Time to Go

The suddenly emerged tentacles waved about chaotically, and only after Vivian had subconsciously retreated to a safe area did she realize something was wrong.

‘Not good!’

The moment she landed and was about to act, she saw the tentacles reach for Adrian’s corpse and severed head, swiftly snatching them and retracting back into the depths of the altar.

Then, from underground, came a series of crunching, chewing sounds.

Adrian’s body was being crushed and devoured by that unknown entity.

Vivian’s mind told her that if she wanted to escape, she should flee right now instead of staying put.

‘…No, I can’t leave this thing behind.’

However, in the end, Vivian’s reason triumphed over her instinct.

She summoned a black scythe, gripping it with an innate elegance, and entered a full combat stance.

Originally, she had just wanted to confirm one thing: whether there were other transmigrators besides herself.

Adrian had admitted it under the threat of death and tried to win Vivian over—but Vivian had no intention of siding with other transmigrators, at least not with Adrian.

How long had it been since Lucia’s death?

This Adrian had already colluded with the Rhine Holy Church to this extent.

It was impossible that he didn’t know the future script.

But there was no extra time for idle thoughts now.

She took a deep breath, and then a behemoth slowly began to struggle and climb out from the center of the altar.

“Ha… Ha!”

The viscous black mud seemed to have gained a solid form, transforming into a stitched-together monstrosity of countless corpses and features from innumerable races.

At its top, a human body was particularly extended.

It was Adrian.

Though twisted, as if it had been ravaged into a ball and then unfurled again, Vivian could still recognize him as the city lord she had just killed.

“D-damn it! b*tch! Slut! Why wouldn’t you cooperate with me! You forced the premature birth of the Firstborn of the God, aaaaaahhhh!”

Adrian, barely maintaining a human form, roared back to life, his voice extremely furious, hoarse, and filled with madness.

Hearing it, Vivian couldn’t help but be taken aback.

‘Firstborn of the God? The Offspring of the Black Goat!’

A jolt went through Vivian’s brain as she finally realized what this thing he was cultivating truly was.

That was an entity from very late in the game.

To think that at this point in time, the Rhine Holy Church and Adrian were already messing with something like this!

Vivian wasted no more words.

After Adrian’s roar, she abruptly raised her hand and cast a spell.

In an instant, darkness once again enveloped the entire underground space, cutting off her opponent’s sight and senses.

While simultaneously slashing with a shadow blade, she also closed the distance between them.

“Roaaarrrrggghhh!”

Adrian, now under attack, let out a series of howls.

His jumbled limbs flailed wildly, crazily spraying beams of grayish-white light in all directions.

At the same time, Vivian’s attacks were like striking a sponge; after merely cutting open various wounds on its surface, the creature healed rapidly—

“!”

Sensing extreme danger, Vivian immediately abandoned the idea of a frontal assault and began to dodge nimbly.

Adrian’s attacks were also incredibly powerful, even reducing the disabled War Shrine nearby to scrap metal in an instant.

As for the Gospel Holy Knights who had been knocked unconscious by Vivian and were embedded in the walls, they were all obliterated by the turbulent energy without so much as a sound.

“Boom!”

The fused Adrian had, in a flash, gained power rivaling that of a Demon Lord.

The lances of light that burst forth pierced through Vivian’s dark nightfall, slamming into the surrounding walls and creating thunderous explosions.

The entire main keep clearly couldn’t withstand such an assault, and the whole area began to crumble.

Vivian’s brow furrowed instantly.

It seemed her choice had been correct.

If she had ignored this and allowed Adrian to truly cultivate this thing to maturity, a terrifying existence would have been added to the world.

The question now was, should she retreat, or continue to fight?

If she left this creature unchecked, it wasn’t Vivian’s problem.

After all, she was a Demon Lord and had no obligation to protect humanity.

But if no other Heroes could arrive in time, then all the other civilians in Faro Fortress would likely become fodder for the monster before her.

And at that very moment, a wave of warmth surged through her abdomen again.

“…Alright, looks like I have to fight, but just this one strike.”

Vivian took a deep breath, and then her figure began to flicker through the darkness like a phantom, making it impossible for Adrian to track her movements!

“Come out! Ah! Come out! I’m going to kill you!”

The twisted Adrian shrieked, having almost completely lost all human characteristics.

Vivian, however, remained silent, merely closing the distance with cold indifference.

She suddenly appeared beside him and raised the scythe high in her hands.

“Fine, then come and kill me—if you can.”

A cold light flashed.

A holy power split open its defenses, and the power of darkness poured in right after.

Adrian’s head fell to the ground once more.

His twisted, mutated face, just like before, was filled with an expression of utter disbelief.

Vivian, in turn, felt a sharp, spasmodic pain in her abdomen, gritting her teeth and forcing herself to pull away—

This power did not come from her, nor was it the power of the not-yet-fully-formed fetus.

It belonged to the former strongest Hero, Lucia.

To be precise, it was the remnant of the holy power that had been sealing her mana, lingering within Vivian’s body.

Originally, she couldn’t use this power, but things were different now.

The child of them both was growing in Vivian’s womb, and this child was somehow able to transmit a vague idea to Vivian herself.

It had to be said, Lucia’s power was just that domineering.

Just using a portion of it to spearhead an attack was enough to break the defenses of the War Shrine and the mutated Adrian.

In any case, she herself couldn’t figure out why this power could be used this way, but there was no need to dwell on it.

After these two strikes, less than a tenth of the power Lucia had left in her remained.

Soon, the power Lucia had left in her would disappear completely.

“…Time to go.”

The entire space was collapsing violently.

Vivian looked at the now-motionless Adrian, clutched her abdomen, and took a deep breath.

Having recovered slightly, she prepared to leave.

But at that moment, she sensed a faint demonic presence.

‘Hm? There’s another one of my kind here?’

She couldn’t help but pause, turning her head to look in the direction the presence was coming from.

It was from the area above the castle, somewhere near the master bedroom.