"...Well now. Your other half should be about done with by Sir Nicola, I imagine."
In the archive of the Hidden Cathedral.
Archbishop Gregorio, having lured Ermes and his companions into their territory under the pretense of Leila's guidance, informed them that the Katia side was, as expected, in a desperate situation.
He continued.
"Oh? I wonder where Leila went off to. I thought she might at least come to see the faces of you, the deceived... Perhaps she felt a touch of guilt like any normal person?"
"..."
Come to think of it, he couldn't sense Leila's magic power at least within this archive. She had disappeared at some point.
Whether she feared getting caught up in the crossfire, was still escorting the archbishops and simply hadn't returned, or was still plotting something else...
It was concerning... but there was no mental bandwidth to spare on that right now. A far clearer, more absolute, and far more pressing threat stood before them.
"...Well, I suppose it's fine. Her role ended the moment she brought us here; she may do as she pleases from now on. — Now then."
Seeming to have reached the same conclusion on the other side, he turned to face them and spoke again.
"Allow me to properly introduce myself. I am Archbishop Gregorio.
...I dislike unnecessary preamble, so let me be direct."
He declared this.
"Won't you surrender?"
...Perfectly reasonable.
Yet this offer contradicted the image one held of the 'Church.'
"...What exactly do you mean by that?"
"Hm? No no, I don't mean to be rude, but am I really saying anything that strange? I am, after all, what they call the 'most merciful Archbishop.' I strive to live up to that honored title, and to that end I seek to avoid conflicts that can be avoided.
...I'm merely stating the obvious. Because —"
Even to Ermes's probing question, Gregorio maintained his gentle demeanor.
He declared.
"— Lives ought to be treasured, don't you think?"
This too, naturally, in a tone harboring unwavering conviction.
"..."
"Even if one inherits wicked Bloodline Magic. Even if one lacks magic, even if one is born into poverty. — Of course, even if you stand opposed to me. Every person who has been born into this world has the right to live that life properly. That is my belief.
...And so, I despise more than anyone the treatment of lives as disposable. Simply because their magic was wicked. Simply because their birth was lowly. I cannot tolerate lives being discarded roughly and meaninglessly for reasons like that."
Ermes recalled what Leila had said about Gregorio.
"In truth, Gregorio was known for his charitable works. He gave alms to the poor, and even took those without the blessing of magic under his direct patronage."
His beliefs, his words, and his actions were consistent in many ways. His tone of voice also didn't suggest he was lying.
And — the substance of his words themselves contained much one could empathize with. Truly befitting of an 'Archbishop'... worthy thoughts for a holy figure.
But that was precisely why, all the more so...
(— Stay calm.)
There, Ermes rewrote his thinking.
Yes. Perhaps, because Johan's image had been so overwhelmingly negative, he had developed a heavily biased preconception about what an 'Archbishop' was.
But there was a possibility that wasn't the case. That a proper 'Archbishop' existed.
— That there might be someone he could actually reason with.
If so, then there was only one thing to say — and Ermes looked to Liliana, confirming her willingness to let him lead the conversation, before turning back to Gregorio.
"...I have listened to your noble words. They are admirable thoughts, and there is much I can agree with. Especially on the point of 'wanting to avoid unnecessary conflict,' we are in complete agreement."
"Oh, wonderful. I'm glad we understand each other."
"If that's the case."
If the other side was truly someone who could be reasoned with, then an appropriate response was warranted.
With that in mind, Ermes proposed.
"— Why don't we both stand down from here?"
"...Oh?"
"Our objective is... well, I can't disclose everything here, but at the very least, defeating you is not our absolute goal. The reason we're here is — if you'll permit me to say it, merely the result of Archbishop Johan's schemes colliding with our own objectives...
We simply ended up here.
That is all."
Yes.
Archbishop Johan was someone who, no matter what, had to be defeated.
...But if Archbishop Gregorio's goals were not entirely aligned with Archbishop Johan's. If he didn't wish to fight them.
To put it further... if he would at the very least promise not to get in their way, then there would be no reason for Ermes and his party to raise a hand.
Of course, given Leila's request as well, some negotiation would be necessary. Having been drawn in inadvertently, they couldn't simply bow out and pretend they had no connection. There would be a need to face each other again down the line.
But... at the very least, if there was room for dialogue, they should pursue it. That was the basis for his proposal: 'At minimum, could we end this without fighting, with both sides pulling back?'
Hearing this, Gregorio — however.
"Hmm... I'm afraid that's rather difficult."
He said so with genuine regret.
"I understand you want to avoid conflict as well. But... regardless of your intentions, the archbishop faction and the papal faction are already locked in battle. We can't simply have one part where we see eye to eye and settle things through talk. That is what an organization-versus-organization conflict is."
"..."
"Besides, your position is also a problem. As long as you stand with Her Highness the Third Princess, you are almost certain to obstruct our ultimate objectives. Given that... the option of letting you go in this
overwhelmingly
advantageous
situation is simply not one we can afford."
"...I see."
He understood.
Indeed, with soldiers still fighting outside the Hidden Cathedral, stopping things here alone was not feasible. He honestly admitted his understanding of that had been shallow.
...At the same time, at least in this moment — there was no option other than to fight.
"— Allow me to make one correction."
Having grasped this, Ermes shifted his consciousness to combat and raised his magic power.
"Overwhelmingly advantageous —
I'd appreciate it if you didn't think
you had us cornered at this level."
"Hmm, then demonstrate for me the power of you, a 'Demon.' — Your surrender will be accepted at any time."
With those words as the final exchange, Gregorio — and the people surrounding him — simultaneously activated their magic.
The battle against Archbishop Gregorio's group had begun.
