Chapter 0406 Pope's Inauguration Day
-x-X-x-
The day of the inauguration of the Pope.
The pope's inauguration is a ceremony held exactly one year after the pope ascends to the throne, and also serves as a public announcement to distant lands.
This is the first time that a delegation from the Central Countries has visited, but nations and religious leaders from the Dark Continent with whom they have relatively good relations are often invited.
It seemed that a total of nearly 400 people had been invited from the Dark Continent this time as well…
"They're divided into right and left. I'm not familiar with that kind of outfit."
Amon pointed out using his good eyesight.
"How should I put it, the colors are so flashy."
"They use a lot of primary colors. It seems that there are people associated with religion, and their clothes also combine multiple colors, such as red and green, so they stand out.''
"The design is pretty cool!"
Niels stated the facts, Etho pointed out the differences in clothing between the priests of the Central Countries and the clergy of the Western Countries, and Ryo gave his impressions faithfully based on his criteria.
The people they saw at Cafe Roemer were wearing clothes from Western Countries, but apparently they wear their country's clothes for ceremonies like this.
They were in the auditorium of the huge Circular Assembly Hall on the grounds of the Papal Palace.
The Circular Assembly Hall looked like the Colosseum in Rome on Earth and is used for events like this where a large number of people participate.
The Circular Assembly Hall is called 'Circular', but it is actually oval.
A perfectly round shape is called a perfect circle, while an oval shape is a perfect circle flattened slightly.
The seats where Ryo and the Kingdom delegation were sitting were right in the center of the flattened portion.
The Imperial delegation was to the right of the Kingdom delegation, and the Union delegation was to the left.
Incidentally, the clergy of the Western Church sat opposite them.
And it seemed that the guests from the Dark Continent were sitting at the rounded section.
"We are all in one place, but the guests from the Dark Continent are divided into left and right."
As Ryo pointed out, they were seated separately on the right and left ends of the long axis of the ellipse.
"I heard from a monk I met at the Papal Palace that the Dark Continent is divided into eastern and western nations by the coast. These nations have been at war with each other for over a hundred years. So it seems like the Church considered that…"
The person who answered that was Zeke, the priest from Room 11, who was sitting behind Room 10.
Before he knew it, Zeke seemed to have made acquaintances within the Papal Palace.
Even Ryo couldn't make one… Zeke is terrifying!
"Ah, it's Monk Carle, who Ryo-san also knows."
It was someone he knew…
"Come to think of it, I don't see Cardinal Graham?"
Niels looked at the audience seats in front and commented.
"I heard that the Archbishops and above will march into the arena, not be seated in the audience seats."
Zeke answered that as well.
Probably heard from Monk Carle.
Gong.
At that moment, the bell rang.
It was just once, but with just that, the Western Church audience seated in front fell silent.
The silence spread to the Dark Continent guest seats, and finally to the seats of the Central Countries delegations.
The four people from Room 10 and the three from Room 11 kept quiet.
A perfect silence where there wasn't even a single cough.
An assembly hall that held 3,000 people.
A group of people entered the arena in complete silence.
Leading the group were the twelve cardinals dressed in crimson.
Their scarlet garments were the same as usual, but even from a distance, they looked quite extravagant.
Behind the cardinals was a man in white robes.
The Pope.
A man who disappeared twice.
A man Ryo should have defeated twice.
And apparently… revived twice.
At first glance, he looked exactly the same as before.
However, he appeared the same as the Pope they saw at the welcome ceremony for the Central Countries delegation a few months ago judging by the way he carried himself.
Yes, he was not the same Pope during the last two battles.
They looked the same all three times but…
The sense of discomfort he felt from the Pope during the welcome ceremony… it felt like there was nothing inside the Pope.
Now, he was feeling that way again.
Considering that he didn't feel that way at all during the battle, there must be some reason…
"He feels different from the last battle?"
It was Etho who muttered that.
Ryo looked at Etho in surprise and whispered.
"Do you think so too, Etho? He's different from when we fought, isn't he?"
"Yeah. I wonder what it is, when we were in battle, I felt a feeling of contentment coming from him… or something like that. But now… he doesn't feel as powerful as back then… I guess?"
Etho tilted his head in response to Ryo's whisper.
By this time, the people around them were starting to whisper.
The main reason for that was probably the sobbing of the clergymen sitting in front of them.
They were crying because they were grateful for being able to be present on this special occasion.
"Don't feel any power… oh, maybe magic?"
"Ah! Is it because the magical power supply of the magicians in the hero party has run out? I believe that at the time of the welcome ceremony, I don't know about the other 28 people, but at least the four members of the hero party had not been captured yet?"
Ryo came up with an idea, and Etho confirmed it and nodded.
Ryo realized that the magical power provided by the four hero party members was quite amazing.
As expected, those were four top-class magicians from the Western Countries!
"Anyway, the contactless supply after the magical power is absorbed is amazing, like the contactless power supply of modern Earth. I would like to see how it works and the magic formula. Then, I would definitely like to apply it to my rice field management golems…"
Of course, Ryo's murmur was heard by Niels, who was sitting next to him.
"Why do you need to supply such a ridiculous amount of magical power to the rice field management golems…"
"You never know when or where they'll fight a powerful monster! Or they might be attacked by foreign troops or adventurers! If you're prepared, you don't have to worry."
Hearing Niels' words mixed with a sigh, Ryo replied boldly.
While they were having that conversation, the group finally entered the arena and the ceremony began.
The Pope gave his blessing, and the clergy of the Western Church all knelt together.
The sight of 2,000 people kneeling all at once was a rare sight.
"Ooh…"
An exclamation of admiration leaked out of Niels' mouth.
"This is spectacular…"
Harold also muttered.
"Sure enough, leaders are made from the awe and respect of those around them."
"Ryo, why did you turn to me to say that?"
"No particular reason…"
It was a coincidence that Ryo turned to Niels and said that. It was probably a coincidence. I hope it's a coincidence…
It was inevitable that Niels reacted to Ryo's words. It was definitely inevitable. Needless to say, it was inevitable…
It was only natural that Ryo evaded Niels' questioning… though of course he wasn't able to completely evade it!
The ceremony continued, all the clergy were seated, and the Pope began to express his gratitude to the guests from the Dark Continent and the delegations from the Central Countries.
Suddenly, Ryo looked around.
This time, of course, the delegation was not only the escort adventurers but also civil officials.
There would be no negotiations today, and the governments of the countries had requested that they attend the Pope's inauguration ceremony.
However, many civil officials seemed to be in a daze.
Some of them were closing their eyes.
It seemed that the burden placed on civil officials by the many negotiations, large and small, was quite heavy…
Ryo shook his head slightly and returned his gaze to the front.
After thanking the guests and the delegations, the Pope quoted something from the holy scriptures.
His words completely went over Ryo's head.
Naturally, it wasn't just Ryo, but Niels, Amon, Harold, and Gowan as well, the four muscle brains.
"Ryo, were you just thinking of something extremely rude?"
"What, I wasn't thinking about anything?"
A sudden jab from Niels.
Ryo hurriedly evaded the accusation.
Never let your guard down at any time!
While such a conversation was taking place at the Kingdom delegation, the leader of the neighboring Union delegation, Former King Roberto Pirlo, tilted his head slightly.
"Your Majesty, is something wrong?"
Groen, the guard captain standing nearby, asked.
"Hmm. The condition of the civil officials…"
Roberto Pirlo replied in a low voice.
When Groen was told that, he looked around.
"Ah, that's true… they seem quite tired from negotiating day after day…"
The expression on his face showed that he cared for the civil officials from the bottom of his heart.
But Roberto Pirlo shook his head.
"Even if that's true, it's strange."
"Hm?"
Groen tilted his head at Roberto Pirlo's muttering.
He didn't understand what former king Roberto Pirlo was implying.
Roberto Pirlo was looking not only at the Union delegation but also at the Kingdom delegation.
"As expected… the Kingdom's civil officials appear the same too."
