Chapter 60
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 60
Chapter Title: Episode 59. Birth
Thud!
The floor of the execution platform shook violently.
Then, black liquid erupted from the ground, shattering the guillotine.
Boom!
It wrapped around Monestier's body.
'No way?'
Valentine knew the identity of this suddenly appearing black liquid.
Having once climbed the tower herself, the divine miracles it showed were already familiar to her eyes.
Valentine hurriedly drew her sword to slash at the black liquid and prevent what was about to unfold.
Clang!
But in an instant, the black liquid hardened into a round shape, proving too solid even for her strength to cut.
"...Damn it."
The soldiers guarding the execution platform exchanged glances before charging at it simultaneously.
"Uwaaaah!"
"Uwaaaah!"
Five of them thrust their spears at once, but...
Clang!
Of course, they inflicted no damage whatsoever.
If even a Strange Family sword couldn't pierce it, what could a mere soldier's weapon do?
If Monestier became an apostle now, it would be a massive hindrance to the Strange Family—one that could even erase their history.
Thus, Valentine summoned her Guardian Spirit, something she had never shown to outsiders before.
There was a rumor on the continent:
Those who faced Valentine's Guardian Spirit were all dead.
This meant her Guardian Spirit possessed secretive and immense power.
Shwaaaah—
A grotesque human-faced bird appeared above her head.
A red crow with a human face, twice the size of an adult human.
"Come forth."
As Valentine raised her hand above her head,
the human-faced bird turned into red smoke and began absorbing into her palm.
Shhh...
Once all the smoke entered her body,
Flash!
Two enormous red wings sprouted from Valentine's back, reminiscent of the angels recorded in the tower.
"You lot, hurry back to the Strange mansion and report this!"
The soldiers replied in terrified voices as they fled.
"Yes, Lady Valentine!"
"Understood!"
Valentine waited before the black liquid encasing Monestier, sword in hand.
She judged this to be beyond human power.
So she quietly awaited the emergence of the new him.
But this was a misjudgment. She should not have stayed—she should have left.
Crack, crack, craaaack!
As time passed, Monestier broke free from the black shell like a hatching egg, possessing unimaginable power.
"...A dragon?"
Enormous flames poured down from the sky.
Rumble!
I distributed the rewards from climbing the tower among the party members.
Of course, there was nothing they wanted this time either. They had hoped for chests overflowing with glittering jewels or gold coins, but the box Cynthia opened with her power contained only three items.
'One ring and two bracelets.'
Alfredo's face twisted.
"So this damn ring is our share?"
He shoved the ring toward me mockingly, displeased with the contents.
"Yeah, if you don't want it, don't take it."
"No, it's not that I don't want it. But maybe next time, when choosing tower rewards, we should be a bit more careful? There were those flashy, big treasure chests, right?"
True, they looked far more appealing on the outside. The bigger ones seemed to hold more and more valuable items.
'But.'
"Don't we have enough money just from this commission?"
"W-Well, yeah."
"Then our goal is to obtain items only available from the tower."
"......"
"Right now, we need substance over flash."
Cynthia smacked Alfredo's back with her palm. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly and stepped back.
'By the way, there's one more item in the box than last time.'
Did the number of rewards increase with the floor? This prediction was reasonable based on experience.
In my past life, our party obtained six artifacts from the 50th floor.
I picked up the two remaining bracelets from the box.
Unlike the previous artifact, Talisman Darkstar, which was offensive, these had the opposite nature.
The artifacts now in my hands were defensive.
Click.
As I fitted the bracelets on both wrists, the two embedded rubies glowed.
Shiiiing—
'Perfect.'
Now I had the ability to face a dragon head-on.
These sparkling artifacts on my arms were called 'Rising Force'—they condensed the user's Aura to block enemy magic.
In my past life, it was an artifact from a party member who shone in the war against the Glazers.
Back then, we parted before facing the dragon, so I couldn't use its power properly. But this time, I could wield it myself.
'Everything's perfect so far.'
I was one step closer to my chance for revenge against the dragon.
Not just offensively, but defensively too.
'And moreover.'
Thanks to Cynthia joining quickly, I even had a chance to head to the Papal Court.
This meant gathering necessary allies even faster than in my past life.
