The fist released by the blonde man pierced the belly of the group member whose head was being grabbed eagle-headed.

''Shashashashash!　I see!　So the idea was to measure our strength first!

　The group member who was pierced in the stomach flailed his limbs for a while, then broke free and stopped moving.
　Behind the blonde man, the man in the tube cap smashed his forehead against the member who grabbed both sides of his head.
　The dancer's forehead cracked and began to convulse violently.
　The tube cap man grabbed the twitching man's ankles and swept away the two members who were simultaneously thinning left and right with the bodies of the man he had killed, holding his sword.
　The two members of the group who had been beaten away immediately tried to regain their positions, but one of them caved in on his face with a front kick from the man in the tube hat.
　The other was stabbed in the throat by a sword that flew in from behind, and he died.

　The sword that flew from behind was fired by the blond man.
　From earlier, the blonde man had picked up the swords of the fallen knights one after another and threw them as if they were arrows, shooting through the guards on the roof.
　Consistent with this, he seemed to have sent swords flying at the members of the group who had been blown away by the man in the tube cap.

　And with a scream, one of the guards was thrown into the air from the second floor of the building.
　The man with glasses raised his hand above his head as if to raise his hand.
　The body of the fallen guard was pierced by the arm of the man with glasses, who was just below him.
　With a bang, the man with glasses threw the body of the guard away.
　Then the man with the glasses spat out a ladder stick with a bitter expression on his face and said, "Phew.
　Blood seemed to have entered his mouth.

''Took care of it!　I've taken care of all the cunning ones in hiding!　No cheating!　Hide and seek is boring!　Three, tha-na-na-na-na-na-na-na!

　A red-haired man came out of the window where the guards had been thrown out and was shouting something.

''I see.......that's the Four Deadly Disasters, huh?

　Van Shtos was silent and poised, but his eyes, staring at the scene, were filled with a quiet fire.
　It was as if the horrific scene that was unfolding was firmly burned into his mind.
　When I looked, my arm was trembling in small increments.
　But it was probably not due to fear.
　It was probably not from fear, but from frustration.

"I'm sorry....I wish I could have explained myself better.

　David was ashamed of himself.
　That time - when Chris had taken a stand and let him escape, he had been so desperate to escape that he hardly remembered how to fight the Four Deadly Plagues.
　There was no mention of strength or shit.
　It was just overwhelming.
　The power gap is too wide open to know anything.
　Only fear, seeping in.
　The only thing I could perceive in myself was a fear that was ultimately indescribable.

''.........''

　Check the strength of this one.　

　Holy rank #3, Vanstos Troia.
　The fifth of the Holy Order, David Hamonis, the
　The Sixth Degree of the Holy See, René Winforth
　The Seventh Degree of the Holy Order, Ramsus Fallonteza.
　The ninth degree of the Holy Order, Rogue Walter
　The tenth degree of holy rank, Günter Syden.

　Order of the Holy Tree, 272 members.

　What should we do?
　How do we divide them up?

I'll go first, sir.

　Van Shtos holds up his sword.

'The weakest, perhaps, is ... that red-haired man.

　That's the guy I just saw yelling out the window.

That's the one I'm gonna kill first.

　There was a clear intent to kill in the "I'll kill," part.
　Everyone listened in silence to Van Stoss.

''Meanwhile, Günter and the rogue, that blond man. Lord Rene, that man with the glasses Lord David, the man with the tube cap, please.

　In his own way, Vanshtos strained his voice so that everyone would understand.

'And Ramsus, I want you to continue to use your defensive techniques. "And Ramsus," he said, "I want you to keep up your defensive tactics," he said, "and I want you to keep up your defensive tactics. Give preference to those facing the man in the tube cap. And in a fight, I want you to focus on defense as much as possible. If possible, it would be more reliable if we could keep them at a distance from each other while they're fighting, to prevent them from coordinating.

　David understands Van Stoss's intentions.
　He must have grasped the pecking order of the power of the four evil plagues in the battle of Harold and the others.　
　First, VanShtos would take down the weakest-looking opponent in turn, while the other members of the group would be on the defensive.
　The plan was that after Van Stos joined the battle, they would each turn to attack in turn.
　It's true that it will be easier to fight if the number of opponents is reduced.
　However, if you take that measure.

