The gods were observing, anticipating that this would be the day that Alda's forces would gain a greater influence over human society, over the Amid Empire.
Ricklent scowled, wondering if Alda was planning to revert the world to the age when gods ruled over it. Zuruwarn groaned about the problems that were to come, and Vida gave a deep sigh.
And while Rodcorte acknowledged that Alda's forces were truly making their move, he was still hesitant to work with them.
"If I work with Alda's forces, it is possible that I would continue to be acknowledged as a god of Lambda, even after Vandalieu and the races of Vida inside the Boundary Mountain Range are eradicated. I cannot meddle carelessly," he murmured. "If Hajime Inui who has become Fitun's vessel or Murakami were to succeed… but to think that I am already unable to provide support for Hajime."
The psychological connection had already been severed between Rodcorte and Hajime, who was being reformed by Fitun, the god of thunderclouds. Rodcorte could still see his records, but he could no longer do things such as sending Divine Messages.
"To think that there would be a god who would set his sights on a reincarnated individual that I had all but abandoned… But Fitun should be one of the more powerful beings, even among the war-gods of Alda's faction. I suppose that if Hajime becomes his vessel for a spirit clone rather than a familiar spirit, it will be unnecessary for me to grant him a new divine protection."
As a god, Rodcorte was far superior to Fitun, but the divine protection of a war-god would be far more suited for battle than the divine protection of a god of reincarnation.
Rodcorte was curious as to what had happened to the divine protection, fortune and Target Radar that he had given Hajime, as he was unable to check the status on these. But it would probably be best to leave him rather than try to forcibly intervene.
"Then I suppose my support should go to Murakami. I am sure that Aran and the others will support Asagi's group even if I do not say anything…"
Suddenly, Rodcorte felt a disturbance in his Divine Realm. But he could not feel the presence of any intruder, and there was no sign that anyone had made contact with his circle of reincarnation system.
"Was it just my imagination…?"
Deciding that this was indeed the case, he turned his eyes towards Origin.
"Rikudou Hijiri. Although the deaths of Pluto and the others should have put a halt to research of the death attribute, it seems that he intends to continue it, but at this rate, there is no doubt that his efforts will go to waste. I do not need to stop him," Rodcorte said to himself. "It will be the perfect lesson to teach the people of Origin that they will never acquire the death attribute again no matter what, and a good stepping stone for Amemiya Hiroto."
On the surface of Lambda, Emperor Marshukzarl of the Amid Empire gave a sigh.
"So, it has happened," he murmured, his irritation turning into a sense of resignation.
The view of the eclipse from the palace looked ominous to his eyes, but if this was the will of the gods, then there was nothing to be done.
"I have taken advantage of the religion all this time. I suppose it is unreasonable of me to complain now that our positions have been reversed, but…"
Gods existed for the sake of the people, but people did not exist for the gods. That was what Marshukzarl thought.
His wish, based upon this belief, was the continuation and prosperity of the Amid Empire. That was only natural for one who called himself its emperor. But as the Church gained power, that wish was endangered as well.
The teachings of the Church did not always align with the good of the nation.
Marshukzarl had never thought of committing evil acts because he had desired to; if good deeds would result in the nation flourishing, he would gladly perform them. If he were to be completely truthful and honest, he would have wielded his sword to vanquish evil if that was what was needed.
But that wasn't how reality worked. Reality had demanded that Marshukzarl commit countless conspiracies and secretly take advantage of the evil deeds of others instead of stopping them, turning white into black and black into white.
Though Alda taught that Vida's races must be eradicated, Marshukzarl had needed to suppress them but not to the point that they were exterminated. Even if he forcibly rounded up all of the slaves owned by the citizens and nobles to execute them, that would only achieve a decrease in budget. The only thing he would gain would be economic ruin and the animosity of those of middle class and above who could afford to own slaves.
Repeatedly sending out expeditions to hidden villages of Vida's races would simply be a waste of war funds and soldiers. It was true that the nation would temporarily gain treasures and slaves from successful expeditions, but the hidden villages of Vida's races were always on land that was not suitable for human habitation, so no valuable land would be gained.
The Scylla territory in the Sauron region was a good example. It wasn't that humans couldn't inhabit it, but large-scale cultivation or the knowledge and technology of the Scylla that had lived there would have been needed to gain sufficient income from it.
Giving that land to a lord would be equivalent to punishing that lord's men. Of course, Marshukzarl would not be happy to have such a remote region become a direct part of the empire, either.
That was why Vida's races merely served as files to shave off the vassal nations' excess power, as scapegoats to bear the citizens' discontent and as a perfect source of manual labor when left alive.
Would Eileek, the next era's Pope who had prophesized this eclipse, take that into account?
"'Zero Sword' Carmine, how long do you think I can maintain my position of emperor?" Marshukzarl asked, despite nobody else being in his private room.
And yet, a middle-aged man appeared out of nowhere without warning. This was the 'Zero Sword' Carmine, the leader of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords that were under Marshukzarl's direct command.
Carmine had stepped back from the field of battle due to his age, but he had once been a regular member of the Fifteen Evil-breaking Swords.
"How pessimistic of you," Carmine commented.
"Of course I am; I am against a god and the clergyman chosen by him. There is no chance that a mere emperor can hope to prevail against such enemies. No matter how stubborn a man is, he will go wild once a pillar of light descends upon him from the sky and he hears the voice of a god," said Marshukzarl.
Every human wished to believe that they were special. What if I possessed the Unique Skill of a legendary hero? Every single person had, at least once, daydreamed of such things. The divine protection and voice of a god would sweetly stimulate such desires.
And obeying the voice of the gods was guaranteed to be "righteous," while disobeying would be proof of being "evil."
"The teachings of Alda were convenient for maintaining my rule, and I took advantage of it too much. If things were going to turn out like this, I should have changed the national religion to worship Zuruwarn, Ricklent or Botin when I took rule," Marshukzarl muttered.
"You jest. Perhaps Botin, but trying to convert every citizen into a believer of Zuruwarn or Ricklent would be the doing of a madman. The empire would have collapsed in less than a decade," Carmine said with a bitter smile.
Incidentally, Marshukzarl had not mentioned Peria because changing the national religion to worship her would have caused the marine nation Galahad, one of the empire's vassal nations, to become a holy land.
"Of course, that was a joke," said Marshukzarl. "Now then, assuming I show my obedience on the surface while secretly continuing my resistance… No matter how much I struggle in vain, I won't last fifty years. In the worst-case scenario, I may have a noose replacing my crown in just half a year. I truly am glad that I managed to plant my child in the care of Schneider and his companions. At the very least, my bloodline shall continue."
And as long as his bloodline remained, no matter how close the chance of the empire's revival came to zero, it would never be completely gone.
"If you are going to be so pessimistic, why not ask for the protection of Schneider or Vandalieu who is beyond the mountain range?" Carmine suggested.
"Carmine, now that would be a joke. I would be promptly killed, and that would be the end of it," said Marshukzarl.
"Would they not think that there would be some value in leaving you alive and taking advantage of you?"
"No, there would be no value to them in me… an emperor who being pursued by his own empire, begging for his life."
