Chapter 339: The Tin Knight and the Kingdom of the Underground (4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 339: The Tin Knight and the Kingdom of the Underground (4)
Around the time Adelaide and her party were deep in conversation with the tiger, there were others in a far worse predicament—namely, Sophia and Camilla.
Sophia, who had little combat prowess to begin with and had exhausted her mental energy to its limits fighting the vampire Tuberose, was in a terrible state. But even Camilla, who possessed both outstanding magical abilities—enough for Dorothea to call her a master—and the unique powers of a vampire, was no better off.
The reason was simple: the ‘pillar of light’ that had struck her during the teleportation had been nothing short of a critical hit.
“Keuk…!”
Vampires, or the ‘People of the Underground’ as they were called, had always been at odds with holy power.
The white holy power that Sophia wielded was relatively mild, but the emerald holy power used by the heavenly beings was a potent poison.
To make a specific comparison, if the white holy power was hot water, the emerald holy power was hydrochloric acid.
The pillar of light itself hadn't been fired with hostile intent, but just as hydrochloric acid is harmful whether you use it for a water fight or a pressure cutter, the effect was the same.
Because Camilla was such a powerful vampire, she hadn't been annihilated, but she was in a state where she desperately needed to rest and recover.
However, the creatures of the underground would not leave Sophia and Camilla in peace.
-kyeeeeeeeeeeeee!
A high-pitched, monstrous shriek echoed through the air.
It was not the cry of a water deer leaping onto a road into the path of a carriage, nor was it the call of a bird in the sky.
It was the scream of a plant root, embedded in the earth, tearing itself from the ground without anyone touching it.
The sound was so intense that blood trickled from both Sophia’s and Camilla’s ears.
But neither had the time to wipe the blood away, nor the luxury of stumbling as they lost their balance.
Trees with eye-like growths sprouting from them were extending their roots like tentacles, trying to seize the two of them.
Camilla turned parts of her body into mist to evade the attacks, but since she had to run while carrying Sophia with one hand, a complete escape was impossible.
Camilla shouted in frustration.
“You’re a vampire too! So why don’t you have a single one of the abilities you’re supposed to have?!”
Sophia, held in Camilla’s hand like a sack of luggage, replied calmly (though her words were broken as her body bounced up and down).
“Well, I wasn’t, upgraded, through the, official, route. It was, more of a, back-alley, job, so maybe, that’s, why?”
What in the world does that even mean?!
Camilla felt like screaming.
It was an analogy that those who had spent a long time with the Tin Knight would have understood perfectly, but to Camilla, the answer was utterly incomprehensible.
Camilla fell into deep contemplation.
Should I just leave her behind?
The emerald pillar had not only teleported its target but also seemed to have other effects; remnants of the holy power itself still clung to Camilla’s body like a stain.
To a normal human, it might have felt like being doused in a strong perfume, but to Camilla, it was a horrifying sensation, as if a poisonous mist had attached itself to her and was following her every move.
Her body was in poor condition, the surrounding creatures were attacking her as if she were their mortal enemy, and her only companion was, for all intents and purposes, a useless burden.
It would be hard to call her heartless for abandoning a comrade, as she and Sophia were not particularly close or friendly to begin with.
Their first meeting had been a misunderstanding, and their second was a duel where they had fought on opposing sides.
There was no reason for her to feel a pang of guilt for simply leaving her.
And yet.
“Ugh…!”
The great and mighty Queen of Vampires, Tuberose.
The image of Sophia standing her ground against the queen without yielding an inch, and the image of Tuberose acknowledging her for it, flickered before Camilla’s eyes like an afterimage.
Tuberose had declared that Camilla no longer needed to be bound to her as a minion, but freedom from the dominion of blood didn't mean her personal respect and goodwill would instantly vanish.
To let someone acknowledged by that great queen become food for mere plants, not even for some grand hero?
Camilla’s aesthetic, her pride as a vampire, simply could not tolerate such a thing.
So what choice did she have?
Gritting her teeth, she had no choice but to drag her weary, aching body onward, carrying Sophia with her.
She ran, and ran, and ran.
Just as Camilla was about to reach her limit in this seemingly endless forest…
A cool wind swept past Camilla.
Swish!
In the next instant, the bizarre forest plants that had been about to surround them were cleanly sliced away, leaving only their stumps.
As Camilla’s eyes widened, someone descended from the sky, grabbed her hand, and soared upward in a single motion.
After flying for some time, they finally escaped the forest and landed on the ground.
Camilla let out a sigh of relief, and Sophia quietly righted her posture.
She bowed her head to their savior in gratitude.
“Thank you, Lady Algind Goodwitch. You saved us from a crisis.”
“…”
There was no reply.
Her already doll-like features were even more devoid of emotion than usual, to the point where one might wonder if she was even breathing.
Just as both Sophia and a puzzled Camilla were tilting their heads in confusion, Algind’s lips finally parted.
“…So phia Hu bris. To youIcan revealthe truth.”
Algind’s speech was bizarre.
Parts that should have been separate syllables were strung together in a rush, while at other times, her words would suddenly stutter where there was no need for a pause.
To Camilla, it was merely strange, but Sophia knew the concept to describe this phenomenon.
Indeed, Algind was like a heavily buffering video.
A video that plays, then stops, then suddenly fast-forwards through the delayed footage.
