It was a mountain path they had walked once before.
Tracing the nocturnal trail for the second time, counting the return trip, the group rushed toward the towering temple, their path illuminated by the glow of a magic tool.
They reached the steps leading to the plaza.
The area was open to the star-filled sky, bathed in enough starlight to see the entire expanse. Even the stones used to construct the temple seemed to emit a faint, ethereal glow.
At the top of the stairs, a man stood just inside the plaza.
Orphide, having arrived well before Vane and the others, heard their approaching footsteps and turned.
"I see," he said, a cool smile playing on his lips. "So this was your doing."
Vane and the others glared at him, each of them readying their weapons.
Paying them no mind, Orphide advanced deeper into the plaza.
Midway through his stride, he snapped his fingers, manifesting a pool of jet-black mana beneath their feet. It acted like a bottomless swamp, threatening to seize their legs and swallow them whole.
"Not a chance!"
Squall repelled the shadow with his magic while they were still on the stairs. Undeterred, Orphide launched his next strike.
He swung his arm, firing the mana enshrouded around his hand in a volley of projectiles. Kaito stepped forward, intercepting the numerous light orbs of mana with the shield Airia.
As Orphide waited in the plaza and adjusted his glasses, the lenses caught the starlight, glinting with an eerie brilliance.
"I knew it. You’re that priest from the rumors."
"I am not sure who 'that' refers to, specifically, but..."
They had already shared information about Orphide, including his appearance. They knew a Demon King Cultist existed who possessed abnormal regeneration abilities and utilized highly destructive magic.
"In any case, I do not have much time to play with you," the priest said.
A malevolent pressure rolled off him, reaching Vane and the others with vivid, terrifying intensity.
"Everyone," Vane called out. The group nodded to one another.
This was the battle where they would finally confront Orphide. For them, it was a fight against a powerhouse unlike any they had ever encountered.
"First, allow me to offer my praise. You are indeed the descendants of the Seven Heroes."
Vane felt a surge of doubt at Orphide's words. "What are you talking about?"
"What am I talking about? There is no need for such modesty, is there? It was impressive reasoning for an enemy. I was surprised to find you had hidden the Ring of the Water Goddess beforehand. Furthermore—"
While Vane and the others remained bewildered, Orphide continued.
"It seems you have also hidden skilled knights below."
Again, they didn't understand. They knew nothing about knights being dispatched to Windea, nor about someone hiding the ring.
To begin with, Vane and his companions didn't even know where the Ring of the Water Goddess was located. According to legend, it was hidden somewhere in the area, but they lacked the specific knowledge the Cult possessed.
"Oh?" Orphide said, looking slightly surprised. "From your reactions, it seems the Heroic Archduke families are not involved after all."
Vane ignored the observation. "Did you think you could just walk away with the ring because it’s the Holy Day of Water?"
"Yes. I considered the possibility that the seal might change as the Power of the Water Goddess peaked. However, I was mistaken. The fact that the ring was removed before today is proof enough. I wonder, how on earth was it retrieved...?"
Orphide's goal was exactly what they had surmised, yet the missing ring continued to baffle Vane's group.
The priest's explanation revealed the motive behind the chaos. In this timeline, he had once tried to retrieve the ring and failed. He had concluded that a special day was required for its extraction, which was why he had come to Windea.
He had heard reports earlier that it couldn't be retrieved. This meant that after the cultists he had dispatched left the area, someone else had carried it off. Orphide had been genuinely shocked to learn upon his arrival that the ring was gone.
The only certainty now was that battle was unavoidable.
"How stupid," Sera said. "Wouldn't it have been better if you'd focused your strength here instead of wasting it on other towns?"
"We had our own circumstances," Orphide replied. "I merely went to receive a holy relic and found Leomel's military forces waiting for me... Regardless, I would have eventually bared my fangs against Leomel again."
"And you think we took it just because it's missing?"
"An astute observation. However, since you also seem to be in the dark, I wonder what should be done."
After a moment of thought, Orphide let out a short sigh.
"—I wanted that ring to enhance the effects of the Tears of Elfen."
The words were a whisper, heard by no one.
As if accepting a chore, he rolled up his shirt sleeves slightly, revealing an expensive-looking silver wristwatch on his left arm.
"No matter. It doesn't change the fact that I'll be killing you."
His pale skin revealed a slender but muscular build. He unfastened one extra button at his neck.