Marshukzarl would always potentially be an enemy to Schneider, and there was already a child with the emperor's blood… Marshukzarl's son, who had apparently been named Sieg, at Schneider's side. If Schneider wanted to make use of the emperor's blood, it would be better to eliminate Marshukzarl and turn Sieg into his puppet.
… Considering his personality, he would kill Marshukzarl even without considering such things, however.
Vandalieu would also have no use for an emperor with no power. Taking into account the fact that he had not used the previous Duke Marme after abducting him, it was likely that he would just as quickly dispose of Marshukzarl.
"No, they may accept my younger heirs. If they are not directly descended from me, then it is even more likely… I shall consider it," Marshukzarl murmured.
As he was a half-Elf with a lifespan longer than a human's, he had kept his potential heirs to a minimum up until now. After all, even if he were to have children now, depending on what race they were born as, they might die of old age before he did.
Thus, he had few children that were directly descended from him, and there was only one imperial prince other than Sieg, and that prince was still a mere infant.
If it was possible to leave other kin behind, it would be best to at least have one of them survive.
As Marshukzarl nodded to this thought, there was a knock on the door to his private chamber. It was a notification from the prime minister to inform him of an emergency meeting to discuss the solar eclipse that had occurred exactly according to prophecy.
"Very well. I will be there soon," Marshukzarl said in response.
Meanwhile, Carmine had already vanished before Marshukzarl finished his sentence.
Having learned of the solar eclipse, Birkyne was biting down on his own finger in an attempt to suppress his irritation and uneasiness.
"This is bad… Alda making a move is bad…!"
Birkyne was one of the Pure-breed Vampires worshipping Hihiryushukaka, the evil god of joyful life. He and his two companions had ruled the darkness of the Bahn Gaia continent for a hundred thousand years, but they had not achieved this by fighting against Alda, the god of law and fate.
They had manipulated the humans they had managed to tempt to their side, lurking in their shadows.
The complex hierarchical societies of the human nations that had formed when humans began to rule themselves after the age of the gods had provided the Pure-breed Vampires with a shadow that was plenty dark enough for them to move about in unseen.
And the Pure-breed Vampires had been well-suited for this. Of course, there had still been several instances where they had faced danger. On each of these occasions, they had joined forces to overcome… escape from these threats.
But they had not faced such danger for the past several tens of thousands of years; their position in the darkness had remained stable.
As a result, the bonds between the three Pure-breed Vampires, each of whom had their own factions, had loosened. They had come to see each other as competitors that ought to be defeated, despite having once been companions. With Vandalieu's appearance under such circumstances, both Ternecia and Gubamon had been destroyed in a timespan of less than ten years.
"At a time like this, Alda makes a move?!" Birkyne's teeth tore his fingernail and the whole finger to pieces, his irritation and frustration turned into anger. "Don't fuck with me! Does he intend to return the world to the age of the gods when he can't even descend upon the world?!" he roared, blood spraying from his mouth.
It was well-known that once Birkyne lost his temper, he would not stop until all of the subordinates around him and the mansion that he was currently in was destroyed. Thus, there was currently not a single subordinate around him to begin with.
His voice made the air tremble and his repeated stomping destroyed the ground beneath his feet, causing him to fall through. As thunderous noises echoed throughout the empty mansion, Birkyne landed on the first floor and destroyed a wall with a single swing of his arm.
"… No, cursing Alda changes nothing. What is the matter with me?" Birkyne muttered, regaining his senses after directly seeing the solar eclipse through the wall that he had just broken.
Though it was covered by a shadow, it was the first time that he had seen the sun in a long time, and perhaps it had restored his sanity.
"Alda takes no notice of us… He might think of us as something to clean up while he has the chance, but nothing more. We have worshipped the evil god of joyful life and created new Vampires for a hundred thousand years. With that being the case, the reason Alda is making a move now must be Vandalieu," Birkyne concluded.
He could not think of any other reason that Alda would take action so hastily. With that being the case, Birkyne considered the option of abandoning his organization and most of his clan, going into hiding with a few of his trusted retainers.
After all, the imperfect age of the gods that Alda was about to start was unlikely to last a thousand years. Birkyne would slumber somewhere during that time, then regrow his roots in human society once Alda lost his power and left this world again.
Even if gods were to rule humans directly, the true nature of humans would not change. Though there would always be a handful of good, pure individuals, there would be an equal number of humans made of pure evil, and the rest that made up the vast majority were those that were somewhere in between, able to fall either way.
Birkyne would simply need to seduce that vast majority and make use of them. He would regrow his fallen clan and rebuild his organization.
"No… If Vandalieu is to emerge victorious, what would await me in a thousand years is certain defeat. Even if that is not the case, I am done for if I am discovered by Alda's subordinates. It seems that I cannot simply hibernate," Birkyne murmured. "Mortor! Mortor, are you here?!"
"Yes, coming!" said one of Birkyne's four close aides, a Noble-born Vampire who had been born as a Dwarf, came running.
It seemed that he had been taking cover outside the mansion.
"If you wish for a meal, I can prepare it right away, but…" Mortor said uncertainly, fearing that his master, who had suppressed his temper more quickly than usual, was still dangerous.
"No, I am not thirsty," said Birkyne, giving him a calm smile. "Those humans who made contact with Vandalieu, you know where they went?"
He had positioned subordinates to monitor the former Scylla territory in the Sauron Duchy. Thus, he was aware that Kanako and Asagi had made contact with Vandalieu.
"Yes. Kanako Tsuchiya and the other two with her disappeared with Vandalieu, but Asagi Minami and the two with him are currently in the Sauron Duchy. They appear to be searching for literature on the sealing of the Demon King's fragments and the fragments themselves," said Mortor.
Birkyne's faction had its roots planted in every Guild. Once a target entered their intelligence network, it was possible to learn their name.
Birkyne's organization still hadn't finished being rebuilt, but it was still capable of doing that.
"Never mind sealing the Demon King's fragments, they are searching for the fragments themselves? Quite the dangerous task, for people who have come from another world, no less," said Birkyne.
"What?! Those humans came from another world?!" Mortor exclaimed in shock. "It is true that their names are unusual, but…"
Come to think of it, I did not tell him, Birkyne realized.
"It is likely to be the case, Bellwood and the others had similarly strange names in the beginning. If I recall… it was Shouhei Suzuki, perhaps?" Birkyne said. "And in the end, you never did find out where they were born, did you?"
"No, the underlings are currently investigating," said Mortor.
Mortor's underlings were currently investigating the towns and villages around the Adventurers' Guild that Asagi's group had registered at, but nobody knew who they were. They couldn't even find a single childhood friend or acquaintance, let alone relatives.
That was too strange to call a coincidence.
Registering at the Adventurers' Guild could be done from any branch. Every city would always have an Adventurers' Guild branch.
Thus, those desiring to become adventurers would naturally register at the Adventurers' Guild branch closest to the place where they were born and raised. There was nothing to be gained by paying travel expenses to make the effort of going to a farther branch, risking being attacked by bandits on the way.
"That can be explained if they suddenly appeared from another world. I see… But Kanako Tsuchiya and her companion Melissa J. Saotome are Elves, and the other, Doug Atlas, is a human with a normal name," said Mortor.
