The Black Miracle Armament

“This is—!?”

Ludmila let out a cry of surprise. The shape of the Miracle Armament Raphael was changing. The X-shaped bow shifted into a star-like form. Its hue transformed from jade to a lustrous jet-black, adorned with gold decorations on various parts.

“Heh, the Chaos Form, is it?”

Rouge smiled as she watched the transformation. “An earlier transition than I expected~. You have quite the aptitude.”

“Chaos… Form?”

“Fufu, you can draw out much stronger power now.”

“—I’ll try it.”

Ludmila leveled the black bow. She fixed her gaze on Fiore, who was still surrounded by the swarm of tentacles.

“Ugh… nngh, aaaaaah…!”

Fiore’s face was distorted in agony. Ludmila had to save her before the mental contamination progressed any further.

“Lend me your strength, Raphael.”

Ludmila drew the string back deeply.

“Give me the power to destroy and kill everything—”

And then, she released.

“Type Two: Accel Thousand Arrow: Precision Volley!”

With a sharp shout of spirit, the released arrow split into 2,000 shafts. It happened in an instant. Every single tentacle was struck and vanished simultaneously.

“See? You did it,” Rouge smiled.

“This is…”

Ludmila stood frozen in her firing posture, stunned. This far exceeded her previous maximum capacity. Furthermore, it didn’t feel as though those 2,000 shafts were the limit. With practice, she could go even higher.

“Become aware of the trigger that draws out the power of your heart.” Rouge walked up to Ludmila.

“The trigger…?”

“Your root is ‘Hatred’.”

The Angel girl’s eyes narrowed slightly. “The fierce rage and hatred that sprouted when you faced the demons that destroyed your hometown—that is the foundation of your reason for fighting, isn’t it?”

As if she could see Ludmila’s past, Rouge’s intense gaze pinned her down.

“That is your starting point. Do not forget it. For what purpose have you fought the demons? For what purpose will you continue to fight them?”

“My… reason for fighting,” Ludmila muttered to herself.

“I’m sorry for acting as if I were deceiving you.” Rouge bowed deeply. “Operating a Miracle Armament is the power of the heart. By pushing you to your psychological limit, I sought to encourage your growth—but it was a nasty way to do it, wasn’t it?”

“…No, thanks to that, I was able to acquire this power.” Ludmila bowed to the Angel girl. “I thank you, Lady Rouge.”

“Really? So my methods were okay after all?” Rouge’s smile returned instantly. “I’m quite the capable coach, aren’t I? Yes, I’m a very good girl.”

“…No, I’d actually like you to reflect on your actions just a little bit.” Ludmila felt somewhat exasperated by the girl’s sudden shift in attitude.

“Ah, just so you know, the mental contamination attack from the tentacles wasn’t life-threatening. I just made you misidentify it as a dangerous attack so you could draw out your true power.”

True to her words, Fiore was currently stretching with an “Mmm~.” It appeared she was perfectly fine in both body and mind.

“However, I’d say you’re only ‘halfway’ there,” Rouge whispered.

“Halfway…?”

“Now, next is Fiore-san. Let’s get through this nice and quickly~!”

With a smile that could almost be described as innocent, the divine apostle called out to Fiore.

The heat of the spring felt wonderful against the chilly outside air.

“To think there would be a bath here…”

Looking at the tub made of rock, Ludmila let out a surprised murmur. Several hours after training, Rouge had led them to a natural open-air bath. It was surprising that such a place existed within this alternate dimension.

“Ehehe, after training, you want to get into a nice bath and feel good, right? I made this specially~,” Rouge said. “I tried to recreate the ‘Hot Springs’ from the human world. I believe they call this an open-air bath, right?”

She snapped her fingers. Above the white space, a beautiful starry sky appeared.

“I tried to set the mood, too. Quite a view, isn’t it?” Rouge gave a thumbs-up and spoke proudly. “Now, let’s get in.”

The three of them undressed and soaked in the hot spring.

“Phew, this feels wonderful,” Fiore sighed with a satisfied expression. She seemed to be the type who looked slimmer in clothes; her ample chest swayed in the water. Her beautiful, milk-colored skin was so lustrous that even Ludmila, a fellow woman, couldn’t help but stare.

“The human world has many hot springs like this, right? How nice~ I want to visit them too,” Rouge smiled. “If I get permission from God, I want to go to the human world. Please show me around when that happens.”

“If you’re okay with us.”

“Yes, let’s walk through the town together, the three of us.”

Ludmila and Fiore nodded.

“Yay! It’s a promise!” Rouge cheered innocently. “Ah, but God is very strict about the commandments. We aren’t allowed to descend to the lower world without a very good reason.”

“Is that so?”

“Yep. Outside of the ‘Chamber of Oracles,’ we aren’t even allowed to have contact with humans,” Rouge explained.

“Um… may I ask one thing?” Ludmila ventured.

“Go ahead~”

“Why does God grant us power in stages?”

“Hmm?” To the head-tilting Rouge, Ludmila directed a sharp gaze.

“To be honest, there are parts I don’t find acceptable. Even if it is God—”

“W-wait, Ludmila-san…”

Nodding slightly to the surprised Fiore, Ludmila continued. “If we had obtained stronger power from the beginning, couldn’t we have defeated even the Demon Lord?”

“You must not doubt the will of God, Ludmila-san,” Rouge smiled.

“But many sacrifices have been made due to the demon invasion. Even my hometown—”

“One must not measure the will of God. One must not go against the will of God. One must not doubt the will of God,” Rouge stated, almost like an incantation.

It was the exact same phrase Ludmila had heard from the high officials of the Hero Guild.

“Simply believe. In God.”

“I…”

Ludmila looked down and bit her lip. Could she really believe? Were humans not simply dancing in the palms of God’s hands? A vague sense of anxiety crossed Ludmila’s chest. An anxiety that would not fade.