On the subway tracks, a squad of knights, including a mage equipped with a special gear called “Poison Fog User,” lay in wait. The same opponents Fiona and her party had fought before.
However, this Poison Fog User looked more like a special forces member equipped with chemical weapons than a mage. After all, they wore a gas mask, and their weapon for unleashing poison gas was clearly a sprayer, not a staff. They carried a tank filled with poison gas on their back, connected to the sprayer part that resembled a trumpet.
Well, this must be one of the ancient weapons. It seems that the poison gas sprayer they were equipped with operates using a special ancient magic, making it unusable if found by others. The tank doesn’t contain just poison gas itself, but a complex multi-layered engraving of a spell that refines poison gas. Since the magic required to operate it remains undiscovered, even ancient weapon enthusiasts can safely display it as décor.
However, the ancient mage, still moving as an undead, was a legitimate user of poison gas weapons, casually unleashing highly lethal gas that would likely be banned under international law on Earth. Using poison gas in a confined space is a vicious attack method, but… a countermeasure already exists in the form of wind magic. Like Nel, I decided to follow suit.
Yes, now is the time to utilize the black magic of wind I devised using pseudo-wind attributes!
“I’ll open the path—‘Wind Link Blade’!”
Just before I fired a magic bullet infused with wind, Celis skillfully created a literal hole in the billowing purple poisonous gas cloud with a ranged wind attribute attack spell.
With precision greater than Nel’s, or perhaps even more so, she magnificently opened a clean breach. Furthermore, instead of just dispersing it with force, it seemed the wind remained in place for a while, ensuring the opening would not close up immediately.
“Alright, let’s go, hey!”
With Kai leading the way, the three of us—Ludra and Falkius—charged in, quickly dispatching the Poison Fog User and cutting down the accompanying knights in swift succession.
“Heh, easy peasy.”
“Don’t let your guard down. Inhaling even a tiny bit of this poison fog could be dangerous.”
“Thanks, Celis. That was precise support.”
“I’m good at wind magic. Plus, I’ve faced the same enemy before.”
Before I knew it, the battle ended. Since we weren’t after money, we didn’t bother collecting equipment from the defeated knights, and my companions moved ahead as if nothing had happened… what is this sense of alienation? I didn’t do anything.
“I-I’ll properly support from the back next time…”
Despite my determination, the knights we encountered in the subway were all small groups, quickly cut down by the front line without stopping to engage. I was just holding ‘The Greed’ and hadn’t fired a single shot yet. Maybe it was okay to just put it away…
“Phew, finally back on the surface.”
“I don’t like being underground; it feels suffocating.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Undead like dark, damp places, don’t they?”
“Ha, don’t compare me to other vampires. Although I’ve discarded pride, those guys are generally very high-strung.”
Ludra gracefully brushed aside Falkius’s sarcasm. Listening to their exchange, I finally returned from the subway to the surface.
“From here to the 21st Defense Tower, the straight distance is about 300 meters.”
However, Celis continued, the security of the knights becomes stricter from around here. To us, who rely on speed enhancement techniques or magic, 300 meters can be traversed in an instant. However, if we were to stride boldly forward and be spotted by the knights, it would lead to infinite reinforcements, and that would be the end.
On the surface, we must avoid enemies and advance stealthily. Since our goal is to challenge the boss monster named Lily, we want to avoid any unnecessary engagement.
So, we would sneak past the knight’s security, but we already had countermeasures in place.
“According to Sariel’s analysis, the knights here seem to patrol using a combination of several different security patterns.”
In fact, based on that, we had successfully reached our destination without encountering any trouble. Of course, we could not know the initial positions or numbers of the enemies, so it was merely a low probability of security based on predictions, but it should be significantly safer than advancing without any thought. We had to make use of this information.
“Hmph, I can’t handle complicated stuff like this.”
The first to declare it was Kai.
“Although the patterns are few, there are still hundreds of knight units actively moving. If we predict all their movements and calculate a safe route… walking straight ahead would indeed be faster.”
