Chapter 284
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 284
Chapter Title: Lich (4)
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If the situation Jun was anticipating actually came to pass, the saintess would have no choice but to feel disconcerted.
The original request to the White Whale Mercenary Corps had been to resolve the issues that began cropping up in Merdaine last year, but now the lich's resurrection loomed right before them.
And on top of that, the God of Death reviving as well?
No matter how much faith the saintess had in the White Whale Mercenary Corps' abilities, it was doubtful she'd trust them with matters involving the God of Death.
'Still, maybe I should leave her with at least some related information.'
In the game, the saintess had struggled alone to resolve the situation, but with Jun's advice in the mix, she might handle it more leniently.
"Does the saintess know of a being called the Form of Death?"
"...!"
Oh.
Jun inwardly marveled at the saintess's unguarded look of surprise.
He hadn't expected her to know anything about the Form of Death.
And the saintess felt the same way.
"How do you know about that...?"
"I pick up stories from all sorts of places."
"Even so, the Form of Death is..."
"So you do know of its existence."
"...I don't know much. A god that pursues death. But it's not a being of this world—it's from outside. That's why its death doesn't discriminate against any lifeform; it seeks to dye the heavens, the earth, and this entire world in the light of death."
"..."
That's surprisingly detailed. Where on earth did she get that intel?
"Long ago, when the previous previous pontiff descended into Blackout, he received a prophecy from a seer there."
"A seer... a prophecy..."
At this point, Jun found himself recalling that seer and prophet once more.
Because he'd heard something similar before.
'Shylock definitely said he gained prophecy-related powers in Blackout too.'
Jun had once suspected, when recalling Shylock's encounter with the prophet, that the prophet might be his reincarnated self.
'Probably spot on.'
Reincarnator.
His prophecies matched the present with chilling accuracy in many ways, and it was highly likely he'd experienced the 'future' Jun knew.
'Then what the hell is the world I'm in right now?'
Some parallel world like in movies or novels?
A dimension split into countless possibilities, even in the same timeframe?
'No clue at all.'
As always, he pushed unanswerable mysteries aside without dwelling too deeply.
He refocused on the saintess's words.
"He prophesied that our church's sun would be shrouded in the light of death for a long time."
"Heh. And the previous previous pontiff just accepted that at face value?"
"Yes. He said he couldn't sense even a trace of mana from that prophet, and that's what surprised him most. Not a shred of mana in a human body."
It would certainly be astonishing from this world's perspective.
In this world, beings without mana...
'Sword Soul Aden. Aside from that guy, no one else.'
And if it was the reincarnator who'd eradicated all mana from his body because he couldn't handle the [Demon God Body], it was entirely plausible.
'Sounds about right.'
It was supposed to happen years later, but in the game, the Sun Church suffered near-total annihilation at the hands of the God of Death.
That's why you could recruit the saintess into the player's party in the game.
'Well, anyway, this makes things easier to discuss.'
Putting the reincarnator out of mind again, Jun got to his point.
"I've seen something similar. And I think that moment is right now."
"You're saying the Form of Death is coming here?"
"Yes."
It was a prophecy the previous previous pontiff had heard, so it was probably half-forgotten by now.
For that story to come out of the mouth of some random mercenary captain who wasn't even from the church...
Now the saintess was curious how Jun knew.
'He just said he "saw" it.'
In other words, it could only be interpreted as him witnessing it directly, not hearing it as a prophecy.
A man who'd achieved explosive growth in Blackout in just three years and had been acting like an imperial close aide lately—more precisely, the emperor's.
'This is confusing.'
People's futures were unpredictable anyway, but ever since meeting the man before her, that feeling had intensified.
'Eleanor. Is that why you're following this man around?'
The Sun Church had been tied to Merdaine for ages, but they weren't ignorant of worldly affairs.
Especially events between churches.
The Ariclotos Church, once higher than the Sun Church.
Its name had surged recently, but before that, it'd been extremely obscure.
After failing a reckless attempt to house a god's spirit in a human body long ago.
No one knew why they'd tried it or how it failed, but...
'The Form of Death.'
A vague hunch struck her that it might be connected to the Ariclotos Church.
And perhaps that's why this man had accepted her request and come all this way.
"So, no matter what happens, you should prepare to some extent."
"I'll gratefully accept your advice."
Their conversation ended awkwardly like that.
But their thoughts weren't awkward at all.
The lich's resurrection, and the inexplicable phenomena arising in Merdaine.
All of it pointed to an unexpected upheaval... and since he'd so kindly warned them of the danger, they'd need to steel themselves accordingly.
Time flew by swiftly.
Or rather, time was flying only for those here.
"Shit."
"So it finally got someone..."
Starting the very next day after Jun and the saintess's meeting, casualties began appearing one by one.
Due to Merdaine's nature, they couldn't just leave the dead lying around, so Sun Church priests personally incinerated the bodies for cleanup.
But as if that were just the beginning, casualties kept emerging daily.
Even so, morale hadn't hit rock bottom. It was actually surprising it'd taken this long for casualties to start.
It had been possible until now because the saintess's holy power had weakened most undead. But as they entered the lich's sphere of influence more deeply, the undead were no longer affected by her holy power.
And now they faced hordes of undead filling the vast plain like a black sea.
The first to fall were the level 5 users, and around ten days in, the first level 6 casualty appeared.
"Huff... huff!"
"Just stepping outside the zone feels like it'd kill us...!"
The closer they got to their destination, Melen Castle, the thicker the dark mana grew.
That dark mana, enriched in the Death Knights, approached in the form of black mist to sap the living's energy.
