I throw myself into the middle of the current confrontation. I stop Morrigan's halberd with my right hand, and I stop Tiberius with my left hand, the skeletal hand, to make sure he doesn't take another step.
This was an efficient block.
-I like what you did with your appearance, Morrigan. But I'm used to seeing you as a sorceress rather than a warrior.
Calmly, I tell her that with a smile.
When I look at Tiberius, however, that smile disappears... I can see that his body is badly wounded, the samgre is dripping with blood. Morrigan must have taken care of him while I was unconscious.
Worthy of the protective deity of Zawar Orcubalis, uh.
Morrigan is almost without a scratch or sign of a fight. Though she seemed clumsy when she wielded Gungnir, she seems to be a completely different entity now.
I drop Morrigan's halberd. I turn my back on her to face Tiberius directly.
Within seconds of resting, the blood simply vanished. And Tiberius' wounds closed on their own without any interference.
Curious...
-Thank you for covering for me, Morrigan. Now I will deal with this animal on my own. It will all be over.
I push Morrigan a little, making her stand behind me now.
All right... we'll do this properly.
Tiberius and I look at each other. In total silence.
A rain of blood is coming. All that's left for me to do now is fight.
I get into my stance, and signal with my hand for Tiberius to come for me, as we've been doing all this time.
Tiberius doesn't hesitate a bit, and charges at me with nothing but his fists.
This time I'm not going to let him take the initiative.
Taking advantage of him taking the attacker's position, I turn on my heels. And I raise my left leg, performing a powerful kick against his left calf. I could feel the bone fracture.
-!
Tiberius lost his balance point and couldn't avoid my next attack. From the sleeve of my uniform, a red spear emerged, penetrating Tiberius' stomach and taking all his internal organs with it.
This is Enigma, who is camouflaging herself in my shadow for cover attacks. She spread a stream of her blood to turn it into this spear.
This spear gave me the perfect opportunity to attack again.
-Femte Forbudte Magi: Bahamut.
(Fifth Forbidden Magic: Bahamut.)
By casting this magic on Tiberius, I did nothing but negate his regeneration. "Bahamut" is a magic forbidden by the Church of Kýena as it is tantamount to disrespecting your opponent by taking away their valuable resource of regeneration.
However, this magic was authorised at the time of the hunt for Redhart, for obvious reasons.
Then, and only then, did he tear a chunk out of Tiberius' abdomen as he swung Enigma's spear. It cut like paper.
Tiberius was about to fall to his knees, but I don't stop my attacks....
-Anden Forbudte Magi: Fornægtelsens princip.
(Second Forbidden Magic: Principle of Denial.)
Tiberius' magical energy is ripped from his body in an instant. Impossessing any means by which he could counterattack me or even make the attempt to do so.
Unlike "Bahamut", this magic called "Principle of Denial" is not forbidden in certain regions of the world yet. Since it is taken as a means of self-defence against magic.
But this is no ordinary spell, for although it is called a "Spell", the more appropriate way to describe it is that it is a "Passive Ability" that everyone in Gamma possesses.
For those who were born without magic, yet dedicate themselves to the study of it, it is the most powerful weapon there is. For in our world you are of no use when your magical energy runs out.
That is precisely what happened here. Tiberius is almost totally disabled because I took the magic out of his body. He won't be able to use abilities even by refining his "Divine Energy" as a substitute.
-I only needed four attacks to make you kneel before me. Perhaps that makes our differences clear, since it's a verifiable fact that I never took you seriously. As a potential threat, yes. But you don't come close to comparing to what I've already experienced.
-I can't regenerate this wound... What did you do?
-What I should have done from the beginning... you, you talked about a legend with my name on it, that I am an entity that will fulfil the wishes of all those who will die for confronting me.
-... What does that have to do now...?
-For that very reason I ask you now, Tiberius. What is your current wish?
Enigma deformed again, becoming a scythe that encircled Tiberius' neck, threatening to decapitate him at the slightest resistance.
(It had been 600 years since we fought together, uh). -. Enigma tells me through telepathy.
And I answer her: (That's right. It's been too long. Watch out. Kill him if he tries to run away).
She answers me again: (Good.)
Tiberius, feeling powerless again, clenches his teeth and fists as he answers my question:
-I want to kill Nergal with my own hands! It is because of his senseless war that my mother died! I am so eager to kill him...!
