Chapter 303: Fiona’s Secret Maneuvers (4)
Chapter 303: Fiona’s Secret Maneuvers (4)
Fiona was defeated.
And then, the belated reinforcements arrived.
Thud!
“Sir Havel! I have escorted His Majesty and the nobles to a safe location! Give us your orders!”
“O Righteous Light, protect me with your eternal radiance!”
“You idiots! I told you not to charge in recklessly and to coordinate with my spells!”
A knight with thick Aura coating his sword, a priest with bloodshot eyes as if embarking on a holy crusade, and a mage grumbling while busy calculating magical trajectories.
It seemed every available force stationed at the Imperial Palace had gathered.
In an instant, more than half of the vast audience hall was filled, but…
“You’re late, you bastards.”
As Havel remarked with a hollow laugh, the situation had already concluded. Now, it was more of an epilogue.
There was still the tedious task of cleaning up, but that couldn't be helped.
Taking advantage of the attention being focused on Havel, I used my sleeve to gently dab away the tears from the corners of Carla’s eyes.
Then, just as I was about to deactivate my Dragonification, since there was no longer a need to maintain it—
Bubble.
“Huh?”
The sound of bubbling came from somewhere.
Sensing a sudden, ominous energy, I whipped around. The black sludge, which contained Fiona’s ashes, was beginning to seethe.
Bubble, bubble, bubble.
Havel instinctively swung his sword, and Carla and I quickly fired off spells as well.
Slash!
Boom!
The sludge was sliced in half and caught in a high-heat explosion, yet neither the liquid nor the bubbling subsided easily.
It made sense; that was a portion of the Apostle’s power that Boiling Silence had bestowed upon Fiona.
Even if it was in the process of dissipating, it was still a highly concentrated form of something akin to divine power. To clear it away properly, I needed more significant firepower.
I began to draw up my mana for a powerful finishing blow when someone placed a gentle hand on my shoulder.
“It is alright, Brother. The Lord says that while it is difficult to block, it is not particularly dangerous. Leave it be, but whatever you do, do not listen to it.”
“…Helena? What about the Righteous Light?”
“She exhausted her strength with that final strike and is currently resting.”
“Ah.”
Right. She did say she had to pour every ounce of her strength into it. It was natural for her to be exhausted.
As I nodded, Havel, who had overheard Helena, looked at the increasingly violent bubbling sludge and asked, “If you can guarantee that much, you must know what this phenomenon is. Could you tell us?”
“Of course. It is like a final scream.”
“Hmm?”
Havel wasn't the only one confused; most people in the room wore the same expression.
“It means it can do nothing else but scream. Since that divine power is going to vanish anyway, it intends to use it to say a few last words.”
“…Are you saying it’s imbuing its consciousness into that?”
The appointment of an Apostle involves a god’s spirit dwelling within the body of someone who meets specific talents and conditions.
If that sludge-like divine power had properly settled into Fiona’s body, the consciousness of Boiling Silence would have descended through it.
However, Fiona died midway through the process, and the sludge was now spilled on the floor, evaporating.
The Righteous Light had explained that the god could send down its consciousness for a brief moment to say a few words, but that was the extent of it.
After hearing the full explanation, I nodded.
“I guess it’s feeling pretty vindictive.”
“Yes. It appears that way to me as well.”
Of course, just because it could do it didn't mean it was free. It was still an interference that required effort.
Was it actually better for us if it wasted its power like this…?
However, Solari’s warning to "never listen" bothered me. Just what kind of words was it going to spew?
What could Boiling Silence possibly want to say, even at the cost of further consumption after losing all the power it had invested in Fiona?
“Is it just going to swear at us?”
“Oh, come on. Even if it’s an Evil God, a god is still a god, right? It won't be that vulgar, Master.”
“I suppose so?”
Carla and I whispered to each other as we took a step back among the group.
Meanwhile, the sludge, which had reached its boiling point, surged upward and took on a faint human shape.
It was a bizarre sight, looking as if someone had scribbled over Fiona’s living form with black crayons.
The common unpleasantness of an Evil God’s energy and the specific languor of Boiling Silence spread through the surroundings.
Though faint, the non-human pressure caused the people around us to flinch.
The exceptions, of course, were me—possessing Intimidation Resistance and currently in Dragonification—Havel the Sword Master, and Helena the Saintess.
