Chapter 74 - Fate
"...High Priest...?"
Forgetting that we were in the middle of combat, I reflexively lowered my sword.
I retreated, stepping backward as I stared at the woman.
A face like a statue of a goddess, framed by silver hair parted down the middle.
Blue eyes. Snow-white skin.
From the neck down, her figure was so richly curvaceous that it was obvious even through her clerical robes.
If one were to take a Holy Mother depicted in a religious painting and add a level of eroticism that bordered on the blasphemous, this is what she would look like.
High Priest Philia.
My first Party Member, and my worst nemesis.
Absurdly, despite this woman being forty-six this year, she looked to be in her late twenties at most.
Since she is a pure-blooded Human Race, it is certain she is using some method to halt her aging.
"Why are you here?"
Those marine-blue eyes stared back at me intently.
I was never good with these eyes. It felt as though I were peering into glass beads, something somewhat inhuman.
However, the High Priest had said she liked looking into my pitch-black eyes.
Because it was a rare color in this other world. Because black is a noble color. Because it had high value.
Whenever this woman praised me, she always used such adjectives.
Value. Strength. Performance. That is what a man's worth is, isn't it, Hero-dono?
"You are as soft as ever, Hero-dono. Why do you not cut me down immediately? Do you not think this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to defeat your sworn enemy?"
The High Priest spoke her words flatly, her expression remaining emotionless.
She had the exact same face she wore when discussing the party's budget allocation.
To this woman, her own life and the exchange of money were of completely equal value.
"...What's the point of wiping out the enemy based on a momentary impulse? We should squeeze out as much information as possible to the limit, and then consider how to deal with her. I disposed of that goblin earlier precisely because I wanted to prevent that. Am I wrong? This is what you taught me, Lord High Priest Philia."
The moment I called her name, the High Priest's eyelashes flickered.
Since she was a person who rarely showed emotion, such a reaction was rare.
"Then, Hero Keisuke-dono intends to torture me, I see."
She called me back by name as well.
Since we had called each other only by our titles for many years, it felt terribly out of place.
"You showed yourself because you know I can't do that, right?"
"How kind of you. It seems some affection as comrades-in-arms still remains."
As expected, you are exactly the person I anticipated, the High Priest said, narrowing her eyes.
She looked as if she were smiling, or perhaps pitying me.
It was likely both.
"You're the one involved in sending that cunning Wraith into Angelica, aren't you?"
I raised my sword, pointing the tip toward the High Priest's nose.
With just a few more centimeters of movement, her nostrils would be gouged out.
"Am I that annoying to you? Do you think you want to kill me because I might retaliate in that other world?"
The High Priest answered without changing her expression.
"Half of that is correct, but half is wrong."
She continued in a voice that felt almost tranquil.
"It is true that I wish to erase you, Hero-dono. But at the same time, I also hold an expectation that you, of all people, will overcome this hardship."
Her twisted sense of camaraderie made me want to retch.
I moved my arm and unleashed a thrust toward the High Priest's right shoulder.
My opponent was a highly skilled priest. Not only had she graduated from a first-rate convent, but she had also undergone decades of training.
She certainly wouldn't be easy to deal with.
She might be maintaining a barrier, conscious of close-quarters combat.
She might have applied a powerful buff, making it so the blade wouldn't pass through.
There was even the possibility that the person here wasn't her at all, but an illusion.
That was why this was a mere feint.
It was an attack intended to observe her, without much expectation.
However.
"...Ngh."
To my surprise, the High Priest's body accepted my sword without resistance.
The blade, woven from light and heat, pierced her slender shoulder.
The smell of burning flesh, the sensation of melting bone. A voice moaning in pain.
The sheer ease of it made even me, the one who stabbed her, recoil in shock.
What the hell is this woman thinking?
I reflexively pulled the sword out.
That was clearly the sensation of cutting through a living, breathing human.
If that was the case, then the woman before my eyes was—
"Yes, that is correct. As you suspected, I am the High Priest Philia herself. Why don't you even try using Status Appraisal to confirm it?"
The High Priest was smiling while clutching her shoulder.
For a rear-guard class, especially a woman, to take a Hero's strike head-on was nothing short of reckless.
But there had to be a reason why she deliberately took my sword.
I immediately put distance between us and entered a defensive stance.
In my experience, enemies who willingly accept an attack are often aiming for a counter.
Reflecting damage. Or perhaps poison planted inside her body would burst from the wound. Or even casting a curse at the same moment she is hit.
But no matter how long I waited, there was no sign of a counterattack.
The High Priest was merely staggering while treating her shoulder with magic.
Not a counter?
Then why did the real body come out?
Why didn't she fortify her defenses?
A no-guard tactic with an unknown objective was nothing if not eerie.
As I wavered in confusion, the High Priest muttered, "I knew it."
"You really do hold back for me. It seems it was the right decision for me to come out."
Brushing the dirt from her clerical robes with her hands, the High Priest approached.
"It was observed from that world as well that the Wraith I possessed Angelica in has vanished. I certainly thought you had slaughtered her along with it, but as you can see, she is alive."
A white finger pointed toward Angelica, who was gasping for breath in the living room.
"I had forgotten that even if you are merciless to your enemies, you are soft toward your allies, Hero-dono. How clumsy of me. You must have used every trick in the book to ensure that girl didn't die, only to manage to kill the Wraith alone, didn't you? It is quite impressive. It deserves praise."
The High Priest smiled brightly.
"When you have hostages taken, you actually become more motivated... Come to think of it, you have always been that way. You have no problem making your own body full of holes, yet you loathe it terribly when your Party Members are injured, don't you?"