"Who knows why. Either way, since they've disappeared somewhere in Vandalieu's company, we can't chase them. We'll ignore them until they show themselves again," said Birkyne. "More importantly, the fact that they're making contact with Vandalieu one after another, could it mean that he came from that world as well? No, that world should only have humans. So then, why…?"
Though Birkyne wondered if Vandalieu was someone who had been summoned from another world, he did not realize that there was a god who could reincarnate individuals from other worlds with their memories and personalities intact. He knew of the concept of reincarnation, but common sense told him that reincarnation with one's memories and personality was impossible.
"Well, I suppose we'll find that out if we keep investigating them, as well as which god summoned them to this world and for what purpose," said Birkyne. "So, how is the investigation proceeding?"
Mortor fell onto his knees, his shoulders trembling. "That is… one of them, Tatsuya Tendou, has strangely sharp senses and we cannot approach them as we would like," he said, barely managing to squeeze his words out. "We intend to find a good time to disguise our underlings as their supporters and have them make contact, but…"
"I see. It may be a power granted to them by the god who brought them here… Spy on them using methods that you normally wouldn't use, then," Birkyne instructed Mortor, not sounding disappointed. "Use familiars in the forms of mice, birds, bats and other creatures you can find anywhere, and control them from somewhere far away… No, not just far away, but underground. Either that, or simply spy on them without caring about being noticed, and observe the human named Tendou. If you do that repeatedly, you should be able to learn how Tendou detects our underlings."
"V-very well." Mortor lowered his head once more, feeling truly relieved.
But when he looked up again, he saw the very sharp claws of Birkyne's fingers.
"The next time you report to me, you will meet my expectations. Is that clear?" Birkyne said, making a slitting motion with his hand that had five intact digits again.
"As you will!" Mortor replied in a half-scream, leaving the scene as if fleeing.
"If the human named Asagi is an enemy of Vandalieu, then his group can also become tools for negotiation," Birkyne murmured to himself. "It would be ideal if they are investigating the Demon King's fragments to oppose Vandalieu rather than give them to him, however."
Birkyne was putting everything on Vandalieu emerging victorious during the upcoming temporary age of the gods. Thus, he would lie low until both Vandalieu and Alda became fatigued or perished.
Even if one parent was a Dark Elf, Dhampirs were not immortal. They might live for thousands of years, but they would not live to reach the age of ten thousand.
I should be able to plant my roots in a Talosheim and Boundary Mountain Range without Vandalieu, Birkyne thought, unaware of Vandalieu's Youth Transformation spell.
Gyubarzo, the evil god of dark seas who had been sealed deep in the ocean south of the Bahn Gaia continent, let out a scream of madness.
"Foolish gods! I don't know why you've created a solar eclipse, but I'll thank you for it!"
Gyubarzo's appearance was simple compared to other evil gods. He had the head of a fish with sharp teeth lining his mouth, limbs that were covered in scales and a finned tail.
However, he was larger than a castle; he could grasp a large boat with a single hand.
"Thanks to this solar eclipse, the sea has become pitch-black, a place where not even the light of the stars can reach! With Zuruwarn and Ricklent's followers not watching me and Tristan's seal weakened, there is nothing binding me down now! Gather, my followers!"
Gyubarzo's voice echoed out across the cold depths of the ocean, and his followers appeared from the dark waters one by one.
"Gyububuh!"
"Gyoppabugyugeh."
They were Gillmen, mounted on monsters resembling sharks and deep-sea fish instead of horses. They were chanting strange words, praising their god Gyubarzo.
Gyubarzo was one of the evil gods who had created the Gillmen, and one who had fought particularly hard against Tristan, the god of the seas.
At the end of this harsh battle, Tristan and the gods helping him had sealed Gyubarzo away, but Gyubarzo had continued giving orders to the Gillmen, his followers. Orders to kill those who prayed to and followed Tristan.
Among the races that Gillmen considered 'humans,' they loathed Merfolk the most. Just like Gyubarzo and the other gods who had created them, they hated Tristan, the god of the seas.
Now that Gyubarzo was free, he intended to direct his hatred towards Tristan's children, the Merfolk.
"Follow my lead! We will exterminate Tristan, his followers and all humans who dare venture into these seas, proving that we are the ocean's true rulers!" Gyubarzo declared.
And he kicked off from the bottom of the ocean, heading towards the ocean's surface with a thousand elite Gillmen.
His eyes could see through the darkness, and he could see a single ship traversing the sea. He detested ships, contraptions used by inferior lifeforms who could not breathe in the water, almost as much as Tristan and the Merfolk.
"A feast to celebrate my resurrection! I am sure it will not satisfy my hunger, but I shall devour it!"
Though Gyubarzo detested ships, he loved destroying them and plunging the humans onboard into the ocean. The sight of these creatures flapping their finless limbs about in vain was incredibly amusing to him.
It seemed that the ship was being towed by the follower of an Elder Dragon, but Gyubarzo paid no attention to it and aimed straight for the ship. His caution had been erased by the sense of liberation from being released after being sealed for a length of time that felt long even to a god.
"Ngh?!"
Gyubarzo stopped for a moment, noticing a pair of enormous eyeballs staring at him.
The blue-white light coming from those eyeballs was growing brighter and brighter.
"What is th–"
Before Gyubarzo could even finish his own sentence, the eyeballs released a beam of light.
"Right below Cuatro, about five hundred meters down, there's a shadow that looks like an enormous Gillman," said Vandalieu.
"This guy's huge! He's even bigger than Talosheim's castle!" said Kimberley.
Vandalieu and the Undead could see through the darkness of the ocean with the Dark Vision Skill. There were still solid particles in the ocean that prevented them from seeing perfectly clearly, but there was no way they could miss Gyubarzo's enormous body.
"What shall we do, my lord? Leo is not well-suited for diving into the water, so shall we go in to meet it?" Bone Man suggested calmly.
"Don't be stupid! Cuatro would sink! We have to run away, fast!" said the former pirate ship captain, who was also made of only bones.
During the week that they had been at sea, Bone Man and Leo had been weakening monsters for Cuatro and its captains to defeat, allowing them to increase their Ranks. However, they were still only Rank 5; they would certainly not be able to defeat a giant Gillman.
In fact, it was likely that combat with the giant Gillman taking place nearby would produce waves powerful enough to send them into a watery grave. It was only natural for the captains to panic.
"Starboard –" the former pirate ship captain began.
"I can't aim, so let's please stay where we are," said Vandalieu.
"Never mind that! Stop here!"
Vandalieu had activated the Demon King's eyeballs to take aim while activating the Demon King's luminescent organs at the tips of his antennae to their maximum power, unleashing a series of beams of light.
The sea shone with a blue-white light, and a harsh-sounding howl pierced everyone's ears.
"W-what an ominous scream…!" said Oniwaka, unable to conceal her instinctual fear.
"It's quite loud, isn't it?" said Pauvina, who seemed to have no reaction other than putting her fingers into her ears.
"Bocchan, shall we finish it off?" asked Sam.
"… I missed," said Vandalieu, retracting the antennas that he had extended below the water's surface. "It seems that the beams of light were diffused by the water. They did graze the giant Gillman, so I think they should have done some damage, though."
