Volume 8 - CH 22

Translator: Silver Editor: Namorax

「Chiome and Goemon」

Pride swelled within Fangas’ heart as he watched his granddaughter, all the while bringing his spirit magic warhammer to bear against the undead surrounding him.

“Hump, I can’t lose to my grandchild just yet!!”

Fangas shouted with a toothy grin as he raised his weapon into the air.

『──Earthen Spirits, hear my call and grant me thy power──』

Fangas’ power rose in response to his chant…… He took a stance similar to the one Ariane had taken before she unleashed her pillar of flame, but the aura of intimidation he radiated wasn’t comparable to hers.

The air around the hammer’s head trembled as it produced a distinct rumbling sound. When the hammer began to glow, countless lights sprung up from the ground at Fangas’ feet.

『──Ye, who slumber within the darkness──』

As Fangas continued his chant, the ground itself began shaking. It felt as if something was rising out of the earth’s depths, causing friend and foe alike to struggle to remain upright.

『──Lead thy children, those who sprung from you, back into the primordial abyss──』

The ground in front of him split into a jagged fissure when he swung his hammer down.

The fissure swallowed up any undead unlucky enough to stand within its path, and the speed in which the chasm expanded meant that not even the spider monsters could escape.

It looked as if a giant, earthen creature had opened its maw to swallow everything and the human and elven soldier witnessing this scene were completely taken aback.

Eventually, the earthen maw closed shut, and the undead that had once stood upon the battlefield were nowhere to be seen.

“Phew, my partner’s fuel reserve is empty, but it was for a good purpose.”

Fangas confirmed that his trusted war hammer felt slightly lighter as he made that comment.

The custom designed hammer contained a special compartment for storing magic fuel so it could be used to cast large-scale magic.

It was the same technique Ariane used, but its power far exceeded what she was capable of, almost equaling the destructive output of Arc and the Dragon Kings.

Fangas had secretly taken the magic stones from monsters he’s hunted and processed them into the fuel he stored within his hammer in case of emergencies.

However, it seemed as if that emergency would never come. With the passage of time the hammer had been turned into a mere room decoration, but today he was finally able to release its power.

He’d intended to use this power during the Uiru river battle, but after Ferufivisurotte blew away the vast majority of the enemy’s force, he decided that using it there would’ve been a bit excessive.

As the elder reminisced about the time spent with his longtime partner, Ferufivisurotte and Williahsfim destroyed a section of the holy city’s wall before leaving to engage the two undead giants.

The city wall had been built to defend against foreign armies, yet Ferufivisurotte had easily drilled a large hole into it. The fragility of the compromised structure created a chain-like collapse which created an enormous avalanche of debris.

The impact could be felt even this far outside the city limits.

Once the rumbling ceased, the collapsed rubble of the wall had connected with the path Fangas had cleared with his previous attack, creating a path straight into the heart of the city.

It wasn’t long before the undead giants engaged the Dragon Kings, their offense countering most of the giants’ “death impurities” attacks.

Fangas’s eyes narrowed as the fight between the giants and dragons intensified. Their ground forces had no place in such a battle.

The largest treat the giants posed were their “death impurities” attack.

The giants’ sheer size meant that they could bombard the plains outside the city with those attacks, and there was no place for Fangas, Ariane or any of the allied troops to take cover if that happened.

However, once they managed to reach the city, the multitude of buildings could hide them from the giants’ sight and shield them from their attacks should the need arise.

Before their eyes…… a massive divide had formed in the undead army’s ranks, and the road into the Holy City was open.

Even if they breached the city with their current forces, the possibility of the undead surrounding and eventually overwhelming them was high.

Still, the “death impurities” remained Fangas’ largest concern.

“Everyone!! Vanguard, to me!!!”

Fangas’ booming voice echoed across the battlefield, causing the elven warriors to cry out in unison before they descended upon the remnants of the undead left in the wake of the elder’s attack.

