Level up with swords (123)
-spider.
Berger said.
He said he encountered spider-shaped Crag Mutants several times. Abnormal situations that were not seen in the 11th and 8th tunnels occurred particularly frequently in the 14th tunnel.
So what was the reason?
There must have been something involved that existed only in M13-5 and did not exist in M13-1 and M13-2.
An unidentified spider-type monster.
Not only was it not enough to subdue four A-rank mercenaries, but an extradimensional being even created a puppet wearing their shell.
‘You can’t argue with words.’
Leon thought.
The mimicry of those disguising themselves as Team 14 is perfect. Even Karen and Geoff, who were superior to him, could not see through it. Not only was the appearance copied, but even the voice and behavior were identical to the real thing.
This meant that there was at least no one here who could know their identities through pure competency.
‘Besides, if you put it in words, it’s no different from giving those guys time to prepare. Did he just copy his appearance or even his abilities? If it’s the former, it’s not a big deal, but if it’s the latter, it’s dangerous.’
There is nothing more threatening than being stabbed in the back by someone you thought was an ally. It is not for nothing that spies and secret agents have been active in all kinds of battlefields since ancient times.
I thought about pretending to be fooled by that puppet show, but the risk of being attacked first was too great.
So he approached Berger secretly.
They say that hearing something a hundred times is worse than seeing it once. As I said, I was planning to expose their true identity directly.
“――――.”
Even stopping his breathing and lowering his body, Leon stopped just short of being able to cut down his opponent with a single blow.
Berger was making a fuss as usual.
Just by looking at it, it’s hard to believe it’s fake.
[Are you hesitant?]
‘no.’
Leon firmly denied those words and tightened his grip. The hard feel of the sword hilt, the cool chill running up my palm and cooling my boiling blood.
The more perfect the fakes’ imitations, the more intense his anger became.
Monsters and the like cannot create something from nothing. So, there was a high possibility that that body and memories were borrowed from the ‘real’ person.
king.
The moment the holy sword revealed its blade, the air froze.
The noisy atmosphere was cut off in half a beat, and everyone kept their weapons in hand and distanced themselves from each other.
Eleven A-ranks.
The three powerful people gathered together and their eyes widened in astonishment.
It had to be that way.
Sigh!
This was because Leon’s sword, which moved before anyone else, severed Berger’s right arm with a single sword.
Specifically, I aimed for the neck.
However, Berger raised his right arm at that moment and saved his own life by giving one arm in place of his neck. It was indeed a skillful yet terrible response, befitting an A-rank mercenary.
“Kaaaaaaaa! “What are you doing, you son of a bitch!”
In all eyes, Leon, who carried out the sneak attack, was the perpetrator, and Berger, who lost his arm, was the victim.
However, the atmosphere in Articles 8 and 11 was somewhat different.
Unlike Team 14, who seemed ready to attack at any moment, the two groups were just taken aback by the sudden bloodshed and did not show hostility toward Leon or criticize the surprise attack.
Geoff, who received a hint from Irexana, decided that there must be a reason, and Karen did the same.
Only Hazel and Garlond, who heard from her, didn’t know what was going on.
“Uh, why? Why did you attack Article 14?”
“… “I don’t know.”
Before answering the two people’s questions, Berger scolded Leon with a harsh expression.
“You damn bastard attacks our troops in the middle of a mission! “I’ll kill you right here without even waiting for the guild’s action!”
“You are an ally?”
“under! Did you take any medicine, Rookie? Are you really going to say that I am not your ally? Ah?!”
Looking at him with a cheerful face, Leon spoke in a cold voice.
“Your human imitation is top-notch, you monster.”
“What kind of bullshit is this from earlier!?”
“Look at your forearms and tell me. “That’s a human arm?”
“Ah?! of course… ”
Eleven people’s eyes naturally turned to Berger’s right arm, the severed section. The inside of the cut surface was filled with pure white spider webs, without a single drop of blood flowing.
It was an appearance that could not possibly be considered human.
“W-what! “What about that body!?”
“A spider web?!”
“A monster that can mimic a human… !”
As Groups 8 and 11 stiffened their faces and revealed their hostility, at the same time, the expressions disappeared from the faces of the mercenaries of Group 14.
Then he started laughing with an emotionless face.
“““Kuu, keuuuu, keuhihihihi!!”””
It was a horrifying sight.
The monster’s unique passion for making a mockery of the dignity of life was fully revealed in its maniacal laughter.
Someone must have been terrified.
Someone must have lost their will to fight.
But he made a mistake.
At this point, the ridicule was clearly a mistake.
“–dare!”
——————
faqwiki.us
Join our Discord for new chapter updates!
https://discord.com/invite/xr7SxG5T6V
——————
The eyes of Geoff, the 5th ranked Holy Iron Knight, were burning with fury.
“The monster babbler dares to imitate people! Trampling on dignity! Are you trying to taint that relationship and invite blood!”
As if responding to his cry, two Holy Iron Knights stand side by side and raise their sacred power.
Righteous anger!
