Chapter 178
Chapter 178
TL/Editor: raei
Schedule: 5/week
Illustrations: None
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Demons were ancient beings.
They had existed in this world long before being cast out by the Sky God, their history too deep to even discuss.
"Lemegeton...!"
The demons still stubbornly used words from the old Golden Empire era.
It couldn't be helped.
Even humans living in modern times can't skillfully use the latest slang, can they?
'Lemegeton' was a word first mentioned in the old Golden Empire era, then altered by the monks of Heaven's Faith.
The meaning of [Master of the Key] remained the same though.
In the old Golden Empire era, it referred to [high-level wizards], but in the current gospels of Heaven's Faith, Lemegeton meant [some impressive bad guy].
So, Pentagon wasn't insulting Ian.
He was asking, "Are you a high-level wizard?"
"Lemegeton, you say!"
"That bastard! Spouting nonsense from his gaping mouth!"
But Anton and Herta were startled by Pentagon's outburst.
Just like a demon's mouth indeed!
That demon bastard, what was he saying to their Ian!
In Heaven's Faith, [Lemegeton] often appeared as the Arch Enemy of saints.
Of course, its actual usage had become distorted.
Bastards like Golden Finger Takarion ruined Lemegeton's image by churning out Heaven's Faith light nove... I mean, gospels.
Of course, Pentagon didn't pay any attention to what the wizards were babbling about.
What mattered was that Ian had demonstrated the strange magic of the northern wizards.
"Hrundal, you say...!"
Shamefully, Pentagon felt his tail stick straight up in fear...
To demons, the Sky God was merely an object of hatred.
Due to something that happened ages ago, they simply cursed "That b*tch is evil!" whenever they thought of her.
But Hrundal, the Ice Goddess and Warden of Hell, was different.
That b*tch... regularly came down to the gates of hell and held events to capture and punish demons.
And she brought hordes of [souls of great northern warriors] with her!
It was said that in Hrundal's [Ice Palace], the souls of great warriors gathered to train eternally in preparation for demonic invasions.
To demons, Hrundal was a truly terrifying goddess.
The Blood Lord's magic resistance?
From the start, Hrundal was a crazy b*tch who dragged around insane northern warriors like some mafia boss. If you mentioned magic resistance, a cold axe blade would come flying.
So when Ian shouted "I had meals with Hrundal! And looked at paintings!", you couldn't help but cower!
Ian raised the Arcana card high and concentrated.
[You have drawn a card...]
[You've drawn the Justice card!]
A picture of a blonde female knight wielding a longsword.
At the same time, a whispering voice was heard in his mind.
"It seems you need my help, Ian?"
"Lady Hrundal?"
A voice as cold as frost, yet somehow warm.
Hrundal responded to Ian's call.
"Oh. You've encountered a monster that denies mystery. A Pit Lord. Quite troublesome in many ways."
"Lady Hrundal. What should I do?"
"Your 'skill card' magic could deal effective damage to him, but... it seems the circumstances aren't favorable."
Ian nodded.
His advanced attack skills, Spear of Flame and Lightning Spear, were both on cooldown.
[Jumping Pebbles]... did hit, but the damage was negligible.
"Then I can lend you my blessing."
Hrundal said with a low laugh.
"But Ian. You're not suited to bear my blessing."
"Pardon?"
"My blessing shines when it reaches an outstanding warrior."
In short, 'Hrundal's Blessing' was a type of buff.
Considering that Arcana magic was northern sorcery, it wasn't that strange.
Ian understood.
Ian was a wizard, not a warrior.
'The Blood Lord has high magic resistance anyway.'
"In that case..."
"I'll lend you the power of my blessing. Store it in your 'skill card' and use it when needed."
Hrundal whispered.
At the same time, a status window appeared before Ian's eyes.
[New skill acquired!]
[Sorcery - Hrundal's Blessing]
[Bestow the goddess's blessing upon a warrior who follows you. The blessed warrior will gain the strength to achieve remarkable feats.