A strong man's opponent, I mean, your burden is great, but may I trust you, Master David?
We're gonna have to do it.

　David turned backwards.

'You guys ... you ain't got a problem with that either?

　Everyone nodded silently in unison.
　The expression on their faces is tense.

　-- Well, this level of tension is better.

　David turns to the Four Deadly Disasters.
　Another member of the group has been killed.

　He closes his eyes once, then opens them.

　--Yes, I have no choice.

　I'm sure I'm much stronger now than in the past.
　The members of the knights are also incredibly skilled compared to the time of the previous leader.
　It's no longer the Holy Tree Order of those days.

　At that time--

　The four evildoers who were walking up to us suddenly stopped.
　Other than the four of them, there was already no one else moving in the vicinity.
　They lined up in an orderly line beside each other and then all at once stuck out their index fingers towards the heavens.

　--What?

"If there is such a thing as the Heavenly Purgatory Realm, and if the Purgatory God Odysoguzeia is glaring at this world--

　A man in a tube cap shouted cheerfully.

'Let us show God this carnage.

　A blank expression.
　A languid smile.
　A vicious smile.
　A smile of pure joy.

　Four faces, lined up ominously.

Let me show you that man is capable of killing without fear of God and full of adventure. We are the proof of human courage. We are the brave ones. Therefore, we will kill.

　The eyes of the man in the tube cap caught us firmly this time.

'Achieve, human.'

　When the man in the tube cap finished saying it, the four men lowered their arms in disarray without a sense of unity.

　I didn't know to whom the words were directed.
　I don't even know the meaning of the content.
　Is it a declaration of some sort, or is it some sort of ritual?
　Or is it some kind of ceremony?
　But - I can only understand the premonition that everyone in the Order remembers.

　It begins.

　The brunt of the four evils is finally coming this way and that way.

　Finally, the order has come around - it was like that.
　So far, they seemed to be killing the people who were coming at them first.
　Yeah.
　For example........as if they could do the number of things they had to do.
　It's as if they were saying 'I have to kill them because it's my duty', a slaughter driven by duty.
　That's what it looked like.
　That's what it is.
　The four of them do not seem to enjoy the slaughter itself.
　I'm sure you'll be able to get a good idea of what you're looking for.
　They really are a creepy bunch, David thought.

'Whoa!　I can't take it anymore!　Brother Beshgam!　I want to kill them too!　Especially that big one!　I want to play with that, I want to play with that, I want to play with that!　I want to play, I want to play, I want to play!
Okay, go.
'Yay!　Come and play with me!　My name is-- Soni, Angren!

　Thump.
　The red-haired man - Soni stepped in.

'Let's go.'

　As if to match his step, Van Stos moves.
　A distance that was twenty lathals at a leisurely pace.
　Soni closed that distance with a single foot.
　Soni pounces on Vanstos with her foot like an arrow.
　But Van Stos has matched it well.
　With the momentum of bumping Soni's approaching momentum and his own acceleration, he swung the two pairs of great swords in his hands.

''Wow!　This big one, much faster than I expected!　Ugh, wow!

　Soni quickly twists his body around to try and avoid the shot.
　And Van Stos's muscles rise and the trajectory of the sword changes.
　The struck down sword catches Soni's body.

''Geez!''

　Soni is slammed to the ground.
　Van Shtos's blade strikes Soni in the side of the head.
　And.

　Slowly.

　Blood seeped into Soni's armpits.
　In addition, the expressions of the other four evildoers could be seen to have changed.
　The man in the tube cap only moved one eyebrow, but the other two looked a bit surprised.

''Hee--''

　Soni made a shrill noise and peeled her eyes away.

"It's blood....I'm bleeding....

　A shadow descends on Soni's head as she checks her blood on her palm.
　The great sword of Van Stos, swung down by a rigid arm.

''Aaaaaaaaah!　This guy is scary, oh, oh, oh!

　Soni screamed and ran into the back of the alley, screaming.

'Hey, he's going to do it!　That's good!

　The blonde man put his hand on the shoulder of the man in the tube cap.

''There's a guy like that in King's Landing, too!

　The blonde man points amusedly at Van Stos, who is chasing after Soni.
　But the next thing his eyes caught - Rene.

