Roy Alphard caught Subaru's whip in his mouth, which had been shot forwards with all the force he could muster. Even I couldn't imagine myself doing a feat like that.
As Roy continued to give us his annoying smile, Crusch readied her blade backwards. "Your luck's run out!"
With that, her One Blow, One Hundred Felled technique was unleashed, and the speedy wind blade zoomed towards Alphard and the violent gusts picked up. The boy, however, didn't even flinch as he leaned backwards onto all fours as he completely evaded Crusch's move.
Crusch thrust forwards at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, but Alphard merely twisted his arm as he avoided an attack yet again. He equipped his tiger claws, and thrust them towards Crusch as he knocked her arm back.
"Your attack power is fine, but it lacks polish! You're barely going to be an appetizer for us!"
Before Roy could claw Crusch's face off, Subaru wrapped his whip around Crusch's waist, and pulled her out of there before the attack can connect. I blocked his claws with Zeam, and he jumped back as he looked at me with interest.
"Oho? This onii-san, have we met you before? There is a weird sense of familiarity, you know? We like interesting people, after all. Now, let's begin the feast!"
"Nice to meet you, Roy of Bizarre Eating. My name is Y/N L/N, Warlock of Deceit." I said as I readied Zeam with my left hand, which I had been training over the past year.
He dashed forward with Leaper, and I activated Ul Akra immediately as I swung my sword up at full speed, deflecting his dagger as I twisted my wrist once again. I changed the direction of my blade mid-swing as Zeam slit a tiny wound on Alphard's left arm, and he jumped back in surprise.
His movements suddenly slowed even with Leaper active, and he stared, amazed at the wound I inflicted upon him.
The Life Sword, Zeam. Although it sounds like should give life, the sword itself chips away at one's soul when it attacks them. When it fully destroys a soul, one cannot even reincarnate like Echidna did.
Zeam let out a dim glow as it happily gulped down the piece of soul it obtained, while Roy Alphard glared at my sword. Although he didn't realize what it exactly did, he knew that part of his life force has been chipped away.
Taking this moment, Julius shot a beam of rainbow light at him, and Ricardo entered after that. "Go, Y/N! We'll take care of him!"
"Oops-"Julius suddenly realized he just said my name, and Roy's face showed immense delight as he swept past me at the speed of sound, and touched me with his left hand as he tried to lick it.
"Eh? Huh?" Roy Alphard stares at his hand, his authority unable to function like normal as he looked at me in surprise. "You are... no way, the one Lye of Gourmet mentioned, the nameless?"
"What, are you flabbergasted now? There's always people above you in things, Alphard."
"Remember your objective, Moppet Mage!" Julius said to Subaru as Roy suddenly regained his composure and dashed towards Subaru, who was undefended until I erected a giant barrier of titanium in front of them.
"—Damn it all! Fine, I get it! Hey, Juli! Don't you dare lose on me!"
"That is my line. Make sure to fulfill your duty as the substitute knight of the Valkyrie!"
"Let us entrust this to Master 'Juli' and go, Master 'Moppet Mage'!"
Scratching his head, Subaru set his rueful thoughts aside and took Crusch's hand. Then relying upon the boundary lines generated by the aurora, they escaped Gluttony's attack range. We dashed inside the room where our objective lies, and noticed the giant machinery on the side of the room.
"Is this... the metia?" Subaru said as he noticed the unusual number of amplifiers and buttons, lights and other control panels that were situated upon the broadcasting device.
"It seems like it." I replied as I took a scan of the meteor, analyzing for traces of magic upon the device. However, before we could finish, Crusch suddenly swung her sword towards a dragon who appeared out of nowhere.
The blow connected, and the one thought to be Capella screeched in pain as it crashed back into the floor. "That was close... thanks, Crusch." Subaru said as I noticed something strange. She wasn't regenerating.
As Crusch was about to land another blow, I realized there was a girl beneath the dragon, completely tied up. Another thing I realized was that the dragon did not speak, nor did it harbour ill intent.
"Wait!" I said as I stopped the sword from swinging as Crusch looked at me in surprise. "First of all, there's a hostage below him. Second of all, that is definitely not Lust. He's not regenerating nor is he speaking like an annoying Archbishop."
"You are quite correct, but how would he be a dragon, then?" Crusch asked me.
"I think I figured out Lust's Authority. You saw the piles of flesh outside? They might be actually humans but just transformed by her, same with this person. Also, now that I think about it... are you Garek Thompson?" I asked the dragon, and he nodded with surprise.
"I would just like to say your children are safe for now. Hmm... and where is Lust?"
I looked around the room, scanning every corner until I saw a certain door. That was when Subaru went to help the girl under Crusch's advice.
"Everyone is... in there." The girl pointed to the very door I noticed, and I suddenly had a very bad feeling.
As Subaru went to open the door, I heard a large amount of buzzing. Before I could go and see, however, I realized the problem.
"Stop putting on the facade now," I turned towards the girl in chains. "Capella."
The girl faked surprise as I immediately shot an Al Jiwald at her, piercing her brain as fast as my spell could. However, it did not do any damage as she suddenly started laughing.
