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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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Chapter 197
The baptism ended safely.
That must have been the case.
The ice storm surrounding the temple disappeared without a trace, and the mana of the raging Frost Dragon subsided.
And above all, Cuculli was standing in front of me.
But….
‘What’s going on?’
Something was strange.
I met the one who was staring at me intently.
‘Aside from the fact that the baptism ended unusually quickly….’
… Cuculli’s appearance hadn’t changed much from before.
Long, smooth azure hair, eyes like pure white skin… The only noticeable change was the elongated horns.
The horn on the forehead, which was only a finger long, had grown nearly 30cm longer, emitting a beautiful glow, but… that was it.
‘…Why is it different from Dorempa?’
He, who showed an exceptional affinity for the power of the Frost Dragon, had even transformed his appearance to resemble a dragon.
The scales that covered half of his body and the majestic wings were firmly in place in my memory.
It was a tremendous change from before the baptism.
However, there was no trace of that ‘dragon’ in Cuculli.
Was the baptism properly completed?
Or perhaps her nature lagged behind, undergoing no change at all.
I shook my head quickly.
‘…That can’t be.’
Dorempa said Cuculli was more suitable for the baptism than anyone else.
Instantly, my mind was filled with doubt.
I momentarily forgot that the forces of the Demon army were still nearby and asked the question.
“Cuculli.”
“Yes.”
“…What’s with that appearance? Was the baptism interrupted halfway?”
“Uh…”
Cuculli seemed to be struggling to answer for a moment.
Even her small buds were not focused on her lips for a moment.
She finally spoke up.
“Well.”
“Yes.”
“I guess… I received a complete baptism… I swear, I didn’t know I was this good. Really.”
There was no time to think about the meaning of a complete baptism.
A much bigger question was popping up in real-time.
I looked at Cuculli in astonishment.
‘What…?’
…Why is she pouting?
No, let me correct that.
How could she pout?
The smirk creeping into one of her indifferent… no, masked eyes was undeniably mischievous.
There was no mistaking it.
“Hehe.”
Cuculli’s characteristic innocent and clean laughter followed.
I could only mutter in disbelief, forgetting my demeanor as a teacher.
“How…?”
How should I express this feeling?
The momentary emotion was extremely intense and astonishing.
A feeling of rediscovering a precious treasure thought to have been lost forever?
The feeling of meeting a friend whom I thought I would never see again?
No, it was hard to describe it in any words.
A mixture of incredible joy and relief welled up from the depths of my heart.
“Hehehe, Professor.”
Cuculli tilted her head slightly and leaned her forehead against my chest.
Even though there would be blood from the demons all around, there was no sign of discomfort.
She placed her hand on top of that small head.
Although the baptism may not have taken much from Cuculli, the value of the suffering and sadness she had experienced did not disappear.
Cuculli was willing to sacrifice herself for everyone, and I was incredibly, incredibly proud of her.
He whispered softly.
“I missed you. And…”
Her azure eyes scanned from where we stood in front of the temple to the coast.
The last place his gaze fell was on my battered body.
“Thank you. For protecting me. For believing in me.”
Thud thud thud-
It was then that the remnants of the Demonic Church began to gather again.
Cuculli got up with a grin.
Her cheerful voice echoed through the snowy plains.
“I’ll explain later why things turned out like this! Skip it for now! The situation is urgent!”
I agreed.
I nodded my head and spoke.
“We don’t need to deal with those guys anymore.”
“What? But if we leave them alone, our village…”
Cuculli glanced at the sea, looking towards where my hand pointed.
“Wow… You’ve prepared thoroughly, huh?”
Under the moonlight.
Dozens of ships were crossing the sea, coming closer.
Each one was carrying elite troops.
Whether they had discovered the iceberg or not, they unfurled their sails and increased their speed.
“It may be a little late, but… They’re not too late.”
If the Demon army was at full strength, they would have been difficult to deal with.
But now, the remaining forces on the iceberg should be enough to counter them.
I rose to my feet, clutching onto a glimmer of hope.
It was time to break through the encirclement.
“Cuculli.”
“Yes!”
Her smugness and cheerfulness were oddly comforting.
I smiled faintly and spoke.
“We…”
“Yes!”
“Let’s do our part.”
It was time to go rescue the children.
* * *
Meanwhile, the children were facing despair on the sea.
“They’re coming.”
“Oh my goodness, what is that…?”
Keaaaak-!
With a scream-like roar, Myrmat charged towards the ship.
Although the ship was moving at maximum speed, being caught up was only a matter of moments.
Flutter-
With each flap of its wings, the creature drew closer.
The children, seeing the Demonic Church Leader’s entourage on its back, clenched their lips tightly.
“Fire!”
“Don’t let it get any closer!”
“All non-combatants hide inside the ship! Quickly!”
Amidst the shouts on the deck, all the firepower of the ship concentrated on the creature in an instant.
Kwaaang!
The charged magical cannons also erupted in flames.
“Blades of the wind!”
“A storm beyond comprehension!”
“Gravity Hand! Drag the creature into the depths!”
The recovered mages unleashed a barrage of spells to stop the creature.
