Chapter 108: Claudia
I open my clenched fist buried in the darkness. In response to the voice calling out my name, my open hand reaches out and pulls her up from the depths of the abyss, entwining our fingers with the determination to never let go. I embrace Charl’s body tightly in my arms, holding her close.
“Charl…! Charl!”
I hug her tightly, wanting to reassure myself of the warmth in my arms.
“…Al.”
Her voice, her warmth – undoubtedly Charl’s.
“…I’m sorry. I couldn’t protect you, Charl.”
“…No, it was because I lacked strength. My weakness caused you worry and trouble… So if anyone should apologize, it’s me. I’m sorry.”
Charl’s arms wrap around my back, hugging me tightly, as if to confirm each other’s existence.
“…Makina san.”
“Lady Charl… I’m sorry. I…!”
“I’m glad.”
Before Makina could finish her apology, Charl stepped out of my embrace with a relieved smile.
“I’m so glad Makina san is back… That your life was saved…”
“…Why that face… I betrayed you all.”
“But you came back. You could have run away, it would have been easier, but you came back to us. And I couldn’t help Makina san because I lacked strength too.”
“……”
“Also… I knew. I knew you liked Al… So I won’t blame you. I understand your feelings, your suffering. If I were you, I might have done the same…”
“…That’s too soft-hearted, even for you.”
“Perhaps. But that’s who I am.”
Tearing through the afterglow of our reunion, a miasmic storm rages.
“Kuh… Hahah… Charl… If I can expel even you, there will be nothing left inside to interfere with me…!”
The wounds that had previously been healing start to close gradually.
It seems that with Charl’s escape from the miasmic world, the witch can now move freely.
“Al. Makina san. Please fight alongside me, not behind me, but side-by-side.”
The azure eyes before me no longer hold any doubt, only an unwavering resolve.
In response to Charl’s determination, the ring on my right hand emanates a powerful, pulsating light.
“……!”
In an instant, the words, memories, and the entire truth that the Saint had imparted to Charl flow into me from the ring.
…Ah, I see. So that’s it.
Normally, a spirit dwells within the magic stone of the [Royal Garment Ring].
By successfully contracting with the spirit residing in the stone, one can activate the [Royal Garment Ring]… But the spirit dwelling in this ring, which Elinne said was made from Netos’ heart, is half of the Saint’s soul. This magic stone was connected to Charl from the beginning – or more precisely, to the other half of her soul that resides within Charl. That’s why it could reach Charl, even when she was absorbed into the miasma, why I could grasp her hand.
“…Yeah. That’s right.”
I remove the ring and slip it onto Charl’s finger. The [Royal Garment Ring] fits her finger perfectly, as if it had been made for her to wear.
“Let’s fight together. Side by side.”
“…Yes!”
From the ring bursts forth the silver magic power – no, a golden radiance that Charl’s magic has transformed into.
“Lady Charl’s magic purity has increased? Then forming a contract with the spirit may be possible…!”
“There’s no need.”
Standing at the center of the golden light, Charl calmly declares:
“…I can sense it. The spirit residing in this magic stone is… the other half of the Saint’s soul that split off when she took residence within me. If the two halves of the soul are drawn to and connected with each other… then no contract is necessary. If the half within me enters this magic stone… it will be complete.”
A warm light emerges from Charl’s chest and flows into the ring.
I don’t understand what is happening, but what is clear is that the power I sense from the [Royal Garment Ring] has increased tremendously.
“Here I go!”
With Charl’s resolve, magic power bursts from her entire being, a golden storm raging around her.
An overwhelming amount of magic power. Even a mere [Ragment] would likely have its skin seared just by touching it.
“Wear the radiance – [Claudia]!”
Without a contract, the [Royal Garment Ring] is activated, summoning a spirit that is the embodiment of illuminating light – the same name as the one who defeated the Night Witch long ago, and as the spirit Charl now cloaks herself in.
And the [Spirit Armor] Charl dons… Its appearance is the same as the Night Witch’s, save for being pure white… no, a mingling of pure white and jet black, and the weapon being a sword instead of a scythe.
“Claudia…!”
The witch’s face twists with hatred. Her body had finished healing from the damage I inflicted.
“You dare interfere with me again, even in death…? Then this time, I shall utterly consume you with my abyss of despair!”
Miasmic darkness pours forth from the Night Witch’s entire being, assaulting Charl.
“Lady Charl!”
“Don’t let that shadow touch you!”
“It’s alright.”
Facing the encroaching shadow of utter despair, Charl remains unshaken, radiating light from her entire being.
The light and shadow grapple, neither overpowering the other, instead forming a perfect stalemate and harmony.
“Foolish… Anyone who touches my power should be consumed by [despair]!”
“Indeed. Your [despair] stops and robs everything of its power… with one exception.”
“An exception…!?”
“This is the power of the spirit [Claudia], my magic. Its ability is – [hope].”
Hope, the antithesis of despair. A power diametrically opposed to what the Night Witch wields.
