Chapter 148: Chapter 112: Curing Poison With Poison (3)

༺ Curing Poison With Poison (3) ༻

System Message

[ Target ‘Iliya Krisanax’ is on the verge of awakening the ‘Eye of Truth’. ]

[ Upon awakening this ability, the subject will be designated with the role, ‘Sidekick of Survival’! ]

[ Great luck will be given when doing ??? with the target! ]

“…?”

What the hell?

Eye of Truth? Sidekick of Survival?

that last line wasn’t even properly displayed.

‘…These features weren’t even in the original game, I’m sure…’

Come to think of it, when I first entered the Forge of Struggle, a window about some ‘role’ being designated to that woman had popped up.

It didn’t seem like a bad thing since it said luck would be given, though…

[I don’t know what you’re looking at, but I don’t think it’s the time for that.]

“…”

He wasn’t wrong.

Hearing Caliban’s words, I looked at the giant slash that suddenly burst forth far away in the Jungle Zone, where the Unicorn was.

That attack was the same one that shredded the Sea Serpent in just a few blows. It was impossible to not notice it at a first glance from this distance.

The good news was that it wasn’t my head that was flying off right now.

Strictly speaking, that thing was still ‘me’ though.

[ ◎ Clone Walker ]

Item: Special

Price: 1,000pt

Description: Creates a duplicate that mimics the personality and behavior of the original body. It can also interact with other buffs!

[ Remaining Points: 4,000pt ]

It had been a while since I used this guy.

Though it was immediately obliterated as soon as I used it.

‘…At the very least, it should buy some time.’

Of course, considering the level of her ‘obsession’, it was obvious that she would realize that was a fake and she’d come after me to cut my neck afterwards.

With that thought, I switched the window.

!!!!!!!!!!! Devil Alert !!!!!!!!!!!

[ ‘Devil-Related’ Emergency Event Occurred! ]

[ This is a critical event! ]

[ If you do not take the correct actions within the time limit, you will die! ]

[ Event related to target ‘Yuria’! ]

[ Find a way to survive immediately! ]

!!!!!!!!!!! Devil Alert !!!!!!!!!!!

[ ‘Devil-Related’ Emergency Event Occurred! ]

[ This is a critical event! ]

[ If you do not take the correct actions within the time limit, you will die! ]

[ Event related to target ‘Riru’! ]

[ Find a way to survive immediately! ]

“…”

Seeing the window filled with red alerts made me sigh.

Amazing. A double event.

A double whammy of Devil-Related Emergency Events.

At this rate, even if I brought Gideon, Kraut, Atalante… Or anyone else with that level of strength, I would still 100% die, huh?

[Despite having those thoughts, you seem pretty relaxed.]

As Caliban tossed such words at me from within Soul Linker, I responded with a grin.

‘Well, because I am.’

[…How come?]

‘Because even if things go wrong, what’s the worst that could happen to me? At most, I’d just die, no?’

[…]

You know, after experiencing various life-threatening events, despite all my efforts to avoid them, it wasn’t a surprising thing that my sense of danger would become numb.

Since my daily life turned to absolute shitfest no matter what I did, simple threats like these felt like a breeze.

What? Two Devils went berserk at the same time and both were trying to kill me?

Sure. Try me.

If I die, so be it.

[…]

‘…Shut up.’

[I didn’t say anything.]

‘You were calling me a crazy fucker in your head just now.’

[I won’t deny it.]

Even I myself realized that, but…

I didn’t do shit for no reason. He really should understand that at the very least.

Not to mention that my goal of calling this person here was to solidify said reasons.

“…What did you say to Yuria to make her do something like this?”

In front of me, The Saintess asked with a blank expression, gazing at the smoke billowing far away in the Jungle Zone.

Her voice carried a certainty that only Yuria could ever create such a scene.

“…”

Even at a quick glance, it was clearly not a force that could be generated by just one person.

