1215: Biscot's Resolve and Lie

You’re telling me the elderly warrior who protected the villagers is Biscot? And the woman behind him who looks to be in her thirties is Klikka?

I remember both their names. The two accompanied Sibylla at the martial arts tournament. But back then, Biscot looked about twenty years old at most, while Klikka was around the same age as him.

So why have they suddenly aged so much?

Wait, didn’t Laranflura call Biscot a failed experiment? Did he undergo something similar to the superhuman soldiers? We’ve heard that the superhuman soldiers age quickly, so that would explain Biscot’s current appearance.

I never would have expected this huge of a change in such a short period of time though…

「Whoa, amazing!」

「Thank you, mister!」

The children cheered from atop Urushi’s back. They had witnessed Biscot protect them.

「Heh.」

Upon hearing that, Biscot smirked. From that, I got the impression that he might not be much older than those children.

（Master!）

『Tch! There’s even more of them than before!』

Laranflura fired yet another barrage of mana projectiles. Sibylla tried to intervene, but Laranflura was simply faster than her.

The captain of the Dusk Rain Knight Order was still incapacitated for some reason. In fact, he was currently groaning after falling to one knee, so his condition had deteriorated even further. We wouldn’t be able to expect any support from him.

Furthermore, this second wave of projectiles had a nasty secret hidden within.

（It’s evading us!）

『Could it be that Laranflura can control their trajectory?』

Fran teleported in to cut them down, but the mana projectiles avoided her as if they had a will of their own. They even managed to occasionally dodge our thunder magic. Laranflura was capable of diverting her attention to this while engaging Sibylla.

She didn’t simply have a ridiculous amount of mana; her control over it was equally ridiculous.

We responded by intercepting with slashes so fast that they were impossible to evade, but in the end, we could only take down about ten of the projectiles.

（Master! Use evil energy!）

『Alright, they’ve left us no choice!』

Fran will likely get completely immobilized if she pushes herself too hard, but we can’t let the villagers die! I drew out the evil-divine energy, just like when we blasted away the tornadoes.

But right before we could put our plan into action, I sensed an immense surge of mana from Biscot.

「Uraaaah!」

「Biscot, no! What are you…!」

「Don’t worry! I’m fine with this!」

His entire body expanded, causing his steel armor to burst from within. Gray scales appeared from underneath the armor. Lizard scales? No, dragon scales?

While his physique resembled a dragonkin, he was larger. The only thing that remained human was his face. Apparently, he had removed his limiter.

Judging from Klikka’s reaction, it seems he can’t return to his original state once he does this. Just like the other superhuman soldiers.

「Sacrifice!」

Despite all his armor breaking off, the shield in Biscot’s hand remained intact. He could still invoke shield arts.

The mana projectiles under Laranflura’s control all simultaneously shifted their trajectories towards Biscot. Regardless of the opponent’s intentions, this art could intercept any attacks directed at an ally.

An even larger explosion enveloped Biscot, and he remained standing. His scales were shattered, and his flesh was torn apart, yet all the damage was quickly regenerated. Removing the limiter seems to have granted him high defense and regenerative abilities.

But his life force was diminishing. This was the fate of all superhuman soldiers who remove their limiters.

「Biscot, why…?」

「Heheh. I don’t have much longer left anyways. So why not go out with a bang? I’ve always wanted to be a hero like old man Apollonius.」

「…I see…」

「Yeah! They say ‘live fast, die young,’ right? That’s like my whole life summed up! I’ve tasted the deliciousness of alcohol, the bitterness of cigarettes, the fun of partying with friends, and the harshness of hangovers! I’m satisfied! It’s been a great thirteen years! I regret nothing!」

「…You’re a true hero. Even more so than the former captain.」

「Heheheh.」

Thirteen years… The same age as Fran…

（Master?）

『…Dammit.』

Biscot’s words contained a few lies, especially the last part about having no regrets. His heart was surely filled with fear, regret, hatred, and anger.

None of that was visible on the surface. Only smiles to avoid worrying his friends.

If they knew what he was really thinking, he couldn’t die as a heroic warrior. I’m sure his friends would accept those negative emotions too, but he swallowed everything with a laugh.

Not everyone can do that.

To this day, I’ve never regretted using Principle of Falsehoods this much. I just trampled on the determination of that 13-year-old hero. I know it’s only a matter of keeping his lie to myself, but that’s not the issue.

『I’m awful.』

（Master?）

『…Let’s back up Biscot.』

（Nn!）

Biscot’s life force had already fallen to less than half of max, which means he won’t last another 30 minutes. What can I do for him?

I know I’m not thinking clearly right now, but someone as old as Fran was sacrificing his life to protect others. I absolutely cannot let that resolve go to waste.

However, it seems Laranflura wanted to spit in the face of that determination. She teleported in to launch a direct attack.

Her teleportation seemed to involve passing herself through an underground mana flow. Therefore, she could not perform instant, long-distance teleports. However, what she could do was bring allies.

