distance, it was impossible to confirm or deny their presence. As if in their stead, what Kaito could make out was a rather bizarre spectacle. "...What's up with that?" The area around the mass was stained gray for several miles in every direction. The buildings within the encroachment radius were weathered like old paper, and some of them had transformed into shapes and materials that defied the laws of physicsâ€”some glassy and vitreous, others foamy and granular. The gray world was silent. Color, time, and shape had all been robbed from it. The very nature of space shifted once past a certain threshold, as though it had been cut away with a knife. Kaito finally realized why the mass had stopped expanding. It was simply consuming its surroundings in a different manner rather than physically corroding them. It's destroying the world. Either instinctively or due to his contract with a demon, that was the conclusion Kaito arrived at. The Kaiser whispered low in his ear. "Behold. Demons are those who destroy God's creations. This is what happens when we are unchained from our contractors' egos and allowed to wield our true, unbridled power. Now then, the Church. While they crown themselves with God's name, in the end they are but mere humans. Let us see what their play isâ€”this is sure to be a spectacle most comedic. Geh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh, fu-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh, geh-heh-heh-heh-heh-heh. The Kaiser laughed in a voice that sounded almost human. It seemed he intended to enjoy himself here. Not responding to him, Kaito surveyed the scene in front of himself a second time. A road extended out from the hill, leading to what had originally been the royal castle. However, the splendid castle, which had apparently been hailed as resembling an ivory rose, was currently nowhere to be seen. Nor was its garden or the myriad vacation homes belonging to prominent aristocrats. They had all been consumed by the mass. When the mass of flesh had first exploded out from a storehouse in the mercantile district, it had spread toward the capital's most important sector as though it had been aiming for it. In spite of that, most of the important people made it out, including the king. That had been thanks to Godot Deus, who had been attending a defense meeting in the capital after learning of the battle between the Grand King and the Torture Princess. He had single-handedly bought them enough time to evacuate. And once he'd confirmed that they'd all made it out, he committed suicide right before the mass swallowed him up to avoid presenting the demon with an opportunity to make use of his power. As a result, the Church had lost one of its head priests, one of the few people who could have stood against the three fused demons. Having lost his essential strength, the paladins were waiting with bated breath for the arrival of a certain individual. The Shepherd, La Mules. What kind of person could they be? Sheâ€”according to Elisabeth, it was a womanâ€”was a high priest who bore the authority to summon first-class mythical beasts and spirits. The paladins, Izabella included, seemed to place a great deal of faith in her. However, her tardiness planted a seed of doubt in Kaito's mind. The Church's headquarters should have a permanent teleportation circle installed. If that's the case, then why is she so late? Given the current state of emergency, there was even less reason for them to be stingy in dispatching their high priests. Staring at the mass of flesh, Kaito crossed his arms. Sensing his irritation, Godot Deus called out to pacify him. "Be patient, servant of Elisabeth. You will understand once you see her." "When I see her?" Not when I meet her? As Kaito wondered about that, a voice rang out. "La Mules has arrived." A raucous, rattling noise echoed out alongside the messenger's report. A woman appeared, riding atop a wheeled wooden chair. Kaito reflexively gulped. The moment he saw her, his doubts had indeed vanished. La Mules looked to be more of a what than a who. Snow-white bands ran all the way down from her face to her feet, relentlessly binding her to the chair. Because of the way she was strapped to the chair's back and armrests, it looked almost as though she'd become one with it. It was impossible to even get a decent read on her build. Given that, it was almost uncanny how clearly her large eyes were visible from within the gaps in her restraints. A strangely innocent light burned within them. She looked like a piece of equipment or perhaps an infantile monster. Whichever it was, she certainly didn't appear human. "It's been a while, La Mules. The fact you're still in good health must truly be due to God's grace." La Mules didn't reply to Godot Deus's greeting. Instead, she gnashed her teeth at her creaking metal muzzle. Drops of saliva dripped through the spaces between her restraints onto the ground. The paladins knelt in unison. Kaito reeled back a step in revulsion. Elisabeth whispered in his ear. "La Mules is a high priest and has also been canonized while still alive. However, she cannot move of her own volition and possesses no will of her own." "She doesn't have a will? What does that even mean?" "While their ranks are below his, first-class mythical beasts and spirits are similar in nature to God, and summoning them means dragging them down from a higher plane of existence. To do that, one must have a strong connection to God. However, aside from the Suffering Saint, none can hold that power within themselves for long and still retain their sanity." As he heard that gut-wrenching truth, Kaito's face stiffened. Looking back at La Mules, his mind raced in astonishment. So wait, as far humans are concerned, doesn't that mean that God and the demons are both just as fundamentally