Raising his partner once more, Fangas lead the charge against the undead.

The members of the Blade Heart Clan rushed ahead of the elves and cut down the undead remnants in the blink of an eye.

Chiome and Goemon were the two leading the pack.

『Earth Style: Explosive Tekken!!』

Goemon’s arms turned a dull, metallic color and each punch he threw resulted in pieces of spider monsters and undead getting blown off by the resulting explosions.

Not a single soul was left standing in the wake of such a fierce attack: pieces of damaged armor were scattered across the battlefield as the spiders withered and the undead were reduced to dust.

『Water Style: Water Spear!』

On the other hand, Chiome used her water spears to launch disabling blows at her opponent’s vital points. Once an enemy’s movements were sealed, she moved on to her next target.

Be it the forest, plains or wasteland, no other race was capable of matching their clan’s speed, so it was no surprise that they reached the city first.

Dust clouds still lingered around the collapsed section of the wall, but they didn’t completely block visibility.

Chiome and Goemon fought off the undead that occasionally attacked them as they used their superior senses to scout the city.

As she glanced into the city, the sound of the intense struggle between the giants and dragons caused the air itself to tremble.

Due to the stench of death that permeated the entire city, it was impossible to surmise how many undead were there, and all there was to see in their general area was dust and shadows.

When Chiome peered deeper into a certain shadowy corner, the figure of a priest came into view.

The man wrapped in luxurious robes appeared to be in his late twenties.

He stood at a hundred and ninety centimeters tall and his sizeable muscular body was closer to that of a warrior rather than a priest.

However, there were dark circles under his hollow eyes and a strange, almost morbid aura clung to the man.

“……Undead.”

Goemon carefully watched the man’s approach, merely offering a straightforward warning. With her hand firmly placed on her dagger, Chiome’s ears perked up as she focused on the man’s quiet ranting.

『So August and Tismo were utterly useless…… It seems that this one is the only capable of protecting Thanatos-sama!! Hahahaha!』

An unsettling voice leaked from the man’s mouth as his body began to swell unnaturally.

『My name is Marcos Invidia Humanitas. This cardinal is entrusted with the task of protecting this city by Thanatos-sama. Be gone from this place, filth! Samonakuba──』

Cardinal Marcos’ robes began to tear as his body continued to grow and take on a more monstrous form.

In the end, his skin took on a grayish-brown hue, and he stood over four meters tall.

His head had become a swollen tumor, and his face was dominated by a single massive eye that was surrounded by clusters of smaller eyes, each one eerily focused on a separate focal point.

His mouth was covered by the lower half of a soft-bodied sea-animal, with two arms stretching out from the man’s upper lip, and six feelers hiding the lower jaw and chin.

His body was disproportionately thin, the cardinal’s lanky limbs holding up his bulbous head and bloated stomach.

The stench of death the now monstrous cardinal gave off and the overwhelming killing intent he released caused Chiome and Goemon to unintentionally take a step back.

The next moment, several pieces of black rock suddenly launched themselves out of the ground where Chiome had been standing.

It was obviously an attack from cardinal Marcos, but Chiome’s blue eyes popped open in surprise when she recalled the sensation the start of the attack gave off.

Chiome usually prevented her emotions from showing on her face, but not even she could do so after seeing the power Marcos just used.

The cardinal had just used the same power the Blade Heart Clan used to perform their advanced ninjutsu… in other words, he possessed a 『Spirit Contract Crystal』.

Goemon had reached the same conclusion as she had, and was now glaring at their opponent.

“Chiome, look. That guy’s chest……”

What the ordinarily stoic Goemon pointed out was the rhombic jewel embedded in cardinal Marcos’ chest, it was the same kind of gem that Chiome and Goemon had in their chests.

“I didn’t expect to find the lost Spirit Contract Crystal in such a place.”

Chiome held her breath and began examining cardinal Marcos.

