<h4>Chapter 292. Rhapsody (7)</h4>


    Dresden’s western forces had immediately fallen, their proud wall turned to dust in an instant. Dark smoke curled up from beneath the foundation of the Basilica, the remains of human life and stone coalescing into one ominous plume.


    “Reinforce the front!”


    “Someone splint my ankle!”


    Nevertheless, the Imperial military reassembled their troops and regained their formation. “… They’re the Empire indeed.”


    Prisci generously heaped praise on them. Not only did they have to defend Dresden, but they also had tobat the spontaneous surprise attacks throughout their empire, having topete with the Church’s secret teleportation gatework. The Hebrion Empire’s military was extremely fragmented, a deliberate ploy set up by the Artemis Church, and yet they still continued to defend with a staggering number of forces…


    Even then they could not stop them. The military forces that broke through the west of Dresden were considered the elite of the Artemis Church. There were hundreds of knights led by twelve cardinals and Pdins, as well as heresy investigators. Every one of them was skilled enough to deserve the title of elite.


    But among them all, only one individual was necessary to stop the Imperial army from blocking their path.


    *Pad* *Pad* *Pad*


    The heresy investigator, Rhea. With each step she took, a white hyacinth bloomed beneath her feet. They sprouted forth, buds forming shortly thereafter, and then fully blossomed within a second.


    Although it appeared to be a harmless flowerbed, the following sequence was anything but aesthetic. The hyacinths refused to allow anything other than Rhea to touch them, and anything that got too close to them would suddenly vanish, as though they never existed to begin with.


    Stomp.


    Rhea continued to walk forwards, getting rid of anything that blocked her way. “S-Stop her!”


    An ashen-faced Imperialmander, who was responsible for guarding the now-copsed west, desperately shouted out orders. However, there was no way that soldiers who failed to understand her ability could stop her.


    For a long time, screams emanated from anywhere she passed. Before long, the ruined cityscape was left silent, save for the Artemis Church and one Hebrionmander. The officer unsheathed his sword with shaky hands, valiantly pointing it at the Head Inquisitor.


    Rhea simply smiled gently and held her hand out. A single white hyacinth petal grew out of her wrist, elegantly detaching itself and riding the winds towards themander’s sword,nding gently on the hilt.


    “Argh!”


    He threw away his sword with a scream. *Whoosh*


    The pure white petal had formed a brilliant me, which instantly enveloped the entire sword. The entire weapon burned to nothingness, not even leaving behind ashes, failing to survive the even distance between themander’s hand and the ground. If he had waited even a moment longer, that me likely would have spread to him too.


    ‘What kind of power… ?’


    The officer’s eyes wereden with fear. His whole body was shaking, but not because of the disy: he began to feel a slight pressure around his legs. He did not need to look down to know what it was.


    *Snap*


    Rather than instantly burning him alive, the flower simply encased him in a thick stem, preventing any movement. Rhea slowly meandered towards him, bending over to pluck the elegant flower off of his body.


    “I call this Baptism of Fire… No matter the heresy it needs to cleanse, these beautiful hyacinths never stop growing, and will swallow anything it deems necessary of purification.” Her smiling eyes changed ever so slightly. Herposed pretty face had a sinister, sadistic undertone.


    “Erugh… ! Urgh!”


    Rhea slowly grabbed his face with her hands. He tried to turn his head away, but the stems of the flower caught his neck and face and began to open his mouth by force. Rhea used the opportunity to shove the flower down his throat.


    “If you were a devout man, one of true faith, then you will not be purified. You’ll be unharmed, right?”


    *p*


    Rhea pped in deration.


    The flowers burst into mes, opting to slowly burn the Imperial captain rather than obliterate him. For a few seconds, he screamed in unimaginable agony, as his flesh melted and fused together and his eyeballs liquified in their sockets. Within ten seconds he went limp, and the mes charred the corpse, leaving behind ck ash which scattered to the wind.


    Rhea watched the insignificant dust trail through the sky, a wicked grin etched deep into her face.


    “Aargh!”


    “Please spare… !”


    Floral mes engulfed the reinforcing units, devouring everyone in its path. Screams echoed from both near and afar, and Rhea’s face was twisted in sick ecstasy.


    “How beautiful it is.”


    The Imperial army did their best to fight the fire: soldiers threw buckets of water, magicians cast ice spells, and so forth. But no matter what they did, their efforts were pointless. The Baptism of Fire was a holy ze that wouldn’t extinguish unless its target was fully incinerated. It was a me that existed alongside the veryws of nature.


    Hyacinths bloomed along the western wall, iming the portion of the city as its own territory. “Excellent, Rhea.”


    Prisci came up and stood by her. “I’m honored, Your Eminence.”


    Before their conversation could continue, a new group ofbatants approached the Head Inquisitor. The number of people summoned was truly ttering; had they mustered everyone they could?


    “I think this is going to be thest one.”


