Chapter 210
The Devil of Strength, Vandello.
With his sudden appearance, Eltima's and Zeritz's thoughts momentarily stopped.
'Why?'
The one most surprised was Eltima.
She had assumed that the Three Great Devils would not make a move for the time being.
'God said the Three Great Devils would not act until the seeds they planted bore fruit...'
The Order's god had spoken.
The seeds sown by the Three Great Devils had been planted across the continent, already sprouting and growing.
Therefore, the chosen ones must gather their strength until the time comes to fight them.
As such, the order had suspended almost all external activity, instead focusing on building its strength.
However, Eltima and the others—who would later be known collectively as Heaven's Door—were acting to remove as many of those "seeds" as possible that the devils had spread.
'Most of their seeds have already been wiped out, so I was relieved... but how could they suddenly appear...?'
Understanding soon dawned.
'Perhaps I destroyed too many.'
Even she thought that Demonz had already lost too much.
It must have suffered irreparable damage.
It was not strange, given that, that the Three Great Devils who had been waiting for their time would now make a move.
'This is a chance. If I can root out the continent's greatest threat here!'
She had long known of the Three Great Devils' strength.
The ancient weapon rampages that had threatened the continent during her days as a saint had also been a scheme of the Devil of Wisdom, one of the Three.
The Devil of Strength, too, surely possessed a power even more dangerous than any crisis she had faced in her life.
And yet she had to fight.
She had sworn to protect this continent.
For the sake of all the companions who had fallen, she had to fight.
"Don't worry so much. I'm not good at clever schemes like the Devil of Wisdom."
"?"
At that moment, Vandello spoke indifferently.
There was no sense of scheming or plotting in his demeanor.
"I just want to fight. Breaking stronger power with my own, growing stronger by consuming that power. That's all I desire."
What she felt from him was pure fighting spirit.
Only the desire to fight was emanating from him.
"Be careful, lady Eltima! Even while saying that, there's no telling what he might be plotting!"
Zeritz scanned the area, trying to protect Eltima.
Fearing an ambush at any moment, his immediate thought was to escape from this spot.
But Eltima's mind was different.
"Why have you suddenly appeared, when we haven't found a trace of you until now?"
Her ultimate goal was the Three Great Devils.
If only they were gone, nothing else would threaten the continent.
That's why she had followed their tracks all this time, but always failed.
Due to someone's interference.
And she knew that the one interfering had been the Devil of Wisdom, one of the Three.
"Did the Devil of Wisdom order you to kill us?"
So now that Vandello appeared before them, she thought it had to be the Devil of Wisdom's scheme as well.
That was why she meant to turn it against him.
'If I get information about the Devil of Wisdom from him and deal with her...! The victory will be entirely ours!'
She had two reasons to reach such a judgment.
One, there had been no sign from God thus far.
If this situation were truly dangerous, god would have warned her.
She, favored by the deity, had always received warnings in times of real danger.
Yet now, seeing that there was no warning, Eltima thought it wasn't as perilous as it looked.
Secondly, if the Three Great Devils really meant to kill her, it wouldn't be one but two, or maybe all three, attacking together.
'No matter how amazing the Others are, they can't escape my senses. The one who's come for me is only the Devil of Strength. Can he kill me on his own?'
She was so powerful she had escaped the destiny of the saint and become a hero of her own accord.
Her strength was such that she could boast of being the strongest among all humans.
Even the Devil of Wisdom, one of the Three, had hidden for a long time, avoiding her.
So if her opponent really was only the Devil of Strength, she thought she could achieve her goal.
Yet, it was still puzzling that Vandello would come alone against someone like her—even as one of the Three Great Devils.
There was only one plausible answer.
'If this is just a distraction?'
Vandello was here to tie her down.
The actual target was someone else.
'Of all the people, the obvious choice is... Luca.'
Because of that boy with the power of the sky, Demonz had suffered immense losses.
So eliminating him would now be their top priority.
'But with Herote and Zeritz's disciple there, they should be fine.'