At this depth of about five hundred meters, Gyubarzo had let out a scream in unbearable anguish. The attacks hadn't directly hit him due to the water distorting and diffusing the light, but the beams of light had torn off his scales and scorched his flesh.
These were far from fatal wounds, but this pain, which felt like having his raw skin ripped off, had greatly scarred his pride.
"This is… the Demon King's presence…?! That's not possible; there is no way that Demon-King-sama… the Demon King, is still alive. So, this must be the doing of a human who bears one of the Demon King's fragments! Curse you! Curse the Demon King for being defeated and used, and curse you insolent humans who dare to use his fragments!" Gyubarzo bellowed.
Letting his rage take over, he began his ascent to the surface once more. Even if those beams of light hit him a few more times, they would not be at full power as long as he remained in the sea. To begin with, even with a fragment of the Demon King, there was no way that a mere fragile human could release such powerful beams of light repeatedly.
Even if the human could still release more beams, there would be one or two more at most.
"You damned humans, pouring dirt on my resurrection! I'll tear you apart with my teeth!"
With the remaining Gillmen, whose numbers had been reduced by about two thirds, Gyubarzo took aim at Cuatro once more.
"Come to think of it, Zadiris-san did say that light-attribute magic is less effective underwater," said Princess Levia.
"It seems that even beams of light produced by the Demon King's luminescent organs are still made of light in the end," said Sam. "So, what will you do, Bocchan? Is it time for Hollow Cannon?"
Hollow Cannon was a Hollow King spell that had even destroyed the walls of a Dungeon, which existed in a special space and were normally impossible to destroy. Wouldn't Vandalieu be able to defeat the giant Gillman with this?
But Vandalieu shook his head. "I don't think Hollow Cannon would be diffused by the water, but it annihilates everything in its path… If I fired it at the giant Gillman from here, a huge whirlpool might form beneath Cuatro."
Even the fearless sailors let out a scream at the thought of meeting a second watery grave.
"If that happens, we're gonna sink!"
"I'm sick of being shipwrecked!"
"But what are we going to do?" asked Kimberley. "My lightning attacks are going to be dispersed by the water even more than light."
"My flames won't even reach the target to begin with," said Princess Levia.
"My cold won't work unless I get closer… wait, it's coming this way again!" said Orbia, peering into the ocean to see that Gyubarzo had begun ascending towards the water's surface once more.
"It can't be helped… This won't make a deciding blow, but I'll give it a series of hits," Vandalieu murmured, eight spider-like legs emerging from his back as he activated the Demon King's jointed legs. "Death Cannon, simultaneous bombardment."
Black beams of light rained down upon Gyubarzo. But they were actually made of condensed death-attribute Mana rather than light, so they made direct contact with Gyubarzo's body rather than being diffused by the water.
"–?!"
Gyubarzo gave a soundless scream. The black beams of Death Cannon were far thinner than the beams from before, but they ignored his hard scales, flesh and even his bones, directly gouging the life out of him.
But as to be expected of a god, Gyubarzo was not yet dead.
"AAAAAAHHHH!"
He stopped heading for the water's surface and began trying to escape, screaming for his life. He was so desperate to get as far away from Cuatro as possible that he could not even curse himself for the poor decisions that he had made several seconds earlier.
The eight beams of Death Cannon had taken most of Gyubarzo's Vitality and Mana and broken his mind.
"To think that it can withstand Bocchan's Death Cannon… I wonder what it is?" said Rita.
"When I attacked it, my God Devourer Skill activated, so I believe it's a type of evil god," said Vandalieu. "As for how powerful it is… Maybe a little above Fidirg or Zozogante?"
"A god?! Isn't it bad to let it get away?!" said Oniwaka, her face turning pale.
Gods could generally recover from any wound as long as it was not inflicted by a divine authority, like Alda's Stakes of Law. The amount of time they needed to recover depended on their power as a god and the number of followers they had, but… it would certainly not be good to constantly be targeted by this god from the depths of the ocean. It was too far away for Vandalieu to cast the Healing Negation spell, and even if he could cast it, he could not make the spell continue taking effect for years and years.
If this god hid itself in the deep ocean, even Vandalieu could not go out to kill it, and his spells and attacks would not reach it.
"You should have equipped Cuatro inside you and retreated to the sky to wait for it to come up to the water's surface, my lord," said Bone Man, pointing out Vandalieu's strategic mistake.
"I'm in complete agreement," said Vandalieu, nodding.
If Vandalieu had waited for Gyubarzo to reach the water's surface before attacking, Bone Man and Leo would have been able to join the battle, and Vandalieu would have been able to use the Ghosts' power for dead spirit magic as well.
"It can't be helped. I've already used quite a bit of Mana, but… let's get rid of it, even if it means using up the rest of my Mana. Everyone, get inside Sam," Vandalieu said, using Flight to fly up from Cuatro's deck and chase the fleeing Gyubarzo.
Once they were far enough away from Cuatro, Vandalieu flew directly above Gyubarzo and concentrated his Mana at his fingertip.
"Bocchan, what should we be doing?" Sam asked.
"When I give the signal, please attack that giant Gillman god with everything you have," said Vandalieu. "Now then… Hollow Cannon."
A beam of black Mana was unleashed from Vandalieu's fingertip, boring through the sea. It distorted space itself and broke the seawater down, creating an empty, pillar-shaped space as it continued to the bottom of the ocean.
"GYUGAAAAAAAH?!"
Gyubarzo and the Gillmen that had been fleeing with him screamed as they realized that the sea's current had changed and there was now a fierce whirlpool around them.
"I see! Now's the time, everyone!" said Princess Levia.
"Okay!" said Pauvina.
"JYUOOOH!" Bone Man roared.
"I think it's best that you don't throw your own bones, since it will probably be difficult to get them back afterwards!" Saria told him.
"The target's so big, it's easy to hit!" said Oniwaka.
"Well, there was certainly meaning in coming on this journey!" said Rita. "Screw Projectile!"
All of them were throwing stones and spears. Rita and Saria were now Rank 11 Tartarus Maid Armors; Rita's spears and Saria's rain of arrows with her Archery Skill were particularly effective.
Gyubarzo's scales were still soft as they had not yet regenerated from the previous attacks, and Death Iron spears and arrows pierced through them mercilessly.
But even though he was cornered and weakened, Gyubarzo was still a god. Such attacks would not defeat him.
However, Vandalieu unleashed a rain of Dead Spirit Magic spells. "Dark Thunderbolt Spear, Crimson Ice Execution Circle, Great Bone Flame Jailing Destruction Bullet."
All of the Ghosts' Ranks had increased inside the Trial of Zakkart. Kimberley transformed into a black spear of black lightning, Orbia into a round blade of ice, and the final blow was Princess Levia transforming into a fiery skull large enough to tear a large ship to pieces with its teeth. The Ghosts flooded into the helpless Gyubarzo.
"GIBUGAAAAAaaah… The true darkness was… above the ocean…"
Gyubarzo had convinced himself that he was the ruler of the ocean, but that was the delusion of a weakling who could only rule the ocean and nothing else. Gyubarzo felt a sense of absolute defeat as he was swallowed by the whirlpool and ceased to exist.
