novelraw Chapter 149: Istellise to the Rescue
Chapter 149: Istellise to the Rescue
Before the curse could rot deeper into my flesh, a pillar of soft white light descended from above, washing over me like warm rain. The burning in my veins dulled instantly, and the black cracks receded from my skin. The suffocating pressure that was gripping my heart loosened before disappearing entirely.
Along with this was a familiar voice that resonated through the alley.
“{Sanctum of Purification}.”
Waves of divine magic spread outward, enveloping Michelle, Lucian, Tuilë, and Erika as well. The curse choking our bodies evaporated like mist under sunlight. Even the weaker undead creatures surrounding us were burned by the light until they were turned into ashes.
You are no longer afflicted by {Withering Curse}.
All your reduced stats have returned to normal.
Your life force is no longer drained.
I turned my head toward the source of the spell and saw a familiar silver-haired figure standing at the mouth of the alley.
“Istellise?”
She stood there, panting slightly, with a faint halo shimmering around her body. Her white robes were smudged with dirt and blood from treating the wounded, and several strands of silver hair clung to her cheeks from exertion. Despite that, her crimson eyes were sharp and full of determination.
She had actually left the western wall and come to us in the nick of time. As we were in a hurry earlier, we didn’t have time to tell her what was happening when we rushed here, and she had been completely occupied healing the injured guards. Yet it appeared she had sensed or deduced the chaos unfolding in this part of the town.
Well, we were fighting a monster whose dark aura could be felt miles away. For someone with sensitive feelings to dark magic like Istellise, it would be like picking up a blazing torch in a pitch-black room—impossible to miss, no matter where she stood.
“I could feel that a dangerous being has appeared here,” she responded, stepping closer while maintaining her distance from the masked figure. “So, I came as soon as I could to offer my full assistance.”
“I see.”
It was a reckless thing to do. Although the scenario details never explicitly stated that failure would occur if Istellise died, I had no idea what hidden consequences might follow even if we somehow survived afterward. And frankly, the thought of letting something happen to her left a sour weight in my chest. Still, without her help… our chances of winning would be close to nil.
Erika exhaled shakily beside me, finally able to straighten her back now that the curse was gone. Michelle and Tuilë crawled out of the rubble and stood on their knees, both breathing hard. Lucian wiped blood from his lips as he descended and regrouped with us.
The masked figure watched Istellise with a mixture of wary and interest, as though it recognized the divine energy radiating from her and was repulsed by it.
“Stay behind us, Istellise,” I told her firmly. “Do exactly as I tell you.”
She nodded without hesitation.
Just then, the ground trembled, and bone spikes erupted again, converging toward us like a storm of spears.
“Spread out!” I shouted.
Erika leapt left, blades carving through incoming spikes. Michelle rolled to the side and immediately fired an explosive arrow mid-motion, intercepting another cluster before it reached us. Lucian cast a wide {Mana Shield} just in time to block the spikes from reaching Istellise. Tuilë fired her cannon at the undead creature charging toward us, blasting a hole straight through its torso as well as the other undead creature behind it.
Yet despite all the chaos, the masked figure’s attention was locked solely onto me.
“Great,” I muttered. “Of course it’s me.”
“Lucian! Bind it again!” I yelled.
“You don’t need to tell me.” Lucian thrust both hands forward, and chains of pure mana shot out, coiling tightly around the masked figure’s limbs. They tightened, but only for a second before deep cracks split across them.
Not wasting the chance, I lunged forward, spear in hand, channeling everything into the Meteorite Spear. The air rippled and compressed around its tip, gathering explosive pressure until it felt like the world itself was bending around the weapon.
“Falling Star!”
The spear howled as I thrust. A concentrated beam of meteor-impact energy shot forward in a straight line, vaporizing lesser undead instantly and ripping through everything in its path.
You have hunted [Plague Ghoul Lv.115].
You have gained 175 EXP.
You have hunted [Skeleton Knight Lv.110].
You have gained 170 EXP.
You have hunted [Skeleton Marksman Lv.95].
You have gained 155 EXP.
You have hunted [Skeleton Knight Lv.110].
You have gained 170 EXP.
…
The masked figure jerked its body in a twisted, inhuman motion to avoid a direct hit, but the beam still slammed into its side. The force launched it several meters backward, smashing it through a stack of crates before skidding along the cobblestones. Its robes smoldered where the attack had struck.
Erika’s eyes widened. “You actually hurt it!”
I did… but that strike had taken everything I had—my full strength, my passive boosts, and Uldrek’s borrowed might all at once. And even then, it wasn’t enough to do anything more than injure it slightly.
“We need to repel this thing entirely,” I shouted. “Focus on destroying the bone pillars so no more undead can spawn!”
The others moved instantly, with Michelle drawing three explosive arrows at once and Lucian preparing an area spell, but then, an unexpected event happened.
“Nghh!” Tuilë yelped in pain behind us.
