“Hahaha, they’re hot on our trail!”
The vast field transformed into a playground for a game of tag between the Freiyan army and the Divas. Feena’s horse wore armor and carried both her and Al, which slowed them down considerably; the Freiyan army would catch up before they reached the border. She also had to tend to Al instead of focusing solely on their escape. She had pulled the arrows out of his body and tried to stop the bleeding, but riding on top of the horse may have worsened his injuries, as blood continued to gush from his back and mouth.
“That does it. Kanon, I’m going to perform Heavenly Surge. Buy me some time.”
“Huh!? Ah, jeez! Fine, but I’m next!” While shooting off minor complaints, Kanon stopped her horse. “Sorry, but you can’t peep at Feena! She’s a real blusher!”
Kanon pulled her sword and struck the ground right in front of herself.
Wham!
Her strike upturned the ground, covering the area in a thick cloud of dust.
“Stop! We could be attacked at any time, so don’t wander off!” Sensing the danger, Gatou stopped the Freiyan advance.
Kanon’s strategy was successful, meaning Feena could proceed with the plan.
“Sorry, Al. I know our situation here isn’t the best, but...” Feena said as she turned Al around. The way they hugged atop the horse while she bashfully stole glances at his face was enough to make any young woman jealous.
“But I’ve always wanted to try out this ‘primal play’ stuff! Sluuurp!” The only difference was the dialogue.
Despite the less-than-ideal circumstances and Al’s unconsciousness, Heavenly Surge activated without an issue.
“Fwahhh... Al... Al!” Embracing the unconscious boy, she moved his hand to her breasts. She looked like a sex-crazed pervert.
“Ahhh, Al! Now there’s no one here to stop us!” Judging from the way she tried to strip the unconscious Al while on top of the horse, she was acting like one too.
“Feena, the dust is about to settle! Wait, what the hell are you pulling back there!?”
“Shoot! I was so close too!” She quickly fixed his clothing.
“You talk about shame, but you have the least of it between all of us,” Kanon whispered while running after Feena’s horse.
“Why are they so tenacious!? Feena, can I let loose?” Kanon sighed while dealing with the incoming arrows. The seemingly endless battle was taking its toll on her body, but she could still go at it.
“Let me think...”
Feena had been empowered by Heavenly Surge, and Al had also stabilized, but he was still unconscious due to the massive blood loss.
✦ ✦ ✦
They still didn’t get payback for hurting Al. Shall we wreak havoc then make a run for it? She wanted to give Kanon the green light, but decided against it when she spotted the person standing a bit ahead of them.
“No. We have to leave some for her too.”
“Who’s ‘her’?”
“You’ll see.”
Feena desperately tried to gallop as fast as possible until they finally reached her.
“I’m counting on you,” she said while galloping past the person waiting for them.
“Oh my, worry not.” Her golden hair gently waved in the wind, catching the attention of the incoming Freiyan army.
“That’s Althos’s Diva! Stick to the plan and surround her!”
They carried out their plan in an orderly fashion, even when facing off against a single person; their cool-headed strategy showed just how much research Ranbolg had done before coming to Althos. The two thousand-odd soldiers formed a circle around Cecilia with the heavy and light infantry at the vanguard, the archers behind them, and the mages at the very edge of the circle.
“Not even you, Althos’s famed Diva, could possibly defeat an army of this size! Now, surrender before we scar your beautiful body! Then again, you’ll be scarred even if you do!”
The sea of soldiers opened up, giving way to the leader of the Knights of the First Order: Gatou. Despite his overwhelming military power and his apparent disrespect toward the sole Diva, Gatou approached her cautiously. The surrounding soldiers were staring at the gorgeous girl with lust, some licking the corners of their mouth as wild delusions overtook their minds. Any normal girl would collapse shivering under such immense pressure, but Cecilia was anything but a normal girl.
“Oh my, do you seriously expect to leave unpunished after everything you did to my lovely, adorable little brother?” Her quiet but stern voice filled the area.
“Hah! Your precious little brother lost because he was a weakling! No, even less than that.” A couple soldiers approached her while throwing insults her way, but...
“Shut up!”
Wham!
