Chapter 222

“March, allied troops of Powapowa, Mito, and Ukai! They’re trying to plunge the world into chaos once more by brandishing false justice! Fight for the sake of true freedom, equality, and bananas! Butcher them all!” “Prohellya! You can’t butcher them! They’ll die for real!” shouted Leona. “It was a manner of speech! Butcher them figuratively! Wa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!” Insanity. Luxmio mobilized the international armies to stop the beast-folk, but it was all too sudden; they were swatted away by the sheer pressure of the enemy. This new army was trying to stop the execution. There was no time to lose. He would have to cut off the terrorists’ heads himself. “Wait.” “?!” Someone blocked Luxmio’s path. Loose Eastern clothing and black hair—the characteristics of a Peace Spirit. Kakumei Amatsu pointed his katana at Luxmio, its tip as sharp as his glare. “What are you plotting? Why are you going after Terakomari and Her Highness?” Luxmio clicked his tongue. He had tried to capture everyone in the camp alive. He had to correctly distinguish those who ought to be killed from those who oughtn’t. But… “I should’ve killed you.” “Answer, Fool of Observatory.” “For order. Fool 02 frequently insisted a quick job is worth more than a perfect long one… And how right that was.” Luxmio deployed Bondage, and his belts shot at Amatsu from every direction. Amatsu swung his katana deftly and slashed through the special-grade Divine Instrument. But that solved nothing. Bondage could extend itself infinitely, so cuts meant nothing. “DIE!!—Hm?” An odd feeling. Luxmio looked down and saw belts wrapped around him, binding him in place. His brain froze. Why would Bondage go against its user? The Extermination Armors were Divine Instruments granted to the Fools to maintain order. “Amazing! That’s a special-grade Divine Instrument for ya!” Someone was standing next to Amatsu. A Warblade in a lab coat—Lonne Cornelius. Belts exactly like those of Bondage shot from her back. “What…? Is that an Extermination Armor…?!” “Core Implosion: Amplifying Soul. I have the power to analyze any Divine Instrument I touch. I tried making my own based on the data I got from you. A replica, if you will.” “That can’t be. The Divine Instruments the Insaint granted us should be unparalleled…!” “Unparalleled? I don’t like big words like that. They’re great at getting you to think something can’t be improved upon.” The copy of Bondage wrapped itself around Luxmio. His bones creaked. Its power was not far from the genuine article’s. Cornelius’s eyes glowed under her glasses as she smirked. “That’s a very interesting Divine Instrument, though. You called it Extermination Armor 04: Bondage, right? That implies there’s a 01 to 03. Maybe 05 and beyond, too? I would love to take a look at those… Amatsu! Go get ’em!” “For once, I agree with you. This man’s weapons are too dangerous.” “………” The square was in chaos. The beast-folk rampaged. The international armies fought back. Between them, the audience members ran every which way. The faithful of the Holy Church prayed to God. The city of Lehysia was being razed. And among the disorder, Luxmio saw a girl running. Bad news. The terrorists were about to be set free. Clenent DIV was no longer familiar with the concept of quiet sleep. For her, slumber was a kind of punishment where she was forced to hear the voice of the people. The world of her dreams was filled with the cries of people from across the globe. Pleas for salvation. Having heard these voices from a young age, Misha Sombresault developed a strong sense of duty. She wanted to save them. To do something for those who suffered. Perhaps Misha had been born with that sense of justice. Three years prior, she’d lost her school friends due to war. The school building collapsed on them, and they cried for help from under the debris, but she was unable to give them a helping hand. Her parents fled to Lehysia. After that, she began hearing voices in her dreams. She felt regret. She felt remorse. She wanted to save anyone she could—that desire, that will, manifested as her strange power. This ability would lead to her being elected as the next pope. She could not only hear the voices of the people, but the Devil, too. A strange, orange devil. She heard it whisper, “I’ll set a bomb in the cathedral.” She rushed to report it to the clergymen, and they caught a vagrant really trying to set a bomb; this proved the validity of Misha’s power. “This girl is an angel sent by God to earth. She should be the next pope.” It had to be the will of God. Back then, she was certain this would allow her to save more people and put a stop to the war. And yet the world still knew no peace. Her dreams were turbulent even today. “Kill the terrorists! Let them know justice!” “God, please help. Oh, God.” “I’ve