Book Eater

Chapter 308: Lairon, the Last Day (3)

Kwarururung!?

A thunderous rumble rang out in the middle of the city as the bell tower was hit by blue lightning and collapsed. There was also a statue made by many sculptors, as well as a hall where people sat and listened to the word of God. Debris scattered every time the lightning struck. In order to resist this ruthless destruction, a power equivalent to it was needed.

However, the city didn’t have the strength to resist the invaders. The invaders appeared in the sky without any warning, and poured fire and lightning down on the city, burying the inhabitants under the ruins of the buildings. This power which treated humans as ants contained explosive power comparable to that of natural disasters.

Nevertheless, there were no casualties caused by this disaster. He couldn’t describe people who had already died a while ago as being killed once again.

Damn. Even if that is the case, it doesn’t feel good.

Theo looked down from the sky with bitter eyes. The zombies and ghouls had been humans not long ago. Theo buried them under the dirt and destroyed the ground where they had lived. In his mind, he knew that this was something necessary, but he couldn’t stop the negative emotions rising inside him.

Kwaaaaang!

There was a similar explosion in the distance. Buildings collapsed, and flames rose into the clouds. The person who caused this heat quickly flew in Theo’s direction.

The red robed and red haired magician, Veronica, stopped near Theo. “Phew, is this the 13th one? Are you almost done?”

“... I cut all the big branches. The undead won’t spread any more and clearing the rest will be left to the others,” Theo spoke in a dry voice. “The great magic circle that covers all of Lairon… the consciousness of the living dead spreads like a spider web using the churches in each estate. Certainly, the idea and structure of it is genius. However, it is hard to defend if it is too big.”

It had been four days since Theo and Veronica entered Lairon after leaving the Albert territory. If they had been flying in a straight line, it would’ve taken less than a day. However, they had chosen to go around to some territories instead of going straight to the divine king’s palace.

High speed flight consumed a lot of magic power, but there was another factor. Theo had discovered a ritual across the entirety of Lairon called Pluto’s Palace. This ritual existed in the knowledge that Jerem left behind in Theo. A necromancer would set a range for the spell ritual, and all creatures inside it who couldn’t resist the spell would turn into undead. According to his memories, it was a massive black magic spell that ranged from an area of tens of square meters to hundreds of square kilometers depending on the caster’s abilities.

I’ve somewhat grasped it now. The false god, Lairon’s identity... Additionally, the magic circle of the living dead that reversed their faith.

Theo still couldn’t be certain, but he considered his speculation as fact. After all, he knew more about the Age of Mythology than anyone else currently alive and had a contract with an ancient elemental. He had also spent an incredible amount of time training his intuition, including his super sensitivity.

The remains of the light are probably a god that has died, an expression signifying a divinity that has lost its master.

A divinity without a master was innocuous by itself, but it changed when it became the possession of another being. The churches in each Lairon estate were like wells, and the divinity was the source of water flowing into the wells. If Jerem became the master of that divinity, Lairon would become a demon and the water would be poisoned. Those who wanted their god’s blessing would fall prey to the black magic at once.

Veronica spoke to the worried Theo, “Isn’t that why we went after the weaknesses? Even if we can’t pull out the roots, we can hit the branches. If we destroy the points of the magic circle that are nodes, the situation won’t worsen.”

Theo nodded. “But it isn’t a solution. We need to go to the divine king’s palace in order to resolve this completely.”

Cutting off the thick branches could prevent the growth of twigs, but if the roots remained, the branches would just grow again. In the end, they needed to destroy the magic circle that was maintaining the roots—Pluto’s Palace. It was obvious that the magic circle was probably at the center of the kingdom, the divine king’s palace that was the symbol of the church.

The divine king’s palace was also most likely the location of the remains of the light that Heathcliff had predicted.

“... Veronica, how’s your condition?”

“Yes?” Veronica cocked her head at the abrupt question of concern.

“We need to increase our pace. If possible, I would like to arrive at the divine king’s castle by sunset today. Is that okay?”

Theo didn’t need to hurry so much, but there was a small possibility that the great magic circle would go out of control. No, it was highly possible if Jerem had predicted this situation.

“Ha! Do you know who you are asking?” Veronica’s robe moved in the wind as she puffed up her chest.

The sunlight behind her illuminated the shade of her robe, making the curves of her sensual body more defined. Theo didn’t know whether she saw him flush as she smiled confidently.

“I’m Veronica. I was younger then, but I once crossed the continent using just flight magic. It’s two hundred kilometers to the divine king’s castle, right? I can arrive there in an hour and still have enough magic power to fight.”

“T-That is reassuring.” Theo’s eyes were drawn elsewhere before he nodded and turned around.

He was a magician of the 8th Circle, so he could fly just as fast as Veronica. So, he didn’t need to fly in her arms like he used to. However, a pair of arms encircled him. “Veronica...?”

Veronica deliberately pressed herself against his back and whispered in his ear, “By the way, Theo, do you want me to teach you something?”

“What?”

“Women are very sensitive to the eyes of men. A moment ago, it was like my skin was being licked... If you look at someone like that, most reactions are divided into two types.”

