Chapter 69

Temper 13 - Chapter 16

'That guy is definitely one of Rebecca's henchmen!'

Why would a guy who killed two of the Bell of Yatan's members appear in front of me now?

He must be here to kill me.

That guy is Rebecca's secret weapon.

He exists solely to sabotage the main temple's mission.

Darkbus misunderstood this. It was a reasonable misunderstanding from his perspective.

'I must kill him here. If I let him continue to act freely, the main temple's position will become difficult.'

Darkbus continued to cast spells at Grid, who was focused on fighting the soldiers.

However, it wasn't easy to hit him.

Not only did Grid use the terrain effectively, making it hard to find an opening, but the golden blades also quickly reacted to block the spells.

'Damn... As they say, he's the one even Nivarius couldn't handle. Indeed, my offensive power is not enough.'

Darkbus was specialized in curse magic but weak in attack magic.

His talent for scheming and manipulating the stage was top-notch, but he was the weakest in combat among the Bell of Yatan.

'If only the curse magic had worked...!'

The fundamental problem was that Grid was completely resistant to curses.

Against him, Darkbus had no ability to exert any power. It was truly the worst match-up.

While pondering what to do, Darkbus quickly came up with a plan.

'Asmofel!'

Asmofel was a swordsman second only to Piaro.

Although he had lived like a recluse for the past few years and lost his former skills, he was still stronger than an average paladin.

'He has also recovered from the wounds he received from Piaro recently... and has been steadily consuming the essence of Yatan for the past few years, so his affinity with dark magic is excellent.'

If I enhance him with my magic, a monster of the highest caliber will be born.

'Temper! Today, this place will be your grave!'

Darkbus, with a sinister smile, shouted.

"Come out! Asmofel!"

Darkbus's behavior, which seemed to be delivering the quest target to Grid, was like that of a kind delivery man. He was a popular type.

***

Two soldiers leaped over the flower bed and stabbed Grid with their swords.

While dodging the attack, Grid decapitated them, and another notification window appeared in his field of vision.

[Demon Power increased by 2.]

Demon Power.

A bizarre stat that allows entry to hell when the value rises.

A stat that increases by 1 for each user or NPC killed, which Grid found quite bothersome.

He had no desire to go to hell, a place with an ominous name.

'This stat keeps rising pointlessly, which is annoying.'

Grid surveyed the battlefield.

The number of remaining soldiers was 61, plus one annoying black mage.

If he killed them all, his Demon Power would soar to 154.

'But if I spare them, there's a possibility they might call for reinforcements.'

What if he used a pet?

Would his Demon Power not increase if a pet killed someone?

When he fought the White Wolf Guild, Randy didn't kill anyone. Randy played a supporting role, and Grid did all the slaughtering. Therefore, it couldn't be used as a basis for accurate judgment.

It was worth experimenting with.

Grid summoned Noe from his pet inventory. There was no need to summon Randy for this experiment. At this point, with a level-up just around the corner, it would be a shame to share experience points with two of them.

"Ta-da! The appearance of the number one demon of hell! Meow!"

Noe, who wanted to make a grand entrance, appeared with her limbs spread in a 大 shape.

However, with her short limbs and protruding belly, she looked more comical than impressive.

'Why do you keep getting cuter?'

To produce a "Ta-da!" sound effect with her own voice... what kind of demon of hell is this?

Grid chuckled and checked Noe's status window.

Name: Noe

Race: Mephis

Level: 151

Condition: Satisfied

(Uwooh! I succeeded in making a grand entrance! Meowhaha!)

...

-Current Skill List-

[Fluidization][Soul Absorption][Scratch][Charm]

...

Noe had acquired a new skill, Charm, upon reaching level 150. It was a useful skill that could make the enemy lose their will to fight.

No matter how skilled the imperial soldiers were, they could never be a match for Noe.

If Noe used her skills well, she could hunt monsters twice her level. As long as she didn't let her guard down and allow attacks on her tail, she was a downright unfair existence.

Just then, Grid, who had defended against a spell from the mediocre black mage with Phabrath, gave an order.

"Go wild."

"Meow!"

Noe, flapping her small wings, flew at a soldier.

The soldier, underestimating Noe based on her appearance, casually swung his arm to shake her off. But Noe was incredibly agile. She easily evaded the soldier's arm and extended her short front paws.

The moment the soft pink paw hit the soldier's nose, he saw stars.

'Pain?'

The soldier, shocked and spitting blood from his nose, had Noe cling to his face. She had her sharp claws ready.

"Meowmeowmeowmeowmeow!"

Noe, swinging her front paws at an invisible speed!

The soldier's face quickly turned into a bloody mess.

"This crazy cat!"

The soldier struggled desperately to shake Noe off, swinging his hands and stabbing with his sword. But Noe dodged all the attacks and didn't stop scratching.

She was persistent and cruel. Indeed, she looked like a demon of hell.

"Ugh."

As the soldier fell, Grid's face twisted.

[You have gained 125,600 experience points. Some of the experience points have been distributed to the pet 'Noe'.]

[Demon Power increased by 1.]

'Damn.'

Even if he offloaded the killing to a pet, his Demon Power still increased.

With that, Grid didn't hesitate.

To monopolize the experience points, he recalled Noe and began the slaughter.

Surrounded by the constant wailing of the dying, Grid, with his white hooded zip-up flapping, swung his two greatswords without pause.

The soldiers, unable to inflict even a scratch on Grid due to the swift movement of the golden blades, died pointlessly.

'A little more.'

After piercing three soldiers with the Doppleganger's greatsword and slicing them, Grid's gaze was fixed on the entrance of the mansion.

There.

Inside that mansion is Asmofel.

