Arctis Obscura Forta Magnificat!
I got 'im!
Curious about what's going on down below?
A bit, yes.
Look, Guitane... enough's enough, how about we—
It seems my pawns have been depleted.
The Ten Commandments.
What the...?
The battle down there is not unlike the one up here.
Something fell from the sky.
Come on...
You have to be kidding me.
I have sent...
Ten of my offspring to the surface.
All of them are chimeras with S-rankings in strength.
I alone am more than sufficient to wipe this country out.
I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince
so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 2nd Season
Episode 23: The Battle Above the Clouds
I caught the mana of those eggs he launched.
Now to intercept with Shadow Wolf.
I'm afraid not.
It seems your method for using teleportation offensively...
requires a fair bit of focus.
And it's harder to hit moving targets, yes?
I won't allow you to meddle.
Galilea!
Until this nation is wiped off the map...
My creations will not stop.
What the hell is this thing?!
Run for it, Talia.
This chimera...
It's not like the others!
Open up!
Let us out of here!
Hold on, everyone! You can't go outside! There are still a lot of chimeras—
How's it any safer in here, stupid?!
You want us to stand around while that thing eats us?!
Guys!
Miss Katarina! Get out of here, fast!
We'll hold this thing back!
But... you can't possibly...
What the hell is this?! I thought the church was supposed to be safe!
We were already at our limit, and now...
Why aren't the gods protecting us?!
Where's His Holiness?!
Where is God?!
I can assure you, for the longest time, I believed they were out there.
So, what do you say?
Are you worthy of being called a god?
I keep telling you...!
The results make it obvious enough.
Why...?
After everything we've been through...
Now we've gotta fight this thing?!
You will be unable to protect a single thing...
Something's wrong! There's a huge swell of mana down on the surface!
What?!
...as the country is destroyed.
Forgive me for being of no use.
For clarity's sake, I should point out that I have no intention of wiping out the people.
It is the country that must be overthrown...
And its warped religion.
For you see, the god at its foundation does not exist.
And I'm afraid that some casualties...
will be necessary...
for this revelation.
Boundless Innocence.
The only Luxa that Escher can produce.
Its offensive potential is virtually nil.
Its effects... are amplification.
Nothing more than a way of increasing the range of sound.
But with Escher's singing voice...
it can alleviate people's anxiety,
bolster their courage,
and for a few moments, even take these mindless chimeras...
and give them pause.
With one exception...
And that's me!
Shadow Wolf
Shadow Wolf: Slash!
Slash
Whatever made you start all this...
And whatever you've deluded yourself into believing I am...
doesn't really matter at this point, and I can't say I care.
My only interest is in your magic.
If I can take you in alive, you're welcome to as much of my time as you want.
Don't worry.
Someone as myopic as you could never begin to grasp the depths of sorcery.
Come on.
It's time for the final round.
I Was Reincarnated as the 7th Prince
so I Can Take My Time Perfecting My Magical Ability 2nd Season
What do you mean you're heading somewhere else?
Situation's changed.
This is just my gut talking, but...
This song is trouble.
The chimera's head exploded around the same time the song started.
Was that divine intervention?
Whatever it was, there's no way he didn't notice.
I know the guy who made this mess.
So I won't be satisfied until all these chimera are dead.
What a scary bishop...
Dante, look out!
Huh... Damn thing could still move.
Sure could...
I'm headed towards the girl singing this song.
You should stay here, miss.
No, I'll go too.
Escher's the one who's singing.
Ever since learning the pope was behind everything,
he suddenly started fighting ferociously.
I haven't been of any help ever since.
Dante's done everything on his own.
You've been looking out for the townspeople the whole time, haven't you?
You've been a lot more helpful than that clown on your back.
You'd be right at home in the clergy, girl.
I could never...
I like folks with a few skeletons in their closet.
A touch of darkness is what makes us all human, y'know?
That's right.
I should've noticed way back when.
Boss Guitane... I'm gonna stop you.
In those days, I was happy.
Papa, sing for me!
Sure! But I'm tone deaf!
It was a modest life, but I had a family.
They accepted me wholly, with no hesitation.
I love your singing, Papa!
His vocal sense is almost as bad as his sense of direction!
They were what I cherished most.
He's completely lost in his singing.
But that's what it makes it so endearing.
And as if in response to that happiness,
countless faithful would show up at the church for me to cast divine sorcery on.
You there. I believe your name is Guitane?
That voice... is that you, Angel Jihriel?!
Even an angel came to encourage me.
I hear your singing every day up here, and it's obnoxious.
You really can't carry a note.
I-I'm sorry. But...
I know. There are many humans who rely on you.
But, you needn't sing any longer.
You'll be able to use divine sorcery freely from now on.
I'm giving you a personal pass. You should consider it an honor.
Thank you so much!
After becoming a bishop, I was tested time and again...
Go ahead and try and purify me, pal.
You're not gonna see any change.
These kinds of confrontations got on my nerves...
So I would use Luxa to clobber the ones who started them.
What about the purification...?
Because it looked like you were hoping to use purification as a shortcut
to escape the darkness inside you.
You needn't rely on purification.
I'm sure you can overcome those dark impulses.
Boss Guitane! I decided to go for a look like yours!
Could you please not refer to me like that, Dante?
He was my best friend, and surrogate brother.
I'm trying to tell you!
Once I become king, I can actually do something about poverty!
Then could you please do it already?!
There are still people on the outskirts of Saloum who are suffering!
