'This is troublesome.'
Osian felt a moment's hesitation in swinging his sword.
Right now, Mother Goose's life was connected to her familiars. Each time he killed her, a familiar connected to the Nursery Rhyme would die in her place.
The problem was that among the familiars dying this way, Diolan was also mixed in.
What was the order? Was it simply random? Or could Mother Goose control it at will?
"Your blade has dulled."
Seeing Osian's momentum weaken, Mother Goose spoke in an elated voice.
She threw a paper spear made from Nursery Rhyme toward Osian.
Clang!
For something made of paper, the spear's durability was far from ordinary. Its power was the same.
He deflected the force applied to his body to the side. The direction of the spear blade twisted along with it.
Pabababababang!
The paper spear that passed Osian pierced through the scenery beyond all at once. It was as if someone had taken a photograph of the landscape and cut out a circular portion.
The trajectory where the paper spear passed had a large hole punched through it like a tunnel. Even the most sturdily built buildings were no exception.
Whirrrrick. Thud.
The paper spear that changed trajectory returned to Mother Goose's hand.
'She's strong. Not only are her familiars strong, but her own martial prowess exceeds imagination.'
Mother Goose truly deserved to be called a great witch. Seeing that there was no mention of her personal combat ability in the information about her, it seemed she had been hiding it until now.
'Especially that book she took out earlier.'
The witchcraft that Mother Goose called Nursery Rhyme.
The old verses written in those books would all be about the familiars she had created.
Wearing them as a chain, it meant she was receiving the full power of the familiars she had accumulated over the years.
Mother Goose moved. The moment he perceived it, her form had already reached right before his nose.
Engaging in close combat against a knight was suicidal. Mother Goose wouldn't be unaware of that either.
Yet she approached like this because she was confident. Confident that Osian wouldn't carelessly swing his sword at her.
Indeed, as she expected, Osian's sword chose defense rather than attack.
"It seems your comrade's life is precious to you?"
Even to Mother Goose's words, Osian responded with silence.
One-sided attacks continued. Each time sword and spear clashed, space rang out and shockwaves burst in succession.
The well-paved roads of the human city couldn't withstand the impact and shattered miserably. The glass windows of human buildings broke and outer walls collapsed with a crash.
In the acrid dust, Mother Goose retrieved her spear shaft and rotated her body. The spear blade imbued with centrifugal force was swung diagonally.
At that moment, the paper spear blade transformed. It took the form of a giant scythe for harvesting wheat.
Shuuuck!
All the buildings caught in the scythe's trajectory were sliced away. Buildings with their waists cut diagonally crumbled with a roar, raising clouds of gray dust.
Mother Goose's attack didn't stop there. More precisely, her familiars didn't stay still.
A woman made of water shot water spears at Osian.
A golden-glowing goose laid countless eggs. From the eggs, baby golden geese burst out and rushed at Osian, baring their teeth.
From between the cracked ground, wriggling vines rose up trying to grab Osian.
"Annoying pests."
Each of those familiars was strong enough to face a military battalion and this was a situation where such familiars gathered their strength to attack.
It was comparable to the military power of a nation. However, for Osian, it aroused no more emotion than the annoyance of mosquito bites.
That said, he couldn't just let them bite him.
Three emblems shone behind Osian's back. Sun, moon, and stars. The power of the celestial bodies emitted strong energy waves, tearing apart all the familiars' attacks.
That wasn't all. The sword Osian held momentarily contained the aura of the Moon Scar.
Immediately after, countless blue lines arose in the air, crossing through space.
The familiars caught in the lines all froze and then shattered into pieces.
The ice crystal powder that had been the familiars' corpses floated in the air in sync with Osian's sword.
Before long, it became a giant blue whirlwind. A waterspout filled with chilling cold followed the conductor's guidance toward Mother Goose.
Behind Mother Goose, the pages of Nursery Rhyme unfurled with a flutter. Countless pages stood before her, transforming into shields.
Kwagagagagagak!
The whirlwind containing the Moon Scar's aura collided with the pages of Nursery Rhyme.
While Mother Goose was engaged in this power struggle, Osian took position behind her.
