Chapter 39. Five Points of Caution (III)
—7X Minutes After the War Council Ended, Central Plaza of the Fourth District—
"Now for the second song, please listen to…"
Breaking the heavy atmosphere was Liliana-san's enthusiastic voice. Facing this situation, Sirius looked around in confusion. She obviously couldn't imagine, or rather, still underestimated how fanatical Mr. Kiritaka, the Diva Fanatic, was when it came to Liliana.
In order to keep Liliana in the Water Gate City with him, Kiritaka proposed the plan to use the 'Metia' to broadcast Liliana's songs throughout the entire city. Precisely because this was his own proposal, Kiritaka, who was not short on money, made the best setup. Not only did he have backups for the 'Metia', but there were also hidden signal lines.
"So annoying, so annoying…"
Sirius could only curse, because she knew that the two people rushing towards her wouldn't give her a second chance.
However, Sirius also noticed that the power contained in the singing was not as strong as before. She waved her hand and over half of the crowd rushed toward the pair.
"Come on! The trial must be arduous to prove my love! My beloved Petelgeuse! Please witness my love!"
Although in a state of fanaticism, Sirius had not lost her judgment. She maintained her distance from Geuse as usual to prevent herself from being caught by the 'Unseen Hand,' while intentionally having the crowd avoid Emilia.
Emilia naturally noticed this point, but just as Sirius wanted to complete the trial quickly, Emilia, noticing the passage of time, also intended to complete her mission as soon as possible.
The mana around Emilia even caused heavy snow to fall from the sky, but these snowflakes, which could freeze people, were instantly melted by the flames surrounding Sirius. The two sides quickly closed the distance between them. Then, several burning chains suddenly appeared in the air not far behind Emilia, rushing towards her. However, Emilia instantly mobilized her mana and froze the chains in the air.
"That damn half-devil!"
Sirius waved the chains. Under the manipulation of the Authority, the chains were as flexible as a living creature, but Emilia used her ice weapon, which could constantly change shape, and ice pillars erected on the ground to restrict the attack path of the chains, managing to block all of Sirius's attacks.
"Petelgeuse AAHHH!!"
The ground suddenly collapsed. Sirius, losing her balance, shouted as she grabbed the front of the ice spear Emilia thrust towards her with both hands.
"Y-Yah!?"
The ice spear in Emilia's hand turned into a flame spear. Emilia was scalded by the unexpected heat, but she did not let go of the flame spear. Instead, she chose to create an ice glove on her hand, while the ice shield she used to block attacks with her other hand turned into an ice sword.
"I'm sorry!"
"Can you really bring yourself to do it?"
Sirius showed a frantic smile on her face. The space in front of her began to warp. This time, a small boy appeared in front of her.
Sirius smiled, watching Emilia choose to save the boy. She had learned from the previous event that the woman before her was kind, so she intentionally made an opening for a decisive kill.
—Can't move?
Sirius suddenly found her body to be somewhat out of her control, and then she felt immense pain all over her body. The world she was looking at gradually turned red.
—Could it be!
—Fortuna!
Sirius heard the voice of her beloved appearing in her mind.
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"You must be Rusbel. Go over there and look for the uncles in white clothes; they will take you to your childhood friend."
Emilia said, putting the little boy down. Then she looked again at Sirius, whose expression was twisted in place. The heavy snow gradually disappeared as the battle ended. Geuse's frozen body appeared in her field of vision not far away.
"This secures the retreat."
Emilia first thawed Geuse's body, then separated the three of them from the motionless crowd with an ice wall.
"Geuse, absolutely don't overdo it! You must come back safe and sound!" Emilia said gently to Sirius's body.
The backlash from a single Authority use had severely wounded Geuse all over, causing his strong will to gradually collapse.
It could be said that he understood the danger of the Authority better than anyone, but the incident where Emilia was in danger just now still made him resolve himself. The worst-case scenario was that he and Fortuna would die together under the backlash of the two Authorities. The best-case scenario was that he would awaken Fortuna and then return to his own body.
Now, he felt like a small boat in the middle of a great ocean during a storm, even possibly falling into the sea of madness. It was then that he heard it—he heard the cry of his important person.
—Emilia-sama's voice. That's right, I must bring Fortuna back.
Geuse's sanity once again suppressed the frantic emotion, and then he began the difficult search for Fortuna's will.
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7X Minutes After the War Council Ended, Third District Main Road
Wilhelm gritted his teeth, preventing the violently vibrating iron sword from flying out of his hand.
—How long has this battle been going on?
Looking at the beautiful face of Theresia before him, illuminated by the scattered sparks, and seeing her face exactly as it was when the battle began, Wilhelm couldn't help but wonder.
—A few minutes? Dozens of minutes? A few hours?
"Hoo~~~ AHH!"
A furious roar followed a brief gasp. Wilhelm felt himself getting closer to his former self. His sword, filled with killing intent, was easily blocked by Theresia. The swords in their hands collided rapidly in the air.
Theresia's expression didn't change at all. His beloved, who once hated swords and hated killing, was once again wielding a sword and fighting to the death.
Every second before him was desecrating the promise Wilhelm once made to wield the sword on Theresia's behalf.
The emotions of rage and sorrow made Wilhelm's sword fiercer. But to defeat Theresia, he could only surpass her in swordsmanship.
A strong will could not shake reality. Wilhelm was already over 60 years old. The blood loss caused by the fighting further widened the gap between the two.
Blood dripped from Wilhelm's retreating shoulder. It was the first serious wound on his body, but Wilhelm knew the wound was not caused by carelessness, but because his body was unable to fully execute his intentions anymore.
—"Wait for me to come back, I want to hear the words I didn't hear that day."
He recalled the words Theresia said to him before she went off to war.
"The dead resurrected by the [Sacrament of the Undying King] have souls."
Then, the witch's whisper during the battle that afternoon.
"Theresia! I am here to fulfill the promise of that day!"
Wilhelm prepared himself to resolve everything. Then, casting aside all distractions, he assumed his stance.
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