Chapter 142: 142
Chapter 142 – The Desert at Midnight
After meeting with my dad, I continued to walk around the city to calm myself down . By the time I noticed, the moon was already high in the sky, signifying that the time to fight the monster is approaching .
『We should go back soon . 』
[Yeah . ]
When we arrived back at the mansion, two girls were already waiting for me .
Eris, carrying the black bayonet Envy, scolded me for being a tad bit late .
[You really took your sweet time, being late like this . ]
[Sorry… various things happened . ]
[Fu~hn, do you think you can appease me with such an excuse?]
I looked at Eris and Roxy… then to Mimir and Lishua who stood behind them, wondering whether I should tell them or not .
It’s after all my family problem .
But when I was met with Roxy’s straight gaze, I just had to tell them .
[I met my dad . ]
[Eh!?]
Eris was shocked . Roxy, similarly surprised, covered her mouth with her hand . Both sent me a worried look .
[Are you okay? Did you two fight?]
[We simply couldn’t . Otherwise, the city would’ve been in chaos by now . ]
[Of course . Then, did you two talk?]
[About that, well, it’s an information from my dad, so I have no idea how trustworthy it is . First of all, Raine is safe . And she’s working with my dad now . ]
Roxy and Mimir seemed relieved after hearing that . Roxy was indebted to Raine during that body switching event, while Mimir had her medical examination and blood test conducted by Raine…
Both interacted with Raine quite often .
They’d always been worried about her safety, so hearing that news really took some weight off of their minds .
[Raine-san is… thank goodness…]
[Yes . ]
While listening to their sighs, I kept talking .
[One more thing . About that monster in the desert, dad told me that it’s a sacred beast . ]
[Sacred Beast!?]
Eris was visibly distraught upon hearing those two words .
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This made Roxy and Mimir worried, since the queen barely, if ever, showed that kind of face before . Even Lishua who didn’t know Eris that well was also upset .
[What’s wrong? Do you know what a sacred beast is?]
[Un… well . A sacred beast…]
Eris raised her sullen face up towards the sky . And while still staring far into the night sky, she said .
[This battle, it’ll be better if it’s just me and Fate who go . ]
[Eeeh!?]
That surprised voice belonged to Roxy . She was supposed to participate in the subjugation, so the sudden change of plans really shocked her .
She knew that she couldn’t help dealing damage because she’s not an Area E . Therefore, she would’ve taken the rear support role .
But Eris is against her even participating . If the queen ordered her, Roxy couldn’t really say anything about it .
Still, I couldn’t help but ask why .
[That maybe a bit too much . Can you tell me why?]
[Sacred beast… it’s not just any Area E monster . Are you sure you can protect Roxy while we are fighting it? If you are unsure, then it’s best to just leave her out of this]
[I will protect her . We will not only fighting the sacred beast alone anyway . We already know that the other monsters around it will also become aggressive . ]
I gave Lishua a look, which she replied with a nod .
[We will not be able to focus our efforts on the sacred beast if the small fries keep getting in our way . That’s where Roxy comes in]
[Fai…]
It’s a well known fact that Roxy had inferior stats compared to me or Eris .
That’s something that she couldn’t control with her own hands .
When I tried to persuade Eris so that we could still bring Roxy along, she in turn approached me and whispered something to my ear so that only I could hear her .
[What I’m trying to say is… If you bring Roxy along to this battle for whatever reason, then you should be prepared for the consequences . ]
[That’s…]
[You should’ve realized this already . If she really loves you, then she would’ve done it without any hesitation! Even if there is a risk of collapse phenomenon after reaching Area E . ]
Collapse phenomenon…
If someone entered Area E like Rafal and Hado did, where their heart couldn’t endure it, they will be transformed into something inhuman .
If, like Eris said, Roxy joined us in battle, reached Area E but struck by collapse phenomenon… then she would turn into a monster…
That possibility, it terrifies me .
Further reducing the distance between us――creating a bond with her, also sometimes scares me, because I don’t know what would happen in the future, now that Gluttony skill wants her dead…
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[Yeah… I’ll be okay if it really comes to that . Just, give me some time . ]
[Fine . That’s what I want to say, but it’s all up to Roxy to decide . ]
[Right . ]
Good grief, Eris was right . So I turned my gaze toward Roxy .
We are going to fight a sacred beast, a monster whose power is unknown to us . And yet she still strongly nodded .
Having said what she wanted to say, Eris walked away from me . Then, with her usual tone announced our departure .
[Well then! Shall we go now?]
[Got it!]
[Yes!]
Lishua and Mimir saw us off .
[I’m sorry that you have to bear my burden . Godspeed . ]
[Fate-sama, Eris-sama, Roxy-sama! Please do your best! If we fail here, then we won’t even succeed in Hauzen . ]
[Leave it to us!]
I deliberately used cheerful tone because I don’t want to make them worried… but the vague anxiety of having to fight an unknown monster still lingered in my mind .
Because Roxy was more nervous than usual for this battle, I had Lishua to encourage her earlier today . And probably because of that, Roxy’s expression was a lot less tense now . Being a female Holy Knight, just like Roxy, Lishua truly delivered what I requested of her .
When this battle is over, I should thank her properly .
Keeping that in mind, I waved at Mimir who will be waiting for our return, then left the city .
