Chapter 464
Fairy Combination
At that moment, Sariel saw a divine white light pouring down from the sky of this red purgatory. A large pillar of light pierced through, connecting the heavens and the earth.
Kurono’s right hand, trapped within that huge light, was raised straight up as if to trying to grab the sky. Then, an angel appeared.
No, it was a fairy.
Girls with beautiful and shining body with two wings growing out of their backs, angels and fairies have very similar features, but they are essentially different beings.
Sariel remembered the name of the fairy in front of her, slowly descending upside down from the top of the pillar of light, responding to Kurono’s offered hand.
Her name was Lily. She was a strong enemy who had attacked her so fiercely that she had to use her injured right hand when she met her in Daedalus. That one act was enough to make her understand the strong feelings Lily had for Kurono, but in front of this scene. But even Sariel, who was not familiar with human emotions, could see that this girl’s feelings were even stronger than they were at that moment.
And that thought had now turned into the miraculous power as a divine protection of the Black Gods.
“I give you everything I have.”
“I’ll take accept all of you.”
Was it a chant, or was it just conversation? After an exchange of words that sounded like something you might hear at a wedding, Kurono and Lily’s held each other’s hand.
A moment later, light flashed.
Without thinking, Sariel closed her eyes and turned away. The flash was so bright that she would have gone blind if she looked directly at it.
Just before she closed her eyes, she saw the scene of a pillar of light that instantly transformed into a sphere that enveloped the two of them. If she wasn’t mistaken, the light sphere was covered with spells in ancient script.
Sariel calmly waited for her opponent to make a move, unfazed by the bright light. She has no a problem grasping her surroundings even with her eyes closed.
An Apostle’s super-senses allow her to perceive the world clearly without relying on sight, through her sense of hearing, smell and most importantly, through her sixth sense, which detects magic power.
Sariel felt that a large wave of magic power was being released repeatedly from within the light that was still shining as fiercely as the sun. However, it was not in the form of an attack, but rather the aftermath of the power of the divine protection manifesting in the world.
It was already hard to imagine how much power it would bring to both Kurono and Lily.
But Sariel waited without making any move.
She is the chivalrous type that regards surprise attacks as cowardly. It is just that she knows that a half-hearted attack will never reach the other side of the light that surrounds them. No, it would be better if they were only prevented. If she was not careful, she might be counterattacked and all of the huge amount of magic power swirling around will bounce back at her.
The light was more than a little dangerous to poke around in to test.
“…Hmm”
The great light flashed for less than five seconds. The light subsided, and Sariel quietly opened her eyes.
She regained her vision without any side effects due to the light flash.
However, she couldn’t believe her eyes.
“Who are you…?”
A strange woman was standing in front of her.
Not Kurono, the man, and not Lily, the fairy. The two of them were nowhere to be seen. Even Sariel’s super-senses could not detect any sign of a human or a fairy.
“Well, I’d say it’s more like–”
The woman opened her mouth.
Her red lips were glossy, as if they were covered with fresh blood, and the voice that came out of her pure white throat was both dignified, like that of a knight, and sexy, like that of a gorgeous lady. She said her name in a sweet, beautiful voice that could seduce a man with just one word.
“I’m Kurono.”
Rather than saying it was impossible, Sariel felt a sense of conviction.
The woman who called herself Kurono had black hair. A jet-black shade that swallows up all light, as if it were the opposite of her own silver hair. However, her long, thin, smooth hair was so lustrous that both men and women will be tempted to run their fingers through it.
Her black hair was the same color as Kurono, who is a man. However, her hairstyle was very similar to Lily’s long hair.
On the other hand, her eyes were black and green. Her right eye was the same as Kurono’s, a black unique to him. The last time Sariel saw him, his left eye was black, but it had turned red earlier. And now, it had changed to the same beautiful emerald green hue as Lily’s.
The two-colored eyes that honor him were so sharp and slit that could send chills down the spines of those who stare at her. That is the most important feature of Kurono’s appearance.
