Author's Note
The chapter boss has arrived. This chapter is almost over.
Clearly, Orihara is a greater threat...
Two days had passed since I attacked the Sky King Beast while it was sleeping. The Phoenix Tamo-san, heading towards the center of the world. It would be faster to ride on Sky King Beast Tamo-san, but the jet hole was so close that it's noisy. No matter how fast it was, I didn't intend to fly in such a noisy environment.
Neither Hollow Beastss nor Graymen appeared for the past two days, but today I finally discovered the next Hollow Beast. Judging from Orihara's comments, it seemed that from here on out, the Hollow Beastss would be more concentrated than ever before. Experience points, experience points.
Oh, on a side note, the Hollow Beast I found was One-eyed Giant. Its name was different, but it looked exactly the same as the one I fought before. The monster graphics were completely reused, not even in different colors.
"Yeah, there are more than I thought." (Jin)
Two hours after discovering a Hollow Beast near the center of the world, I couldn't help but mutter at the sheer number of Hollow Beastss.
"Orihara said it was crowded, so I knew it really was crowded, but... I never thought there'd be no time to rest." (Jin)
"When you're fighting one Hollow Beast, another one will be coming your way, right?" (Maria)
"... *nods*" (Grayman)
If they fought Hollow Beastss as Maria said, other Hollow Beastss would notice and come after them, turning into a continuous battle with no time to rest. Even though a Hollow Beast wasn't particularly strong and Maria and I could easily defeat it, this was still a bit of a hassle. By the way, Tamo-san was protecting the Graymen, so we didn't have to worry.
I had now almost completely wiped out the surrounding Hollow Beastss, and there were no more within range of where I could hear the sounds of combat. It had been two hours straight since I had fought the first one. Orihara was talking about density and stuff, but I think the density is already sufficient at this point...
"It's not like any new Hollow Beastss will appear, and since we fed the One-eyed Giant and Divine Wolf to Tamo-san, there's no reason to fight Hollow Beastss anymore. In other words, all that's left is to wipe them out." (Jin)
"Extermination, I understand." (Maria)
"... *?*" (Grayman)
And so, while riding on the Phoenix Tamo-san, Maria and I were tasked with the simple job of firing Flying Slash from the air towards the ground. Occasionally, a Phoenix or a Sky King Beast would appear, but you could imagine how significant that was.
"With so many Hollow Beastss, the experience points are really high." (Jin)
"I've now surpassed level 1000." (Maria)
As we leveled up, the experience points required to reach the next level increased. However, the overwhelming number of Hollow Beastss didn't seem to care about that and it just kept raising our level. This is definitely a bonus stage. Thank you very much.
"Hmm, I had expected it after seeing Orihara's level, but it seems the level cap in this world really is over 1000. It will be interesting to see how high we can level up at this rate." (Jin)
Orihara's level was over 1700, so I didn't think it was capped at 1000, but knowing Orihara, it was possible that he was using some kind of secret trick to reach level 1000.
"Maybe we should save some Hollow Beastss and use them to level up my other subordinates." (Jin)
"...*shakeshake*" (Grayman)
The Grayman[1] shook his head vigorously from side to side. It seemed that the Grayman wanted Hollow Beast to be completely wiped out.
"I have no complaints about your level increasing, Jin-sama. It's probably impossible to increase your level in the other world, and the higher your level, the safer you will be, right?" (Maria)
"With one Hollow Beast, we can get up to level 200, and level 350 with 3 of them. Normally, it's more efficient to steal an enemy's status than to kill one and earn experience to level up, but if you kill the first 10 or so, that situation might be reversed..." (Jin)
The Grayman and Maria seemed to be against keeping Hollow Beast, but I didn't care and started making calculations.
Normally, the stats that increased with each level up didn't change that much each time. Since ‹Power of Life and Death› existed, we would ultimately become stronger by defeating enemies of a relatively high level and stealing their status. However, Hollow Beast's experience points would increase our level several times in one go. Taking that increase into account, it was highly likely that the total status we gained in one battle against the Hollow Beast would be greater. However, if we power-leveled here, we would only gain levels without gaining status. Conversely, if we fought in the other world, we would gain both experience points and status. And if we leveled up in this world, it would be harder to gain levels in the other world.
