Chapter 120
Chapter 120
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 120
Chapter Title: Mitra's Growth
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“Eizel, are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. I’ll manage somehow.”
In response to Lucille’s question, Eizel—the youngest of the angel trio—thumped her chest confidently.
The surge in their realms was burdensome for Eizel as well.
But she had no intention of leaving the group. Even if she couldn’t fully achieve the realm upgrade, she planned to stick with them until the end.
‘Because we’re family.’
Lucille, Aurael, and Raguel.
The survivors of the branch office.
To Eizel, the three were no different from blood sisters.
‘Come to think of it, I wonder what happened to them.’
The one who had destroyed the branch office.
Eizel shuddered and shook her head. She didn’t want to recall that nightmare.
‘It’s okay, it’s okay. Even if they show up again, the Hero will drive them away.’
Calming her ragged breathing, Eizel clenched her small fists and reassured herself.
“Still, it’s not like our group is just getting smaller, right?”
“Yeah, yeah. We’re here, aren’t we?”
The God of Painting and the God of Music giggled as they spoke.
The fun-loving sisters had joined the group as guides all the way to the 15th floor.
[Their real goal seems to be the 13th floor, though.]
The God of Cooking’s banquet.
Of course, that wasn’t the only reason.
They were heading to the 15th floor partly because of the divine artifact contest the God of Healing was planning there.
Though not skilled in combat, the God of Painting and the God of Music possessed considerable divine power. Like the God of Purification, they would be helpful.
“Mobile batteries, I suppose?”
“They recharge if you eat and sleep well, so you can use them freely without holding back.”
At the sisters’ words, Cheon-ho briefly thought of the God of Purification.
The God of Purification who had served as their battery in Silphian Fortress and the capital Aiterium.
‘Well, she’s probably doing fine.’
She wasn’t in any particularly dangerous place.
Putting it out of his mind, Cheon-ho descended the final stairs while discussing the schedule ahead with the group.
The God of Music, their guide, spoke first.
“As you all know, the Citadel of Justice refers to a series of fortress cities piercing through the center. So strictly speaking, the location and scale differ slightly on each floor.”
The central pillars were clustered together, but they weren’t all connected in a straight line.
From the pillar connecting the 10th to the 11th floor, you had to head quite a ways east to reach the one leading to the 12th, and so on.
Since the Citadel of Justice aimed to position two pillars—leading up and down—inside the fortresses on each floor, the locations and sizes naturally varied per level.
“The largest is the 10th floor. There are more civilians there than anywhere else. As you go down, civilians dwindle, and eventually, it’s just combat personnel.”
The 13th floor could be considered the last civilian residence area, for two reasons.
First, from the 14th floor downward, any civilians found were immediately sent up.
Second, the environment below the 14th floor was one where civilians couldn’t survive from the start.
Those assigned to the lower or early middle layers when the Great Labyrinth encroached were the lucky ones. Those on the 14th floor had essentially been wiped out.
“Anyway, we came straight down to the 12th, but from here on, it’s better to take our time. Even if you and I can handle it, the rest of the group needs time to acclimate to each floor.”
The realm surge was secondary; the amount of demonic energy was the real issue.
The closer they got to the depths, the stronger the Great Labyrinth’s demonic energy became. Descending straight to the deep layers without adaptation could lead to demonic poisoning and death.
“Besides, the God of Healing sister needs time to prepare for war anyway, so no need to rush. It’ll only be a difference of a few days.”
The God of Music smiled playfully, soothing them.
Despite her playful and mischievous nature, she was one of the benevolent and thoughtful benevolent gods.
“So in conclusion, let’s unpack and rest for today.”
“Yeah, yeah, let’s rest.”
The God of Painting and the God of Music nodded to each other and hopped down the final stairs together.
The scenery beyond the pillar was not wasteland or snowfield, but the well-maintained interior of a fortress city.
Seven angels awaited the group.
“Welcome to the 12th floor.”
It was Orielle, the 5th Rank Angel in charge of guidance on the 12th floor, and her subordinates.
[It should be fairly peaceful down to the 15th floor.]
With all the pillars inside the Citadel of Justice, there’d be no particular dangers if they didn’t venture outside on purpose.
