Chapter 163: The emperor's coronation
Alda, the god of law and fate, was working to create something in order to train Heinz and his companions and in order to awaken the heroic god Bellwood, who remained in slumber after he and the evil god of sinful chains struck each other down.
"If I was able to borrow Ricklent and Zuruwarn's powers, it wouldn't have taken this long," he muttered to himself.
Alda was struggling; it was a large task that he was performing alongside maintaining the light and life attributes, and one that was certainly outside his field of expertise.
If he had the cooperation of Ricklent, the genie of time and magic who was exceptional in the use of magic, and Zuruwarn, the god of space and creation, the task would have gone much more smoothly despite them not being in their ordinary conditions, but…
There is no use in expecting anything from gods that were still in slumber, Alda thought as he directed his mind elsewhere.
"But I must finish it at all… costs?"
Suddenly, half of Alda's vision was filled with crimson. He touched his face with a hand and was shocked to feel a wet sensation.
"I've been wounded? I, in my Divine Realm…!"
His own blood was flowing from his forehead; it was the first time he had seen his own blood in about a hundred thousand years. The moment he realized this, he felt a series of dull pains.
The familiar spirits working in his Divine Realm made an uproar.
"Alda-sama?!"
"Who is it! Harming Alda-sama, the chief of the gods, is a grave, unforgivable sin!"
"Calm yourselves," said Alda.
The pain was still continuing. At this very moment, he was still being wounded by someone.
Alda quickly checked the conditions of the Artifacts that he had made himself.
"The only one that I can think of is…"
If it was beings that could inflict damage upon a god like Alda, the first thing that most people would think of was the remnants of the Demon King's army, but that didn't seem to be the case. It didn't seem to be an attack from the gods of Vida's faction, either.
Alda was a great god, the one with the most followers praying to him. The damage that he was currently receiving was nothing more than scratches. Naturally, it would have no effect on the maintenance of the world, and it would only interfere with the task that he was currently performing for a few minutes.
He couldn't imagine that the remnants of the Demon King's army or the gods of Vida's faction would make a move to inflict such a small amount of damage to him.
The most likely possibility was that Vandalieu had destroyed Artifacts that Alda had created or a familiar spirit summoned by one of his believers. But as far as Alda could tell, there were no signs of this.
"No, my currently-existing familiar spirits have grown fewer in number. Artifacts that I cannot check… my divine authority… Vida!"
Instances of Alda's power that existed in a place that Alda could never see. There were no such instances other than the stakes that he had driven into the body of Vida a hundred thousand years ago, who was supposed to be slumbering in the Boundary Mountain Range now.
Having realized this, Alda hastily commanded his familiar spirits to the two gods that were his confidants.
"Check upon Curatos and Niltark!"
In addition to the stakes that were Alda's divine authority, Bellwood's Artifacts were also impaling Vida. Among them were not only the Artifacts created by Alda, but also those created by Curatos, the god of records, and Niltark, the god of judgment.
If the stakes had been destroyed, it was only natural to assume that the Artifacts had been destroyed as well. This prediction was confirmed to be true by his familiar spirits' reports.
Fortunately, it seemed that the damage itself taken by those two gods was not very significant.
But the fact that they had received damage at the same time as Alda signified an emergency situation.
"Vida has been released. Just who could have removed a divine authority?"
Alda was the god of the light attribute, and at the same time, he was the god of law. Thus, he was able to wield his divine authority to punish gods who had made mistakes. That was what those stakes were.
The stakes greatly inhibited the recovery of power of the god impaled by them, and there were great limits on the actions that they could take as gods. As they could not target any gods except those of Lambda, they had not been of any use against the Demon King's army except for the traitors, but it was an extremely powerful divine authority.
Due to its properties, it should have been impossible for any gods other than Alda to remove them, let alone destroy them. So then, why?
"Is it a power of the evil gods that serve Vida? No, since they are gods, it should be impossible for them to remove my divine authority. If it was possible, they would have done it long ago," Alda muttered. "Could it be… Vandalieu? Does this mean he has gained enough power to break my divine authority?!"
Vida slumbered inside the barrier set up around the region contained within the Boundary Mountain Range. Vandalieu lurked within that southern region of the continent.
Alda knew that Vandalieu had broken Yupeon's spirit clone, but the fact that he had gained enough power to break the divine authority of a great god meant that he had already surpassed Alda's wildest imagination.
The subordinate gods who had gathered here during this time of emergency offered their opinions.
"Alda, what will we do? At this rate, no matter how much we train Heinz and other humans as heroes, would they not still be insufficient to defeat him?"
"In fact, Vida should steadily recover her power from this point onwards. She will need at least several thousand years to make a full recovery, but unlike you, she is not involved in the maintenance of the world. She is able to move more freely as long as she stays within the barrier."
Alda shook his head. "Everyone, the situation has already reached a point of no return. If we wish for this world to continue, we cannot avoid a confrontation with the 'Demon King' Vandalieu. If we leave him alone, the world will one day be engulfed in a maelstrom of chaos and all order will be destroyed. He is a true enemy who surpasses Guduranis," Alda declared with conviction.
The subordinate gods held their breaths. They had underestimated Vandalieu… they had believed that he would be certainly defeated once the gods made their move.
"Guard the lands in which my sisters Botin and Peria slumber," Alda ordered, having stopped the bleeding from his forehead. "It is highly likely that Vandalieu will preemptively remove their seals and harm them while they are still unable to regain their power. If Vida still has a single shred of her sanity remaining, she would not allow him to do that, but… we cannot expect too much."
"As you will!"
The gods received his orders and left his Divine Realm one by one.
��The Levels of the Automatic Mana Recovery, God Devourer and Soul Devour Skills have increased!』
『The Hostility Skill has transformed into the Divine Enemy Skill!』
『Vida's Divine Protection is now displayed in the Status!』
『You have acquired Increased Mana Recovery Rate and Earth's Dark Gods' Divine Protection!』
The moment Vandalieu heard the announcer's voice in his mind, he lost consciousness. It seemed that his body had not been able to completely withstand using so much Mana in a soul-only state.
He would normally have used Out-of-body Experience before fainting, but he was unable to do this in time in this case, as it was an unexpected situation.
The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a resting room inside Vida's Resting Grounds.
