Chapter 71

Emergency Assembly (5)

Nohu had a completely bewildered look on her face, as if she had no idea what had just happened.

'Phew......'

I let out a sigh of relief inwardly.

I had used Instant Kill out of fear without even realizing it.

But it seemed like I had done the right thing.

Who knows, if the barrier had really been breached, everything would have been annihilated without a trace.

'Well, it seems to work on spirits too.'

On the other hand, I gained a stronger conviction.

Whether it was a soul or anything else, as long as it could be considered alive in a broad sense, Instant Kill would generally work on it.

The thunder that had obscured everything dissipated, and the figures of the lords who had been watching the duel came back into view.

They all looked surprised at my perfectly fine appearance.

I turned my gaze back to Nohu.

She looked even more perplexed than before, as if something had gone terribly wrong.

She closed her eyes, opened them, looked down at her hands, and then raised her head to look at me again. Her pupils were shaking as if an earthquake had struck.

'Why is she like that?'

I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

Well, of course she would be shocked that the spirit she suddenly summoned had vanished, but still, she seemed to have lost her composure too much...

【Lv. 90】

......?

I widened my eyes when I saw the level floating above Nohu's head. For a moment, I thought I had seen it wrong.

Her level, which had been 95, had dropped to 90.

What the hell happened? Then, I quickly understood the situation and let out a gasp inwardly.

'Could it be that the spirit was completely annihilated?'

Thinking about it, that made sense.

Since she had been destroyed by Instant Kill, the great spirit of thunder, Laxia, no longer existed in this world.

That meant Nohu would never be able to summon Laxia again. How could she call back a spirit that had already been annihilated?

Having lost one of her greatest powers, it was only natural that her level had dropped accordingly.

'Wow, hold on a second.'

Only then did I realize that I had done something incredible.

So, I had permanently reduced Nohu's power by 5 levels, right?

And not just any 5 levels, but 5 levels in the 90s, which was an enormous value.

I burst out laughing at the unintended disaster, even though I was the one who caused it.

Nohu, who met my eyes, flinched.

"Y-You, what did you...?"

At that moment, the Grand Lord and the other lords approached.

Nohu quickly shut her mouth.

The Grand Lord looked at me and her alternately and said with a smile,

"It seems the 7th Lord has won. 2nd Lord, will you acknowledge the result?"

Despite the Grand Lord's words, Nohu stood there in a daze, her spirit seemingly gone.

Feeling guilty, I tried to speak to her.

"2nd Lord, about the spirit..."

She gasped and spoke.

"I, I acknowledge it! I acknowledge my defeat!"

"......"

"7th Lord... it's your victory."

The other lords looked at Nohu with puzzled expressions at her reaction.

She looked at me with panic in her eyes and then fled the scene.

"Is she running away because she's embarrassed?"

Gwangrang muttered.

I watched her retreating back.

'......She's really in a big mess, isn't she?'

Honestly, it wasn't my concern whether the 2nd Lord lost her power or not, but since I was the one who caused it, I couldn't help but feel guilty.

At level 90, she was now as weak as a commoner compared to the Five Stars of Saintea, right?

She must have fled so quickly to avoid the eyes of the Grand Lord and the other lords.

'Hmm......'

What could I do?

I felt a little, no, a lot guilty, but there was nothing I could do to take responsibility.

How could I bring back a spirit that had already been annihilated? My ability was only to kill, not to revive.

'Sorry.'

I apologized to her inwardly again and then started rationalizing.

Well, who started the fight? She initiated it, so it's not entirely my fault...

"Truly remarkable."

Suddenly, a massive shadow loomed over me from behind.

Turning my head, I saw the Giant King looking down at me with shining eyes. What's up?

He said in an admiring voice,

"I know the 2nd Lord's Laxia well, as I once faced her with my whole body. Her thunder was so powerful, it felt like it burned to the bone."

"......"

"To face that attack head-on without dodging and withstand it completely, I am truly impressed. 7th Lord, you are indeed an outstanding warrior."

......An outstanding warrior?

I looked at the Giant King, who was praising me solemnly, feeling a bit bewildered.

He had been so serious just a moment ago, so I was surprised.

'Well, the Giant King is like that, I guess.'

A typical warrior character.

In the game, the Giant King often showed one-sided favoritism to warriors he recognized as outstanding, even if they were from the opposing faction.

Here, an outstanding warrior meant someone who never backed down from any attack and faced it head-on. In a good light, it meant being tenacious; in a bad light, it meant being reckless. However, the Giant King wasn't a character with a brain of muscle.

"Anyway, is the assembly over now?"

Gwangrang, who had been looking at me with a disappointed expression, turned around.

"I came with high expectations, but everything ended so anticlimactically. I'll head back now."

As she walked away, she turned her head back to me and said,

"By the way, 7th Lord, I heard something happened at my lordship before?"

"......?"

"You know, in Bilpek City, right? Something about a noble and a mayor, I think."

......Oh, that.

She was talking about the noble lady who had gone berserk in the restaurant where I met Teir. I wondered what had happened to them.