And indeed, Ludra was correct. The patrolling knights were part of multiple units continually moving in real-time. If we took too long to determine a safe route, we would deviate significantly from the moment our calculations began.
In other words, there’s a time limit on the calculations.
“Ah, do you have confidence in your calculations?”
“I only dabble in academic subjects as a hobby, so I can’t handle overly complicated calculations well.”
“I’m also quite good academically, but… this is tough.”
Right? Of course, even for me, who had only mastered high school math, it was impossible.
In fact, asking us to calculate and predict a route with just this limited information is unreasonable. It’s bizarre that Sariel could do it.
So, Sariel… you were really smart, huh…
“Then, should I take a shot at it?”
Reaching out for the group of foolish swordsmen was Simon. Since he was already hidden under his ‘Predator Coat,’ he appeared as if Vivian was speaking as our guide.
“Can you do it?”
“My sixth sense, presence detection, spatial awareness, and various abilities are lacking compared to Sariel, so the accuracy will drop, but I can calculate it quickly.”
“Impressive… then I’ll leave it to you.”
Sariel had already confirmed a safe route by combining various super-sensory inputs. Although he couldn’t match that, Simon could certainly handle calculations based on patterns.
“Hmph, it seems Chrono-kun was right to trust you.”
“Yeah, he’s our brainy guy.”
I thought we’d only rely on ancient ruins-related knowledge, but it’s pleasant to see someone shine in such areas, making me feel both happy and a bit pathetic at the same time.
“Then, let’s follow Vivian.”
Thus, relying entirely on Simon’s Sariel-style route calculation, we began to move. Along the way, we didn’t experience zero encounters like Fiona and her group, but we only faced a handful of encounters. The number of enemies we ran into was thankfully as low as in the subway.
After battling a few enemies we could handle effortlessly, we arrived safely at the next destination. That was, of course, the 21st Defense Tower, the entrance to the safest downtown area.
“The door right beyond is a vast hall.”
We swiftly eliminated the small guarding squad stationed at the tower and had already entered inside.
“So this is the so-called boss room? Heh, I’m getting excited.”
“We’re up against a large imperial knight, but with this lineup, we should be able to handle it easily.”
It was as the information indicated. Celis had also experienced the boss here once, and Vivian’s information was well-documented. Although I wasn’t sure if we could defeat it as elegantly as Sariel and Nel did.
“Unfortunately, this is as far as my knowledge extends about this area.”
“No, it’s plenty. Thanks, Celis.”
Celis had not explored the downtown area beyond this point. Her previous experiences during the first Avalon assault had helped us along the way. Evading security by taking refuge in open structures or cutting through back alleys.
However, from this next area onwards, the level of security would escalate beyond what Sariel’s route calculations could cover, and Celis had no experience here. Moreover, we hadn’t explored enough to create a detailed map, making it a harsh area. If we got lost, the worst-case scenario could lead to our complete annihilation.
Retreating before reaching Lily is something I absolutely want to avoid. Let’s stay focused—first, we need to concentrate on defeating the boss here.
As I opened the door leading to the boss room, I entered a circular hall exactly as Vivian described in her records. In the center stood a large knight as expected.
We weren’t here to duel. Once we charged in, the five of us could easily take it down in an instant, but…
“Can you let me handle this?”
I stepped forward alone intentionally.
“Going solo, huh? That’s unfair, Chrono.”
Kai looked a bit sulky, but Ludra and Celis nodded, as if to say they could do as they pleased.
But I hadn’t been fighting much up to this point… well, that’s just a small part of it. The main reason lies elsewhere.
“Well, it’s fine. Since this is a good opportunity, I’d like to see if Chrono-kun can truly use the Blessing in the God Destruction Domain.”
“Yeah, it seems like a suitable opponent for testing.”
I felt bad for everyone, but I’d take this opportunity. Just as Falkius said, I wanted to see if I could use the Demon King’s Blessing and test the power of the ‘Neck Sever’ that had drunk my blood.
GooOOOOOOO!
The massive imperial knight, roaring, came charging at me as if to say, “Stop chatting and come at me already, you fool!”
