Temiran McCleare's crimson eyes watched the radiant holy sword pointed at him. Even so, his mind raced, searching for the best way to escape this situation.
'Okay, I've bought some time… Now what?'
Heinrich Saint Landguard, the Saint of the Main God's Church and the champion of the Main God, the Knight of Light. His sudden appearance, shattering his pocket dimension, "Twilight's Backside," and barging in, was a massive game-changer. His presence alone made a clean escape uncertain.
'This is annoying. I thought things were going too well.'
Temiran's eyes twitched at the sharp killing intent that seemed ready to pierce him. He gauged the situation, constantly probing for an opening while his opponent did the same. He twisted the surrounding flow, threatening the girl lying behind him. The approaching pressure faltered and retreated slightly, but soon began to circle again, seeking another opportunity.
"Phew— Persistent, aren't you?"
"Tsk, you're one to talk."
His opponent couldn't attack recklessly because of the girl, but prolonging this standoff wouldn't benefit him. This place was enemy territory for him, an apostle of a god banished to the abyss.
'I managed to restore the pocket dimension, but… I have to assume that the situation here has already been reported. There's no guarantee it won't be broken again.'
If the Grand Shaman hadn't interfered, or if the High Elf's intervention had been even slightly delayed, he would have secured his target and escaped without any problems. A series of coincidences had tripped him up, and the situation had spiraled into a disaster.
…No, actually, he already knew.
This wasn't just a coincidence. This disaster was a result of his god completely losing control over causality, something he had desperately maintained.
'It's no wonder things are going south when everything I've tried has failed.'
From the appearance of the Immortal King to the overflowing madness, and the Revolutionist's schemes. There was no way he hadn't paid a price for orchestrating such continent-wide calamities. Moreover, he had to scheme from within the abyss, the worst possible environment, so the added burden was substantial.
And in that situation, most of his aggressive gambles had ended in failure. It was like gathering all his resources, pushing forward recklessly with a business venture, only to lose everything.
The reason Temiran, still unprepared as an apostle, had to step up earlier than planned was because of this. He had to somehow succeed with the remaining arrangements, find a way to recover, and secure a foothold for a comeback…
But seeing the current situation, it seemed that, too, was doomed to fail.
"…Thinking about it makes me pissed off. So, in the end, I'm just cleaning up the mess left by others? Ugh, what am I going through all this trouble for?"
"I agree with you on that, Temiran McCleare. Wouldn't it be better for both of us if you just surrendered quietly?"
"Tsk, I wish I could…"
The boyish-looking Temiran clicked his tongue at Heinrich's words. But unfortunately, he wasn't in a position to act freely. Bound by a slave contract, he had no choice but to go down with the ship, even knowing it was sinking.
Temiran scratched the back of his head and grumbled.
"What can I do? I have to do as I'm told. Actually, when you think about it, you and I are in similar situations···."
He stopped mid-sentence. His gaze fell to his feet.
'Wait, the shadow…?'
It was pure coincidence that he noticed the small discrepancy. The subtly distorted angle was barely noticeable at first glance. However, trusting his instincts, he immediately moved.
And immediately after.
WHOOSH
An explosive sound beyond the audible range erupted. A sudden phenomenon without any preparatory phase, as if the intermediate process had been omitted.
Rumble
A gale followed, as if tearing the air apart.
"…Too bad. You have good instincts."
And from the center of the storm.
A chillingly calm voice emerged.
Click Clack
Accompanied by clear footsteps amidst the commotion, a man in a long coat, who had been there unnoticed, slowly walked forward, his coattails fluttering. A handsome man with a cold demeanor, rubbing the bloodstains on his fingertips, his expression betraying no regret despite his words. His red eyes turned towards a dust-filled corner. He held the unconscious girl in his other arm.
"Mister—!"
Aaron, who had squeezed his eyes shut and tightly hugged his grandmother and Rafi at the sudden gale, brightened at the sight of him and exclaimed. How could he not be happy to see the person he had been longing for appear and save his sister? Of course, he was grateful to the Saint for his help at the critical moment, but from the perspective of a young boy, it was naturally more comforting to have Heinz, whom he personally knew, come to his rescue.
"…What? When did you get here?"
A low growl echoed from where Heinz's gaze was directed. Temiran, small in stature, emerged from the settling dust cloud. Blood dripped from his arm, which was covered in dust.
"I didn't sense any intrusion. But how…? And this is…"
His gaze fell on the wound on his arm. It wasn't a serious injury, but what mattered was that he had been unilaterally harmed by an unexpected attack. Strangely, the wound wasn't regenerating properly. No, it wasn't healing, and the cells around the affected area began to necrotize as if a deadly poison had seeped in.
Ptoo!
Temiran frowned, ripping off the wounded area with his own hand and incinerating it.
'…This isn't poison. It's a battle for dominance between different vampiric factors.'
Hostile blood imbued with intent, infiltrating his body like guerrillas. But even after grasping the situation, he couldn't comprehend it. The battlefield was his own body, his home ground, and the defenses weren't weak. But to be in this state, unable to deal with a few drops of his opponent's blood injected into him?
"What did you do?!"
He couldn't understand, but this phenomenon wasn't actually that strange. Heinz II's vampiric factor had undergone tremendous mutations, its efficiency maximized through evolution. It was natural for it to become a monster capable of taking on countless ordinary immune systems that relied solely on individual strength.
"Who knows?"
Of course, Heinz II, who had no intention of answering his opponent's question, merely smirked arrogantly. He ran a hand, now clean without a trace of blood, through his lustrous black hair.
"That's not important right now, is it?"
A slightly mocking remark along with the provocation. Temiran, who had been frowning, flinched. He quickly reached out and lunged again.