The Holy Church itself is one of the most powerful forces on the continent, but there was a separate moment when it demonstrated its true power. Their original strength is revealed only when they exterminate heretics who insult life and seek to denigrate the value of goodness.
“「Goddess, look over this land! “Please show me that the light of punishment, the flame that consumes the unclean darkness, is still alive!”
As Xeorp vigorously recited a prayer and raised his sword, sacred flames spewed out from the three Holy Iron Knights.
Holy fire.
Unlike Leon, he did not borrow the power of stigmata, but rather refined his power through his own karma and faith. The three Holy Iron Knights, engulfed in sacred flames, rushed towards the monsters.
It was truly a terrifying force.
“Everyone, join Team 11 and annihilate the enemies!”
Leon, who briefly decided on a course of action for Group 8, looked ahead.
A monster mimicking Berger.
Even though he lost his right arm, his capabilities are at the top level even in A rank. If you let your guard down just because you have the upper hand, your head will be blown off in an instant.
“Whoa… .”
Shake away distracting thoughts with a short, deep breath.
What on earth is the spider that created these fakes, and what happened to the real 14th group? Will the group that entered the other mining area be safe, and is there a possibility that they are hiding abilities other than mimicry?
Dozens of thoughts come and go like bubbles.
No need for waves.
Calm your mind without a single ripple and concentrate as if your sword and body became one.
‘but.’
Still, one question remained.
The power felt from the magic sword and the power felt from the spider web.
The nature of the two forces was clearly different.
This could not have been the case if the power came from the same being. That means that the contamination of the great mine and the spider monsters are completely separate things.
Whoops!
Leon stopped thinking any further as he violently kicked away the spear that had approached his heart.
Update your priorities.
It is not too late to worry even after defeating this monster.
‘-Cut.’
Monsters in the form of Leon and Berger clashed again.
* * *
Okay.
Meanwhile, Irexana, who entered A5, shook off her blood-covered hands. He didn’t even feel the need to use a weapon, so he ended up smashing Rock Eater’s head with a few punches.
Even though its body surface was coated with adamantium, it was very hard, but it couldn’t withstand a punch that crushed even adamantium.
Grand Meister.
As the best blacksmith in Jugend, he naturally worked with adamantium and orichalcon, and was the type of person who preferred his hand to processing them with a hammer.
“It’s rewarding to use my fist instead of a hammer.”
As Irexana said that, she took another step forward.
Even though he chose a more difficult path than anyone else, his progress was the fastest among the entire expedition.
It looks like it’s walking slowly, but it’s fast enough to leave an afterimage, and whether it’s an A-rank or S-rank, it moves forward after hitting it with a few punches. There was no need to take a breath, so it would have been even weirder if there had been a group ahead of Irexana.
It was then.
Kiiiiing.
A soft light flowed from the inside of Irexana’s sleeve, as if pointing in one direction at a crossroads.
“… I knew it.”
With a look on her face as if she knew this would happen, Irexana followed the guidance of the light without the slightest hesitation.
‘The stigmata of the leader’.
The light of power that finds what is wrong and evil. This is why the evil religion has little influence within Youth. No matter what they did, their location would be revealed, so they would often be subjugated without any time to do anything other than plot.
“From the monsters that escaped from <Mirror Canyon> to the production and distribution of magic swords resulting from the contamination of the Great Mine. “I thought there was quite a system to the matchmaking conducted by <Chaos> alone.”
As she walked down the extremely dark road, Irexana muttered something to herself that she didn’t know who she was talking to.
“There is no law that says the three sects of the evil religion necessarily move separately. Even though the goals may be slightly different, in the end they are all the same garbage in the gutter. “If you mix them roughly, there is no difference.”
As expected of a cardinal, his tone of speech was truly polite, but his harsh words against the evil religion were as sharp as a well-honed blade.
The air around him rippled greatly, as if representing his rough feelings. Aura Master. The power of a being that can distort the laws of physics with one’s will.
They are startled and take a step back, as if they are scared of the darkness.
Wearing a cloak of light that began to overflow over her body at some point, Irexana greeted someone in the distance.
“Isn’t it? Bishop of <Despair>.”
If someone had heard that, it would have sparked a fight.
In the evil cult, the bishop was also called an exorcist (Nine-Hell) and was one of only nine leaders. In terms of the Holy Order, they were on the same level as cardinals, and each one of them was wanted for an astronomical amount of money.
But does this mean that the figure writhing in the darkness is one of the great villains?
【――Mongrel Cardinal Jugend, huh.】
An unpleasant voice, as if it were cutting iron, rang out.
【Did you find me with that stigmata again? It’s no different from an animal chasing the scent of blood, the goddess’s dog.】
“Yes, I am a dog.”
Irexana laughed, ignoring the other person’s provocation.
However, his face and voice were filled with a cold, murderous spirit, and just a single glimmer of it gave me goosebumps.
“It’s a hunting dog like you that has no shame, climbs over the fence, finds parasites living in the front yard, and bites them to death. “It’s a little different from someone else who only knows how to bark.”
【… … .】
“Heretics who turn away from the light and return grace with malice. Life is a luxury for you. “I hope you regret being born into this world and go back to the abyss of nothingness.”