...Cecilia’s usual kind and collected demeanor was no more. She mercilessly swung her khakkhara at the soldiers, sending them flying all the way back to the edge of the circle.
“How dare you—!?”
The soldier who’d jumped in to attack Cecilia suddenly froze in place. This infamous band of scoundrels, murderers, and bandits, unafraid of even the gods themselves, were paralyzed by the pure, maddening bloodlust radiating from Cecilia. The entire army of two thousand-plus soldiers was caught up in her inescapable rage.
“E-Everyone! Attack!” Gatou managed to escape Cecilia’s suffocating grasp. With his shout, countless arrows and spells began flying toward her, and the vanguard jumped at her with their swords drawn. Knowing Cecilia’s inability to cast spells, they figured the strategy they used against an expert spellcaster would work on her, but...
“Aaaaah!” A primal roar filled the fields. Freiyan soldiers went soaring through the air in all directions.
“Arghhh!” Cecilia caught a soldier in each hand, using one to repel the incoming spells and the other to fend off the rain of arrows.
“What the hell is going on!?”
Gatou had always thought of Cecilia as a refined lady with a wonderful smile. Or rather, he still considered her as such, and couldn’t wait to see that adorable face warped with terror. What he didn’t expect, however, was to see that adorable girl lift a soldier by his head with one hand.
“Oh my, walking under the clear skies and bathing in the sunlight is always fun if I’m with Al. But the only place I will walk with the fools who dared to injure my beloved brother is the path of eternal pain and suffering!”
Gatou was terrified. What scared him the most was the way Cecilia’s smile had never wavered since the whole ordeal began.
“D-Don’t falter! She may be a Diva, but she’s alone! We can defeat her with numbers and strategy!” he said while instinctively taking a step back, but not because he was a coward. It was because his instincts were screaming at him to run for his life. However, as the lieutenant general, he couldn’t allow himself to run away even if his very own troops were subjected to torture unimaginable by the human mind. If he ran away, he’d be praying for the sweet release of death once Ranbolg found out about it.
“Lieutenant General! Is that really Althos’s Diva?” a soldier next to him asked in awe. Gatou wondered the same thing as he watched Althos’s Diva brush off his army of two thousand only using her physical capabilities, not relying on holy magic at all.
“Oh, there!” Cecilia shouted as she used the soldiers in her hands to mow down the enemy.
“Oh my, what a shame,” she said disappointedly as she threw the long-unconscious soldiers into the crowd.
“Cavalry, infantry, step back! Archers, mages, support their retreat!” Gatou was leading his troops to the best of his abilities, but he’d slipped up.
“Oh my, is it really a good idea to give me space?” Her smile didn’t change one bit, but the air around her did.
“Gentle gods watching over us! Protect your feeble servant from the incoming danger!”
A wall of light surrounded her body, deflecting the incoming arrows and spells. It was a perfect, impenetrable shield against both physical and magical attacks. Naturally, Gatou was concerned about fighting a practically invincible enemy, but he was even more concerned about Cecilia’s words.
“Did she just say ‘gods’!?”
It was common knowledge, a universal law, that any religious figure would only serve one god. Cecilia’s prayer, however, was addressed to multiple gods, and her impenetrable shield was proof of its success. Gatou couldn’t believe the divines would allow her to serve multiple gods.
“Wasn’t she supposed to be a healing specialist?” Gatou whispered in disbelief.
“Oh my, that is correct. My healing prowess is thanks to my powers as a Diva. What you’re seeing here is the power of love,” she answered calmly.
“Sealed, nameless gods, hear my prayer! Scatter the petals of plague! Show the fools who hurt my beloved Al ##### and #####! Pass your divine judgment on them!” Cecilia’s voice reverberated across the plains.
Ah, I see. This is the end for me. Today—right here is where I’ll die, Gatou thought to himself as he watched countless purple petals dance down from the sky. A few seconds later, only Cecilia was left standing.
“Ahh!” She suddenly collapsed to her knees. “Oh my, it is exhausting to pray to numerous gods at the same time.”
Cecilia’s wrath knew no bounds.
“Anyway, I have to get back and tend to Al!” Saying that re-energized her. “Oh my, the power of love truly is absolute!”
Just like that, she set off on the long trip home.