Chapter 103
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: 10th Floor - Lv. 1050 Ancient Heroes (3)
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The old man had been hoisted onto the girl's back. The frail shaman was deeply humiliated by this, but there was no other way.
At first, the girl had tried to pick him up, claiming she was stronger.
But she gave up when she saw the old man's pale face as he glanced nervously at the axe's blade.
It was a matter of pride, among other things.
Besides, she looked like such a tiny girl on the outside.
The Fairy King simply expressed his thanks before recognizing us as Exiles.
"Will you help?"
I shook my head confidently.
It was time to head to the next area. Getting any more involved would just turn us into mere support in this battle.
If asked whether we could win against those three right now, well, it's not like we couldn't, but the losses would outweigh the gains.
We've done enough here—the fairies should handle the rest on their own, right?
Right, oh Nature?
The God of Nature affirmed this with the refreshing tone even leaking through the message.
The remaining Greenskin hero units gather to hold back the Spirit King as much as possible. But the Fairy King has awakened.
The central plaza, where the most heroes had been slumbering, had been occupied and defended by the fairies from the start.
This place was secure now.
No one knew how much damage each side would suffer, but as Oberon had said, it would be a victory for the fairies.
Whatever the God of War was scheming, our party was withdrawing from the battlefield.
Once full-scale large-scale melee began, there would be too many variables.
I had no intention of losing anyone.
Exiles didn't usually join massive battlefields anyway. If they did, it was typically ones with large numbers of other Exiles present.
Wars usually started after a massive influx of Exiles from the kingdom anyway.
From here on, it was purely a clash between the God of Nature and the God of War.
The wings manifested from holy power mimicking an angel's were superior to the originals in performance.
It took only a few seconds to reach top speed—and that speed was faster than sound.
On top of that, the flight itself ignored the laws of physics with complete freedom.
Saintess Mairillis came to a perfect stop without even a hint of inertia.
Only the sonic boom forming ahead of her spread out into the distance.
She did briefly press her forehead and shake her head, though.
No matter how protected by powerful holy power she was, her body was still fundamentally human.
It was the wings of light that were free from physical laws, not the flesh.
The saintess glanced down below.
The sun had nearly set.
Twilight spread all the way to the distant mountains.
The red light faded as darkness descended.
And with it, certain things began to stir.
If it had grown any darker, she might not have spotted them.
The saintess hesitated for just a moment.
She was on a mission from the gods.
Strict discipline applied even to her own god.
She didn't know the details, but it seemed the Abyss relic held tremendous value.
Based on that value, the man who became their client had exercised his rightful privileges.
Or rather, since she hadn't seen the man again, it was probably a deal proposed by his god.
The content was quite urgent: There might be a major crisis, so they needed escort to the next staircase like before. As quickly as possible.
The God of Order never repeated himself. He always conveyed only the precise information needed.
If He mentioned "as quickly as possible," then it truly was.
But...
A brief moment—a very brief one—should be fine. The gods are watching elsewhere anyway.
The saintess dove straight down.
She planned to plow right into the ground.
She couldn't just leave that horde of vampires be.
They might help humans in limited ways, but ultimately, they were pests—parasites that should be exterminated if possible.
Holy light bloomed like mist. Transforming into a brilliant rainbow flash, the saintess raised her fist.
Judging by this, the shock would make the whole area quake.
With this much holy power concentrated, not a single vampire would survive.
She could see the lead vampire staring up at her in shock. He had a nobly handsome appearance.
He looked somewhat familiar.
Wasn't there talk of a vampire clan that came from the East?
Even better if he was the clan master. Eliminating the queen parasite.
It might take a little time, though.
That was what bothered her. Clan masters were never weak. Killing him wouldn't be hard, but it might not be quick.
She had to fulfill the god's will right away. Should she just ignore them?
At that moment, purple mist rose up. Mist as thick with divinity as her own.
But it wasn't the holy power of a benevolent god granting rest to the undead.
It was the dark, murky divinity of an evil god.
The saintess didn't stop because she couldn't shatter the blocking purple divinity.
It was the color of chaos.
She asked,
"What brings this? Is he important enough for Chaos to protect?"