"The Pure-breed Vampires awaken from time to time, and this is one of the rooms in which they spend that time," explained a Noble-born Vampire.
"I never expected that we would end up leading you here first," said Gizan, the Dark Elf nation's chief, who was wearing his black robe uniform.
These two had carried Vandalieu here.
"And you were holding a red gem at some point, too. What happened, Bocchan?" Rita asked.
"That isn't a hardened piece of Kühl, is it?" said Saria.
Vandalieu was holding a fist-sized gem of a similar color to the Deep Blood Slime Kühl - in other words, it was blood-red.
Though Rita and Saria thought that this was strange, it seemed that they had simply carried him here without questioning it. Their father Sam was near the entrance of the resting grounds, as a wagon could not enter the building.
"Incidentally, Darcia-sama and the others are waiting with Sam. It seems that Darcia-sama, who is a spirit, and Princess Levia and the others who are Astral-type monsters, cannot act freely inside the resting grounds," said Bellmond, who was straightening her crumpled clothes.
"We thought that we should stay with them as guards just in case, but the Vampires took that role for us," said Bone Man.
Gizan lowered his head apologetically. "Spirits and Astral-type monsters have never attempted to enter the resting grounds before, so I did not know. My apologies," he said.
"No, don't worry about that. It doesn't seem like their spirit forms have received any damage or been purified," said Vandalieu.
If Darcia and the others were at risk of real harm, Danger Sense: Death should have reacted. Since that hadn't happened, it wasn't likely to be very dangerous to them.
As Vandalieu thought this, he looked around the room. There were Mana reactions, though weak, in the walls and ceiling. It seemed that someone had placed a weak anti-spirit charm to ensure that no impure beings could influence Zakkart's remains.
It would likely harm the Vampires or Zakkart's remains if it were too powerful; it had the effect of merely making spirits sleepy or unable to move well.
"I'm sorry for surprising everyone, especially you, Bellmond. Thanks to you, I was able to wake up quickly," said Vandalieu.
The reason he had woken up after less than an hour despite having almost no Mana left was because Bellmond had fed him her blood.
Bellmond's Unique Skill, Offering, allowed her to rapidly regenerate the Mana of those she gave her blood to.
"No, this is merely a part of my duty… But I was a little surprised when you kept sucking after you woke up," she said.
"You must have used a lot of Mana. You kept your mouth on Bellmond for quite a while, Bocchan," said Rita.
"I'm sorry… I showed an unsightly side of myself," said Vandalieu, lowering his head.
"No, it was beautiful to see," said Gizan and the Noble-born Vampire together, putting their hands together in praise of Bellmond.
Bellmond ignored them and wiped away the remaining blood on her neck. "So, Danna-sama, what in the world happened?" she asked.
"Well, actually -"
Vandalieu explained what had happened in Vida's Divine Realm, causing a great deal of surprise to Bellmond and the others.
"So that is who you were, my lord?! I was certain that you were the reincarnation of the Vampires' ancestor!" Bone Man exclaimed.
"Nuaza-san was wrong, wasn't he," said Rita.
"Well, Bocchan denied it from the beginning," said Saria.
The Titan Lich Nuaza served in Talosheim's Church of Vida. He had put together the contents of the Divine Message he had received from Vida and the legend that the Vampires' ancestor would certainly return in the final hour, predicting that Vandalieu was the 'Holy Son of Vida' and the reborn ancestor of the Vampires.
And it seemed that this prediction had been more widely believed than Vandalieu had thought.
"I'm actually surprised that that's what you're surprised by," Vandalieu remarked.
"I am not certain what kind of surprise we are supposed to show at the fact that you are a reincarnation of champions, four of them at that, Danna-sama," said Bellmond. "Though we did know that you did not have a proper… or rather, ordinary, background."
"But haven't you heard anything about Zakkart and the others, Bellmond?" Vandalieu asked. "Your previous master should have been directly acquainted with them, too."
"… Could I exercise my right to remain silent on this matter? I might receive divine punishment from the gods if I were to repeat the slander that she uttered here," said Bellmond.
It was already known that Vandalieu was a reincarnated individual from another world, and for those who were aware that he had broken the spirit clone of a god, it seemed that today's revelation was just another page added to Vandalieu's abnormal history.
"So that is Vida's blood… it is beautiful. So, this will be useful in Darcia-sama's resurrection?" said Saria.
The gem that Vandalieu had been clutching when he woke up was Vida's blood, which had been given to him as he left her Divine Realm.
"Yes. I don't know how to use it yet, but it��s certain that it contains incredible power," said Vandalieu.
Even though Vida was wounded, it was still the blood of a goddess. Ordinary Magic Stones could not compare to the vast Vitality and Mana contained within it. It was certain to be useful for resurrecting Darcia.
"By the way, the two of you are quite quiet… My lord, Gizan-dono seems to be so happy that he has lost consciousness while still standing," said Bone Man.
"Let's let him sleep in my place," said Vandalieu.
Gizan had fainted where he stood upon hearing that Vida's complete recovery was still far off but she had been freed from Alda's curse.
And the Noble-born Vampire standing beside him was crying emotion-filled tears without making a sound. With a twisted face and clenched teeth.
Vandalieu and Bone Man couldn't be blamed for turning their eyes away from him.
"I'm so happy! With this, with this, everyone's… long years of effort… their suffering!" The Noble-born Vampire let out an emotion-filled shout and then ran off somewhere - probably to tell the other Noble-born Vampires the news.
"… It looks like he's been holding it in for a while," Vandalieu murmured, dumbfounded.
"… I wonder if he'll come back. We have not received a layout of these resting grounds, so we cannot move about alone," said Bellmond.
But the Noble-born Vampire didn't return; instead, the pale, shining spirit form of a man appeared.
He was wearing armor that was patched up in several places, and his eyes were odd-colored.
"Excuse me. You're Vandalieu, right? Those guys don't look like they'll be of any use for a while, so I'll be guiding you around instead." The man laughed, revealing his fangs. "My name is Veld. I was a Dhampir while I was alive, but I'm just a demi-heroic spirit now. I was a mercenary, so don't mind my rough tone."
The demi-heroic spirit Dhampir who called himself Veld… When he was alive, he had overthrown a nation ruled by Vampires worshipping an evil god and established a new nation, becoming known as the mercenary king. He led Vandalieu and his companions deeper into the resting grounds, introducing himself and describing each of the facilities.
