274 271. The ceremony begins.txt (2/2)

And gradually, the angle of the sunlight coming in through the window changed.

With the passage of time, the sun was about to rise to the heavens.

Then.

On the way to the sun rising - there was one oddity.

''--Uh, ugh.''

Suddenly, Emily inside the Demon Squadron started to moan.

If you look closely, she was sweating from her forehead and breathing heavily.

Likewise, Rustyala, who is building magic next to her, is also sweating an unusual amount. But this one is a symptom that was known beforehand. The fact that Emily, who just sits and cooperates, is sick is not in the plan.

First of all, the most recent Ragnet-san ran up to Emily.

In response to the unplanned situation, she urgently entered the magic circle. I watch it. Naturally, I keep my hand on the sword at my waist and keep an eye out to see what Lagne-san will do.

''Emily-chan, are you okay?　I'm sweating like crazy--

'Yes, I'm fine. Everything is fine. Everything is going as planned. ......

Emily shook her head and then smiled at Ragne, who put a hand on her shoulder and worried about her.

'Then fine, but ......'

Don't worry. Everything is going to be just as it should be.

Then he took Mr. Ragne's hand from his shoulder.

The magic Sleep Mist.

A magic that wasn't needed for the ritual was activated.

A purple haze crawled out of Emily's hand and invaded her body through Ragne's arms.

''What--?''

Ragne let out a word and broke his knees.

Once I had confirmed that much, I ran out.

Like Lagune-san, I too was slow to react. Because I was too wary of Lagne-san, I failed to see Emily's initial reaction.

After I finished casting a spell on Ragune-san, Emily also moves.

We're both headed to Rastiara.

The distance between me and Rastiara was a few meters in numbers, but there was not a meter between me and Emily. We were right next to each other.

The difference in distance between us was the difference between light and dark.

Emily put her hand on Rustyala's neck as she continued to pray after Ragnet-san.

She shouted as if to slam her hand with magic power in it.

''Please stop!　I don't care if I kill Rastiara-sama and only get 'blood'!

-What?

Zero-distance magic on the neck of the defenseless Rustyala - even improvised magic can be deadly.

That's just not good.

Because it's a life more important than my life--

--I stop.

It was bad enough that I was reflecting and thinking too quickly. In a split second of thought, I remembered the mission I had been entrusted by Christ to 'protect Rastiara'. I thought that if the enemy told me that Rastiara would be safe if I gave him the Blood, the worst is not going to happen.

When I stilled, I could hear Ragne's voice in the distance a bit.

''Ummmm ......--''

He collapsed onto the platform, closed his eyelids and fell asleep. The sleep-inducing magic from earlier must have pierced his all-night body.

It was inevitable before he felt unworthy.

Originally, Ragne-san is a knight with low magic power. Her magic resistance was at the lowest level, and her opponent was a searcher who specialized in magic to the point that she was close to the 'Seven Knights of Heaven (Celestial Knights)'. It would be an impossible task to ask him to play that sleeper.

But the one who seemed to be able to do something about that impossible task was Lagne-san - so I was wary of it, but ...... it was Emily who won this ritual scene.

Then, leaving me behind, the two people in the magicians' camp begin to speak in a whisper.

''Excuse me, Rastiara-sama. I will use the magic you have constructed.

'E, Emily ....... Why ......?

'I'm really sorry ....... Now that our bodies are connected through the ritual, I have a chance to win. I'll take your magic and let you pour the art of sabotage in reverse .......

I don't know how it works, but Emily had taken control of the ritual.

Rastiara and Emily's magic power should have continued to flow into Tiara-san's body, but now she's trying to suck it all up.

Unable to overlook the stone, I call out to her.

”Wait. You, do whatever you want--

Mr. Reiner!

However, he is blamed for calling me names so strongly.

Darkly confronted with the earlier words ”If you move, I'll kill Rastiara”, he can't say the next one.

It's something that precisely hits my weaknesses.

I have no choice but to shout the safest thing to do at the moment.

”Okay, Emily. I'll stay away. Instead, I'm going to ......--Rastiara!　You strangling the motherf*cker!　You may not be able to use magic, but you can do it with your prowess!

I may not be able to move, but not Lastiara.

Even if you're too exhausted to move, you're not completely immobile. I ask him to break at least one of his neck bones with his spirit.

''Bah, stupid liner ......!　I would never do that to my sister. ......!

But Rustyala won't take that safest option.

'd*mn--'

If this doesn't work, there's no other way to get out of the situation with no risk.

While I was swearing, Rustyala spoke to Emily. That idiot, instead of carrying out my plan, was staring worriedly at his enemy.

