Sacred Power.
In other words, Sacred Magic.
In a fantasy world, it’s usually the representative supernatural ability that clerics borrow from gods to use.
But in the worldview of Pixie, it was a power that had completely disappeared.
The reason was simple.
The main god who provided sacred power had vanished along with the destruction of their world.
Ultimately, sacred magic is a kind of spiritual transaction where one receives power in exchange for strong concentration and faith.
Without someone to give the power, the concept of sacred magic couldn’t exist.
In reality, after the Beastmen came over to Earth, surviving clerics tried desperately for decades to revive sacred power.
But all their efforts ended in vain without any meaningful results.
“Thanks to that, only the undead and vampires benefited. Their worst natural enemies just disappeared on their own. No wonder vampires hold two spots among the Seven Great Evils of the world.”
But let’s think about the fact that this world is based on shonen manga.
What could be more interesting than a power that disappeared with the end of the world?
Of course, sacred power would soon be revived by a certain secret organization.
Together with an artificial deity native to Earth and hundreds of thousands of devotees in a cult.
Of course, at this point when the Beastmen Liberation Army is running rampant, they’re still gathering followers.
The artificial deity itself was already completed several years ago according to the original work.
Since sacred power gathers strength from people’s faith and redistributes it,
if you have the aptitude, theoretically it should be possible to borrow sacred power even now.
Hmm, it’s a stroke of luck I thought about sacred power, the weakness of the undead, right now.
“No idea if it’ll work or not. But I asked Tesseract to change me into a version of myself from another worldline who has the aptitude to use sacred power…”
Using sacred magic made sense.
After all, I had asked Tesseract to transform me into a body capable of using it.
But turning into a Beastman with cat ears and tail? That was utterly incomprehensible.
Tesseract’s ability wasn’t to freely transform me into whatever form I wanted.
Its essence was overlaying possibilities from different worldlines onto my current self.
To put it simply… it’s like transforming into another version of myself from a parallel world.
I could become Yuria from the distant future or Yuria who hurt her arm falling out of bed this morning.
But I couldn’t become Yuria as Alice’s younger sister or Yuria as Raven’s older sister.
Even if such an existence existed in a parallel world, that wouldn’t really be Yuria anymore.
So what’s with suddenly turning into a Beastman with cat ears and tail!
What went so wrong in another worldline that I ended up like this?
I was starting to think maybe I misunderstood Tesseract’s ability.
“Well, this is how the world feels to Beastmen, huh. It might be… too much stimulation for me.”
I heard cats have 15 times more sensitive sense of smell than humans.
Maybe that’s why it felt like every kind of spice was filling this space.
The familiar sweet peach scent, the sharp piercing smell of blood at the top of my head,
and the unpleasant rotting corpse smell that naturally made my nerves tense.
The olfactory stimuli felt like they were directly poking my brain – quite hard to get used to.
My new ears and tail kept twitching involuntarily regardless of my will.
Hmm, do Beastmen live their whole lives with these sensations?
Maybe being a dull human would actually be more comfortable for me.
“…Well, rather than thinking about that, dealing with the enemy in front of me should come first. Tesseract’s energy isn’t unlimited. Every minute and second counts.”
Amidst the atmosphere of shock from the sudden appearance of sacred magic, I calmly brought my hands together.
I’d heard enough about the method of using sacred magic in the original work.
No calculations or incantations needed, just praying to God for the desired action.
Immediately, as if triggering something, an incredibly warm and powerful force surged through my entire body.
This omnipotent feeling must be sacred power. Having never felt magical power before, it felt extremely unfamiliar.
It felt like someone was gently tickling my skin with their fingertips, and I almost let out a weird sound unconsciously.
Though I still couldn’t speak even after transforming, thankfully nothing actually came out.
“Beritha! That guy is gathering sacred power! We need to kill him immediately!”
“Yeah. That’s a dangerous enemy. We need to eliminate them right away.”
Does gathering sacred power really show that obviously from the outside?
Without hesitation, Vita sisters, being undead, launched attacks filled with murderous intent towards me.
Vita, the High Lich, fired her decaying grasp that rots everything instantly.
Beritha, the Death Knight, charged at me with her sword, intending to slice my entire body apart with terrifying momentum.
But even facing threats to my life, I wasn’t particularly worried.
Alice and Tamamo, having assessed the situation, threw themselves into action to interfere with the Vita sisters.
“…Tamamo! Hurry and help that child!”
“Nyahah! Already, preparations are complete!”
Perhaps they instinctively realized there was no other way to handle this desperate situation facing a formidable enemy but to protect me, even at the cost of their lives.
Thanks to their life-risking efforts,
Vita’s threatening magic turned the wrong walls and ceiling into ashes due to Tamamo’s defensive magic, and Beritha’s dreadful blade pierced Alice’s shoulder, leaving countless marks on the floor.
Meaning, this moment right now was free from any interference. Time exclusively for me.
‘I pray.’
Whoosh!
Feathers crafted from sacred power scattered everywhere along with dazzling light.