As I expected, this person already knew that something was ‘abnormal’ about Yuria.

With that thought in mind, I replied.

“Do you want to know?’

“…Did you perhaps say something related to me?”

“Yes.”

“Were there any blasphemous or lascivious elements in—”

Right as Lucia was about to continue her question, she stopped and narrowed her eyes at me.

She then scanned me up and down.

“Nevermind, forget it.”

“…Somehow, I feel offended.”

“Knowing you, it just feels like I already know the answer to my question.”

“…”

‘What kind of person does she think I am?’

“…Could you give me your hand?”

I sighed and made such a request to Lucia.

When I added that I wasn’t going to do anything strange, she hesitantly extended her hand and I wrapped an amulet around it.

“What’s this?”

“It’s a container that houses souls. I think the Saintess might also recognize a familiar face in it.”

The Saintess, blinking in confusion at first, soon widened her eyes in surprise upon seeing the shining amulet.

It seemed she had successfully communicated with one of the souls inside.

“…Valkasus? Wait, how could he be inside this…?!”

“I knew you would be happy to see him.”

I answered with a wry smile.

Valkasus and Lucia, well…

As briefly seen in the previous boss battle, it was evident that they had a surprisingly close relationship, even though one of them was a Devil Worshipper and the other one was THE Saintess.

In the normal route of Chapter 2, unlike my bizarre approach, there were quite a few sections where these two could be used together, and when teamed up, they even produced a synergy effect.

And that was precisely what I wanted from this person right now.

To steer the upcoming boss battle towards the outcome I desired…

I needed the expertise of both a Master of Divine Power and a Master of Forbidden Sorcery to perform a miracle befitting of their levels.

“So, at the moment… We have about two hours left.”

I spoke while checking my watch.

The time frame should be just enough for Tatiana to hold off Riru and for the crazed Yuria to somehow find me.

“There’s something I’d like you to do within that time span.”

With that, I explained the plan.

While I would be dealing with whatever shit Tatina summoned from the sea with her ritual, there was something she needed to do for ‘her little sister’.

“…Y-You mean… No, surely, you wouldn’t…”

And the Saintess, having listened to my explanation, spoke with a trembling voice.

I cut her off before she could finish that sentence.

“It’s okay.”

“But, you could actually—!”

“I said it’s okay.”

At this point, I was already involved in countless life-threatening crises. What she was worrying about wasn’t even anything—-

“…”

Suddenly, she bonked my head.

It felt like a reluctant movement out of sheer frustration from someone who had never resorted to violence in their entire life.

“Take care of yourself, you idiot!”

The Saintess’s voice huffed angrily as she continued.

“Please realize how many people worry about your well-being! That includes me!”

“…Thank you for worrying about me. And here I thought you feel uncomfortable to be around me.”

Usually, she scolded me for everything I did, so her concern was something quite novel to me.

After all, both the System and this person… Well, you know…

They kept instilling in me that she was wary of my Playboy actions.

“It’s not that I find you uncomfortable, i-it’s, t-that…!”

After trying to say something, Lucia shut her mouth.

After mumbling to herself, she bonked me in the head again, her face turning bright red.

“Anyway just take care of yourself!”

“…”

‘Yes ma’am.’

‘I’ll be careful.’n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

But I said it was okay because I really was fine with risking my own safety.

After all, rather than that, there was something else that required more immediate attention.

“I’m sure you already know what exactly is imbued in your little sister’s body, Saintess.”

As soon as I said this, Lucia’s body stiffened.

Yes.

Lucia was probably more aware of Yuria’s condition than one might think.

In the first place, she was the one who examined the curse within Yuria’s body on a daily basis. As a Master of Divine Power, It would be strange if she couldn’t detect the nature of the object causing the curse.

“The Heretic Inquisition has deployed people because of that as well. I assume it might concern Saintess quite a bit.”

Last time I saw her, she was just playing a nonsensical game by dressing Yuria up like a doll, but Faenol was fundamentally the final boss of the next chapter.