Now that our party members had agreed, our preparations were perfect.
“‘Flame Demon King’—”
Naturally, a blazing crimson aura surged forth.
At this point, I hesitated to use Mia’s power… but I’d take advantage of whatever I could use. I had no real pride left. I was just a man willing to do anything to get the woman I loved.
Holding this cursed great axe, those emotions evaporated. Ah, I understand; when I grip you, I should solely focus on cutting down the enemy.
Quietly drawing the ‘Grudge Demon Blade “Neck Sever,”’ I raised it high. All distractions faded away with that.
“—‘Black Calm: Shock’”
I swung down with the most familiar martial art. However, experiencing a clear and bright sound like chimes for the first time was different.
And for the first time, I effortlessly sliced through the enemy like cutting through water.
A rushing imperial knight relying solely on the defensive power of their shield and armor was merely a large target charging straight towards me. It was an easy task to simply drop my blade down at the best timing. Rather than focusing on hitting the opponent, I was more concentrated on activating the martial art.
Thus, I released ‘Black Calm: Shock’—a martial technique enhanced by the vibration capability from ‘Haunted Grave’s’ ‘Resonating Grudge Fork’ added to the regular ‘Black Calm.’
However, the only thing in my hand was ‘Neck Sever.’ The Gravekeeper’s halberd was still resting in the shadows… but the new power I gained after having ‘Neck Sever’ absorb my blood now allowed me to wield the ability of the cursed weapon.
I wasn’t absorbing other abilities. If I had left ‘Haunted Grave’ at home, ‘Black Calm: Shock’ wouldn’t activate.
In a sense, it felt as if ‘Neck Sever’ had drawn closer to me. I could manage cursed weapons. So too, as ‘Neck Sever’ approached me by drinking my blood, it could wield cursed weapons, meaning it could now exert that ability through its own blade.
I had forgotten how comfortable the grip was, but now it felt as if nerves extended all the way to the tip of the blade. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had become a part of my body.
So, now I could not only access the abilities of the cursed weapon I possessed, but I could also sprout tentacles from the blade and shroud it in black flames if I wanted to. The range of powers usable with ‘Neck Sever’ expanded dramatically.
Of course, when it came to the abilities of cursed weapons, it couldn’t match using the real deal directly. ‘Haunted Grave’ was the only one that could control undead, and ‘Devourer’ couldn’t be rivaled in magic absorption.
Even so, the usability and feel were exceptional.
Pouring my soul into ‘Black Calm: Shock,’ I cleaved the imperial knight from head to groin, hammer and all.
The split body fell away with a spray of murky black blood. The beautiful cross-section indicated that not only the flesh but also the thick spine had been split cleanly down the middle.
Well, if I were cutting through a shield with ‘Reflection,’ it might have felt considerably tougher.
“Impressive. Chrono-kun, you really are… the real deal, aren’t you?”
It seemed I was the only one astonished by the growth of ‘Neck Sever’ thanks to our interactions, as the other members were more concerned with proving I could genuinely use the Blessing in the God Destruction Domain.
They probably didn’t distrust me, but for everyone, having me bear the Blessing of the ancient Demon King Mia Elroad was hard to believe. It would be even more suspicious for a pure Pandora person. Being half-convinced was expected.
“Who knows? My god might just be masquerading as a demon king.”
“Perhaps. But I believe you.”
Not only Falkius, but the other members also showed no signs of doubt on their faces. They all seemed to trust that I had indeed received the Blessing of the Demon King.
“Thank you. But unfortunately, I can’t seem to meet everyone’s expectations. I can’t get through the trial at the last moment.”
I wondered how long this Demon King’s Blessing would stay with me. Would it disappear once I retrieved Lily?
If so, that would be fine. I didn’t crave power at the expense of someone important to me.
I wanted power because I wanted to protect. It’s absurd to crave the power to protect while sacrificing those I should protect.
“…It’s no wonder no one could gain followers, Mia, if you didn’t even understand that.”
There was no way I would receive an answer.