There were times I even clashed with royalty...
Then you need to become pope! It's only fair!
Yet I had nothing to fear, in spite of that.
Let us both aim for greater heights, to make the country a better place!
Because I had a foundation of faith in my soul.
Until it happened...
There was malnourished little girl sitting in front of my house.
It was obvious at a glance that she had came from the poverty-stricken slums.
I invited her inside at once. I had intended to feed her some of my wife's cooking.
I thought she might make a good friend for my son.
This girl, named Anastasia, muttered the oddest thing...
Daddy said to keep watch outside.
It was obvious in an instant what she meant.
My family lied in pools of their own blood.
And right across from the bodies of my wife and child was a man,
gorging himself on any food he could find.
"Who is this filth? Why didn't God protect my family?"
"Why am I even serving Him?"
By the time the coiling chain of hatred led me to an answer,
I found myself in even deeper despair.
Had I been serving God... while hoping to be rewarded?
I finally found the resolve to purify him.
What kind of penitence would he offer?
And would it be enough to forgive him?
But in the next moment, my anxiety over these answers was wiped away.
He did not repent. He did not do anything, except continue to stuff his mouth.
In confusion, I continued to shine the light of purification on him.
My anger had given way to fear, at that point.
In the end... he simply died.
He had starved to death.
The purity of this act. It was nothing more than hunger.
And so, he ate.
Killing my family to do it.
"Is this a joke?"
Is purity of intent enough to excuse anything?
I'm sorry... I'm so sorry...
Is that how the gods define evil?
Then wouldn't the purest of heart...
those who are closest to being true saints...
be monsters?
Bishop Guitane.
Boss Guitane.
I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry!
Guitane.
I vaguely remember being talked at by many people, afterwards.
To tell the truth, the responses I gave at the time made me want to vomit.
I am a pastor. This is the symbol of that faith. Trust in God.
I am a pastor. This is the symbol of that faith. Trust in God...
But even that sense of revulsion, in time, sunk into the darkness before dissolving.
I am a pastor. This is the symbol of that faith. Trust in God...
People called me a saint for how I behaved.
The light was unable to purge my darkness.
I was certain of it then: that this swirling vortex within me was not evil.
O God... I take it you have no objections?
Because if it is righteous...
then I will unleash this impulse I feel, with no restraint.
This pristine darkness.
After that, I sought out monsters to—
Enough already.
What's with the whole life story?
Can you not see the face I'm making over here?
Your story is depressing. And long.
And it's turned things monochrome for some reason.
I dunno what you expect a 7th Prince to do with all that!
Yes. I know.
I can only imagine that a story like this...
must make the ears of a god, such as yourself, burn.
Which is precisely why you must hear it.
The story of everything that's led to this point!
And you are obligated to answer my questions!
Yeah, whatever.
I hear you, so let's get on with it.
Are gods so truly...
reluctant to listen to reason?!
WHACK
I don't wanna hear that from you, man!
What an incredible singing voice.
The singing saint, Escher, has blessed us with a miracle!
Let's hang in there, people!
Sister Escher's singing for us!
Hey! Babylon! Where are you headed?!
And what is this song?! It's getting way more attention than me!
You're right! The people stopped panicking the second they heard it!
It even made the heads of those chimeras who fell from the sky explode!
God has answered our prayers with this song!
No. I'm pretty sure our boss took out the chimeras.
And this static I can hear...
Don't push yourself too hard, Escher.
This song is the thing that's keeping people's spirits intact.
If the singing stops...
There'd be no way to stop the chaos.
Which is why...
we won't stop.
When this song is over...
When this battle is over...
When the seemingly endless rain finally dries up,
a rainbow will shine.
We have faith!
Uwaaaah
Doesn't Escher have the best singing voice?
My sister's doing great, too!
They sound a lot sharper than they did during rehearsal.
Y'know... there's one thing I wanted to show you, more than anything else.
What are you—
What is this?!
I'm going to launch this in time with the song.
Listen closely, okay?
What just happened?! Some application of his teleportation?!
No, there was always lag when he used that!
Concealment and sorcery. Full Sprint and sorcery.
Magic that can't physically be seen, and magic that's too fast to be seen.
Basic but nasty, isn't it?
Celero Cascadia.
Kryptis Incinis.
ZWOM
The water blast was moving so fast, it froze! That's hilarious.
Stealth magic where the first reaction is the impact of it landing?!
But...
It's pointless!
I'm going to utilize your power, Civil War!
Spinal Shield!
Good! I'm able to react to it...
Krypta Celero Lithis!
WHA-BAM
Wow, you can use the spinal threads too?!
Now I really wanna take you alive!
I was barely able to react in time, but he's able to launch too many attacks at once!
I need to focus more!
Focus!
Shut up!
Mana Focus: Seven Goddesses
Mana Focus: Seven Goddesses.
What is this?!
The spinal threads were severed before I could even react!
A density of mana so great that Luxa loses its luster?!
Someone as myopic as you could never begin to grasp the depths of sorcery.
This is...
Are my decades of life really going to be denied by this inexplicable... thing?!
By this... demonic, maniacal... absurdity?!
Come to think of it, you said something before...
About how there's nothing to be gained by targeting your heart.
Let's test that theory.
God?!
Glow.
The 7th Prince. Is he a god? Or an innocent devil?
Next time, on Episode 24:
"In the Light."
Episode 24
In the Light
You will witness the depths of sorcery.