◆
First, they needed to endure the simultaneous bombardment from all directions... an assault whose magic power, by its very feel, included Bloodline Magic among its ranks. Therefore,
"Sara!"
"Yes!"
The exchange they had performed countless times within this Dungeon. In perfect synchronization, Sara's 'Spirit veil' was activated to shield them from the magic fired from every direction.
The problem was range. Naturally, the smaller the range, the greater the durability — meaning fewer people to protect was preferable.
Liliana and her bodyguard Nina were confirmed — looking to the remaining person, Chrono:
"You don't need to worry about defending me. I have enough self-defense capability."
A calm reply. Trusting it, Ermes gathered with Liliana and Nina at Sara's side, and in that instant the barrier was completed... one second later.
"You miscreants who dare oppose His Eminence Gregorio!"
"It is our duty to eliminate those fools who reject His Eminence's mercy!!"
Along with words carrying an unmistakable sense of loyalty to Gregorio from the mages around them — a storm of magic descended.
Colorful, variously sized magical attacks. At first glance they seemed haphazard and without pattern, but...
"...This is"
However. Ermes detected a certain regularity in that barrage of magic — particularly the Bloodline Magic. Because he had witnessed 'that' only a short while ago.
It was.
(This Bloodline Magic. All of it — classified under 'wicked magic'...?)
Every single Bloodline Magic attack. Just before Gregorio's assault, from the Church's records on the 'sorting' of Bloodline Magic — they had all been categorized as 'wicked magic.'
The kind of magic that the Church, and especially its pinnacle the Archbishop, should have found so repulsive that it made them sick... magic whose wielder Johan would never have been served with such devotion.
And yet, by all accounts, Gregorio wielded it while genuinely commanding the trust of his subordinates.
Furthermore, there were Gregorio's earlier words about respecting life.
(...Could it be)
Taking all of this into account, once again.
Perhaps — within Ermes, a thought he had been sensing earlier finally surfaced.
(Archbishop Gregorio is... as I hoped, genuinely, properly... an Archbishop with whom one can actually have a conversation...?)
Yes... that was what he wanted to believe.
Because even within the Church — the very organization responsible for this country's warped sense of values —
For someone with enough talent to rise to the very apex of an organization... for not a single person to harbor legitimate doubts about that — that would be far too cruel.
(...I need to speak with him again.)
Thinking this... but for that to happen, he needed to at least drag the other side to the table.
In this case, the minimum condition was turning the situation that the other side considered 'overwhelmingly advantageous' on its head. In short:
— He had to demonstrate his own power.
"..."
If so, there was no reason to hold back.
Following that thought, Ermes — using the time Sara had bought him — completed preparations for his full, unrestrained maximum firepower.
"Formula Replay — 'Ashen World Tree'"
First creating his most powerful offensive magic, he then issued instructions to Sara and Nina.
Sara nodded, completing her preparations to transform the magic as instructed. Nina,
"Chrono! From now on —
defend with everything
you've got!"
She directed the only one not under the barrier, though as declared, he was defending himself with General-purpose Magic. Fortunately, he too had roughly grasped the situation from the magic power he sensed, and she confirmed he had entered a full-defense stance.
"Technique Composite — 'Fire Heaven Judgment'"
— The composite magic once used when fleeing from Lucius and his forces at the vanguard of the Northern Rebellion.
Combining 'Ashen World Tree' and 'Fire Heaven Judgment' ...the self-destructive magic was completed.
However, Ermes was not the same as he had been back then.
Having mastered Formula Replay and with improved control, he could now — to a certain degree — steer the direction of the explosion.
Using this, he adjusted the detonation's directionality powerfully outward rather than inward. For added safety, having Sara encircle only their immediate area with a barrier would serve as sufficient insurance.
And so.
— A hyper-wide-range, high-powered, directional bombardment centered on himself was unleashed.
In the instant after. The archive was painted crimson.
...He thought recovering the important documents beforehand had been the right call.
He had avoided bombarding the areas where bookshelves were densely packed as much as possible, but given the situation, fighting while worrying about the documents would clearly have been impossible.
In any case, the counterattack's power was sufficient.
Looking around, the magic attacks had ceased.
He had not landed direct hits on the enemy mages. Considering his aim to negotiate with Gregorio, and taking the other side's principles into account, he had judged that injuring them carelessly would be unwise.
However — now that they knew a counterattack of this magnitude was possible, the other side couldn't rashly advance either. Several of them would have to divert attention to defense.
Understanding this, the surrounding mages uniformly ceased their magical assault. Surveying them, Ermes fixed his gaze on Gregorio once more.
"...Even so,"
he declared.
"Even so — do you still believe this to be 'overwhelmingly advantageous'?"
"..."
Hoping that, if fortunate, the other side — having re-recognized the threat they faced — might reconsider their policy of forcibly capturing them.
Receiving this, Gregorio, after a brief silence.
"...What a pity."
However, that was his response.
"Yes, I see. You truly are a remarkable mage who deserves the title of 'Demon.' ...Which is precisely why it's such a pity.
— That I must kill someone like you."
"!"
"I understand now that you have no intention of surrendering to us.
Then — I too shall formally treat you as an 'Enemy of God.'"
That was.
A declaration that
from here on
he would fight
in earnest.
"...Even I have my ideals.
And precisely because of that — I have resolved to show no mercy to those 'Enemies of God' who would stand in their way."
With that declaration, as though the real fight was about to begin,
Archbishop Gregorio — who had previously delegated to his subordinates — now unleashed the full magical prowess that had carried him to the rank of Archbishop, raising his magic power.
He drew a breath, and sang.
"[Four staves, the great tree's shadow; the pillar of mercy dyes itself in azure jade; receive the angel of memory]
Bloodline Magic — 'Innocent Revelation'"