Episode 923 The Glory of the Dead (10)
Tsutsutsutsu… … .
Grimmel Gromfar’s severed hands were swept away by destruction and vanished. Blood flowed from the cross-sections of his wrists, exposed to the bone.It was a meager amount of blood considering the body part had been completely missing.
“Aaaaaaaah!”
Grimmel thrust his hips wildly and screamed at the top of his lungs. Clang! The magical shackles manifested by Vangelis restrained the limbs hidden inside the weapon.
Subdued successfully.
Verden put his weight on his front leg and aimed his staff at Grimmel’s neck.
“If you move, your ankle is next.”“Ahhhhh───ha.”
Grimmel suddenly stopped screaming and twisted the corner of his mouth as if to show off. Without warning, a click mixed with the sound of rain brushed past my ears.
You’re not the only one throwing a gamble.
Magic power flashes from the broken weapon.
“……!””hmm……!”
Verden and Vangelis instinctively used
No… far from being delayed, the more forcefully it was suppressed, the more the magical power within the weapon threatened to erupt exponentially and much more violently.
It cannot be suppressed.
Verden and Vangelis spoke at the same time.
“Get out of the way immediately.”“It was the worst dwarf.”
Even Grand Duke Rivandale, who had deflected the attacks of the Saint and the Beast King at the World Conference, gave up on responding and threw himself backward while forming a sword barrier.
My vision turned pure white.
Magical Power Particle Runaway
The radiance of magical power, spreading and engulfing everyone in an instant, crossed the grasslands and reached the mountain range.A massive blue dome rose over the Western Continent and swallowed the rain clouds. Immense heat, pressure, and physical force completely evaporated the torrential rain that seemed like it would never stop.
A shockwave that defied common sense belatedly swept across the entire surface of the earth, wiping out half of the Halfrendy Plains and half of the Sevnel Mountains from the map.
Whoosh───Kwak
The elites of the Magic Kingdom and the Empire, who were outside the blast radius, faced the aftershock.The mages who had surrounded the area with
“M-Your Majesty the Demon King!!!”“Your Highness the Grand Duke!!”
Their voices could not travel far, drowned out by the roar and the sound of the wind.It was absurd to worry about the very two beings in question, but the explosion before their eyes was so powerful that it made them forget even such common sense.
The night briefly brightened.
The light of magic quickly subsided, and the heat gradually cooled. Only the pitch-black burnt earth remained, centered around where Grimmel had stood.A moment later, the dead earth stirred, and Grand Duke Rivandale rose to his feet.
It’s a relief this isn’t an empire.
The membrane shattered, and the uniform was severely damaged.It did not significantly hinder movement, but that did not mean there was no impact. The tingling sensation on the skin and the throbbing pain in the muscles were quite unpleasant.
It would have been dangerous if it had been a direct hit.
If an explosion of this magnitude had occurred within the Empire’s territory, right next to a city, it would likely have been recorded as the worst day in the history of the Empire.
“Is anyone dead?”“You’re a dwarf you can’t let your guard down against.”
Vangelis walks toward the epicenter of the explosion while rubbing his neck. Intense heat still surges from the seemingly intact robes of the Demon King.The Demonic Terror stood silently, his armor heated by the explosion.
They all turned their gaze to one spot.
Verden seemed to be the one who had suffered the least damage among the four. He looked down at Grimmel’s body, which was torn and scorched all over.
With faint breathing, the dwarf’s chest rose and fell slowly.Indeed.Even though he was in shambles, Grimmel was alive.
“Did a dwarf, lacking the resistance and homeostasis of a transcendent being, really endure being exposed to that shock and thermal pressure? And even the willpower to self-destruct as a last desperate struggle… Just what kind of life force is this?”“It probably wasn’t self-destruction. He must have calculated long ago that he could withstand this much.”
Verden asserted.
Because those weren’t eyes that were prepared for death.
Grimmel was searching for a way to survive even right up until he detonated the weapon. It was a gamble. He likely judged that struggling like this offered a higher chance of survival than simply being subdued.It would have been even better if he had been lucky enough to kill one or two, or if everyone had perished.
Verden’s conjecture was true.
Grimmel, pretending to have lost consciousness completely, had a complicated mind.
“What a disaster. Leaving Verden aside, no one died. Nor were they seriously injured. I guess one weapon wasn’t enough after all.”
During the decisive battle with Barcazel, he manufactured hundreds of the most deadly weapons and thousands of makeshift ones, handing them over to his troops for use. Hethen caused all weapons to run wild simultaneously, self-destructing to obliterate Barcazel.
