"You! You're the one who killed my men! Why would you do this?!"
The one shouting was an obese nobleman.
His luxurious clothes were torn and scorched, revealing the underwear beneath—and even glimpses of his revolting leg hair.
The only clean thing remaining on him was the holy emblem he wore around his neck.
An emblem combining a spear, sword, and bow.
Kiriko noticed the emblem at once.
"You're a believer of the Three Hero Church?"
"You…wait. Why do you look so familiar?"
The noble stared at Kiriko, puzzled, before a look of realization dawned across his face.
"I remember now! You're the Heretic Witch summoned along with the Shield Demon, aren't you? I see, I understand now… You came to this town to kill the devout believers of the Three Hero Church!"
"Hah, Heretic Witch?"
Kiriko blinked in surprise.
"Haha… Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA—!"
The noble abruptly burst into manic laughter.
"This is all your fault! Everything! This town's destruction—it's all because of you!"
"The town's destruction? Have you lost your mind? I clearly just—"
Before Kiriko could finish speaking, the obelisk behind the noble cracked loudly.
Crack!
Crack, crack!
More fissures spread rapidly across its surface, quickly covering the entire obelisk.
"Cough, cough! Kah-hack—!"
The noble vomited a mouthful of blood. Although it wasn't clear how he'd survived Kiriko's earlier attack, it was obvious he was seriously wounded.
Yet even in such a state, he wore an insane grin.
"Do you know what's sealed inside there, Heretic Witch? A terrifying monster imprisoned by an ancient hero! Haha… If I can kill the Heretic Witch, surely I'll be blessed by God himself. Haha, hahahaha—!"
Kiriko stared at the obelisk, now rapidly crumbling apart.
"Aren't you this town's lord? If that monster is as powerful as you claim, then everyone in this town will die too."
"The people of this country are faithful to the Three Hero Church. If their deaths are necessary to kill the Heretic Witch, surely they will be glad to offer their lives."
With an earth-shaking crash, the cracked obelisk shattered completely.
A purple rift tore open in midair, and from it emerged a massive dinosaur-like head.
Raphtalia immediately collapsed in terror. Even Gabriel nervously pressed her head against Kiriko, urging her to flee.
"It's too late. None of you will escape."
The noble laughed gleefully as he saw their frightened faces.
"You'll join the rest of this town in hell… Huh, what's that?"
A dazzling golden radiance appeared in the sky, forcing the noble to shield his eyes.
The first beam descended, piercing the darkness like an arrow from heaven.
Just as the colossal monster stuck its head fully out of the spatial rift and opened its mouth to roar triumphantly, the first beam of light shot directly into its gaping jaws.
Then came a second, a third…
Golden points of light multiplied in the air, quickly becoming a dense rain of divine judgment.
Even a beast so mighty that legendary heroes could only seal it away, rather than kill it, shrieked miserably under this overwhelming bombardment.
But this was merely the opening salvo.
The second wave was twice as intense as the first. Columns of golden radiance rained down endlessly like divine flames from heaven.
This time, the creature couldn't even scream. Along with the rift itself, it disintegrated instantly beneath the overwhelming storm of weapons.
Ironically, the noble standing beneath the spatial rift survived untouched.
The rift had appeared at the obelisk's original position, somewhat distant from him. Thus, not a single weapon had struck him.
Yet, though physically unharmed, his mental state…
The noble's crazed laughter froze stiffly on his face.
A deathly silence filled the courtyard.
His expression gradually shifted from madness to fear.
"You…"
As he uttered a single syllable, Kiriko became a blur, flashing past him.
Blood sprayed out. Both his hands flew off, tumbling to the ground, rolling until hitting debris.
"Aaaaah! Aaaaaghhh—!"
The noble screamed, watching blood gush from his severed wrists like fountains.
Pain fueled his terror, and terror magnified the pain, tears and snot streaming uncontrollably down his face.
"Raphtalia, you'd prefer to handle this personally, right?"
Kiriko glanced at Raphtalia, who had remained paralyzed with fear since the monster appeared, and waved gently.
Raphtalia looked at Kiriko, then turned slowly to the noble howling in agony on the ground. Wordlessly, she stood and walked toward them.
Kiriko handed her bloodied sword to Raphtalia.
She had already severed both of the noble's hands—even if he had been a sword saint, without hands he'd be useless.
Besides, who'd ever seen a sword saint so fat he looked like a ball?
"You don't need to think too much. Just stab him."
Raphtalia nodded silently, approaching the noble step by step.
"What…what are you doing? You filthy demi-human, stop! Get away! Don't come closer! Do you know who I am?! Stop right now! I am—"
Stab!
The sword plunged through the noble's shoulder.
"You… You killed Rifana."
She withdrew the blade and stabbed again, this time into the other shoulder.
"You destroyed our village!"
The noble's eyes widened in disbelief.
"You…you're that demi-human brat! You're still alive?!"
Raphtalia now looked nothing like the little demi-human he'd imprisoned.
Back then, she'd worn rags, her face yellowed from hunger, eyes filled with despair.
But now, dressed neatly, with bright eyes blazing with vengeance, she appeared entirely different.
"Have you grown arrogant after becoming the Heretic Witch's lapdog? I'll never forget your face—your crying, pathetic face after I whipped you, or your despair when you learned your rebuilt village was destroyed…"
The noble coughed blood as he laughed weakly.
"Do you think your little sword can harm me? I survived countless wars, slaughtering more demi-humans than you can count…"
Raphtalia drove the blade through his heart, causing him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
"You…bastards… How can I…die here…when I still haven't killed the Shield Demon…and the Heretic Witch…? So many demi-humans left…I haven't…finished them all… I can't die…so easily…!"
With each labored word, more blood poured from his mouth. His voice gradually faded, eyes losing their light, until he finally fell silent.
Yet, Raphtalia continued to stab his lifeless body, repeatedly, frantically, as though unable to stop.
"Raphtalia, it's enough. He's already dead."
A pair of gentle arms wrapped around her, pulling her away from the corpse.
"Uuuu…uuuuuu—!"
Raphtalia dropped the bloodied sword, breaking down into uncontrollable sobs.
Kiriko quietly held her close, gently stroking her head, comforting her just as she had when Raphtalia first awakened from her nightmares.
---
T/N: GOB :D i love GOB i love gil
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