If they didn’t like the person, it would be severe discomfort. Or―

“―Are you trying to test my patience?”

The atmosphere would heat up if they liked the person. Veronica’s golden eyes were like molten iron. Having a red dragon’s blood meant she was easily swept up by emotions, and passion boiled in her body.

“I will accept it anytime if you ask me. But Theo isn’t ready yet. So, you should be careful, yes?”

“... I understand.”

“This is the punishment.”

Immediately after that, flaming wings appeared behind Veronica. “ Stay like this until we reach the divine king’s palace, okay?”

Theo had no choice but to nod. In any case, his answer wouldn’t make a difference.

***

It took exactly one hour to reach the divine king’s palace. Even a well-trained horseman would take four hours to travel two hundred kilometers, and a hippogriff, famous for its speed, would take two hours. But Veronica’s spell, Blaze Wing, allowed them to use the incredible explosive power of fire to travel at incredibly high speeds.

“Ah, we’ve arrived.” Veronica slowed down and looked at the grounds of the divine king’s palace.

Theo was then released from her arms. He looked around him with a bit of regret.

This is the capital of Lairon, the divine king’s palace?

It was the first time he had seen it. In the books, it had been described as a city made of pure white marble that shone with a divine golden light. There were many people who didn’t like the Lairon Church and the kingdom, but there was no one who didn’t admire it.

“In my eyes, it looks like the palace from a storybook.”

Theo was half joking and half serious. His spiritual vision saw a mysterious energy rising from the palace into the sky. The smooth white walls and shining gates were intact, but they were guarded by undead. A red light shone wickedly in the dark fog, making it a land of death.

It was a castle of the dead that denied access to the living. The concentration of black magic here was incomparable to all the other territories Theo and Veronica had been to. The vegetation was dry and dead for several kilometers around the castle, while uninjured beasts were rotting.

“Theo, how many enemies do you detect?”

“... I don’t see any signs of Jerem or the Four Horsemen. There are at least a hundred thousand undead, and at least a thousand intermediate undead. This is roughly a hundred units.”

Theo used Mitra and Hugin to accurately determine how many undead were in the castle. The center of the magic circle had thirteen senior undead and a thousand intermediate undead that could function as command objects. The number of undead gathered here would be enough to wipe out one or two small countries.

“What should we do?”

“Um.” Theo was troubled for a moment. “Well, it shouldn’t be a problem.”

Veronica grinned fiercely. “Right?”

They seemed like nonsensical words as the two magicians stepped forward casually. The two master class magicians stood shoulder to shoulder as they dominated the mana around them and sent the black magic reeling backward.

Huuuuuuong!

The change immediately attracted the attention of the undead occupying the castle. The skeleton archers on the walls loaded their poison arrows, while the lich created dozens of fireballs. They intended to launch the attacks as soon as the enemies came into range.

Then the two magicians stopped walking.

Veronica asked, “Me first? Or you?”

Theo cocked his head. “At the same time. The walls look quite thick.”

Veronica sniffed. “I think it is overkill. Well, okay.”

Theo started rotating his eight Circles. In any case, there were no survivors inside. Furthermore, there was no way for the Lairon Kingdom to revive now that it had been completely destroyed. He should destroy the enemies as efficiently as possible.

Memorize. Three Slots Open.

That was enough. Theo calculated the walls of the divine king’s palace and the destructive power needed. Veronica also called upon her own unique magic, the Explosion Sword.

Theo cried out, “Lightning Spear Keraunos.”

The 7th Circle lightning magic, named after the ancient god’s weapon, appeared next to Theo.

Paijijik! Pajik! Pajijijik!.

One spear had dozens of lightning bolts compressed in it. Due to the nature of lightning, the range was somewhat lacking compared to Veronica’s Explosion Sword. However, the intensity of the power concentrated on one point was more overwhelming than Explosion Sword. Even if it was blocked by a titanium shield, the spear would still penetrate the shield.

It was an attack spell which walls that lacked divine power wouldn’t be able to withstand.

“This is why I said it was overkill,” Veronica grumbled while lining up three swords near Theo.

There were a total of six weapons. The swords made of fire and the lightning aimed at the castle. In the aftermath, the ground melted and the atmosphere became heated, creating a haze around the two magicians. They breathed out and cried almost simultaneously.

“Go!” “Fire!”

At the same time, the six spells shot forward.

Kuooooh!

The lightning turned into a ray of light as it traveled over the ground, kicking up a strong wind. It burned those it passed by, while the wind swirled like a storm, causing a lot of dust to rise. This terrible phenomenon was trivial compared to the real attack.

Six strands of light flashed in succession! This was the only precursor to the swords and lightning striking the divine king’s castle.

――――――――――――――!!!

There was a loud roar, and the walls guarding the heart of the kingdom were obliterated. The broken stone fragments evaporated on the spot, and the undead courageously blocking the two magicians vanished. It was a blow that signaled the end of the Lairon Kingdom, of those who borrowed the god’s power without knowing the truth of their god.