"The spell was destroyed…?" Lyra's pupils shook as she looked up at the dissipating red energy that flowed upwards.
There wasn't even a counterspell of any kind to explain why that many magic circles shattered in an instant. From their position, it looked like a strong gust of wind destroyed that immensely powerful spell. Surely there isn't and has never been wind capable of blowing away a spell that is used to kill planets?
--It seems this woman's might transcends even my most powerful spells. I don't think I have it in me to cast another.
Mr. Merchant's voice entered Arnold's head. Looking at Lyra, who was looking around frantically, it seems she heard it as well.
--I hope the gate is ready. You'll be out of this woman's reach if you enter it.
"…" Arnold looked at the gate. A portal was slowly forming from the twisting blue energy that appeared after Lyra pointed the medallion at it.
It was taking way too long. Who knows how fast that woman could get here.
--Oops, it seems she fled, not even glancing at me for a second. But I can't stop her quickly enough…
"What happened to 1B?!" Arnold shouted, thinking he'd be heard. Thankfully, he received a reply.
--She is quite bloody and beaten but fine otherwise. Though it seems what's keeping her trembling on the ground like a scared little mouse is seeing that woman punched my spell away like it was nothing.
"She… punched it?" Lyra said in disbelief.
--I suggest you flee, Miss Alchemist.
Lyra frowned slightly, "…There's still something I need to ask her…"
--Do you suspect that she's the one who killed the monsters beyond the walls?
"There's no one else that could do something like that if not her. I haven't read any reports or heard any rumors that a demigod was ever sighted in this world."
If she could destroy a powerful spell like [Core Destroyer] then her claim is much more believable. Even Arnold was starting to believe it.
But is she somehow connected to that divine tree that the guild master mentioned?
"You need to go quickly," Lyra said to Arnold, "I'll go back on my own."
Arnold looked back at the gate, the portal now half his height and about the same width. Maybe he could squeeze through?
If he went now then it meant leaving Lyra to fight for herself. But given Guinevere's character, who cared for the lives of innocent people, she might not attack her unless Lyra gets in the way.
Arnold thought to himself if he should give his artifact to Lyra so that she could escape instantly. Guinevere was way faster than the activation sequence for portals on her medallion.
"I'll see you soon then…"
"Mm." she gave him a smile before turning to look back at the sky.
Arnold was about to take a step forward but something heavy and powerful crashed onto the ground, almost making him lose his footing.
With a premonition and killing intent making his back sweat, he creakily turned his head in its direction.
The smoke—that had risen from the ground—dissipated, revealing the same red-haired beauty. There wasn't a single scratch on her. Which meant that even a level 98 couldn't stand up to her. Well, 1B is still a human so he couldn't say he was surprised by this result.
Even at this distance, Guinevere could cover it in a mere second. Using [Speed of Sound] was his only option but without aura, there'd be no way to activate it.
Arnold quickly unsheathed Luxtivin with a glare in his eyes.
There's no way this woman will be able to surpass him in hand-to-hand martial arts since she had a knight class but this fight will go on forever if he keeps dodging and parrying her blows. Unlike with Gederick, who was pure muscle and thus slower, Guinevere would be able to move too fast even for Arnold who's a trained martial artist.
"Your resistance is futile. Please kneel before me so that I can behead you in my people's tradition."
"…You mean in the Valkyrie tradition, don't you?" Arnold said as sweat flowed down his neck.
He could see her lip twitch.
"What? Are you ashamed of being the former High Valkyrie?"
"How did you… No, my curiosity is less important than my goal. I will just take your head to an old friend and have her look through your memories for answers to my questions."
"Oh? And which questions would that be? Maybe to find out if I'm just playing stupid and that there truly is a mastermind controlling me?"
"…"
"To tell you the truth, there is." He lowered his sword casually.
"!" Guinevere pointed her sword at him, "I was feeling guilty for a moment from having to take the life of an innocent soul for the good of the realm. But it seems you were protecting this evil even at the expense of your own life. Now I will not mourn again. Are you willing to cooperate and tell me where this Evil is located? If you do then I will take you in as a prisoner."
"No thanks." Arnold shrugged, "You'll just leave me to rot in some prison cell in exchange for letting me live. Being thrown behind bars is no different than dying."
"Why are you so stubborn…? Do you not realize you have been dancing in the palm of its hand all this time? This evil will discard you as if you were nothing."
"That evil you speak of is threatening to destroy the divine realm, you know? A good thing if you ask me."
"What?"
"He's only been restraining himself because he let water be under the bridge. There's no ill-intent towards any of you in the nine realms. He's just gathering people who can protect him. The Between Realms is a dangerous place, you know? He doesn't have allies there, only acquaintances who would kill him at the slightest benefit to themselves."
Arnold walked up to Guinevere.
She's huge. He wasn't even reaching her chest, more like near her naval region.
