Permanent skill

, huh?

The white moths engulfed the white gem and formed Jody's body in an instant. Her face was no different from before, but her physique had shrunk somewhat, and upon closer inspection, I could also sense that her mana had more than halved.

Moreover, most of her current mana used my mana as base. She revived successfully, but I doubt that she'll be able to fight in the same way as before.

Right now, she was sleeping with her eyes closed. Just like that, Jody slowly collapsed into the

, so I rushed over and caught her. The sight of her white moths, which were dyed crimson due to the blood splashes, fluttering above her head seriously reverberated with my heart.

At that moment, a crack ran through Ciel's body as she screamed , "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH, JOOODYYYY!"

She violently thrashed around while scattering butterflies from her body. Full of desperation, she shook off Rebecca's hand, and ran up to Jody. While cuddling up to the sleeping woman, she repeatedly called her name.

It was clear when looking at Jody's state, but halfway her expression had become somewhat absent-minded. I didn't know whether Ciel was able to tell that Jody was asleep. She lifted her head as if looking at thin air, and extended her slender fingers towards the white moths around them with a smile on her lips.

The purplish red butterflies escaping Ciel's body became smaller. And in the same breath, Ciel kept recovering her composure.

"…Mhm, Ciel?" Jody blinked her eyes as she woke up.

"Jody…Jodyyy…"

Ciel tightly hugged Jody. The butterflies forming Ciel's body got scattered, resulting in her body becoming even smaller.

"…Yo, Jody. You awake?"

"Master…thank you for reviving me."

Master, huh? I'd be fine with just Shuuya, though. Well, considering her feelings as kin, I suppose that'd be asking too much.

"Call me as you like. My name is Shuuya."

"I understand."

"…Anyway, taking your moths as a measurement criterion, it doesn't look like there's been any change to your body's condition, but how is it in reality? You aren't a Death Butterfly woman anymore, are you?"

"The abilities of the white moths, who formed the heart of Algorn, are still remaining to some extent.

"You mean the white gem, right?"

"Yes. But, it is now different from my time as a Death Butterfly person. I have become your bloodkin as

and I also obtained a new skill called

"Mastah, protekt!"

"Nyaa."

Lucy and Rollodeen drew close to Jody and greeted her.

"Kin-sama and Divine Beast-sama…" Jody lightly tilted her head while still embracing Ciel.

Small moths continued flying out of her body and vanishing.

"But, I auut of powah. Go bak."

The instant Lucy said so, her small wooden legs became even more narrow, before she got sucked into the ground alongside the blood lake.

I had already wondered whether it was fine for her to be so far away from the crest tree, but I guess it's impossible for her to stay away for a long time. I guess that also means I can't take the sanctuary with me like some convenient tool. Well, I think this will still require some more research.

"Nyao," Rollodeen meowed sorrowfully and started to dig.

Only a small hole was visible in the center of the area she had dug out. It looks like Lucy had gone back to Cydale through that hole.

I returned my look to Jody who was patting Ciel's head.

"…Let us postpone the talk about your abilities for later. Right now, we have to speak about Ciel. Do you know how to treat her?"

Jody shook her head lightly, "Ciel…do you hear me?"

She stared at the central part of Ciel that had been exposed when she cracked open while addressing her.

"…Jody?" Ciel responded and then looked at Jody with her remaining eye.

Her repeatedly calling Jody's name like a broken record wasn't all that different from the time she spent with us. Earlier when Jody manifested…she had looked quite desperate, but…

"……" Ciel started to shed tears as she gazed at the childish-looking Ciel.

Her tears turned into tiny moths, before fleetingly disappearing as if fusing with the atmosphere. She directed her teary eyes at me, and then she strongly shook her head as if to get rid of the tears.

I suppose even Jody doesn't know how to heal Ciel.

Eva touched the bodies of the two girls, apparently sympathizing with them. The corners of her eyes were also filled with tears. Soon after, Eva turned her head in my direction and smiled feebly. Her expression was overflowing with kindness, but I could sense a deep sadness from the look in her eyes.

