"Uguoaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
――SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSHHHH!
Following Canaan's roar, the metal appendages on his back opened,
and many numbers of condensed black energy orbs tore through the
sky.
They tracked us like they had their own wills but,
""Grand Phalanx Blow!!""
"—!?"
――BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!
All of them were repelled by our 'Superior Arms'-enhanced highest
level Combat Art.
"Wow… so this is the power of 'Superior Arms'…" Zana exclaimed,
seemingly stunned by the scene.
I nodded to her, "Yeah, that's right. This is Superior Arms'—no, our
power."
"Fufu, I see. I think I can understand how Arcadia was feeling now."
"Huh?"
"I mean, we are currently one in the truest sense. As one of your
wives, wouldn't it be natural to be jealous of Tirna who got to
experience it first? Not to mention, Arcadia was the first one to be
your wife."
"W-well, uhh… I can only say I'm sorry…"
As I was scratching my cheek with an awkward look on my face,
Zana laughed and said, "You don't have to apologize. Yes, I'm a little
jealous, but I'm a firm believer of the saying—everything happens for
a reason."
"…You're right. Thanks, Zana."
"No problem. But yeah, I really am a little jealous, so in exchange,
can I ask you to beat up that scary guy who's been releasing his
killing intent for a while now?"
When I followed Zana's line of sight, I found Canaan, who'd had his
earlier attack completely blocked, glaring at us with an indignant
expression.
"With pleasure. Then I'll be borrowing your power!"
"Yeah! Take as much as you want!"
"Gugaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"
――SWIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIISSSSHHHH!
To Canaan, who'd fired another round of orbs again,
""Grand Full Phalanx Blow!!""
We responded with also another full-powered attack.
◇ ◇
—Meanwhile—
"Gugyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?"
——Belchk!
There was a person who gouged out the heart of a monster lying
down powerlessly on the ground and devoured it.
A demi-human with two horns growing out of his forehead—Elysium.
Having made his escape safely from the saints who were corroded
by the Sacred Treasures at the sacred mountain Falgara, he'd been
moving west while slaughtering and eating the heart of every strong
monster he encountered along his way.
Why'd he, the 'Sword' Saint, do such a thing?
The reason for that was the 'black bruise' carved on his chest.
――Yes, it was a scar left after he'd gotten stabbed by Goddess
Phinis.
Elysium was trying to conquer the curse-like bruise that still
remained even after his wound was closed in a unique way.
"Hmm, it seems the monster just now stored quite a lot of power,"
Elysium muttered quietly to himself, watching the bruise on his chest
get smaller.
This bruise was a curse that killed everything except Phinis's
children.
In that case, considering that monsters were her children, it stood to
reason that the more monsters one took in, the closer one would to
dispel the curse.
With that line of thought, Elysium had been directly eating monsters'
hearts, the organ in which 'filth' was most condensed, and absorbing
their power this whole time.
He'd never thought that Vale's research would be of help to him in
this way, but with this method, Elysium would be able to return to the
battlefield again.
His comrades were no longer with him, neither was the power of god
that was the 'Sacred Treasure'.
However, Elysium still had a strong will and body which Vale did not
have.
The best proof was the fact that he could take in the 'filth' in the
hearts of monsters that supposedly could only be taken it after it had
been extracted and diluted.
――Fwoosh!
"Hou, a pretty good sword. It should be able to easily cut apart the
scales of a flying dragon even," He assessed, looking at his right arm
that had gone through a change.
If I can absorb the powers of monsters, I should be able to absorb
their creator the goddess's power—no, even the goddess herself.
"Just you wait, Goddess Phinis. Your power—I'll definitely devour it."