Before I knew it, I had become capable of moving.

A huge shadow suddenly appeared.

In front of that, even the mage who had sealed me must have been stunned.

—That alone made that monster dangerous.

Since it was a monster I had never seen before, it was difficult to figure out how to deal with it. Was there any good way to handle this?

Looking up at the high seat, even the Silver Sword Saint, Leon Macba, was standing still with a pale face.

No, in this case, Leon was probably more worried about his own reputation. He was likely concerned about whether this monster was one he had unleashed.

Dudley Claise was the same.

After being blown away by the huge shadow, there was no sign of him getting up.

Unfortunately, this seems to be the current state of the prestigious Macba family.

They were no longer reliable.

…Well, I never relied on them from the start.

“—It seems to have appeared.”

That was when I heard a familiar voice.

A beautiful woman’s voice.

It was a goddess-like voice, as pure as a crystal, clear and untainted.

No way.

“Haha… So, the ‘warm presence’ I’ve been feeling until now was you, Goddess?”

“Heh… Though, I am but a thought body. —At last, we meet, Arios.”

With a smile, the goddess Dies appeared beside me, the same one I had seen in another dimension. She was the woman who had spoken with the first Sword Saint, Falus, in the ancient royal castle.

For some reason, the goddess didn’t seem to be visible to anyone else. It was as if only I could see her.

In fact, no one, including the giant shadow, was moving at all.

Noticing my confusion, the goddess smiled softly and spoke.

“I’ve stopped time for just a bit. It would be a joke if we were attacked during this time.”

“Stopped time…?”

“Heh, once your skill grows, you’ll be able to do this as well.”

It was truly a feat of the gods.

The goddess Dies, with a serious expression, looked up at the giant shadow and muttered quietly.

“The solitary shadow, Vanitas Roa… A monster that tormented the kingdom thousands of years ago. Modern monsters are ranked by a ‘designated rank,’ but it doesn’t seem to fit that classification.”

“I see…”

As expected, my instincts were right. The giant shadow—Vanitas Roa—was stronger than any monster I had encountered.

“—But, I believe you can win.”

The goddess looked at me with earnest eyes and grabbed my hands.

“Please. Help me. This… is not the end, but please break the strong chains that have bound the kingdom for so long.”

Then, the goddess gently pressed her lips against my cheek.

“Ah…”

“I believe in you. That you are the true Sword Saint.”

“True… Sword Saint…”

The first Sword Saint, Falus, had said that as well. To be the true Sword Saint.

And then.

Suddenly, the goddess Dies began to fade. If time continued to pass, she would disappear entirely.

“…It seems the time is up.”

With a sorrowful expression, the goddess pulled her lips away from mine and looked at me with moist eyes.

“Vanitas Roa is a dangerous monster. It would be wise to use the Cheat Code ‘Absorption.'”

“Absorption…”

Now that I think about it, it’s a power I had never used until now.

Would it work on Vanitas Roa?

“And don’t forget to use ‘Attack Power Rewrite’ to lower its attack power. —You can definitely win.”

“Goddess…”

“I love you, Arios…”

With that, the goddess’s figure finally disappeared.

In that instant—the time around us, which had been frozen, began to move again.

“Goooooooooooooaaaar!!”

Vanitas Roa raised both arms high and his crimson eyes glowed ominously.

This was bad.

I immediately activated the Cheat Code ‘Attack Power Rewrite’ and reduced Vanitas Roa’s attack power to 1/4.

“Graaaaaaaahhh!!”

Sure enough, numerous long, pitch-black flames erupted from Vanitas Roa’s entire body. The attack didn’t seem to target anyone in particular, as the flames scattered indiscriminately in all directions.

“W-wahhhhhh!!”

“Help——”

“Mom…!!”

The spectators screamed in terror.

The flames were not particularly fast, but it was not easy to escape in this crowd.

I quickly activated the next Cheat Code.

The ability I selected was, of course, ‘Absorption.’

It was the unknown power the goddess had recommended to me.

And then.

“Kyaaaaaaaaaa!!”

“No, no, no!!”

Just before the flames engulfed the spectators, a miracle occurred.

The flames changed direction and charged straight toward me.

—As if they were going to be absorbed by me.

“I see… So that was it…”

No wonder I hadn’t realized it when fighting alone.

In a situation like this, there was no need to prevent the enemy’s attack.

Moreover, I had already reduced Vanitas Roa’s attack power to half of half. Even if I was attacked by the countless flames, I wasn’t particularly scared.

“Wooooooooooooo!!”

I drew my sword and began cutting through the flames approaching me. Thanks to the effect of the sacred sword Levatein, even the nearby flames began to disappear.

“Huh…?”

“Why is the flame…?”

“Could it be, Arios… did you protect us…?”

After dealing with all the flames, I turned toward the spectators and shouted loudly.

“Run away! This—I’ll handle it!!”

“Wow, so cool…”

“Sword Saint…?”

I heard the spectators whispering.