Back when Romuleus had still not revealed his true appearance.


    I was still assisting the souls ushered by the Dark Spiritualist inside the debate hall.


    “It’s surprising.”


    Watching the souls asleep in Graypond transform into a single spell, Ropelican beside me couldn’t help but gape in astonishment.


    “I-it’s truly surprising.”


    “I never thought that there would ever be a day when I would consider dark magic to be… noble.”


    Since I couldn’t spare any strength to respond, I simply continued my work silently, and the apprentices behind the Archmage showed their agreement in my stead.


    To those who could not see the souls, it probably looked like a continuous stream of blue light was flowing from my hands.


    After I converted the mana the souls contained into magic, those souls started taking action.


    <strong>[We will eliminate those wicked monsters!]</strong><strong>[Give me mes! mes that will burn everything!]</strong>


    asionally, there were souls who asked to be converted into attack magic, but I naturally ignored them.


    After all, the reason I summoned them was not to defeat Mul, but to save people.


    Just conjuring simple magic to transport them was enough.


    While the chaotic process of controlling a considerable number of souls without the aid of Lemegeton, the battle against Mul continued unabated.


    “Hold him back! Don’t let him overpower you!”


    Led by Tyren, the Mage Tribunal Judges surrounded Mul and created a magic dome.


    The tentacles of Mul trapped inside continuously emerged from inside and outside the dome, continuing the power struggle.


    asionally, Mul tried to turn Mage Tribunal Judges into tentacles using his Holy Power.


    However, Ste and Luciapletely seized control of the Holy Power from him.


    Even though he was persistently overwhelmed, Mul focused on controlling the tentacles with his mouth shut.


    “Isn’t this easier than expected?”


    “I was worried because he is a fallen god, but luckily….”


    Ropelican’s apprentices breathed a sigh of relief as they looked at him.


    It also seemed like Ropelican could do nothing else but watch Mul being overwhelmed, and though he remained silent, he kept a close eye on me.


    “It looks like most of the people have finished evacuating.”


    The souls had finished ferrying the audience from the debate hall outside. And numerous souls searched every nook and cranny to ensure no one was left behind. R?


    It had also been a while since the Royal Knight Commander, Gloria, had escorted His Majesty safely.


    “Then Archmage, you should leave this ce as well.”


    “<em>Hmph</em>, are you asking me to just leave them like that?”


    Ropelican said he had no intention to, but I shook my head.


    “The stench has gotten worse.”


    “Huh?”


    “And the ground is gradually shaking.”


    They may have not noticed it in an urgent situation like this, but the ground had been shaking a bit since a while ago.


    It wasn’t an earthquake.


    “That monster will soon reveal himself.”


    As if responding to my words, cracks suddenly formed on the ground, and the walls of the massive debate hall began to copse.


    Fortunately, this ce was like the Colosseum, a structure that had no ceiling; otherwise, it would have ttened us all.


    “That monster?”


    “You will understand once you see it, you will understand.”


    One could only use the word grotesque to describe the body of Romuleus. And rather than trying to borate any further, simply looking at it would make it easier to understand.


    <em>Crack! Crack!</em>


    A sharp and gruesome tooth protruded from the edge of the debate hall.


    And along with it, the ground trembled, heralding the monster’s arrival with an enormous roar.


    As warned, the trembling ground finally began to copse.


    And as the ground copsed, the Mage Tribunal Judges fighting against Mul were unable to continue the battle.


    A massive amount of mana began to vaporize into the wind.


    “Hmmmm.”


    The civilians had already been evacuated, and the bishops, who had nobat ability, had fled long ago.


    All who remained were Lucia, the Mage Tribunal Judges and me.


    However, as if implying that this matter could be easily resolved with just this number of people, Ropelican grasped his staff with both hands. As if the wind had been waiting, he lifted us to the top of the debate hall.


    The moment Mul, who was left alone at the venue, looked this way…


    <em>Graaaah</em>!


    The situation was akin to a shark suddenly leaping out of the sea.


    The colossal monster surged upward and engulfed half of the debate hall in a single bite.


    That was Romuleus.


    From his body, tentacles began to extend violently, reaching towards Graypond.


    The half-copsed debate hall began to tilt and sink as it was.


    <strong>[It is much more gruesome than I expected it to be.]</strong>


    Ste, who flew beside me, was unable to hide her unease as she muttered something.


    As a Saintess who has served God, it was natural for her to show difort, but for some reason, I made a remark.


    “He is not the god you serve.”


    Goddess Hearthia, who presided over the hearth and fire, whom Ste served, and the fallen god Romuleus were clearly different entities.


    Ste was also aware of this, but it still didn’t change the fact that the reason Romuleus was making his move now was because of God’s will.


    <strong>[I think this is all I can do for you.]</strong>


    Ste, who was disappointed, slowly approached me from behind. Seeing Romuleus, not Mul, attacking Graypond, she was certain that the time for the Holy Power had ended.


    <strong>[Now, it’s your turn Velica.]</strong>


    Even though we were floating high in the sky, I didn’t feel the strong wind thanks to Ropelican’s magic.


    However, as Ste disappeared and was reced by the great evil, the air around us changed.


