NOVEL NEXT Chapter 26
The Seven Lairs.
The greatest public enemy revered by humanity, a colossal challenge that defies common sense.
For the past century, even the Four Heroes of the Empire have come to their end, crushed in droves.
In the demon realm, they are regarded as the sacred and inviolable Seven Sages.
Even the Seven Archdukes of the demon realm cannot raise their heads without permission in front of the Seven Lairs.
The Death Knight stands still, observing the knight order.
Just the presence of one is enough to create psychological pressure, thanks to such a notorious reputation.
“That guy is the boss of the Seven Lairs…?”
“Y-yes, Commander.”
“Everyone freeze. Don’t move without my permission.”
Fixated solely on the boss, the knight order stood tall.
Faced with the Death Knight, the boss of the Seven Lairs, any reckless move by the knights would just mean death.
‘I have to do this.’
If everyone is uninjured now, there’s a chance they can all return alive.
Gulp. The weight of saliva was keenly felt in his throat.
Wilhelm steadied his trembling hand and readjusted his grip on the sword’s hilt.
Confronting the Death Knight brought memories of the boss from his past struggle with the Shadow of the Reaper.
To subdue that monster, a total of 247 elite hunters, including the Four Heroes, launched a full-scale offensive.
In the end, the four heroes returned safely, but there were over 130 casualties—more than half the team.
Wilhelm realized that the original him could never hope to match the boss of the Seven Lairs.
‘Things are different now.’
The undead, naturally at a disadvantage. But above all, he had awakened the Holy Sword.
With these two factors, defeating the boss of the Seven Lairs was within reach.
Even if he couldn’t kill the boss, the power of the Holy Sword would surely leave an irrecoverable wound.
Wilhelm solidified his resolve. If he could take vengeance for his friend, he wouldn’t mind dying.
Rumble—
Enormous divine power began to gather around the Holy Sword.
All darkness was burned away, as sunlight filled the surroundings.
Charlotte’s expression hardened for an instant at the sight of that change.
‘Have I only just recognized it now…?’
Why did it take seeing that brilliant radiance to realize?
That Holy Sword was awakened by divine revelation, solely to kill the boss.
Having relied on the boss, he had unwittingly settled in the moment he arrived. But that should not have happened.
That was the only blade threatening the boss in this world.
Charlotte bit her lower lip hard, blood trickling out to stifle the wound, as she rose to her feet.
‘This is dangerous. Even the boss is at risk.’
For the undead, the Holy Sword represents their worst match-up.
If it was an awakened Holy Sword, it would threaten life itself like a candle before the wind.
No matter how fearsome the boss of the Seven Lairs, the one who killed Balmunk in a single hit, this time was asking too much.
“Ba-Balutak! Snap out of it. The boss is…”
“Ki-rik…”
Half his body severed, Balutak was gradually succumbing to death.
Even Charlotte, who was urging him, staggered. In truth, she was no different from Balutak.
Before she could even move a fingertip to set up her spell, it was a struggle. Excessive bleeding dulled every nerve. Her consciousness felt like it was fading away, on the verge of extinguishing.
Every step felt like splashing into a puddle of blood at their feet.
“Evil overlord! Today, I, Wilhelm, will take vengeance for my friend!”
“Aah…”
With less than a second remaining until a collision that could set off a chain reaction.
All Charlotte could do was watch helplessly.
“Burn in sunlight!!”
Ignoring the dying body, engulfed in despair and helplessness, torment clouded her thoughts.
To be unable to help even while standing right in front of him felt worse than death itself.
‘Then and now, I am….’
Always of no help.
If the boss dies, then she would die soon after.
If that were to happen, she might as well throw herself out right now—
For just a moment, she doubted whether the boss could survive.
Before the Holy Sword reached his hands.
Before entering…
“…Huh?”
The spirit of a paladin escaped in a single syllable.
That brief voice explained the scene that unfolded in an instant.
Wilhelm was left empty-handed. The Death Knight held the Holy Sword.
Charlotte, witnessing everything, held her breath in astonishment.
Undead typically burn to ashes just by touching the Holy Sword. Yet, the boss was holding it without a hitch.
He hadn’t snatched it. The sword floated and naturally landed in his grasp.
“How…?”
The answer to the question I blurted out thoughtlessly was right in front of my eyes.
Just as I realized it when I saw the Holy Sword, I recognized it once more when I looked at the boss.
This place was the One Entity, The Seven Lairs. It was incomprehensible and transcended common sense, which made it The Seven Lairs.
While everyone else struggled for survival, the boss remained unscathed. Therefore, The Seven Lairs remained intact.
Clang.
With each step taken, the oppressive presence of The Seven Lairs itself pressured the space around it.
