Translator: Marctempest
Editor/Proofreader: TempWane
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Chapter 81: Landfill Maze (3)
······At the edge of the maze.
Chandrafail stood alone in an empty cavern.
“Magic, huh.”
He muttered as he looked around without a hint of agitation.
His movements were careful and composed.
Even if this phenomenon was caused by magic, he sought the caster’s presence with sharp eyes.
“Or is it just an illusion?”
Whatever it was, it was a skill that bordered on the divine.
An abnormality that occurred without him even noticing. It was clear the opponent would be a satisfying challenge.
“Hmm.”
There was no caster nearby, and he took a step forward in his armor.
“For now, I’ll keep moving.”
He had already confirmed that Quellière and the others had disappeared. From this, he deduced a logical assumption.
If this were a trap targeting him specifically, he would have been attacked already. This was a phenomenon affecting everyone.
He didn’t know why, though.
The Black Knight wandered aimlessly.
“It’s dark. And musty.”
In an unfamiliar place, alone.
Even amidst pervasive darkness, he did not bother to silence his steps. His confident strides caused loud noises, inevitably attracting nearby entities.
Kiiieeeek─!
Monsters with grotesque appearances, as if wearing doll-like masks, appeared.
They flicked their tongues and extended thread-like tendrils toward him.
Swoosh-!
With minimal movements, Chandrafail dodged and cut them down.
A display of overwhelming martial prowess.
In no time, the monsters’ severed heads decorated the ground.
“They’re more capable than the continent’s usual monsters.”
Even so, he didn’t stop his advance.
He pressed forward fearlessly, eradicating everything in his path.
His momentum was utterly different from that of others elsewhere. If one were to describe it, it was like a storm.
At some point, the monsters became the ones avoiding him.
The Black Knight clicked his tongue.
“Is this all there is to the monsters of the landfill?”
It was less impressive than expected.
This level was far from satisfying.
He had anticipated enjoying a proper hunt for the first time in a while, but perhaps he had gotten his hopes up too high······.
──Then it happened.
As if reading his thoughts, an overwhelming presence suddenly surged forth.
Gooooo──!
“······!”
Startled, the Black Knight’s hand trembled.
It wasn’t a joke. That reaction was proof of how strong the presence was.
He could immediately tell what it was.
“This erratic and endlessly ominous aura belongs to only one being······.”
The Black Calamity.
It had to be that creature.
The formidable enemy he had once fought in Chelmberd······ but.
“······It’s grown even larger than before.”
A tingling sensation crushed his entire body.
The Calamity was always on another level, but it hadn’t been like this before.
“Is this the influence of divine power or something?”
There was no time to ponder.
The presence swiftly moved away, possibly because it had another target.
An ordinary person would have thought they were lucky to survive and fled, but Chandrafail was different.
He immediately pursued the presence.
“Do not refuse my challenge, Calamity.”
The dulled fighting spirit he had felt while staying near Quellière was reignited.
Without hesitation, he increased his speed and charged forward.
*
“······.”
I glared at Sigina with a hint of dissatisfaction.
I was about to say something to draw attention, but why did she have to speak first?
Sensing my gaze, she turned to me.
“Oh~ oh? Quelli, why are you looking at me like that?”
Her innocent eyes were pure and untainted by any ulterior motive.
I sighed and shook my head.
“Nothing.”
“······Hmm~?”
“More importantly, this mist······ no, this barrier.”
I refocused on the situation at hand.
Guided by Sigina’s hearing, we had arrived at the source of the noise, where a detached group of the Church’s forces was struggling.
The peculiarity was in the nature of the enemies they faced.
Figures with hazy forms, like smoke.
Thanks to several factors, I figured out what this phenomenon was.
That’s why I immediately used the snowstorm.
“Is this a barrier?”
Nell, rubbing her arms as if cold, asked.
“Yes. This mist and the attackers within it… It’s one of the powers of a calamity.”
“A power…!”
I thought as I watched her eyes widen.
The official name was Illusion Barrier.
This troublesome ability was distinct from the magical anomaly of Landfill Mazes; it was a unique power of calamities.
The range of the mist marked the size of the barrier.
“So, we’ve entered the barrier? But barriers… aren’t they hard to dismantle from within?”
“Usually, yes, but this one is a bit different.”
However, it seemed to be larger in scale, likely reinforced by divine power.