It was true that the Kingdom's civil officials were exhausted and some of them were even asleep.
Roberto Pirlo closed his eyes, as if he had just realized something.
He closed his eyes and searched for something.
During that time, of course, the guard captain, Groen, did not say anything.
Roberto Pirlo was searching or thinking about something… it was the guard captain's job to stay out of his way.
"Their magical power has been drained."
"Hah?"
Roberto Pirlo opened his eyes and muttered that, and Groen let out a voice of surprise.
"The ground… or rather, this audience seat. Magical power is being drained from our bodies. Probably from all of us."
"Everyone?"
"At least every member of the delegations sitting in this audience."
Groen was taken aback by Roberto Pirlo's words.
And then looked around again.
"But, other than the civil officials, the others are…"
"Yes, it looks like that at first glance. Civil officials don't have a lot of magical power in general. Those with a large amount of magical power go on to magic universities or go out into the field and use magic. Those people enjoy better treatment. The officials here are pure civil officials. They don't have a lot of magical power. Therefore, the effects of having their magical power removed will be more noticeable than the adventurers. Of course, even more so for the knights."
In Phi, it is known that all humans possess magical power.
Those who can release the magical power they possess are called magicians.
However, even if it cannot be released outside, magical power circulates within everyone's body.
If for some reason, the magical power circulating in your body decreases drastically, it is called magical power depletion, and you will pass out… or fall asleep.
People who don't have a lot of magical power to begin with will run out of magical power faster than others…
"But, siphoning out magical power through this audience seat… who would do something like that?"
Guard Captain Groen shook his head and muttered.
"Naturally, only someone in the upper echelons of the church would be able to pull off such a large-scale scheme. Now, as for why…"
Roberto Pirlo frowned and shook his head.
He knew the cause, but he couldn't think of a way to solve the problem.
The reason Roberto Pirlo noticed this subtle flow of magical power was that he was a top-notch magician.
However, even he couldn't think of a solution to get out of the situation.
"I can't think of one, but I feel like that person could think of one… It's really strange to think that way."
Roberto Pirlo muttered while chuckling a little.
Then, he said to Groen beside him.
"Groen, hurry up and go to the Kingdom delegation next door and call for Ryo-dono."
"Ryo-dono?"
"Yes. Tell him that I would like to borrow his help in dealing with the abnormal situation that is currently occurring."
-x-X-x-
Chapter 0407 Movement…
-x-X-x-
"Your Majesty Roberto Pirlo. By anomalies, do you mean the trace magic power being sucked out?"
Ryo, who had just arrived, inquired intrusively.
"Hmm. As expected of you, Ryo-dono, you noticed it."
"No… actually, I first realized it when Groen-san, who came to call me, narrated the 'abnormality'.
Roberto Pirlo complimented him, but Ryo smiled wryly.
Even Ryo wasn't all-powerful.
"Don't worry, it's a matter of experience. Having been a magician for seventy-five years, it comes to me naturally."
Roberto Pirlo laughed as he said that.
Then he put on a serious face and asked.
"It's the auditorium seats that's sucking out the magic power. As a member of the delegation, I would like to avoid ruining this inauguration ceremony… since it might affect the outcome of the negotiations that the civilian officials have been working so hard to close. Nevertheless, these civilian officials are the ones suffering the most… So, can you think of any way to resolve this situation amicably?"
Roberto Pirlo, the man Lord Aubrey couldn't kill.
He is well-known for his intelligence.
But even such a man couldn't think of a way to 'resolve the situation peacefully'….
Then Ryo began pondering.
To be honest, he still didn't completely understand what 'magic power' is.
However, it is not something that exists outside of physics, which is the 'study of everything'.
He could infer that from what Michael (pseudonym) said.
That being the case… it should be possible to block it from sucking out magic power, or in other words, to block the transfer of magic power.
"I have just the right water-attribute magic for the task. To carry out a little test… may I try it out with just Your Majesty and myself? I reckon among those present, only Your Majesty and I can accurately recognize the subtle amount of magic power being sucked out so…"
"Ryo-dono, that's…"
"It's okay, Groen. You are right, Ryo-dono. We should try it on ourselves before applying it to the whole."
Ryo suggested, and as the guard captain, Groen tried to stop him, but Roberto Pirlo interrupted him.
Someone willing to take the initiative and put himself at risk… that's the kind of man Roberto Pirlo is.
"Now, please excuse me.
As Ryo chanted, a floor of ice formed under Ryo and Roberto Pirlo's feet.
Nothing special, just the usual
Appearance-wise.
"Oh, it's an ice floor, so it's slippery. Please be careful. I tried to make the ice to be not as slippery as possible, but I just couldn't completely remove that 'slippery' characteristic."
Ryo warned Roberto Pirlo, who was touching the
"This ice isn't cold…"
Roberto Pirlo expressed.
"Yeah, that's the whole point. I have stopped its change from ice to water and prohibited the transfer of heat. It may look like a single sheet of ice, but it is actually multiple layers, with a layer of ice in the middle that has almost no molecular vibration. In effect, forcibly stopping molecular vibrations, and presumably, that should also inhibit the transfer of magic power."
No matter what magic power is, it should vibrate.
By forcibly stopping the vibration, its propagation is blocked.
In a very simple model, it would be like a magic power thermos flask, where heat transfer is restricted.
By creating a vacuum between the two layers, the transfer of heat is prevented.
It's more of a Dexter energy transfer than a Forster resonance energy transfer.
Ryo had also speculated that this was probably the case when he saw
Somehow, it felt a little incorrect, but he didn't care.
After all, he had yet to comprehend the essence of magic…
"At first, I thought I could just try to prevent direct contact with the audience seats, but… seeing that even with clothes and shoes on, magic power was still being sucked out all the same. Hence the multiple layers. Your Majesty, please see if magic power is still being absorbed."
"Well… to be honest, I didn't really understand Ryo-dono's explanation, but it sounds interesting. We should get together and discuss magic sometime, but for now, let me check to see if the absorption of magic power has stopped."
Roberto Pirlo said, meditating and concentrating on following the flow of his magic power.
Ryo also closed his eyes, meditating in the same way, and followed the flow of his magic.
The flow of magic power that was being sucked out from the soles of his feet earlier had stopped.
Neither was there any absorption into the air.
The measure seemed to be successful.
Opening their eyes, they nodded.
A familiar face approached and called out to them.
"Your Majesty, Ryo-dono, could you please tell me the outcome too?"
"Oh, Count Hans Kirchhoff. I didn't know you were a magician… talk about a man of many talents."
The man who approached was Count Hans Kirchhoff, a member of the Empire delegation.
Roberto Pirlo said jokingly.
"I, too, could feel my magic power being sucked out. Then I looked to the side and saw Ryo-dono heading towards the Union delegation, and was even talking to His Majesty Roberto Pirlo. So I assumed that this abnormality must have something to do with magic."
"I see."
Ryo nodded broadly in agreement with Hans' logical, yet concise explanation.
It seems that truly excellent people are excellent in any situation.
"You sensed correctly, Count, this auditorium itself is sucking a trace amount of magic power out of us. I asked Ryo-dono if he could do something about it without making a scene, and apparently this ice floor he generated seems to have done the trick."
"So, I'm going to spread it so it covers the entire Union and Kingdom delegations. After that, I'll go over to the Empire delegation to set it up as well, so Count should return and inform everyone."
Roberto Pirlo explained, and Ryo added.
Hans returned without asking any questions.
Perhaps he could even guess what the siphoned-off magic power was for.
Same as these two.
"Ryo-dono, the siphoned magic power is for activating that thing, isn't it?"
"Ah, yeah. So Hugh-san did tell you about it. It is probably for activating the huge magic circle in the basement of this Holy Capital. And if they could also strip the envoys who might resist of their magic power, it will be easier to suppress their resistance… killing two birds with one stone."
Unbeknownst to Ryo and the others, Hugh McGrath was apparently also sharing information with the Union and the Empire.