“This bodyis notmy main one, my main bodyis onthe surface. The distanceis too greatand the interference too severefor remote controlto function properly. It takes anywhere fromten secondsto overa minute for me to perceiveyour situation and issuea new command. My familiarswere alsoleft on the surface, so this bodyis currently extremelyvulnerable.”
Sophia focused on listening silently to the bizarre speech.
Since a smooth conversation was impossible in this state, she decided it was best to hear Algind—no, ‘Goodwitch’—out completely before responding.
“ThereforeI will entrustall judgmentto you.”
“Please giveme ordersas if you were commandinga magic doll.”
“It would be bestif you could bringthis body safelyto the surface, but if thatis not possible, pleaseat least use itto acquire as much informationas you can. In return, I shall becomeyour weapon. Do you acceptmy proposal?”
Sophia nodded without hesitation.
“Understood. I’ll do my best.”
Again, there was a long silence.
After a gap of about a minute.
Algind spoke.
“Con tract established. We beginnow.”
With a soft thump, the tension seemed to drain from Algind’s shoulders.
The next moment, she stared at Sophia with inorganic eyes.
Sophia began to speak.
“Could you raise your right arm for a moment?”
Algind raised her right arm.
“Now, clench your right hand into a fist.”
Algind made a fist.
“It seems there’s almost no delay between command and action. Still, it would be faster for you to act on your own than for me to judge and command every single thing…”
After a moment of thought, Sophia added a few more instructions for Algind.
“First, if Lady Algind, Ms. Camilla here, or I are in danger, you are to protect us. The priority is yourself first, then Ms. Camilla, and finally, me. Understood?”
Algind nodded.
Camilla, who was listening from the side, let out a dry laugh at how casually Sophia placed her own safety last.
Of course, given her immortality, it was the most logical choice, but it was impossible not to feel a certain way about it regardless.
“Second, unless given other instructions, you are to remain by my side. If we happen to get separated, focus on rejoining me. Lastly, can you report your current mana status? I also need to know how much of your total mana is required for a fight like the one you just performed, and how long it takes to recover.”
“Current mana is at approximately 20% of total capacity. The mana consumed in the recent rescue operation was about 5% of the total. A full mana recovery would normally take about 20 hours, but as I am currently using a spell to purify the toxins in the atmosphere, it is estimated to take about 21 hours.”
“I see. It would be best to avoid combat. Ms. Camilla, what’s your condition?”
Camilla sighed.
“Based on natural recovery, I’ll need three days. If I could drink some blood from somewhere, it would be much faster, though.”
“Lady Algind, would giving blood to Ms. Camilla cause any problems for your body?”
“A small amount would be fine.”
“There you have it.”
Camilla made a conflicted expression, but she soon accepted Algind’s blood and began to recover.
As befitting a powerful witch, the blood was rich with high-quality mana and was a great help in restoring Camilla’s condition, which had been on the verge of collapse.
However, there was nothing she could do about the remnants of holy power that refused to leave her body.
She tried to shake it off with magic and even turned her entire body into mist, but the traces wouldn't disappear easily.
To be precise, it was possible to erase them, but the efficiency of using mana to do so was extremely poor.
“It’s like a damn leech.”
Seeing Camilla’s disgusted reaction, Sophia seemed to ponder for a moment before she began to emit a torrent of white holy power.
Camilla recoiled in horror and put distance between them, while Algind watched with an emotionless face.
Ignoring the damage her own body sustained from emitting the holy power, Sophia checked the state of the emerald holy power around her.
When she had tried to wash it away with mana, the emerald holy power had simply repelled it, refusing to mix like oil and water. But when it came into contact with another holy power, it began to blend as if they were one.
Sophia delicately manipulated her holy power, guided the emerald remnants to one spot, and then flicked it away.
“Lady Algind, could you come over here?”
After erasing the emerald light from Algind’s body, Sophia turned her gaze to Camilla.
Camilla wore an expression of extreme reluctance.
After all, it was tantamount to having hot water poured all over her body. Regardless of whether she could regenerate or not, it was bound to be unpleasant.
Still, it was surely better than suffering from the remnants of hydrochloric acid.
Soon, having cleanly erased the heavenly traces from Camilla’s body as well, the party began to walk somewhere.
They weren't just wandering aimlessly; they were moving toward a powerful source of mana they could feel in the distance.
And before long, the group arrived at a garden filled with flowers of every color.
“Oh, my.”
“Hoh.”
Sophia and Camilla each let out an exclamation of wonder.
The sight was that beautiful: a vast, seemingly endless field filled with colorful flowers, where tiny, winged, human-shaped fairies flitted about.
Unlike the other plants, which were malicious and poisonous as if to survive in the harsh environment, the flowers here were so splendid they looked as if they could be transplanted to the surface at any moment.
As the party drew near, the fairies approached them with curiosity and began to speak.
《Vampires? What are you stuck-up snobs doing here?》
《There’s no blood for you to drink here! Go suck on some livestock!》
《Get lost, you tasteless freaks who only like black and red!》
Camilla’s face contorted at the fairies’ venomous words, all delivered with beaming smiles.
Sophia, however, paid the insults no mind and asked a question.
“Who is the highest person here?”
《Highest? Are you looking for the one who can fly the highest? We don’t know! We’ve never compared!》
“Hmm. Then who is the most splendid person here?”
《That would be Polychrome! The Rainbow Fairy! The pride of us all, favored by the great king!》