The stronger their fighting spirit and loyalty to you, the more powerful the blessing becomes!]
'Oh.'
Ian slowly examined the newly acquired skill.
A buff-magic.
This was totally a skill that heale... I mean, noble and venerable support-classes carried around!
Some AOS game spread the wrong idea that supports were tools~ they should 'sacrifice'~ but.
That was just that AOS game being weird. In fact, in most RPGs, supporters were noble classes.
Even when recruiting party members, supporters were addressed with extreme honorifics like "Dragon Raid~! Looking for one esteemed buffer~!"
But damage dealers, as common as pebbles on the ground, were recruited with "Raid. One thief bastard." and people still flocked to it.
Damage dealer classes were plebeians who had to run like dogs, immediately saying "Yes! At your service!"
Anyway.
'Buff skill.'
Ian immediately registered [Hrundal's Blessing] to the Justice card.
At the same time, Ian activated the newly acquired skill.
"[Blessed Warrior!]"
A golden wind blew.
Ian cast the [Hrundal's Blessing] spell on Belenka.
She was an outstanding warrior and a long-time companion of Ian's.
"Ian?"
"If you trust me, accept the power! Belenka!"
Belenka believed Ian's words and surrendered herself to the strange power.
The golden wind swirled around her and passed. freewёbnoνel.com
A moment later.
"... This is."
Belenka examined her body.
The most noticeable change was her armor, now silver.
Over the black chain mail, white crystals had formed as if frost had settled, making it look like she was wearing silver armor.
Also, a peculiar helmet had appeared.
A helmet with two protruding wing decorations, like fairy ears.
Ian nodded as he observed Belenka's changed appearance.
It was definitely Hrundal's blessing.
He had seen that armor design in a painting when he visited Hrundal's [Ice Palace] in the past.
Ian wasn't the only one who recognized the armor.
"Ugh, uuugh...!"
The demon, Pentagon, shuddered at the sight of Belenka in her strange armor.
That armor...
That terrifying armor...!
"Hrundal's Valkyrie!"
Valkyrie.
They were northern angels who served Hrundal and exceptional female warriors.
Who would have thought he'd see a northern Valkyrie in the Empire!
Pentagon's beard quivered as he beheld the Valkyrie descended to earth!
Belenka took a step towards Pentagon.
And said.
"Hmm... I'm a bit uneasy about receiving a heretical blessing, though?"
"..."
"Hey, Ian. This won't cause any problems getting into heaven, right? Using the power of a heretical god?"
Ian was momentarily dumbfounded.
No way, had he ever seen such an unnecessarily devout Heaven's Faith believer...!
From Belenka's perspective, it was actually understandable to feel awkward.
Imagine a devout Christian receiving a buff-magic and turning into a turbaned warrior of Allah.
Wouldn't that feel a bit off?
Ian felt dizzy, but he explained honestly.
"The Ice God and Sky God are... allies, so it's fine..."
"Oh, is that so? Then it's no problem."
Belenka, now the spitting image of the Valkyrie in Hrundal's painting, pointed her longsword at Pentagon.
"It's time for you to return to the pit you crawled out of! Demon!"
"This... this can't be...! A Lemegeton and a Valkyrie...! I came out to face a wizard!"
Ian snapped his fingers and said.
"I am a wizard! I just know a few more spells than most."
"Ugh, aaaargh! You vile bastard-"
What did I do to be called vile?
Arcana magic was precious magic that Ian gained through hardship in the north.
He thought it might be useful someday since it differed from the Empire's magic system.
And now, Arcana magic had certainly proven its worth.
As expected, it was beneficial to learn a variety of magic.
"Imps! My imps! Bring me that accursed wizard's head!"
Pentagon was truly flustered, issuing orders even to the imps watching from behind.
But the imps had just been thrashed by Ian's group until now.