Those who lead an organization tend to act without the knowledge of those below them.
Otherwise, the organization will not function properly.
Sometimes, some become the head of an organization without understanding such things…
Naturally, the organization won't operate optimally.
You can't retain the same mentality as those below, otherwise the organization will quickly go bankrupt… if you want to move up the ladder, you have to learn a lot of things.
For the sake of everyone in the organization.
Conversely, those who are not ready to do so should not be promoted to higher positions.
Your capability as an individual and the ability to run a project or an organization are two completely different things.
The sheer number of managers who don't understand this…
"Mm-hmm. Master McGrath sent a report to me. And of course, to the Empire delegation as well. Even the one about the 'sacrifice' too. I also learned that Ryo-dono has arranged for the magic circle to be rendered ineffective."
"Yeah. I just made it so that magic power is not supplied to the most central part, effectively rendering it useless… The initial part works fine. In case whoever designed it decides to perform a test run or something."
"Well, makes sense. So they don't find out that it's been tampered with."
Roberto Pirlo nodded once in response to Ryo's explanation.
Audience seats for the Kingdom Delegation.
Ice was laid on the floor by Ryo, and the chairs were also covered with ice.
It's not cold, but it's hard….
In the audience seats.
"Dammit… I have a bad feeling about this."
"What's the matter, Commander?"
Hugh McGrath muttered quietly, but Ignis, the chief negotiator sitting next to him, heard him.
"Nah… just, I'm feeling a little restless in my chest area. At times like this, something terrible usually happens."
"Ah… Ryo-san called it gut instinct or something. He said that the more someone goes through hell and back, the more intense it is. And speaking of the Commander, I can imagine."
"I sure hope nothing happens this time."
Hugh muttered, but he understood that the lives of the entire delegation were at stake.
He shouldn't have raised that flag.
He had done everything he possibly could. Everything.
But still, he thought.
He still thought he could have done more.
He thought he could have prepared better.
"Commander, it's all right. You've done everything you can."
Ignis, the chief negotiator, said with a smile.
He is the man responsible for all of the negotiations, which he was exposed to daily under pressure that even Hugh would be unable to handle.
He is, without a doubt, the most mentally drained man in the delegation to the Western Countries.
His conduct of the negotiations would determine the interests, influence, and rights of many countries for decades to come.
Not just for his children and grandchildren, but for generations to come.
And eventually will come a renegotiation?
Will the side that signed a favorable treaty be willing to renegotiate it?
Is there a need to renegotiate?
Of course not.
The opportunity for renegotiation may or may not appear until fifty or a hundred years from now.
How many people will be bound by this treaty by then?
Thinking about it, it is not something that can be described in one word: pressure.
But then, the man said.
"It's alright". "You've done everything you can".
Those words, more than Hugh McGrath could have imagined, lifted the pressure from his mind.
"Ah, Ignis. You're right."
Hugh gave a small nod, and seeing that, Ignis also smiled and nodded.
While the envoys from the Central Countries were being freed from the situation of having their magic power sucked out of them by placing their feet on the icy floor and sitting on the icy chairs, the inauguration ceremony was going on in the arena.
Ryo had returned to his original seat in the Kingdom delegation.
"I was wondering how they were going to manage the magic power needed to activate that giant magic circle, but to think that they would rig the audience seating at the venue."
"The scale is pretty massive, isn't it?"
Etho questioned Ryo's impression.
"That's right… and it would take a lot of work. You would have to draw a lot of magic circles… no, you can do this with a few larger ones… maybe? But then again, the magic power that would be used to activate those magic circles…"
Ryo couldn't find an answer, and his voice was getting quieter…
Then came Amon's quiet but sharp voice.
"The guests over there from the Dark Continent, aren't some of them sleeping?"
"Yeah, they are. Well, maybe one or two out of a hundred people… Does that mean they're sucking magic power out of them too?"
Amon reported what he spotted with his sharp eyes, and Niels agreed.
"Should we destroy the magic circle or device… alchemy tool or something around there that's siphoning the magic power? If we destroy it, though, it's more likely that those at the center of this conspiracy will recognize that they've failed and take hard measures."
Ryo asked, turning to Niels and Etho.
The party leader is Niels, and normally he makes the decisions, but in this case, since it was magic-related, Etho's opinion was respected.
Niels and Etho looked at each other and nodded.
"Let's destroy it. They will soon realize that they have not been sucking any magic power from the delegation anyway. The enemy will eventually resort to forceful measures. Then we'd better make the first move."
Niels said, and Etho and Amon nodded as well.
"Understood."
Ryo nodded.
The four consulted with Hugh McGrath and received permission to proceed.
And so they sneaked out from the top stairwell, behind the auditorium…
Author's note:
Abel hasn't appeared for some time!
Are there any readers who think so?
Yes, he hasn't appeared
It's not that I've forgotten.
There is a reason.
You'll know eventually.
Yes, eventually… hehehe.
-x-X-x-
Of the seven floors, from the ground to the third floor was the wall surrounding the arena, and from the fourth to the seventh floor were audience seats.
The first place the four of them exited was the sixth floor.
They suspected it would be possible to suck out the magical power of those sitting on the seventh floor by drawing a magic circle on the ceiling of the sixth floor or pasting paper with a magic circle drawn on it.
But… even after looking around, there was nothing like that.
"There's nothing…"
"Yeah, nothing…"
Ryo murmured, and Etho murmured back.
Niels and Amon were keeping watch of their surroundings.
"Let's take a look at the fifth floor."
Ryo said and the four of them went down to the fifth floor and looked around.
"There isn't anything here either…"
"Yeah…"
Ryo and Etho both nodded.
It was clear with that.
"It's not a magic circle, it's an alchemy tool. It seems like it's going to be a fairly complicated tool, but Cardinal Sacharias seems to be a pretty amazing alchemist. It might be possible if it's him…"
After saying that, Ryo stopped speaking.
"Ryo?"
Etho asked suspiciously.
Ryo frowned.
After a while, he finally opened his mouth.
"I just detected that person with
"That person?"
None of the three of them knew who he was talking about.
"Yes. Neil Andersen, an alchemist."
Finally, he found the missing Neil Andersen!
However, even though he finally found the person he was looking for, Ryo's expression was sullen.
"Ryo, is there something wrong?"
Niels asked.
"Probably. I'll look into it a little more closely."
After Ryo said that, he paused and then chanted.
"
The movements of objects are detected and analyzed through the movements of the water vapor in the air.
Suppose a fish jumps in a still pond. Ripples will spread across the water surface from where it splashed.
The target would be the fish and you can imagine Ryo to be in the middle of the ripples that are spreading.
On the other hand,
The 'ping' emitted from Ryo travels through the water vapor in the air, hits the target, and is analyzed after it bounces back.
Due to the nature of passive sonar, it is difficult to detect objects that do not move.
However, active sonar can capture everything, whether there is movement or not.
However, the amount of information coming in is surprisingly large, so much so that even Ryo suffered headaches in the beginning…
"As expected… he's in an open space that spans from the first floor to the third floor. There's a three-meter-class golem next to him. Neil-san is next to a box I imagine is an alchemy tool, big enough for one person to fit in. He has something on his head… similar to a knight's helmet."
"Golems are troublesome."
Niels frowned as he answered Ryo's explanation.
However, they have no choice but to go.
"Are there any enemies on the way?"
"No. I don't sense anyone like that."
"Okay. Then let's go to that atrium."
Niels gave the command, and the three of them nodded.
Two minutes until arrival.
Indeed, the four of them were able to get close to the atrium without being obstructed by anyone.
"That looks like… a heavy knight's helmet…"
Niels looked at Neil from afar and whispered.
In both the Central and Western countries, the so-called 'Heavy Knight' style, which is a full plate and a helmet that covers the entire head, is not mainstream.
Knights' armor is indeed amply 'thick' compared to adventurers, but it's not to the point where their skin is completely invisible.