“Oh, God. How…?”
Wilhelm’s legs buckled, and he knelt.
A man who had dedicated everything to faith and gained everything.
Now, death approached him, a man who ultimately lost it all.
“God has betrayed you.”
The boss of The Seven Lairs raised the Holy Sword.
“Feel it. There is no sunlight here to guide you.”
Charlotte soon realized that she would die too.
But she felt no regret in dying.
“Ah…”
She witnessed the calamity that would bring about the end of humanity with her own eyes.
Even in death, she would perish under His command. Could there be a more precious death in this world?
A smile filled with joy spread across Charlotte’s face.
“As long as I am here, God is nowhere.”
Rustle!
Wilhelm lowered his head.
As his bowed head plunged down, it soon rolled along the floor.
The gazes of the knights, directed toward the ground, shifted toward the Holy Sword.
The Death Knight held the brilliant Holy Sword, shining without a blemish. His pitiful approach made everyone’s bodies tremble.
“Oh, God…”
“God is dead! He abandoned you, Captain! We will, we will also be forsaken!”
“I don’t want to die like the Captain! Do whatever you want, damn it!!”
One by one, the knights began to break ranks.
Starting with one or two, the entire knight order fled without looking back.
Even with them passing by, Charlotte’s eyes focused solely on the boss.
“Ah, my lord…”
Standing in the darkness, His figure was as noble as ever.
My lord is alive. Therefore, The Seven Lairs are intact.
*
That was a close call.
Even if I had the Holy Sword, I wouldn’t stand a chance if the entire knight order attacked at once.
The enhancement skill had succeeded, but there was still an hour left on the cooldown.
I hoped they would run away while I put on a brave face, and thankfully, it seemed to work.
Phew.
Letting out a sigh like cold air, I calmed my nerves.
If I had a heartbeat, it would be pounding hard right now.
“Kirik, Chief, Hangadak…”
Balutak’s voice.
Despite having his upper body severed, Balutak was still alive. Just barely.
Who could have guessed this DLC boss, Balutak, would hang on until it got to this point?
Putting the sense of accomplishment of grabbing the Holy Sword aside, it was urgent to deal with these guys first.
I couldn’t use evolution skills on someone once applied.
But aside from evolution, I had methods in my hands to save the soon-to-die Balutak.
‘With this, there’s no way I won’t save him.’
“Don’t save me.”
The awakened holy power of the holy sword is twofold: ‘Flames of Purification’ and ‘Light of Healing.’
In Wilhelm’s lines from the game, it was mentioned that the transformation between purification and healing changes according to one’s intent.
With that thought, as I resolved to heal, the crimson sunlight shifted to pure white light.
Both apply as purification to the undead, but Balutak is an insect.
I grabbed Balutak’s lower half and pressed the severed edges together.
As I brought the holy sword closer, the wounds began to meld, sealing with light.
“Kirik?”
I carefully observed the remaining wounds and shifted the holy sword.
Just when Balutak was on the brink of death, the mortal wound vanished completely.
A perfectly healthy Balutak stood up and brought his two front limbs inwards, a gesture of submission.
“Kirik! The chief has brought me back to life! Thank you!”
Every time I experience it, I’m truly grateful for the undead.
I could maintain a poker face among the strongest, and it was also easy to disguise emotions in the grotesque scene of corpses and blood.
Leaving Balutak behind, I headed towards Charlotte.
Isabella had merely fainted and was not facing a life-threatening situation. The most urgent matter after Balutak was Charlotte.
Her right arm was completely severed, and she was on the verge of bleeding to death.
Her pale complexion. Lips devoid of color. Her skin was ghostly, contrasting sharply with the blood splattered everywhere.
Ironically, Charlotte looked up at me with a faint smile.
“My lord, it is the greatest honor to be here in my moments of death.”
“….”
Is she losing her mind now that she’s about to die?
She probably didn’t see me revive Balutak from far away. After all, if she’s on the brink of death, would she notice changes around her?
Though Charlotte was nearing death, there was surprisingly little agitation.
The certainty of being able to save her aside, this was an opportunity for growth.
Originally, evolution techniques couldn’t be applied to humans.
Monsters, summoned creatures, and non-human races were the only subjects eligible for evolution.
However, Charlotte, being a ‘witch’ classified as a non-human by the empire, despite being human, was an exception.
The game system recognized her as a non-human, and thus, the maximum limit allowed for her was ‘witch.’
That was evidenced by the notification window that had been hovering all along.
[The target meets the evolution conditions.]
[Would you like to evolve Witch Charlotte?]
I held her detached right arm and pressed it against the injury site.
Natural healing accompanying evolution wouldn’t fix the severed area completely.
So I planned to evolve her first, then use the holy sword to seal the right arm.
