Chapter 157
Thwack! Squish! Crack!
A demon's hand from the magic circle crushed and minced Plema. Neftis, expressionless, slowly clenched her fist and then opened her palm.
The demon's hand mimicked her movement and opened its palm. What had once been Plema, now a lump of minced meat, fell to the floor with a wet splat.
"Stop whining and get up already."
Neftis spoke coldly.
Whoosh!
White flames flared up from the lump of meat. The grotesquely mangled flesh quickly returned to its original form, that of Plema.
A miracle closer to "resurrection" than mere regeneration. With a pale face, she clutched her chest and gasped for air.
[…Khhhhh!]
The true value of the White Flame lies in its regenerative ability. No matter the attack, it endlessly restores her body with white flames. Even if her brain and body are crushed to the point she can no longer think, the white flame reconstructs her to her original form.
[I'll kill y—...]
Slice!
A black line flew in from behind and severed her neck. Then, as Neftis waved her fingertips like a conductor, black lines rained down from all directions, slicing her body into dozens of pieces like a pie.
"It hurts, doesn't it?"
Neftis said. Her voice was that of a clear and pure young girl, but the content was anything but.
"I bet Lang felt the same."
Plop. Thud.
Chunks of flesh fell to the ground, and the white flame flared again, regenerating Plema's body.
[You damn—!]
As soon as she regenerated, Plema shot into the sky and unleashed White Flame. Neftis raised her arm overhead, and the black lines formed a shield to block the white fire.
[Hahaha! Just you wait, Neftis! Next time, I'll definitely—!]
Clunk!
As she soared upward, her back slammed into something massive. Above her, a giant coffin had unfolded.
At Neftis' gesture, the coffin creaked and shrank, clamping tightly around Plema's body.
Then, stakes appeared from all sides and drove into the coffin one after another. Blood gushed from the holes.
Fwooooosh!
[Kyaaaaaah!]
Plema reappeared, incinerating the coffin with white flames. Her face was twisted in excruciating pain.
[Neftiiiiiiiiiis!]
But the assault was not over. Neftis toyed with Plema using overwhelming firepower.
She was seared in flowing brimstone, her cells rotted one by one under curses, and she was shredded into pieces by blade-like blood magic.
Whether she liked it or not, the White Flame of the Saint of Purification kept reviving her without regard for her own will. Unable to endure any more damage, Plema finally activated a magic circle she had drawn on her skin.
Once the holy barrier is erected, not even she can escape. That's why she had prepared a spatial teleportation spell in advance in case she needed to flee.
Vwooom!
Her body twisted and slipped into a vacuum hole that opened in midair.
* * *
Flaaash!
With a blinding light, her eyes opened.
She had returned to the "Heaven Island", where Efnelle's headquarters was located.
People in white robes murmured in shock at her sudden appearance.
Drenched in sweat and filth, she gasped for breath and looked up. Efnelle's white marble buildings came into view.
'I'm back…!'
Only after seeing them could she finally feel relief.
She was alive.
It was over.
Her whole body lost strength, and she collapsed to the ground.
"Lady Plema!"
An elderly priest, panting and out of breath, ran over to her.
"L-Lady Plema, is it truly you? What brings you to Efnelle with no prior contact…?"
[Contact His Holiness the Pope, right now!]
She shouted.
[The Witch of Death is coming! Hurry!]
"Y-Yes?"
Just then, a female priest approached the elderly one. She pointed at Plema's neck.
"Lady Plema, what is that around your neck…?"
[What?]
Her gaze turned to her neck.
A golden collar had somehow fastened itself around it without her noticing.
[…Ah, aaaaah…!]
Terror filled her eyes.
Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock!
The sound of clock hands rang in her ears, and the people around her froze in place.
The dimensional hole she had just escaped from opened once more. From its pitch-black depths, two chilling blue eyes gleamed.
[No…! Aaaaah! Stop! Please, just stop already! Isn't it enough, you demon bastard!]
