Chapter 81

As I looked down at the disappearing ghouls, I inwardly sighed.

Leaving behind some troubling words before disappearing.

...Master, huh. If the words are true, there must be someone even higher up than this guy.

And I don't think this monster is the only one. If so, the base must be quite large.

"Moo, Lloyed finished off the last one, so everyone is tied for first place. It's a draw."

"That's how it is. Since we couldn't decide the winner, there will be no prize."

"I wanted to go on a date with Lloyed... What a shame..."

The three of them mumbled something and drooped their shoulders.

It was a fierce battle. They must be tired.

"Oink! Oink!"

Shiro barked at me, beckoning me to come over to the tunnel.

I remember that's where a large number of ghouls came from.

So the base must be on the other side of there, right?

"Shall we go check it out?"

Following Shiro, I walked deeper into the tunnel.

Along the way, I used 'Sunlight' to light the path, but not a single ghoul appeared.

That's strange. If the base is in here, it wouldn't be unusual for enemies to appear.

"That's odd."

"What's wrong, Silfa?"

"No, it feels like we're heading towards the center of the town."

"Off the locations where the ghouls appeared, huh?"

The locations mentioned in the request were all far from the center of town.

But upon re-examining the request, I noticed a pattern in the appearance locations.

The center point connecting all the appearance locations is where we are heading now.

"This area... the church...?"

We arrived at the church we visited a few days ago.

Climbing the ladder and opening the lid, we emerged in the sewer behind the church.

"It turns out there were no monsters here."

It's hard to imagine, or rather, impossible, that the church would be the monsters' base.

Besides, ghouls and vampires wouldn't likely approach a church. It just doesn't fit the image.

"Uuuuu..."

But Shiro is still growling.

Hmm, there must be something here.

"What are you doing here!?"

Suddenly, a priest appeared from the shadows.

He seemed startled by our sudden appearance.

"Entering the grounds without permission, what do you think you're doing!?"

"Sorry. We were chasing monsters as part of a request from the Adventurer's Guild and ended up here. I apologize. Here, I'm bowing."

Tao bowed, but the priest's face turned red with anger.

"What, you're saying this church is a monster's lair!"

"No, that's not what I meant!"

"Shut up! You insolent ones, get out immediately! And you, dog, get out too! Shoo! Shoo!"

"Uuuuu..."

The priest kicked the growling Shiro and raised his voice.

...Something's off.

The priest seemed to dislike me, but he didn't seem like a bad person.

He usually doted on Shiro, but now he's treating him rudely.

"I've met this priest a few times, but he's usually a gentle person... He seems a bit off today."

"Yeah, he was much kinder when I met him before."

"Hmm, maybe he's in a bad mood?"

Tao tilted her head. Indeed, he might be in a bad mood.

Right, I remember that even bad temperaments can be cured with holy magic.

If that's the case, maybe his bad mood can be cured too. Let's give it a try.

I took a step closer to the priest.

"What are you doing...!?"

"Excuse me for a moment."

I placed my hand on the priest's chest without hesitation.

Holy magic 'Faint Light'.

The priest, illuminated by a faint light, jumped back in a panic.

White smoke rose from his body.

"Uaaaaah!? You, that power is holy magic!? How did you know I was possessing the priest!?"

What, really?

I just wanted to improve his mood, but I'm surprised.

Now that I think about it, the smoke rising from his body is the same as when I hit the vampire with the light sword earlier.

"How... I had my suspicions, but I never imagined a monster was possessing the priest... Impressive, Mr. Lloyed."

"The flow of 'Qi' was natural. It was definitely the priest himself. Normally, no one would notice. Good job, Lloyed, you're impressive."

"Even when I tried to focus my magic power, I couldn't tell at all... Lloyed is really amazing!"

The three of them mumbled and looked at me with intense gazes.

I'm not sure what's going on, but I guess I don't need to worry too much.

"That's a Reis, a spirit-type monster. It's a troublesome one that can possess people."

"Hmm... The fact that it can communicate suggests it's a highly intelligent individual."

"First, we should get it out of the priest."

Then we'll interrogate it. I'll make it spill everything.

This is my first time dealing with a spirit-type monster. I want to try various things.

Let's start with this.

—Purification-type holy magic 'Holy Light'.

A dazzling light was emitted from my palm.

"Huh! Fool, do you think I wouldn't be prepared for holy magic after infiltrating the church! This dark cloak blocks all holy magic!"

Reis flipped his black cloak and hid himself.

The light hit the cloak, but Reis seemed unharmed.

I see, it really does block holy magic... Let's see how durable it is.

—Ultimate holy magic 'Ultimate Holy Light'.

My hand glowed even whiter than before, and a blinding flash hit the priest.

"Ugh!? What power! But this dark cloak won't be broken...!"

Wow, that's impressive.

To withstand even ultimate holy magic.

Alright, this is the time to focus my magic power.

I cut off the flow of magic power throughout my body and concentrated it in my fingertips...

I narrowed the spell's range from wide to extremely small, focusing the flash into a single point.

Magic is like water; the narrower the range, the greater the power.

A blinding light concentrated into a single point, and the area began to glow red with heat.

Smoke rose, and a burnt smell filled the air.

"What is this!? Impossible...!"

A huge explosion occurred, and Reis was engulfed in the light.

Oh no, I got carried away and increased the power too much.

I'm worried I might have killed him as I watched the smoke clear... It seems the priest is unharmed.

Phew, I managed to cut off the spell just in time.

"What... The dark cloak is one of the trump cards of the demon race, capable of blocking even god-level holy magic. To break it so easily... What incredible magic power...! I am truly impressed, Mr. Lloyed."

"Hehe, to break even the dark cloak... Not bad for my future body, I guess."

Jiriel and Grimo are muttering, but the interrogation of Reis comes first.

Just as I was about to approach the fallen priest...

"Eh... Lloyed, you...?"

I turned around at the voice from the shadows, and there was the church's sister, Iesha.