I observed Ruel, approaching with sluggish steps.
There is no trace of the Evil God's aura. It's only natural, given that the Holy Land, filled with the presence of the Almighty, cannot be tainted by the Evil God's influence.
But, to put it another way, someone from the Church must have intentionally damaged Ruel.
The first suspect that comes to mind is the Pope, but after thinking it over, it seems unlikely that such a madman, who appears completely sane, would dare interfere with a Paladin.
"Lucy Allen! Orders!"
Arthur, using the wind barrier to deflect Ruel's mace, raised his voice urgently. It seems there’s no time to think it over.
"Old man! ♡ You’ve become a beast, haven’t you? ♡"
I provoked him, showing Ruel’s mace, and was immediately met with a murderous glare.
I watched as the monster swiftly changed direction and charged at me.
Its movements weren’t all that different from the Holy Technique I knew.
The body may be different, but it was only moving in a more brutal manner.
I can predict its movements. And there’s a weakness visible in the left arm.
It’s likely a wound left by one of the Inquisitors. If I can exploit that weakness...
<Don’t trust that weakness! It’s intentional!>
If that’s the case, you should have warned me earlier, you damn old fool! Has age dulled your reaction speed as well!?
"Useless Saint! Barrier! Now!"
As soon as my voice reached her, Faivy created a divine barrier in front of me.
Ruel’s attack struck, and with a tremendous noise, cracks appeared in the barrier, but it was enough to give us a moment to escape.
<Ruel’s fearsome quality comes from his cunning. Every one of his actions has a trap hidden in it.>
‘That’s a lot different from what I know!’
Even when I deliberately tried to provoke Ruel, his patterns wouldn’t have changed this much!
<That’s how it is when he still sees you as human!>
<He’s right. Lucy, when I face something that’s not human, I don’t hesitate to use any means necessary.>
So, this puppet is treating us like beasts, huh?
Haha! No wonder it's so bloodthirsty. It wasn’t just for nothing!
"Opening."
While thinking about our strategy, Freya suddenly darted out and slashed at Ruel’s left arm.
As expected, the arm, which seemed immobilized just a moment ago, suddenly regained strength and moved to grab Freya by the neck.
"Don’t move on your own!"
"Woah, this is dangerous!"
Arthur reacted quickly and cleared the arm away, allowing Freya to retreat.
So, that’s what it means to be cunning.
Alright, then let’s fight back in a similarly devious way.
"Idiot. Blindfold yourself."
"Is it okay to leave the other senses unaffected?"
"It’s better to take one away than all of them. That way, we can make use of them as toys."
"Understood!"
The darkness created by Joy wrapped around Ruel’s head. Ruel attempted to counter it with divine energy, but Joy easily neutralized his resistance.
"This is really tricky! It’s impossible to take all of his senses away!"
With the first condition now overcome, it’s my turn.
"Time to work, bugs."
I sent three fairies around Ruel to gnaw at his senses. With his vision taken and hearing amplified, even Ruel, no matter how powerful, wouldn’t be able to fully ignore the incessant chatter.
My guess was correct. As his sight was taken, his movements, which had been tracking Arthur and Freya without hesitation, grew sluggish.
"Useless Saint!"
"I’ll bestow my blessings!"
At this very moment, if Faivy’s blessing were bestowed, Ruel would find it even harder to predict our movements.
The Saint’s blessings elevate physical abilities to a level beyond regular buffs.
For Ruel, who only saw his movements before the blessing, it must be impossible to predict now.
Now, the only thing left is the joint attack from the two of them.
My command isn’t needed. In a battlefield where instinct rules, words are meaningless.
I know that my words would only cause unnecessary confusion, so without speaking, I gave a signal to the two of them to charge.
"So, it’s freestyle now!"
"That’s Lucy! You’re the best!"
Freya’s sword, aimed as if it would pierce through sound itself, was deflected off a shield of divine energy.
A wind arrow flew past the side of the shield, but Ruel didn’t try to dodge it.
The magic that penetrated under his helmet gave him a slight wound, and at that moment, Arthur was preparing to strike.
I saw the figure of another man overlaying Arthur. A knight with a similar build to Benedict, despite the difference in gender.
That movement was merely an imitation; Benedict’s strength could not be replicated.
But the intimidation it exuded could certainly be felt.
Ruel hastily lifted his shield to block Arthur’s attack. Even the legendary Paladin saw us as a threat.
But no attack came. The real dagger of our group wasn’t Arthur—it was someone else.
Freya swung her sword.
She aimed right in front of her. To a very small spot. To a place that could only be called a dot.
