Chapter 121: 121
Chapter 121 – Unceasing Black Flame
When I woke up, I saw Aishsama and Shara waiting beside me anxiously .
But when they realized that I’ve woken up, relief washed over their faces .
[You’ve come around? Thank goodness…]
[Fate-sama!]
Shara jumped and hugged me while calling out my name . Apparently she was really worried .
Soon after, the girl was sobbing on my chest .
[I’m fine already, but the battle was still ongoing back there . ]
I wished I could comfort Shara until she calmed down, but I had to return there immediately .
Getting up from the bed, I noticed that I’d been properly clothed, so I took some time to thank the two .
[You even prepared all my equipment . ]
[Of course . A holy knight must be ready to go into battle at any time . I, as a wife of a holy knight, understand this the most . If there was a crisis near the capital, there was no way we could comfortably sleep in our pajamas . ]
[Thank you very much . ]
[It’s for you after all . You are going, am I right?]
Aishsama came closer to me while smiling . Somehow, I felt strangely relieved when I looked at her face .
As a holy knight’s wife, she understood the feeling the most . Having to send off her husband Mason…and watched as he never returned .
Even so, Aishsama still prepared and send me off all the same because she believed in me . I shouldn’t betray that expectation .
[Of course . I will bring back Roxy . For sure!]
[Such a fine expression . One belonging to a great Knight! Alright, here]
Aishsama handed to me the black sword that was standing on the bedside before . Last time I touched this sword was only yesterday, but it felt like a long time ago .
I again thanked them, and promptly dashed to the window and jumped out . It’s a bad manner, I know, but it’s an emergency .
[Fate-sama, be careful and do your best!]
[I leave Roxy in your hands!]
With those encouraging voices urging me on, . my power burst forth as I crossed the courtyard in a single bound .
I went past the holy knight residential area in a hurry, then heading out to the gate through the commercial district .
Placing my hand on the sword’s handle while activating 《Mind Reading》, I heard a voice that remained unchanged despite everything that happened recently .
『Looks like you’ve returned』
[Yeah, but it’s not…]
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『Over yet, isn’t it?』
[Right . By the way, Greed! Tell me about this ‘Door to that Land’ thing]
『So you want to know… . . but, it’s still too early for you』
[Again with that . Luna said that you’ll do exactly that . ]
『That woman really can’t keep her lips tight, isn’t she? In any case, it’s the same reason why Myne choose to leave you… . . 』
I landed back on the ground just before the gate . There were only a few people passing by, just like before .
Perhaps it’ll return to its normal state tomorrow .
Sending a look towards the Hobgoblin forest, I could see smoke billowing up on several places . The battle against the ogres was still ongoing it seems .
I already knew where the battle is . So let’s take the shortest route!
Again, I put my utmost effort to kick the ground and jumped . Perhaps I put too much force, part of the cobblestone road leading to the gate actually broke down . I guess I’ll have to ask for repair after everything is over .
But the Capital may not be safe seeing how the battlefield is so close to it . How would I tell Eris when she returned later…?
『Are you that afraid of Eris？』
[Don’t read my mind]
『You are the one with Mind Reading skill . Anyways, what kind of monster is Roxy fighting？』
[It’s human turned monster called ogre . I have a feeling that it’s the same type that may cause repercussions if devoured by the gluttony skill, just like the nightwalker!]
They might proven to be a difficult enemy for me…Reminded of the pain when I ate a nightwalker, Greed laughed at me for being scared .
『Hahahaha! Rest assured, Fate! That monster was created through other means . Hence why it doesn’t have extraordinarily high stats』
[Aaron did said that they only have early Area E stats]
『And that’s the limit from turning into an ogre . Remember when Fate ate Tenryu, now that was a treat』
[It was indeed a treat . I should’ve let Mimir sucks more of my blood . I felt like the starvation returned just from remembering that . ]
『Roxy’s soul was inside your body . It can’t be helped . Fortunately she didn’t get devoured by the Gluttony skill . You should thank that woman』
By that woman, I guess he’s referring to Luna . For some reason, Greed seemed to have a sweet spot for Luna
Anyways, he did still acted disciplined when he trained me every night on the spiritual world where Luna was residing . Apparently the act of fighting in the spiritual world had the effect of strengthening my spiritual power .
In other words, our goal was to slowly build up endurance against the gluttony skill step by step .
『Since they are just early Area E, they’d make a good material to test your training . Show me your growth』
[Yeah, I’m just happen to feel hungry too . It’ll be the first since a long while . ]
Entering the hobgoblin forest, I maintained my speed as I passed by the trees . I could almost hear the sound of battle .
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The sound gradually became louder as I approached .
Drawing the black sword from his sheath, using a large tree as springboard, I jumped and cut down the ogre attacking Roxy .
Hearing the familiar inorganic voice in my head, the fact that I’d truly returned to my own body finally sunk in .
《Gluttony skill activated》
《Durability+1 . １E(+8), Strength+1 . １E(+8), Magic+1 . ０E(+8), Spirit +1 . ０E(+8), Agility+1 . ０E(+8) will be applied to the status》
《Skill Stout Arm will be added to skill list》
Certainly, this status is that of an early Area E . The skill looked like a buff type .
It seemed to be similar to the Herculean Strength I obtained from the High Orc back at Gallia . Just in case, let’s 《Appraise》 it .
Stout Arm: For a duration, quadruple strength . After the duration, reduce muscle reaction to ⅕ for 1 day .
Un, the effect was twice as strong as Herculean Strength . The drawback was also half of it .