    Rhea groaned with pleasure and walked towards them.


    All of a sudden, the temperature around her dropped sharply.


    “What… ?” [Frozen World] *Crack*


    The ground froze and a tremendous chill rushed towards the Artemis Church members, freezing the hyacinths that were eating away at Dresden.


    “My baptism… was neutralized?”


    Rhea was greatly agitated. There was no ice magic that could stop her Baptism of Fire. [Frozen Pce]


    An ice fortress skyrocketed to be several meters high in a sh, cutting off the Artemis Church’s path. Above them stood a young girl with dazzling white-blonde hair, fluttering in the harsh current. She looked down at Rhea, both literally and metaphorically, with a mixture of disdain and resolve in her eyes.


    “It was you… ”


    Rhea understood how her fire had been blocked once she discovered the cause was Adjest Rogfs. Her spells were iparable to ordinary ice magic.


    With the appearance of a single person, the fate of the western front was up for debate. The skyhigh ice fortress had trapped the Artemis Church, keeping their attacks from affecting the city atrge. With the additional time bought, the Imperial soldiers began to reinforce the structure, operating out of Adjest’s [Frozen Pce] as though it were a genuine fortress.


    *Boom*


    *Boom*


    *Boom*


    The Imperial magicians gushed forth with their bombardment spells without worrying after securing a safe area to attack from. In response, Rhea hurriedly began issuing orders of her own.


    “Fleet artillery… !”


    Though they had not brought as many ships as nned, their crew was stillposed of heresy investigators with the same Blessing of Light bestowed onto the Pdins. With proper use, it wouldn’t be difficult to break through the enemy’s defenses.


    Under Rhea’s order, the airships began loading and aiming their cannons, aiming for structurally important areas of Adjest’s pce. Before she could give the order to open fire, something drew near Rhea, and her hyacinths bloomed to protect their progenitor.


    *Trickle*


    A streak of flesh blood ran down her cheek. Whatever approached her had grazed the flesh beneath her eye before the mes could burn it.


    “How dare you!?” Rhea roared in anger.


    “Shame. It was a chance to pierce a hole in your pretty forehead.”


    The voice of a cheerful girl reached Rhea. The sound was carried by the wind, masking both her distance and direction.


    “You’re confident as always, Starling Party.”


    Prisci spoke icily. Her wandering gaze finally rested when it met with Adjest, who stood atop her fortress.


    “Still, this is painful to watch. Don’t you know that buying time is pointless?”


    “I’m simple and unsophisticated, so I don’t know what you''re talking about.”


    *Whoosh*


    Prisci’s hair began to flutter.


    “But I definitely know one thing for sure.”


    As Prisci followed the direction of the wind, she saw something in the sky. Although it was pitch-ck night, she could make out the shape of a huge thundercloud. Within the turbulence, the Artemis airships began to lose their stability and trembled.


    “Pretty soon, you’ll all be begging to leave.”


    Atop the Besward Bakery, several hundred meters away from the frontline, Romanticaid stretched across the tacky business sign. She softly gestured with her hand, as though signaling for themencement of an orchestra.


    The concerningly strong winds began to intensify. The gigantic airships were thrown about, forced to crash into each other and burst, or began to plummet towards the ground, unable to maintain their altitude.


    *Booooom*


    Prisci raised her eyebrows.


    The defensive systems protecting the Artemis fleet were rendered useless. Her spells did not directly attack the fleet, but undermined their very functionality, and prevented them from flying at all.


    In this situation, Prisci’s healing ability was of no use. If flying was impossible, restoring them would only be a waste of her effort.


    Rather than be enraged, Prisci just scoffed and opened her mouth. “Bring me her head.”


    “Your wish is mymand.”


    As soon as her voice was heard, Prisci’s shadow morphed and conglomerated into a thick shadow beneath her. After a brief moment, the shadow pulsed out from her in a rapidly expanding ring. Finally, it came to a stop right in front of Romantica, who hadpletely erased her presence using the Blue Rose.


    “That was an adorable attempt.” *Booom*


    The roof Romantica was standing on was smashed and hundreds of wires burst out. Every one of them had an enormous amount of aura infused in them, so it was equivalent to nearly thirty knights attacking her together at once.


    Considering how close the distance was, no magician could have warded off that attack. The corners of the lips underneath his mask turned up.


    “What did you say again? Oh, right! Pretty soon, you’re going to beg to leave.” A sh of silver and blue flew past Romantica.


    *CLAAANG*


    Several sharp metallic sounds encapsted the rooftop, silver shes blocking and cutting the wires that were heading towards Romantica. It was fantastic swordsmanship, with unparalleled uracy capable of blocking every single wire near her, countering each wire precisely as necessary.


    “Fantastic! I was wondering when I would get to see you again… ”


    Pierrot Mask eagerly tore his gaze from the wires, his vision enraptured by a much more beautiful work of art.


    Pram Schneider.