Chapter 98
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 98
Chapter Title: The Ghostly City
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The hype man stepped forward to dissuade her.
"How are you supposed to beat Vance with that tiny body of yours without even using aura or mana?!"
"Hey, come on! Suspicious? The artifact didn't react at all."
"No, that's not what I mean..."
Of course, the crowd wasn't entirely on their side.
"Maybe she has something that hides artifacts..."
"If you're not gonna believe it no matter what, why even hold this event?"
Luna tilted her head quizzically. The hype man gave her a reluctant look before letting out a sigh.
"You're dead meat with the head butler..."
With that, he handed over the jewelry to her.
"A promise is a promise, so take it. I won't ask for it back, so tell me— is it really just pure strength?"
The hype man started to whisper so others couldn't hear, but he flinched upon catching sight of her figure hidden beneath the robe.
Luna, however, didn't pay it any mind and answered plainly.
"I don't need aura or anything. I'm strong anyway."
Her straightforward reply left the hype man staring at her with a blank expression.
Ignoring him completely, she snatched up the ornament and scampered over to me, promptly sticking it on my head.
"Hey, this is women's jewelry."
Here I was, sporting a fancy noble lady's bauble on my head like some ill-fated aristocrat.
Why put it on me?
When I asked in disbelief, she silently looked me over before pulling it off again.
"Not as good as I thought."
"Obviously."
"Too bad."
With that, she unceremoniously tossed the ornament back to the hype man.
"Uh... huh?"
"Don't need it anymore."
She truly had zero material desires.
The first day of the festival flew by in a flash.
Luna, as if she'd been waiting for this exact moment, zipped around from stall to stall like an invasive species wreaking havoc on the ecosystem, dominating every event that required raw physical prowess.
At this point, it was impossible not to notice. Someone in the count's territory must have paid off certain folks to set up all these events.
It even made sense why the arm-wrestling hustlers were packing high-end artifacts.
And as the sun fully set, the streets lit up with magic stone lights and the night sky sparkled with stars...
Something forced my footsteps to a halt as I headed back to the inn.
Crack...Snap!
The sky began to shatter, and an eerie glow started spilling out like dry ice.
"What the hell is that?"
"Huh?"
At the same time, the count's bustling city—lively even at night with festival cheers—fell deathly silent.
Was this what Saintess Navel had warned about?
A thick fog spread rapidly from the ground, engulfing everyone in the area.
"Wha... what?! Aaaargh!!"
Screams erupted from all directions simultaneously.
The fog, spreading low like dry ice, swiftly enveloped the entire surroundings.
It wasn't just being shrouded in mist.
This was like being sucked into a pocket dimension.
The fog expanded at a speed that made evasion nearly impossible, blanketing the entire count's territory in an instant.
And when the fog finally began to lift...
I was left alone on the outskirts of the city.
The area around me had only a few scattered magic stones glowing faintly; most lights were out.
A considerable amount of fog still lingered thickly, though less than before.
Ghost town.
No word captured the sight better.
What was going on? The cause? Deliberate intent? Or a monster with this kind of power?
There was a similar monster called Mist, but this didn't feel like it.
So it had to be some other force—not even death spirit mana-based magic at its root.
It felt alien and unpleasant. This was beyond human power, closer to a divine authority.
What was the goal? Feeding? Slaughter? Either way, it was a bad omen.
Melissa.
Luna.
Luna had been holding my arm, so maybe she got teleported with me—but no, that didn't seem right.
Drag...Drag...
Then, a sound reached my ears—something being dragged along as it approached.
The source was an unidentified aberrant creature.
Hard to describe its form.
Basically insect-like, but several meters in size.
Its shape went far beyond a mere bug, grotesque beyond measure.
Locust-bodied with over ten legs.
Its massive compound eye was clearly sizing me up as prey.
"Trouble every damn week."
Could someone orchestrate this artificially? No idea, but the situation was clearly dire.
Questions aside, I'd seen similar symptoms before in Labyrinthos.
But if asked if it was the same, no—this was larger scale and subtly different.
These bugs hunted prey by lunging in an instant to subdue.
The mutated ones seemed no different.
The statue-still creature compressed for a split second, then exploded forward at me.
Even seasoned fighters would get caught off guard in a blink.
But I matched its movement, stepping forward and extending my hand.
