If Scarlett was one of the strongest magicians in Demiurge, why couldn't she eliminate the Morzen Cultist in an instant?
For comparison, those who dabble in Eldritch Magic are like cockroaches.
They refuse to die, obsessed with concepts of eternity and immortality.
If Eldians were born from the malice granted by their deity, the same can be said for the cultists. All their power stems from a core, or, for humans, their heart.
All their power stems from a core, or, for humans...
—Their heart.
The cultist we were up against has hidden his heart somewhere, rendering him immortal until we can find it.
"●■●■●■■—"
—BANG BANG BANG!!!
A Rotten was shot before it could reach me, obliterated in an instant.
From one to six, and then to more than two digits, I continued shooting, using every low-output bullet I had at that moment.
—Slice!
For those who got too close, Scarlett moved at unfathomable speeds, using explosions to create erratic movements that almost defied the laws of physics.
As we thinned their ranks, the real issue wasn't the Eldians; it was something far more sinister.
—Flick!
With a flick of the Morzen Cultist's fingers, blood spikes erupted from the ground, drawing power from the corpses scattered around the city.
"Scarlett!" I called out, urging her to shield us from the thousands of spikes that could impale us with their sheer numbers.
—RATATATATA!!!
With another flick of his finger, the cultist summoned thousands of spikes, firing them toward us.
These could wipe out an entire army if we were unprotected.
—Ving!
I conjured an Ichor barrier around us, infusing it with more mana than usual to strengthen its defences.
—CLACK CLACK CLACK!!!
Ghhk!!!" I coughed up blood after overexerting myself with the Ichor, draining my mana in the process.
—Clack Clack... Clack...
The hail of blood spikes at last subsided, and I took this time to take a small break.
—Slither...
"...!"
It didn't take long for us to find ourselves in an unexpected predicament.
"My lady!" Scarlett pushed me aside, taking the hit for me.
She had planned to shield the area of impact with mana, but the chaos unfolded too quickly.
—Shikk!!!
A spike materialized from the blood that was on the floor underneath us, puncturing Scarlett's hand.
"S-Scarlett!" I cried out, rushing to her side, my heart pounding with concern.
The spike bore a giant hole in her left hand, bleeding more than it was supposed to be.
It was clear to us both just how perilous our situation had grown, facing a monster skilled in the terrifying art of blood manipulation.
Once we ran out of mana to protect our bodies, and a wound was created, the cultist could use our own blood to attack us, killing us instantly.
This was a Taboo Magic Art derived from Eldritch Magic:
—Vrooo...!
Scarlett burned her wound without hesitation, preventing any blood from leaking that the cultist could use.
In exchange, she lost the use of her left arm, greatly reducing our combat effectiveness.
"Dammit!" I cursed, frustrated that my mistake had left Scarlett handicapped.
Releasing the barrier, Scarlett channelled mana into her greatsword.
With a single swing, sparks flew like fireworks, setting off a massive chain reaction.
—BAAAM!!!
Everything, including the Rottens, was turned to ash.
Smoke billowed from buildings that had once been homes, places filled with warm memories, now destroyed by a false sense of peace—a tragedy untold.
—BOOOM!!!
To clear the way, I shot the cultist with an
It wouldn't be long before he re-materialized somewhere.
Taking advantage of this brief respite, Scarlett swung her sword around us, creating explosions that eliminated all the Rottens at once.
Relying on her, I remained still, desperately trying to think of a way to defeat the cultist.
'Come on… think… THINK!' I urged myself to search for any possible solution.
We were at a disadvantage now that my mana was depleting, turning me from deadweight into a liability very soon.
However, slowly but surely, we were getting closer to understanding our opponent's tactics.
All we needed to do now was determine where the cultist's heart was beating somewhere in this city.
"Scarlett! Can you teach me how to find an Eldia's core?" I asked.
Without questioning my intentions, we leaned our backs against each other.
Scarlett was responsible for deflecting the hail of blood arrows with her swift movements.
While I focused on delivering precise shots for a guaranteed kill from a distance.
...
...
After a moment, Scarlett finally answered my question with an exasperated sigh.
"…Infuse mana into your eyes and look for abnormalities; that's all there is to it." Her explanation was rough and didn't make much sense to me at first.
But that was all I needed.
I was determined to learn something new, no matter what it took.
" …Got it." I nodded my head.
As long as I grasped the concept, I knew it was possible.
No—I would make it happen.
"Cease your foolish muttering, lost lambs."
—RATATATATATAT!!!
Agitated by the way we were casually talking, the cultist conjured another barrage of blood spikes from every angle.
—Voom!
In response, I formed another barrier around us, which slowly chipped away.
If only I had enough mana to consider infusing the Ichor mana to make it much denser, this problem wouldn't be so annoying.