[Hmm, looks like it’s about time.]
Mitra said in a sly tone.
Cheon-ho knew exactly what Mitra was anticipating but pretended not to.
“What is it?”
[Playing dumb, are you?]
“So what is it?”
[Uggh... The mental realm, the mental realm.]
Since leaving the Primordial Forge on the 10th floor, Cheon-ho and Mitra hadn’t met in the mental realm at all.
There wasn’t any particular reason.
It had just happened that way.
There were no urgent matters requiring the mental realm, and they’d been busy descending from the 10th to the 12th floor.
Cheon-ho chuckled softly and stroked the golden gem.
“Want me to take a look?”
[W-What are you talking about? I have no idea what you mean.]
Mitra spoke stiffly, as if reading from a textbook, and Cheon-ho laughed again.
It was simple.
After absorbing the Empire Guardian Sword, Mitra had grown.
Her appearance in the mental realm had changed as well.
How much had it changed?
Had she become like the woman with golden eyes now?
[Well, whatever. We can do it later.]
Mitra muttered in a slightly sulky tone, and Cheon-ho stroked the golden gem again.
“I’ll go in once we’re at the lodging. I have some things to check anyway.”
[Hmm, hmm. Understood.]
Excitement returned to her voice. She was so predictable and cute, this holy sword.
And thirty minutes later.
Opening his eyes in the mental realm, Cheon-ho flinched involuntarily. He even swallowed dryly.
It was because of Mitra.
[Hmm, hmm. What do you think?]
It was the same as always.
The pleasant winds of the Silphian Plateau, with Mitra standing amid them.
But it was different. It couldn’t be called the same as before.
Mitra had grown. She was no longer a young girl.
Late teens. A girl who looked about Lucille’s age.
She had shot up in height.
Her figure was no longer childlike. Beautiful curves—the pinnacle of femininity—adorned her body everywhere.
With her baby fat gone, Mitra pursed her lips. Looking slightly embarrassed, she gazed at Cheon-ho with cheeks flushed rose-pink.
Anxiety and anticipation mingled in her golden eyes, emitting a pitiful yet beautiful glow.
She had never been like this when facing Leon.
Her heart had never pounded like this facing Leon.
Suppressing her thumping heart, Mitra looked at Cheon-ho, who swallowed dryly again.
Cheon-ho had already seen the woman with golden eyes.
He had seen the goddesses led by the God of Healing. All were stunning beauties.
But in that moment, he was entranced. He could only stare blankly at Mitra.
[Hmm, hmm.]
Mitra twisted her body slightly as she spoke, and Cheon-ho finally snapped out of it. He grinned foolishly without realizing and said.
“You’re beautiful.”
[...Huh?]
“So beautiful.”
Mitra’s face turned bright red. It was what she had hoped for, but hearing it for real made her want to die of embarrassment.
[Hmm, hmm, hmm.]
She cleared her throat awkwardly, but her face remained scarlet. It was because of the words she had almost let slip but barely swallowed.
She couldn’t bring herself to say them. If she did, she’d die of shame and everything else.
[A-Anyway! Let’s check your status!]
Mitra spun around and said. Facing Cheon-ho was too much for her.
Cheon-ho felt similarly, so he didn’t complain about her turning away. And her back view was nice to see.
“Hmm, alright then. Let’s look at the skills first. Review the Sword of Dawn too.”
[Y-Yeah.]
After learning the Sword of Dawn, nearly all of Cheon-ho’s skills had become sub-skills of it. This included the Hero skills as well.
Gazing at the Light Window, Cheon-ho’s eyes went to the top—the Hero’s ultimate skill.
Thanks to his dazzling growth, Cheon-ho’s realm had risen several stages, but he still needed four more stages to use the ultimate.
The Hero’s ultimate skill.
What could it be?
Why wouldn’t Mitra tell him until the time was right?
Staring at the ultimate slot for a moment, Cheon-ho steadied his breath.
He began examining the rearranged skills one by one.
Meanwhile, Mitra fidgeted with her back turned and opened her own Light Window.
Normally, she would have looked at it with Cheon-ho, but right now, she wanted to check alone.
[Hmm.]
For a moment, she wondered why she had called him to the mental realm, but her personal goal(?) had been achieved, so she was satisfied.
