My transformation into a beautiful girl started with a hemorrhage.

The surrounding knights and great knights showed no regard for chivalry and attacked simultaneously from the sides and rear.

They were aware of the weaknesses of this magical weapon, and several of them even carried such weapons, though of course, their power was far inferior to Kouta's.

Moreover, their greatest source of confidence is that they believe Kouta's strength is entirely due to the demonic sword in his hand.

Without that sword, he was no ordinary knight.

That's why they dared to take action.

His Majesty the King, the Queen, and the other nobles had already fled far away when the Knights made their move.

Seiichi Shimogaki was still caught in self-doubt.

Kouta was attacked from all four directions, front, back, left, and right, leaving him with nowhere to hide or escape.

however,

He had no intention of dodging, but instead... slowly raised the sword of victory of the contract.

A sword woven from light, radiating golden brilliance, shot skyward, tearing through the pitch-black night. Everyone in the capital felt as if daytime had arrived in an instant. They all looked up and saw the golden pillar of light soaring into the sky from the palace, dazzling and magnificent…

However, beneath this beautiful light lay an extremely terrifying destructive force. As Kouta slashed, the golden beam of light seemed to topple over, shattering all laws, and with unstoppable force, instantly engulfed everything in front of it.

Light!

All I could see was endless radiance, as if I had entered a world of light.

This is the scene that Cretia is seeing now.

She had lost all her previous arrogance and domineering manner; fear was now evident on her delicate face as she realized she couldn't dodge. The range of the golden light was far greater than the beam of light from before—it was like comparing heaven and earth.

My field of vision was filled with golden light, as if I had suddenly entered an ocean of light, unable to distinguish directions or see anything else.

Just as she was about to be engulfed by the light, the exquisite silver bracelet on her wrist burst forth with dazzling colors.

A white light, completely different from the golden radiance, appeared, forming an arc-shaped protective shield that enveloped her.

Sizzle~~

The golden and white light collided, like a white rock emerging from a sea of ​​golden light. However, although the rock was strong, the golden ocean was endless, and gradually, the rock began to crumble.

Finally, after a few seconds, the protective shield began to creak and crack, which continued to widen until it shattered into pieces of light. At the same time, the silver bracelet broke into fragments and fell to the ground.

boom--!!

With a tremendous roar, the radiance of the holy sword finally fell. This strike was like a celestial river pouring down and the ocean overflowing, engulfing everything in front of Geng Tai in its light.

Kōta didn't hold back in this attack. Hui had already said that there was no need to worry about magic, so there was no need to worry then.

Cretia's face turned pale. She never expected that the defense of the sacred artifact would only last for a few breaths. Just what level of treasure was the sword in the opponent's hand?

Unfortunately, she had no time to think. Her skin sizzled and burned from the intense heat, and her subcutaneous tissue, blood, soft tissue, and nerves throughout her body began to scream in agony…

"I...I'm going to die!" This was the only thought in Kretia's mind.

Her mind was flooded with memories... From the time she could remember as a child, she was told she was a saintess, forbidden to have emotions, and must always remain indifferent, like a tool... Until she met the hero, she was treated like a young girl for the first time... Every little thing she did with the hero...

"No, I can't die yet! What will happen to the hero if I die?" Cretia turned her gaze to the hero who hadn't yet recovered, her eyes filled with a resolute determination to sacrifice.

"Supreme God of Light in the divine realm, I pray to you, I beg you, I offer my soul as a sacrifice in exchange for your mercy, and through your great power, protect the hero! Holy Incantation—Guardian Spirit!"

After Kretia finished chanting, her eyes suddenly dimmed, as if she had lost her soul. Her delicate body turned to ashes in the brilliance of the holy sword, leaving only a severed hand blown away by the shockwave.

However, her sacrifice was not in vain. The Saint-level magic, [Guardian Spirit], was applied to the hero, making his presence unselectable for a moment.

The trajectory of the holy sword was deflected by a strange force, and it struck Shimogaki Seiichi instead.

boom--!!

A golden light swept across the land and lingered for a long time.

a long time,

As the light faded, the entire scene had completely changed. With Kouta as the origin, everything in front of him was erased, leaving behind a massive crack that stretched for thousands of meters and seemed to have no end.

Looking down from the sky, the sight was jaw-dropping: the entire capital city of Saint Valerius had been cleaved in two, a bottomless, massive chasm etched deep into the earth. Whether it was the imperial city, the inner city, the outer city, or the slums, everything was treated the same at this moment. On both sides of the chasm, there were neat rows of ruins, countless houses half-buried, half-undamaged...

hiss~~

Above the crack, plumes of scorching white smoke rose slowly, and the ground near the crack also showed signs of splitting apart and collapsing.

Broken concrete blocks were scattered everywhere. The people in the square, flowerbeds, and lawns had all vanished without a trace. On both sides of the ditch, there were some survivors wailing in pain.

"Ouch~, that hurts, that hurts!"

"Help! Help me, I have money..."

"My feet, my feet..."

"Dad~"

The air was thick with the stench of blood and burning flesh. A large number of guests who had not managed to escape were caught in the crossfire, lying on the ground and wailing pitifully. Their heart-wrenching cries were deafening and echoed throughout the area.

Those who could attend the banquet were all pampered and wealthy people who would seek out a specialist to treat even a minor scratch on their finger or scalp. How could they possibly endure the excruciating pain of having their limbs or bones broken?