Well I like it better that way. Hey, Beshgam, you've killed enough of them, haven't you?　Isn't it about time ... that we had some free time?
It's not enough.
Kill me!　Because I'll kill a lot more of them.　So, you know what?　And I want to go find Cecily Arkwright. I've been itching to do it since yesterday.
Well at the very least, you killed as many as you needed. It is what it is. Well well you'll do as you please. I'm going to, well let's just head on over to the building.

　The gaze of the man in the tube cap - the man called Beshugam - catches the St. Renousled School.

''What about you, Zemeckis?''
Okay, I'll just go that way.

　The man with the glasses, the man called Zemeckis, gazes lecherously at St. Renousseled Castle, where the Holy King is located.

You'll find kings and queens and princes and princesses there, right?　They're going to- Yeah, well, that's just the way it is. Oh, masso--

　Zemeckis spoke to the blond man - the one he called Masso.

'Cecily Arkwright, but ... don't break it completely, okay?　Just wait for me, okay?
Oh?　It's rare to see you get so attached to a girl. Anyway, I get it. I won't break you completely. Of course, I'll feel free to do whatever I want right up to that point, though, okay?

　Masso looks around.

When I'm done with the Berg, I'm going to fly all over King's Landing to find my beloved Miss Cecily. The area where that nobleman's wife lives is suspicious?　No, you could ask a guy who seems to have grown up with... hands?

　Masso's glaring eyes turned to David and the others.
　David and the others were flabbergasted.
　It seems that not only David but the other members of the group were stunned by the awfulness of Van Stoss.

''Oh, us too--let's go!

　Everyone is reminded of their role by David's command.
　The members of the group tighten their expressions in unison.
　And all at once, they run out.

　--It's possible.

　The battle of Vanstoss just now.
　The man named Soni who escaped.
　I can do it.
　He may be the Four Deadly Wounds, but he's still human.
　If we do it right, we can do it.

"First, we'll split them up-- okay!

　The cobblestones burst open.
　Zemeckis stepped in.
　The leg power to shatter the stone pavement with a single step.
　For a moment, I was almost frightened.

　Thud.

　Intimidating as if a giant were rushing towards you.

　Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.

　Accelerating, three massive bodies.
　The earth is shaking.
　The earth is shaking.

If you want to do it, I'll do it, okay?
"Kill.

　The three giants are gathering momentum and rushing forward.
　And.

Shhh!

　Masso jumped up.
　The next moment, a huge shadow flew over the heads of David and the others.
　A Masso with his eyes and teeth stripped of mischief descends.
　The two members of the group are in a hurry to get to know each other.
　Two members of the group are trampled to death by Masso.

　When he landed, Masso was just surrounded by the group members.
　But it was obvious that he dared to jump into the center.
　Massot, who had a miserable light in his eyes, opened his big mouth and cackled.
　That gaze shot through Rene.

It's a good thing that you're not the only one.　Brave knight-sama!
"Fall back and spread out!　We'll take care of this one as planned!

　While Günther says off, the rogue deploys an abbreviated technique - an abbreviated defensive technique - while moving to check Masso's check with the holy sword that poured the holy element.
　Continuing on, Günther activates the ability of the magic sword.
　The sword is charged.

''René, I'll leave the man with the glasses over there to you!

　David also deployed a defensive technique with the ring's magical tools while holding the holy sword that was already poured with holy elements.

'Two, three and four squads, follow me!　That guy with the tube hat, he's the stronger of the four!　For now, keep a certain distance and focus on the jutsu!　If he steps in, focus on evasion!　Got it?!
''By taking coordinated movements, you can exert many times more power than an individual, huh?

　What stood in front of one of the group members, who was about to take action, was

I see, this is the original Saint Jude.......more than I expected.

　It was the man in the tube cap who finished the move in an instant.
　David hurriedly deployed his defensive techniques in front of the group members.
　The group members immediately jumped back.
　But the man in the tube hat immediately closes the distance.
　And then Beshgum's blow crushed the corpsman's skull in a stupor.

'But it's not enough.

　--Are you moving faster than you were?

　David felt his whole body stand on a general hairiness.

　--Really, can you do it?

　A moment later, the walls of the house burst open.
　The one who burst through the wall and appeared was Soni.
　And without a moment's pause, it was Van Stoss who jumped out from behind the hole in the wall.
　He was bleeding from his forehead.
　But it seems to be a minor injury.