There was absolutely no way that she approached Yuria with such soft intentions.

“…And this also means that the Imperial Family is keeping a close eye on Yuria.”

“…”

At that, Lucia’s expression darkened.

Strictly speaking, the Heretic Inquisition operated separately from the Holy Land. They consulted with them, but the ones running it were actually the Imperial Family.

As such, her reaction was understandable.

How could she be happy hearing that another malicious person of authority had taken an interest in them after barely escaping the clutches of the Pope and the Holy Land?

“So, this time you will need to… ‘Root it out’. Focus more on that than worrying about me.”

If my thoughts were correct…

As long as I was able to ‘calm down’ Yuria, who went berserk…

There was a high likelihood that my already skyrocketing value would soar even further in the eyes of the Imperial Family.

To the point that their attention couldn’t help but shift from Yuria to me.

Lucia bit her lip until it bled.

“…Once again, you’re saying that you will sacrifice yourself. For us sisters.”

“It’s fine.”

Throughout the entire scenario, the Imperial Family held the most powerful authority and was also the most closed off.

The fact that I had not even seen a single agent from them, despite having already met the Pope and the Chieftain, proved this.

Personally, I would welcome any opportunity to get involved with them. There also wasn’t really anything to—

System Message

[ Target ‘Lucia’ feels intense guilt towards you! ]

[ Marked with Negative Tendency! ]

[ 2 Stacks of Negative Marks! The subject is about to fall into a ‘Negative’ state! ]

[ When resolving the ‘Negative’ state, ‘Fatal Charm’ is applied, skyrocketing the target’s favorability level! ]

[ Rewards Available! ]

[ Skill: Evil Ruler has been activated! Obtained 1 command right over the target! ]

“…”

Wait, what?

Was this one of the Gift Skills?

The one where I would receive a reward if I made a person with a good disposition fall into a negative state?

It had been so long since I had seen this window that I had forgotten I even had this skill.

Since I didn’t even use it intentionally, this felt a bit bewildering.

“…Ah, you really don’t need to feel burdened.”

As I said this while waving my hands, Lucia nodded with a gloomy expression.

Even though she held the title of the Saintess, without the backing of the Holy Land, the title really was just a formality. There was no chance they would help Lucia now either.

In the end, she probably reacted this way because she knew she had no other choice.

However, the system window that popped up didn’t show any signs of disappearing.

That meant she was still feeling guilty.

“…”

Ugh.

Whatever, let’s deal with that later.

I had much more pressing matters at the moment.

“…But, Mr. Dowd.”

As I was thinking as such, Lucia spoke with a worried voice.

“Isn’t there one more?”

“Excuse me?”

“You may be able to handle Yuria with the help of me and Valkasus, but the other one…”

The Saintess trailed off.

She was probably talking about the Blue Devil.

Wait, but how did she sense that?

I couldn’t believe she was able to detect the presence of Riru, who was currently rushing towards us from far out at sea.

“Yeah, well, I have a way to deal with that one too.”

“…What kind? Don’t tell me it also involves you throwing your own body in the cross—”

“It’s not like that, it’s just…”

A bead of cold sweat ran down my face.

About that, um.

It was not a solution I could really discuss in front of the Saintess.

“…It’s a bit difficult to tell you.”

“Why is that? Does it involve you sacrificing yourself again—”

“…You said earlier that you did not want to hear anything lascivious, right?”

“…What?”

Leaving a dumbfounded Lucia, I quickly turned away.

“Anyway, I’m counting on you to do what I requested please!”

“No, wait a moment. M-Mr. Dowd! Just now, what did you mean by—!”

I dashed off, leaving behind Lucia’s voice, who was trying to desperately stop me.

Anyway, as mentioned earlier, we were now right before the true highlight of this chapter.

There was someone I needed to meet for a ‘final check’.

Someone who would play the role as the last puzzle piece in clearing this chapter.

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