Vol. 1 - Ch. 310 - King of Flies - Beelzebubble (4)

As Jeu hoisted up the wand in her hand, a golden radiance spilled out of its tip like water streams, stretching far in the hall and healing the gathered wounded.

A fabled spell once used by the Saintess Sari, dubbed the «The Miracle of God». In this very moment, Jeu had perfectly enacted the exact legend.

"Ah... it's the Saintess......"

"So sublime...... almost unearthly......"

"It truly is a miracle......"

In the darkest of their hour, she was a manifestation of breathtakingly divine. The paladins and priests knelt before her as her spell healed their injury and conditions, while some even went as far as prostrating and reciting their prayer to her in worship.

*Tap* 

Finishing her spell, Jue tapped the wand on the ground, bringing in everyone's attention.

"......Everyone, we're stuck in a situation where rest is not allowed. I pray you all to muster your strength for the moment, and renew the defense line of this temple until the situation sort out. In the meanwhile, I will be checking out the situation at the Temple of Prayer. They, too, are on the verge of collapse and we can't let it happen."

Jeu remarked with a grim face. Everyone's face scrunched in a pensive look. Their faces resemble the kids being abandoned by their parents. 

Jue had already taken place as their messiah in their heart. 

"After the Temple of Prayers... I shall be joining the Knight Order fighting the King. If we kept on defending the front, I fear we would collapse first before any hope of reinforcement."

Jeu's glance was staring at the top of the tower, and that drew other's attention similarly. 

They, too, felt Jue's words rung true. Even if she had managed to prop up the battleline back to their feet alone, there's no guarantee that would last forever. Her mana wasn't limitless. 

Meanwhile, the King of Flies hadn't stopped raining poison even now, and any reinforcement was still good while away. How many could survive this pressure? 

As everyone's attention was drawn to her, Jeu spun her following words, inspiring courage in them.

"The only hope to weather this storm is if we take the helm ourselves. With the knights... with Allen-san, I will show we can absolutely win! That's why... I hope everyone give in their everything to protect this place. Not alone, let's survive all together!"

The embers of hope, which had been corroded slowly by the ever-increasing poisonous rain, slowly began to flicker behind their eyes. 

Seeing as she got through them, Jeu calmly turned back on her heels.

"It's time to visit the Temple of Prayer. Please clear open the path with your guards, Father."

"Jeu... you......"

"Is something the matter?"

Marquis Leverance tried to say something, but eventually he kept his silence and shook his head.

"......No, it's nothing. I will lead the way. Follow me."

He had always thought she was still her precious daughter, still a child… but now.

As he glanced at her imposing profile, Marquis felt a surging delight, and yet, the crease on his forehead reflected the melancholy of a parent seeing his child growing up. 

◆◆◆

Once clearing out the situation at Temple of Prayer, Jeu covered the hidden passage as she aimed for the tower. 

It was the same passage Allen had used to infiltrate the tower to save her. 

She was followed only by the butler Sebas. The soldiers of the Leverance family were the elite units as Marquis explained, and it's surmountable to them that they protect their lord. Besides, a crowd wasn't a solution against the King of Flies. Bringing them along would simply create a deficit in manpower among two temples. 

After a moment of contemplation, Marquis agreed to part ways, and shifted to assist the battle lines of two temples. 

Though she strided toward the tower, Jeu's attention was lost in her cycle of thoughts, the feeling that had been rumbling inside her heart ever since Allen barged inside the Holy Land knowing well this was but a trap.

—Do you truly understand it, Allen-san?

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Jeu." The words he said as he casually broke inside the room as if he was merely out on the walk, despite knowing full well this was a setup.

—How I felt my heart tightening when you said it?

The person he had come looking for were used as hostages, and was stripped of his weapons. Yet, there wasn't a slightest tremor in his voice, or gaze when he said 'just wait a few moments. I will get you out of it quickly.' 

—How shaken my heart was?

—You know, I haven't understood it myself, Allen-san. I, too, felt how bizarre it was, how I was assured you will come to help us. Even in the moment of despair, you would be here.

—Was my trust in you truly the product of something as frivolous as 'love' as everyone says?

—I wonder if you still recall the first day of class. When Leon-san sought to seek your conviction to protect the commoner as a fellow noble, you didn't care if it was the first meeting, and were blunt as bat, "What I want to protect is what I seek to." These words might have appeared hedonist to other ears, but I had felt your unwavering conviction. Ever since the day we met, astonishing even to myself, I had a strange premonition quietly brewing inside me.

