Summoning the Holy Sword

“Don’t touch me!”

The angel flapped her wings and burst into the sky, pushing Lize away with a powerful gust of wind. Although Lize was determined to end the battle, she knew that she was powerless on the surface. If the Wheel of Fate didn’t constrain spiritual powers, she wouldn’t have any issues dealing with Battle Angels even as a Cleric. But now, despite her half-angel bloodline, she was helpless in this situation. She placed her fists by her chest and jumped back to dodge a blade ray that struck from above.

“How... How dare you do this!”

The angel revealed a fuming expression with widened eyes glaring at Lize. The latter didn’t know why the former was so furious but she wasn’t in the mood to be concerned about her feelings. Because it was apparent that her enemy self had become serious.

“I will not lose. I want to win and bring Mr. Rhode back to my side! No one will stop me!”

This is getting troublesome...

Lize thought she could seize the chance to defeat the enemy when she was belittling her, but she missed the chance to deal the fatal blow. Lize gnashed her teeth and clenched her fists tightly while maintaining her calm expression. Her ‘master’ Mini Bubble Gum told her: “You shouldn’t reveal an expression that will leave the opponent feeling proud and arrogant. If you behave nervously, you will become really nervous. So you need to treat all enemies as ants. No, as lowly cockroaches! Mock them. Ridicule them. Infuriate them. Then, defeat them! Make those idiots die in their anger and delete their accounts forever!”

Although Lize didn’t understand what the final statement meant, she knew that all in all, she shouldn’t display her uncertain emotions as they would be a weakness for the enemy to exploit.

The angel launched her attacks which were much quicker this time, so quick that Lize barely resisted them. Lize was currently clad in thin leather armor, but after a few exchanges, there were obvious signs of damage on it. Even though she wasn’t hurt, she knew that she would be in huge trouble if this continued.

At this moment, she felt a breeze on her ear and heard Anne’s voice.

“Lize, how is it?”

“Anne?”

Lize was astonished. She subconsciously swept a glance to the side but couldn’t find where Anne was.

“Anne is having a hard time; this opponent is so hard to deal with. Anne came up with a great plan after hearing the angel’s words. Can you handle it, Lize? If you can’t handle it, you can come closer to Anne and follow the plan. Anne thinks it will work out fine.”

“Plan?”

Lize was surprised. In fact, she wouldn’t be hesitant if it were Marlene who suggested a plan. On the contrary, it was an entirely different matter since it was Anne’s plan. Perhaps after spending plenty of time in battle with Anne, it could be said that Lize understood Anne more than Rhode and Marlene did. Although Anne’s battle instincts were much greater than hers and Marlene’s, Anne often came up with strange ideas which frightened the Clerics and her. Even though the results usually turned out well, her random ideas just couldn’t convince her fully and all she wished for was to fulfill her duties as safely as possible.

But it was a pity that her wish didn’t come true.

... What plan does Anne have in her mind?

Blade rays erupted, but this time Lize didn’t dare to brace them. She sensed an unprecedented murderous intent from the menacing blade and also a powerful force behind it.

I have no other choices now. I can only give it a shot!

Lize dodged the brandishing blade and cautiously drew a distance apart from the enemy, at the same time moving closer to Anne. According to Mini Bubble Gum’s teachings, the most important element in battle was to not let the enemy see through her movements. If the angel did see through her movements, it would be easy for her to stop Lize. So then...

Even though Lize kept this in mind, it was impossible to communicate her thoughts to Anne as a human.

“Lize. Hurry up. Anne can’t hang on anymore!”

Anne’s yell resounded in the empty plaza that was filled with the clash of blades. Not only did this leave Lize anxious, but the others in battle also turned around. Then, they witnessed a burst of whirlwind that flung Anne out of it, and she coincidentally landed beside Rhode. At this moment, the berserker wielding two large swords darted out of the dusty whirlwind and headed for Rhode. The two red swords were like the fangs of a wild beast.

“Mr. Rhode!”

Lize shrieked in horror, but at the same time she heard the exact same voice from above.

“You! What are you trying to do to Mr. Rhode!”

The angel soared across the sky and brandished her sword to envelope the berserker in blazing silver flames. But shortly after, a strong red whirlwind erupted and dispersed the flames, and she walked out unharmed. This time, she focused her attention to the angel.

“I won’t allow you to harm Mr. Rhode! Mr. Rhode belongs to me!”

The angel pointed her sword at the berserker, her eyes glinting with unprecedented wrath.

“Mr. Rhode is mine. I will never allow any women to lay their hands on him!”

“... Target... Eliminate... Obstacle...”

The berserker growled and raised the two huge swords. The angel sulked.

“Alright then. How about this? I will kill all of you and bring Mr. Rhode back for myself!”

What’s this situation?

