Chapter 176

✠

[‘The World-building God’ trembles with his eyes agape at the crisis of his believer.]

[‘The Eyes that Watch Over the Chaos of All Things’ close his eyes to the cruelty.]

Kwadudududu! Kwazizizizi!

While being dragged around by the ruthless force of the chains, my back left long dents in the wall.

Instead of me, the wall screamed at the barbaric violence inflicted upon its surface, while my ears were tingling from the noise of the solid stone wall shattering to bits.

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ shouts to quickly use Mercury’s barrier.]

[‘The World-building God’ explains that this skill is useless for zero-range strikes.]

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ shouts out to use Sacrosanctity.]

[‘The World-building God’ explains that this skill is transcendent level, so it cannot be used unless she’s already in the state of Divine Descent.]

[‘The Scales that Judges the Soul’ shouts that you should not spare it and use Descent of Divinity.]

[‘The World-building God’ gets angry and cries out to not speak so lightly about that skill.]

At one point, Anaxia shouted.

“Come on! This is the end of you, Vanquisher of Evil!”

The chains change direction, pulling Celestide with them. With a goosebump-inducing feeling of floating, her body flew through the air space of the throne room.

Swiiisssh!

We were thrown from one wall to the opposite side in an instant and I was pinned back first into solid stone. At the same time, the chains that were binding Celestide broke and the demonic energy exploded as if self-destructing.

Kwaaaaang!

“……”

It must have been a huge explosion, but it sounded muffled and distant.

I didn’t know if the difficulty of breathing was due to the cloud of dust or the severe pain that overtook my entire body.

My mind faded for a moment.

✠

It wasn’t as if her companions did nothing while Anaxia plowed all the walls of the throne room with Ellet’s back.

“Anaxia!”

Frintz was the first to lose his reason and lunge at Anaxia.

He approached quickly, raising his sword. Chains stretched out from all directions in an attempt to stop him, but he dodged and parried them all.

After five steps forward his sword almost touched Anaxia, however.

“How dare you.”

As soon as Anaxia’s gaze passed by, a tidal wave of countless chains hits him. He was helpless in front of it.

“Cough!!”

The chains pierced his shoulders, abdomen, and thighs simultaneously while Anaxia mercilessly threw him away.

“Frintz!”

Raywin made a split-second decision and stepped between him and the wall. Frintz survived because he cushioned the impact with his whole body.

At that time, Anaxia seemed to sense something and calmly turned her head.

“Huh? What is it again?”

“Ugh!”

Anaxia detected Ash, who had approached three steps behind her while taking advantage of the gap, but the failure of his surprise attack came at a high cost.

“Get lost.”

“……!”

A thick bundle of chains pummeled Ash’s abdomen. Luckily, unlike Frintz, he managed to land, but that was his limit.

“Kugh! Cough!”

As the organs of his abdomen had been severely damaged he vomited a considerable amount of blood. While he was busy coughing up blood, several chains rushed towards his head.

Just as Ash, feeling that it was too late to react, opened his eyes, Ephael swatted them away.

No one rejoiced in their barely, hard-earned survival.

Ellet was still grinding against the wall while holding Celestide, and both Frintz and Ash were seriously injured in an instant.

“Don’t disturb my fun.”

A cold warning, full of Anaxia’s temper, was issued and the allies were momentarily stunned by the Boss’s intimidation.

Kwadudududu! Kwazizizizi!

In the meantime, the chains binding Ellet and Celestide had completed a full lap around the throne room.

Anaxia exclaimed in a high-pitched voice.

“Come on! This is the end of you, Vanquisher of Evil!”

The chain mercilessly threw the two through the air and as Ellet had wrapped herself around Celestide, her body plunged into the opposite wall.

At the same time, the chain broke and demon energy exploded.

Kwaaaaang!

The wall collapsed and the air around the area became murky.

“Si, Sister!”

“Ellet!”

Five desperate cries overlapped, but Thesilid could not bear to call Ellet.

Tump!

Instead, his knees fell to the floor.

He would have fallen in an unsightly way if he hadn’t reflexively stabbed the Holy Sword into the floor to support his falling body.

“Gukc, Cough…!”

Blood poured out of his mouth.

This is because all of Ellet’s wounds were passed on to him due to the protection of the ‘Guardian of the Beloved’ that he had just activated.

It felt like his internal organs had been crushed. He vomited so much blood that it would not be surprising if he collapsed soon due to severe internal injuries.

Thesilid, clinging to the fading consciousness that threatened to crush his blurry eyes, forced them open and thought.

In this way, he had brought Ellet’s wounds to himself, proving that she was alive because the skill was successfully used. So Ellet would definitely be safe……

‘No, can I be sure?’

