Chapter 134
Stamina, simply put, is physical energy.
This was a completely different concept from mana.
However, considering the reactions that appeared in the body when those two elements ran low, one couldn’t say they were completely unrelated.
If one lacked the stamina to even twitch a finger, using magic was also impossible.
If one lacked mana and their mana core reached a standstill, moving the body was also impossible.
This was the theory of the correlation between stamina and mana taught at the Magic Tower.
And yet, right now, in front of Franz’s eyes, was an existence that completely denied it.
“What in the blazes is she…?”
He knew her name and identity.
Her name was Seri-ah, her characteristic was eating magic and converting it into mana, and she was a cultist.
However, that wasn’t the point of doubt.
“How on earth is she still charging at me…?”
He had knocked her down dozens of times.
She still had mana left, but physically, she shouldn’t have been able to move a long time ago.
Even if she reinforced her body with support magic to reduce the loss of physical energy, it couldn’t become zero.
So Franz was truly dumbfounded.
Was this how a natural philosopher would feel facing a perpetual motion machine?
The unbelievable reality was both surprising and terrifying.
Clang-!
Noise rang out as the magic-reinforced fist and the gauntlet clashed.
He had just knocked her down a moment ago, yet she picked herself up again and swung her fist at Franz.
“N-no, not Zeni-ah… I’ll protect her…”
He didn’t know if they were sisters or not, but he could tell that their bond was deep.
Even though that Zeni-ah had fainted from a single punch.
After that, Franz continued his battle with her.
Looking purely at skill, Seri-ah had the upper hand, but Franz, utilizing his amount of mana and the power of his magical tools, overwhelmed her.
Humans were originally meant to borrow the power of tools, weren’t they?
He didn’t think it was cowardly in the slightest.
It was during this exchange.
Franz’s kick shot forward at high speed toward Seri-ah’s stomach.
She hurriedly leaned back to dodge, but unfortunately, the clothes she was wearing tore.
“N-no… My precious clothes…”
He didn’t know what kind of story was tied to them, but she looked at the torn pieces of cloth on the ground with a sad face.
However, to Franz, none of that mattered.
“Why is that coming out of there…?”
Her stomach had no skin; her ribs were directly exposed.
Her arms, legs, and other parts were clearly like those of a normal human, so it was simply baffling.
Perhaps someone had intentionally left her in that state.
Like that woman she called Zeni-ah, for instance.
Anyway, that wasn’t the important part.
The inside of her stomach, visible beyond the ribs, was full of bugs, and something could be glimpsed amidst them.
A hexagonal pillar-shaped crystal, transparent as ice.
At its center was none other than an arrowhead.
Its brilliantly shining, iridescent appearance gave off an incredibly divine feeling.
Only then could Franz realize what the familiar aura he had felt from her was.
The sealed weapon the Goddess had asked for.
The thing inside her stomach was definitely one of them.
No wonder she desperately blocked only the attacks aimed at her stomach…
Incidentally,
'It seems they haven’t completely undone the seal yet…'
He would have to check to be sure, but judging solely by the aura he felt, it seemed like they had deciphered about three-tenths of a ward.
The reason that woman could stand like that right now was definitely thanks to that.
There were probably various magical measures in place, but the weapon, with three-tenths of its seal deciphered, was supplying enough energy.
It was a miracle made possible because it was pure divine power, not stamina, mana, or holy power.
“I did expect this to some extent, but…”
Weren’t the Cultists teeming with geniuses who used unique magic?
He had suspected they might be using it for something, separate from completely unsealing the weapon.
He just hadn’t known it would appear in such a gruesome form.
'I’ll have to move a little faster from now on.'
If they had deciphered three-tenths, it meant they had grasped the direction to some extent.
Given enough time, it was safe to say they would completely undo the weapon’s seal.
'Of course, I’ll recover them all before that time comes.'
Evading responsibility was not an option.
Because he was the type to work that much harder if someone pushed him forward.
The world might call him a fool, but doing his best at the tasks he was given was his personality.
Regardless, the sealed weapon was right in front of his eyes, and he couldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Not least because it was tied to the main quest.”
Franz thought so and snapped his fingers, snap-.
Light flashed, and Franz’s figure appeared in front of Seri-ah.
