LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 69
Translator: Marctempest
Editor/Proofreader: TempWane
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Chapter 69: Invading the Lord’s House (4)
A mermaid princess who fell in love with a prince.
Sunlight was fatal to her, so their secret meetings always took place at night.
One day, the prince sought out the Sun God to formally embrace her, and by making a contract…
Somehow, it was a familiar story—‘The Adventure of the Young Siren’—and I was reading roughly that far when it happened.
A man suddenly appeared before my eyes.
“······.”
A man in a deeply irritating black robe.
He had been rambling nonsense just a moment ago, but now he stood still, cold sweat dripping from his face.
Frike, who had transformed into a wolf, and the burly Yetis surrounded him.
“Who are you?”
I put down the book and opened my mouth.
It was an unusually cold tone.
“I asked who you are.”
“······.”
The man did not answer.
He only darted his eyes around, making gestures as if searching for something.
Annoyed, I began to summon my magic.
“Answer me—”
“I am Behelak of the Seven Apostles!”
That was the moment.
The man’s figure crumbled.
Like a chameleon shedding its camouflage, his form became transparent before vanishing entirely, and soon after…
I sensed movement behind me.
“Die!”
“!”
“If you disappear, everything can be reversed!”
A bizarre and tremendous ability.
I activated my aura before I even had time to think.
Paaaah─!
The power that oppressed the unclean aimed directly at Behelak.
“Graaaah···!”
He staggered back, covering his eyes.
A clear opening. I was about to continue my attack, but it turned out to be unnecessary.
-Let’s drive out the hothead!
-Don’t bully Quelli!
The Frikes charged in, unleashing a fierce assault.
They bit at the enemy with their wolfish jaws and pummeled him with snowflake magic.
“Ugh, ack! These damned creatures···!”
However, true to his claim as one of the Seven Apostles, Behelak was no pushover.
He endured the Frikes’ attacks, which lacked killing power, and bided his time for a counterattack.
That moment finally came as he summoned a massive surge of magical power.
But his ambition was never fulfilled.
Because a colossal fist came crashing down instantly.
Boom! Thud─!
“···Guh!”
Distracted, Behelak failed to react and was slammed into the wall.
The Yetis swarmed his fallen body and began to pummel him.
“Argh! Ugh! Gah! Stop!”
Merciless and frenzied punches.
He was struck rhythmically.
I stared blankly at the collective beating.
And then, suddenly…
“Ugh! Cough! Ack······ Ugh!”
Behelak went limp.
Like a machine with a dead battery, he stopped moving entirely.
“···Is he dead?”
I muttered as unease crept over me.
Sinister energy began to surge, and his corpse started twitching.
─────!
A phenomenon I’d seen before—undead transformation.
Soon, the revolting form of a “Ghoul of Space” began to emerge…
I extended my hand, which bore the ring.
“No, I’m not waiting for you.”
The three slots imbued with blue energy activated.
Stored ice spears materialized in midair.
“I knew something like this might happen.”
Though I hadn’t expected to use them so quickly.
Exhaling a cold breath, I took aim.
Swoooosh──!
The three spears launched instantly, targeting the ghoul’s head, chest, and abdomen.
Having just risen, the creature had no chance to dodge.
“Disappear, you disgusting thing.”
─Graaaaa······! Gurgle!
Before it could even prepare itself, the undead let out a death rattle as its vital points were thoroughly pierced.
But that wasn’t the end.
A delayed strike from a Yeti’s fist landed square on its face, and the beating resumed for a moment.
─······!
Behelak, unable to open his eyes ever again, disintegrated into mere ashes.
I watched the scene unfold and then glanced at the spirits.
“Good job.”
The words came from the bottom of my heart.
Though he had been a formidable opponent, we had defeated him easily thanks to their help.
The spirits puffed their chests proudly, pleased by my praise.
“···But one of the Seven Apostles, huh.”
This wasn’t something that could be glossed over lightly.
