Dozens of wraiths vanished without a trace in a single strike. Clean.
Blood-red spikes gleamed with life, then melted away. An empty clearing was all that remained. Jeanne stared round-eyed, waiting for Yuda’s reply. He said nothing.
She wished he would say something. Wondering why he stayed silent, she tightened her grip on shield and lance as the wraiths pressed in. It didn’t look like she needed to move.
At some point Yuda’s daggers had already been thrown. Several were buried wherever the wraiths reached.
Papapat!
The moment a wraith crossed over them, spikes erupted. Again and again the wraiths were skewered. A few were not entirely witless and broke off from the pack to approach from other angles, but Jeanne still did not need to intervene.
Daggers were already lodged there as well.
Nothing remained where the spikes had surged. It vanished like dust wiped away with a rag.
In an instant.
Hundreds of wraiths disappeared from Jeanne’s sight. A handful of the dead, oddly lucky, stretched out their hands toward her. At last it was her turn.
“Let me finish the rest.”
“Understo— Yuda?”
As she moved to take point, rough breathing cut through the rain. She turned and saw Yuda, hands on his knees, panting. He lifted a hand as if to say he was fine, showing his face.
He looked a shade pale. No way that kind of power came without a price.
“I’ll handle what’s left. Please rest.”
Jeanne strode forward, set her shield, and stomped hard. With a boom, mana burst off her body and splattered like mud in every direction. A blue light rose from her like a pillar. The wraiths’ eyes and malice turned toward her. There were not many left. She could handle them alone.
—!
She brought her lance down like a club on a wraith. There was no crisp thud, yet the mana-wreathed lance crushed a wraith’s form into the floor. Jeanne lifted her boot and burst its body underfoot.
Wraiths had no answer to the club-like sweeps of her lance. They walked the path of dissolution. Slower than Yuda, but she cleared them fast.
Only a few scum-like wraiths remained, clinging to the green barrier protecting the building. Either ignorant or uncaring that their kin were gone, they poured all attention into the barrier.
“Are you alright, Yuda?”
Jeanne turned to him. He looked much better than before and nodded to her question.
“I’m fine. It was just harder to handle than I expected.”
Altemia’s skill 〈Domination〉 demanded more stamina than he thought. Maybe the wraiths’ vitality wasn’t much, or maybe he hadn’t absorbed enough. Using it twice had already emptied him.
There were many wraiths. The barrier could have shattered at any time. Yuda had no choice but to offer his own stamina to trigger 〈Domination〉. The power was certain, but if he used it carelessly like just now, it could just as easily kill him.
“Was that really a Fragment… Forget I said that.”
“…Let’s go finish this.”
About twenty wraiths still clung to the barrier. Cutting down enemies with their backs exposed was easy.
“Did we get them all?”
As soon as he said it, the barrier collapsed. One wraith had remained. With a giddy, grotesque laugh, a wraith slipped through the roof and into the building. Too late for the door. Yuda grabbed Jeanne, who was about to sprint, and pointed at the wall.
“Jeanne. Break it.”
“Understood.”
They didn’t know how many people were inside. Given a wraith’s trait of phasing through walls, people were likely gathered in the center. Breaking the wall would not injure anyone.
Kwang!
Jeanne’s mana-wrapped lance smashed the wall with a thunderous bang. “Kyaa,” “Aargh” and other colorful screams rang out, but for having let in a single wraith the interior looked surprisingly intact. As they moved to step inside, a sharp kiai came with a sword slashing down.
“Back.”
Jeanne stepped forward with her shield. Wet plate crushed broken wood underfoot and held her firm. With a clang, the man swinging the sword was the one who bounced back.
“A wraith… with a shield? W-who are you! If you live, enter. If you are dead, get out!”
“…What nonsense.”
Could a wraith break in through a wall. Not impossible.
Muttering, Yuda followed Jeanne inside.
So quiet.
He had clearly seen one wraith slip in through the roof. Yet the people inside only feared Yuda and Jeanne for breaking the wall. Nothing else moved. Adventurers who had been staying in the hall pointed swords at the pair and kept wary watch. That was all.
Is the priest among them. I don’t see her…
Hm. Or she already dealt with it. That could be.