In conclusion, there were advantages and disadvantages.
"Jin-sama, I don't mind you doing the calculations, but since magic and some skills can't be used here, I think it might be difficult for your subordinates to use this as a hunting ground." (Maria)
"Oh, so there were that problems, huh?" (Jin)
Now that I thought about it, magic and certain skills were sealed here. Many of my subordinates fight mainly using magic, and even without that, a Hollow Beast was quite a formidable opponent. ...Maybe...probably. There's probably little point in insisting on leveling up even if it means putting a heavy burden on yourself.
In conclusion, the risks outweighed the benefits so it was rejected.
"Okay, let's not worry about leveling, let's just annihilate the Hollow Beastss." (Jin)
"... *nod nod*" (Grayman)
After watching the Hollow Beastss for a while, I noticed that the density of Hollow Beastss was definitely increasing, albeit little by little. Also, I got bored of using ‹Flying Slash› all the time, so I sometimes took a break and left the task of getting rid of Hollow Beastss to the Phoenix Tamo-san.
"If we keep going like this, we'll be crammed full of Hollow Beastss by the time we reach the center of the world. I'm looking forward to seeing how many I can kill with just one use of ‹Flying Slash›." (Jin)
"If I recall correctly, your current record is killing three Hollow Beastss in one ‹Flying Slash› run." (Maria)
"Yeah, the goal is to defeat 10 of them." (Jin)
I got bored of doing the same repetitive task over and over, so I was currently challenging myself to see how many Hollow Beastss I could defeat at once with one use of ‹Flying Slash›. This was quite difficult, and even if I put them in the line of fire, I couldn't defeat them unless I hit them well. By the way, Maria did not participate in the challenge, but instead silently conquered the things I had missed. Thank you for taking care of me.
"Well, I guess that's enough for today. Maybe because the main focus was on the extermination, we didn't get as far as I thought we would. Well, I guess it can't be helped if we're a day or two behind. We've been in contact with them after all..." (Jin)
"Yes. I will report that to them at the regular communication tomorrow." (Maria)
We ended our travels for the day feeling disappointed that we had not made as much progress as we had hoped. Furthermore, since I didn't want to sleep within Hollow Beasts' activity range, I decided to sleep further from the center than where I first found a Hollow Beast.
...In conclusion, this way of thinking was correct. This was because, as mentioned earlier, the Hollow Beastss who were supposed to have been defeated had revived within the area of their activity. The name had also changed, so it didn't seem to be the same individual, though...
"Have the defeated Hollow Beastss been replenished? Or has the total number remained the same, with the core Hollow Beastss simply spreading out?" (Jin)
[Given the density, it appears they were replenished.] (Alta)
"...In that case, it seems best to abandon the idea of 'moving around while defeating enemies' as soon as possible." (Jin)
"Yes, it's possible if we keep going without sleeping..." (Maria)
"That's not realistic." (Jin)
This was just a guess, but I thought the speed at which they were exterminated was faster than the speed at which they were replenished. However, we had to wait for sleep. Surely, with that much time, the replenishment of the Hollow Beastss would be completed. One option would be to fight without sleeping or leave it to Tamo-san while we were sleeping, but if we were going to go to that trouble, it would be more important to cut off the source of replenishment. …If they're replenished, we can level up infinitely or something, but I don't think that's the case. Seriously.
"There must be something near the center of the world that's replenishing the Hollow Beastss. Let's head straight there first." (Jin)
"Yes. If we go in a straight line, it should take less than a day to get there." (Maria)
Since we had been moving in a spiral up until now, we could roughly guess where the center of the world was. There should be no problem if we just went straight ahead after guessing. I calculated the distance roughly and it looked like we could reach the center of the world by today if we went in a straight line.
"And so, Go! Phoenix Tamo-san! Charge through the swarm of Hollow Beastss!" (Jin)
We got on the Phoenix Tamo-san and headed straight for the center of the world, firing ‹Flying Slash› repeatedly.
Well, the ‹Flying Slash› festival was already a few hours away, and it looked like we would soon reach the center of the world. Currently, my level had risen to about 1200. As expected, my level increase had slowed down.
