Raising the Princess to Overcome Death-Chapter 325: Childhood Friends - Cow’s Eyes
324. Childhood Friends - Cow’s Eyes
Boom!
The moment Rev sensed something amiss, Oriax began stamping his feet, shaking his body up and down with force. Dust rained down from the ceiling.
‘Is he trying to shake off the ropes?’ Rev wondered, but with seventeen horns protruding from every direction on his body, that seemed unlikely.
“He’s panicking! Everyone, hold tight!”
It looked as though he was trying to dislodge the soldiers clinging to the ropes with the sheer force of his movements. Those holding onto the ropes tightened their grip, bracing against his thrashing.
- Crack.
“Huh?”
The catastrophe happened in an instant. A faint cracking sound echoed, and then concentric circles formed around Oriax. Hundreds of voices cried out in unison, “Ahhh!”
The floor gave way, and Oriax sank down, while the dozens of ropes holding him snapped, flinging soldiers upward.
What followed was horrific, yet strangely beautiful, like a blooming flower. The soldiers’ uniforms, blue and gold, became pollen scattered in midair, the frayed ropes resembling straw-like flower filaments, and Oriax’s dark energy forming black petals.
As the ropes whipped around, slashing through the air, the unlucky knights caught in them bled profusely, adding a burst of red to this grotesque scene.
A massive hole opened in the center of the hall.
Concentric circles of flooring around it collapsed one by one, revealing to Rev a ruined first-floor hall below.
And there, even larger than before, was Oriax.
- Mooooo~
The creature made eye contact with Rev and let out a contented bellow, as if to mock him, as if to say he hadn’t been afraid of them at all.
“Damn it!”
Swearing, Rev prepared to leap down after him, but Oriax moved first. With a massive impact, he rammed through the wall and escaped from the palace, leaving those on the second floor staring in shock.
Thud, thud, thud!
With heavy, ground-shaking strides, Oriax fled across the palace garden. The sacred ropes tangled around his body dragged along, streaking the frozen ground with red stains.
He was charging straight at the castle walls, seemingly intent on breaking through. Hanging onto the windowsill, Rev let out a frustrated sigh.
They had failed.
No tracking magic would work on a god. Chasing him would be pointless; they’d never catch him. He’d likely start devouring the citizens of Lutetia, growing stronger and eventually turning back to retaliate.
This was their only chance…
The situation was far worse than it seemed. It might be tempting to think they could just try again and succeed the next time, but there were no more tries left. [22/24]—only two rounds remained after this, rounds for which Minseo already had critical plans.
Furthermore, in Lean’s plan, Rev was supposed to be a prince in the next round, the 23rd.
Just as the scenario with Lean’s engagement had changed, so would the Beggar Siblings storyline shift if Oriax were eradicated. They’d planned for that possibility, but now it was all falling apart.
Of course, Rev was unaware of these complex background plans. As the 19th Leo, he had only received verbal briefings about previous events; he had no direct memories of them. This round wasn’t even his own.
Still, Rev could guess the consequences of this failure. He’d seen enough loops spiral into catastrophe over even a minor misstep.
Rev’s body trembled.
Haunted by the compulsion that failure was unacceptable, he kicked the window open, preparing to leap. Even if it cost him his life, no matter the price, he had to capture that beast.
At that moment—
“What are you doing?”
Lena was standing beside him. She grabbed Rev’s collar just as he was about to jump, frowning slightly.
“I told you not to make that face—the dying one. You’ll scare away your good fortune!”
Rev felt another sigh rising.
Another test, he thought. Maybe it was time to give up. They had failed, after all; perhaps they should either flee and survive together, or pursue Oriax to the bitter end.
It was always like this. But as he turned his head to face Lena…
“…Huh?”
He exhaled strangely, freezing in place.
Lena was… almost radiant, as if she were a saint.
[You have discovered the true name of your childhood friend, Lena. She has been bestowed with {Divine Power}.]
Thanks to his {Divine Insight}, Rev could see it: a steady flow of sacred energy from her heart, like pure white milk.
When he’d seen Saint Meriel, he’d thought of a white waterfall, an immense outpouring of divine power cascading toward her from the heavens.
Lena was different.
She was a clear spring. Small but pure divine power pulsed steadily from within her, and she was holding a staff of some sort.
Lena smiled gently.
“What’s with that face? Anyway, I can help you now. I just need to make sure it doesn’t escape, right?”
“What? Oh, yeah.”
Lena stepped past Rev, leaning out of the window and aiming her staff at Oriax.
“Hold on… My clothes are caught.” She struggled briefly, the staff proving heavier than it looked. But she finally managed to point it at Oriax as he was trying to break through the outer wall. Light began to pour from the staff.
- Moo?
It wasn’t just the staff that glowed. The sacred ropes wrapped around Oriax lit up as well… lifting him off the ground. It was as if someone behind him was pulling the ropes taut.
- Mooooooo!!!
Just one more step.
Just one more step, and he’d be free!
Through the crumbling wall, Oriax could see the streets beyond, brimming with potential sacrifices. His hooves scraped against the ground with a harsh, grating sound.
“Rev, go! I can’t hold it for long. O aqua-dives humilis-maloe ionen!”
“Whoa!”
Lena fulfilled her role. As she recited the sacred incantation she had only vaguely remembered from her dream, light erupted from the ground below.
From bottom to top.