Priest Orphide began to bounce lightly on his feet. He took a stance, layering a dense, dark-red aura over his hands like gloves.
The priest made the first move.
"Now, let me show you how an adult kills!"
Orphide slammed his arms into the plaza’s stone paving. A wave of mana surged toward Vane’s party, kicking up jagged debris.
"Oraaa!"
Kaito Leonard stood his ground, manifesting a wall of light.
Orphide knitted his brows in annoyance and spat out a curse as he advanced. "Infuriating."
He slammed into the wall produced by Airia.
"I won't let your attacks through!" Kaito roared.
"Very well. Then try to endure this."
Such was the strength of a priest who specialized in martial arts. The strikes unleashed by the dignified, noble-looking Orphide were filled with murderous intent. He delivered a flurry of punches followed by a series of refined, bone-shattering kicks.
Kaito's light wall sustained more damage than it had during their first encounter. The priest's fists, enshrouded in dense mana, hammered against the shield again and again.
"What the hell is with this guy's strength?!" Kaito grunted.
"Oh? Are you already struggling?"
"Don't be stupid! You can only act tough for now!"
Despite his bravado, the tremors were intense. Kaito stood firm to protect his comrades, blocking the continuous assault. While Airia itself was indestructible, the wall of light it produced was not. A sound like shattering glass rang out as massive cracks spider-webbed across the barrier.
"How about my magic!"
Squall, though a healer by trade, unleashed a volley of offensive white magic. While his spells lacked the raw power of Lizred's or the physical impact of Vane’s, holy power was exceptionally effective against the wicked mana of the Cult.
He fired a dozen arrows of light. They flew with the speed of the wind, and one pierced Orphide's fist. No blood flowed from the wound, but the holy energy caused the priest's movements to sluggishly stall.
"Go! Vane!"
Vane, having circled behind Orphide, made his move. Drawing on the experience gained against the Wadatsumi and his grueling training, he channeled holy power into his blade.
It was a brilliant light—the Power of the Hero, a force specifically designed to destroy those who served the Demon King. His sword was soon filled with a radiant silhouette.
Orphide avoided the swing with a nimble cartwheel, kicking off Kaito's wall to regain his balance mid-air. Even so, the tip of Vane's blade grazed the side of Orphide's neck, instantly evaporating the blood that welled up.
"Don't forget about me!" Charlotte cried.
Having changed her position unnoticed, she drew her bow to its limit. The arrow she unleashed was enshrouded in a razor-sharp vortex of wind, spiraling as it pierced Orphide's shoulder.
"I had heard the rumors, but I am truly surprised to find the blood of Hero Ruin truly remains!"
The arrow stuck into the stone floor, but Orphide's wound closed instantly.
"...What is with his power?" Sera muttered.
"Upperclassman Sharo, it’s just like we heard," Vane said. "An abnormal regeneration ability."
"Yeah... I know, but at this rate..."
"It’s not like we’re helpless," Vane countered. "My power was definitely working."
While no one else could draw blood from the priest, Vane's sword had successfully left a mark.
"In that case, we just have to keep going."
But that wasn't their only strategy. Vane remembered the advice Ren had given him.
While Vane's party spoke briefly, Orphide watched them with cold calculation.
Which one should I take down first?
The priest lowered his center of gravity and charged toward Squall. Kaito immediately stepped in to intercept him.
"Did you think you could do something about me?" Orphide mocked.
"Yes. I did."
"You... don't underestimate me!"
"Not at all. It is an objective fact."
Orphide followed his cool smile with a vicious flurry of punches. Kaito, occupied with protecting Squall, was pinned down.
Suddenly, Orphide changed his trajectory. He enshrouded his arm in mana denser than anything they had seen yet and slammed it into the stone floor.
His target was Charlotte Rofelia.
A wave of mana tore toward the archer. Because Kaito was occupied with the direct assault, he couldn't redirect his shield to protect her. Lizred fired a burst of fire magic to offset the impact, but the residual force still reached Charlotte.
She was sent skidding several meils across the stone. Sera rushed to her side.
"Sharo! Are you okay?!"
"Kh... I... I'm fine, but—" Charlotte grimaced, her leg badly sprained.
"I intended to take both of your legs," Orphide said, instantly shifting his focus toward Sera and the injured Charlotte.
To protect her friend, Sera swung her sword. "Haaaaaaah!"