—What about you, Allen-san? Have I... become what you seek to protect? Or am I just a stowaway that becomes an obligation for protecting Rina-san? To be truth, I was engulfed in a momentary panic as you fought with King's minions like a never-exhausting machine. When the other two wind up dead having been abandoned by their comrades, even if the retribution had come their way, you... why had you felt such anger? To the point your face had turned paper pale, with no flicker of emotion in your eyes as you swung your swords...... It couldn't be... that you  regretted being unable to protect them? Why... did you feel that way? 

—"I am sorry you wind up in the situation due to me." You...should cut yourself some slack from thinking like it. After all, isn't it you who winds up as the victim with no fault? 

—How much have you been supporting with these two hands of yours? There's no reward in it for yourself or from anyone, yet you continue to protect that something. Do you... believe someone will protect you?

Momentarily, the statue of Vanish came into the sight of Jeu as she steadily catched the flight of stairs to the top. 

The statue had been there since before she was brought in the hall, and was still there while she was made prisoner. It was just enshrined there, with its expression sculptured to display a cryptic sorrow. But—

*Pfft* Jeu suddenly burst into a smile.

"...Allen-san. I—"

Noticing whispers coming from Jeu, Sebas had turned back to see what it was, but only to shriek.

"...Mi...... Milady... t-the choker...!"

But Jeu simply went past Sebas while later froze to his spot. A smile, ferocious like lioness, tugged to her lips as she opened the door to the rooftop. At that moment, Jeu felt as if the statue of Vanish displayed a subtle smile.

◆◆◆

"Damn it! It's not working. It is completely skirting around the range of my Wind Magic! How are temples faring?!"

"Just shut up and use that energy to dispel poison! We're out of antidotes!"

I did expect the King would be more cautious to give me another advantage, and going through the motion, we were truly pressed. 

The King proved to be far more troublesome than I had thought. After the first attempt, I had tried to destabilise the flying of the King, but it managed to dodge each time, easily creating a distance between us. 

In the meanwhile, the King also counter-attack, but they're fortunately dealt by Master or Dante-san. 

After a stalemate that lasted for good moments, Beelzebubble deftly manoeuvred outside of my Wind Magic range, and began to rain down purple poisonous bubbles. 

The knights like my Master and his colleagues were trained in dispelling poison with ease, so it didn't stop them from interfering. But I was merely a provisional knight, yet to complete that training. 

It took me the entirety of my concentration, even having to stop my reconnaissance technique, just to keep the poison at bay. Of course, taking refuge inside the tower wasn't an option either. It had taken us much effort just to bring its attention to us, and we couldn't afford to lose it and have it target the temples. 

There was Jeu as another ace against the King, but mana-sealing chains fettered her, with keys nowhere to be found. I also had no means to signal her to join us. 

I felt myself losing to panic as the poison slowly breached my effort. Alas, there's nothing I could do but to keep doing my be—

*Thud*

I had been at my wits end when suddenly the door to the rooftop opened suddenly.

"Thank you for your patience, Allen-san. But all the preparations are finally done. Come, let's take down the King!"

...Ah, so like her. I need not to turn behind. Her cheery tone blending in with her confident words spoke for herself!

She must know what I intend to do, and rushed up after somehow dealing with the chains.

"I was waiting, Jeu! So everything is ready? Then let's do it quickly!"

I shifted my focus from dispelling poison to channeling Wind Magic with all my strength, with Jeu casting poison dispel, and targeted the flying king. 

The wind carried the downpour of purple bubbles upwind, and blew them toward the King. Jeu kept her tempo with me, and immediately casted the buff. 

Buff magic was notoriously hard to master. It required much effort to control and support magic. At its best, it could help economise mana while enhancing the might of magic. But if controlled poorly, it could even hinder the end user from controlling their own mana circulation.

The better someone was at detailed operation of mana, the more they would feel uncomfortable. Of course, I was prepared for that. As a fact, we had spent so much time training in the club it would have made everyone else fed up. I had wanted to feel the buff magic in the flesh. Could you imagine the excitement when fantasy became real?! 

Under Jeu's buff, the winds brought forth by me abruptly gained a higher momentum. 

All of a sudden, Beelzebubble, who had been nimbly hovering around the range of my magic, suddenly took a flight and began to increase its altitude. 

"Bzzzzzzzzzzy!"

I strained every fibre of my being to get at least even a brush against the King when a bewildering phenomenon took place.

*BADUMP*

I felt my heart leaping out of nowhere. "—What the..." Entwined in confusion, mana suddenly gushed forth like a broken dam from my body under Jeu's buff influence. I felt as if air was being sucked out by literal space.

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