Although she lost her powers, Jody is a Lucival bloodkin at this point. There's no need to check her mind, but she's likely telling the truth.

Oh wait, maybe it's because I'm the reason for this?

"…Am I the reason for having damaged her central, magic gem?"

"…It is one of the reasons, yes. But, mostly it stems from Golgonshura-sama having drawn the majority of

from Ciel rather than me. And she also sucked out most of the Red Core Gem Almandin's power through the damage part… When it comes to me, my core gem wasn't damaged, so I did lose my power and body, but…my core gem with the mark of the covenant survived. Because of that, I was able to become a

through your power, Shuuya-sama," Jody explained.

Back then, huh…? Although it's an outcome of my fight with Ciel, I do feel somewhat responsible.

"Using the same method with

as I used on you seems to not be feasible either."

"That is correct. I think it has a certain probability of success since her core gem has the same mark of covenant as mine does, but…my core gem Algorn is in a different condition. At this point, Almandin has gone haywire. There are cracks all over its surface, too. I think it would not be strange for it to break apart at any moment…"

Assuming its foundation has been damaged…it's possible that it'd shatter into small pieces the instant I poured mana into it. Ciel is still conscious and barely maintains her body, but that only shows how difficult a treatment is going to me.

"What if I revived Golgonshura, the mother who created Ciel?"

"Eh?"

"As a matter of fact, I have this here. It's an egg that contains the part of Golgonshura that had entered Helme's body."

I showed the egg stone to Jody.

"Golgonshura-sama's…" Jody glared at the egg with its blue butterfly patterns.

Her scowl clearly revealed her hatred. Her mouth transformed into that pointed shape she could use as Death Butterfly woman.

"I can understand your hatred, but it's for the sake of Ciel's treatment. And there's also this which Gol had desired."

"Kizeleg-sama!" Jody was surprised when she saw the silver coffin.

So she did know about him after all, eh?

"Gol's dimensional tear succeeded. This coffin apparently doesn't accept any mana. I think it'll be the same for me as well. Though I cannot tell since I haven't tried it out of concern over what might happen."

"Yes, it should be impossible to open it." f𝚛𝚎𝗲we𝗯𝗻ovel.𝐜om

At that moment, I checked my surroundings. Shuhelia, the Burning Knights, and Rebecca were nearby.

Kisara had stabbed her witch spear into the ground, now pressing both hands against the ground. As soon as her rosaries entered the soil as if melting into it, a magic crest was created, and her paper dolls appeared. Afterwards, Kisara pulled out her spear and flew up into the sky.

Suddenly, Saraten contacted me telepathically, 『Vessel, hurry up with the revival of the demi-goddess』

『Even if she does revive, it's clear that she won't have much power left. You can't really expect the same blood as last time, you know?』

『…For thou to read mine thoughts…do thou not want me to become much stronger?』

『Sure, I want that. Is blood needed for your forging? Well, you'll have to endure for now』

『Techniques are born from training. Do no slack and provide me with blood』

I wonder whether all of the girls, who were surfing on their own swords, possess individual names? …Wait, I wondered the same about Saraten beforehand.

Anyway, I had

grasp Holy Spear Arost and extended it high up into the air, where I put it on standby. This was a countermeasure for Kizeleg and Golgonshura.

Moreover, I was also bothered about the forces of darkness that could crawl out from the underground at any moment.

Then I poured mana into Kizeleg's coffin with a force as if whipping the box. This triggered a wind to rise around me.

"――It is futile. This seal won't be broken. It is more of a challenge than getting War God Vice to kiss the King of Ten-Layered Hell Totogudius. Even I would find it impossible."

What a weird metaphor. Hmm? Wait, I recall having heard a similar metaphor somewhere before.

"It is probably just as Kizeleg is saying from within."

