The Protagonists of Romance Fantasy Novels Have Escaped

158 – 158. Eternal Slumber (1)

Crimson whirlpool.

Black froststorm.

In the heart of the battlefield where war and death clashed, the Third Princess arrived.

“Edanant!”

She called out.

She was too hasty.

The monster was still intact.

The divine essence of calamity and the power of the incantation had fully merged.

Though she had sustained injuries from excessive use of the incantation, they were merely superficial. The fierce froststorm, entwining the beautiful monster with flowing white hair, still spoke of its vitality.

Kwahwahwahwah──!!!

Perhaps it was due to the unexpected variable.

The froststorm intensified.

In the monster’s eyes, which blazed with white and black light, a sharp murderous intent surged.

“It won’t be long before you break!”

“Third Princess! We must retreat at once…!”

Kakak. Kagagak.

The crimson whirlpool and the black froststorm simultaneously battered the barrier erected by the archmages. With an ominous sound, cracks began to form in the barrier.

It was hard to hold on.

The interior of the Demon King’s castle was thoroughly tainted by the divine essence of calamity.

For humans, divine essence was regarded as a merciful blessing manifested from faith. However, like all medicinal herbs, when the limit is far exceeded, it becomes a deadly poison that surpasses lethal doses.

If the barrier shatters, there would be no choice but to be swept away by the calamity.

If that happened, even Elizabeta and the archmages could not guarantee their safety.

– Elizabetta!!

We must evacuate Elizabetta as quickly as possible.

Eda-nant, sensing the weight of fear pressing down on him, let out a sharp scream. The embodiment of death’s residue raised its cold greatsword in the direction where Elizabetta stood.

But—.

An entirely unexpected anomaly occurred.

The giant of death came to a halt.

It even lowered the greatsword it had raised above its head.

For reasons unknown, it had lost control of the embodiment. The monster stretched out its hand, repeatedly commanding the residue of death to move, but for some reason, it did not budge.

“W-why…! Why isn’t it moving?!”

A hollow shell that had completely lost its self.

The residue of death, fully consumed along with Beatrice, was nothing more than a tool.

It must have fallen into an eternal slumber.

Naturally, all powers, including the control of its physical form, belonged to itself.

Yet, the result was that the residue of death, merely a shell, refused the command. The giant’s unresponsive reaction left the monster in a state of near panic.

– Come forth, my doppelgänger.

“Third Princess…?”

Elizabetta, protected by the great magicians, stepped forward and reached out her hand.

The atmosphere shifted dramatically.

The great magicians, gazing at the back of the princess with her luscious golden hair flowing, felt an inexplicable sense of dread.

Crash!

The barrier that had precariously held back the whirlpool of residue was shattered.

A crimson torrent surged forth.

Following that, a pitch-black blizzard also targeted Elizabetta and the great magicians.

However, no disaster occurred from being swept away by the divine essence of the residue. As Elizabetta gestured, the torrent and blizzard split to the left and right, veering away.

Crash, crash, crash!!!

At that very moment, the giant of death swung down its greatsword.

The target of its malice was surprisingly the monster that had seized control.

“How dare a mere shell…!”

With a grinding of teeth, it glared at the giant, now completely out of control.

Though they evaded the sudden assault from behind, control had still not returned. This was because the frost giant, whom he had summoned, had completely succumbed to the girl who appeared alongside nothing more than a bunch of old men.

– Did you truly believe you could completely tame death, nameless being?

“Surely you can’t…!”

– I will reclaim the divinity stolen from you. The vessel I have chosen is not something of your caliber.

“You, a mere remnant barely clinging to existence!”

He accepted Elizabeta as the vessel.

Though he had used a loophole to make contact through dreams, it was sufficient to appoint her as a Harbinger of Death.

Elizabeta von Baltaria.

The third princess of the Empire was appointed as the new Harbinger of Death.

She was a legitimate heir, starkly contrasting the mutants born from the miracles of the saint. As if to demonstrate this, the essence of death that had possessed Elizabeta commanded, and the blizzard gradually subsided.

– Elizabeta…, that cannot be. Is it the essence of death?

– You have worked hard to guide me here, O War.

The essence of death extended a pure white hand.

It was an indirect request, suggesting that a kiss on the back of the hand would be acceptable. Edanant made a conscious effort to ignore it.

– What has become of the Tower Master?

“W-we are currently at a stalemate with Acrich and the sage who has fallen to undeath!”

What must a mother feel, having to fight against her son, now a cursed being?

It is a pitiful affair.

Surely, her heart would be torn as if it were being butchered.

The tragedy wrought by an unfortunate fate ultimately drove the once-revered mother-son relationship to ruin. Edanant swallowed his silence at the archmage’s response and nodded.

