A creepy, cold laugh sounded. It was as if all the malice in the world was in the voice, and my body instantly froze.
Then, with a deafening echo that made the world scream, a crack appeared in the space. A black haze, devoid of any trace of life, flooded out of the crack.
I couldn't afford to stop sweating, and when I turned my gaze toward the voice, I saw a black mass of malice that made the presence of Quarro, one of the Evil… seem cute.
A young man with a very well-shaped face stood there. He had jet-black long hair, which seemed to absorb everything, and brilliant red eyes, which were piercing through us.
"Hahahahahahahaha!"
Just by laughing, a black wave echoed through this audience hall, cracking the walls and floor.
Then Master Usagi, who was sweating all over just like me, squeezed out a voice.
(W-what… w-why… you…!)
"──Ha!"
Suddenly, the laughs stopped.
And the young man with a terrifyingly black presence bowed his head reverently.
"Oh my, oh my… Excuse me. I am Avis. The malice of this world, all of it."
"Malice of this world… all of it, you say…?"
When Iris-san managed to open her mouth, the young man in front of her ─ Avis, smiled.
"Fuh… don't you understand? I'll tell you simply. That's right… if you defeat me right here and now, there will be no more Evil in this world."
(What?)
"I am, we are ─ one."
"No way…"
Iris-san's eyes widened as if Avis's words had given her some idea.
"It seems that the Sword Saint has noticed… I am a perfect Evil, having absorbed the power of all the other Evils. In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that all of the malice that fills this world is me."
If Avis's words are valid, it means that he absorbed the other Evils, like Quarro, and became one…
That means that the power of Evil has evolved to the extreme at the same time.
I've managed to keep my composure, but this situation is dangerous for Lexia-san and the others! When I turned my gaze to Lexia-san and the others, I saw Akatsuki protecting Lexia-san and the others by activating his [Sanctuary] skill with a pained expression on his face.
"Akatsuki!"
"B-buhi…"
It's not as if he was going at his own pace as usual; Akatsuki was desperately trying to block out the presence of Avis.
Avis saw Akatsuki struggle and snorted boringly.
"You're not the same as a Holy, but you're also the planet's purification system… yet you're not as powerful as I thought."
"Grrrrr… Woof!"
"Night!"
Akatsuki, who was desperately trying to protect Lexia-san and the others, was mocked. Night, angered by this, jumped out at Avis!
But…
"Hah! A Black Fenrir's child, huh? If this had been an adult, I would have had to prepare myself for it…"
"Kyaan?"
"Night!"
As Avis waved his hand carelessly, a black mist followed it and attacked Night. Night, who pounced in the air, was hit by the black mist but managed to take a defensive stance.
However, the power of Avis's blow was so great that Night was blown away with great force. When I deployed [Magic Attire] reflexively, I reached Night instantly and managed to catch him.
"Are you okay, Night?"
"Woof…"
While stroking the apologetic Night, I turned my gaze to Avis. For some reason, Avis was also looking at me.
"I see, so it's you…"
"Eh?"
"…Hah. I guess I didn't need to worry about it. Nothing can stop me now…"
What on earth is he talking about? Definitely, Avis and I are supposed to be meeting for the first time.
While staring at Avis with caution, Avis's gaze shifted to Orghis-sama.
Orghis-sama was in a position outside the effect of Akatsuki's [Sanctuary], so he was completely intimidated by Avis, as his face turned pale and trembled. The soldiers guarding him were also standing by, but they could not move a finger in the face of Avis's intimidation and simply froze.
"The king of Regal. I was only going to say hello to you today since I have yet to be fully accustomed to my powers… It's not a bad idea to say hello and continue with the unfinished business that my compatriots have started, right?"
"Hah… hah… hah…"
As looking at a stone on the roadside, the gaze of Evil's unemotional eye is pierced, and Orghis-sama desperately gasps for air.
"Now, here's a gift from me ─ Perish."