[Evolving Witch Charlotte.]
[All conditions have been met, so the success probability is 100%.]
Needless to say, Charlotte’s potential was immense.
And the criteria for sacrifice depended on the mindset of the sacrifice regarding their life.
Charlotte risked her life for me, and as someone with a human heart, I was infinitely grateful.
For someone to sacrifice their life for another is, at least in my eyes, one of the hardest deaths in the world.
Light began to gather from Charlotte’s body scars.
Starting from her pierced shoulder, all her wounds rapidly regenerated.
In less than five seconds, all fatal injuries were healed, and her final right arm was perfectly reattached with the holy sword.
“…?”
Charlotte cautiously opened her eyes.
Looking at me, she inspected her body from place to place. Then she moved her right arm around.
After a moment of this, Charlotte stared at me intently.
I could see her intent clearly.
“You do not die.”
“Oh… My lord is truly merciful. I thought I had to die to atone for not fulfilling my duties…”
Now I see, Charlotte seems to know that I possess the means to save her.
Did she think she didn’t even deserve to live, accepting death by herself?
The subordinate had a peculiar sense of self-esteem in another sense.
‘Why would I let you die?’
If you’re gone, the dungeon’s screwed. How am I supposed to defend the dungeon against the weakest boss with those little gold nuggets?
“Good job. You’ve fulfilled your duties as a subordinate.”
“…I’m honored.”
It was admirable just to have the courage to stop the awakened holy sword’s hero. Just attempting was overwhelming, yet they held on until the end.
Unconsciously, I glanced towards Charlotte’s eyes.
“However, you have become a Main.”
“Main, huh?”
I had anticipated this and threw in a word to let her know.
Evolution comes with outward changes, hence the term evolution.
In Charlotte’s sclera, instead of a person’s pupil, a magic circle of the celestial realm had taken its place.
When a witch evolves like now, she becomes a Main (魔人).
Whether one is a Main can be identified by the unique outward change—the magic circle that has replaced the pupil.
Just for reference, the concept of Main is different from that of half-demons. Unlike half-demons who are half human and half demon clan, a Main simply means a magical human.
[Lv. 80]
Thus, the magic circle Charlotte could handle had increased from Circle 7 to Circle 8.
Assuming she is a wizard, while not absolute, circles generally span an interval of around 10 levels.
Level 50 can handle up to Circle 5. Level 60 up to Circle 6, and so on.
The only noticeable change was the magic circle pupil, but there were many other changes as well.
A heightened sensitivity to mana. The creation of a mana respiratory organ that could replace oxygen.
Moreover, the originally artificially created mana circuit in her body would have been reformed solely for magic.
I withdrew the light of the holy sword and presented it to Charlotte.
The holy sword reflected Charlotte’s eyes like a mirror.
“Main…”
Charlotte looked back and forth between the holy sword mirror and me.
Having already witnessed Balutak’s evolution, her expression was more grateful than shocked.
“I’m simply in awe of the boss’s grace.”
Charlotte bowed before me.
For her, whose entire world was magic, this evolution carried great significance.
I wonder how she’d react if I handed her the Necronomicon too.
“Ugh… Huh, what!?”
I was going to check on Isabella first, but she was already looking around, probably having woken up.
She didn’t have any visible wounds and seemed perfectly fine. Not much of a reason to check on her.
I pulled out the grimoire I had carefully hidden in my eleventh rib.
Seeing it, Charlotte tilted her head.
“Is that…?”
Contrary to my words, she seemed to recognize the identity of the grimoire.
“It’s the Necronomicon. It was quite a hassle getting it from Roseha.”
In reality, it was quite easy, but a bit of effort makes gratitude grow.
Charlotte gazed intently at the grimoire with her mouth slightly open.
She looked like a cat eyeing a pile of catnip she was head over heels for.
For the normally expressionless Charlotte to show such a reaction, it must mean she really wanted it.
“It seems the boss has developed an interest in necromancy. Definitely, having just that would be a tremendous help.”
“Uh?”
“…I’m jealous.”
Oops. Charlotte took a sharp breath and quickly waved her hands.
“Th-That was a slip of the tongue. I apologize. How could someone like me dare to covet the boss’s belongings?”
The witch, who had been almost robotic, was now rambling on and on.
It seems I was witnessing a lot of new sides to Charlotte today. Maybe she’s come back to life so differently.
On the flip side, it’s pretty comedic that the only necromancer wouldn’t consider it her own even after dying.
“Could it be that my inadequacies are causing the boss to learn necromancy… so that’s how it is. I’m sorry. As you’ve said, I’m useless in this dungeon.”
Now, she had reached the point of completely shattering her own self-esteem.
Well, it’s yours, after all!