Chapter 92: Atonement

There was no noticeable change in Lily, who was here to confront us.

However, as soon as I confirmed this, Lily’s body changed after some time. The ears of the beast grew from her head, the golden tail grew from the buttocks, and the arms were transformed into the claws of a strong beast with golden hair.

「…The Emperor Hero is ahead. You must have come to defeat him. In that case, you must defeat me first.」

The moment I thought I was ready; Lily immediately kicked the ground to approach me.

I expected that reaction, but it made my heart sad at the same time.

What should I say to her?

However, contrary to my thoughts, Hell, who assumed a battle stance against Lily in advance, took action first.

「Guh, guh, guh. I’ve already seen through your actions, Beast Hero. Your weapon is in that outstanding close combat of yours. That’s why if we allow you to approach us, our chances of winning will decrease at once. However, did you think I didn’t bring any countermeasures?」

In an instant, scorching flames appeared from the floor to block the gap between Lily and us, and the scenery in front of us turned into hellfire.

「…!」

Lily’s legs suddenly stopped.

If she had just rushed forward, the wave of flames would have burned her entire body.

It was a prison flame that surpassed even the flames of the underworld that Jack invoked.

The strongest fire-type that burned even the dead in hell together with their existence.

「This is the great power given to me by my mother…the flames of Megiddo*. 」

It was the ultimate flames that surpassed even the blazing hell.

Hell’s attribute was fire. It was an ability inherited from our mother, the SS-rank, Fafnir, and there was no existence in this world that could not be burned by that flame.

「Did you think fire was such an ordinary ability? It’s true that in the confrontation between people with special abilities, flame abilities are often overthrown.」

It seemed that my sister, who was familiar with it, was so pleased that she immediately shifted to her specialty Ability Solving Mode.

「However, don’t you think this is the opposite? The ability to see eccentricity does not necessarily transcend the royal road. When people gain a certain amount of experience and knowledge, they become pessimistic and tend to deny the royal road. However, that’s the most logical ability, and that’s why it’s sublimated to the point of being called the royal road. In this world, the simpler things are, the stronger they are. In other words, it can be called pure strength without any impurities. 」

Saying that, what was born in Hell’s palm was a mass of divine flame that far exceeded the mass of the previous one.

Its quality and power could break through the wall of flames in front of us, and we could feel with our skin that it was enough to blow away even Lily.

「Well, since you’re one of the Seven Great Heroes, you probably won’t die after this. Let’s go now!」

Saying that, a mythical divine flame was released from Hell’s arm, and she rushed to swallow Lily who was on the other side of the wall of flames…but.

「That’s right…what a coincidence. Just like you said, I think so too. We don’t need an ability to look outlandish. Such a clever ability is just a play for those who want to play with words. In battle, all you need is a simple power, an overwhelming destructive power.」

In an instant, I saw an unbelievable sight.

The divine flame that was fired at Lily was undoubtedly the strongest spell I had ever seen.

It was a non-standard flame of catharsis that would decide the match with a single blow, even if it was an S-rank monster.

However, despite the flames, Lily put all her strength into her right arm and attacked. With just that, she shattered the flames that were aimed at her with a single blow.

Of course, it wasn’t completely unscathed, but even so, her right arm was still functioning, and the fatal damage was suppressed.

She literally had no strange abilities or special powers.

Just, simple, power. Exactly what Hell said, it was overwhelmingly strong because of its simplicity.

Going on the ground, it was the Beast Hero Lily in front of me.

「But I bought enough time. From now on, I’ll let you fight in your own way, Lily. 」

However, as soon as she cleared the wall of flames, I had already made my next move against her.

Amines’ creation skill took time to refine due to its quantity and performance.

However, that time was given by Hell, and now, with Amines as the center, countless weapons, swords, spears, axes, bows, bats, sticks, and all kinds of combat weapons that would exist in the world, a number more than 100, were in full force.

「This is a large hall. Don’t hold back because I’ll face you with a war mood! 」

At the same time as Amines’ declaration, countless weapons were fired at Lily.

If Lily’s fighting style was one that specialized in close combat, Amines’ fighting style was an ability that specialized in long-distance combat.

Once you kept your distance, there was no way to avoid all the incoming attacks from countless weapons, and while you were dealing with them, Amines would refine new weapons one after another, a truly infinite refinement.

Although Lily dodged the incoming weapons or shot them down with force, she was unable to defend against all of the overwhelming number of weapons and received injuries all over her body.

「As expected, it seems convenient to defend against these many weapons without receiving damage…Then, I’ll have to be prepared and charge in as well!」

At the same time as Lily’s declaration, she flew high to the ceiling, kicked the floor of the ceiling as it was, and at the same time, her body, which exceeded the speed of sound, was used as a single bullet, receiving, or repelling countless weapons that flew right at her. Or, while pulverizing, she approached Amines at once.

At that moment when she entered Amines’ space and at the same time as she tried to hit her with a strong fist.

「I’ve eaten that hand before. I won’t eat the same hand again, Lily. 」

At the same time as Amines’ smile, a shield that surpassed the accuracy she had seen so far was formed in front of her.

A shield that didn’t take a single hit from Lily’s body.

As expected, even Lily unintentionally made a startled expression.

That should have been the case, and all of Amines’ tactics were built for this moment.

The numerous weapons that flew earlier were also refined by lowering their precision so that they could easily be broken through by Lily.

Everything was to lure Lily into her space and have her concentrate on creating armor that could withstand her full blow.