She trusted those two.
If she and Zeritz should fall, she believed they would become the continent's strongest afterward.
'Even so, I can't let my guard down. I must use this situation.'
She could not just sit here, being tied down.
There was only one thing she needed to do now.
"If you tell me what the Devil of Wisdom's plan is, I'll fight you with all my heart. If you do not, I'll simply flee."
Negotiation.
She could tell that the fighting spirit radiating from Vandello was pure.
He genuinely wanted a fight.
'The Devil of Wisdom must have used that.'
She guessed that the Devil of Wisdom leveraged Vandello's nature to set him against her, simply to buy time.
That's why she proposed:
She would fight seriously if he revealed the plan.
"You say strange things. We do not command each other. We merely make suggestions."
At that moment, Vandello answered nonchalantly.
"And the Devil of Wisdom is dead. That's why I've stepped forward."
"... What?"
At his claim that the Devil of Wisdom was dead, Eltima was briefly thrown off.
'Who? How?'
The whereabouts of the Devil of Wisdom had been unattainable, even through oracle.
She'd almost faced her in the past, yet failed to even catch a trace.
Hearing now that the Devil of Wisdom was dead, Eltima showed an unusually vacant expression.
'Is this some elaborate mind game?'
She wondered if it was a lie—except it sounded so much like a lie that it, paradoxically, didn't feel like one.
It was twisted enough to make her suspect this was actually an even deeper ploy—expecting she wouldn't believe it and so telling the truth.
"Believe it or not, she's dead, and that's why I act. She once said that if I waited, even stronger opponents would appear for me. But now there's no need to wait."
Vandello finished, exuding fierce fighting spirit.
"If you killed her, then you must already be a worthy foe for me."
"Because she's dead, you're acting..."
Dozens of thoughts flickered through Eltima's mind.
'Could it be... Herote?'
She had received news from Herote a few days ago.
She said she was heading off to investigate something related to the Devil of Wisdom.
But Eltima had assumed she would never actually face the real Devil of Wisdom.
'But if this is a lie, and Herote is dead? If even this is part of the Devil of Wisdom's plan?'
Her thoughts ended there.
'Even if that's so, it's already too late.'
There was no point in wondering now.
There was only one choice left.
She could only trust Vandello's words.
"... If the Devil of Wisdom truly is gone, then only you, the Devil of Strength, and the Devil of Life remain. Truly."
Fwoosh!
Discarding her doubts, holy power blazed up.
Her hair whipped in the surging power.
Eltima grinned broadly and shouted.
"One last step to achieving my lifelong wish!"
"L-Lady Eltima?"
This excited Eltima was reminiscent of her days as a saint.
Seeing her like this, Zeritz's eyes went wide.
Eltima turned to look at him.
"Zeritz! Will you help me realize my dream?"
"... With pleasure!"
Zeritz gripped his sword with a joyful expression.
Then, focusing on Vandello, he ignited his own determination.
Watching them, Vandello clenched his fist and declared,
"I'm glad. To fight opponents as strong as you both."
With burning fighting spirit, the three clashed.
* * *
Boom!
"Lady Eltima!"
With a thunderous crash, Eltima's body was flung backward and tumbled along the ground.
She minimized damage with her agility, but blood was streaming down her forehead.
Zeritz rushed toward her, but seeing Vandello, who suddenly appeared before him, he bit his lip and swung his sword.
Thud! Crack!
Shockwaves from the collision of fist and blade split the ground.
Vandello grinned.
"I prefer this."
"......"
Collapsed behind them, Eltima anxiously licked her lips.
'He's stronger than I imagined.'
She had great pride in her strength.
Indeed, she was strong enough to justify this pride.
But she had miscalculated.
The Devil of Strength's power was beyond what she had expected.
Having been guided by God's voice, she thought she knew the level of the Three Great Devils' power.
'The two of us alone can't do it. But if we escape...'
If they left Vandello here, who knew what he would do.
They had to somehow resolve this right now.
