Chapter 95: A Satisfactory Result for Everyone

I gained Soul Chain. From the name alone, it seems like an ability that could kidnap vengeful spirits.

When I recalled the information about the ability inscribed in my brain, it is indeed an ability that assists spirit vision.

‘An ability that can directly attack and bind spirits. If used with spirit vision… I can kidnap and imprison the souls of dead adventurers like Pokémon..!’

It’s estimated to be an ability that allows direct interference with targets encountered through spirit vision.

Like other abilities, this one could also produce quite dynamic effects depending on “how the user uses it”. It means that depending on how you use the chain, you can do unbelievable things, not just limited power.

‘Since I can bind the soul itself with chains. If I use this for kidnapping and training.. I can quickly make a ghost slave..!’

Just these two things – interfering with the target’s movement, or binding spirits to subdue them – are enough to show that this is an absurdly overpowered ability.

If I can handle the chains well, I could really use it in various ways. If I use this well, it might be possible to enslave vengeful spirits as the witch said. No, it’s definitely possible.

‘Then.’

What I need to do from now on is to gather as many vengeful spirits as possible and bind them with Soul Chain.

But there’s a clear limit to my capacity. So I need to prioritize quality. As the witch said, I needed to gather as many high-quality spirits as possible.

It would be easy to understand if you think of it as slots being created as much as mana adaptation.

Currently, it’s possible to subjugate up to 8 people.

‘Unless I acquire some means or auxiliary abilities to increase the quantity, it seems I can attribute vengeful spirits to my soul as many times as I’ve adapted to mana.’

I roughly checked the estimate of Soul Chain.

Now what’s left is to find high-quality and strong vengeful spirits and bind them with chains.

By chance, I had just the right opponent now.

‘You’re reading my thoughts right now, aren’t you?’

I asked the witch.

The witch who had passed to the other side of consciousness, saying she had used up almost all her power.

She’s probably reading my thoughts right now.

-….

The witch didn’t answer.

She probably didn’t expect me to gain Soul Chain right away. But what to do now? I gained the power to make her mine before she could escape from me.

-Hmm…

Soon the witch appeared cautiously in front of me, as if checking the situation. Perhaps because my spirit vision was strengthened as I gained Soul Chain, I could activate spirit vision at will.

Her appearance is clearer than before. A witch with jet-black hair and ample breasts.

The difference in seductiveness was stark compared to when she was blurry. Just standing in front of me, she shows a figure that seems to stimulate the lust within me.

-What are you looking at so intently?

‘Nothing.’

I absolutely can’t say I was looking at her panty line. No, she’s probably already reading my thoughts, so has she found out everything?

-Look here. I’m already too old. I don’t have the strength to fight anymore.

‘You still look beautiful from the outside though? You look about the same age as me.’

-No, it’s not a matter of appearance. My mind has already been too severely worn in this labyrinth. Now I need rest soon…

‘Just a little. Help me just a little more. Please? Help me.’

-…..

“Please help me.”

I pleaded earnestly.

You might ask, can’t I just bind her forcefully?

That’s only possible if I’m overwhelmingly stronger than the opponent.

As I am now, I couldn’t arbitrarily bind her.

Even with Soul Chain, it’s difficult to subdue the witch with my current mana quantity. How should I put it? The basic level difference is too big.

So I pleaded with all my sincerity. If I don’t bind her with Soul Chain, the moment we go up to the surface, the witch will attain enlightenment regardless of my will.

To prevent that, I needed to tie down her soul with my Soul Chain so it couldn’t attain enlightenment. Please let yourself be bound.

-Haah. This is maddening. Just a little, you say. How many years do you think it will take? It will take a long time just to go down to the 7th floor. To listen to the request of a rookie who hasn’t even set foot on the threshold of the 6th floor. You’re saying I have to wander here again?

‘Witch-nim. Please. Think of it as saving one person and help me.’

-Don’t think about using me like a slave.

‘Yes. Of course. I’ll treat you well. Should I even perform ancestral rites for you?’

-Ancestral rites? Is that an Eastern culture? There’s no need for such things. But I might want to see Mabel a little.

‘The Magic Tower Master?’

-Yes. I’m quite curious how much she’s grown while I’ve been stuck in the labyrinth. I’m not particularly curious about Moira, that girl will survive no matter where you throw her. That Raphanel thing is a monster too, so she’ll live well.

