novelraw Chapter 135
Chapter 135
Ch.135 The Second Seal Stone Has Been Shattered
After having tea with Mia,
I summoned Giovanni to handle matters in the capital.
“Giovanni.”
“Yes, Baron. How may I serve you?”
What I intended to assign him was quite dangerous.
Yet, there weren’t many others suitable for the task.
If I formed a special detachment, I’d have to send either Nekhuf or Giovanni—both core members of our party.
Nekhuf had been applying effective, all-around pressure against Roy and couldn’t be spared.
That left Giovanni as the natural choice.
Granted, he was indeed strong—a hero of the Destiny game—but still significantly weaker than liches or death knights.
Thus, this deployment carried considerable peril, and the words stuck in my throat.
Was it because I hesitated too long?
Giovanni looked at me and asked gently,
“Baron?”
“Uh… it’s just that…”
I couldn’t easily give an order that might send him straight to his death.
“I don’t know the specifics, but… it seems you’re deeply troubled over your grand undertaking, Baron.”
He bowed his head slightly and spoke calmly.
“Thanks to you, I’ve become a knight far beyond my station and fulfilled my dreams. Whatever you command—no matter the task, even at the cost of my life—I’ll follow it gladly.”
His earnestness eased my heart a little—perhaps he sensed my unease.
“Then what about last time in the capital, when I told you to mess with Scarlet’s group? You flat-out refused, saying you’d rather die!”
He’d strongly objected back then when I’d ordered him to spread false death notices about Scarlet’s party upon their arrival in the capital after the Demon King’s defeat.
“Well… that was…”
He glanced out the distant window, slightly embarrassed.
“I simply didn’t want to get tangled up in love quarrels…”
Fair enough.
I cleared my throat and fixed my gaze on him.
“Ahem… Actually, I have a task I’d like to entrust to you.”
“Your command, Baron.”
“I’ve received reports that the army of the dead appearing in the capital has begun raiding nearby villages. If left unchecked, their forces will swell uncontrollably. I plan to form a special detachment to evacuate civilians to a safer city.”
He remained silent at my words.
“I intend to recommend you to the Emperor to lead this detachment. Of course, I’ll also request aid from the dragons.”
Whether Auros would agree remained uncertain—but given our past cooperation, I hoped he’d oblige.
Evacuating civilians to a well-fortified, secure city while avoiding combat should be manageable.
With a fantasy-world omnipotent dragon accompanying them, it wouldn’t take long…
Yet Roy worried me.
A final boss who could teleport and reset time upon death—
whoever designed this as gameplay clearly had no idea what they were doing. I was certain it’d be labeled a disastrous cash-grab if released.
“Do you think you can handle it?”
Giovanni nodded firmly.
“I’ll ease your burdens, Baron.”
“Good… I trust you. And don’t get hurt—Ellis would never forgive me if you did.”
“Worry not. When do I depart?”
“I’ll consult with the capital’s officials first and let you know.”
I intended to propose forming the detachment—but the Emperor’s approval wasn’t guaranteed.
I merely wanted to confirm Giovanni’s willingness beforehand.
He nodded.
“I see. Then I’ll take my leave—for the first time in a while, I need to reconstruct my body.”
“Alright. See you later.”
Watching him bow and exit, I silently hoped nothing unfortunate would befall him.
***
A few days later, the Emperor approved my plan, and Auros summoned several dragons to formalize the special detachment.
“I’ll be off now.”
Giovanni stood fully armored.
I nodded.
“If it looks dangerous, run immediately. That’s an order—from your lord.”
I had no intention of losing Giovanni, whom I’d known since my days scraping by at rock bottom in this world.
A faint smile touched his lips.
“No need to worry. My wedding isn’t far off—I have no intention of dying recklessly.”
“Good… Come back safely.”
As Giovanni nodded, Icira asked,
“Done saying goodbye?”
“Yeah.”
“Teleport.”
Her spell activated, and Giovanni vanished toward the capital.
***
When Icira and I prepared to head to the second Seal Stone—where Roy had appeared—
I stopped her as she readied her teleportation.
“Teleport us about a kilometer away from the cave where the Seal Stone’s sealed.”
She gave me a puzzled look.
“But is there even a proper way to deal with it?”
“Not a ‘proper’ way—just want to act petty. We can’t stop him right now anyway.”
I had no clear means to defeat the King of the Dead.
Revealing our full strength prematurely to fight Roy was pointless—he’d just reset upon death, while for us, death was final.
“Hmm… Fine by me. Teleport.”
A blue light enveloped us.
When it faded, distant cliffs came into view—we’d arrived correctly.
“But how do you plan to act from this far away?” Icira asked.
I assembled the telescope I’d brought along.
“I’ll aim into the cave with this.”
“Oh? Planning to use that technique again?”
Click!
I mounted the telescope onto ‘Equality’ and replied,
“Yeah. I’ll collapse the entire cave from long range.”
