Chapter 37: Absolute Power

“Interesting choice of weapons… Byleth.” The angel, unfazed by the shot a moment ago, answers without much of a hitch. “Did you already achieve your goal? How does it feel, stealing someone else’s body?”

“Hate to break it to you, pal.” Benkei, meanwhile, lets out a smirk of confidence, but his hands are already ever so slightly shaking from anxiety. “Byleth’s gone. I go by Benkei now.”

“Well, then. If you have taken that name, then I would assume you plan to live up to the weight it brings. Now, show me your warrior’s spirit, Benkei.”

As the words leave his mouth, a blast of dust and wind kicks off from the angel’s position, as if an entire army was charging into battle instead of just one lonesome man. And as soon as my hands reach my eyes to cover myself from the stray dirt, another booming sound rips through the air, even sending shockwaves towards my arms. When my eyes are able to see again, both Raphael and Benkei have already disappeared from the spot, with only a huge crater around twice the size of a grown man appearing where they once were and an unconscious Peng lying in the middle of it. From afar, another blast echoes, and before I could follow up, a figure has already flown past where I stand, sliding along the ground, leaving behind a trail of dirt and blood. As I’m about to turn around, another figure has already appeared in front of me. And, the fact that they’re flying in mid-air is enough information for me about the sequence of events that have just transpired.

Standing, or rather, floating in front of me is none other than Raphael himself, still not a speck of dust on his body, with a face as calm as a river. Meanwhile, Benkei, whose face was dyed an ugly brownish red from the blood and dirt, slowly stands up behind me once more, but only for a second before his legs give up on him yet again.

“Are you alright?” I quickly run towards the falling young man, knowing full well that leaving my back open against an opponent is equivalent to suicide. To my surprise, however, the man doesn’t even consider me an adversary, and instead goes out of his way to stand between me and Benkei, raising his hand forward as a warning:

“Back away, girl. This is a matter of pride between men.”

“Do you think I give a shit about pride? Out of the way!” His words only add fuel to my flames of anger, as I arm myself with my black armor in an instant and conjure a flurry of flaming spears, all ready to strike anything standing in my path.

Facing the barrage of fiery spears, the angel’s hand turns into a single fist, as he slowly resumes his battle stance. However, the nature of the action alone is enough for me to wonder if there’s anything wrong with his head. Are you kidding me? These spears can pierce even the toughest of ground, and not to mention all of them are burning bright as the sun. You might be fast enough to dodge Benkei’s air bullets, but did you honestly think that a mere fist can hope to stand up to my spears?

“Don’t underestimate me!”

Only when his fist swings forward, do I realize how much the gap between us actually is.

Not a single extra movement. It’s the most normal forward punch that one could imagine. The kind of punch that’s usually only for a performance, to show that the owner of said punch is a trained martial artist. However, the force that it brings makes even Uriel’s Clarent pale in comparison. As if a blade made of pure air pressure has just cut through the sky itself, even the clouds in the area are split neatly into two parts, causing where we stand at the moment to be unusually sunny. All of my spears, when faced with such force, shatter like glass, and my flames die out in only a split second. Meanwhile, the angel still stands tall, not a shred of weariness on his face, not a single breath out of sync.

“Give it up, you two. I have no qualms against you, anyway. All I’m asking is to take back that foolish boy, and then I’ll be on my way.”

However, before I could answer the proposition, from behind the angel, a deep sigh sounds instead. “Hah… Sorry pal, I’m not the type to listen to order… Well, this is the first I’ve heard so far, though.”

From the pile of debris caused by the earlier wreckage, Benkei stands up once more, his gun ready to fire at any time. But looking at the state he’s in right now… a face that I’m not even sure if he’s able to see with it, hands practically shaking in both pain and fear, and legs barely standing still after a beating. There’s no hope left for him to land a hit on his opponent, let alone win this fight. This is it. We can’t win. I can’t think of another way for us to escape unscathed.

“All right.” I raise both of my hands upwards, dropping my flag spear, the only weapon I have left available, to the ground. “We’ll…”

Immediately, a shot is fired, and the bullet whirls in full force. However, Benkei’s hands are no longer stable enough. Even I can see that the shot will miss, and by a good margin as well. Why are you shooting such a hopeless shot like that? Do you still have enough fighting spirit within you? Are you still going to bitterly take your step forward, even knowing that you’ll lose? Even knowing that you’ll die in the process? Why would you disregard your own life like this?

…

No, what am I thinking?

Am I not the same as him? I swore to protect the people that need it the most. I swore to see the goodness in everyone. Then why am I hesitating when a good person in front of me is struggling before a force he cannot hope to beat? If I’m not there to help him, to help them, then who will?

Another spear appears in my hand. My black armor dissipates, and taking its place is the shining white armor I learned for precise defense. Soon, multiple spears circle me once more, ready for another dance against the natural disaster that is the man in front of me.

“Rou de Feu!” I shout, directing my hand, not towards the man, but the missing bullet that is closing in on his side. If Benkei missed his shot, then I’ll be the one to redirect it to its rightful place.

The flaming spear pierces through the whirling bullet. In what could only be described as a blinding flash, a massive fire bursts from the point of collision, creating a fire sphere larger and more powerful than anything I’ve been able to create so far, engulfing the angel in its place in just a fraction of a second. As the raging flame burns through the man, from behind him, Benkei lets out a triumphant smile as his legs give up once again his body falls to the ground. However, before his back touches the ground, the newly born soul raises his thumb up towards me, signifying a job well done. I see… you’ve planned it from the start, knowing that even if you hadn’t missed, Raphael would have just dodged the shot. Smart move, Benkei. Now, even someone as tough as him should…

The scene in front of me makes me doubt my own eyes.

