1262: The Three Powerhouses

Bang!

The sturdy iron door, protected by a powerful barrier, dented with a creak.

The sound of torn metal echoed through the room several times in succession.

Then, after a few seconds, a louder explosion reverberated through the underground space.

The door was blown off from the other side and sent flying at us, heading in a direct course for Amanda, who was holding Persona, as well as Marle, who was healing the unconscious Persona.

Both Fran and I jumped into action, but there was someone who moved even faster than us.

「Hmph!」

A man with tanned skin and white garments leaped in front of Persona, deflecting the iron door with his greatsword.

「Yuvel.」

「I currently serve you, so leave the trivial matters to me. Besides, protecting children is a knight’s duty.」

「Oh? It’s been a while since I heard Yuvel’s words of knightly wisdom! Despite that thick skin of yours, you’ve always loved children!」

Yuvel turned to the side in response to Oldona’s words. Embarrassed or something? It seems Yuvel was a bit of a tsundere.

More importantly, he was really fast. Fran and I were on guard against the approaching presence, and had braced ourselves to deal with the iron door.

But Yuvel acted faster than us.

This was clearly demonstrating his strength as a Swordking, which means he definitely held back against Fran earlier. I’m not sure if we can actually beat him in a serious clash of blades.

Yuvel, along with the other Hero Zombies, stood on guard against the now broken door.

A menacing presence enveloped in ominous mana made its appearance through the destroyed entrance.

「UGAAAAAAAAHHH!」

「Maleficent.」

『He’s activated Wrath!』

I appraised the man in front of us who was enveloped in a red aura. I couldn’t see everything, probably due to him activating Divine Sword Release. However, I saw Wrath in his skill list, and his status was listed as “Wrath” as well.

We heard that using Hell would result in his mind getting taken over by a demon, but it seems like he’s almost completely lost himself to the Wrath Demon.

「URRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOGH!」

Maleficent roared with anger, charging forward at us. Yet despite getting consumed by wrath, he stopped upon reaching a certain point.

His eyes were fixed on the girl in Amanda’s hands, Persona.

「P-Per…sona…」

He muttered faintly, stopping in his tracks.

Maleficent’s irises were already black, with horns growing on his forehead. Anyone would describe him as a demon of wrath, but it seems he wasn’t completely gone yet.

His widened eyes continued staring at Persona, as if he was desperately trying not to look away from the girl.

「Ah…gah…」

Maleficent began struggling desperately against the demon.

However, that’s when a new figure rushed in.

「DIEEEEEE!」

『Laranflura!』

Jumping in next from the entrance was a raging girl, also roaring with anger. She slammed down the huge polearm, with her pale purple hair tied into a tritail fluttering behind her.

「Not gonna happen!」

「Little girl! So you’re alive!」

Laranflura was enveloped in significantly more mana than before. At this point, she was definitely powerful enough to hold her own against a released divine sword.

That said, we’ve grown since then too!

We used Guardian Deity’s Shield to block her blow, which seemingly had enough power to slay a dragon. Laranflura was repelled by the recoil, despite us experiencing none of the force.

Riding the momentum, Laranflura distanced herself from Fran.

Time for round two. Just when everyone was thinking that, something leaped out from her shadow, catching us off guard.

A skeleton cloaked in black mana.

『Nameless is here too!』

Thank goodness for Guardian Deity’s Shield! That ridiculous durability allowed us to withstand the attacks of these powerhouses! Well, not to say that the mana consumption was anything to scoff at.

Blocking the attacks of these two certainly needed a significant amount of mana. But what surprised me was Nameless’s power.

I already knew that Laranflura possessed monstrous strength, so her destructive power was expected.

But Nameless was never the type to overwhelm his opponents with sheer force. Yet, he casually threw a punch with comparable strength to Laranflura’s polearm.

He must have boosted himself by absorbing tons of mana, just like Laranflura.

「A durable shield I see!」

「Where’s your sword Zelyse?」

「Who knows!」

Nameless was not carrying the venomous-looking sword, Zelyse. Whether he’s concealing Zelyse or really doesn’t know is uncertain. That gives me a bad feeling.

「How did you even get your hands on the masked brat…? Well, no matter. We can simply slaughter all of you along with the divine sword wielder!」

Nameless braced himself for combat, before finally realizing the unnatural situation.

「Why are you just standing there? Actually, why are you even here…? Hurry up and slaughter the girl! Kill the bothersome divine sword wielder too! Get on with it!」

From Nameless’s perspective, the Hero Zombies should be attacking Kranzel right now. In fact, he probably thought they were currently fighting Fran.

Sorry for the late notice, but they work for us now!

『Apollonius, Lucard, Zinga, Violetta, you four focus on Laranflura! Begareth, Yuvel, Oldona, you help Fran and Urushi take Nameless! Rob, Wilepho, Teiwas, keep an eye on Persona!』

After ordering them via telepathy, the Hero Zombies rushed forward simultaneously. Nameless was initially confident, perhaps thinking that they were coming for us.

Until they simply dashed past us, aiming their attacks at Nameless and Laranflura.

「Wha-…? What are you doing!? They’ve been dominated?! Dammit! How dare you!」

（Master! Let’s take down Nameless!）

『Got it!』

It’s time for you to die by the hands of your own creations!

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