The place called the Desert of Ruin was located on the east of the city . As we entered its periphery, a chilly wind struck me, and the sight of the sandy land that stretched into the horizon under the moonlight entered my field of vision . A monster that brought a nostalgic feeling of when I visited this place in the past greeted us . However, it looked a little different .
Roxy and Eris seemed to be aware of this too .
[The sandman’s appearance… it changed . Its form is more rugged, and how should I say this… it’s like they become engulfed in the shadow of madness . ]
[Collapse phenomenon?]
[No, not that . It’s like… they were forcibly blessed by the sacred beast . ]
[What kind of blessing is that?]
Apparently, the blessing could draw out the creature’s hidden potential .
[Is that even possible? It looks like just causing an already ugly monster to become an even uglier monster to me . ]
[Ahaha, that’s true in a way . Not everyone can adapt to the sacred beast’s blessing . If the target can’t adapt, then that is the result . An ugly monster becomes even uglier . But don’t worry . Fate, try to use appraisal skill on them . ]
[Okay . ]
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I used 《Appraisal》 on those sandmans .
At the same time, Eris’ explanation intrigued me . When the blessing is used on inappropriate target, the target will turn into a more monstrous appearance . It’s almost like the bond created by Mortal Sin skill holder . Anyone who couldn’t handle it would experienced collapse phenomenon and be turned into a monster .
It’s not yet clear, but this sacred beast must have a connection to the mortal sin skills . The fact that Eris seemed upset when she heard about the sacred beast gave me a bad feeling .
But this isn’t the time and place to ponder about that . I turned my attention to check the monster’s stats and skills .
Normally, it should be below level 30, with stats not surpassing 2000 . Agility should be 100 since it’s a slow moving monster . And the skill… should be Spirit Strengthening (M) .
But what was shown by the appraisal skill this time…
・Darkness＝Sandman Lv90
Durability : 239000
Strength : 29000
Magic : 132000
Spirit : 176000
Agility: 10000
Skill: Wind Cutter Magic, Auto Recovery
Oi oi, what’s with that stats, and that new wind cutter magic plus auto recovery skills .
Auto Recovery was one of the more useful skills I have . It can gradually heal any kind of wound, except a fatal one .
This Darkness=Sandman was not a crown monster . But it’s certainly something close to it . And that auto recovery skill made it even more dangerous . No wonder Lishua had some trouble dealing with these monsters .
After appraising the wind cutter magic, I reported the result to both Eris and Roxy .
[Its name is Darkness=Sandman . Its stats are way above the regular sandman . Its strength is close to 300000, and its worst stat is agility at 10000 . Its skill is wind cutter magic and auto recovery . The magic seems to be a long range attack by creating a vacuum blade . If you’re out of luck and can’t dodge in time, they could tear you apart from a distance . ]
[That’s why, Roxy, please be careful . ]
[I will . ]
Roxy is the one who needed this information the most . As both me and Eris would not receive any damage from them .
For example, even if we were bombarded by the Darkness=Sandmans with wind cutter magic en masse, not even scratch will be inflicted to us .
Although some of the impacts would still affect us .
That means, if we let a large amount of them attack us at the same time, they’ll cause us to leave an opening in our defence . The sacred beast might inflict a fatal wound through that opening .
Thus the strategy was to have Roxy dealt with the Darkness=Sandman around the sacred beast .
Eris then gave Roxy a look .
[Yosh! Roxy, are you ready?]
[Fighting that?]
[Yes . You will be on your own against them, as we will have our hands full dealing with something else . And I give you one more condition . ]
[What condition?]
[Fufufu… how feisty . Before that, these monsters that couldn’t adapt to the sacred beast’s blessing, all of them have『Darkness』prefix . Since Darkness=Sandman is quite a mouthful, let’s just call them Darkness from now on . Fate too]
[Yes . ]
[Okay . ]
Eris then turned to the darkness, and smiled .
[My condition, Roxy has to be able to kill that darkness within 10 seconds . How about that? If you can’t then it’ll be better if you return to the city]
[Eris!? Are you still against it?]
[Of course . Let me be frank with you . If she has trouble beating that darkness within the time limit, she’ll get into even more trouble later on . I’m very strict when it comes to battle . So, are you up for it?]
Eris turned her line of sight toward Roxy . The girl in question replied without hesitation .
[I will do it . Even without Eris-sama giving this challenge, I myself also wish to know if I am truly capable of doing this . ]
[Good! That’s how I like it . Well then, go ahead!]
Roxy drew her holy sword out of its sheath, brandishing it . The darkness was still unaware of our presence yet .
If she struck now in surprise attack, Roxy would’ve been able to complete Eris’ challenge easily .
The problem was the soft desert sand . The stronger your steps, the deeper your feet will sink into it, and the harder it is to maintain momentum .
But I did not tell her this . Because I do want her to complete Eris’ challenge with her own power . Without any external help .
[It seems that you’re ready . ]
[Yes . ]
[Then, begin!]
At first, as she was still a bit nervous, Roxy’s feet sunk into the sand which made her lose balance slightly . She immediately fixed her posture and came up with a method to attack the darkness unhindered by the sand . She then began to run with a lighter footsteps, as expected .
But the battle has only started . One shouldn’t let go of alertness yet . I silently watched Roxy, wishing for her to succeed .