Firepower capable of blowing away the land in an instant and turning it into part of the sea… … Now, compared to that, it wasn’t even a drop in the ocean.
We should have prepared as if we were fighting a continental war.
However, as a body destined to obey the commands of the Glory of the Dead, there was nothing I could do. The first servant had not provided an abundance of time and materials.To be honest, I had also looked down on the caliber of those who reigned in this era.
One… … it’s not over yet.
Grimmel has a history of remotely destroying a city, and Verden is aware of this fact. He must want to find out where another such bomb has been planted. Anxiety soon leads to hesitation.
Therefore, capturing them alive is the standard method.
Of course, I could just kill Grimmel without considering that, but I will soon have concerns and remove the second option from my choices.The sight of the capital of the Ruas Theocracy being half-destroyed would be unforgettable.
The magic chain splitter device installed underground by the first servant.The time limit is fast approaching.
At that moment.
───[Operation complete. Requesting a teleportation circle, Your Majesty Verden.]
As Verden received the signal from the communication device, Alpha’s voice was heard. Upon hearing the spatial coordinates, Verden connected Alpha’s coordinates with the coordinates of this place.This was possible because a large hole had just opened in the Veil of the Soul.
Alpha crossed space.With a rectangular metal object on his head.
‘……?……what.’
Vangelis asked.
“Looking at the spatial coordinates, was I in the Kingdom of the Holy Ones? But what is that?”
[this?]
Alpha hugged the magic chain splitter tightly, as if showing off.
[It’s mine now.]
“I knew you had it set up. Good job, Alpha.”“Th-!!”
Grimmel could no longer feign unconsciousness and opened his eyes wide.It was a matter of pride.To think that a mere, mere golem like that had discovered and deactivated such a complex device in such a short amount of time—it was unbelievable!
“Hey, you crazy—!”
Smack!
The staff struck his face vertically. With the sound of foaming blood, Grimmel choked for a moment and then dropped his head to the side.
“Did you kill him?”“I let him live. Not yet.”
Grimmel’s lack of tools meant his actual physical strength was no longer a threat. Moreover, Grimmel didn’t even have hands to display his dexterity.He was a being from the very distant past.He was likely connected to ‘you’ as well.Since no one knew what information he might possess, cutting off his lifeline now that he was completely subdued would have been a loss, not an advantage.
Grand Duke Rivandale prepared to move.
“Let’s move to the sanctuary. Before the Glory of the Corpse gets its hands on the ancient king’s body.”“It will be too late even if we hurry. Draven, the First Servant, is practically a god now. It is a problem that is out of our hands the moment we allowed the intrusion into the sanctuary.”
Verden briefly explained the souls of Draven and Pope Benslav, even mentioning that there was no female saint in the Holy Kingdom and that no saint appeared due to internal circumstances.
“To use an analogy, it is as if the Magic Kingdom has lost control of Centrum…… This is serious. It seems it will be difficult for the Pope to handle the enemy alone.”
This was the case with all the Popes throughout history.Those chosen by the Bible had the weakest lethality among the divine and human.
Grand Duke Rivandale crossed his arms.
“We’ll have no choice but to wait until the Pope banishes him from the sanctuary.”“There is another way.”
[There is a way.]
Verden reached out and carried Alpha, who had saved the Holy Kingdom, on his shoulder.
“Go and wait there in advance.”“Do you mean the island rising in the Hiaremar Inland Sea? I checked earlier while attempting to teleport to the Holy Kingdom, but the space was blocked in that direction as well.”“Direct entry is impossible. According to reports, a transparent barrier-like structure largely surrounds the sea around the island. I couldn’t check below the water, but I assume it is blocked there as well.”
Just as the Holy Kingdom was blockaded, the unknown island was also sealed off.It was what was expected.Verden had always anticipated the worst.
If it is physically unavoidable, simply find a non-physical path.
Dimensional travel was not an option.
Re-implementing the Super-Rank Magic Circle entails a heavy burden, Ignacia is not by my side, and besides, this countermeasure had been prepared long before attempting the dimensional shift to the Holy Kingdom.
[Ready.]
Talk.
Alpha waved to the surrounding transcendents and fell asleep again. Verden gently caught its body and stored it in a subspace. Sincethe bomb Alpha had deactivated contained massive, stable magical particles that did not enter the subspace, he kept it separately in his bosom.
Swoosh.
Immediately afterwards, Verden’s body gradually became blurry.