That great saint, stripped of her dignity, was now begging the embodiment of evil for mercy. Her mind had been utterly shattered.
At some point, golden chains had attached to the collar, linking it to the abyss. A small white hand emerged from the void and grasped the chain.
"Come here."
Fwip!
Neftis yanked the chain. Plema's body was dragged across space and slammed once again onto the cold floor of Keyzen's command center.
Thud!
Neftis stomped on Plema's head.
"So, that's the trick you had prepared? What a waste of precious time."
A smile oozing with thick malice crept onto Neftis' face.
Unbeknownst to her, Plema had been caught in a time trap. The future where she cast
"Come on now, let's get back to the beating."
A black line wrapped around Plema's neck.
[Stooooooooop!]
Her body was wrung out like a wet towel.
She died.
Again and again.
Countless times, in endlessly diverse ways.
Even when revived by the White Flame, her mind could no longer endure it.
'I have to escape, somehow!'
Crunch, crunch!
She kept searching for a chance. And just as her body was being chewed alive by a summoned beast, she gave up her physical form and ascended as a spirit.
'Made it!'
She looked back to see the summon devouring her body. Neftis was still watching Francesca, waiting for Plema to revive in the White Flame.
The Saint of Purification's second ability.
To move as a spirit, transcending the physical body.
Her transparent form quickly escaped the command center and soared high into the sky.
'Don't think this is the end, Neftis!'
She would never forget this humiliation.
She would find a new body and utterly destroy Keyzen next time.
Next time, for sure…!
'!'
Her movement stopped. Without realizing it, Plema had been trapped inside a transparent cage.
'W-what is this?'
She frantically shook the bars, but couldn't break free.
This had never happened before. How could her movements be restricted in spiritual form?
"You know,"
Startled, Plema turned her head. Neftis was now standing beside the cage.
"Your current form, what you priests call the divine body—actually, it's almost identical to Keyzen's spiritualization technique."
[W-What did you say?]
"Of course, unlike Keyzen, you can't inhabit another person's body. But just moving around as a spirit isn't hard. And naturally, we also have ways to neutralize and destroy that technique."
Neftis stepped back from the cage and waved her hand.
"I was waiting for you to rise in spirit form. Now, I can truly kill you."
What appeared in the sky was a grim reaper wielding a black scythe.
It raised its scythe.
[S-Stop!]
Sensing her end, Plema trembled with fear in her eyes.
[Stoooooop!]
Sliceeeee!
A chilling sound echoed through the sky.
The Saint fell silent, forever.
* * *
How much time had passed since that day?
Simon, who had fainted and lost consciousness in the middle of it all, finally opened his eyes.
"...?"
It was an unfamiliar place, and an unfamiliar smell.
He was dressed in a hospital gown, with IV tubes connected to different parts of his body. Simon rubbed his eyes.
"You're awake?"
A girl's voice came from beside him. Turning his head, he saw a black-haired girl peeling fruit while sitting in the chair next to his bed.
"Loraine!"
Simon quickly tried to sit up, but she raised a hand as if to calm him.
"Don't push yourself. You really need complete rest."
"...Ah."
"Visits were supposed to be banned, but I pulled strings with my mom to get in."
Simon, now sitting up, looked blankly out the window.
This was the Keyzen infirmary.
"Is everyone okay?"
"Yeah. Don't worry. All your teammates are safe."
Loraine continued in a soft voice, recounting what happened afterward.
The Saint of Purification was completely annihilated by Neftis.
The holy barrier that had blanketed the Keyzen campus was lifted, and with Neftis retrieving the Prima Materia, the white monsters vanished as well.
Because the students responded remarkably well in the early stages of the attack, there were just over sixty injuries, but miraculously, no fatalities.
Simon had woken up two days after the incident. Currently, Keyzen was operating on a shortened class schedule.
"It's a bit embarrassing."