“Hope means not giving up, taking steps forward even after stopping. Obtaining the light to defy despair. Anything that touches my power of [hope] will be revived from its stopped state and granted new strength.”
While the [despair] shadow wielded by the Night Witch stops and robs anything it touches of power, Charl’s light revives and empowers what it touches. Two opposing forces – Charl and the witch’s magic seem to cancel each other out.
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“And the power you’ve robbed with your [despair]…”
Charl’s radiant light envelops Makina and me.
“…My [hope] can revive it.”
“The ring’s power is back… [Alvida] and [Arsene] too…!”
“…Amazing. The fatigue is gone, and my wounds have healed! And I feel like my whole body has been enhanced by magic…!”
[Revival] seems akin to a healing spell. [Empowerment] quite literally empowers through enhancement magic.
“Claudia’s power, huh…!”
The witch shrieks, and countless spells appear around her.
“[Revival], you say? [Empowerment]? So what! Those are merely recovery and enhancement! Then I’ll simply overwhelm you with an onslaught of superior magic!”
More spells than can be seen, filling my vision – orbs of hellfire, lightning lances, ice blades, rocky debris. An immense amount of magic made possible by her overwhelming magic power. There are no gaps to evade this magical disaster.
“Do you think a naive girl prattling about innocence and [hope] and wishing for ideals can stop me!”
Along with the Night Witch’s fury, disasters with will approached. However, all of them were enveloped in pitch-black shadows.
“……Your words are correct. [Hope] alone cannot stop it. Ideals alone cannot stop it.”
Those shadows weren’t emanating from the Night Witch. Their source was the girl standing nearby.
“But now I know despair. That’s why I can stop you!”
What radiated from Charl’s body was a black radiance. It was unmistakably the magic power of the [Sixth Attribute], the same magic that the Night Witch had been controlling just moments ago.
“The power my spirit [Claudia] possesses is [Hope]. And—[Despair].”
“What…………!? Impossible, that can’t be! To possess both light and darkness!”
“Light and darkness. Humans possess both because that’s what being human means.”
The mass of magic [Stopped] by Charl’s [Despair] magic began to [Fade] in an instant and disappeared.
“Night Witch. You can only see one side of humans. Indeed, there is helpless malice writhing in human hearts. But humans aren’t just that. They also have kindness toward others, goodwill. They can even start over. That’s what being human is!”
“What can a mere girl like you say!”
“I’m not alone!”
Yes. Charl isn’t alone.
“You’re wide open while focusing on Lady Charl!”
Using the magical thrusters installed in the [Mechanical Goddess], Makina approached by gliding along the ground, bent forward, and immediately swung her blade upward.
“[Despair]!”
Shadows of darkness assaulted Makina. However, the [Hope] light she received from Charl enveloping her body neutralized the [Despair] darkness.
“…………!”
The witch reacted instantly to the raised mechanical blade. Though she couldn’t completely avoid it, the damage was limited to a shallow wound on her body’s surface.
“Just a scratch…!”
“Did you think such a surprise attack would work, Princess of Orchestra!”
“Not at all. I’m not a princess but a maid, you see? I must support my master.”
There was no need to make eye contact. By the time I had aimed my gun and accumulated magical power, Makina had already jumped backward and distanced herself.
“[Raging Wave Cannon]!”
[Alvida], revived by Charl’s [Hope] magic. A magic bullet enhanced further by [Bestowal]. A strike from above and behind, aimed at the Night Witch’s back as her gaze was drawn downward by Makina’s attack.
“——–…!”
By the time the witch noticed, the magic bullet had already shattered her body formed of miasma, carving cracks throughout.
“This coordination without any planning or eye contact… As expected of Al kun and Makina san.”
As the witch was blown away by our coordinated attack, Charl had already closed the distance and stepped in.
“—I’m a bit jealous!”
A flash. She drove a follow-up attack into the Night Witch with a sword wrapped in an aura of mixed light and darkness.
“GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!”
The strike imbued with [Fifth Attribute] magic force pried open the cracks carved into the Night Witch’s body, causing massive amounts of miasma to gush out.
“Guh… ugh… AAAAAAA…!”
The miasma continued to leak. Darkness gathered around the witch’s body as if trying to seal the wounds, but… perhaps because the injuries were too deep, regeneration wasn’t working properly. Though slight, fragments of darkness crumbled and fell from the witch’s body, unable to be fully repaired.
“Night Witch. You’ve lost.”
The moment I said that, the witch’s eyes glowed ominously.
“How incorrigible, you humans.”
More miasma spread from the witch’s entire body. Writhing, tentacle-like miasma extended as if bursting throughout the space. Some kind of attack? We instantly took defensive positions, but…
“It’s too early to celebrate victory.”
…The bursting miasma ignored us and shattered the curtain of miasma that had been deployed away from us. What flashed through my mind was the scene when Leo’s arm was torn off.
“Is Brother Leo the target?!”
“No, wrong, Alfred! I have no interest in your brother! Because I have—a wonderful daughter!”
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