"The documents regarding the champions in the reference room are all written in the ancient languages of Lambda that were spoken over a hundred thousand years ago, so you can't read them. Apparently, there was the Dwarf language and Elf language and stuff before the battle against the Demon King. There are some manuscripts written by the champions personally that are written in the languages of the champions' world, but I don't know if you can read them. There are apparently a lot of different languages in the champions' world, too."
In the present era, the common language used in Lambda was a language similar to Earth's Japanese, but its own languages had been used before that. Now, it was a lost language that only a limited number of people could read.
Naturally, almost no knowledge regarding these languages had been passed onto the races created by Vida, who had been born after the battle with the Demon King.
"The foreign languages of Earth… but if it's something like Origin's German or English, then perhaps I could manage to read it?" said Vandalieu, remembering the languages that he had learned in Origin.
He knew some English, as he had learned it in high school on Earth, but not enough to have ordinary conversation.
But he had learned several of the languages used in Origin. There were researchers and other experimental subjects from all kinds of nations in the research laboratory in which he had been raised as an experimental animal.
Over ten years had passed since he had died in Origin, so he wasn't confident in their pronunciation, but it was possible that he would be able to read them to some extent.
"Legion might know more than I do," said Vandalieu. "Incidentally, I have been curious for a while, but what kind of state are you in as a demi-heroic spirit?"
In Lambda, gods were served by familiar spirits and heroic spirits.
Familiar spirits were equivalent to the angels of Earth's religions. They were beings that descended onto the bodies of believers through Familiar Spirit Descent to increase Attribute Values, resided in items created by gods to become Artifacts and served the gods in other ways.
There were familiar spirits that gods created with their own power like summoned familiars, and familiar spirits that were pious believers summoned by the gods after their deaths to become familiar spirits.
Heroic spirits were beings one step above familiar spirits.
Of course, being followers of the gods while they were alive was a requirement, but they also needed to be individuals whose deeds were widely-known. According to minstrels' songs and legends told in churches, they were beings that played an important role, appearing before wavering heroes to offer them counsel and residing in heroes' equipment to lend them strength.
To put it bluntly, they were advertising signs with power and the ability to take action.
This was what Vandalieu had been told at the Church of Vida by Nuaza. However, he didn't know about demi-heroic spirits, whom Veld claimed to be.
And as far as Vandalieu could tell, Veld didn't seem particularly incredible.
Veld's presence was far more powerful than normal spirits and ordinary Astral-type monsters, but not as powerful as those of Princess Levia and the others. That was how he seemed to Vandalieu.
Veld gave a self-deprecating laugh. "Ah, I'm not officially a heroic spirit. Formally speaking, I should probably introduce myself as an unrecognized heroic spirit, but that leaves a bad impression, doesn't it? That's why we call ourselves demi-heroic spirits."
"Unrecognized heroic spirit?" Vandalieu repeated.
"I mean, until you went and woke her up, Vida was mostly sleeping, right? And because of the stakes that Alda put in her, she couldn't use her power properly, so she couldn't turn people like us into heroic spirits or familiar spirits."
While he was alive, the Dhampir Veld had led a mercenary band to destroy a nation controlled from the shadows by Vampires worshipping an evil god, and he had even become the king of a new nation. These achievements would definitely be considered to be those of a hero.
There had been other virtuous believers and heroes born in the past hundred thousand years who had died and left their names behind in history.
But Vida hadn't possessed the necessary power to summon them and turn them into heroic spirits and familiar spirits.
Thus, many of them couldn't leave the circle of transmigration. Those of races like humans, who were managed by Rodcorte's system, were forcibly reincarnated.
Only souls belonging to Vida's circle of reincarnation system that possessed a certain amount of power, like that of the Dhampir Veld, had come to a stop in an incomplete state in Vida's Resting Grounds.
"Vida will probably be able to create more heroic spirits, familiar spirits and even subordinate gods now, though. She'll even be able to grant her followers miracles like the Familiar Spirit Descent Skill," Veld said. "It means she can finally catch up to Alda. She wasn't very popular in the outside world when I was still alive."
There were none in Lambda who doubted the existence of the gods. Therefore, it was natural for the people to choose the gods they prayed to not by their teachings, but by their power.
In the societies outside the Boundary Mountain Range, the peoples' eyes were caught by gods like Alda, who had great power, exceptional heroes among his followers and large churches.
In contrast, Vida's name was known, but legends spoke of her as a defeated goddess who had given birth to races like the Vampires and Majin. She sent almost no Divine Messages and couldn't provide her followers with blessings like the Familiar Spirit Descent Skill, so her religion was on the decline.
Even the Orbaume Kingdom, where Vida was worshipped, couldn't ignore the influence of Alda's followers as the religion of Alda was the national religion of their enemy nation, the Amid Empire.
"By the way, you don't have to speak politely to me. Even though I said things are going to change, Vida hasn't got her power back yet. I'm going to be in this incomplete state for a while longer," said Veld.
"Such modesty. I must show respect for such a great leader," said Vandalieu.
"No, you're the one being modest, you know? You're clearly greater than I am, you know? It wouldn't be strange for you to skip the heroic spirit part and be chosen as a subordinate god straight away after you die, you know?"
"No, no, that's not tr… well, I suppose that wouldn't be strange," Vandalieu corrected himself, seeing Veld's completely serious expression.
He looked behind him to see Bellmond and the others nodding in agreement.
"You have not yet destroyed a nation, Danna-sama, but you have already destroyed two Pure-breed Vampires who worshipped an evil god. And in addition to that, you destroyed an evil god last year," said Bellmond.
"And you gave life to a nation, didn't you, Bocchan?" said Saria. "Resurrecting a destroyed kingdom and creating a new one are both great deeds."
"And you removed the curses from the goddess just a little while earlier, didn't you? Though this may be a little rude, your great achievements surpass Veld-san's," said Rita.
"It isn't rude at all. Keep telling that to this new emperor," said Veld.
"You might be right," said Vandalieu.
It wasn't that he considered his own deeds to be insignificant. However, he didn't feel anything even when told that he would become a heroic spirit or god after dying.
