Chapter 149: Chapter 123: Adventurers Vs. Onnikais.

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<[Music Resonation (Moderate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

When I first came into this world and learned the meaning behind my two titles [The Light] and [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood], I was extremely hesitant about actually meeting Aurena and Kargryxmor. Gods in stories were usually depicted as either unsympathetic or benevolent towards humans, and it would be a coin toss until you found their true personality out.

I understood from the start they had plans for me, since they transferred my soul to Peolynca after my death on Earth. I really wanted to avoid them. I had my own dream and plans, and I had no intention of being caught up with all those Divine Quests and duties that I would probably consider too much of a hassle. It would especially tear me apart if it conflicted with my idol life.

So, it was understandable for me to feel some fear of them after I somehow usurped control over their titles. Like, how did I do that with my abilities back then? I didn’t think I could have avoided the gods forever—it would be wishful thinking to believe I could do so when the Origin Gods call themselves the Primary Administrator of Peolynca.

That changed a bit when Aurena sent me her missive. Regardless of my doubts about her, it couldn’t be argued that she did, in fact, grant me an unquantifiable favor in the form of my second life. I did feel some resentment towards Aurena and Kargryxmor, as the loss of most of my memories, aside from my idol aspirations, would mean a proper death for “the Earthen girl that I once was.”

Well, it was due to these circumstances that “Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor” was born. I wasn’t the human girl who dreamed to become an idol anymore, I was now a dragon who became an idol. To me, this reincarnation was my second chance to grab onto my dream.

Saori might not like me becoming Aurena’s pawn; it would undoubtedly plunge me into political and religious strife. Honestly, she wasn’t wrong. I technically could have chosen any Origin God, aside from Shiterno, and make a deal with them to send me back to Earth to visit my parents.

However, the reason why I chose Aurena specifically was purely ‘cause of my debt to her. Ignoring my memory problem, I was able to fulfill my long-lasting promise to my parents and finally become a real idol. I witnessed the happy faces of people watching me perform on my very own concert stage, cheering me on and encouraging me to continue singing despite breaking in tears not even one song into the show. The baggage of my past just fell off on that day. It felt good.

Of course, indebted or not, I still made sure to get a good enough reading on Aurena. I didn’t want to help an abusive goddess. Aurena still seemed a bit fishy to me, but not dangerous. She seemed to genuinely care about her church, like a lot, a lot. She said it herself, as a goddess, she could have just waited for the collapse and eventual reconstruction of her church, so why would she need me? There might be a hidden agenda, but I was giving her the benefit of the doubt for now.

Anyway, after I accepted to become her champion, I didn’t think my first task was to simply get to know Peolynca better. What a weird first “Divine Quest,” right? Well, it seemed like the time for my first official divine Quest as a Champion of Aurena has finally come … Well, I didn’t expect to get two at once.

… And one of them was a request from another Origin Goddess.

<Divine Quest Option #1: Destroy the Onnikai Leader residing inside the Ruins of the Fenrir’s Eclipse and purify the remaining onnikais

Quest Giver: Origin Goddess of Light, Healing, Miracles and Kinship, Aurena

Description: Aurena here, just to inform you, Hestia, you will receive two divine Quest and you may choose which one you will fulfil. So, I would ask you to read the Quests’ details properly before you accept, alright? We gods rarely get the chance to write multiple sentences for these Quest, due to the whole soul part I explained.

…>

Right, mine is specifically fortified to understand and endure god speech.

<Divine Quest Option #2: Aid Silva Fleurette Breezeflower in performing the Rite of the Fading Winds on the Onnikai Leader residing inside the Ruins of the Fenrir’s Eclipse and free the onnikais from their torment

Quest Giver: Origin Goddess of Winds, Celebrations and Travels, Zephira

Description: Good Morning, Champion of Aurena and Otherwordly Reincarnator to our World, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor. It is thrilling to finally meet you, although, through text. My name is Zephira and I am currently sending you this Quest with Goddess Aurena’s help. If you managed to read this far, I cannot stress how exciting it is to ‘speak’ with a mortal after so long.