Lightfall—the signature technique of the Holy Sword Arts. As a Master Swordsman Class combatant, Sera’s strike drained the vitality from her opponent’s body. Vane followed up with his own Lightfall. Both were blocked by Orphide's mana-clad arms, but the effect was undeniable.
Vane and Sera exchanged a determined nod.
They recalled their meeting in the pilot house of the Deus shortly after leaving the Capital.
"Ashton said that?" Kaito had asked.
"Ren heard it from a survivor," Vane had explained. "It was just a rumor, but we need every clue we can get."
"But will it actually work?"
"Listen, Kaito, it’s worth a try," Charlotte had chimed in. "Vane and Sera just need to use Lightfall against his mana."
In the face of Orphide's regeneration, a pure physical battle was a losing game. However, his mana was not infinite. Every time he healed, he consumed energy. If they couldn't deplete his health, they would drain his mana.
Lightfall was the perfect tool. The holy attribute within the technique weakened magical defenses and struck at the core of the enemy's power.
The seven heroes-to-be now understood their roles. Vane and Sera would be the primary attackers.
"Hmm," Orphide hummed, sounding almost impressed. He realized they had found a way to accurately exhaust him in a short amount of time. "However, it is not enough."
The priest was still formidable. He unleashed a circular kick to clear the area and distance himself from the swordsmen. Even alone, he moved as an equal against all seven of them.
Charlotte stood up, enduring the pain, and readied her bow once more. Kaito stepped to the front, shield raised.
"At this rate, we're in a war of attrition," Kaito warned. He wasn't being pessimistic; he was being realistic. Lightfall was working, but they needed something more. "We can make him flinch, but I don't think we can kill him unless we land one of Vane's serious blows."
They needed a decisive opening.
Think hard about why I have this power, Vane told himself.
Kaito nudged him with his elbow. "Upperclassman Kaito?"
"You're not fighting alone. Don't forget that we're fighting as seven."
Orphide attacked again. As the exchange continued, the fatigue of Vane’s party became apparent. Unlike the priest, who used his mana lavishly, the seven students were running out of breath. Even Kaito was starting to flag.
Vane's sword and the Lightfall strikes were doing their work, but Orphide's sheer natural strength was cornering them.
Lizred finally made her move. She held her staff horizontally and shouted, "The six of you, buy me some time!"
"How much?!" Vane asked.
"A lot! A lot!"
She closed her eyes and began an ancient chant. Fire erupted from her staff. Kaito, Vane, and Sera formed a wall to protect her, desperately parrying Orphide's relentless assault.
Seconds felt like minutes. Orphide's straight punches and sharp kicks were intended to kill.
After thirty grueling seconds, Lizred’s eyes snapped open.
"How about this! Try to brush this off if you can!"
Dragon's Breath—a high-tier fire spell. A torrent of flame nearly ten meils wide roared from her staff, the tip shaping into a majestic, snarling dragon's head.
Orphide's eyes widened. He braced his entire body. "To exercise such power!"
He spread his arms to catch the flames. Sweat appeared on his forehead for the first time as Lizred poured everything she had into the spell, shoving the Dragon's Breath against him.
She pushed through.
Orphide was blasted back, slammed into the rock face. The flames continued to pour from her staff for a hundred meils, swallowing him whole. The priest clicked his tongue, his mana reserves finally dipping dangerously low from the constant regeneration.
Lizred fell to her knees. When Vane tried to go to her, she shouted, "Don't worry about me! Think of something while you have the chance!"
They used the brief window to coordinate.
"We can't let this opening go to waste!"
Squall fired a volley of light arrows while Charlotte unleashed a barrage of wind-sharpened projectiles. They aimed precisely for Orphide's mana-enshrouded limbs while he was still pinned against the rock.
Orphide swayed unsteadily in the smoke.
"Don't feel bad about the numbers!" Sera yelled, swinging her sword as the dust cleared.
The priest was out of breath. His regeneration was still active, but he was visibly drained. One of Charlotte's arrows pierced his hand. He stumbled.
Sera’s Lightfall struck again and again. When the flinching priest tried to glare at her, a projectile of light traveling at ultra-high speed struck his temple.
"Nemu can do this much too!"
Nemu had used a specialized round from her magic tools designed to interfere with enemy mana.
"Kh... Descendants of the Heroes...!"
Orphide was still a high-ranking priest of the Cult. He enshrouded himself in a massive burst of dark-red mana, the sheer pressure blowing Sera, Charlotte, Squall, and Nemu back.