"We'll soon be at the center of the world. As expected, the strongest Hollow Beast will be here." (Jin)
"Jin-sama, I think you're right. If possible, I..." (Maria)
"Yeah, of course I'll fight." (Jin)
I interrupted Maria's words. I guessed what Maria was trying to say was that she would fight, but that's just not acceptable.
"...Yes. That's right, Jin-sama, you're that kind of person. I was just saying that..." (Maria)
"Sorry." (Jin)
"No, I had predicted it, but if something happens, I will support you without hesitation." (Maria)
"Well, I guess that can't be helped, huh..." (Jin)
When I was transferred to this world, I seemed to have caused Maria a lot of worry. I guessed I need to refrain from causing MARIA any more stress...for a bit.
"... *trembling*" (Grayman)
And it seemed like the Grayman had been afraid of something for a while now. And the Grayman's grip on my clothes had gotten stronger (the difference was like going from a baby's grip strength to that of a toddler). Up until now, the Grayman hadn't shown any signs of being scared, even when facing Hollow Beast, so why is he so scared now?
The answer soon became clear.
"This is... an incredible presence, isn't it?" (Maria)
"Ah, even the Ancestor Divine Dragon and the Oni God can't compare." (Jin)
As we got closer to the center of the world, we also realized what the Grayman was afraid of. Simply put, it was a "presence." As I just said, it was a presence and aura that far surpassed that of high-level monsters such as the Ancestor Divine Dragon and the Oni God. It seemed to be emanating from the center of the world. In this world, it seemed that Graymen were more sensitive to presences than we were. That's why he noticed its presence before we did and became frightened early on.
"I wonder what's ahead. I'm looking forward to it." (Jin)
"Jin-sama, I don't mind you having fun, but please be careful." (Maria)
"Yeah, I know. I won't let my guard down." (Jin)
I didn't know what it was, but I was sure it was a formidable enemy. Although presence was not the same as strength, it should be able to give a rough estimate of its fighting power. Considering that, it was an opponent on a level even greater than the Ancestor Divine Dragon or the Oni God. Since its magic and some of its skills were sealed, it was not an opponent you could let your guard down against.
After another hour of traveling, we finally reached an area that seemed to be the center of the world. There, a larger group of Hollow Beastss than ever before were waiting for their master.
"Is that the boss of Hollow Beastss?" (Jin)
"Considering its presence, I think there's no mistake." (Maria)
Currently, the map was limited and the area that could be seen was small, so if the enemy was floating in the air, there wasn't much difference between checking the map and being able to see them. Ahead of our gaze was a shining angel floating in the air.
Name : Schubert
Species : Archangel
Affiliation: God's Descendant
Rank :
- Stamina SSS
- Attack SSS
- Defense SSS
- Agility SSS
- Technology SSS
Characteristics:
‹Divine Authority› ‹Hollow Beast Creation›
This angel was not a mannequin like the one in the labyrinth at Estia, but had the form of a woman. The Archangel was floating in the center of a crater about 5km in diameter that had opened up in the middle of city buildings. He had long blonde hair, wore a white robe, and carried four pairs of eight bird-like white wings.
Somehow, it has similar features to the Great Spirit Rein, which recently I made a contract with... Well, Rein's hair was platinum, not gold, and her wings were not bird feathers but rather shiny ovals, so you could say they were different. However, there was no doubt that their superhuman beauty and overall aura were similar.
By the way, I didn't know what color her eyes were yet. The reason was, the Archangel Schubert's eyes were currently closed.
Although it had no direct connection to Schubert, in the center of the crater, directly below Schubert, there was a door called the "Gate of Boundary." Indeed, there was no other gate that could lead to another world.
Moreover, one of Schubert's characteristics was called ‹Hollow Beast Creation›. If that was what was causing Hollow Beastss to be born, then defeating Schubert would mean that the number of Hollow Beastss would stop increasing. It felt good to have all the problems solved with one event.
"But, when the Phoenix Tamo-san got this close, there's no reaction, why? Hey!" (Jin)
Even though she could see me if she wanted to, Schubert still didn't move a muscle. The last line of the line, "Hey!", was shouted she makes when I chopped off the head of the approaching Sky King Beast.
"Well, if she has no intention of moving, that's perfect. Let's annihilate the Hollow Beastss around here while we can." (Jin)
"Yes, understood." (Maria)
"...*trembling*" (Grayman)
The Grayman was shaking like crazy.
