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Abel's horizontal blow broke through the Shield of Asmoday. If the Arrow of Belial in discharge mode hadn't substituted as a defensive wall, Kampfer's body would have been sliced in two.
Wizard was blown backward along with his electrified iron sand. He thudded into a gravestone; it toppled over, breaking a white marble Madonna statue to bits. A hanging cross smashed on the stone floor, kicking up a terrific amount of dust.
"Oh ho, this is surprising. You still have that much strength?" Kampfer casually stood up and peered through the clouds of dust. The slender shadow draped across the threshold probably was Caterina. She didn't budge, perhaps because she was unconscious. Where is the other one?
"Where are you looking?" asked a cold, inhuman voice somewhere above Wizard.
Kampfer reflexively raised his head. Countless marble angels that had been carved into the ceiling suddenly came flying at him. They were God's messengers, sculpted with a delicate touch, brandishing their white wings, praising the glory of heaven.
Among them was one fallen angel with flapping, jet-black wings and shining, red eyes. It was Abel. No, it was something that had been Abel.
"So, this is your true form?"
The priest's ruby eyes made him look as though he were crying tears of blood. Black wings almost the length of his body extended from the back of his torn cassock.
"Pleased to see you, Crusnik 02. We meet at last."
As if in answer to Kampfer's greeting, the fallen angel's wings spread -wide.
Each one of his feathers shone brightly, electrifying the atmosphere. A sinister light accompanied their glow. The tomb's lamps began to rupture, one after another. The frescoes' paint melted and vaporized.
"Megavolt organic electrical discharge. That’s grand. However, it won't defeat me."
Whether he heard the ridicule in Wizard's words was unclear; regardless, Abel responded with an inhuman voice: "Die."
The next instant, a blue-white current snaked along the ground.
Kampfer spread the iron sand that had collected in his hands over his head. I don't know how high the voltage he's wielding is, but as long as it's an electrical attack, this shield is unbeatable.
A heartbeat later, the sword of Justice swung down upon the arrogant Wizard. "What!"
He thought his clothes had been torn; in actuality, his chest had been split open. The blow tossed his body several feet into the air. He crashed onto the floor, still unaware of what had happened to his body. A normal person would have broken all their bones and been turned into meat pudding.
"It's impossible to summarize the damages. What now?" Lying sideways in the center of a fissure, Kampfer looked up.
A barrier of iron dust stretched between his body and Abel's black wings, which were wrapped in pallid electric light. No matter what kind of attack Abel had used, it shouldn't have gotten through his defenses.
"No, there is just one attack that could work: electrical discharge cutoff. This is a spark-gap impact?" A faint tinge of admiration appeared on Wizard's face.
A spark-gap impact is when the air becomes ionized thanks to a powerful electrical discharge occurring between two electrodes, which converge in the surrounding airspace. The strength of the shock depends on the scale of the electrical discharge; theoretically, it was possible to split the cathedral in two using such an attack. The monster looming over him seemed able to freely manipulate the concentration point of the discharge.
"Marvelous," Wizard praised, his dull eyes like those of a dead fish. "Really marvelous. I've never seen this much power from a Crusnik!" He let out a strained groan. An invisible blade swung down haphazardly, attacking his whole body. A nearby gravestone split apart as if a machine gun had blasted it. In the storm of the electric shock, amid the raging ionized atmosphere, a fist of hardened air mercilessly pounded Wizard's body, rending it apart.
Then, silence descended.
Is it all over? From underneath a mound of rubble, Kampfer extended his hands as if to brush off the lumps of rock that had crushed his body. "Ugh!"
Something heavy mercilessly slammed down on his cracked chest. Eyes red as blood peered at him. Abel's wings had disappeared, but he still grasped the double-bladed scythe in his hand. The creature that had been Abel now glared at Wizard.
"Really marvelous." Kampfer's voice was quiet as he gazed up at his impending doom. "You are a marvelous person, Abel. I am completely beaten. Well, kill me, then. You should take your revenge for that nun you liked so much."
Still silent, the creature raised his large scythe. The blades aimed for the crown of Kampfer's head. Wizard knew he would be split in two. He watched the strength fill Abel's fingers as the priest clutched the scythe.
Nothing happened.
No growl split the air; no frenzied howl rang out. It was quiet. The only sound was something faintly shaking.
Kampfer looked up questioningly. A warmth seemed to spread to Abel's red eyes.
"A long time ago, I made a promise," the creature muttered painfully. "I won't kill anymore. I promised that."
"A promise?" Kampfer asked, bewildered by Abel's deep sorrow. "You say you promised?"
Abel trembled; dark circles were etched under his eyes. Strong emotions threatened to burst out of him. "Yes. I promised long ago not to kill, nor to let anyone die. I vowed to atone for my crimes."
Contrary to his words, Abel's arms struggled to swing the blades down toward Kampfer's head. His arms shook with the desire to kill Wizard. The monster ground his teeth, pulling his hands toward his chest.
"I won't kill anybody anymore. I won't kill. So, tell me! How do I stop that weapon? Tell me, please! I don't want to kill anybody else! I don't want to let anybody else die!"
Faint emotion danced across Wizard's clever face as he heard Abel's painful plea. He answered the priest in a voice that was infinitely kind: "Very well, let's talk." Gazing into Abel's red eyes, Kampfer carefully opened his mouth. "There's only one way to stop Silent Noise: You have to interrupt its control chip."
"Chip? Where is that?"
"It's here." Kampfer indicated his chest. Pale white skin, seemingly untouched by sunlight, was visible underneath his torn shirt. "Here, the control chip is inside me."
"What?" Abel wavered, confused. Inside him? That means . . . Refusing to avert his gaze from Abel's face, Wizard smiled. "Yes, the chip in my body always monitors my vital signs. When I die, the chip will stop its activity. You have to kill me to stop the control chip. Well, it's very simple, isn't it?"
Abel's eyes opened wide.
"You should kill me to stop the weapon."
Is he asking me to help him commit suicide?
Wizard sported an extremely satisfied smile, the way the devil would look when he handed a mortal man a pen to sign away his soul. "Well, what will you do? Me or Rome? Which one will you choose?"
"That's . . ."Abel shook so much that his scythe rattled.
If he saved the man before his eyes, Rome would be destroyed and tens of thousands of lives would be lost. He would have to kill this one man to save Rome. Whichever option he chose, his actions would break his promise to her! "There's no other way?"
"Nein. You're free to choose who will die—that's all that you can do."
Above their heads, the morning bell rang out. Dawn had come at last.
"Silent Noise will start when that bell finishes ringing three times."
Abel looked up in consternation. The bell rang a second time.
"Well, one more bell. What will you do, Abel?"
"I ... I ..." Abel panted as he looked down at Wizard.
Yes, if I kill this man here, everything will be settled.
Saving Rome and the beloved people who lived there was the only way he could repay his comrades' trust. Wizard was an abominable murderer. He'd taken countless lives until now, destroyed an entire city, and killed Noelle. What value did the life of a villain like this have? What reason was there to hesitate? It's right for me to take the life of this person on behalf of those I've loved before and those I love now. Yes, unmistakably right!
Then, I. . .
The instant he closed his eyes, an image appeared behind his eyelids. Was he thinking of the people he should protect? Or the people he failed to protect? Or else...
The third bell rang.
"It's time."
The huge scythe fell on Wizard's head.