‘You certainly understand them well.’

-Yes. We all knew each other well. Haah. Alright for now. Bind me with your chain.

I reached out towards the witch who was sucking on her long pipe.

A chain extends from the center of my palm.

The chain made of my soul, defying physical laws, entwined around the witch’s body.

“Cough.”

Blood gushed out of my mouth.

-It’s because the difference in level is too big. I’ll have to reduce my power a little.

“Ughk…”

The witch arbitrarily lowered her level.

-I’m closing off some memories. I’m also reducing my self-awareness. Even if there are some flaws, if I don’t fit the specifications, you’ll die.

Soon the chain completely entwined her.

-With this, you and I are connected.

I successfully absorbed the witch.

Until now, she was just riding on my back, but now she’s completely inside me.

In this state, she won’t arbitrarily attain enlightenment even if we go up to the surface.

-By the way, my name is Helena. There was a time when everyone knew me as the Witch of the Dark Moon.

‘The Witch of the Dark Moon? Is that an alias?’

-Yes. It’s a title given by the Witch Association to the greatest witch of the era.

Then that means Helena was the strongest witch of the previous generation.

Now she’s dead though.

-For your reference, it’s extremely difficult to exercise my magic through your body. Your mana circuits will all burn out.

‘Is that so?’

-You’re not a magician. You can’t handle my formulas with such meager mana circuits.

‘Then what do we do? Can I only borrow your knowledge?’

-No. We can possess someone with a body that can withstand my magic.

‘Uh… A human body?’

-A human body is fine, or a monster’s body is fine too. If it’s something to use and discard, a monster would feel less guilty.

A body to use and discard.

To exercise real magic, not just small tricks like changing the effect of a bracelet, she needed a living body after all.

So to properly use the witch, I need to either procure a human body or capture a monster.

‘Wait a moment.’

Is there a being in the underground city that can handle Helena’s magic?

‘Even a High Orc Warlock would only be one-time use.’

There’s no point in possessing a High Orc Warlock’s body with Helena.

-If I cast one spell, the Warlock’s head would explode.

As she says, most beings can’t accept Helena.

‘Above all, to possess someone, I need to knock them out or weaken them.’

Like with Pokémon, I need to weaken the possession target. To possess a High Orc Warlock, I need to knock it out while keeping it alive. Of course, monsters are harder to knock out than humans.

In the end, the best thing is to find a human magician.

‘Um, I have a good idea.’

-What is it?

‘Let’s use a heretic.’

-Huh? What did you say?

Let’s use a heretic.

No, think about it.

We need to give a body to a ghost. We can’t sacrifice an ordinary person, so.

It’s better to take the body of a trash person who we wouldn’t feel any guilt killing.

And among them, if it’s the body of a human with high magical aptitude, a heretic is perfect. Among them, since an ordinary heretic wouldn’t be able to handle Helena, it would be better to catch an apostle-level one.

Moreover, among the apostles, the Blue Apostle who oversees rituals would probably have the highest magical capacity.

‘The Blue Apostle is the most suitable one.’

-That’s certainly true, but. How do you plan to persuade the Saint?

Ah, I didn’t think about that.

If I suddenly tell the Saint we need to keep a heretic apostle alive, will she listen to me?

She’s a person who wants to beat all heretics to death with her bible.

“Haah.”

It would be advantageous for giant hunting if I could make Helena usable right away.

First, I need to persuade the Saint and the inquisitors.

‘Helena, you said you’re enemies with the Saint, right? Why did you become enemies?’

To persuade the Saint, mentioning Helena would probably be most effective, but.

Unfortunately, since the relationship between the two is that of enemies, if I mention it without knowing well, it might have the opposite effect.

-Hmm. I diverted some heretics that Fria was trying to kill.

“What?”

I was so surprised I spoke out loud.

She diverted heretics? Is she crazy?

-Well, I needed to do human experiments, but I didn’t have suitable subjects. If they were people just waiting to die anyway, isn’t it better for them to contribute to human progress?

‘….’

She’s not wrong. I’m trying to use heretics too after all.

‘So the cause of the conflict was that you took her prey.’

-Well, that’s the fundamental problem, yes.

How on earth do I persuade the Saint?

If I say we should keep a heretic alive in any form, she’ll treat me like a crazy person and try to hunt me as a heretic.

