Lenard's chest tightened as he surveyed the battlefield. Relief washed over him, but it was tempered by the weight of responsibility. He was here because he alone, alongside Hinata, could wield the forbidden spell "Disintegration." Even Hinata herself could not manage the wide-area version—they both knew the tremendous risk involved. The spell demanded a concentration of spiritual power so immense it could endanger the caster's life. One misstep, one lapse in focus, and it could consume the user in the very energy meant to annihilate the enemy.
Yet, as Lenard's gaze fell on the monstrous figure rampaging inside the Holy Field, tossing stones and testing every defense, all doubts vanished. Such a creature could not be left to roam freely. The thought of it breaking free and wreaking havoc filled him with resolve, sharpening his focus to a razor's edge.
"Hold fast, everyone. We cannot falter now!" Lenard commanded, his voice steady despite the storm of tension surrounding him. The paladins read his determination instantly and moved with precision. Their training and trust in their captain were evident; no hesitation, no missteps.
The monster—Shion—had already gone berserk, thrashing violently within the confines of the Holy Field. It was terrifying to imagine the destruction she could unleash if the barrier failed even for a moment. Yet, the paladins' cooperation was flawless. Light spiraled from four directions, weaving together with calculated perfection. A square of twenty meters on each side took form, and as the beams connected, they surged upward, forming a pyramid-shaped cage of blinding radiance around their target.
Shion froze mid-motion, her sharp purple eyes narrowing as she assessed the cage. She realized instantly the danger she faced. Though she radiated inherent magical power, she had no barrier of her own strong enough to counteract this formation. Pride and fury flared in her gaze—she had underestimated humans too greatly, and now she was trapped.
"Be destroyed! A dangerous monster like you cannot continue to exist! We only need one god! Disintegration!!" shouted the lead paladin, a voice ringing with authority and unyielding determination.
Simultaneously, torrents of concentrated light surged from all four directions and the zenith, converging on Shion. The brilliance was staggering—a pure, searing radiance, devoid of heat or shockwave, yet so intense that even seasoned paladins flinched at its proximity.
Shion's form was instantly wreathed in her innate magic, a shield of energy she summoned reflexively to withstand the assault. The cage of light slammed around her, containing all her movements, her attacks, and her aura. Every paladin held their position, their hands and spirits locked in unison with Lenard's direction. They could not afford to waver; the ironclad rule was clear: the barrier would not falter until the target was neutralized.
Those channeling their spiritual energy into the formation were pushed to the brink. Exhaustion tore through them, mind and body alike, from the immense strain of directing and maintaining such a concentrated, forbidden spell. Some faltered
and collapsed, gasping for air, their spirits drained to the absolute limit. Yet remarkably, none had fallen completely. Lenard felt a rush of gratitude and pride at the sight, even as beads of sweat streaked his own face and his breathing grew ragged.
The spell had been cast. The pyramid of light blazed with relentless intensity, sealing Shion in its radiance. Now, the paladins waited, hearts pounding, muscles taut, for the final confirmation. The monster's fate hung in balance, and even in the moment of apparent victory, relief was still far away. Lenard knew better than to underestimate the creature—or the delicate nature of the magic that held her in check.
All that remained was to watch, to maintain, and to hope that the pyramid of light had done its job completely. The outcome of the battle would be revealed in moments, and in those moments, the line between survival and annihilation would be measured by the unwavering discipline of the paladins and the deadly precision of a forbidden spell wielded at the edge of human capability.
Lenard's legs shook violently from the strain of having forced a single-target spell across a wide battlefield. Every muscle in his body screamed in protest, yet his willpower forced him upright, raising his gaze to the center of the Holy Field. His eyes locked onto what remained of the Oni they had just thought defeated.
Something wriggled there, a fragment of the creature that should have been utterly annihilated. Its four limbs were gone, and a massive hole tore through its torso. By all accounts, it should have been incapable of any action. Yet the sight of it moving, however slightly, made Lenard's chest tighten.
"It shouldn't be… it's impossible," he muttered under his breath, though even he knew the Holy Field's magic had worked perfectly. The monster had been fearsome—far beyond an A-rank threat—but somehow, they had survived it, and not a single paladin had fallen. One small mistake, one hesitation, and the entire squad would have been slaughtered.
Lenard's relief was fleeting. Their mission was far from over. They were assigned to maintain a corner of a massive, interconnected Holy Field to support Hinata. Every paladin was utterly exhausted. The Oni's raid had pushed them to their limits, and Lenard began calculating whether they could continue at all.
Then he noticed something disturbing—other zones showed no sign of barrier activity. Had similar raids occurred there, and had the defenders faltered? Or worse, had the monsters moved undetected? He clenched his fists. "Once this is over, we'll have to train them all over again," he muttered, preparing to contact Arnauld to assess the situation.
A cold, malevolent presence suddenly sliced through the tension. Lenard spun around, heart hammering. What he saw made his blood run cold.
"Y-yo-you all… u-unforgivable. I'll never forgive you, human scum!!"
There, standing in the still-active Holy Field, was a figure that should have been impossible—a ragged, almost ghoul-like version of the Oni, struggling to regain form. Paladins maintaining the barrier turned pale, their faces frozen in disbelief.
"This cannot be! It survived being hit by 'Disintegration'!?" Lenard exclaimed, disbelief cracking his normally composed voice.
It was unprecedented. Nothing had ever survived the forbidden spell. And yet, as he watched, the monstrosity that had been shattered began to reconstruct itself. Piece by piece, it returned to its original, terrifyingly beautiful form, faster than any human eye could track.
Within the span of a minute, it stood fully recovered, radiating power. Its eyes flared scarlet, dripping with rage and menace.
"I will impart the same pain, the same suffering—and double the fear—to you, humans!!" Shion's voice was ice and fire combined. With terrifying speed, she charged the barrier, slashing with her oodachi. The impact alone should have obliterated the protective field—but it barely dented it.
The paladins' relief evaporated in an instant. Fear clawed up their spines as the cracks in the barrier spread.
"Hmph. I knew it," Shion said with a cruel smile, her voice calm despite the chaos. "It's not a high-density barrier—merely a trick that tampers with natural laws. With my 'Chef' skill, I can nullify its effects simply by altering the results."
Before anyone could react, she struck again. A paladin standing directly in front of Lenard should have been instantly decapitated. Yet when Lenard's eyes caught the strike, only the paladin's four limbs had fallen. The rest of him remained alive—somehow preserved.
Lenard's mind raced. How had the Holy Field failed to function properly? How could her speed, her power, have circumvented all their calculations? Without hesitation, he began casting Full Recovery on the paladin, but the spell didn't activate. His heart skipped a beat—nothing responded.
The impossible had happened. Shion had survived the deadliest technique they could muster, and now, she had bent the very laws of magic to her will. Lenard knew, with an icy certainty, that the battle had just escalated beyond any human or paladin scale. This was no ordinary Oni. This was something approaching a force of nature itself—and she was far from done.