Chapter 211 ~ Downfall of Castle and Country

Chapter 211 ~ Downfall of Castle and Country

“Tell me about this potion! Who did you get it from?!”

The red-haired female adventurer, with eyes glazed over, responded calmly, contrasting Shalltear’s agitated state.

“A man in black robe gave it to me at the inn.”

Shalltear looked at her confusedly for a moment.

What about it?

The female warrior’s answer seemed to leave that unsaid... and Shalltear’s body froze over.

“...No way... no, this can’t be... but... where... in which city is this inn?”

“It was an inn located in E-Rantel.”

A gasp of shock escaped her lips as she felt the world spin. This was because she had a rough idea of who the black-robed man actually was.

If her guess was correct, that only raised more questions. Why did this woman have this potion? That person would not give out potions for no reason.

“Could it be...”

Had that person given the female warrior an order? Or perhaps he had given it to her in order to strengthen their good relations?

Shalltear recalled the figure of the absolute ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The unease she felt at possibly having ruined one of her master’s plans filled her with limitless frustration.

“Why did you come here? What was your objective?”

Shalltear was no longer in the mood to dance around the topic. She had to find out as much as possible, and so she stared at the female warrior with eyes that were now bloodshot for a completely different reason.

“Yes... Our job is to protect the city, so we came to investigate when we heard there was a bandits' nest nearby. In the end, we found something strange, so we split up our team. Our party was responsible for a reconnaissance in force, which brought us here.”

“You split your team?”

“Yes. We didn’t know how many bandits were present, so we decided to split up and draw the enemy into a trapped area the other party was setting up.”

“So there’s another team...”

Shalltear muttered, then clicked her tongue as she realized that this meant more trouble for her.

“Then, how many of you came here?”

“There were seven people including me, and then—”

“Hm? Wait, seven people? Not six?”

Shalltear counted the corpses around them. Three warriors, one mage, one cleric — and this woman. The numbers did not add up.

The female warrior’s answer to Shalltear’s doubt-filled gaze was direct and to the point.

“Yes, there was also a ranger. He said that he would hurry back to E-Rantel for help if an emergency occurred.”

“Say what...?”

The arcane magic caster’s voice had been very loud — loud enough that everyone in the depression could hear him.

“Kuh!”

Eyes wide open, Shalltear charged up the sides of the lowlands, faster than the wind. She leapt over the edge and looked around, but even her dark vision capable eyes could not penetrate the depths of the forest, and though she listened carefully, she could only hear the wind blowing on the grass and trees.

Shalltear did not possess any detection abilities or divination magic. Under these circumstances, finding a single person in the entire forest would probably be impossible.

“Son of a bitch!”

He had escaped; she had been too careless. Shalltear ground her teeth as she realized that she had let two of her prey slip away.

“Familiars!”

Shadows wavered into existence near her feet. The shapes of a number of wolves appeared, their fur black as night ans their eyes radiated with a malevolent crimson glow.

They were Vampire Wolves, simple level 7 monsters summoned by one of Shalltear’s skills called [Household Summons], which allowed her to call forth various monsters.

The wolves were the ones best suited for tracking and pursuit.

“Hunt down and kill everyone in the forest!”

It was silver in color, with a five-clawed dragon picked out in gold thread along its surface.

In Yuuji’s world, this sort of dress would be called a qipao.

However, the woman wearing it was very old, her face was full of wrinkles, and her exposed legs looked like burdocks or dried potatoes. That dress was thoroughly unsuitable for her and frankly speaking, it made onlookers frown. Shalltear even went so far as to avert her eyes.

It was then that she felt it...

A sensation that made her... shivered.

This was the first time that Shalltear — a Guardian, one of the highest ranking entities in the Great Tomb of Nazarick — had ever shivered.

Shalltear’s eyes turned, intending to seize the old lady her instincts were warning her about.

That human had to die at all costs.

The spear-wielding man rushed at her just as she realized this and was about to make her move.

“Get lost!”

Shalltear batted him aside with all her might. However, when subjected to a strike that would pulverize a weak human being, the man was simply knocked back and did not perish on the spot. In addition, his will to fight was still intact despite being blown away.

Shalltear cast a spell, centered on the old lady.

“[Mass Hold Species]!”

She wanted to capture several people. This was because she had a premonition that capturing these people would not only make up for her previous errors, but earn her praise.

But in that moment, as she thought that, Shalltear’s mind suddenly turned white.

A searing white.

It felt as though part of her thought processes were gone, because she could not comprehend what was happening. And then, when she realized what had happened, Shalltear was shaken to the core, fear filling her undead heart.

This was mind control.

As an undead being, she should have had complete immunity to mind controlling items, yet her will was still being dominated. She desperately tried to engrave hatred and anger on her gradually-whitening consciousness, and as her mind pondered countless variations of the worst-case scenario—

With the worst being... turning against her most beloved one...

“AAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!”

She wailed, tears of blood flowing down the corners of her crimson eyes, as she struggled to fight back against the dominating force which was corrupting her, a Guardian of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

But in the next moment, the light that sought to corrode her mind suddenly dissipated.



A look of shock appeared on Shalltear’s expression, as well as all of their expressions.

The searing white that encroached upon her mind disappeared, along with the agonizing pain...

Shalltear had no idea what had just happened... But, she didn’t let it hold her surprise for long.

Having regained the full faculties of her mind back, Shalltear instantly used a class skill to create a [Purifying Javelin]. It was a gigantic lance of the holy element, and despite her own evil alignment, it could still cause massive damage to her foes.

The most important thing was that she could spend MP to imbue it with perfect accuracy and tracking ability.

As she marshaled her utmost opposition, Shalltear glared at the user of the technique, the old lady who was planning to defile her. To take her away from her beloved...

She did not take the man who held the large, mirror-like shield standing between her and the old lady into consideration.

And then — she threw.

She used that skill of hers to the full extent of its power, striking an augmented blow.

The strike flashed by in a streak of light and struck the old lady after penetrating the body of the man in front of her and the shield he was holding.

She saw the panicked group and the two of them coughing up blood in agony.

And just as she was about to finish the job and kill every single one of them here, a voice from above stopped her.

“Shalltear. Stand down.”

All eyes looked upon the skies and saw a figure with six pairs of jet-black feathered wings.

“Fallen Angel”

That was the term that came to the minds of the mortals who witnessed his figure from the ground.