6.
The wedding hall was thrown into chaos.
"Kyaaah!"
"Good Lord, w-what is…"
In the sunsetting horizon, there was a fissure.
The red sky shattered like a glass window. Blood dripped through the cracks. I reinforced my eyesight with aura and looked up at the sky.
[The apostle of 'The Ox that Harvests Ruins' has manifested.]
There was a girl with a huge hammer.
[The apostle of 'The Warhorse of the Eternal Plains' has manifested.]
There was also a general on a pegasus that was flapping its wings.
[The apostle of 'The Evangelist of Everlasting Happiness' has manifested.]
Young children danced strangely, holding hands.
"W-what…"
The wedding guests looked at everything in shock. The cracking red sky alone was an unbelievable sight, and with the unidentified beings coming out of the cracks, they couldn't pull themselves together.
Except for three people.
"They've arrived."
Raviel, the Heretic Questioner, and I were ready to fight back. Among us, Raviel was the one who had the power to command others.
"Special ops, assemble and protect the guests! Imperial Spirit Troop, gather the civilians! My vassals, evacuate the guests!"
My bride and duchess of the empire, Raviel, yelled at the bewildered guests—specifically, her vassals. People's shoulders flinched.
She was rallying the troops.
Strangely, when Raviel called them out, they magically came out of their daze. There was no better person than the head of the second noblest family in the empire to use that "magic."
"Blue Lion Knights, form your ranks!"
"Your Excellency, just what are those—"
"Save your questions. Stay alert and observe the enemies. You are the protectors and leaders of the empire. If you're going to act up in front of me, relinquish your titles! Understood?"
"U-understood!"
Raviel organized the hall in an instant. Even the soldiers and nobles who were not under her command obeyed her orders.
They felt something, instinctively. They didn't understand why the sunset in the sky was shattered nor why some unknown apostles appeared, but they knew if they followed Raviel Ivansia's voice, they could get through this situation.
"Can you figure out their abilities?"
Raviel asked the Heretic Questioner after rattling off a series of instructions.
"Yes! Just a moment!"
The Heretic Questioner made some hand signs. A white light flared from his hands. The light stretched out into the sky like a beam, and in an instant, it passed over the apostles from the other worlds.
"Mm. Analysis complete! First of all, that lady with the giant hammer over there—"
However, the Heretic Questioner couldn't finish his words. Did she interpret the beam as a challenge? The apostle wielding the hammer jumped from the sky.
Her blonde hair fluttered as she slammed the ground with the huge iron hammer.
Booooom!
The ground was literally upturned. Screams echoed.
The wind pressure of the strike alone caused a tornado to form. The red and white flowers that had been imported from the southern part of the empire for the wedding were whisked messily into the air. Amid the hundreds of flowers, blooming and scattered, the apostle's eyes burned red.
-Raviel Ivansia!
Her eyes and voice were somewhat familiar.
-I won't give you a thing!
Shockingly, the apostle looked exactly like the Lady of the Golden Silk.
"L-lady of the Golden Silk…?"
"Why does she look like that?"
The guests chittered suspiciously. The Lady of the Golden Silk was a celebrity, too, even if she wasn't as famous as my husband. It was natural that many people recognized her face. Some of them astoundedly looked back and forth between the apostle and the Heretic Questioner.
"Hmm."
The Heretic Questioner quietly muttered, "This isn't good."
"That's probably the noumenon of the Lady of the Golden Silk."[1]
"Noumenon?"
"Put simply, it's like the devil is grasping onto her soul. Instead of borrowing the power of the Constellation, she's giving it the entirety of her abilities, appearance, and memories! Aha. That lady probably had a wish she really wanted to fulfill, no matter the cost. Interesting…"
The recipient of the Heretic Questioner's interest was swinging her hammer.
Whooosh!
People were blown away by the wind pressure of the hammer. However, the knights who had learned martial arts endured with clenched teeth. They were still confused, but they had realized one thing. The woman who resembled the Lady of the Golden Silk was not their ally.
"S-stop her!"
"Protect the guests!"
"Obey the duchess's commands!"
The emergence of a clear 'enemy' rallied our forces. The strongest warriors of the empire, whom Raviel had invited as guests and security for this day, rushed forth with their swords raised. Their movements were refined. It was an advanced pincer attack.