Against that shape, raw power output was more efficient than techniques.
"Hup."
I took a short breath and clenched my fist.
Then unleashed a bare-knuckled punch at the charging beast.
The [Hand of Fury]—Archangel's weapon and my leather glove—was with Luna now.
At least she had a weapon; that was some relief.
Right now, priorities were the two of them.
Luna and Melissa.
If my judgment was right, both were somewhere in this city.
[Shockwave]
[Void]
BOOM!!!
My incoming fist ripped through the air with a shockwave.
The split space cracked with a reddish fissure, unleashing the blast that shredded the monster in an instant, spraying its fluids everywhere.
Of course, the shockwave from the rift kept its ichor from reaching me.
Even so, bathing in bug blood wasn't my thing.
With a massive hole blasted through its body, the bug slumped lifelessly.
Hearing the roar, bugs swarmed from all sides, but I didn't dodge—instead, I tore through them in seconds.
Dragging this out wasn't ideal when I needed to find those two, but investment was necessary.
Necromantic mana surged from my body, exuding overwhelming dominance.
Its commanding pressure was burdensome even for living beings nearby, but no time to worry about that.
-Rise, all of you.
The dead bugs convulsed, rising one by one as wraiths.
Their corpses ignited, merging into the spirits.
Grotesque as they looked, numbers mattered.
"Search for survivors from now on. Protect only the dangerous threats and ignore the rest. Prioritize Melissa and Luna."
The wraiths, now absolutely obedient, scattered in all directions at my command.
With visibility near zero in the fog, searching blindly was the only option.
Melissa had her Death Knight, and Luna's strength could hold out for a bit.
Still, delaying wasn't an option.
The wraiths dispersing into the disorienting fog maze weren't numerous.
But that was fine.
I could always make more.
Eyes on the incoming bug horde, I drew my ghost sword Electra.
"I don't do corpses."
Wraiths inherently lack fixed forms. I just overlay a shape on mine, but the essence is the same.
"Come on."
Slash!!
I decapitated a mantis-like bug lunging at me and immediately turned it undead.
From there, I began multiplying them like a zombie apocalypse.
Necromancers have limits on undead control, especially high-quality ones reducing the quantity further.
A standard 6th-circle necromancer would've burned out forcing these abominations undead.
The mana drain was indeed far beyond expectations.
Didn't matter.
Necromantic mana overflowed in me anyway. Regeneration outpaced consumption, so no issue.
After sprinting awhile...
A strong sense of déjà vu hit—like circling the same area.
"Archivist."
[Confirmed. Identical terrain to the previous location.]
[Conclusion: You are circling the same spot.]
Barrier magic, laced with something extra.
I reached into the air, probing the interference.
Unique method. Not quite magic.
Necromancy would've been easy, but no such luck. My dispatched wraiths were probably lost in this space too.
Tried brute-forcing it, but the Archivist warned against it.
[Diffuse across the area. Unknown effects possible.]
"Archivist, can't you switch next memories to mage stuff? You definitely have some."
[Selective memory transfer from the Halls is impossible by system rules.]
Labyrinthos had safeguards against madness, but not here.
For now, keep moving.
[Keep moving.]
I tore apart every bug monster in sight, converting them to wraiths.
By the time I'd amassed over thirty...
A strange premonition struck.
"How many people are even in this city? Even scattered randomly, not encountering a single one yet doesn't add up."
My dispersed wraith undead were trapped in the barrier too, though some broke through trajectories.
But even they found only a handful; most people remained unseen.
With no magic knowledge beyond necromancy, safely interfering with this barrier was beyond me for now.
After pushing on awhile...
I finally encountered people.
"This way!"
A man fleeing bugs with about five others.
"P... Prince Your Highness!"
Prince?
If an imperial prince was here...
[Confirmed: Dorn Lu Pascalia, the prince betrothed to Lilia Berner.]
"Just a bit further and we'll find a spot to hide! Everyone, hang in there!"
"Ugh... aaarrgh!!"
Of course, humans couldn't outrun giant bugs.
In a flash, a massive locust pounced on a civilian, its grotesque maw gaping to devour him whole.
Prince Dorn darted in, drawing his silver sword and slashing the bug.
"Haaah... I... I'm alive."
"You okay?!"
"Thank you! Thank you, Your Highness!"
"Get up first. No time. The screams will draw more."