Chapter 162
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 162
Chapter Title: Kobolds and the Underground Labyrinth
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"Shiiiiiit!!!!"
Undoing all that superhuman courage from moments ago, I was screaming my head off as I bolted away. Courage? Valor? Those were stories from another world right now.
—Kweeeeeeek!!!!!!!
"Mom! Mom! Moooom!!!!"
At least the space was wide open. Plenty of room to run. But that was it. Thud thud thud! The five-meter-tall Kobold Queen was shaking the ground as she madly chased after me.
This was a nightmare.
A horrific nightmare.
A curse of solitude.
"Euaaaaaagh!!"
The cursed queen of the kobolds was in full rampage mode, hell-bent on killing me. Good thing her speed matched mine; if she were even a bit faster, I'd have been burst open and trampled into a puddle of guts by now.
This world is fucked.
Truly a dogshit world, too shitty to even describe.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
It felt like victory had never been in the cards from the start.
"Help... me! Elise! Claudy! Winia!"
Screaming my comrades' names, I sprinted with the intent to flee to the ends of the earth. There was nothing left I could do. I was truly done for. If only I'd held onto my courage, I could've just fought and died without this terror.
—Rustle rustle.
Extreme fear must've caused hallucinations; reality started warping.
Suddenly, trees sprouted up, vines grew wild. Then darkness unfolded. I ran through that dark forest. The twinkling stars hung in the sky, lighting the night, but the path ahead was pitch black.
—Grrrrk!
Beyond it, shadows of the beings I'd killed flickered into view. The ones vomiting blood and wailing were kobold shadows,
—Kek!
the mocking laughs came from goblins,
—Tchaaaa!
and the gremlins that followed jeered at me.
"Don't..."
One after another: cockatrices, skeletons, zombies, bandits, brigands...
"Don't look at me like that!!!!"
Suddenly, my vision went black.
I looked up at the sky; even the stars that lit the night had gone silent and vanished. The moon? Where was the moon? Wasn't it a full moon night?
Please appear and light my path...!
"Hehehehe!!!"
I glanced back.
Beyond the veil, I thought I heard Elise's shouts and Claudy's sword swings, but all I saw was the Kobold Queen reaching out her arms to kill me.
Even that was so dark it was barely visible.
Yeah.
That's what death would look like.
That thing would be my killer.
—That's when it happened.
"Huh?"
—Whoosh!
Light began bursting from the pouch on my belt. Light...? It was like the stars of the night sky and the full moon's glow trapped inside had exploded free, spewing radiant beams wildly.
"This light...?"
It felt familiar somehow.
Warm.
And comforting.
Thanks to the light, the forest vanished like it had never been there, and the cold stone floor of the underground labyrinth welcomed me back.
"Gr&mdas;raaaaa! O God! Grant me the power to execute justice! Bestow strength upon your lowly servant&mdas;!!!"
Elise growled high and fierce. Claudy was on one knee, panting hard, while Winia, pale-faced, leaned on her staff to stay upright with effort.
Only Elise fought on with a completely unhinged expression, but the queen ignored her. They were both moving too fast for Elise's mace to land solid hits.
"Light."
I opened the pouch.
The source of that radiant glow was...
—Holy water.
"Holy water?"
I racked my memory.
The fancy glass vial of holy water reflected light like a gem. Where'd I get this...? Oh right!
You fuckers!
Brass Celestial Society!
Rewards from smashing those cultist bastards!
"What foreshadowing!"
High-grade holy water!
Holy water had the effect of smiting evil beings!
If my guess was right, that massive queen ahead was definitely evil! A life-or-death gamble. My heart pounded like it would burst. Would it work? Would it really? Trembling hands gripped the holy water.
Holy light leaked between my fingers...!
—Flash!
"Liiiight&mdas;!!!"
I raised it high with a shout.
And then!
—Queeeeeek???!!!!!!
The Kobold Queen slammed on the brakes and screamed! "Th-that... that light!" Elise cried out in shock. I thrust the holy water toward the queen. The brilliant light from it began burning her flesh!
—Quek! Quek! Queeeeek!!!
"It works!"
Cautiously, I took a step forward. Then two. Then three! Each time, the queen howled in agony and staggered back!
It's definite!
The holy light was driving out the evil!
"Ha... haha!!"
Then, unbelievable explosive courage surged from within!
Otherworldly!
This was otherworldly courage!
"Haa! Hahahahaha&mdas;!!!!"
—Quryaaaaaaaak!!!
Seizing the opening, Elise smashed her mace into the queen's ankle. Claudy, grasping the situation, sucked in a breath and kicked off the ground... The momentum had shifted! We'd seized victory again!
"Take this light!"
—Queeeeeek!!!
Thrusting the light at her, the rampaging queen forgot her rage and just screeched in torment. Was the light so intense she couldn't even counterattack? Winia, out of mana, could do nothing, but the other two women's strikes landed effectively!
"Expecto!"
Pilgrimage path.
I advanced on the queen, holding the holy water aloft.
"Patronum!"
The bursting light shone as if my will itself blazed. The light grew even larger!
Now so holy and brilliant I couldn't even keep my eyes open!
"Ahh!"
Elise let out a cry of awe! She was already in tears. I was weeping too. He had descended! Ahh! He had come here!