"If you kill me, you'd be killing a soldier he wants to add to his army. Oh, and don't misunderstand, he knows he can't do anything to the divine realm even once his army is completed. He just wants to protect himself. But you know, nearly every being in the Between Realms hates the divine realm. What do you think will happen once they set their differences aside and unite? There are more worlds on the other side than in the nine realms. If they come together, their combined strength could easily rival that of the divine realm and the gods. And when that happens, my master's army will be in the forefront. You wouldn't want to be the one who provoked such a force, would you? By sparing me, you're not just letting me live—you're avoiding a potential catastrophe. My master might seem insignificant to you now, but imagine what could happen if he's pushed too far. He sees all his soldiers as important pieces for his grand plan so one of them being killed will make him angry, you know?"
A golden glint flashed in the gaps between Guinevere's helmet. Her gaze rested on Arnold silently.
"…."
"Evil can coexist with your kind, you know~" he didn't know what face he was making while speaking in such a merry tune.
"The… The dark forces separating us from that realm will not allow an army rivalling the entire divine realm to come through…" Guinevere said with a shaky voice.
"Oh? You think we don't have our methods for removing that barrier? If Goddess Aedri betrayed you before, she will surely do it again if I do a little something for her."
Arnold stood on the tips of his toes as his hands were on his hips. He felt his face stretch, almost as if he was making an eerie smile. Of course, he couldn't look at his face at this moment. His whole attitude came off as smug, as if he won or something.
"Why don't you fuck off, Miss Pretend Hero? Lord Ladiath is waiting on me to retrieve something for him on the other side of that portal~ If I make him wait, he'll become angry~"
System update!
Patch notes: Your lies have been seen through by [Truthful Covenant] skill!
E-Eh?
Guinevere suddenly grabbed his arm in the midst of his confusion. Her hand was so large that it easily wrapped itself around his entire arm.
Tears streamed down her face.
"You truly are irredeemable."
He was suddenly thrown towards the ground in an instant but he managed to gain his footing after turning his body around in the air before jumping away, landing near Lyra.
"W-What happened?" Lyra, who had been a fair distance away, outside earshot distance, ran up to him.
"It seems talking to her is useless." Arnold looked at Guinevere who was slowly approaching him, "I have no choice but to fight her right now."
Of course, he'll go through that portal once an opportunity presents itself but he knew Guinevere will cover the distance instantly unless he restrains her.
"But…" Lyra frowned.
"What?"
"I need to know if she was the one that killed those monsters. With her help, we might be able to save the worlds in this dungeon. It's our fault they've spread this far into the worlds, after all…"
So basically, recruiting an enemy, huh… That's what Arnold was thinking as well. If Guinevere helps them kill the Offspring now then many deaths can be avoided in the future and a certain main arc doesn't need to happen.
However, she was now his enemy. Unless he's able to persuade her with words, he couldn't see a way out of this.
"There are many places left unexplored in this dungeon… What if the method to saving the World Tree is somewhere in this dungeon but it's beyond the walls…"
"…"
The method was right in front of her but he decided to keep quiet.
"But I know that as long as I'm acquainted with you, I won't be able to seek her help."
"You could simply cut ties, you know?"
"What's important to me right now is getting my real body back." Lyra took out her medallion, "I'll be waiting for you at the castle but first there's some investigating that I need to do."
"Got it. I'll head straight for the portal once I'm." He then raised his voice, "Let this woman go! She has nothing to do with this evil! She's just an old friend of mine that helped me come this far!"
Guinevere came to a stop and folded her arms in response.
"I'm going to use Aether if everything else fails." He was telling her this since this clone was once a precious child of hers.
"…I understand."
The two then went silent. Lyra held out the medallion and said the activation chant before a portal appeared. Guinevere didn't move an inch, probably trusting Arnold not to just dive into that portal as well.
After a few more seconds, Lyra vanished. The waterfall was the loudest sound currently in the area along with the sounds of birds from the nearby forest.
Arnold held his sword ready to face Guinevere. Unexpectedly, she just raised her sword arm above her head as she approached him.
'You're full of openings in that stance.'
It was probably to bait him to attack recklessly but he's faced many people like this before.
He matched her pace as he neared her, his grip tightening on his sword.
They were a meter away from each other before Arnold charged at her with his full speed. He swung, aiming for her stomach but only cutting air. He sensed her behind him so he did a full spin and kicked upward, sending a powerful gust of wind around them. Yet again, he kicked hit only air.
She was still a meter away from him.
'She doesn't even look like someone who just moved from her position.'
It matters not. He charged at her and swung his sword several times in quick succession. Guinevere moved like an after-image, leaving behind a blurry silhouette as she dodged his attacks.
After the flurry of attacks ended, she raised her sword hand above her head again.
This wasn't arrogance (not with that speed of hers). She was definitely just preparing a skill and Arnold kept interrupting her. if it's just an overhead swing then he'll be able to dodge it.
"Huh?" Arnold noticed that there was a golden light slowly surrounding her broken sword. He slowly looked up when he noticed small golden lights descending from the sky. It was faint but growing stronger by the second.
'That's not a skill, it's a spirit sword repairing itself with divine spirits…'
From someone else's perspective, she was trying to restore her sword to have a fair fight, which is a code that swordsmen have. Something about wanting to fight your opponent at full power.
That's going to be troublesome…