The Golden Silk scoffed.
-Whatever. You all follow Raviel Ivansia's directions, anyway.
Dozens of warriors attacked at once.
-I'll destroy everything before I give anything up to her.
Dozens of blades carrying Auras rained down simultaneously, but twang…! The blades bounced off the Golden Silk's skin.
"What…?!"
Dumbfounded cries scattered the place. The Golden Silk was not injured a bit. Some warriors pressed on, unfazed. They swung their swords again, but it was no use. Every sword was blocked by the clothes the Golden Silk was wearing. Auras could only singe the Golden Silk's clothes.
-Ox that Harvests Ruins!
The Golden Silk struck with the hammer.
-Give me your blessing!
Squish! Crushed under the hammer, one fighter burst like a watermelon. Blood splattered. Before the blood could even fall to the ground, the Golden Silk swung her hammer again.
"W-wait—!"
Another head was smashed by the hammer. Plop! Blood spouted, again and again. The slaughter continued relentlessly. In the midst of their colleagues' deaths, warriors desperately tried to attack the Golden Silk's blind spots, but not a single knife pierced her skin.
"Everyone, be careful!"
the Heretic Questioner shouted.
"She bears one of Mutia's blessings, [The Invulnerable Body]! She cannot be wounded. Aha. Technically, the effect [reduces 99.9% of physical harm to the holder]!"
A body that cannot be wounded.
"You won't be able to damage her significantly unless your strike can tear down a mountain's peak! Good luck!"
-Raviel Ivansiaaaa!!
The fighters were bewildered. Among them was the old gentleman who would be my adoptive father for today only, the imperial grand chamberlain and commander of the special operatives.
The old man, who held the position of the strongest in the empire, spoke as if it were absurd.
"Tear down a mountain peak? Who could do such a ridiculous thing?"
"You're right. It's really too much. But if we can't do it, we'll all die!"
The Heretic Questioner laughed prettily. If someone were to capture that smile in a picture, one might forget that people were being demolished by a hammer at the same time. That crazy psychopath.
"That one alone is a monster," Raviel sighed, "but the other ones are also coming down."
My husband was right. That apostle, who may have been the spirit or body of the Golden Silk, was just one of the enemies we had to fight. Maybe she was even the easiest enemy we had to deal with.
-Unfortunate ones.
A ruddy sunset.
The general on the pegasus descended slowly with his back to the sky.
-You can blame that pitiful girl. Blame the one who lived in the first life of that girl, and blame that young man. They are the reason you will be trampled under our hooves. You all should be sad.
The general looked at the Golden Silk, the Heretic Questioner, and, lastly, me. I couldn't see his face because he was wearing a thick helmet.
-Soldiers of the Warhorse.
The general raised his flag high. A red glow permeated from the flag.
-Awaken.
That moment, translucent specters were summoned by the general. Dozens, hundreds, thousands. Maybe tens of thousands of ghosts.
-Guoooh…
-Guuh, uuuuhhh…
Everyone was speechless.
Even when the Golden Silk swung her hammer and people were torn apart like paper, the wedding guests were still rattled. The fighters resisted. They attacked. However, the ten-thousand strong army that appeared in the bright red sky were on a different level.
"R-run away…" someone muttered hoarsely.
"Run!"
Others echoed those words.
-Charge.
But with just one word, the general stopped their murmurs and shouts.
-Guoooh!
-Kigik, kigeeek!
Countless ghosts surged forth. They were wearing ancient armor like soldiers of old, but the tips of their spears were not worn. Puk! The back of a guest who had been trying to escape was pierced.
"S-spare me!"
"Aaaaah!"
A massacre.
The guests collapsed, bleeding. Their spilled blood painted the white flowers red. What was supposed to be the most glamorous wedding hall in the empire turned into the most gruesome hell.
"…Heretic Questioner."
I opened my mouth. My voice was extremely cold.
"What is that apostle's power?"
"I just finished the analysis. Hmm. One of Mahos's blessings, [The Sanctuary Battlefield], is active."
The Heretic Questioner made more hand seals and spoke. Just as the character window was visible only to me, it seemed the Heretic Questioner was looking at words that only he could see.
