The countless flames that erupted clung to Shin and scorched his body.
Though he was clad in anti-magic, he was unable to defend against the divine fire, and his jet-black armor melted away.
Shin pulled the God-Slasher out of Nosgalia’s body, and sliced the golden flames that were burning his body.
Then once again, he flashed Gneodoros and aimed it at the god’s body. Except this time, he cut nothing but air.
As if by teleporting, Nostalgia reappeared in a distant location.
“Perish.” (Nosgalia)
Nosgalia’s eyes emitted a red glow, and the next moment, Shin’s body caught fire.
The flames had a pale silvery white color. They made him grimace a bit.
“The divine fire bestows upon sinners all the pains in the world. The fire of mercy to make thee repent of thy sins. The agony increases every second, and one minute is all it takes for the sentence to end. All that awaits the sinner is the utter destruction of their source, or in other words, salvation.” (Nosgalia)
“Hmm. I see. It’s a kind of curse, then. As long as the target is within the sight of those Magic Eyes of yours, they’ll continue to be burned by your divine fire. And I see you’ve come up with a pretty fancy explanation, calling this curse that takes one minute to complete a sentence.” (Anos)
Even as the silver flames were scorching his body, Shin instantly drew near Nosgalia and swung his Pillage Blade Gilionojes at his Magic Eyes. If the blade could slash his eyes, it’d take his sight away.
However, golden flames rose up and acted like a shield by blocking his sword.
As if it was calculated, Shin took one more step forward and struck Nosgalia in the back with his right elbow.
The flames blocked that too, but at that same time, Shin plunged into his blind spot.
And yet, the silver flames on Shin’s body didn’t disappear.
“The Magic Eyes of a god have no blind spot. This sentence is absolute.” (Nosgalia)
The golden flames gathered into Nosgalia’s hand, and he was going to burn Shin’s body with them.
As it happened, the flames began to take the shape of a sword.
“Now, with this Divine Sword Roduier, judgment shalt be rendered. Know that even the skill of the Disastrous God-Slaying Sword, the mightiest swordsman of all demonkind, is nothing more than child’s play before the Divine Sword.” (Nosgalia)
The flames had been shaped into the golden, sparkling Divine Sword Roduier.
It easily destroyed Shin’s jet-black armor, but he dodged just in time to avoid the blade.
Along with a few splatters of his blood, a piece of paper fell out of his formal attire in tatters.
It was the page describing the Love Fairy Fran, which Reno had given to him two thousand years ago.
Shin quickly discarded the God-Slasher, and reached for the page.
But the Divine Sword Roduier fell right from right above and skewered his hand, nailing it to the ground.
“Guh…!” (Shin)
Blood oozed out from the back of Shin’s hand.
“Haha!” Nostalgia let out a dry chuckle as he looked down at the page that fell to the ground.
“Thou art such a fool, God-Slaying Sword. Were thee that desperate for love? Alas for thee, thy love is solely due to the miracle of a god. The moment Avos Dilhevia was born, it had already served its purpose.” (Nosgalia)
Nosgalia spoke to Shin while keeping his red Magic Eyes on his body.
“Soon, thy sentence wilt come to an end. Thou shalt die in penitence, Disastrous God-Slaying Sword. For the sin of not thanking a god for that love of yours.” (Nosgalia)
He only had a few seconds left.
The silver flames would consume Shin’s source.
But right before it happened, he suddenly vanished from sight.
Despite being impaled and nailed down by Roduier, Shin escaped from there with ease.
“――He’s not a fool.” (???)
A voice echoed.
When Nosgalia slowly turned his eyes toward its owner, he saw a hooded girl standing at the entrance of the Throne Room.
Shin was by her side.
Overcome with surprise, he just stared at her.
“His love wasn’t a miracle. I finally realized that.” (Rina)
Beyond her hood, I could see her amber eyes.
They had the glint of an ancient great spirit I had met somewhere before.
“My husband is the Demon King’s right hand. His sword never failed to cut down your words. They never reached his ears. He’s never heard any of your divine words!” (Rina)
Wrapped in a pale green light, her hood was suddenly blown away by the wind.
Her hair was as beautiful as a clear lake, and she had six wings on her back.
This girl, who was wearing an unblemished jade-colored dress, was the Great Spirit Mother still mentioned in legends――
It was Reno.
“Shin has always carried love in his heart. This love I taught him, this love he nurtured with me, isn’t tarnished by any divine miracle. You’re the one who’s mistaken about everything. His love was never a miracle!” (Rina → Reno)
Nosgalia turned his gaze to Reno.
The guy claimed he couldn’t feel anger or sorrow, yet his eyes seemed to emit some dark glow.
Shin stood up to protect her from the gaze of his Magic Eyes.
“…Reno…” (Shin)
He turned his back a bit, and Reno smiled at him the same way she used to.
“…I’ve come to fulfill my promise, Shin. I’m sorry I made you wait two thousand years…” (Reno)
Shin quietly shook his head, and readied his Pillage Blade.
“Let’s take her back. Misa is no Child of God.” (Shin)
Shin smiled as he spoke.
“She is our child.” (Shin)
When Reno nodded, Shin kicked off the ground.
She held her hands out in front of her eyes, and drew a magic circle.
After two thousand years, Reno had come back to life to convey her love.
The one by her side was the Spirit King, her spouse.
Without fear or hesitation, the two challenged the one responsible for their tragedy standing right in front of them.
In order to recover their beloved child, who was once stolen from them by a god, with their own hands――
