Chapter 15: Mission Complete!
"Ah—!"
Lilith let out a piercing scream, and Carol, who had been about to counterattack, immediately felt her soul tremble. She froze in place.
At the same time, the blood mist in the air rapidly contracted, condensing into a massive cavalry lance five meters long.
"Uh, that’s not the kind of gun I wanted."
Orion Cross gripped the lance shaft, somewhat speechless.
What he wanted was a revolver, but Lilith had condensed a cavalry lance for him instead.
But perhaps Orion Cross was asking for too much. The world of Diablo probably did not have weapons like firearms.
As for why Orion Cross had suddenly wanted a handgun as a weapon...
Crack!
Carol punched the blood-red lance, and the lance rapidly shattered from the tip, turning back into blood mist that scattered into the air.
"The strength and hardness aren’t enough. What right does it have to condense into a cold weapon?"
Orion Cross shook his head, then leaped up and grabbed the blood-red membrane left behind in the air when Lilith descended.
If not for the fact that this membrane was blood-red, perhaps Orion Cross could have shouted something like "Mighty Heavenly Dragon" and "Kasaya Robe."
"Actually, I don’t need to attack actively. Trapping her is enough."
Orion Cross’s goal was not to defeat Carol. He only needed to avoid falling within three hours.
Back when the contracted demon was Aatrox the Darkin Blade, offense had been the best defense.
But now, what Lilith possessed was status and law. Pure power alone was not enough for Orion Cross to launch an active attack.
Whoosh.
The blood-red membrane swiftly wrapped around Carol, while continuous sizzling sounds of corrosion came from within.
Orion Cross stood outside the blood-red sphere. He was not worried about Carol’s safety, but he did think of another issue. "Her clothes won’t have a problem, right?"
But after thinking about it again, since Carol could rush out of Earth wearing that outfit, she had probably used her energy to turn herself into a complete unified whole. Any attack that could not break her defense would not damage her clothes either.
"As expected, Hulk’s pants are still the most unscientific thing."
Orion Cross sat on the ground, supporting his chin with one hand as he watched the blood-red giant sphere flickering constantly with energy light, silently roasting it in his heart.
"This mortal’s power exceeds my expectations. I can only block her for twenty more rounds of attacks at most."
Behind Orion Cross, who sat on the ground, the phantom of Lilith’s true demon form appeared, constantly repairing the blood-red membrane being attacked by Carol.
"Twenty rounds? More than enough."
Orion Cross mentally calculated the time. As long as he blocked ten more rounds of Carol’s attacks, it would be enough to last until the final hour.
Within the space inside the blood sphere, demons formed from condensed blood kept emerging from every direction and lunging at Carol, only to be smashed into powder by her punches one after another.
Carol, who was trapped by the blood membrane, was not in a hurry to leave. Instead, she treated this place as a trial.
Soon, the three-hour battle reached its end.
Because Carol had not chosen to actively break through the blood membrane and had instead used the opportunity to continuously improve her combat skills within it, the fight was dragged out even longer.
But this did not count as holding back, because she was still fighting with all her strength.
Bang!
Carol shattered the blood-red world with both hands, and her slightly disheveled figure appeared in front of Orion Cross once more.
"My time is almost up, isn’t it?"
Lilith’s phantom behind Orion Cross looked at the two of them, her gaze somewhat complicated.
"Yes. Ten seconds left. You can prepare to leave."
Orion Cross yawned and said without even turning his head.
To ordinary people, demons were terrifying beings, but in his eyes, they were nothing more than tools.
"I truly hope you can descend upon Sanctuary and end the endless Eternal Conflict..."
Lilith left behind those faint words, then departed from this world with the blood mist filling the sky.
"That demon didn’t seem quite like... a demon."
Carol patted the dust from her body and walked forward as she spoke.
Lilith’s appearance was savage yet beautiful, and her attacks were bloody and brutal, yet she inexplicably gave off a sense of humanity.
Especially when compared to the first one, Aatrox the Darkin Blade, who had been full of insane rambling and madness, Lilith seemed far more elegant and composed.
"In another world, she grew tired of the endless conflict with the angels and created humanity..."
"But if you want to say she’s a kind, good person, that would still be far too naive."
At this point, Orion Cross gave Carol a self-mocking smile. "Also, if you think I’m a kind, good person, then you’re too naive too."
Being a good person was too exhausting. Orion Cross simply wanted to be a person.
"I don’t."
Carol also smiled in relief and sat down beside Orion Cross. "My hands are stained with the blood of many innocents too. Besides, I don’t need to be friends with a ’good person.’"
Originally, Carol had still been somewhat resistant to Orion Cross’s act of contracting demons. Even though she was not a Christian believer, the environment she had been influenced by still made her instinctively dislike demons.
But after calming down, Carol understood. So-called demons and gods were merely a group of powerful beings with supernatural abilities. In that sense, they were no different from her.
"Thanks. Sorry to trouble you to come here and fight before leaving Earth."
Orion Cross glanced at the completed mission and raised his left fist. "Time to say goodbye?"
"It is. And thank you too, for giving me this training."
Carol raised her right hand and bumped fists with Orion Cross. Then she took a deep breath, leaped up, and flew toward the sky.
[Completed Captain Marvel Series Mission. Reward obtained: Avatar — Father of Dragons, Galakrond.]