...>

I wasn’t actually able to read most of the Quests’ descriptions, but from the sound of the Quest titles, I was able to kinda understand the meaning and intentions behind them. Regardless, I had to concentrate on the situation at hand.

Ahh, whatever, I don’t have time for this! I get the gist, so let me answer it later, System voice! Horrible timing! Sending it to me now, Aurena, Zephira! Bloody hell!

[“Tasianna, go into your shop and upgrade [Mana Leak Resistance] to the maximum now! You’ve leveled up enough!”] My first priority was to reassemble my party and get our teamwork back in order, otherwise, this might be too chaotic to do on my own.

“Hueck! Y-yes, by your will, Lady Hestia!” Tasianna gritted her teeth, her eyes shook as she glanced at the giant onnikai beast, then her hands went into action as two cyan-colored magic circles appeared around her hands. “I bought it! I bought it! It’s at maximum level!”

<Proficiency requirement fulfilled. [Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 2] evolved into [Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 10]. 4550 SP remaining>

Urgh, wait, are you serious?! My Mana is still getting depleted?!

Thankfully, I saved SP for these sorta situations. It wouldn’t have been funny if I went into this feeding this onnikai my insane amount of mana, which was essentially health for faefolk.

However, despite my investment, my mana was still getting drained? I guess it was still resistance, not complete immunity like [Abnormal Status Nullification]. It was similar to [Physical Super-Resistance], in this case.

Nevertheless, it reduced the drain by a lot for me. With my amount of mana, it was a none issue, buuuuuut …

“Princess Hestia! We can’t stay here and fight! The mana drain is life threatening for Sister Tasianna and Igniculus!” Silva shouted as she blew a zombie away from the barrier of light.

The fact that [Mana Leak Resistance Lv. 10] wasn’t a full 100% immunity was fatal for Tasianna, not to mention the light elemental who didn’t have the skill. The less mana they had, the more their stats would drop and if it reached zero, they would die. Health was a dump stat for Tasianna, but since she was a spellcaster as well, this was just the worse situation for her.

I didn’t know how this giant shadow onnikai thing was able to absorb the mana from people around it, but we needed to escape or end this fight ASAP. We only had a limited amount of dragorade and mana potions, after all.

“Sister Tasianna, I shall assist you by giving you my mana!” Seemingly realizing that Tasianna’s ice magic was more suitable in controlling the horde of zombies that was rushing over to us, Silva held her shoulders and began sharing her mana with her.

Understanding her intent, Tasianna nodded and spoke to me, “Lady Hestia, we will keep the onnikai at bay from the rear. Please, you must calm Miss Saori! Her status in the party menu doesn’t look good!”

Part—Oh right!

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Party Leader

Name: Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor        Level: 81            Job: Cleric

Health: 4981/4981            Mana: 14411/17891        Stamina: 3412/2931

Effects: [Humanize (Minor)] [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Moderate)] [Sanctified Blaze] [Various Spell Buffs] [Shadow Armament (Minor)]

____________________________________________________________

Name: Saori Segawa            Level: 73            Job: Fighter

Health: 3151/3513            Mana: 1089/1571        Stamina:     1981/2655

Effects: [Humanize (Minor)] [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Moderate)] [Sanctified Blaze] [Various Spell Buffs] [Lifetaker (23 Kills)] [Shadow Armament (Full Body)] [Mental Attack (Major)]

____________________________________________________________

Name: Tasianna Marina Silverpond        Level: 55    Job: Torrent Sorcerer

Health: 1741/1741            Mana: 4041/4671        Stamina: 1290/1370

Effects: [Elvenize (Major)] [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Moderate)] [Sanctified Blaze] [Various Spell Buffs] [Shadow Armament (Minor)] [Glacial Protection]

