Chapter 459: Into Aureolis’s Corruption.

Chapter 459: Into Aureolis’s Corruption.

Upgrades are done, you like it? Grimnir said as he finished helping Midirn put on the last piece of his armor.

The black dragonewt glanced down his bulwark of armor, making his silhouette far bulkier than before. It might make him look more intimidating, but the weight wasnt slowing him down at all as he did jumping jacks and other rudimentary movements to warm up. He then jumped up to the ceiling, hanging on it like a spider before dashing around in the air, flying and gliding here and there.

As he landed, he wiped some black soot off his black, corrosive obsidian armor. He then stretched before nodding.The debut release of this chapter happened at Ñøv€l-B1n.

Good. I would pay for this.

Glad to hear, dragonewt. Used up all the materials you gave me, so make sure not to destroy it before the last battle. Would be hard to replace the back side to accommodate your wings.

I would then use my own suit of armor. As long as this protects my life, Im all right with anything.

Arrgh, bladdarg, just cause I didnt use any of your scales doesnt mean you can wreck it! Bladdarg, get out of here! Frustrated, Grimnir pushed the large dragonewt out of his smithy, causing the latter to release a hearty laugh.

This followed Yorshka teasing Midirn about what happened, leading to both talking about their past and how the latter got scolded by his father for his neglectful treatment of his equipment. Midirn seemed to be the type to treat them like tools, instead of partners like Yorshka and Farron.

Ignoring them, I turned around to see Grimnir going over to the saurians. Krim and Grazlahta were helping Akasht get into his new armor, making sure everything fitted him. Similar to Midirn and Yorshka, all the saurians also received an equipment boost from Grimnir using the materials we got from the event, assuring they would be outfitted for their next task.

Okay, done. Looking good, Akasht! Haha! Krim slapped him on the back, causing the sarcosilian to raise his arms in the air and roar. The saurians grunted with him, cheering and hyping themselves up.

Oi, dont break anything, okay? If youre done, out! Still got work to do, Grimnir gumbled, acting quite like his old self. I guess the stress must be getting to him.

Seeing him like this, I went over to him, asking if he was okay, but he waved his hands dismissively. Its my job, lass. Dont worry about me. Lorena and Haati are keeping my schedule in tact, so I wont keel over just cause you kids are out of the house. I still got some spirit in me!

I giggled, appreciating his joke. Jeez, you know what I mean. Seems like youre a bit lonely without Daichi and Ellaine.

Ha! More like I have to do all the jobs my apprentices are supposed to do. Took all the weights off my shoulders up until now and I have to go back to that? Pah! But I aint gonna complain; got work to do and you got a fight. We all gotta prepare. He then stopped, looking up at a large piece of armor, hanging on some metal hooks.

It significantly dwarfed me in my dragonewt form, looking like it could be larger than a bus, or maybe it was more accurate to call it inspired by Akashts size. If somebody were to get into it, they could probably high-five the sarcosilian without any issues, nevermind carry around a giant chunk of metal to swing around For example, a giant recreation of Grimnirs blasthammer which was laying before his main furnace.

I looked over at the old dwarf, inspecting and comparing him to the large opening in the armor. Mentally putting him inside it, I concluded he would perfectly fit. With the cogs and glowing mana wiring, there probably was a mechanism to open and close this opening, allowing people in and out without any issue like a certain power armor weve been talking about.

Grimnir

My uncle deserved to get his head caved in by Saori, but he did bring my cousin back to life for one final moment of genius. I wouldnt let that be buried in the dirt, right? He smirked. With Goddess Chihiros gift, Ive managed to perfect the base construction of my blasthammer, and that means I can modify it however I want without it going boom! For example, make it larger, but my power gauntlets aint gonna give me the leverage to swing it around. No, I need to go larger as well.

Daichi will be soooo happy. No, I think all the boys will be, aside from Nishio. Even I couldnt help stop my grin.

Ha! Who do you think pointed the mechanoid out to me? It cant be as large as the one my uncle fought in, since we dont have the earth elemental emperor to act as the armors core, but Ill get it to work. Ellaine and Daichi already did most of the pre-work before I began putting it all together.

Excitement? Yes, this floaty feeling in my chest could only be described as joyful anticipation since I sure would have loved to get in myself. Dragons were soo yesterdays news, mech operators were the new hotness!

Regardless, once everybody got outfitted, I joined them as we left the [Room], returning to the inside of our RV. Once Saori saw us, she took the runes and dived into the shadow, where she pulled Akasht out of the [Room] and shadow, letting him go outside so he wouldnt destroy our carriage.

