It was a primal terror.
It was a vast, singular dread that neither Francesca, who had experienced 'death' dozens of times, nor the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors, who had halfway transcended the very concept of mortality, had ever encountered.
Information regarding the Third Magus had certainly been prepared. They were ready to hunt him down, no matter the cost.
A Magician! What a terrifying title.
Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg, wielder of the Second Magic, had effectively ended the war between Dead Apostles and humanity by striking down their monarch, the Crimson Moon. The homunculus who achieved the Third Magic had significantly weakened the concept of the 'Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors' by establishing the Holy Grail and the Throne of Heroes.
Even the recently awakened user of the Fifth Magic had established a cooperative relationship with Arcueid, their sworn enemy... In a way, this was an ideal opportunity.
It was said that his combat style relied not on his own inherent abilities, but on the 'Mystic Eyes' themselves.
He wielded various authorities through the power of those eyes, and at their ultimate reach, he employed the Third Magic to orchestrate the souls of the living.
Gravity manipulation that freely manifested repulsive and attractive forces.
Body modification that seemed to outpace the technological evolution of humanity.
Summoning abilities that manifested Phantasmal Species of the Age of Gods through magical energy.
Sealing and absorption abilities that drained magical energy, including magecraft, to serve as his own nourishment.
Top-tier Mystic Codes and repair-healing capabilities that could mend even those on the brink of death.
And at the pinnacle: the manipulation of the soul.
But the weakness... was too glaring.
Summoning and body modification. While these two abilities possessed immense versatility, they demanded a correspondingly staggering cost.
Fortunately, Aylesbury Valesti was practically the home ground for the White Wing Lord and his vampires. They pressured the Third Magus with familiars that were immune to direct magical energy absorption. Of course, the presence of an Executor capable of Baptism Chants and the Rail Zeppelin's unexpected intervention were outliers.
However, at the very least, their primary intent remained intact.
The beasts summoned by the Third Magus were within a range of common sense that they could manage, and they had even summoned special reinforcements for this specific endeavor.
Francesca Prelati.
Though her ultimate goal in obtaining the Holy Scripture Triten—the Chronicle of the World—remained unknown, the White Wing Lord understood exactly what she desired.
Using the Triten possessed by Caubac Alcatraz as bait, he offered his authority to convene the Dead Apostles as payment. In exchange, he demanded she summon an 'Anti-Hero willing to cooperate even with vampires' to this battlefield.
It was a simple contract: the White Wing Lord would cover all costs and maintenance for the Heroic Spirit summoning ritual, while Prelati and the summoned Spirit would provide absolute support in confronting the Magician.
Through a series of such coincidences, they had arrived at a nearly perfect preparation.
They believed the falling stars—the threat they guarded against most—could be offset by Svelten's Reality Marble. They assumed the Magician was still unfamiliar with the soul-manipulating Third Magic, so they merely needed to avoid close proximity.
They would pressure him with familiars, deploy a massive quantity of sea demons summoned infinitely by the 'incidentally' called Heroic Spirit... and then take his head at the critical moment to secure the ritual's success.
Though there were difficulties—Ortenrosse being captured while acting as a decoy, or the intervention of Rita Rozay-en, who hated anyone touching her collection—they at least shared a single thought.
'He has used his falling star. Now, it is our turn!'
"So, what do you intend to do about the second one?"
It is often said that the primary reason the weak suffer defeat is their ignorance of the power held by the opponent.
They—and even the allies fighting alongside him—had failed to consider the possibility that a Magician could 'evolve.'
Except, perhaps, for Waver.
*
All six of her puppets were shattered, and the Mystic Eyes housed within them were utterly destroyed... yet Rita Rozay-en ignored the loss, focused entirely on the massacre unfolding before her eyes.
Luvululilli, Fina-blood Svelten, Rizo-Waal Strout, Francesca Prelati... and even the Heroic Spirit Gilles de Rais.
None of them were weak. On the contrary, they were figures one could not guarantee victory against even in a one-on-one duel. Aside from the two Holy Church Executors, everyone else on this train was practically baggage. Her primary concern had been whether a defensive battle was even feasible, but...
"So, what do you intend to do about the second one?"
After that single sentence, the situation was inverted.
The massive star falling from above tore the Dead Apostles' formation to shreds. The shockwaves ravaged the gaps between the broken ranks, physically rending their bodies.
Gilles de Rais, the lowest in rank among them despite being a Heroic Spirit, was the first to have his body pulverized and be desummoned. Francesca, too, had her head separated from her torso by a meteor fragment before she could even attempt a countermeasure.
...The other Dead Apostles seemed to survive through sheer tenacity, but they were in no state to continue the fight.