Of course, the fundamental method of dismantling it hadn’t changed.
“Follow me. Sigina, you too.”
“Huh? Yes, ma’am~!”
I called out to Sigina, who was quietly gazing into the falling snow.
She, Nell, and the armed forces of the Holy Kingdom followed behind me. Their movement seemed to catch the attention of the people and illusions within, who stared blankly.
Saaahhh…
The snowstorm swirled wildly.
My signature grand magic began to thin the mist and destabilize the illusions.
Sensing danger, they charged at us.
─The barrier is weakening! Kill that woman!
“Block them! Protect Lady Quellière!”
There was nothing I needed to do.
The forces of the Holy Kingdom clashed with the illusions on their own, metal clashing against metal and sparks flying.
As I watched the holy magic being unleashed, I amplified the snowstorm even further.
─Graaahhh…!
The more I did, the more the illusions clearly suffered.
It was only natural.
Both the “mist” and “snowstorm” were classified as climatic phenomena in the game.
When two similar elements met, conflict was inevitable. Of course, if they were naturally occurring weather events, the rules were different. But in cases like this, governed by power, the rules applied.
It felt like just yesterday I had dismissed it as weak despite its wide range. In moments like these, the snowstorm proved its worth.
“Uh, Quellière.”
“What?”
“These guys… I feel like I know them. Am I imagining things?”
Nell tilted her head curiously.
I happened to be having the same thought.
A secondary ability of the Illusion Barrier.
It could temporarily summon puppets, those who genuinely followed the caster, as part of its army. Conveniently, there weren’t many like that.
Because the caster was the calamity itself.
“No, you’re right.”
“I thought so! These guys are those guys, right? Ugh, they’re so annoying.”
The cult of the Dark Holy Society.
The illusions wore their iconic black robes. At that moment, a mace swung down.
Thud!
The head it struck shattered easily, and the illusion collapsed.
Beyond it, a familiar white armor came into view.
“Oh… Lady Quellière!”
It was Holy Knight Dewade.
I’d wondered where he’d gone, and it seemed he’d been separated with the forces of the Holy Kingdom.
“To think you’d personally grace us with your presence! I should have resolved this earlier; my apologies!”
“You’re still the same.”
His fervent voice and deeply bowed waist were unchanged.
Not that he would have changed in such a short time.
In any case, it was perfect timing.
“You’re coming with me.”
“Yes! At your command!”
This power was difficult to face head-on.
Without knowledge of how to dismantle it, one could only suffer. That’s why the barrier was wary of me, who seemed to know its weakness.
─Die! Where do you think you’re going?
“You blasphemous wretch!”
Otherwise, the illusions wouldn’t persistently target only me. As expected, the more guards, the better.
The triangular formation of Nell, Sigina, and Dewade was quite solid.
Thud─!
“To maintain a barrier, there must be a core.”
Amid the fierce battle, I spoke.
My companions had the presence of mind to respond.
“A core~?”
“Yes. And the core cannot be placed outside the barrier. It must exist within.”
“So if we destroy the core-”
“We can shatter the barrier!”
“Exactly.”
That was the only way to break through.
I remembered the details clearly.
As my thoughts surged, a natural glow emanated from me.
Fwoosh!
The spreading sacred light.
The radiance’s effect was to “intimidate the impure,” and the phantoms cloaked in black paths shielded their eyes and retreated.
Meanwhile, the snowfall did not stop.
“Th-that radiance···!”
“It’s them! Lady Quellière, who gazed down from the terrace of the Grand Temple···!”
Our steps continued as well.
The people around us, or rather me, murmured as they glanced my way.
Some of them clearly recognized me, likely from hearing my proclamation back then.
“······!”
Among them was someone I recognized as well.
Lucia, the High Priestess.
A connection from the Church.
Seeing the wonder in her eyes brought a slight sense of familiarity, but now was not the time for small talk.
“Now, where could it be···.”
I recalled my player days and began searching the interior.
Clearing away the dissipating mist, I scoured various corners.
Then suddenly.
I spotted a cluster of mist huddled in a corner.
As my gaze landed on it, it twitched and rippled.
It was a subtle trick that I wouldn’t have noticed if the mist had been stronger.
I inwardly smiled.
“Found-!”
─Stand down immediately!
But I couldn’t finish my sentence.
A man in a black robe dashed in at once.
“Quellière!”
