Chapter 11. Ambush at the Muse Trading Company
"So, the Sin Archbishop of [Wrath] is targeting me?"
"Yes. So you take everyone to evacuate, and leave this place to me and Beatrice."
"Rose… you immediately arrange for the surrounding civilians to evacuate. Mana… you go inform the other members of the Ten-Man Council about the Witch Cult. Al-Rose, you go get… Subaru, please tell me the intelligence about that bastard."
Kiritaka, who had completed numerous arrangements in one breath, looked back at Subaru and asked.
"No, no, no, the opponent's target is you, right?"
"That's right, which is why I can't evacuate. For one thing, time doesn't allow it, and for another, the risk is too great with me around."
Kiritaka adjusted his clothes. For the first time, Subaru felt the man before him showed the resolve of a city representative and the sense of responsibility of a Ten-Man Council member.
"Of course. I don't plan to just sit and wait to be killed either… I will take other actions with my subordinates."
"Boss, we are ready too. Let's have a spectacular party."
Kiritaka's subordinates, the "White Dragon's Scale," gathered around. They held weapons in their hands, clearly ready to fight to the death. Kiritaka shrugged nonchalantly.
"Spectacular, you say. You know I am a self-controlled person who prefers calmness…"
"How can a man who is obsessed with Miss Liliana still talk about self-control! Don't make us laugh ourselves silly!"
The subordinates, ready to rush into the face of death at a single command, burst into laughter at Kiritaka's words. At that moment, Subaru felt as if he saw his own camp; for the sake of protecting this beautiful city, Kiritaka and his companions were willingly risking their lives.
"I understand, but Sirius possesses a special ability that I call 'Soulwashing'…"
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—17 minutes later—
The golden iron chains swept across the entire floor as expected, and footsteps came out of the smoke and dust.
"You are the Sin Archbishop of [Wrath]?"
"Oh my, you knew who I was before I even introduced myself. I feel so shy, okay. Being recognized unilaterally, I hope it wasn't because of some unpleasant rumors."
Sirius covered her face with her hands and squirmed as she spoke. Her shy gesture was completely genuine. Precisely because he felt her genuine embarrassment, Kiritaka frowned.
"I am Sirius Romanée-Conti, in charge of [Wrath]. Let's get along well from now on."
"I'm terribly sorry, but I already have a beloved and most important woman, so,"
The man said, suddenly opening a door, rushing into the adjacent room, and closing the door. This incomprehensible action made Sirius pause for a second? Then she swung the iron chains in her hand, sweeping across the room.
Rumble rumble~~~
"I'm sorry, thank you, sometimes I can't control my emotions very well, but I still hope…"
Sirius stopped her words.
She looked around with a puzzled expression. Although the room was filled with various objects for cover, her Authority reported back that the room was empty.
Sirius tilted her head in confusion. In that very instant, the floor suddenly cracked open, and terrifying energy surged from below.
"Holy sh*t!"
Subaru exclaimed subconsciously, looking at the spectacular scene before him. The three-story mansion was instantly reduced to ashes. The effect displayed by a strike using the majority of the wealth of the Water Gate City's largest magic stone company—the Muse Trading Company—was already comparable to Reinhild's full-power sword strike.
The surrounding trees shook violently from the shockwave. Kiritaka, who had just used Beatrice's [Door] to escape through the main entrance, was directly thrown into the air by the shockwave. The gale even caused some small canals to become visibly dry down to the riverbed.
"Ahahaha, you bastard! Now you know the consequences, daring to poison this beautiful Water City."
Suddenly, a stone from the ruins flew straight into the air.
"Beatrice!!!"
Subaru shouted.
"Ul Minya!!!"
Beatrice hastily activated her magic. Purple arrows fell from high up, but flames rising from the ruins directly shattered the magic in the air.
The burning Sirius crawled out from the ruins. Most of the bandages on her body were gone, and her left arm was missing. Even so, she continued to walk toward the group. The pain made her pause with every step, but the melting ground and the utterly insane rage in her eyes kept everyone completely on edge.
"I! Am the Sin Archbishop of the Witch Cult! In charge of [Wrath]!!"
Sirius roared with a voice full of fury, and the iron chains in her hand ignited with flames and attacked the group.
"I'll leave it to you."
Kiritaka wisely retreated.
"Leave it to us, boss."
Dynas, the captain of the White Dragon's Scale, and his three subordinates said, drawing their weapons and charging toward the severely injured Sirius. Subaru also followed without hesitation. The iron chains in Sirius's hands burned with flames, striking down arrows and attacking the group, but they were swept away by the skilled mercenaries with their weapons.
"Be careful!"
Subaru suddenly noticed Sirius's smile and subconsciously shouted, but it was clearly a moment too late. The chain, which had been swept away into the air, attacked the group again. Since Subaru was adept with a whip, he knew that this was no longer a matter of technique—it was an ability.
"Waaahhh!!"
A severed arm fell to the ground. Thanks to the group maintaining the highest vigilance against the Sin Archbishop, their own elite skills, and that instant of warning, the lethal blow only took the arm of the person using the hammer.
"El Minya!"
Countless purple arrows from the air struck the fire snakes slithering in the air. Dozens of purple marks appeared on the red fire snakes, and in the next instant, they turned into countless fragments and fell to the ground.
The rest of the fighting members unhesitatingly charged toward the unarmed Sirius.
"What?" x4
Iron chains suddenly appeared in the empty space, binding the hands of everyone. The noon bell rang just then, as if the city were tolling the death knell for them.
Sirius delivered a punch. The shield began to melt, and the terrifying force drove the shield-bearing left hand directly into the defender's face. Simultaneously, the severed iron chains regenerated in the fierce flames.
"Crystal!!!"
A purple arrow destroyed Subaru's iron chain. Subaru barely managed to deflect the attack with his iron sword.
"Kid!"
Dynas, who had also broken free of his restraints but was knocked flying because he was a step too slow, shouted and threw the sword in his hand.
"Ahhhh! This is so annoying! The time is already up, can't you just die obediently?"
Sirius shouted angrily, blocking Dynas's counterattack with her iron chain, but she noticed Subaru was no longer in his original spot. The next instant, she felt a whooshing sound behind her.
"It's over!!!"
"Is it? It's hard to say, okay!?"
The moment the sharp sword was about to touch Sirius, the space behind the eccentric's back twisted unnaturally. The next second, a little girl, about ten years old, emerged from within, completely bound by golden iron chains. The girl blocked Subaru's path, becoming the final obstacle.
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