____________________________________________________________

Name: Silva Fleurette Breezeflower        Level: 56    Job: Light Elementa list

Health: 1896/1896            Mana: 2561/3709        Stamina: 831/901

Effects: [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Moderate)] [Sanctified Blaze] [Various Spell Buffs] [Shadow Armament (Minor)]

____________________________________________________________

Saori’s health was doing just fine. Considering how agile she was, dodging slow onnikai zombies must be easy for her, but there was some chip damage here and there. Her stamina was being used up, though. Nevertheless, with [The Will to Fight and Survive] playing, nobody’s stamina could reach zero. What concerned me was her mana. It dropped too much. It would be problematic if she didn’t buy [Mana Leak Resistance] soon.

Wait? What is that? [Mental Attack (Major)]? Where did I hear that before?

… Oh! Shit, I remember!

Wargs and garms were born with the [Telepathy] skill, and they use it not only to communicate with each other but also to debilitate prey by using telepathic attacks. I didn’t know what was making Saori so reckless but I had to get her to us first.

One of you parallel minds, go help Saori once we’re close enough!

“Maaaaannnaaaa!” The onnikai boss was still screeching the same thing. Did it really want our mana that much, when it already had enough mana to overflow the ruin to the point it was about to transform into a dungeon?

There was the need to stop the dungeon transformation for the village’s safety, but I couldn’t care about that right now. I glanced at Tasianna and Silva for one last time, confirmed they were doing alright, and stepped out of the barrier.

The sight of onnikais noticing and charging at me made it impossible for me to get to Saori on foot. Using wind magic to fly over was an option but I couldn’t leave Tasianna and Silva back to handle the zombies, as my [Sanctuary]’s barrier strength wasn’t infinite. I must thin the horde down before I go.

Room’s too small, gotta do this as a dragonewt.

Without transforming into a dragon due to the room’s size, I wrapped my claws and tail in white flames and I flapped my wings to spread out the scale-dust. Considering the situation, I also tossed my spear back in my storage.

“The carnage of the blazing sun ♫

Blood rain from swords and claws ♫

As the music drops, our emotions will run wild ♫

Top the world ♫

The strive to pierce the sky ♫

The light that beckons you forth ♫

The promise to stand fast ♫

Against the tidal waves! ♫

The Will to Fight and Survive! ♫”

The song reached its climax as I played it with [Aerokinesis], filling my chest with power purely due to the hype I was feeling from it! If the situation wasn’t as dire, I probably would still be in my moderate form so I could sing along it. Ahh, the exhilarating music played as fast as allegro—about 128 beats-per-minute—was filling my head, drowning out the cries and screams of the zombies.

Double-time! Faster! I had to push the music even faster! Over prestissimo! This wasn’t the time to feel fear in the face of the zombie world! This was the time to BURN IT ALL!

“Gaching!” The prelude began with a simple gnash of my fangs. The heat caused my soul to flare up with energy as explosions ravaged everything around me and my [Sanctuary] barrier!

“Kiiuuueurrck!”

“Kuuuuurrraaaack!”

The zombies cried out as the ear-splitting sounds spread through the vicinity. These minions were buried underneath my explosive scale-dust. The dust created by it gave me the cover my parallel minds needed to prepare my arcane onslaught. Like a light show, I would blind everybody with my dazzling spells!

<[Stage Fever (Minor)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

Beams of holy light crashed onto the solidified floor, the spell [Banishment Beam] annihilated anything it touched. [Bedrock Blades] created from the earth hugging this chamber penetrated through the room’s ceiling and walls, piercing and sundering zombies into bits and pieces. Lava and lightning bolts flew through the room, scorching and melting the bodies of monster corpses.

As my parallel minds were fully dedicated to using spells and playing my air instruments, I gathered the white flames into a ball with [Pyrokinesis], only to ram it right into the mix of a group of enemies, creating a mighty sea of flames.

“KuuuKiarrack!”

Death cries and screams of panic—it would seem like the onnikais knew fear. [The Will to Fight and Survive] not only gave everybody infinite stamina, but it also made inflicting [Fear] and [Terror] easier on my foes. Trembled and shivering, these corpses couldn’t respond in time as I cleave through them to reach Saori.

