Chapter 45
* * *
Emeralda couldn't put up any resistance against the overwhelming power of darkness.
(No way... It's tearing through all of my Holy Magic shields...!)
A black mist suddenly appeared in the sky. It collided with the holy barrier for just a moment before quickly eroding it. The black mist then rained down onto the battlefield.
"M-my body! My body is being eaten!"
"My arms! My legs! My body! It's disappearing!?"
"Someone! Help me!"
"Saint! Please protect us with your power!"
"What the hell is this!? I don't get it!"
"Nooooooo! I don't want to dieeeeeee!"
Emeralda's chest tightened at the hellish scene.
(I... I have to protect them! I've been praised as a Saint, and yet I'm so powerless...!)
Emeralda tried with all her might to maintain the protective barrier. But even as she pushed herself to the point of coughing blood, she couldn't resist the black mist.
The mist quickly filled her field of vision.
"Lady Emeralda! Behind me—gah!"
"At least protect Lady Emeralda—gyah!"
"Saint, at least you should escape—ugh!"
One by one, the Holy Knights collapsed before Emeralda's eyes. Rather than collapsing, it would be more accurate to say their insides vanished without a trace. Only their silver armor remained on the ground, not even a corpse left behind.
"Everyone... I'm sorry..."
Even the horse Emeralda was riding vanished. Only her body remained, protected by Holy Magic...
(...No. It's not that my power is stronger than this darkness. I'm just... being kept alive.)
The mist avoided Emeralda. Most likely, it wasn't just her imagination.
(If... if I'm the only one being spared... Claire, are you protecting me...?)
She didn't know what state Claire was in now. But if Claire had become close to Dark Lich, it wouldn't be strange if she had asked her not to kill the Saint.
(But... even if I'm the only one spared...)
The screams of the soldiers gradually faded.
Most of them had already disappeared, swallowed by the black mist.
"...I'm sorry. It's all because I'm powerless..."
Emeralda fell to her knees on the spot. She continued using protective magic, but she knew it was completely meaningless.
Still, she didn't stop resisting—not because she believed in some miracle. She simply didn't know what else to do.
(God... where did we go wrong...?)
They had rushed to subjugate Dark Lich, following the warning of Divine Revelation.
As a result, many lives were lost.
(There were even stories that Dark Lich was a monster who didn't kill without reason... If we hadn't attacked first, maybe this wouldn't have happened...)
But it was already too late for regrets.
(...There's no one on this earth who can stop that Dark Lich... Not just the northern lands—maybe the whole world will end... I'm sorry... I'm sorry... I'm sorry...)
Even Emeralda didn't know who she was apologizing to.
She just wanted to apologize to everyone in the world for the great mistake they had made and the crisis they had brought upon it.
(If only... it had erased me too.)
Even so, the black mist avoided Emeralda.
Eventually, as her magic ran out, Emeralda could do nothing but continue to pray to God and repent to the world in the darkness.
* * *
In the plaza of the Holy Capital, a ten-year-old boy and girl were talking.
"Do you think Lily's dad is fighting the bad monster right about now?"
"Yeah. According to the plan, it should be today."
"I see. I hope he defeats it quickly and tells us all about it."
"Ars, you really like my dad, don't you? Do you enjoy hearing about his work that much?"
"Yeah! I mean, Lily's dad is the captain of the Holy Knight Order, right!? That's amazing!"
"...He's just a normal person who's a little strong."
"That's not true! He's amazing!"
"Hmph... Ars, you're always going on about my dad..."
As the two talked, black mist suddenly began to cover Lily's feet.
"Huh? No, what is this?"
Lily moved around trying to escape the mist. But the mist only continued to consume her.
"Lily!?"
"Ars! Help me! My body... it's disappearing!?"
Lily's legs vanished as she was swallowed by the black mist. The mist didn't stop, and as her lower body disappeared, she crawled along the ground.
"Wait! Wait! What is this!? This is wrong! Am I going to die!?"
"Lily! Calm down!"
Ars tried to brush away the black mist with his hands, but it had no effect.
It seemed Lily wasn't the only one being attacked by the black mist. Several people in the plaza and nearby market were also being consumed, screaming in terror.
"Ars! Ars! Help me! No! I don't want to die!"
"Lily!"
Ars tried to save Lily, but he was powerless. Eventually, Lily's entire body vanished from that spot.
The look of despair on Lily's face remained burned in Ars's memory.
"What the hell is going on...?"
Lily disappeared, and Ars was left in despair.
"Lily... Lily... where did you go...?"
They were childhood friends, together since they could remember. Ars had vaguely assumed they'd always be together. Maybe even get married someday.
"...I have to find her. Lily must've just been teleported somewhere..."
Ars ran around the Holy Capital searching for Lily.
In the end, Ars never saw Lily again.
Later, it was discovered that all the parents, siblings, and children of the soldiers, Holy Knights, and adventurers who went to subjugate Dark Lich had disappeared.
The same was true for the towns of Yusef and Rugimano near Grimoire.
And on this day, over forty thousand people vanished from the world.