The dim candles surrounding the entire church burned slowly.
Yet, as memories surfaced in their minds, Metalica and Adalbert suddenly felt the flames were consuming far too quickly.
Metalica glanced at the surrounding firelight, her mind racing with calculations.
Fifteen minutes? No, ten minutes!
Only ten minutes?
To defeat this guy?
In that instant of realization, an unbearable sense of absurdity crashed into the girl's heart, her gaze toward Makoto tinged with a stunned daze.
How could something so outrageous exist in this world?!
And to think, the time limit was measured by their faith?
Amid the absurdity, a shameful sense of humiliation rose uncontrollably in Metalica's heart.
How could her faith in His Majesty Yhwach be so trivial?
This intense mental shock translated into action, manifesting as a relentless, all-out assault.
"Don't mock me, you bastard!"
"Our faith in His Majesty is not something a wretch like you can insult!"
Metalica's eyes widened, her voice a shrill scream.
Blazing Reishi wings flared behind her, and she thrust both hands toward Makoto.
This time, her attack lacked the overwhelming, earth-shattering momentum of before.
But as Makoto narrowed his eyes, he saw every angle around him completely enveloped by metal threads as fine as hair, leaving no blind spots.
Metalica poured her all into her Quincy ability to control metal, relentlessly enhancing the toughness and hardness of those threads.
In the moment their properties reached the "nanoscale," they transformed into pure "sharpness."
Even for Metalica, manipulating at this level was immensely difficult.
Faint beads of sweat glistened at her temples.
Her platinum eyes burned with fierce determination.
Her hands snapped inward.
"Die!"
Countless metal threads, invisible to the naked eye, tore through the space like they were ripping it apart, strangling the narrow area from all directions. The dense silver glints clashed, faintly sparking with minute bursts of light.
Bricks, chairs, stained glass, black satin drapes hanging from the ceiling...
Everything in the path of this onslaught was silently cleaved in two.
Every "slash" aimed directly at the man in the center.
Yet, perhaps it was an illusion.
In Metalica's platinum eyes, Makoto's calm, composed smile reflected back.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Zing!
In the next moment, countless metal threads converged into a single mass, erupting in a shower of fierce sparks, stopping an inch from Makoto.
His form flickered, vanishing and reappearing.
Still standing in place.
As if... those threads hadn't touched him at all.
No! They hadn't touched him!
Metalica's heart was certain.
Not a single thread had felt the sensation of cutting flesh!
Makoto looked at the stunned expression on the girl's delicate face and let out a relaxed laugh.
"Don't be so slow."
"Haven't you figured it out by now?"
He took a step forward, completely ignoring the metal threads before him, passing through them as if his body were an ethereal shadow.
"From the very start until now, have any of your attacks... even grazed me once?"
Hearing this, Metalica's expression froze, her entire being seemingly dazed.
As if she'd glimpsed some terrifying possibility.
Makoto continued to advance slowly toward them, extending a finger with a playful tone:
"If you've forgotten, let me jog your memory."
"The last lie Liestya told you..."
"Do you remember it?"
The burly Adalbert stood rooted, his tone laced with shock and a hint of helplessness:
"Liestya...?"
[You can't touch him.]
Makoto spoke the words deliberately, one by one.
In that instant, both Metalica and Adalbert felt as if they'd plummeted into an abyss.
Yes.
Liestya had said those words right after Adalbert had snatched her back from this man's side.
In that unguarded moment, neither Metalica nor Adalbert had taken the words seriously, casually interpreting them as an exaggeration of his speed.
And so, they had believed it so easily.
No wonder.
Since the fight began, only when this man chose to attack them did Adalbert have a chance to make contact.
In contrast, not a single one of Adalbert's initiated attacks had ever touched him...
In the moment of this realization, a wave of despair surged uncontrollably in Metalica's heart.
"This is your own Quincy power."
Makoto held his blade, advancing step by step, smiling: "You should know just how absurd a rule-like power like this can be, right?"
"I wonder if that guy Yhwach ever imagined his knights turning on each other?"
"Ever since Liestya's lie took effect, in my eyes, your movements have all been like slow motion."
Metalica and Adalbert stood frozen, the surrounding flames burning segment by segment, time slipping away silently.