"Well, that'll be a long time from now. I was born to a human parent, and even I lived for about four hundred years. Since you were born to a Dark Elf, you'll live for a few thousand," said Veld.
"It would be problematic if it's not a long time from now," said Vandalieu. "By the way, it seems that we have reached a gate while we were talking?"
"Ah, my bad," said Veld. "This is the deepest part of the resting grounds. This is the chamber of the goddess, the champions and the subordinate gods."
He opened the gate, which opened into a dome-shaped space resembling Rome's Colosseum.
"It's similar to the scenery in her Divine Realm," Vandalieu remarked.
There was a flight of stairs descending into a plaza built around a stage in the center. A statue of Vida and Zakkart's remains sat in the thrones on the stage. It was almost identical to the Divine Realm of Vida that Vandalieu had seen.
The difference was that there was a gravestone between the two thrones. It marked the loss of their child, the ancestor of the Vampires.
"No, Bocchan. The area around it is amazing," said Rita.
"This is… I understand why Ternecia and the others on the other side of the Boundary Mountain Range were scared," said Vandalieu.
There was a large number of statues enshrined where the spectators' seats would be if this was the Colosseum. They were the statues of a countless number of Majin, as well as the statues of a far smaller number of Pure-breed Vampires, Kijin, Noble Orcs, Dark Elves, Drakonids and Merfolk.
"These statues are the Pure-breed Vampires and members of the races of Vida that live within the Boundary Mountain Range who have willingly turned into stone and temporarily released themselves from their physical bodies in order to maintain the barrier around the mountain range," said Veld. "They took a step into the realm of the gods while they are still alive; they are far greater leaders than me."
According to legends, the Vampire ancestor had transformed approximately a hundred of Vida's followers into Pure-breed Vampires. Over half of them had been defeated in battle or sealed away during the battle against Alda, and no small number of the survivors had turned to evil gods. The twenty or so Pure-breed Vampires that still served Vida, whom Birkyne and his companions had feared so much, were slumbering here.
In addition to the Pure-breed Vampires, there were members of Vida's races who had reached Rank 13 or higher such as Elder Dragons and true Colossi, who had stepped into the realm of divinity.
Though Vandalieu would learn this later, the parents of the Majin king Godwin were also in stone form here. It seemed that Majin, who were immortal, came to this place to turn into stone and wait for the final battle against Alda once they became tired of living.
"By the way, I'm impressed that you could tell that they're Pure-breed Vampires. You wouldn't be able to tell them apart from petrified humans or Elves," said Veld.
"The Noble-born Vampires are sobbing with joy around the Pure-breed Vampires' statues, so it'd be hard not to notice," said Vandalieu.
"I suppose that's true."
The Noble-born Vampires, who had been born when the Pure-breed Vampires shared their blood before turning into stone or during their momentary moments of wakefulness, had reported Vida's revival to their parents.
But there were no signs of the Pure-breed Vampires or anyone else returning to normal.
Even though Vida had been revived, she hadn't regained her power completely, so they had to continue maintaining the barrier.
"Is it to be vigilant against the gods on Alda's side?" Vandalieu asked.
"That's how it is. I'm sure Alda's noticed that his divine authority has been broken, but it's impossible for him to enter the Boundary Mountain Range while the barrier is still up," said Veld. "There's a chance that he'll physically direct the humans that worship him here, but… he should be quietly observing for a while."
Vandalieu alone was more than enough of a threat, but the other fighting forces within the Boundary Mountain Range couldn't be ignored. Since Alda didn't know just how many forces there were, it was unlikely that he would make any careless moves.
There was no chance that he would abandon the maintenance of the world, descend upon the world and climb over the mountain range to attack.
"By the way, some of the Pure-breed Vampires and Majin have been turned to stone while holding sealed fragments of the Demon King, but… you should wait for them to wake up and undo the petrification on their own before absorbing the fragments," said Veld.
"I suppose their bodies might break if you took the fragments out without undoing the petrification," said Rita.
"Of course I'll wait. There's no need to hurry," said Vandalieu.
As they descended the stairs, Godwin, the Noble Orc King Budarion and Queen Donaneris of Zanalpadna entered from a different entrance.
"Hey, the Vampires have been crying for a while. What's going on?" Godwin asked.
"It seems that you have done something once again, Holy-Son-dono," said Budarion.
The ceremony to crown the emperor was about to be held.
Normally, Vandalieu would simply say some words, receive some words of gratitude from a demi-heroic spirit acting as a representative for Vida and that would be the end of it, but it seemed that this ceremony would take some time.
"By the way, after the ceremony, can we hold the ceremony again, even if it's just the parts where words are spoken to me, at the entrance to the resting grounds? I'd like Mom and Sam and the others to see, too," said Vandalieu.
"… Aren't you even more accustomed to this than me?" said Veld.
But since he was acquainted with everyone around him, including Vida, Vandalieu showed no signs of nervousness. He was perhaps even more relaxed than he had been during the ceremony that crowned him as king of Talosheim.
『The Ghoul King, Eclipse King, Scaled King and Tentacle King Titles have transformed into Ghoul Emperor, Eclipse Emperor, Scaled Emperor and Tentacle Emperor!』
Name: Myuze
Age: 70 years old
Title: None
Rank: 9
Race: Crystal Empusa Kunoichi
Level: 0
Job: Illusion User
Job level: 12
Job history: Apprentice Thief, Thief, Assassin, Dark Fighter, Kunoichi, Kunoichi Master
Passive skills:
Superhuman Strength: Level 6
Dark Vision (Transformed from Night Vision!)
Strengthened Agility: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
Strengthened Attribute Values: Duty: Level 5
Enhanced Physical Ability (Carapace, sickles): Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
Strengthened Attack Power while equipped with ninja equipment: (Medium) (NEW!)
Crystal Refinement: Level 5 (NEW!)
Fire-Attribute Resistance: Level 4 (NEW!)
Active skills:
Camouflage: Level 5
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
Throwing: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Armor Technique: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Silent Steps: Level 8
Lockpicking: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Trap: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Surpass Limits: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
Assassination Technique: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
No-Attribute Magic: Level 1
Mana Control: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 3 (LEVEL UP!)
Luminescence: Level 1 (NEW!)
Unique Skills:
Zanalpadna's Divine Protection
Lioen's Divine Protection (NEW!)