“Arwoooh! Araf!”

“Kiiiilllllll!”

At two sets of locations, large monsters were attacking. The four zombie garms pounced at Saori while a horde of zombie fodder gathered around her, making it hard to move around. Surprisingly, Saori wasn’t using her spells nor items to their fullest effects. Where was [Shadow Dash], [Umbral Pendulum], [Dark Tendrils], my toxins, or her mana threads?! She was fighting like a brute—like an animal!

On the other hand, I didn’t have the opportunity to go over to her as the onnikai boss dug its hand into the ground, no, more specifically it was a shadow. The next moment, my [Foresight] and [Danger Perception] warned me of an attack coming from behind me.

I sidestepped and a large hand reached out from a shadow created by my white flames from where I stood. Like a persistent snake it swirled around and tried to grab me but I counterattacked with a spray of white fire. The hand shriveled up a bit before retreating back into the shadow. At the same moment, the onnikai beast jumped at me.

“Hooooolllyyyyyy! Graaaaaa!” the beast cried in agony. The hand probably belonged to it.

Get out of my way!

Grinding my fangs once again, a searing heat was forming at the back of my throat, growing larger the more mana I gave it. Once I felt it had grown enough, I opened up my mouth and released a concentrated laser-like [Hellflame Breath] melded with [White Flames]. If I was able to coat my body with my three types of fire, then I could also do it with my breath attacks.

The dragon breath collided against the onnikai, sending it tumbling onto the ground as it tried to push the beam back. However, that wasn’t a smart choice. If a mere spray of fire was enough to make its hand quiver, then a beam of concentrated power would do more than that.

“Graaaaaagh!” It screamed as a large hole in its stomach was created by my breath attack.

Raising my head, the beam followed and sliced the onnikai beast into two. To finish it off, I closed my mouth to interrupt the ray of white fire and changed the flame’s effect before opening my mouth once again—this time, it was a wide-area flame breath reminiscent of a flame thrower, the usual dragon breath attack in fantasy shows.

The flame not only scorched the giant onnikai beast but also any zombie surrounding it. Nothing but ash was left behind.

Dragons are the true boss monsters, you little skink!

Before I ran over to Saori, I noticed a large crack in the wall from behind the spot the beast just stood as the residue flames were lighting the whole chamber up. There was a large hole and the cracks were slowly spreading up.

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Shit! Terra Wall!

My offense was stronger than my defense—this held true since the day I chose to evolve into a [Young Spark Fire Dragon]. While the fortified walls might have survived [Tornado Bullet], my explosions and beams of fire were far too strong, especially with all my stat boost and damage multipliers. Once again, I fortified the whole chamber, sealing up any damage my spells or explosions did to it.

As the onnikai beast was defeated, I rush over to Saori. Her battlefield was riddled with the corpses of decaying monsters, either clawed to death or crushed by the giant shadow cadejo. At first, I thought it was going well, but looking at how fully enveloped she was in my white flames, made by my [Sanctified Blaze], it seemed the tables were turned on her.

The more you were injured while [Sanctified Blaze] was active on you, the more white flames would be created. It not only healed your injuries automatically, but also attacked any aggressors nearby. As long as the mana I put into the magic circle remained in it, it would stay active. So, seeing how the flames were enveloping Saori, I had to question how much trouble she was having.

[“Saori, wake up!”] I called for her, but she didn’t respond, instead, I was greeted by something thrown at me, prompting me to dodge sideways.

Turning around, I saw Saori’s [Shadow Pack]-created cadejo slowly dissipating into thin air. At the same time, I could hear something that sounded like the growling of two wolves fighting over the same prey. In fact, that was exactly the case. The Saori’s [Shadow Clone] had bits of it torn away and it was currently the “rope” in a tug of war between two of the zombie garms. It was being treated like a dog toy before it vanished from the damage.

