Chapter 325: Rampage (Patreon)

"Jane, take Yuna and go."

Nanoda parried the blood-soaked Haston and knocked him back two or three meters. Jane had been about to help, but she froze where she stood.

"But, Mother—"

"Now!"

"Lady Nanoda! I can still fight!"

Yuna clutched her wounded arm and shook her head. The single ponytail on one side had nearly come loose in the earlier fighting.

"Leave the rest to me! All of you, get out of here!"

Nanoda hadn't used such an unyielding tone in a very long time.

"This is an order!"

"But we were so close…"

Yuna raised her blood-spear staff. She had no wish to concede like this.

All around them, armored soldiers had begun to emerge. Sharp weapons thrust out of the grey-white mist, their edges starting to gleam.

"Mother, be careful."

The giant blood scythe in Jane's hand dissolved at once. Dressed in her white dress, she spread a pair of wings made of blood from her back.

As a gust of wind rose, Jane opened her small arms, flew over, and wrapped them around Yuna's waist.

"Lady Nanoda!"

Yuna stretched out her wounded arm, blood trickling down from where the arrowhead had sunk in. She spread her five fingers as if to grasp at something, but Jane was carrying her ever farther from Nanoda.

Her dark green hair came loose, and Yuna's eyes began to well with tears.

Before the army could close in, Jane managed to carry Yuna back toward Gaderia, and the two vanished into the mist.

"Cough… Why aren't you running this time?"

Blood seeped from all seven of Haston's orifices. He spat a mouthful of bloody phlegm to the side, a hint of smugness showing on his face.

The Holy Power kindled by the Holy Canon had dimmed by more than half. His hair, which it had raised, now hung limp across his bloodied forehead like seaweed.

He was a little surprised. This Demon Race member had actually stayed behind alone to cover her companions' retreat.

Sensing that she was slowly being surrounded, Nanoda sighed.

The white-clad Hero was far stronger than she had imagined. In a sense, he was already beyond the realm of humans.

Could he truly be so deeply favored by the Goddess?

She had made the wrong choice. She had nearly put Yuna in danger. Nanoda had assigned Yuna to logistics, yet in the end Yuna had sent her subordinates away and come here anyway.

"Do you have any last words?"

Haston hadn't fought with such burning blood in a very long time. He had heard for years that the monsters and Demon Race of the Northern lands were generally a good three tenths stronger than those elsewhere.

"The open-air stalls on the old street west of Gaderia. The grilled bird eggs there are delicious. The south is the market, always lively. The east has plenty of old shops, with all sorts of Gaderia's strange specialties. And the seated statue in the north square, the one that's a little embarrassing… Honestly, I don't much like it…"

Nanoda's words made Haston frown deeply.

What on earth was that Demon Race member talking about?

"Those are your last words? Honestly, you're different from the Demon Race I've met before. This is the first time I've ever let one of you leave last words."

"As I get older, I really do grow more and more indecisive."

Nanoda's reminiscing voice suddenly turned cold, as though she had made up her mind about something.

For some reason a chill ran through Haston's whole body. The Holy Power left inside him abruptly began to riot, and an unprecedented sense of danger welled up in his chest.

It was as if a switch had been flipped on something.

"Magic release."

Paradox Magic: Motion and Stillness. Paradox Magic: The Untouchable (Zeno's Turtle).

A mingling of souls.

That was the problem the New God had pointed out to Nanoda, and she had kept trying to solve it ever since she learned Paradox Magic.

The chill hidden in her soul had always been held apart by Paradox Magic. Even so, whenever she overused her power, it seeped through bit by bit.

Nanoda let go of the restraint she kept on her instincts, and her body's absorption of Mana sped up by who knew how many times.

This time was different from before. Nanoda herself sensed something unfamiliar, but a strange force quickly seized her consciousness.

Her mind seemed to sink all at once into the deep sea.

Something was waking.

"Lord Haston, are you all right?"

Heavily armored soldiers reached Haston's side. They watched Nanoda, her eyes closed, and raised their weapons.

"Hah…"

Nanoda moved. Her hands, which held the broken horns, rose slowly. She hesitated for a moment, then fitted one broken horn back against the place where it had snapped.

Then she opened her eyes.

Eyes of two different colors, one grey and one gold, swept over the beings before her.

"What did you do?"

That single glance was enough. An invisible pressure settled over Haston, and the Holy Power in his body grew even more agitated.

"This mist… is a bit of an eyesore."

She paid no heed to the white-clad Hero's question. The moment her voice fell, the grey-white mist hanging everywhere began to gather toward Nanoda. It reverted to Mana and was absorbed into her body. At that terrifying speed, it took only a few breaths for the view to clear.

The 500,000-strong army, which had been groping around in the mist not far from one another, found the white-clad Hero's position. They also saw the one-horned Demon Race member standing before him.

"I see. So that's how it is. Quite a grand sight, isn't it?"

Wherever her gaze turned, a dark mass of troops filled the view. Even so, "Nanoda's" tone stayed calm.

"Who are you?"

The Demon Race member before him was like a different person from a moment ago. Coldness and arrogance were carved into her very bones, and the power he sensed from her was formidable.

"Why should I answer questions from a pack of dead men?"

"Nanoda" stretched idly, as though she didn't consider the 500,000 troops worth noticing at all.

"Demon Race! Die!"

Whether her attitude was real or an act, he had 500,000 troops and the Goddess's blessing. There was nothing to fear.

At Haston's command, the 500,000 troops became a black tide and surged straight at Nanoda.

"How nostalgic… A rare chance. I'll play with them a little."

There was no trace of amusement in "Nanoda's" tone, only cold cruelty.

She slowly swept a hand toward the Hero and the army rushing at her.

Paradox Magic: Inversion.

Not far away, Deneb was still galloping off on his horse when he felt his Mana drain away at a terrifying pace. He looked around and found that the mist magic that had wrapped and shielded him had vanished at some point.

"What's going on?"

No matter how hard he tried, it was as though his magic had disappeared. He could no longer sustain a single wisp of mist. Any Mana he released was about to turn to fog, only to be pulled off in another direction by an invisible force.

Not far from Gaderia's north gate.

"Oh, come on… Spare me…"

Some Demon Race member hiding in the shadows let out a wail.