Gwangrang scratched her head and continued,

"Anyway, I heard from the butler that you went through a lot of trouble, so I told him to handle it. Do you need anything else?"

"......Handle it yourself."

I didn't really care what happened.

Gwangrang chuckled and waved her hand, turning around again.

"Alright, let's disband then. See you at the next meeting."

The Grand Lord also clapped her hands to announce the end of the assembly.

"Ah, by the way, it's a bit of a problem. When will the vacant seat be filled again...?"

She muttered this as she turned to walk back to the main castle.

Soon, the other lords began to disperse.

Considering the serious atmosphere just a moment ago, it was quite an anticlimactic ending.

"7th Lord, you are always welcome to visit the 9th Lord's territory."

The Giant King said this and then walked away with heavy steps.

"7th Lord, how strong was the 6th Lord?"

The Black Sea Empress asked me before leaving.

I didn't answer and just looked at her.

She smiled and continued,

"Just curious. That vampire was so unpalatable, I've always wanted to chew him up and swallow him bit by bit."

"......"

"But now you're starting to become unpalatable too. This time it just passed, but be careful in the future. Hehe......"

I watched her retreating back, my antennae fluttering, and then turned my gaze elsewhere.

'By the way, the Sky Palace......?'

I thought he might say something about the Valkilov incident in the 3rd Lord's territory, but he had already left.

Now, only the 1st Lord, Sinthui, and the 4th Lord, the Lich King, were left.

Sinthui spoke to me first.

"It's fortunate that everything was resolved smoothly."

......Smoothly?

Well, if we only consider the result, it was true. At least, no life-or-death battle had occurred.

'But what's his agenda?'

I wondered if he had something else to discuss, given that he had been waiting.

Then, out of nowhere, Sinthui said,

"Do you remember the giant snake monster you killed in the Rutherus Mountains during the previous Grand Lord's territory change?"

Belvago?

I looked at him with a puzzled expression, wondering how this dwarf knew about it.

"You left the body with the mayor, so I took some of the scales. They were excellent. I wanted to thank you for that."

Oh...... I see.

I didn't have anything to say in response.

For a blacksmith like him, the scales of such a monster would indeed be valuable materials.

"If you need any equipment, come to the 1st Lord's territory. Well, then......"

Sinthui nodded and left.

I turned my gaze to the Lich King, who was the last one remaining.

He had been waiting for the other lords to leave, as if he had something to discuss.

"I have a question."

The Lich King said.

"The body of the Quanxiong you killed, it was impossible to revive as an undead. The soul had completely vanished."

What?

I was surprised by this.

"The bodies of the dead retain remnants of the soul. Undead magic starts by capturing and subjugating these remnants. However, the body of the Quanxiong you killed had no remnants left; the soul had been completely annihilated."

"......"

I fell into thought as I listened to him.

Something clicked in my mind.

'......The soul was annihilated?'

If the soul of the Quanxiong killed by Instant Kill had been completely annihilated, then could it be that Instant Kill was a power that annihilated the soul itself? That's why it worked on spirits too?

'Wait, hold on......'

Then what about the Guardian I killed in the dungeon? Did the Guardian have a soul?

I asked the Lich King,

"4th Lord, do you know about ancient golems?"

He tilted his head at my sudden question.

"Is the magic used to create golems related to souls?"

"Hmm, you mean the dummy magic? I'm not very interested in it, but I know it involves using remnants of souls harvested from other beings and injecting them into the golem's body. Whether the being was once alive or never lived, to make it move, both magic power and remnants of a soul are necessary."

So, even magic golems contained souls.

'Then it seems to be correct.'

If the essence of Instant Kill was to annihilate the soul itself, it would explain everything I had killed so far.

It was a new discovery about the nature of my ability, but knowing it didn't really change anything. It was just a fact.

By the way, I hadn't used it on undead yet, but if what he said was true, it would work on them too.

"So, you want to investigate this?"

I asked, and the Lich King shook his head with a smile.

"No, not at all. I was just curious if what you did was true. Your reaction confirms it."

Satisfied with his curiosity, the Lich King turned to leave.

"Then I'll be going now. It was a good meeting, and I'll see you at the next one, 7th Lord."

I had one more question and stopped him.

"Why did you oppose the execution?"

Now that I thought about it, it didn't seem like he was trying to help me pay a debt.

The Lich King looked at me and smiled.

"It was just a personal judgment. I felt that if we fought, your threat might really come true."

"......"

"But I have no ill feelings about it. I want to maintain a friendly relationship with you, 7th Lord."

I looked at the Lich King and said,

"The body of the 6th Lord can probably be revived as an undead."

"......Hmm?"

Since I didn't use Instant Kill on the Tyrant, remnants of his soul should still be intact.

The Lich King tilted his head and then smiled again.

"Is that so? Thank you. That's a valuable material. I'll tell the Grand Lord."

I watched the Lich King leave and then turned around.

'Phew......'

I was mentally and physically exhausted from the execution trial and the duel.

I just wanted to go back and rest.