As Maria and I were kicking around the Hollow Beastss around us, Schubert suddenly started to move. I thought it was time for a showdown with Schubert, but it seemed like she was just replenishing the Hollow Beastss. Particles of light gathered in front of Hollow Beast, and within a minute a Hollow Beast appeared. Those particles were the ones that appear when a Hollow Beast died.
For now, we ignored Schubert and just keep defeating the surrounding Hollow Beastss. Because of the high density of Hollow Beastss, it was faster to kill them than to replenish them. And finally, I succeeded in killing 12 Hollow Beast at the same time with one ‹Flying Slash›. Yay!
After that, it took a little while, but all the surrounding Hollow Beast were defeated, and only Schubert and the newly replenished Hollow Beast remained.
"She's not attacking at all. I thought she was acting as gatekeepers… Maybe she won’t attack unless we try to go through the gate?" (Jin)
If she's a gatekeeper, she might not attack unless she was attacked or we tried to go through the gate. This pattern was common in games.
"That's a possibility. Jin-sama, what do you think?" (Maria)
"It's not like our goal is to defeat the Archangel, so let's try heading towards the Gate of Boundary." (Jin)
"...*trembling, nod nod*" (Grayman)
The Grayman nodded vigorously, trembling. He seemed to be in favor of annihilating the Hollow Beastss, but he seemed to want to leave Schubert alone.
"Understood. May I join you?" (Maria)
"Yeah, I'm sure Orihara has used it, so it's not like you can only use it once. But it's possible that after using it once you won't be able to use it for a while, so it'd be best if we went together if possible." (Jin)
I checked with Alta, but it seemed that there was very little information available about the Gate of Boundary or Schubert. So, all we could do was check things out on the spot and act as best we can, assuming the worst-case scenario.
We got off the Phoenix Tamo-san and moved forward. The Grayman, who had low combat ability, had Tamo-san wrapped around his whole body and Tamo-san was in his armor mode. He was definitely stronger.
We pushed through the crater and, when we were about 100 meters away from the Gate of Boundary, Schubert suddenly opened her beautiful yet mysterious golden eyes wide. As I thought, it seemed that her system was designed to eliminate people when they get close to the Gate of Boundary.
"W-Whaaaaaaaaat?!?!?! Why?! Why are there humans in a place like that?! They'll get through the Gate of Boundary! Where's the Hollow Beastss?! Why is there none left at all?! This is bad! I overslept!!!" (Schubert)
Yes. The mysticism of the Archangel had flown away somewhere. By the way, Schubert also came flying towards us.
Schubert flew over and landed silently in front of the Gate of Boundary, pointing at us with one hand. Her other hand was on her hip.
"Oi, you intruders, I won't let you take even one step further from here. Get out of here now!" (Schubert)
"What a tough looking angel..." (Jin)
A beautiful face, a clear voice, and a rude way of threatening me, it was not an experience you could have very often. Of course, it was not an experience I wanted to have.
"...*trembling, trembling, trembling*" (Grayman)
And the Grayman's trembling reached its peak.
"Tch, then I'll do as you wish! Ahem... human children. This is a sacred place which you must not violate. Leave immediately. If you do not, I will exact divine punishment upon you." (Schubert)
"Oh, it looks like it." (Jin)
This time, Schubert was saying this with her hands clasped in front of her chest, as if offering a prayer. This certainly made her looked angelic.
"Well, you’re someone from outside, right? Right now, Graymen should be the only one in this world… How did you get here? Surely, if you went through the Gate of Boundary, I would notice you?" (Schubert)
"I was brought here by the hero Orihara using the teleportation Blessing." (Jin)
I answered Schubert's question in my natural state. Since I didn't know how much knowledge Schubert had, I answered concisely without adding any unnecessary elaboration.
"Orihara... Ah, it's the Hero who crossed the Gate of Boundary the other day. So that guy has something like that, how troublesome... Seriously, please stop letting people enter this world as much as you want." (Schubert)
"Shouldn't we use that Gate of Boundary? Orihara used it, right?" (Jin)
Schubert's face twisted in displeasure, so I asked her a question.