Shit!

I fought myself through the hordes of onnikai zombies, blasting, and slicing them. Two of the four zombie garms were currently overwhelming Saori, shooting out tendrils and spikes of shadows at her. I knew she was currently in her beastman form, so she didn’t have all her stats, but she still was able to fight back against all the rank D monsters up until now. So, why was she losing?

Mana Eyes!

<Darkness Garm Corpse Possessed by an Onnikai: The corpse of a Darkness Garm that was reanimated by an onnikai using a special tangible mana fluid created by an especially tainted onnikai. The mana fluid is an extension of the onnikai’s mana. The anger and rage left behind in this corpse is slowly corrupting the onnikai, transforming it>

Argh! I groaned, flinching back as the feeling of needles pierced my eyes.

That was such a stupid move!

The ruin was filled with mana, so what would happen if I activated a skill that allowed me to look at it? Headache! A massive, giant headache! It was an information overload, stinging my brain with something like a sharp metal spike. I couldn’t even look at its profile before having to deactivate the skill for my mind’s safety.

However, that was enough information. I now knew why Saori was losing. Adult [Garm]s were rank D monsters while a [Darkness Garm] was rank C. The garm matriarch was one of them and she gave me a lot of trouble despite being on death’s door when we fought.

Not only was Saori fighting against four rank Cs at once, but she wasn’t even fighting with a calm mind. This isn’t the Saori I remembered giving me a hard time during our sparring sessions!

[“Saori!”] Shooting myself forward with [Wind Blast], I shoulder tackled one of the zombie garms that was fighting Saori, sending it crashing into the wall. I then activated another [Sanctuary] and grabbed Saori by her shoulders, holding her back as she struggled to free herself. [“Parallel minds, get to it! Begin the telepathic war and get Saori back!”]

‘You got it, boss!’ Manager Mind answered.

____________________________________________________________

Name: Saori Segawa            Level: 73            Job: Fighter

Health: 2016/3513            Mana: 521/1571        Stamina:     1481/2655

Effects: [Humanized (Minor)] [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Blessing of the Goddess of Light (Moderate)] [Various Spell Buffs] [Lifetaker (71 Kills)] [Shadow Armament (Full Body)] [Mental Attack (Major)]

____________________________________________________________

[Sanctified Blaze] was exhausted and her mana was getting sapped throughout the whole fight. I healed her up with [Major Heal], seeing as I couldn’t do anything before the parallel minds were done with their job. As I sent all my parallel minds for the telepathic fight, the speed of my spell casting was slowed.

The barrier is holding everything back. I’ll just delay cast a few of them and once Saori is back up—NO! I can’t waste time like this, I need to get back to Tasianna and Silva!

As I was about to drag Saori’s flailing body out of the barrier, a bone-chilling cry echoed through the room, “Griiiiiaaarrccccck! Maaaanaaaaa!”

Ah, Scheiße. Of course, that was too easy.

The onnikai boss returned, but this time, it seemed to have gained an upgrade. It was walking on four legs this time instead of three, while its shadowy body was protected by sharp carapace and armor. Two arms erupted from its torso, making the giant beast look like a centaur. Screaming once again with its dinosaur-like head, it looked through the room and stopped its eyes at me. With a shriek, it ran towards me, quaking the ground.

You want round two, bitch? Come at me then!

Fortunately, this time another surprise came up; rain suddenly fell from the ceiling and attacked the beast like small needles, slowing it down as it charged at me. The water on its drenched body then turned into ice, freezing the beast in place.

[“Lady Hestia, bring Miss Saori to us! We need to flee, now!”] Tasianna, the source of the [Torrential Rain] spells and freezing the beast, shouted through telepathy.

[“Flee? What do you mean about escaping, Tasianna?! We can fulfill the Quest now!”] Whether it was ‘cause of adrenaline or something else, but I had to question what she just said. We had to take care of the situation now before the onnikais attacked the village again.

