Translator: MadHatter Editor: MadHatter

The tail that was being thrust at Pumpkin was imbued with an unimaginable amount of magic power, unlike anything that had been infused into the claws up until this point, and if this were to land on Pumpkin, even with his current defensive capabilities, it would undeniably prove to be a life-threatening blow.

“I knew what you were up to, you see.”

[What!? Gahhh!!?]

Pumpkin, nevertheless, laughed in the face of the assault and calmly dodged, severing the priest’s fully extended tail from the side with the sword in his right hand.

“This is the real finishing blow. [Resonance Spell・Cucumber Blade].”

[Ugh… giahhhh!]

After that, the activation of [Resonance Spell・Cucumber Blade], which had been in preparation since its deactivation by forming a separate arm inside the cloak, Pumpkin slashed at the priest.

Having been wounded, the priest retreated with an unbearable shriek.

As expected, the skin reinforced by the effect of “Dizaskas’” was not in prime condition, and the amount of magic power loaded was low, so the priest lifted both arms to defend himself and a shallow cut was made on the skin of his neck, which was where the [Resonance Spell・Cucumber Blade] was stopped, but even so, the situation will no longer be reversed.

[Why is it! I should have taken you by surprise perfectly by pretending that I took advantage of your provocation! How could you have counterattacked at the perfectly opportune moment!?]

The priest, bleeding profusely from both arms and tail, exclaimed his incomprehension as to why his own attack had been blocked.

“Who’s going to tell you? [Overburst].”

[Gaaahhhh!?]

Against him, Pumpkin flung a knife containing a massive volume of magic power towards his face and detonated it with [Overburst], causing the priest to be thrown back drastically by the force of the explosion.

Well, no matter how you beg me, I am not going to tell you how I figured out your attack. I simply saw the magic power gathering in your tail with my magic vision ability.

To add to that, even now he can see magic power concentrating in the large number of horns growing out of the left side of his head, so Pumpkin attacked him with a throwing knife without approaching him.

He was likely planning to approach and deliver a powerful blow on Pumpkin, who had dropped his guard.

“Even so, he’s still a tough guy… and at this rate it’s doubtful he’ll die even if he has his head chopped off.”

[Ugh…]

While checking [Resonance Spell・Burdock Rapier], which was wearing out its effect time in his hand, Pumpkin peered at the priest.

At first glance, the priest was in a complete state of death. Nevertheless, his eyes still reflected no signs of resignation or despair, nor was there any sense of desperation or hopelessness as he rushed forward.

There must be something he was still aiming for.

Having determined this, Pumpkin checked the rest of the catalyst and readied himself.

[Hah hah… since it has come to this… there’s no way to stop it.]

“?”

The priest’s tone has softened from the abrasiveness of the conflict, and his gaze has shifted to one that suggested a decision was being made.

For some reason, Pumpkin sensed something unpleasant in his eyes…

[Hahaha… It’s a lot different than what I originally planned, but that’s okay.]

“!? No way!?”

[Well, do excuse me for my action!]

“Ugh…”

This was when Pumpkin realized that his eyes were the will and determination to be a sacrifice for what he believed in, and rushed to execute the finishing touch on the priest, but before that could be accomplished, the priest picked up the Fourth Prince’s staff that had fallen on the scaffold and invoked barrier-type magic, rendering it impossible for him to get close.

“What are you going to do!”

[Hahaha. I have already successfully sent the experimental data of ‘Dizaskas’ to the headquarter of the Order, and thanks to the large number of human deaths in the royal city above, we have gathered enough sacrifices for the magic that will be performed from now on. Oh, I truly loathe the fact that this was not the original course of action.]

The priest kept on staring at him with his myriad eyes, flashing a mad smile.

[Yes, originally, I wanted to have the whole body of the God of Destruction descend upon me. However, it is impossible to do so with this skill… so what I have to do now is to make sure that you, a detrimental and indeterminate element for us believers in the God of Destruction, will disappear in the future, and the ensuing chaos will be sufficient to completely obliterate the royal city… Rejoice. You are about on the verge of encountering a glimpse of our master…]

“No way…”

Upon hearing the priest’s words, Pumpkin noticed that he was beginning to perspire, and at the same time, he noticed that the large amount of magical power that existed below him had somehow turned black.

The Fourth Prince’s staff then gradually ascended into the air.

[Now, behold… this is the right hand of our master, the God of Destruction!]

“!?”

With the priest’s words, the Fourth Prince’s staff, which was floating in the air, mercilessly penetrated the priest’s left chest, leading black magic power to erupt from every part of his body. At the same time, the priest was also inundated with magic power from the bottom of the space.

“Hey, hey… are you for real…”

The magic power in this underground space eventually congregated at the location where the priest was, with only a small amount remaining at the bottom. The clustered magic power discharged immense pressure as it converged together like a cocoon.

“[Resonance Spell・Barrier Cherry]! Argh…!?”

When the convergence was over, there was a sense of a warning, and Pumpkin defended himself with the utmost effort. He was driven upward through the wall, which was supposed to be solid, by the shot’s force and power, which seemed to disregard even his utmost defense, and ultimately…

“Gahhhhh!?”

He was propelled through a sizable hole and up to the surface.