Chapter 289
"Haa! Haa!"
Meanwhile, Kamibarez was frantically running while holding Sasha's hand.
Above them, stepping lightly across the treetops, was a female student from Efnelle, swiftly giving chase.
"Hand over the girl while I'm still asking nicely!"
The night sky flashed, and a pure white beam of light descended. It was that infamous white magic, Exorcism.
Kwa-rrrung!
Kamibarez hugged Sasha and threw herself into the grass. The beam struck the ground, sending up a cloud of dust and scattering pebbles.
'Ugh!'
Kamibarez sprang to her feet, ready to run again, but a transparent wall had already formed before her.
"No matter how far you run, you're still in the palm of my hand."
The priest who spoke descended from the tree to the ground.
Kamibarez pushed Sasha behind her, summoning the Darkness.
'I have to fight, I have to protect Sasha!'
The one chasing them now was just a single priest.
Simon had been the first ally to be separated, then Maelyn had stepped in to intercept pursuing priests.
In that time, Kamibarez and Sasha had escaped safely, but one had followed close behind.
At the very least, this one, she had to defeat herself.
'I'm worried about Simon and Maelyn, but the two of them should be fine.'
Steeling her resolve, Kamibarez turned to face the enemy.
"Sasha, will you stay back?"
"Okay."
Sasha nodded and retreated. Since Efnelle's side wanted to secure the Saint candidate, they wouldn't attack her directly.
"For a necromancer, you look surprisingly normal."
The priest shrugged, as if amused.
"That boy who came out alone earlier was the same."
Kamibarez's eyes widened. That could only mean Simon.
"W-what did you do to him?"
"Obviously, by now, my sisters must have torn him apart."
She smirked.
"Sister Lilinet is strong. By now, his Core should be shattered."
"No way!"
Kamibarez placed a palm against her abdomen, then twisted it sideways.
"It's gone!"
Clack!
With the sound, the blood seal of House Ursula partially broke.
Her pupils turned a blood-red hue, the wings on her back grew larger, and her sharp fangs gleamed menacingly.
"Now you look more like a monster."
The priest crossed both arms.
G-gegegek!
Suddenly, transparent walls closed in from Kamibarez's left and right. She leapt upward to escape, and the two walls met in the center with a sharp clank!
Kamibarez sighed in relief, looking down at the scene—
Thunk!
"Huh?"
A sharp pain struck her head. Barely visible, a wall had been set above her in advance.
"Got you!"
The priest slashed her arm downward.
The wall came down with Kamibarez, pinning her flat to the ground.
"Caught you, monster!"
The priestess' voice was cold as she raised both arms overhead. In the sky, the magic circle for Exorcism began to form.
'I can't get out!'
The wall's pressure was so strong that her body kept sinking into the ground.
Then she heard Sasha's urgent cry of "Unnie!"
'Haa-!'
Snapping to her senses, Kamibarez pressed her palms against the wall, then craned her head back, sinking her fangs into it.
Crack-crack-crack!
With the force of her bite and the downward pressure of the wall, cracks radiated from her fangs until—shatter!—the wall broke apart.
Kamibarez rolled away, and Exorcism struck just behind her.
"I thought vampires were just fairy-tale creatures."
The priestess looked intrigued as she conjured multiple holy arrows.
"Now, will you disappear back into that fairy tale?"
Swoosh! Thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk!
Gasping for breath, Kamibarez dashed to dodge the arrows, then aimed her hand—curled like a gun—at the priest.
With a recoil and a burst, a Bloodshot fired, but the priest casually blocked it with another transparent wall.
'Defensive Arts major.'
Like Simon, Kamibarez was using what she'd learned in Defense Against Holiness to the fullest.
'They specialize in defense, and in battle they trap their opponent with barriers or shields before delivering the finishing blow.'
Just as she thought, the priest sent multiple transparent walls flying at once.
Kamibarez hopped and bounded to avoid the incoming walls.
'!'
While focused on the wall coming from ahead, another dropped from above.
She quickly stepped back to evade it. The wall landed where she'd just been, leaving a large square imprint.
'I can't dodge them all!'
While evading the relentless walls, she lost her balance, and one finally struck her head-on.
Her body was pushed backward with the wall, toward a tree behind her.
'If I get pinned, it's over!'
Kamibarez quickly spread her palm and drew a magic circle on the wall, then struck it with her fist.
Crash!
The wall shattered, and Kamibarez landed on her feet.
However—
"Com-plete."
Before she knew it, a wide, semicircular barrier had formed around her.
Humming a tune, the priest clenched her fist.
Ssssss…
The barrier began to shrink. Kamibarez fired Bloodshots in quick succession, but not even a crack appeared.
In an instant, the barrier had shrunk to fit her body exactly, locking her in place and squeezing her tightly.
"Aghh!"
"Serves you right, vampire."
The priest laughed, raising her hand. The trapped Kamibarez's body floated into the air.
Perhaps to keep her fangs from breaking the barrier like before, the face area was left with some space, while everything from the neck down was bound painfully tight.
Kamibarez couldn't even move a finger.
"This can strangle the whole body, or focus the pressure on a specific part."
The moment she said that, the pressure around Kamibarez's neck intensified.
Kamibarez choked.
"Let Kami unnie go!!"
Sasha shouted. Seeing her, the priest smiled sweetly and beckoned.
"If you want that, come here, Saint candidate~"
"N-never… Aghh!"
"Whether she suffocates or her neck snaps, that cute little vampire will definitely die like this."
At last, Sasha, eyes bloodshot, began walking toward the priestess. The priestess' lips curled.
"Good girl."
Fwoosh.
Kamibarez, fighting the crushing pressure, lifted her palm.
