Chapter 83
Chapter 83
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Hero Liberation
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“Hero.”
“Lucille.”
It was the usual Cheon-ho. The two horns that had sprouted on his head had already vanished.
Cheon-ho barely managed a response before pulling Lucille back into his embrace. He buried his face in her neck.
Lucille felt a wave of relief, while Mitra let out a dazed murmur for a moment before chuckling softly.
Lewd or not, as long as they had saved Cheon-ho, she was satisfied. If anything, she only regretted that she couldn't hold him herself.
But Lucille and Mitra weren't the only ones present.
“We're in the middle of a battle!”
Eizel shouted loudly from nearby, where she was fighting desperately.
She was right. The fortress walls were in utter chaos right now. They had defeated Bergarf, but that didn't mean his magic had been completely nullified.
If anything, the magic was going berserk. The undead had devolved from an army into mere beasts.
The undead hated the living.
With orders gone and only instincts remaining, their aggression had intensified.
Lucille startled and tried to pull away from Cheon-ho's arms. She wanted to purge the undead with her sword of healing.
But Cheon-ho wouldn't release her waist. He flashed Lucille the same confident smile as always as she looked up at him.
“I have a way.”
A method to resolve this crisis in one fell swoop.
Of course, whether it would actually work was something they'd only know once they tried.
Cheon-ho gazed at the magic sword that summoned blizzards, left behind by Bergarf's disappearance, and the grimoire that commanded the death spirits.
Mitra spoke in alarm.
[My liege, surely you don't intend to use the grimoire? It's impossible. You have enough mana, but you lack knowledge of necromancy.]
Mitra was right, as always.
A grimoire wasn't something you could just wave around like a scroll.
But Cheon-ho wasn't worried. He didn't deny Mitra's words either.
“We need to make him take responsibility.”
Cheon-ho wouldn't do it himself.
Whether by choice or force, the one responsible for this mess would bear the burden.
[What... Ah!]
Mitra understood. Lucille grasped his meaning in that same instant too.
“I'm counting on you, Lucille.”
“Yes, Hero!”
Lucille answered immediately and, still in Cheon-ho's arms, opened her inventory. She pulled out the treasure of the mountain clan, which she had kept safe.
The Soul-Calling Staff.
A magical tool capable of summoning the souls of the dead, if only for a short time.
Cheon-ho held the Soul-Calling Staff alongside Lucille. He planted it in the ground, chanted the incantation, and called the name of the soul to summon.
“Bergarf Reizegang.”
The soul of the liberated hero.
Blue lights gathered to form a single spirit.
[Beast's Time Lv3]
[Predation has become Lv2.]
[Divinity has become Lv3.]
[Lewd has become Lv7.]
[Hero's Blood Lv5]
[???'s Blood Lv2]
[Hidden Quest 'Hero Liberation' completed.]
[Hidden Quest reward: Fruit of Mana]
[Hidden Quest reward: Key to Bergarf's Laboratory]
[Your stature has risen.]
[The Labyrinth World remembers your tale.]
[The Labyrinth World has become a little safer.]
Just like Tower Lord Grace had, Bergarf manifested in the form he held right before death—his living appearance.
A massive brute.
Not just naturally huge, but rippling with muscle. At a glance, he didn't look like a mage, or even an old man.
A long white beard draped over his tautly bulging robes. It reached his chest, evoking images of Guan Yu from the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Bald, but his towering frame and lengthy beard made it suit him oddly well.
[bergarf...]
It wasn't much different from the image in Mitra's memories.
The only change from his younger days seemed to be the white beard.
Bergarf slowly opened his eyes. Unlike Grace, whose form had been quite distinct, his spirit was hazy in places. Likely because his soul was too ancient.
Until moments ago, it had been bound in body and soul by the evil god.
“I'm finally free.”
The moment he opened his eyes, he sighed and spoke, then lifted his head to look at Cheon-ho and Mitra.
“I am Bergarf Reizegang. New Hero. Long time no see, Mitra.”
[Bergarf! You've come to your senses!]
Mitra cried out in joy, but it didn't seem to reach Bergarf.
Cheon-ho quickly introduced himself and Lucille, then relayed Mitra's words.
