Chapter 267
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 267
Chapter Title: Duke Randel (1)
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The Phantasmal Forest, reached after passing through the hierarchical stages.
The moment they entered, a truly phantasmal scent greeted them.
"Damn it."
Eleanor grimaced and spat out a curse, immediately deploying holy magic to spread a purification field across the area.
"Ugh... My head's spinning."
"And we only inhaled it for a second..."
Aiden and Maya steadied their pounding hearts. Even a brief moment had made their bodies and minds feel disconnected, triggering an instinctive sense of danger.
"Hahaha. This must be tough for you all."
Though everyone possessed exceptional mental fortitude, even they struggled to endure it briefly. The Phantasmal Forest was a space saturated with the potent aura of a powerful narcotic.
"This place is special. No monsters, but special field effects like this blanket the entire area."
Instead of monsters, every naturally growing plant here carried narcotic properties.
Without proper precautions, anyone would succumb, soaked in the drugs, and become fertilizer for the local flora.
And in a place like this, Duke Randel was being held captive.
"Why's it so quiet? Where are the Eastern captains the boss mentioned?"
"Who knows..."
As Jun had predicted, the Black Moon Mercenary Captain and the Sun Keeper Adventure Party Leader should have been the final bulwark blocking the White Whale Mercenary Corps.
But a foreboding thought suddenly crossed his mind.
What if those bastards figured it out?
What if they'd realized Duke Randel was here?
It was entirely possible.
Though the Celestial Church was behind the Eastern war, they'd meticulously hidden their involvement.
The Eastern forces reaching this far was due to Jun and his companions subtly leaking info about Duke Randel's whereabouts. They hadn't spilled that he was specifically here.
But would the Black Moon Mercenary Captain and Sun Keeper Adventure Party Leader really let themselves be used without suspecting?
They might have guessed he was here and acted accordingly...
Not good.
The current Duke Randel wasn't in his right mind.
And as if bad hunches never missed, a massive explosion erupted from beyond the distant hill.
"Wh-what was that?!"
An enormous wave of mana.
The moment Eleanor tensed and reinforced her purification field...
Something tumbled over from the explosion site.
"Those crazy bastards really did it."
What rolled in were the heads of the Black Moon Mercenary Captain, Darkras, and the Sun Keeper Adventure Party Leader, Belgor.
Drained of life force, they resembled mummies, but their facial features were unmistakably theirs.
"They went and poked him after all..."
At Jun's sigh, something burst from the narcotic pollen cloud raised by the explosion amid the drugged plants.
"Th-that person is..."
"Duke Randel."
He wasn't sane, having been consumed by a corrupted spirit.
Purple mana glows whipped around him like lashes.
Without even touching, nearby plants withered and died, and everything along his path was dyed in death.
"Everyone, fall back behind me!"
Sensing the ominous aura from Duke Randel, Bern stepped forward with his shield raised.
Jun broke into a cold sweat and clicked his tongue at the duke's imminent charge.
Should we retreat?
Realistically, facing an 8th-level opponent when they weren't even 7th-level was sheer madness.
His party was still at 6th level, with only Bern at 7th as a holy knight.
Even Darkras and Belgor, both 7th level, had their heads lopped off effortlessly.
Of course, given Duke Randel's powers, which countered holy power, Bern wouldn't be overwhelmed as easily as those two...
But the biggest problem is me.
At this moment, Jun was the least helpful in this fight.
His mana circuits were still tinged blue.
Even stabilized barely with holy power and potions, any mana use would trigger a severe backlash.
Casting effective spells against an 8th-level foe in this state was unthinkable.
Even Aiden and Maya have limits holding out.
No matter how much Jun and Eleanor's support magic boosted their physical abilities to handle 7th level briefly, an 8th-level opponent would overpower them quickly.
Sensing Jun's hesitation, Eleanor asked,
"Boss. Can we take him?"
"Probably not."
"That old geezer... Can we weaken him somehow?"
"With holy power?"
"Yeah."
It wasn't impossible.
The essence in Duke Randel's aura was 'Void'.
A power manifesting his hollow heart after losing his child.
Holy power, conversely, was a single ray of light piercing a void world.
The matchup was perfect.
However...
Can it work?
In the game, holy power was most effective at blocking Duke Randel's attacks, but pouring it directly as a debuff yielded little result.
Unless it was an 8th-level playable character like the Sun Church's 'Saintess', weakening his Void was impossible.
But...
Eleanor might pull it off.
Her vessel was vast enough to hold even a god.
