Chapter 6

"Take the Holy Maiden to the Cathedral Knights' camp. Please make sure that her safety is not disclosed to anyone outside the Cathedral Knights. I will investigate this hole a bit more."

The fact that Tasha had crawled up suggests that Izuma might have fallen into the hole as well. Considering the number of days, it's a miracle that Tasha was still alive. The chances of Izuma surviving are low, but I want to confirm his safety before the water attack.

"Understood. I'll return immediately after entrusting Tasha to them."

"Thank you."

I transformed my right arm into a grappling hook and extended it into the hole. After finding a foothold, I extended my right arm further and descended the vertical shaft. The extension limit of the magical mercury prosthetic is about thirty yards. Before my right arm fully extended, I created a new grappling hook near my shoulder to catch the wall and retracted the fully extended right arm. Using the new right hand as a starting point, I extended my right arm again and continued descending.

The depth of the hole is about two hundred yards. When I reached the bottom of the vertical shaft, a strange space spread out before me. Water, which had been dammed for the water attack, seemed to be flowing in from somewhere. The bottom of the space was shallowly flooded. In the back, I could see a giant statue with an organically twisted square pyramid head, surrounded by four square pyramids, resembling an altar.

It looked like a temple. The statue of the square pyramid-headed creature was likely the image of the deformed god that Gales had contracted. It was the very image of the evil god from southern myths and murals. Around the altar, there were several corpses of horrific creatures with twisted square pyramid heads and tentacles like octopuses. They seemed to be the remains of the deformed god's followers, and they didn't appear to have been dead for long.

On the altar, there was Izuma. His right leg was missing.

"Izuma!"

I called out and ran over. Izuma opened his eyes slightly. His trademark mask was gone. It seemed he was indeed a woman. Her face was that of a woman with tanned skin.

"…Tasha, is it?"

He seemed to be in a very weakened state, speaking in a hoarse voice and with unfocused eyes.

"No, it's Balad from the Martial Imperial Company. I've come to rescue you. You don't need to worry anymore."

At that moment, a strange sound came from behind. The sound of a large mass of flesh falling into the water. When I turned around, a black clay-like mass in the shape of a bell had fallen into the shallow water. It was about two meters tall and silently changed shape, turning into a deformed monster with a twisted square pyramid head and eight tentacles, moving like a spider.

A follower of the deformed god. There were several corpses nearby, but it seemed a new one had just appeared.

"…Run."

Izuma said in a hoarse voice. I wanted to, but I couldn't leave him behind.

"I can handle one."

I put on the circular shield-shaped magical circuit, Libra Lexima, on my wrist. I took out two cards from my card holder and inserted them into the two slots on the back. One was a gold card with a red angel engraved on it, and the other was a silver card with a red devil engraved on it.

A voice echoed in my head. A thick, powerful male voice.

[Confirmation of Sigil Michael and Sigil Satan. Balance Circuit activation possible.]

The sigils are ancient alchemical artifacts used to summon beings from other dimensions, known as heteroforms. They are extremely difficult to handle, and it is said that no one in the current era can fully master them.

The Balance Circuit is a magical circuit that can extract only the magical power from heteroforms. It simultaneously draws on the power of a heteroform with holy attributes and a heteroform with demonic attributes, and by using them together or canceling them out as needed, it suppresses the backlash and achieves both high output and safety.

I extended the circular shield-shaped magical circuit forward and pulled the trigger on the grip to release the safety.

[Balance Circuit activation. Hetero-Armor, Holy-Demonic Flame, deployment.]

The two cards at the center of the circular shield turned into particles of gold and silver light. The particles wrapped around my body like a thin garment, quickly thickening to form a massive golden armor and a silver shield and sword. The armor was more like a knight-type golem that a person could enter. The head was designed like a dragon, with two wings on the back and a thick tail. There was a shield on each side, floating near the shoulders.

Hetero-Armor, Holy-Demonic Flame. It is armor constructed by materializing the magical power of heteroforms. The interior is equipped with a large number of magical circuits made of pseudo-materials, allowing the magical power of heteroforms to be converted and used in various forms.

The name Holy-Demonic Flame is derived from the holy and demonic attributes of the heteroforms Michael and Satan. Depending on the sigils used, it can change to Holy-Demonic Water, Holy-Demonic Flame Water, and so on.

The eight-armed monster whipped its square pyramid head like a whip and struck the Holy-Demonic Flame. It was a powerful blow, like being hit by a large tree, but the Holy-Demonic Flame's shield automatically moved to block it.

The Holy-Demonic Flame thrust the silver sword at the monster's square pyramid head as it charged. The thrust, which was pulled back to the last possible moment, accurately pierced the center of the monster's head.

Automatic counterattack. It wasn't me, but the magical circuit integrated into the Holy-Demonic Flame that recognized the surrounding situation and launched the attack.

However, the enemy was a top-tier monster. Even with its head pierced, it didn't die immediately. It spewed a black acid mist from the wound.

I later learned that this black acid was what had corroded and destroyed Izuma's leg.

But it had no effect on the Hetero-Armor. There was no damage at all.

