After the thunder stopped, the world became a little quieter.
I gasped for breath as I stumbled sideways, pushed by Miltram. The dagger that Miltram had thrust into me was surrounded by a crimson aura.
It must have been the power of the Dark God.
Only then did Miltram rise, looking refreshed.
“Ha, that feels good… Hitting your sister is too much, brother.”
The area where I was stabbed was gradually decaying. I fumbled in my pocket and took out a healing potion.
It was a potion that Emma had modified, obtained from Senior Delphine.
I hadn’t expected it to work against the power of the Dark God, but once I sprayed it on, it prevented the wound from worsening. My blurred vision finally cleared.
I staggered to my feet.
Having allowed a single blow, my physical condition was not normal. The test subjects that had survived the lightning surrounded Miltram.
Most of them were test subjects that had risen from the ground.
Looking at their armaments, there were various professions, starting from knights. As expected of the power Miltram treasured, each one seemed at least on par with the chief maid I had encountered before.
They were foes we couldn’t handle alone.
“Should I report you for domestic violence? Ah, wait. I’m a Dark Priest, so it’s probably impossible~”
“…Shut up.”
The only thing surging was the blood and water.
At my fierce voice, Miltram gazed at me with a seductive smile.
It was as if she was inviting me to say what I wanted.
“You’re not Liya.”
“Are you denying what your eyes saw? That’s a bit ugly, brother…”
“Liya isn’t even twenty yet.”
At my retort, Miltram narrowed her eyes.
I took a rough breath and methodically pressed her.
“It’s been over ten years since the disappearance incident started, and yet Liya has been active as a Dark Priest since that age?”
A subtle sound escaped from Miltram’s lips, “Hmph.”
The girl, who had briefly fallen into thought, smiled sweetly.
“…Well, I suppose another Dark Priest was active ten years ago?”
“There can’t be two trash like you.”
Miltram clapped her hands and laughed.
She appeared to have heard a wonderfully amusing joke.
“Unfortunately, brother, do you know how many priests there are in the Dark Cult? One of them might be related to the abduction incident…”
“And Lady Airen stuck with Liya all day.”
Miltram’s mouth snapped shut.
She made a momentarily dissatisfied expression and then grumbled in a sulky voice.
“…Ah, that useless girl.”
Now Miltram seemed to be at a loss for words.
There would have been no way to know what had happened at Percus Manor.
But the part I was certain of was different.
“…Above all, Liya has a mole on her collarbone, you bastard.”
Miltram’s eyes widened at my remark, and she subtly glanced down at her own collarbone.
It was pure white.
There wasn’t a single mole to be found.
“Oh no,” Miltram hit her forehead with her palm.
“I can’t believe I made such a mistake! And Ian Fercurus…”
Her once clear and refreshing voice began to boil.
It was the voice of the Miltram I knew.
At last, the woman stripped off her pretense and burst into giggles.
“In that brief moment, you checked your sister’s body? That’s abnormal, very abnormal… Of course, the Dark Cult loves the abnormal. How about this, why not join the Dark Cult and fulfill a forbidden love?”
It was a ridiculous proposal.
Love between siblings, it was absurd as a reason to join the Dark Cult.
So instead of answering, I lifted my hand axe.
It was the moment I cried out someone’s name simultaneously.
“…Ceria!”
Right after, a gray flash shot forth.
The body of the girl I shot surged towards the street in an instant.
Just like I had, my companions must have been startled by Miltram’s appearance. But once I made a decision, my companions faithfully executed my orders.
The blue aura enveloping Ceria’s sword carved a solid line.
Countering it were the test subjects standing next to Miltram.
Surprisingly, they were blocking the attacks of Ceria, who had reached expert level, one by one.
Ceria managed to sever the arm of one test subject that looked like a knight, but it wasn’t a meaningful achievement.
The spot where the arm was cut boiled and grotesque tentacles emerged.
Ceria was startled by the horrifying sight and froze in shock. Meanwhile, the tentacles stretched towards the nearby corpses, and before long, the severed arm began to regrow.
With a larger and stronger arm.
No matter how resolute a person was, it was an unsettling sight.
Sadly, Ceria was no exception.
In the end, she allowed a blow from another test subject that was targeting her back.
“…Kyaaa!”
“Ceria!”
I tried to forcibly move my immobile body to rush forward.