(──Iris!)
"──Usagi!"
As Avis pointed his palm towards Orghis-sama, more and more black mist gathered in his palm, and eventually, it was released as a ray of black light. However, just before the attack was unleashed, Iris-san and Master Usagi jumped out as if they had been hit by a bullet, shouting each other's names, and intervened between Orghis-sama and the black light.
(Uoooooooooooo!)
"Haaaaaaaaaahh!"
The two of them unleash the full force of a blow they could deliver right now at the black light.
But──.
(Gaah!)
"Kahaah!"
The two together could not hold back the black light for a moment, and they were blown away with tremendous force and slammed into the wall. The two of them went limp and did not move, as if they had fainted.
But just before the black light reached Orghis-sama, Yuti held Orghis-sama in her arms and she succeeded in dodging it.
"Kuh!"
However, although the direct hit was avoided, the shockwave from the passage of the black light almost blew away Yuti.
"Are you okay?"
Avis looked at us like that and opened his mouth in a boring way.
"Fuh… It's not much more than a mouthful. And you're already so cautious of this kind of thing…"
"What?"
"…And also… the outsider… is only on this level…?"
Finally, when Avis muttered something small, he turned his gaze once again to Orghis-sama, who Yuti was holding.
"Well, whatever. The first gift was interrupted by the Holy… Those Holy seem to have been knocked out by the first blow. They won't wake up for at least a few hours… But that's okay. There is no need for me to deal with them directly. And you'll be receiving another gift from me, okay?"
"Another gift? …Wha?"
When I twisted my head in response to Avis's words, a great deal of shouting echoed through the castle.
"I have sent a large number of Evil Beasts to this city. In a few hours, this country's inhabitants will be completely wiped out."
"No way!"
Avis's words left us in shock.
"Now, the two Holy that you rely on are unable to fight. What are you going to do now? King of Regal. You've been trying to fight against us, but can you do the same in this situation…?"
"Oh-oo-o-oh…"
Orghis-sama had summoned a Saint from another world as a non-Holy being in order to protect the human race of this world from Evil. However… I don't think that the power of the Saint alone would be enough to defeat the Evil.
Besides, the most important problem now was to deal with Avis in front of us.
And then, I'd like to heal Iris-san and Master Usagi with Akatsuki's [Sanctuary] skills, but Akatsuki was too busy protecting Lexia-san and the others, and Avis will probably get in the way if I try to move to give them the [Perfect Recovery Herb Juice].
In a desperate situation, I desperately tried to figure out how to get out of this crisis when Avis suddenly laughed.
"Well, don't be so cautious. Of course, it would not be out of the question for me to kill you at this point, but… now that I've become the ultimate perfection in the true sense of the word… wouldn't you like to be killed by me?"
"….."
If what Avis said was true, then his current state was not yet in full power. However, I couldn't see myself beating the current Avis in the future, who was not in peak condition.
Of course, if Avis was in full form, then it's hopeless… In any case, there was no way for us to stop Avis.
"This is why I said earlier that I was just here to say hello. Yes, to you."
"You're here to say hello to me…?"
When I was surprised by his words, Avis's smile deepened.
"A non-Holy being defeated Quarro… the Evil. This is not something that can be overlooked…"
"….."
"Once again, I've evolved into the ultimate perfection, and I'm going to do my best to kill you. So today is just a greeting."
Avis said so, looked over at us, and bowed reverently.
"So… enjoy the gift I have prepared for you for today…"
"H-hey!"
As soon as he said that, Avis was enveloped in a black mist and disappeared from the scene instantly. But there's no time to worry about that now.
"Yuti, Night! You two take over here!"
"Affirmative."
"Woof!"
"And Akatsuki! Take care of Iris-san and Master Usagi for me…!"
"Buhi!"
I smiled at the three of them as they replied, and I hurried off to the city where a large number of Evil Beasts were approaching.