The Dark Holy Society, which had recently lost much of its momentum, hadn’t given up and had intruded here.
“There’s no way he crossed the Ice Mountains alone purely out of personal animosity······ is there?”
They always swarmed in groups.
A sigh welled up from deep within me.
“Haah······.”
What a nuisance.
But if left unchecked, who knows what they might do?
They had to be eradicated as quickly as possible.
With that thought, I pushed back my chair and stood up.
“Prepare yourselves. We’re all going together.”
A cold command that left no room for objections.
The spirits nodded vigorously in agreement.
*
In the heart of the snowfield.
A bloody and brutal battle, the likes of which had not been seen for thousands of years.
Their individual rage and stubbornness dyed the snow crimson, but it was now approaching its conclusion.
The once endless number of undead soldiers had dwindled to a countable figure, and Adein was the only member of the expeditionary force still retaining his reason.
“…How pitiful.”
Standing in the middle of the battlefield, he muttered with regret in his voice—a tone of someone who had accepted his fate.
“This is my grave, isn’t it…?”
Immediately after his realization.
Perhaps even the heavens had decided to take his life away.
The blade of the reaper severed Adein’s neck.
Swoosh─ Thud!
His pain-filled head fell to the ground, and the Black Knight standing over the corpse gazed down at it.
─────!
Even amidst a grotesque transformation, his indifferent gaze did not waver.
The ‘Ghoul of the Maelstrom’, now robbed of reason, shuddered and fled.
Its escape led it toward the front lines, where someone far less intimidating stood.
Nell Sartilla, who had been fighting hard, blocked the incoming ghoul and shouted.
“Wait, what the hell! What is this thing?!”
“…”
Chandrafail, who was silently observing the scene, shook off his sword and turned his gaze away.
At that moment, a nearby figure stopped in their tracks.
“…Sword Demon.”
Wearing white armor and holding a mace smeared with blood, Dewade stood there.
Even the Black Knight recognized who he was.
“Paladin. So, you’re here too.”
“…I’ve abandoned that title. I’m just a humble knight now.”
“Ho.”
That was quite surprising.
Chandrafail asked, intrigued.
“Not a Paladin anymore? Then, what should I call you?”
“I’m merely a guest of the castle now.”
“…Huh?”
He tilted his head in slight confusion.
Even amidst this conversation, the irritating wails of the undead grated on their ears.
Suddenly, Dewade posed a question.
“Do you still intend to harm Lady Quellière?”
“…”
The Holy Knight’s voice carried a tense fervor, as if this was a significant question.
The Black Knight remained silent, contemplating the answer.
He still didn’t fully understand why he had come seeking her.
But he could answer this question with certainty.
“No.”
“Then that’s all that matters.”
If nothing else, Dewade was not one to contradict himself.
The Holy Knight withdrew his hostility.
From beyond his helmet, a glowing gaze surveyed the battlefield.
“There are far too many nuisances. You’ll help too, won’t you?”
“…Amazing. You’re actually asking me for help?”
Despite his words, Chandrafail didn’t seem particularly surprised.
In a calm tone, he murmured.
“I had already planned to annihilate the undead, regardless of your request.”
“That’s good to hear. Then—”
“But, guest, I don’t need your assistance. Stay out of this.”
“…?!”
With those words, the Black Knight surged toward the center of the battlefield.
Swoosh─!
A single strike.
With one slash, he decapitated five or six undead, his prowess still unmatched.
Dewade, shaking his head, resumed swinging his mace.
Thud─!
A cracking sound accompanied the destruction of skulls.
Not only these two, but others on the battlefield displayed remarkable feats.
“Die! Die, you ugly bastard!”
[Sleep eternally, you blasphemers…!]
Nell and Mishra, Dewade and Chandrafail.
Even the giant Sasquatch.
Each one of them was a titan capable of turning the adventurer world upside down several times over, and the number of undead soldiers was rapidly declining.
─────!
The fall of a secret cult that had terrorized for ages.