''Brother, this guy is strong!　I'm so happy!　I haven't felt like this in a really long time!　Ughhhhhh, it's bubbling up!　Gush, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, the top is going to come up, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh!

　Van Shtos silently replaced the two great swords in both hands with the opposite hand.
　Then, without hesitation, he thrust the two great swords in his opposite hand down into the face and heart of Soni, who was in a fallen state, without hesitation--.

　　　　　　　　　　*.

..........

　My consciousness is muddled.
　Somehow I try to open my eyes.
　I hear a voice.

"Hey, you know where Cecily Arkwright is, don't you?
Hmm ... suppose you think that if I knew I would be the one to tell you?

　Ramsus' voice.
　There was no life in his voice.

'And you're already dead anyway?　Why are you being such a boring a**h*le?
We, the Brotherhood of Fallonteza we love beautiful things. To die for beauty is to die for beauty and that's why I love you. If this is his goal I cannot teach him anything more than that, can I? That is not something a man like you should be allowed to touch.
Well, you're a very macho young man, aren't you?

　The sound of crushed flesh and crushed bone.
　I couldn't hear.
　I heard Ramsus.
　He's dead.
　....
　He was killed.

I'm going to go too. It would be nice if Sonny could find Cecily Arkwright quickly, but he doesn't really care about women, so there's no need to worry about that.

　The sound of popping cobblestones.
　Immediately after, the signs disappear.
　The roar of "Oaahhhhhhhh" is moving away.

　And then.........what came was silence.

''Ugh........''

　David felt his consciousness finally become clearer.
　He opened his eyes thinly.
　He manages to crawl out from underneath the corpse of the corpses of the group members who were covered up.
　The one crawling on the ground is - lying face down on the ground, the place where Vanstoss is.

''I'm sorry, Vanstos........''

　In terms of results, the operation quickly turned into a total disaster.
　The cause was simple and clear.

　The Four Deadly Disasters were much stronger than they had imagined.

　The strength that Harold and the others had risked their lives to extract was not the true strength of the Four Deadly Disasters.
　The Four Deadly Disasters were even stronger than that.

　First, the rogue was killed by Masso.
　Next, Günther.
　Rene would be the one who fought the good fight.
　She is a berg tribe with wings, and she can use them to leap higher than an ordinary person.
　She managed to deal with Zemeckis while keeping a moderate distance while using that characteristic.

　David breathed briskly as he zealously aimed at VanShtos' body little by little.
　I'm the one who did my best, Davido thought to himself.

'You can only praise me for not running off like I did back then...'

　I managed to stick it out for a while, even though I was defending myself against that man in the tube cap.
　As he fought, he saw VanShtos alone at the edge of his vision, dealing with Masso and Soni.
　VanShtos was struggling to keep up with the two of them.
　But finally, Rene was grabbed by Zemeckis, ripped off his wings, and passed out on the ground - at that point.

　VanShtos was forced into a three-on-one situation.

　Even Van Stos couldn't help himself against the three of them.
　The knights also tried desperately to support Vanstoss, but the three of them didn't even take a look at the attacking group members.
　One after another, the members were killed as if they were insects.

　David caught the corpse of a man with a crushed face leaning against the wall with his gaze.

'Ram, Sass,'

　It was right after Rene had fainted.
　He thought this was a bad idea, and Ramsus went to cover Van Stoss.
　
　Nope.
　None of them failed.
　The opponent was just too strong, more so than I had imagined.

　And this time, once again, it turned out that there was an overwhelming difference in strength between Van Stos and the other eight swords.
　David dreamed.

　Sogut Sigismos,.
　Dearest Arkwright,.
　Van Stos Troia,

　And grown up, Chris Lenowskaia.

　If the four of them were together, or - if they were all together

　It was then.
　David's eyes widened in surprise.
　The woman whose white feathers had been dyed in blood - perhaps it was Renée.
　She was walking.
　Rene walked up to Van Shtos with an unsteady gait.
　She holds her belly in her hands.
　The sight of one wing was painful.

''Le, ne...?

　I wonder why.
　She had wrapped her face around a piece of cloth.
　The cloth was smeared with blood.

'Dabi, do?'

　They checked each other out in front of VanShtos's body.
　Rene dropped to his knees and touched his body with his hands while observing Vanstoss.