「These are my great warrior's subordinates.」
The god's client. Messing with his men wasn't a good idea.
The saintess furrowed her brow.
She prayed to her god. The God of Order didn't respond. He was still watching elsewhere.
Fine, she'd judge for herself. Ignore them and move on.
As she thought that, the Goddess of Chaos continued.
「Hey, these guys are a bit slow. Mind giving them a ride?」
"...To where?"
「Same destination.」
The saintess grew serious.
「Aw, c'mon, some service. We're premium clients, you know.」
The saintess closed her eyes.
「Yeah, gotta check with the boss. Lemme ask my God of Order.」
Surprisingly, within seconds, the God of Order issued a divine decree.
「That's service-worthy. In business, building rapport matters.」
She had been the church's martial force since childhood.
The saintess, who had virtually no experience as an ordinary church member, tilted her head but decided to comply.
If she used benevolent holy power, the vampires wouldn't endure.
The Goddess of Chaos provided her own divine power.
The vampires, bewildered, entrusted themselves to the goddess's divinity.
A massive basket-like force formed at the saintess's will.
"As vampires, you won't die, right?"
The clan master freaked out. He must have recalled her descent speed.
He hurriedly erected a barrier. A spell to counter powerful physical impact.
The saintess flew. The vampires dangling behind screamed.
Before their screams could spread, her body was already far ahead.
An explosion rocked the ground the moment the saintess arrived.
Strictly speaking, it wasn't quite an explosion.
Less flames erupting and more the surrounding area incinerating under immense heat pressure.
Yet the earth flipped, surging toward the sky.
Like mushrooms sprouting en masse.
She had to save them first, so she protected the vampires.
Though she'd been careful, a few convulsed under the protective holy barrier.
The saintess quickly set the vampires down on the ground.
They didn't need to breathe, and as long as their hearts weren't ripped out, they'd survive even in agony.
The clan master approached to give thanks, but the saintess shook her head. She had no desire for gratitude from the unclean.
More importantly, she needed to find her charge and the destination. The saintess took to the air again, scanning the scorched plains for the staircase.
[Grand Wall]
A translucent golden barrier shimmered into existence.
The saintess grabbed it. Holy, but a physical wall.
She swung wide. Like fanning.
Dust clouds billowed, sweeping it away.
After repeating several times, the sky cleared somewhat.
The entrance to the underground ruins at the epicenter of devastation gaped wide, like the maw of the abyss.
No staircase in sight.
The saintess sighed softly.
The heat was cooling rapidly, but her body still burned hot.
Feeling like she was in a dry sauna, she sat by the entrance to wait.
The vampires, placed a bit farther away, peeked cautiously before running over.
They settled nearby, still watching her warily.
The saintess left them be.
She wanted to wrap this up quickly and head back.
She'd been busy lately.
"We're out, but it doesn't feel refreshing at all!"
The girl voiced her complaint.
Everyone was sweating. No matter the magical cooling or whatever, extreme heat didn't care.
"Yeah, I'd take cold over this any day."
The Hunter nodded in agreement.
Everyone except me and the kid was drenched in sweat.
I kept a polite distance from the saintess.
She extended her hand as if for a handshake, looking a tad disappointed.
Probably wanted to zap me with some holy power?
And seeing Barbaroi glaring sullenly at me, with the other vampires clustered like chicks around their mother hen—what was this now?
Both were ones I'd summoned, though.
The girl grabbed my hand.
「I asked for a delivery, right?」
"Must've been a bit slow? You did well."
「Haha, praise me more, quick!」
I ignored the goddess's dramatics and approached Barbaroi. He looked even more haggard and worn than when I'd seen him on the 4th floor.
Vampires get gaunt when they suffer too.
His eyes stung as they fixed on my cloak.
"Hey, calm down. It worked out in the end, didn't it? Even if you'd stayed, protecting your clanmates would've been tough."
I'd never seen a straggler clan end well. They could only survive near humans—and those spots were already claimed.
Barbaroi's face fell. He couldn't deny the truth.
Even while fleeing Night Crow pursuit back then, they'd hit their limit.
"Think of it as grabbing the lifeline. I'll only show up when needed anyway. Effectively, you're still clan master."