"That is why I thought of it," the High Priest said.
"If so, a person who can fulfill the roles of both a hostage and an assassin should kill you. This way, you cannot lay a hand on someone targeting your own life. Even if you could, you wouldn't be able to exert even half of your usual strength. Isn't it a brilliant plan?"
"...Don't get cocky."
In short, this woman intended to exploit the fact that my hands would slacken due to our former bond as comrades.
But wouldn't such a thing lose its effectiveness the moment it was spoken aloud?
"Once I identify someone as an enemy, I'll cut them down whether they're a woman or a child. You know that well, don't you?"
"But you do treat them after you've cut them, don't you?"
Countless magic circles floated in the space behind the High Priest.
Silver circles rotating in mid-air. A hexagram sat enthroned at their centers.
They all simultaneously fired light bullets, piercing through my entire body.
"It is painful for me as well, Hero-dono, to dispose of you like this. That is precisely why I volunteered. If I am to be killed by someone else, it is better that I am the one to do it..."
Arrows of light scorched my skin.
If even my magic defense couldn't block them all, the firepower was considerable.
Each one contained enough faith that a minor demon could be evaporated with a single touch.
"Wonderful. The way you endure the pain is also lovely, Hero-dono. That expression alone hasn't changed at all since the first time we met. Do you remember? When your abdomen was pierced by a demi-human's spear for the first time, I was the one who treated you, wasn't I? It is improper, but even then, I felt a certain eroticism in your face as it contorted in pain. Do you understand? The first person in that world to be conscious of you as a man was not Lady Elsa, but me. Honestly. Why couldn't you have become mine? Just because you chose a lowly slave woman, you end up being executed like this."
High-pitched firing sounds echoed continuously.
I was pierced through my entire body, helpless against the swarm of light bullets that could now be called a rain of light.
As my consciousness drifted away, I stared at the High Priest.
The woman who was currently trying to shoot me to death was shedding tears from both eyes.
Her nose was bright red. Her limbs were trembling. Her eyes were filled with sadness, as if she were engaging in an act of self-harm.
"Rest easy. Once I have killed you, Hero-dono, I shall pray that you can go to heaven properly. Once that is done, I will follow you and die. You are not alone."
"...Don't... screw..."
"I love you, Keisuke-dono. Before I commit suicide, it might not be so bad to lose my virginity using your corpse, don't you think? Hehe. Somehow, I'm starting to have a little fun. Wouldn't it be delightful to think that the last woman to join with you in this world is me, rather than Lady Elsa?"
The High Priest spread both arms and held an exceptionally large magic circle above her head.
Judging by its shape and the incantations written within the circle, it possessed enough power to blow this town away in a single strike.
It was far too much firepower to be used on a single human.
This was the kind of thing one would unleash against an enemy castle or a dragon.
If it were just me kicking the bucket, it would be one thing, but I couldn't allow collateral damage.
I hurriedly cast [Heal] on my entire body and began chanting a defensive spell.
Defensive spell... [Sacred Circle]... Wait, what use is that?
This is a barrier meant to keep evil things away, but isn't the magic the High Priest uses light attribute?
Furthermore, if her principle of action is affection for me, there is a possibility that magic meant to dispel evil might not be able to block it.
Even if it is twisted, goodwill is still goodwill.
Magic has no ego. Therefore, it performs mechanical processing.
Am I really going to die in a place like this?
"Father!"
"Nakamoto-san!"
Perhaps sensing the ominous situation, Rio and Angelica rushed out.
The High Priest's eyes, still wet with tears, turned toward the two girls.
"...Lady Elsa...!?"
They recklessly attempted to approach an opponent that even I was struggling against.
Normally, I would want to scold them, but right now, this was a massive help.
Seeing Rio's form, the High Priest's eyes widened in astonishment. Her hand movements stopped completely, and her chanting was interrupted.
It made sense.
A girl who was the spitting image of the love rival she hated so much had suddenly appeared.
"Impossible...? Resurrection magic? That can't be... The age is different too. Have you resorted to human transmutation, Hero-dono? Do you want to spend time with that slave woman that badly?!"
Taking advantage of the opening that finally appeared, I completed my treatment.
With my body moving once more, I performed a full-power leap and slashed at the High Priest.
"Oooooooooh!"
A diagonal slash from her right shoulder to her left thigh.
There was a definite sensation of cutting through her, including her internal organs.
"...Oh...?"
The High Priest's clerical robes were torn to shreds, and she was split in two.
Upper body and lower body. The nemesis, divided in two, fell to the floor with a thud.
"Thanks, Rio. Nice assist."
Once I confirmed the disappearance of the magic circles, I grabbed the High Priest by her hair.
I yanked her up and spoke to her.
"Knowing you, this isn't the end, is it?"
I cast [Dispel] on the High Priest. It would be pointless if she regenerated via automatic recovery.
Once that was done, I pierced her throat.
Since I was reluctant to look at her directly, I averted my gaze while doing so.
"...Gueh...!"
As long as the vocal cords are intact, one can chant magic any number of times.
When killing a rear-guard class, the golden rule is to first make them unable to speak.
I should have done this from the start. But I couldn't.
It was all a mistake brought about by my own softness.
While regretting it in my heart, I cut off the High Priest's head.
I did not conduct an interrogation.
No matter how much she said she loved me, I hesitated to do that to a woman.
In that sense, it could be said that the High Priest's aim was precise.
Without obtaining any information, I achieved a hollow victory.
In terms of feeling, it was a draw.