Chapter 41
Chapter 41
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 41
Chapter Title: The City Without the Sun (7)
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"Is, I'll support you."
"Yes."
At this point, having already lost one arm of my armor, it was clear I needed to use every means at my disposal against her.
Ariana immediately infused her holy power into me, and I used the overflowing energy to reinforce my Shield of Faith and shotel.
"Gryrik!"
"Kar!"
I thrust out the Shield of Faith to block the murkis charging straight at me.
-Thud!
"Ngh...!"
Even with the shield made from Ariana's holy power, the impact was shockingly strong.
These weren't ordinary murkis, that much was obvious.
"Hee hee hee, if only you'd just become mine obediently—"
The Sacrificial Maiden was mocking me when she suddenly stopped, as if something had gone wrong.
"...Murkis! All of you, head to the barrier!"
She yelled urgently, sweat beading on her forehead. The murkis that had been facing me fled the room, leaving Ariana and me staring blankly at the scene.
"Is, what do you think is happening...?"
"I have no idea, but... probably..."
An out-of-spec existence had done something to the barrier.
'Thanks for showing up right on time.'
For example, the 'Hero', the 'protagonist'.
The thought brought a smile to my face automatically. Turning to the Sacrificial Maiden, she looked utterly shocked.
"Who could have...? The barrier was working perfectly! Someone with that kind of power... No, even if it's broken, it's just a tiny part."
She muttered to herself.
'Now's the time.'
Unexpected timing, but I'd seized the advantage. I hurled my shotel at her.
-Whoosh!
"!! Where do you—"
The Sacrificial Maiden reacted instantly and tried to dodge, but she was a step too slow.
-Stab!
"Kyaaak!"
"I was aiming for your throat, but you dodged pretty well."
Her left arm pierced by the shotel, the Sacrificial Maiden collapsed to the floor. Her face flushed red with humiliation.
"...How dare you, how dare you!"
She yanked out the shotel and tossed it aside, rising to her feet with ragged breaths. Her sharp gaze fixed on me.
"You think you've won just because of a little hiccup? My murkis will drag whoever caused this commotion before me any minute now! So—"
"It's the Hero."
"What?"
-Smirk.
A grin spread across my face involuntarily.
"The one who just arrived is the Hero."
"N-No way... What would the Hero be doing here?"
"Who knows. Maybe he came looking for the Saintess."
"As if that bullshit would—"
"Then die."
I pulled the shotel back using holy power. In the process, its blade grazed her left thigh, soaking her robe in blood.
"Tch...!"
Seizing the opening from her stumbling wound, I swung the returning shotel.
-Stab!
"Grraaagh...!"
Her agitation must have been intense, because the Sacrificial Maiden's throat was pierced all too easily.
'Thanks, Ruin.'
This was all thanks to Ruin shaking her up.
As I silently thanked him in my mind, her body crumpled.
"Cough! Y-You... bas...!"
I wasn't some imperial knight. As a knight of the Holy Kingdom, I had no duty to capture black mages alive.
According to the Holy Kingdom's laws, black mages were to be executed on sight.
-Stab!
To prevent any last tricks, I drove the shotel into her throat once more.
"Phew... It's over, Saintess."
With that, I'd taken down the final boss of Solaria, the City Without the Sun.
Now that the Sacrificial Maiden—the barrier's master and owner of the murkis—was dead, Solaria would return to peace.
A relieved smile crossed my face as I turned to Ariana. That's when—
"I-Is... look..."
Her gaze was fixed at my feet.
Sensing something ominous, I turned to look down at the Sacrificial Maiden's corpse.
"What the...?"
Her body had become a magic circle itself.
Blood from her body had drawn the formation, and her corpse lay at its center as the sacrificial offering.
'Never seen this pattern in the game.'
A black mage turning into a magic circle after death? I'd never heard of such a thing.
As if to answer my question, the Sacrificial Maiden's mouth opened, and a voice emanated from it.
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Finally found ya! Knew you'd be killin' off her allies if it was you!] "...Raising Death?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ah, thanks fer rememberin' me. Too lazy ter explain again.] 'Why's this guy suddenly...?'
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Wonderin' why I showed up? Nothin' much... Made a lil' deal with the Sacrificial Maiden.] "A contract?"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Tweaked it so even if she died, she could offer herself as the final sacrifice.] "!!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Anyway, her spell's cast. Good luck survivin'. If ya die, I'll make good use o' ya. You an' the Hero'd make fine strong undead.] "What are you saying about Is?!"
Ariana, overhearing Raising Death, exploded in fury at his talk of turning my corpse into an undead.
"Is isn't yours to toy with!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Ah, sorry 'bout that. As an apology, if ya both die, I'll mash ya together inter a corpse lump undead.] "We don't need that!"
⚙ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ⚙ [Tch, shame. Well... good luck then.] With those final words, Raising Death's voice fell silent.
"What kind of magic did she—"
I was pondering what spell the Sacrificial Maiden had cast upon dying when—
-Boom!
A massive rumbling came from outside, like something collapsing.
"Is!"
"Saintess!"
I scooped up Ariana and sprinted toward the sound at full speed.
The barrier was fading now that the Sacrificial Maiden was dead.
Ariana summoned a sun of holy power to light the way, and soon we spotted a massive tower looming in the distance.