In the heavy atmosphere that had frozen even the reinforcements who had arrived full of fighting spirit, Havel pointed his sword as if warning it not to come any closer, and Helena raised her mace, ready to strike.
And I…
I stood tall, covering my ears, and shouted.
“I don’t listen to those weaker than me!”
“…Master?”
Carla looked at me, dumbfounded.
Hey, what? We won and they lost. That means they’re weaker than me.
And besides, no matter what it says, if I don’t listen, it’s just wasting its energy.
It was an invincible logic, but I had overlooked the fact that logic doesn't work on gods.
The black figure—Boiling Silence—stared intently at me and slowly extended its index finger.
It pointed directly at me.
As everyone’s trembling gazes focused on me, a voice echoed directly in my head, rendering my covered ears useless.
[You. You mongrel of an arrogant lizard.]
It was a voice that, just by hearing it, made a sense of lethargy creep into my soul.
Like a stagnant puddle in the shade, cold and slimy emotions spread through my entire body through my ears.
Just as the voice was heard despite my ears being covered, the gloomy presence did not fade even as Havel raised his momentum and Helena shrouded the area in holy power.
So this was why she told me not to listen, not just to cover my ears.
To think it could do this much just by sending down its consciousness to speak.
This must be why Iris still feared the true body of Confused Unity she had seen from afar.
I knew well that Evil Gods caused mental contamination to those around them, but this was my first time experiencing it directly.
But I was fine. I had been forewarned by Solari that it couldn't do anything but talk.
Moreover, I had the mental resistance bonus from the Blessing of All Gods, plus the stat-boosting effects of Dragonification.
It gave me a few goosebumps, but that was it. No matter how much Boiling Silence tried to set the mood, I wouldn't be intimidated.
…Though the same couldn't be said for the others.
Carla, who had been relatively composed until a moment ago, turned pale the moment the entity spoke.
Iona seemed slightly better, but Elisha, who had a lower level of cultivation, and Iris, who was reminded of her past memories, were trembling slightly.
I took a step forward as if shielding them with my body and shouted again.
“I said, I don’t listen to those weaker than me…!”
It was a bit of a flippant way to speak in front of a god, but it served its purpose as the tension in the air eased slightly.
Of course, Boiling Silence continued to speak while keeping its eyes fixed on me from beginning to end, as if the others didn't matter at all.
[I thought I had slaughtered every last hatchling, yet it seems one still crawls upon the earth.]
“…….”
Since I had calmed the other women down to some extent, I let the entity’s words go in one ear and out the other, just as Solari had advised.
[…I feel a tremor in your silence. Are you afraid?]
“…….”
[Rightly so. You should be terrified. For I never forget a grudge, and you have taken my Apostle from me.]
Having said that, Boiling Silence slowly swept the finger it had been pointing at me to the side.
It pointed at Carla, then Elisha, Iris, Iona, and Helena one by one as it continued.
[You shall all meet your ruin.]
What? I wondered what it was going to say, and it’s just a cliché threat?
I’m not going to be scared by something like this at this point—
[First, I shall sever your limbs and gouge out your eyes, then cast you to the maws of Confused Unity. You wenches will surely make for excellent materials.]
[After that, you shall become the seedbeds for Ugly Prosperity. As you copulate with succubi and your own offspring, perhaps a usable vessel will finally emerge.]
[Do not find peace even if you meet a mortal’s death. Narrow Jealousy will gladly set your tattered corpses upon the front lines.]
[And finally, you, you arrogant half-breed lizard. You shall watch all of this while bound to my throne.]
…That’s a bit much to be called a "cliché."
An unexpected side effect of Dragonification: my instincts and emotions, which had become as intense as my strengthened physical body, began to run wild.
I tried to ignore it, but hearing those words directly in my mind made my blood boil.
Now I understood. Though the degree varied, the eccentric personalities and obsessions that appeared without fail in records concerning dragons surely stemmed from this constitution.
I tried to suppress the rising rage, but a vivid sneer appeared on the entity’s black, featureless face.
[However, I am merciful. Tremble in the helplessness of being able to do nothing. Accept the sloth that seeps into your very bones. If you do, I shall personally take you in and make you my Apostle. That alone shall be the atonement for my poor Fiona, and your only salvation—]
“No, seriously, listen to this piece of shit.”
I’ve heard enough. I can’t listen to this anymore.