“You scoundrel!”
At the same time, my companions also moved.
I was quite surprised.
To get past their watch and the radiance and stand before me—it wasn’t an ordinary feat.
At that point, I could also infer the identity of the enemy.
There weren’t many roles in the Dark Holy Society’s hierarchy that were classified as strong.
─You monstrous woman! I won’t let you cause any more havoc!
Even though I understood, I couldn’t stop my pupils from dilating. Perhaps it was because the face was so unexpected.
“······Adein.”
Adein of the Seven Apostles, who was already dead.
He pointed his sword at me, his eyes filled with hatred.
I murmured reflexively.
“You should be dead.”
─Don’t spout nonsense! Who’s dead here?!
It seemed he wasn’t aware of his own death, as his reaction was frenzied.
Seeing him again didn’t bring joy, only irritation. He wasn’t worth my time.
“No, you’re dead.”
─You wench-
“Therefore, die again.”
I coldly spat and continued walking.
My target was the cluster of mist.
Adein’s interference only solidified my conviction.
─Stop! I won’t let you pass-
“No. You will let me pass.”
“You should deal with us first.”
The commotion from behind reached my ears.
The sound of a struggle.
I wasn’t particularly worried. They weren’t facing the real body but mere phantoms.
“You heretic! Take your filthy hands away!”
It seemed Lucia’s voice had joined in partway through··· but anyway.
I focused on my task, locking my gaze on the mist.
Or rather, what had disguised itself as mist, as it wasn’t truly mist.
“Hello.”
I tried greeting it.
The mass only quivered as though frightened.
Phantoms grew stronger the harder it was to distinguish them from reality.
“Here you are.”
Other phantoms, barring slight discrepancies, resembled humans almost perfectly.
But this one was different.
Its form was utterly opaque.
It was the result of deliberately lowering its combat ability to enhance mobility. While hiding, fused with the mist, I asked it a question.
“Who are you?”
There was no response, but I could guess.
It was likely another member of the Dark Holy Soceity.
Though overall blurry and indistinct, its smooth, bald head stood out clearly.
I considered for a moment.
“Hmmm···. I don’t know.”
In truth, I didn’t need to know.
The “core” only needed to be destroyed.
I reached out and formed a spear of ice.
Szzzt-!
It was a pattern I had seen countless times in the game.
At first, it had been tricky to locate, but now that I was accustomed to it, it was this easy.
If only the Calamity could be handled the same way.
“Farewell.”
Crunch-!
─······!
I pierced the core with my spear.
The core disappeared, leaving only a final, distorted scream.
At the same time.
Craaaaack──!
The Illusion Barrier shattered.
Losing its core meant its sustaining functionality was gone.
The entire area shook violently, and people screamed, struggling to stay balanced.
······.
Soon, the area returned to its original state.
In the moderately bright cavern, there were no traces of mist or illusions.
The immediate threat had been extinguished.
“It’s over.”
I nodded and turned around, but then I stopped.
The Holy Kingdom forces I brought with Sigina, along with those I had just met, were all staring at me.
Instead of sharing in the joy of reunion.
At that moment, Lucia approached.
“Saintess······ no, no, you said not to call you that. ······Lady Quellière!”
Her polite demeanor made me respond in kind.
“It’s been a while, Lucia.”
“Oh! Do you remember me?!”
“Yes.”
Lucia’s eyes filled with emotion.
She looked ready to burst into tears at any moment.
“Someone like me being remembered by you······! I can die happy now!”
“······So.”
I spent a brief, somewhat burdensome moment catching up with her. I managed to hear a rough summary of the situation.
A separated faction of the Holy Kingdom forces.
Lucia and the others felt the calamity’s presence shortly before the incident unfolded.
“By the way, Lady Quellière.”
“What is it?”
That’s when Dewade spoke up.
“I, too, witnessed the presence of the calamity. I immediately pursued it, which led me here.”
“···Which means.”
“This is the calamity’s doing, and it’s likely committing simultaneous atrocities elsewhere.”
······.
In that moment, my suspicion became certainty.
I shook my head and began walking.
It wasn’t surprising. Nor did it change what I had to do.
“We need to find the others.”
Reuniting with my allies to ultimately defeat the calamity.
That was all.
“Yes! I will guard you.”
As we set off, Lucia and the Holy Kingdom forces grew restless for some reason.
*
A short while later.
