Chapter 203: Artemis's Silver Bow (3)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 203: Artemis's Silver Bow (3)
The moment I spoke, Sion drew her bowstring taut.
A black energy, like ink dissolving in water, began to swirl around her.
A blue light enveloped the practice bow, forming an arrow.
“Heh.”
I let out a dry laugh.
She's not actually trying to kill me, is she?
This is going to hurt a bit.
With no intention of dodging, I gathered my mana, preparing to receive her attack.
Sion, her bow drawn to its limit, opened her mouth.
“You know, I like Japan.”
And then.
TWANG!
The arrow shot forward.
The blue arrow flew straight toward me.
Trying to dodge the arrow of a first-rate archer just by following it with your eyes is practically impossible.
Not completely impossible, of course, but it's an act that relies on instinct.
In the end, what you need is the intuition to read your opponent's breathing and intent.
The very instant the arrow was loosed, I saw the subtle twitch of her shoulder muscles and ducked.
However.
WHOOSH!
The arrow I expected to graze my hair changed its trajectory at the last second, soaring toward the training ground's high ceiling.
Crackle….
And in mid-air, the arrow split into dozens, then hundreds of smaller shafts.
“…Arrow Rain.”
Sion's voice was a low murmur.
It was her unique skill.
When did she learn something like this?
No wonder the arrow seemed a bit thick. It was a spell designed with the assumption that I would dodge.
The hundreds of splintered blue lights paused in the air.
And in the next moment.
WHOOOOOOSH!!
The stars began to pour down like rain.
Dodging…
…seemed impossible.
It felt like I was facing Belial's black hands.
There seemed to be no room to escape.
I drew my spear.
And then.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
I began to bat them away like a madman.
The explosive sound of metal striking mana filled the training ground.
I'd parry one, and two more would fly at me. I'd parry those two, and four more would rain down.
While the power behind each individual arrow wasn't overwhelming, her mana control itself was superb.
I never knew Sion had gotten this strong.
I don't know how long I kept batting them away.
The blue rain stopped.
Gasping for breath, I straightened up.
And then.
I summoned Flapper's energy.
The energy Flapper possessed was similar in nature to the mana of the Apostle Belial, but… it was incomparable.
Because it was so much purer.
At the same time, however, it was undeniably Demonic Force.
Just a pure form of it, free of impurities.
A black, transparent aura began to rise around me like a heat haze.
I imbued my spear with that power.
Spear Aura.
Black mana extended from the tip of the spear like a blade.
I widened the Spear Aura and swung it at Sion as if to slice the air. The black Spear Aura flew toward her.
But Sion didn't dodge. Nor did she block.
Instead, a crimson-black flame erupted from beneath her feet.
The flames spread out like a curtain.
The Spear Aura struck the curtain.
BOOM!!
I expected it to explode.
But it didn't explode. Nor did it disappear.
As if sinking into a swamp… it was slowly… swallowed by the black flames.
“……”
Watching this, I nodded.
The Spear Aura, Flapper's mana, had been completely devoured.
Fwoosh…!
Having absorbed all the mana, the curtain of fire blazed even more fiercely than before.
As if doused in oil, its size instantly doubled.
A flame that devours Demonic Force….
I hadn't been certain. I'd only had a hunch. It seemed Sion had forged her own unique path.
“How was that?”
Sion asked me from the center of the blazing fire.
The flames swirled around her, under her control.
Her control was perfect.
“Not bad.”
I answered with a satisfied smile, lowering my spear.
That had been my primary concern.
Artemis's Bow is fundamentally a holy weapon, the antithesis of Demonic Force.
If Sion's power wasn't compatible with it, there would be no point in going to get the bow.
I could just find another weapon.
But Sion's flame is different.
A flame that devours Demonic Force, a flame that burns brighter by feeding on darkness.
In that case, it was safe to say her power was highly compatible with Artemis's Bow.
That was my judgment.
As I withdrew my spear, Sion extinguished the flames in an instant.
Brushing back my sweat-dampened hair, I smiled and asked her.
“Do you like Japan?”
Sion beamed and replied.
“Yeah. I love it.”
I nodded.
“Then get ready. We're going.”
“Awesome!”
Sion jumped up and down with joy.
Then she whipped her head around and asked.
“But why are we going?”
“To get a bow.”
At my answer, the smile on her face vanished.
