Uchikage, following Tenda’s instructions, tries to summon Reizen but is left speechless upon seeing him.
“IIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTT HHHHHUUUUUUURRRRRRRDDD!!!!”
He writhes in agony, clutching his stomach.
Reizen, who had been nearly unaffected by pain in this world, is now expressing unbearable pain.
Just that alone indicated that something unusual was happening.
The three who were talking cheerfully nearby until a moment ago continue calling out to Reizen.
“Re-Reizen?! W-What’s wrong? Hey!”
“Hey, what’s the matter?! What the hell is it, Reizen?! Thekil! Can’t we do something!?”
“W-Wa-wait, I-I don’t know what is happening either!!”
As Uchikage observes the three panicking individuals, he suddenly notices something.
Uchikage looks in the direction where Lize, Yurie, and Roze were.
“…Akh…Ghhhh…”
“W-Wait, what’s wrong!? What happened!?”
“Lize-san?! Lize-san!!?”
Lize’s consciousness is already on the verge of fading due to the intense pain.
She seems to be barely hanging on her consciousness, but if what is happening to their bodies continues, she will soon lose consciousness.
Given the situation, there is a high possibility that Houen is experiencing the same thing.
What is happening now?
Uchikage couldn’t comprehend it instantly, but as one who has been with the Ouren for a long time and knows everything about this incident, an unwanted word crosses his mind.
“…Our plan… failed…?”
He doesn’t know what to do from now on.
What can he do to save the four of them? What should he do to successfully prevent the resurrection of the evil god?
He knew the method to prevent it.
He did what he could.
But Uchikage didn’t know what else he should do.
Then, a change occurred.
From the bodies of Ouren, Reizen, and Lize, spherical objects of different colors emerged.
A white sphere from Ouren, a black sphere from Reizen… and a blue sphere from Lize.
“What’s… happening!?”
“What is this… Tenda… what is this?”
“I don’t know…”
Translucent spheres.
Perhaps this is what they call souls.
They gently float in the air and gradually grow larger.
However, before they could fully grow, they were all torn apart.
It was an almost instantaneous event.
Those present on the scene looked around, and a certain group was relentlessly shredding the souls that had escaped from the three individuals with their respective weapons.
“Damn iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit”
“It’s no use!! It’s no use, no use, no use, no use, no use, no use!!!!”
“This is bad… This is bad…!!!!”
The Devils.
Those who laid eyes on them for the first time took a few steps back, intimidated by their menacing presence.
Dacia swung her longsword, Mana swung her spear, and Iubora brandished his claws.
Repeatedly, they tore apart the spheres countless times, trying to disperse them into mist.
But it seemed almost futile, as the scattered spheres returned to their original form.
Nevertheless, they continued wielding their weapons.
Even though they knew it was pointless, they felt that if they didn’t do so, something would go wrong with themselves.
“It’s no use…!!!! It’s no use!!!! Summoning all four at once is no use!!!!”
Dacia froze for a moment.
Unintentionally, he uttered those words.
His statement was enough to trigger the curse that would easily claim his life.
But nothing happened.
Mana, who overheard his words, shouted.
“Dacia!!!!”
“Why…!!! Why isn’t the curse activating!!!”
If they wouldn’t die, they could still keep fighting.
Dacia quickly grasped the current situation and continued slashing at the white sphere with his blade.
An attack that had no sensation at all.
He didn’t know if it was actually hitting, but if he looked with his eyes, the sphere was certainly being shredded.
But that was all.
(Ouren POV)
While the three devils were wreaking havoc in the sky, I managed to somehow regain consciousness.
My body no longer hurt.
Nothing seemed to have changed.
I raised my upper body and made an effort to understand what was happening right in front of me.
“…What… is happening…”
“Ouren!”
“Ouren-sama!! Are you safe!?”
“Ah, yeah. I’m fine. So, this is…”
“A white sphere-like object came out from Ouren-sama… and the devils are…”
“Wait. Wait, wait… hold on… Does that mean…”
I didn’t want to think about it.
But the demons were clearly in a frenzy, swinging their blades, and three colored spheres were floating in the air right in front of me.