Perhaps because it was such vivid sacred magic that could create holes in undead bodies just by touching,
Beritha clicked her tongue and retreated while trying to finish off Alice, and Vita attempted to threaten me with new corpse magic.
But at that moment, something amazing happened as the feathers slowly descended upon Tamamo and Alice, whose bodies were battered.
“Huh? This is…!”
“The wounds… are healing?”
That’s right. The deep wounds on Alice and Tamamo’s bodies started healing instantly as if time was rewinding, thanks to the feathers seeping into them!
This was recovery unique to sacred magic that returns injuries to a past intact state – something regenerative healing magic could never imitate.
Perhaps because it was a phenomenon closer to a miracle than magic,
even Alice and Tamamo, who had their wounds healed, were shocked with wide eyes.
But soon, after glancing at me briefly, they seemed to recall something.
Unlike before when they could barely stand, they now stood firmly in front of me, facing the Vita sisters.
“Nyahah, giving us another chance? I don’t want to disappoint!”
“Just leave it to me. I’ll make sure those guys can’t even touch a hair on your head!”
Seeing childhood friends Alice and Tamamo standing shoulder-to-shoulder against enemies…
As a fan of the original work, it was a scene that made me want to go crazy with romance.
Of course, the reason I used precious sacred power to heal these two wasn’t purely for romance.
The fundamental issue was the lack of total sacred power.
Probably due to insufficient devotees right now. The artificial deity’s transferred power was too weak.
At this rate, even with advantageous compatibility, it would run out quickly fighting the Vita sisters.
Therefore, gathering the remaining sacred power to heal these two was my best option right now.
With their conditions restored, Alice and Tamamo definitely had a chance against the Vita sisters!
‘Ah, before that, I need to give this too.’
I approached Alice showing off, poking her back with my fingers.
Perhaps because I handed over the usual fox mask to Sabrina when changing forms and switched to a black half-mask on the ground,
Alice’s gaze was slightly different from how she normally looked at me, with some tension lingering.
My overall height was different, and I had ears on top of my head and a tail.
There was no way she’d mistake me for Yuria. That would be obvious.
“Ah, thank you for healing me. But it’s dangerous, so please step back…”
“!”
“Huh, this is… a sword?”
Without saying anything to her telling me to step back, I handed her a sword created from sacred power.
Despite appearances, Alice was quite a skilled swordsman.
Fighting barehanded without any weapon must have been frustrating.
A sword imbued with sacred power effective against undead would surely give her an advantage against the Death Knight. I truly believed that.
Wonder what thoughts crossed her mind seeing the sword I gave with that intention.
Blinking blankly, Alice then confidently accepted the sword with a smirk.
“Thank you! No matter what happens, I’ll protect you! Yu… no, Miss!”
Swish!
Alice swung the pure white sword lightly, looking seriously at the Vita sisters.
While previously filled with determination not to retreat even at the cost of her life, now she was full of resolve to cut down her opponents and win!
Indeed, Alice brimming with confidence that we could win like this was better.
Isn’t she cool? Isn’t she admirable?
“There’s no way sacred power remains! It’s a power that already disappeared!”
“Eliminate them. And report to Lord Morty…”
Before I could even move away from Alice, the Vita sisters’ attack came flying instantly.
The space decayed and collapsed, with enemies approaching at speeds hard to follow with the naked eye, swinging their swords.
But the situation was different now compared to before.
Tamamo, whose eyes regained their sharpness, unleashed dozens of spells with just a flick of her finger.
And Alice, holding the pure white sword, smoothly deflected Beritha’s attacks without retreating.
Even when their opponents changed positions crossing paths, the two smoothly coordinated without interfering with each other, showing combination skills that didn’t lose to the Vita sisters.
If those two are twin sisters, these two are irreplaceable childhood friends.
Their bond of trust absolutely doesn’t lose!
“Damn… These guys are completely different from before! Worthless creatures on the verge of death…!”
“Annoying swordsmanship combined with sacred power makes them twice as irritating.”
Surprisingly, amidst the continuous exchanges, the ones who first showed signs of anxiety were the Vita sisters with their tireless bodies.
This wasn’t a strange result.
Physically, they could probably keep fighting until sunrise.
From what I heard, they were merely a distraction team meant to spread gas in the hotel and cause chaos.
Getting their legs caught like this must have completely ruined their original plan.
Moreover, even with their bizarre surprise attacks utilizing the characteristics of undead with dead bodies,
as I kept replenishing their wounds and depleted stamina with sacred power like supplying fuel, the situation gradually turned in favor of Alice and Tamamo who started learning the sisters’ patterns.
“Alice, now!”
“Haaah!”
Finally, taking advantage of the opening created by Tamamo’s magic, Alice boldly penetrated deep into the enemy’s formation.
The coordination between childhood friends Alice and Tamamo surpassed the linked attacks of the Vita sisters for a moment!
“Ugh…! D-defense magic…!”
“Sister!”
Slash!
Alice’s blade, which had deflected Beritha’s attack with her shoulder, cut through the neck of Vita, the High Lich.
It was the moment when the cherry blossom-colored swordsman finally grasped victory firmly in her hands.