"Hmm? Ah, you're not a Hero, are you? Only heroes are allowed to pass through here. I was taking a nap thinking that the Hero wasn't here, when suddenly someone approached the Gate of Boundary. I was really worried! Hmm? What's this? Now that I look closely, are you a Hero too? Your reaction is a little strange..." (Schubert)
Schubert then turned to Maria. Ah, I see. Maria also has the Hero title so she could get through, huh?
"Well, since I, the Hero, am here, it's okay for us to pass, right?" (Maria)
"No, only heroes can pass. No one else can." (Schubert)
Schubert shook her head in refusal, but her chest began to flutter in sync.
"Can't anyone other than Hero pass through?" (Maria)
"Yeah, that's right. That's why I ended up doing things like being a gatekeeper. This is so annoying! I want this shitty world to disappear completely already!" (Schubert)
After answering Maria's question, Schubert suddenly became angry and spat it out.
"By the way, how much do you know about this world? We don't know much about it." (Jin)
"Huh? Why should I have to explain something like that to you? Are you an idiot?" (Schubert)
Angry☆
"...If you dare mock Jin-sama, I'll be your opponent." (Maria)
"Hey, Maria. I told you I'd defeat her." (Jin)
"Ha! You're going to defeat me? That's a funny joke! You might be feeling cocky after defeating those Hollow Beastss here, but I'm so much stronger than you!" (Schubert)
Schubert distorted her face as if to mock us.
"That's perfect. I was getting bored of the Hollow Beastss in this world because they're all useless. If there's a boss stronger than the Hollow Beastss, I can expect a bit more. Right?" (Jin)
"You've said it. Now that you've said it, I'm not going to let you get away like that." (Schubert)
"What a coincidence. I hate running away too. Come on, come on. It's enough for me alone." (Jin)
When I beckoned and challenged her, Schubert's face went blank.
"Die." ()
"You die." ()
The next moment, Schubert came around to my back at high speed and aimed for my neck with a chopping motion. However, before Schubert's sword could reach me, I turned around and punched her in the stomach.
"Guff!" (Schubert)
No blood was flowing from Schubert's stomach, instead particles of light similar to the Hollow Beast's were overflowing.
"Guhh... What, what... with just one punch... this much damage to my stomach..." (Schubert)
"Hmm, I hit her with the intent to kill her, but she didn't die. I guess she's pretty sturdy?" (Jin)
Since I couldn't keep piercing Schubert's stomach forever, I pulled my arm out from her stomach.
"Guh! Shit!" (Schubert)
Schubert spat those words out, took a large distance from her, and put her hand on her stomach. Then, light particles began to overflow from her hands and flow into her stomach. Once they had finished flowing through, the light particles that had been overflowing from her stomach also stopped. Hmm? I feel like Schubert's presence has weakened somehow.
[Schubert and Hollow Beastss seem to be energy lifeforms similar to spirits. The energy they lost through attacks was replenished from other places, so their overall energy amount decreased. The amount of energy is synonymous with presence, and as their total amount of energy decreased, their presence also decreased proportionally.] (Alta)
It seems that the attack wasn't ineffective. So, all that's left to do is keep hitting her until he runs out of energy.
[Yes. You can think of the amount of energy as HP.] (Alta)
Although it has a slightly different meaning than in the other world, does this mean that there is something equivalent to HP in this world as well? If you thought about it like that, it's pretty easy to understand—Well, if you hit Schubert once, her presence was reduced to about two third. In other words, if you hit her two more times, she would die.
"I, I was just careless! I'm actually a long-distance attacker! You're gonna die this time!" (Schubert)
Schubert said as she turned her palm towards me. Particles of light shoot out from there like lasers—Recently, I felt like there were a lot of enemies that used these kinds of laser attacks. Two of them were heroes, and one of them was an angel. I see, they're related to the Goddess. Maybe the goddess doesn't have much material to work with?
"Hmmm!"
I hit the approaching super thick laser with my back fist, deflecting it to the side.
—Ker-thump!!!!!—
The deflected laser left a deep groove in the ground as it flies away. I followed it with my eyes until it was out of sight, but it seemed to still be flying. Yep, this is on a whole different level from Hero's laser attacks so far.
"What?" (Schubert)
"Hmmph!" (Jin)
I approached Schubert, who had a dazed look on her face, and I punches her in the stomach again.