"What is that...?"
"A tower...?"
As Ariana and I voiced our confusion—
"Graaaahk!"
"Kyreeeek!"
"Groooar!"
"Kerkerker!"
Murki of every type in the city swarmed out, blocking our path—as if declaring we'd never reach that place.
But we weren't about to give up that easily. I set Ariana down and drew my shotel.
"Is! My holy power's back to normal, so don't worry about support!"
"Got it!"
I didn't know what that tower was, but it looked ominous as hell...
So we'd smash through as fast as possible.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "Over there, over there? I'm sorry I rejected you, but cheer up! How long are you gonna mope like that!"
"Fuck..."
The woman walking beside Ruin even after kicking his confession to the curb.
Ruin was on the verge of despair watching her chat away innocently like a puppy.
"Shut the fuck up already. It's dark as shit here, can't see a damn thing, and now my ears are gonna go deaf."
"What? You couldn't see? Why didn't you say so!"
Like she hadn't realized, she raised her staff.
"Let there be light! Light!"
-Flash!
A brilliant light exploded from the green gem at her staff's tip, illuminating not just ahead but the whole area.
Ruin—
"Aaaah, fuck you! My eyes! My fucking eyes!"
—clutched his eyes and recoiled.
"Oops? Sorry! Too bright?"
"Fuck, who you tryin' to blind?! Turn it off, you crazy bitch!"
"Sorry, sorry!"
She shut off the light, and Ruin barely managed to open his eyes.
He glared at the woman beside him, then sighed.
"Haa... Fine, I'll do it."
'Just emit some holy power, should light it up.'
"Hup!"
Ruin channeled holy power from his right hand to illuminate the path.
"A bit unstable, but this'll do."
And then.
"Grrr..."
"Karuru! Karu!"
"What the hell is this."
"Beats me...?"
Green humanoid and cat-shaped murkis appeared before them.
Not having seen murkis before, the two were puzzled. That's when—
"Grrr!"
"Karu!"
—the two murkis charged.
But.
"What?"
-Pew!
As Ruin fired a beam of holy power from his fingertip, the murkis melted away, leaving only their legs.
"What kinda worthless shits are these?"
Ruin casually stepped forward, only for countless more murkis to swarm into view.
"Kark!"
"Kirrr!"
"Koraaa!"
"Gurook gurook..."
"What the fuck are these things? Why're there so many?"
"Hmm... Probably 'cause you smashed that barrier. They look connected to it."
"Then what? They're all fodder anyway."
Ruin raised his sword.
"Last one."
-Stab!
"Gurok..."
Ruin dispatched the horde in an instant.
After finishing the final murki, he wiped sweat from his brow and turned—
"Now we can— fuck!"
—only to spot a sinister aura surrounding the woman.
"Dodge—"
As he shouted for her to move—
-Boom!
Black energy erupted from the ground in a blink.
Ruin looked up following the surge.
"...A tower?"
The black energy coalesced into a tower form.
The woman had vanished within it.
"Fuck."
There was an entrance-like opening in the tower. Without hesitation, he charged in.
And then.
"Hahk...! F-Fuck... fuuuuck!"
Less than five minutes later, he burst out in abject terror.
"Hahk... hahk... W-What the hell..."
His legs gave out, and he collapsed before the entrance.
"...I-I did nothing wrong. I did my part as Hero, a-and she might escape on her own, right?"
Self-justifying, he barely stood.
As he turned to leave with a guilty feeling—
"Hey! Hero!"
"...That voice?"
A familiar figure, covered in black slime, ran up to him.
"You again?"
"Hero! Perfect timing!"
It was Is, the direct Holy Knight carrying Saintess Ariana bridal-style.
His mere presence felt like a denial of Ruin's existence. Grimacing, Ruin watched as Is, oblivious, beamed brightly.
"We need to destroy that tower. Will you come with us?"
"What?"
Ruin recoiled in shock at the words.
Is tilted his head questioningly.
"Something wrong—"
"You fucking idiot!"
Ruin bellowed.
Ignorant of everything, toward Is, Ruin roared at the top of his lungs.
"That's hell in there! The moment you enter, holy power, mana, aura—nothing works! Everything about you gets denied! And then those damn shadow monsters I saw earlier come biting at you! You'll die like a dog, die like a fucking dog!"
Ruin knew.
The instant you entered, all powers vanished—holy power, mana, aura—and you had to fight bare-handed against monsters. He'd been in already.
For him, who'd lived trusting only his Hero's power, that tower where it vanished was pure terror.
"Some goddamn gorgeous mage bitch is trapped in there! That's why I fucking tried to save her! But no! You can't! It's impossible!"
"...Gorgeous mage bitch?"
"Yeah! Fucking golden hair swaying, emerald eyes, pretty mage! Personality's fucked too—rejects me then yaps away beside me! That's the shitty experience I went through trying to save her!"
Ruin yelled earnestly, insisting it was true hell inside.
He explained at length the helplessness he'd felt, but Is, upon hearing it—
"...I'll go."
—steeled his resolve and walked toward the tower.
Ruin reached out.
"Hey! I said it's hell ahead!"
Not out of dislike for Is, but as the Hero, his final shout got this reply from Is.
"I know."