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White stakes rained down… Looking closely, they resembled snake fangs, which Sufi deftly shot down using the sword in her left hand.

Noche is intercepting them with ease too; it seems they can handle this level of attack without any trouble.

Judging by the attacks Sufi has taken against the Divine Soldiers, the Sister’s shield can block damage to the person it’s protecting, but it can’t block the impact. If we took a fang flying at that speed head-on, we’d definitely get knocked over—and then we’d just be sitting ducks.

So we can’t let them hit us…

“Ugh, so persistent nya!”

Perhaps having given up on hitting us directly, the serpent woman starts scattering the flying fangs in the direction she’s moving.

Because of that, we can’t even try to escape carelessly.

“You’re destroying our town! ‘Slash’!”
“‘Fire Arrow’!”

Armed adventurers charge in, and from afar, countless magical fire arrows fly toward the serpent woman, piercing her body. Neither seems to have much effect, though; she simply shifts her body slightly and brushes them off with ease.

Since the orphanage is located away from the main street, in a relatively quiet part of the lower town, the damage to the town isn’t too bad, but it’s still not zero.

“Damn it, this isn’t working at all.”
“You apostates! You’re so annoying!”

The serpent woman swung the rapier she’d conjured in her right hand, and the screams were swallowed up by the blast created by the sword strike.

“Alice!”

It was a ferocious blow—the shockwave reached even us on the opposite side. Just as I was about to fall, Sufi and Noche caught me.

The longer this drags on, the worse the damage will be.

“Sister, Langbert.”
“Sufi, take your sister inside while you still can!”
“No honorifics… I don’t know if this is the right time to say this, but I’m still a nobleman!!”

That can wait.

“At this rate, we won’t be able to escape.”

I tapped the gun in my hand, and while Sister looked confused, Langbert wore a serious expression.

“But that…”
“Will it work?”

The serpent woman had only seen its normal-mode attacks, just like the two of them. If she thought that was this weapon’s maximum power, there’s a chance she’ll underestimate us, assuming it won’t be very effective against her current body.

In fact, even the Sister and Langbert questioned whether this gun’s attack would even work against such a massive body.

But it’s actually the other way around. With how huge that serpent woman is, not to mention her torso being above the town skyline, I can fire a Full-Burst Mode towards the sky and hit her.

Of course, there’s no way she’ll just stand there and take the hit defenselessly.

“It will, if it hits.”

When I aimed the barrel just to test the water, the serpent woman—perhaps sensing something—blatantly dodged out of the line of fire.

“That staff that emits an evil light and wounded a Divine Soldier—how detestable!”
“The other guy took the hit, you know.”

Does this difference depend on how much of its original personality remains? Even though she’s neither breathing nor her heart beating, her original personality seems to be clearly intact.

Even if I hit her with a standard energy bullet, it probably wouldn’t be a fatal wound.

“Die! You filthy half-beast!”
“I won’t let you!”

The serpent woman swung her rapier toward us. The Sister slid in front of us and raised her shield.

A pale green barrier deflected the impact, and the Sister groaned in pain.

“Don’t use God’s shield to protect a beast! You apostate!”
“Guh… This is a shield to protect the weak! Those who cannot stand before these girls here have no right to wield this shield!”
“Sister…”

Sufi let out a voice that sounded slightly shaken at the sight of the Sister shielding all of us.

Her habit was slashed in places, and blood was dripping from the hem. It was clear she was pushing herself to the limit.

“……!”

As I locked onto her, the serpent woman who had been about to pursue us twisted her face in disgust and prioritized evasion.

“Seems like you really hate that staff…! ‘Accel Blade’!”
“You b̲a̲s̲t̲a̲r̲d̲!”

Langbert swung his sword while moving at a speed that made his movements appear blurred. Are there martial arts techniques that allow for instant acceleration?

“What do we do, Noche?”
“Force our way out, nya?”

Sufi and the others seem to have gotten used to the fangs being fired at them; they’re parrying them off as if it were nothing.

“Sufi, are you confident you can throw your sword?”
“Huh? Yeah.”

Sister and Langbert seem strong enough to hold their own, but they don’t have a decisive move against the serpent woman.

The enemy doesn’t seem to feel any pain even when attacked; if this keeps up, we might be worn down and forced into a losing position.

“I’ll fire, so aim and throw—the black one.”
“Oh, got it!”
“I see, nya.”

Finishing her off with the energy blast head-on seems impossible, but the sword might do the trick.

For some reason, Ame-no-Murakumo seems to drain the “power” from monsters like her the moment it strikes. If we can weaken her, it’ll help cover us and create a chance to escape.

I aimed the barrel, weaving through the gaps in her attacks. Sensing my movement, the serpent woman fled to the direction I was going, so I aimed high into the sky and pulled the trigger.

A flash of red light erupted, concentrating all the energy of the loaded bullet.

“Wha!?”
“The hell was that!?”

Langbert, just barely managed to evade it, stared wide-eyed at the flash that had just passed by him.

I’m not skilled enough to land a direct hit on a moving target, but I managed to shave off a portion of her serpentine body, causing her to lose her balance significantly.

“Eeei!!”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Sufi hurled the Ame-no-Murakumo she held in her right hand.

The jet-black sword, tracing a spinning arc, plunged into the snake’s body.

“AAAARRRGHHH!!!!”

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from the serpent woman’s mouth.

Immediately afterward, a magical fire arrow launched from a distance struck her, shattering that section of her body.

“—It’s working! Keep attacking!”
“OOOHH!!”
“B…BASTAARDSSS!!!”
“I won’t let you hurt anyone else!”

The Sister struck the struggling serpent woman with a shield shrouded in green light, then shattered her body with the mace in her right hand.

Raining fire, ice, and lightning… mixed in with the storm of magic, ordinary arrows pierce the serpent woman’s body.

“You accursed apostates! How dare you lay a hand on the body blessed by God!!”
“Enough is enough! ‘Gale Slash’!”

Langbert, who had charged forward despite being wounded by her fangs, sliced off the arm of the serpent woman as she swung her rapier. No blood flowed; the wound looked as though a stone statue had been shattered.

The flashes of martial arts flickered all around, chipping away at the serpent woman’s body. Eventually, unable to remain standing any longer, she collapsed at the Sister’s feet.

“I-I did it all, for my faith… I shouldn’t die, in a place like this!!”
“…It’s over now. At least rest in peace.”

As the Sister caught her breath and offered a prayer, Langbert thrust his sword into what appeared to be the serpent woman’s heart.

“I-I am… I…”

It was unclear if it had been a vital strike, but the serpent woman ceased moving entirely.

All that remained was the nun’s corpse, now as hard as stone, and a massive pile of dirt where the snake’s torso had been.

And the heavily damaged townscape.

Leaving behind many mysteries and lingering problems, the series of uproars that began with the appearance of the magical beast came to a close.

And so, a long day in Forligen drew to a close.