She said, offering the plate of sliced fruit. Simon took a fork and tried a yellow fruit he'd never seen before.
Soft, mildly sweet, and it melted in his mouth. It felt like just the kind of fruit a patient should eat.
"What's embarrassing?"
"The unprecedented event of Efnelle's Saint attacking Keyzen, and I didn't do anything. I got dragged to the Necropolis because of my mom's nagging, and look how that turned out. I really shouldn't have gone."
Simon gave a wry smile.
"You weren't there, nothing you could've done."
"Well, I still feel a bit frustrated."
The two of them chuckled quietly and continued talking.
"What do you think will happen?"
Simon asked.
"What do you mean?"
"The situation on the continent. Will a war break out?"
"Well, the mood between Keyzen HQ and the Elder Council is pretty tense."
Loraine pulled out a new fruit from the basket and continued.
"There were no student casualties, miraculously, but Professor Lang died, and the entire academy was deceived. Some elders are ready to go to war over it. For more details…"
Her gaze turned to the door of the hospital room.
"How about asking directly?"
Click.
The door opened, and a tiny silver-haired girl appeared, waving.
"Hellooo! Hellooo! How've you been, Simon?"
"Lady Neftis!"
As soon as she entered the room, Neftis darted over and leapt onto Simon's bed. Her target was the plate of fruit Loraine had sliced.
"Can I eat this?"
"Of course. Please, go ahead."
"...Mom, I sliced that for Simon."
Ignoring Loraine's glare, Neftis happily began eating the fruit with a fork.
"Lady Neftis. I have something I want to ask you."
"Sure! Ask me anything!"
"What will happen to the continent now?"
She smiled brightly.
"Hehe, everyone might need to brace themselves a bit?"
What did she mean?
Was she implying war? Or that a tense cold war atmosphere was coming and people should prepare?
"I don't know whether a war will break out or not. But one thing's certain, Efnelle will pay the price."
As she said this, Neftis speared a piece of fruit with her fork and pushed it toward Simon. Her arm was too short, so Simon had to lean forward to eat it.
Simon changed the question.
"So this attack… was it an official declaration of war from Efnelle?"
"Well, Efnelle cut off the tail."
Loraine answered.
"Officially, it was the Saint of Purification acting on her own, not under Efnelle's orders."
"Hehe, that side's throwing a fit too, saying they lost a divine emissary. But I'm sure a new Saint of Purification will pop up soon."
Simon tilted his head.
"Why is that?"
"When you kill a Saint, something called the 'Saint's Essence' leaks out and floats in the air! Soon, it'll attach itself to someone in the Holy Federation with high compatibility, and a new saint will be born. No matter how many times we kill them, new saints will keep appearing and dragging us down. Ah, but that's not the important part."
She straightened up and gently patted Simon's forehead.
"There won't be any drastic change to your daily life right away, so don't worry."
Neftis' words seemed to strike directly at Simon's concerns.
"But gradual changes are inevitable, right? It's a bit early, but vacation will start soon."
Simon blinked. Loraine seemed to already know.
"Vacation?"
"Yep. It's been moved up a bit! Buildings were destroyed, students got hurt, and the political climate is unstable, so we're starting vacation early and beginning a slightly longer second semester."
Seeing Simon's blank expression, Neftis curled her lips into a smile.
"Look forward to it! It's going to be way tougher than a usual first-year second semester!"
"...Ahahaha."
If it's going to be even tougher than now… what on earth does that mean? Simon was already starting to worry.
Just then, Loraine asked,
"By the way, Mom. Didn't you say you were going out today?"
"Oopsie. Gotta go."
Having finished her fruit, Neftis hopped down to the floor.
"Where are you going?"
At Simon's question, she swung open the hospital door and gave a meaningful smile.
"To the Holy Federation."
"…Pardon?"
"I told you, didn't I? Whether war breaks out or not, Efnelle will pay the price."
With just those words, she walked out.