1015: Seliadot's Reasons

It was Seliadots ward that saved Fran.

Black Lightning Princess, fall back immediately!

What are you gonna do, Seliadot?

Ill hold him down here.

The lorelei girl looked up at the antidemon. Her face was filled with hostility toward the antidemon, as well as powerful resolve.

Arent you working with Meltritte though?

Of course not. I gave her my wards as a fellow lorelei, but I never thought shed be plotting something like this

The wards she gave to Meltritte apparently had a communication function, which she used to listen in on our conversation with Meltritte.

Thats how she learned Meltrittes schemes, to some extent. She slumped her shoulders with a look of regret covering her face.

Theres no time to talk! Watch out!

UUUURGH!

Reactive WardTch!

I originally suspected that Seliadot might be in cahoots with Meltritte, but I guess not. She attempted to block the goliaths fist with her ward, though it didnt work well.

Over here!

Ora!

Fran took Seliadot into her arms and jumped back. Meanwhile, I used my telekinesis and spells to slow down the fist just a little. Are we still in a tough spot though?

Just as I was focusing my mana for another blast of telekinesis

A huge black object fell from the sky and slammed into the goliaths fist. The force of the impact changed the trajectory of the swing, causing his fist to crash into the ground.

Urus.h.i.+! Good boy!

Woof!

It was Urus.h.i.+ at his maximum size. By taking advantage of his body the size of a small mountain, Urus.h.i.+ bit down on the giant antidemons arm to impede his movements. However, this wouldnt last long.

Even if Urus.h.i.+ was over 30 meters tall, he was still no match for the antidemon. After all, the goliath was as tall as a skysc.r.a.per. From his point of view, Urus.h.i.+ was nothing but a tiny puppy.

Sure enough, he lifted Urus.h.i.+s body easily.

Meanwhile, Fran and Seliadot managed to escape thanks to Urus.h.i.+ buying time for us. After seeing us off, Urus.h.i.+ also shrunk himself and retreated from the antidemon.

The antidemon seemed puzzled by the sudden disappearance of the giant wolf. He kept glancing all around with a somewhat confused look.

Since his body was so big, he must have a hard time finding us. A great distance away, Urus.h.i.+ regrouped with Fran and Seliadot.

Urus.h.i.+, you saved us.

Woof!

What happened to Velmeria and Frederick?

Woof!

I looked in the direction indicated by Urus.h.i.+s nose, and I sensed the mana of many people. It seems he deposited the two with the second division before coming back for us.

Meanwhile, the second division was already very far away from the castle. Did Urus.h.i.+ tell them to run? Or maybe seeing Urus.h.i.+ made them realize something was up. Either way, nice call.

Lets get out of here.

Nn. Urus.h.i.+, Seliadot, lets go.

Theres no way to win this by ourselves. Knowing that, Fran readily accepted the plan, but Seliadot intervened.

You can escape by yourself. Ill grab his attention.

Youre not going to run?

I have no choice What Meltritte has committed is a terrible sin. One that may result in divine punishment.

Now that you mention it, that might be true. She manipulated the Abyss Eater, created vast numbers of antidemons, and took the lives of many innocent people.

I find it unforgivable that she ma.s.sacred so many innocents, but I doubt the G.o.ds care much for that. They preside over a variety of areas after all: a G.o.d for men, a G.o.d for beasts and bugs, a G.o.d for plants, and so on.

From their point of view, the human race has been clearing forests, hunting beasts, and exterminating insects since the beginning of history. Thats nothing short of a genocide upon other living creatures. Also, guys like Ashwrath and Izario must have taken countless human lives during times of war.

Yet, there is no story about the G.o.ds punis.h.i.+ng anyone for any of that. Its very likely that the G.o.ds simply dont care about us killing each other for survival, as long as we dont violate any other rules.

The sin Meltritte committed was in manipulating the Abyss Eater. Since the Abyss Eater contains a fragment of the Evil G.o.d, she can be said to have abused the power of a G.o.d.

Also, this entire continent was contained within a barrier under the jurisdiction of the G.o.ds. Performing such an action here might have been very unwise of her.

At the very least, I must ensure that other lorelei will not be blamed.

The sin committed by a lorelei must be corrected by one of her fellow lorelei. Seliadot wished to avoid divine punishment on her race as a whole. I dont know if that will actually make up for it, but I guess its better than doing nothing.

So dont worry about me.

Im staying too.

Black Lightning Princess? What are you saying!?

Seliadot was absolutely stunned.

Im stunned too.

Fran! Dont be ridiculous!

But!

The lorelei and black cats were very similar in their unfortunate circ.u.mstances and position in society.

Moreover, Fran couldnt leave her alone after seeing the determination on her face. Seliadot was obviously trying to make this her last stand. She wanted to throw away her life in order to protect her race, and Fran sympathized with this feeling.

Wolf and sword, you two help me convince her to stop!

W-Woof?

Eh? By sword, is she talking about

I know that sword has a will of its own, after hearing your conversation underground. I had planned to take this secret with me to the grave, but you give me no choice.

She did mention eavesdropping on Meltrittes conversations, but it seems she knew more about us than I thought.

Black Lightning Princess. You must run for now, and a.s.sist the others in taking the giant down. Either way, someone must act as the decoy or neither of us can escape. Therefore, I am the best suited for the job.

Fran. We really do need to regroup with everyone first.

Then Ill take Seliadot with

Hurry! Weve been noticed!

s.h.i.+t!

Just as Seliadot said, the giant antidemon took a step toward us. But at the same time, however, we sensed a new presence.

Theres so many of them!

Is it the adventurers?

More from over there too!

Woof!

We sensed a large number of people headed in our direction. Theyve gotta be the first division and the third division. It seems theyve noticed the giant antidemon as well.

Well, it wouldnt be hard to tie this giant antidemon with the current anomaly affecting Gordicia. These were the forces originally a.s.sembled to fight the t.i.tan-types, so theres no way theyd be able to ignore him.

I could also sense the presence of the aces a.s.signed to each unit.

We can just hang in there until everyone arrives!

To be honest, I was hoping youd run still.

The word escape seems to have disappeared from Frans dictionary.