Volume 3 Chapter 78: Breakthrough

The Sacred Heavens, Lumelherc—within the Floating City, Pharmament, Sierra Arlens had stepped inside, her eyes widening in utter shock.

“……”

As a member of the Witch Hunters, she was left speechless, cold sweat trickling down her face as she took in the scene before her.

What overwhelmed her was not the unique architecture of the floating city.

It was the dozen or so mechanical soldiers surrounding Sierra and her companions as they landed on a narrow passageway.

“Defilers who dare to sully this sacred ground with your filthy presence, do not think mercy will be granted to you any longer.”

“Oh, come on… how many of these bastards are there?”

One of the mechanical soldiers spoke in a monotone voice. Perched on Sierra’s back, Alice muttered, sweat dripping from her forehead.

Her voice lacked any semblance of confidence. She was in the middle of creating a magical device, but it was still incomplete, leaving her almost defenseless.

However, Alice wasn’t the only one feeling the pressure. Fiona, Noel Sialsa, and Sierra were in the same situation.

Even the three mechanical soldiers they had encountered outside had been formidable. Among them, one exceptional unit had been deemed by Sierra as too strong for her to handle one-on-one.

And now, there were this many of those same-level opponents.

To make matters worse, they were led by yet another special unit.

That one, too, seemed on par with the formidable unit they had faced outside.

At this rate, not only would they fail to reach Noil Arlens, but they might not even survive this ordeal.

No, their defeat was almost certain.

“Proceed.”

That is, if not for the presence of Milis Albama, the transcendent being.

“It seems this is a task only I can handle.”

Her calm voice carried an overwhelming intensity, far surpassing that of the mechanical soldiers surrounding them. The cold, sharp tone sent shivers down Sierra’s spine, even though Milis was an ally.

From the moment Noil was abducted, Milis had spoken little, but the immense anger and frustration she harbored about being delayed here were beyond imagining.

Sierra didn’t think her own resolve was lacking, but she couldn’t suppress the trembling in her body.

Without another word, Milis took a small bottle about the size of her palm from her Storage Box.

The bottle, sealed with a cork, seemed to contain a miniature plain within.

Removing the cork, Milis glared at the mechanical soldiers.

“Be my guests.”

As her voice rang out, the bottle glowed—

“What?!”

And began absorbing the surrounding mechanical soldiers into its interior.

One after another, the soldiers were sucked into the small bottle without resistance.

Finally, Milis herself was drawn into the bottle, and the cork sealed itself without anyone’s intervention.

Fiona reached to pick up the bottle left behind in the passageway, but her hand was repelled.

Studying her hand, she nodded in understanding.

“I see… it seems only Milis-san can handle this.”

“It’s definitely a divine artifact. Between this and the Mana Stone… what doesn’t that woman have?”

Alice muttered, not pausing her work.

While Sierra was curious about this, it was irrelevant now. What mattered was that the path was clear.

“Let’s move.”

“Right.”

Fiona’s words were met with a resolute response from Noel. Sierra had no objections and immediately took flight.

“Seriously, you’re just going to leave her? She’s gonna die, you know.”

“……That woman won’t die. She’s a monster.”

“Huh? Sure, she’s strong, but against that many?”

“You’re surprisingly kind, aren’t you?”

“Huh? I’ll kill you.”

“Milis will be fine.”

“Tch. You’re all insane.”

Listening to the trio’s exchange, Alice fell silent with an exasperated expression. The Mana Stone she was working on was almost fully shaped.

As they approached the Great Holy Jewel,

“They’re coming!!”

“Ugh…!”

Sierra and Fiona split to dodge a sudden assault from below. A mechanical soldier’s arm shot through the gap between them.

“More of them?!”

At the same time Noel shouted, a mechanical soldier appeared, retrieving its extended arm.

Fiona swiftly aimed her short-barreled gun, while Sierra took a defensive stance.

Then, from below, a storm of fireballs, ice shards, and other magical attacks surged toward them.

“Ugh…!”

Sierra, protected by the magical resistance of her Witch Hunter garb, didn’t need to dodge, but Fiona did. Despite being caught off guard, Fiona evaded every attack with incredible agility—but the opening left her vulnerable to a charging mechanical soldier.

From Sierra’s position, she couldn’t intervene in time.

“!!”

At that moment, Sierra felt a sudden weight on her back and a strong impact.

“Take this!!!”

Barely—just before the mechanical soldier’s fist could reach Fiona, Alice’s voice echoed, and something struck the soldier from above.

The mechanical soldier crashed into one of the passageways with immense force, scattering several of the followers gathered around the Great Holy Jewel.

The one who had delivered the flying kick used the recoil to leap back onto Sierra’s back.

