Chapter 33
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 33
Chapter Title: Disciple of Radiance (3)
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'What the hell? Why'd she suddenly shove her arm into it.'
I stared blankly at the woman who'd been blocking everything with some kind of barrier like a pro, only to randomly jam her arm into the High-Pressure Cleaner's water stream and blow her own limb clean off. Even with a human arm flying right in front of my face, no disgust welled up inside me.
"Kyaa a a a a ck!!"
"Sera!"
The mage woman clutched her severed arm, screaming her lungs out, while the priestess in her robes hurriedly channeled a soft glow from her hands to start healing. That's when the blond guy, who'd been knocked back earlier, fixed me with a blazing glare.
"You bastard... how dare you to Sera!"
Fuck. She stuck her own damn arm in there—what the hell? Now he's acting like it's my fault. I didn't expect her to shove her arm in there either. Is she nuts?
-Thud!!
The guy, seething with rage, suddenly slammed his sword into the ground. Then, in a solemn voice, he declared,
"Awaken, Durandal!!"
Up until now, Durandal had only been used as a simple weapon. To unleash the true power of this holy relic. If this man was the dungeon's boss... there was no room to hold back.
-Fwaa aah!!
"This is...?!"
Not knowing what he was up to, I urgently fired the High-Pressure Cleaner again, but once more, a pristine white barrier sprang up to block my attack. It was cracking all over, less durable than Erzsebet's blood membrane... but smashing it in short order was impossible.
And from where the sword was stabbed into the floor, the ground began to turn pure white, gradually expanding its reach.
Holy relic Durandal's ability: Holy Domain. A massive battlefield that weakens enemies and strengthens allies. Standing on the spreading white land, the heroes' powers amplified all at once. Luna's holy power healing Sera grew brighter, and Chris and Lily's physical abilities surged.
And Eugene, standing atop the instantly expanded Holy Domain...
'...Nothing's happening?'
The suddenly spreading white ground looked like something you absolutely shouldn't step on, but even though I couldn't dodge it, nothing happened when I did. What is this? Like those floor AoE attacks in games?
"Lily, cover me. Luna, take care of Sera!"
"Got it... Be careful!"
Chris, having deployed the Holy Domain, felt the omnipotent power coursing through him and issued orders to his party. He still wondered how this demon had pierced 'Arcram's' effect, but it didn't matter. With this power, a mere half-breed like that...
'Won't this wipe off?'
While the blond guy talked to his comrades, I casually sprayed the High-Pressure Cleaner over the white land. A message popped up in the corner of my vision.
-Contaminant Classification: ???
'What?'
In 'Cleaning Game,' when you try to wipe stains off the floor, the system tells you what it is. Like 'blood' for bloodstains, 'oil' for grease, just like when I cleaned Erzsebet's blood before.
But question marks? First time seeing that.
"...Whatever it is, it registers as a contaminant, right?"
I sprayed the High-Pressure Cleaner, but the white ground showed no sign of budging. So I pulled out my trump card from inventory.
Instead of the specialized [Detergent (Blood)] I'd used before, I grabbed the one labeled 'Universal.' I'd been saving it since it's pricey to buy with points... but when you gotta use it, you use it. No way I'm leaving this ominous white crap alone. I've got plenty stocked in inventory anyway. One won't hurt.
Alright then.
Click.
"Ugh?"
The dungeon master raised his staff once more. Vowing to catch the attack this time, he lifted his sword—the moment he did, an entirely different spectacle unfolded from before.
"Tidal wave...?"
A massive wave reminiscent of a tsunami surged forth.
Its size was alarming, but judging by the approach speed and power, it seemed dodgeable with room to spare. But...
"You wicked spawn!"
Chris glanced at Sera collapsed behind him and bellowed. Creating casualties first, then hitting them with an AoE that sweeps up the wounded too!
Chris roared even as he unleashed his aura again. Planning to cleave the giant wave in one go.
-Fwaa aah!!
The mark of a seasoned swordsman. Holy light called aura bloomed as Chris gripped and swung his blade. A wave like this was nothing before aura. If it were that fast attack from earlier, maybe...
-Spla aash!!
The massive wave split in two. The water streams pouring toward the hero party lost momentum and drained harmlessly into the ground. But as he poured out his aura, Chris realized something was off.
"What...? Why... my power...!"
"Chris... the ground...!"
The omnipotence from activating Durandal's power. The Holy Domain's strength that had infused him with immense power was fading. Chris urgently looked at his own Holy Domain and was horrified.
"It's... being erased...?"
The Holy Domain touched by the water from the wave he cleaved was washing away like filthy grime under a rinse.
"What the... what the hell!!"