Monster explanation (written by Luciliano):
[Crystal Empusa]
After receiving the crystals of the crystal-horned dragon god Lioen from Vandalieu in a dream, Myuze has received his divine protection, giving birth to this race of monsters. Her exoskeleton and sickles have transformed into a green crystal material that resembles emeralds, improving their hardness and the sickles' cutting edge.
Naturally, this is a race of monsters that have never been born before in Lambda.
Even if all of the crystals of her body are broken, she can regrow new crystal, and it is possible for the crystal to receive bonuses from Unarmed Fighting Technique and Armor Technique and even activate martial skills. In addition, she is able to release light from her crystals with the Luminescence Skill.
It is possible for Myuze to one day use wind-attribute magic with it to project illusions. The day when she vanishes into thin air or uses bunshin no jutsu* is likely near.
TLN*: I'm fairly certain this is a Naruto reference
It is unclear as to whether she can acquire the Ninja Job as she wishes to, however. It is likely that she will become a Ninja* first.
TLN*: This "ninja" is written in katakana.
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Chapter 164: The princess and marshal's worries
Having officially been crowned as emperor, Vandalieu decided to return to Talosheim for now. The Trial of Zakkart still hadn't appeared yet, and there were various things that needed to be done.
One of them was the revelation of Privel, Zadiris and the others whose Ranks had increased while Vandalieu and his companions were away.
Vandalieu himself wasn't aware of it, but he had apparently appeared in their dreams and guided them. He found it interesting that during those dreams, he had various strange appearances to each person such as being enormous, having split into enough clones to completely cover the earth and being small enough to fit in the palm of a hand.
"It could be that the shape of my soul or mind is different from regular people," Vandalieu muttered as he poured death-attribute mana into a Mythril bar.
"Because it's a soul created from the soul fragments of the champions? Since you appeared different for everyone, I don't think that's the case," said Eleanora.
As she said, since his form hadn't been a fixed one, perhaps it wasn't anything to be concerned about.
"I haven't really been concerned about it up until now, but… now that I think about it, I can guess how it is," Vandalieu said.
When he recalled how he had behaved and moved about in Vida's Divine Realm, he got the feeling that his movements had clearly not been those of a human.
Having become curious, he remembered when he had been summoned to Mububujenge's Divine Realm with Budarion, Godwin and the others.
Back then, he had the feeling that Budarion and Godwin's appearances hadn't been different from normal even when they were in soul-only states.
But he had been looking down on them from above… in other words, he had been clearly more enormous than his physical form. He hadn't paid any attention to it at the time, but he wondered about it now that he knew of his own history.
"Your spirit form is normal, but your soul's form is different, huh. That's weird," said Borkus.
"It is true that the boy changes form frequently, but he appears ordinary when he does not do so," said Zadiris.
Vandalieu used Out-of-body Experience to create a spirit clone and explain. "Maybe it's easier to understand if I compare myself to a Slime? My soul is the core, and the spirit form is the jelly-like part surrounding it. My soul is constantly covered by my spirit form, so there's no way that it would show itself on the surface."
"The only thing about me that's different from others is my soul; the spirit form isn't any different from anyone else's. That's why nobody noticed just by looking at my spirit-form clones," said Vandalieu's spirit clone.
The Deep Blood Slime Kühl helped explain as well, and Borkus and Zadiris seemed satisfied by this explanation.
"Thanks for your help, Kühl," said Vandalieu.
On Earth and in Origin, he would have compared the soul to the nucleus of a cell, but in Lambda, it was easier to compare it to a Slime.
"Even if your form is different, you're you, Vandalieu. It's nothing to worry about," said Darcia, moving her hand as if patting her son's head.
"Thanks, Mom. But more than me being worried about it myself, I was more concerned that everyone might be scared when they see my soul," said Vandalieu.
"Ah, I suppose that's true," Darcia said, and then she turned to speak to the people gathered around. "Everyone, be careful!"
"I don't think we'll normally get to see the form of his soul, though. Fidirg and Zozogante reveal themselves here when we go to see them, anyway," said Eleanora.
"Yeah, it's not like we'll be summoned into Divine Realms along with the kid that often," said Borkus.
"And even if we were, it would not be a problem if we kept our eyes down," said Zadiris.
"… I do feel like I kind of want to see it, however," said Luciliano.
"By the way, have you managed to transform Mythril with death attribute Mana?" asked Isla, looking at Vandalieu's hands with her dead eyes sparkling with desire.
"I've been trying for a while, but it seems impossible. Adamantite and Obsidian didn't work either, so maybe I can't transform magical metals," said Vandalieu.
He was currently in his workshop, testing whether he could transform Mana-imbued metals such as Mythril and Adamantite.
Vandalieu had previously created Death Iron, Dark Copper, Spirit Silver and Life Gold, but he hadn't tested metals like Mythril and Adamantite before.
One of the reasons for this was that he had been busy creating the Death Iron and Dark Copper used in the Luna currency circulating in Talosheim, but the largest reason was that metals like Mythril and Adamantite didn't appear so frequently in Dungeons.
In most cases, these metals appeared inside treasure chests or as equipment equipped by monsters. Thus, it was rare to find them in reasonable quantities.
It was possible for Vandalieu to create them by spending his Mana using the Golem Creation Skill, but that took a considerable amount of time. And since Death Iron and Dark Copper were exceptional as materials, there hadn't been much need to transform magical metals.
That was why this experiment had been left until later.
But now that he had finally started the experiment, the results were not favorable.
"It doesn't look like they'll disappear or start moving around like Spirit Silver or Life Gold if we leave them alone, and there's no change to their appearance, strength or properties," said Vandalieu.
"I see. Magical metals are originally metals that have transformed by being imbued with Mana, so this means that it is impossible for your death-attribute Mana to further transform something that has already been transformed," said Luciliano.
As Vandalieu's apprentice but also as his research assistant, Luciliano wrote a summary for the documents detailing the results of the experiment.
"By the way, are you not going to test Orichalcum?" Luciliano asked.
"There's no need, is there?" said Vandalieu.
Orichalcum, the metal said to be impossible to create or manipulate by anyone other than the gods. Though Vandalieu was only able to make rough changes to the shape of lumps of Orichalcum, he had used the Golem Creation Skill to turn it into things like maces, shields and clubs.