The monster spread six of its eight tentacles and tried to envelop the Holy-Demonic Flame. It then tried to tear the Holy-Demonic Flame apart with terrifying force. However, the Holy-Demonic Flame remained unshaken. The Balance Circuit sent a message of [contact] and the contact points with the monster's hands, but that was all.

The control of the Hetero-Armor is done through thought. I released the power of the heteroform Satan.

[Heteroform Satan. Black Flame, Spiral Shock, release.]

A black flame emerged from the blade that was still embedded in the monster's neck. It spread a maddening pressure and heat within the monster's body, swirling.

The air in the underground cavern shook, and a shockwave swept through.

The black flame engulfed the monster. That was the end. The swirling black flame shattered and burned the deformed body to ashes in an instant.

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It seemed there were no more dangerous creatures. I lowered the silver sword and looked at Izuma.

"Are you okay?"

The Holy-Demonic Flame had inadvertently scattered embers and hot air throughout the underground area. Izuma, looking up at the Holy-Demonic Flame, muttered in a surprised tone.

"What is that?"

"It's called Hetero-Armor. It's one of the prototypes of the equipment from Velkert."

"Prototype? That power is more than enough."

"For fighting the Demon King, there are many issues. Only a select few can handle it, and it can only be used for about ten minutes a day."

Continuous use is limited to about ten minutes, and it requires almost a full day of cooling before it can be used again. It's good for military operations or one-time battles, but it's not suitable for a small party like a Demon King hunting team.

It seemed he understood. Izuma muttered, "I see," and then lost consciousness. He had reached his physical limit. As I was about to pick him up,

Thud.

An ominous tremor ran through the evil temple. The wall near the evil god statue broke, and water rushed in like a torrent.

It was the water that had been dammed for the water attack. The water had already started to flow in, but the weight of the water had caused the ground to break, and it was now rushing in. The shock from the Spiral Shock might have contributed to this.

I picked up Izuma. The Hetero-Armor is equipped with many muscle tubes made of pseudo-metal fibers. Lifting Izuma was no problem.

I returned to the vertical shaft and spread the wings on the back of the Holy-Demonic Flame. Hot air was blown from the nozzles at the bottom of the wings and various parts of the armor, and I took off into the air. The shaft was deep but narrow. I accelerated sharply, brushing against the walls, and flew out to the surface.

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Tasha and Izuma were taken to the Cathedral Knights' camp for treatment. Thanks to the elixirs I had brought, they managed to survive.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

In the tent at the Cathedral Knights' camp, I asked Tasha and Izuma. Izuma, who had lost a leg, was in bed but had borrowed a bucket-shaped helmet from the Cathedral Knights to hide his face. He seemed to be uncomfortable showing his face without his mask.

"Meishin and Asura betrayed us."

Tasha spat out.

"Right after we defeated Gales, Asura cut the back of Velkert's neck. Then Velkert stopped moving. I was stabbed by Meishin, and Izuma was severely injured by Gales and couldn't move."

"Then something interfered."

Izuma took over the story.

"Something?"

"I'm not sure what it was, but it was related to the deformed god. It seemed to have targeted me, driven by my hatred for Meishin and Aresta. It dragged me and Tasha into that space, the underground altar that Gales had set up, and offered us a deal. It would give us the power to take revenge and make me Gales' successor."

"You refused?"

If he had accepted, he wouldn't have been on the verge of death underground.

"Yes, and immediately after, we were attacked by what seemed to be a follower of the deformed god."

"Was that it?"

"We managed to defeat it, but we couldn't find a way back to the surface from the altar. My leg rotted and fell off. Then water started flowing in from somewhere. In a desperate attempt, Tasha climbed the vertical shaft, and you came to our rescue."

I wasn't sure if the distance she climbed in a desperate attempt was even climbable.

"I'm sorry."

Izuma apologized.

"You don't need to apologize."

"No," Izuma shook his head.

"I'm sorry for refusing the deal. The deformed god told me that if I became the next Demon King, it would teach me how to revive Velkert. I rejected that too."

"Revive Velkert?"

It seemed impossible. Even if there was a way, it was the deformed god's word. It would likely bring Velkert back as a horrific monster like its followers. I thought so, but I couldn't immediately dismiss it as "ridiculous."

"What do you think, Professor Bozen?"

"From what I've heard, it's not impossible. The Hero's death was not like that of an ordinary human. The fact that his body hasn't decayed is also concerning... First, we should investigate what the Hero did and what Meishin and Asura did to him."

"You're right."

Regardless, we needed to capture Meishin and Asura and recover Velkert's body. Even if reviving him was uncertain, we couldn't let Velkert's body be used as a political tool by Aresta.

"Are you in?"

Tasha said with a grim face. Her eyes were like a witch's again. She had crawled out of the underground altar, driven by her hatred for Meishin and Asura, and had even eaten insects and rats to survive.

"Yes."

I nodded.

"But finding a way to revive Velkert is more important than tearing them apart."

Investigating the truth of the deformed god's words and what Meishin and Asura did to Velkert should be the priority.

"I understand, of course."

Tasha said with a menacing smile.

"I don't intend to become a vengeful hag."

I thought she looked like a hag but decided not to say it.