"Are you finished with your final words? I'm beginning to grow impatient," the cultist mockingly said from a distance.
—Flick!
Under his command, the Rottens' onslaught ceased, obeying the cultist who had authority over them.
Closer to a monster than a human, half of his face smiled— the same smile he wore when he was still a mayor.
"Why do you fail to comprehend the grace that God has granted us?" The cultist used blood manipulation to grab a human head.
"Harlan, the caretaker of my city's children... how pitiful. If only she hadn't rejected our teachings at the last moment," the cultist caressed the head as if he truly treasured it.
—CRUNCH!
Growing tired of it, the cultist threw the head into the horde of Rottens, who devoured it nearly instantly.
His gaze fell to us next.
He urged us to join their cause, to either adopt their beliefs or face a cruel fate like so many others.
"Now, will you two join me on our thousand-year-old pilgrimage?" He extended his hand as if this entire situation was normal to him, an act he believed meant goodwill.
"Fuck off, how about that?" I shot back immediately, annoyed by his incessant rambling.
"Is the reason you kill because everyone hates how awful you smell? Or is it because your hands are so dirty, it looks like you've shoved them up your own ego?"
"…How impudent."
The Cultist shook his head and resumed his stance.
I concentrated on the limited time we had and had to consider the variables: the Cultist's immortality and the almost never-ending horde of Eldians.
Every time I took down groups with an Overcharged Bullet, they just kept coming back, their numbers growing with each shot.
The Cultist was able to teleport anytime and anywhere, even when killed. He was currently unkillable unless we figured out a way to defeat him.
We had the upper hand in this fight moments ago, but now it was a battle of endurance, and we were at our limit.
It's time we end this once and for all.
"Scarlett."
"...I understand."
Scarlett and I exchanged glances and nodded, silently acknowledging our roles in this fight.
Recognizing how effectively I fought against opponents much larger than myself, she decided to step back, trusting me to take the lead.
This heavy responsibility felt light compared to the burden I faced in my mission to save this world from the brink of destruction.
"Ha—when did things go so wrong?" I laughed in the midst of battle.
"It's only a matter of time until you run out of mana, lost lamb." The cultist's red eyes stared at us with a disturbing lack of sanity.
His voice was filled with pity, as if he viewed us as lost lambs destined for slaughter, unable to see the madness in their beliefs.
For someone who hides behind their so-called deity, he was a coward, lurking in a cave awaiting harvest.
—Ting…!
Determined to finish this battle, countless spikes materialized in the air, their numbers reaching into the thousands.
Rottens surrounded us, each one stronger than the last.
It was an all-out assault that the Ichor could no longer withstand.
Now, it was time for Scarlett to fulfill her role as the guardian of the Historia Family.
"If you cannot be convinced to join my noble cause..." The cultist raised his hand and flicked his finger.
—Flick!
"Then die."
With that, the spikes plummeted from the sky like an unforgiving rain of iron and malice.
—Crackle...!
Compared to the cultist, Scarlett gripped her weapon...
And then, as if time itself slowed...
She swung it.
Slice. Slash. Swish.
Every deadly spike that threatened to hit me was met with the swift arc of Scarlett's sword, her movements defying the limits of human capability.
She flowed through the chaos like a dancer, her precision unparalleled.
The air around us crackled with raw energy each time she swung her sword, sending shockwaves of power that resonated like thunderclaps.
While explosions blossomed around us like fireworks, lighting up the battlefield with radiant bursts of colour.
All of this effort was to protect me.
"… Unconceivable." The Mayor's voice scrunched, surprised at Scarlett's prowess.
—Shing Shing Shing!!!
—Crackle Crackle...!
—BOOOM!!!
As the two of them clashed in an intense all-out attack, I stood still, determined to use everything I had to finish this.
—Vooom…!
Detaching myself from reality, my mana circulated within me, forcing out as much as I could.
Mana allows users to assess others' potential.
If one feels an overwhelming amount of mana from someone, it indicates exceptional mana aptitude, making it easy to discern who possesses talent.
But what about sensing those who have come into contact with Miasma—the mana derived from an Eldritch God?
Inside me were two significant sources of mana:
The mana I had possessed since birth.
And the Ichor, mana that belonged to a god, just like Xelthatl.
If I wanted to locate the cultist's heart, I needed to leverage these connections; that Ichor might share properties with Malice.
'Mgh...!" I grunted in pain.
Because I had never properly channelled Ichor or mana into my body before, let alone into my eyes, it was excruciating.
"Faster... I have to go faster...!" I clenched my fists, doing everything I could to make this work, disregarding my condition.
While most people would have given up at this point, I refused. I poured even more mana into my eyes.
Even if they were to explode right now, I persisted.
