reacts! ]

What was needed here was…

[ Skill Info ]

Skill: King of Pandemonium

Grade: A

-Bow Down to the Great Monarch!-

Description: Embody the dignity of Hell's Absolute Ruler. Upon usage, grants unconditional advantage against demonic beings for 5 minutes.

This.

If the Authority of the White Devil was resisted before with the Fatal Charm skill, then the Authority of the Grey Devil could be somewhat offset with this.

System Message

[ ‘Skill: King of Pandemonium’ Activated. ]

[ Gained an absolute advantage against demonic enemies! ]

[ Facing a target with parallel abilities. ]

[ Resisting target’s unique ability ‘Authority: Corrosion’! ]

As everything else slowed down…

Only I moved perfectly fine.

“This is enough, right?”

Until now, I had never used this against her before, but I needed it right now.

With a smirk, I opened my mouth.

After all, I had to ‘negotiate’ with her.

“Come out. Let’s talk.”

With those words…

The world was dyed in shades of grey.

Her body felt heavy.

That was the first thought that crossed Iliya Krisanax’s mind.

“...”

She was dazed, as if her consciousness was drifting in an open sea.

She had experienced this before.

Previously, it was the same as the grey aura that enveloped all visible space during the Full Moon Festival. Everything within her range of sight seemed to have come to a complete halt.

However, unlike back then, she could now move her body with some effort.

‘...Huh? How is that even possible?’

Did something special change with her? She couldn’t really recall anything like that in her memories.

She didn’t know why, but since it was possible now, she should try moving her body.

As she lifted her eyes with some struggle, the first thing that caught her eye was grey.

And what came next into view was…

“How did it feel, controlling ‘your descendant’ for 2 minutes? Not bad, right?”

Even in this slowed-down situation, Dowd moved as usual. Perhaps he wasn’t perfectly normal, since he was a bit ‘slower’ than normal, but compared to Iliya, who could barely lift her eyes, he could move at much more ordinary speeds.

And, the one hearing such words across from him was…

“...!”

It felt like her field of vision was burning.

Just looking at it felt like venom was flowing into her optic nerves.

Incomprehensible, disgusting, dreadful. No matter how many unpleasant words were used, there was no phrase that could describe something as evil as ‘that’.

She couldn’t even look straight at its figure. It felt like her mind was being contaminated.

“Did you purposefully…”

Moreover, the ‘voice’ coming from that direction was even worse.

“Call¾î°¡Ume and ±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚를 Ç̳͈̟̯̻̾̿̔͆̃̋́͌͘̕Ḁ̷͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻́͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞Î̶̻̙͓͓͎̫͛́͌̀̆͊͒͆̚±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠this man?”

A horrible noise made it impossible to understand.

As she suffered from a pain that felt like her organs twisting, the man in front of her eyes spoke calmly.

“Just promise me one thing.”

Wait…

How could that man talk so nonchalantly with that thing?

“Later, just once. When I ask, infuse into Gideon. After all, I had purposefully staked the lives of everyone here to create a suitable ‘foundation’.”

“...”

Come to think of it, from the very beginning, before entering into combat, he said they had to ‘endure’ for 2 minutes. He never said they would win.

All of this seemed like the groundwork for ‘something’ he was talking about right now.

“So it would be nice if you quietly infused into Eleanor now. You have to gather all three Fragments within her anyway. Isn’t that more convenient for you as well?”

“...”

Iliya was startled.

Although she didn’t understand what exactly he had just said...

She instinctively realized it was crucial information.

“I know I can't ask something like that from you guys without a suitable price. So...”

As she pondered over that thought, Dowd suddenly took off his top.

“...”

Hm.

Perhaps going through that hardship to secure her vision wasn’t entirely in vain.

Iliya had such thoughts as she intensely stared at Dowd.

In the current situation, there didn’t seem to be anyone who would condemn her for looking at him anyway.

However, something strange soon caught her eye.

‘...What is that?’

A ‘tattoo’ engraved on his chest.

No, calling it just a tattoo seemed inadequate.

Rather, it was ‘rooted’ in his body and ‘supplying’ something.

Almost as if…

It had the intention to ‘change’ that man into something else.

“As payment, I will dedicate a part of my ‘future’ to you.”

“...”

Although there were no words…

Iliya instinctively sensed it.

The monster across from Dowd was deeply shocked after hearing such words from him.

No.

To be more precise, it was more correct to say that it was expressing its ‘sorrow’.

“At first, I wondered what this was… But after thinking about it carefully, I got a rough idea. You see, I met someone called the Prophet not long ago.”

“...”

“I still don’t know exactly ‘who’ she is… But I at least know she’s someone who became like that because of me.”

“...”

“You’re stopping this ̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̵̢̢̥̱̝̘̟͎̯̥̟͖̞͊͐͌̿̎̋̔̈́̃̕̚͘͜͟͝͞͞·̶̛͈̪͚̹̺͖͉̪̇̎̃̏̃̎̚͡ͅ ̷̥͉̞͎̯̥̫̳̻͆͊̉̀̾͘͞·̴̢̥̱̝̘̟͎͊͐͌̿̎̋̕͜͟͝͞를 right? To prevent me from becoming like her.”

“...”

Iliya flinched.

Just now.

When Dowd spoke, it felt similar to when that monster opened its mouth.

Almost as if they were becoming more alike.

“Don’t do that. Just let it progress until the end. I have already prepared myself anyway.”

“N¾î°o. Yî°¡Uou cou±̦͖̺̗͎͍̰͊̏͒̉̍̉̚͟͠×̵̢̯̥̟͖̞̔̈́̃̚͘͞다ld¾ð¾...”

“...To match her level, it appears I have to do at least that much.”

Dowd sighed as he continued.

“If I can’t deal with her, I’ll die anyway.”

With that, he looked around.

As if he was capturing every person frozen in the grey space in his eyes, one by one.

“...And all these people will die too.”

And, maybe it was just her bias, but…

It felt like the latter part of his sentence was much more sincere than his earlier words.

“...”

Subsequently, the monster that had been sadly looking at Dowd for a while…

Slowly approached him.

It was hard to discern, but it seemed to be embracing him.

Almost as if to comfort him.

As if mourning on his behalf for the difficult path he was about to take.

- I love you. See you again later.

Such words flowed out subsequently.

- At that time, for sure. You.

Among everything that had been said so far, even Iliya could understand this one thing clearly.

- And me together, until the end of the world.

It was a sentence filled with pure affection.

- What we couldn’t achieve before, let’s eternally-

And before that sentence could finish.

The grey disappeared abruptly from the world.