As a result, heavy knight helmets are rarely seen on the battlefield.
Niels thought for a while and gave instructions.
"Amon and I will deal with the golem. Ryo and Etho, go to Neil Andersen. If that box of alchemy tool is a magic power extraction device, stop it."
"Okay."
Ryo answered, and Amon and Etho nodded.
He didn't want to ask now if Niels and Amon could fight a golem together.
Leader Niels' decision had been made.
From there on, just follow the instructions.
Even though Ryo usually speaks harshly about Niels, if he makes a decision as a leader, he will follow it unconditionally.
In workplaces where lives are on the line, they have to act once a decision has been made.
That's the basic principle.
Could the leader give the wrong instructions?
Of course, that could happen.
So what?
If you don't want your leaders to give the wrong instructions, the right thing to do is to have them train their judgment during normal times.
Subordinates must work in that way during normal times.
They need to build a good relationship of trust with their leaders and make them believe that they will never make a mistake.
By doing so, leaders will be able to develop their judgment skills even in normal times.
What matters is how well you prepare during normal times.
Isn't that what it's all about?
Whether it's sports or studying, prepare regularly so you don't fail in the actual performance.
The same goes for work.
It is important to prepare in advance.
Not for anyone.
It's for you.
For your own sake, ask your boss or leader to train you in your judgment skills during normal times.
That's why Ryo always says things that improve Niels' judgment!
It's not like he's bothering him for no good reason or messing around.
Yes, definitely not!
… Probably.
"Let's go!"
At Niels' command, Niels and Amon jumped out and ran toward the golem.
Seeing that, the golem quickly turned towards the two.
After confirming that the golem was facing them, Ryo and Etho jumped out.
They ran toward Neil Andersen at the back of the stairwell.
In the back, Neil Andersen was operating a moderately sized alchemy tool, but he must have noticed that Ryo and Etho were heading toward him, ignoring the golem.
His whole body turned towards the two of them.
"
A muffled voice echoed from inside the helmet, and a blade of wind flew out from Neil Andersen's hand.
That is a suppressive fire attack magic that splits into five blades before impact.
"＜Ice Wall 20 Layers＞"
Ryo created a wall of ice in front of himself and Etho while running.
The five wind blades were all repelled by the ice wall.
"Neil-san, it's me! It's Ryo!"
Ryo shouted while running.
But…
"
Attack magic again.
The blade of wind once again flew into the ice wall that was still deployed in front of the two moving people, and was deflected.
"He doesn't recognize Ryo."
Etho whispered next to him as they ran.
"I guess it's because of the helmet he's wearing. Is it manipulating his consciousness or something? Furthermore, that kind of thing might have some kind of mechanism that will cause it to explode if you try to forcibly pull it off."
Ryo said with regret.
The so-called gunpowder that causes an 'explosion' is not yet common even in the Western Countries.
At least, he hadn't seen one since he came to the Western Countries.
Of course, it cannot be said that it is common in the Central Countries yet… 'Room 10' is holding onto some at the direction of King Abel, and they must submit regular reports.
Well, anyway, he didn't think he put it on himself.
It's hot, visibility is limited, and he can't see anyone…
"I found out it was Neil-san because I searched with sonar, but normal people wouldn't even know that it is Neil-san…"
"No matter how you look at it, he's a suspicious person… He cast magic, so if the guards saw him, they'd probably try to kill him."
Ryo said, and Etho nodded in response.
"There's no help it… I'm sorry, Neil-san."
After Ryo said that, he chanted.
"
The sudden downpour around Neil Andersen froze and forcibly trapped him in an ice coffin.
Neil Andersen is a top-notch alchemist.
A top-notch alchemist is also a top-notch magician.
And magicians can't be frozen… no, they couldn't.
It is impossible to encase a magician's body in ice up to about 10 centimeters from the skin.
Perhaps it's a magic control issue.
So Ryo thought of another method.
That water is then frozen.
Since that water is 'Ryo's water', it is under Ryo's magical control.
By doing so, it invades the target's personal space in relation to magic and also freezes the surface of the target's skin.
It freezes the inside of a person's mouth, throat, esophagus, stomach, and other parts connected to the skin on the surface of the body one after another, and finally surrounds everything with a coffin of ice…
There's just one problem.
Actually, this method is not perfect either.
Magicians who are better at magic control than Ryo, or even similar to Ryo, cannot be frozen.
For example, Sera.
The reason he was successful this time was simply because the Neil Andersen in front of him was not in his usual state, his mind was dull and his magic control was lax.
It might be because of the helmet he was wearing.
Isolate Neil Andersen and first stop the coffin-sized alchemy tool.
"＜Scan＞"
The magic he created to thoroughly examine Abel's body was cast against the coffin-shaped alchemy tools.
No matter how elaborate the alchemy tool is, there must be space.
There must be air containing water vapor in that space.
If so, Ryo can explore it!
"Yeah. This is it. There was a very complicated magic ritual along the way, which I can't understand at all, but… Maybe this is the one that is sucking out the magical power from the audience seats… from the audience seats of the Central Countries delegations and storing it here temporarily. Once it's full to a certain extent, it will send it all at once underground and start running that giant magic circle."
"Is it possible to reverse something like this and return the absorbed magic power to the original person?"
"I can't do that. It seems like the magic power gets mixed up when it passes through this alchemy tool. Once that happens, it's impossible to separate the magic power, so it's impossible."
"I see."
Etho let out a small sigh at Ryo's explanation.
"And… it is also constructed to collect something other than magical power? It seems like a capture tool but… I don't understand… Does this target something like the 'Fragment of God'? Hmm… Well, there's a possibility that magical power will run rampant around here if I destroy this coffin, so I'll end alchemy for now.''
When Ryo said that, he cut the 'line' of the magic circle inside the coffin with
Buonbuonbuon….
The sound gradually became quieter and the coffin stopped.
"Now!"
Niels shouted as the golem's sword was flung diagonally backward following a thrust.
"Okay!"
At the same time, Amon jumped up onto the golem's outstretched arm and used his momentum to thrust his sword under its head, into its throat in human terms.
Both of them have been told by Ryo about what can be said to be the only weakness of the Holy Knights.
During the Golem battle within the Republic, the battle between the Holy Knights and the Civilians, the Civilian's spear pierced the Holy Knights' necks with a single blow.
For all ten.
Furthermore, from the remains of the Holy Knights seen after the battle, it was confirmed that the throat was made of a softer material compared to other parts.
With a total length of 3 meters, it must have a wide vertical field of view to fight a human who is about half its height, or a golem that is almost the same height.
To do that, it is absolutely necessary to move the neck upward and downward, and of course, the throat part cannot be made of hard material…
It can be said that this is an unavoidable structural weakness.
The two aimed for that.
Normally, when it comes to battles between humans and golems, attacks don't reach the golem's throat.
The part that can be called a jaw is made longer than a human's, and it protects the throat.
Therefore, even magic attacks will not be able to hit the throat.
But Niels and Amon did it.
Niels' 'parry' technique and Amon's body movements.
It was only when both were together.
While Niels and Amon were fighting, Ryo was examining Neil Andersen, who was trapped in an ice coffin.
In Ryo's ice.
The precision of the
But that's precisely why he understood that the helmet on Neil Andersen's head was quite troublesome.
"…This magic formula is troublesome… If you mess with the magic formula, it will counterattack… It's an aggressive barrier… Moreover, it is a double trap as it will attack Neil-san too… Needles will form inside the helmet. Is this an Iron Maiden?"
Ryo closed his eyes and mumbled something like that.
Etho stood a little further away and watched without saying anything.
He understood that his turn was not now, but after he took off the helmet.
The two who defeated the golem also arrived there.
"Are you having a hard time?"
"Ryo-san, you're sweating so much."
Niels said with a frown and Amon also noticed Ryo's unusual behavior.
The easygoing Ryo was desperately trying to analyze something.
They could understand without anyone telling them that the helmet was quite troublesome.