[“Lady Hestia, please! Sister Silva told us that the giant beast will continue regenerating as long as the onnikai controlling it lives! Plus, when the ruin turns into a dungeon, the layout of the whole place will change, and there will be a risk that we will be separated in the process. Please, I beg you, we need to retreat!”]

I didn’t know very much about dungeons in Peolynca, so if Tasianna or Silva told me that it was dangerous to be inside a place that was turning into a dungeon then I really, really should listen. The safety of my party had to be prioritized. Also, I couldn’t believe I forgot about this, but wasn’t this whole situation scary for Tasianna? She lost Princess Schuri to an accident like this, so she might have been projecting it to Saori and me.

The realization of how selfish it was of me to end this fight now instead of worrying about my party’s health was baffling to me. It calmed down my mind. I shouldn’t be this hot-headed.

[“Alright! Hang on for a few more seconds, Tasianna! I’ll prevent this ruin from turning before we go!”] While I heard a dungeon brought riches to a town, having a dungeon spawn next to the village was not ideal. Our Quest was to destroy all the enemy in the ruin and assure the safety of the Rashan Village. For that, I needed to stop this ruin from turning into a dungeon.

It was a bit of a gamble, but I had to try it. Whether it succeeded or not wasn’t important, really. I just wanted to make sure I tried every single method, leaving no stone unturned.

I took out a ball of mana threads that I had in my storage and wrapped Saori up in it. Although she was still flailing like a madwoman, I could now carry her around with one arm. Urck, I groaned as her [Shadow Armament] claws were scratching my [Draconic Barrier].

Jumping out of my barrier, holy fire spewed out of my mouth, clearing the way from any zombie and keeping the zombie garms at bay. I wanted to kill them now for what they did to Saori, but letting my anger control me wasn’t the answer.

“Noooo! Staaayyy aaawaay!” Probably realizing I was running towards it, the orb on the pedestal began talking again. The beast frozen by Tasianna’s [Cryokinesis] was breaking through so I had to hurry up. The zombies and garm surrounding me were trying to prevent me from coming closer to the orb but I used [Draconic Roar] to blast them away with a sonic attack.

“Kraiiiiiiiiiiiih!”

Out of my way!

Once I reached the pedestal, I took out all the macula seeds I had and began stuffing them into the black slime covering the area like some moldy pile of gunk.

When I used my [Mana Eyes] I caught a quick glimpse of an immense concentration around this area, to be more specific, the orb and black slime. This was the boss, after all, right? It probably was the reason for the giant shadow beast and the dozen of onnikais. I could destroy it now, I was close enough to strap scale-dust onto it like dynamite, after all. However, due to a certain benevolent Goddess, I chose not to.

As expected, the dozen macula plant seeds matured so quickly I couldn’t keep up with them. It was payday, to say the least. Once a macula plant matured, I stuffed them into my storage and placed another seed in its place. Meanwhile, I could hear Tasianna freezing everything while my explosions handled the garms.

“Krwwwwwo!” Midway into everything, Saori woke up. I naturally undid the mana threads but I was left speechless as Saori howled with bloodshot eyes, cradling her head with a pained expression. [“Hestia! Stop looking at me like that and give me that bag! Argh! Kuso, kono yaro!] (Fuck, you bastard!)”

Like a crazed berserker, she began shoving seeds into the black slime at a frightening rate. The orb was actively shrieking in desperation. Suddenly, the undead garms suddenly teleported to our shadows to defend its master.

With Saori concentrating on draining the orb from its mana, I protected her back with my parallel minds. I was aware of the debris falling from the ceiling and the cracking floor and walls, but we were gonna escape out of this place anyway.

<The total mana inside the area [Ruins of the Fenrir’s Eclipse] has been lowered under the maximum safe mana threshold. The dungeon transformation has been forcibly canceled>

Good!

“Eeeek!”

The moment I got that System message, a loud glass shattering into pieces could be heard as two familiar shrieks escaped from that direction. Saori and I turned around to see the onnikai beast roaring after destroying my [Sanctuary], as a horde of zombies began to approach the frightened Tasianna and Silva in a crazed run.