Even though his robe is nearly burned to a crisp, the man yet still stands. A few burn marks have appeared on his body, mainly on his neck and torso, and the rest of his skin reddens just a tad, but other than that, Raphael still looks as strong as ever, as if the fire that had engulfed him just now was nothing more than a rather warm shower. The angel then opens and closes his fist for a few seconds, as if to check for any residual effects from the burning, and, taking a deep breath, restores his complexion to its original color, like he hasn’t suffered any wounds in the first place. Cracking his neck and shoulders afterwards, Raphael continues:

“I’ll take that as a no, then. Well, it pains me to do this, but I’ll have to quiet you people first.”

“I… Impossible…” My whole body shivers before the deep abyss of despair that we’ve found ourselves into. “You were… on fire… How are you able to…”

“… I see. So, you are also one of those people that can’t accept the reality of things.” The angel’s voice shows the slightest bit of change for the first time, as he slowly steps forward and makes his way towards the helpless preys on his path. “Well, then. Allow me to explain it to you.”

I instinctively take a step back for each step he takes. The man’s pressure is too great, so much that it’s hard to even breathe with him in front of me. No good. Every fiber of my being is screaming at me to run away, but I know that as soon as I turn around, my life is over. There is no hope of escaping this man. I’ve chosen this path myself. I can’t save myself anymore. I can’t save anyone here.

It’s so frustrating.

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It’s so frustrating, I hate it with my entire being.

Once more, I see how powerless I am.

This is worse than when I fought Byleth. This isn’t even a match. We’re just lambs waiting to be slaughtered at this point.

Is this it? Is this really it?

After all of that… this is how it ends?

“No! I don’t accept this!” With everything I have left, I grip my spear once more and shout as loud as I can. “After all I’ve been through! I refuse to die here! Forteresse…”

“There’s an old saying that goes: ‘know yourself, know your enemies, and you’ll win even a hundred battles.’” The angel’s voice echoes in the air at the same time as mine. “It means that if you devised a strategy to use your strengths and exploit the opponent’s weaknesses, there’s no battle that you cannot win. However, it is only half true. Strategy is an important aspect of war, but in front of simple, absolute power, no kind of clever tactics would be able to bridge that gigantic gap.”

The man disappears once more and reappears once more right in front of me before I could even finish saying the name of my technique. Absolute power, huh? Damn it all. How is this fair, anyway? A kind of strength and endurance far superior to any other being I’ve met before. A speed far surpassing the limits of humans and angels alike. That kind of cheat… I can’t even compete, let alone win.

As his fist swings towards me, a flash appears before my eyes.

Damn it. Now I’m remembering everything in my life up until now. My childhood, my encounter with Uriel. Meeting Peter. Solving my hatred. Meeting Katsu and everyone here. My quiet life here in Japan… An eventful life, huh? But I want to do more. I want to help more people. Meet my first friends again.

All of a sudden, in front of me appears another white figure. With only a hand forward, the figure blocks Raphael’s punch completely, or rather, the latter stops just before his fist hits the individual’s chest.

“Bedivere, what’s the meaning of this?” Raphael grunts, clearly dissatisfied with the individual’s intervention. “Are you going against the teachings of God?”

“I should be the one asking that question.” Standing opposing Raphael still with a calm look, the leader of the archangels answers. “Going into my territory on your own, wreaking havoc everywhere you go, causing nothing but panic to my people…”

 “Besides,” Michael mysteriously pauses for a second, before finally continuing his question. “Do you not remember who we are right now, Raphael? I’ve long discarded that title, and so should you.”

Raphael, in an unexpected turn of events, replies with a light smirk. “Unlike you, who have stooped low enough to being no more than a dog wagging its tail in front of the master, I still choose to keep my true name, even if there’s no one left to address it to.”

“What foolish nonsense.” Michael shakes his head in disappointment. “Didn’t you always tell me that bearing that name equals unparallel shame, as it reminds you of your ties with that man?”

“I did, and I still find it to be true even now,” Raphael answers with a sigh. “But that is a burden for me to bear. If my father is forever the shameless knight who led his king to ruin, then so be it. That will forever serve as a reminder, in order for me to pursue my justice. But, answer me this, Bedivere… Is all of this farce yours?”

“Well, are you sure what you’re doing is yours?” With a smile on his face, Michael answers with a question of his own.

“… Why are you protecting them?” Raphael hesitates for the first time before asking. To his surprise, his long-time partner, as if waiting for that answer, lets out a scheming grin:

“Who says I’m protecting them?”

“Did you just not shield them from my attack?”

“Of course. And with that, I’ve done my job. Besides, I’m fulfilling whatever I can while we’re here, right?”

“… Still got that sly and cunning brain, I see… But I’m not sure I would want the extra baggage.”

“No, I’m sure you wouldn’t mind… Am I right, Galahad?”

“… How much have you known?”

“More than you think.”

“… I’ll take your offer, then.” Raphael hesitates for a moment before finally giving out a nod of confirmation, before disappearing right in front of my eyes in an instant, kicking off dust around the area. Only a second later, the angel has already returned along with two unconscious bodies on his shoulder – the bodies of my comrades.

“They’re only asleep, don’t worry. And you should rest for a while too.”

I don’t get to react to his words at all. The only thing I can tell is a sharp, immediate pain at the back of my neck before my consciousness fades into darkness.

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