"It's okay, Ryo can do it."
Etho's voice was soft, but he spoke confidently.
There was no clear basis for that.
But he had no doubts that he would be successful.
The same was true for Niels and Amon.
After Etho finished speaking, they both nodded at the same time.
The three believe in Ryo's strength.
"…Multiple layers of compound locks…The person who put this on doesn't want it taken off… In conclusion, I can't take it off…"
Ryo opened his eyes and glared at the helmet that was placed on Neil Andersen.
Should he give up?
No! No no no!
Never give up!
Neil could die?
He won't let that happen!
He will never let him die!
"…If I can't remove it, I'll make it disappear."
The skill is there.
He has been successful before.
It's just that what used to take minutes or hundreds of attempts must be done in one second and with one attempt.
There is a small gap between Neil Andersen's head and neck and the helmet.
There, in an
Ryo's ice got into the gap between him and the helmet, and basically the helmet was not in contact with Neil's body.
But of course, he can't pull it off in this state.
If he forcefully pulled it out, Neil's head will be skewered by the needles generated from the helmet.
Even if he's head is covered with Ryo's ice, it's still a helmet made by a top-notch alchemist… if the mechanism produces an output that can penetrate Ryo's ice for an instant…
Ryo's analysis was not perfect.
It was too risky.
However, the most troublesome thing was a thin iron rod that extends from the inside of the helmet into Neil's mouth.
Needles will be generated from there as well, filling Neil's mouth with holes…
Even this rod must disappear in an instant.
Ryo repeated
In order to perfectly imagine in his head the shape of a helmet that would disappear with a single blow.
All of that allows him to momentarily turn ice into water and generate magic at the same time.
"Okay."
Ryo murmured a little and raised his right hand to shoulder height.
Extending only his thumb and index finger, and bend the other three fingers.
Then he pointed his index finger at Neil in the ice.
"＜Bang＞"
Dogon.
The moment Ryo chanted, only once, a loud and heavy sound rang out.
It was the sound of the helmet covering Neil's head disappearing due to underwater plasma.
"
At that moment, the ice that covered Neil Andersen disappeared.
Neil Andersen was about to fall, but Ryo caught him.
"Neil-san! Are you okay?"
Neil opened his eyes at Ryo's call.
"Ryo… dono…"
"Oh, don't say anything more. Etho, please!"
"Lay him down there."
When Ryo yelled, Etho ran over and gave instructions.
Neil Andersen was placed on the floor and Etho began healing him immediately.
Finally, Ryo was able to take a breather…
-x-X-x-
By the time Neil Andersen's condition had stabilized after being healed by Etho, support had arrived from the Kingdom's delegation.
"Harold, please take care of Andersen-dono."
"Yes, Niels-san. Please leave it to me!"
The three people from Room 11 came to assist.
Harold and Gowan are quite formidable.
Even after taking off the helmet, Neil Andersen still had a disturbed flow of magical power flowing through his body, but even if something were to happen to him, Priest Zeke was there.
Leader Hugh McGrath was very astute in nominating Room 11.
"Which way should we go, right or left?"
Etho asked the three of them.
Right and left?
The alchemy tool installed under the audience seats where the Central Countries' delegations were currently located that sucked magical power had been stopped.
However, when they were observing from the audience seats, they could see from a distance that the guests from the Dark Continent seemed to be in the same situation as the envoys.
The guests from the Dark Continent were divided into two groups, those from the eastern countries and those from the western countries. From the perspective of the Central Countries' delegations, the eastern countries sat on the east, or the right, and the western countries sat on the west, or the left.
"On the right, more of the guests from the eastern countries seemed to be feeling exhausted."
Amon made use of his good eyesight and suggested.
Hearing that, Niels looked at Etho and Ryo.
Etho and Ryo both nodded in silence.
They didn't have any objections.
"Good. Then we'll disable the devices starting from the eastern countries."
Niels gave his decision and the four of them started running.
Around the same time.
A battle was also taking place in the right-hand audience seats, at the first-floor atrium below the eastern countries.
"That's why I said, it would be better for all five of us to go!"
"Shut up! There's nothing we can do about it now! If they're truly trustworthy party members, they would sense that we're in danger and come and help us!"
"That's totally unreasonable…"
Two men and women were having such a conversation while fighting.
They were Patrice Tshisekedi and Guti, two members of the 'Refreshing Five Peaks', an escort party from the eastern countries of the Dark Continent.
Neither of them had any visible weapons.
They were fighting with sturdy-looking metal gauntlets with similarly metal boots, which can also be called greaves.
They punched with their gauntlets and kicked with their greaves.
On the Dark Continent, their profession is called a rather disturbing name, 'Beater to death'.
Was it magic, or were the gauntlets an alchemy tool, or was it some other power?
The punches of those two were quite powerful.
They knocked the opponent's sword away and punched them in the face, knocking them out.
They caught the downward slashing sword with their gauntlets and kicked the opponent's defenseless lower bodies.
However, there were too many enemies.
There were easily over ten men dressed as knights.
They were guarding a church priest in white robes who was fiddling with some sort of large box in the back.
Of course, the two of them did not intend to engage in battle without asking anything first.
When they went down to the lower level to find out the cause of the strange thing happening in the audience seats, they found the knights and priest.
When they asked them what they were doing, the knights suddenly attacked them.
Moreover, they made sure to surround the two of them!
"Guti, I believe these guys are Holy Knights!"
"Yes. Judging from the coat of arms, they're the Knights Templar. They're an elite order of knights of the church!"
Guti answered Patrice's question with a frown.
They were also a well-known escort party in the eastern countries of the Dark Continent.
No matter who their opponent was, they wouldn't be defeated that easily.
But this time, their opponents were a bad match-up. Moreover, the difference in number was too large.
If all five of them were there, there would have been no problem.
Even if that was not the case, at least if the Enchanter Kinme was there…
If comparing individual abilities, they were almost even with their opponents.
Therefore, if just defending, that difference in number was still manageable, but…
"Kuh…"
Involuntarily, a voice leaked out of Guti's mouth.
She couldn't say that she was tired… she knew that.
If she lost, she'd die.
She knew that!
Still, fatigue mercilessly creeps up on people.
And finally…
Slip.
Just as she dodged a Knight Templar's sword, she slipped.
Fatigue sapped her leg strength.
The Templar Knights would not miss such an opportunity.
The moment Guti lost her balance, he delivered a swift thrust.
A sword pierced into her side.
"Ugh"
A muffled voice leaked from Guti's mouth.
Guti involuntarily fell to one knee.
"Guti!"
Patrice shouted as he shielded her with his body.
The swords of the Knight Templars swung ruthlessly…
"
Crack, crack, crack.
The knights' swords bounced off the invisible wall that surrounded the two of them.
They were all visibly surprised.
But right now, they were in battle.
Don't stop even if you're surprised. That would be suicidal.
"Hyah!"
Niels and Amon jumped in.
Furthermore, Etho shot an arrow from a distance.
Ryo left it to the three of them to deal with the knights and ran past everyone at once.
"A coffin-sized alchemy tool! The person messing with it… is an ordinary priest?"
Ryo muttered as he ran and chanted.
"
The priest was unable to react and was blown away by the ice spear that suddenly appeared in front of him.
He was knocked out by just one blow.
"＜Scan＞"
Ryo, as though it would be a shame to wait until he reached the alchemy tool, fired
Even if it looked the same on the outside, it didn't necessarily mean it was the same on the inside.
"Scan complete. Yeah, just a little smaller, everything else is about the same."
After Ryo said that, he cut the line inside with
"Compared to what Neil-san was tinkering with, this device's absorption of magic power is much worse. I wonder if the efficiency of this alchemist tool changes depending on the skill of the alchemist… That's why they used the talented Neil-san…"
Ryo muttered and frowned.
However, Ryo looked at the coffin-like alchemy tool again and suddenly had a doubt.
