Chapter 166 : Advent of Light (3)
Advent of Light (3)
The moment Pilla activated the Rite, a cascade of violet light poured down in all directions.
If not for Mersaya's Dragon Tongue, I would have been swept away by that tremendous holy power.
"Did... did it work?"
In an instant, everything around us had been blown away, yet the Coffin of the Saint at the center remained intact.
And the violet light flowing from around the Coffin of the Saint shot upward, piercing the firmly enclosed ceiling as if it were tearing through a solid wall.
Presented with a sight that defied every law of physics, I—Kisea—could only stand there dumbfounded.
"It's not all over yet, so stay alert."
At that moment, Pilla grabbed my shoulder and spoke.
Just as I was about to ask what he meant by that at this stage, three angels appeared, breaking down the half-destroyed wall as they entered.
"Weren't there supposed to be no angels in the vicinity?"
"It looks like they used teleportation magic to fly here."
Well, not all the angels would have been drawn to Clay. Some might have slipped past his trap.
'Good.'
Inwardly, I was pleased.
Finally, it felt like I could actually have a proper fight with these angels.
"They're quite powerful ones, so be careful."
"Got it."
"Mmm."
Unlike me, who answered rather lightly, Mersaya had a visibly tense expression.
As a dragon, she knew all too well just how strong the angels were.
'Is the weakest one among them the angel on the left?'
Mersaya quickly identified which angel was the weakest.
The other two seemed a bit too much to take on, but at least when it came to the angel on the far left, she thought it was worth a try.
'Now's the time!'
Just as she thought that and was about to rush in, the mouth of the angel in the frontmost position opened.
「Pilla Ganest, you mongrel who abandoned God and ran! Do you realize what you have just done?」
"I do. I merely used your foolish plot to summon God against you."
「Used it against us? Ha! Do you really think there's a god who would answer the prayers of one who has forsaken Him?」
"Perhaps there is no god..."
From some moment, I felt a presence from behind, in the direction of the Coffin of the Saint.
It was obvious what that meant; there was no need to explain.
"There is a human."
「What?」
The angel scowled, as if wondering what nonsense I was spouting.
This was a Rite to bring down a god—a ceremony to summon a transcendent being to the ground. Yet, I had interjected a human in such a process.
「Pilla, the human blood mixed into your veins must have made you foolish. Still, you had at least some merit in the past...」
"Ugh, you just never stop talking, do you?"
「......?」
Suddenly, at the sound of a woman's voice cutting off the angel's words, the angel looked over at Mersaya and me.
Since the only women present were the two of us.
But neither of us had any idea who the owner of the voice that had just been heard was.
「Who dares utter insolent words to me right now!」
KWAANG!
It was at that precise moment, when the angel shouted in rage...
A thunderous boom echoed, shaking the ground.
'Huh?'
At the same time, the angel's field of vision shifted rapidly.
The insolent heretics they had just been looking at were gone, and only pitch-black darkness filled their sight.
'What is... this?'
They couldn't move, not even a single finger.
Only then did they realize it.
They were now stuck somewhere.
"Whoa."
I let out a rather unimpressive exclamation at what I had just witnessed—a reaction uncharacteristic of me.
But it was understandable, since the three dignified angels, standing so grandly just a moment before, were all flung away simultaneously the moment the thunderous noise rang out.
"Hmph. Making a racket for nothing. Noisy creatures."
One was sent flying to the sky, another forward, and the last was knocked unconscious with his head buried in the ground.
The one responsible for this situation was a slender woman whose dazzling golden hair glittered brightly.
She had placed her foot on the head of the angel who had crashed into the ground, waving her arm around lazily.
"But maybe it's because it's been so long since I've moved my body—doesn't seem to be working quite right."
At those words, I spun around in a hurry.
Just a moment ago, the Coffin of the Saint had been sealed shut, but now it was gone, leaving only shattered fragments.
"Anyway, it really is different seeing with my own eyes."
"Hik!"
Turning my gaze back, I found those golden eyes staring me down, closer than I had realized.
Those brilliant eyes scanned me up and down in a lazily relaxed manner, then, almost fondly, she tapped me lightly on the head.
"Thank you."
"... What?"
By the time I absentmindedly answered, she—
Grancesia—was already gone.
There was only the booming rumble echoing through the ground.
* * *
A deep, still silence settled over the room.
Neither angel nor human dared to speak.
It was no wonder, since the one who should have been asleep in her coffin, eyes closed, had appeared here.
「Stop joking around! How dare you, as a mere human!」
It was the large angel standing behind the angel commander who broke the silence.
Apparently failing to recognize Grancesia, the brute charged at her swinging a massive golden sword.
His enormous, muscular figure radiated sheer intimidation.
「Idiot! Stop at once!」
The angel commander hastily shouted, but it was too late.
He was already right before Grancesia, who stood there with her arms folded.
The price for such bravado was steep.
"Well now."
Thunk! Paaaak!
Grancesia lightly slapped aside the side of the greatsword swinging down vertically at her with the back of her hand.
The huge angel lost his balance and toppled. Immediately afterward, her left fist slammed into his head.
As if it were an adult flicking a child's forehead.
