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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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‘Going berserk…’
It seemed to be entering its second phase.
“Scatter!”
Baldur shouted at the top of his lungs.
This one also seemed about to fire a beam, so he likely ordered everyone to disperse and prepare.
— My turn.
As if fully prepared, Orie swiftly flew toward the guardian.
She had steadily absorbed the black water and seemed to have deemed it sufficient.
— Kayla! Stand back!
At Orie’s warning, Kayla immediately retreated and quickly assessed the situation at hand.
Perhaps due to the trust they had built during the previous battles, Kayla didn’t hesitate in the slightest.
“What?”
However, seeing nothing unusual, she expressed her confusion.
Whoosh.
Orie vanished as if absorbed into the guardian that was fighting the Bone Golem.
The guardian’s gaze shifted, firing a beam at the berserk guardian Kayla was fighting.
Athena gasped, seemingly impressed by the sight of one guardian attacking another, and Baldur also stared blankly at the scene unfolding before him.
However, having witnessed Orie’s actions, he quickly regained his composure.
“Attack! Now’s our chance! It won’t retaliate!”
At Baldur’s command, the undead immediately charged.
Simultaneously, Annelise fired an arrow, and Athena dashed toward the guardian.
I ordered the Bone Golem to attack as well, and the guardian was pummeled without any resistance.
Even after sustaining considerable damage, it showed no signs of going berserk.
After that, Kayla joined the fray.
‘She finished it already.’
Having received Orie’s support, Kayla had completely dismantled the guardian in that short time, creating an opportunity to assist us.
Even without Kayla’s support, we would have won, but with her joining the fight, the guardian crumbled without even attempting to enter its berserk state.
— Whew… that was tiring.
Once the guardian was no longer capable of resistance, Orie released the Possession and returned to my side to rest for a bit.
“Good work. I didn’t expect you to succeed in possessing it.”
— It was possible because it’s a Living Armor without self-awareness. The only obstacle was the divine power.
Possession exposed her to divine power.
Considering spectral undead were particularly vulnerable to divine power, it was a risky move.
With the guardian silenced, I approached my companions.
I commended them for their efforts.
“I intended to handle it alone, but I received assistance.”
— My apologies if it was inconvenient. I could have fired the beam at the empty ground, but the timing seemed too perfect.
“No, it’s fine. It was a good decision. I gained confidence in my ability to handle it alone, and we were able to finish it faster thanks to you.”
Kayla didn’t seem to be protesting. Perhaps she felt slightly awkward, recalling her earlier statement.
‘It’s true that she could have handled it alone.’
“It was quite amazing. I didn’t know such an attack method existed…”
— Master’s assistance was crucial. Normally, I wouldn’t be able to possess such an opponent…
“Really? Then who can you use this Possession on?”
— Hmm, anyone without divine power, I suppose? It would be difficult against those with strong mental fortitude.
“Can you use it on me?”
— Perhaps? I’d have to try to know for sure.
“What about Master?”
— I don’t think so. She’s too resilient.
Her mental fortitude and level were high.
Those with high magical resistance were less susceptible to illusions, and those with strong mental fortitude even more so.
A higher level meant higher resistance, and while Kayla might have been vulnerable in the past, having become my knight, her mental strength had also increased significantly.
Even Orie, as a Wraith Queen, would struggle to break through Kayla’s defenses.
‘Athena is a toss-up. Baldur… it could be possible.’
Athena possessed a small Mana Heart, granting her higher resistance than most Experts.
Therefore, even Orie wasn’t certain.
Athena, fascinated by Possession, was bombarding Orie with questions.
“What about monsters?”
— It should be possible for most.
“Can you possess inanimate objects?”
— Hmm, if they can move, it’s possible. Like the Living Armor…
I ignored their conversation and approached Baldur.
“You’ve grown considerably.”
Just then, Kayla approached us.
“As Master said, you did well. With a bit more experience, you could take over the vanguard, freeing me from that role.”
“Master, that’s…”
“There’s no need for such modesty. If you take charge of the vanguard, I’ll be free to act independently.”
That was true.
Athena usually operated independently.
Her master, Kayla, was also capable of such actions, and she was a highly skilled knight.
Honestly, if Baldur took charge of the vanguard, our overall combat effectiveness would increase significantly.
“I’d prefer to stay by Master’s side, so I’ll work even harder to make that happen.”
“…It’s a waste to use such a valuable asset as a guard.”
“That is where I belong. It’s also my personal desire.”
…Indeed, if Kayla became my guard, I could send Lengvin and Nenson to the vanguard.
Kayla was more reliable than both of them.
However, that would mean dedicating too many resources to my protection, but I couldn’t refuse her request, seeing how dedicated she was to training a successor.
‘…Well, the more undead I have, the more important my protection becomes.’
“…Do as you wish.”
Kayla smiled faintly, pleased with my approval.
We moved toward the altar and examined the sacred relic.
“Are you going to take it?”
“No. We have to give this away.”
