Chapter 345: Libra
Chapter 345: Libra
I let out a sigh of relief as I took in the same scenery I’d seen when I first visited Yggdrasil.
"Ha... we made it somehow."
"Master. Even if it is just for a day, you must rest—"
Iris, looking just as exhausted as I was, cut herself off. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered into my ear.
"—I want to be pounded so thoroughly that I can't think of anything else, until I'm a broken mess and fall asleep."
"...That still hasn't worn off yet?"
"Ugh... Even when I participated in the War of the Gods, it wasn't this bad."
Iris lamented with a strangely flushed face. Seeing her like that, Iona—who was back in peak condition after sucking my blood—giggled.
"That’s because, that’s because! Three hundred years ago, Iris was only an intermediate magician and the Princess of Alfheim, so she couldn't go to the front lines, right? But now, she’s been bombarded by the Authority of an Evil God. Plus, unlike back then, she now has a body that knows the pleasures of being a woman. Isn't it only natural?"
"I know that in my head, yet I cannot help but complain. ...Now that I think of it, Master, did you not step forward to take the brunt of the charm to protect the others? Iona is a vampire, so she is one thing, but are you alright, Master?"
"Huh? Me?"
"Indeed. Did you not say it yourself? That Beastkin and Elves have strong sexual desires and are vulnerable to the Authority of Ugly Prosperity. Yet, Master, are you not also a truly terrifying person who knows nothing but fighting and women? No matter how much resistance you have from the Blessing of All Gods, I doubt you could be perfectly fine..."
"……."
First it was what Helena said to Ugly Prosperity, and now this. Am I really that much of a walking adult-rated content? What’s with all this focus on my violence and sensuality?
I let out a light sigh and shrugged.
"To be honest, it was a bit dangerous for me too. If I were alone, it might have been different, but my women were right there next to me."
"Hmm, hmm. I think I understand that. The thought that I could just take a moment to let it all out made the thirst even worse."
"Exactly. Though doing that would have only made it worse in the end."
It’s similar to how drinking seawater when you're thirsty only worsens dehydration. Since the Authority hadn't been lifted, increasing sexual arousal would only feed into it.
As I recalled the memories of the past five days, a shudder ran through my body.
*
Day 2.
On the first day, we managed to get by by repeatedly hitting them once and running away, but from the second day, that became impossible.
They had seemingly grown accustomed to our tactics and started bringing meat shields from the very beginning.
It wasn't corpse tentacles. Perhaps because they had already consumed a large number of goblin corpses, they couldn't use them consecutively.
Instead, they unhesitatingly put forward giant goblins.
According to the lore, these were experimental subjects of Ugly Prosperity, created by utilizing the goblin trait of rapid reproduction and the ability to impregnate almost any race.
Of course, they were failures. Originally, the goal was to create large, powerful warriors like ogres, but the results were flawed creatures—stupid, sluggish, and without a shred of combativeness.
Still, they succeeded in making them huge, and since they were obedient, they were often used as meat shields or in place of siege ladders. They were more than sufficient as substitutes for corpse tentacles.
In fact, the monsters, as large as two-story buildings, were as tough as their size suggested. When about a dozen of them gathered, they could withstand a single high-level magic spell.
...And goblins are like the fruit flies of the monster world, their only strengths being rapid breeding and growth.
No matter how much threatening magic we poured out, they charged at us with the mindset that if someone died, they died, and they could just have more children. There was nothing we could do.
Fortunately, they were trying to subdue me rather than kill me, so I was somehow able to pull away.
Day 3.
The pattern was similar to the previous two days, but we had gained experience.
Thus, we decided to completely abandon the desire to attack and focus solely on maintaining a distance where we seemed catchable but weren't—our original goal.
This was quite successful, and I thought we would be able to escape smoothly...
Until the assassins of Boiling Silence, who had been hiding, sprang out.
Since they hadn't shown themselves at all until then, I thought the ones I killed before were all of them. I didn't realize there were still so many left.
Thanks to my Cultist Detection Trait, I was able to react in time, but the delay put us in a situation where we might be surrounded.
In the end, Helena ignored the strain on her body and cranked up the output of her Spirit Mediumship. For a brief moment, no one could stop Helena as she radiated light as bright as a small sun, and thanks to that, we were able to escape without issue.
However, Helena had overexerted herself so much that she fell into a death-like sleep as soon as we hid at the Nidhogg station. My heart sank for a moment there.
Since we had already given up on attacking, I decided to have Iris focus entirely on defense and detection from then on.
Day 4.
Changing Iris's position made it easier to avoid ambushes and encirclement, but it also reduced our firepower, giving the enemy more breathing room.
The followers of Ugly Prosperity began to focus on their Authority rather than combat.
The impact was quite significant, especially since we hadn't completely shaken off the lingering charm effects from when Helena fainted the day before.
The combat itself was nothing special, so escaping was easy, but the problem came afterward.
Regardless of my will, my body grew hot, and Iris, Iona, and Helena, who were beside me, looked exceptionally beautiful today.
No matter how much resistance I had, the accumulated effect was substantial.
If I, covered in all sorts of resistances, was like this, what about the others?
Grimhill temporarily paralyzed his lower body with Aura, and Tumila spent the whole day praying, busy trying to drive out the Authority of Ugly Prosperity that had seeped into her and Grimhill.