If my legs could heal overnight, then surely an eye could too.
'It burns…!' I struggled to suppress my cries as the pain intensified.
Before regret could settle in, I realized my efforts had not been in vain... and it succeeded.
Countless wavelengths appeared from my line of vision.
Different energies swirled in the air, each distinct from the other.
Malice, varying in intensity, emanated from the Eldians and the cultists, respectively.
Mana, belonging to Scarlett and me, was overwhelming, dominating my vision.
But it wasn't enough.
What I needed to find was the source of the malice connected to the cultist's true body.
—Drip... drip...!
"MGAAAH…!!!" I collapsed on the ground.
The strain was so intense that it threatened to blind me.
"Lady Aria!!!" Scarlett hesitated for a moment, trying to assess my condition.
I waved my hand weakly in response, knowing she was preoccupied with fending off our attackers.
'Where is it...!' I thought, squeezing my eyes shut and pressing my hands against them, unable to hold back my tears.
...No, these weren't tears, nor was it blood.
It was ichor, dripping uncontrollably from my eyes.
—Drip… Drip…
"Haha… HAHAHAHA!!! YOU FOOL!!!" the cultist cackled in madness as he saw the blood on the ground.
—Flick!
The cultist utilized
From his perspective...
He believed he had already won the battle.
...
...
...
"W-What...?" The cultist continued to flick his fingers, but no matter how hard he tried, my blood refused to obey his commands.
It didn't take long for him to realize what was wrong, beginning with the vibrant golden hue of my tears.
"You… no, that blood…!" The cultist's mouth dropped open in shock.
"Pfft…" I chuckled, my mind seemingly forgetful of what Ichor even was or what material it originated from.
Feeling ecstatic now that I had completed what I set out to do, I finally spotted a wavelength from a distance.
"That's right, you lunatic—it's the blood of the one who sealed away your wretched god." I smiled maniacally, losing all sense of reasoning.
Out of the three of us, who was truly the most insane?
Was it the genocidal cultist?
The abnormally strong superhuman?
I risked everything to make this moment count, from potentially blinding myself to leading him into this situation to begin with.
But I didn't regret it—not even once.
So with that question in mind—
The answer was me.
"SCARLETT, I FOUND IT!!!" I yelled, calling out to Scarlett to show her where it was.
"You… YOU VEHEMOUS WRETCH!!!" The cultist lost his composure and conjured even more blood spikes.
—Kachick...!
In response, I hopped onto Scarlett's back and aimed at the floor, preparing to unleash a
—FWOOOSH...!
Blasting off into the sky, spikes homed in from every direction toward us.
Rather than wasting energy creating a ball of Ichor, I decided to trust Scarlett to protect me, adapting to my unhinged ideas without a second thought.
—Swing! Slash! Boom!
"CEASE THIS AT ONCE!!!" The Cultist leaped to the ground, determined to guard the core with his life.
—Kachick!
I braced myself for impact, completely evading his advances while clenching my teeth.
—BOOOM!!!
Another
—Crack...!
"K-KHAAAAAAAGHH!!!" I screamed in pain as the bone in my left arm crumpled like paper, unable to withstand the recoil without proper protection.
Despite this, we were finally heading toward the mansion.
—Ving...!
I used the remaining mana I had and converted Libera into mana to pinpoint the cultist's weak point.
I saw a faint wavelength beneath, a chilling gaze that amplified the pain I felt.
There it was...
The cultist's heart, hidden beneath the destroyed mansion.
"OVER THERE!" I shouted, finally allowing her to unleash her true power.
The strength she had held back until now was due to the area of effect.
"Haaah..." Scarlett took a deep breath and raised her sword.
—Vooom…!
At that moment, an unimaginable surge of mana erupted.
Her hair sparkled like jewels, and her mana crystallized with its intensity.
Achieving enough freedom to physically manifest her magic, a massive ball of energy formed at the tip of her sword.
The magic art,
"NO… NO NO!!!" The Cultist screamed, tearing at his hair, using every ounce of strength he had.
—Swoosh...
The blood scattered across the city flew toward the dilapidated mansion, forming a protective wall at all costs.
The cultist felt... fear.
Even as we soared through the sky, Scarlett was powerful enough to end all of this with one strike.
"I WILL NOT LET YOU DESTROY WHAT I HAVE CULTIVATED!!!"
—Voom…
Between light and dark, two forces combined.
One power was built on despair,
And the other, honed by hope.
Under the red sky that destroyed humanity.
What came after were rays of light—
"
Dawn has approached.
Before he could resist, the world was engulfed in white, along with everything else.
Not because of the unusual space I found myself in, but due to a devastating explosion that ruptured my eardrums.
—BOOOOOOOOM!!!!