When I turned around, I found a bone spike had silently sprouted from the ground behind us—far outside the masked figure’s usual range—and pierced straight through her lower side, lifting her partially off the ground.
“Tuilë!” I rushed toward her.
Her cannon clattered from her hands as she trembled, and blood trickled down her mouth. “D-Damn it… it can control them from anywhere…? If only I hadn’t left Bernardo outside the wall.”
Michelle rushed to her side, swinging her axes to cut down the nearby undead before they could close in. “Maxim! Quick, get her free!”
Lucian gritted his teeth and blasted the spike’s base with {Mana Blast}, fracturing it just enough for me to yank Tuilë off. She groaned in pain, blood matting her fur and armor, but she was still conscious. She really was a strong girl.
“Tuilë, stay behind Istellise!” I ordered. “Don’t fight anymore!”
She nodded weakly, pressing a trembling hand against her wound as she staggered back.
“Maxim, look!” Erika pointed ahead.
The masked figure was already standing before us again, its arm raised toward us. All the bone spikes embedded in the ground began to rise in unison, preparing for another deadly strike and turning the entire alley into a killing field. It was clear that this creature had no intention of letting any of us leave alive.
I glanced quickly at the others. Everyone was either injured, exhausted, or both by this point. Tuilë was bleeding heavily, and Erika could barely stand. If this continued any longer, we would be wiped out. Prolonging the battle would only make things worse, and more of us would die. But what could I do? Even my strongest blow had only managed to graze it.
Think, Maxim, think! There has to be a way out of this! I tapped my temple hard, trying to force an answer out of myself. Should I use Fabled Vessel and possess someone else?
If I wasn’t wrong, among the thirteen legendary figures I could possess, there was one who transcended all others—the Crimson Sovereign. His power had surpassed the realm of ordinary divine heroes and touched the boundary of demigods.
But… would possessing him actually solve this? No. As long as I was weak as a vessel, the transferred power would barely be a fragment of the real thing, and possessing him wouldn’t make that much of a difference.
“Is there really no other option?” I muttered, narrowing my eyes. Then, like a bolt of lightning striking my mind, the answer came. “That’s it!”
Scenario Manipulation! I invoked the skill from deep within my chest.
You have activated Scenario Manipulation.
Please select an effect or variable to alter.
A translucent blue menu flickered into existence before my eyes, filled with a list of possibilities, outcomes, and narrative branches that could be rewritten.
I recalled that back in the eighth scenario, Istellise once mentioned that the reason the town was her destination was that it was said that, long ago, Graythorn’s founder was one of the apostles of her religion and had been blessed by an ancient spirit… and that somewhere beneath the eastern district was a “sanctified ground” that repelled dark creatures.
Of course, it had only ever been a rumor, but whether it was true or not didn’t matter. What was important was that it was a detail that could be rewritten through Scenario Manipulation without contradicting anything. And most importantly, rewriting a minor detail consumed far less plausibility than rewriting the main scenario objective altogether.
I scrolled through the list of adjustable variables until the option surfaced.
[Minor Environmental Detail Adjustment – Dormant Seal Revealed]
Cost: 250 Plausibility
In the past, Graythorn’s founder placed a dormant divine seal beneath the eastern district. This adjustment will cause the seal to awaken, completely nullifying curse magic and vanquishing undead constructs within the affected radius.
This is it. Exactly what we need! Without hesitation, I selected the variable.
You have selected Minor Environmental Detail Adjustment – Dormant Seal Revealed.
250 Plausibility has been consumed.
A moment later, right as the masked figure raised its hand to unleash another barrage, a pulse of warm golden radiance erupted from beneath the cobblestones. The light surged upward like a blooming sun, engulfing the entire alley.
Every undead that survived our previous attacks or resisted Istellise’s cleansing magic ignited in white flame, their bodies melting into motes of purified light. The bone spikes scattered around us shuddered, cracked, and crumbled into dust that drifted away on the wind. Even the masked figure’s oppressive aura dimmed violently; its body spasmed as it dropped to one knee, hunched under an invisible weight.
“GRAAAHHH! D-Divine… seal… How…?” it screeched in agony.
The mask that had concealed its face finally cracked apart and fell, clattering against the stone. What lay beneath was a grotesque fusion of exposed bone and warped, half-rotted flesh—one side was a bare skull with a burning red socket, whereas the other was a twisted visage of melted muscle and sinew, as if its face had been stitched together from corpses.
“What’s going on?” Michelle asked, eyes wide.
Istellise’s breath hitched. “Is this… the sanctified ground?” Her crimson eyes trembled. “I’ve searched for it for months… How did it suddenly awaken?”
“Good,” I said, smiling despite the strain. “It works.”
Even so, the now unmasked figure did not perish. Its skeletal fingers clawed at the air as it forced itself back upright. A stream of unstable power gathered around it—far more dangerous than anything it had shown before.
Whatever it was trying to do, this was our only chance.
“Everyone!” I shouted, raising my spear as the golden radiance swirled around us. “While the seal is active, finish this thing!”