Now the saintess's holy power was focused entirely on blocking that black mist and temporarily purifying select areas as before.
"Hoo..."
The saintess felt fatigue mounting daily, but she didn't let it show.
Meanwhile, the burdens on Jun and his group steadily increased too.
"What the hell are those Death Knights doing rolling around like boulders...?"
The day before.
Numerous Death Knights had pierced the saintess's holy barrier, slaughtering one holy knight and dozens of soldiers inside.
A similar attempt happened at dawn today, but Eleanor, Maya, and Bern had sensed them early and blocked the intrusion.
Now the White Whale Mercenary Corps had been assigned to deal with that Death Knight squad...
"Way more than the report said."
And that's how they'd arrived at this moment.
Back when they were gathering the simultaneous flower for Maya, more than twenty of these—slightly weaker than the guarding Death Knights—were visible.
Each radiating level 7-level auras.
"Th-this time it's really dangerous, isn't it?"
Pregg from the Balam Mercenary Corps suggested retreating, but Jun shook his head.
"It's a trap we already knew about."
"Urgh. Right."
If they had to fight anyway, there was nothing more to hold back.
As Pregg told his men to prepare, Jun spoke to his comrades.
"You guys scout for any stragglers or incoming enemies from outside."
He'd already muffled their presence to the limit with [Fog of Silence], but they couldn't be too careful.
They took their positions as Jun instructed, and soon his magic activated.
'Time to try that.'
After 7th circle, the standard spells he'd used no longer fit his body.
He could force them, but they weren't structured to channel his full power.
The reason lay in the elemental forces orbiting his circles even now.
Existing spells couldn't handle those forces anymore.
Thus, guided by inspirations from [Advanced Magic Talent], Jun reborn those spells in his own way.
His unique magic, now revealed to the world.
Flame Dominion
Mana-responsive, imagery-forged magic manifests. Multiple fireballs summoned, rotating inward like living flames.
Mana reacted, and imagery-based magic manifested.
Multiple fireballs summoned, rotating inward as if alive.
They looked like oddly shaped fireballs at a glance, but Jun's will dwelled within.
Clang-!
The Death Knights noticed them right then, drew swords, and charged.
The fireballs autonomously moved toward the enemies, spewing flames without Jun's conscious direction.
The Death Knights swung blades infused with dark mana aura to cleave the flames whole, but the fire instead burned their swords like kindling and clung to their bodies.
In an instant, the dark mana composing the Death Knights vanished into the fiery pits.
Jun's imagery had been implanted in each fireball.
Magic that manifested automatically when needed, without conscious effort.
'Working well.'
The Death Knights' durability exceeded expectations, so they didn't drop easily, but they were taking steady damage.
And the multiple fireballs continued spewing ultra-high heat flames, spreading like a plague from one Death Knight to the next.
...!!!
Of course, the Death Knights weren't just taking it lying down.
They sucked in surrounding death energy to disrupt the flames momentarily, then lunged at Jun.
At that instant, the Flame Dominion fireballs blocked their path like sentinels, summoning a wall of fire.
Four fireballs took the corners, spinning their flames to amplify destructive power.
Meanwhile, flanking fireballs unleashed more flames.
Like a barrage from multiple fire mages, relentlessly accumulating damage on the Death Knights.
"What the hell is that...?"
As a fellow level 7, Pregg imagined himself in their place but saw no path to survival.
Only one way: kill the caster before the magic activated.
Death Knights he couldn't easily handle one-on-one were being toyed with by Jun's magic, steadily weakening.
'Hm. Firepower isn't quite there yet.'
Jun shook his head, noting the spell's flaws.
He'd increased the number for utility, but it felt disjointed, like a ragtag mob.
Reducing quantity and intensifying imagery per fireball for more power seemed better.
"Still usable, though."
Testing done. He signaled his comrades, and the weakened Death Knights were quickly mopped up.
"Let's go."
Mission accomplished safely.
And this would probably be their last one.
The lich's dark mana pulsed intensely from Melen Castle's peak ahead.
They'd arrived before Melen Castle at great cost.
But only certain people could enter.
"Everyone, you probably know, but I'll say it one last time."
All eyes turned to the saintess.
A solemn moment.
Merdaine's reclamation, which had demanded their lives for decades, was at hand.
But the protagonists of this stage weren't them or the White Whale Mercenary Corps.
It was the saintess.
The woman floating a small sun above her head.
"From now on, all Sun Church forces including myself will enter Melen Castle."
Only the Sun Church entering the interior.
All other forces had to handle the outside.
Yet no one opposed the saintess's decision.
That peculiar lich aura was tough even for the level 7s here.
No need to mention the level 5s and 6s.
To face the level 8 raid boss lich, the saintess's holy power was essential.
But she'd have no attention for others against the lich.
Thus, the forces left outside—including the White Whale Mercenary Corps—had to block other undead hordes from striking the Sun Church's rear within the city.
"Mm. She'll be okay, right...?"
Jun nodded reassuringly at Aiden's worried voice.
"She'll manage."
The Sun Church saintess's power was the real deal.
Even now, her strength fell just short of level 8, but against undead, it was another story.
The lich was no exception, so they should be the ones worrying.
"The lich will go berserk and mobilize every undead in the city to fight back."
A brutal defense loomed.
Even Jun couldn't afford his usual nonchalance now.
"Eleanor and Bern..."
"Those two? More than enough."
Eleanor and Bern were entering the castle at the saintess's request too.
Meaning from here on, they'd fight without any holy power support.