Karen and Evergreen also held onto the railing until the last moment.
Ssuaaaack-
Countless projectiles formed a barrier, intercepting the creature’s flight path, presenting a dense and powerful assault that could easily bring down any flying demon.
However…
“Is, is that even possible?”
“It’s unbelievable…”
A volley of shots towards the predicted path.
It was a strategic move against flying demons, but against Myrmat, it was a fatal mistake.
One mage muttered in despair.
“A hovering flight…”
Myrmat’s wings superficially resembled those of a bird.
However, in reality, they were highly flexible and had a highly differentiated structure like that of an insect.
Parrurur-
Hidden auxiliary wings moved at strange angles with each attack, creating strong resistance…
Ssuaaaack-
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[Translator – Night]
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The creature displayed incredible aerial maneuvers, breaking through the barrage.
It was the majesty of the Demonic Church Leader’s decisive weapon.
Charruk-
Leciel, desperate, transformed the Shape Shifter into the form of a giant sword to strike at the approaching creature, but…
“It’s too late! Dodge first!”
Ban snatched her by the scruff of the neck and launched her body away.
Preparing for the impending impact, the children huddled down.
Immediately after—
Kwaaaaaang!
Myrmat crashed onto the deck, smashing it halfway.
Structures reinforced with magic-enhanced claws like hooks also crumpled like paper.
Fragments soared higher than the crest of the waves.
Kiiiiiiik-
Some parts of the shaking hull lost balance and were sucked into the sea in the next moment.
“Father!”
Lucas desperately held onto Duke Wellington’s wrist slipping outside the railing.
At the same time, with his other hand, he grabbed onto a destroyed deck structure to anchor himself.
Various heavy equipment laid on the deck passed by them with terrifying destructive force.
It was a perilous situation where they could both fall into the sea if they weren’t careful.
The Duke shouted fiercely.
“Lucas, let go!”
“No, I won’t!”
“Let go, you disobedient child!”
“I can’t hear you!”
“This unfilial… huh?”
Clank-
Suddenly, a hand emerged, grabbing the Duke and pulling him up onto the deck.
“…This posture seems oddly familiar.”
“You, you…”
It was Luke, who should have been receiving medical attention.
Taking advantage of the medical staff’s retreat to the deck, he managed to outmaneuver them and climb up onto the deck.
“Hey, you crazy bastard!”
It was the moment when the children spotted him and exclaimed.
Kwaaang!
Once again, a strong vibration swept through the ship.
It was Kalende’s doing.
The Blade of Severance was swinging towards the sides and rear of the ship.
Ka-ga-kang-!
The barrel of the side magical cannon shattered instantly and fell into the water.
The engines at the rear suffered the same fate.
The severed magic circuits triggered a chain of explosions, causing the hull to sway heavily again.
The sound of Kalende murmuring softly.
“…You all.”
The Blade of Severance swung back immediately, aiming towards the gathered mages.
Shwaaaack-
Barriers tore apart like tissue paper along with the spellcasters.
“Aaah!”
The seawater splashing on the deck turned crimson.
“You’ve messed up.”
The children noticed that something was off about Kalende.
Through the gap in her dry face and flowing white hair, her red eyes gleamed ferociously.
The distorted face, like a demon’s, was directed towards the distant sky.
As if finding the current situation unbelievable, her head moved rapidly from side to side.
‘The baptism…’
Kalende’s breath became rough.
‘The baptism is over.’
In other words, Malekia’s mission was not completed.
The price would be severe.
A terrible sense of dread overwhelmed Kalende.
And that emotion morphed into anger and exploded.
Kwagagagak-!
“How dare you! How dare you!”
The knights of Wellington rushing to subdue were mercilessly slaughtered.
The Blade of Severance swept across the deck, sparing no one.
Kalende trembled as he thought.
‘Given the situation, there’s no other choice.’
We must do what we can for now.
She doesn’t know exactly how the baptism is conducted.
But the ritual of absorbing the tremendous power of the Frost Dragon is unlikely to end without any side effects.
The current state of the baptizee is likely far from stable.
‘Much weaker than Dorempa.’
We can’t afford to miss this opportunity.
Therefore, we must pursue and kill Cuculli before she adapts to her power.
Kalende made up her mind.
‘To do that, I must deal with these pests first.’
The culprits who ruined all these plans.
Leaving them alone could lead to unknown consequences.
It would be wise to deal with them when we have the chance.
Kwagak-
After sending the Blade of Severance flying a few more times.
Kalende ascended back onto Myrmat.
‘It would be best to split the ship in half.’
Now the chance of survival from her attacks was zero.
The ship had become useless.
With the magical engines destroyed and the mages and magical cannons to restrict flight cleared.
The sky was now entirely her domain.
Kalende’s breath became rough.
“I’ll make you pay the price.”
Watching them die in the dark night sea, she would mock them.
“It’s over, fools.”
…It was the moment when Myrmat raised its head high and soared into the sky.
.
.
.
Kwuuuuuu-
The faint moonlight glanced off an unidentified flying object soaring through the massive clouds.
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HEL SCANS
[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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