At that moment, I opened my eyes.
“Himemiya! Wake up, Himemiya!”
It was Kamikura’s voice! Before I knew it, I was being held in both arms by Judgment, who was floating in the air.
“Himemiya-san! Please wake up!”
This voice… I instinctively looked down at the two people on the roof of the building.
Kamikura and Hojo-san… Kamikura had his gun drawn, and Hojo-san was wearing white and purple vestments that seemed to belong to the Alsard Church. In her hand, she held a cross emitting a pale blue light.
“Kamikura! Hojo-san!”
I inadvertently shouted their names. And when my eyes met Kamikura’s, I trusted him and moved my body like an overhead kick, striking Judgment in the head. Having completely taken her by surprise, Judgment lost her balance, and released from her hands, I fell through the air toward the ground.
(Kamikura! I’m trusting our eye contact!)
At that moment, Kamikura let out a war cry and held his hand out toward me. Then, my fall stopped as if I were floating in mid-air, and I was pulled toward the two of them. And I fell gently, as if caught in Kamikura’s arms.
(What… is the meaning of this? Could it be… Psychokinesis !?)
“Are you okay, Himemiya?! I have a mountain of things to say, but surviving this situation is the top priority right now! The opponent isn’t a normal-class AW! Follow Hojo and evacuate this place!”
“Himemiya-san! Head to the transfer gate over there! If you pass through that space, you can return to the real world! Please evacuate immediately!”
As told by the two, I ran toward the transfer gate, which looked like a tear in space. However, the moment I was about to pass through it, the gate suddenly vanished.
“No way! She shouldn’t be able to erase a transfer gate…”
Hojo-san raised a voice of surprise at what was likely an unexpected situation.
“As if I’d let you escape so easily, you fools! Well, fine. Are you the Wizard Killer who has killed so many of my brethren? I won’t let you die easily!”
Judgment brandished her large spear at Kamikura. But the moment it was about to hit directly, Hojo-san deployed something like a magic circle and defended against it. A painfully bright light and a violent, electric shock-like impact sound echoed through the area.
“You little AMGE brat! I am not some small fry like the ones you’re always playing around with!”
For a while now, Judgment’s voice has been echoing directly in my head. Before I knew it, Judgment had returned to her form of swirling black particles. She seems quite enraged by the intervention of the two. I reached for the holster on my hip.
(…My gun is gone!?)
At that moment, Kamikura reached down to Judgment’s feet and swiped his hand toward me.
“Catch, Himemiya!”
My gun, which had apparently fallen to the ground, came flying at me. I caught it and quickly reloaded the magazine. There is no doubt. Kamikura can manipulate psychokinesis at will.
I took aim and pulled the trigger. But just like before, all the bullets were neutralized by magic circles that appeared momentarily.
“Goddess of Light, Alsard! Grant us your divine protection! Heavenly light and fire of affection, let the voice of prayer resound!”
It was as if she were a different person. Emitting an aura like a goddess dashing through a battlefield, Hojo-san chanted powerfully. Our bodies were enveloped in a dazzling light, and at that moment, I felt a welling of power and a clear sensation of my body becoming lighter.
“It’s about time you stopped looking down on us from above!”
Kamikura held his right hand up toward Judgment and swung his arm down toward the ground. Then, Judgment’s body fell to the ground as if dragged down from the air. However, it wasn’t quite to the point of being slammed down.
“Hojo! Interfere with the AW’s Protection Field ! Seal her movements!”
“Goddess of the Earth, Gardmagna. With your roaring voice, with that power, seal everything! Show the power of God!”
Phantoms resembling rocks appeared around Judgment, and the moment the chant ended, they assaulted her.
“Interesting, Wizard Killer! Where did you acquire that power?! Who is behind you!”
With a single swing of her large spear, Judgment blew away the phantoms of rocks surrounding her in an instant.
“Himemiya! Make sure you don’t step into the line of fire!”
Shouting that, Kamikura tossed the gun in his hand and what appeared to be a spare gun from his holster into the air.
“Himemiya-san! Get behind me! An AW’s protection field cannot be deployed constantly for long periods! If their magical power weakens, its strength weakens too! Once Kamikura-san starts shooting, please fire continuously at regular intervals!”
“Hit!”
Kamikura raised both hands and thrust them toward Judgment one after another. As he did, the guns moved in various directions in mid-air, firing their bullets at Judgment.
“Here I go, Kamikura!”
Judging from the gunshot sounds, both guns Kamikura is manipulating in the air are Desert Eagle .50 AEs. Their magazine capacity is seven rounds. Kamikura is also repeating two-shot bursts at regular intervals to make it easier for me to count. The moment the seven cycles finished, I took aim and began firing. My magazine capacity is 17 rounds. I just need to buy time for Kamikura to reload. I can’t fire all 17 rounds. If I fire eight rounds, Kamikura’s reload should be complete.
“I’ll back you up!”
Along with my shooting, Hojo-san pointed her cross emitting pale blue light at Judgment. Then, bullets of light emitting a high-pitched, high-frequency sound flew at high speed toward Judgment one after another. They are clearly more powerful than the bullets Kamikura and I are firing. The light bullets hit Judgment one after another. Sharp sounds rang out, causing phenomena like small-scale explosions. Just what is this power! Kamikura too, but the aura of light emitted by Hojo-san… Her power has completely deviated from that of an ordinary human.
“Even among AMGE, your spiritual power is quite something, Hojo! Interesting! You all are truly interesting! It’s about time to end this playtime! Now, prostrate yourselves before me!”
Judgment began to let out a war cry. This is bad!