...
-I admire your determination. And that is a wish I am capable of fulfilling for you.
-Let us join forces, then! -We can call a truce until we kill Nergal together!
-Of course... -. I say in a vague voice.
I raise my left hand, and touch Tiberius' forehead with the tip of my index finger.
Immediately I do that, the rot begins, eating away at Tiberius' face at breakneck speed. So fast that not even regeneration could do anything at this point.
-... but you tried to kill me. And you killed Ares in the process. I can't ally myself with someone who could stab me in the back at any moment.
-Wait, don't do this...! Liselotte Sitri, listen to me...!
In the light of the inevitable sunset, my silhouette overlaps Tiberius'. This troublesome enemy is about to meet his resounding end.
Sorry, but I am not that merciful. An enemy is an enemy.
The old days taught me not to let those same enemies live. Because they will come back and they will want revenge when that happens.
I concentrate for a moment. Connecting my magic thread to everyone else around me, and connecting directly to the [Supernatural Rift] above us.
One last way to make sure he's not going to come back no matter how hard his last will tries.
-Første Forbudte Magi: ■■■■ ■■■■■■.
(First Forbidden Magic: ■■■ ■■■■■■.)
This magic is different from "Lich Archetype". Their effects are similar but could not be more different. Since "Lich Archetype" is a magic that has the concept of "Kill even that which cannot be killed."
Whereas this magic is summed up as "Annihilation on every possible plane. Both in the past, in the present, and in the future."
In doing so, Tiberius' body is turning to dust in the wind... and at the same time, I once again rise up against the "Deified Pantheon" by provoking all the Gods who once knew "Hephaestus". But that should be a problem for the future.
That was too easy. It should have been this way from the beginning.
The excitement in my chest is fading.
-... I thought I was going to hold on longer...
(You used forbidden magics. There is no existence that is able to endure that.) -. Enigma mentions.
-Sure, but doing this will only make things escalate to greater proportions. I could never get my ID off.
(Does that mean... "They" are coming?)
-That's right. And we'll have no choice but to face them all.
-SILENCE.
An order came to us, demanding that we be quiet.
I cancelled the spell within seconds of it being applied. And I raised my voice to the one who had given the order:
-Nergal!
As I shouted the name of this deity, I immediately moved into a combat stance, summoning the [Staff of Maxwell] back into my hands.
Now I am ready to use "Lich Archetype".
-I must admit that you are as strong as I imagined, Liselotte Sitri. I still remember the warning Othinus gave me the day we met... never make an enemy of Liselotte Sitri.
Why mention that now?
-I have already won, Nergal. If you don't want the whole [Deified Pantheon] to die, it's time to stop us.
-Oh? That's exactly what I'm here for. Liselotte Sitri, that's enough. You've already killed more than I expected. Please, I beg your mercy.
-I can never forgive you, you made an attempt on Elise's life...
-Does it really matter now? I've already withdrawn everyone... I can't say for sure that there won't be reprisals, but I can say that you've caused a stir for everyone.
-I understand... I guess even you guys are terrified of dying after all...
-I'm sorry for all the trouble so far, Liselotte. It has become clear to us that we are not enemies to you.
...
Well...
-Enigma. Kill him.
Without mercy, I cast that voice command, and immediately my shadow stretched out to reach Nergal's shadow. From the darkness emerged a multitude of weapons that impaled Nergal completely in a matter of seconds.
-Lich Archetype... -. I mutter, summoning my quintessential magic.
Pointing the staff at Nergal, his now corpse was erased from existence without a trace.
It was obvious that things were going to end this way, Nergal was the number one target at the moment. And he had already stabbed me in the back, undoing the peace treaty I had with the [Deified Pantheon].
It's all over now. And now I must hurry before it's too late...
-Morrigan, Enigma, we're leaving! Bastards I don't want to see are about to come, go, go!
-Okey-dokey, Lottie! -. shouts Enigma, who had already disengaged from my shadow and returned to his human form.
-Of course, you used forbidden spells and you still have the damn ID! The Church of Kýena is going to go crazy looking for you! Let's go!
Morrigan, who had returned to her usual appearance, is also upset. Uh, yeah. That's how it must be!
And with that... this little conflict is finally over. I guess I can be at peace for now.
Ahh, I want to see Elise already.