Chapter 79

"Impossible... That's absolutely impossible! For a Dullahan to lose in a sword battle... It's absolutely impossible! A human, dragging their heavy body, can't possibly keep up with the perfected sword speed of a Dullahan, a spirit swordsman!"

Mangei spoke while retreating.

His back hit the wall, and his feet stopped.

His knees, trembling with fear, collapsed onto the floor.

Then, he raised his head.

In Mangei's eyes, the figure of Rambert appeared.

"Unfortunately, I'm no longer human. Though, apart from not getting tired, there hasn't been much change, has there?"

The man in the great armor, standing with flames at his back, was like a demon itself.

"Answer my voice, come forth from the netherworld, O Hollow Tower, Bone Babel!"

With Mangei's cry, the Book of Gailof once again glowed with mana.

A white triangular pyramid emerged, piercing the floor beneath Rambert's feet.

Rambert leaped back, putting some distance between them.

The triangular pyramid then pushed up, and a white cylindrical pillar, about three hains (approximately three meters) in diameter, rose, piercing through the ceiling.

The office shook violently. Cracks appeared in the floor that had been pushed up, and debris fell from the shattered ceiling.

Furthermore, the wall on the side where Mangei had been standing was completely destroyed.

Mangei's figure was also pushed by the white pillar and ejected from the mansion.

"Regained distance, have you... But that's not the main issue. I need to deal with the immediate problem first."

The pillar was formed by a pile of countless bones.

Skulls were arranged at equal intervals, their hollow eye sockets facing outward.

"So, you've appeared here. The first of Gailof's thirteen spirits, Bone Babel..."

The Hollow Tower, Bone Babel, like the Dullahan, is one of the spirits of the netherworld that Gailof had contracted.

However, unlike the Dullahan, it cannot move freely after being summoned.

During the Eight Nations Unification War, Gailof used Bone Babel's surprise factor at the time of summoning, repeatedly summoning it to use as a weapon.

Being the first among Gailof's thirteen spirits, it is the weakest.

However, it was not without its uses.

In fact, Gailof preferred to use Bone Babel, which could serve as both a sword and a shield, due to its versatility.

Rambert, on guard, readied his greatsword.

"Indeed, facing Gailof's curse is not easy. I had hoped that the pillar of fire would have damaged Bone Babel for some reason... Fighting Bone Babel in a limited indoor space is indeed difficult."

Bone Babel can also be divided into multiple entities and summoned simultaneously.

Gailof, skilled in psychological warfare, would use it with feints, timing, and high-speed control.

Gailof used Bone Babel to manipulate and trample even famous heroes of the Eight Nations Unification War era.

Before the freely controlled Bone Babel, even Rambert's direct subordinates were defeated.

Naturally, Rambert's grip on his greatsword tightened.

This was possible due to Gailof's exceptional mana, which allowed him to be counted among the top ten magicians in the latter stages of the Eight Nations Unification War.

If Mangei tried to imitate Gailof's continuous resummoning, it would be like wasting mana, and he could never replicate it.

As Rambert's tension increased, the form of Bone Babel faded and disappeared, leaving a large hole behind.

"Hmm?"

To Rambert, its departure seemed unusually slow.

It was clear that it was not sent back to the otherworld by magical control, but rather had disappeared due to an irregular cut-off of mana from the caster, which Rambert sensed.

And indeed, that was the case.

Mangei had used Bone Babel, a key element of Gailof's attacks, simply to escape, seeing it as a poor choice.

Rambert leaned out from the hole in the wall.

From the third floor of the Mond Manor, the buildings of the city of Baraila looked small.

Among them, Mangei, riding a strange horse, covered in blood, was visible. In addition to his normal head, a human face was attached to his chest.

The horse's head itself had three eyes, and its appearance was so unsettling that just looking at it caused discomfort.

The third of Gailof's thirteen spirits, the two-headed spirit horse, Troy.

"I won't let you escape!"

Rambert was about to jump from the third floor but turned back at the cry of the adventurers from the "Dancing Sword."

In the office, which had been damaged by Bone Babel, the floor and ceiling were destroyed, and the flames Mangei had released were spreading, burning the mansion.

The elite adventurers were struggling against the enhanced undead, who could fight without fatigue and ignore physical damage.

The longer the battle lasted, the more advantageous it became for the enhanced undead.

(If this continues, it won't last long... But I can't let the Book of Gailof escape. Mangei probably wasn't seriously fighting until he faced me. Given the respite he's gained, he will surely attempt to summon one of the higher spirits from the Book of Gailof. If the thirteenth spirit appears, with no former subordinates to help me now, there will be no way to counter it...)

Recalling the battlefield of the past, even the battle-hardened Rambert shuddered.

The thirteenth spirit of Gailof's thirteen spirits was a monster that even Gailof, its master, could not control, embodying hell itself.

Even when Rambert and his subordinates fought together, they could not defeat it head-on.

Mangei cannot be given any more time.

But if he pursues him now, he will leave everyone in the mansion to their fate.

One of the adventurers turned to the hesitant Rambert.

"Quickly, go after that monster! Leave this to me!"

The slender man, dressed in elegant green noble attire, was Robin Hood.

Robin Hood, who had taken his eyes off his opponent, was attacked by the undead Yunos.

"Ha, hahaha! Robin Hood, you will die too! In hell, your subordinates are waiting for you! Hahaha!"

Arrows pierced Yunos's cheeks, chest, and thighs as he flew through the air.

Yunos, slowed by the arrows, landed on the floor, extending his arm to increase his reach and aiming at Robin Hood with the tip.

Robin Hood, despite losing his balance, dodged backward to avoid the attack.

"How is it, your aim is getting weak, isn't it? Ha, hahaha!"

A sword strike grazed Robin Hood's forehead, leaving a thin line of blood on his well-kept face.

"Ha, hahaha! Ha..."

An arrow deeply pierced Yunos's forehead, the impact from the close-range shot breaking his neck and bending it backward.

Yunos's body fell to the ground.

"Let me handle these."

Robin Hood, breathing heavily, said to Rambert.

With an arrow still embedded in his forehead, Yunos's body rose again.

"It doesn't hurt, Robin Hood!"

Without a word, Rambert leaped from the destroyed wall.

The combined weight of Rambert's massive body and his mithril armor accelerated as he fell from the third floor of the Mond Manor.

The impact of his landing with the ground created a loud boom, and the ground caved in, forming an imprint of Rambert's feet.

Without a moment's delay, he pulled his feet out of the ground and pursued Mangei.