I activated the Triple Synthesis Magic 'Ice-Steel Fang'—a fusion of water, earth, and wind—utilizing Magic Focus.
Hardened like steel by ultra-low temperatures, the condensed ice and snow coalesced into a small tornado, tapering into a thin, sharp point. The spiraling vortex of ice roared like a writhing serpent.
"...Here I go."
As I swung my arm, the icy vortex lashed out toward Gitan, snapping like a whip. It shattered Gitan’s Magic Barrier in a single blow and tore right through his arm, severing it completely.
"Nguuugh?! M-My right arm isn't regenerating...!?"
"To stop slime-type regeneration, you just have to freeze it! There's no way Master Lloyd wouldn't know something that basic!" Jiriel shouted.
The icy storm vortex that had pierced Gitan traced an arc under my control and curved back toward me. My next target was his left arm. Gitan hesitated to block with a Magic Barrier and attempted to dodge instead. Even so, he couldn't completely evade the reach of the spell, and the spot where the ice grazed him froze instantly. I manipulated the vortex, maintaining a relentless barrage.
"Wait, wait! ...I said wait! Guoh?! T-There are so many people around us! To attack without a care for them...! A-Are you truly royalty, sworn to protect the people?!"
"How rude. I am being careful. I'm attacking in a way that avoids hitting them as much as possible, aren't I?"
"That’s ‘cause we’re the ones acting as your shields, Master!"
True, even if it looked like a stray shot might hit them, Grimo and Jiriel were there to block it, so it was fine. As long as they didn't get hit, it wasn't a problem.
"Gugu... In that case, I shall use them as shields directly!"
Suddenly, Gitan dived into the crowd and snatched up a child who had collapsed in terror, grabbing them by the collar. He hauled the child close, pinning them in a chokehold. The coward... he really intended to use a child as a shield.
"That's low! Using a child as a shield!"
"Wha—?! How can you say that while you're still attacking?!"
For the record, I was only aiming at his feet to avoid the child. When I directed the ice vortex at Gitan as he leapt to dodge, he swung the child in front of him. Tsk. Clicking my tongue, I steered the attack wide and recalled it to my hand.
"Master Lloyd, no matter how good we are, we can't protect only the child with that kind of precision!"
"Our guard cannot withstand a direct hit from your magic, Master Lloyd! If he uses the child as a shield, we're at a stalemate!"
It was true; I’d end up caught in the crossfire. I gave up on the approach and deactivated 'Ice-Steel Fang'. The ice vortex I had pulled back dispersed into mist and vanished.
"Heh... Hehehe, hahahaha... I am relieved to see you aren't so foolish as to blow up a child. It seems you possess a human heart after all."
Gitan laughed with a dry, hollow voice, his face slick with cold sweat. I felt like he was being incredibly insulting.
"I see, you are a more significant threat than I anticipated. Despite still being a child, your mastery of magic is terrifying; it's no wonder Jiriel-sama holds you in such high regard. If I do not end your life now, you may become a threat I can no longer handle."
The right hand Gitan held up began to bulge and undulate, and a dragon's face erupted from his flesh.
"That's... a Black Dragon! The strongest dragon species in the Demon World! He can even manifest something like that?!"
"He must have obtained a specimen brought over by the Demon in the past... He's truly exploiting his position as Pope to the fullest...!"
A Black Dragon was a monster rarely seen even on this continent. It was said that its roar could make all living creatures tremble, and its Breath could incinerate an entire village in a single blast. If he unleashed that here, it would be a massacre.
"Kukuku, I didn't intend to go this far. But it's your fault. Yours for being so strong! Now, die! Bow down before my power and vanish, leaving not even ash behind!"
Gitan's mana surged into the dragon's head, and flames began to leak from its maw. The fool... is he really going to unleash a Breath attack in a place like this? The city would be devastated. Damn it, what should I do... Wait. If I use that.
The unusual application of Holy Magic that Galilea had mentioned. I had been wondering when I might find a use for it, and this was the perfect opportunity. I was going in without practice, but... I had to try.
I concentrated my mana at my fingertips. A brilliant light gathered there, beginning to emit a blinding flash.
"Holy Magic?! Ha! Do you still not understand that it is useless against me?!"
"■■■——"
High-speed incantation via Spell Bundles. I was fine. I’d make it just in time.
"——This is the end!"
The dragon's head unhinged its jaw and unleashed a torrent of crimson flame. In an instant, my entire vision turned pure white.
"...Farewell, my Church. I shall miss it, but I will take this opportunity to escape with my research results in the chaos."
Muttering to himself, Gitan moved to walk away—then his eyes nearly bugged out of his head. He froze as he saw me standing there beyond the clearing smoke.
"Wha... Why are you alive...?! No, not just you! Why is it that the building and the people are without a single scratch...?!"
Indeed, normally, a Black Dragon's Breath would have leveled the city—or at least turned this entire area into a sea of fire. Instead, the surroundings were completely untouched. The buildings were intact, and the believers simply looked confused, unsure of what had even happened.
"Yeah, I managed to pull it off somehow."
I let out a long sigh of relief. Walking toward Gitan, I felt the tension finally start to bleed away.
"D-Don't come any closer! If you take another step, this child dies!"
"It's over, Gitan. Give it up."
"You think... I'm bluffing?!"
Gitan snarled and dragged the sharp claws he held against the child's neck. Fresh red blood should have sprayed—or so he expected.
"...Eh? W-What’s happening...?"
The child was completely unharmed. They blinked, looking back and forth between Gitan and me with a dazed expression.
"Impossible! Kuuh?! Why! Why can't I wound them...?!"
There was a simple reason. Just before his attack, I had placed an Enchantment on his body with a specific Spell Formula. It was the Holy Magic 'Healing Light'. While it was a spell meant to heal the body with sacred light, it had a different application than standard Healing Magic.
In normal Healing Magic, the light produced by activating the Spell Formula heals the wound. However, 'Healing Light' attaches the formula directly to the target, healing them over time. Essentially, it was like a medicinal poultice. Surprisingly, it was classified as a Manifestation System Holy Magic, just like 'Radiant Armament'. If you performed an attack with the part of the body where 'Healing Light' was attached, the strike wouldn't deal damage; instead, it would heal the opponent.
Galilea and his men had discovered this during their combat training. By utilizing this, one could unilaterally nullify an opponent's offense. That said, if an opponent was calm, they'd realize what happened immediately, and discarding the Spell Formula was easy. It was really only effective when the target was completely losing their head.
Just like this.
"—Impossible! Impossible, impossible, impossible!"
Gitan shook his head, spiraling into a panic of bewilderment and confusion. In that opening, I masked my presence with Magic Isolation and slipped behind him. Then, I triggered the Purification System Holy Magic, 'Aurora'.
A flash of light enveloped Gitan.
"Kuuh?! T-The Barrier...!"
Gitan tried to deploy a Barrier, but the areas where 'Ice-Steel Fang' had grazed him were still frozen. Because of that, several of his brains had already shut down. I was faster.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
Gitan's massive body gave a violent, spasmodic jolt. The white smoke venting from his mouth dispersed into the air.
"You did it, Master Lloyd! The bastard's eyes are rolling back!"
"Gitan's malice is being purified. By the time he wakes up, he should be back to his old self."
Gitan slumped to the floor, unconscious. His face, for the first time, looked somewhat at peace.