Saori immediately grabbed me and pushed me into her shadows. Knowing what she was planning without saying anything, I channeled a dragon breath and unleashed it once light reentered my eye. Glaring at the onnikai beast, the white dragon fire exploded in its face and shot it crashing to the wall. Saori then moved my body like a flamethrower and countless zombies began to turn into ash.

As we finally reunited with Tasianna and Silva, a loud banshee-like screech echoed through the room, originating from the onnikai beast. Its black slime convulsed in rage, influencing the onnikai beast to quickly regenerate from its wounds. It roared and its form became more detailed. Fine muscles appeared on its body, its claws and fangs grew, and a lilac glow could be seen growing from underneath its black body.

“The beast is adapting to its situation!” Silva shouted.

“The path to the exit is being blocked by the garms! Lady Hestia, your insurance!” Tasianna stated.

Right, we didn’t need to fight ourselves through this. This was why I placed our insurance outside.

[“Warp Point: Exit!”]

It was one of the three ways to use this portal spell—an emergency escape path—and I placed it right next to the stairs. As the hallway between the stairway to the boss chamber was pretty long, I knew if we had to escape that this would give us some distance between us and our pursuers.

A large amount of mana escaped my body, a sign that the spell was successful. A crevice opened up in the air, showing a staircase leading up. I pushed our party into the portal and deactivated it immediately so no zombie could enter.

Tasianna then transformed back into a fairy to hold onto my clothes. Silva quickly understood what was going on and leaped onto Saori’s back.

Without worrying about anything else, Saori and I sprinted up the stairs once we found the mana thread she left behind to lead us back out. The hordes of zombies naturally followed from behind, but what surprised me was the onnikai beast and garms.

The garms were far too large to fit through the entrances—the reason why we didn’t transform back into our true forms. However, they managed to follow us by slipping into the shadows and teleporting. The onnikai beast, on the other hand, didn’t need the shadows as it simply changed its form like water, thinning its body into something snake-like.

As the zombies who fought us during our descent weren’t there anymore, our run was left uninterrupted, if you ignored the onnikais chasing us. We managed to reach the third floor before the floor suddenly cracked open.

“Graaaaa! Giiiivee! Maaanaaaa, baaaack!” The onnikai beast transformed back into its centaur form and broke through the floor to intercept us. I thought it was an angry mindless beast, but it seems to have some semblance of intelligence.

I blasted the beast back down with [Hellflame Breath] and began creating [Terra Walls] to stop the garms from attacking us. Were we becoming slower, or were they becoming faster? Nevertheless, I didn’t let that thought dawdle as I pushed Saori forward.

After what felt like a marathon, we finally reached the ruin’s exit. The light of the sun wasn’t as intensive as expected—it looked like it was dawn. Whatever time it was, we didn’t care. We ran away from the ruins and into the forest, but we could still hear the onnikai’s screams. At the same time, Saori collapsed onto the ground.

Saori!

____________________________________________________________

Name: Saori Segawa            Level: 73            Job: Fighter

Health: 3216/3513            Mana: 0/1571        Stamina:     649/2655

Effects: [Humanize (Minor)] [Music Resonation (Moderate)] [Mana Stress (Minor)]

____________________________________________________________

Tsk.

[“It’s mana stress!”] I told Silva and Tasianna. [“You two, get Saori out of here and treat her! I’ll make sure the onnikais don’t follow us.”]

As the onnikais ran at me, I walked slowly towards them. [“You know, you saw me when I was angry and willing to kill, but I decided to leave you alive! Now, you’re daring to come at me?! Let me show you something even more frightening then. Purple Flash.”]

When I last used [Purple Flash], it was during my fight with the guild master. The casting time of a spell depended on the length of the chant and also the materialization of the magic itself. [Chant Revocation] handled the former, but it couldn’t skip the length needed to create the spell effect. [Purple Flash] skipped the former, meaning I could cast long-winded spells almost immediately.

