Chapter 52: Curse Removal (2)

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In reality, even if it was a security system prepared by the Seraphs, merely touching it wouldn't immediately trigger mass hysteria or cause the Seraphs themselves to emerge.

Let's say that an important facility was being infiltrated and alarms started blaring, would the higher-ups come running to stop the trespasser by themselves? Of course not.

Logically, the first ones who'd come running would be the 'security force'.

-!

And the security force that angels usually deployed was the Automaton, an autonomous combat doll equipped with a core.

A mechanical giant made of steel marched its way out from within the light cluster.

Fitting of its size, every stomp of the giant made the entire dome tremble.

"...An Automaton made of starsteel? How are the three of us supposed to deal with something like that!?"

Iliya let out a scream of panic.

Speaking about starsteel, it was the metallic substance making up the core of the Heart of the Star that I just struck. In terms of strength, hardness, or any other criteria, it was the highest-grade metal that one could wish for in this world. Like, there was a reason why they used it as a base material for the Holy Sword.

As Iliya mentioned, a couple of mere students would never be able to take it down. We would at least need to bring someone at the level of a department head to match the power difference.

"..."

I remained silent as I stared ahead.

System Notification

[ A moment of danger has been detected. ]

[ Determined the situation as life-threatening. ]

[ Skill: Desperation raised to Grade A. ]

Grade A, huh?

The fact that it didn't get raised to EX grade felt strange, but…

This was probably because they were just machines that followed predefined commands. And so, they failed to fulfill the 'hostile intent' condition during the grade adjustment process of the Desperation skill.

"..."

I let out a bitter laugh.

Well, when someone openly tried to harm a holy relic left by the Seraphs, it honestly didn't matter whether it was an angel or a machine that came out.

The thing was, because of the 'Commandments', angels were prohibited from directly harming someone anyway. Even in situations where they had to resort to force, they still couldn't directly intervene.

As such, the reason why this machine was so sluggish was because it was trying to find a way to subdue its opponent without using force.

'...When you think about it, it's quite ironic.'

Devils relatively had more freedom to intervene in the material world.

Fragments of their main bodies were already scattered throughout the material world, and even though their followers might not flaunt their status, they were enormous in number. Additionally, under the right conditions, they could manifest themselves directly through the Vessels by using the fragments that they attached.

In contrast, angels could, at most, only indirectly provide graces or blessings to someone.

For their actual body to emerge directly into the material world, it required more than just a Devil's Fragment attaching itself to a Vessel; it demanded a level of complexity beyond the Vessel going wild.

"..."

This situation happened because of the 'Commandments'.

A covenant made between those old men at the pinnacle of Heaven and the rulers of Pandemonium.

It was a really important setting in the latter parts of the scenario as it could directly influence the game's ending itself.

Hmm, how should I put this… Heaven and its angels were technically an ally to humanity.

However, their stance wasn't as concrete as you might think.

An example of this could be someone like the Pope. He could wield an enormous amount of divine power, but was not necessarily an ally to humanity, nor was he 'good'.

The main reason behind this phenomenon was that there were 'factions', even within Heaven itself.

'...Anyway…'

Thanks to the contents of the Commandment, the means by which the angels could influence the material world were extremely limited.

Therefore, when they wished to do something in the material world, their influence was usually concentrated on a single human.

In the material world that we lived in, we called this human a 'Hero'.

And by 'Hero', I was talking about the orange-haired girl next to me who was drawing her sword while clenching her teeth.

"Seriously! You! I can't anymore—!"

While saying this, she tried to approach me, but I extended my palm towards her.

Anyone could tell that it was clearly a gesture to tell her not to come any closer.

"...No, what…? What is it this time?!"

'Dude, I know you're irritated and all, but…'

'This time, I didn't bring you along to get help in battle.'

'On the contrary…'

"It's better if you don't join in."

In the current situation, it would be better if she did not get involved at all.

"..."

Iliya's mouth opened slightly, as her pupils trembled with a fierce intensity.

"...What… Uh… What… What are you… What do you mean…?"

"Hm? I meant exactly what I said."

As I mentioned before, the setting of the game was that a human who received concentrated graces and blessings from angels was called a Hero. Additionally, our MC over here was currently a Hero 'Candidate'.

Considering that she was supposed to be officially appointed as the Hero, if any traces of her involvement were left behind in what I was about to commit, a shitshow would bound to happen.

"I'm not saying I don't need you because you're weak or unhelpful, okay? So don't start fanfictioning weird thoughts on your own."

Of course, I couldn't explain every little thing in detail.

The Karen nature of those in Heaven was often far worse than the Devils in Pandemonium.

There was a high chance that they would try to dig into how someone like me, a complete outsider, knew about the inner workings of Heaven.

"Then why…!"

"Whoops."

Before Iliya could say anything again, the Automaton raised its weapon and struck down at my location.

There was no need for me to trigger Swordsman's Focus. An A Grade in Desperation was more than enough to handle this.

The problem was, I didn't really have a means to deliver an effective blow on it.

'Well, I guess that's why these Automatons are the best thing they could pick as a guard.'