The concentrated blade caused the air to collapse as if it couldn’t withstand the pressure, and the massive strike severed Ruel’s neck.
The aftershock even cracked the wall behind him, but fortunately, the building didn’t seem to shake.
"Freya Kent. What the hell was that?"
"It’s what the Sword Saint taught me."
"Huh. So you’ve already incorporated it as your own."
"Well... Not yet. Still not enough."
"...That?"
"Yeah."
That’s not enough? Once it’s perfected, will it really slice through space itself?
...If that day comes, I’ll have to avoid a duel using the same technique. A sword that can slice through space—defense is meaningless against that!
As I passed by the slightly tilting Freya, I reached Ruel’s puppet, took a deep breath, and placed my hand on it.
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The divine power it possessed, the power of acceptance, flowed into me.
"...Ah."
Only then did I realize I had made a mistake.
Accepting with the power of acceptance couldn’t just be divine energy.
The divine energy originating from faith is influenced by the owner’s mind, so it’s only natural that the emotions of the owner would seep into the divine energy.
As I felt the wrath of the once-noble Paladin, I could feel my vision blurring.
Ugh. I’m going to get an earful later...
Within Lucy’s inner world, Garad, watching the future battle unfold, kept fiddling with the sword hilt.
"So, this is what you call the strength of children who haven’t even become saints. Remarkable talent."
"Talent, indeed. It’s clear they should be called geniuses."
"If you have something to say, say it properly. This is why you’ve never even been able to confess properly."
"Shall we start again?"
"If it’s a fight, we could do that endlessly. Just keep talking."
As Garad narrowed his eyes, Ruel gritted his teeth and let out a long sigh.
"Those kids were naturally talented, but their rapid growth only happened after meeting Lucy."
"And what’s wrong with that?"
"Don’t you think it’s similar to how we grew so much after meeting the Hero?"
Only then did Garad understand what Ruel was trying to say. We, too, had been recognized as geniuses in our own fields, but our true blooming happened after meeting the Hero and enduring hardship together.
"Are you still hesitating to let those kids meet the Hero?"
"I’ve seen the end of that guy, and it was so vile. I’d want to erase it from my memory for the Hero’s sake. If Lucy is affected by those words..."
"Sigh. You were right not to get married. If you had kids, you’d carry them around until your last breath."
Chuckling, Garad punched Ruel’s side, standing proud as he looked at Ruel, who was glaring back.
"Just trust and wait. Idiot old man."
"I... What..."
"Ughh!?"
At the sound of a girl’s scream from behind, both of them turned around, blinking in surprise when they saw Lucy.
"Lucy, what are you doing here?"
"Probably because that old man lost his mind and caused all this."
"...You mean the puppet made by Erginus?"
"Yeah. Another old fool. He was pathetic. Was he like this in his prime?"
"What are you talking about? How could such a weakling face the Evil God?"
"I don’t want to agree, but it’s the truth. Compared to Ruel, that puppet’s even too pathetic to be called a weakling."
In a battlefield where one leads the forces fighting the Evil God, the strength they possess is never a lie.
If the puppet had as much power as Ruel, Lucy and her friends would have been embraced by the Almighty’s arms.
"Forget about the old days of that fool, but explain this in more detail."
"I’ll explain instead. I think I understand the situation."
As Ruel clicked his tongue and moved his hand, a door, resembling the entrance to a dungeon, appeared in front of them.
"You absorbed the holiness of the puppet and took in its wrath as well, didn’t you?"
"Exactly. That old fool was stubborn, both the original and the fake. That’s why he wasn’t liked."
"...Ahem! Anyway, it seems the wrath that Paladin Ruel held has now taken a form that’s easier for you to face. Thanks to Garad’s influence, its power has grown."
Normally, this would be like a book or a play, but in a dungeon? Truly, a scene fitting of Lucy.
"Heh. So if we go in there, we’ll find out all of the old man’s secrets?"
"It’s not me, but the inner workings of the puppet made by Erginus."
"Same difference. Heh. This’ll be fun. How many pathetic things will we find? I’m really looking forward to it."
"I’m looking forward to it too. Watching what’s inside, I’m curious about what excuse Ruel will give."
"...Are you going in together?"
"Wasn’t it obvious you were going to send us alone?"
"While some of us are struggling because of that old fool, you’re just going to watch? Heh. You’re so irresponsible."
"It’s not that! Damn it! Let’s go! Let’s see what’s waiting in there!"
Having given up in the face of the two’s combined assault, Ruel gripped his mace and nervously stared at the door.
Please let it be something that’s still intact.