Water Torture

"I'm getting pissed off!"

Bonfam slammed his fists together and roared.

The soldiers had taken casualties, but against Azu and the others, almost none of his attacks had landed. He was being run in circles, so of course he was frustrated.

The man was like a wild boar.

"Guess I'll crush the healer first. Basic tactics, yeah?"

Using his flames for propulsion, Bonfam accelerated toward Elza.

Judging she couldn't dodge, Elza thrust out her mace with both hands.

"You're a looker… But something about you just rubs me the wrong way. The other women are one thing, but you I just wanna burn."

"Burning a priestess at the stake is rather frowned upon, you know."

Elza was being pushed back inch by inch.

Even Elza, who could hold her ground against large monsters, couldn't match his raw power.

At the same time, there was a sound of sizzling flesh.

The heat from Bonfam's grip was conducting through the mace and scorching Elza's hands.

The metal mace was gradually turning red.

Elza's face twisted in pain.

"Get away from Elza-san!"

Azu leaped in from the side to flank him.

She had already wound up her sword, but she deliberately called out to support Elza.

Bonfam had to split his attention to his rear, and in that opening Elza retreated.

At the same moment he spun around, breathing flames at Azu.

Azu hastily borrowed the Water Elemental's power to raise a water shield, blocking it.

But her momentum was killed and the attack failed to connect.

"Tch, she got away."

Elza had already put distance between them and was healing the burns on her hands.

But she had dropped her mace.

It glowed red-hot like metal fresh from a blast furnace. Impossible to hold.

If he attacked her the same way again, he'd grab her body directly this time and she'd suffer severe burns.

Bonfam ignored Azu and charged at Elza again.

At the same moment, Finn threw a small sphere at Bonfam.

The instant it touched his flames, it burst, scattering powder everywhere.

The powder ignited on Bonfam's fire and set off a chain of explosions.

His vision blocked, Bonfam's grasping hand caught only air, and he stumbled.

Elza circled to his flank, aimed her right hand at him, and quietly chanted the words to invoke a miracle.

White light rained down on Bonfam.

"Gah, what is this light?!"

Bonfam shielded himself with both hands as if the light repulsed him.

When the white light struck Bonfam, it forced him back several steps.

"… That's all the power I can muster."

"That was an unpleasant light, but it ain't much! Just a bluff?"

"That wasn't my intention!"

She tore off part of her vestments, wrapped the cloth around her hands, and gripped the mace again.

Her pale thighs were now exposed.

No time to worry about appearances.

The distraction was working, but Bonfam's abilities made a prolonged fight disadvantageous for us.

He showed no signs of fatigue.

Waiting for him to run out of mana didn't seem viable either.

Where did all that power come from?

Faith? Impossible.

… Divine Apostles truly were beyond the norm.

Even a candidate possessed strength that clearly surpassed human limits.

But he wasn't immortal.

Alexia ceased her magic.

The pit must be deep enough now.

The hole in front of Alexia was so deep I couldn't see the bottom.

"Over here!"

Alexia called out loudly enough for everyone to hear, taunting Bonfam.

Azu and the others heard it too and fell back.

"I'll blow you all away! With this power!"

Bonfam inhaled deeply.

His already massive body swelled another size, and his flames intensified.

He was going all out.

"Crushing you gets me closer to becoming an Apostle. Paradise is mine!"

He thrust his shoulder forward and broke into a run.

Using his flames for propulsion, he accelerated rapidly.

A collision at that size and speed would obliterate a human.

It might even punch through a castle wall.

He'd take damage too, but with his regeneration, he clearly didn't care.

Charging headlong at Alexia, Bonfam was just about to reach her.

The camouflaged pit nearly caught his foot for an instant, but he muscled through, forcing his way across despite losing his balance.

Alexia, however, had anticipated even that and didn't miss the momentary opening.

The instant his balance broke, she drove a full-force kick into Bonfam's chest.

The blow was amplified by Elza's blessing and magical reinforcement.

And, just like Bonfam, she'd used fire magic for propulsion.

For one instant, Bonfam's charge was halted.

That instant was enough.

Momentum stolen, Bonfam couldn't clear the pit and fell.

He tried to grab Alexia's foot, but she kicked his hand away with her other leg.

Her dress hem fluttered.

When he tried to float up using his flames, Elza's mace smashed him back down.

The pit walls were polished smooth with no protrusions; Bonfam's hands found nothing to grip as he plummeted.

"Just splashing water on him didn't work, but how about this?"

Alexia called Azu over, put an arm around her shoulders, and borrowed the Water Elemental's power to pour a massive torrent into the pit.

Water cascaded down with the force of a waterfall.

Explosive sounds echoed again and again, and each time water erupted from the pit.

But Alexia didn't flinch and kept the water flowing.