Mother Goose tried to react, but Osian's sword was faster.
Shuuck.
Mother Goose's right hand holding the paper spear was cut off below the forearm. Osian aimed his blade at Mother Goose's neck.
"Surrender."
"Why? Why not kill me right away? Or is it that you're worried about your comrade's life after all? I didn't know your camaraderie ran that deep."
Osian's blade dug an inch into Mother Goose's neck. Red blood flowed through the wound. However, there was no fear in Mother Goose's expression.
"This fight won't just end anyway. If I stop here, who's going to stop the world's destruction?"
"Those so-called Outer Gods. No matter how many come, I'll just kill them."
"How confident. But really, can you truly handle it? You don't know. The truly dangerous ones haven't even revealed a fragment of themselves yet."
Mother Goose's expression sank coldly.
"But those dark hands are slowly, yet surely, approaching our world. Their vanguard has already come here too."
Osian recalled the Clown.
Among the Outer Gods, he wasn't of particularly high rank. Compared to the Red Eternity or Cthulatlap, he was considerably inferior.
Yet he was dangerous. He grew stronger by feeding on the situation of chaos itself.
If he hadn't killed him, in a situation like now where Mother Goose had attacked, he would have caused uncontrollable problems.
"If we don't bring down this splendid civilization, he will eventually come."
"He?"
"An Outer God that wanders the universe destroying civilizations. A true monster leading countless followers under his command. Called the Star Destroyer. Called the Light Absorber."
Mother Goose spoke the being's name for the first time.
"Primordial Void."
Primordial Void, a monster leading a coalition of Outer Gods that even Cthulatlap was wary of.
A being that even that Clown served, bowing his head in fear.
"He's coming here. To destroy civilization. To devour that light. For ages, I've devised a plan to stop that being. How can I save the world? The choice I finally made was one. To extinguish the light that draws and pulls that being. Having lost its purpose, that being will drift again toward another light, and our world will survive."
"So you're saying we should tuck tail and hide because we're afraid of the enemy."
"Is that wrong? The fate of the entire continent is at stake. Yet those foolish humans keep building up civilization. Not even knowing it will ultimately bring about their own destruction. There isn't much time left now. The city called Tirna must fall. Everyone living there. You, being an old knight, surely know."
"I don't know any such thing."
Killing intent thickened on Osian's sword.
Primordial Void is coming? To prevent that, Tirna must collapse? Let's say that's acceptable.
Mother Goose said that the people living here must die too.
Civilization doesn't advance simply by developing science and erecting buildings.
Its foundation is ultimately people. As long as the people living in this era exist, the light will shine again forever.
Mother Goose was saying that to fundamentally cut off all root causes, she would carry out mass slaughter as well as the city's collapse.
Even if it's for the greater good, could he, as a knight, stand by and watch such an act?
That's not all.
'Among those Mother Goose must kill are people I hold dear.'
Since coming to this city, Osian has formed connections with many people. There were bad relationships, but there were many good people too.
They had all lived doing their best in their situations. Things like the world's destruction weren't even on their minds.
She says she'll kill such people. And with that, Mother Goose was trying to bring back the old era.
An era when mystery dominated and all manner of monsters and evil gods ruled.
"Do you think I'll just stand by and let that happen?"
It was he himself who ended that era with these hands.
Mother Goose laughed. It was a pitiful smile as if she had expected this.
"I thought so."
Flash!
Mother Goose's right arm regenerated and she gripped the paper spear.
The spear blade blurred as it aimed for the gap in Osian's armor, targeting his neck.
Osian pulled out a shield in his left hand and wrapped it with the aura of celestial bodies.
Kwang!
The spear blade exploded upon contact with the shield. Mother Goose retreated backward from the explosion's recoil.
Osian didn't miss the chance and pursued. His sword aimed at Mother Goose.
He had to kill her here. If he didn't, there would be enormous casualties.
But Diolan's life was also in Mother Goose's grasp. If he killed her here, he couldn't guarantee Diolan's life connected to the Nursery Rhyme.
"Do it!"
It was then that Diolan's shout rang in Osian's ear.