My mana was repelled as if the coffin was telling me that it wouldn't let anything come near to it. Sana had invested a large sum of money without minding to wage an intense war over this coffin. And I can fully understand the reason for that. The material of this coffin should be fairly valuable in a world of developed science, sorcery, and magic, thanks to its mana-insulating trait. It might go way beyond advanced insulators like rubber or plastic.

Well, that coffin is something Gol deliberately summoned back into this world, so it should be something valuable, seeing how I can't sense any mana from it even with Grasping Perception or Magic Observation.

"…Jody, what sort of being is Kizeleg? We assumed that he's Gol's family, lover, or someone regarded as precious."

"You are correct in that assumption. He is a truly cherished being as he is Golgonshura-sama's husband, also known as Demi-God Kizeleg-sama," Jody explained while staring at the coffin.

"Nn, as expected."

"I can agree with that. Then we seem to have no choice but to use the demi-goddess's egg."

I nodded at Kisara's remark.

"Egg…going by it's size, will we see a chicken-sized Gol being born?" Rebecca muttered while gazing at the egg.

"Nn…"

"I shall await His Majesty's verdict."

"We desire battle."

"Me too. But, His Excellency's order is absolute."

"――That goes without saying!"

"Nyaoooo~"

The Burning Knights clashed their shields while the tigers below them rubbed cheeks.

"――Shuuya-sama, the presences further out are odd. Should we leave them alone?" Kisara inclined her witch spear downwards so as to be able to attack the ground at any moment while talking about the darkness mana from earlier.

"Yeah, let's focus on what is right in front of our noses."

"Okay."

Kisara cast a last glance in the direction of the darkness mana before nodding. Then she sharply tilted the spearhead downwards, taking a pose as if she was going to

the witch spear at any moment.

"If the demi-goddess should act weird in any way…I shall blow some fire through the Heavenly Witch Style's

Hearing Kisara's remark, Shuhelia nodded. She inclined the blades of her magic swords while scanning the vicinity, before starting to walk in a way that reminded me of the demonoid martial arts.

Alright, time to hurry this up and pour mana into Golgonshura's egg stone.

"Jody, Gol may be evil, but…please take care of Ciel for now."

"Okay."

"Eva and I will protect her, too."

I nodded towards my reliable

. I won't summon Baldok, and I'm unsure whether I should bring out Catiza, Purin, or Tsuan, but I guess it's the safer approach to prepare several moves in advance.

"Okay, let's start."

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The instant I poured my mana into the egg stone, it expanded somewhat. This egg had no mark of having formed a covenant like Jody's. Besides, the

was gone as well. As such, I wouldn't be able to use my combo with

that used sage art based on normal water either.

The blue butterflies depicting the design of the egg's surface looked as if they were spreading their wings to fly off. But instead, they broke apart as if exploding. The butterflies kept trying to fly off, but before they could, they ruptured.

The remains of butterflies fluttered through the air…but then the illusion of a huge, blue butterfly rushed out from within the egg stone, and at the same time a silver-gray light leaked out of there. And then, a crack ran across the middle of the egg. At the same time, I felt a wind as if a helicopter was landing from above and below.

Following that, tremors as if mighty lightning strikes were hitting the ground roared across the vicinity while continuously accompanied by multiple explosions similar to cluster-bombs hitting the ground.

However, the whole process didn't pose any difficulties in particular. My kin remained in their stances of being ready to pounce at any moment.

But, Ciel appeared to go crazy. Her expression was so pitiful that I found it hard to avert my eyes from her. Rebecca and Eva were holding Ciel down with Jody, but I felt responsible for this.

Even so, this is the current reality, and I intend to accept all of it. I looked at Ciel with eyes clearly exuding my determination and simultaneously I strengthened my resolve to rally my own spirit.

Immediately afterwards, the egg with the accumulated butterflies cracked open. And the one appearing from within…was a tiny Golgonshura. A mini-version of her…? A fairy?