The reason why angels frequently used Automatons, even with their sorely lacking attack power, was because they were optimal for 'buying time'.

These motherfuckers just wouldn't die.

Even if Desperation was EX Grade instead of A Grade, it would still take a tremendous effort for me to take it down.

｢It looks quite tough. Can it even be cut with a sword?｣

Next to me, Yuria displayed such words while tilting her head.

She didn't react to my actions like Iliya did, and she showed zero signs of tension even though a gigantic and powerful enemy had appeared.

"..."

As I lightly dodged another attack from the Automaton, my mind started drifting elsewhere.

I realized this quite often, but Yuria's emotions were definitely more twisted than normal people.

The majority of potential Vessels for Devils were like that, but she was particularly worse even among them.

To be more specific, most of her emotions seemed to be concentrated in a direction related to 'me'.

Joy, sadness, fear, anger. Honestly, anything, really.

'...That's lowkey scary…'

It really do be like that sometimes.

I guess it could be because, due to the nature of the White Devil, she had already undergone fusion between the Devil's Fragment and her own soul. Regardless, it was still hella terrifying.

After all, I couldn't even begin to guess what kind of bullshit her sporadic emotions would cause in the future.

Well, at least for now, even if she were to stay far away from me, she'd only feel a mild case of anxiety.

However, if things went awry…

She could actually say something like and start planning a double suicide with me…

"..."

Goosebumps rose all over my body.

At the very least, I should make more of an effort to prevent Eleanor from turning out like that.

After all, she would probably also complete her merging process with the fragment soon.

'Putting that aside…'

There was a way to immediately deal with the Automaton.

I could use her. Yuria Greyhounder.

But, that method was a bit… Well, it wasn't ideal.

I'd turn into the biggest piece of shit in the world if I were to use it.

"..."

I sighed and alternated my gaze between her and the Automaton.

Well, whatever, there was no other way around it anyway.

I mean, that was why I brought her here in the first place.

"Yuria, so…"

｢Yes. I'll do it.｣

"..."

No, wait, time out.

How about actually listening to my request before making a decision?

｢More importantly, Owner called me by my name for the first time! Oh my gosh! I'm so happy!｣

Stop it. Don't do this to me.

STOP MAKING ME FEEL LIKE A BIGGER PIECE OF SHIT THAN I ALREADY AMMM!!!

"For now, take that off and put it around your wrist."

I pointed to the collar.

No, like, I knew we needed it, but, it would be too much to do it while she was still wearing that.

｢D-Do I really have to take it off…?｣

"..."

Why were you tearing up?!

It wasn't like I said something deranged or even unreasonable!

"No, that… You know what? Whatever. Just leave it there…"

It felt like it would take too long to persuade her, so I just gave up and firmly gripped the leash in my hand.

It was sturdy and strong. I now understood why the one who made it assured me with an ominous expression while saying, 'It will never break, no matter how much you play with her'.

Even though I had emphasized multiple times that I had no such intentions of using it for 'playing', I would still get a little angry when I recalled how he looked at me with a face that said 'Yeah, yeah, sure you won't'.

"..."

Anyway…

Since that was the case, I could use it for something like this.

"Heup!"

With a shout, I pulled the leash behind me.

Then, immediately, I 'threw' Yuria, as if she was a stone fired from a sling.

Since Desperation was at an A Grade, this much should be manageable.

With a , Yuria let out a choking sound, as she soared high into the air.

A moment later, she collided with the Automaton's head with a loud Bang!, and slid down its body while making clanking noises.

It was like a scene out of a manga.

"...What are you doing?"

"..."

"I asked, what the fuck are you doing?!"

Although Iliya glared at me as if I was a shit stain on the ground, I just ignored her.

It was all part of my master plan.

-!

The Automaton spotted Yuria nearby and turned its target towards her. Its arms rose to strike once again.

If it landed directly, it could pose a lethal threat to her, so…

I eyed the distance between the Automaton and Yuria.

One and a half steps away.

That should be enough. Well, I think.

"Wait, it's dangero—"

Before Iliya could even finish her sentence…

Yuria pulled out Severer at lightning speeds.

And the next moment…

-!

-!!!!

In a single blow.

The Automaton was split in half.

"What the…!"

Iliya's mouth hung open in shock.

"...I can't even see her moveme—! No wait, how is she a student?! Isn't she stronger than Dean Conrad?!"

I couldn't help but chuckle at her astonished reaction.

She finally got it. I didn't twist my body around, trying to avoid getting within three steps away from her for no reason.

The Curse of Severance; The closer an opponent got to the bearer, the more ruthlessly it tore them apart. Within two steps away from the bearer, the attacks would become even more ruthless.

Even a starsteel Automaton couldn't do shit against it besides getting its asshole split apart.

Now, if it had been one step away, well…

Among the characters in the current scenario, there was absolutely no one who could withstand Yuria's one-shot kill.

'....That's why there was a cheese strat that blatantly used this trait.'

Within the game community, it was commonly referred to as the 'Blender'.

The method was simple: use any means necessary to push Yuria right into the heart of the enemy. As a result, anything nearby got completely shredded to pieces.

And what I just did was a similar maneuver to that.