A warm healing breeze flowed over the space, raising the temperature. The knights and soldiers, who had lost their fighting spirit amidst the horrors, found themselves emboldened and began to shout.
“Let’s go!! The High Priestess is with us! She’s right behind us!”
“Charge!”
Oriax, burdened by the weight of his own body, staggered on trembling knees. Frustrated by the humans pouring out of the palace and yanking on the ropes holding him, he shook himself violently, dropping wriggling maggots in his fury.
How dare these lowly creatures defy him.
With a sneer, Oriax threw his head back and swallowed the stone fragment. Did they truly think they could stand against him just because of this?
“Ugh…”
Lena held onto the staff with all her might. As Oriax tried to charge, she swung her arms wildly from side to side, angling herself by the window as if she were reeling in a fish.
The haphazardly tied sacred ropes tangled and twisted, like a game of cat’s cradle, but Lena’s efforts helped immensely; the fight in the garden was proceeding more smoothly.
Unable to locate the fragment now that Oriax had swallowed it, Rev and Bart focused on slashing at the beast’s belly, while the knights took turns chipping away at its legs.
The situation had completely changed.
In the open space of the garden, with healing available for wounds, Oriax was now on the receiving end of a one-sided slaughter. Gradually, even his cries faded, and he became enveloped in silence.
Just as Rev wondered why the beast had gone so quiet, the answer became clear with a sudden shriek from behind.
“Ahh! Stop! Don’t do this!”
“D-Duke Tertan? Why…?”
Duke Ruppert Tertan was attempting to push the cleric at the window. From Oriax’s perspective, this was his last remaining move.
Thanks to the divine power Eric had infused into him, Oriax could control the duke, who, knowing the evil god’s true nature, had proven unsuitable as a loyal apostle.
Unlike the mage, Tertan’s mind wasn’t easily broken, and once the god’s power wore off, he would regain his sanity.
Oriax had considered turning him into another fragment, as he had with Eric.
With no followers left and under attack from all sides, it wouldn’t have been a bad choice to convert the duke into a fragment to extend his own life, but there was no way to safely relocate it.
If only he were near the sea, he could have tossed the duke into the water, hiding the fragment and securing his future against these bothersome Swordmasters. But lacking that option, he had decided to put the duke to use in battle.
If he could just kill this pesky cleric, everything would be easier. He would have preferred if the duke had been armed with a sword, but of course, he hadn’t brought one to the wedding.
The duke barely obeyed him at all.
“Stop! Grandfather! Stop, please! I’m going to fall!”
“S-sorry… I’m… sorry…”
Lena was on the verge of falling out of the window.
Though it was only the second floor, the height was considerable. It wasn’t a safe distance for an ordinary person to jump from, especially in such an awkward position. Rev, alarmed, sprinted toward her—too late.
She fell. But…
“G-grandfather! You’re safe!”
The one who fell was Duke Tertan. In the final moment, he had pulled Lena back, exchanging his body for hers.
And then,
“I’m sorry.”
“Are you alright?”
Duke Tertan was unharmed, as was Lena. The struggle had lasted long enough for Rev to arrive. Rev breathed a sigh of relief, recalling Harie’s earlier warning.
- “You’ve promised to protect the duke in Prince Lean’s name. I trust you’ll uphold that promise. But remember, if you fail, things will get very difficult for you. And I’ll make sure of it.”
After all, he had healed her mother, and Harie had now married Philas, so there was likely nothing to worry about. Good relations were always best.
Unaware that his own fate had already taken a dramatic turn, Rev renewed his resolve. However…
- Rhuav tshem daim ntaub thaiv!!
“…This is really too much.”
Just as Prince Eric had done when cornered, Oriax broke through the barrier into the sky.
A massive, rotting eye filled with festering blood stared down upon them.
Oriax was summoning his true form into the fight. Rev thought it would be useless, since the true body would be blocked by the divine barrier and powerless without divine energy—but Oriax was making a desperate last stand. Then, in one final act of defiance, he…
- Splat!
…exploded his own eye.
It wasn’t rain but a waterfall of foul blood, and from it emerged countless monsters with the heads of bulls. Rev couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.
Thanks to Lena’s blessing, he was spared from the marking, but the citizens swarming through the breached castle walls weren’t as lucky.
Pus dripped from the people rushing toward them. Of course. In the Beggar Siblings scenario, once the “cow’s eye” appeared, it always meant a crushing defeat.
“Let’s go! This really is the last round!”
- Mooooooo!
Rev, Sir Bart, and the knights and guards charged forward into their final battle. Oriax continued to guard the fragment, sacrificing even the horns of his true form to protect it.
The fight was fierce and prolonged.
Rev’s aura blade faded, and Sir Bart was panting heavily, struggling to catch his breath. The surviving guards were outnumbered by the dead, and as Lena’s divine power waned, the few remaining knights began to fall one by one.
Thanks to his offerings, Oriax managed to replenish his strength with divine energy and slowly began to turn the tide in his favor.
All that remained was to end it. Oriax was eager to finish this bloody struggle and flee, when—
“Turns out the vile thing really was here!”
Over the crimson-tinged castle walls, Cardinal Verke appeared, his robes in disarray, but his expression fierce. Sir Gallen, who had gone to fetch him, was at his side.
Rev wasn’t the only one who noticed that Oriax’s face, monstrous though it was, seemed to pale.
Chapter 325: Childhood Friends - Cow’s Eyes
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