The Orichalcum was immersed in a large amount of death-attribute Mana in this process; if it could transform, it would have already done so.
"Platinum didn't transform when I tested it before, so maybe this is the limit," said Vandalieu.
"That was an experiment conducted before you acquired the divine protection of Earth's dark gods, so how about trying again?" Luciliano suggested. "There are many cases where the acquisition of divine protections causes various changes. Perhaps you could create a metal that only exists in the afterworld of Earth's legends."
"That's right. You've become able to grow pomegranates easily with your Group Binding Technique thanks to the effect of your divine protection, so there might be other effects as well," said Darcia.
Vandalieu could cultivate plants inside his body with the effects of Plant Binding Technique that was a part of Group Binding Technique, but the cultivation of pomegranates had become simpler than before after he received the divine protection of Earth's dark gods.
"Hmm… You're right, let's try that on another day," said Vandalieu.
"Boy, other metals and materials exist in the worlds of Earth and Origin, do they not? Could you not create them with Golem Creation now?" said Zadiris.
"There are, but I don't know how to make them," said Vandalieu.
On Earth and in Origin, there were metals such as tungsten whose existence remained unknown in Lambda… it wasn't clear if they even existed at all. However, Vandalieu was not very knowledgeable about such metals and materials.
As a high school student on Earth, he hadn't possessed a particular interest in metals and minerals, so he didn't remember the properties and the process behind creating metals like tungsten and titanium alloys… if he was still a student, he would have been able to at least remember their chemical symbols, but as thirty years had passed now, he didn't remember them at all.
He had heard information about metals from the spirits of the researchers in Origin, but they had only spoken of their own research that they had conducted regarding those metals; they hadn't explained the metals themselves in great detail.
Even the Golem Creation Skill couldn't create minerals that Vandalieu knew nothing but the names of.
"Even when I asked Legion, it seemed that they weren't very knowledgeable about them, either," said Vandalieu. "Well, they aren't researchers or specialists… It seems that there are various things in the deepest part of the Trial of Zakkart, but I'm really torn as to whether it's alright to test them."
The legacy of the champion Zakkart lay inside the Dungeon that was named after him. According to the documents left in Vida's Resting Grounds, one of the items left behind was the military weapon of the foreign world Earth that Zakkart had been partway through making to defeat the Demon King Guduranis.
It was something that even Vandalieu was hesitant to put his hands on.
"Well, it's fine, isn't it? Death Iron and Dark Copper are first-rate materials, and you have the Demon King's fragments as well, right, kid?" said Borkus.
"Mmm, yes. Now that this experiment has concluded… boy, there is something I wish to say to you," said Zadiris, grasping Vandalieu's shoulders.
"What is it? Is it to do with your Rank increase?" Vandalieu asked.
Zadiris's Rank had increased after she received Vandalieu's guidance in her dreams, just like Privel and the others. Vandalieu hadn't heard the details yet, but as far as he could see, her appearance didn't seem to have changed. He was confused as to what the problem could be.
But Zadiris felt that there was a very large problem.
"Zadiris, it's selfish to be dissatisfied with your Rank increase after receiving his guidance," said Eleanora.
"I'm reluctant to agree with the little girl, but she's right," said Isla.
But Zadiris maintained her grip on Vandalieu's shoulders. "Boy, I do feel grateful for my Rank increase. But… why is my race title 'Ghoul Wizard Princess?!'"
Zadiris's tear-filled question seemed to stop time itself.
Princess.
In many cases, this was a word referring to girls born to families of high nobility, such as royals. There were some cases where it had nothing to do with the title holder's birth status, like Iris's Title of 'Liberating Princess Knight,' but in most cases, the word was used to refer to young women born to noble parents or placed in that social position.
Eleanora and Isla gave Zadiris sympathetic looks.
"… I take back my words, Zadiris," said Eleanora.
"… That deserves some sympathy," said Isla.
"I think it's cute, though…" said Darcia.
Luciliano seemed to be prioritizing his scholarly curiosity. "Hmm? I don't see any differences to her third eye or the patterns on her skin, but… no, I think that perhaps her appearance has become younger, but it might be my imagin -"
Eleanora and Isla struck him lightly in the solar plexus, causing him to faint.
"You never learn, do you," Borkus said to him, knowing that both of them were capable of piercing through a knight in plate armor with their bare hands.
After that, Vandalieu finally managed to squeeze out his own words. "… I-it's cute, you know?" he said.
"Boy!" Zadiris cried. "I am almost in my three-hundreds! I have grandchildren! Why am I a princess?! Even if you tell me I am cute, I cannot honestly express my happiness!"
"But you do feel happy about it," Borkus muttered.
Zadiris ignored him. "I do not believe that you deliberately turned me into a Ghoul Wizard Princess with my Rank increase. It is a race title that even I have never heard of before. But I want to say this. Why is it not Geronimo or Queen or Grandmother; why is it Princess!"
"… There's probably no way to know without asking the gods that manage Statuses," said Vandalieu, remembering what he had been told by Ricklent in Vida's Divine Realm.
Ricklent had never created a god that controlled Ranks, which only monsters possessed at the time, so it was possible that one of the evil gods of the Demon King's army was in charge of Ranks, however.
"But if I had to guess why… I guess it's your image?" said Vandalieu.
"Zadiris, it's hard to be called a queen considering your appearance," said Eleanora.
"Calm down. Your appearance will change and you'll become a Queen when your Rank increases again… the chance of that shouldn't be zero," said Isla.
"I do not need kindness from you as well, Isla! You two should become a Vampire Princess and Zombie Princess as well!" Zadiris exclaimed.
"Stop! Don't put strange curses on us; what will you do if we really do become princesses?" said Eleanora.
It was certainly feasible for her, because her physical appearance was that of a twenty-year-old.
"It's impossible for me, in terms of how old I appear," said Isla, giving a quiet shrug.
… Her face seemed to stiffen a little as she imagined the unlikely possibility, however.
"Well, I wouldn't be able to stand being something like a Zombie Prince Hero at my age, either, but… you can't do anything about a Rank increase," said Borkus.
Monsters and members of Vida's races could increase their Ranks, but their Ranks wouldn't decrease unless they became Undead.
Also, a change in race title without a Rank increase had never been seen before.