The sacred relic was necessary for the revival of the Earth Mother Religion.
Therefore, I intended to hand it over to the royal family.
‘It seems it was indeed a major religion in the past.’
Despite its demise, it had numerous sacred relics.
I stored the sacred relic in the subspace.
‘The source of divine power has been cut off.’
While some residual divine power remained, it would dissipate gradually.
‘The guardians are all active now, and with me steadily releasing demonic energy, it should disappear faster.’
We had achieved our primary objective.
We decided to rest here.
We had defeated the most important boss and cut off the source of divine power.
We needed rest, and time was needed for the divine power to dissipate.
Safety wasn’t a concern at the moment.
I stationed all the undead at the entrance and placed warning stones as an additional precaution.
Thanks to this, we could rest comfortably and eat, even within the ruins.
“Sleeping in front of a goddess statue…”
Athena chuckled, amused.
“And we even defeated the guardians.”
Having eaten and rested, they seemed more relaxed now than ever.
It was certainly ironic.
We had conquered this place for the revival of the Earth Mother Religion…
‘Though not entirely for pure reasons.’
Our objective was to check the Empire and obtain rewards.
Despite the complicated situation, we couldn’t leave this place.
I couldn’t deploy the Bone Golem elsewhere, so we had to rest here, regardless of how we felt.
Fortunately, no one, including myself, seemed to mind, and we were able to rest for a full day.
The next morning, while eating breakfast, Athena remarked,
“The divine power concentration has decreased significantly in just a day, now that the sacred relic is gone.”
“It seems there are quite a few statues remaining.”
It was a reasonable assumption, as more statues meant greater consumption of divine power.
The demonic energy constantly emanating from my inscription would have also contributed.
While my companions had been within the range of the demonic energy for a day, it wasn’t a major concern.
Annelise was a dark elf half-blood, and Kayla, Athena, and Baldur were all at least mid-level Experts.
They were less susceptible to demonic energy than before, so a day’s exposure wouldn’t affect them significantly.
Furthermore, the divine power was suppressing the demonic energy’s influence.
After breakfast, I opened the dimensional rift and summoned all my undead.
“We’ll split into teams.”
First, I assigned Nenson, Lengvin, and one Centurion to Orie.
Naturally, the Centurion’s subordinate Skeletons were also placed under her command.
I also distributed the Skeleton Mages and Mummy Priests between the teams.
Then, I gave Orie some of the black water.
— This is…
“Use it if you run low on demonic energy.”
As a concentrated source of demonic energy, it would be helpful in various situations.
Especially if the Skeletons were damaged and lacked demonic energy to regenerate, this would allow them to recover.
I placed Cereo in charge of the other Centurion, along with all the Elite Living Armors.
Then, I assigned Baldur and Annelise to that team.
“I considered letting you rest as well, but it would be a waste to miss this opportunity to gain experience safely.”
“I would have volunteered even if you hadn’t offered.”
“M-Me too. I’m still lacking…”
Baldur and Annelise seemed grateful for the opportunity.
The reason I assigned all the Elite Living Armors to this team was because of Baldur and Annelise.
‘They need the most coordination.’
Therefore, I had them form a team, with Baldur in command.
The Living Armors had experience working with Baldur, so they shouldn’t have any problems even without Orie.
Naturally, I also gave them some of the black water.
“Prioritize safety. If you find it too difficult, return here. We’ll be going up to the surface for a while.”
— Don’t worry about it.
“Leave it to us.”
I had all our belongings gathered near the altar, under the Bone Golem’s guard.
We were effectively using this place as our base camp.
After assigning them the task of clearing the remaining statues, I headed to the surface with Kayla and Athena.
“Wouldn’t it be more efficient for me to stay behind as well? Master only needs one escort.”
“It’s mainly for you to gain experience. And you don’t need to handle such trivial matters. Or are you uncomfortable going with us?”
“Of course not. I’d prefer to go with you.”
As expected, Kayla remained silent, as if it was perfectly natural for her to be my escort.
If I had tried to bring someone else, she would have likely insisted on accompanying me anyways.
In the past, we lacked manpower, so we couldn’t be picky about roles, but now, with our increased strength, she was starting to express her preferences, knowing she wasn’t essential for every task.
Of course, she would obey if I gave a direct order, as was her nature, but I didn’t see a need to force her.
Kayla was quick to assess situations, and she wouldn’t be stubborn if she knew her presence wasn’t crucial.
She contributed so much to me — there was no reason to deny her simple requests, especially if they came with no harm to me.
“Wow, it’s really quiet. It seems they’re doing well underground. Not a single statue in sight.”
Considering the statues were roaming the ruin, it would be normal to encounter at least one group, but we hadn’t seen any.
It was proof that there was a commotion underground.
“At this rate, Master might have Kayla as his personal escort starting tomorrow.”
“I’m hoping for that.”
Kayla responded seriously to Athena’s playful remark.
However, Athena, seemingly accustomed to this, continued naturally…
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