"You thought you could handle a moon created inside a Reality Marble simply by deactivating the field? I'm sorry, but when mass or 'Mystery' beyond the norm is involved, a Bounded Field will naturally collapse... And above all, even Magic grows. To think you didn't even know the basics..."
Hearing those words, Rozay-en turned her head slightly to look at him...
"Well, the other Dead Apostles are part of the Black Princess's faction, and I have no immediate reason to kill them... but you're different, aren't you?"
"W-Wait. What are you planning to—"
"I gave this threat to a certain puppetmaster as well, and it seems it will be effective for you too. You said you've died many times, right? I wonder if you'll remain alive after suffering a death where your soul itself is extracted. I wonder if your soul will enter the cycle of reincarnation, be extinguished entirely... or somehow manage to return."
Something bluish and translucent was being pulled out.
Francesca, her neck caught in the Third Magus's grip before she realized she had been pulled toward him, experienced the rare sensation of her very essence being sucked out through the crown of her head. Her eyes rolled back as she drifted out of consciousness.
The hands that had been struggling to cast magecraft went limp, and her upturned eyes were ruined, leaving only the dull white behind.
"Come forth, Naraka Path."
As he formed a hand seal, the giant face of the King of Hell emerged and swallowed Francesca's soul whole. Waver and Kirei, who had witnessed this grotesque sight before, remained silent, but the others looked physically ill at the nauseating display.
Lifting Francesca's physical body from the floor and tossing it into the King of Hell's maw as well, he slowly surveyed his surroundings.
*
'Did Souren Araya escape?'
The others, including Leif Lainur, were standing dazed, staring at me. While I was focused on the battle... Souren Araya had long since vanished.
'No, perhaps it's for the best. Killing a comrade who was technically fighting on the same side in this situation would be awkward... and besides, it seems the King of Demon Gods didn't actually intend to awaken the Dark Six. Unlike Angra Mainyu, who could be controlled by manipulating the past... the ritual of Six here is essentially the Dead Apostles' ritual for the resurrection of a True Ancestor.'
Mushroom-head and the King of Demon Gods probably intended to target me using the factions of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.
Dealing with Waver—who is practically my ally—and the Holy Church members would have been the cherry on top...
'And the Rail Zeppelin.'
This train, which can serve as a 'shelter' traversing otherworlds while avoiding the Incineration and Bleaching of Human Order.
It's quite possible the King of Demon Gods wasn't after me, but the train itself.
'...I'd love to take out that mushroom-head bastard right now, but I can't. I lack a justification, and his survival is necessary if I want to spin this situation to my advantage.'
In a way, this event is no different from a war.
From our perspective, the Rail Zeppelin simply veered off-course into the White Wing Lord's territory and we got caught up in it, but will others see it that way?
The most plausible assumption would be this:
1. The Holy Church formed an alliance with Karma Kirigaya's faction.
2. The two groups confirmed their goals aligned: the subjugation of Dead Apostles.
3. Karma Kirigaya hired Rita Rozay-en to infiltrate the White Wing Lord's territory.
4. Simultaneously, the Holy Church dispatched Executors as support to clear the problematic Aylesbury territory.
5. In the conflict between the Dead Apostles and the Church-Kirigaya alliance, the latter emerged victorious.
Yes, that is likely how others will interpret it.
I stepped into Ortenrosse's territory uninvited, just as Nero Chaos once did, but unlike the defeated Nero, I've practically demolished Ortenrosse's forces. Furthermore, since those struck by the meteors are mostly from the Black Princess's faction, people might even assume I am warring against the entirety of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.
In that sense, the most important thing right now is image.
The strength I possess as a faction leader, and the achievement of crushing a faction of the Twenty-Seven Dead Apostle Ancestors.
Coincidentally, Waver—my ally—is here, along with an Executor and a member of the Burial Agency from the Holy Church.
'I might as well use this fame.'
Killing the two Dead Apostles, Rizo and Fina, is out of the question.
With Arcueid having fully regained the power of the Crimson Moon, it would be foolish to needlessly provoke Altrouge's faction.
While Ortenrosse's faction is said to be the largest, Altrouge's personal power as an Ultimate One candidate is on a level that cannot be compared to them. Though she lacks the Primate Murder now, her qualification as an Ultimate One is still a threat. Even with constraints, it means she can trade blows with Arcueid, the strongest on Earth... regardless, there is no profit in killing her two bodyguards here.
'But there are many benefits to keeping them alive.'
"Alright, I've decided."
"Do you plan to kill them all?"
"Hmm? No, I have no intention of touching Altrouge's faction. I should also leave Ortenrosse be as a deterrent for now..."
But there's no need to spare the other Dead Apostles, is there?
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