A holy relic's power is the power of a god. No living being can resist it. It's literally divine power.
But witnessing his common sense shatter, Chris trembled, bellowing to shake off the fear.
'In dungeons, things beyond common sense happen.'
His master's teaching flashed in Chris's mind. Dungeons are places where the unimaginable occurs, so never let your guard down. But even so... nullifying a holy relic's power entirely? Possible?
"...Tch! Wail, Strahl!"
As Chris stood stunned by the shocking sight, and the endless water stream quieted after erasing the Holy Domain, Lily—who'd been hiding behind him—gnashed her teeth and activated her holy relic, 'Strahl.'
Her second holy relic. Its power was...
-Pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew pew!!
Nocking an arrow, she loosed it skyward. One arrow became two, four, eight, sixteen... doubling endlessly until it became 1,024 arrows bombarding the front.
No matter how arrow-proof that monster's body was, it couldn't survive that barrage. In the meantime, Chris could regroup...
"Collect."
As Lily fired and urgently grabbed Chris to snap him out of it, a curt word slipped from the half-demon's mouth. And that was it.
-Shooo...
"No way..."
The arrow rain filling the sky. Over a thousand arrows plummeting—then the heavens cleared in an instant. The relic-empowered arrows vanished without trace, leaving only the original single arrow to fall limply to the ground.
Durandal's Holy Domain, Arcram's ranged defense negation, Tam's magic nullification. And now, Strahl's arrow replication...
All of it lost power before that man.
"Chris. This is..."
"...Yeah. Looks like..."
Lily realized the truth, speaking in a trembling voice, and Chris reached the same conclusion with a grim expression.
"...The opponent has the power to nullify holy relic abilities."
Is it that half-demon's power, or this dungeon's? Already four times, that man had nullified their holy relics' powers.
'I have to report this to HQ.'
Even Chris, who'd come to spread his fame far and wide, grasped the gravity and hardened his face. What had given humans the edge in wars against demons and dungeons? The heroes and their holy relics.
But if... a being that could nullify holy relic powers truly existed?
"...We retreat. This... isn't something we can handle alone."
Lily, realizing the severity, suggested withdrawal. But though fear gnawed at him inside, Chris secretly saw this as a heaven-sent opportunity.
What had brought him to this dungeon in the first place? To make his name known, right? If this dungeon master truly nullified holy relics, it was unprecedented. But if he conquered it?
"...We press on."
"Chris!"
Lily stared at him like he'd lost his mind, but Chris was dead serious. Nullifying relics was scary... but he hadn't fought properly yet. Caught off-guard at first and took a hit, the Holy Domain got erased, but he hadn't truly battled. He still had one unactivated relic left.
It wasn't the flashy type... so it couldn't be nullified! Definitely! If it could nullify all relic powers, he'd have unsealed his sealed subordinate already. And the relics' abilities had activated normally so far...!
"We can win!"
Chris shook off his fear, envisioning a radiant future of glory, yanked the powerless Durandal, and charged. Whatever, the opponent's a mage. If he closed the distance, victory was possible!
"Lily! Cover me. Luna, barrier... girls?"
Charging in confidently, Chris called for backup, but the footsteps behind made him turn dumbly.
"You fight, dumbass!"
And there, Lily and Luna—who always fawned over him—were hoisting Sera on their backs and fleeing.
"........."
"......Well now."
Watching like it was a morning soap opera, I clicked my tongue in pity and raised the High-Pressure Cleaner. No clue what's going on, but the weird white ground's gone thanks to [Universal Detergent], and whatever trump card that was, the women are running, so...
"...Not yet. Not yet!"
Shocked by the women fleeing, Chris felt an indescribable emotion but clung to his last hope, pulling out his third holy relic. Arcram and Durandal nullified. But...
That's why he'd charged without losing hope in the first place.
"Scales of Fairness! Grant me power equal to my foe!"
The reason Chris caught the eye of 'Radiance.' A holy relic with cheat-level performance, one of the best in the entire Holy Empire. Why a 3-star hero like Chris dared enter the dungeon!
Holy relic: 'Scales of Fairness.' Its power...
"By the grace of the gods!"
The ability to gain power equal to the opponent.
In the past, using this relic's power, he'd matched Radiance's hero for a full minute—that's when his master took him as disciple.
That performance recreated. The scales tipped sharply, light infusing his body. With Eukrasia's divine grace alongside, against this dungeon master, there's a chance... a chance...
'Why...'
Is the armor... this heavy?
"What're you doing?"
The black-haired man stared at him in disbelief, aiming his staff.
Dodge... must dodge...
'Body's... slow.'
-Pshook!!