– Leave this to us and join the Tower Master.

“Are you really okay with this?”

– When Beatrice awakens, those who have fallen to undeath will return to their original forms. They cannot have truly become corpses. So just hold on somehow.

“I understand…! I will convey that to the Tower Master!”

The archmages who had been guarding Elizabeta turned on their heels.

As Edanant watched their retreating figures, he faced the monster alongside the essence of death.

“Hmph…. You are nothing more than a remnant parasitizing on mere humans. Your true form is still lost in eternal slumber with that foolish girl, isn’t it?”

Kugugugugugugung──.

The frost giant collapsed, pouring out massive fragments. Perhaps having judged that there was no way to regain the initiative, it seemed to have decided to discard its own body.

The essence of death let out a deep sigh as its own mimicry was brutally shattered.

– How rude to render my beautiful form useless. Even if it is a mere doppelgänger, it is still a masterpiece that imitates my beauty, even if just a fraction.

The deity possessed by a severe case of narcissism spoke, unabashedly displaying its self-love.

Is this the original nature of the being?

Or is it the influence of Elizabeth?

Either way, it was equally troubling.

Dizziness washed over me at the sight of the calamity, giddy with excitement while possessing Elizabeth’s body.

“I don’t know how you managed your petty tricks, but… in the end, you are nothing. The initiative still lies with me. You must know that well.”

– It’s an unnecessary worry. I will reclaim it.

The odds are slim.

The deity of death, possessing Elizabeth, was but a mere fragment.

It had merely succeeded in possession through an imperfect loophole. Though it had shown remarkable prowess in seizing control from the Frost Giant in one fell swoop, it paled in comparison to the monster that had completely devoured the deity.

– Hmm.

As I reached out, the frozen particles gathered around me.

Soon, the particles formed the shape of a massive greatsword.

A blade forged from cold.

The hilt and the base of the blade carved from blackened ice.

The size was distinctly different, but it was undoubtedly the greatsword wielded by the Frost Giant. The sight of Elizabeth’s slender fingers grasping the heavy greatsword was jarringly out of place.

– War! It is time to reclaim my true form and all my power that was taken from me!

– How dare you give orders? If it were Lisa’s command, I would naturally obey, but… I have no desire to take orders from the instigator of the war.

The one behind the tribal war, mobilizing the Demon Lord’s army and the cultist forces, was none other than the deity of death.

Thus, Edanant displayed his disdain.

It was for Beatrice.

He had no choice but to ally himself to save the saint.

Clearly stating his resolve, Edanant asked the deity of death how to save Beatrice.

* * *

Creak-.

Creeeak. Creeeak-.

The chains of the fallen angel bound the Mercenary King, followed by the Arclich.

A blue flame, imbued with cold, rose.

However, the Arclich’s resistance was thwarted by the dispel cast by the magic user.

Soon after, the sage activated the teleportation magic, but Querisa’s response was much quicker.

Querisa unleashed a dispel once more, disrupting the gathering of magical power required for the teleportation.

– Bea… Beatrice…! Ghaaa!!

Even after losing her sanity and descending into a cursed existence, the resolve to protect her beloved saint burned fiercely within her frozen heart.

Faced with the desperate figure of the wraith, Querisa let out a bitter smile as she gently stroked the skull with its gleaming blue eye.

“Now, all that remains is the Mercenary King… and the Abyss Knight.”

“Let’s hurry and join my brother. He must be quite exhausted.”

Rudmila and Jeblin, who had sealed the Archlich alongside the Tower Master, turned their heads to gaze in the direction where Maximilian was engaged in battle with the fallen swordsman.

We were nearing the end.

Soon, Edanant and Elizabeth would return with the Second Saint.

The resounding roar and tremors emanating from the Demon King’s castle continued to stir unease, but for now, we had no choice but to trust and leave it be. The Abyss Knight was still engaged in a back-and-forth struggle against Maximilian, maintaining its resistance.

Thud—.

Thud—.

The moment we took a step forward,

the tremors reached Rudmila and Jeblin.

It was not the shockwave from the Demon King’s castle. The tremors felt beneath our feet were coming from beyond the steep ravine.

Thousands of soldiers—

it was undoubtedly the Holy Kingdom’s paladin order, bearing the banner of the Holy War.

As the paladins, who worshipped the One True God, drew closer, the Tri-headed Dragon of Tyranny and the Archangel of Famine instinctively revealed their hostility. If the hounds of the Earth Mother dared to launch an attack, it signified an immediate counterattack.

However, no calamity occurred.

The forces of the Holy Kingdom, which had been slowly surrounding the Demon King’s castle, halted their advance as the distance closed.