If I kill him, this long journey will end.

If the quest reward maximizes Piaro's affection, then...

'Piaro, become my sword.'

The thought of gaining a future sword saint as a companion made Grid's enthusiasm boil.

Boom!

The mediocre black mage, who was guarding the mansion entrance alone, cast another spell.

Grid's eyebrows furrowed.

'He keeps messing around.'

The black mage was very weak.

Based on the level of the attack spells he used, he seemed to be around level 200.

But as he kept being annoying, Grid started to feel irritated.

After methodically eliminating the remaining soldiers with a retreat tactic, he ran towards the mansion.

He quickly dispatched the mediocre black mage and was ready to face Asmofel.

'He hasn't run away after hearing the commotion, has he?'

Just as Grid was worried, the black mage shouted.

"Come out! Asmofel!"

A slender man appeared at the entrance of the mansion.

Above the man's head, the name "Asmofel" clearly floated.

"...What the heck."

The target walking out on his own?

Grid, bewildered by the unexpected turn of events, heard the black mage shout.

"That's enough of your nonsense! Divine punishment will befall you...!"

The kind delivery man Darkbus's shout couldn't be completed.

Grid, leaping, pierced his neck with the Failure.

"......!"

Darkbus, emitting a sound similar to a deflating balloon, fell.

The Doppleganger's greatsword was deeply embedded in his heart.

"Damn you...!"

Enraged, Darkbus got up. Although he was weak in combat, he was one of the Bell of Yatan. As a named boss, his health points were in the millions. He couldn't die from just a couple of normal attacks.

Grid was puzzled.

'Why isn't he dead?'

Grid didn't know Darkbus's true identity. He perceived him as a mediocre, common black mage.

He thought he could take him out with a couple of normal attacks.

But when he unexpectedly held on, Grid, curious, used Insight to check Darkbus's combat power.

'20,000?'

A field boss monster-level combat power.

But why is he so weak?

'Anyway, he must be the mid-boss of this quest.'

Judging this, Grid activated the Failure and the Doppleganger's greatsword.

Darkbus, allowing the attack from below, had two streams of blood gush from his chest.

The Failure and the Doppleganger's greatsword, which had reached his head, fell like lightning.

It was the ultimate slash of Pagma's sword dance.

The powerful follow-up to the normal attack was devastating.

"Kraaaah!"

Deep sword marks were carved into Darkbus's shoulders.

He couldn't understand at all.

'Mana Shield is useless!'

Directly facing him, he was stronger than imagined. He would die like this. There's no point in being arrogant.

Darkbus hid behind Asmofel. He was about to order the brainwashed Asmofel, standing like a puppet, to kill Grid.

But Grid's action was faster than his words.

"Pa (派)."

The sword energy, undulating, struck Darkbus's mouth.

The "Sa (殺)" stabbed into his neck, writhing in pain.

Poke!

[Critical!]

[Due to the Failure's option effect, the 'Sever' skill is activated.]

[Due to the Failure's option effect, the '5-Combo' skill is activated.]

Thud.

Darkbus's body, headless, fell limply.

It was a truly futile end.

"What kind of mage is this tough... huh?"

Grid, who was amazed at the tenacious life force, was taken aback. A large number of notification windows appeared before his eyes.

[You have defeated the seventh Bell of Yatan, Darkbus, who once plunged the world into chaos!]

[You have thwarted the Yatan Church's plot and saved the Sarahan Empire from crisis!]

[Your reputation across the continent has increased by +3,000.]

[Your current reputation across the continent is 28,110. You can use the reputation shop when your reputation is 30,000 or higher.]

[You have obtained the title 'Secret Hero'.]

[You have obtained the title 'Bell of Yatan Slayer'.]

[You have obtained 3 Blessed Weapon Enhancement Stones.]

[You have obtained 7 Blessed Armor Enhancement Stones.]

[You have obtained 3 Supreme Magic Stones.]

[You have obtained Darkbus's Earring.]

[You have obtained Darkbus's Ring.]

[You have obtained 88,052,440 experience points.]

[Your level has increased.]

"...?"

Grid was dumbfounded.

A Bell of Yatan?

This mediocre guy?

Staring blankly at Darkbus's corpse, which was slowly oxidizing into ash, Asmofel, freed from brainwashing, approached.

"Hero who punished the wicked Bell of Yatan. My savior... Could you perhaps listen to my tragic story?"

[The quest <True Traitor of the Holy Knights (SS)> has changed to <Hidden Story (Hidden)> quest.]

What's this situation?

"???"

Question marks floated above Grid's head.

With a bewildered expression, Asmofel began to speak.

"One day, Empress Maria came to me."

It was a long story.

Asmofel detailed how Maria approached him and how she sowed discord between him and Piaro.

The essence of Yatan.

He also explained in detail how he came to consume the chaotic liquid, which could severely weaken a human's mental strength and corrupt their mana with just one drop.

He shuddered as he recounted how he was brainwashed by Darkbus and became a complete puppet, and he shed tears as he described how he was used at will and ultimately killed Piaro and his comrades.

"Sometime... Sometime, if I ever meet Piaro by chance, please tell him. I'm sorry. Truly sorry."

Asmofel, drawing his sword, pointed it at his own neck.

The sword, held in his emaciated hand, moved without hesitation. It was about to pierce Asmofel's neck.

Asmofel intended to atone for his sins through death.

But he couldn't die.

Before the sword could pierce his neck, Grid stopped him.

"Don't offload your sins to others; atone for them yourself."

The clear condition for completing the hidden quest, <Hidden Story>, which Grid had obtained for the first time, was the reunion of Piaro and Asmofel.

These talents, once praised as pillars of the empire, were about to become the pillars of Raydan.