Chapter 115
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 115
Chapter Title: 4-Star Heroes, 4-Star Employees
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3-Star Heroes, each one rated capable of taking on a Dungeon Master solo in a moderately weak dungeon. Seven individuals who could even lead a raid party against an ordinary dungeon.
Naturally, every time these 3-Star Heroes swung their weapons, the demons should have scattered like fallen leaves... but...
"Wh-what the...? What are these things?"
".......?"
The ones charging ahead to block the heroes' attacks were demons with an ominously eerie appearance. Every last one bore sinister curses etched into their bodies, moving with puppet-like blank expressions as several leaped out to confront the heroes.
-CLANG!!
"Gh? The power?"
Curse vessels were the pinnacle of vile alchemy. The strength granted by that most accursed sorcery allowed these curse vessels to momentarily rival 3-Star Heroes, and there were nearly twenty of them—not just one or two.
"Were there demons like this...?"
Even veteran heroes had never encountered curse vessels before, so they faltered in confusion while parrying their assaults. The one saving grace was that the saintess's miracle cloaked their bodies, rendering them immune to the subtle curses emanating from the vessels.
"Rawr!!"
As if seeking vengeance for their comrades who had been sent ahead as vanguards and butchered mercilessly, werebeasts darted into their midst with nimble movements.
A race with every ounce of ability poured into raw physicality, devoid of special powers. They couldn't compare to 3-Star Heroes, but in tandem with the curse vessels, they could at least make them hesitate for a moment.
Of course, the heroes—flustered only briefly at the outset—soon steadied themselves and activated their individual Holy Relics.
"Hollas, heed my call...!"
"Amos. Bind the foes!"
Shadows erupted to skewer enemies, lightning crashed from the clear sky without warning. One hero's skin abruptly turned metallic; another's body stretched like rubber.
"Everyone! Unleash your auras!"
The heroes, having manifested their Holy Relics' powers, all without exception erupted with auras. Auras—the mark of a master swordsman, the ultimate pinnacle for every blade on the continent—and every hero present wielded them.
With auras ignited, even the freakishly resilient curse vessels finally began shattering before their blades.
-SLASH!!
"Good. Got...!"
-PFFT!!
"Gah?!"
But curse vessels earned their title as the worst curses for good reason. The instant a hero cleaved one down, all the curse energy animating it detonated in a surge, engulfing the heroes. Though warded by the saintess's makeshift miracle, the blast was fierce enough to momentarily overwhelm it and reach them.
'Th-these... insane bastards! A curse?'
Wracked by the curse's aura, the heroes still instinctively sneered at the demons. Curses weren't so convenient to wield. Especially not like this—detonating them would harm the demons far more than the heroes blessed by the saintess...
"Now! Kraaaah!!!"
-THUD!
"Cough!"
But contrary to the heroes' assumption that the demons would also writhe from the point-blank curse blast, they counterattacked with vitality exceeding even the demons themselves. Strangely pristine clothes intact amid the chaos.
"Pathetic lot... All of you, stand aside!!"
The blue-haired man directing the heroes shoved them back. He then drew a massive longbow from his back—tall as an average person—and drew the string bare, without an arrow.
-FWOOOSH!!
Holy Relic 'Astra'. Generates infinite arrows, each packing siege-engine devastation.
"If killing them triggers curses, just snipe from range!"
A simple but reliable fix. One of the party's sole two 4-Star Heroes, Kairon loosed an arrow gleaming like blinding starlight.
"Grooo!!"
The moment he nocked it, a bizarre golem wedged itself before the curse vessels. Ordinary in bulk, but plastered with round objects across its frame.
"No chance!"
As if a mere golem could block Astra's arrow. Kairon scoffed and fired.
-SCREEEEE!!
Etching a starry trajectory, Astra's arrow streaked forth. It struck the object-studded golem, erupting in a flash and unleashing a colossal shockwave.
-CRACKLE!!
The golem's body crumbled under the blow, demons cowering behind blasted backward. But...
"Groan..."
"...What? It blocked it?"
Not fully absorbing the shock, the golem's frame splintered here and there. The objects stuck to it—
[Robot Vacuum Cleaner]
—fell free from the impact, yet it hauled itself up remarkably intact.
Core unscathed, the golem commenced repairs, scavenging the scattered
[Robot Vacuum Cleaners]
and reattaching them.
"Tch... Fine. Freakishly sturdy, but it still breaks!"