Somehow, they ended up trailing behind us.
The Imperial Army is the key to reclaiming the landfill.
They, too, were scattered, but fortunately, more soldiers remained by the side of Commander Artan.
They had already realized they had been caught in some strange trick.
“Protect His Highness, the Crown Prince!”
Although the Royal Guard and swordmasters were gone, many of the remaining Imperial troops were still highly capable.
The dire situation pressed on.
With their systematic training, they responded proactively.
Keeeck─!
Graaaah─!
“Hold the line! Do not retreat!”
They stood against the undead soldiers and ghouls rushing in.
The attack followed immediately after their random displacement. Despite the successive disasters, the Imperial Army did not falter.
Nor did the Crown Prince.
Slash-!
“······Filthy wretches. Undead in human guise dare to block the path of the Imperial Army.”
He unleashed his anger and hatred.
Artan wielded his skills to mercilessly sweep away the decaying creatures.
In the midst of this wartime chaos, rank mattered little.
Through slaughter and carnage.
He drove the front lines more fervently than any soldier.
“Do you think I will succumb to such trials?!”
Fragments of memories stirred in his mind.
When he had despaired beneath the cliffs in his boyhood.
When he had frozen at the entrance to the Snowfield during adulthood.
In those defining moments of trials, Quellière had always been there.
She always pointed out his flaws.
─Idiot.
He had been inadequate and powerless.
He knew it all too well.
─You were nothing more than a weed yourself.
So, he worked himself to the bone.
He believed in himself and in Quellière, who recognized his potential.
Thus, this was the reward for his efforts and his repayment.
Swoosh-!
Thud─
Another head fell, and as Artan turned his head, perhaps even the heavens had sided with him.
A welcome cheer erupted.
“Waahhhhh!”
“Your Highness! Are you here?”
A group bearing Arundel’s banner surged forward.
As Artan blinked, a nearby soldier confirmed the sight before him.
“Your Highness! It’s Sir Harold! The reinforcements have arrived!”
“······Is that so.”
Indeed, at the center of the reinforcements stood the Swordmaster.
His feats of fighting one against a hundred made him stand out clearly.
Truly impeccable timing. Although taken aback, Artan soon nodded.
“The reinforcements led by the Swordmaster are here! Victory is within reach!”
“Waahhhhh!”
The Crown Prince shouted, and an even louder roar shook the heavens and earth.
With nothing left to fear, a wave of fervor surged, leading to a one-sided massacre.
Crunch! Crackle─!
The undead were pierced, slashed, and crushed, leaving the ghouls no choice but to meet the same fate.
Before the legion of calamity, all they could do was fall and crumble.
“The end is in sight!”
Before long, the number of undead had dwindled significantly.
Progress was smooth, remarkably so.
A soldier was about to deliver the victory report.
─That was when it happened.
A colossal presence descended.
Goooooo──!
“······!”
Everyone hastily turned in its direction.
It was as if every hair on their bodies stood on end from the chill.
The atmosphere of triumph was instantly overturned.
When the presence revealed itself at last.
Artan’s eyes widened, and the soldiers’ hands began to tremble.
Saaaaaaa──!
“······What is that!”
A writhing mass of black and crimson resentment.
A form created from the entanglement of mingled demonic energy and vital energy.
Looking at that complete form, only one thought came to mind.
The Black Calamity.
The ruler of the landfill that had torn through the maze.
Once again, it had manifested in the mortal world since Disdel.
“······.”
“······.”
The cheers and fierce battle cries from earlier had vanished.
An oppressive silence settled over the battlefield.
Even the Swordmaster couldn’t hide his pale face, which only deepened the terror that spread among the troops.
In contrast, Mahabharata remained composed.
Like gazing upon filth, it looked down upon the imperial soldiers.
Its gaze didn’t stir anger from anyone.
Except for one person.
“Why do you look at me like that?”
Step, step─
From an arch-shaped opening came the sound of heavy footsteps.
The sound was the resonance of black armor, unaccompanied by a dark horse.
Even as the attention of both the imperial forces and the Calamity fell upon him, his steps were unwavering.
“Calamity.”
A chilling voice escaped from between the black helmet.
Though not enough to shift the tide of fear, it disrupted the atmosphere slightly.
“Do you remember me?”
The Black Knight, Chandrafail.
The one who had relentlessly pursued the resentment had finally arrived.