"Phinis-sama!"
"Oh…?"
Anyway, as Shiva-san assumed, we found Phinis-sama in the hall.
She was in the center of a faintly glowing magic formation, standing with a blackdollified 'something'.
And.
"Iris!" Zana screamed before breaking into a run.
Looking over, from the main magic formation six small formations branched out with a total of six girls lying down listlessly on top of each small formation.
"Magmell, please tend to Iris and the others!"
"Yes, I understand! I'm sorry, but I need two or three helpers!"
"Ou, leave it to me!"
"Mm, count me in."
"Then I'll come along just in case."
"Thank you, let us go!"
Following Magmell, Ophir, Tirna, and Shiva-san ran toward Iris's and her sisters' sides.
I, Arca, and Elma were the only ones left.
Porco-san, who tentatively could be considered as Elma's follower, wanted to come along as well, but we decided to have him stay in the village as a precaution.
"Fufu, no need to worry… They're just unconscious, that's all…" Phinis-sama smiled.
I asked with a suspicious expression, "…Does that mean the ritual is over?"
"Yes, that's right… Take a look… This child is the new"Sword Saint"…"
"Gu-gigi…"
Teeter teeter, the new Blackdoll began to move in a marionette-like manner.
The nature of this Blackdoll seemed to be slightly different from that of the previous ones; was it because it was forcibly created?
"Fumu, you've made another terribly disgusting thing, it seems. Did you kidnap the human that was the base of it from somewhere like you did Iris and her sisters?"
"Yes… Hero of Light, was it…? He was a human with the skill of"Sword Demon"… But he was noisy, so I killed him…"
"""Wha!?"""
Phinis-sama's words caused us to reveal a look of astonishment.
If that was the case, even if we purified him, it wouldn't be possible to save his life.
Of course, I had"Complete Resurrection", so it was possible to resurrect him. But still, seeing an unrelated person lost his life so easily hurt my heart.
Therefore, I asked Phinis-sama, "…Why did you take his life? If it's just to have him be purified by me, there's no need to kill him, right?"
"Yes… But he wasn't listening to me… I told him I'd release them all when everything was over, but he kept being noisy, telling me not to touch those girls…"
"So you killed him?"
"Yes, that's right… Because, I hate noisy children…"
Just from his moniker, 'Hero of Light', he must be a kind and righteous-hearted person.
To think it would end up backfiring on him…
As we wore a sorrowful expression, Phinis-sama said, "More importantly…" and tilted her head, "Why doesn't that child have a 'crest' yet…?"
"Huh…?" Suddenly getting a finger pointed at her, Elma blinked in a daze.
By 'crest' Phinis-sama must be referring to the Phoenix Seal.
I hadn't embraced Elma, so it was natural she hadn't had one yet.
And without the Phoenix Seal, Elma's power wouldn't flow into me.
Which meant, obtaining the 'sword' Hallowed Sacred Treasure would be pointless for me.
"Hey, why…? Even though I want to have a baby as soon as possible…"
"Eek!?"
As Phinis-sama opened her eyes wide and asked, Elma couldn't stop herself from letting out a shriek.
"...?"
The one who stood forward as if to cover her was none other than me.
"I'm sorry. However, there are orders for things like these. I can't ignore her feelings just to fulfill your wishes."
"Exa…"
Giving a nod to Elma whose cheeks were dyed red, I turned my eyes back to Phinis-sama again.
After which, she muttered, "Is that so…?" before saying with a composed look on her face, "Well, no matter… The result won't change whichever comes first… isn't that right…?"
"Gugi…"
"""!"""
It was when Phinis-sama was about to set the Blackdoll to go after us.
"Oh…?"
Suddenly, the shadow behind her wriggled.
"""""Grrrrrr...""""""
――Monsters.
I didn't know if they were attracted to Phinis-sama's existence or the presence of the new Blackdoll, but several monsters emerged out of the shadow all of a sudden.
Incidentally, Iris and her sisters had been brought over behind us and were being treated with a barrier put up by Shiva-san protecting them, so there was no need to worry about them being attacked for the time being.
"Fufu, did you guys come to help me too…?"
"Grr…"
When Phinis-sama gently patted the head of a Garm, wolf-shaped monster, who had slowly approached her, other monsters line up next to her, baring hostility toward us.
"Ufufu, what good children…"
Phinis-sama revealed a joyful smile seeing them acting like that, but—
――Stab!
"...Huh?"
""""""""!?""""""""
All of a sudden, a sharp object pierced through her chest from behind her.