CH 111

When I looked around, there was Rex, the leader of the Knights of Grace, surrounded by four spirits.

“Su-Support……!”

“Lea-leader!”

Ssack! Puoseok!

At that time, a sword flashed, and the bodies of the four spirits were sequentially cut in half.

Soon, a person appeared among the fragments scattered like broken pottery.

“Are you okay?”

“Te-Sir Thesilid!”

Truly a righteous hero. He has already started moving for his allies.

Thesilid immediately kicked the ground to run in the other direction. There were too many vulnerable allies who would survive only if he helped.

Of course, I wasn’t just playing around either.

“Kyaaaagh! I don’t want to die!”

“Arghhh! Save me!”

“Hi-Hiiiic! Do not come! Don’t come……!”

Chararararara!!

Puoseok! Sack! Puck!

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Hiic!”

Three scattered spirits were dealt with at once by unfolding my whip Sword.

“Serpens.”

The stretched blades snapped back together again.

“Yo-Your Grace?”

The three rescued people couldn’t take their eyes off my sword.

“Your Grace……that sword… … ?”

“My divine power skills are mainly wide-area. It is inappropriate to use during melee.”

“B-But the light on the sword……”

“I also use a little bit of aura.”

“……!”

They couldn’t close their gaping mouths.

“Well, don’t just sit there go fight.” 

“Ye-yep!”

The way the elementals attacked was quite annoying.

“My, my body is wet and heavy……”

“Yuck! Co-cold……!”

“Haaaa……!”

The fallen snow elementals attacked with their fingernail-like claws as if dancing around. Snow and ice were scattered in all directions as their dresses fluttered with a graceful spin.

They stuck to people’s bodies and melted in an instant. The ice-cold water soaked the clothes and hair, penetrated the skin, and took away the warmth.

As time passed, the allies’ movements slowed down.

From a distance, Thesilid’s eyes met mine.

After exchanging gazes saying, “Let’s do our best because you and I are the only ones we can trust.” we started brandishing the sword even faster.

When I was freely roaming between allies and slashing the spirits, a familiar voice was heard nearby.

“Hey, Ephael! Why aren’t you taking care of this weak supporter!”

“So, what did you do for these things to charge at you?”

“Shut up!”

While Ephael was busy confronting two spirits in front a shadow fell behind Hestio’s back.

<Kee Kee Kee!>

“Ugh.”

“Hestio!”

Sharp nails aimed at Hestio’s heart and quickly rushed to pierce his chest.

But.

<Kis……eek.. …?>

In a moment of desperation, the spirit hardened as it was.

“Wh-what……?”

The moment when Hestio was taken aback seeing the spirit unnaturally wiggling only its fingers and neck joint as if it was out of order.

Pusssak!

The spirit turned into powder and Hestio muttered as if he had seen something.

“A string……?”

“You have good eyes.”

“……!”

Hestio turned to me. With my left hand, I said hello as I retrieved the Spirit King’s Harp Strings.

“How are you, Hestio?”

“Ellet……!”

I waved my hand over his shoulder as well.

“Hello to you too, Ephael.”

“Sigh……”

Ephael, who had just killed two spirits, brushed his hair and let out a laugh like a sigh.

Various emotions were read in his purple eyes that were looking at me. Is it gladness, gratitude, and cheekiness? 

While I finished the nearby spirits, Ephael spoke to me with a sly tone.

“I was going to stealthily approach you during the battle, but I didn’t expect Your Grace to come personally.” 

“I came first because I was afraid you would be disappointed.”

“But what is this about aura and swordsmanship?”

“It’s a long story and there are a lot of eyes.” 

If we reveal our closeness through a long conversation, it’s not me that gets bothered, but Ephael and Hestio.

“But there is one thing I want to ask, Your Grace. How come the little girl from 10 years ago appears out of nothing saying she was the Saint, making a mess of the Harvest Festival claiming to make her own order of paladins, and kidnapping Thesilid at the end?”

“What do you mean by kidnapping? We need to clear up the misunderstanding. Talk soon, the four of us.”

“It’s a promise.”

As I thrust my sword into the head of one of the elementals, I looked back.

“Is Hestio okay with this?”

“…Her Grace the Holy One asked to meet, what can I do?”

I laughed, thinking that the harshness was still the same.

“Let’s get together as friends.” 

“……”

“Ah, you guys are strict with the standards for friends. All right. Then let’s do something like a toy mansion reminiscence gathering.”

“……Okay. Talk to you later.”

“Yes. Take care of yourself.”

He pretended to be reluctant to answer, but Hestio’s expression and voice had lost its roughness.

Tapping him on the shoulder with my left hand, I left.

Chararararara!!

I started to annihilate the spirits in earnest.

I also took an elegant step together among the elementals who attacked like dancing. It was a good time to use the ‘Dance of Annihilation’, a footwork skill obtained from killing Grelius last time.