"I get the feeling that he just said something rude… oops," Vandalieu said, falling limp.
He hadn't expended so much Mana that his consciousness was fading, but continuously firing Hollow Cannon for that long had damaged not only his left arm, but the entire upper half of his body.
He tried to straighten up again right away, but before he could do so, Vandalieu's right hand was grasped by another, soft hand.
"It's a little quick for me to come and see you, but I wanted you to see my new form now that our Rank increased, and I was curious if anything was happening on this side… Did something happen?" asked a girl who floating beside Vandalieu.
She had pitch-black hair and eyes, and her skin looked abnormally pale. She was wearing a simple, white one-piece dress.
In the corner of his vision, Vandalieu could see Sam and Princess Levia's surprised faces. Vandalieu had seen this girl somewhere before, and he knew her voice very well.
"Is it you, Pluto?" he asked.
Pluto gave a happy smile. "Yes, I'm Legion's Pluto. It's been over ten years since I was able to meet you with this form, hasn't it?"
Far below her, the whirlpool in the ocean had stopped, and chunks of Gyubarzo's flesh had risen to the water's surface.
Vandalieu suddenly noticed that the solar eclipse had ended, and the world was illuminated by the light of the sun once more.
"Your Mana has increased by 50,000,000 and your Vitality has increased by 10,000!"
"The Levels of the Superhuman Strength, Rapid Regeneration, Dark King Magic, Mana Control, Increased Mana Recovery Rate, Transcend Limits, Hollow King Magic, Multi-cast, Dead Spirit Magic, Surpass Limits: Fragments, God Devourer and Soul Devour Skills have increased!"
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The surviving elite Gillmen who had followed Gyubarzo, the evil god of dark seas, swam for their lives after witnessing the destruction of their god.
They ordered their mounts to dive as deep into the darkness as possible. They didn't consider trying to avenge their god, not even for a moment.
Though they were elite, in the end, they were still just Gillmen. Most of them were Rank 5 or 6, and over two thirds of them had met a watery grave from the shockwaves released by the attacks of Vandalieu and his companions.
And it seemed that Vandalieu's party had no intention of diving into the sea to chase the small fry that had been hiding in Gyubarzo's shadow. At this rate, over two hundred Gillmen would escape and later come to attack ships, fishing villages and port cities.
But it seemed that there was no need to worry about this.
Flee! Flee! There is a terrible monster… the Demon King, above the ocean's surface!
A fear had been etched into the Gillmen that overrode their monster instinct to attack humans.
It is said that the Gillmen never again rose from the bottom of the Devil's Sea, a place where the light of the sun could not reach, and they became a subspecies of Gillman that was adapted for life in deep waters.
Meanwhile, Tristan, the god of the seas who was the Merfolk nation's guardian deity, sensed that his old enemy, the one that he had sealed away during the age of the gods, had been resurrected.
"In this state, I cannot fight him directly like I did in the age of the gods… I must hurry and tell Vandalieu and Gufadgarn… Huh?"
Dumbfounded, he stood stock-still in shock at the fact that Gyubarzo's presence had disappeared just a few minutes afterwards.
"His presence… I do not believe Gyubarzo was able to Teleport… Could it be… He was devoured by Vandalieu like Ravovifard?"
Cuatro was shaken by the great whirlpool created by Vandalieu's Hollow Cannon, but fortunately it was far away enough from the whirlpool to get away with no visible damage.
"Yeehaw! Now I'm a unique monster in this world too!" exclaimed Kimberley, dancing wildly in the air to celebrate becoming a Rank 10 Schwarz Blitz Ghost that was enveloped in black sparks.
Meanwhile, the captains of the ship were giving out orders below.
"All right, you landlubbers, Ane-go* has finished gathering the big pieces of the evil Gillman god! You lot go and gather the small ones!"
TLN*: This is a respectful term meaning "Older sister"
"Aye-aye, Captain!"
"Don't you miss a single scale or piece of fin! Those things are worth more than their weight in platinum!"
"You got it, Captain!"
"A product is nothing without its freshness! His Majesty the Emperor will cast the Preservation spell for us, but we cannot allow it to be eaten by fish before then!"
"Go and gather all of the flesh pieces! Once we're finished with all the work, His Majesty is going to treat us to a god barbeque!"
"Do your best, captains!"
The Undead sailors gave enthusiastic responses and jumped into the sea, holding spare pieces of wood that were left over when Vandalieu built Cuatro as kickboards. They were proficient at swimming while they were alive and they didn't even need to rest while swimming now, but they were made of only bones, so they would sink if they weren't careful.
"In the end, who is the captain of the ship?" asked the 'Ane-go' Gufadgarn, the evil god of labyrinths, who was bending space to send the main parts of Gyubarzo, such as the head and limbs, into storage in Talosheim.
Her vessel had the appearance of a beautiful Elf girl, so she could make a beautiful picture just by standing on the edge of the ship, but there were none nearby who would be charmed by her. All of them were Undead with hollow eye sockets.
For some reason, the four captains of the four wrecked ships that had become Cuatro lined up to respond to her question.
"I'm the captain!"
"I'm the true captain!"
"I am the captain in the shadows!"
"And I'm the captain in the background!"
The four of them struck a pose.
"Together, the four of us are the Four Dead Sea Captains!" they said simultaneously, looking at Gufadgarn as if desiring a response.
"I see. You couldn't decide who was the captain among the four of you, so Vandalieu suggested this," she said.
"Ah, yes. That is what happened."
"You are using the team name of 'Four Dead Sea Captains' and those poses at Vandalieu's orders."
"Y-you are well-informed."
"As I thought… As expected of Vandalieu. How marvelous," said Gufadgarn, remaining expressionless and yet becoming more carried away by Vandalieu's actions.
The Four Dead Sea Captains, who were once a pirate, a nobleman, a merchant and an adventurer, began to feel embarrassed.
Meanwhile, Vandalieu and the other members of the party had gathered around Pluto.
"Your Rank increased after you saw the eclipse?"
"Yes. Our Level had reached 100, so we were ready to increase Rank once the conditions were met," said Pluto, who was answering questions while floating in the air.
She looked completely different from Legion's original appearance of the sphere made of flesh mannequins entwined around each other.
Legion had been able to adjust themselves to take a human's size and shape, and each of their personalities had been able to separate themselves and act on their own. However, the current Pluto was a human in and of herself. Her face, her skin and her hair were all the real thing.
"We are now a Rank 11 Eclipse Legion. When our Rank increased, our Form Alteration Skill's Level increased a bunch, and thanks to it awakening into a Skill called Form Shifting, I've become able to take this form," Pluto continued. "We asked Kanako and the others to be sure, and it seems that we're exactly as we were in Origin."
"Wow. I saw you after I became an Undead in Origin, and you look the same other than the length of your hair," said Vandalieu.
In Origin, he had saved Pluto and the other experimental subjects after he turned into an Undead.
Pluto's appearance now was almost identical to the appearance she had back then.
"How strange, to see you for the first time despite having known each other for over a year," said Saria.
"By the way, what are these clothes?" asked Rita.
"They look like clothes, but they're a part of me, just with a different shape and color. Do you want to try touching them?" said Pluto.