Yorshka, Midirn, Master, Kush, Grazlahta, and Akashtthose were the people we decided to have accompany the knights order to subjugate the demonkin. We couldnt let Yorshka go alone, that was idiotic, but neither Fleindia or I could follow along since we were needed in the city. Well, it was also to assure Fleindias safety.

Two hours before lunch, Yorshkas group joined up with the knights. Although they clearly showed animosity for yesterdays spar, the Commander raised his voice, shutting everybody up with a thunderous roar and an aura so oppressive it felt hard to breathe. What a way to begin lunch hour, huh? The priests around us surely disliked it as I heard them complain about it.

Regardless, once the Commander and Vicar saw them off with speeches, the day just continued like normal. After lunch, I even decided to finally attend a lesson!

And it was the exact sorta lecture I had hoped to avoid, as it felt like the ones you see in those college movies. A large hall with multiple seats sorted in a bleacher-like manner, allowing everybody to see what was written on the board. Instead of your standard blackboard and chalk, the professors used mana pens with exchangeable mana batteries.

Sure, I already accepted that I couldnt be turned into a proper priestess or scholar due to my personality and interests, but as Master always told me, seek knowledge! Also, it was better to have everybody think that I was giving a modicum of care for my public image although, admittedly, I wasnt really that interested in the church stuff after yesterdays scolding from the Vicar. It just dampened my mood.

Although, what did interest me were the after-lecture talks with the guest shrine caretakers and maidens. I was actually pretty popular with them.

The mages guild in the Empire is far stricter, probably since Aleistunum values access to the Empires population of mages quite a lot. It was a surprise when I heard the guild in the western actually supports their mages more. The stricter quality control helps prop up some extremely capable mages, but the number of people being forced into becoming hedge mages is pretty concerning. One of the students told me after the lecture was done.

You mean they turn to criminal activities? I asked.

Yeah, or they come over here and join Artorias and the other nations. Less pay, but you have a job. It helps that the western nations have a good demand on mages, since their good ones get swooped up in Aleistunum or the Empire as scholars, or are sent to war.

No wonder Shaturein had so many wild mages. Or people who came from the Empire.

Eh, not like thats always the case, another chimed in. Some are just that, hedge mages. Unaffiliated and just living their lives without getting involved too much with the guild and their regulations. Vagabonds, making decent under the table money, and all that. Hah, they also dont have to deal with the Empire trying to make their own money usable again, jeez.

Oh, shut it, youre just jealous your border country cant get to use it. The Auresi is a fine currency to use so we dont have to depend on the dwarves for everything. You even get stuff for cheaper if you use it! Maybe apply yourself better once you get back home, or swear to the Goddess you would serve her.

All of this did feel like filler, but our group had nothing better to do until Saori and the shadow pack uncovered any clues with the lead on Cardinal Wendell. It was somewhere in the city and I would prefer to not go around like a headless chicken, when I could rely on Saoris nose.

Seeing as none of the shadow pack had contacted us, it meant I had to continue with the next bit on todays schedulepreparation for tomorrows special event. It was a LightDaythe first LightDay on the first full week of the Sun part of a season. That meant a Binding Festival!

In other words, marriage day for the citizens in Aureolis city. It felt weird celebrating people embracing their new lives together considering we came here for a fight, but happy days like these deserved to be held. It kept the ugly sides at bay, at least, for me.

Furthermore, Fleindia, Renee, and I were even the stars of the rituals since we were blessed. Asaka, as she revealed her actual alignment, was barred from entering since Marsvens shadows should stay out of Her light. Sure, there was animosity but at least Asaka was happy about it.

Haha, I dont have to deal with all those people! Have fun with those stick-up-their-butts priests! she cheered as she went back into her room on the next day, jumping onto her bed with a fat grin.

At first, I just sighed and shrugged as this was the expected outcome for her, but as the time came for the ritual my eyes widened as I understood the responsibility I was supposed to give. Apparently, on the day our party arrived, letters were already sent to inform villages and towns inside the Holy Capital that we would oversee the Binding Festival. Without our consent!

I mean, you are Her blessed. Who is better or more qualified? The clergy might quarrel about you and what you said the day before, but it would be wrong to not allow you to take over, High Bishop Rasheid told me before Theodore urged me to participate. To keep the peace, he argued.