As he calmly declared death in an attitude as if he were attending mass, the person hiding beyond the darkness took a step back.
The Aura Master’s murderous intent exerts its own power. To the extent that someone with a weak mind and body can stop their heart with just the intent to kill.
However, the bishop of the evil religion could not have been so easy.
【… Regret, D.】
The guy laughed because what Irexana said was so funny.
【Big, big! Haha! Hahahahahaha!!】
It is a literal mad laugh.
Suddenly, after laughing like a maniac for several minutes, the Bishop of <Despair> had blood-stained eyes.
I didn’t laugh because it was funny.
The uncontrollable anger just came out in the form of laughter.
【Regret! Yes, did I say regret, Cardinal!
The malice overflowing from it fluttered like a curtain, making the darkness wriggle like its own sleeve.
It is a power whose principles and roots are unknown, <external law>.
With its eyes bright red, it looked Irexana up and down several times and shouted harshly.
【Ah, what a blessed body! What a blessed life! You were born into a harmonious family, and there was nothing you couldn’t achieve with your outstanding talent! Jugend’s Grand Meister! Cardinal of the Holy Order! A body that inherits only the strengths of both races! It’s so unfair!】
“Even if you praise me like that, I can’t save you.”
【Don’t be damned!】
The bishop, enraged by Irexana’s joke, cried out as if he was vomiting blood.
【Think about it, Cardinal! How many misfortunes have been born just for your happiness! The scales of fortune are equal. If there is one happy person, there is also one unhappy person! However, if there are people like you who enjoy excessive blessings, the number of unhappy people will increase by tens or hundreds!】
Surprisingly, there was conviction in his voice.
Although it was twisted and misaligned from its roots, there was no doubt that there was a strong pillar. A form of spirit that cannot be shaken by any temptation or torture. A voice steeped in fanaticism is quite persuasive.
If someone who doesn’t know much hears it, it may sound plausible, and if they nod their heads a few times, they will move on.
【We are ‘evil’? no! You are truly evil! It is the evil that stained this world with misfortune and gave birth to us!】
Then Irexana countered that confident argument,
“I don’t know.”
He shrugged his shoulders with a leisurely smile on his face.
“You were born in a trashy family, hung out with trashy people, and committed unforgivable sins, which is all the fault of happy people. “Even nonsense can be a bit comical at that level.”
With each word, the smile disappeared from Irexana’s face, and soon it dried up coldly.
A mixed race of humans and dwarves.
Despite his youthful appearance, he had lived for over a hundred years and had experienced all kinds of things, so there was a counterargument that could be made.
“Well, I somewhat agree with the statement that happiness is finite. Even if you wish for everyone’s happiness, it will be difficult to achieve your wish. “You can get closer, but you won’t reach it.”
But, said Irexana, who started crying.
“Happiness is different from gold coins. You cannot keep it as your own by taking it from others, and you cannot give it to those who do not have it. “In the world you pursue with <Despair>, you will end up being slaves to evil equality.”
If happiness is finite, pain is infinite.
Even though we cannot create a world where everyone is happy, we can create a world where everyone is unhappy.
This was also what the evil cult’s <Despair> pursued. A hell full of pain and with nothing left to take from each other. They called it a completed paradise.
“They seem like they are worse than bed bugs.”
Irexana, who had stopped even using polite words, truly despised him.
“You people who just try to pass on the pain of your life to others don’t deserve even a single crumb of compassion.”
Light emanated from the bracelets wrapped around both wrists, and soon two battle axes were grasped in the hands.
Jugendsteel No.200 and No.201, <Eyes of the Goddess>.
A golden-yellow ax made of orichalcon.
A silver-gray ax made of adamantium.
Holding the battle ax, which alone weighed more than 30 kg, in both hands, Irexana began to unleash all the power that had been suppressed within her body.
Coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo coo co!
Master-level auror, high-ranking elemental power of earth and fire, and cardinal-level holy power. The three types of power were added, amplifying each other, boiling over several times. As the atmosphere, unable to withstand the pressure of the force, is pushed out, a gust of wind occurs, raising several strands of eddies and dust.
Even the bishop of <Despair> swallowed dryly without realizing it.
A strongman who is closer to a dragon than a human, and who shakes the laws of the natural world with his very existence.
“The Third Cardinal of the Holy Order, Irexana of <Zanpa>.”
Irexana said as she crossed her two battle axes.
“I am your end.”
In a storm of power that overwhelmed even madness, the Bishop of <Despair> was at a loss for words for a moment.
Bishop Cordia barely gritted his teeth.
As my molar suddenly shattered, I was filled with exhilarating pain, but that wasn’t enough to make any difference. The madness that had been suppressed by Irexana’s intimidation surged from within again.
【Don’t be funny… !】
The darkness that enveloped Cordia’s body pulled out its nine heads and opened its mouth like a hydra from mythology.
【You are the one who must meet the end, you hybrid!】
It was a bit far from the operational area, and the timing was a little earlier than the gathering time.
The expedition team and the evil cult.
The strongest of the two groups began a full-scale battle.