Kurono’s eyes, which exist in the face of a woman, however, flourish as a beauty that is more of a cruel goddess than a terrible demon.
Sariel stared straight back at the sharp, cold beauty that was so hard to approach.
“Hey, don’t look so hard, it’s embarrassing. I have no choice but to be like this.”
In a rather serious and embarrassed manner, the female Kurono said.
As if to block Sariel’s gaze, Kurono crossed her arms in front of her body, but her large breasts protruded like a mountain, and fluttered softly.
The outfit she wore was the same as the black dress Lily had been wearing. Her white shoulders were exposed, and a deep cleavage peeked out from her open chest.
No, there were not many women, even oddly aged ones, who have limbs as lustrous as Kurono’s now. Even Sariel is no match for her.
There are plenty of women who just have big breasts, nubile hips, long, slender legs, white skin or lustrous hair. Or perhaps there are those who boast a body that has a miraculous balance of feminine figure and well-developed muscles.
But how many women are there who have all of these qualities? It may be more appropriate to call her a mythical inhabitant rather than a real person. It would not be an exaggeration to describe her as “like the Godess Aria,” the person whom the White God loved the most.
The fact that she also had beautiful long black hair reminded Sariel of that image. Although black symbolizes demons, Aria’s black hair is the only time that the White God has ever praised black for beauty.
“You don’t have to be so shy. You look beautiful, Kurono.”
As Sariel’s thoughts drifted between astonishment, alarm, and a little bit of praise, a familiar voice reached her ears this time.
Lily appears in the form of a girl.
However, her body was transparent. She was translucent, like a wraith or elemental. The only thing that stood out about her naked form was her large, fluttering wings.
She was snuggled up behind Kurono as if floating in midair.
“… Possession”
“Hmm, you know a lot.”
Sariel mumbled to herself, but Lily answered Sariel hearing her.
‘Possession’ is a phenomenon in which pure magical life, without substance, inhabits a person’s body.
In the Cross religion, ‘Possession’ is basically considered “Demonic Possession” and is immediately subjects to exorcism. Since the most common form of human ‘Possession’ is that of a wraith composed of evil forces, it is not surprising that this is the case. Zombies attack physically, and wraiths pose a spiritual threat. Both of them represent undead monsters that are abhorred by people.
Because of this trend, ‘Possession’ is an unwelcome phenomenon in the Republic, and the only people who actively use it as magic are those who have gone astray and become dark mages or shamans. Unless you’re unlucky, you won’t be attacked by magic that uses ‘Possession’ in the Republic.
“It’s pagan magic.”
But, Sariel had countless battles with this type of ‘possessed’ enemy. That’s right, before she joined the Pandora expedition, she had been fighting against the pagans that were spreading in the east of the Ark Continent.
They had the art of strengthening themselves to fight by possessing a special elemental with a high density of magic and a certain degree of will that they called a “Spirit”. Sariel knew very well that this was a powerful magic that only those in the higher warrior ranks of the pagans could master.
“No, it’s not. I don’t want to be lumped in with those vulgar things that squeeze power out of mere elementals.”
At Lily’s words of denial, Sariel nodded inwardly.
It is similar to pagan’s ‘Possession’ magic, but there is a definite difference between what she was seeing before her.
The fact that Kurono, a male, changed into a female, and the magic power swirling around her was of a vastly different quantity and density. There were a number of major differences from the ‘Possession’ that Sariel has seen so far, but the one that is the most different, or perhaps the most unusual, is that it is not a ‘Possession’.
Lily, a real person, possessed another person with her consciousness intact.
The elementals that pagans use for ‘Possession’ do not have as clear an ego as humans. They are more like wild monsters. The essence of an elemental is that it is a lump of magical power, and that is why people can possess it in their bodies and maintain their sanity by communicating with it.
But can the consciousness of a completely independent person, inside another person, really coexist in one body without any obstacles?
The answer is no.