Rita grasped the hem of Pluto's skirt, showing no signs of reservation. "Wow, you're right. It's soft! It's not cloth, it's like flesh made thin like cloth! Ah…" She suddenly seemed to think of something. "What about underneath the skirt? The parts that we can't see, are they like how they were originally?"
"… As for the underwear, the clothes seem to have been unconsciously recreated from the things that I wore often in Origin that left an impression on me, so I do think I'm wearing them. Not that I've checked," said Pluto. "I'm different from monsters that transform a part of themselves to disguise themselves as girls, so rest assured. But don't go checking."
"I see!" said Rita energetically.
"Rita! Come here. Sorry about that, Legion-san," said Saria, dragging Rita away.
"My daughter has been terribly rude," said Sam.
"By the way, what state are the rest of Legion's personalities in? Are they sleeping?" Vandalieu asked, changing the topic.
"No, we're awake," said Pluto in a male's voice.
Taking no notice of everyone's shock, different voices spoke one after another using Pluto's mouth.
"Jack and everyone else are the same as always. Right, Hitomi-chan?"
"Me and Jack have heard everything that Pluto has."
"We've just been quiet up until now. We only have one mouth, and we can't make more mouths while we're transformed, either."
"Our face is Pluto's face, after all! We've been considerate, thinking that it would only confuse everyone if we all talked!"
"Also, Pluto has control over our body right now. Not that it's absolute control, though."
According to Legion's words, Pluto was controlling their body as the primary personality, while the others were simply observing.
"So, can you take forms other than Pluto's?" asked Pauvina.
Pluto nodded. "We can. Give me a moment."
In the next moment, Pluto's body became distorted and turned back into a flesh-colored sphere. The sphere distorted again into the shape of a person, and this time, it was a tall, beautiful woman wearing military-style clothes.
With her golden hair swaying in the sea breeze, she joined her hands together behind her back and puffed out her plentiful chest. "Now then, who am I~?"
"Valkyrie," everyone said simultaneously.
"H-how did you know?! Even Vandalieu shouldn't know what I look like!" Valkyrie exclaimed, shocked that everyone, including Oniwaka who hadn't really spoken to her, had guessed her identity correctly.
"I mean, ignoring your appearance, your tone of speech is exactly the same," Vandalieu pointed out.
"Also, you often puff out your chest when you speak," said Sam.
Valkyrie was one of Legion's more talkative personalities, so her characteristics were well-known.
"I see! It can't be helped. Next!" she said.
"Eh, we're still doing this?" said Shade. "I mean, it's impossible for me. Even I have no idea what form I'll take."
"I'll pass, too," said Izanami. "My original form is a little…"
"Guoh," said Berserk.
"Alright!" said Valkyrie. "Shade and Izanami are out, so next is –"
"I think I would recognize Berserk. He's the only one who's a bear, after all. Also, if your form is determined by mental factors, it's possible that my Mental Encroachment Skill could make something happen. Should we try it?" suggested Vandalieu.
Mental Encroachment was ordinarily a Skill that allowed Vandalieu to encroach upon the minds of others and brainwash them, but it was also useful to perform mental healthcare. Vandalieu's suggestion was to utilize this positive aspect of the Mental Encroachment Skill.
"I'm happy that you're so eager, but how about you go and change Jobs first?" said Shade, speaking through Valkyrie's mouth.
By using Dead Spirit Magic to defeat Gyubarzo, the evil god of dark seas, Vandalieu had acquired a vast amount of Experience Points.
"You're right. I've already decided on my next Job, too," said Vandalieu.
"Has a Job that seems like it will give you muscles or something appeared, Vandalieu?" asked Oniwaka.
"No, I might not gain a lot of muscles, but it's a Job that other people might see in the near future, so I thought it best that I chose it before that happens," Vandalieu replied as he entered the Job-changing room in Sam's carriage that he had installed before clearing the Trial of Zakkart. "Now then, I wonder if it's still there?"
"Jobs that can be selected: Spirit Warrior, Whip Tongue Calamity, Vengeful Berserker, Dead Spirit Mage, Magic Cannoneer, Dark King Mage, Divine Enemy, Fallen Warrior, Insect Nin, Destruction Guider, Bestower, Dungeon Master, Demon King, Chaos Guider, Hollow King Mage, Eclipse Cursecaster, String User, Demon Ruler, Creator, Demiurge, Pale Rider, Tartarus"
Vandalieu nodded as he touched the crystal ball and saw the messages displayed inside his head, and then tilted his head in confusion. "I understand Tartarus being there since it's a part of Saria and Rita's race titles, but why Pale Rider? I don't even have the Mount Skill… Maybe it's because I transform using the Demon King's fragments?"
He remembered hearing the word 'Tartarus' in Greek mythology on Earth. He could understand it appearing in his list of available Jobs, as he possessed the divine protection of Earth's dark gods. He was also Saria and Rita's master.
But he couldn't understand why there was a Job named 'Pale Rider.'
… He would likely have recognized it if it were written in kanji as 'The Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse' rather than in katakana, however.
"Well, in any case, I select Magic Cannoneer as I originally planned.
"You have changed Jobs to Magic Cannoneer!"
"The Level of the 'Throwing' Skill has increased!"
"You have acquired the 'Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon' Skill!"
Name: Vandalieu Zakkart
Race: Dhampir (Dark Elf)
Age: 10 years old
Title:[Ghoul Emperor],[Eclipse Emperor],[Guardian of the Cultivation Villages],[Holy Son of Vida],[Scaled Emperor],[Tentacle Emperor],[Champion],[Demon King],[Oni Emperor],[Trial Conqueror],[Transgressor]
Job: Magic Cannoneer
Level: 0
Job history: Death-Attribute Mage, Golem Transmuter, Undead Tamer, Soul Breaker, Venom Fist User, Insect User, Tree Caster, Demon Guider, Archenemy, Zombie Maker, Golem Creator, Corpse Demon Commander, Demon King User, Dark Guider, Labyrinth Creator, Creation Guider, Dark Healer, Disease Demon
Attributes:Vitality: 24,530 (Increased by 13,505!)
Mana: 3,919,413,508 (+1,959,706,754) (Increased by total of 452,612,151!)
Strength: 2,334 (Increased by 177!)
Agility: 2,107 (Increased by 300!)
Stamina: 3,009 (Increased by 460!)
Intelligence: 5,581 (Increased by 679!)
Passive skills:Superhuman Strength: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
Rapid Regeneration: Level 6 (LEVEL UP!)
Dark King Magic: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Status Effect Resistance: Level 10
Magic Resistance: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
Dark Vision
Dark Demon Creation Path Enticement: Level 5
Chant Revocation: Level 7
Guidance: Dark Demon Creation Path: Level 6
Automatic Mana Recovery: Level 10
Strengthen Subordinates: Level 9
Venom Secretion (Claws, Fangs, Tongue): Level 9
Enhanced Agility: Level 5
Body Expansion (Tongue): Level 7
Strengthened Attack Power while Unarmed: Large
Enhanced Body Part (Hair, Claws, Tongue, Fangs): Level 8
Thread Refining: Level 6
Mana Enlargement: Level 5
Increased Mana Recovery Rate: Level 5 (LEVEL UP!)
Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon: Small (NEW!)
Active skills:Bloodwork: Level 4
Transcend Limits: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Golem Creation: Level 4
Hollow King Magic: Level 2 (LEVEL UP!)
Mana Control: Level 8
Spirit Form: Level 10
Cooking: Level 7
Alchemy: Level 10
Unarmed Fighting Technique: Level 9
Multi-cast: Level 9 (LEVEL UP!)
Long-distance Control: Level 10
Surgery: Level 8
Materialization: Level 8
Coordination: Level 8
High-speed Thought Processing: Level 10
Commanding: Level 9
Thread-reeling: Level 6
Throwing: Level 7 (LEVEL UP!)
Scream: Level 5
Dead Spirit Magic: Level 8 (LEVEL UP!)
Artillery Technique: Level 9
Shield Technique: Level 4
Armor Technique: Level 4
Group Binding Technique: Level 4
Surpass Limits: Fragments: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Unique skills:God Devourer: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Deformed Soul
Mental Encroachment: Level 8
Labyrinth Creation: Level 1
Demon King Fusion: Level 10
Abyss: Level 5
Divine Enemy
Soul Devour: Level 4 (LEVEL UP!)
Vida's Divine Protection
Earth's Dark Gods' Divine Protection
Group Thought Processing: Level 1
Demon King fragments:Blood
Horns
Suckers
Ink Sacs
Carapace
Scent glands
Luminescent organs
Blubber
Jaws
Eyeballs
Proboscis
Fur
Exoskeleton
Jointed legs
Antenna
Claws
CursesExperience gained in previous life not carried over
Cannot learn existing jobs
Unable to gain experience independently
He had recently asked Kanako and her companions to conduct performance tests on the matchlock firearms, and they were now trying to create fireworks from gunpowder. Even if this wasn't the case, Murakami and the other reincarnated individuals were still out there, so it was possible that they would begin using firearms as weapons and acquire the Magic Cannoneer Job first.
If that happened, it was possible that Vandalieu would become unable to acquire the Magic Cannoneer Job due to the 'Cannot learn existing Jobs' curse that he had. Thus, he had decided to acquire the Job before that happened.
"There are a bunch of other Jobs available, but just in case," Vandalieu said to himself, still unsure about how this new Job felt.
His 'Artillery Technique' Skill hadn't leveled up, and it was strange that his 'Throwing' Skill had leveled up for some reason, but he had acquired the 'Strengthened Attack Power while activating a Magic Cannon' Skill, and he was likely the first person in this world to do so.
It likely increased the attack power while using a magical cannon using a cannon barrel and projectiles made of the Demon King's fragments rather than using a regular gun or cannon.
"Could it be that you can't become a Magic Cannoneer by using ordinary firearms? If that's the case, doesn't that mean there was no need to choose this Job?" Vandalieu murmured, this possibility arising in the back of his mind.
However, this was something that he had only learned after acquiring the Job. He left the Job-changing room, telling himself there was no use in judging his decisions based on the results.
And so Cuatro crossed the Devil's Sea that surrounded the southern region of the continent, its oars driving it towards the Demon Continent where Zantark awaited Vandalieu and his companions. They spent the time playing Legion's "Who am I?" game and conducting cosmetic treatment (?) for Shade and Izanami.
In Origin, Shade had been a life-form consisting of only a mind that possessed corpses, and Izanami had a body covered in tumors; she didn't know what her own face looked like. Even with the Form Shifting Skill, they were unable to take a normal form.
Izanami took the form that she had in her previous life, and Shade took the shape of a human-shaped mass of flesh despite activating the Skill.
Vandalieu tried using the Mental Encroachment Skill to revive their memories of their own appearance before they were experimented on, while leaving their negative and sad memories forgotten.
This succeeded easily for Izanami, but Vandalieu learned that Shade had been experimented on since he was a baby, so he possessed almost no memory of his own appearance at all.
"So, should we set your appearance as the most impressionable among the bodies you possessed?" Vandalieu suggested.
"That would probably be the 'Oracle' Endou Kouya, so maybe not. I wonder if I could acknowledge an appearance that I imagine as my own appearance," said Shade.
"I think that's possible."
"Then I think it would be convenient if I had this form."
And so, Vandalieu changed Shade's appearance to one that he wanted.
Shade's appearance was that of someone in their early teenage years, reflecting his mental age, and it was a gender-neutral appearance that couldn't be said to be that of a boy or a girl. He had good facial features, but there were no real characteristics that could be called special, so his features could only really be described as "good." In other words, it was an average face.
It could also be described as the face of a background character.
"Being under disguise with this appearance would be fun. I don't know if there will be any need for us to be under disguise in the future, but it wouldn't hurt to have one appearance that could be used for it," Shade said.
It was a choice that could be expected from Shade, who was not particularly obsessed with the appearance of his body despite being interested in experiencing eating and sleeping now after going so long without a body.
And so, February came. As March approached, the strange-looking form of the Demon Continent became visible from Cuatro's deck.
"A month and a half of traveling on while Teleporting back and forth from Talosheim. It was faster than I expected," said Vandalieu.
Cuatro had arrived at the Demon Continent considerably earlier than the ship of the Storm of Tyranny, which had departed the harbors of the marine nation of Galahad.
The large reasons behind this were the sea chart that had been given to them, even though it was simplified, and the fact that the oars had been rowing continuously with Leo pulling Cuatro forward.
"But you were quite late, weren't you, Owner?" said the former pirate ship captain.
"There was quite a lot of paperwork today," said Vandalieu.
He was making day-trips back and forth from the ship, so naturally, he was still doing his work as the emperor of Talosheim.
"But the Demon Continent… it's quite the strange place," Vandalieu remarked.
"The entire continent and the ocean around it are one big Devil's Nest. It would be stranger if it looked normal, Master," said Luciliano, who was animatedly taking notes.
He had arrived via Teleportation with Vandalieu this morning, wanting to see the Demon Continent that, like the Boundary Mountain Range, was unexplored territory for humans.
The scene before him was enough to make one feel dizzy from how strange it was, even from looking at it from the distance.
On the right side of Cuatro's deck was an icy sea with drift ice floating on its poisonous-looking, purple surface, while the sea on the left side was boiling and bubbling.
The continent beyond this sea had sandy dunes with Sand Worms swimming through the sand, grasslands with seven-colored grass that writhed unnaturally, and fiery forest overgrown with trees whose leaves were constantly burning.
The region within the Boundary Mountain Range was like a mosaic of different Devil's Nests jumbled together, but it did not have strangely-altered lands like this. The Demon Continent looked as if the floors of a Dungeon had somehow escaped outside to form a continent.
"Though both are unexplored lands to humans, I think that the Demon Continent is far more dangerous than the region inside the Boundary Mountain Range. Normal humans could never have enough lives to survive trying to survey it," said Vandalieu.
"Yeah. Even though the region inside the Boundary Mountain Range is unexplored to humans, we and the rest of the people live there," said Oniwaka.
The Devil's Nests inside the Boundary Mountain Range had countless dangerous monsters, but the environments themselves were not particularly dangerous. They were not pleasant, but it was possible to travel through them if sufficiently well-prepared.