Little did I know, by peace he also meant the unity inside the country since quite a few wealthy merchants and even visiting nobles couldnt give up the chance to be wed by Aurenas blessed. What honor! Right?

The issue was that I wasnt used to this. I always sang or congratulated the newly wed from the outside, never within the church. Yes, Fleindia and Theodore made sure to put me through a bootcamp yesterday to help me memorize the speech, the rites, and even the rituals choreography. With my parallel minds nothing was impossible, but when it finally came to it, I suddenly couldnt focus.

The basilica was fully decorated from top to bottom, with the grand altar room filled with roses, banners with Aurena and her subordinate gods, and also sigils from the Folschreck Empire, almost as if to remind people the empire was a huge supporter of the Church of Aurena.

Hey, Kramps. You got a banner! I stared at the well-made depiction of Kramps, perfectly resembling him when I last saw him in his divine realm.

Well, looking at him was the only way for me to calm down since it felt awkward for me to see all the lovey-dovey couples happily smiling. Sure, I was a romanticist but this was too much for my maiden heart.

Suffice to say, Fleindia would lead everybody. She knew the ins and outs of this ritual and what to do, with Theodore telling Renee and me to simply copy his movements.

[Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Sanctified Blaze] [Various Spell Buffs] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]

The sounds of men and women erupted after Neills warcry, only for all of them to be drowned out by another explosion. Feral wolf howls followed afterwards before I could hear the students engaging the enemy next to the sounds of strong, blowing wind. The sewage water was rising up and down, almost splashing onto me.

Poor boots.

I took them off before casting [Panzer] to protect me, while Ellaine activated her rhytilic armor, covering up her entire body in a suit. As I noticed our enemies approaching us from behind, I threw caution away and cast [Hydra], using it in its giant blond form to bust through the building, demolishing anything in its way.

The multiple targets in front of me managed to barely dodge it by running outside the ruined house, allowing me to see four targets, all having drunk a black potion. They grunted as their skin began to turn pitch black like a darkened room, while horns made from water and wind appeared on their heads respectively.

Demonkin of wrath! I immediately noticed, before they began transmuting their elements into weapons, while two of them produced limbs made from them.

As I was about to play [My Darkest Thoughts], a flame beam burst through our entry point, reducing the wooden door into ash before five people in red robes appeared. Two of them produced a sword and spear respectively, using a fire spell to light them on fire, while the three in the back shot out [Inferno Beam]s.

Oi, you idiots! This is a sewer, fire will cause a massive explosion, you dumbasses!

That was the first emergency I could think of since an explosion from within the sewer could collapse the surrounding area, which included civilian residents. I shot my scales out, turning it into a shield and used [Wind Blast] to isolate the flaming spells as best as I could.

This ignorance would have nearly destroyed most of the place. Informing Ellaine about it, she rushed over my shield, engaging the warriors with her whipsword, keeping them in-check before eventually disarming them and then destroying their weapons with a good swing. I cast [Wind Blast], shooting Ellaine through the frontline and into the backline, where with the help of the shadow pack, she rattled and disabled their ability to cast anymore spells.

While she dealt with this, I cast more [Wind Blast] to blow the frontliners away, before getting close enough to extinguish the flames from their [Inferno Beam]. When I felt my [Foresight] activate, I snapped my head around and threw a kick, forcing one of the demonkin of wrath to defend himself.

You get one chance to surrender, or Ill eviscerate you! My muffled voice escaped my mask.

He grabbed my leg, holding me up while I kept myself stabilized with [Air Walk]. He leaned forward. Then cat

Hydra.

Without letting him finish, the giant blob of corrosive slime began to mold by itself, transforming into its true form of a multi-headed serpent like the creature it was named after. The demonkin was caught off guard, forced to create a shield of water, blocking the spray of acid launched at him, only to leave himself open.

Heating up my fingers, I melted the [Panzer] around them and pounced at the demonkin injecting him with the slime before ripping off his arm, releasing my leg. As he screamed, a wind spear flew past, giving the injured demonkin time to escape, only for me to have [Hydra] and a couple of [Banishment Beam] push them into the defensive.

Seeing no escape, they were about to fight back, only for a gale of ice to overwhelm them, freezing the two water users. Shay and Beth flew into the ruins of the house, blasting their ice breaths at our enemies.

[Princess, the target. Go!] Shay said.

[I got this with Rajah and the others, Hestia. Quick, in and out!] Ellaine reassured me.