He stood majestically, yet the exhaustion remained.
Had you forgotten about me?
Lizred, despite the sweat pouring down her face, grinned and readied her staff again, chanting the ancient words.
Orphide realized he couldn't ignore her magical output. He tried to charge in and kill her, but Kaito was there.
"Sorry, you didn't forget about me, did you?"
"The Shield of Leonarde—!"
"Like Sera said, don't feel bad because there's seven of us!"
Kaito generated a wall from Airia and pressed it directly against Orphide. Every muscle in the boy's body creaked, but he endured the priest's pressure.
"Guh... Descendant of Leonarde...!"
With his escape routes blocked by Kaito and the rocky terrain, Orphide was trapped. Kaito poured everything into the contest of strength, bolstered by Airia's legendary power.
"Remember this well! Remember the magic of Arkay!"
A second Dragon's Breath erupted. This one was even more powerful than the first. Kaito shoved Orphide back one last time and dove out of the way just as the flames swallowed the priest.
Lizred collapsed, unconscious.
The flames scorched Orphide over and over, burning him faster than he could heal. The priest was pushed deep into the ruins of the temple, where the stone floor began to melt. Finally, the fire subsided.
Orphide had managed to survive, but he was at his limit.
"Hah... hah..."
The priest gasped for air. He counted the attackers. Six.
One was still missing.
Vane, the descendant of Hero Ruin, had been waiting.
"Orphide!"
The priest was too exhausted to move. He had died countless times within those flames, his mana nearly depleted. Still, he enshrouded his arms for one final struggle. He watched the tip of Vane's glowing sword approach.
"Was it... me who was underestimating you?" he asked, laughing defiantly.
He grabbed the blade with both hands. It was a final contest of wills.
"To die before His Majesty's reawakening... is unacceptable!"
"Kh... guuuu...!"
Vane gritted his teeth, and the light of his blade intensified. Orphide laughed through the pain, channeling his dark mana through his hands into Vane.
Vane's hands turned a raw, burned red, but he didn't falter. He pushed the sword forward, inch by inch.
Finally, the light of the hero shattered the dark mana.
The moment Vane's holy power touched the priest’s bare skin, the dark aura vanished. The light had won.
In the ensuing silence, Orphide fell to his knees.
"...As expected, it was an infuriating power."
Vane's sword was buried in the priest's collarbone. Blood flowed freely now, the regeneration finally halted. Orphide looked up at the ceiling of the temple, and black mana escaped his back like a swarm of bats. He fell back onto the stone paving.
"...We did it."
Vane, having exhausted every ounce of his strength, fell to his knees.
His comrades rushed to him, their voices a blurred chorus of relief. Sera supported him while the others joined with the unconscious Lizred.
"You did it, Vane!" Kaito said, ruffling the boy's hair with a grin.
Vane was too tired to complain. He just wanted to rest. He felt like they had grown more in the last hour than in their entire lives.
Lizred eventually woke up and stood on her own. "Since I'm alive, I take it we won?"
The group laughed. They started to relax, discussing how they would get home.
Then, a heavy, resonant sound echoed.
Thump.
Orphide's chest heaved. The sound shouldn't have been audible from that distance, yet it rang in their ears.
In the history Ren knew, Orphide should have been dead. But the priest opened his eyes and sat up.
"It is... not over yet."
Still bleeding, he unleashed a vicious wave of mana.
Vane and the others were beyond exhausted. They couldn't fight like that again. But Orphide wasn't stopping. He prepared another pulse of energy. The seven students whipped their tired bodies, trying to find some reserve of strength to endure the hit.
Then, it happened.
A Golden Flame Wall erupted.
The barrier of shimmering fire manifested between the two parties, incinerating Orphide's attack with effortless ease. The brilliant light was reflected in Lizred's wide eyes.
"Stronger... than mine...?" she whispered.
When the flames subsided, the party saw a bewildered Orphide. The priest sensed something before the others did. He enshrouded his legs in mana and fired a sharp kick of compressed energy.
But the strike never landed. The wave of mana vanished before it could reach Vane’s group.
The attack that had taxed Kaito to his limit was neutralized by a single sword stroke.
A boy stepped forward, a Magic Sword in hand.
"—I'm sorry, I'm late."
In the sky above, the roar of an engine grew louder. As Nemu looked up, she saw the sailing-ship-like airship, the Lemuria, hovering near the rocky peaks.