I lightly kicked off the translucent ice floor and burrowed into the enemy camp. At the same time, extending my right arm straight out like a sword and cut everything in front like sweeping the floor.

Whirik. 

Whip sword Serpens extended horizontally and drew a graceful arc.

<Kikkik……!>

As soon as the blade that drew a curve cut deep into the hearts of several elementals, I stepped back and turned my body.

The whip sword with rotational power expanded the area of predation. In tandem, I stepped on the next step at a fast tempo as if dancing.

Tadak!

The whip sword, which was drawing a spiral, began to bend in various ways like a long ribbon string held in a dancer’s hand.

Flexible and beautiful trajectory, filled with destructive power.

Susasak! Skwauke! Pursouk!

<……!>

The elementals within range were shattered and disappeared without even screaming.

“Yo-Your Grace……Hee!”

Pusssak!

I also killed the elementals that were aiming at the knight who was mesmerized by me.

“Be careful.”

“Ye-yes!”

The recovered whip sword was deployed in a different direction. Every time I took a step, at least a few and at most a dozen spirits fell down at once.

It was truly a dance of annihilation.

This devastatingly beautiful footwork was very compatible with the whip sword skill ‘The Snake’s Hunting Festival’.

While my two legs roamed freely in the melee, I bit and hacked at the spirits with my blade.

And finally, the long battle came to an end.

<Hee……Hee…hee……! Kiek!>

Pusssak!

The last snow elemental was pierced by my sword and shattered.

“W-won……”

“It’s over……”

As soon as the scattering powder disappeared, the Paladins sat down. It was a fierce battle, so everyone would be at their limits.

I looked around the knights and said so that everyone could hear me.

“It seems that there are no fatalities. Injured raise their hands.”

“……”

They hesitated but raised their hands and I treated them right on the spot.

At the same time the knights were buzzing as if surprised by the range and effect of my healing skill.

Someone said in a reasonably clear voice.

“I-If it wasn’t for Her Grace, I might have died……”

<At least you know that.>

Agnes it too…

…Guess she’s saying what I want to say instead?

Surprisingly, other knights began to sympathize.

“Right……If it weren’t for that silver barrier in the first place, I would have died long ago when the ice stalactite fell.”

“Even the elementals were almost entirely finished by Her Grace and the owner of the Holy Sword…”

“I can’t believe that besides so much divine power, she even has the highest level of Aura Expert.”

“I-It’s the Holy One for a reason……”

[‘The World-building God’ is proud of the situation where evil-cult church members recognize your class.]

[‘The Critic who adjusts the balance’ seems to feel relative deprivation by your OP skills.]

People’s interest was a little prickly. Pretending not to know and not to notice, I approached Thesilid.

“You worked hard, Terry.”

“You too.”

“Where are you hurt?”

Before I could hear an answer, I scanned his body from top to bottom, from front to back. I took one last look at his handsome face, and he flinched taking a step back.

“I’m fine.”

“……It seems so. You weren’t even wet.”

My voice came out a little crooked. Why do you have to embarrassingly avoid people so openly?

Then there was a call to divert attention.

“Sir Senail!”

The person who caused the trouble popped out in front of Clovis with a contemplative face.  

Seeing the knight on her knees shaking and trembling was no different from a condemned prisoner on the execution ground.

Clovis swallowed the words that swelled up to his throat several times before spitting them out.

“Did you understand that two orders of knights were almost annihilated because of your complacency?”

“I’m sorry, sir.”

“There will be no avoiding severe punishment for this mistake. When the subjugation is over, prepare yourself!”

“Yes……Leader……”

Then, Rex said a word as if tossing it.

“Lord Clovis, you will have to take responsibility as the leader as well.”

“……I know. But what’s the use of saying that now?”

The gazes of Rex and Clovis met in midair.

“Even if only the strength to breath is left in your bodies you have to have a fight of factions.”

“……Your Grace.”

The two captains stopped their standoff and gently lowered their eyes.

“Discuss disciplinary action after the subjugation is over. Right now, I think you should take care of your subordinates first. Everyone is shivering from the cold.”

The Knights needed a break. However, Thesilid and I were relatively unharmed, so I felt that the leaders were not giving orders because they were walking on eggshells.

<Looks like they have an awareness they are holding us back.>

I had no choice but to spoon-feed them. 

“Since the body is wet, there is a risk of hypothermia, and they will be hungry because the body has consumed too much energy. It’s almost five hours since we came inside, so we’d better take some time to regroup. Let’s warm up, eat, and then set off again.”

Clovis and Rex shouted in delight. 

“Did you hear everything? Do what Her Grace says!”

“Yes! Your Grace!”

For some reason, the title given in the roaring reply was not ‘Leader’ but ‘Your Grace’.