The church was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Until...
"Don't mock me, you bastard!"
Adalbert suddenly stepped forward, veins bulging on his forehead, his exaggerated pectorals trembling. His fists clenched so tightly his nails nearly pierced his flesh, his face flushed red, half his visage marred by faint, pulsing scars from the corruption of Hollow power, faintly distorted.
"His Majesty's power isn't something for you to toy with!"
"A wretch like you could never understand!"
"The despair we've endured to gain this power!"
"Or our faith in His Majesty!"
"The power we received from His Majesty is nothing like what a lowlife like Liestya could compare to!"
He shouted about love, friendship, bonds, and the like.
His voice thundered.
For the first time, his gaze toward Makoto carried unmasked hatred, as if his beliefs had been defiled, his heavy foot sinking deep into the stone floor.
With a roar, his massive form surged forward.
Makoto merely smiled at him, calmly stating: "In that case, let's establish the first [Temptation]."
"Betray your faith in Yhwach, and you'll gain even greater power."
As his words fell, Adalbert's towering figure was already before him.
His fist swung through the air, stirring a fierce gust.
Before Adalbert could react, a leg sharp as a blade sliced through the air, snapping straight and striking his thick waist, unleashing a violent shockwave. Large swathes of clothing tore apart, exposing his skin to the air.
Adalbert's form bent at a sharp angle like a snapped stalk, hurtling back faster than he'd come.
"Choose!"
Most of the force and impact were deflected, and Adalbert spat out a mouthful of blood, charging forward again without hesitation.
Makoto watched the near-frenzied Adalbert with seeming nonchalance, his peripheral vision catching something, sweeping his blade behind him.
"Clang!"
The blade clashed with metal, ringing out crisply.
An iron puppet appeared there, raising a spear high.
In the distance, the platinum-eyed girl's expression was taut.
Makoto raised an eyebrow, smiling at her:
"See?"
"Even if you abandon your faith, you've adapted quite well, haven't you?"
With a slight exertion, he tore the puppet apart, reducing it to scattered parts.
Yet, compared to the metal that couldn't stop his blade at the start, this was a significant improvement.
Metalica's expression remained tightly wound, silent.
Or rather, she dared not speak.
She felt it clearly.
After Makoto's first [Temptation], her control over metal had surged noticeably.
Though she refused to admit it, though she denied it countless times...
Even Metalica herself realized.
Her faith in His Majesty wasn't as devout as she thought.
No!
That's not right!
Metalica struggled fiercely within.
His Majesty didn't care about their loyalty, as long as they were useful, as long as they could kill this man...
No matter what happened, His Majesty would trust them as always!
So... if it was to kill this man.
Even if she temporarily cast aside her faith, His Majesty would forgive her.
As long as...
As long as she could kill him!
Metalica stared fixedly at Makoto, unknowingly reaching this conclusion.
"Whoosh-"
In an instant, half the dim candles surrounding the church went out.
The original time limit of about ten minutes was suddenly shortened to six minutes or less.
In the moment he noticed, Adalbert, who was fighting desperately against Makoto, turned his head in near disbelief.
"Metalica!?"
Before he could finish, a clear, flowing slash swept through.
A deep gash appeared on Adalbert's chest.
Blood gushed like a fountain.
"Shut up!"
Metalica ignored her useless comrade, her bloodshot eyes filled with the ferocity and despair of a gambler.
The girl raised her hand, and liquid-like metal coated her body, transforming the slender girl into a knight clad in thick, unyielding armor.
"The power His Majesty granted me is invincible!"
Though her heart wavered, Metalica murmured as if deceiving herself.
The next moment, her form roared toward Makoto.
Boom!
Stone tiles shattered, her twin long blades whipping down.
Makoto smiled at her, seeming even more pleased, casually stepping to the side.
Yet, Metalica reacted faster, pointing at him.
"Threads!"
Immediately, fine metal threads appeared at Makoto's side.
In front of him, Metalica's long blade swung down.
"If you can't hit him, block his escape routes?"
"Smart move."
"But..."
"How's your Zanjutsu?"
Makoto's smile carried a hint of disdain.