"Grrr!" (Schubert)
I hit her a little harder than before, sending Schubert flying and rolling around in pain. In the process, her robe was flipped up, revealing her white panties, but there was no joy in this situation.
Schubert recovered by placing her hands on her stomach, just like before. After a while, Schubert staggered to her feet.
"Damn it...! You've really made me angry. I really didn't want to use this tactic, but I have no choice! If you're going to resent me, then resent yourself for making me take it so seriously!" (Schubert)
"Whoa..." (Jin)
I was surprised by Schubert's brilliantly bludgeoning lines.
"HAAAAAAAHH!!!" (Schubert)
When Schubert shouted, light erupted from her body and a violent storm raged all around her.
Could it be, she will transform? That time with the killer in the Izumo Kingdom, he was too vulnerable and I couldn't find a reason not to attack. So, I couldn't resist and attacked him in the middle of his transformation. However, there was a reason why I could not attack this time.
"Wow, the wind is too strong, I can't get any closer." (Jin)
Well, that was the perfect reason. Perfect...right?
After standing there for a while, the light and the storm gradually subsided.
"Sorry to keep you waiting." (Schubert)
"Really? And you haven't even transformed yet? That's disappointing." (Jin)
After waiting at least five minutes, Schubert still hadn't transformed.
Schubert was currently surrounded by a strong light, most likely the same as the light that had been emitting from her earlier and the laser that had been shot before that. That's it. I thought it was something like the power that was only released before was now powered up by wearing it. To be honest, I was expecting a transformation, so I was disappointed. Well, I liked this one, but it wasn't what I was expecting...
"Shut up! ...When I enter this state, the energy in my body decreases at an incredible rate. But in return, I gain power that is incomparable to what I would normally have. You're practically dead now." (Schubert)
"I see, I certainly feel more power than ever before. But this is..." (Jin)
"It's too late to beg for your life now. Your deaths are already certain." (Schubert)
Schubert said this with confidence, but was it really okay?
"No, that's not it..." (Jin)
"You managed to block it last time, but this time it won't be so easy! Take that!" (Schubert)
Schubert interrupted me and fired lasers at me again. Schubert spoke with confidence, as the laser that was fired was much thicker than the one before, and its power was commensurate with that. But of all things, a laser attack?
"Hmph!!" (Jin)
I hit it harder than before, and the laser flew off somewhere.
"That's impossible...! You're saying my attacks won't reach you?! That can't be! I should be at my strongest in this state!" (Schubert)
"Well, that's why..." (Jin)
"Guh?! What's this? I suddenly can't put any strength into it..." (Schubert)
When I tried to call out to the shocked Schubert, she dropped to her knees. The light that was surrounding her body had also weakened considerably.
"You... what on earth have you done?" (Schubert)
Schubert, mistakingly thinking that I had done something, looked at me with anxious eyes.
"No, I haven't done anything… I've been wanting to say this for a while, but doesn't that state consume a lot of energy?" (Jin)
"Yes, that's right." (Schubert)
"You got hit twice, and had already used up a lot of your energy before you got into this state, and then you continued talking pointlessly and wasted it, and then you used an emission type skill again that didn't work, so how much energy do you have left?" (Jin)
"Ah..." (Schubert)
Yes, what I had been wondering about for a while now was Schubert's remaining energy.
Even though her energy was already low from being hit by me, she entered a mode of consuming even more energy. That would have been fine, but she continued to talk nonsense in that state, and began to use emission attacks to further reduce her remaining energy. At the very least, she should have used her increased power to engage in close combat and try to consume as little energy as possible. Of course, whether or not that worked was another matter...
"I see, I should have realized when I found out you were the master of Hollow Beastss. The reason the Hollow Beast were useless is because you're useless!" (Jin)
"D-Don't call me junk!!!" (Schubert)
She was undoubtedly a broken angel.
Author's Note
Composed by Schubert, "Erlkönig"[2]
Where did the archangel go?
The heat was making it difficult for me to write, and my ink supply was quickly dwindling.
Will my supply run out first, or will summer end first? ...What's that? Is it delicious?
Translation Note
[1] At this point, not sure if there's only one Grayman (multiple Graymen merged into one) or several Graymen (even after merged). For now, I'll assume the former. Also, as their gender was unknown, I'll use "he" for now.
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erlk%C3%B6nig_(Schubert)