''........still breathing.''
Well, that's good.
We'll use the healing arts.
I'll help you with that.
"David, you....
Yeah, I'm not gonna make it, you know?

　David turns around with a chuckle.
　The tip of Rene's gaze.
　Yes.
　His right leg, no.
　Torn off by the man in the tube cap.
　The ground from which he was dragged is covered with blood that flowed from the severed surface.

I can't help but notice that I'm not going to make it-it's me. I know what I am.

　As he said it, David began to knead the holy element with the last of his strength.
　While kneading, he looked at the abdomen that Rene was holding in his hand.
　Looking at the amount of blood loss....................She probably doesn't have a chance of surviving either.
　Even now, she must be somehow maintaining her consciousness with her energy.
　Rene begins to draw a healing technique.

　Van Shtos was gutted in half of his belly by Zemeckis' fist, and then slashed deep into his right shoulder with his own great sword, which Masso wielded for fun.
　But as expected of Vanstoss Troia.
　The vitality of the sword is astounding.
　This is enough to save you.

'René, you take care of your shoulder and I'll take care of my belly.
Yes, sir.

　There was what sounded like a loud crushing sound in the distance.
　Continuing on, the sound of a collapse.
　What was going on?
　But now Davido didn't have time to think about it.
　It was more of a concern.

What's wrong with your face?

　David wasn't sure whether to ask or not, but he ventured to ask.
　Then René let out a proud smile, ugh.

'I cut myself open before that man raped me.
You mean that guy, Masso or something?
He lost interest and went away swearing.
Yeah, right. I'm sorry to hear that, but...
No.

　While replying, Rene's gaze was fixed on Ramsus, who had run out of steam.

''........is he gone, too, Ramsus?''
He was an honorable man... who died with his faith intact.
Yeah?

　The two of them then continued the healing technique in silence.
　It was a challenge to concoct the holy element in this state.
　But they couldn't let Van Stos die here.
　At least if he survived and joined the Commander and the others........
　Vanstos Troia is not a man who should die here.
　I'm sweating.
　I wonder why.
　The sweat feels strange, cold.

"Hey, René.

　............
　I waited, but there was no response.

'Rene?'

　He looked at Rene's hand, and there David finally understood.

'Oh--'

　The magic and the holy elemental light had disappeared.
　That's right.
　It had died out before I knew it.
　Before David knew it.
　But the wound on Van Stos's shoulder had closed up.
　The bleeding, enough to stop.

"You're doing well, Rene.

　In a trembling voice, David rallied her speechless.
　Then, with a flutter, the cloth wrapped around Renée's face unraveled.
　Seeing her face - Davido smiled.

「綺麗だ」

　目に涙が滲んでくる。

「とっても綺麗だよ、ルネ」

　　　　　　　　　　＊

　ルネがこと切れてから数分後。
　ヴァンシュトスの腹の傷はある程度までは塞がった。
　そしてもうこれ以上、聖素は練り込めない。
　どうやら限界がきたようだ。

　体温が異様に下がっているのがわかる。
　というか、体温を感じない。
　寒い。

　ダビドは、すでに逝ってしまったラムサスとルネを見た。
　二人は特にダビドと親しかった。
　独り身であったダビドは内心、二人を息子と娘のように思っていた。
　そして二人ともこんな自分を、とても慕ってくれた。
　幸せ者だった、と思う。

　他の団員たちにしてもそうだ。
　ダビドは眼球だけを動かし、横たわる無数の死体を静かに見渡す。
　皆、気のいい連中だった。
　言うなれば皆、我が子みたいな存在だったのかもしれない。

「親より先に、逝っちまい……やが、って……ったく、親不孝な、やつら、だ、ぜ……」

　視線の先には空が広がっていた。

　――だが、おれもすぐそっちに行くからよ……だから、またみんなで、楽しくやろうや。

　身体から、ぬくもりと力が抜けていくのがわかった。
　再び意識がぼやけてくる。
　その時だった。
　不意に意識に何か浮かび上がってきた。
　なぜだろうか。
　ふと思い出したのは、ヒビガミと名乗る男からセシリー・アークライトを守った、あの少年の姿だった。
　ダビドの口元が、微かに綻ぶ。

　――あの時みたいに……しっかり守ってやれよ、禁呪使い。

　そして――ダビド・ハモニスは静かに、瞼を閉じた。