Lord Nephilim’s body, possessed by Lauren’s soul, began to fly towards the castle.
I decided to follow, placing Lauren’s unconscious body on a small cart. Her long legs dangled out, making it look rather awkward, but it was the only thing I could do.
Lord Nephilim, who had transformed into a demon, slowly advanced while tearing away the Gothmol’s puppet-like minions that clung to him. It was a truly strange sight. No one could have imagined such a development.
We finally managed to return near the Central Castle. The beautiful, pure white castle had now turned into ruins. The upper floors were mostly destroyed, and the white roses were leaning precariously.
Naturally, the base of the castle was swarming with demon corpses that had become Gothmol’s puppets. They seemed to be searching for us.
“So, what do we do from here? Charge into that swarm?”
We exchanged glances. I knew that everyone, including myself, was close to their limit. An assault here would mean death. On the other hand, Lord Nephilim, possessing Lauren, let out a strange cry and cleared away the swarm of corpses with black lightning.
“GIIIEEEEEEEE!”
It was a peculiar scream that made my brain tingle. Once the weaker enemies were gone, he formed a Lightning Spear in his distorted hand. Raising his long arm, he threw it towards the summit of the crumbling castle.
The castle walls blew apart with an explosion. Fragments rained down. As I squinted, I saw Gothmol still there. He had likely erected a barrier to block the attack.
This time, Gothmol unleashed black flames towards Lord Nephilim.
“GUAGHYYYYY!”
It hit directly, and Lord Nephilim let out a pained scream, enveloped in smoke. Even to an amateur eye, it was clear that Lord Nephilim was not complete right now. He was likely being forced to grow by Lauren’s power. And her power was darkness, which was a completely different attribute.
“Lauren won’t last like this. I’ll go directly and take him down.”
“Hey, what are you planning to do?”
Shaking off Sharin’s words, I ran towards Lord Nephilim.
“Hey, Lauren, can you hear me! Lift me up to the top!”
I waved my hand and jumped. Noticing me, Lord Nephilim turned his head our way. Half of his face had collapsed, and no resemblance of his former self remained.
Even so, he extended his hand towards me. It was like a strangely grown tree branch. I gently placed my foot on it, and he lifted me up.
“Alright, good! Keep going, slowly!”
I was thrown towards the castle summit as if I were being tossed aside. I rolled on the hard floor and somehow managed to stand up. I was glad I didn’t fall. It seemed that fine movements were difficult.
“You’ve come to die on your own, have you?”
Brushing off the fragments embedded in my hand, I stood up. Behind him, with the corrupted white rose, stood Gothmol. A grubby old man with a hoarse voice.
As soon as I stood, I assumed a posture with my dagger and ran. The distance was only a few meters; I would kill him before he could cast any magic.
Without hesitation, I thrust the dagger into his abdomen and slashed sideways with all my might. It felt like cutting through cotton, with no resistance. No matter how much magical power he possessed, his body was still that of an old man. Even living for a thousand years, he couldn’t overcome aging.
Gothmol, his abdomen slashed, doubled over and cowered. It was anticlimactic. Killing a person was painful, but I couldn’t let this one live.
However, Gothmol, clutching his stomach, looked up and… smiled.
“Wh-What?”
“Geh, gehehehe, where are you aiming?”
Gothmol laughed and pulled up his cloak. Indeed, there was a large wound on his abdomen where I had slashed. But no blood flowed from it. Only an unidentifiable liquid seeped out.
Why? What was happening? The lack of resistance meant that inside was hollow? Could such a thing be possible? Then it would be like…
Suddenly, Anakura appeared before me from nowhere. He looked somewhat disappointed and took out a card.
“Y-You…”
“Don’t dawdle, hurry up and do it, you useless lump.”
Chided by Gothmol, I reluctantly flipped through the cards. Twelve cards floated in a circle like a clock. Inside them, another circle of twelve cards lined up. It was like a vortex of fate, gradually influencing and drawing me in.
At that moment, a fireball flew in from the side and hit the cards. The arrangement collapsed, and the cards fell to the ground.
“Don’t go off on your own.”
“Ah, Veronica!”
It was reassuring to have a comrade arrive. However, behind her, I saw Lord Nephilim, who had been floating in the sky, slowly sinking.
“Behind you! Lauren!”
Lord Nephilim, now a monstrous form as if dead, plummeted downwards. What happened to Lauren inside?
Mid-fall, Lord Nephilim extended an arm and threw something towards me. It was Lauren’s body! It landed near me and skidded to a halt.
“Lauren, are you alive?”
Her leg twitched, and iron claws scraped the ground. As one of her eyes, devoid of light, appeared from between her long hair, a chilling presence crawled up my spine.
Lauren’s spider-like legs clicked as she extended them, lifting her body halfway. She was different from before, exuding an alien aura. She felt like a cursed object one shouldn’t approach.
“Gothmol, this time I will kill you for real.”
With a low, hateful voice, Gothmol bared his teeth and laughed.