And one more thing. Lily was not the only expert in close combat.

「…Ah!! 」

At that moment, Lily felt a shock that shook the earth, and immediately turned around, but it was too late.

There, Hell, who had a unique stance, kicked the ground with her shaking leg and at the same time fired an elbow strike with all of her strength at Lily’s side.

「…Ugh! 」

Receiving the blow directly, Lily was slammed into the wall behind her.

With the shock that shook her mind, Lily was still on her knees, unable to move.

「Certainly, you and I get along very well. My true worth is not long-distance combat with flames. The martial arts passed down in my mother hometown, this type of combat named Bajiquan** is my true weapon.」

Lily could see that Hell had taken a unique stance and adjusted her breath in an orderly manner.

Yes, from an early age, Hell has been learning Bajiquan, one of the Chinese martial arts that had been passed down on Earth, under the guidance of our mother Fafnir.

Among the many martial arts, Bajiquan was said to be the strongest martial art for close combat.

And one could say that there was no other sophisticated martial art in this world.

Lily’s close-range combat was the suppression of overwhelming force.

There was no technique, and it boast overwhelming strength due to its simplicity that pushed through everything with simple power techniques.

On the other hand, Hell’s close combat was a technique of softness that suppressed stiffness.

In terms of simple power alone, the relationship between the two could not be compared.

However, Hell possessed a technical destructive power that could not be produced by the simple destructive power of Bajiquan.

Increased attacks by moving the center of gravity, raising the level of self-strength by rapid deployment movement, and above all, the technique of accurately aiming at the opponent’s weak point, which could never be achieved with a mere brute technique. It had all the secrets of interpersonal warfare.

Just like her previous elbow strike to Lily’s flank, she had robbed Lily of her fighting ability with just one blow.

「…Certainly, I agree with you…but I don’t think this battle is over…」

However, even after receiving that blow, Lily stood up and still tried to block our way.

「I’m sure you were aiming to make me incapable of fighting, but it’s a pity…If you want to defeat me and move on, don’t hesitate to hit me one more time… I really intend to defeat you…Otherwise, there would be no meaning. You guys are here to defeat me, who has become your enemy, right…!?」

「Please just stop. 」

I said that unintentionally.

When I came to my senses, I stood between Hell and Lily, glared at Lily’s eyes while making Hell back down, and declared that.

Even I was surprised at what I said, and it must have been the first time for me to hear this type of voice.

I’ve been observing Lily’s condition since a little while ago, searching for that possibility.

The last time was a fleeting moment, and I didn’t even have the time to observe her properly.

However, the battle up until now. And now, even though she was staring back at me, I was convinced that she had lost somewhere in her gaze.

If that was not the case, then I thought it would be fine to take Lily back after defeating the Emperor Hero as my original purpose.

But it was not that way.

After all, what she was doing was a different thing, and I was angry at how stupid I was for realizing this later.

「What…Do you want me to withdraw because of fear? If you don’t want me to tell you again and again, then seriously defeat me…!」

「Lily, you’re bad at acting. 」

Lily’s expression froze at that line I accidentally leaked.

Yeah, I guessed so.

She wasn’t brainwashed.

She was fighting us on her own will.

「Hey, what are you saying doesn’t make sense…I don’t know anything about you guys. To you guys, I’m an enemy that is blocking your way…In that case, don’t hold back and start more seriously…」

「I’m telling you to stop doing that! What are you trying to do by dropping yourself into heels like that?! Are you trying to make amends?!」

Before I knew it, I was right in front of Lily, grabbed her arm and shouted.

Strangely enough, it was the exact opposite of when I first met her, and this time I was scolding Lily for what she was doing.

「Wha…What…」

「I don’t know everything you’re thinking, but I do know this. You regret everything you’ve done so far. You’re repenting for the depth of your sins. That’s why. Hey! It’s convenient for you to have your comrades make amends for it!」

I was screaming as much as I wanted.

The anger towards Lily that had been in my heart for so long, and the anger towards my companions who had been with me until now, were overflowing without stopping.

「Do you think your relationship with us was a lie just because you’ve been a lie up until now? Or do you think that if your true identity is known to us, we’ll reject you? Don’t be arrogant!! 」

「Ah, what are you saying! You don’t know anything about me! I’m not the Lily you know! I’m more of a monster than you think, and I have the right to behave this way! I’m not an innocent! I’m a sinner!」

「So what! Do you think we don’t know! I already know that you’re not the true Lily! Why are you excluding us!!」

Lily showed a frozen expression at my remark.

However, it was a true expression sleeping deep inside her that was different from before.

The look of despair, the fear that her comrades who knew her truth would despise and abandon her.

Oh, that was what I really thought when I saw it.

「Don’t underestimate me!! Will I lose sight of you? No way! Above all, the Lily I know is “Lily since becoming a Lily”! No matter what you do, “no matter what” I am not going to abandon you! Never!!」

To that angry voice that came from my heart, Lily held back her tears and shouted back.

「That’s not true! I… I killed her! My friend! I’m just a monster! I’m just one of the pawns of this world prepared to kill other people!! 」

Saying this, Lily confessed. An unforgivable sin that she once committed.

「I… I killed my one and only friend…“Lily”!! 」

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*Megiddo is an ancient city, known for its historical, geographical, and theological importance, especially under its Greek name Armageddon.

**Bajiquan is a Chinese martial art that features explosive, short-range power and is famous for its elbow and shoulder strikes.