Taming the Evil Saintess

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Ophelia arrived on the rooftop, followed closely by Azar and Albrecht. Under Azar’s protection, Erwin, who had been poisoned with magic, was able to hide as safely as possible in the current situation.

However, even with Ophelia and Albrecht joining, the tide of battle hadn’t flipped entirely. Abaddon continued to draw out the magic, radiating it around him or trying to establish a territory, while Ophelia unleashed her so-called Holy Spear to thwart him.

Unfortunately, the sheer volume of magic was far too overwhelming for Ophelia to cleanse completely. The intense magic poisoning even turned Albrecht’s eyes a light purple as he fought up close.

“This is… if we drag this out, we’re going to lose!”

Ophelia’s sharp remark sliced through the air.

Emily seemed to think the same and summoned several fiery serpents, clearly the work of a powerful spell, to target Abaddon. But witnessing Abaddon’s body, which healed even after severe injuries, raised doubts in her mind—could they really kill that monster?

Just moments ago, the blade of Albrecht’s sword had turned black. The buildup of magic forced him to hastily toss the sword aside and roll on the ground, his severed hair scattering about.

“Albrecht!”

“I’m fine. I have plenty of swords.”

Albrecht, limiting the discolored part of his sword, forged a new one. However, the force he had before was nowhere to be found. He tried to absorb Abaddon’s attacks while Cecilia aimed for his weak points.

Yet, even that collaboration was barely enough to restrain Abaddon’s feet.

The situation looked grim. Emily’s mana was surely depleting. Azar was busy safeguarding Emperor Bolazio Septimius III and Erwin. At this rate, they were going to lose for sure.

“Elliot.”

It seemed Emily had made a decision.

“What’s wrong?”

“Try doing what I said.”

“What you said?”

“Yeah. I came up with a good idea.”

When I asked again, Emily nodded and began explaining her plan.

Upon hearing it for the first time, I frowned.

“Isn’t that dangerous?”

“The Master said so. A real mage has to be at least half mad.”

With that, Emily grabbed Eldarian’s staff and charged forward. Boosted by acceleration magic, her body charged into Abaddon’s embrace. For a mage to close the distance was akin to suicide. Abaddon didn’t miss this chances and swung his chains.

But what touched Abaddon’s chains wasn’t Emily’s flesh.

It was my Holy Sword, shining with golden sword power.

Crack!

“You didn’t see this coming, you bastard.”

In an instant, Emily and I switched places. It was a makeshift teleportation spell—something I had never heard of—leaving Abaddon wide-eyed. Thanks to that, I easily penetrated and, weaving the chains aside, I readied my sword and stabbed his belly.

Thud! But what greeted my hand grasping the hilt was something solid. A massive force prevented my sword from piercing through. I twisted the blade just in case, but the outcome remained the same. Abaddon gained his footing and swung the chain sword again, forcing me to retreat, barely managing to dodge.

“Did he stash something inside?”

I sighed and readjusted my grip on the sword.

It seemed that beneath Abaddon’s seemingly soft exterior, his insides were far tougher. Whether it was a barrier made from magic or an almost superhuman physical ability akin to Elgore, the fact that he took minimal damage from a stab was disheartening.

“…Haha.”

Adelheit, watching our struggle from a distance, let out a dry laugh.

“Good move. You got one point. But it won’t work a second time.”

“You bitch.”

Emily glared at Adelheit with ferocity, but she just shrugged it off, unfazed.

“It’s pointless. At this point, wouldn’t it be better to evade and wait for another chance? You only have one life, you know?”

That was a boiling statement. However, Ophelia, who had been silently watching, interpreted Adelheit’s taunts differently.

“Seems like that bitch is giving strength to the demon, doesn’t it?”

“…What do you mean?”

Ophelia scrunched her eyebrows, alternating her gaze between Abaddon and Adelheit.

“If she really felt confident, there’s no reason she’d tell us to back off and threaten us unnecessarily.”

“…Is that so?”

“Of course. A woman’s heart is best understood by another woman. When there’s an inherent weakness, they tend to come out even stronger.”

“Like you, Ophelia?”

“Shut up.”

