Crest of the Strongest Knight

Chapter 198 - Bloom

The creature that stood within the pillar of black flame raging before them could no longer be called "Volutia."

It was no witchspawn, but neither was it the woman they had been fighting against moments ago. Instead, it was just a twisted abomination of what had once been Volutia. A shell of her former self, now filled by nothing more than the shadow and darkness that Amelia wielded.

The knights backed away as the flames finally dispersed, revealing Volutia's new form. Twin horns jutted out from the crown of her head in a fashion that almost could have been considered majestic had it not been for the taint of the witch that pervaded her entire body.

Black tears fell from her eyes and ran down her cheeks like liquid night, her forehead bulging with veins that glowed purple in color. The sclera of her eyes were black whereas her irises had turned a bright red, matching the shade that her skin was slowly beginning to become. Her fingernails lengthened and hardened significantly, becoming weapons in lieu of her broken whip.

Her gaze had been fixed on Scarlet ever since the beginning of her transformation, and her now-slit pupils remained trained on the black-haired noblewoman, a strange amalgamation of rage, envy, and longing all swimming in her eyes. She released a long, shuddering breath that spat a cloud of black mist into the air.

"...What the hell is that?" Leticia stared at Volutia's new form, her sword at the ready.

"This is what becomes of those who pledge themselves completely to a witch." Medrauta said, recalling her mother's stories. "In the past, they used to roam the mana wastes as rulers of lesser beasts. Now, it seems they are no more than desperate fools."

"I'll kill you... Scarlet...!" Volutia hissed, black steam pouring from her mouth as her body's temperature increased significantly. The muscles in her legs tightened as she prepared to leap forward and pounce on her target, undeterred by the formation of knights clustered around Scarlet.

Just before Volutia could explode into a frenzy of action, the entire Spire shook violently, nearly knocking everyone off balance. Just outside the window, the knights and noblewomen could spot a second behemoth who had leapt down from the Spire to engage another section of junior knights just outside.

With Eirlys still duking it out with the first behemoth, there was no one who could address the new colossal threat that had descended upon the brave students. Despite that, Medrauta's keen vision caught sight of Bradley leaping forward to the rescue along with Brigitte quickly following suit and tossing her glowing greatsword to the senior knight. It was quick thinking on Brigitte's part, but Medrauta couldn't help thinking of the danger Brigitte had placed herself in now that she was unarmed.

As it turns out, she wasn't the only knight who had noticed this either. All of her fellow knights and even Viviane had witnessed Brigitte's daring show of confidence, their eyes widening as a group of witchspawn leapt toward the red-haired knight. Unable to suppress her concern for Medrauta's close friend, Viviane released a sharp gasp. The sound repeated thrice in the otherwise silent room, highlighting the urgency of the situation.

For a moment, Medrauta considered throwing herself through the window to rescue Brigitte, but she knew it would be a pointless endeavor. Her place was at the very top of the Spire where she would confront Amelia, not in the plaza fighting the countless waves of witchspawn.

Taking advantage of the knights' distraction, Volutia leapt forward, but Medrauta's gaze was still focused on the horrifying sight outside the window. She thought she could see a lavender-haired knight in the distance charging toward Brigitte with a shining lance, but there was no time to confirm the fact.

Volutia's claws lashed out, nearly catching Medrauta in the side had it not been for Leticia's timely intervention, the knight's sword flickering out in a thrust that skewered Volutia's wrist in a lightning fast thrust. Despite her new form, Volutia's skill in combat was still lacking and mostly consisted of throwing around her considerable strength and speed.