'If the Devil of Strength is this powerful, there must have been sacrifices in defeating the Devil of Wisdom as well.'
Eltima slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened them again, her pupils had turned golden.
'Then I, too, must make sacrifices.'
Fwoom!
Holy power surged from her body, stronger than ever before.
"Oh?"
Vandello raised an interested expression, kicked Zeritz—who was charging at him—in the stomach, sending him flying, and turned to face Eltima.
Eltima spun the feathered spear once, set it at her waist, and lowered her torso.
Poom!
Eltima shot forward like a bullet.
As if cutting through space, she appeared directly in front of Vandello and swung her feathered spear.
Thud!
"......"
The tip of the feathered spear struck Vandello's chest, but failed to injure him.
Vandello grinned, extending his arm.
Despite his massive frame, his arm stretched out unnaturally far, grabbing Eltima's arm that held the spear.
The moment he gripped her arm, devilish power invaded her body.
Her arm turned black.
At that moment, Eltima threw the feathered spear backward and twisted her body.
Crack!
"!"
Her arm, held by Vandello, twisted unnaturally, but she didn't so much as blink—she caught the spear with her leg and swung it again.
Thud!
"Useless."
Once more, the spear's tip struck Vandello's chest but left no injury.
Vandello discarded her now-detached arm and grabbed her leg.
Her leg began to turn black as well.
Grab.
"?"
Then, Eltima grabbed the feathered spear with her one remaining arm.
At the same time, she twisted her body.
Crack!
Though her leg, held by Vandello, twisted, still she didn't blink; she swung the spear once more.
Squelch!
"... Oh."
This time, the spear slightly pierced Vandello's chest.
Vandello, in admiration, reached to grab her arm.
Flare!
"!"
Just then, dazzling radiance burst from her body.
"Haaaaah!"
With a cry, Eltima put even more strength into the arm gripping the feathered spear.
Crunch! Craaack!
The spear pushed deeper and deeper into Vandello's chest.
Vandello tried to grab her, but the mighty holy power radiating from the Spear of Victory blocked him.
"Amazing! Human!"
Vandello shouted, unleashing his devilish power.
Golden holy power and pitch-black devilish power collided.
Crack!
The clash of two tremendous powers split the earth.
As if in an earthquake, the ground shook, and wherever the scattered energies landed, massive craters formed.
'Is this... Lady Eltima's...'
Zeritz, who had been kicked away by Vandello, was returning—he could only freeze, witnessing the clash of the two forces.
It was as if a giant pillar connecting heaven and earth had been erected.
On one side, a pillar as if crafted by God, on the other, as if by a devil—just seeing it was enough to overwhelm.
And at the roots of that colossal pillar stood two figures: Eltima and Vandello.
Their expressions were opposites.
Eltima looked exhausted, as if her energy was spent.
Vandello wore a broad, joyous smile, thrilled by the situation.
"Impressive. Truly the closest thing to the strongest human."
With Vandello's words, the balance of power broke.
Crack!
The gigantic pillar of light cracked as black devilish power invaded.
Like ink spilling into water, sky and earth turned black.
"But in the end, you're a human after all."
Vandello looked regretful as he reached out with his hand.
Unlike before, his hand pierced the holy power.
"Lady Eltima!"
"!"
At that moment, Zeritz rushed toward them.
'Yes, Zeritz. Kill this devil.'
Eltima smiled bitterly as she looked at Zeritz.
She was glad to have spent her last moments with him.
She wished they could have shared even more memories, but this was enough.
'With this... I...'
Eltima closed her eyes.
Her long atonement at last was at its end.
Grab!
"?"
Then Zeritz seized Eltima.
He embraced her and fled at once.
Both Vandello and Eltima, taken off guard, froze.
"You mustn't die! Lady Eltima!"
"Zeritz..."
Eltima's vacant expression turned into a soft smile.
And in his arms, she closed her eyes and muttered,
"It can't be helped."
To Zeritz, she mattered more than lifelong wishes.