But blocking my path was Miltram.
She grinned as she unleashed the crimson aura from her hand.
“There’s another playmate, Ian Fercurus… It’s been a while since I switched bodies, so I should enjoy it a bit.”
“…You switched?”
Before I could get a response to my question, the test subjects silently lunged forward.
It seemed they were targeting my companions, not me.
I swung my hand axe down at Miltram’s arm and shouted at Senior Elsi.
“Senior Elsi! Did you tear the communication scroll?!”
“I-I tore it a while ago, but there’s still no response!”
Clang, the axe collided with her arm, scattering sparks. As Miltram swung down with her authority, I twisted my body to evade.
And naturally, a searing sensation welled in my hand as I prepared to counterattack.
My eyes focused on Miltram’s face.
She maintained a calm smile.
“…It’s useless, Ian Fercurus.”
With a whoosh, black flames surged up, and I had to hurriedly retreat.
However, the power of the flames erupting from Miltram’s arm was beyond imagination.
The flames surged like a whip, aiming to overtake me. I attempted to coat my axe with aura to sever it, but I couldn’t stop the flames from regenerating immediately after being cut.
I had to keep retreating, swearing inwardly.
The dance of fire and axe continued.
“I’ve prepared separate test subjects to deal with the idiots from the Rainelle Clan. And isn’t it natural to preemptively block communication magic?”
This was her hideout after all.
As Miltram spoke each word with a chuckle, the searing flames flicked in front of my flesh like a serpent’s tongue.
It felt as though my eyeballs were going to burn through.
To make matters worse, the situation on my companions’ side didn’t look good either.
It was because Celin, the weakest among us, had stuck to the front line.
“Ugh, Kyaaaa!”
At Celin’s scream, I turned around in panic.
Six or seven test subjects had rushed in, and Celin could no longer endure. Though she had the support of the Lady Virgin Saint and Senior Elsi, once close combat was allowed, it was the end, no matter how good the rear support was.
A sigh escaped my lips.
“Celin! Damn it…!”
“Oh, a gap, a gap. Is it alright to pay attention for a moment?”
Bang, as the whip of black flames struck the ground, an explosion erupted.
It seemed the flames possessed physical force as well.
I swung my hand axe in quick succession, cutting through the flickering flames. Even so, I could see no end in sight.
Even a Dark Priest must have limits to the power of the Dark God.
I had been waiting for that moment, but the capability of the test subjects was beyond what I had imagined.
Ultimately, the time of choice arrived for me as well.
Gritting my teeth, I glared at Miltram, and she smiled, resembling Liya.
“Aren’t you curious? How I obtained this body…?”
“What, did you abduct someone?”
With a smack, the fiery whip caught by my descending axe was severed and fell to the ground.
After writhing for a while, the flames died down, leaving only burning weeds.
Unlike me, whose breathing was becoming labored due to injury, Miltram continued to speak to me with an air of ease.
“Of course not. The Dark Cult always values choice and price. When someone makes a choice, the Dark Cult simply pays that price and takes their share.”
“After all, huff… it’s a replicated body!”
At that point, I threw down my hand axe.
It was a crucial blow, but Miltram merely tilted her head dismissively, evading it easily.
I didn’t expect her to actually catch it anyway.
I simply leaped forward and grabbed the thrown sword again.
The hand axe curved back, returning to my hand.
With a sword in one hand and an axe in the other, I was well prepared to deflect the flames.
“Ahaha! What nonsense! A copy requires an original. And it takes quite a long time, without consistent research, replication is impossible… That’s why mass production is difficult!”
“What a bunch of crap… Liya is at my house, idiot!”
With a shout that was more of a desperate effort, my sword and axe split the whip of flames apart.
In an instant, the momentum of the flames diminished. I squeezed through the gap.
It was the long-awaited moment when Miltram came within reach of my attack.
Of course, even until then, Miltram retained her maniacal smile.
“Ha ha, that’s what makes it interesting! Ah, such a tragic fate?”
With a snap, I pulled my sword, which had caught on Miltram’s crossed arms.
Finally, Miltram’s embrace opened. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Realizing this, the girl smiled and whispered to me in a voice I was familiar with.
“…Brother, are you going to kill me?”
What her intention was, was unmistakable.
So I grinned back at her.
“Yeah.”
With a thud, the hand axe shattered Miltram’s skull.