Lize gazed blankly at the commotion. After a few moments, she hurriedly ran up to Rhode and Anne.

“This...”

Rhode was also surprised as he didn’t expect that the enemies would be caught up in an internal strife. The other Rhode standing before him yelled in resentment.

“What are you two doing! Stop what you’re doing and kill them! Don’t forget your mission!”

However, both the angel and berserker ignored his words as the scarlet whirlwind and silver flames continued to clash. On the other side, the Magic Swordsman who was in battle with Marlene grumbled.

“How dare you order me? Who do you think you are? Why would I listen to the command of a foolish man!”

The Magic Swordsman deflected Marlene’s attack and retorted in an ice-cold voice. Then, she brandished her sword and once again focused her attention on the fight with her other self.

Unlike Lize and Anne, the battle between Marlene and her other self was oddly tough. Although Marlene’s swordsmanship had improved tremendously under Lize’s guidance, she still couldn’t face her other self as Lize did with hers. Most importantly...

Clang!

The Magic Swordsman unleashed a graceful arc with her scarlet blade which crashed onto Marlene’s blade. The latter felt the powerful force on her trembling sword and took a step back. Then, she held her sword before her to defend herself.

“What are you waiting for?!” The enemy Marlene glared fiercely. She dodged Marlene’s attack and struck forth with her blade once more. “Could it be that you’re still waiting for that man, hoping that he’ll rescue you?! Stop dreaming! Men are all the same! He only treats you well because you’re useful to him. Once he’s done using you, he’ll abandon you without any hesitation! Why? Why must my other self fight for a man!”

“Although I don’t know what you’ve been through...”

Marlene avoided the lethal blade. She gnashed her teeth and slashed her sword.

“... I’m not like you!”

“Rubbish!”

The Magic Swordsman lifted her sword and negated Marlene’s slash. “How are we different? No matter in which world, men are always the same! You’ve been duped! All men are animals!”

The Magic Swordsman burst forward at an incredible speed and left a scarlet trail of afterimages. She slashed her sword at Marlene’s neck, but failed to realize that Marlene had become oddly calm and sheathed her sword. Marlene clutched the sword hilt and as soon as the enemy arrived before her, she unsheathed her sword in an exploding force.

“———!”

The dazzling scarlet radiance streaked in a perfect arc. Although the blade ray seemed incredibly slow, it was filled with unprecedented force. The Magic Swordsman instantly felt that her blade was slowed down by a physical presence!

“This is...”

The Magic Swordsman widened her eyes in astonishment, but it was too late.

In the blink of an eye, the powerful presence deflected her sword as it flew off her hand. Then, Marlene flicked her wrist and smashed the hilt into the enemy’s face. The immense pain left the enemy squealing in pain, but Marlene was unconcerned. She stooped over and slashed her sword when suddenly, she struck two flying daggers and the Magic Swordsman swiftly drew a distance between them. Blood was flowing from her face and it looked pretty terrifying.

“It seems like you’re quite good... Who taught you that?”

The enemy Marlene glared at her other self and said softly. Then, she let out a chuckle and shook her head.

“Whatever. I didn’t expect that I would be injured by my other pampered self who has an affair with a man. I thought I could easily defeat you, but it seems like it isn’t that easy.”

The enemy Marlene raised her sword. But this time, she held the sword hilt with both hands and pointed the sword at Marlene.

“It’s a pity... Because you could have died a painless death.”

Then, she said.

How is this even possible?

Rhode felt astonished by the sudden turn of events in this BOSS battle.

He swept a glance at Anne—he also received communications from her just like Lize. But unlike Lize, Rhode trusted Anne’s battle instincts more. Therefore, he quickly made a decision despite being surprised that Anne would use such a method to end the battle.

At this moment, Anne had crawled to her feet. Currently, the toughest opponent, the berserker, was lashing out with the angel while the annoying, man-hating mercenary queen ignored commands from the other ‘Rhode’. Since this was the case...

“Anne, Lize, work with me to take down this guy!”

“Yes, Leader!”

“Yes, Mr. Rhode!”

Anne’s and Lize’s eyes glinted. Then, they launched their attacks at the enemy from the left and right!

“Tsk! How unlucky!”

The enemy Rhode cursed in disdain. In the battle with his other self, he couldn’t figure out the strange sword skills. He thought that he could gather some information during their battle at first, but he didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, the situation turned from a one-versus-one to a three-versus-one. The enemy Rhode stared at the two young ladies coming for him. Then, he slashed his black sword at Lize—perhaps to him, the young lady with bare hands and clad in thin armor was much easier to deal with than Anne with the enormous shield.

But he didn’t expect that the instant he slashed his blade, three fuzzy shadows emerged before him and brandished their swords. Clang! Clang! Clang! Their blades stopped his black sword while Lize picked up speed and hurled a punch at him.

The battle continued.