Ryo is a water-attribute magician, so he was able to grasp the situation through water vapor in the air, and like this time, he was able to forcibly cut the 'line' inside the alchemy tool and force it to stop.
However, as far as he could see from the outside, the coffin-sized alchemy tool only had two sound volume controls.
Neil Andersen and this priest were tinkering with it and making various adjustments, but… it didn't have a stop function.
In other words, once started, it is an alchemy tool that can never be stopped normally.
"The person who made this didn't include a stop mechanism? I wonder what they were planning to do if it went out of control unexpectedly…"
Ryo muttered.
However, after thinking about it for a while, he came up with an answer.
"Maybe they found it impossible that they would make a mistake or fail."
As long as we are human, we will make mistakes.
We may fail.
But if they consider themselves a messenger of god or an angel?
There's no way they can make a mistake.
It may be difficult for a third party to understand, but…
It happens all the time in history.
The battle ended almost at the same time as Ryo stopped the coffin-sized alchemy tool.
"
After Ryo chanted, Etho ran towards the two who were being protected.
"I'm a priest. Show me your injuries."
The three newcomers fought to help them.
The two of them watched that the entire time.
They were people they could trust.
And more importantly, his companion was injured.
"Please… do."
The man moved away and placed the woman on the floor, entrusting her to Etho.
Then he stood up, turned to Niels, put his hands together, bowed his head, and said,
"Thank you for your help. I am the eastern countries' escort… party's Patrice, and… that one is… Guti."
Although his words were quite broken, 'Room 10' was grateful that it was still understandable.
"Don't worry about it. We are Niels, Etho, Amon, and Ryo. We also came to stop that alchemy tool. Then we saw you guys were fighting, so we just helped out."
Niels said with a nod.
At the word alchemy tool, Patrice looked up with a snap.
"The anomaly in the audience seats… is that… the cause?"
"Yeah, that's right. We are from the Central Countries delegation, and there was one under the audience seats over there. We stopped it earlier."
Niels nodded in response to Patrice's words.
"I have stopped the function that takes away magic power."
Ryo said as he approached. With a thumbs-up.
They probably didn't know what a thumbs-up meant, but it seemed to have conveyed to them that there was no problem.
"She's fine too. I've healed her with
Etho said with a smile, and Patrice immediately crouched down and hugged Guti as she got up.
"బాగుంది ... గుతి..."
"పా, పాట్రిస్! ఇది కాస్త బాధాకరం"
Patrice looked like he was about to cry a little.
Guti's face turned bright red, looking either happy or embarrassed, maybe both.
The two of them spoke a language that the four people, who were citizens of the Central Countries, could not understand…
"I remember seeing these two at Cafe Roemer. Their green hair and pink hair really stand out!"
"Oh, that's it! I was wondering about that."
"It's not a bad thing to stand out."
"I wonder why there were golems under the seats over there, but there were knights over here."
Ryo remembered seeing them at Cafe Roemer before, Amon agreed, Etho nodded, and Niels was pondering a very serious question.
Anyway, all's well that ends well.
Author's note:
There are some unfamiliar characters in the conversation between the two.
It's the Dark Continent language, but there's no need to worry too much about it.
This is a world where the languages of the Central Countries are as widespread as modern English, or even closer to the global standard.
Many people can use the Central Countries' language along with their local language (though not all, and some are good at it and some are bad at it).
I'm sure great reincarnators of the past spread the Central Countries' language all over the world!
By the way, if you translate the text
"Thank goodness… Guti…"
"Pa-Patrice! It hurts a little!"
-x-X-x-
"I've been rescuing a lot of male-female pairs lately."
Ryo said while folding his arms in satisfaction.
What he recalled in his mind was the duo of Captain Bangan and Vice Captain Amalia of the Republic.
"That said, it's not all over yet."
"Right."
Ryo said, and Niels nodded.
"Patrice and Guti, right? Can you find your way back to your friends?"
"Yeah… if it's just walking… I have no problem."
Niels asked, and Guti answered.
Patrice looked a little worried, but his gaze was ignored.
"Okay. Then we'll go around to the left, toward the western countries of the Dark Continent."
"Got it!"
Niels said, and the other three answered.
Then the four members of 'Room 10' started running.
Meanwhile, the arena, the main venue for the Pope's inauguration ceremony, was in chaos.
"His Holiness the Pope has been stabbed! Archbishop Goon stabbed him!"
"Quickly! Cast Extra Heal!"
The Pope was left lying on the podium where he was stabbed.
Archbishop Goon was being held down by his side, his head on the floor with eyes out of focus, offering no resistance.
Surrounding him were mostly archbishops and above…
So naturally, they can use
However…
"How come?
"Is His Holiness' body impervious to Heal?"
"It's a serious injury. For the time being, we've got to continue casting
Amid such chaos, how many among the archbishops gathered around the lying pope noticed that a cardinal had slipped in?
The cardinal advanced to the right side of the lying pope, right next to his neck.
Then they took something out of their vestments.
It was an axe.
The axe wasn't that large.
But large enough.
Enough to do what exactly?
Enough to decapitate a person lying motionless…
Slash.
"Eh…"
At that moment, no one fully realized what had happened.
An axe swung down and decapitated the Pope as he laid there.
Blood gushed out.
The head rolled.
Cardinal Camillo, holding the bloody axe in both hands, kneeling beside him, staring at the ground.
A world of complete silence.
"Why…?"
Whose voice was that tiny, little voice?
Perhaps it was one of the archbishops who had been working around the pope to revive him….
But that little voice triggered the ensuing chaos.
A roar of outrage.
It was the kind of rage unbecoming of high-ranking priests, but when the head of the Pope, the object of their loyalty, was chopped off right in front of their eyes, it's understandable that some may not be able to maintain their sanity.
Priests running around.
Without even knowing the reason why they are running.
Some people walk around the room when they are frustrated. It was an intense version of that.
And some remained still.
That is probably the most common action taken by many people when something they believe in is suddenly lost…
The chaos was not limited to the arena.
The priests of the Western Church who were seated in the front auditorium… they too were embroiled in the chaos.
No, rather, with nearly two thousand people, suffice to say that they were in a more disorderly mess than the archbishops.
Screaming out.
Running back and forth.
Bursting into tears.
Generally speaking, they were no different from the archbishops in the arena.
But among the priests of the Western Church, some were not as confused as they appeared to be.
Eleven cardinals in the same arena.
However, they weren't in their usual state, as might be expected.
All but one of them looked surprised or dismayed.
And that was Cardinal Sacharias.
Even he didn't expect the Pope to be killed on the spot.
It wasn't a question of having a replacement or being able to bring him back to life.
He was decapitated in front of a crowd of spectators.
And if that same person were to appear again… no, that can't happen.
In other words, they can no longer use that pope.
At the same time, thoughts were flitting through Sacharias' mind.
(Why did Goon…. Why did Camillo…)
Such thoughts repeated over and over again in his mind.
But then, all of a sudden, he had an epiphany.
The answer came to him instantly.
Cardinal Graham.
But Cardinal Graham also looked surprised, and his eyes remained wide open.
Seeing Graham like that, Sacharias immediately turned his gaze back to the Pope.
(I thought it was Graham's plot, but… it wasn't him?)
Naturally, Sacharias recognized that among the cardinals, Graham was the opponent they needed to watch out for the most.
But he had left him to Cardinal Camillo to deal with.
Only for Camillo to wind up beheading the pope, so he wondered what trick Graham had pulled, but…
He thought to himself, finally starting to be able to think ahead.
It had actually been three minutes since the Pope's head was lopped off.
(At any rate, there's nothing left for me to do. The magic power being sucked up from the auditorium will begin flowing into the underground magic circle and activate on its own without me doing anything. Then, it will immediately become Legna-sama's sustenance…)
Thinking that far, Sacharias suddenly looked at the audience seats across from him.
The audience seating for the Central Countries delegation.
But there was something strange about it.
At first, he couldn't put his finger on it, since there was quite a distance between the two seatings, but after staring at them for a while, he understood why.
