Shun 3
The evil god D was really Wakaba.
That was a shock, of course.
I think all the other reincarnations must have been just as surprised as I was.
Except for Fei, who somehow accepted it right away.
But after the initial shock, it started to make sense to me as we spoke.
It was as if I finally had an explanation for why something about the ivory god seemed off.
The ivory god definitely looked and seemed like Wakaba, but there was always a strange disconnect that I couldn’t quite explain.
Fei must have sensed it even more strongly than I did.
As I thought back to the elf village, I remembered that she was staring intensely at the ivory god the whole time.
She must have been suspicious of her even then.
Still, I don’t know what to make of the claim that the ivory god’s true identity is a spider.
That must be Wakaba’s idea of a joke, I guess.
Then, next thing you know, we wind up having to fight her…
“Mr. Hyrince?!”
Right away, Hyrince jumps out and takes a hit that was aimed at me.
By the time he hits the ground, there’s a huge hole in his chest, gushing an endless stream of blood.
It’s a fatal wound—no, he must be dead already.
“You should really pay better attention.”
A voice next to my ear sends a shiver down my spine.
Ah, I’m dead.
That’s my first and only thought.
But I didn’t die.
“Quit spacing out, will you?!”
Something sends me spinning away through the air.
For a moment, I don’t know what happened, until I catch sight of Wakaba and Sophia clashing in my whirling vision.
The shock waves of their impact with each other must have sent me flying.
Is this fight really so intense that just being near it could knock you out?
“Urgh…!”
I manage to right myself before I hit the ground, landing on my feet.
But that’s the most I can do. It doesn’t seem like I could set foot anywhere near that fight.
Sophia attacks with her giant broadsword, while Wakaba deflects it with twin blades that I didn’t see her holding before.
As the broadsword swings down, her attack also freezes their surroundings—except for Wakaba herself, who stays unaffected with a cool expression.
Then a barrage of swords rains down on Wakaba.
Just as Sophia jumps away, the swords hit their target and explode.
I can feel the blast of heat on my face.
It’s like a volley of missiles.
That was an attack from Kyouya’s exploding magic swords.
Each of them packs unbelievable explosive power, and he’s raining them down on Wakaba without holding anything back.
Even from this far away, it feels like the fiery heat might burn my skin.
I’m sure even Wakaba won’t be able to stand up to such a strong attack.
…But a moment later, Wakaba calmly strolls out from the heart of the blaze.
“Monster…”
Fei stares at Wakaba, looking shaken.
How can she seriously say that this is her holding back as much as she can?
I don’t see how we can possibly beat her.
At the very least, I doubt any of my attacks would lay a scratch on her.
In fact, I can’t keep up with her movements at all.
I probably wouldn’t even be able to hit her with an attack, never mind dodge any of hers.
If I tried to jump in, I’d only get in Kyouya’s and Sophia’s way.
It’s no use. Clearly, I’m not fit to be an attacker in this fight.
So instead…!
I race over to where Hyrince is lying on the ground.
His eyes are unseeing, and his chest has already stopped moving.
He’s dead.
But I have a skill that can change that!
My Mercy skill, which allows me to bring the dead back to life!
I activate the skill and begin reviving Hyrince.
Little by little, the hole in his chest begins to close.
But it’s happening too slowly.
While the Mercy skill can bring the dead back to life, such an extraordinary power comes with plenty of restrictions.
It won’t work on a body that’s too damaged, and there’s a time limit, too.
You can only revive someone right after they’ve been killed.
Please! Let this work!
As time creeps by slowly, the hole finally closes up completely, and Hyrince’s body convulses at once.
“Nng? Huh? Am I…?”
“Mr. Hyrince! Are you all right?!”
“Shun? What happened? Ah, that’s right! Something pierced my chest?!”
Hyrince quickly sits up and puts a hand to his chest.
“There’s no wound? Was I dreaming or something?”
“No, I used my Mercy skill to bring you back.”
Mr. Hyrince gives me a look of surprise.
“Really? Then you saved my life. Thank you.”
“Not at all. I don’t think there’s anything else I can do in this fight.”
I glance toward the battle unfolding a short distance away.
Sophia and Kyouya are working together to attack Wakaba.