“Ugh…!”

The landing impact and weight made Sierra wince.

But despite her discomfort, a peculiar laughter echoed around them.

“Hehehehe! Kehahahahaha!”

With arms spread wide, Alice laughed as she looked down at the toppled mechanical soldier.

Beside her stood another giant—another Alice, no less imposing than the mechanical soldiers.

Dressed in a frilly navy-blue outfit, it became clear upon closer inspection that this figure was a doll.

An Automaton, a magical device Alice excelled at creating.

“Azure Doll: Pretty Cute Alice-chan Version is complete, baby!”

Tacky. That was Sierra’s immediate thought.

“Thank you for saving us… but your taste is questionable.”

“What did you say?!”

Apparently sharing the exact same opinion as Sierra, Fiona voiced her critique. Her brows, likely furrowed beneath her goggles, gave away her distaste.

Alice glared at Fiona in response.

“It’s cuter than the real thing.”

“What did you say?! Ah, no, wait… uh…”

Alice’s gaze shifted to Noel, who had just delivered a brutally honest jab. Scratching her head, Alice seemed caught between feeling flattered at the compliment toward her creation and insulted by the criticism toward herself.

The truth was, the doll version of Alice had slightly better proportions than the real one, but Sierra couldn’t care less.

“…It’s heavy.”

“What?! Are you calling Alice-chan heavy?!”

Given its size, it was obvious. That’s what Sierra thought, at least.

“Tch… Whatever. Thanks to the best Mana Stone, its performance is top-notch. I would’ve liked to add more bells and whistles, but I had to settle for this.”

Alice moved behind the doll as she spoke. The back of the doll opened like double doors, and without hesitation, Alice climbed inside. The doll’s eyes lit up, and its mouth moved as though it were alive.

“Do you know what happens when the adorable Alice-chan teams up with the super-extra-cute Alice-chan?”

“…I don’t know.”

“We become unstoppable.”

Sierra didn’t understand the logic, but she did grasp that Alice was now controlling the doll from within.

“Hey, come with me, Goggles. We’re taking down that bastard and their goons together.”

“Why me…?”

Fiona’s voice carried frustration. She clearly wanted to reach Noil as soon as possible. The I Lover device around her neck amplified her connection to Noil, who was now nearby within the city. Fiona’s desire to reunite with him was palpable, and holding back was a painful struggle for her.

“I’m Tesea’s friend, so I want to make sure you get to meet her. Besides, plain old Noel can’t handle this alone. We’re holding the line here.”

Alice stomped on Sierra’s back without hesitation as she spoke. Though irritated, Sierra’s thoughts wandered to the person Alice had mentioned—Tesea. Alice had explained the situation earlier: Tesea was her blood-related twin sister. However, Sierra wasn’t particularly interested.

As long as Noil was safe, that was all that mattered to her.

Even if she was suddenly told she had sisters—it wouldn’t change her priorities.

“Besides, Noil said he wanted you to meet her. That’s why he’s been trying so hard.”

That was a different story.

Sierra made up her mind to build a good relationship with her sister.

“…Are you going alone?”

“Impossible.”

“…I thought you said you were unstoppable.”

Fiona sighed in exasperation. Alice’s earlier bravado had apparently struck a nerve. For someone like Fiona, who prided herself on fulfilling Noil’s wishes, those words carried weight. Helping Noil achieve his goals was her greatest joy.

“Shut up! Magical devices are about numbers! Even the strongest magical tool Alice-chan creates has its limits if there’s only one of them!”

“Stop making pathetic excuses.”

“What was that?! I’ll kill you!”

“Direct that murderous intent toward the enemy. Looks like your attack didn’t even leave a scratch.”

Below the group, on the passageway, the mechanical soldier Alice had knocked down was already getting back up—completely undamaged.

“I’m taking them down and heading straight for Senpai. Don’t hold me back.”

With that, Fiona dove toward the mechanical soldier and the cultists, unleashing a barrage of shots from her short-barreled gun. The magical bullets howled as they struck their targets, freezing the mechanical soldier and scattering the cultists with powerful gusts.

“You! Get back here! I’ll kill you, I swear! You’re an enemy too, you big-breasted goggle freak!”

Alice leaped off Sierra’s back and chased after Fiona.

“Let’s go, Sierra-chan.”

Feeling lighter, Sierra immediately accelerated toward the entrance of the Great Holy Jewel, responding almost in sync with Noel’s voice.

Upon reaching the entrance, she dispelled her Witch Hunter Garb, as its size would make passing through the door impossible.

As Noel had learned in advance, she swiftly operated the spherical mechanism to open the door. Without hesitation, she and Sierra infiltrated the interior.

They passed through a second door and stepped into the chamber of the Great Holy Jewel.