"[The Sanctuary Battlefield] is an area-of-effect blessing. It influences the whole field. The effect is amazing. It [affixes the summoned being's ability to its prime]! Each of those ghosts is an elite among elite soldier. They are the souls of the warriors who followed Mahos!"
"…We don't have enough."
Raviel put down her fan.
"The difference in our numbers is too great. Mutia's apostle has the ability to never lose in a 1-on-1 battle, and Mahos's apostle has an advantage in a melee. This is a dilemma."
-Lu.
Then.
-Lu, lu lu, la. La.
The third and last apostle began to move.
-La.
-Lu lu, la. La la. Lu.
-Lu lu lu. La la. La. La.
The apostles who looked like children were singing. The song fell from the sky and reverberated to the ground. The children danced in a circle dance like they were doing a traditional folk dance, and the faster they danced, the stronger the song became.
-La.
-Lu, la. La La.
Flop.
The guests who were being chased by the ghosts suddenly collapsed. It wasn't just one or two of them, either. Flop, flop. Like a marionette with cut strings, people lost their consciousnesses and dropped on the spot.
"Oh."
The Heretic Questioner quickly made some hand signs. A light spilled from his hand and covered Raviel and me.
"Aha, this is really not good! Mm. It's a psychological attack. Those who are exposed to the song are forcibly pushed into [their happiest memory]. You can't resist it unless you're mentally strong enough!"
"..."
The apostle who had a hammer and was immune to physical attacks.
The apostle of the Warhorse who specialized in fighting with an army.
The apostle of happiness who breached people's minds.
"…Really. Each one is terrible."
"Yes! We could deal with an apostle who specializes in 1-on-1 battles. We could also deal with an army. If mental attacks are the problem, we can have a small elite group that is mentally strong. But we need to face all three attacks at once, aha. It's very difficult!"
The Heretic Questioner smiled brilliantly.
"Death King."
"Yes."
"Can I count on you to win?"
The wedding hall had already withered with the sunset.
In the sky, songs continued to be sung. On the ground, the dead slaughtered the living.
And lastly—
Rip!
The head of the special ops commander, who resisted until the end, was crushed.
The Golden Silk, the apostle with the hammer, stared at us ferociously as she stomped on the old man's head.
-Raviel Ivansia!
"..."
Raviel was wearing a black dress. At first glance, it looked more like a mourning dress than a wedding dress. However, this was etiquette in the empire.
The person who would become the master of the family after marriage would wear black. The one who wouldn't wore white. So, Raviel wore a black dress, and I wore a white tuxedo.
"Gongja."
Raviel turned to look at me.
"I should have told you earlier."
"Yes?"
"That tuxedo suits you very well."
"..."
I smiled. The apostles of the Constellations continued to invade this world. All of our guests had been annihilated. Nevertheless, at this moment, Raviel praised my wedding outfit. It meant that she would not accept this ending as 'the' end.
That was right.
We would never give up on our wedding.
"Raviel, you're the most beautiful being in the universe."
I took my bride's hand. I could feel her soft lace gloves.
Boom!
I heard a heavy footstep. The Golden Silk was probably running here. Soon, a hammer would crush us. Feeling the very core of the world shaking, I said,
"We made a promise that I would never kill myself without your permission. That even if I had to die, I would only accept it if I had done my best."
"That's right."
"Please give me permission to die now."
Raviel smiled.
"Granted."
One word. One word from my beloved made me invincible.
-Raviel Ivansiaaaa!
The moment the Golden Silk swung her hammer, I wrapped myself around Raviel.
So that I would die earlier than her, even if it was only by a millisecond.
Raviel recognized my intent and quietly allowed me to hold her. We grasped our hands together tightly. Soon, a giant hammer hit me.
[You have died.]
Death that was the same as always.
[The trauma of the enemy who killed you is being reenacted.]
The same sight as always.
[You are regressing to 24 hours ago.]
But.
It wasn't the same regression as always.
"Gongja."
When I opened my eyes, Raviel was there, holding my hand. We realized as soon as our eyes met that we didn't have to explain what had happened. That we were sharing the same time.
And just like the moment before our deaths, we were still holding hands.
She and I were no longer solitary, lonely regressors.
"Let's make a plan."
Because we were two, we were invincible.