"Ahh, Lord!"
Sobbing Elise and I. And the screeching Kobold Queen. This vast space transcended reality. It was a dream world. "Queeeeek!!!" Truly high-grade holy water. The queen's exposed flesh bubbled and melted under the light.
—Drip.
—Plop.
Trampling the dripping liquid flesh, I pressed on. The queen whimpered. She called for her children, but no kobolds came to protect her now.
Finally backed against the wall, the queen curled up.
And screamed while curled.
—Kweeeeeek!!
That scream was like mezzoforte, no!
Masoporno!
—Queeeeeek!!!
A kobold queen's wail straight out of masochist porn!
I sensed victory!
"You evil fuck! Time to die!"
Like a stern pontiff, I pointed accusingly and berated the Kobold Queen. Claudy approached the cowering queen and stabbed her sword into her neck. Normally, Claudy would've decapitated her in one swing, but the blade's force was so weak it didn't sever the head.
"The Saint's unwavering faith has led us to victory!"
Wiping tears, Elise slammed her morningstar down like lightning. Aimed at the queen's skull. Boom! Crash! Madness gleamed in those moist eyes. Elise hammered away like a maniac while crying.
Then, the holy water's light began to fade.
I knew instinctively.
The sacred holy water that saved me from crisis had exhausted its power.
"Thanks."
For a moment, we were battle comrades who'd crossed the line between life and death together.
But now, I had to send that comrade to a place of no return.
"Holy water."
Tears had already soaked my face. Time for farewell. I uncapped the holy water. And then.
"You were my comrade."
I poured it on my sword.
"...The end approaches."
Step by step. I walked slowly so the holy water on the blade wouldn't drip off. The weakened Kobold Queen couldn't resist anymore. Her veiny arms shriveled like bare twigs, and her massive body deflated like a punctured balloon, shrinking smaller and smaller.
"Haa... haa... Katt. Finish it..."
Exhausted Claudy panted heavily as she spoke.
"Claudy. Rest now."
—Qwoo...
Face to face with the queen at last.
"Rest easy."
The Kobold Queen, breathing faintly, looked as weak as a dog fresh from giving birth. Even an apocalyptic monster bringing the end times became just another frail mortal on death's door.
You fulfilled your role.
I was simply too strong.
"You can recover in hell."
I swung down the raised sword. "Qwoo...!" The blade pierced her nape, injecting holy water into her veins like a syringe. —Bubbling. Her neck swelled up.
"Everyone, back off!"
We retreated and watched the Kobold Queen's final moments.
In her last instants, she tried to stand. Reaching out with shattered knees. Whether it was a final thirst to kill us or a mother's gesture seeking her young, we couldn't know, but even as her body melted, the queen desperately stretched her arms.
—Groo... grooo...!
A gloomy beast's wail.
That was her death cry.
—Sizzle... And all her flesh melted away. What remained: iron shackles bound to her arms, a pitch-black iron crown. And a few metal fragments. That was it.
Not even bones; they'd half-melted, unrecognizable.
In solemn silence, we watched the scene.
"...We won? For real? We're alive?"
Winia murmured in disbelief.
I caught her staggering form. "Good work, Winia." Her always bouncy massive chest sagged limply now. "I knew our little blackie was a crazy bastard, but today you seemed like a total retard." She poked me, burying her face in my chest and whispering.
"Katt... me too."
"You too, Claudy. You okay?"
"Yeah... Never like this before. So exhausting..."
Approaching Claudy collapsed into my arms too. I was worn out, but could still support the two women.
"Saint. Well done."
"Aye, Elise. Our faith has purified the evil."
"Wise words. For a moment, it felt like I'd glimpsed Ijermart, god of order."
Elise's expression was resolute, like a devout believer's. Her wet eyes shone as she spoke to me.
"A valuable experience... But where'd you get that holy water?"
"Oh, the holy water? Got it from the Brass Celestial Society as a reward after smashing a cultist group a while back. Forgot about it since I never needed it, but it came clutch."
"C-cultist group? Tell me more!"
And so, supporting Winia and Claudy, I briefly explained the sewer incident. This high-grade holy water was the reward from then. Elise's face turned serious as she listened.
"I see... So that's what happened... Anyway, that holy water was key. Brass Celestial Society's holy water is renowned for its quality. And high-grade, no less..."
"You guys not close?"
"No real exchanges."
Anyway, we won.
Spoils... Nothing particularly useful caught my eye, but having snagged victory, we needed something to take.
"Sit tight a sec. Gonna loot the corpse."
"Haa... Katt. You'll carry me back, right?"
"Sis, what nonsense? Blackie, I can't even walk."
"I'll carry both. Don't worry."
Going back would be rough. I sat Winia and Claudy down and searched the queen's remains. Elise helped.
"Elise. This crown..."
"Looks evil at first glance."
I picked up the most conspicuous item: the pitch-black iron crown. At its center gleamed a small red gem, like it burned with hatred. Even if the crown itself was worthless, prying out and selling that gem might fetch a price?
"The rest are shackles... These look plenty evil too. I'd love to take organs or bone shards, but it's all mush. Shame."
"Fuck, these shits even have crap loot."
The crown was heavy.
What significance did it hold?
They wouldn't just slap a decorative crown on the queen.
...A crown.