Chapter 1141: Roaneth

「Die!!」

There was much we wanted to ask the leader of the Carmine Flame Knights, but he never gave us the chance. Knight Captain Roaneth had already pointed his gun at us and pulled the trigger.

It seems the beams of light he sniped us with were not flame magic, but shots directly coming from his weapon, Carmine Flame. Still, Maleficent and Persona blocked it without any issues.

「No one likes an impatient man, you know.」

「…」

「…Fuck you!」

Whoa there. Quite the mouth for such a handsome young man.

「What the hell is wrong with you people! Die, die, die, die!」

『He can rapid fire!』

Roaneth shot out a barrage of fireballs, each packing a great deal of power. However, he couldn’t get past the the barrier from me, Fran, Maleficent, and Persona.

『Neutralize him first, ask questions later! Urushi, get him!』

「Grrr!!」

「I can see right through you, mutt!」

「Gwoh!」

It’s as if he knew right when Urushi was going to jump out of the shadows, yet he shouldn’t have the skills for that… Was the relic buffing him somehow?

Urushi was forced to retreat back into the shadows after getting his right paw shot. He attempted to cloak the paw with Dark Embrace in an effort to protect himself, but he still received a severe burn.

Each shot must have the same power as a high-level spell.

However, we still have the advantage in numbers. Roaneth left himself open when he attacked Urushi, and Fran took the chance to slash at him.

「Get the fuck away from me, you little shit!」

「Taaah!」

「Back off!」

Roaneth parried our hit with the relic. Damn, that thing is hard! We didn’t even land a scratch with a serious hit!

Moreover, Roaneth partially transformed his body into flames to avoid Fran’s followup. As expected from one of the strongest men in Raydoss.

That said, it wasn’t enough to overturn our advantage. Roaneth’s face distorted in rage as he began to realize we exceeded his expectations.

「Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck! I’ll murder you if it’s the last thing I do!」

「Mrgh.」

The relic transformed?! A slit opened on it with a click, and several metal cords shot out of it. The thin cords wriggled like tentacles as they wrapped themselves around Roaneth’s arm.

I could see Roaneth’s mana flowing into the relic through those cords, as the barrel began glowing red.

However, Roaneth left himself completely open during this transformation. Fran took advantage and launched her own attack.

「Haaaaah!」

『Take this!』

A hint of divine-aspected mana enveloped my blade. Fran must be getting accustomed to using the Beast-Bug God’s Blessing.

She delivered a slash with godly speed and divine energy.

A technique containing Fran’s full power, more than capable of striking down powerful opponents without the use of Sword God Transformation or Potential Release.

「That shit won’t work on me, you damn brat!」

It seems Roaneth sensed the divine energy on my blade. Rather than transforming his body into flames again, he reached out to block us with his free left arm.

His arm slammed into my blade, and the mana infused within only managed to deflected my trajectory by a tiny amount. That must have been his goal from the beginning. He did not intend to block us, but merely deflect the hit and avoid a fatal blow.

It was a slash intended to slice off his head, yet we only managed to cut through his left elbow and half of the neck. Well, normally that would be plenty fatal.

Wounds inflicted by the divine attribute are difficult to regenerate. That said, it seems Roaneth knew exactly what he was doing. Without any pause, and he readied Carmine Flame with his eyes fixated on Fran.

「DIEEEE!」

Blood bubbled from his mouth as he screamed the death sentence.

『No! Fran, stop him at all costs!』

「!」

I witnesses Carmine Flame’s final skill, which was not visible earlier. Now it could be seen, and it said “Divine Flame Excitation”.

Rather than purposely being hidden, this was a power that becomes available after meeting special circumstances. Only by draining the wielder’s mana, or perhaps even their lifespan itself, can it actually be used.

And if it says “divine flames”, it might have as much power as one of Izario’s attacks. We can’t be too careful.

I fired a few thunder spells in an attempt to cancel his movements, but they only slipped through Roaneth’s body. Damn, not his flame form again! Despite the fatal cut on his neck, he was still thinking with his head straight.

「YOU’RE ALL DEAD!」

He shifted his aim away from Fran?

Roaneth pointed the muzzle of his gun upward and shot a bright red bullet high into the sky. No, that’s not it! He’s trying to kill everyone here!

The bullet of divine flame exploded like a firework, as they came falling back to the roof of the fort. Hundreds of divine embers came pouring down on us like rain droplets.

『Maleficent! Persona! Gather around Fran! We need to do this together!』

「Persona, hurry!」

「…」

Without any concern for revealing my identity, I called out directly to Maleficent and Persona. This wasn’t only because I wanted to save them. More importantly, I realized that all four of us working together was the only way to make it through the rain of divine flames.

At the very least, I couldn’t guarantee that Fran and I would make it through by ourselves.

Maleficent and Persona seemed to have reached the same conclusion, immediately getting to work without voicing any doubts.

『Urushi and Avenger, you guys put up your barriers too!』

「Woof!」

「Understood! I will obey my god!」

I’m not your god!