Even if limbs were lost, even with aging, monster Ranks and race titles remained the same.
"Indeed," said Zadiris. "Now that I have come this far, increasing my Rank again will not be easy, but I have no other choice."
"Should I make a wand and costume?" said Vandalieu.
"… I do not want a childish design. I will not ask for a queen's design, but I would be happy with a lady or woman's design."
Vandalieu had asked this question while imagining a "Magic girl ☆ Zadiris" in his mind, but as Zadiris didn't know about Japan's anime, she seemed to have interpreted it as him offering a present.
Design… I'm not very confident, though, Vandalieu thought.
"Alright," he said, thinking that it would be too cruel to tell her he was joking right after her mood improved.
He could make clothes by knitting the thread that he created himself. As for the wand, he decided that he would use the Demon King's horns and exoskeleton as a base and follow her requests as much as possible.
Isla lightly pulled at Vandalieu's clothes. "Vandalieu-sama, there is something I want… could I receive a chain? Even a rope would be fine!"
"Isla… that's not for a proper hobby; it's to attach to your collar, isn't it. Are you alright with something made with Golem Creation?" Vandalieu asked.
"Yes, of course!" Isla said, nodding in response to both questions.
"Alright," said Vandalieu.
Isla had been working hard recently, and it was only natural to give her more presents after her collar.
"Vandalieu-sama! Me too!" Eleanora exclaimed.
"Isla-san and Eleanora-san, you should… I guess it's impossible for you to hold back," said Darcia.
"I think so too, Mom," Vandalieu agreed. "Eleanora, would you like a choker? Something more accessory-like."
Meanwhile, the 'Saint of Healing' Jeena and 'Tiny Genius' Zandia, former heroes of Talosheim and Borkus's former party members, entered the underground workshop.
"Your-Majesty-kun."
"Can we talk to you for a moment?"
"You're not gonna ask for collars as well, are you?" Borkus asked them fearfully, having a bad feeling because of the timing of their arrival.
The two of them gave puzzled frowns.
"Huh? What are you talking about? We came to give His-Majesty-kun a report on the bodybuilding tournament and talk to him about other stuff while we're here," said Jeena.
Having learned bodybuilding poses like the side chest from Vandalieu, Jeena had thought that bodybuilding could be interesting and come up with the idea of using the theater that had been built in Talosheim to hold a bodybuilding competition.
Even in Lambda, those who prided themselves in their physical beauty took poses that emphasized their muscles. It was only natural that some of them would like the same poses used by bodybuilders on Earth. There were all kinds of races in Lambda, but many of them shared the same body shape as humans of Earth.
But tournaments where contestants competed solely in physical beauty were rare. In Lambda, those with physical beauty were those with exceptional physical abilities, and they were expected to possess exceptional fighting strength.
In other words, tournaments were those where fighting slaves risked their lives, and even the less gory ones were combat tournaments where contestants sometimes died.
This was the first tournament in which contestants competed only in beauty that had no practical use, at least within the Boundary Mountain Range.
It was religiously appropriate as well, providing a good theme for worshipping Vida, the goddess of the life attribute, so the plans were to hold a grand bodybuilding tournament to celebrate Vida's revival.
Of course, Vandalieu was looking forward to the tournament. He planned to participate as a special judge on the day.
"Are there any problems or anything I can help with?" he asked.
"Everything's fine at the moment. You made the contestants' costumes for us, too. But we're leaving the extra prizes and stuff to you," said Zandia.
Isla's eyes shone with greed at this chance to appeal herself to Vandalieu, while Eleanora sighed, knowing that she couldn't win against Basdia in the women's division.
"Hmph, this is a conversation that has nothing to do with me. More importantly, Zandia, what is the other information that you wanted to report?" Zadiris asked.
She was a princess now for some strange reason, and she had completely given up in the field of muscles.
"Hmm, first of all, the fact that our Ranks have increased and lost our Broken labels. I'm Rank 9, and Jeena-nee is Rank 10," Zandia said. "The only other thing is that Nuaza was talking about building a statue of His-Majesty-kun next to the statue of Vida-sama to celebrate her release from Alda's stakes and the revelation that His-Majesty-kun is the reincarnation of the four champions."
"I'll go and stop him," said Vandalieu upon hearing of this outrageous situation, shrugging off Zadiris's hands and walking off in a determined fashion.
"Eh? You're going to stop him? Didn't that great spirit Veld tell you that you could become a subordinate god when you die?"
"He did, but I'm still going to stop him. I don't plan to become a god now; I need to have him settle for building a life-sized statue like all the others he's built up until now."
Vandalieu might become a god after he died, but he had no intention of becoming one while he was still alive.
Earl Thomas Palpapek, the current marshal of the Mirg shield-nation, put his signature on a document and let out a large sigh.
When he stiffened up his manner, he had a powerful presence like a military officer should, and when he smiled, he had a gentleness to him that made those around him feel at ease; either way, he was perceived as a reliable individual. But he had aged considerably in the past few years.
Before, he had often looked younger than his actual age, but now, he looked ten years older.
But the Mirg shield-nation's king and the high officials of the royal palace couldn't blame him for that.
Approximately four years ago, an elite force of six thousand men had been lost on an expedition, and the nation had lost much of its military power. The marshal had been engaged in exhausting work to recover as much of that power as possible.
On top of that, he was in charge of the defense of the nation's border, which was now adjacent to enemy land once more now that the Sauron region had been recaptured by the Orbaume Kingdom.
He had been working so hard that his efforts were recognized even by his political enemies, the nobles on the side of the Amid Empire.
Some even said that with his work, the Mirg shield-nation's military strength would return to what it had been before the expedition within ten years.
If this nation is still standing by then, Thomas thought to himself every time he heard these words of praise.
"… Why have things come to this?" Thomas muttered to himself in a disgusted tone, having dealt with all of the documents that he needed to look at.
The same questions always filled his head every time when he was on his own, not doing any work.
Where had he gone wrong; why had things come to this? And what was he supposed to do now?
Four years ago, the expedition that began as a result of the Pure-breed Vampires' schemes had ended in a greater failure than Thomas could have imagined. Ever since then, he had been working feverishly in order to prevent his homeland from suffering any further damage.
He had pacified the public outcry for vengeance and engaged in the difficult struggle to rebuild the nation's military strength so that it would be ready whenever Vandalieu decided to come and attack.