Mitra cleared her throat again, pressed down her still-thumping heart, and looked at the Light Window.
It was the Light Window containing the holy sword skills.
Unlike Cheon-ho’s completely revamped skill window after learning the Sword of Dawn, Mitra’s hadn’t changed much.
A single line of skills from top to bottom.
With this growth, two more stages had unlocked, granting two new skills.
One was Flight.
Just as it sounded, it allowed Mitra to fly on her own. She now had some freedom of movement without Cheon-ho.
The other was an enhancement to Ability Sharing. She could now lend even more of her power to Cheon-ho than before.
Nodding with a satisfied expression, Mitra rolled her eyes upward to the unopened skills.
Unlike Cheon-ho, she only had two more to unlock ahead.
‘I wonder if I can figure them out early.’
She knew the Hero skills, including the ultimate, from Leon’s time, but the holy sword skills were entirely new.
No experience meant no clue what they’d be.
Mitra pursed her lips and touched the Light Window. Cracks appeared in the two upper slots, and images formed like the others.
The color was still gray. But she could make out the images clearly.
Swallowing involuntarily, Mitra examined the images. Being symbolic, a close look should reveal the skills.
The first skill depicted multiple swords.
One clear sword in the center, flanked by identical swords fading outward the farther they got.
[C-Could it be?]
What Cheon-ho had once longed for.
Mitra shook her head. If it was what she thought, it would certainly help, but somehow it felt unpleasant.
Mitra looked up again.
The final skill.
The holy sword’s ultimate.
It showed a sword and a person.
Sword on the left, person on the right. A double-headed arrow between them.
What did this mean?
Staring intently, Mitra suddenly held her breath. She turned inward.
* * *
The images symbolizing the skills were simple.
Simple, thus intuitive, yet open to misinterpretation.
Sword and person.
Double-headed arrow between them.
Something flashed in her mind. But Mitra didn’t jump to conclusions.
She remembered what Cheon-ho often said.
‘Expectations lead to disappointment.’
Yes. So no hasty hopes.
[Hoo?]
Taking a deep breath first, Mitra reviewed the other images for rational judgment.
The holy sword skills hadn’t existed in Leon’s time, but they shared the same system as the Hero skills.
Same system.
Same notation.
Though different in meaning and form from the Hero skill images, similarities existed.
[Arrows.]
The most common symbol in Hero skill images.
Upward arrows.
Clear at a glance: they meant ascent.
Skills strengthening power, agility, etc.—most enhancements had upward arrows.
[Other arrows.]
Double-headed arrows.
Or at least horizontal ones.
Groaning in thought, Mitra soon drooped her shoulders.
Nothing came to mind. And it was natural. Leon’s Hero skills had no ‘transformation’ skill.
Even the beast line only grew larger, not a full transformation.
Did Cheon-ho’s skills have transformation?
There were differences between Leon’s and Cheon-ho’s skills.
Perhaps something new emerged with the Sword of Dawn—like fully turning into a wolf or beast.
“Mitra?”
[Kyaa?!]
Startled by the voice right behind—precisely above her head—Mitra jumped in place.
“Ooh, good reaction.”
[Yah!]
Letting out a shrill cry at the relaxed voice, Mitra whirled around fuming. As expected, Cheon-ho stood there.
[You scared me! Make some noise! Some noise!]
“No, I just walked up normally and spoke... Were you pondering something?”
He hadn’t muffled his footsteps or anything. The usual Mitra would have turned at the sound of grass underfoot.
As Cheon-ho furrowed his brow questioningly, Mitra fanned her face and replied.
[W-Well... Not exactly pondering.]
“Then lost in thought?”
[Hmm... Well, it’s not really a secret. Might be good to think about it together.]
Realizing as she spoke, it was true.
Why hide it?
[Hmm, look at this.]
“Holy sword skills, huh. Oh, the top two stages have images too? Gray, though.”
[Yes. Seems like previews of future skills.]
“Hmm, so you were inferring what they’ll be.”
[Exactly as you say.]
Leaving the Light Window open, Mitra turned to face Cheon-ho. To view it side by side.
Cheon-ho fiddled with his fingers to enlarge the image, narrowed his eyes, and said.