One of the duke zombies and one of the droids stood beside her.

「Die already, you failure! Cease your pitiful interference!」

「Shut your damn mouth! Even failures have their pride!」

Biscot’s shield squarely intercepted the polearm Laranflura had swung down. He firmly withstood the attack that had sent Sibylla flying.

「That hideous appearance… I see! You must be the only survivor of the experiment on the dimension dragon factor! If only you had not become a failure, we would have gained such a valuable asset!」

「Even if I wasn’t a failure, I’d never join you disgusting lunatics who massacre your own people!」

「Hehehehehehe! I see you have been poisoned by Sibylla! Then you may die here!」

Laranflura put on a monstrous expression entirely different from earlier, and let out an unsettling laugh.

Not even the defense-oriented Biscot could withstand a devastating strike infused with divine energy. His face twisted in pain as the polearm landed a deep hit into his shoulder.

That’s right, Laranflura had somehow started radiating divine energy. It wasn’t that she couldn’t use it; she had just refrained from doing so. Was she holding back the entire time?

『Take down the dukes first!』

「Nn!」

Fran infused her blade with evil-divine energy and slashed at the droid.

No fancy tricks were necessary. Our thrust broke through the armored cockpit, then I morphed myself to dice up the zombie pilot inside. Throw in a few purification spells to finish the job, and it was over. Also, it seems I managed to absorb the now empty droid. Cannibalize works on these too!

That said, it only restored my mana without any boost to stats. Maybe because it’s a lesser relic?

『Nice! I got a ton of mana back!』

Klikka handled the other duke zombie by outmaneuvering him with her superior speed. On the other hand, Biscot was in quite a pinch.

「Guh… Dammit.」

「Hehehehe! Still moving? You look as good as dead to me!」

Laranflura’s polearm had been thrust deep into Biscot’s abdomen when we looked away.

「Ugh…」

「Hoh. What do you plan to do from here?」

「I won’t… let you pass…!」

Biscot gripped the handle of the polearm piercing him, coughing up blood all the while. He intended to disarm Laranflura, no matter the cost to himself.

「Hmm…? Such ridiculous strength! I suppose this must be your last spurt, utilizing the power of your dragon factor?」

「Haha, I’m…a Red Knight, you know… I become… stronger… when the people I want to protect are behind me!」

Laranflura frowned for an instant upon seeing that her polearm wouldn’t budge, by her face soon twisted into a confident grin. She had realized Biscot’s life was quickly burning out.

Biscot was giving his all, and yet I could do nothing to save him. Would boosting my level in Restoration Magic or Life Magic help? Doubt it. Biscot was dying because of his lifespan, and no spell is capable of extending one’s lifespan.

Is there truly no way? I have so many skills, and I really can’t rescue a single child?

I’ll take anything! Anything that can save Biscot!

Shiver.

『!』

I felt the shivers for the first time a while. The Evil God Fragment had acted, and not simply the child-like, innocent face that appeared before me often. This was a deeper aspect of the Evil God.

There was no hostility, nor any fear, but the mere presence of that immense power left me in awe. I’ve never had this feeling before, not even when facing the awakened Evil God Fragment.

「…God? Yeah, bring it on. I don’t care if you’re the Dragon God, the Evil God, or anything else…」

「What now? Have you lost so much blood that you’re starting to hallucinate?」

「Take it… All of it…」

Biscot murmured something like a whisper while staring into empty space. Laranflura snorted mockingly, but this was no illusion.

Biscot’s eyes must be looking at a true god.

And then, an intense surge of evil energy gushed out from Biscot’s body, enshrouding his entire being with a dense, impenetrable darkness.

「W-What…?」

It was so unsettling that even Laranflura felt the need to distance herself. A single touch from the darkness would erode one’s being, causing them to lose their mind permanently.

Even I felt that way, so the residents of this world must have it even worse. It wasn’t just those that were nearby. Even the Red Knight and the Duke Zombies stopped in their tracks to stare in our direction.

「Ugh…」

「Biscot!」

「Klikka… I’m… fine… Haha… Hah… The evil god might be… surprisingly nice… UGRAAAAAAAAH!!」

The evil energy erupted with explosive force, blowing Laranflura away as it impaled her with some sort of black spear.

A flash of darkness covered the battlefield, as everyone was engulfed by a dense cloud of evil energy. At that moment, I sensed something getting absorbed into me from Biscot. What did the Evil God Fragment just do?

Immediately afterward, all of our enemies disappeared, and the scenery changed before our eyes. We found ourselves in lush plains with abundant life. There were mountains with vibrant forests in the distance, as well as the faint scent of the sea.

『Did we just teleport…? Where are we now?』

The distant city and the mountains on the horizon looked familiar to me. No, they weren’t just familiar. We knew this place very well.

Fran seems to have realized our location as well.

「Is that Bulbora?」

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