She narrowed her eyes, shooting me a suspicious look.
“……Are we only going to get the bow?”
“……”
Sharp.
“Do you like hot springs?”
“Is that even a question?”
“That's a relief.”
As if understanding the meaning behind my words, Sion rushed toward me.
“This is gonna be so fun~”
I accepted her hug and thought to myself.
‘It's not just the two of us going, though….’
I was about to tell her, but I kept my mouth shut.
She'd find out later anyway.
There was no need to pour cold water on her excitement right now.
She'll find out when we get to the airport, after all.
I silently patted Sion on the back.
*
I sent the full itinerary for the Japan trip to each member.
It was an official mission to retrieve Artemis's Bow, combined with the reward of a well-deserved break.
The first reply came from Cheon Yeo-wool.
Cheon Yeo-wool said she had an important event for The Cult that day… but she was going to ditch it and come anyway.
I asked if it was okay for The Cult's only Saintess to do that, but her answer was simple.
‘I'm the king now.’
I had nothing to say to that.
Her influence within The Cult was probably sky-high.
In fact, thanks to the massive anonymous donations I'd been making to expand her power base, the Paladin faction's influence was said to be considerable.
Seeing how Yohan's faction had weakened, my investment had been a success.
The Cult belongs to Cheon Yeo-wool, after all.
And Cheon Yeo-wool is….
Well, I don't exactly think of her as mine, but.
She did say, ‘I'm yours, and you're mine’….
So I guess you could say The Cult is mine, too.
Next, replies came from Kang A-rin and Yu Hana at almost the same time.
Neither of them asked any questions.
Why we were going, where we were going, what we were doing.
As if they weren't even curious, they just accepted, saying they would join no matter what.
An unconditional okay.
It seemed they were still quite upset about missing their chance at the last banquet.
They seemed to view this trip as an extension of that day.
But this time, we really weren't going for… that….
And so, the six-person party for the Japan trip was formed.
All that was left was the plan.
The bow lies dormant in the middle of a shrine.
The question is how to get it….
How am I supposed to retrieve it from Shinjuku, in a Tokyo teeming with civilians?
I'd mulled it over.
I ran several simulations in my head.
In the end, it seemed playing the negotiation card was the right move.
The location of Artemis's Bow is the Hanazono Shrine in Shinjuku.
The organization managing it is…
…a group that worships Japan's legendary shrine maiden, Iano. They're called Yatagarasu.
In Korean, that would be the Three-legged Crow.
Iano. Yes, the owner of the tomb from which Cheon Yeo-wool swiped the Cross.
Actually, Artemis's Bow wasn't originally from the shrine.
In the past, it appeared at a black market auction as an artifact of unknown origin, and the dealer, failing to recognize its value, sold it for a pittance.
An agent of Yatagarasu snatched it up.
From their perspective, however, a bow belonging to Artemis from Greek mythology is a completely mismatched weapon.
It has no connection to their local faith; it's just a powerful Western weapon that someone in their organization bought without knowing what it was.
Therefore, I should offer them something more valuable.
I figured I could negotiate a trade: information on the location of another one of Iano's sacred treasures, which they were said to have lost long ago.
I don't know if they'll accept.
But I can just make them an offer they can't refuse.
“What should I give them?”
Well, Cheon Yeo-wool took the Cross, and I took the Elixir.
So I'd have to tell them about an item of comparable value.
I already handed over ownership of the tomb last time.
And I provided additional information about the ruins.
It wasn't a detailed setting, so I couldn't specify the exact location.
I just said it was near Hokkaido….
“Did they ever find it?”
I searched for news articles.
“Looks like they did.”
They found it. They did, but.
A Japanese guild operating near Hokkaido had discovered one of Iano's artifacts.
According to the article, what they found was Iano's Ring.
I'm not sure what effect it has….
Wait a minute.
A ring?
I hurriedly flipped through my notes.
I think this was one of the settings I knew.
And then I found the memo I'd written.
[Iano's Ring]
[Rank: C]
[Value is low, but the stat increase rate itself is overwhelming.]
[Increases the wearer's stamina by a very, very, very large margin]
“……”
I want it.
Of course, it's not like I feel I'm lacking.
But….
It would just be nice to have.
I stared blankly at the three instances of the word "very" written in my notes.
“……This, too.”
It seemed the list of items I'd be targeting in the negotiation had just grown by one.