But the Demon Continent had multiple environments that were as different from each other as the floors of the Trial of Zakkart. And unlike Dungeons, it was unlikely that there would be any safe zones.
"It's amazing that the founders of our races live here. And the adventurer called Schneider who found Zantark and Farmaun Gold on the Demon Continent… There's no doubt that he has a lot of muscle," Oniwaka continued.
"Yes. Dalton is still the only member that I've met directly, but he had wonderful muscles," said Vandalieu.
"If you're saying that, Vandalieu, then he must have good muscles that are trained both for appearance and practical use. But I'm more interested in the legendary Pure-breed Vampire, Zorcodrio-sama… If you ever meet him, could you get his autograph for me as well?" said Oniwaka.
"Of course. I hope we can meet Zorcodrio-sama soon," Vandalieu replied.
Zorcodrio was a Pure-breed Vampire who had already possessed muscles that covered his body like armor for over a hundred thousand years. He had acquired the Muscle Technique Skill that allowed him to use his muscles not only as weapons, but to generate electricity as well. In a way, he was a legendary figure inside the Boundary Mountain Range.
To Vandalieu and Oniwaka, who admired muscles, he was like a superstar.
"No, I don't think one could reach the Demon Continent and survive on it with muscles alone…" Luciliano muttered. "Gufadgarn, do you know anything about this continent?"
Gufadgarn thought for a moment. "My knowledge does not include an accurate history of it. However, I can offer my conjectures."
"That would be plenty," said Luciliano.
"I believe that this is the second continent that the Demon King Guduranis intended to invade after the continent that he used as his base. Thus, it became the battlefield upon which the gods of this world fought against the Demon King's army… It is thought that the flesh and blood of the gods and the evil gods raining upon the land and polluting it with dense Mana is the primary reason that the Demon Continent is in the state that it is in today," Gufadgarn explained.
There were also other causes of the Demon Continent's pollution that Gufadgarn suspected. Alda and Vida had not possessed the resources to purify the continent after the battle with the Demon King ended, forcing them to simply abandon it. As a result, remnants of the Demon King's army such as Ravovifard, the evil god of release, had settled in on this land. Even Zantark isolating himself here after fusing with evil gods had likely contributed to the Demon Continent becoming a Devil's Nest.
With that said, Zantark isolating himself and the members of Vida's races he had brought with him culling the monsters had likely prevented the Devil's Nest spreading beyond the seas around the Demon Continent.
"Vandalieu, it seems that Kanako and the others have finished setting up," said Legion's Pluto, calling out to Vandalieu, who was still tripped out by the Demon Continent.
Activating and maintaining the Form Shift Skill didn't have anything like a Mana Cost, but long periods of time caused stress. It apparently tired Legion, similar to wearing overly-formal clothes.
Also… They seemed to have become too accustomed to their mass-of-flesh form and forgotten how to walk like humans.
"You say setting up, but it's not really all that much work," said Kanako.
"We just need Doug to hold the firework sphere," said Melissa.
On Cuatro's deck, a little separated from them, was Doug. He was holding a sphere about the size of a cannonball… the firework that they had created.
"You guys… This is more difficult than it looks, you know. I'm not Vandalieu," said Doug.
"We know that," said Kanako. "So, what are we going to do? I think the sun is going to set soon, so should we wait until it gets dark?"
"Oi! Shouldn't you check that before making me prepare?!" Doug demanded.
"It's fine, isn't it? You have some nice back muscles despite your young age, after all," said Kanako.
"What kind of reason is that?!" Doug shouted as Vandalieu and Oniwaka stared at his "promising" back muscles.
It seemed that his lean, flexible, impressive body had been acknowledged by the muscle admirers.
"If you don't want to be looked at, you could have put some proper clothes on," said Melissa, pointing out the fact that it was Doug's own fault for being in an almost half-naked state.
"Well, we're on the southern seas, so I can understand being hot when we're not going into the icy sea Devil's Nest," said Kanako; even she and Melissa were dressed in considerably thin clothes.
However, Vandalieu decided that they couldn't stand around enjoying Doug's muscles forever. "No, let's fire it now," he said, looking up at the sky. "There's still that burning forest, so it might not be that visible even after it turns dark. I'm sure they'll notice us if it makes some loud noises, though."
"Alright," said Doug. "Let's get things started right away, then! 'Hecatoncheir!'"
He lit the fuse of the firework with magic, threw them directly above him and used Hecatoncheir to send it flying even higher, straight up into the sky.
A few seconds later, the firework exploded about five hundred meters up with a bang, scattering red sparks into the air.
"So this is a firework… yet another of Zakkart's wishes have come true," murmured Gufadgarn, emotional tears running down her expressionless face. "This is magnificent, Doug, Kanako, Melissa."
"Technically, it's a little different from a firework, though," said Doug, stretching his shoulders.
The three of them had succeeded in creating a firework that scattered sparks into the air when detonated, but… they had been unable to prepare the gunpowder needed to send the firework into the air.
If lit, it would simply explode on the ground's surface. In other words, they had technically only created a bomb that exploded in a pretty way. They had seen TV programs and such that described how fireworks were made, and they had gained a rough knowledge of how to build and dismantle bombs when they were in the army.
However, what they had learned was really only rough knowledge. They had no experience in actually making bombs.
After they joined the Eighth Guidance, the weapons and ammunition they had used were black market items and ready-made goods that they had seized. In fact, Baba Yaga possessed the ability to combust and explode dead organic matter, so she had been in charge of explosive work, not Kanako's group.
It was also possible that there was some kind of problem being caused by the fact that they were using a mixture of knowledge from Earth and Origin to create fireworks in Lambda.
Regardless of the cause, they were unable to create proper fireworks at this stage, so they were dependent on Doug's Hecatoncheir telekinesis ability.
"Well, I suppose we've managed to send a signal? If it doesn't work, someone else do the next one. It's pretty tiring to throw these things straight upwards and sending them that high," said Doug.
"Juoh, now that I think about it, perhaps Leo's howl would be loud enough?" suggested Bone Man.
"I think that is quite the good idea, Bone Man, except that it might simply be mistaken for a monster's howl and ignored," said Luciliano.
"Well, let's wait and see first, and try again if there's no response," said Vandalieu. "We might attract some monsters, but let's try making a sign in the night sky with the Demon King's luminescent organs next."
As they discussed how they should send a signal to Zantark and Farmaun Gold who were somewhere on the Demon Continent to let them know that they were here, the sky gradually grew darker.
Just as the sun sank, a dim moon appeared in the sky and Vandalieu and his companions were considering sending another firework, a part of the burning forest suddenly split apart.
Between the burning trees was a female Colossus clad in ancient-looking armor, a bow in her hand.
Job explanation:
Disease Demon
Rather than being a Job specialized for handling diseases, this is a Job for a person who is able to create pathogens inside their own body and can transform into a pathogen himself. However, one cannot acquire the Job without knowing of the existence of bacteria and viruses.
As for Attribute Values, it provides little bonuses to Strength, but provides large bonuses to Vitality, Intelligence and Stamina. It provides bonuses to leveling up the Long-distance Control Skill, and if the Job is acquired when this Skill is already at a high Level, it is possible that it awakens into a new Skill.