Ophelia raised a nonsensical logic. Of course, the current situation was far too dire to explain solely with a woman’s heart, but I decided against interjecting.

“So, Ophelia, if what you say is true, we should target Adelheit?”

“Yep. Look.”

Whoosh!

Ophelia drew her Holy Spear and threw it at Adelheit. Abaddon, who had been fiercely fighting against Cecilia and Albrecht, extended the broad side of his chains to deflect the spear.

But there was no stopping; Abaddon turned towards Ophelia and charged furiously, only to be repelled by Emily’s gravity magic. Following that, Cecilia’s Ice Flowers erupted, and Albrecht’s sword entangled to impede Abaddon’s movement.

Ophelia, observing that scene without batting an eye, shrugged and glanced at me.

“…See that? He’s trying so hard to protect her.”

“Isn’t that because she’s his master?”

“Perhaps. But it feels like there’s a strange connection between them. It’s not physical, but it seems like they’re exchanging something.”

“Is that really true?”

“Damn, don’t you believe me?”

Ophelia glared at me.

I tried to muster the warmest smile I could.

“Of course I do.”

“Hmph.”

When it came to governance of mana and power, Ophelia was clearly superior to me. Since she said it, it was probably true.

That meant we needed to focus on targeting Adelheit, but with Abaddon’s fierce protection, there was no way to approach.

Moreover, Emily had attempted to attack Adelheit several times. But whether it was due to the protective artifacts she wore or the devil’s contract, she couldn’t inflict any damage on Adelheit while battling with Abaddon.

“…Is there no method?”

“There’s always a way.”

Ophelia answered with a grin, placing her finger against her lips.

“This sister has a plan.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“Just watch.”

Ophelia rummaged through her robe and pulled something out. As I realized what it was, my eyes widened in shock.

“Ophelia, you’re not….”

“A girl carries at least one asymmetrical power in her pocket, right? It’s a woman’s weapon.”

“…”

Though I had plenty to say, I held back.

*

The tide of battle was favoring Adelheit. The demon Abaddon, a match for any demon king, showed no mercy even against the veteran heroes.

Of course, if that were all, they might not have lost, but Adelheit had strengthened Abaddon through underhanded methods.

Just like the marks she placed on possessors, she inscribed a mark on the heart of the Hell Duke, who acted as a catalyst for summoning. If any mishap occurred, it would sever Abaddon’s life, and she was the one exponentially increasing the magic circulating within him.

Knowing that fact, Abaddon prioritized protecting Adelheit above all else.

“If we let even two… no, three die like this…”

The heroes were no longer capable of stopping Adelheit. Killing the hero would be the icing on the cake, but that wasn’t a necessity. Killing the Archmage or the Sword Saint would also suffice. Regardless, once they were defeated, he would implant the mark and seals in the Imperial Guards and create an army.

Once that was achieved, overthrowing the demon king and conquering the continent would be a sure thing.

‘This is nice.’

Adelheit, encountering a few obstacles, surmised that her plan was over fifty percent successful.

Until Saint Ophelia Meredein pulled a tiny cat out of her robe.

‘…What is that?’

It was an excessively small cat, with wings on its back.

However, Adelheit couldn’t decipher its identity. Since the saint had taken it out in such chaos, it must have some use, but how could such a tiny cat turn the tide of battle?

Just as Adelheit pondered, a massive pair of wings appeared before her. Wings covered in black leather, with purple horns protruding from them—a sight that was closer to a demon than anything else.

In that moment, Adelheit couldn’t believe her eyes.

Was she perhaps witnessing the spectacle of hell due to her contract with a demon?

Yet, there before her was an unmistakable reality—a dragon so huge it could cover an entire building of the imperial palace.

“…Huh?”

Adelheit let out a dazed sound, and Abaddon, who was still engaged in battle, was also startled.

Since he was a demon imprisoned on the outer edges of the world, Abaddon knew full well what that dragon was. It was the strongest creature of its dimension, free to roam across dimensions.

Not just any dragon, but the Black Dragon.

[Roar!]

The Black Dragon Blackie howled.

The Dragon Fear, which had been silent until now, swept around like a whirlwind.