Like Jun's mana, her holy power was an endless sea.
And not just that.
Eleanor had awakened Ariklotos's true holy power.
It might work.
Worth a shot.
But it meant sacrificing their chance to escape safely while Duke Randel hadn't fully pegged them as enemies.
"Whew... Worth trying, but too early."
Jun took a deep breath and scanned for other variables.
This was a space where the Celestial Church had laid their schemes first.
No guarantee of no other traps.
No reserve forces. They couldn't aid even if they wanted, with Randel's rampage.
Then what?
Other traps?
True to form, Jun wouldn't cross a shaky bridge without testing—even a stone one.
He scattered mana around, probing for anomalies.
Then.
These sneaky bastards.
He sensed points of mana.
Extremely covert.
Not your average mage's work.
At least a 7th-level high mage's magic circles.
Mostly bindings, restraints, mental locks—layered dozens of times into massive formations.
Mage Association. Looks like they came here too.
At this point, Jun realized his mistake.
Darkras and Belgor hadn't found Randel by instinct alone.
The Celestial Church had likely deliberately leaked the info.
Otherwise, they wouldn't prepare such countermeasures.
They'd anticipated Randel's rampage and set those up.
Sinister, real sinister...
Jun could already guess who orchestrated it.
Definitely 'that guy' from the antique shop.
Not yet at a level to invoke his true name, but Jun knew it was his handiwork.
Pommel called me a vessel. And that guy thanked me for foiling Pommel's plan.
Now it clicked.
That guy planned to use Jun as the vessel instead of Eleanor.
And now, using Duke Randel to capture him.
Those magic circles seemed meant to halt Randel just before he killed Jun.
Suddenly, a way through this mess appeared.
"Alright... I have a plan."
"Oh, nice. What's the play, boss?"
"Stall for time. The Mage Association rigged this place too. We'll turn it against them and neutralize the duke."
"Got it. Everyone hear that? Just buy time."
The other three nodded with resolute expressions.
First, as usual, he cast support magic on Aiden, Maya, and newcomer Bern.
"Whoa..."
Bern, experiencing buffs for the first time, stared at Eleanor and Jun in awe.
Even with his vast experience, these were unprecedented.
Eleanor's holy magic rivaled a former pope's, and Jun's filled his gaps perfectly.
Now, they could hold their own against Duke Randel without buckling.
"Aiden, you know your role?"
"Yes. Keep the pressure on and support Bern."
Right. Aiden's one-shot could deal solid damage, if not kill, the duke.
Then Jun turned to Maya.
"Maya. Truth is, you're the key here."
"...?"
"While Bern and Aiden hold him, prep [Spirit Frenzy Dance] somehow."
"Land a solid hit on that monster with my sword?"
"Exactly."
"Tall order, but I'll give it a shot."
"Good. I believe in you."
Jun's task was simple.
While his team stalled, seize control of the Mage Association's magic circles blanketing the area.
To do that, he needed to stabilize his mana circuits, now purple-tinged from the buffs.
This is gonna hurt...
He'd need rest after this mission.
As Jun focused, his comrades' fierce battle began.
Reading their momentum, perhaps? Duke Randel, who'd been staring vacantly into space, turned his gaze to the party.
Clearly sensing their hostility, he erupted purple aura and shot forward like a弹.
Kwaaaang-!!
Leaving only an afterimage, Randel reappeared before Bern's shield.
His rusted greatsword swung, sparking as it shoved the shield back.
"Nngh!"
His earlier resolve meaningless, Bern skidded back, carving long trails in the ground.
The opening attack exceeded expectations.
His arms bulged near bursting, holy power surging against the void.
"So fast...!"
Eleanor's holy magic activated late, but before it hit, Randel's form vanished.
"Not on my watch!"
Bern leaped, channeling holy power into his legs, blocking Randel's sword just before Eleanor.
To avoid hindering the pushed-back Bern, Eleanor spread golden wings and soared high with [Glide].
"Damn...!"
Outside the purification field meant to protect her comrades, the mana aura immediately dulled her mind.
She barely snapped out of it with a potion from Jun.
With his top threat gone, the beastly Randel's gaze shifted to Jun.
Targeting the weakest link in the current setup.
Sensing it, Bern moved faster, clashing sword and shield again.
But this time, Duke Randel retreated.
He felt an unstoppable force right behind.
[Mountain Shatter Sword]!
The founding emperor's domineering mana-wreathed blade could rend even Randel's void aura.
As he fell back and leaped briefly into the air, Eleanor's manifested holy power struck him precisely.