Sophia’s broadsword, red liquid, and ice bear down on Wakaba mercilessly, along with Kyouya’s magic swords, fire, and lightning.
Yet Wakaba still appears to be fending them off unharmed.
Even though all those attacks look strong enough to obliterate me without a trace…
“…I don’t think I can jump into that fray, either.”
“Yeah…”
Mr. Hyrince and I nod at each other.
“So I’m going to try to support them as a combat medic. You know, with my Mercy skill.”
“No, wait! You can’t do that!”
For some reason, Hyrince forcefully objects.
But using the Mercy skill is the best I can do right now…
“The Mercy skill comes at an enormous cost.”
“Yes, I know. It raises your Taboo skill level, right? But mine is already maxed out, so it doesn’t matter anymore.”
“No! There’s another, much bigger price!”
So there’s an additional cost I don’t know about besides the no-longer-relevant Taboo skill?
Judging by Hyrince’s intense expression, it must be something fairly serious.
But I haven’t felt any symptoms yet…
“Listen carefully, you hear me? Every time the Mercy skill is used, it erodes the user’s soul. That’s how difficult it is to revive the dead. In other words, the more you use it, the more your soul is worn away. If you reach your limit, your soul could be destroyed forever.”
“What? You’re kidding, right?”
“It’s true.”
The cost is so severe that I blurt out a doubtful question in a near-hysterical voice, only for Hyrince to respond with a dead serious look in his eyes.
He’s clearly not joking about this.
So that means every time I use my Mercy skill, my soul gets closer to destruction?
“I don’t know how much of your soul has been eroded now. But if you use it too much, it’ll definitely have a negative affect on your next life. Hell, it could even affect your current one.”
The blood drains from my face.
So all this time, whenever I’ve used this Mercy skill to save other people’s lives, I’ve been shortening my own?
…Isn’t that a small price to pay, then?
“Mr. Hyrince, even so, I’ll keep using the Mercy skill.”
“Shun?!”
“My life isn’t nearly enough to save half of humanity.”
It’s just like Wakaba said earlier.
My life alone wouldn’t be a fair trade for the lives of half of humanity.
“But if it can save the lives of several others, that’s a great deal, don’t you think?”
I’m scared of my soul getting worn away, of course.
But I can’t let that stop me from using the Mercy skill now.
I came here prepared to face the consequences, just like I told the Demon Lord.
“Now that is admirable indeed.”
Just then, the light dragon Byaku unwinds himself from my arm.
Then he wraps around the arm of Sue, who I didn’t realize was standing nearby.
“I shall lend you my strength, girlchild. If you care for this boy, fight for all you are worth.”
“Byaku?!”
“Envoy of my lord, do you not think this a fitting battle to bet one’s life upon? Indeed, if not now, then when am I to ever venture that risk?”
“But still…”
“Girlchild, thou shalt lessen the number of lives lost in this battle, that we might reduce the burden on this boy.”
“…All right. For my dear brother.”
“Wait a minute! Sue?!”
“I will lay my life on the line just as you have, Brother.”
With that, Sue runs away.
And with such speed, too?!
That’s definitely faster than she was ever able to move before.
Is this the “strength” Byaku said he was going to lend her?
“What kind of dragon is Mr. Byaku, exactly?”
“He specializes in support. He can enhance someone else’s stats, as you see now, and can also use Healing Magic. Little Miss Sue’s stats are probably somewhere in the tens of thousands now.”
Say what?!
“What’s truly terrifying is how easily Sue is handling that massive boost in her stats. Most people would fall all over themselves if they tried to wield power that was given to them so suddenly, and here she is controlling it with ease. I guess she really is a prodigy.”
Just as Hyrince says, Sue is already attacking Wakaba without the slightest hint of awkwardness in her movements.
She’s always been a true prodigy, able to keep up with me all along, even though I had the huge head start of being a reincarnation from birth.
Her instincts are a whole lot better than mine.
It gives me hope that she might even be able to handle a fight against Wakaba.
“If you and Sue are so determined to fight, I suppose I’d better follow your lead, too.”
“Katia?”
“Come on, work!”
Katia mutters something to herself.
Has she decided to do something in this battle, too?
“There it goes!”
Her face lights up with satisfaction.
“There what goes?”
