Divine Trial: Phase One

“The next phase…?”

“Yes. The first phase of the trial was the acquisition and mastery of the Chaos Form—and since both of you have reached a considerable level in that, I think it’s about time we moved forward~.”

Rouge answered Ludmila’s question with a bright smile.

Originally, this training was intended to further draw out the power of the Miracle Armaments. As the first step, Ludmila had succeeded in increasing the arrow capacity of her armament, Raphael, to several times its previous limit. This was achieved by obtaining the power of the new Miracle Armament state: Chaos Form.

Fiore had undergone a similar growth.

(What kind of power is this ‘second phase’…?)

“Both of you have made leap-and-bound progress in terms of offense. Naturally, that means defense is next~,” Rouge said, as if answering Ludmila’s internal question.

“You should already have a hint, right? What is necessary to activate a Miracle Armament is spiritual energy. In other words, the strength of your heart.”

“Strength… of the heart.”

“You must visualize it even more strongly. Your heart. Its root. The strongest shape of the soul that dwells within you.”

Rouge smiled.

(My heart—)

Ludmila recalled the moment she first activated the black Miracle Armament. The memory that served as her origin—.

The village destroyed by demons.

The rage toward unreasonable violence.

The sadness.

The despair.

And finally, the self-mastery born from it all.

No matter who the enemy is, I will resolutely crush and destroy them—.

A will like a raging storm.

Vvv… Vvvvvv…!

In the next moment, the Raphael in her hand vibrated violently.

“Ngh…!?”

Simultaneously, a surge of heat raced through Ludmila’s entire body. Before she knew it, her clothes had transformed.

She was now dressed in a black outfit made of thin fabric, adorned with gold accessories and a pure white cloak. It was a divine garment emitting a faint phosphorescence.

“Fufu, it looks like you’ve manifested the Chaos Jacket. I knew those of you who broke through the first phase would be able to do it smoothly~.”

Rouge smiled happily. Looking to her side, Ludmila saw that Fiore was also clad in jet-black raiment, though the design differed from her own.

“For Ludmila-san, it’s ‘Hatred for the Enemy.’ For Fiore-san, it’s ‘Pride in Oneself.’ Both of you have a firm grasp on the roots of your hearts. It makes teaching you very rewarding~.”

With that, Rouge spread her wings and took flight.

“Now then, let’s conduct a durability test for those garments. I’m going to attack now, so I want you both to try and defend.”

A crimson sword appeared in her hand.

“Oh, and don’t worry, I won’t use my full power. That said, I’m going to hit you with something intense enough to kill you if you let your guard down~. Please defend with everything you’ve got.”

The Divine Messenger delivered this terrifying announcement with a smile. Ludmila and Fiore exchanged looks and braced themselves.

—And then, it happened.

“This is…!?”

Suddenly, the look on Rouge’s face changed.

“Is something wrong?”

“I just felt a presence,” Rouge said, her smile vanishing and replaced by a rare, serious expression. “It hasn’t moved since the Age of Myth… but it’s starting to stir.”

“What is ‘it’?”

“The ultimate weapon for the decisive battle against the Demon Lord, created by God—”

Rouge spoke solemnly.

“The Demon Realm might be destroyed before we even have to lift a finger.”

“Reinforcing the barrier?”

I had gone to see Judas to consult about the defense of the Demon Realm.

“A month ago, the Heroes attacked and the barrier was broken. I reinforced it with my magic, but I couldn’t layer it. Can you do it?”

“It’s impossible for me too. Just think about how much mana it would take to reinforce a barrier that covers the entire Demon Realm.”

Judas shrugged his shoulders with a wry smile.

“Velpher was the one who created the barrier, but since then, no Demon Lord has even attempted to tamper with it. It’s a barrier that could only be made through his extraordinary mana.”

“I see…”

“If anything, the fact that you managed to add new mana to the barrier—even if just for reinforcement—is completely off the charts. With ordinary mana—even with the stats of a Demon Lord—you’d usually just be repelled by Velpher’s barrier and that would be the end of it.”

Judas looked impressed.

“Your mana truly is high. Your technique is low, though.”

“…Sorry for having low technique.”

“Ahaha, did I go too far? Well, I can teach you all about that.”

“I’m counting on you.”

“If I feel like it, that is.”

“…I’m counting on you.”

He’s fickle, after all. I should try not to expect too much.

“In the first place, have you considered taking the fight to them instead of obsessing over defense? If you just kill all the humans, the war ends, right?”

Judas said something horrific quite casually. Regal had said something similar once before.

“…Kill them all, huh.”

“Well, in your case, there’s the anxiety of having your power weakened,” Judas added.

…No, the problem is more fundamental than that. I swallowed the words I felt internally.

Of course, to protect myself or my comrades—though I still wouldn’t want to engage in meaningless killing—I would take a life in a fight. But a massacre is something else entirely.

Deep down, I am still a former human. Setting aside those who come at me as enemies, I don’t want to kill innocent people. In fact, I don’t even want to kill all the Heroes indiscriminately.

“Ideally… I wish we could coexist without anyone dying.”

The words slipped out of my mouth.

“Wouldn’t that be the best outcome?”

And I wish that kind of peace could last forever. If possible, a hundred years from now, a thousand years from now. Always, and forever—.

“I don’t know if I should call you naive or what.”

Judas gave a wry chuckle.

“For a former human, you have a very troublesome mentality for a Demon Lord.”

“It’s just my nature.”

“I don’t hate it, though. That way of thinking.”

Judas’s smirk softened into a genuine smile.

“Besides, there’s no guarantee you’ll be around forever. Unforeseen circumstances are part of war. It’s possible you could be killed through some unexpected blunder.”

“…I suppose so.”

“But if we can establish a perfect defense that functions even without you… then bringing eternal peace to the Demon Realm wouldn’t just be a pipe dream.”

“Yeah, it wouldn’t be a pipe dream.”

I nodded.

“I’m going to make it a reality.”