Chapter 78

I pulled out another dagger. It was quite large for a dagger, about 50cm in blade length, but it was still a poor-quality weapon, so it was tough to deal with those sturdy claws. Just to prove that point, the dagger started to creak ominously.

I let all the tension flow out of me and focused on defense. It seemed like the right choice until Lilian could find a sword. Dark magic was seeping out of the demon, encroaching on the area around us. I clicked my tongue and aimed for the waist with the dagger.

The waist is essentially an easy target. It’s one of the most vital parts of the human body, plus it’s a big target. Unlike typical vital spots where a cut can cause a lot of bleeding, the waist is particularly vulnerable since it can bleed extensively no matter where you strike it. Hitting the belly would be the best option, but due to the organs being clustered there, it reflexively defends itself. So, I aimed for the sides of the waist.

“Ugh!”

I managed to slice the waist a bit, but it was shallow. Black blood splattered around, and the demon’s movements grew increasingly wild, losing the earlier nonchalance. I kept blocking its attacks with the dagger, but I couldn’t just keep dripping blood like this. Should I use magical power? But how effective would it be with this unfamiliar dagger? It’s even questionable whether I could use magic with a dagger at all. That’s why I was sticking to defense for now.

The demon’s movements became more frenzied. It seemed to have realized that I was focused on defense. It started targeting hard-to-block areas with its claws. Sometimes I dodged, other times I twisted my body as much as I could to block, but accumulating wounds was unavoidable.

“Phew…”

The dress I had worn was starting to tear from the claws. Blood began to drip from the wounds all over my body. Thankfully, I had defended the vital points and focused on dodging, so I hadn’t sustained any severe injuries. I took a deep breath and started moving again. The two daggers moved like lightning, blocking the claws. Although my movements surpassed that of a human, the demon showed no signs of being fazed and continued its onslaught.

Despite the gaping opportunities in its attack pattern, I didn’t strike. It was better to focus on defense than to attack shallowly like earlier. After about five minutes of holding out, I spotted a sword flying through the air.

“Catherine!”

It was just one sword, but I could find another here. I quickly caught it and dashed toward the statue, gripping the remaining sword tightly. The two daggers I had been holding had long since been thrown at the demon. The demon appeared slightly taken aback by my unexpected action as I rearmed myself.

“Heh, do you really think changing weapons will let you win against me?”

“…Catherine, you’re hurt.”

“I’m fine.”

I was intact, not even close to dying, so I was good. Even though my various wounds were throbbing, the adrenaline flowing through me dulled the pain. As soon as I gripped the two swords, the magical power that had been contained within me began to flow out. Charging the swords with mana, I charged toward the demon.

“What-”

The demon, taken aback by my entirely different speed, lifted its claws. However, they were sliced through effortlessly by my swords. I positioned the two swords in the shape of an X and completely severed the demon’s claws, then twisted my body to swing at its neck.

“Gah-!”

Simultaneously, I pierced its heart. I had read about this in books while trying to learn about the Demon King. Unlike humans, demons’ bodies were merely a shell, so to truly kill them, one had to sever the head, which contained the soul, and the heart, which connected the soul and body. According to that information, I swiftly sliced through both the head and heart, exhaling softly as I withdrew my swords.

“…Young lady. This sword is?”

“Huh? It was the sword placed in the bell tower here.”

Unlike the sword near the statue, the one the young lady threw to me was obviously a renowned blade. Compared to the swords she had given me before, it was of a completely different caliber, so I stashed it away. Perhaps the church, serving the war god, had placed good swords here. I didn’t fully understand, but after placing the remaining sword back at the statue, I glanced at the demon’s corpse.

“By the way, Catherine. That was magical power, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“When the demon mentioned having magical power, I had a hunch but… did you awaken it?”

As I nodded, Lilian looked at me with a puzzled expression. Why was she looking at me like that? When I tilted my head, she sighed softly.

“Who knows about this besides you?”

“Only Yulia. She helped me train my magical power.”

“Hmm.”

I wondered if Yulia could be trusted. Lilian muttered that to herself and sighed again. I hadn’t planned on revealing this, so I subtly turned my head away. I didn’t understand what this feeling was. Am I sorry? But why? I don’t have to share everything with Lilian.

Is it bad that someone else found out my important secret? But given that, Lilian simply grasped my hand gently without saying anything.

“Let’s get out of here. We need to heal.”

Lilian handed me her robe and covered me carefully, then tossed on a nun’s veil that had been casually left in the church. While she shook off the dust, the garment hadn’t been washed in ages, so it probably smelled musty, but Lilian seemed unbothered as she led the way out.

Unlike before, perhaps because I was armed, we passed by the people in the slum without their gaze even passing over us. We climbed into the carriage that was waiting.

Once Lilian removed her veil and instructed the coachman to depart, he started the carriage without a word.

“…So, when did you awaken?”

“The awakening itself was quite some time ago, but I never thought of it as magical power, so I didn’t realize. After I figured it out, I got help from Yulia.”

“Since it’s the same ether, right?”

“Yes.”

She seemed to know more than I thought. Very few people knew that divine power and magical power derived from the same ether. As I nodded, Lilian pondered a bit before speaking up.

“Wait a minute, but I think the carriage is going in the wrong direction.”

“Really?”

“Right? Didn’t we come this way when we arrived?”

“…Let’s check it out.”

Jumping out of a moving carriage was suicide. But I was different. My physical abilities could handle it, plus I had magical power in my body. I forced the carriage door open and jumped straight onto the roof. Only then could I finally see the driver’s face.

“Wha-what’s going on!”

“You’re not that coachman from before.”

Drawing the dagger hung at my waist, I swung it at the coachman. The driver was stunned as he jumped up and drew a dagger from his own possession to counter. But just countering wouldn’t help him last long, and he soon had his head severed, collapsing to the ground.

“Young lady! Please don’t come out of the carriage!”

“Okay!”

I didn’t know where we were racing off to, but the horses were galloping like mad. Grabbing the reins, I tried to calm the horses down. But they refused to settle easily. Were they drugged or something? Clicking my tongue, I gave up on soothing them and opened the carriage door again.

“C-Catherine?”

“We need to get out. It’ll get even more dangerous like this.”

“How?!”

“Just jump into my arms.”

As I held the young lady carefully, I bit my lip. Jumping out of a moving carriage—there was no way I ever imagined I’d actually do that. If it were just me, I could jump down safely without a doubt, but with Lilian in my arms, there was a risk of injury.

“C-Catherine! A cliff! There’s a cliff!”

At Lilian’s panicked shout, I enveloped my legs with magical power. At the same time, I jumped from the carriage. Protecting my whole body with magic, I rolled and barely managed to escape from the carriage. The horses’ whinnies echoed as the carriage plunged off the cliff.

After what felt like an eternity tumbling down, I finally came to a stop and regained my senses amidst the dust. After checking over Lilian’s body and my own, we were both lucky enough not to have any injuries, and we rose from the ground. Taking in our surroundings, Lilian opened her mouth in a daze.

“…So, where are we?”