Her body was coiled up in lightning, and it looked like she had a reasonable amount of mana, but…I could immediately tell that she'd lost a substantial amount of mana and power. Still, her presence…even if rotten…was that of a demi-goddess. That alone hadn't changed much since our last battle.

"…I am…dead. There's little

left too… But, I'm alive? I don't have my

, and yet I can see…"

"Good morning. It's fine for me to take it as you having revived, right?"

"You bastard…you're that bloody spearmaster who stabbed me!"

Golgonshura attempted to launch some sort of attack, but she ran against a fragment of the egg and dropped down.

"Eeeek, I… I…I'm no demi-goddess anymore, am I…? I have been transformed by mana…." Golgonshura stood up while using the edge of the fragment as a hold for her tiny hands.

She didn't possess those magnificent, butterfly wings anymore. Instead, she was now a midget with a pair of tiny, almost-transparent wings. The lightning-like mana had dispersed as well. Though, I could perceive a faint amount of yellow mana from her cute wings. Right now she was naked and smaller than Lucy. Her chest was bulging somewhat, but she was pretty much androgyne in her appearance.

The expression of Golgonshura was the very definition of sorrow. Even if her presence as goddess might be still going strong…I felt a little pang of sympathy with her current state.

"Golgonshura…"

"You plan to laugh at me? Don't look at me like that! Laugh at me! Laugh how I lost my poer, laugh how small I've become…go ahead and laugh…Kizeleg, laugh…eh?"

She was startled when I brought Kizeleg's coffin in front of her. Golgonshura immediately dropped her waist.

"K-Kizeleg?"

She scattered pee-like scales from her nether region out of excessive surprise. Everyone could hear wet, lewd noises from the area around her butt.

Of course, Rollodeen got excited when noticing that scales pee. She leaned herself forward with her nose twitching. It looks like she sensed some unique, divine pheromones from Golgonshura.

Of course, the white tigers underneath the Burning Knights reacted in a similar manner. They tried to abruptly move while being excited, but the Burning Knights dealt with it calmly. Using the

skill they had apparently acquired at some point, they put some strength into their legs while gently caressing the necks of their tiger mounts, effectively calming the two tigers down.

Meanwhile, Golgonshura tried to extend a hand for Kizeleg. Yet, Rebecca walked up to her.

"…Hello, demi-goddess. I'm going to burn you if you do anything weird to Shuuya."

Eva approached Golgonshura on her wheelchair. The tips of her tonfa as they protrude out of her shield might be somewhat scary though.

"Nn, Demi-Goddess Golgonshura. Take a look at Ciel."

Eva was pissed.

"…Aaah! Aaaaaaaaaagguuhhh!"

Ciel, who was being pinned down by Eva's mana and Jody, shook her head violently as if not wanting to look at Golgonshura while screaming. Her voice was pregnant with gloom. It even felt as though her voice interrupted space between her and Golgonshura.

"Golgonshura……-sama."

Jody's voice was shrill with rage. But, since Golgonshura was akin to a mother for her, she still addressed her politely.

As if not feeling the slightest from everyone's words, Golgonshura splendidly got up while spinning.

"…My Ciel and Jody? What a surprise to see you still alive."

Golgonshura widened her narrow eyes as she mentioned being surprised, but…it wasn't the same surprise as she had shown when confronted with Kizeleg.

"…Anyway, Gol-san, I'm going to briefly explain the situation in front of the coffin with Kizeleg. Ciel's mind got broken. Jody became my kin, but we can't heal Ciel. For that reason――as I thought you might be able to heal Ciel――I went out of my way to take the risk of reviving you."

"…Why are you trying to save my kin after she's grown so weak?"

"Because I made a contract with her."

Golgonshura clapped her hands which sounded like a dry knocking. Are her hands tiny but hard?

Looking closely at her palms, I could see lightning-based mana bouncing off.