He still does not fully understand the working mechanism of the ‘Guardian of the Beloved’.

What if there’s a set threshold to prevent transmission of pain and injury beyond a certain level?

When it came to matters related to Ellet Rodellaine, he could not help but become extremely protective.

A trembling voice came from his blood-soaked lips.

“Eli.”

Perhaps because of the small voice, no answer was heard so he called again.

“Ellet.”

And once again.

“Ellet Rodellaine.”

Why?

His heart, which should have been slowed by all the blood he’d lost, pounded like it was about to burst.

As if resonating with his anxious heartbeat, the Holy Sword started pulsating. It was a slight tremor. But inside him, the world was shaking.

At some point, the shadow of the Holy Sword cast on the floor changed strangely. Although the Holy Sword’s hilt had a blue square gem, its shadow reflected red light.

Right then.

“Why are you all so hurt?”

“……!”

A familiar voice pierced through everyone’s ears.

A silhouette walked out from a cloud of hazy dust. The more it walked, the more color was added to the silhouette.

Ellet, cradling Princess Celestide with both hands, appeared before everyone’s eyes.

Except for the tattered remains of her paladin’s uniform, she was intact.

“Cure.”

The seriously injured were instantly healed one after another by her powerful divine power.

“Ellet!”

“Sister!”

Her allies’ voices calling out to her were completely different from before.

Anaxia spoke to Ellet with evident discomfort.

“That’s some tough spine you’ve got there, Vanquisher.”

“Hey, it hurt like hell. Be prepared because I will break your back too.”

“You better watch yourself. As soon as you show that back to me, I’ll rip it into shreds.”

“What is this crazy girl talking about? I have no back to show to the likes of you.”

Ellet hurled an insult back and left Celestide in the care of Hestio.

At that time, her delicate hand urgently grabbed Ellet’s arm.

“Ju-just a moment!”

“Her Royal Highness?”

Before I could question her what was wrong.

“Sa-Save, save, p-please……!”

A heartbreaking plea for rescue came out of nowhere. At this, Anaxia tugged at the corner of her mouth into a mean smile.

“Righ, don’t forget. There is still one hostage left in my hands!”

“Hng, hmmn!”

Anaxia hung Prince Hardale high from the ceiling of the throne room and made him move like a pendulum.

Hardale screamed and fainted soon after.

“Hmm.”

Ellet did not hide her expression of unwillingness.

In the original work, 1st Prince Hardale not only tried to kill Thesilid by tricking him several times but also picked a fight with Raywin by giving unfair orders.

To Ellet, he was a villain of the human race.

She replied to Celestide.

“I know you don’t get along very well, but they do say blood is thicker than water, I guess? Still, I think it would be a good idea to treat the death of your two-faced brother as an accident and get along with your good half-brother.”

“Oh, I’m not asking you to save my brother.”

“Then?”

At this time, Ellet should have prepared her mind instead of asking back in a defenseless retort.

“Bia…Please save Bianca!”

“……What?”

But the question that came back was asked by two different voices.

Frintz asked once again, on behalf of Ellet, who had frozen coldly.

“Your Highness, just now……what did you just say?”

“Bianca Gillette, a maid-of-honor from my entourage was trapped in Anaxia’s Mirror. Please save her!”

“……”

Frintz’s eyes changed, and his normally calm demeanor turned sinister. However, it was nothing compared to Ellet.

“Bia……”

“……”

“You touched Bia……”

“……”

There seemed to be frost in Ellet’s peridot-colored eyes.

Realizing what was going on, Anaxia burst out in joyful laughter and said:

“You must be acquainted with that pretty maid, this has become a lot of fun.”

“What did you do to Bia?”

The questioning voice was calm, but the anger lying thick beneath was unmistakable. It smelled so fragrant that it gave Anaxia goosebumps, it was very stimulating to her demon sense of smell.

Anaxia curled the corners of her eyes and smiled.

“I disciplined her a little because she didn’t listen to me.”

“……Discipline?”

“Yes. I shackled her wrists and ankles in chains and locked her in a small space the size of a coffin.”

“Since when?”

“Well, I don’t know. Right after I kidnapped the royal family, so about a week ago?”

“……”

“Alas, it’s my insight that allows me to recognize useful things right away. So what does she have to do with you? Friend? Is it precious? How much? A lot? Huh? Huh?”

“……”

“Pu-hahaha! What’s the use of not answering? It’s all on your face. By the way, what’s the use of that pretty maid? She seems to be a delicate, well-breed aristocratic young lady. She might be sobbing right now, ‘Lady Anaxia, please forgive me!’ …….”

But her next words couldn’t continue.

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