They had been cheering~ Lord Pentagon will solve everything~! But now being told to fight, they couldn't possibly fight properly.
"Yah! Fear the light of the sun!"
"Kyaaaaaaak!"
Ian made Anor-lsil sparkle brightly, completely breaking the imps' will to fight.
The demoralized imps started fleeing, turning their backs even though Pentagon was still fighting.
"Those traitorous bastards!"
Pentagon fumed, but there was nothing he could do.
Belenka's blade flew fiercely.
"For the great sky and sun!"
"..."
It would have been nice if she had said it was for Hrundal, but oh well.
Anyway.
Belenka began relentlessly pushing Pentagon back.
---
---
'She's certainly fighting well.'
Belenka continued the fight effortlessly even against a 2-meter tall demon.
Strength, speed, stamina - there wasn't a single aspect where she wasn't overwhelming.
[Hrundal's Blessing] was a buff spell with outstanding performance.
"No... this can't be...!"
Despite barely managing to defend against Belenka's attacks, Pentagon didn't forget to whine whenever he got the chance.
Ian found Pentagon impressive in a new way.
That bastard. Was he that upset?
Well. He came out to eat a wizard, but he couldn't have imagined that a northern wizard and warrior would suddenly appear.
But even considering that, Pentagon somehow looked...
Like a loser.
"Sister Herta. You know the Blood Lord? Actually, isn't he not that big a deal?"
"...?"
As Belenka too one-sidedly thrashed Pentagon, Ian even had such thoughts.
Blood Lord. He seemed definitely weaker than his reputation.
Herta, of course, along with Anton and Krysus, were dumbfounded by Ian's words.
'... Ian. That's absolutely not the case.'
'Absolutely not, Ian.'
'How could a Blood Lord be a pushover demon?!'
"It's fortunate we don't need to retreat."
Ian, who had been planning to fortify the hill and hold out, genuinely breathed a sigh of relief.
He had heard the Blood Lord was a tremendous monster, so he poured out all his magic...
And it worked(?).
To Herta, Ian looked more monstrous than the Blood Lord.
How many spells had this young kid mastered?
"Ian. That strange magic... it's northern heretic magic, right?"
"Yes."
"When on earth did you learn such dangerous magic?"
Arcana magic was 'dangerous magic' to people of the Empire.
Didn't the uncontrollable aspect of it give off an extremely dangerous vibe from the start?
In the Empire, with its brilliant magic system of Maronius, there was no need to use indirect and uncertain magic like Arcana magic.
"It's not dangerous if you understand the principles."
"Principles... you say?"
"Yes. If you get on Hrundal's good side, the results are generally favorable."
"..."
Herta nearly lost consciousness at Ian's outrageously bizarre answer...
What on earth did it mean to get on a heretic god's good side!
Did it mean offering your decapitated head with an axe or something?!
But at the same time, she was amazed by Ian's bold and reckless use of magic.
Arcana magic may be unstable, but producing results within that instability was clearly a mark of skill.
If Herta were asked to produce the same results, she would absolutely fail.
She looked at what Ian had accomplished.
The imps fled in terror, and the Blood Lord was being pushed back helplessly by a strangely blessed female knight.
'If Ian hadn't been here...'
The wizards would have already met their deaths at the hands of the Blood Lord, or become slaves to the demon.
As Herta was thinking this.
"Kuh, kuuugh...!"
A strange groan was heard from the entrance of the courtyard.
"Save... save... me...!"
Herta turned around and was startled.
'That person is?'
It was a familiar face.
It was Theo, a nobleman who was Count Gremlin's son and the proxy baron.
For some reason, Theo was desperately crawling towards them.
'...!'
Herta was horrified.
Because she saw something she shouldn't have seen.
'That... what on earth...'
If she wasn't mistaken.
On the back of Theo's head, a woman's face had sprouted.
'Karenne?!'
It was none other than the face of the transmutation wizard Karenne.
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