Although the rhombic jewel was slotted into his chest, it didn’t pulsate with an array of colors. Instead, the gem had turned jet black, which was quite the extraordinary occurrence.

『Die, you lowly animals!! In the name of Thanatos-sama!!』

His roar created a shockwave as a black aura engulfed the eight appendages on Marcos’ face before they shot out towards Chiome and Goemon.

Dodon!! Dodon!! Dodon!!

The roar created a cacophony of explosions as the surrounding rubble blew up when the wave reached it.

Chiome and Goemon stepped backwards until they escaped the attack’s range.

“……The tip of his arms.”

Chiome tracked Goemon’s gazed to the location on the cardinal he’d pointed out to her.

Narrowing her eyes, she saw that the tip of each appendage had become crippled in some manner.

“It’s probably the burden undead carry in exchange for forcefully using the crystal’s power.”

As Cardinal Marcos’ glared at them while his appendages regenerated, Chiome’s lips gave voice to her thoughts she utilized her ninjutsu.

『Water Style: Water Shuriken!!』

Chiome’s water shuriken shot out in rapid succession, embedding themselves into cardinal Marcos’ monstrous figure.

In response, all the eyes on his swollen head glared at her as an enraged shout sprung from the mass of tentacles.

『Impure little wench!!』

Another pressure wave was released and the tentacles whipped forward to strike at where Chiome was standing.

The air itself cracked as the tentacles approached, but Chiome leaped back to dodge the blows while simultaneously cutting into one of the tentacles with her dagger.

『Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!』

The large cardinal cloaked his tentacles in his black aura and released shockwaves more potent than the previous ones.

Dodoon!! Dodoon!! Dodoon!!

In addition to creating a deafening roar, Marcos’ shockwaves kicked up the dust, drastically lowering the visibility in the area.

Taking advantage of the confusion Goemon circled around Chiome and attacked from the Cardinal’s blind spot.

『Earth Style: Explosive Tekken!!』

Clad in a black shimmer, Goemon’s fist collided with two of the cardinal’s aura-covered tentacles, the physical strength behind Goemon’s blow and the power of his technique shattering the appendages and sending a shock through Marcos’ entire body.

Murky, dark red blood spilled from Marcos’ mouth before the force of the blow sent him flying down the street, with the cardinal only stopping when he crashed into a house.

『Water Style: Water Wolf Fang!!』

Chiome’s ninjutsu conjured two wolf-like constructs which she proceeded to sic on Marcos as he emerged from the rubble.

『Annoying little peeessstssss!!!』

However, once Marcos cleared away the rubble his eyes turned a strange color and the area him became wrapped in a mysterious aura.

The wolves Chiome sent to attack Marcos suddenly turned a grayish color before turning around to attack their creator.

“Huh!? That!?”

Chiome was caught off guard by her sudden inability to control her technique.

Chiome managed to dodge the first attack, but just as the fangs of the second wolf were about to clamp down on her neck, someone stepped in to save her.

『Earth Style: Solid Body Armor!!』

His bare body had a metallic shine to it, and Goemon’s literal muscles of steel received the wolf’s attack.

“Gaah!!”

While Goemon crushed the murky colored water wolf against his chest, the other wolf tried to attack him from the side. Fortunately, Chiome managed to cut the wolf down with her dagger.

“You saved me, Goemon.”

Goemon simply shrugged his shoulders at Chiome’s gratitude before glaring at Cardinal Marcos.

“Don’t worry…… Don’t use remotely controlled ninjutsu from now on.”

Chiome nodded at his words as she stared down their enemy.

At that moment she detected the disgusting sensation that seemed to be responsible for interfering with her Ninjutsu,

However, Goemon body transformation showed no sign of being forcibly terminated, a fact worth noting.

Unfortunately, to compensate for her small stature, the majority of her techniques were remotely controlled, which meant that most of her arsenal was unusable against Marcos.

