My Daughters Are Regressors

Chapter 144: He-llo (4)

13th Judas.Not much was known about him in the world.To be precise, while there were countless rumors, no one knew which of them were true.

Some said he was more vicious than any villain, while others dismissed his reputation as nothing but a grand facade of lies.Some called him strong.Others likened him to a worthless philanderer.Could there be someone with such contradictory assessments?

Those who knew Judas would say this.None of the above evaluations were wrong─.

Judas was a man who deceived everything.He had the face of a philanderer, but his skills surpassed all others.

He was most formidable when holding daggers in both hands, a time when even comrades like Brigitte, Queen, and Enkidus would feel a chill down their spines.

A Judas resolved to a 'kill or be killed' fight became a thief of life.

In fact, a moment ago, a Platinum Holy Knight was quartered by his technique 『Isseom, Asura』.Even among the mighty warriors and masters gathered, no one could witness the moment. They could only guess that something had happened. If Queen hadn't shouted "Fight for your life!!!", everyone would have been so stunned by this 'unbelievable' feat that they would have lost their heads.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah━─!!!"

Queen yelled out loud.

The great warrior Queen's cry eradicated fear and terror, infusing courage in allies, while having the opposite effect on enemies.

Spurred by the cry, a Holy Knight wielding a lance regained her senses.She was Speedie, the fastest among the Holy Knights.

"Yahbach, protect me with your fiery gaze!"

After a swift prayer, Speedie charged towards Judas.

Her speed was faster than a warhorse's charge from a distance; no one would have imagined that someone in heavy armor could move so swiftly.

Specially crafted heavy armor.A lance designed for a fatal blow.

With the blessing of 《Swiftness》 received after breaking level 40, Speedie became a ray of light that cuts through everything.

"Light─Lance!!!"

The Lance of Yahbach.A technique named after the sacred treasure of the order, akin in power.She proudly wielded such a technique because it indeed possessed might comparable to that holy relic.

There was nothing she couldn't pierce.Even the wicked gods would be penetrated, she believed, and her belief was right.

The problem was that it did not reach.

Judas easily sidestepped the lance and struck with his dagger between the armor on the shoulder and neck. With that, Speedie's head rolled on the ground.The sight was enough to strike fear into all present.

"Speedie!!!""How can the gap be this wide...""Lord... grant us courage..."

Everyone was terrified.This included powerhouses like Brigitte, Enkidus, Queen, and Saint Iris. Especially Brigitte, who was very close to Judas, understood the situation better than anyone.

'He's really trying to kill us...! Naru, Cecily, and Hina are here too...!'

Brigitte looked at Naru, Cecily, and Hina.The children used to annoy Judas with their affection for their father. Now they trembled like rabbits thrown before a tiger.

“Hiiik...!”“Hiiik...!”“Hiiik...!”

They were soaked in fear.Normally, Judas wouldn't have made his children tremble with fright.

Brigitte was angry at this fact.At the same time, she calmly assessed the situation.

'This isn't the usual Judas. His current state is like two souls fighting over one body.'

Judas and Nocturne.It was safe to say that both personalities coexisted in that one body.But it was only a matter of time before the two would fully merge.If Nocturne's personality completely consumes Judas...Probably no one would be able to stand here by now.

“The good thing is that we're dealing with the King of Thieves Judas right now, not Nocturne.”

Brigitte spoke calmly.

However, she questioned herself.Could this really be considered fortunate?

"For Yahbach━─!!!""Uraaaaah━─!!!"

The paladins, having regained their senses, were furious and attacked Judas again. But Judas, with two daggers in hand, glided through them like a dance, like ice skating.With each move, heads fell and blood spurted high like fountains.

"Is... Is that really human technique...?""The rumors about Shadow Judas weren’t false..."

Everyone had to admit it.There was no exaggeration in the rumors about Judas.

Of course, there were still those full of hope.

It was Saint Iris.Since she was blind, she did not succumb to fear, vaguely sensing that 'something terrible and frightening is happening'.She was a woman who believed only what she saw with her own eyes.

"The dimensional gate is closed! Nocturne... he has achieved an incomplete union with Judas' body! We're facing one person...! And we are many...! We must press on all at once...!"

The saint's opinion was quite orthodox.It was compelling enough to embolden the frightened paladins.

