Chapter 1261: Giant Crystal
The Holy Mother seemed to want Fran to bring an end to her. And not just that, she also wanted us to deal a heavy blow to Raydoss afterwards.
To achieve this, she plotted to give Fran additional allies by having her dominate Apollonius and his friends like she did to Avenger. Ordering them not to use their trump cards was all part of this plan.
The Hero Zombies also guided us here too, come to think of it.
「This hyper-dense mana was obtained by sacrificing the citizens of Raydoss. The most simple approach would be to spend all of it on blowing up the country. However, that is simply not possible for me. I am completely specialized in producing other undead, and have no other capabilities.」
Certainly, spending all the mana on continuously blasting Raydoss with offensive magic would inflict significant damage.
However, the Holy Mother lacked any offensive skills since her specialization lay solely in production. The roots of this story extend from novell bìn origin.
「Moreover, even if I regained my will, I couldn’t immediately turn against them.」
Zelyse and the Black Skeleton Corps were always lurking nearby, so the Holy Mother couldn’t afford to let them know of her regained freedom.
Thus, she pretended to cooperate by invading Kranzel with Apollonius and the others, when in actuality, she hoped for Fran to take control of them.
If Apollonius had succeeded in defeating Klimt and Fran, then she would simply adjust her plans, sending Apollonius and the other undead to challenge Nameless and Zelyse to a decisive battle.
「Honestly, I did not expect things to proceed so smoothly.」
「Really?」
「Yes, you see... I thought you might be able to recruit a few undead with good compatibility. But all of them?」
The Holy Mother seemed genuinely surprised. Well, the Hero Zombies were definitely on a different level than Avenger.
Giving Fran a few Hero Zombies with good compatibility would be plenty of a boost. If she had arranged for weaker undead that were easier to dominate, the gains would be lower as well.
The Holy Mother carefully selected a power level that could serve Fran well, and deal a significant blow to Raydoss when stolen.
Well, her plan didn’t consider any harm dealt to us, but that’s an undead for you. No matter how normal and rational she may seem, she likely had little compassion for the living.
「Now, please destroy me. Doing so will stop the ritual currently in progress. The zombies subservient to you will remain even after the ritual’s destruction.」
「...Can I just break the magic stone instead?」
The Holy Mother was not hostile at all, so cutting her down would leave a bad aftertaste. Plus, we have Jean with us, so there might be a way to purify her grudges given enough time.
「Destroying the crystal is impossible due to the vast amount of mana it contains. The barrier protecting it shall be maintained until all of the mana is exhausted.」
Fran and I multicasted Kanna Kamui, concentrating all the power on a single point, and striking the giant crystal. All of our friends launched an attack of their own in sync with us.
A shockwave swept through the wide room along with the explosion of mana. If we hadn’t prepared barriers in advance, some of the Hero Zombies might have gotten evaporated by the shockwaves alone.
However...
This was not sufficient to get through the barrier surrounding the crystal. The beautiful crystal continued to float before us without a single scratch.
「Mrgh...」
『This barrier is way too tough!』
「As I suspected, it is impossible for you to destroy the crystal.」
「Did it lose some mana?」
「Impressive. The crystal appears to have expended approximately 1/300 of the mana contained within.」
All our efforts amounted to 1/300? This isn’t working.
「Please cut me down. You should know that this is the easiest way.」
「...Are you sure?」
「Yes, this is my only salvation.」
「Fin——」
Bang!
The entire research facility shook. Immediately afterward, we were struck by intermittent vibrations. I sensed an incredibly powerful aura quickly approaching this very room.
『Fran, hurry! Do it before we get interrupted!』
「Nn! Haaah!」
Fran swung me down with all her might. However, my blade did not reach the Holy Mother. She was enveloped by a barrier, similar to the one around the giant crystal.
「No! This spell is...? Please, try once more, with everything you have!」
It seems the Holy Mother didn’t expect the barrier to protect her, as she shouted in a panicked manner. But right afterwards...
Bang!
At the entrance to the room, the huge iron door creaked and bent.