“I knew this would happen.”
I hear Ignis say, so I turn my attention from Mia to him just as he’s… Grabbing his sword and stepping forward.
Is he walking towards Mia? I’m too far away to reach her in time like this, so I draw my sword while casting a shield, and use Transfer to fly between Ignis and Mia.
I land right in front of Ignis, as he’s swinging his sword down, and Mia is right behind me. There’s no doubt that he’s attacking her.
The shield blocks the first attack, but it disappears. I just barely manage to block the attack that follows, and it’s so heavy that it makes me gasp.
That’s when I look at Ignis, but he’s not looking at me, even though I’m right in front of him.
“W-why are you attacking Mia!?”
I yell at Ignis, after somehow pushing him back.
Adonis tried to kill Mia in the Holy Kingdom, but Mia said that Adonis apologized, and that Ou and the other demons were angry at him.
And yet, Ignis is trying to attack her.
I keep a close eye on him, because I don’t know what kind of attack will come next. He can use something like magic. I don’t think he’ll use something so big that it will damage the castle, but I’m sure he has attacks that target a single individual.
I grip my sword tighter, but now that I’m facing him, I feel like something is clearly different compared to the first time we met.
Back then, just standing in front of him made me feel an overwhelming sense of presence, like I was no match for him at all.
But now? I don’t have that same feeling of despair, but I can’t see myself winning either.
Not to mention that I don’t really know what’s going on. I look around and see Chris and the others with surprised expressions, but the demons look calm. Actually, they’re holding their weapons and watching us with caution.
“Why… Did I attack? Simple. Killing that woman is what we have longed for all these long years.”
Says Ignis, and my thoughts stop for a moment.
What is he talking about? Killing Mia is…
In the middle of my confusion, I hear something.
“Fufu…”
It sounds like a laugh, and it makes a chill run down my spine.
I know I can’t take my eyes off Ignis, but I reflexively turn around.
I see Mia with her hand close to her mouth… Mia, right?
She feels strange enough right now for me to question that.
Yes, Mia is cute when she laughs, but now she feels less cute, and more bewitching, I guess.
If our eyes meet, I feel like I’m going to get drawn in and won’t be able to look away.
But my body reacts in the opposite way, taking one, then another step back like I’m trying to run away from her. I manage to stop myself after the third step, but that’s when someone passes by me. Ignis.
He’s already lunging forward, so I’m not going to make it in time even if I use Transfer.
But just as I’m about to cast a barrier in front of her, I notice that Mia is holding a sword. It’s the sword that was on the floor.
The fact that that takes my attention just makes me even more late, but just as I’m thinking that it’s over, that clash ends in an unexpected way.
Mia blocks Ignis’ lunge with the flat of the sword she’s holding. Not only that, but with enough speed and power that she does so easily.
I’m speechless.
“It really isn’t that easy to kill you.”
“You attacked even though you knew? Fufu, you never change, Ignis.”
Says Mia, but it’s like someone else is speaking.
‘Sora, cast Appraisal and look at the girl.’
A voice echoes in my head, but I do as it says and cast Appraisal on Mia before I can feel surprised.
And what I see is…
Name – (Elizabeth) / Job – (—) / Race – (Goddess) / Level – (—) / Condition – (Possession)
“That face tells me you used Appraisal.”
Mia… No, Elizabeth says with an amused face.
It’s like she’s enjoying my reaction.
“Yes, that is the goddess. So she really did descend again this time.”
“Fufu, you knew it, didn’t you? It happened again and again so far. In fact, I thought it was strange that you didn’t just get it over with right away.”
What is going on?
I turn to Ignis, and Elizabeth, probably because she sees the confusion in my face, starts explaining with a nasty smile on hers.
“It’s simple. You know the saint? She is the perfect vessel for me to descend upon this world. Of course it doesn’t have to be a saint, but the quality would suffer otherwise.
But I don’t understand. Not only did you not kill the saint knowing full well that was the case, but you even arranged for her to be brought here.”
As I hear that, I remember when Ignis handed me the magic item to travel to the demon king’s castle. Is that why he did it?
But Mia was here before too. Why didn’t she descend then?
If I’m thinking about what’s here now that wasn’t before… It’s that sword Elizabeth is holding.
The holy sword. Is that the key?
“What are you saying? It was you. You plotted to bring the saint here and adjusted everything accordingly. That’s why we also prepared. To make sure the conditions were in our favor.”
Then, I feel an abnormal magic energy emanating from the four corners of the throne room.
Join my patreon to support me and read ahead.
Thanks for the treat.
So the goddess has descended