"Hahahahahhaha! You are one smart piece of meat, you know? I thought I had everyone fooled, but it seems that finally someone was able to live up to this beautiful lady's expectations!" Capella cackled as the chains transformed, and the girl slowly began to grow older, the chains into weird bee-like buds, black tight clothing covering most of her body, along with the pink bikini wear. As she finished her transformation with her unusual strand of hair flopping down, Subaru came out and looked back and forth in horror.
"Y/N... she transformed them all into flies-" Subaru was about to inform me on the situation of the civilians, but then he saw Capella facing me and Crusch, and he completely forgot what he was saying.
"Gahahahahaha! You should see the look on your face! When you see a poor young girl in chains your first immediate thought is, 'I need to save her', but it was I, Capella Emerada Lugnica, all along!"
As soon as she declared her identity, Crusch swung her blade towards Capella, and the sword slash shot through the air before the wind ripped her skin wide open, only for it to regenerate right back with no signs of damage whatsoever.
Within the next moment, she disappeared, and Crusch suddenly was smashed backwards to the wall. Subaru threw his whip towards Capella, but she deflected the blow as I saw her transformed arm: a dragon claw.
"Subaru, you should get Crusch out of here! She's too injured to continue-"
"No, Y/N-san, I can... still fight." Crusch said as she stumbled out of the rubble, standing with her sword in her hand, glaring defiantly at Capella.
"Then allow me to assist you." I said as I used the Authority of Deceit to heal up her body a little, before imbuing copious amounts of mana unto her sword as it began to glow bright green.
"One Blow, One Hundred Felled- Modified Version:"
"-Vento Prime!"
The enlarged wind blade swished through the air faster than the eye can see, and cleanly bisected Capella's current form. Although I know that the spell wouldn't kill her, I hoped that it would at least do some damage of sorts.
"We... did it?" Crusch said as she leaned on her sword, exhausted as she plopped down on the floor.
I thought it was over for a while, too. However, the reality betrayed my expectations as I suddenly saw Capella appear out of nowhere behind me, and she punched me to the wall as I suddenly found my arms and legs tied by some mysterious metal.
"What-"
I tried to disassemble it, but it definitely did not work. The substance was created through her authority, and if I didn't know what it was, I couldn't even guess which atoms it had. The possibilities are endless as even elements such as rhodium which I can't control yet.
As I turned back to the scene, Crusch had a wound on her body, and Capella slit her arm open. Subaru watched as he, too, was slammed into the wall. "What is she doing... no!"
I watched the droplets of blood from Capella's arm slowly drop into Crusch's veins, and I sighed in despair. Now I HAVE to execute that plan. Should've left alternatives for myself. I tried to break free from the chains, but they apparently held me down for some reasons. WHAT exactly is this bullshit made of?
Unfortunately, before I figured out a way, Subaru has been injected with her Dragon's Blood as well. If I manage to use Suitoru on Crusch now, I might be able to suck the blood out... Subaru is compatible with the blood, so I don't have to worry about that.
"Hey! Where are you looking at, you piece of smart meat?" Capella said as she held my chin up with her hand, her dragon wings and tail now exposed. "Look at this beautiful lady, now that the others are out of the way."
"Hey, I'm just gonna make this clear right now, you are not beautiful." I said as Capella looked taken aback. "You might have what people call a 'nice body', but if you ever want me to admire you in a sense, fix that crappy personality of yours." I spat.
While she pondered on how to respond to that, I figured out a way to get out.
"Infinite Multiplication." I muttered, and a clone of myself appeared behind Capella, and I transferred my main body to the clone behind her, and I deactivated the power of the Great Rabbit as the copy that stayed within the shackles disappeared.
"Ow... I though my arms were going to be broken, you know?"
"You! Don't try to escape this lovely lady's trap now, will you!? Revere me for my beuaty, you piece of meat!" Capella yelled as she transformed her arms into a lion's head and a snake, and shot them towards me. They seemed to be the death of me, until they suddenly were cut by two swords that floated midair.
"What-how-"
"Surprised?" I said as my Imperceptible Extensions returned closer, holding Inen and Ryokyo.
"Isn't that... the old crazy pedophile's power?" Capella asked, recognizing the Unseen Hands' movement.
"Well, he's dead now, and those things do prove to be quite useful. Also, will you shut up and be a bit more nicer towards everyone in general?"
"Huh? Nicer? I'm already so lenient, tolerant, and caring for all my children! Speaking of children... are you the one who took Elsa and Meili away from me?"
"Well, they wanted to leave themselves, and I just fulfilled their wish... If even your own children wanted to leave, can you call yourself caring, still?"
"They just don't understand my love, obviously! But why would they love you, then? You're just like us, a holder of the power of the Witch. That's all you are, and all you ever will be."
"Then I better drill some sense into you." I said as I readied my fists, and advanced my Extensions to phase 2. "Capella Emerada Lugnica. I'll challenge you to a fight. If I win, you get out of the city hall. If I lose...you decide whatever."
"You believe you can beat me, the Sin Archbishop of Lust? In your dreams, boy. I'll show you what this lady did to make the Assassination Organization."
"Y/N L/N, Warlock of Deceit and Sloth of the Witch's Sanctum." I said as I enhanced my body, and the Witch Factors inside me hummed quietly in excitement. "Today, you're going down."
With that, my second official duel against an Archbishop began.