In Labors and Dangers

“Gurururu… Ruaaaaaaaaa!!”

Ghislain, who seemed to have forgotten human language, bared his fangs and attacked.

With surprising agility considering his huge, draggy body, he came charging at her with his huge head almost head-butting her to the ground.

Rene avoided Ghislain's bite with a last-ditch ≪Short Warp≫. She slashed through the slug-like torso as she passed by.

It was a strange sensation of being cut but not being cut. The damage was not done, and it was being substituted in some other place.

Apart from the Illuminator, which seemed to have no substitution function from the start, there were probably still some leftover Holy Beasts left after Priscilla's death.

But the holy beasts stopped defending the Earl and his family.

They received an order from a higher being, Ghislain. They discarded the Earl and his family in order to leave more strength for the next battle.

“Aaaaaaah!"

Ghislain drew back his torso.

He curled himself up like a coiled snake, and then reared up with his torso to reap the surrounding area. The muddy ground was scraped, and muddy water swirled up.

René leapt lightly like jumping rope to avoid the cleave and was about to deliver another blow.

At that moment, René felt nausea, or should one say fear?

--Something, coming ...!

A radiance of holy energy lit up the parts of Ghislain's body that were not clad in golden ornaments, like speckles, all over.

--≪Countermagic Field≫!

Immediately after, Ghislain's entire body scattered holy energy light all around him like a laser projector.

A shower of white and blue light gouged everywhere like a high water pressure washer. However, the attack couldn't reach René, who had deployed an anti-magic attack barrier within a fraction of a second, and was erased.

René slashed twice and thrice at Ghislain, who had exposed an opening.

However, sensing the presence of holy energy approaching from behind, she moved into the shadow of the collapsed castle wall.

The rays of holy energy that were grinding against the stone stopped for a moment.

A dragon-shaped holy beast, Illuminator, appeared in front of Ghislain. For some reason, one of its hands was missing.

The Illuminator fell down on Ghislain like a body press.

The underlying Ghislain was not flattened ..., and the two holy beasts melted together like liquid.

"That's ... terrible!"

René commented with some physiological disgust.

The two bodies were blending together, changing contours like dough being kneaded.

It seemed like a new body was being created from the two bodies. The body, which had only been dragging, now had legs to support a dragon's massive frame, and wings sprouted from its back.

"I'm not a Sentai villain, so I won't wait for you to finish your merging!"

René teleported behind the holy beast, which had stopped moving to rebuild its body, and slashed at it.

One blow, two blows, and then a third. The half-fused dragon's neck extended. The light of holy energy leaked from the gaps between the fangs of its mask-like face.

--Breath ... no, he's going to bite me!?

René leaped to topple over the looming golden nozzle.

Jumping on the nape of the long dragon's neck, René slashed with the red blade further.

“Guoooooooo!!”

"Kyaa!"

Ghislain suddenly flapped his wings while swinging the dragon neck.

René, who was unable to stay on top of the beast and tumbled to the ground, was hit by a sharp clawed arm. Floating in mid-air, René avoided the blow by teleporting to the ground. A golden claw cleaved just above her neck. The wind pressure shook René's soaked hair.

Ghislain's huge body danced in the night sky.

The dragon's powerful flapping wings intermittently created a gust of wind that seemed to beat down on the area.

On top of the obese dragon-like torso, the original huge deformed head and the long neck of the dragon were aligned.

The two mouths were filled with the radiance of holy energy.

--Here it comes!

The Breath was almost like magic, but not strictly magic, and the "anti-magic" defenses could not prevent damage.

René leapt at the nearest door leading into the castle.

Immediately after she swung her red blade and sliced through the door, she jumped in to push the wreckage aside. With the sound of the wind, horrifying holy energy blew through the air behind René.

“Giiiiiiiiaaaaah!"

With a distorted yell, a hand plunged into the door through which René had just passed. The surrounding masonry collapsed.

Ghislain's huge body would not allow him to enter the castle.

Either he could not revert to human form or he was simply concerned about losing his fighting strength, but anyway, Ghislain plunged his hand through the wall and tried to tear René apart.

René sent a status report telepathically to Alastair as she ran down the red-carpeted corridor. René was mentally connected to the undead she had created, and could send one-way communications and orders.

The call mark was not magically stored in the caller's pocket, but was in her normal possession, and had just been burned by Oswald.

--The Earl and his family were defeated. But Ghislain was turned into a holy beast! He took in an Illuminator and turned into something like a dragon, and is now fighting me. It seems there is still a Holy Beast left to take care of his wounds!

Ghislain repeatedly thrusted his hand in after René, who was running away.

The hallway, once magnificent, was quickly reduced to ruins.

There was some pause because the communication was not from a call mark, but after a few seconds of delay, a voice echoed directly into René's mind.

--Princess-sama, it seems that holy beasts are attacking any survivors.

It was ≪Telepathy≫ from a lich that was attached to Alastair. He was sending a communication to René in the form of a direct restatement of Alastair's words.

