The maids of honor catch up with the newcomers.

"Thunder of judgment!

　Raise your magic and summon a thunderbolt from the sky to reside in the wise man's sword.
　Push back something angelic with a lightning-soaked blow.

Master!

　The maids who were struggling with their injuries were surprised by my appearance.

Are you okay?　Who else is left?
"Run away, master!
Yes, we'll take care of it.

"--

　I looked around at the maids in silence.
　The maids just scoffed at that.

　I didn't stare, but I couldn't deny that there was a little discomfort.

　With a secret sigh, I secretly sighed and

"Who else is left?
"No, no. We're the first. The master woke up sooner or later.
That's good. I'll get everyone together and say it later and make it clear, but I'll say it now.

　Look around again at the maids.
　This time be careful not to show your displeasure.

From now on, you will not be allowed to risk your life for me.
"...... yes

　The maids nodded sparsely and accepted what I said, for the moment.
　But the light behind their eyes hasn't changed.

　If the same situation were to come again, I would risk my life as well.

　It is the eye that secretly insists on such a thing.
　Very well, I'll tell you that later.

"I'm awake now, and I'll leave you in the shadows.
""Yes!

　The maids all responded immediately and one by one went back into my shadow.
　You listen to these orders honestly: .......

And I didn't have time to think about it.

　The ones who drove them back with their deadly swords, which also used the abilities of the godlike, have returned.

　They were still angelic looking guys.

　Shiro based clothes, four wings flapping on their backs, a halo pointing slightly.
　There were ten of them in total.

　They attacked us all at once.
　They attacked with their long weapons...something that was neither a staff nor a spear.

　The attacks were sharp, but not very strong.

　Hossen's two swords are much faster and stronger.

　First you catch it, then you stop it and then you use your magic.
　So I used my wise man's sword to guard the first two attackers.

!

　The moment I received it, an inexplicable sense of loss passed through my body.
　Something inside of me was snatched away.

　Kick the ground and keep your distance.
　Assess the damage as soon as you land.

Check the damage as you land. ...... Huh?

　There was no damage.
　There was no loss of strength or magic.
　Still, there was a sense of loss.

　Something was lost.
　Not strength or magic, but something.
　That's for sure.

Guarding is not a good idea either.

　Pulling myself together, I jumped into the angelic spell again.

　This time there were four of them, up and down, left and right, surrounded by a barrage of spears and wands.
　I dodged them.
　I ducked through the briefest of gaps in the siege.

　This time nothing happened.
　I saw one person chasing after me and as I took the blow a sense of loss overtook me again.

　You shouldn't take them.
　I have to dodge.

　What about the attack?
　So I thought, while avoiding the attack of the one closest to me, just a simple slash with my wise man's sword.

Mmm.

　The angelic was shallow due to a spur-of-the-moment jump.
　But it didn't matter.

　The problem was two things.

　First, as soon as I cut him, another sense of loss hit me.
　Apparently contact is a bad idea.

　The other is--

"Alec!
"Eliza!

　I was astonished.
　Without turning around, I judged Eliza's location by the voice I heard while putting up the barrier with magic and jumped in front of her.

　I was dressed like that, protecting Eliza from the angelic guys.

'Why did you come back?


What's going on there?
I get it.
"I've been watching you for a long time.

　I see, that's why you noticed something was wrong with me and came back.
　By the way, there's no sign of the maids. It looks like she left them behind.

　I'm a little relieved to hear that, and explain about the loss.

"Would an angel do such a thing ......?
No, they're not angels.
"Isn't that an angel?
"Yeah, it's angelic, but it's not an angel. Technically, it's the body of an angel, but it doesn't have a soul in it.

　Yes, that's another strange thing I noticed.
　The moment I slashed at him with my wise men's sword, I knew.
　That my opponent didn't have a soul in him.

"Can something move without a soul?
So I'm in trouble and I'm lost.
"...... Indeed,

　A convinced Eliza.
　So she made her own analysis.

"If they sent this to me, it won't be around for a long time.
"Huh?
God's Punishment. . enough to knock Alec unconscious for the first time, and if you can get a second shot in a row, Alec will be gone by now.
"...... Indeed,

　It's like heaven and earth are in a vice to crush me, a divine punishment from the Creator.

　Eliza was right when she sent these strange soldiers to chase after us.
　Just knowing that this is not the case for the time being makes me feel a little better.

Anyway, just take it down. You can do it, right?
I agree. Let's wait until things settle down to examine them.

　It's been tense ever since my angel arrived.
　Eliza and the maids won't be comfortable until things settle down here.

　I regrasped the wise man's sword.

"Are you sure?　There's a sense of loss, right?
"It shouldn't be too much of a problem to beat the ten men in front of me.
Okay.

　Eliza was convinced, and a hint came through that she would stay on the sidelines.

　I regrasped my wise man's sword.
　After pushing back, I dove at the unprepared, angelic figures.

　It's still not much of a movement.
　I jumped in and slashed at them like a riotous sword.

　One by one.
　Some at the top left, some at the bottom right.
　Each one sliced off a piece of wing.

　The three angels stopped moving and fell to the ground with a thud.

That's right. When you're clear of doubt, in an instant.
Yes, I've heard of the wise men's sword and how to deal with it.
So--Alec!

　A relieved Eliza cried out.
　The ten fallen angels stood up at once.

It's okay.

　I did what I had to do and was sure of success, I say.
　The angelic creature did not move.

　He stood up, but his eyes were on me, and his gaze was not hostile.
　Eliza is the first to realize what that gaze is.

"Waiting for orders?

　Emperor Elisabeth. With tens of millions of Imperial subjects, she is very sensitive to this kind of gaze and emotions.
　So I noticed right away.

What's going on?
There's a word for karma. Each of those four feathers seems to resemble a letter. So I cut off the 'cause' and inserted a new one.

　Even as I was explaining, changes were happening.

　New feathers grew out of the section of feather I cut off.

　It's not pure white, but it's not black either.

　A white feather as close to the color of light as possible has grown back.

A new cause-......-you are the new master.
That kind of thing.
"Haha ......, you're always so much better than I expected.

　Eliza seemed somewhat happy, though with a dumbfounded sigh.