Goemon and Chiome shared a brief look upon that realization.

The pair simultaneously started running, splitting up so that they could position themselves in Marcos’ blind spots.

While the numerous eyes that covered his swollen head made it seem like the cardinal had no blind spots, it was still impossible for him to see everything at once.

Their clan honed their perceptive abilities to their absolute limits, and among them, the six great shinobi were unparalleled in that regard.

『Water Style: Water Blade』

In response to Chiome’s nearly silent chant, an almost translucent stream of water wrapped itself around her dagger, doubling the blade’s length in the process.

In response, Cardinal Marcos lashed out, using his six remaining whip-like tentacles to release shockwave after shockwave against his enemies, but the smaller enemy managed to slip between the gaps of his attacks.

While the tips of the whip-like tentacles moved at the speed of sound, Chiome’s keen senses made it possible for her to track the tentacles and allowed her to negate their momentum with her translucent blade.

Although Goemon lacked Chiome’s mobility and reflexes, his body transformation which turned his body into something comparable to an iron wall managed to withstand the attacks.

Cardinal Marcos let out a frustrated roar when Ariane’s appearance broke the stalemate in his enemies’ favor.

『──Flame──』

With a single world her spirit magic was evoked…… however, the flames took on a murky color once they got within range of the strange aura that surrounded cardinal Marcos.

Although she lost control of the flames, the damage output of the thin flames Ariane summoned wasn’t that high and they soon faded in a haze of smoke.

However, the visual showcase was enough to distract Marcos for a moment.

The cardinal’s many eyes couldn’t help but focus in on an attack that occupied the majority of his field of vision…… at that moment, Chiome and Goemon struck at the same time.

Chiome swung her translucent dagger with lightning-fast speeds, its blade creating an array of blinding lights as water reflected the sunlight.

At that moment, four of the cardinal’s remaining tentacles were severed by Chiome’s blade in a single stroke, the appendages disintegrating shortly afterward.

In the span of a single breath, Chiome fell back and allowed Goemon to step forward before the cardinal could react.

Still disorientated by the loss of most of his tentacles, Marcos was left completely exposed to Goemon’s seemingly growing figure as the beastman approached.

『Earth Style: Iron Fang Fist』

Razor sharp nails sprouted from Goemon’s fingertips and he thrust them deep into the cardinal’s bulbous head and the many eyes housed there.

『GyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAaaaaaaa!!!』

The cardinal unleashed an ear-splitting scream from his misshaped mouth as he struggled to escape from Chiome’s and Goemon’s assault.

However, before he could get far, Ariane delivered a deep cut to one of the cardinal’s legs. Chiome took advantage of Marcos’ momentary pause to tackle him to the ground, his strange aura vanishing shortly after that.

Ariane sword began to shine once that fact became apparent.

The light soon encompassed her entire body before particles of light began to spread throughout the area.

『──Dance, burning flames; Scatter, burning flames; turn the souls of all things to dust──』

The light particles surrounding Ariane soon congealed into several red balls, the color eventually turning vermillion as the balls turned into butterflies.

Countless butterflies flocked to cardinal Marcos’ fallen form before igniting into a giant pillar of flames and heat.

『～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～～ga!!!』

Marcos couldn’t even scream as the crimson flames devoured his body, eventually reducing him a puff of smoke that drifted away on the wind.

Ariane called out to Chiome as the beastman’s attention remained focused on the sky above.

“Was my interference unnecessary?”

Ariane slightly tilted her head in confusion before Chiome offered her a reply.

“No, your intervention was helpful. Ariane-dono.”

Chiome turned around and faced Ariane, only the find her searching the city high and low before returning her gaze to Chiome.

“By the way, have you seen Arc?”

In response to Ariane’s question, Chiome raised her cat ears and expanded her senses further into the city, but she had to shake her head as she couldn’t pick up any sign of him.