Naturally, the result was far worse than any child could endure.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Shattering the floor, the angel's body crashed downward.
We were currently located quite high up within the Holy Imperial Palace.
That angel must have punched through every floor as he fell.
「.......」
At that ridiculous spectacle, the expressions of the angels who recognized Grancesia immediately darkened, while those who didn't stood gaping with open mouths, all decorum forgotten.
And once again, a profound silence settled over us, as if the previous chaos had all been a lie.
"Grancesia."
This time, it was I who broke the stillness.
The angels stayed wary of Grancesia, unable to approach her easily, so I could speak to her at my leisure.
When I called out to her, standing there so confidently, she flinched and quietly turned to look at me.
"W-what is it?"
Somehow, the way she couldn't quite meet my eyes was a bit awkward—like she was uncomfortable around me.
For some reason, that made me smile softly.
"Why so flustered? Come on, after everything we've been through."
"D-don't say strange things!"
Hearing her voice directly was nothing like listening via the ring.
Thanks to Maria, I'd seen her real form several times in dreams, but even then, it didn't compare to seeing her in the flesh.
"Are you alright? Nothing wrong?"
"Hmm? Ah, yeah! I'm just a little stiff... but I'm fine!"
Thinking about the period since Grancesia was thought to have died, it must have been hundreds of years with her eyes closed.
And yet, all she had to say was that she felt a bit stiff—that was just like her.
'Just as I expected.'
Through the diary I'd read at the Dreistler family, and through what Riya told me, I'd drawn one conclusion.
Grancesia might only be separated from her body and soul, not truly dead.
'Riya did say that the flow leaking from the Eye of Shimosha seemed connected somewhere.'
Up to that point, I had nothing but unsupported speculation.
But there was one fact that I knew for certain.
==
〈Eye of Shimosha〉
Relic of Saintess Grancesia Atell.
The soul of Granseia is sealed inside, and if you gain her consent, you may use powerful abilities.
==
That the soul of Grancesia was "sealed" in the Eye of Shimosha.
In other words, whether by her will or by force, Grancesia's soul had been trapped in the ring for some purpose.
If death was all she wanted, there'd be no reason to go through all this trouble. There had to be a reason for using such a method.
Perhaps someone wanted to take Grancesia's power for themselves, for instance.
'It's a good thing I checked the Synopsis first. It let me turn speculation into certainty.'
If I could call it luck, then yes, I was lucky.
Just as I had expected, Altair was trying to use Violette to exploit Grancesia's body.
Thanks to that, I was able to use the simplest solution available.
「You used the Rite... to resurrect that monster?」
The commander of the angels looked deeply shaken.
He trembled as if trapped in a nightmare.
"You."
Grancesia narrowed her eyes at him.
Being called a monster apparently rubbed her the wrong way.
"You definitely called me a wench earlier, didn't you?"
「T-that's...!」
The angel frantically gestured to deny it, but it was already too late.
Spoken words can never be taken back.
"And didn't I tell you before to kneel before I count to five?"
Grancesia slowly spread her hand.
It might look like the delicate hand of a young girl, but everyone present knew the truth.
If you got struck by that hand, you'd be reduced to a pulp—literally.
She folded down her thumb on the outstretched palm.
That meant one of the five counts had passed.
"Grancesia."
"Yeah."
Unlike earlier, when she'd been flustered with me, Grancesia now faced off against the angels with utter composure.
That sight inspired me with confidence.
"Can I leave the angels to you? Or is it hard to fight right after waking up?"
"Hmph!"
She snorted dismissively.
"Perfect for a warmup."
Facing down over thirty angels, such arrogance was probably unique to Grancesia.
"Then I'll leave it to you."
"Leave it to me."
Leaving the angels to Grancesia, I turned my back.
What I focused on was Seigon, who had regenerated most of his wounds.
As befit his status as Fabian's bitter nemesis, pushing the protagonist to the verge of death, he was even resisting the Heaven-Slaying Arms.
"Let's finish this."
Even though the angels screamed and flew about behind me, I paid them no mind.
That was their fight to fight, and I only needed to do what was in front of me.
"Grrr!"
He hefted his sword, burning with pure-white flame, and I drew out Genova.
"You used your fist before—but this time, I'll use a sword."
It wasn't as though I particularly wanted to end it with a sword.
There was no longer any need to act like "Ray," the descendant of Heaven's Holy Ultimate Art, nor could I now use the transformation ability of the All-War Sword.
No, it wasn't just the All-War Sword.
At present, I couldn't use any of the Seven Swords Under Heaven abilities I had acquired thus far.
'To use a sword's power, I need the Eye of Insight.'
Thankfully, Genova recognized me as its master now, so it no longer inflicted the pain of before. But if I wanted to use its power, I needed the abilities of the Eye of Insight.
Only that ability could replace Fabian's skill of "hearing the sword."
'The Eye of Insight, huh...'
It was a bit of a shame to have lost it, but only a little.
After all, it was never mine to begin with.
I had borrowed it for long enough.
'So then...'
Grancesia said it.
That right now, I was standing before a wall.
Seigon would be my first stepping-stone to overcoming it.