"…Please win, Momon-sama."
Evileye clasped her hands together in fervent prayer, hoping that her knight would triumph over the fearsome devil before her.
Whoosh! Jaldabaoth was blown a good distance away, with a sound that didn't seem like it could have come from a body of flesh and blood. Though he remained on his feet, he was still skidding over the cobblestoned floor at a rate that would swiftly wear out the soles of his shoes. After several dozen meters, he finally came to a halt, and dusted himself off.
"Truly spectacular. Crossing blows with a genius warrior like yourself might have been a mistake on my part."
With a great wham, Momon stabbed his sword deep into the stone beneath him, and used his free hand to pluck a chunk of stone from his head, before answering plainly.
"Enough with the pleasantries. You're hiding your power too, aren't you?"
It seemed almost unbelievable that neither party was going all-out despite the scope of this battle.
The offspring of the beings known as "Players" were people who might awaken incredible power from within themselves. The Slane Theocracy called these people demigods. Or, more precisely, they were the ones who carried the bloodline of the Six Gods within their veins. If they had the blood of others, they would be termed differently.
It seemed very likely that this Momon was of the bloodline of a “Player”. Or rather, it would be better to say that no human could have possessed such power.
"My my, it seems I couldn’t hide it from you after all. As expected of the one called Momon."
"Indeed, Jaldabaoth, my name is Momon after all."
"Very well, then. Here I come. 「Aspect of the Deviclass="underline" Tentacle Wings」."
Wings sprouted from Jaldabaoth's back, but the feathers covering them were abnormally long, evoking the appearance of tentacles. He spoke evenly to Momon, who remained on his guard.
"You are strong. There is no doubt that your might exceeds my own. Though it is not exactly to my tastes, permit me the use of this method. While your own defense is formidable, can the same be said of the small fry behind you? How will you deal with that, then? Perhaps you should focus on defending her, no?"
With that, he cast forth a hail of feathers. Their tips were razor-sharp, capable of slicing cleanly through muscle and bone.
Evileye was defenseless in the face of this onslaught. She had no more mana to cast ‘Crystal Wall’. All she could do was wait and hope for a miracle.
But as it turned out, Evileye had been underestimating the dark warrior.
As the sound of metal rang out, Evileye looked up, and saw a stout shield standing before her.
The shattered remains of the feathers were scattered everywhere. Even though they were capable of shredding a human being to pieces, it was still a beautiful sight.
"It's good that you're all right."
That man's calm voice. His arm, swinging his sword at incredible speed. His breathing was measured and his tone was calm, even as he furiously deflected the feathers coming at them.
"Ah… ah… Ah! Your shoulder! Are you okay?"
Momon's pauldron had a feather stuck in it. Because it had been cloven in half mid-flight, it had lost its penetrating power. It looked like a decoration on his armor.
"That's nothing. Attacks of this level aren't even worthy of consideration. Rather, I am glad that you're all right."
He chuckled.
Evileye felt her heart lurch with a badump. Her face was hot under her mask, which felt like it was going to scald her.
"Marvellous! For defending her without letting her sustain so much as a scratch, I, Jaldabaoth, offer you my heartiest congratulations. Truly, a marvellous display."
"Like I said, enough with the pleasantries. Tell me, Jaldabaoth, why are you pulling away?"
With that, Momon scooped up Evileye in one arm and hugged her close to him.
"!"
Her unmoving heart felt like it was going to burst from her mouth. In her mind, the stupid stories of the stupid bards kept pounding through her brain, over and over again. Especially the ones where the knight carried the princess while doing battle. Any sensible person would realize that carrying a burden while fighting a strong enemy was nothing but foolishness.
But—
Evileye's heart fell. She imagined she was a princess being carried aloft, but the truth was…
"This is…"
She was being carried like a sack of potatoes under his arm. Although, that was actually the best way to do it. Compared to a mature adult woman, Evileye was small and light. In order to maintain his center of gravity, it made perfect sense for Momon to carry her like this.
She knew she had no grounds to complain, and her heart still burned with the anger of seeing her companions murdered. She knew full well this wasn't the time for such foolishness. Even so, there was no way to fully quell the unhappiness inside her heart.
Maybe if she had hugged him of her own accord, it might have made things easier for him. But she wasn't confident she could hang on to him by herself if he chose to fight at those breakneck speeds again, so she kept quiet.
Evileye once again watched the battle unfolding between Momon and Jaldabaoth. The distance between the two of them had widened further than before, but for the top-class warrior and the super-class demon, it seemed little more than an extra step for both of them.
"Then, shall we continue?"
"No, I believe that will be all for now. Like I said earlier, my objective is not to defeat you. Now, we will turn part of the capital into a purgatory. Once we have established the breach, rest assured that I shall certainly send you to the underworld atop a pyre of infernal flame."
With that, Jaldabaoth turned and vanished. His movements didn’t seem hurried, but in moments the distance between them had lengthened, and he faded into the night.
"No. No, this is not good, Momon-sama, if we don't pursue him—"
As Jaldabaoth vanished from sight, Evileye was starting to panic, but Momon shook his head.
"I can't do that. He was retreating in order to carry out his plan. If I pursued him, he would fight with his full power. And if he did that…"
Momon didn't have to finish the sentence for Evileye to understand.
If he gets serious, you'll get caught in his attacks and die. Something to that effect. But even if they stayed put, that despicable fiend would surely use attacks that would hit Evileye anyway.
The fact that Momon was defending Evileye proved that Evileye had value as a hostage.
She hated herself, who couldn’t assist Momon, who was protecting her, and the fact that she was nothing but a burden to him. To think she'd said such high-sounding things to Climb.
"Then, Nabe. What do you think we should do?"
In response, a woman descended slowly from the sky. The dark hero Momon's team included the magic caster known as the Beautiful Princess. At the time, Evileye had laughed at the vanity of such a nickname, but now, with the real person in front of her, she found herself holding her breath.
She was too beautiful. A foreigner… with looks like that, she must have come from the south. Evileye kept watching her, unable to look away.
"Momon-sa— san. Why don't we head to the residence of the nobleman who hired us, as originally planned?"
"Should we ignore Jaldabaoth? Isn't stopping that fellow's plans the whole reason why I'm here?"
"Perhaps, but we should still obtain the permission of the client. That seems most important."
"— That is true."
"In light of that, I suggest tossing that oversized mosquito aside."
"Hm? Ah, forgive me, I was worried you might have been hit by that attack just now."