The proof is in the doctrines of the Cross religion, the history of magic, philosophy, psychology, and many other fields, but even without all the complicated theories, it is obvious. It is a question of whether or not we can let others into ourselves and expose all of our thoughts, desires, and memories to them.
“Yes, this is the power of love. I can offer everything to Kurono, and he can accept everything from me. The magical power of love that unites the two of us is what I received from my beautiful queen, the Fairy Queen Iris.”
The serious expression she had alone was enough for Sariel to understand that she wasn’t spouting big words.
‘Becoming one with Kurono’, they literally were one.
Her right pupil was innately green, but her left pupil was dyed all black, making her an odd-eyed as well.
And what’s more, what’s covering Lily’s permeating body was not the dazzling green light of the [Fairy Oracle Field] that she originally had, but a disastrous aura of black mixed with blood red, much like the cursed blades wielded by Kurono.
“It’s [Exelion]”
There was no need for any further explanation.
Sariel could feel the amount of magic power in Kurono, who has Lily in her body, growing at an accelerated rate. It was more dangerous to wait and see without making any further moves.
Their presence alone was enough to make Sariel decide to make the first move.
“ألتقط الأبيض—[Flash Cannon]”
The magic Sariel chose was a low-grade ranged attack magic. It was the same one that she had used just a few moments ago when she attacked Charlotte and killed the Minotaur zombie. But this time, it was not a no-chant spell, but an abbreviated chant short spell. When cast by an Apostle, even a single word spell can add amazing power.
A torrent of white light that emits double the brilliance and heat of the previous burst from the tip of the Holy Cross spear pointed straight at the quietly standing Kurono.
“[Fairy Oracle Field], Open”
As soon as Sariel heard Kurono mention the name of the Fairy’s unique magic, a blinding storm of lightning blasted out. It landed, and it hit. A white light flashed on the red land of purgatory.
“… Oh, that’s a hell of a defense.”
“I couldn’t even try the [Fairy Oracle Field] before. That Lich died too soon.”
Immediately after the scorching white light, which could melt even a bone if it struck, passed, Sariel heard an amusing conversation from the other side of the smoking steam.
“Good, now you’re well guarded.”
Even without waiting for Kurono’s words, it was easy to see that she was unharmed. And soon, Kurono, the beautiful woman with white skin and not even a trace of soot on her, appeared.
It was as if she was reenacting her own actions from the attack magic of the adventurers earlier when she had walked away unscathed several times. However, Sariel was not in a hurry or anxious, just calm and ready.
She already foresaw that Kurono would attack this time.
“Okay, let’s go, Lily.”
“[Shadowgate], Release”
As soon as Lily held up her hands, the Kurono’s shadow began to spread out in a circle. Kurono already used the Spatial magic, which utilizes shadows, and Lily, who possessed Kurono, was able to use it as well.
The reverse was also true, as evidenced by the fact that Kurono, a human, arbitrarily activated the [Fairy Oracle Field].
Apparently, the two of them were truly one.
“Sword Arts: Blade Storm”
As if in response to the name of the Black magic that Lily uttered, swords came out one after another from within the wide open shadow. From the previous two battles with Kurono, Sariel already knew that he could use his swords for remote attacks.
However, it seems that the technique had evolved, and the swords, which was once were all black, now had an eerie red glow running through their jet-black blade like veins.
And the most surprising factor was their number.
In the past, Kurono could control up to ten swords simultaneously. But now, the number of swords he controlled was about to exceed one hundred.
As soon as the swords emerged from the shadow, as if it were a skilled knight, it lined up to the left and right of Kurono. Sariel had never seen such a thing.
But with more than a hundred swords under control and lined up in regular rows in the air, Kurono might as well have a giant wing of blades sprouting from his back. If she flapped her wings on a whim, the sharp black feathers would be scattered to the enemy.
Yes, just like now.
“-All Rounds, Full Blast”
Kurono quietly gave the order to attack.
In the face of the storm of black blades rushing in, Sariel had a hunch …or even a certainty.
That this battle would be a tough one, comparable to the one-on-one battle she had with the Dragon King Garvinal.