The fighting on both sides hadnt ended, with both the fire mage and demonkin side showing high resilience and endurance, but I accepted my allies decision and rushed towards the door at the end of the house.

This led me into a maintenance room with a ladder leading down. It was a one floor difference with a long tunnel with a door at the end of it, so I rushed through it with [Gale Steps], bursting through the door before I found our target.

I-I didnt do it. I didnt do it, please! A pudgy man in a ripped white-gold priest robe pleaded. Blood soiled both his face and outfit as I saw infected slashing wounds here and there on his body. I didnt give them the wrong information, please, please! I wouldnt betray Lord Envy. I wouldnt, ahaha, please!

A pitiful cry for mercy that went nowhere as I wasnt his capturer. Somebody had slit his eyes, blinding him, while I could see him missing an ear while the others were intact but he was bleeding out of it. My first instinct was to heal him, but I felt weird. He just admitted to working for the Prince of Envy to me, so I was thinking of him as an enemy right now.

I swear, I didnt do it! I didnt do, krakaahaha! He weeped. It wasnt me. I didnt give them the wrong orders. I didnt. I didnt do anything.

Whats this?

A letter, laid neatly under the torture chair. There was some spit and blood here, but nothing else notable. Such a conspicuous little object, placed here in the right moment? My curiosity got the better of me and I opened it, reading the letter.

One aberration of the Prince of Envy is left. You chose the wrong place. It is with the sin heir at the knights location! This entire place is a trap laid by the other sin heir! Run! Huh?

My eyes widened before I heard Ellaines scream.

Meanwhile, in the middle of the day, snow began to fall from the clouds. The cold bit into the skins of the knights approaching a lone mansion in the middle of a prairie in the north of Aureolis, close to one of their leashed cities. It was normal for Knights of Aurena to patrol around the area if an investigation required it, but today was different.

Dammit, I dont care if you know this place better, human. We have enough numbers and power in this platoon to rival a normal countrys company. Everybody here is above rank B, but youre trying to play the slow game? Midirn, the future grand marshall of Loatryx, was currently arguing with the leader of this knight platoon.

Royce scowled. Lizard, I know and have fought with all these brave men and women before, so what gives you the right to chastise me? You are here, requested by Knight-Commander Kuornig to aide us, but all you do is show this display of insubordination? You call yourself a knight? A soldier?

They were fighting over the plan to lead the attack on the demonkins base. They had little information but they knew they had to be cautious, as the unknown was the true enemy of success. Although most knights here served Aurena, many took care to learn of the teachings of Yeostar, Istari, and Erithia, and it involved the manner a knight had to approach an operation.

Midirn argued they had to launch multiple reconnaissance operations into the mansion, acquiring as much information as possible, while Royce wished to create a sieging position, using their superior supply line and numbers to weaken and flush out their enemies. It wasnt that either side was incorrect, the issue was due to both knights hot-headed natures clouding their judgments.

Many of the surrounding knights did not interfere, believing it would be better for them to keep watch for enemies and let their leaders think of a plan. On the other hand, the younger knights, those who were just squires two years ago came to look for Yorshka, eying her with this look she couldnt refuse.

To her, a dragonewt, these squires she trained and kept watched over her years as a Knight-Captain were like children to her. Her pupils had to show once again what it meant to be a knight, although Yorshka felt her display was too rough. Too barbaric, too similar to the dragonewt training she grew up with, instead of the training plan she had devised to fit in as a human knight.

She walked up to the quarreling knights, only to tilt her head as saw something happening at the mansion. The knights on watch called out, warning everybody that somebody was coming out through the main entrance.

With her enhanced vision, Yorshka noted a man with a floating orb approaching. The closer he walked, the more his features became clearer to me. A clean-shaven face with barely any damage, framed by medium-long blue locks, giving him a rather decent appearance, if you ignored his hooked nose and slightly asymmetrical eyes. The short horns on his forehead and his long canines was what made it easy to differentiate him from a human face.

He was wearing a full suit with not a single piece of armor. His clothes resembled the habit la franaisemens suitsFrench nobles in the baroque periods would wear, as it looked stiff, but lavish. His coat was long and unwieldy with loose embroidered fabric adding onto the opulence of the already fine clothes.

This was enough for Yorshka to understand the situation.

Kushlekzar, now! she called.

The demonkin grinned, revealing a devilish smile. Original Sin: Yalda

And with a snap, sound ceased to exist for the Knights of Aurena.

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A note from AbyssRaven

Punch the guy dead!

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