Chapter 99

Chapter 99

Investing Through the Status Window.

Episode 99: The Spirit Realm (4).

Centered around Group Leader Allen, the four mercenary groups moved swiftly.

As soon as they left the cathedral, they formed their pre-arranged formation and advanced smoothly. The fog was still thick, as if walking in a dream.

The mercenaries did not make a single noise, only gasping for breath. The Newbie Kori, who at best had only sliced the heads of some pathetic bandits, felt a considerable burden with the sudden increase in the difficulty of this mission… Of course, he did not show the disgraceful sight of screaming in terror like a girl who had never held a weapon before.

The more the Pinkette Saintess approached the inner sanctum, the stronger she felt this eerie energy. Moreover, an evil aura began to seep out as well.

“Group Leader, it seems the gate is in the inner sanctum.”

With that one word from Ordnung, Allen roughly grasped the situation. For some reason, the Baron had opened the gate to the Spirit Realm, and whether by accident or on purpose, the gate was left open.

…This idiot mage, does he think this is the Magic Tower…?!

Even if the Magic Tower could handle a failed experiment with a plethora of mages to manage the aftermath, such high-level personnel were nonexistent in a rural, small town like this. Or perhaps he believed he wouldn’t fail.

…And at some point, the mercenaries began to hear a chilling whisper in their ears. It was the whisper of the souls wandering the Spirit Realm. The content was brutally violent.

– I will take over your body and tear it to shreds.

– Die, die, die, die!

Unconditional hostility and anger towards the living. It was different from the enchanting whispers heard in the Song of the Siren. Perhaps this was the primal evil of humanity.

Sometimes, when a strong murderous intent brushed against his skin as if it was licked by a tongue, Allen would shiver. Even though he had shed his timidity and become quite brave, it didn’t mean his capacity to be surprised had vanished.

“Damn it, that scared me!”

Furball Geese, who feared ghosts, would shiver and jump every time he felt the whispers and murderous intent. Even if they weren’t particularly scared of ghosts, the feelings of the crew were similar to the Geese’s.

Fortunately, no corpses appeared for a while after leaving the cathedral… However, when they felt a strong murderous intent, suddenly, a ghastly corpse screamed as if it were about to tear them apart and lunged at them.

“Damn it!”

Startled, a mercenary cursed vehemently and reflexively swung his club. The pale ash-colored ghost crumbled like a snowman hit by a ball, spilling ash before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

“Shit, that scared the hell out of me…!”

It felt as if the ghost had suddenly popped up right in front of him. Anyone would have reacted the same in that situation.

After the first ghost appeared, ghosts looking just as they did in life began to pop up unpredictably, regardless of time or place. Sometimes, they even dropped from above. Then, the mercenaries had to endure being covered in that unsettling ash. Of course, they would disappear without a trace, but that didn’t make it any less unpleasant.

They weren’t particularly strong, but their sudden appearances meant one had to be constantly on alert.

And when they got quite close to the castle…

Suddenly, a horde of the dead began to swarm from the front. At a glance, there were easily dozens of them.

The Milk-Jug Mage had been waiting for this moment, launching a mana bomb she had prepared in advance right into the middle of the charging dead. Then, with an explosion, the dead burst with a bang.

However, perhaps because of the fog, the explosion covered a smaller area than expected… Still, about a third of them disappeared in an instant.

Just as the mercenaries were almost recklessly swinging their weapons, smashing the dead again and again, something black and massive silently slid into view from the direction the horde had come.

Like a grim reaper, this spirit appeared, swirling in a pitch-black cloak, holding a giant scythe in its left hand and a large ash-colored sack in its right.

The mercenary groups were momentarily stunned by its terrifying and overwhelming presence. It was clearly not just a simple dead being.

It was Andontra, also known as the Soul Collector…

That creature, dwelling in the Spirit Realm, devoured aimlessly wandering souls. Of course, naturally, it also attacked living people to collect their souls.

Before Andontra could swing its massive scythe, Elena’s elemental magic flew and exploded its body.

——!!

Ashen dust poured out of the bursting cloak. However, the creature seemed to feel no pain at all and swung its scythe with a whoosh.

Those in front tried to block the attack with their large shields, but the force was too strong for them to stand firm.

In the end, both Kalisman and Geese, having taken the attack, collapsed onto the ground, their formation shattered. Still, it was crucial that they somehow managed to block that one strike. Because then, an opportunity for a counterattack would arise.

The Cautious Archer, Gheorghe, drenched the arrowhead in holy water, pulled the bowstring taut, and aimed for the monster’s head right after it attacked, then, ping, shot it.