'Hey, let me ask you something, Emily. Why are you ......?　If you talk to me, I'm sure I can help you with that ......?

It sucks.

Rastiara has a soft spot for the 'Magic Stone Man' (Jewelcrus).

That was now proven to be a deadly sweetness.

''La, Rastiara-sama ....... Sorry. But I'm ......--

The deadly sweetness of the situation caused Emily's face to contort.

Then they were face to face at close range, and a moment of silence was interrupted between them. In that really short amount of time, Rustyala seemed to have figured it all out.

She seemed to be convinced, and she was paragraphing as the magic permeated from Emily's hand.

'Oh, that's what you mean ......?　Well, I guess that's the way it goes... if you go to ......, then I guess I'll just have to... ......

As if asleep, Rastiara collapses on top of the magic circle. Together with Tiara-san next to her, the situation was as if two corpses were lined up.

Emily, who has taken those two in her hands, then glares at me.

''Ryner-san, you are now completely mine, Lastiara-sama. Please move further away.''

...... Got it.

I'm going to obey that order.

I'm not going to force myself to focus on the blood here.

Tiara-san and the rituals are important, but more important than that is the 'safety of Rath Tiara' that Christ asked me to do. If that is taken as a shield, I can't make a strong move.

And when I got some distance away, Emily took the sword from the sleeping Ragne-san's waist.

''First, we need to make sure that the corpse can't be used ....... As I recall, you can avoid instant death and stab him in the abdomen .......

Muttering to myself, I stab the tip of my sword into Tiara-san.

Seeing red-black blood pouring out of her abdomen, I mutter my master's name.

'Tiara-san--'

-- is honestly, I don't mind.

I may be thin-skinned, but I don't think the life and death of that body is that high of a priority.

I'm sure Tiara-san herself thinks so too. We've only known each other for a short time, but I can tell that much.

As I watch Tiara-san's body as it regains death, Emily continues to mutter to herself even more.

''With this, I'm the only healthy 'magic stone human (Jewelculus)' in this place ....... All I have to do is wait for the 'blood' to transfer to me and it's over ....... It's all over now .......

He sounded as if he was talking to himself.

He seemed to regret treating Rastiara's favor with impunity.

'......ch.'

Tongue in cheek.

For the record, it was easier to do it without regret. If you're an opponent like me, who only sees betrayal as a means to an end, you can do your best to crush it.

In the meantime, I'm going to listen to what Rustyala must have figured out.

I'm not going to be able to get away with it. There's a lot of things I want to say to you: ......

'As it is, you will watch until it's all over. We are almost there. If you stay still, I promise not to kill Lady Rustyala. ......

Apparently, they won't talk to me about the situation.

It's a cold response, unlike the time of Rastiara.

However, considering the interaction with Emily up to today, it's probably appropriate. I'm convinced, and I'm going to try to figure it out on my own.

...... It's not such a bad development.

Earlier, she mentioned that she was going to get 'blood'.

In other words, let's just say, Emily is doing my replacement.

If left unchecked, the personality of the magic 'Tiara-san' who practiced on me until yesterday will disappear. I'm not going to give up my body to Emily, and Tiara-san has no intention of taking over. I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to make the most out of it.

You can call it a safe development.

However, as an emotion - I can't deny that I'm a bit irritated.

Tiara-san, by name, chose me as the heir to her power.

In a way, my gaining power is like an inheritance that follows a formal procedure, and Emily's attempt to snatch it from the side is - a robbery.

As a knight, I feel that I cannot overlook criminals who commit robbery. Following that sentiment, I first go to shake things up as best I can, though within absolute safety.

'Hey, Emily. What's your reason?　Maybe you didn't have enough money?

I slowly listen to her motives, trying not to provoke her.

Emily relaxed her guard a little before shaking her head, as if she understood that I only wanted a dialogue.

'No? Then the Al guy knows about this too?

I mention Emily's partner's name. Then she looks impatient and defends herself.

'I don't know Al. If I did know, I would definitely stop it. This is my decision alone.'

If there is a sin, it seems that he wants to suffer it on his own.

From the way he looks at it, we can see his motives little by little.

In other words, Emily went into things for selfish reasons that Al couldn't let her know.

I'm a little disgusted to find out that it might be a love affair I've heard about somewhere.

If it's as expected, it's hard to convince. But it's also difficult to cooperate with them.

As I was wondering how to get the story out of my head, I heard the sound of the temple door moving with a squeak, and then I heard a third person's voice inside the temple.

And then a third person's voice echoed in the temple.