--Survivors in town? Why?

--Unclear. Also, it seems that the holy beasts are moving toward the castle as a whole. The holy beasts that were fighting in the vicinity of Meat Tank Number 2 Hilbert are also heading toward the city, and the adventurers have been defeated.

When René heard the news, her mind was filled with Ghislain's own words.

He had also eaten Marquis Edfeldt and Oswald.

Perhaps to make them his own flesh and blood.

--Are the holy beasts going to store flesh in their own bodies and bring it to Ghislain to fuse with him?

--I think that's a strong possibility.

--Destroy all the holy beasts that are heading for the castle. I don't care how many more Bloodsuckers you have to consume. And defend what's left of my secured bodies to the death!

--Understood.

Immediately after the brief communication by thoughts, the wall exploded right next to René.

Beyond the stone wall, which rose up inward and collapsed, exploding and flying. There was the huge body of Ghislain, shoulders angry as in a shoulder tackle. It approached.

--≪Short Warp≫!

René teleported to the outside of the building, behind Ghislain, who jumped into the building.

The teleportation magic only allowed her to teleport to places that she had identified herself. Basically, it was " places seen with your eyes". If she wanted to teleport to a place so far away that she did not see herself, she would have to prepare some kind of mechanism.

In the case of René, it was the same, but as a spiritual undead, René could grasp the surroundings through magical perception. She could see through her surroundings like X-ray.

René teleported to the base of the wings, and plunged the cursed red blade into the back covered with white scales. The reaction was absorbed. Somewhere nearby, a holy beast must have died.

But the scales on Ghislain's back were reversed, leaving no trace, almost like a return for the attack.

The back looked like it would be useful for grating radishes, but there was a shimmering blue magma-like light beneath the raised scales.

"Hey!"

The red blade melted in René's hand and disappeared.

René, who had reconfigured her own body as a vampire, flapped her wings and soared up, deploying «Countermagic Field».

Several lasers of holy energy were emitted from Ghislain's back.

Several thin, shining bolts of holy energy were launched into the night sky and disappeared into the infinite distance.

René flew away, the lasers being cancelled out by the protective coating that had been deployed.

--Such a mess, being able to produce a laser beam from anywhere on the body!

Even though it was indeed not as powerful as Breath, it was enough as a counter to René's attacks.

René flew around the castle and landed on the still intact castle wall.

"If you want a shootout, I'll do it too!"

A red staff that looked like it was carved out of a ruby appeared in René's hand.

By that time, René's body was nothing but bones.

"≪Freikugeln≫!"

Seven magic bullets were released from the tip of the magic staff.

The magic bullets, which seemed to be solidified with evil energy, flew through the air as if each of them had its own will.　

The small magic bullets seemed at first glance to be unreliable peashooters against Ghislain's huge body, but the sound of the bullets tearing through the wind like claws was eerie at least, and the evil energy contained in them was extraordinary.

Ghislain emerged from the shadows of the castle, his whole body glowing as he saw the magic bullets approaching from above, from the sides, and from the front. The flames of holy energy flickered in his two mouths as well.

“Uuuuuuuuvaaaaah!!!"

The two mouths spat out breaths, cleaving away.

At the same time, a laser of holy energy shot out from Ghislain's entire body. It was not aimed at René, but for defense.

However, the laser from the body did not seem to be very well aimed, and the magic bullet flew in between the sparse anti-aircraft fire, plunged into the Breath, and bit through it, canceling it out.

René in her Lich form turned out to be an impotent girl (bone) as she outwardly appeared, but her magical power was enhanced by her appearance.

The evil energy contained in the magic bullets surpassed the holy energy exhaled by Ghislain.

René's magic exploded.

The sound of the explosion was too horrific to be called an explosive sound, a watery, muffled sound of exploding flesh. As if scooping up with a spoon, various parts of Ghislain's body were gouged out, and blood spurted out.

Yes, the damage had been done.

--Is the Holy Beast that assumes ... damage running out this time?

René immediately telepathically communicated to Alastair.

--Alastair! There are still some holy beasts left in town that seem to have the ability to substitute damage for others!?

--...Yes. We have confirmed several bird-shaped Watchers and tiger-shaped Disjectors.

--Then, are they far from the castle?

--Yes. They are engaged with soldiers deployed throughout the city. We have seen no other Illuminators in the vicinity of the castle.

The range of effect of the ability to substitute damage was still unknown, but there was no way that such a strong ability could be used with unlimited range.

Naturally, there was a limit to the range of effect..., and right now there were no holy beasts in the area that could take on Ghislain's damage.

--Do whatever you have to do to stop them. I'll finish him off!

--Understood.

Ghislain stood there, still bleeding with the stench of beastly blood, looking not too patient.

He was looking at René through a hole in his golden mask.

René was only thinking of closing his eyes.

Not yet, at that moment.

You can get access to 10 Chapters ahead of the Novelupdates release on my Patreon. <3