“Hmm, that's strange. It seems you've gathered enough power to communicate externally.”
Bergarf narrowed his eyes as he spoke. Having just experienced Mitra's power firsthand through his body, his words carried credibility.
“If you can't reach the outside, it's not a lack of power but some other cause.”
Bergarf had fully switched into researcher mode.
It was a fascinating topic for both Cheon-ho and Mitra, but more pressing matters demanded attention now.
The fortress was still in the thick of battle, after all.
Eizel's cries of “How much longer?” echoed from afar.
[Bergarf, forget that—what about the undead? Can you control them with the grimoire's power?]
When Cheon-ho relayed Mitra's words, Bergarf let out a groan.
“Impossible with my power alone. I'm merely a summoned soul right now.”
“Could I do it instead?”
“Or me.”
The group hadn't intended to rely on Bergarf for this from the start.
As Cheon-ho and Lucille spoke, Bergarf pondered briefly before looking at Cheon-ho.
“A Hero could manage it. You possess strong mana and divinity. But... in your current state, it might be difficult. Can you manifest that power you used to defeat me again? The horns on your head, the glowing eyes.”
Lucille flinched at the memory of Cheon-ho, who had seemed on the verge of rampaging.
Cheon-ho tightened his arm around Lucille's waist and nodded.
“I'll give it a try.”
[My liege, are you sure? If anything goes wrong...]
“It'll be fine.”
The situation was different from before.
It was a power he'd already used once, after all.
Moreover, the Labyrinth World's system was there.
Just like with the various skills he'd used so far, he could wield the power inherited from his father and mother—the Hero's Blood and ???'s Blood.
Cheon-ho exhaled deeply. He lowered the arm holding Lucille and let the hand gripping Mitra droop.
He closed his eyes and focused.
He drew forth both powers together.
[Oh!]
Mitra exclaimed in admiration. Lucille's eyes widened too.
It was just like when he'd used Beast's Time.
Changes rippled through Cheon-ho's body and soul.
No horns sprouted, but a golden aura enveloped his entire form. As he slowly opened his eyes, golden light gleamed in them.
[Mana has been enhanced. I sense divinity from you as well. You've clearly entered the demigod realm!]
Leon had reached the demigod realm through repeated growth as well.
Proof that he had surpassed humanity and drawn near to transcendence.
Cheon-ho nodded slowly before looking at Bergarf.
In truth, it was a precarious state. Like balancing a water-filled vessel on his fingertip. A moment's lapse, and not only would the water spill, but the vessel might shatter too.
“Indeed, this should work. Hero, place your hand on the grimoire. Repeat the incantation I'll chant from now.”
Lucille hurried over with the grimoire. Thick and large enough to serve as a shield, it required both arms to hold.
Cheon-ho placed his palm on the cover of the grimoire Lucille held.
Bergarf chanted the incantation slowly, and Cheon-ho repeated after him.
“The Hero is doing something!”
Eizel shouted loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
It had been a reflexive action without deep thought, but it ended up being immensely helpful.
If Cheon-ho had suddenly started commanding the undead, chaos and suspicion would have erupted. But broadcasting the process like this made the situation far easier to understand.
“He's trying to stop the undead with the evil god's grimoire!”
Eizel's commentary drew gasps and cheers from those locked in combat.
All they had to do was hold out a little longer.
Purple deathly energy rose from the grimoire. Cheon-ho's eyes shone brighter, and at one point, the hue of the purple energy shifted.
It turned pure white and surged toward the sky as Bergarf's chant reached its climax.
“The master of death spirits commands! Halt!”
Cheon-ho shouted the same words. The white energy that had shot into the heavens splintered into hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, piercing down into the undead. Struck by the light, the undead froze in place literally.
Phantom steeds plummeting from the sky. Charging zombies and skeletons tumbling over. Banshees with mouths agape, motionless.
“Uwoooo!”
Eizel yelled, and the fighters erupted in belated cheers.
But it wasn't over yet. Cheon-ho issued a second command.
“Assemble!”
No white light surged this time. But the command alone sufficed—the undead all turned. They gathered toward the point Cheon-ho envisioned, outside the gates, and crouched down in submission.
The sight of tens of thousands of undead receding like the tide was truly spectacular.
