Chapter 45

(￣(エ)￣)＜Having defeated the boss and ranked 8th overall for the month, the momentum from yesterday's comments was incredible.

(￣(エ)￣)＜Thank you, everyone. The second chapter was successfully resolved.

(=ↀωↀ=)＜……

□【Holy Knight】Ray Sterling

The body of the 【Great Necromancer】 who had lost its head crumbled into dust.

At the same time, my body suddenly became heavy, and I collapsed to the ground without being able to take a defensive stance.

"It's over, then."

The status window displayed a ridiculous number of status ailments: 【Poison】, 【Paralysis】, 【Death Curse】, 【Weakness】, 【Degeneration】, and so on. However, it was precisely because these status ailments from the enemy were eating away at my body that I could be certain I had defeated him.

《Reversal is like a turning flag》.

This is the unique skill of Nemesis's second form, the Black Flag Halberd, which reverses the effects of status ailments from the enemy... However, the skill stops when the enemy dies.

In other words, the current state of the status ailments proves that he is dead.

I had just been decapitated by a child who was apparently being controlled by him, and I switched Nemesis from a greatsword to the Black Flag Halberd, activating 《Reversal is like a turning flag》.

I did this to prevent the status ailments from affecting me.

When the skill activates, 【Bleeding】 becomes healing, 【Poison】 becomes HP recovery, and 【Paralysis】 becomes an increase in physical abilities.

The damage from the first decapitation was healed during the time I was on the ground, thanks to the reversal of 【Poison】. By the time the bleeding stopped, the 【Bleeding】 status was gone.

Next, the status ailments added by the enemy's status magic also quickly turned into buffs. At that time, there were also status ailments without a sense of reversal, but I did not suffer any negative effects.

As a result, I ended up with numerous buffs, which reversed the power gap between us.

The synergy was also a factor.

The fact that 《Silver Light of Sanctity》 is a skill that grants special effects against the undead, and the enemy was a 【Great Necromancer】 who was also an undead, was a significant factor.

Silver's legs also helped in pursuing the fleeing enemy.

Of course, I haven't learned 《Riding》 yet.

So I wasn't riding.

I let Silver run, dragging my feet along the ground as I pursued the enemy.

It was a state not much different from being dragged around by a horse in a Western movie, so there was continuous damage to my feet that were touching the ground.

But that was also being compensated for by the HP recovery from the reversal of 【Poison】.

When I emerged from the ground, I defended against the last spell the enemy used with 《Counter Absorption》.

The pressure was much greater than the flames of 【Galdorand】, but I endured it.

For a moment, I felt like my body was being taken over by status ailments, but Nemesis quickly transformed back into the Black Flag Halberd and reactivated 《Reversal》, and everything was fine.

Then, I sealed the enemy's movements with the Black Flag Halberd... and stopped his breathing with this fist.

It was a tightrope walk to get to this point.

Many factors came together, and I was able to defeat him.

Looking back, everything in this battle fell into place.

"...I guess I was just lucky."

"It's the only thing I can think of, even knowing the seeds."

Or perhaps, to punish the heretic who toyed with the lives of children, fate was on my side.

"..."

I stare at my hands.

The sensation of shattering the enemy's head is still lingering.

Perhaps because he was an undead, or due to the influence of 《Silver Light》, it felt like breaking a dead tree, but it was definitely there.

He was a hopeless villain, but it was the first time I had killed a human.

If I, the <Master> of Maiden, feel this place as if it were reality... will this also become a wound?

"Thinking too much is good, but it's best to stop for now."

"Nemesis?"

Nemesis, who had somehow returned to human form, looked down at me and pointed to the 【Death Curse】 on the status window.

Upon closer inspection, there was a timer next to the 【Death Curse】 that was rapidly counting down from 362 seconds.

It reminded me of the countdown in old RPGs where a frog with a knife would die when the count reached zero.

"By the way, Master, what about status recovery potions?"

"...I bought antidotes, but I didn't expect such a state."

This is bad, very bad.

If I don't do something, I'll suffer a penalty.

The children are safe with Hugo and the bandit group is destroyed, but I'll miss my appointment with Marie tomorrow, and that would be a problem.

"Damn it! That zombie horse! Leaving me with this unnecessary souvenir!"

"...What should we do?"

Due to the multiple status ailments, only my mouth can move, and I can't even hold my head.

Nemesis is searching my item box for something to help. Silver, who was left out, looks down at me with a somewhat worried expression.

Then, a hard sensation suddenly touched my lips.

"Take this potion."

Looking up, I see Hugo, who had just descended from the ice robot—where the broken 【Marshal II】 is visible inside—holding a potion bottle to my mouth.

Swallowing the contents of the bottle, my body suddenly felt light.

Then, Hugo places another potion bottle to my mouth.

After drinking it and checking the status window, all the status ailments were gone.

"I'm cured!"

"Thanks, Hugo!"

"You're welcome."

"By the way, what was that potion?"

"It's a 【Universal Healing Elixir】 and a high-level potion to remove curses, the 【High Holy Water】."

"Is it okay to use it?"

"It's fine. It came from the item box of the enemy I defeated."

Hugo points to the bull's head hanging from the gate.

Looking closely, there are several items scattered around the corpse, including the same potion bottles I drank.

"What happened to those items?"

"They were scattered when the item box was damaged. ...I might have gone a bit overboard."