However, this spell came with the price of thrice the base mana cost. When I fought Farron, I used this spell on the two warp point spells, but underestimated the mana cost and the feeling of losing a lot of mana within a second. I left an opening from the surprise.

For that reason, I tested out every single spell with [Purple Flash] for the pure intention of being able to anticipate the mana cost. I wouldn’t let myself get caught off-guard again.

Omnictus!

A massive white circle around the size of a baseball field immediately appeared in the sky. It shined for a moment before a gigantic beam of holy fury rammed itself onto the ground where the approaching onnikais stood. If I were to compare the size and intensity of the spell to something similar, then maybe a death star laser. Of course, it didn’t destroy the whole planet, but the power of this terrifying death ray coming down to smite my enemies gave off a similar feeling.

If I remembered correctly, the level six lightning spell was called [Ramuh], right? Asterios, the lightning wyvern, activated the spell on a group of grimgarians and a large crater was left behind after the cast. Honestly, if the other level six advanced-magic System spells were similar to [Omnictus] and [Ramuh], then wouldn’t a mage turn into a tactical nuke or something?

[“Urgh … The mana cost is no joke …”] I complained as I checked my depleting mana. My solar core was regenerating this lost mana instantly, but it didn’t feel good to lose so much. Additionally, [Omnictus] cost more mana to keep active. No matter how much my core was producing mana, I shouldn’t use this spell for too long.

[Omnictus] was able to eradicate every single thing that was under it, leaving neither corpses nor onnikais behind. However, compared to [Ramuh], the destructive power of this spell was rather lackluster. The grass on the ground was singed and a few insects looked like they were barbecued, but the earth itself was left unharmed.

<Omnictus: A mighty beam of the sacred fury will descend onto the ground, exterminating any fauna. This spell’s magic circle can only be created in the sky and can only release the spell downward. This spell cannot damage non-organic objects. Creatures caught in the beam will be separated into friendly, neutral, and enemy. Damage against friendlies will be reduced tremendously, neutrals received suppressed damage, enemies will received the full damage of the spell>

I felt a bit bad for the onnikais, as I knew their backstory and that it wasn’t their fault for feeling resentment, but trying to run at a dragon? Like this? Honestly, I would have preferred if we solved this peacefully, without any killing, but they forced my hands.

Zombies or not, your fault for fighting against me.

In this case, I had to send a message to the onnikai beast.

<[Humanize (Modeerate)] inflicted on [Young Sunfang Dragon, Hestia Atsuko Kargryxmor]>

“… You,” After transforming back into my preferred dragonewt form, I called at the frightened centaur-dinosaur. “I’ll come back for round three next time. We will end it then. Until then, wait for your purification like a good boy. I know the pains that you and the onnikais have faced, but this anger of yours will only be your downfall. It won’t bring you happiness.”

With those words, I went back to my party. Seeing as I couldn’t hear footsteps approaching me, I knew the onnikais must’ve retreated back into the ruins. Reunited again, I took out a bottle of dragorade and handed it over to Tasianna who was taking care of Saori.

“… Princess Hestia, what are we supposed to do?” Silva asked me. Her intentions were clear to me.

“Don’t worry, I fully promised to free the onnikais as I said. I’m just sorry that we can’t free all of them now.”

Silva, having read between the lines, shook her head. Her eyes were devoid of anger or disapproval, they looked only sad. “Please, that isn’t necessary. I’ve experienced for myself how destructive these onnikais have become. Even if it isn’t a proper purification, I am sure they won’t bear any grudge towards you. That spell of Goddess Aurena’s probably gave them a swift, painless death. It is mercy.”

I nodded my head, accepting Silva’s words. She was right.

We waited in the forest until Saori woke up. Before we returned to the village, I stopped them as I had something important to announce.

“I want to talk to you guys about something. I received two Divine Quests from Goddess Aurena and Zephira and I have to choose one of them.”