Chapter 1164: Divine Poison

The battle between the divine sword and the mech gradually tilted in Maleficent’s favor. Like I thought, a weapon of equal or greater power is required to defeat a divine sword with a focus on defense.

The mech’s laser beams, flames, and lightning could all be nullified.

Meanwhile, Maleficent unleashed Hell’s poison to gradually wear down the mech’s silver body. More accurately, he even melted off entire limbs, but the mech simply grew them back.

However, the rate of damage began to outpace this regeneration. The most terrifying aspect of Hell’s poison was that it lingered wherever it fell.

By manipulating the poison left on the ground, Maleficent’s range and spatial dominance only became more prevalent as time passed.

Yet it appeared to me and Fran that Maleficent wasn’t giving it his all.

While his poison was certainly fearsome, its destructive power was several steps below the divine swords I had seen in the past. This can’t be Hell’s true power.

Divine swords work by continuously draining the wielder while active. Indeed, Maleficent’s mana had drastically diminished since the beginning of the battle.

As formidable as they might be, the divine swords are not suited for prolonged combat. It would have been easier to deliver a single, powerful blow right from the start.

So why didn’t he do that?

Fran found this confusing, but I knew the reason: Persona.

Maleficent was protecting the masked girl in his arms. He chose to fight without going all out, so that not even a slim chance of harm might befall her.

Even with a divine sword, using his most powerful attacks will leave some sort of opening. Maleficent considered the risk of doing so and opted for a defense-oriented style.

No matter how angry he might be, Persona remained his top priority. It seems that’s the one thing that never changed.

Maleficent could have entrusted Persona to me or Fran, yet he refused to do so.

Perhaps he didn’t trust us completely, or he might have thought that protecting her himself was more certain. I can understand his feelings.

If I were in Maleficent’s shoes, I probably wouldn’t be able to leave Fran with someone else either.

Despite holding Persona gently in his arms, he continued to unleash vicious attacks on his enemies.

「Rot away!」

「Defend! Iceman!」

「Nuoooh!」

The Wight King named Iceman invoked a shield of ice to block the poison, but the splattered poison pierced holes into his robe, causing him to flounder.

The guy with evil energy and Hideman were still nowhere to be seen. Only Nameless and the Wight King remained on the Raydoss side.

Actually, why are they still fighting Maleficent? They obviously have zero chance of winning.

Yet they continued fighting without trying to escape, so there must be some reason.

To support Raydoss’s retreat? Maybe, but the main forces on their side have already escaped from the fortress. So why do they refuse to run?

Stalling for time to prevent pursuit? I guess that’s possible, but…

However, I understood after watching the battle a bit longer. They were persistently targeting Persona. I think they mentioned something about the vessel of the Holy Mother? It seems they found the girl incredibly important.

That said, they picked the wrong opponent.

Perhaps it was a deliberate sacrifice to wear Maleficent down, but one of them finally reached the limit. Another wave of summoned demons entered the fray, resulting in the Wight King’s defeat.

Everyone on the Raydoss side apparently possessed anti-demon weapons, though such tricks were meaningless before the onslaught of numbers.

Furthermore, it seems Maleficent was also stalling for time.

「Divine poison! Kill them all!」

A black mist formed around Maleficent. The moment I saw it, I cast a teleport to move Fran further back.

Fran nodded without doubting me.

（Thanks, Master.）

『That black mist is dangerous…』

（Nn.）

『Urushi, do you think you can defend against it with poison immunity?』

（Kuhn.）

Urushi, who was supporting Kranzel’s retreat, also sensed the threat of that black mist. He whimpered in fright.

I’m pretty sure it’s poison, but the sinister nature made me want to flee the moment I saw it. Since I’m not even a living creature, Fran and Urushi must feel a much greater sense of danger to their lives.

Maleficent called it “divine poison”, in other words, poison imbued with divine energy.

「This mere trifle…!」

Nameless attempted to dispel the mist with his magic, but…

「Futile!」

「!」

Nameless’s spell was nullified the moment it touched the mist. He attempted several more spells, but all of them vanished equally as quickly.

It wasn’t just a lethal poison; it also nullified any and all interference with divine energy.

The black mist spread on the wind, diffusing into the air.

「Pin down those wretched undead!」

「Guh! Stay back!」

Under Maleficent’s command, the demons swarmed Nameless.

As Nameless was held down by demons, the black mist engulfed the lot of them. Naturally, his summons came into contact with the poison too.

All of them crumbled apart and disappeared upon touching the poison. However, Maleficent showed no concern and laughed heartily.

「Fuhahaha! Now get out of my sight!」

「Uoooooooh!」

Nameless launched a barrage of magic with all his might, a vicious attack with enough force to kill a dragon.

However, even his final struggle proved pointless as the divine poison extinguished his spells.

「DAMN YOUUUUU!!」

The scream ended up being Nameless’s last words.