Himmel's POV
Dangerous...
This man, whose name I don't even know, is undoubtedly the strongest enemy we've faced besides Qual.
I feel it in my gut.
"Himmel!"
I nodded to Eisen to let him know I understood his intention.
He probably wants to get a little payback on the man who surprised him and sent him into Heiter's arms for healing.
Eisen subtly positioned himself in front of me, while I stayed in the center. As for Frieren, she covered the rear with Heiter.
BAM
As expected, it was this man who attacked first, and his target was the rear.
SPARK
GRRR
Eisen managed to block these strange projectiles, but he didn't come out unscathed because of the shrapnel explosion he suffered... and the kick to the stomach.
"Not bad. Let's try this."
Despite his relaxed words, our opponent's expression was cold, detached.
His state was somewhat paradoxical compared to the atmosphere he gave off later during our conversation.
It was as if... as if he had flipped a mental switch inside himself.
He had gone from sociable to cold-blooded monster.
His killing intent had disappeared since the beginning of hostilities, but his actions showed clear, undisguised hostility and murderous intent.
"Destructive Lightning: Judradjim!"
As Eisen counterattacked, Frieren's calm voice resonated above us thanks to her levitation magic, just before lightning struck our enemy.
BOOM
"Don't lower your guard, little dwarf. This kind of spell isn't enough to pierce my defenses."
A floating golden cube had changed shape and absorbed the attack, and before we could react...
CRACK
Eisen was grabbed by the head, then smashed to the ground with such violence that a small crater formed.
The attack had been too fast. And yet, until now, I had been able to follow each of his movements.
"I see... another magical construct born from the Goddess's Scriptures."
"Oh? You noticed." He slightly raised his eyebrows at Heiter's words, but nothing more.
BAM
As Heiter thought, this guy is propelled by a magical construct attached to his back.
That's why Eisen and I were caught off guard. He can literally change speed unpredictably in the middle of combat by using various magical constructs.
"Not so fast."
I intervened before he could further injure Eisen on the ground.
Despite his strange accelerations and magical projectiles linked to the Goddess, he only possesses basic martial skills.
No feints, no advanced techniques.
Just simple, effective spear handling designed to kill.
Given his fighting style, he seems to be more of a healer than a true fighter.
And yet... I feel like I'm fighting against an undead.
I may inflict wounds by exploiting his openings, or create openings for Frieren... nothing is really effective.
He always ends up regenerating, calmly, as if nothing happened.
Is this it, then? The horror of a priest mastering both offensive magic and martial techniques?
Terrifying...
I better understand now the obsession of priests like Heiter to decipher every line of the Goddess's Scriptures.
I literally struggle... no, "we" struggle to bend an individual who only possesses basic martial skills and less mana than Frieren.
Why? Because he has divine knowledge more advanced than that of Heiter and Frieren combined.
It's humiliating.
As I was thinking about a way to end this farce...
HAAAA!
Eisen's savage cry resonated behind me, followed by a fierce explosion that fell upon our opponent.
"Lightning Strike!!!"
After launching his decisive attack, Eisen immediately tried to fall back.
But the stranger wouldn't let him. He firmly grasped Eisen's axe.
Blood splattered everywhere, but he maintained his impassive expression. He even tried to impale Eisen on the spot with a magical construct similar to a pointed pillar.
Eisen dropped his axe and retreated, alerted by the attempt at a fatal strike.
"Infernal Fire Invocation: Vollzanbel!"
I recognize this spell... I doubt Eisen will appreciate the state of his axe after this.
"Frieren, didn't you go a bit too far?"
I know we were at an impasse... but she literally melted the ground and Eisen's weapon.
And now, we won't get any information.
If he's dead.
"The bet no longer matters, Himmel. He's too dangerous to be left alone with the demon."
Hard to contradict her, so I simply sighed, turning my attention back to the man, still standing in the middle of the flames.
"Not bad, these flames. I felt a bit hot."
"Tell me... you're not immortal, by any chance?"
Heiter's remark wasn't unjustified, given his state.
"Hehe... no... well, yes, but it's too long to explain," he replied, scratching the back of his head, while another floating cube reconstructed his clothes, concealing his naked body, marked in places with scars.
"At this rate, we're going to remain at a standstill, aren't we?"
"What do you mean?"
I frowned.
Suddenly, he deployed his wings and flew up.
At first, I thought it was a direct attack against Frieren, but no...
"Mode: Fallen Ashura!!!"
BOOM
...
## Narrator's POV
Proxy...
A divine art used by the goddesses of the Lartna Saga universe, as well as by other gods or entities in other works, under different names.
The concept of this technique is simple: it allows a deity to create a temporary proxy, which will perform thankless tasks on their behalf and transmit information back.
To put it simply, it's like the shadow clone jutsu from the Naruto universe, but much more complex.
Why talk about it now?
Sanguinius hasn't had much time since his reincarnation, and he had a lot to do: study the science of the Warhammer universe, the basics of DxD magic, work on his sacred energy, and train in weapon handling.
So he had to find a solution.
And this answer, he found it in sacred energy—or at least, in one of its possible applications—thanks to his knowledge of the world of Lartna Saga.
If Leornart is the strongest Prana user, then Hollian is an innate genius in this art.
His creation, the Pseudo Proxy, is a technique allowing mortals to imitate the divine art of Proxy using Prana!
This gave Sanguinius the confidence to try to imitate it using sacred energy, and thus create avatars of himself to accomplish various tasks.
Unlike shadow clones, a Proxy is an autonomous existence, which doesn't disappear at the slightest hit and can make decisions on its own!
Thanks to this conceptual dual vision of his being, Sanguinius was able to evolve so quickly during these few months.
But... it wasn't enough.
Or rather: he found Hollian's use of the Pseudo Proxy too peaceful, true to the benevolent nature of its creator.
So, he wondered: what if I could militarize it?
But not like that idiot Naruto who spams clones... Sanguinius didn't possess such an absurd energy reserve.
Instead, he turned to Kiba Inuzuka from the Naruto manga and Shiraori from the light novel "So I'm a Spider, So What?"
The result of this study, combined with his knowledge of transformation magic, gave birth to this:
"Mode: Fallen Ashura!!!"
-Boom
A transformation that allows him to use all his abilities at full capacity, without having to alternate between magic, sacred energy, and martial skills.