Ego slightly stung, but that had been a mere basic shot anyway—no special technique. Intent on unleashing one, no dozens more, Kairon nocked again.
-SCREE!
"Gh?!"
In that instant, an arrow infused with crisp natural energy cleaved the battlefield toward Kairon's skull. He rolled clear in the nick of time, then locked eyes on the shooter.
"Ah! So close!"
Atop a colossal wood golem's shoulder hopped an elf who looked like an insolent brat who'd never heed a word, nocking another arrow with bouncy glee.
"You wench...! Daring an archery duel with 'Divine Archer' Kairon?"
Not some warrior, but an archer picking a fight with him—Kairon's eyes rolled back in fury. He rapidly nocked and fired a barrage from Astra, hellbent on dropping the cheeky elf in seconds.
"Eek! Sacred Tree!"
Lil spotted the lethal volley and ducked behind the wood golem's back. Channeling high elf communion, she beamed a desperate plea to the entity piloting it.
-THUD THUD!!
From the wood golem's already vine- and plant-overgrown frame sprouted thicker roots and stems, hoisting arms to intercept the arrows.
-BOOM!!!
"Gh! Again...?"
The wood golem cracked badly, splinters flying, yet it held firm. More plants surged from its base, knitting its shattered form anew.
-TWANG!!
"Urk?!"
Lil, concealed behind, loosed toward the blue sky. Arcing high with pinpoint enemy tracking, the arrow plummeted straight for Kairon's crown.
He twisted away desperately, but not fully—the shaft grazed his cheek, slicing a shallow gash that welled blood.
"...You bitch!!"
Fuming at being marked by such a lowly demon, Kairon drew his second and third Holy Relics. 'Aznavel', boosting user speed threefold. 'Eagle Eye', revealing every projectile or spell trajectory.
"Support Lil!"
Elves joining Lil and the wood golem unleashed a volley. Kairon, speed surging, evaded them all while hosing arrows like a gatling gun without pause.
"Tsk tsk. Kairon's flipped out over an archer again."
A bald man witnessing Kairon's spectacle tutted lightly. He then vaulted into the heroes' ranks, stalled by the curse vessels.
"Hup!!"
-BAM!!
Bare-fisted with aura blazing, he pulverized a curse vessel's skull. Horrid curse energy detonated anew in a blink.
"Hooah!!"
The bald man—another 4-Star Hero, Walter—gaped wide before the erupting curse and inhaled deeply.
-SHOOO!!
The black miasma poised to burst vacuumed straight into Walter's maw.
Holy Relic 'Gula'. Bestows the power to devour any 'energy'. Walter wiped his lips after gulping even a mighty curse vessel's malediction, burping faintly.
"Burp... Tastes like crap."
Leaving fellow heroes to the incoming Blood Demon Tribe, charging golems, and swarming monsters, Walter barreled mouth-open at the curse vessels.
Squeezing Grasp
-THUD!!
"Gh?!"
A black hand of materialized curse energy materialized, intercepting Walter's charge. He seized and devoured the incoming surge, then eyed the caster.
"Half-breed?"
A black-haired woman. Curse aura intensified from her form as she glared at him with eerie malice.
"Heard the Dungeon Master's a guy. Heh, fellow half-breed, so he recruited another? But this curse energy..."
"No..."
"Hm?"
"No no no no. Can't lose another. Can't let it happen again. I'll protect. Protect."
"...Not in her right mind, that's for sure."
Flustered by the abrupt half-demon, Walter muttered his take, shook his head at the madly mumbling half-breed—Pandora—and gaped toward her curses.
-SHWOOO!!
"Urgh. What is this, a buffet? More! Gimme more!"
Unfazed by the prior spectacle, learning nothing, as she hurled curses anew—Walter sneered and lunged at the curse vessels and Pandora.
And so, as 3-Star Heroes clashed with demons and monsters, 4-Star Heroes squared off against the ruins' 4-Star staff.
"It's you. The source of the energy that's been calling to me."
"Hmm... Another dull-looking man."
Lumen, tracing the provocatively gushing blood-scented aura, now faced the white-haired woman who had unfurled three pairs of wings from the outset: Erzsebet.
"That power... You're at least an executive here. One question for you."
"Asking amid all that killing intent... Fine, shoot."
"Fallen. My adjutant and friend. Who killed him?"
"Surely you're not expecting an answer."
"You'll have no choice."
No sooner had Lumen spoken than blinding radiance exploded from him—met in kind as the space around Erzsebet drowned in crimson blood.