Boom!
Suddenly, a massive explosion echoed.
At the same time, two unimaginably powerful presences surged within Legion city.
"What the—?"
One was apostle-level Aura. Even in my past life, I'd never encountered anyone this strong.
'Who the hell?'
Someone drawing this level of Aura from a human body.
My entire body instinctively went on alert.
I reflexively gripped my sword hilt and wrapped my body in Aura for defense.
It was a presence threatening enough to start a battle immediately if nearby.
I hurriedly armed myself and told the others,
"You all stay at the mansion and guard this place. Do not go outside under any circumstances."
I didn't know who it was, but the owner of that aura was strong.
Dangerously so—too much to handle while protecting comrades.
"Got it."
"Understood."
Rox and Cynthia replied together.
'Good.'
The old Cynthia from my past life might have whined to come along, but this time, she accepted my orders willingly.
I glanced back at Juda.
He shook his head side to side, not knowing the enemy's identity either.
If he did, he'd have given me a hint or opened his book to spill intel while insisting on tagging along.
'...Hold on?'
Who could wield such power? About ten powerhouses flashed through my mind.
I hadn't faced them personally, so I couldn't be sure, but rumors placed them at my father's level.
"Juda."
"Y-Yeah?"
"You're coming with me."
"W-Why me?"
"Record it."
"Record?"
"Yeah. Whoever I'm about to meet seems important enough for history books."
Juda scowled.
But he couldn't refuse my order.
Before I could continue, Cynthia grabbed his collar and yanked him up.
"If he says come, just come. Why so chatty? Forgot our deal? Everything Berddin says, you follow."
"A-Ah, yeah, yes."
"What'd you eat today?"
"N-Nothing."
"Then why can't you get it?"
"...Sorry."
That personality doesn't change. Even as party members, she bulldozes him.
"Hurry!"
"Yes, I mean yeah."
Juda sidled up to me with a pained expression. His fierce glare almost voiced, 'Why drag me into this?'
"Juda, got a problem with me?"
He glanced at Cynthia and shook his head.
"No. Of course not."
The two generals who came to Legion to deal with Marquis Pierre.
A muscular giant in just shorts, Aura blazing from his body as he crouched like he might spring any second.
"Wh-What is this?"
A bobbed-hair girl holding a skull head jumped up from her chair in shock, looking around wildly.
"I-I-I know who this is!"
The tavern patrons buzzed at their intense reactions.
Other adventurers sensed the sudden immense ki too and stayed wary, but didn't make a scene like them. Compared to the Strange incident days ago, this was nothing.
"Who?"
"Valentine."
"Valentine?"
"Yeah! We did an empire commission together once. Back then too... she emitted this chilling Aura."
The bobbed-hair girl swallowed hard and continued.
"Everyone there died."
"Everyone?"
"...Yeah, I survived only because I'm a general."
The muscular man pondered briefly before asking the girl.
"Then who's the other one?"
"The other?"
"Yeah, the ominous one that feels like death walking beside it."
The girl shook her head.
"No idea."
"Hmm... What do we do?"
"About what."
"What do you mean! How we handle those guys. This is neutral Legion, right?"
Legion's jurisdiction included not just imperial troops but Papal Court soldiers too.
This meant the continent-balancing Five Generals oversaw it as well.
They deliberated.
It was clearly a battle signal, but should they ignore and leave, or investigate?
Others might pass, but the muscular man, as a 'general,' couldn't ignore knowing.
"Let's check it out."
The bobbed-hair girl donned the skull head like a helmet, clenched her fist, and said,
"You sure?"
"We can run if needed. Even Valentine can't handle us both at once. No, that other presence is so strong, she might ignore us."
"...Scary."
"Scary my ass! You're a general—quit whining."
Bickering, they exited the tavern and summoned their Guardian Spirits.
"Hey, looks like we need some muscle today."
A massive steel gorilla with two huge fists appeared above the muscular man's head.
"Sigh... Thought I'd sightsee the city after so long. Sorry, Foxy."
A nine-tailed fox appeared above the bobbed-hair girl's head.
Unlike those using human Guardian Spirits, they wielded animal ones.
"Clark, just in case—never fight Valentine."