    <strong>[I never thought that I’d live to see the day when I would kill a god!]</strong>


    With horns protruding from her forehead, Velica eximed out loud.


    “You are not alive.”


    <strong>[You bastard, you know how to joke? ]</strong>


    After dismissing my advice to get herself together as nothing more than a joke, Velica guffawed.


    There was no need to ept her into me as I did during our battle with Magan.


    At that time, we used a concept close to possession, but now there was something even more convenient than my body.


    <em>Srrrr</em>.


    Velica’s soul was sucked into my right hand—to be precise, into the prosthetic arm created by Professor Fel Petra.


    The prosthetic arm now felt like a real part of me.


    Once Velica’s soul fused with my arm, it gradually turned dark, as if ck ink was flowing inside it, and soon her mana began to flow into me.


    <strong>[This is such a grotesque method! I love it!]</strong>


    Even if it were me, it was not easy to ept the soul of a Demon Lord into my body at any time.


    And to confirm if the Demon Lord had assumed her position properly, I clenched my right hand and moved it a few times. Before I knew it, I hadnded on the ground.


    Many familiar faces were present in front of the copsed debate hall. Darius and Deia, who had been evacuating people from the spectator seats just moments before, along with King Orpheus, the Royal Knights, and the Royal Knight Commander Gloria were all present.


    “Ugh, my back really hurts when flying in the sky.”


    Ropelican, who had glided through the sky with arge group of people in tow, tapped his waist and grumbled.


    “Deus!”


    “Your Majesty.”


    Pushing aside his Royal Knights who were protecting him, King Orpheus rushed towards me.


    “Thank goodness! It’s truly fortunate! I thought you were swept away!”


    “Your Majesty, I am also here.”


    When the Archmage spoke with a pout unusual for someone of his age, Orpheusughed heartily and ced his hand on the Archmage’s shoulder.


    “I know! I expected that you would have survived, my Archmage.”


    “And I also saved everyone on top of that.”


    “I apologize, but it is not over yet.”


    Seeing that they would have started a drinking party if I let them continue talking, I intervened and calmly informed them about the current situation.


    “Tentacles are still emerging all over Graypond. It seems like that monster surely ns to swallow the capital today.”


    It was difficult to count the number of writhing tentacles under the darkening clouds.


    Buildings copsing, smoke rising, and people screaming all over the city.


    It was truly a grim sight.


    “But thanks to your magic, many lives were saved.”


    Orpheus probably said those words as a warning against being too pessimistic, but it didn’t provide any sense of relief.


    After all, As I just said, nothing had ended.


    <em>Kroooaaaah</em>!


    With an imposing height and stature that seemed to touch the clouds, Romuleus roared. Then, the tentacles hanging from his body stretched out and began descending towards Griffin.


    The Royal Knights and the Mage Tribunal Judges promptly took their positions at the vanguard.


    The most bothersome part of facing that monster was that only weapons of a certain level were effective against it.


    Therefore, the regr kingdom army was practically useless.


    However, facing it with a small group of elites might be even more troublesome and cause far greater damage.


    “Your Majesty, it is dangerous.”


    “I see, I just got too worked up.”


    At the words of Royal Knight Commander Gloria, King Orpheus took a step back.


    “Lucia, you should step back as well.”


    Saintess Lucia, who was ferried by Ropelican’s magic, was also in danger.


    She wore a dark expression; however, she still needed to polish her abilities in this aspect.


    “Think about this calmly. There is nothing you can do right now.”


    She seemed helpless; it was a battle directly rted to the gods, yet she was unable to do anything herself.


    On the contrary, Ste, who recognized that her role here was finished, passed the torch to Velica.


    “It is okay.”


    Lucia bit hard on her lip h, nced at me, nodded slightly, and then stepped back.


    Royal Knight Commander Gloria stood beside me.


    “Do you have a n?”


    “Simple weapons or magic might cause some harm to him, but they will not be enough to deliver an effective blow.”


    To take the life of a fallen god, we would need a mythical weapon like the Holy Grail.


    To be able to sever his throat, we at least needed a weapon of that level.


    “How about my greatsword? It was made with the feathers of a phoenix.”


    Gloria presented her greatsword.


    The de, imbued with a crimson aura and the embedded gemstone, was definitely not an ordinary item.


    “It is impossible even with a treasured sword.”n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    Regardless, our opponent was a fallen god.


    A human-made treasured sword would not be able to rival him.


    “Then, what should we do?”


    Despite my scolding and numerous attempts to chase her away, Deia approached me subtly.


    “<em>Hm</em>, so our family’s treasured sword will not work either?”


    Darius also followed Deia and naturally showed his eagerness to participate in the battle.


    “It is dangerous.”


    “If you’re going to stay here, I’ll stay too.”


    “We are family, aren’t we?”


    “<em>Sigh</em>.”


    I knew that they would reply as such, but hearing it made me feel overwhelmed.


    “Professor!”


    Aria, Findenai, and Luh came running from afar.


    Seeing the people I had t been waiting for finally arrive, I clenched my fist.


    “Let us begin.”


    The dark clouds slowly thickened.


    It seemed like rain was imminent, so it was time to finish this.