The holy water arrow, flying like a beam of light, hit its head precisely.

Paang, it burst and then tried to regenerate slowly. Allen shouted to attack it before it could fully regenerate.

The Itty Bitty Swordsman and the Blind Saintess in the second row swiftly moved first. As they attacked with weapons and sacks in each arm, following them, Training Junkie Viktor and the youngest Newbie Kori swung their weapons hard against its body. The moment Andontra staggered and fell backward, the weapons chewed up its body even more thoroughly.

Only then did the monster slowly turn into black ash and scatter. Its speed wasn’t very fast, but its destructive power was indeed overwhelming. Even a thick shield bore a deep scratch from just one swipe of the scythe.

…Normally, a short rest after a battle is common, but Allen didn’t do so. While the Allen-Mercenary Group was fighting Andontra, the other mercenary groups were too busy dealing with the endlessly rushing undead to even catch their breath. And even at this moment, the undead were relentlessly attacking.

“Keep moving forward. Let’s hurry up!”

Die, die!

Aaaaaah!

Give it, give it back, aaaaah!

As they might end up spending the whole night like this If they were to deal with each and every one of them, it seemed best to make a slightly faster pace and pierce through to the inner fortress without stopping.

Group Leader Allen gathered the remaining three mercenary groups and changed the formation into a cone shape. This had the weakness of making the rear somewhat vulnerable, but as long as they didn’t stop, there was no need to worry about what was behind them.

Although it wasn’t at the level of a powerful charge on horseback, if a strong mercenary with a hefty build forcefully rammed with a shield, weak undead would collapse in an instant… The problem was that if Andontra appeared again, they would have to quickly change the formation by pulling the three mercenary groups back.

“CHARGE UNTIL I SAY STOP!!!!!!”

Group Leader Allen screamed so loudly that the veins in his neck bulged. And the groups of mercenaries moved forward with quick, light steps.

Having barely eaten anything, the constant movement had the mercenaries breathing hard, their breaths heavy with the smell of ketones… But what could they do? It was a matter of life and death for everyone, so there was no room to consider anyone’s personal circumstances. It was no joke; they had to muster every bit of strength they had, even that from their infancy.

After quite a while, the groups finally faced the inner city wall. Perhaps because it was close to the gate of the Spirit Realm, the number of the undead was enormous. And there, wandering around, were soul collectors and Andontra.

The inner city gate was already open. If they could just momentarily hinder Andontra’s movement, it seemed they could enter the inner city in one go.

Allen called over the Milk-Jug Mage and another mage.

“You two, just attack that bastard. Don’t mind the others. Just prevent him from getting close! Can you do it while moving?”

It was approaching with a running start, so it was already close at hand. Naturally, there was no time to answer. They had to try somehow.

The two mages chanted the most powerful magic they could. Meanwhile, Andontra rushed at them and was about to swing its scythe.

At the same time, two spells flew towards the body of the monster. The spell of the Milk-Jug Mage hit it squarely in the body, and the other mage’s spell hit its left shoulder.

At that moment, a brief gap occurred.

When the mercenaries near Andontra got scared and flinched, slowing down for a moment, Allen burst out with a curse-filled scream.

“Hey, you fuckers, when did I tell you to stop?!”

Then, they let out a fierce scream and ran a bit faster to realign their scattered formation.

But Andontra had already regenerated to its original state. When it seemed about to swing its scythe in rage, the Blind Saintess, following Allen’s command, leaped like a ray of light and plunged her fist into the face of the Soul Collector.

—————!!!!

With that single blow, Andontra staggered and fell backward. Fortunately, the groups managed to pass safely over the fallen creature.

Allen usually preferred not to break formation, but this time, there was no other choice. The spot left vacant by the brief absence of the Pinkette Saintess was filled by the Cautious Archer, Gheorghe. The dead vanished into ash as it swung its scythe like a club.

The mercenary groups, fearlessly and recklessly, broke through the undead, charging at them, and finally entered the inner fortress. Of course, it wasn’t like there were no undead inside… However, they suddenly noticed a significant decrease. As if even those creatures were somewhat reluctant to be in this place.

Only then did the groups slightly slow down and finally got to catch their breath. They were still smashing the skulls of the endlessly attacking undead, but it was much more manageable compared to outside the inner fortress.

…However, the moment they entered, the chilling aura piercing their spines became so intense that even the usually insensitive Allen could clearly feel it.

A certainty that something was definitely here.

The gate to the Spirit Realm.

It was time to shut down that damned soul gate.