given so many alms, and God still won’t save me!” “People died today again. The village is done for.” “Oh, God. Oh, God. Oh, God.” Clenent DIV furrowed her brow. Her tummy hurt. She felt intermittent stings. It had to be punishment from God. She was the pope, the highest-ranking member of the Holy Church, and yet she was also just a kid who couldn’t save anyone. Of course she would feel a stomachache. Just then, she saw a warm, blue light. It grew and grew until it took the shape of a person. “This is Naturia. Do you hear me?” A calm yet oddly warm voice echoed in Clenent DIV’s head. It was God, Naturia, who sometimes appeared in her dreams. She urged, “The world is in trouble. Spica’s life is about to be taken.” “Please help her. Please.” “The Fools will take over the Netherworld.” “You have the power to save the world.” Her consciousness faded away. God’s voice grew distant. What was she trying to say? What duty was on her tiny shoulders? Clenent DIV did not understand in the slightest. Luxmio had betrayed her, gouged her belly, and left her on the verge of death. She was a powerless pope… “…Ah?!” Clenent DIV woke with a start. “Ow-ow!” She winced from the pain in her stomach. After thirty seconds of curling up like a turtle, she finally raised her head. She was in the hospital. Her belly was wrapped in bandages. What happened? She had been kidnapped, taken hostage, talked with the terrorists, and stabbed by Luxmio, and then…? “I’m alive…” Miraculously, she had survived. She had to thank whoever brought her to the hospital and tended to her wounds. “…Hm?” Then, she heard an abnormal noise outside. She looked down at the square from the window and saw soldiers in uniforms going on a rampage—a sight unbefitting of the holy citadel of Lehysia. “Wh-what is happening?!” She froze in confusion. This had to be Luxmio’s doing. His wrongdoings led to this. God’s words came back to her mind. “The world is in trouble.” “Please help Spica.” “…” At the very least, she understood that Luxmio was the enemy, and Spica was not. Clenent DIV clutched the Light Orb dangling from her neck. She didn’t know what she could do, but she could not stay there shivering under the blankets. The Pope of the Holy Church had a duty to pray for the people. The cannon exploded. Armies attacked. People ran around like headless chickens. I immediately knew what happened—my friends were here to save me. “W-wow! They’re taking out Lehysia’s army! I don’t know what’s happening, but keep it up, guys! Save us!” Karla shouted. “Help has come for us, Lady Komari.” “…!” I saw a shadow cross straight through the crowds. It was a girl running through the battlefield on the back of a Mizuchi. “Komari! I’ll free you!” “Huh?” The Moonpeach Princess flew. Her skirt fluttered. She spun in the air like a circus performer and landed gallantly before my eyes. Without pause, she etched lines of light using her twin swords. Crack! My bonds were severed. Core Implosion: Diverse Divide—the power to cut anything. I tripped from the surprise, but Nelia caught me. Tears formed in my eyes. I refused to call her my big sister, but I had to admit her warmth brought me so much strength and comfort in the moment. “N-NELIAAA!! THANK YOUUU!!” “I’m sorry I’m late. The prison was too tightly guarded; this was the only time we could pull this off.” “Waaaaaah… I thought I was gonna die…” “You’re okay now. I’ll cut down everyone who made you suffer. C’mon, don’t cry. You’re the vampire who will conquer the world, right?” “I’m not crying! And don’t treat me like your little sister!” “That’s right! You’re strong!” Nelia wiped my eyes with a handkerchief. I couldn’t stand the kiddy treatment, but her kindness seeped deep into my soul. My heart felt so warm. Could it be that she really was my big sister all along? Should I call her that from now? Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad… I nearly lost my mind while she was patting my head. “…Lady Komari, how long are you going to keep that up?” “Hah?!” My maid brought me back to reality. I stepped away from Nelia and observed the situation. It wasn’t just her—lots of my friends had come to help. Nelia had brought Esther, Lingzi, Meihua, and Koharu with her. In the distance, Prohellya and Leona were leading the beast-folk in combat. The lieutenants of the Seventh Unit were taking down soldiers like crazy. Please don’t die. I’m talking to you, Yohann. “Let me get that for you, Commander Memoir! Let’s all go home together!” Esther broke Sakuna’s shackles with her Chain Metal. The silver pretty girl stumbled before Esther caught her. “A-are you all right?! I think you should rest!” “Thank you, Ms. Esther. I thought I almost had them… Maybe I need some more training…” “Wha…? You were going to break your restraints yourself…?” Esther shuddered. “Lady Karla.” Next to