While Yuda shrugged off his robe, Jeanne lowered her shield and lance and addressed the sword-bearing adventurers.
“We missed one wraith outside. Did anyone see it?”
“You missed one? We didn’t see anything. And who are you two.”
“We are adventurers with business in this village. On the way we met a hunter who asked for help, so we hurried ahead. We cleared all the wraiths outside except one, so you need not worry.”
At Jeanne’s courteous words, one adventurer frowned in puzzlement.
“Sorry, I don’t follow. Could you tell us where it came in. We were keeping a proper perimeter.”
“We saw it go in through the roof.”
“The roof? Then…”
Flustered, the adventurer looked up. Naturally, the eyes of those eavesdropping followed. A brightly glowing magic lamp hung from the ceiling. Now that they were inside, the building was clearly two stories.
“Is anyone on the second floor?”
At their dazed reactions, an adventurer’s lips trembled.
“T-the priestess!”
“Idiots.”
Yuda spat the word and scanned the surroundings. He found the stairs and sprinted. Taking the steps two at a time, he heard a heavy thud of something being slammed. The room the sound came from had its door shut tight. Of course it was locked. He was about to kick it when he saw Jeanne arriving and stepped aside. No words were needed. Just like when she broke the house’s outer wall, Jeanne hammered the wall with her lance.
Crack-crash!
They stepped into a room as splinters flew. The sight that greeted them was wholly unexpected. A priest in a nun’s habit was pinning a girl’s head to the floor.
“Oh my. New faces… You don’t look like you’re possessed by a wraith.”
Pressing the silent girl’s head down like snuffing a cigarette, she wobbled to her feet. Her aura was sultry, not priestly. The habit looked like a modified nun outfit. A short skirt that showed her figure, a white garter belt, a veil. She tilted her head.
“Ah. I do hope you mean no harm.”
She started to collapse. Yuda stepped in and caught her. Adventurers and townsfolk who arrived late cried out, “Priestess!”
〈Save Cheriu Village 2〉
[Though you missed the last wraith and nearly put the priest at risk, the fact that you saved this village does not change.]
[People are too unsettled to grasp it now, but in time they will recognize you as their benefactor and thank you.]
[Level +1. Mana Resistance +1. This includes companions.]
[You have gained a chance to recruit the priest as a companion.]
At the quest completion message, Yuda let out a sigh of relief. The one they missed really had been the last. He handed the priest to an adventurer who looked like her ally. The man held her and then looked around in a panic, pathetic and clueless. Only when people around him said to move her did he finally act. Yuda frowned at the absurd sight. They looked like bumbling recruits.
Why is she traveling with people like that.
She could maintain a barrier that kept wraiths at bay for ten days, and had the means to defend herself from possession within it. She was at least a mid-tier priest.
A companion.
The quest reward had apparently opened a chance to recruit her. Should he seize it. With a priest’s healing and blessings, she would surely help. When she woke, he would probe gently.
“Good work, Yuda. It seems the village is safe now.”
“You too, Jeanne. Let’s head down.”
“Yes.”
She desummoned her armor and lance, and smiled softly through the rain. Descending the stairs with her, Yuda checked his Status Window.
──────────────────────
〈Status Window〉
[Name: Yuda Arche]
[Title: Little Hero of Serenia Castle (2)]
[Level: 25]
[Class: Black Claw _ Shadow Magic Swordsman (Hidden_A)]
[Revival Count: 2]
[Strength: 42 (C) / Potential A]
[Health: 42 (C) / Potential S]
[Agility: 44 (C) / Potential SS]
[Mana: 44 (C) / Potential B]
[Mana Resistance: 54 (C) / Potential S]
[Charisma: 5 (F) / Potential A]
[Knowledge: 17 (F) / Potential B] ◀ Special
[Luck: 84 (A) / Potential S] ◀ Special
[Remaining Points: 10]
──────────────────────
He had gained 1 level from slaying wraiths, and another from the quest reward.
Level 25.
Would that be enough to clear 〈The Nightmare of Kalypso〉. With two Fragments in hand it seemed plausible, yet he was not certain. The quest had ended in success, but unease lingered as he stepped down to the first floor and felt the gazes of those who remained.