Rumble
A blinding flash of light rapidly intensified, and beautiful platinum waves surged. A surge of radiant energy, engulfing the space unimpeded, like a beast finally released from its cage. Temiran gritted his teeth, his hand scorched black as he barely managed to block the attack.
"Tsk! A sneak attack! How despicable for a Saint…"
"Hmm? What a novel reaction. A bit rich coming from someone holding a hostage."
But Heinrich just chuckled. They were in a standoff, both seeking an opening. Whose fault was it for being distracted in such a situation? …Well, it was him who had orchestrated this situation in the first place.
"Besides, haven't we talked enough, Temiran McCleare? If you still have something to say, I'll be happy to listen."
The silver-haired handsome man, with his wings of light spread and a holy aura surrounding him, smiled gently.
"Of course, we'll need to go through a few procedures first. So that we can have a more comfortable and safe conversation. Can you cooperate?"
"…Ha, hahaha. Damn it."
The tide had completely turned. Temiran desperately searched for a solution, but the two showed no openings.
'Taking another hostage…'
He couldn't capture the girl who was his initial target. The rumored 'Vampire King' was protecting her personally. The single blow from earlier was enough to prove that the rumors about him weren't exaggerated. That he was a terrible matchup for him.
If Saint Heinrich was his natural enemy as a hunter, Heinz was his natural enemy as a fellow vampire and a superior predator. For him, who had been rushed out into the world as an incomplete apostle, still bound by the limitations of his race, Heinz, the Divine Blood and progenitor of all vampires, was a troublesome opponent.
'The other humans… Tsk, because of that High Elf, I can't do anything.'
Lydia had gathered the injured Grand Shaman and the affected residents, establishing an ironclad defense using all the spirits. Rather than joining the Saint to fight the enemy, she entrusted him completely and focused on minimizing civilian casualties so he could fight without worry. In this situation, it would be troublesome if he got caught up trying to attack them.
'It can't be helped. There's no hope like this. I have no choice but to escape, even if it means taking losses.'
If he had known this would happen, he would have acted immediately after the Saint appeared! It was better to act now than to get greedy and make the situation worse.
Rumble
With his resolve, the pocket dimension, "Twilight's Backside," shook violently. This space was a small world formed by the manifestation of his will and a part of his being. It wasn't just a barrier that blocked off space.
'Of course, using it as a disposable like this has more downsides than upsides. But I can't worry about that now.'
Crash Bang
Following his will, the world began to turn hostile towards those within, sharpening itself to expel them. The ground cracked, and lava erupted with violent tremors. The air transformed into toxic substances, lightning cascaded down like a waterfall, and deadly radiation emanated from the earth. An extreme environment where ordinary people couldn't survive for even a moment.
"Don't bother!"
Heinrich's wings spread wide as he shouted. A holy sanctuary spread out, protecting those within. He couldn't easily cut through it like he did when he first entered, as the space itself was collapsing and energy was surging uncontrollably. But he could withstand it for a while.
And that was all Temiran wanted.
'I've restrained the Saint. Now all that's left is…'
He probably wouldn't last long. Eventually, when all the energy was exhausted, this space, burning its last flames, would crumble. But he didn't have the time to regret such things.
"I can hear your little schemes from here."
"Hmph, that's all I learned from watching you!"
Vampire King Heinz blocked his path. His vampiric instincts told him. That his opponent was his natural enemy – someone he couldn't possibly defeat in a head-on fight.
'But if I focus on avoiding the fight and escaping while this pocket dimension is going haywire…'
It wasn't a completely impossible opponent. Especially with the burden in his opponent's arms!
"Farewell! Let's not meet again!"
He seized a momentary opening and escaped the pocket dimension. He immediately locked the door tightly, so they wouldn't be able to follow him easily. That brief moment was enough time for him to completely escape through a rift to the abyss.
'It's not a total loss. Now that I've observed the girl with the fragment, it won't be as difficult to track her as before. The situation wasn't favorable this time, but they can't protect that girl forever.'
Now that he had lifted the veil of causality once, he could create opportunities anytime.
Just as Temiran convinced himself of this and took a step to escape,
Rumble
An unknown pressure weighed down on him, and he froze.
"…What is this?"
His gaze followed the flow of energy and turned upwards. And what greeted him there was.
A giant magic circle covering the entire sky of Tarak.
"You finally showed yourself."
At the center of that magic circle – in the sky directly above Temiran's head.
Isea, who had received the signal and been preparing, looked down with a faint smile. A mage could perform miracles beyond their abilities if given enough time and resources, and she possessed a special ability in that regard.
"It's been so long since I've had the time and leisure to prepare magic like this."
Her unique skill, 「Infinite Power」, allowed her to increase the energy she could handle almost infinitely. And that 'energy' wasn't limited to mana, the fuel for magic.
Rumble
Mental strength, an essential resource for constructing spells but impossible to quantify, as well as various mental faculties like thinking and processing power. If she could properly recognize and perceive them, they too were excellent 'energy sources' she could utilize freely.
'Well, this is something I've only recently become capable of.'
Perceiving such abstract concepts as concrete values wasn't easy. It must have been thanks to the various trials she had overcome that she had grown. It was excellent news that her power had increased with the battle against the Immortal King fast approaching.
Isea looked down with calm eyes. A being struggling to escape, even within the confines of this carefully constructed barrier. That must be the 'unknown threat' the Saintess had foreseen.
She couldn't let such a variable escape.
Rumble
The massive, meticulously constructed magic circle rotated intricately like the gears of a clockwork mechanism.
And—.
["Stop."]
At the newly Transcendent mage's command, time froze at a single point on the ground. It was but a fleeting moment. But it was enough time for the predator who had hastily exited the pocket dimension to seize the fugitive by the scruff of his neck.