her, Koharu the ninja looked down at her mistress. “I’ll help you if you agree to become my pet.” “Don’t get haughty just because I can’t move! I’ll buy you snacks and give you money, so just please help me out, Koharuuu!” “Deal.” Koharu swung her kunai, and the chains and shackles restraining her boss broke. Once free, Karla rubbed her cheek against her retainer’s and cried out, “Koharuuu! Thank youuu!” “Lady Komari, we cannot let them overshadow us. Let’s get cheek rubbing, pronto. We’ll grind each other until our skins melt together.” “No, thanks!” Nelia rescued Vill, too, and she jumped up to hug me. This ain’t the time to be horsing around! I screamed internally while guarding against her rubbing. Then I heard someone call my name in the distance. “Terakomari! Looks like you’ve escaped execution!” Her voice was clear even amid the chaos. I turned around and found a girl riding a polar bear: Prohellya Butchersky (plus Leona Flatt). They ran toward us at crazy speeds. Prohellya leaped off the polar bear and took a piece of dried meat out of her bag before throwing it with a “Good work, pal!” The bear gobbled the meat up in glee, and she walked over to me wearing her typically confident smile. “…Hey, you look better than I thought. Too bad I didn’t get to save you in the nick of time to get you in my debt.” “P-Prohellya…! Where were you all this time?!” “I became king.” What. “Terakomari!” Leona approached me with a pure smile on her face. “I was spooked when I saw the flyers for the execution! You had me worried sick!” “Th-thanks. I’m glad you’re okay, too.” “Hey, we fought together in the Heavenly Ball! We’re pals! But Prohellya was more worried, y’know? The moment she heard about the execution, she started fuming and going, ‘They’re not getting away with this’!” “You’re hallucinating! I never fumed or said such a thing. But I did think it.” “See? You were worried for Terakomari.” “…Geez. You should do something about your habit of interpreting things for your own convenience. That’s why you’ll never grow out of being a cat.” “Pretty sure I’ll be a cat until I die!” Prohellya and Leona began arguing. Somebody poked me in the back. It was an Immortal on the verge of tears—Lingzi Ailan. “Thank goodness. Are you okay, Komari?” “Lingzi! Are you okay?! Wait, you gotta go hide somewhere! This place is a battlefield! A girl like you shouldn’t be out and about around here!” “Huh? Oh, yeah… But I am technically a commander…” Oh, right. For some reason, I always thought of Lingzi and Sakuna as being weak. Sakuna is pretty damn strong, though… “A-anyways, were you all right? What happened after that mess at the campground?” I asked. “We were teleported somewhere else,” Meihua replied in Lingzi’s stead. “We set out on a journey trying to find you, and we came across the news of your execution on a bulletin board… So we came here to the Holy Lehysian Empire. Thank goodness you’re all right, Terakomari.” “Aw, guys…” I rubbed my eyes. I had so many friends to count on. Could I possibly be more blessed? I had joined Inverse Moon’s journey to fight Star Citadel because I didn’t want to get them caught up in the battle, but maybe I was wrong for thinking that. I needed their help, and this episode drove that point home. “So, what are we doing with that girl?” Prohellya asked coldly. Everyone turned to look at the still-restrained Wicked God Slayer. I looked at Prohellya in a fluster. “Spica won’t do anything bad anymore. We don’t need to antagonize her.” “What’s your grounds for that?” “Because she wants the Netherworld to be peaceful, too…” “…” Prohellya trained her icy eyes on me for a while. “Hmph.” She crossed her arms and looked away. “If you say so. Whatever the circumstances, I’ll follow you for now. I admit I don’t feel any malice coming from her like I did when I met her before.” “Thank you…!” “Komari’s right. She’s not resisting, either.” Nelia swung her twin swords. Spica’s shackles were severed with a clang! Free for the first time in a long while, the vampire—the Wicked God Slayer—took a couple of faulty steps forward before falling to her knees. She stood back up and looked at me with an oddly flat expression. “…You have so much that I’ve lost,” Spica said. “…? You mean friends? We’re gonna get her back, right?” “Hmph…” Spica looked away, puffing her cheeks. “So.” Nelia sheathed her swords as she stared at Spica. “What were you trying to accomplish by holing yourself up in Clement Tower? And what are we doing next?” “I was hoping to get one of the Dark Cores, but that failed. We have to get the rest of them and go to the God Slayer Tower.” Spica restated the situation. The Fool was after Spica’s and my lives. He had incited the masses to eliminate us. We had to stop the war to solve everything, and we needed to change the hearts of everyone in the Netherworld to do