dangerous? Having guessed his train of thought, Elisabeth laughed quietly. "It took you this long to realize, fool? God and Diablo both do naught but create the world and destroy it. Man was not meant to lay hands on their ilk." As the two of them were having their secret conversation, La Mules's preparations were proceeding. The paladins had turned her toward the mass of flesh, chair and all. They had also tilted the back of the chair to adjust her "angle." Once they'd finished fixing her wheels in the ground with nails, they all fled from her side. Left behind, Kaito was at a loss for what to do. Then Izabella's directions cut through the air. "You two should get back as well. It's dangerous there." "Okay, got it." Leaving La Mules alone at the hill's summit, the paladins lay flat on the ground beside the gravestones on its slope. Kaito and Elisabeth followed their lead. After making sure everyone had evacuated, a young man wearing a dark-red robe who appeared to be La Mules's attendant reverently approached her. His hands trembled as he removed her muzzle, then crawled away on his stomach, as terrified as though she was some sort of carnivorous beast. For a moment, La Mules did nothing. However, she then gently opened her mouth, as though yawning. Saliva dripped down from between her uniform white herbivorous-looking teeth. The entire scene seemed steeped in madness, and Elisabeth murmured as she looked upon it. "La Mules was born with many stigmata within her, and she can use them as summoning circles. But activating her requires the signatures of not only all the high priests but those of the royals and titled nobility as well. That was the reason for her delayed arrival." "'Activating'... That's hardly a way to describe a person." "Mm, not at all. She is a high priest who bears the authority to summon first-class mythical beasts and spirits in name alone." Before their very eyes, La Mules's jaw was gradually stretching past the point jaws were designed to. Yet, she opened her mouth farther still. Little by little, the tips of her lips began to tear. Even the restraints binding her face tore off with audible groaning noises. Then they were joined by a different sticky sound. "...Whâ€”?" Kaito's eyes went wide. A dimly glowing blob had burst out of La Mules's mouth. Its head was a dozen times larger than her face, and it was covered in a mucous membrane like a newborn animal. It was a grotesque scene, one in gross defiance of the laws governing conservation of mass. "In truth, she is the greatest weapon the Church possesses," Elisabeth quietly continued. Then Kaito realized something. The blob was made out of soggy feathers. A gigantic bird was trying to make its way out from between her tiny lips. Suddenly, as though it had been pushed from within, the bird shot out. It broke free in one fell swoop. Kaito tried to take in its full hideous form. However, before he could, it gave off a short whooshing sound and vanished. Light shot forward from La Mules, and a striking wind burst out in a circle. The back of the chair twisted outward. As it did, all the buildings on the side of the road leading from La Mules to the mass of flesh blew into the air like rag dolls. Accompanied by a shock wave, something had gone rapidly flying toward the mass of flesh. "She is little more than a living cannon." As Elisabeth spoke, somethingâ€”most likely the bird that had come out of La Mules's mouthâ€”impacted the mass of flesh. Jet-black smoke shot up. The faces of the mass's captured victims screamed in succession. Even the paladins trembled, their armor rattling, as the agonizingly sorrowful voices reached their ears. Kaito strained his eyes, trying to make out the mass behind the smoke concealing it. There was a deep, scorched hole bored into it. What on earth had happened? Kaito thought back to the events that had taken place over the past few seconds to try to get them in order. The bird La Mules made probably flew at it superfast, crashed into their target, then vanished. Then another weird plopping noise rang out. A second blob peeked its head out of La Mules's mouth. Holding his breath, Kaito watched over it. He tried with utmost composure to make out what was going on. Just like Izabella said, it's obvious how effective these summoned beasts are. Another bird was birthed from La Mules's mouth. The light blasted out with a short popping noise. The surface of the mass burst and scattered. The second bombardment had gone through successfully. However, Kaito tightly balled his fists up. ...It's going well, so why? A dark sense of unease was filling his chest, one that he couldn't suppress. It happened as La Mules was spitting out the third bird. "They're coming," Elisabeth muttered in a low voice. At practically the same time as she spoke, a black shadow gushed out from the base of the mass. Countless black dots appeared overhead, as well. The two groups almost looked like armies of ants and flies. However, their forms were sinister enough to put bugs to shame. The mass of flesh was releasing underlings. The evil army marched through the gray space, traveling toward La Mulesâ€”both the cannoneer and the cannonâ€”with fierce intensity. As he leaned over a gravestone, Kaito prepared himself for battle. Then Godot Deus issued an order. "Hold your positions." With a slump, La Mules drew in her chin at a bizarre angle. Her line of fire shifted. The third bombardment shot forth. White flames exploded, gouging the mass's foot. The band of incoming underlings perished in the fire. Struck by the shock wave, the bird-shaped underlings violently slammed into the ground. Bones and viscera tore out of their bodies as they bloomed into pitiful crimson flowers on the road. Seeing La Mules's overwhelming power, the paladins raised their voices in awe. For