"..."

It might have been incredibly shitty of me, but it worked wonders.

'...I'll gladly abuse this in Chapter 2.'

In the showdown against the Boy King, this ability was beyond important.

The 'penalty' imposed by the Curse of Severance was that Yuria indiscriminately projected such destructive power, regardless of the victim's identity. However…

The reason I came to this place was to give her the 'ability to distinguish' between friend and foe.

｢W-Wow! I took it down with one hit!｣

"Hey, hold on. Wait! Don't!"

The problem was, even with such terrifying qualities, she still tried to recklessly stick to me without any hesitation.

I stepped back in panic to adjust the distance between us.

As such, Yuria became sullen and suddenly stopped walking. It felt like I was looking at a puppy that brought back a frisbee and was waiting for her owner to pat her on the head.

｢Won't you praise me…?｣

"..."

I reluctantly picked up a long stick that came out of the demolished Automaton.

Using this, I gently stroked Yuria's head from afar.

"...Good girl. Well done."

｢Hehe…｣

I wonder…

Should I be happy because she still liked me, even after I treated her like this? Or should I be terrified instead…?

"...Are you kidding me? What are you two even doing?

"..."

'Shut up.'

'You've only been dissing me since earlier.'

Well, it wasn't like I had time to hear her rebukes anyway.

Since the Automaton was destroyed in an instant, the angels would probably be in Code Red at this moment. Someone would come out soon.

And just as I was thinking this…

The radiant mass of light in the surroundings surged even brighter.

-!

Then, from within the white light, a winged figure in white armor appeared.

A woman with blue hair that reached all the way down to her feet.

She was someone I was familiar with. In the first place, females were extremely rare among angels.

A Virtue1. With qualities of nobility and virtue, they were known to bestow 'miracles' upon humans who dwelled on the surface.

When considering the hierarchy of angels in Sera, she was quite high-ranking; around the level of a high-ranking government official.

"A-An angel?!"

Beside me, Iliya was gaping in shock. Well, I guess from her perspective, it was probably akin to seeing a celebrity in person.

However, to be honest, I was also surprised by the appearance of this specific angel.

'...Higher ranked than I expected."

From the very start, I never expected to come face to face with a Seraph.

Those boomers would only show their faces near the end of the scenario. No matter how much of a commotion I caused, it would be impossible to meet them.

After all, position-wise, they were antipodes of Devils.

That was why, I thought maybe some random low-ranking angel would come out, but who would have imagined that a Virtue appeared instead. What a surprise.

'...Honestly, isn't this pretty nice?'

All things considered, this was a pleasant surprise.

It'd help to save me some time.

I needed to negotiate with a high-ranking angel in order to lift the Curse of Severance, but since she was only a Virtue…

I could 'rip her off' more than I had originally planned.

Time to take a more radical approach.

"...This commotion. I see that you were the one who caused it?"

The angel wore a compassionate smile as she spoke in a chiming voice.

"..."

However, when I looked into those eyes, it made quite the contrast to the demeanor she wished to retain.

The corner of her eyes were trembling and even her lips couldn't stop twisting, as her supposedly benevolent smile continued to fall apart.

She was fucking pissed.

Well, a tyrannical superior gave her a task to handle and someone was fucking with it. She had all the right to be upset.

"I don't know what you were thinking when you committed such an act but…"

The Virtue spread her wings wide.

Her golden feathers majestically fluttered. Subsequently, divine power began to gather ominously around her.

'I think what happens next would be…'

More than often, angels would employ mental 'suppression' in situations where they could not physically overpower their target.

They'd directly infiltrate their opponent's mind to manipulate their actions without causing direct harm.

Instead of trying to cause me serious harm, she'd simply restrain me as punishment for fucking around places where I shouldn't be.

"Are you prepare—"

"Yes. I'm prepared. Hurry up and do that shady thing you angels always do."

"..."

As I interrupted the angel's threatening words, she momentarily turned speechless as she blankly stared at me.

Oops. You can't deny that, can you?

'...I can't even begin to comprehend why they shamelessly call it divine power when its nature is so wicked.'

I deeply sighed, my thoughts wandering elsewhere once again.

A significant amount of skills that used divine power interacted with the mind. Allegedly, the compatibility between the two was good.

And it seemed like even 'holy' and 'pure' beings such as angels freely exploited this without a care.

'Bruh, what kind of angel resorts to brainwashing or mind manipulation?'

"You really need to be taught a lesson!"

With that, the Virtue shot her divine power towards me.

Shortly thereafter, I felt a sensation of something 'intruding' into my consciousness. It was probably similar to a feeling of someone else's mind mixing with mine.

It was the divine power that an angel directly manipulated. Even a powerful opponent wouldn't be able to resist it.

"..."

I let out a wry smile.

But, well…

From my perspective, I was practically welcoming the angel's actions with both arms.

'She just activated my trap card. GG.'

If she was 'infiltrating' my mind directly…

I had prepared some glorious surprises for her.

"...!"

And in the next moment…

The angel's eyes widened in surprise.

Footnotes

You can read 255 chapters for $20. p.atreon.com/casca02