They were momentarily confused by the unexpected situation, but now they were God’s army, ready to face death itself.However, unlike them, Enkidus shook his head calmly.

"Judas, he is not alone. Unlike the previous Judases, he didn't form a band of thieves or create a stronghold to increase his followers. He didn't need to."

There were rumors that Shadow Judas could manipulate shadows.And that he also stole the shadows of others.While many didn't believe these stories, Enkidus, Brigitte, and Queen knew them to be true better than anyone.

That's why they were still conserving their strength.The worst was yet to begin.And the opinion of that party of heroes was precisely correct.

Swish—A dense shadow spread on the floor like a carpet.From within it, a black figure emerged.Some appeared human, others not at all, with a few familiar forms among them.

"That four-armed swordsman... could it be the Seven Demon Generals’... Butcher of Carthagos?""And that large-winged shadow beside it, surely it's not the Glider of Nomar?""Yes, it's the Demon Lords of Pandemonium defeated by the Hero Party. I've faced them on the battlefield!""Not just the Seven! Damn, look at that one with the greatsword! The Penitent Swordsman, Alcatraz..."

Even the valiant holy knights were aghast.

Their shock peaked when they spotted a shadow with two staves crawling up from the ground.

They wished not to believe what they saw.For a brief moment, they envied Saint Iris, blinded by the Light God.

"Sa... Sabernak...""...The Demon King."

A mage with two staves.Sabernak, who declared himself and became the Demon King.

When his shadow appeared, even Brigitte felt a dizzying vertigo.Only Iris, blind and confused, frantically asked those around her.

"Has... has Nocturne's army appeared? We surely closed the portal widening into Nocturne's Otherworld! But such dreadful evil karmas...!?"

The saint was right.The portal connecting Nocturne's hellish realm and this world was sealed.His army couldn't invade for some time.But, with Judas's body taken, there was no need.

"It's... it's Roland! The Roland who was just quartered, he's revived in shadow!""Damn it all, there's Speedie too! Judas really can steal the souls of the dead!""To dare steal souls, this accursed fiend! That's why he became Nocturne's vessel!"

The holy knights could only curse in disgust.Then Enkidus, partly understanding the truth, peered at Judas with golden eyes.

Great magic came with constraints.

Releasing so many shadows, Judas's true body must bear a burden.Indeed, that was correct.

Judas stood motionless.His face twitched and convulsed.

Judas had confessed without reservation, "When I use great magic, I get dazed. To defeat me, that would be the best time".

'Thinking now... Judas, you must have known such a time would come. That we would have to face each other with swords drawn...'

"Ah... Daaaad...!"

Then someone cried out.It was Naru.Naru tried to rush toward Judas, but Brigitte quickly snatched her by the nape.

"Naru! That person is no longer your dad!"

"No! Dad is always Naru's Dad!"

"Someone open the portal again and take them!"

While Brigitte handed over the children to someone, Naru was sobbing uncontrollably.Her tears also made Hina and Cecily break down in loud cries.

Hina, Cecily, and Naru were young.Honestly, they couldn't understand what the situation was.

But... they were filled with the thought that they might never see their dad's face again if things didn't change.Naru felt like it was all her fault.It seemed like it was because she wasn't strong enough.

She thought she hadn't become an adult because she didn't study hard and liked to play every day, and as a result, she couldn't do anything now.

'I should have worked harder on my science homework!'

Cecily felt the same way.

'I was too picky with food! If I had eaten everything without making a fuss...!'

Also, Cecily remembered that she couldn't call Judas 'Dad' this time. It was a moment when she felt stupid in many ways.Hina had similar thoughts.

'But... we didn't even spend much time together...'

Hina joined the 「Junk Mansion」much later than Cecily and Naru because she had an important mission to guide everything according to its natural order.In the end, Hina had failed that mission.And that's why she was sad.

"Hng...hng..."

The children were powerless.And that's why they were sad.Even if time turned back, the children would still be children.Just then, something that heard the children's crying leaped from the shadows.

━Meow.

It was a black ball of fur.At that sight, Naru shouted with tear-glistening eyes shining like black pearls.

"Oh, holy shh...! Molumolu...!"

━Meow.

Molumolu just wobbled its plump body, but the shadowy figures and Judas, who were emitting a murderous aura just moments ago, stopped their movements.They stepped back a few paces as if they werewary of /genesisforsaken