The chairs were shining brightly.
It reflected the sunlight surprisingly well.
"Ice?"
Yes, they were covered in ice.
There was only one possible reason.
They noticed the siphoning of magic power and tried to interfere with it.
"But unfortunately putting ice over it won't be of much help. Magic power itself can penetrate the ice."
Sacharias muttered softly but still felt uneasy.
Then, while paying attention to his surroundings, he pulled out a card-sized alchemy tool from his pocket.
It was an alchemy tool that allowed him to check the operational status of the three magic power siphoning tools installed in the arena.
Upon checking…
"Impossible…"
He unwittingly raised his voice louder than he meant to.
Of course, there was no one in his immediate vicinity, but he ought to be cautious.
Thereafter, he stepped away from the other cardinals and took another hard look at the card-sized alchemy tool.
"Yeah I didn't see it wrong… all three units have stopped."
Then he looked at the left and right audience seating, apart from the one in front.
Those seats were for guests from the Dark Continent.
However, there was no ice on them.
"So the delegation from the Central Countries intercepted it with ice, while the guests from the Dark Continent neutralized the first floor."
Sacharias concluded.
If Neil Andersen had died, it would have shown up on the card, but it did not.
Besides, he had Holy Knights as escorts. So they wouldn't get to him that easily.
"Either way, it's too late."
He muttered to himself and pressed the only switch on the card.
It was a switch that forced the magic power that had been sucked out and accumulated to flow into the underground magic circle all at once.
A switch that forcibly performs what was done automatically when the tank is full.
There shouldn't be any problem even if it's not full.
Now, there really was nothing left for Sacharias to do.
(The rest is according to Legna-sama's will…)
In the corner where the cardinals were gathered, a group of people in black robes came running up to them.
They were the Inquisition.
At the head of the group was Stefania, the head of the Inquisition.
The cardinals, who had been staring at the Pope in surprise, noticed this.
The Inquisition officers surrounded Cardinal Sacharias.
Stefania stood in front of Sacharias.
"Chief Stefania, what can I do for you?"
Sacharias asked, smiling as usual as he casually slipped the card into his pocket.
"We would like to speak to you, Your Eminence, concerning the heinous acts committed against His Holiness the Pope. This is an official Inquisition."
At that moment, a look of agitated emotion flashed across Sacharias's face.
Then he glared at Graham.
He finally caught on.
Graham had set it all up, all along.
Yes, both Archbishop Goon and Cardinal Camillo were manipulated by Graham.
The surprised expression on his face earlier was a deception to buy time for this moment.
"Chief Stefania said it is an official Inquisition. Not even a cardinal can avoid being subjected to the Inquisition."
Graham said in a loud voice, with a brazen display of boldness.
"Graham…! "
As if mumbling, straining his voice… biting down…
The word leaked out of Sacharias' mouth.
"For the past few months, Archbishop Goon, as well as Cardinal Camillo, have been working under the direction of His Eminence Sacharias. While I believe the Inquisition must also find this timing a little ill-fitted, they probably cannot afford to overlook it."
Graham spoke again in a louder voice.
So that the surrounding cardinals could hear him.
And for the archbishops to hear.
The expression on Sacharias' face, who had been biting his back teeth so hard that a grinding sound could almost be heard, loosened.
Then, he said in a low, quiet voice.
"Very well. I've already done my part anyway."
Graham was the one who overheard him.
"Hate to break it to you, Sacharias. But, the magic circle in the basement is useless."
"!"
Sacharias' reaction to Graham's words was fierce.
The look on his face as he turned to Graham was malevolent and hideous.
The look of a man on the verge of losing his sanity.
"Y-You, wretched… wretched… what did you do…?"
His low voice was like a whisper with a face like a malevolent spirit, but it wasn't a faint voice that sounded as if it would break, but a voice with a danger of exploding with anger inside.
"We made it so that it wouldn't be able to collect the Fragments of God."
"That's impossible… the test run operated just fine…"
"Yeah, I'm sure it did. Except it won't run as so during the real operation. It was done by someone as adept at alchemy as you are."
Graham spoke to him in a colder tone.
Sacharias got down on both knees and sat down flat on the ground.
Then he scratched his head.
"Unbel… unbelievable… what a blunder… Angel-sama… Legna-sama, my sincerest regrets… for not being able to prove useful to you…"
From that point on, his voice was so low that even Stefania, who was standing right in front of him, couldn't hear him.
"I hereby offer my body to you as your vessel."
Then he raised his hand, and plunged the dagger he had hidden in his sleeves into his own throat.
"Wha…"
Even Stefania was at a loss as she didn't see that coming.
And then… the world exploded!
Author's note:
A rare splatter gore development for Water Magician!
Well, the pope isn't human.
So even if his head gets cut off, it's safe.
…Come to think of it, there has been an appearance of someone's head getting cut off.
Akuma Leonor.
Technically speaking, it should be quite difficult to cut off a person's head.
-x-X-x-
"Stefania, get away from there!"
Graham screamed.
Stefania, who had been stunned by Sacharias's suicide, quickly stepped back and away from Cardinal Sacharias's corpse.
The other Inquisition officials also moved away from Sacharias almost without delay.
In contrast, the movements of the cardinals and archbishops were more sluggish.
The concept of explosions is also known in the Western Countries.
Of course, gunpowder is not common, but among fire-attribute offensive magic, there is magic that can be called 'explosion magic'.
Lo and behold, Sacharias's body seemed to explode.
Those who failed to distance themselves were blown away by the blast.
A cloud of dust erupted.
The dust soon began to swirl.
How many of them noticed that the Pope's body was gone at this time?
When the whirlpool stopped and visibility restored…
Something… came out from within.
"…Spider?"
"…Golem?"
"It has four legs."
"The legs… the knees? There are human faces on the knees…"
"The upper body is a human's…"
"The head… the face is… His Eminence Sacharias…"
"No, look! There's a face on its stomach…"
"His Holiness the Pope!"
"Okay, I definitely wasn't expecting that."
Graham muttered to himself as he looked at what had appeared.
"What's that… alchemy?"
"No, alchemy couldn't have compounded six people together in that instant… This is not the work of man."
Stefania asked, and Graham answered.
As if to confirm Graham's words, the clear sky began to cloud over and lightning began to flash.
Furthermore, it began to rain from the sky over the entire assembly hall…
Something that wasn't rain.
A myriad of… monsters.
Raining down on the audience.
"Magicians, put up barriers above! Physical class will protect against enemies from the sides."
Hugh McGrath sent out orders.
Already, a defensive formation had been set up with the civilian officials in the center to protect them and deal with the falling monsters.
Not only the Kingdom Delegation but also the Empire and the Union had set up similar defensive positions and were observing the situation.
If possible, they would like to move to a safer area.
And as soon as possible.
The biggest problem, however, was not knowing where was safe.
Looking at the sky, it seemed that it was raining monsters not only in the assembly hall but also outside it.
Not only within the Papal Palace but possibly throughout the Holy City.
The Central Countries Delegation had a total of nearly one thousand people from the three countries.
Could they move such a large number of people outside?
That would be impossible.
Because outside the assembly hall, there must be panic among the fleeing Holy Capital residents….
The audience seating area was not necessarily an easy place to defend because of the staircase, but it was still better than outside the assembly hall.
That was the conclusion of the commanders of the three countries, who arrived at the same conclusion while making separate decisions.
While setting up a defensive position, Hugh was conscious of not overlooking everything that was happening.
Though it's likely not why he noticed, but…
Still, he certainly noticed it fairly early on.
"You don't need to finish off the monsters. Focus on maintaining your defenses. If you injure the monsters, they will start cannibalizing each other!"
That was what Hugh noticed.
It may have been partly because he saw the 'Red Bear' that rained down outside the assembly hall.
The 'Red Bear' can be recognized at first glance as an unusual monster that releases fire-attribute magic….
It could be the same red bear previously reported by 'Room 10' and 'Room 11'.