Those who survived could no longer remain as nonchalant as before; they now truly understood that... people really could die!

Of the fifty-odd Imperial Guard Knights, only a third survived, and those who did were still in shock.

Although their plan to ambush from behind and from the left and right was clever, the holy sword struck down with immense power, landing directly on them.

Moreover, they were horrified to discover that their strong physiques and sturdy armor were utterly ineffective against the attack of that light, crumbling at the slightest touch, like snow melting instantly when exposed to the sun.

Fortunately, they dodged in time, otherwise they would have ended up like their colleagues, with not even bones left.

After that attack.

No one dared to ignore Kouta's figure anymore.

The power of this attack shocked everyone. They had never seen such power before. Even the Sky Knights did not possess such terrifying destructive power that could destroy a city in a single blow.

They looked at Kouta as if they were seeing a demon.

Cretia's severed hand, reeking of burning, fell from the sky and slammed into Seiichi Shimogaki's head.

The severed limbs were steaming, but because there were no oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, or other spices to season them, they didn't smell good at all. Instead, they smelled like a mixture of fishy, ​​burnt, and burning leather.

The intense smell and scalding heat jolted Shimogaki Seiichi awake from his daze.

"It's so hot! It smells terrible! What is this?"

He swung his hands, shoving the disgusting severed arm away and sending it flying into the bottomless crevice beside him.

"Hero, calm down, it's alright, it's alright." The older sister-like beautiful girl, Catherine, quickly comforted Kaki Seiichi.

The other three women also realized what was happening and quickly came over to comfort the hero.

As for Cressia, who died, she's dead. Although they used to be best friends, the friendship between girls is often just a facade.

Where girls gather, there's bound to be a lot of gossip, especially since they're vying for a man's affections!

That truly means there's not even the last shred of the plastic sisterhood left.

Beneath the surface of peace, they engaged in sarcasm, intrigue, and deception. They may not have seen the tactics of palace intrigue before, but they had mastered them without any instruction, employing them against their opponents.

Now that Cressia is dead, they are secretly overjoyed.

They weren't like this before; after all, they were born into nobility and had their own pride and refinement.

However, "love" is not a physical entity and cannot be equally divided. Some girls will inevitably have more love, while others will have less. The girls with less love will inevitably compete for more love.

Thus, after vying for the favor of other women during this period, their elegance and refinement were constantly discarded, while their jealousy and ruthlessness were amplified, because only in this way could they gain more of the hero's love, at least more than the others.

If you don't compete or fight, you'll become the one the hero ignores.

Shimogaki Seiichi was completely unaware of this, and he genuinely believed that the five women had a very good relationship.

Chapter 515 Encirclement and Suppression

The air was thick with heat; it felt like summer even though it was springtime.

The lingering heat of the sword of victory from the contract had not yet dissipated.

Surrounded by the comforting words of the women around him, Shimogaki Seiichi gradually cheered up.

He looked around at the beautiful, worried faces, then reached out and gently stroked each of the four women's hands, a warm smile spreading across his face.

“Sylvia, Quintina, Aishia, Catherine, I’m sorry to have worried you. I’m fine now.”

"Hmm~" The aloof and cold-tempered Siviria nodded indifferently. Her expression seemed blank, but her worried eyes revealed that she was not at peace inside.

The alluring red-haired beauty Quintina grabbed Shimogaki Seiichi's hand and placed it on her large breasts: "Seiichi, I'm so glad you're alright!"

The haughty twin-tailed girl, Aisha, turned her head away with feigned disdain: "Hmph, who's worried about you?"

The mature, blue-haired beauty, Catherine, smiled like an older sister: "Seiichi, we believe in you!"

Shimogaki Seiichi nodded to the four women, then suddenly asked, "By the way, where is Clementia?"

Only then did he realize that the beautiful silver-haired girl had disappeared.

The four women exchanged glances and stammered. In the end, the mature and elegant blue-haired beauty, Catherine, took the blame: "Lord Cheng, Kretia died protecting you. Her remains... were never even left..."

"What?!" Shimogaki Seiichi exclaimed in disbelief. "Kretia is dead? You're not lying to me?"

Catherine nodded with difficulty: "I'm telling the truth."

Shimogaki Seiichi then looked at the other three women, who also lowered their heads, indicating that Catherine was right.

Shimogaki Seiichi felt a sudden relaxation wash over him, almost collapsing to the ground.

A deep sense of self-reproach and a hint of fear welled up within him.

He was just a high school student who had lived in a peaceful society since childhood. He had never seen a dead person, let alone a dead cat, a dead bird, or a dead dog.

When he was in elementary school, he always thought that meat grew in supermarkets. Even when he went to junior high school and learned that meat came from slaughtered animals, he still thought that death was far away from him.

But now,

The cruel truth of the world, deliberately ignored, was laid bare before him: a living life was gone... gone forever... no resurrection... no accident... it was that stark and real...

"Seiichi, don't blame yourself. I'm sure Kretia wouldn't want to see you like this if she were alive!" The voice didn't belong to any of the four women, but to Christine. She appeared out of nowhere and hugged Shimogaki Seiichi tightly from behind.

She was only wearing the cloak that Seiichi had given her, so she was completely naked underneath the cloak.

And she was not ashamed at all, so she openly and generously displayed her body.