It’s definitely not an easy to use skill, but it has its worth . For example, this kind of skill was what allowed me to defeat the Tenryu .
Swiping away the ogre blood smearing the black sword, I walked toward Roxy .
Roxy also soon rushed to me .
[Fate!]
[Are you alright…?]
And she hugged me just like that . Too bad, we were in the middle of battle .
Releasing the hug, we had a short exchange .
[I was worried]
[I know . I’ll finish this immediately]
The enemies belonged to Area E . Looking around, I found Mimir was injured, so I broke in between her and the ogre, creating a distance so that Roxy and Miria could treat her .
Looking back at the unconscious Mimir, I asked Roxy .
[How is she?]
[Her injuries don’t seem to be serious . She took the ogre attack to protect me…it was originally a very severe wound…but she’s getting better in a visible rate…what in the world is this?]
[I’ll explain later . I need to clear out the ogres first . ]
The secret of Mimir’s body is not something I can divulge without her agreement . Her outer appearance might be that of a human, but her inside is something closer to me .
One can say that she has become part-monster . But it’s not a topic I could talk about .
[Aaron?]
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[That is…]
Dust cloud soared from the direction where Roxy was pointing out . Following that was a loud roaring laugh .
It was Aaron’s . Apparently he was having fun .
I supposed he already knew that I’m already here via sensing the magic flow . He was stabbing his broken holy sword into one of the ogres’ mouth .
[You are late, Fate! At this rate I might end up killing all the ogres]
[How many are left?]
[There were seven . No, counting out the one that milord killed just now, and the one I have here, there are only five left . ]
[As usual, doing things with your all]
When I was still within Roxy’s body, Aaron’s holy sword was already in a bad condition . And yet here he is, killing four ogres while defending Roxy and the others .
The more he fights, the stronger Aaron gets . I shouldn’t let myself got left behind .
[But thank goodness for your arrival . One managed to escape me and attacked Roxy . I heard Mimir’s cry, but I was surrounded by the ogres and could not free myself from them]
As he put an end to the ogre who was under his foot, Aaron muttered [Not done yet, huh] .
Along with the ogre’s deathcry, the sword finally gave way and broke with a loud metal noise that echoed throughout the forest . That was its last moment .
[That is it for me . Can I leave the rest to you?]
Aaron said as he put the broken holy sword back to its scabbard .
Then he laughed,
[It has been a while, has it not? If the urge is not satisfied occasionally, it will just feel awkward . ]
[I wonder about the prospect thought . They can’t be considered an opponent for me . ]
[I am still milord’s adoptive father after all . I should know it if it’s just that much . Leave Roxy to me, go wild!]
He tapped my shoulder and fall back . Aaron then carried Mimir who was being treated by Miria .
[Roxy, Miria, leave the rest to Fate . We will return to the capital in advance . ]
[But…I’m still…not]
Roxy seemed to want to say something . However, she left without saying anything else .
The trace of magic I sensed told me that they’re moving at a fairly fast pace . They’ll be out of hobgoblin forest in just a few minutes .
Why the rush!? It’s not like I’m gonna level the entire hobgoblin forest .
As the remaining ogres started appearing from behind the trees, I could hear Greed laughing .
『See that, then you just have to go wild as Aaron told！』
[Don’t say something stupid . This forest is also the source of water for the capital . I’m still a Holy Knight . Shame on you for even suggesting that to me . ]
『Kukuku, well……alright . So you’ll only kill the ogres?』
Whilst making fun of me, Greed changed form into the black staff . Oioi…by this, you mean you want me to use it!?
『It’ll be a problem if you don’t accustomed yourself in using the fourth form . Today you’ll only fight while using this form！』
[Oi, you little! Don’t act so selfish, turn back!]
『No can do』
[Kuuuuuuuu!]
The fourth form was too powerful . I couldn’t afford to use it while fighting Rafal as we were inside the capital .
Otherwise, the capital would most likely drowned in a sea of fire . The fourth form requires an extremely delicate control .
To me, its secret technique 《Twilight Healing》 was actually far more easier to control than its regular attack . Because the secret’s main function was to fully recover a target without destroying anything, going overboard with it is alright .
『You must kill those ogres, while keeping the hobgoblin forest intact… . . let me see how you do that now』
[Fine . I’ll do just that!]
『Not only weathering the distraction caused by the starvation . You must also polish your control!』
I raised the black staff toward the incoming ogres . There were five of them, just like Aaron said .
The goblin shaman who had been commanding them was already gone, therefore their acts showed no sign of them being controlled by higher intelligence . In fact, seeing them looking at while drooling made me think if they have any intelligence at all .
They seemed to be moving purely out of instinct to kill human .
[They act more like a monster…moreover…]
No, at the moment I should focus on controlling the black staff . I could also see why Greed did this little prank .
Even though I have the lower ranked forms, I mustn’t be complacent by relying only on them .
If I find it difficult to control the fourth form, then how about the fifth form?
Let’s just experimenting for now . I let one of the ogres who were eager to eat me to come close to me .
Then, using the tip of the staff, I hit the ogre’s belly with a light tap .
[Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa]
Black flame burst forth from the point of impact, engulfing the ogre . It rolled around on the ground, but the flame refused to die down .
It’s curse taking the form of black fire .
Even as the ogre had already been burnt to nothingness, the flame still burned on the ground .
[The black flame…won’t stop?]
Apparently it’s still far from being controllable . I quietly listened to the inorganic voice as I turned my sight to the remaining four ogres .