“Appraise me and see for yourself.”
Blinking in confusion, I follow her instruction and do so.
And then…
“Wait, wha—?!”
There’s something strange about the information that pops up before my eyes.
Her skill list is far shorter than it should be.
“Huh?!”
I let out another exclamation of surprise when I see one of those few skills.
[Chastity].
It’s one of the Seven Heavenly Virtue skills, a ruler skill.
“You’re aware of my unique skill, are you not?”
At that, it all finally comes together.
Katia’s unique skill is called Conversion.
It’s a weird skill, one she always complained was basically useless.
The effect: It can turn a skill back into skill points.
In short, it lets you reallocate your skill points.
But the exchange rate isn’t 100 percent. The more you use it, the less beneficial it becomes.
So Katia decided to keep this skill locked away, and never used it once.
But now, looking at her current state, it’s clear what she decided to do.
“You finally used Conversion?”
“Precisely. Though I lost most of my skills in the process.”
Most of Katia’s skills are gone.
All that’s really left is Chastity and the handful of skills gained from the Ruler of Chasity title she acquired as a result.
Since her stat-improving skills are all gone, too, her stats have even gone down a little.
They’re still easily over a thousand, on average, making her stronger than most ordinary soldiers.
But in this particular battle, stats like that are practically worthless.
Even my usually impressive stats and skills would only slow our side down, after all.
That must be why Katia decided to convert all her skills back into points and bet everything on the Chastity skill, which might just come in handy.
“Mr. Hyrince, are you familiar with the Chastity skill, by chance?”
“Chastity is a barrier-based ability. Its defense is even higher than a Divine Dragon Barrier.”
“Why, that’s exactly right! So without further ado, I’ll serve as our tank. I shan’t let you get so much as a single scratch, Shun!”
Now this is promising.
I’ll be the healer, and Katia will be the tank.
This way, maybe we can at least be helpful as support, even if we can’t do anything as attackers?
“Well, that’s just great. Now I’ve lost my role as the tank.”
Mr. Hyrince’s giant shield was obliterated by that first attack.
I guess it was as good as a piece of paper on this kind of battlefield, anyway.
It didn’t stop Hyrince from being killed by that strike to the chest.
“But I guess it’s a good thing I came with a little insurance.”
A sly grin spreads across Hyrince’s face.
Then, three magic circles appear around him.
Is he…summoning something?
Sure enough, three summons appear: Wind Dragon Hyuvan, Ice Dragon Nia, and Dark Dragon Reise.
“Huh? But how?”
“I made a familiar contract with each of them before we came here. So that I could summon them in case anything happened.”
“You got it, boss man!”
“Oh dear. I was rather hoping I wouldn’t have to do anything…”
“Well? I assume you wouldn’t have summoned us unless something rather serious was afoot, hmm?”
Hyuvan looks amped up, Nia heaves a lazy sigh, and Reise peers at where the others are fighting Wakaba with great interest.
“Some crazy stuff went down, and now we’re fighting the evil god D. If we beat her, we get a happy ending.”
“Thanks for the short and simple explanation.”
“So we just gotta jump into that there shootout and lay the beatdown on the stranger, yeah?! Wait, why’s that one look like a funky copy of the white spider dame?!”
“That’s the evil god D! Go defeat her!”
“I suppose that is easy to follow, but wasn’t there any more eloquent way to put it?”
“There’s no time for a more detailed explanation. I’m counting on you three!”
“Gotcha! Let’s do this!”
Hyuvan takes his dragon form and goes charging into the fray.
Nia transforms as well, slinking over reluctantly.
“Heh. A happy ending, eh? HOW THRILLING.”
Reise’s tone changes partway through the statement.
Looking over, I see something like a half-human, half-dragon.
Is that their dragon form?
We watch as Reise leaps after the others.
“Well, that summoning used up all my MP. There’s nothing else I can do now. Pretty useless, huh?”
Despite his self-abasing words, Mr. Hyrince looks satisfied.
“I was able to summon those three, thanks to you reviving me, Shun. But I’m of no further use now. So if I die again from here on out, you don’t need to revive me. I wouldn’t be any use to you anyway.”
Hyrince’s broad smile is at odds with his absurd request.