The red bear was attacking other monsters as well.
It meant that monsters were not friendly with each other.
Like the monsters in the forest, they were each other's enemies, fighting each other if they came into their territory, and attacking and trying to eat those they could defeat…
It doesn't seem like anyone was controlling all the monsters.
"So the fallen angel-sama can summon monsters, but can't control them as he pleases."
Hugh's muttering was heard by DeLong of 'Coffee Maker' who was next to him.
"Is all this… the evil angel-sama's doing…?"
The concept of 'fallen' seemed to be a bit complicated, and even DeLong did not fully understand it, so he paraphrased it as 'evil' in his previous statement.
If it was an 'evil angel', many adventurers could understand it.
However, the priests frowned…
But when Etho explained that he was 'not an angel of the Central Countries', they finally accepted it.
Faith is such a tricky topic…
And those who gave their all to such 'faith' were present in the arena.
They were the cardinals and archbishops, the highest-ranking members of the Western Church, except for the pope.
And each of them has a subordinate who is their protégé.
To protect their beloved superiors, the bishops and others in the audience descended to the arena to fight the monsters that fell from the sky.
However, ordinary priests cannot fight.
Combat-ready clergy… the greatest of them is the Order of Holy Knights.
Among them, the Knights Templar are said to be the strongest and have a large number of members.
Of course, they are not monolithic, and it is no exaggeration to say that they are divided into factions almost by battalion within the Order.
However, right now, they were united in their hearts, subjugating the monsters that fell from the sky.
Perhaps the hardship had awakened the faith of the knights.
The knights fought bravely, protecting the cardinals and archbishops with a makeshift roof made of stacked large shields.
Then the long-awaited reinforcements arrived.
"Holy Knights!"
Many priests who saw them shouted in unison.
Holy Golem Knights that protect the church.
They had set out from the golem base inside the Papal Palace and finally arrived at the assembly hall.
All thanks to the mechanics who had holed themselves up inside the base and activated them without running away.
They were overwhelmingly outnumbered by the monsters.
However, the strength of the Holy Knights was on a whole nother level.
It was almost overwhelming.
To the point that the following words might have slipped from the mouths of many that.
"We've won".
And then the monsters stopped falling from the sky.
At that moment, even those who had not uttered the words earlier must have thought, "We've won".
The monsters that landed in the arena were already exterminated.
Originally, they were all monsters of little strength.
They were only troublesome because of their numbers and the fact that they were falling from the sky.
But that was where the real show began.
The things falling down had changed.
A mist descended into the arena.
A golden mist.
A waterfall of gold.
The golden waterfall that once poured down on the border town of QC Duchy…
The very same.
A collection of twenty humanoid-looking smoke bodies… emerged from the golden waterfall that poured down.
Those smokes immediately attacked the Holy Knights as soon as they took shape.
Of course, the Holy Knights intercepted them.
But they were up against smoke.
The Holy Knights' swords cleaved the smoke, but… it cuts through the air.
But somehow, the blow of a smoke made a big hole in the throat of a Holy Knight, and with that blow, the Holy Knight was defeated.
"Those smokes… are they wraiths?"
"No, they're too distinctly shaped to be wraiths."
Stefania muttered, and Graham denied it.
"They're probably… 'Spirit Smokes'."
"I thought… that was just a legend…"
Graham said in a really quiet voice so that no one but Stefania could hear him if he was wrong, and Stefania answered in an equally quiet voice.
The 'Spirit Smoke' in the Western Church is the manifestation of the power of angels in the mundane world.
Many angels appear in the teachings of the Church.
Twenty-four of which can be identified by their names.
Others say there are hundreds, or even thousands, in fact, tens of thousands… depending on the school of thought.
These numerous angels, however, have no record of having manifested in the mundane world.
Even the founder New-sama, who is said to have been able to hear the voices of angels at all times, is said to have never actually seen an angel.
The one clear record of what he saw is the appearance of an angel formed from something that looked like golden smoke.
That is what is called 'Spirit Smoke'.
Therefore, 'smoke' can be said to be something special in the Western Church.
It is one of the reasons why Graham is so popular for his specialty… the 'Sacred Smoke'.
In any case, it is the 'Spirit Smoke' that is said to appear when angels exercise their power in the mundane world.
But as Stefania said, there are many among the priests who perceive it as only a legend or a symbolic depiction of something else.
"Of course it is not a legend. True, apart from New-sama, only a few popes have come into contact with it."
Graham is also known as a researcher of Founder New-sama's Sacraments.
Therefore, he's probably one of the most knowledgeable people in the church regarding this 'Spirit Smoke'.
"The problem is that no one has ever fought 'Spirit Smoke'."
"I… suppose not…"
At Graham's words, Stefania's face stiffened and she nodded.
Angels, in the Western Church, are those who guide people.
Angels, in the Western Church, are agents of God's might in the mundane world.
Angels, in the Western Church, are… at least not enemies.
But the ones in front of them right now… didn't seem to be an ally.
Graham and Stefania had been conversing in low voices since earlier, but they had been retreating ever so slightly.
Along with their subordinates, the Inquisition officers, of course.
They were already a considerable distance away from what had been Cardinal Sacharias, which had appeared from the dust.
In addition to the twenty 'Spirit Smoke' that emerged around it…
And then…
"Your Eminence, here."
One of the Inquisition officials held out a long bag, obviously containing a sword, in front of Graham.
Graham said with a wry smile as he took it.
"A Holy Sword… I don't think I'll ever be able to wield it."
The Holy Sword chooses its master.
A sword said to take the life of anyone it doesn't recognize as its master…
"There is no one else who can be recognized by the sword in this place but you, Graham-sama."
Stefania said with a straight face.
At these words, all the members of the Inquisition, clad in black legal robes, nodded vigorously.
(What a burdensome thing, absolute trust…. Roman was able to take on such a heavy burden at such a young age… and throughout the Western countries too. What makes him a hero is not so much his body, but his mind itself.)
Graham sighed in his mind.
A former party member, now in the distant lands of the Central Countries.
Although much younger than Graham, he was someone he truly respected.
Yes, age has nothing to do with respect.
"Well then… am I truly worthy of this?"
Were Graham's words directed at the Holy Sword or to the absolute trust they had in him…?
Meanwhile, the 'Spirit Smokes' had struck the Templars as well.
It was also a one-sided slaughter.
The Knights Templar exterminated the monsters together with the Holy Knights, but there was nothing they could do against the 'Spirit Smokes'.
They're impervious to swords.
Which is not surprising, since they are smoke.
They couldn't defend themselves with shields.
Which they evade as a matter of course being smoke.
It was thanks to the
It seemed that while the 'Spirit Smokes' can penetrate ordinary 'magic barriers', they cannot penetrate
However,
It is not something that can be performed repeatedly.
And continuous deployment was only possible due to the large number of archbishops who were high-ranking priests.
And just as they were reaching their limits.
A gust of wind swept in front of the
"Your Eminence Graham…"
An archbishop called out his name involuntarily.
Of course, all the priests know that Graham is also a highly respected 'vampire hunter'.
That also means that his individual combat skills are unusually high.
However, it's unusual to not even see the movement of his body, let alone a sword flash.
Another archbishop noticed a smoke, different from the 'Spirit Smoke', drifting around Graham.
"Sacred Smoke…"
Graham is also known as a user of Sacred Smoke.
However, even though it is known, most priests do not have an accurate knowledge of the Sacred Smoke….
The 'Sacred Smoke' is not only capable of disorienting a person's senses but also of disorienting the 'Spirit Smoke' and even the senses of the monster that was Sacharias.
"Hmm. It may be only temporarily, but it seems that this holy sword has recognized me as its master."
Graham's muttering wasn't heard by anyone.
Graham could hear the cheers of Stefania and the Inquisition officers from behind him.
"Looks like I can cut them down as I please, huh?"
Graham muttered as he slashed at the second 'Spirit Smoke' body.