『Your Excellency, Golgonshura has visibly weakened compared to before. But, lightning spirits are somewhat lending her some assistance』

『I see. It looks like that's related to the sound of lightning striking down earlier. I think that she lost most of her power, but…it's possible that she also gained new powers』

『I suppose it might be an outcome of the egg'S divinity and your powers having rebounded, but I cannot tell for sure』

Helme explained seriously while not showing in my visual field.

"…What a faithful man you are. No wonder that you're a spearmaster with enough power to oppose me and completely destroy my body. So, does that mean you'll let Kizeleg out as a term for the negotiations?"

"It helps that you're so quick on the uptake."

"Very well. Hand over Kizeleg."

Gol spread her arms with a generous attitude and butterflies flew my way from her fingertips.

"――No, I won't do anything like that until you tell me whether it's truly possible to cure Ciel."

I coiled my

around the coffin and moved it behind me. Gol clicked her tongue before glaring at me.

"…At the moment, that's impossible for me. I have turned her into a kin using an exclusive almandin and my power as Golgonshura. Right now, I have lost that power. In the first place, I've never heard anything about repairing a damaged magic gem. Normally, you'd take in its power. It's a being that can be discarded."

I think she's telling the truth here. And her eyes, as she looks at Ciel, are icily cold as if she's watching trash. But, that's a logical way of thinking for Golgonshura who has lived in this world. Kizeleg, her husband, is much more important to her. Ciel and Jody might be her kin, but in the end, they're no more than outstanding pawns. As a demi-goddess, she's probably regarding them as disposable.

Sela, the Spirit World, the Divine Domain, the Underground, the Azel Dimension, or space; all of them are harsh worlds where only the fittest are allowed to survive. The weak are bound to stay weak for eternity.

If she tried to rescue all the weak, even Golgonshura as a demi-goddess wouldn't have enough lives. I don't plan to save all the weak either.

But, small justice is an eternal part of me.

"…Can Kizeleg cure Ciel?" I asked frankly.

"Maybe."

"That's quite vague. So it's not that he can't heal her?"

"……" Golgonshura remained silent.

I'm not Adombrally, but don't screw around with me!

"Nn, take a look."

"Got it."

Eva changed her wheelchair, approached Golgonshura, and touched her.

"…It looks like she's telling the truth. Kizeleg might be able to heal Ciel. She's thinking, 『However, there's a risk to that. It's necessary to melt down another magic gem and fuse it with Ciel's almandin gem』, or, 『Each of the magic gems necessary for butterfly kin has its own perks. That's why you turn them into kin. Either way, a complete recovery is probably impossible…』."

Eva is able to even read the mind of a demi-goddess?

"Humph, how cheeky. For you to break through my mental barriers and read my mind… Woman with the strong ability to read other's minds…you're a mortal, no, superb kin, aren't you…?"

"In the end, we need a special magic gem on top of it not being clear whether Ciel can be healed, correct?"

"…Tsk."

Gol scowled at me after casting a look at the coffin. At the end, she clicked her tongue at me, though. It looks like she doesn't understand her own situation here.

I summoned Baldok into my right hand, activated

, and at the same time, focused on the shoulder dragon.

Blood was released from my whole body while my protective clothing got sucked into the dragon's mouth. At once, I became stark naked, but I activated

without so much as a pause, resulting in most of my body being covered by blood chains. It was a new blood chain armor that focused on a streamlined aerodynamic.

"…W-What…is t-that?"

I glared at Gol while filled with rightful anger, as if strictly judging her everything. My appearance was that of a berserker. And I could tell that Gol's face had frozen.

"Hiii…."

She staggered, and once her waist gave in once more, she scattered scales again.

"Nn, Shuuya, blood chain armor of the demon!"

"Sheesh, no need to surprise us as well, is there?"

Rebecca and Eva were excited."

"…Shuuya-sama has…"

"…Y-Your Majesty, that magic armor, which makes one feel madness…you were a Spirit World Knight?"

"Nn, nyaoooon."