When he pretended to throw a punch at her face, Seri-ah swung her arm to deflect it.
But that was a feint.
His real target was the crystal in her abdomen.
The fist heading for her face was deflected by her, and his other hand headed for her abdomen.
However, his hand didn’t move forward, as if blocked by something.
It seemed they had set up some kind of trick.
Indeed, it was too precious an item to just give away.
Franz used magic he hadn’t been using until now.
Crackle-.
Sparks flew from his fingertips as the mana collided.
At the same time, a tingling sensation was felt in his body.
It seems they placed quite potent magic on it…
But I am also quite a potent mage.
Grab-.
Eventually, Franz’s hand grabbed the crystal inside Seri-ah’s stomach.
“N-no-!”
Seri-ah shouted and struggled, but it was already too late.
Franz pulled the crystal out of her stomach.
“Ah, ah, ah-.”
A brief gasp of agony.
It wasn’t even a scream.
She just vainly murmured, ah-.
“Ze, Zeni-ah. I’m, s-sorry.”
Unable to even close her eyes, she collapsed, her eyes wide open.
Franz turned his gaze away from her.
Living in this world, he had become much more callous and cold-hearted, but that didn’t mean he lacked human emotions.
Scenes like this were still hard to watch.
It was then.
“Seri, a? N-no. Seri-ah-!”
An intense vortex of mana was felt from the side.
It seemed Zeni-ah, who had been unconscious, had opened her eyes.
He understood that their bond was deep.
He didn’t know the exact details, but if her body was in this state, there was definitely a sad story behind it.
However.
That didn’t mean he had any intention of giving up his life.
Snap-.
As Franz snapped his fingers, the several magic circles floating in the air vanished all at once.
Because it was a complex incantation of fairly potent magic, the mana scattering into the air was visible to the naked eye.
It was the blue sparkles fluttering in the wind.
“U-ugh…”
Zeni-ah, who had been screaming and using magic just a moment ago, let out a groan and collapsed to the floor.
The mana inside her body was utterly depleted.
Her emotions must have gotten ahead of her, leaving her unable to think straight.
“Se, ria. I’m, s-sorry-.”
Zeni-ah began to crawl toward Seri-ah, who was collapsed on the floor.
Thinking about it coldly, it was right to kill her now.
Because she was in her weakest state.
He had to act callously and cold-heartedly.
Just like how letting a robber with a pitiful backstory go would only lead to that robber creating more victims.
She might even grind her teeth and come back for revenge.
It was one of the first things Franz, who used to be a modern man, had learned upon crossing over to this world.
There were far too many places where the power of the law couldn’t reach.
Of course, it wasn’t an easy thing to do, but he had to do it nonetheless.
Haa-.
Erasing his hesitation with a sigh, Franz raised his hand and was about to use magic.
“P-please spare us. I’ll do anything. You can kill me. Just please save Seri-ah…”
Zeni-ah grabbed onto Franz’s leg.
She didn’t even have the strength to lift her head and meet his eyes, so it was obvious she would go flying if he just gave her a light kick, thud-.
However, he couldn’t do that.
Maybe he had gone soft. A long time had passed since those days when he was always covered in blood.
Perhaps it was the influence of others.
“I will place a contract on you from now on. This is absolute, and you must be aware that your life will be forfeit if you break it.”
There was no answer. However, he felt a faint movement at the tip of his foot.
Huu-.
Franz let out a sigh and snapped his fingers.
A magic circle was drawn on the floor, and black, chain-shaped tattoos appeared on Seri-ah and Zeni-ah’s necks.
It was the mark of the contract.
“Is this the right thing to do?”
He wasn’t sure.
He felt like he was regretting it a little.
Having killed so many people up until now, he felt a bit disgusted with himself for showing mercy only to them.
A hypocrite, was it?
He had thought of Yusti-ah that way once, but he was in no position to talk about others.
He would just have to take comfort in the fact that they were worth researching. Furthermore, they were a means to extract information about the cult.
Regardless, one thing was for sure…
'I won’t be going to heaven.'
If a place called hell existed, he would definitely fall there.
Franz snapped his fingers, struggling to suppress his heavy heart.
Since he had made up his mind to save them, every second counted.
Going to the Magic Tower was the first priority.