He stepped forward, his blade easily slicing between her twin swords, parrying the right blade like water while swiftly redirecting, the back of his blade clashing with the left, borrowing its force. His shoulder and elbow struck her thick armor nearly simultaneously, ringing like a struck bell.
Metalica was knocked back, her entire body retreating.
But her platinum eyes gleamed as if alight.
It worked!
In that instant of realization, dozens of arms wielding swords, spears, and halberds extended like tentacles from the armor behind her.
Countless weapons aimed at Makoto.
"Oh?"
Makoto chuckled.
The next moment, his form was engulfed by a sea of relentless attacks.
Amid the dense flurry of arms and weapons, only countless fiercely flickering sparks could be seen, his entire being surrounded by blazing fire.
Every thrust, every slash, he blocked within the "no-harm zone," taking them all head-on.
Makoto's expression grew more exhilarated, his voice tinged with fervor:
"Not enough! Far from enough!"
"Now this feels like a fight!"
"But!"
"It's still too weak!"
"Not a single hit has touched me, Metalica!"
Boom!
As his words fell, Makoto launched a kick, striking Metalica's thickest chest plate, the sound of twisting metal echoing.
Metalica flew back, crashing into the church's ruined wall with a boom.
Before Makoto could pursue, Adalbert's form smashed down from above, kicking up a towering cascade of earth, seamlessly continuing the fight.
The surrounding firelight had less than five minutes left.
Not enough!
Blood seeped from Metalica's mouth, the Reishi wings of her Vollständig form dimming faintly.
Her body and spirit were nearing their limits.
Was this all she amounted to?
Even... even after betraying His Majesty Yhwach's faith.
In that moment, weakness rose irresistibly in the girl's heart, her lips, tasting of blood, clenched tightly.
"Save me... Your Majesty."
No matter what, she didn't want to die.
Though decades had passed, the memory of facing death remained vivid.
As the youngest daughter of a noble family in a small Eastern European country, her family, tied to Western agents, became targets of the Lichtreich's purge.
After her entire family was slaughtered, she was finally dragged from a cabinet in an underground cellar, hauled out for execution.
Until, moments before, a pitch-black figure appeared before her.
"You can face me directly? You have remarkable talent."
"Believe in me."
And so, she was saved.
She even became a member of the Sternritter.
For decades after, Metalica lived solely for that one phrase.
But why did she believe in him?
Until this moment, she had never pondered it.
Until now.
To... live on.
What kind of faith was this?
Wasn't it just submission to the strong and victorious?
"Whoosh-"
In an instant, another swath of candles went out.
Less than three minutes remained.
"Damn it!"
Adalbert grew more frantic, yet he couldn't touch the man before him, lumbering like a clumsy beast.
His desperate, flawed movements were instantly exploited by Makoto, who slashed him back dozens of meters with a single strike.
"You're far less interesting."
Makoto slowly shifted his gaze from the battered Adalbert.
He turned to Metalica, rising slowly, feeling it was about time.
A smile spread across the young man's face as he announced the second [Temptation].
"Fight each other to the death."
"The winner will take the loser's full power."
"Metalica-san."
"Let's make this game more entertaining, shall we?"
At this, Adalbert's expression froze, then he roared: "Bastard! We'd never fall for your-"
But before he could finish.
"Pfft, pfft-"
The mechanical metal arm embedded in her severed limb exploded with countless thorn-like spikes, spreading in all directions.
Being part of her body, Metalica's decisive action left Adalbert no time to "Choose."
The burly man stared dazedly at the girl who had fought beside him for so long, struggling to speak, but only pink, bloody foam spilled from his mouth.
He collapsed with a thud.
"Huh."
Makoto seemed slightly surprised, raising an eyebrow:
"...Quite decisive."
Metalica stood upright, her shattered armor falling piece by piece to the ground, clanging with each impact.
Yet, behind her, two massive Reishi wings roared to life, encircling her.
Like an angel descending to earth, she illuminated the dim church.
"I want... to live on."
***
Bonus Chapter:
100 Power Stones = 1 BC
300 Power Stones = 2 BC
500 Power Stones = 3 BC
700 Power Stones = 4 BC
1000 Power Stones = 5 BC
***
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