Chapter 83 - Moon and Moon
Sakaebara Port was a lonely port, just as its reputation suggested.
The darkness of night dyed the sea surface a solid black, killing every other color.
There were no human figures on the jutting pier, and no ships anchored there.
No matter how much I strained my ears, I could only hear the sound of waves caressing the tetrapods.
A silence that was a hair's breadth away from being eerie.
The High Priest was nowhere to be seen.
"Didn't we arrive a little too early? Maybe that person hasn't come yet."
Rio said, rubbing her hands together.
"You look cold."
"Yeah. I should have dressed in more layers."
Both Rio and I were dressed in coats over tracksuits.
As a result of considering ease of movement, we had settled on this style.
"I'll finish this as quickly as possible. Let's buy something warm on the way back."
"Mm."
Rio exhaled a white breath and nodded repeatedly.
It was a gesture like a young girl, unbefitting her mature appearance.
Come to think of it, I remembered Elsa had a side like that too.
No matter how much she acted like a lady, an innocent side would peek through at unexpected moments.
That was something that wouldn't change, no matter how old she got.
As I was narrowing my eyes, thinking how nostalgic that was... moonlight filtered through a gap in the clouds.
While I was thinking idly that this might improve my visibility a little, the moonlight's luminosity began to increase rapidly.
The light swept the clouds away, illuminating the entire surroundings.
"...Two moons?"
Rio said, squinting against the glare.
Two yellow perfect circles shining in the night sky.
Certainly, it might look like two full moons were lined up.
However, one of them was continuing to swell even at this very moment.
A phenomenon where a moon rapidly increases its mass is impossible. That is not a celestial body.
Divine Sphere.
It is a spell said to boast the greatest firepower among those a priest can learn.
A sphere of light and heat, woven from high-purity magical power.
People call it an embodied faith or a divine grace, but its reality is nothing more than a "massive energy bullet."
Even if it were a spell chanted for the purpose of destruction and slaughter, if the caster were a member of the clergy, it would be revered as a holy power.
Such a sphere of light, a symbol of the distortions of another world, had appeared before my eyes.
The user is, of course, High Priest Philia.
Because she is flying at a considerable altitude, it is hard to see, but a small human figure can be confirmed beneath the sphere of light.
A woman mounted on a winged horse, holding her right hand aloft.
Since Divine Sphere is generated and released from the palm, it naturally results in a posture as if she were lifting something up.
"...With that diameter, it's impossible to swallow it."
That is apparently the conclusion reached after careful consideration by that person, who had her light bullet blocked during the battle in the evening.
In short, it's just a matter of increasing the power even more and smashing it against me.
It is simple enough, but I wonder if she didn't consider how many victims that magic would cause?
No, that is precisely why she chose an unpopulated place like this.
I want to believe that even she still has a conscience remaining.
I quietly raised my right hand and infused it with magical power. I concentrated my mind and began preparations for interception.
[Hero Keisuke is chanting Divine Sphere]
[Consuming 25% of MP]
Priests and Heroes have a considerable overlap in the magic they learn.
After all, it is whispered that if you add swordsmanship to a priest and strengthen their physical stats, you become a Hero.
A sphere of light generated with a humming sound erupted from my palm.
"Your eyeballs might go blind from this, so turn around and close your eyes."
I warned Rio.
Once I confirmed she moved as told, I poured even more magical power into the sphere of light.
The sky and the ground.
The counterfeit moons shining in two places continued to increase in brilliance, neither yielding an inch to the other.
The world was enveloped in a flash, transforming into a pure white space.
—The one to swing their arm first was the High Priest.
Divine Sphere was launched, aimed directly at me.
Subjectively, it was already like a moon falling.
A massive sphere of magical power approached, clad in crackling sparks.
It descended, intending to burn everything to ash and swallow it all.
However, the one meeting it was also a heat source emitting light like a star.
"Go...!"
I aligned my aim and fired the sphere of light from my right hand.
Though it was hastily made, its initial velocity and size were not inferior to that thing.
If anything, I was superior in terms of speed.
A magic sphere traveling straight like a comet, trailing a long tail. It carried out a daring charge against the one released by the High Priest.
A second that felt like eternity. My eyes captured the sphere closing the distance in slow motion.
They collide.
They collide.
They collide...!
—And then, the two spheres made contact.
In that instant, light exploded.
A roar resounded, and the waves ran wild.
The explosion caused by the collision of magical power shook everything in the vicinity.
If I were caught in that, I wouldn't stand a chance.
But because it ruptured at the midpoint between me and the High Priest, neither side took damage.
There were no external wounds.
Even so, the impact this exchange had was significant.
I stared at the human figure swaying unsteadily in the sky.
It seemed the High Priest had lost a considerable amount of magical power in that previous attack.
She was so violently exhausted that it could be seen even from this distance.
Rather than riding the Pegasus, she looked as if she were leaning against it.
In contrast, I still had plenty of MP left.
Even just by exhausting the opponent, it was a highly meaningful exchange.
I had lightly parried the great technique that was surely her trump card.
The mental agitation on her side was immeasurable.
In other words.
From here on, it was a one-sided massacre.
When we first met, I was the one who admired her.
Now, she is the one unilaterally seeking me.
I must toy her to death—a woman who never synchronized with me until the end, only because the periods when we liked each other were out of sync.
"But you're already a person who shouldn't be living anymore, Philia."
I took Rio's arm and gently made her stand up.
I wasn't keen on it, but I needed this girl's cooperation too.
It wasn't as if I had brought her all the way here following the High Priest's words.
I had made her accompany me because she was useful to me as well.
Surely, thanks to Rio, I will obtain a complete victory.
I will destroy that woman utterly and fulfill my wish.
The moment I finish that, perhaps my youth will finally come to an end.
By erasing, with these hands, the symbol of my first love that came from the past.