Back then, he had thought that this was the best option available. That there was no better plan against Vandalieu, the Dhampir that was likely the baby whose mother that had been killed as a result of the Vampires' and his own schemes.
The tunnel through the Boundary Mountain Range had collapsed, completely sealing the way through. It should be impossible for Vandalieu to attack the Mirg shield-nation now.
Of course, the Mirg shield-nation could not cross the Boundary Mountain Range, so Thomas had never even thought about taking revenge against Vandalieu himself.
He had expected the Pure-breed Vampires to do it for him with no need for him to do anything himself, or that the Amid Empire would see the situation as critical and make a move.
But Thomas's expectations had been completely betrayed.
The death of the Pure-breed Vampire Gubamon, the head of one of the factions of the Vampires that Thomas had connections to. The fall of the fort that was under the command of Kurt Legston, someone whom Thomas had been expecting to take an important position in the future.
And last year, the defeat of the 'Light-speed Sword' Rickert Amid, one of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords.
Thomas was certain that Vandalieu was involved in every single one of these incidents.
As Thomas was nothing more than a marshal of a vassal nation, he didn't have an intelligence network as powerful as that of Marshukzarl, the emperor of the Amid Empire. But he could make conclusions based on what he saw of the Vampires with whom he had connections.
While Thomas had been hard at work trying to rebuild the Mirg shield-nation's military strength, Vandalieu had gained enough power to bury Pure-breed Vampires, power that even the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords, the most powerful warriors of the Amid Empire, couldn't match.
Whether the Mirg shield-nation regained the military strength it possessed before the expedition or not, nothing would change. If Vandalieu wanted to, he would crush Thomas along with his entire nation.
"Facing the greatest threat that this nation has ever seen, I've spent the last four years hard at work, achieving nothing but providing more materials for his Undead army." Thomas gave a hollow chuckle. "I can't help but laugh at myself."
No matter how much he trained the soldiers, even if he took a sword in his own hand and commanded the armies himself, no matter how many adventurers of B-class and above he hired, all of these would serve no purpose but to improve the quality of materials for Vandalieu's Undead.
It was possible that Vandalieu already thought of this nation as no more than a farm for Undead materials rather than as an enemy. This absurd notion had been surfacing in Thomas's mind frequently these days.
Thomas gave a self-deprecating smile as he felt the fruitlessness of his efforts. "So, my life is in the palm of a child whose face I have never seen before."
Thomas Palpapek had never directly seen Vandalieu before. He had never exchanged words with him, nor did he know exactly what kind of person he was.
He had only seen a sketch drawn based on the testimony given by an adventurer who had seen Vandalieu through a Live-Dead.
He knew that Vandalieu was a Dhampir who led Ghouls and commanded Undead, surpassing the limits of common knowledge. But although he knew of these abilities, he didn't know what kind of personality Vandalieu had or what philosophies he adhered to.
Just how much did Vandalieu know about Thomas… Did he know that Thomas was the one pulling the strings behind his mother's death? If he did, Thomas had no idea how much he hated him.
Considering the worst possible scenario, Thomas had already evacuated his three wives and his children to his secondary residence, but… he didn't know how things would turn out.
"Back then… I suppose it was a failure right from when I made the slow move of creating an extermination force after the adventurer's testimony confirmed the Dhampir's existence. I should have sent assassins to exterminate him sooner. No, back when his mother was discovered in Evbejia, I should have sent protégé knights to ensure that both mother and child were killed," Thomas murmured to himself. "But I can't return to the past. So then, what I should do now is…"
Rely on the Vampires? A foolish plan. Thomas himself wasn't that valuable to them. And two of the three Pure-breed Vampires had already been defeated; what was there to expect from them?
Should he run crying to the Amid Empire? No; the emperor could be planning to fight Vandalieu, but it was also possible that he would try to find a point of compromise and come to a secret agreement. Thomas didn't know the emperor's intentions, so doing that would be dangerous.
If the emperor was thinking of making a secret agreement with Vandalieu, the heads of Thomas and his family would likely be treated as convenient bargaining chips.
"I'm starting to feel like hanging myself… hmm?" Thomas interrupted this thought and stood up from his seat, suddenly noticing that the wooden door was open and the night air had made its way into the room.
And then he saw that a letter had fallen near the window.
"A message from the Vampires? … This is…!"
Thomas read the letter's shocking contents.
"Is this real? They are going to make a move for my sake? The reward will be paid only upon completion of the request… the amount is enormous, but I suppose that's to be expected."
Thomas reread the letter over and over to confirm what had been written, and the hope in his eyes grew brighter each time he did.
"With their power, I… this nation can survive!"
Name: Zadiris
Rank: 10
Race: Ghoul Wizard Princess
Level: 0
Job: Great Mage
Job level: 28
Job history: Apprentice Mage, Mage, Light-Attribute Mage, Wind-Attribute Mage, Philosopher, Great Philosopher
Age: 298 years old (Has undergone age reversal)
Passive skills:
Dark Vision
Pain Resistance: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Superhuman Strength: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Paralyzing Venom Secretion (Claws): Level 2
Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
Mana Enlargement: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 4 (NEW!)
Increased Magical Power while equipped with a staff: Medium (NEW!)
Active skills:
Light-Attribute Magic: Level 10
Wind-Attribute Magic: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
No-Attribute Magic: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Mana Control: Level 10 (LEVEL UP!)
Alchemy: Level 6
Chant Revocation: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
Multi-Cast: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Surpass Limits: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Housework: Level 1
High-speed Thought Processing: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Unique skills:
Zozogante's Divine Protection
Garess's Divine Protection (NEW!)
Monster explanation:
[Ghoul Wizard Princess]
A monster race title achieved by Zadiris following her Rank increase after she received the divine protection of Garess, the guardian deity of the Kijin nation, from Vandalieu in her dreams.
There has been no change to her appearance, but her magic-related properties have improved from when she was a Ghoul Elder Wizard.
In addition, with the effects of the Strengthened Magical Power while equipped with a staff Skill, the power of her spells has increased. (It is a Skill that increases not only her offensive power, but also the healing power of her healing spells and the duration and such of her enchantments.)
Also, this Rank increase had nothing to do with Garess's intentions.
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