so. That required the power of the Miko, who was sealed in the God Slayer Tower. And to undo the seal on her, we needed the six Dark Cores. “Lady Cunningham.” Vill looked at her. “I’ve told Spica about the Dark Cores in our possession.” “I see. My mentor must’ve foreseen this.” Nelia looked in her pocket and took out two spheres that shone like stars. She really had them. “I’ve been hanging onto these since the Seventh Unit lieutenants might actually kill people if I let them have them… How many more do we need? The whole thing’s a mess, I lost count.” “I already had two. You brought two more. The pope has one. That means there’s one more we don’t know the location of,” said Spica. Leona uncrossed her arms then and yelled, “Ahh! Hey, isn’t that the thing the Powapowa king had, Prohellya?!” “Looks like it. Guess my hunch was right.” Prohellya took something out from under her hat. My jaw dropped. It was the other Netherworld Dark Core. “I don’t like the idea of giving it to the Wicked God Slayer for free, but we’ve got Terakomari’s supervision. Take it.” “Wait, don’t throw it!” I panicked before catching it. What if I dropped it?! Just as I was about to yell this, Nelia sighed. “What a coincidence. So we just need the pope’s Dark Core? It’s like God’s on your side.” “I don’t believe in God. This is all thanks to my—and Terakomari’s—efforts,” said the Wicked God Slayer. “Spica!!” Everyone turned around. It was a little girl. Pope Clenent DIV, whom Luxmio had stabbed, was wincing as she climbed up the gallows. “Y-you’re okay?! What about your wounds…?” “I’m a Sapphire! That was nothing to me!” Clenny said while clutching her stomach. Karla and I ran up to her. The wound seemed shallower than I thought, but it was still grave; she shouldn’t be moving around like this. “Clenny, you’ve gotta rest…” “But God! She told me to help Spica!” Clenny approached Spica, worked up and furrowing her brow in regret. “…Which means I am not enough. It hurts. I have no power… I couldn’t lead Lehysia.” “Hearing Naturia’s voice is more than enough power.” I was shocked. Spica gently stroked Clenny’s cheek. “Your Core Implosion steered us in the right direction. The Fool tricked me for a little while, but Naturia is still worried about me. You did so much for me just by telling me that… Please don’t be so sad.” “But…” “Keep moping, and I’ll gobble you up! Your belly looks like it’ll be juicy!” Clenny shivered and hid behind Karla. Again with the threats? You’re too scary to be making that sort of joke, girl… I sighed, but to my surprise, the little pope returned to Spica quickly. “This… Take it.” She held up the Light Orb—the mark of the pope, the symbol of the Holy Church, and the ultimate Divine Instrument, capable of revolutionizing the world. “I had no power worthy of the pope. I still have a lot to learn. Handing this over means handing over the title. From your attire, I can tell that you’re a devout believer of the Holy Church, and God acknowledges you. I think you deserve to have this.” “That’s not true, Clenent DIV. I’ll let you know, this vampire only used the Holy Church for her terroristic misdee—mmgh!” “Can you shut up for five seconds?!” I quickly covered my maid’s mouth. Clenny hesitated for a little before taking off the pendant and giving it to Spica with a bow. “Please. Make the world God envisions come true in my stead.” “Of course. That was my intention from the very beginning.” Spica carefully accepted the Light Orb with a smile. Now that we had all the Dark Cores, we just had to get to the God Slayer Tower. Once we reunited with Naturia Lumiere, she would tell us how to bring peace to the Netherworld, and our work would be done. Vill, Nelia, and even Sakuna had accepted Spica. Her old enemies were giving her the last push to fulfill her wish. “…! We can’t keep dillydallying! They’re coming!” Nelia yelled as she pulled out her swords. The soldiers had broken through the beast-folk army and charged with tremendous momentum. The Seventh Unit was keeping them in check, but there were too many of them, and some managed to pass through. I couldn’t let them do all the work. They had to be stopped. “Lady Komari, let’s use your Core Implosion.” “Huh?! But…” “It’s all we can do. That way, we can break their spirits with your overwhelming power. Come here, I’ll give you my blood mouth-to-mouth.” “Owaaah?! No, I’ll suck it!” So it came to this, after all. But I had to do what I could. Spica’s dream wouldn’t come true if we didn’t get out of this place. I walked up to the red-cheeked maid and aimed my teeth at her neck. Sakuna shrieked, but I didn’t have the time to ask her why. Vill’s sweet and mellow blood circulated through my body, and I felt vast mana spreading. Core Implosion: Blood Curse. An irresistible impulse of destruction pushed me to slowly raise my hand. “Move.”