I remember Cheshire mentioning during the tutorial that when an item box is damaged, the contents are scattered. The contents can also be destroyed by the shock of the release, but it's also the easiest way to steal from others.

Therefore, there are also villains who attack wealthy people and scatter their contents.

As a side note, other than breaking the item box, there are also skills like 《Theft》, which steals directly from the item box, and 《Plunder》, which changes the ownership of the stolen item box.

"Ah... That's it."

The item box of the 【Great Necromancer】 I defeated was lying buried under the robe he was wearing.

Mine is a bag, but his was a black cubic box.

He was probably trying to take out money from it at the end.

So if I break it, I might get the money and rare items he mentioned.

But...

"I don't want to touch anything left by such a person."

I only want to take his life.

Moreover, it's not hard to imagine how he obtained the contents.

"I agree. It feels like it would taint my heart."

"Right. Then we'll leave it. Someone will pick it up eventually."

"Agreed."

The Gouz Maze bandit group has been destroyed, and this is now an abandoned fort.

It's uncertain if anyone will step foot here again.

...If I report this to the Adventurer's Guild later, they will likely investigate. At that time, they can also recover the treasures left behind.

If they use it for welfare or something, it might also be a form of purification.

For the sake of the children who died.

"...Right, Hugo. I found the children who were kidnapped underground. Eight of them are alive, probably put to sleep by magic. We need to split up and bring them to the surface... By the way, where's Kyuko?"

I haven't seen her since we came out.

She was removed from the party before the battle, but if she's still not visible, did she suffer a penalty...?

"Kyuko is fine. Just wait a moment. Kyuko, come here... Ah, it's fine."

Hugo says this to the ice-armored 【Marshal II】.

Then, the ice armor turns into white and blue particles and disperses.

Immediately after, the ice armor of the broken 【Marshal II】 disintegrates.

Hugo mutters, "I'll have to ask the owner for a spare," but what caught the attention of me and Nemesis was the destination of the light particles.

The particles concentrate into a human shape.

"Hey there."

There stands a <Master> in white clothing—Kyuko.

However, the tattoo on the back of her left hand, which is proof of being a <Master>, is missing.

Moreover, the particle transformation is similar to Nemesis's, but in a different color.

"I see. Kyuko, you... are of the same kind?"

"Yes, my true name is Kyuuto."

"Of the same kind... that means..."

Her true identity is a TYPE: Maiden <Embryo>, and her <Master> is Hugo.

"But the tattoo on your left hand just now..."

"It's a TYPE: Maiden unique skill, 《Emblem Disguise》. It can disguise the left hand and status display as a <Master>."

"Is there such a skill...?"

"It becomes possible after a Maiden accumulates a certain amount of combat experience while in human form."

...I see.

I've never had Nemesis fight on her own.

I haven't learned it yet.

"But what's the point of that skill?"

"It has a purpose. <Masters> and <Embryos> are wild cards, and 《Emblem Disguise》 can make it seem like there are more pairs of <Masters> and <Embryos>."

It's used as a bluff.

There are many other things it can do, and we might learn it next time.

"Alright, now that we're all here, let's bring the children from underground into the sunlight."

"Understood."

With me and Nemesis, Hugo and Kyuko, we head to the fort's underground.

With four of us and Silver, we should be able to bring all the children out in one trip.

They might have woken up due to the disappearance of the one who put them to sleep, so we need to hurry.

◆◆◆

■ <Abandoned Fort Surroundings>

"...Did they go in?"

"Yeah, they went into the fort."

In the dense forest surrounding the abandoned fort, in a particularly thick area, five suspicious men were standing.

They were the remnants of the Gouz Maze bandit group.

And they were also the five men Ray and Hugo encountered in Gideon.

They were beaten by Ray and Kyuko and captured by Gideon's guards.

However, they escaped before being imprisoned, thanks to the help of other comrades.

Since then, they had been guarding the rear of the caravan, watching out for any pursuit, and had just returned to the fort... only to find their base ravaged.

Their good fortune was that they were hiding in a place outside Kyuko's detection range, so they managed to remain hidden.

"What do we do now?"

"What else? We run. How can we fight monsters that can defeat the boss monsters?"

"Damn, do we have to leave the treasure in the fort?"

One of the men, who had been thrown by Ray, spat in frustration.

"...Wait a minute?"

But he suddenly had an idea.

"That's it, that's what we should do."

He nodded in agreement with himself.

"What's up with you?"

"What do you mean, 'that's what we should do'?"

"?"

The other four men looked at him curiously.

"Now that they're in the fort, we can take as much of the boss's money and items as we want. We can also easily take the kids from the carriage. We can demand a ransom for the kids or sell them in Cardina. We can even use them as a gift to join another bandit group on the border!"

"Wow!"

"That's a great idea!"

The men were overjoyed at his selfish suggestion.

"Then, let's do it before they come back."

"Yeah! Let's quickly gather the items and the kids and make a run for it."

The men split up to gather the items and hitch live horses to the carriages carrying the children.

However, one of the men... the one who suggested gathering the items and re-kidnapping the children, was tilting his head in front of the dust that was once Maze's corpse.

"What's wrong?"

"Maze's item box isn't broken."

It was the black item box that Ray and Hugo had decided to leave.

"Huh? Then, let's break it. Since all the