Moreover, to properly use Helena, we needed to keep an apostle-level one alive.

As I was holding my head in my hands, lost in thought, the Saint, who had checked the gate connected to the garden district, approached me.

“What are you doing there, Porter-ssi?”

“Ah, Saint. Well, you see…”

As I hesitated, unable to speak properly, the Saint smiled brightly.

Her eyes still weren’t smiling though.

“It seems some problem has arisen. What is it?”

“Well, this is really not for any other reason, but…”

“Yes. Tell me.”

“You know the heretic apostles, right?”

“Yes, yes. There are. Those rotten bastards. Converts not worth even chewing to death. Yes, yes.”

“…”

Fuck, I can’t speak like this?

The Saint is already pissed off?

“No, that’s. Ah, this is driving me crazy.”

“Porter-ssi. Stop beating around the bush and confess quickly.”

“Ah, was this a confession?”

“Of course. I’m listening to your worries, so. If this isn’t a confession, what is it? There aren’t many chances in life to confess to me, a Saint. It’s only worth it if you give me 1 platinum coin.”

This money-grubbing Saint.

Looking at her closely, this woman seems to have nothing in her head except exterminating heretics and collecting money.

“Ah. Then Saint. Please listen without personal opinions, as if it’s a real confession.”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”

I told the Saint that I think we need to keep one heretic apostle alive.

The reason was that I picked up an awesome vengeful spirit, and I want to put this vengeful spirit into a heretic’s body and use it.

“…”

“Uh, what do you think?”

“Porter.”

“Yes, Saint.”

“Are you crazy?”

“Ah… Well..”

For a moment, murderous intent burst out from the Saint.

I expected it, but I didn’t think she’d get this angry. This is dangerous..

“Even if it’s a confession. There are things you can say and. You know? Things you can’t say. What is this now..!”

“Ah, no! Wait a moment!”

“What? Do you still have something to say? I want to catechize you right now. Do you have any excuses left?”

“No, think about it carefully. If we take the body of a heretic apostle bastard and plant one of our allies in it. And then just have them hunt heretics… Isn’t that making them fight among themselves! Moreover, since they’re wearing an apostle’s mask, they won’t even be suspicious.”

“That’s true, but still..!”

“No, no, Saint. Is there a better torture method than making them tear each other apart? The apostle they trusted will give some weird reasons and kill the heretics. Disguising it as a sacrifice for the greater cause and killing them all, then I’ll sweep their corpses into my spatial pocket…”

“Are you saying we should wear a heretic disguise to hunt heretics now? Become a wild dog pup to catch wild dogs?”

“Yes. What’s wrong with that! It’s heretic hunting.”

“Is that so?”

Rather than backing down, I pushed harder, and the Saint looked at me as if she was seeing a complete madman.

“No, I felt it since you suggested arson, but. You’re quite a lunatic, aren’t you?”

“I’m just trying to go the most efficient way when considering efficiency. Lunatic? Saint, you go crazy and try to kill all heretics when you see them too. Aren’t we the same?”

“Huh. That’s true, but. Hmm.”

“Instead of doing the tedious job of chasing after fleeing ones, let’s catch one apostle, possess them with our ally, and comfortably harvest heretics. Huh? Just catch that Blue Apostle or whatever, don’t kill them but give them to me, and I’ll make you a heretic execution factory.”

“A heretic execution factory?”

“Yes. You said that Blue Apostle oversees rituals, right? Then he must have done all the heretic human sacrifices too.”

“That’s probably true.”

“The heretics all cover their faces with masks or veils anyway. Let’s take down the Blue Apostle, put the vengeful spirit I collected into his body, then we’ll disguise ourselves as heretics and round them all up under the pretext of human sacrifice.”

“…”

“Doesn’t it sound like a good method? We’ll be able to hunt heretics quickly and easily.”

The Saint thought for a long time.

Whether to wear a heretic disguise to hunt heretics.

Or to continue wandering the complicated area below the floor division and continue hunting heretics.

“That method, it’s certain, right? If anything seems strange, I’ll split your head first.”

“Ow. Don’t say such brutal things. It will be 99 percent successful.”

I held out my hand to the Saint.

She grasped my hand.

A dramatic negotiation success.

I’ve managed to obtain an apostle’s body by sacrificing the lives of heretics.

It seems like a result everyone can be satisfied with.