“…This is tedious.”

“Go ahead and do your thing, Sierra-chan.”

The chamber’s intricate layout was not something they planned to navigate honestly. Instead, Sierra once again donned her Witch Hunter Garb. In its regular form, she delivered a punch to the cylindrical wall of the passageway. The first strike caused a crack, and the second reduced the wall to rubble.

With her transformation complete, Sierra shifted into her flight form, and Noel leapt onto her back. Together, they flew out through the breach in the wall.

The moment they entered the Great Holy Jewel, a deafening alarm rang throughout the chamber. This was the Floating City’s defense mechanism, as Noel had been warned beforehand.

Floating spheres, each roughly the size of a human head and equipped with what appeared to be a single eye, began appearing from all directions. These spheres unleashed wire-like tendrils toward the intruding pair, attempting to capture them.

Dodging the countless wires, Sierra flew through the maze of cylindrical passages and landed on the chamber floor. She transformed back to her regular form, her sights set on the transparent conduit extending from the center of the Great Holy Jewel.

The countless defensive mechanisms in pursuit—those, she left to Noel.

Descending from Sierra’s back, Noel now wore a mask that covered her face from her eyes to the bridge of her nose.

This was one of the two divine artifacts entrusted to her by Milis. The mask, Blood Banquet, was a contingency for the combat-inept Noel should she be forced to fight.

“Aha!”

The moment Noel donned the mask, she let out a laugh. From the eyeholes of Blood Banquet, streams of blood began to flow, enveloping her body in an instant and transforming into a deep crimson dress.

And then, in the next moment—Noel moved.

Her speed was so incredible it was difficult to follow with the naked eye. She leapt from surface to surface, using the chamber’s walls, passages, and even the floating defense spheres as footholds.

The wire-like tendrils failed to graze her, let alone capture her.

“Hahaha! Ahahaha! Ahahahahaha!!”

With shrill laughter that echoed like that of someone indulging in ecstasy, Noel grinned widely and began destroying the floating spheres one after another.

“Aha! Ahaaha! Noil! Noil, Noil, Noil! Wait for me!! I’ll be there soon! Aha! I’ll come right to you, just as soon as I kill all these things!! Ahahahahaha!!”

Her combat prowess and deranged demeanor were entirely unlike her usual self.

This was the effect of the Blood Banquet.

The Blood Banquet was a divine artifact that granted power to its wearer by consuming the blood of the strong. However, the more power it provided, the more it eroded the user’s sanity, driving them into madness.

The strength granted by Blood Banquet depended on the quantity and quality of the blood consumed. In this case, the blood used belonged to none other than Milis.

Milis, despite never planning to use it herself, had allowed Blood Banquet to absorb her blood over the years simply because she had it.

As a result, the power it granted was immense—enough to make Noel a match for Milis herself in combat.

However, the toll on Noel’s mind was equally severe. For anyone else, controlling such a divine artifact would have been impossible—they would have been reduced to a mindless berserker.

Milis had given Noel one critical piece of advice when lending her Blood Banquet: “Focus only on Noil.”

Noel’s unwavering devotion to Noil was the sole reason she hadn’t been completely consumed by the artifact’s madness.

Fueled by an almost fanatical love, Noel fought against the madness threatening to consume her.

“…”

Watching Noel move with unparalleled ferocity while shouting in deranged delight, Sierra resolved to keep her distance from Noil.

She had nearly been deceived.

Noel was the most cunning type of person.

Noil only needed Sierra by his side.

As Sierra relentlessly pummeled the conduit extending beneath the Great Holy Jewel, she reaffirmed this in her mind.

“…It’s tough.”

The conduit’s durability far exceeded that of the previous walls. How many times had she struck it without pause?

The Witch Hunter Garb, though primarily designed for flight and defense, wasn’t lacking in offensive power. Its sheer strength and speed were formidable.

Ordinary walls would crumble easily. This city, however, was truly extraordinary—a divine artifact in its own right.

Yet, the conduit was now covered in countless cracks.

Its strength wasn’t quite on par with the city’s external defenses.

“…Then it can be broken.”

With a final strike, Sierra put all her strength into her fist.

The sound of shattering glass echoed throughout the chamber.

All that remained was to proceed.

Sierra turned back to check on Noel.

Still moving with incredible speed and cackling madly, Noel had already destroyed most of the floating spheres. The area was a scene of utter devastation, with everything in sight obliterated.

There was no longer any need for caution.

“…Let’s go.”

“Aha! Yes! Let’s go meet Noil! I’m gonna give him the biiiggest huuug!!”

Sierra, having significantly raised her assessment of Noel’s danger level, leapt into the conduit, aiming for the core of the city’s systems.