“Verden, your body…?”“I will leave the dwarf’s safety to you. It would be safer for the Sorcerer Kingdom to handle it, but you can decide that on your own.”
Ancient Artifact [Observer of the Horizon].
A bracelet-shaped artifact that immediately summoned Dahit Wesroel into the Great Hall when Verden and his party infiltrated the Great Hall to steal the [Hourglass of Eternity] in the past.
The laws of physics are not involved in the magical process that allows the existence to be moved without any cost or distance limitations by defining a zone, detecting changes including breathing, gaze, andeven subtle signs, observing the existence in real time, sending the owner’s form to the entity that successfully observed it to allow observation, and then redefining the owner’s existence by another.
This cannot be blocked even by the veil of the soul.
If dimensional travel passed through the fourth dimension to create an entrance in the third dimension within the Holy Kingdom, thereby ignoring the veil that separated the three dimensions, then[The Horizon Observation Line] is closer to the principle of creation than the concept of travel, and thus peers into the interior without being constrained by the veil at all.
Simply put, since one can reach the destination without passing through the road, the wall blocking the path can be seen as meaningless.
As you can see, although it has the disadvantage of losing its functionality for a long time after a single use, it is very useful. It is especially perfect for catching the guy sent by the masters who ran away in the past.
After Dahit used it, the [Horizon Observation Ship] rusted and went dormant, but after some time passed, it regained its original function two months ago.
Verden naturally registered himself as the owner of the [Horizon Observer], andafter the island’s exploration was decided, he entrusted the [Horizon Observer] to Adrian.
By establishing a territory somewhere on an unknown island, Adrian secured a means for Verden to travel to the island in case of emergency.
Many beings are currently observing my form.
It is impossible to know what the situation is like.
The only thing that is clear is that Adrian definitely carried out Verden’s orders.
Well done, Adrian.
The existence of Verden is redefined by another person’s perspective.
I’d like you to pass this on to Medrant in the Holy Kingdom.
Fading presence.
I said I’d be back.
Soon after, Verden vanished without a sound. Not even the slightest trace could be found, as if he had never been here.
Verden headed to an unknown island.
Vangelis stroked his short beard.
“It seems Verden is gradually transcending the limitations of space. To think he crosses over places even I cannot reach so easily.”“He is indeed a transcendent being with many secrets.”
Grand Duke Rivandale nodded, recalling the events at the Black Volcano.
Bang.
The silent terror of the demon grabbed Grimmel by the hair and lifted him up.
“Don’t move…….”
I sensed a look of anger toward the dwarf.
Vangelis and Grand Duke Rivandale, who had absolutely no idea what was going on, shrugged their shoulders and headed toward the Ruas Theocracy.
* * *
“You are… the first servant.”
Saint Leonhardt glared at Draven with eyes seething with hostility and resentment.Leonhardt’s tragedy stemmed from the glory of the dead.
If it weren’t for the Plague of Bloodcry, the people of Tyr Village would not have died, and Uncle Roland would not have lost his life.If it weren’t for the Holy Sword, he would have lost his mother and younger sister as well.
Crunch.
Leonhardt’s youthful, innocent rage was aimed solely at Draven.Divine power was imbued in the holy sword.
“I will take the villagers’ lives now.”“The price of lives, huh? You’ve got it wrong.”
Draven grasped the magic sword.
“It would be the Holy Sword, not me, that fills the tragedy.”
The holy sword fills the void of tragedy.Leonhardt recalled that phrase and veins bulged on his forehead.
“Shut your mouth!”“Do not listen to the servant’s words, Saint.”
Pope Romanus appeared.
Two newcomers surrounded Draven from the front and back in the straight corridor.
“You must stop the servant here at all costs.”“Now that I have entered the sanctuary, your Ruas religion is already defeated.”
Draven’s gaze tilted to one side.
It is over there. The place where His Majesty’s bodies are.
I have identified the location.It is time to pour everything into it.
I must secure my body and leave quickly before Verden blocks my path with another trick.Resurrection is finally within reach.
I shall borrow Your Majesty’s strength.
Draven raised his left arm.
“liberation.”
The skin cracked open and turned into liquid, overflowing from the robe. The true nature of the arm hidden inside was revealed to everyone.
“S-surely not.”
An arm overflowing with morale.It was not Draven’s.
“Surely that isn’t the old king’s…!!”“This is the safest method.”
Draven volunteered to act as a carrier by transplanting the ancient king’s body. It was a trump card to be used at the most certain moment, as he could not last long.
“I will now show you the power of the greatest transcendent being.”