“…I can’t do that. I decided to win this fight without losing anyone, remember? So I won’t let anyone die. If you do, I’ll bring you back.”
Saying it aloud reminds me of what I have to do.
“So please do your best not to die, all right?”
“Honestly…my adoptive little brother has turned out to be awfully greedy. And unreasonably demanding, to boot.”
Hyrince chuckles and shakes his head.
But then his expression turns serious, and he starts issuing orders.
“Shun, you’ll use your Mercy skill to bring back anyone who dies. Miss Yuri and Ms. Oka will be in charge of healing otherwise. Ms. Oka, you have the Charity skill, correct?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Ms. Oka nods at Hyrince’s question.
“That means you can use Miracle Magic, yes? So you should handle the seriously wounded, while Miss Yuri can deal with lighter wounds. But your roles should be flexible, depending on the situation, of course.”
Miracle Magic is the advanced version of Healing Magic, able to heal wounds that the unevolved version can’t handle.
This magic comes with acquiring the Ruler of Charity skill.
“Ms. Oka’s Charity skill has the effect of improving the regenerative abilities of anyone it deems to be her allies. Wounds that aren’t instantly fatal should be fairly manageable. If someone does get instantly killed, that’s where you come in, Shun.”
Charity is one of the Seven Heavenly Virtue skills, which apparently gives any of the user’s allies the equivalent of HP Ultra-Fast Recovery LV 1.
As long as they don’t die, they should recover from wounds at a remarkable rate.
I’ve never experienced the effects for myself before, probably because I didn’t usually get wounded when we were working alongside Ms. Oka.
…At least, I hope it wasn’t because she didn’t consider us allies at the time.
“Ms. Oka, please think of everyone here as allies except for D, as strongly as you can. If you aren’t confident enough, the skill might not register them as allies.”
“Understood!”
Wait…does that mean maybe we really weren’t registered as allies before?
N-no, I’m sure it’s just that I never got injured in front of her.
That’s got to be it.
“Miss Katia, you protect the rest of us with your barrier. Miss Fei, you’ll be our transport.”
“But of course!”
“Right. Not like there’s much else I can do anyway.”
Katia responds with enthusiasm, while Fei sounds a little relieved.
I don’t know how powerful Katia’s barrier is exactly, but with our stats, a single hit from Wakaba would be enough to kill any of us.
Katia’s barrier has to be able to ward off Wakaba’s attacks or it’ll all be over.
And Fei will use her size and speed to bring us to the dead or wounded.
It’s a role only she can manage.
“…So there’s nothin’ for me to do, huh?”
As we all figure out our roles, Natsume is just standing there.
With his abilities…honestly, I’m not sure there’s much he can contribute.
Natsume’s brainwashing with his Lust skill, while powerful, is more useful for long-term strategies than head-on battles like this one.
It was the same way when I fought him.
He needs to use it on someone repeatedly over a long period of time to successfully brainwash them.
And his other ruler skill, Greed, has the incredible effect of absorbing the abilities of any enemies he defeats…which still hasn’t been enough to make him stronger than I am.
And if I’m not any use on this battlefield, Natsume must be even less so…
“Guess you and me will be a burden together, brother.”
Hyrince slings an arm around Natsume’s shoulder.
“Don’t ever call me that again.”
Natsume cringes away from Hyrince, scowling.
“Well, let’s just try and do whatever we can, anyway.”
Undeterred, Hyrince claps Natsume on the back reassuringly.
Just then, two giant creatures appear.
“No way!”
Queen taratects.
Two imposing legendary-class monsters tower over us.
Demon Lord Ariel must have summoned them!
On top of that, more summoning circles appear all around the queen taratects.
Soon, an entire swarm of spider monsters is being summoned.
“Wow. They’re terrifying as an enemy, but it sure is reassuring to see them on our side.”
Hyrince whistles as he watches the spiders continue to multiply.
“Looks like they’re going all-out, too.”
“Agreed.”
The Demon Lord must be just as determined as we are to beat Wakaba.
Then we’d better make sure we give it our all, too.
So we can win it all and finally give this world a happy ending.
But despite my hopes, even as Sophia, Kyouya, Sue, and the ancient dragon chiefs all attack fiercely, Wakaba still stands there unharmed.
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