Uchikage, gazing absentmindedly at the sky, seemed different.
Wondering what happened, he slowly turned around when spoken to.
His face was pale, and cold sweat was pouring down.
Seeing Uchikage in such an unusual state, the three of them were confused.
“O-O-Ouren-sama…”
“What’s wrong!? Are you okay!?”
“I sense… an intense murderous intent… and malevolent energy!”
“Murderous intent? Malevolent energy? What do you mean?”
I don’t feel any of those things.
If there was impending danger, Tenda would notice.
But Uchikage shook his head, indicating he didn’t understand what was happening.
What did Uchikage perceive?
“From that sphere… I sense an incredible… intense murderous intent and malevolent energy!”
“…From there? Are you sure…”
“Ouren! What should we do!?”
“What can we do…? I don’t know either!! Damn demons!! Why! Why did it fail!!”
Houen’s strategy was supposed to be a good plan and the devils seemed to agree on that.
There should have been a method to prevent the resurrection of the evil god within it.
But to sum up the previous discussion, the straightforward method was to move people like this.
Although it hadn’t been completely successful before due to our presence, this time it should have been a complete success.
We high-level magic users also went outside, and there shouldn’t be any magical barrier covering the Kingdom of Garott.
…Or perhaps it was already pointless?
Upon hearing my voice, Dacia, swinging his longsword, threw words at me.
“~~!! It should have been a success!! Your actions were correct!! Nothing was wrong!! Why did it fail? I don’t understand!! I don’t know!!”
“Is it about time to stop?”
“!!?”
Dacia disappeared.
A moment later, an explosion occurred dozens of kilometers away.
It wasn’t an explosion of gunpowder… but rather the sound of something huge colliding with and destroying the ground.
“!! Daciaaaaa!!”
“You too.”
“!!? From the ground–“
Mana was slammed down from above.
The ground dented and rose, and at the second impact, a blast wave struck the surroundings.
People nearby were blown away.
Stores and merchandise that were outside flew through the air, causing a secondary disaster.
There would undoubtedly be a significant number of casualties from just that.
We were not exempt from it either.
” 【 Pneumatic Barrier】 !!”
“Ghh, 【 Pneumatic Barrier – Though】 …!!”
Boom!!
A sound resembling the collision of air burst out from the pneumatic barrier.
Cracks appeared in it, and it shattered immediately.
This much power from just air pressure?
What kind of joke was this?
“Uooohhh!?”
“Kyaaaaa!!”
“Damn it!! Ouren-sama, hold on tight!”
“I’m being held by you, goddamnit!”
Thanks to witnessing Tenda’s attack as an oni, I was able to anticipate the impending blast. However, I never expected the pneumatic barrier to be destroyed just like that.
Now, Tenda and Uchikage are holding me and Alena, enduring the blast for us.
Tenda swung his arms widely, causing wind and neutralizing it.
In this finally quiet place, there was hardly anything left.
It seemed that only Reizen’s Barrier remained intact without being broken.
“Guhh…”
“R-Reizen! Are you okay? Are you still hurt?”
“I-I’m fine, Karna… Just not used to pain after such a long time…”
“It doesn’t look like a normal pain to me!”
“Cough… Reizen, you saved us… Are you alright, Thekil?”
“I’ll go hide… hey big bro, let me out later. 【 Storage】 .”
“Yeah.”
Thekil entered the storage.
As an evacuation spot, it was more than sufficient.
The only thing remaining in this place is… Mana, lying collapsed in the center of the dented ground.
First, I need to help her.
Thinking so, I ask Tenda to release me and rush over.
“Kh! Hey! Are you okay!?”
“…”
” 【 Great Heal】 !”
I immediately treat Mana, give her a healing potion to drink.
Her injuries are completely healed now, but she doesn’t regain consciousness.
Then, laughter can be heard from above.
It started as a small laughter but gradually grew louder, eventually reaching the extent of reaching the blown-away people.
The three of them laughed with genuine enjoyment and a menacing tone.
Among them, I recognized one of them.
“…The Voice of Heaven…!!”
Even now, the laughter continues to echo.
As if heralding the beginning of despair, they continued to laugh.