“Something is coming! Hojo-san!”
I shouted instinctively. I’m leaving myself entirely to that intuition now.
“Himemiya-san! Kamikura-san! Get inside my barrier!”
Hojo-san formed hand seals, attempting to deploy a defensive barrier. But Judgment moved faster than it could fully deploy.
“Perish! Prostrate yourselves before God! Judgment Light Rain!”
Along with a high-pitched, high-frequency sound that seemed to tear through even the ears, countless arrows of light rained down from overhead as if to bathe us. They pierced our bodies one after another, and a burning heat and intense pain assaulted my entire body. Kamikura’s cries of agony, Hojo-san’s screams. The arrows of light raining down one after another caused small-scale explosions the moment they pierced the ground, mercilessly ravaging us…
The rain of light arrows gradually stops… I can’t see around me due to the terrible cloud of dust… My whole body is covered in blood… My entire body hurts so much… my thoughts feel like they’re going to stop… I remain collapsed on my back… unable to move my body…
“–Have you realized your powerlessness? This is the power of a true Asphaltic Wizard… If I get serious, trampling you all is easier than twisting a baby to death. I even held back my power just now.”
The cloud of dust gradually clears… Judgment’s figure reflects in my eyes.
Judgment has grabbed Hojo-san by the neck, holding her up as if she had caught prey.
“Ayuka Hojo… Even among AMGE, you seem to have an outstanding potential for growth… The radiance of your soul is also beautiful… Discard your faith in Alsard… Do not become a pawn of false gods…”
Hojo-san too… The vestments she wore are in tatters, and the white cloth is dyed red with blood… Perhaps because she was in the middle of deploying her defensive barrier, she still seems to have barely any strength left, but she has been completely stripped of her ability to resist.
“–To think you are worried about your younger sister even when you and your comrades are about to die… That sense of responsibility, a heart full of affection… The will to try and help others without regard for yourself… Splendid. Depending on your growth, you could acquire power rivaling mine…”
Judgment’s voice echoing in my head… Judgment gently lowered Hojo-san to the ground, and slowly floated toward the collapsed Kamikura.
“Now then… You have killed many of my brethren… I would like to burn you to ash alive right here and now… but there is something I want to ask you before that.”
Judgment grabbed the collapsed Kamikura by the neck and lifted him effortlessly with one hand.
“You… where did you acquire that power…? That power you use… It is easy to tell it is not mere Psychokinesis. What I want to know is how you are using that power. How are you able to use power without any spiritual or magical resources?”
(What does she mean… No good… The pain is making my head… stop working…)
“There is not a single thing… I will teach you…”
Kamikura squeezed out his power and voiced those words… But his life is already on the verge of running out…
My body… won’t move anymore either… Is the bleeding terrible too… My vision has blurred…
I couldn’t… do anything… I couldn’t… do anything…
“I see… I have never seen such a powerful Spiritual Protect… Very well. I thought I would have to judge you eventually anyway… I will slowly burn you to ash while keeping you alive right here. Burned by the flames of countless lives, repent for your deeds until you go mad!”
Stop it… Stop it already…
Don’t kill… my precious person…
I’ll do anything… I’ll do anything…
Don’t kill… my… my precious person…!
It was at that moment. The entire surrounding area was enveloped in a dazzling light.
It’s warm… It’s as if all the pain is being eased… yet it feels like a cool breeze…
A divine light, an aura… shines upon us…
“That is enough.”
A voice echoes in my head. This voice, I remember hearing it somewhere…
This slightly small, clear, and beautiful voice is…
“…You have come. I thought you would appear eventually. Messiah of Alsard.”
From a position slightly higher than Judgment, she was looking down. Clad in something with embroidery clearly indicating a higher rank than the vestments Hojo-san wore, her figure emitted a divine grace reminiscent of a messiah descended to earth.
“…Let me see that power of yours!”
The black particles forming Judgment grew even larger, pulsing as if swirling greatly. This is bad! It’s beyond comparison to the intuition I felt earlier!
“Die! Messiah of Alsard!”
Judgment raised both hands, and aimed her arms at her, who was gracefully floating in the sky. The next moment, an intense light and a sound that seemed to tear the eardrums occurred, and the converged red and black energy was irradiated like a giant laser cannon. A tremendous sound, light, and violent wind raged all around.
The irradiation of merciless and overwhelmingly powerful energy unleashed by Judgment. Taking a direct hit, she was swallowed up by the red and black energy in an instant.
The energy gradually converging… Eventually, as it thinned into a line, Judgment looked at what lay beyond.
“What… Impossible… Unharmed by that attack…?”
A pale blue light enveloping her entire body… I can see countless magic circles deployed in multiple layers, as if wrapping around her entire body.
“Stop this already. You cannot defeat me with your power. To borrow your words, trampling you is easy for me. Leave this place immediately.”
Her voice resonates in my heart… That clear, lovely voice…
“Asagiri-san…”
She slowly descends. She slowly spread both her arms, and in an instant, gathered us, who were scattered and collapsed on the ground, into one place. Instantly, the space seemed to swap. Don’t tell me, she can even perform spatial teleportation…?
“Mayu-sama… You came for us…”
“…I’m late. I’m glad I made it in time. Hojo-san, you held out well…”
Asagiri caring for Hojo-san.
“–Very well. I will retreat for this time… but you will definitely come to me. Asami Himemiya. I am looking forward to that time…”
For just a brief moment, Judgment returned to her beautiful form and smiled suspiciously at me.
And then suddenly my vision blurred… I could no longer hear any sounds…