Fwoosh. Fwoosh. Fwoosh.
Noticing she was doing something, the priestess looked up.
"No matter how much you struggle, it's useless—"
"Sasha!"
Her lips moved.
"Run!!"
Whooooosh!
The priestess spun around in surprise.
A sudden whirlwind of blood was devouring everything in its path—trees, bushes, anything in the way—as it surged toward them.
Her face paled.
'She was preparing such a massive black magic while fighting me?'
If she moved, the barrier holding Kamibarez would collapse.
In haste, the priestess threw up a wall behind her, but the blood whirlwind swallowed it whole, surging forward without slowing.
Gooooooo!
It was the strongest black magic Kamibarez could use.
With the caster neutralized, the barrier constricting her dissolved.
"Cough! Cough!"
The moment she hit the ground, she clutched her neck while coughing, then, with renewed determination in her eyes, slammed her palms together.
Clap!
The whirlwind dispersed, and at its center, a priestess—her Efnelle uniform, made of holy cloth, shredded and drenched in blood—dropped heavily to the ground.
"Haa, haa."
She had won.
Sasha, smiling brightly, was about to run to Kamibarez, but something seemed off about her.
Her pupils had deepened to an even more vivid crimson, and she was stalking toward the blood-soaked priest with a predatory gaze.
Step, step.
Her expression was one of intense thirst.
As she reached the unconscious priestess, she bared her fangs, ready to sink them into her neck—
Grab!
Sasha threw her arms tightly around Kamibarez, just as Kamibarez had done for her so many times before.
"...U-unnie, are you okay?"
Kamibarez's trembling body went still. Her ragged breathing came in bursts, then slowly calmed.
"...I'm fine."
At last, a strained reply came.
When Sasha looked up, her eyes had returned to their violet hue.
The two of them held each other tightly, as if to reassure themselves.
* * *
Swaaaa!
As Maelyn swung both arms like a windmill, icicle spears rained down from a magic circle in the sky.
"Block it, Jeki."
At the priest's command, a divine beast shaped like a boulder stepped forward and curled its body.
Strengthened by holiness, it easily withstood Maelyn's blizzard.
Maelyn clicked her tongue with a grunt.
'Annoyingly tough.'
Her opponent was a Divine Beastology major.
She fought using five divine beasts at will.
Three of them had already fallen to Maelyn's attacks and been recalled to the priest's holy subspace, but two still remained.
"Now, Gino!"
At the priest's shout, Maelyn quickly ducked her head.
A hawk-shaped divine beast tore sharply through the air, slicing off several strands of her sky-blue hair.
'How many beasts does she have? This doesn't feel like a one-on-one fight at all!'
Their skills were nearly evenly matched.
Maelyn summoned another Dark Flare in her hands, while the priest prepared to call yet another beast from her subspace.
Just then—
"Maelyn!"
From the darkness, Simon burst through the underbrush.
"Ah, Simon!"
Maelyn's voice lit up with joy.
"...Huh, what?"
The priest, on the other hand, looked startled.
'What about Sister Lilinet and Sister Ishtar?'
Stepping in front of Maelyn, Simon said,
"If she's a Divine Beastology major, I have the advantage in match-up. You go help Kami."
"Match-up? What kind of nonsense—"
Simon didn't explain, only met her gaze seriously.
"Please. I'll finish this quickly and follow."
"....."
Maelyn regretted not finishing the fight herself, but if Simon insisted this much, he must have a reason.
More importantly, their top priority was protecting Sasha. They couldn't confuse the mission's importance.
"Fine! Don't overdo it."
Turning away, Maelyn dashed into the shadowed forest. She looked back once and yelled shrilly,
"If you get hurt, I won't forgive you!"
"...Haha."
Once she was gone, the two faced each other.
The priest let out a deep sigh.
"You're coming here after taking down Sister Lilinet and Sister Ishtar?"
"Yeah, that's right."
"...They're useless then. Are they dead?"
"I don't know. I didn't hold back, but if they're lucky, maybe they're still alive."
"You must be strong."
She tore the badge from her chest and planted it firmly before her.
"In that case—"
A holy subspace opened in the badge, and from it bounded a small, teddy bear-like divine beast.
"I'll go all out too."
With a confident smile, she placed her palm on the beast's body.
Kwa-kwakwa-kwakwa!
The moment her holiness flowed into it, the teddy bear-like beast swelled massively.
It became a hulking, muscle-bound creature, walking on all fours like a great bear, its body flickering with white, flame-like energy.
"Consider it an honor. I'll face you with my strongest divine beast, Akallion."
With a shout of "Go!", she thrust her arm forward, and Akallion charged at Simon like a raging bull.
'....'
In response, Simon crouched slightly, preparing a curse.
But—
Tat-tat.
Akallion's thunderous charge slowed, then came to a complete stop right in front of Simon.
"?"
Both Simon and the priest looked bewildered.
"A-Akallion? What are you doing? Smash him already!"
But Akallion didn't obey. Rolling its eyes curiously, it extended its head toward Simon and—
Slurp.
It licked his face with its tongue, showing clear affection.
"W-what the hell is this?! What's wrong with you?!"
The priest stomped in frustration, but Akallion showed no intent to attack Simon.
After an awkward moment, Simon reached out and patted its head. Akallion snorted happily.
'How did I do that before…'
As he stroked Akallion, Simon tried channeling his holiness into it, just like the priest had done.
And then—
Fwoooooosh!
An even greater blaze of holiness surged over Akallion's body. The beast turned, circling Simon once before standing at his side.
It snorted, glaring at the priest as if guarding him.
"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!"
The panicked priest clutched her head.
"This is impossibleee?!"