Rollodeen meowed loudly in a weird manner, came up to my feet, and started to pummel Kizeleg's coffin with her tentacle bone swords. A barrage of dull impacts could be heard from the box.

"I am Kizeleg. Stop it…"

In the meantime,

"Oooh, what great armor…"

"Still, it is His Excellency's wrath! We will strengthen the watch over the surroundings."

"Uh huh."

The Burning Knights exclaimed in agitation while the tigers turned their heads in the direction pointed out by Kisara.

Are the forces of darkness advancing in the underground?

"…Golgonshura, tell us the truth. Is it impossible even if we let Kizeleg out of his coffin?"

Right now, I had made sure to also add a visor to the blood chain helmet for an additional effect. For this reason, my voice got changed into a peculiar, low and booming voice. At the same time, it turned into a somber voice that seemed to have its Jahn–Teller effect doubled.

Rollodeen stopped beating Kizeleg's coffin and deployed her tentacles around me. The tentacles extending from her whole body deployed radially, and while the bone swords repeatedly kept being extended and withdrawn, she made them slip into the ground and then, after getting behind Gol, she had the tips of the tentacles rush out of the ground to fly this way. Their numbers kept growing while the tentacles with their bone swords extended remained in the air like before.

That thick layer of tentacles caused it to become somewhat dark around me, and with the crimson glow of my blood chain armor, I might now actually look like a knight who had crawled out of hell.

"Hiiaaa…you're wrong…it's just as that kin has said…all of it bears a risk. Please understand, mad spear god…"

Who's a mad god? What a rude bug she is.

I fumbled with my helmet, revealing my face.

"Your Majesty…" Shuhelia knelt down on the ground, apparently being heavily affected by my little show.

"Okay, I got it. Come on. Free Kizeleg then," I commanded while guiding Gol to the coffin.

"Oooohhhh, thank you, mad spear god! Kizeleeeeeg――"

"I ain't no mad god."

However, Gol didn't listen to my retort. She extended her right hand towards the box and emitted her mana. Meanwhile, she extended her left hand in another direction, and released her mana towards the door of her former prison. The thunder swirl-characters on the surface of that door started to glow. The door started to blink faintly.

Apparently she was absorbing the mana that had remained inside the door.

The silver coffin was opened. Once the coffin deflated while possessing a momentary viscosity, the figure of a man took form.

So this is Demi-God Kizeleg, eh? He has big wings on his back, but…parts of them are broken and 卍-shaped magic crests have been carved onto his back, too. No wonder that he has been repelling mana. The box used the real body of a demi-god, Kizeleg's body, as material, huh…?

"Golgonshura…is that you?"

"Yes…Kizeleg!"

They hugged each other.

"You've become quite small…but your voice and scent remain unchanged."

"Yep…it's been so long…I wanted to meet you…I really wanted to see you again, so…"

"Sorry, it seems like I was hurled far away from here…"

Could you call this an emotional reunion? If I consider Ciel's situation, I find it hard to sympathize.

At that moment, I sensed a magic source from the direction Kisara was watching. What appeared over there was a crooked monster with its head and torso connected. Its mouth spanned across its whole body, looking more like a tear. It had eight arms and its legs were clad in a black mist. It was carrying black long-handled spears, magic swords and something like a wand as weapons.

"Shuuya-sama, the grasses are withering away where the monster treads. I think its feet are poisonous," Kisara observed from the sky.

Everyone except for Rollodeen looked in the direction of that monster.

"…That direction…don't tell me…Rolga's vanguard?" Kizeleg muttered.

Rolga's vanguard? He means Underground Goddess Rolga, right? For me to run into her in this place…

Hearing Kizeleg's remark, that monster spoke up, "…I thought the demi-gods were supposed to have vanished, but…who are you people…?"

That's what I want to know. Well, that thing doesn't look like it'll be much of a conversation partner. I guess I'll capitalize on my blood chain armor…

『Your Excellency! It is my turn, correct!?』