The dazed soldiers broke into foolish grins one after another, and someone bellowed at the top of his lungs.
“Uwaaaah! We won!”
The victory cheers spread like wildfire. Eizel shouted louder than anyone.
“Long live our Hero!”
The Hero had defeated the evil god. The Hero had driven out the undead with the grimoire.
“Uwooo, long live!”
“Long live!”
“Long live the Hero!”
Not just the soldiers, but the refugees inside the fortress leaped in joy, praising Cheon-ho.
Even though a Hero commanding undead might have soured the mood, Eizel's rallying cry turned it into pure celebration.
“Hero!”
Lucille threw her arms around Cheon-ho.
Mitra, acutely aware of her bodiless state, raised her voice.
[My liege, are you alright? You didn't overuse your mana, did you?]
Cheon-ho, hugging Lucille back, nodded in response.
His mana was nearly depleted, but he could endure it. With his mana so drained, handling his mother's power had actually become easier.
Like the water in the vessel had temporarily lessened.
Still, maintaining the state was taxing. Cheon-ho suppressed his mother's power, much like releasing Sage's Time or Beast's Time.
[Haa, truly fortunate.]
As Mitra sighed in relief, Cheon-ho nodded. He exhaled once himself before looking up.
Spears of light lined the sky.
Cheon-ho shook his head to dispel them, then turned to Bergarf.
“Thank you for your assistance.”
“The thanks are mine.”
Bergarf's wry smile flickered unsteadily. The summoning time was nearly up, it seemed.
[Bergarf...]
“I can guess Mitra's expression, but... time is short. Once I fade this time, even the Soul-Calling Staff won't summon me again.”
Just as Bergarf said.
Prioritizing victory celebrations could wait; they needed to talk with him now.
“Bergarf! Mitra!”
Lucas came running over just then. Cheon-ho asked the hurrying Eizel to handle cleanup, then moved to a corner of the wall.
“Bergarf!”
“Right, Lucas. Always bragging about not aging like an elf, but you're human spawn after all—wrinkled to hell.”
“You bastard!”
Lucas cursed and lunged to hug Bergarf, but passed right through the spirit.
Bergarf smiled wryly before turning to Cheon-ho.
“No time, so to the point. I became an undead monster due to the Great Labyrinth's demonic energy, then fused with one of its evil gods to become that god myself.”
They already knew this much.
“What you're wondering most is why I suddenly marched south.”
True to his mage nature, Bergarf hit the mark. As Cheon-ho and Lucas nodded, Bergarf provided the answer.
“I was building forces on layer 8. Once strong enough, I planned to sweep the entire Silipian Plateau. Back then, I was undoubtedly an evil god.”
To Lucas, it was chilling. His face stiffened involuntarily as he pressed.
“So you invaded once you had enough power?”
“No, not quite. I meant to gather more troops. The sudden southbound march was because of the Winter King.”
“Winter King?”
A name new to Lucas, thus new to Cheon-ho too.
Bergarf explained.
“A powerful evil god on layer 10. One of the top powerhouses among the mid-layer evil gods—your angels likely know of him.”
Cheon-ho glanced toward Lucille and Eizel. They were sharing the victory joy with the troops in his stead.
“Not all Great Labyrinth evil gods are allies. Especially the mid-layer ones—they're rather warlord-like. They even fight among themselves often.”
Cheon-ho had heard similar from the Goddess of Healing.
Even in the deep layers, not the mid, plots brewed for the Plague God's throne.
“The Winter King suddenly began ascending. From layer 10 to 9, with his army in tow.”
“What? Why?”
Beings of the Great Labyrinth rarely moved between layers.
Bergarf furrowed his brow.
“I don't know the reason either. What matters is that the Winter King came to layer 9 with a massive army. Sensing the threat, I moved to devour the Silipian Plateau before he reached layer 8. Kill the empire's elite like those in Silipian Fortress and raise a new one.”
“Hah...”
“I was an evil god then. Anyway, I learned of the Hero and Mitra in yesterday's battle, so I came personally. A Hero's corpse makes an incredibly powerful undead. Mitra would be the ultimate delicacy for any evil god.”
[Hmm, not pleasant to hear.]
But all true. Cheon-ho asked quickly.