It was the same on our side.
Iris tried to sneakily rub against me before being grabbed by the scruff of her neck by Iona.
Helena cast a blessing on her as she dangled in the air, flailing toward me, but...
The blessing, its output lowered because Helena was already exhausted, couldn't calm the half-crazed Iris.
So, with tears in her eyes, Helena struck the back of Iris's head and knocked her unconscious. She said it would be fine since she hit her while applying a Heal.
For the record, I just endured it with my resistance, Iona was unaffected because she’s a vampire, and Helena endured by periodically switching with Solari.
Of course, this only applied to sexual desire; we couldn't prevent our overall abilities from declining.
I think this was actually the biggest crisis.
Day 5.
the promised time arrived. I bolstered my resolve with the thought that I only had to make it through today, but things in the world never go exactly as planned.
As expected of those who are good at hiding, they were also good at finding; the assassins of Boiling Silence discovered the existence of Nidhogg and its entrance.
In the end, the stage for the final battle became the underground.
It was no easy task to continue fighting against enemies who had grown even stronger with bodies that wouldn't move as intended. Eventually, Grimhill, who had been guarding us at the very front, reached his limit.
Unable to suppress his boiling lust, he lunged at Tumila, who was refilling blessings from behind.
Of course, since he moved impulsively without any particular technique, he was sent flying by a single mace strike from Helena, who was also standing in the vanguard.
It seemed she had developed a knack for it after knocking Iris out the day before.
Thanks to that, Grimhill was somehow dealt with, but the real problem was that our already insufficient vanguard had been reduced by one.
The formation stabilized only after Iona, who had been focusing on area-of-effect attacks, took his place, but it was clear we couldn't hold out for long with our reduced firepower.
Fortunately, Nidhogg arrived just in time, allowing us to escape immediately.
I contacted Milone right away and asked her to scramble all the underground tunnel routes except for the one we were on.
Since nothing was more dangerous than the enemy infiltrating through a back door, Milone immediately twisted the tracks and even collapsed them where necessary.
As a result, part of the Ugly Prosperity army ended up buried alive underground... but there are several strong individuals among them capable of facing us.
Breaking out will only be a matter of time.
And so, rejoicing in our safe escape and the timely blocking of the underground passages, we arrived at the present.
*
As we headed into the interior of the World Tree aboard Ratatoskr, I continued what I had been saying earlier.
"It's true that the Authority of Ugly Prosperity is dangerous, but after being hit by it, I realized there's a trick to it."
"There is such a thing?"
Iris, who was enduring with the mental strength of a high-level magician and Helena's blessing but was clearly having a hard time, looked at me with sparkling eyes.
I grinned at her and nodded.
"Yeah. You manage your mana with high density to block the divine power trying to infiltrate."
"……?"
"Even so, for what does get into your body, it's more efficient to pull in the light of another blessing to drive it out. It's the same principle as receiving a priest's blessing."
"???"
"Iris, you were born with the blessing of the Lord of Cyclic Life, so you should be able to do it too, right?"
"Master... what kind of nonsense is that?"
Iris tilted her head as if she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Actually, I knew. I knew this wasn't something just anyone could copy.
But I couldn't help myself.
"Why? You can't do it?"
"Of course not! Who could possibly do such a thing...?"
"I did it, and it worked."
"……Eek!"
Why would I throw away a chance to tease Iris? That would be such a waste.
Iris pouted and began to stomp her feet with a thump-thump sound.
It was truly Iris's 'Reign Walk.' I could feel a level of ferocity comparable to a hamster.
As I struggled to hold back my laughter—no, as I trembled in the face of that terrifying sight—Iris spoke up grumpily.
"...I think I understand why Elisha used to tremble whenever she saw the Lady of Lindelheit."
"Is the part that's trembling these cheeks?"
I pulled on Iris's cheeks, but perhaps because I had already filled today's teasing quota, a half-resigned Iris just hung limp without giving any reaction.
Instead, Helena and Solari looked at me with proud expressions and nodded.
"Look, my Lord. Brother Yandel is now managing divine power as if it were nothing."
"He's only at the level of moving it around, but if he develops a bit more from there... Kerrung."
"Will he become a god or a demigod?"
"No? In the end, it's borrowed power, so there won't be a rise in status. Instead, he might be able to influence the gods. Specifically, things like pregnancy!"
"Hup! Come to think of it, while there were those who had heirs before ascending to godhood, no one has had an heir afterward. So that's why..."
The two of them were already discussing whether they should name the child for each other.
I know they're excited because we survived a dangerous situation, but this is a bit embarrassing. We're not the only ones here.
For the record, Grimhill and Tumila were whispering something to each other in the corner. It seemed they had grown quite close through this ordeal.
Well, it makes sense. After the battles, we were cared for by Helena, but Grimhill received treatment and neutralization of the Authority from Tumila.
Developing feelings while fighting in a life-threatening battlefield while exposed to an Authority that heightens sexual desire?
I don't think it would be strange for a weird vibe to start flowing. Of course, it wasn't my business, so just as I was about to look away...
I heard a shout from Grimhill, who sounded a bit more stiff than usual, likely due to nerves.
"I-I have something to tell you once this war is over!"
"Oh my..."
A truly solemn voice.
...Wait, right?
This isn't some kind of ominous omen, is it?