He might lack absolute dominance over clanmates, but as the new clan master, I could just order them all to obey Barbaroi.
A perfect long-term minion.
Taking over as clan master wasn't hard.
I just had to drain his blood. And he wouldn't resist—that was it.
That's why vampires feeding on each other was usually taboo.
It led to clan master usurpations now and then.
Sucking dude blood wasn't great to begin with. Vampire blood tasted even worse—like herbal medicine without licorice.
As I slurped it down grudgingly, something started flowing over.
Vampire blood was their body and soul—their very essence.
Barbaroi's face grew ashen.
Just before he died, I stopped.
The Barbaroi Clan master authority had transferred to me. Orgel Clan now, maybe?
The kid watched me with a deeply complicated expression.
"...New daddy?"
"Bit off the nuance, kiddo."
I imprinted my presence on all the other vampires too. The new clan master. Great Warrior and High Priest of the Chaos Church.
More time to bond would've been nice, but lacking that, I'd taken clan master to bind them instantly.
Now, with a mere thought, they were fully under my control.
As an Exile infiltrating vampire society, this was the only way.
Absolute dominion they could never betray.
Normally impossible due to turf wars—why vampires were such a crappy race.
I smiled and said,
"You rushed to round up survivors, so no place to stay yet, huh? I know a great spot."
Not inside human nations, so no established clans.
A northern forest, far enough that even strong vampires had to fly long to sneak human blood.
Tough, but hidden from Night Crow eyes.
In wartime, invisible to anyone.
Plus, Chaos followers already lived there.
Goblins might not welcome them warmly, but they'd have to get along.
Faith in a god with a tangible presence in the Labyrinth bound different races efficiently.
Now, let's see how the Gobletaria Federation members had changed.
The saintess greeted her long-unseen master. The God of Order said nothing about it.
Not his follower—precisely because she wasn't—that such a relationship worked.
She was practically the church's highest rank anyway.
The old man smiled warmly and hugged her.
Afterward, per his wishes, she heard a bit about the religious war turning into a brutal, orcish brawl.
I was dumbfounded.
I'd never seen butterfly effects like this.
Merging other churches by force?
Was this even allowed? Well, if the God of Order saw profit, he'd allow it.
Forced conversion? Not even yakuza turf wars. Insane.
Truly radical.
"We'll secure the holy site soon."
Even Trdongt seemed flustered by the terrifying progress as Great Shaman.
"Uh..., so no war?"
"Secular matters are handled by those in the secular world. We agreed on that before the holy war began."
Straight-up calling it "secular." Greenskins advanced, but fairy-human allies seemed to cope somehow.
Heard Sir Dusban was excelling on the front lines. Fairy mage there now too?
Fine, battlefield irrelevant. Time to check the seeds we'd sown here.
Asking the saintess for escort was smart.
Imperial Guard was elite. Captain and unit leaders were [Hero Units] or equivalent.
Surviving Greenskins and others swarmed, but her bombardment left no room to focus on us.
I stood before the staircase and said,
"Everyone remembers their tasks, right?"
Double-check. The 11th floor offered no rest.
The girl raised her hand.
"Good, what's slipping your mind?"
"No [Race Card] hiding around here?"
Boss floor. Fair point. I scanned around.
"My guess? Not with big variables like now—they'll recover via Time Temple."
Excluding two whose floors were certain, several remained. Maybe the old man.
Linked to Guard Captain or underground hero?
Then old man could handle it.
After minimal prep, we descended quickly.
Sometimes the Labyrinth's time fluctuates wildly. Don't be too shocked if futures beyond imagination appear. Most futures aren't set—they might just be fragments you've glimpsed.
Floating sensation ended in a steel room.
A violently shaking room.
Explosions boomed from somewhere.
Boom—the world quaked.
Then it began tilting, leaning.
I flung the door open.
Not space. Fierce winds howled through shattered windows. Had to grip something to avoid getting sucked out.
Glancing outside through the window: a sea of clouds.
Approaching fast.
Another boom rocked the hull. Like an earthquake. I grabbed the nearly slipping kid.
Per future info, this was a battleship under attack, crashing.
Staircase somewhere on the crash planet.
Survive the fall first.
Without prior knowledge, who'd even manage this floor?