With the massive explosion, the whole cave should cave in.
Even if Roy didn’t die, he’d likely suffer heavy damage—maybe even get trapped under rubble.
Honestly, this was more pettiness born of desperation… but if luck favored us, we might actually finish him off.
“Wait… What’s that attached to Equality?”
She stared at the telescope with curiosity—probably never having seen one before.
“It’s a telescope. Lets you see things far away.”
An extremely expensive, extra-large model capable of clear vision up to a full kilometer.
“Hmm… Quite a brutishly large contraption.”
“Yeah. But when I fire, you run—fast.”
I hadn’t personally gauged the blast radius, but if Icira got caught in it, what would become of Aria?
“Don’t worry. Unlike humans, I can blink far away instantly.”
“Right, right.”
I gave a distracted nod and readied the glitch technique.
“But… instead of just collapsing the cave, wouldn’t sniping be better?”
Hmm…
After brief consideration, I decided against overcomplicating it—missing the shot would be catastrophic.
I aimed at the cave’s sealed entrance and pulled the trigger.
Bang!
Instantly, the cave erupted in blinding light.
Kwooaaang!
A wave of searing heat stung my skin as the world flooded with brilliant radiance.
‘I hope this kills him—truly.’
As the overwhelming flash dimmed slightly…
crimson light burst forth from the cliff where the cave had been—
the rock split apart, and red energy gushed from the fissure…
Kwaaaaang!
The cliff collapsed, and a pillar of crimson flame shot skyward.
‘Surely… that’s enough to kill him, right?’
Then—
Paaah!
Thick gray dust billowed in all directions, stinging eyes and nostrils.
“Achoo!”
Honestly, everything else was fine—but the dust was excessive.
“Are you alright?” Icira asked.
I nodded.
“Yeah… but can’t you do something about the dust?”
She waved her hand.
“Wind.”
At her incantation, a sudden gale swept the dust from around us.
“Whew… Feels survivable now.”
“What do you think?”
“Dunno. It’d be great if he died… but he probably survived—Equality’s power alone won’t kill him.”
Personally, I hoped the explosion had made him lose Altarion’s Staff or pinned him under heavy debris…
“Oh? The Seal Stone seems broken.”
“After the explosion?”
She gave a small nod.
“He likely broke it himself.”
“Sigh… So even this didn’t work.”
“It seems so.”
A brief silence settled between Icira and me.
“Let’s head back.”
“You’re just going to leave him be?”
Her question carried a note of reproach—was I really giving up the fight?
“We can’t catch him now anyway.”
He’d obviously teleport away if cornered.
“Understood. Teleport.”
As her incantation ended, magic flared once more.
***
The King of the Dead surveyed the capital.
He’d detached troops to attack nearby villages, yet hadn’t amassed the forces he desired.
Even villages near the capital rarely exceeded a hundred households—gathering thousands of undead soldiers proved far harder than expected.
“Hmm… Auros is being less active than I anticipated.”
He’d prepared to strike the moment Auros revealed his true form, but the dragon remained patiently withdrawn.
Of course, previous reckless assaults had cost him dearly, offering him little gain.
“What should I do…”
The King sank into thought.
Toppling the capital wouldn’t be easy.
He’d observed his adversaries through measured attacks—and guessed they wouldn’t use that technique again, the one that shattered his golems.
‘Whether they can’t or won’t use it… either way, this stalemate suits me for now. Then… time to break another Seal Stone.’
Four Seal Stones remained.
His hand had nearly healed—targeting them now felt right.
“Well… I should go immediately.”
The King pulled Altarion’s Staff from Hans’s spatial bag.
“Teleport.”
At the new Seal Stone’s location—a cave carved into a cliff—he smirked faintly and vanished instantly.
He began his assault exactly as before.
‘Must finish this before they arrive.’
In a flash, he neutralized the poison inside.
As he dealt with the guardian and golems—and tucked the Trident of the Sea God into his bag—
A blinding flash, brighter than daylight, engulfed everything with earth-shattering force.
“Gyaaaah!”
The ground trembled; searing heat seared his flesh.
Unimaginable agony wracked his body.
‘Just… just kill me already…’
In a split second, he was engulfed by the torment of being cooked alive yet unable to die…
Then—the dungeon collapsed.
Moments later…
as the light faded, the King struggled upright.
“Kuhh…!”
Rubble pinned him, making movement nearly impossible.
“Guh… Damn you, Adversary…”
“Doom…”
He whispered a faint spell.
Instantly, the crushing debris slid aside, clearing a wide open space.
“Hah… hah…”
Gritting his teeth, he used the staff to support himself and staggered toward the red Seal Stone.
“Still… kuhh…”
Black blood spilled from his lips.
“My victory… Adversary.”
He reached out and grasped the Seal Stone—
Changrang…
The second Seal Stone shattered.
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