Chapter 45: The Great Battle of Setia (Part One)
Did those mercenaries accept the commission and arrive at the West Gate?
Did the information broker manage to find Rem?
Did Rem act alone?
Subaru believed that he had done everything in his power to minimize casualties around him.
He deliberately avoided the more composed Ram, and instead used the impulsive Rem—who held an intense hatred toward the Witch Cult—as the fuse to ignite the situation.
Subaru understood what the Divine Protection of Empathy entailed, so he made a gamble:
he bet that if Ram sensed that Rem was injured, she would definitely come;
and he gambled that Ram's love for Rem outweighed her loyalty to "that person."
He used all his funds as a deposit to commission a large number of trustworthy mercenaries to stand by at the West Gate.
This was not only to prevent Rem from being killed instantly, but also to buy time for Winston to arrive at the battlefield.
But as noon approached, and the streets remained peaceful and quiet, Subaru's heart became filled with anxiety.
He fought the urge to head to the scene himself—because he remembered clearly how Ram and Rem had grown increasingly hostile toward him.
That meant the witch's scent on him had intensified with each Return by Death.
He feared that if he showed up now, he would become Rem's target upon her arrival, and then everything would be ruined.
—Let's be honest: are those mercenaries really in it for the money? Are they heroes who'd die for this city? Is the money I prepared even enough? Damn this deposit system.
P.S.: The deposit Subaru paid was originally money he had set aside to buy Otto a birthday gift. He converted the first batch of magic stones Otto had given him into sacred gold coins through Bernie.
—And Rem... will she really act so rashly out of hatred?
Even though Subaru had done his best, the inferiority complex buried deep in his heart kept denying all his efforts.
After all, there were simply too many unpredictable elements in this plan.
But Subaru didn't regret his choice.
Because if it succeeded, then he could take down the Sin Archbishop of Lust.
He could sever the link between the assassination guild and the Witch Cult.
At that moment, Subaru noticed the crowd beginning to panic.
Suppressing the joy in his heart, he put on an expression of shock and confusion.
.
.
.
"Who are you?" Brian gripped his katana tightly as he questioned.
His instincts screamed that the blonde girl before him was a terrifying existence—a true monster.
"Me? Hmph, then listen closely, you pathetic trash. I am the Sin Archbishop of Lust of the Witch Cult—Capella Emerada Lugunica."
Cold sweat poured down Brian's face.
He now understood: what stood before him was not just a monster, but a calamity that only Reinhild could stop.
—Otto, you bastard, I'll get you for this.
Though cursing Otto in his heart, Brian did not retreat.
Or rather, he knew he couldn't.
Sin Archbishops were lunatics who would destroy entire cities.
If her goal was Setia, retreating would only hasten death.
The only chance of survival was to hold out until reinforcements arrived.
Fortunately, their fighting forces were already assembled, so at least they wouldn't be going in one by one and getting slaughtered.
"Ul Shuma!" A roar rang out behind him.
A massive ice spear, over three meters long, flew toward Capella.
Simultaneously, the girl who had just been blown away was now fully healed. She charged in again, following the ice spear with a massive flail.
"Die!"
"Sure~"
Capella responded playfully to the furious shout.
Then came the sound of hard object striking flesh and bone—her head was struck, red and white matter splattered everywhere, and her neck was viciously torn apart.
Only a headless body remained, and everyone momentarily froze in shock.
Naturally, the Sin Archbishop would never waste such a moment.
"You fools~ why is it you can be so adorably manipulated in the palm of my hand? This terminal idiocy~ is it really okay? Wahahaha~"
Capella's mocking voice echoed in everyone's ears.
The headless body turned toward the airborne Rem, and in the next instant—a black whirlwind slammed into the oni girl's body, sending her crashing back even faster than she had leaped out, embedding her once more into a wall.
"Urgh!"
Brian didn't have the strength to even glance behind him, let alone pull the unconscious Rem from the wall.
"What's wrong? Are you so dazzled by my beauty that you can't even scream?"
"...What is that thing?"
"Hm—hm? Ah, you mean this~? Then~ what do you think you're seeing~?"
Capella shook her hips playfully. Behind the petite girl swayed a thick dragon tail.
This grotesque sight sent a shock through Brian's mind.
His Divine Protection told him: You absolutely cannot win.
The chance of escaping was only one in a thousand.
But Brian, who had once been Reinhild's enemy, thought to himself: So this is what a Sin Archbishop is like? Kinda weak...
Sensing something off, Capella lashed her tail in mild irritation.
The sweeping strike cracked the ground, but Brian evaded it easily and used the opening to slash horizontally at her tail.
In response, wings like a bird's sprouted from Capella's back.
She flapped them at Brian, but he had already noticed another commander jumping from above, spear in hand.
The spear pierced through the wing, making Capella scream in pain.
Pain? This monster who had just regrown her head? A Sin Archbishop feeling pain?
Divine Protections or not, Brian knew something wasn't right.
He saw her mocking expression.
"Retreat now!!!"
The tail and wings suddenly sprouted sharp spikes.
But both attackers had already acted.
The lancer in midair used his spear like a pole to launch himself away, dodging the fatal strike. Brian, too, rolled away awkwardly to avoid the attack.
"The ground is shaking!!!"
Brian shouted.
"Hahaha, just noticed? My adorable daughter Meili is the strongest beastmaster!"
Brian's eyes searched rapidly, and he spotted a young girl cradling a puppy.
"That girl can control magical beasts."
Bang—!
"You filthy insects. How dare you even think about attacking my daughter. Such filth..."
Capella's dragon tail swatted away a massive arrow aimed at Meili.
Now, Capella didn't just have a black dragon tail—she had a massive left arm covered in beast fur, and bird wings lined with razor-sharp feathers capable of slicing flesh.
As a mercenary who hunted magical beasts for a living, Brian understood what kind of creature now stood before him.
Yes—the girl in front of him was a being straight out of fantasy: the ultimate magical beast possessing all the strengths of various monsters.