1014: Meltritte's Screams

Meltritte reached for the giant antidemon’s neck, the location where her cross-sword was impaled.

「Ahahaha! Now to get rid of everything holding you back!」

I thought she planned to control the antidemon like a puppet, but maybe not.

With the cross-sword as the link, a magical connection was established between Meltritte and the goliath. It seems the two just synchronized their mana with each other.

「!」

『No way…!』

Both Fran and I were completely stunned. That’s how surprising what happened next was.

As we watched in awe, Meltritte’s body sunk into the giant antidemon. She wasn’t merely physically entering his body. We could tell she was assimilating at a deeper level.

Even as her flesh and blood merged into the antidemon, Meltritte’s cackling continued.

「If I’m not allowed to attain happiness… the world that shunned me shouldn’t be allowed to exist either!」

Meltritte’s blood-curdling screams were like a curse of despair and rage upon the entire world, and everyone living there. She mentioned how she wanted to eradicate the dragonkin, but her current hatred went even further.

「I’ve torn away the chains that bound you! I offer everything! My body, my soul, my heart! Everything! So please――Lay waste to all!」

Along with her final curse, Meltritte and the cross-sword completely vanished into the body of the goliath.

Immediately afterwards, the already tremendously powerful antidemon began radiating an even more intense aura.

He’s getting pumped up with mana. But from where? It’s almost as if a vast stream of mana came flowing out of thin air.

『Oh! It’s gotta be the Abyss Eater!』

The Abyss Eater was everywhere inside Gordicia’s barrier, so it must be what’s supplying mana to the giant antidemon. But wait, doesn’t that mean his mana supply is practically infinite…?

The goliath was certainly strong when he first showed up, but the “most powerful antidemon ever” sounded like an exaggeration. However, I realized my mistake after seeing him accumulating so much mana, gaining more and more power.

His cloak of mana was already so dense that he caused gale-force winds just by standing nearby. The sheer pressure of his aura was ridiculous. If this mana supply keeps up, there will really be no stopping him.

What should we do?

Launch an offensive and try to stem the mana flow? But will that even work? If we try something and get dragged into a unwinnable battle, there’s no way we can handle him on our own. I think our best option is escape.

（Master, where’s Izario?）

『Honestly, I have no clue.』

The antidemon’s aura was just too immense. Maybe I could manage if Izario had his divine sword active, but it’s too difficult to sense his presence in this situation.

I doubt Izario would be the type of guy to die so easily, but if Meltritte managed to execute her plan…

「UUUUUUAAAAAAARGH!」

「He’s on the move.」

『We need to get far away!』

「Nn.」

Right after Fran jumped out of the way, the antidemon’s huge right fist slammed the ground she was standing on. The hand alone was the size of a small house.

And behind it was the immense strength of a giant.

The single blow caved in the earth and sent as much rumble flying as a massive explosion. Despite us being several meters away, the shockwave sent Fran flying even further.

Fran regained her balance midair and continued her dash to the exit the ward. That’s when the giant’s remaining left arm reached out for us. Despite his size, he’s pretty fast. Shit!

『Fran, behind you!』

「…!」

Fran made a midair hop and managed to evade the giant’s fist with a paper thin margin. His fingertips just barely grazed Fran’s barrier, yet we got blasted off like a rocket.

『Fran! I’ll be healing you, so keep moving!』

「Ro…ger…!」

The impact must have damaged her internal organs, since she vomited a little blood.

However, Fran never stopped moving her legs. She used the momentum from the hit to escape the giant antidemon’s pursuit. On our way to the ward surrounding the castle, Fran suddenly tilted her head.

『Fran, what’s wrong?』

「…I think it’s sucking my energy.」

『What?』

I didn’t feel anything, but it seems Fran’s observation was no mistake. I failed to notice because of how small the difference was, but Fran’s mana and life force were indeed being drained.

It barely made a difference to someone like Fran with high regeneration abilities. However, this would be quite dangerous to your average person.

Of course, the giant antidemon was the one draining from us. He’s getting supplied near infinite mana from the Abyss Eater, and he’s still sucking more on his own?

「He’s getting bigger.」

『What? No, you’re right…!』

I guess he’s putting all that mana to good use, by growing his body even further. Maybe it really isn’t a good idea to leave him unintended?

Still, this wasn’t a fight we could win by ourselves anymore. Realizing this, Fran ran without looking back.

We went down the hill and through the castle’s ward. However, the growing giant antidemon quickly followed in pursuit. This much distance meant nothing to him due to the length of his stride.

But weren’t the antidemons in the castle supposedly unable to escape the wards…? No wait, I think they shouldn’t be exiting the basement in the first place. It seems being big wasn’t the only thing special about this guy.

「AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHH!」

『Shit!』

「Kuh!」

The antidemon’s chest plate suddenly swelled up for a moment, before he released a massive roar. The physical shockwave combined with the heavily compressed mana burst sent us flying.

We managed to get away with little damage thanks to our barrier, and Fran regained her footing immediately. However, the giant antidemon had already closed in on us in that short window of time.

By the time we realized it, the antidemon’s huge arm was closing in on us. This time, we couldn’t evade it.

I reapplied our barrier to mitigate the damage as much as possible. It won’t work perfectly since I’m trying to repair a barrier that just got destroyed, but it’s better than nothing.

『Damn!』

「Reactive Ward!」

But just before we took a direct hit, a light blue wall suddenly appeared between Fran and the giant’s arm.

Moreover, this wall managed to actually stop the giant. Though only lasting a moment, it was more than enough for Fran to escape.

「That’s…」

「Looks like I made it just in time.」

「Seliadot!」

We turned around to see a blonde girl standing a short distance away.

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