The expeditionary force had triumphed, and today marked the end of the Dark Holy Society’s era.
That much was certain.
But the undead, devoid of human wisdom, continued to fight and fight again.
Screeeeeech──!
The fierce gusts summoned by Matren, the Ghoul of Wind, were shattered by the breath of the White Silver Dragon King.
The undead, empowered by Jehak, the Ghoul of Instigation, were crushed under the Sasquatch’s stomps, and the sorcery of Adein, the Ghoul of the Maelstrom, was countered by Nell’s blood magic.
Screech──!
Shriek──!
The Frost Giant and the White Silver Dragon King’s pincer attack subdued Matren, while the combined assault of the former Paladin and the Black Knight brought Jehak to his end.
The sole survivor was Adein.
He lunged toward the distant progenitor.
“…!”
Startled, Nell unleashed her blood magic at that moment.
A lance of ice pierced through the ghoul’s forehead.
Graaah──!
Spewing black blood, Adein toppled backward.
“…Ah.”
It was a familiar technique.
Whipping her head around, Nell’s eyes caught sight of the distinctive hair fluttering in the air.
Quellière.
She stood alongside dozens of wolves, Yetis, and the Spirit Legion.
Her cold eyes swept across the surroundings.
But the situation was already resolved.
To be exact, her finishing blow had brought the battle to an end.
I had braced myself for a grueling day.
Amid the traces of a fierce battle, everyone’s eyes turned to her.
“······Huh?”
Quellière simply tilted her head in confusion.
The situation was over.
Even though I hadn’t done much, it was resolved anyway.
*
Back on the first floor of the Snow Castle.
The first person to notice the Dark Holy Society’s raid had been Dewade, so I expressed my thanks to him.
“You did well.”
A phrase that hardly sounded like gratitude.
Dewade bowed so deeply that he looked as if he might kneel.
“To hear such words from Lady Quellière···! It is an overwhelming honor!”
“Hmm.”
He didn’t seem like a bad person.
Polite, though a bit overwhelming—but I felt I had made the right choice in taking him in as a guest.
“I will etch this day into my memory! I, Dewade, feel privileged to have been of any help to you—”
“Enough. Leave.”
For some reason, he had a talent for making me cringe with every word he said.
That was his one flaw.
As he left the space where credit was being given, Nell and Mishra approached next.
“You two did well too.”
I hadn’t intended anything special, but the situation turned into an impromptu acknowledgment.
The two of them gave awkward smiles.
“Hehe. This is nothing, really.”
“Ahem. Ahem. It was no big deal.”
“···Hmm.”
At my single, barely praise-like remark, the two looked satisfied as they walked away.
It felt like I might experience cognitive dissonance.
“······.”
Up to this point, there were no problems.
But the most important figure remained.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the corridor.
“Is it my turn next?”
The Black Knight, Chandrafail.
Though I created him, to put it bluntly, he was nothing short of an ill-fated connection for me, and this was our first reunion in a while.
The luster of his signature jet-black armor gleamed.
I spoke indifferently.
“Your armor is still as unpleasant as ever.”
“Unpleasant? Why so?”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s the color. Why don’t you switch to white, like Dewade?”
I casually nitpicked about anything.
Strangely, the Black Knight didn’t show any of his usual erratic behavior.
He simply looked over his armor calmly.
For a moment, I thought he might have changed, but the words that followed erased my expectations.
“Absurd. Such a color does not suit me.”
A resolute tone.
That firm statement showed he was still the same as ever.
I chuckled lightly and got to the point.
“Chandrafail.”
“Speak.”
“What brings you to the Snowfield?”
He was someone who shouldn’t have been here.
There was really only one possibility, and I could already guess his answer as I asked the question.
“What brings me here······.”
“Yes. Surely, you’re not going to rant about monsters again, are you?”
The small shake of the Black Knight’s head denied my suspicion.
The words he finally uttered were exactly what I had expected.
“Quellière. I came to see you.”