"Don't worry about me! Just do it!"
Had he been eavesdropping on the conversation even while engaged with the Queen of Hearts?
Thinking she was being ignored, the Queen of Hearts swung her flamingo mallet indignantly. Within that gruesome attack, Diolan dodged here and there like a mollusk while shouting.
"You idiot! What are you hesitating for! You weren't that kind of person!"
"Hehe. That child seems to care for you quite a bit. But is it okay? If you kill me, that child dies too."
"Don't listen to that woman! She's mastered the art of bewitching with words people want to hear! That's why she's a witch!"
Kwang!
Diolan, who blocked the flamingo mallet by crossing both arms, retreated. Unable to avoid the impact, he coughed up blood once and shouted.
"I have a way too! So don't hesitate!"
Osian's eyes changed. He re-gripped his sword and fiercely continued his sword strikes toward Mother Goose.
The number of lines continuing in the air increased. Mother Goose could only desperately defend using spear and shield.
But it wasn't enough. Scars were carved all over her body that held the power of countless familiars.
Some wounds crossed vital points. Lives were lost because of them and her body regenerated.
The body of one of the familiars was mutilated, collapsed, spraying blood.
Mother Goose stopped retreating and took a stance.
At that moment, Osian's form flashed past her.
The moment Mother Goose turned around, she felt her vision collapse.
Before she knew it, her neck was severed, her arms and legs dismembered as she fell.
However, that process was only an instant. As if time had rewound and it never happened, she became intact again.
In that state, she swung her spear blade at Osian who had taken position behind her.
Shwashashashak!
The spear blade aimed for Osian's head, but through it, Osian's sword strikes fiercely mutilated her body.
Wounded, killed, regenerated.
In just the moment Mother Goose aimed at Osian and thrust her spear, she died three times.
Three entire familiars were torn to pieces by Osian's sword strikes and fell.
The spear she barely thrust cut through empty air. Meanwhile, Osian's cloak moved and struck her body.
Mother Goose's body shot away like an arrow as a white flash that was Osian pursued her.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Each time Osian struck, Mother Goose's body bounced here and there.
Mother Goose couldn't regain her senses. Even when she returned from death and her wounds regenerated, Osian's sword cut through her body even faster.
It was a succession of deaths faster than regeneration and resurrection.
Mother Goose inwardly screamed.
The plan to shake Osian's emotions had failed so all that remained was fighting again.
But who knew it would be this overwhelming?
'My vision is dizzy. I can't distinguish up from down. My whole body feels like it's being crushed. Regeneration can't keep up with the pain.'
Her body was crushed, fragmented and torn to shreds.
Frozen, charred by fire and pulverized by energy.
Pabababababak!
"Mother!"
"Kheuk!"
The familiars she had created and raised over long years fell at a rapid pace.
The same went for the other familiars rampaging throughout Tirna.
"Kuwooooo!"
The giant rock golem familiar crumbled like sand in an instant and fell.
The Starlight Knights who had been fighting such a rock golem were confused by its sudden death.
"What is this now?"
Asmer was confused seeing the familiar fighting him get mutilated and fall.
It was as if it had been cut by an invisible sword. That sword was so sharp, he had a memory of seeing it somewhere.
"Successor?"
This was definitely Osian's attack. What had attacked was the witch's familiar. That meant right now, Osian was fighting somewhere else with the source who created this familiar.
The familiars met death at a rapid pace.
Diolan felt it while fighting the Queen of Hearts. That his death was approaching.
"Where are you looking!"
The Queen of Hearts approached. Death approached before his eyes too. For him, death had never been this close.
'Though I'm said to have nine lives.'
Befitting a familiar Mother Goose had invested effort in, even Diolan's lives numbered nine.
But it was still useless. The nine lives would disappear in an instant like a child gobbling up chocolate.
'So, I need to experience true death at least once.'
Diolan looked at Osian. Just then, Osian was looking this way too.
He nodded his head. And with a smile, he mouthed the words.
Do it. Friend.
Resolute will swirled in Osian's eyes.
Puwook!
That sword accurately pierced Mother Goose's heart.