episode_0030

Bartholomew. In a way, he is a very simple type of boss.

He summons gravestones at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, and 12 o’clock, centered around himself, at intervals of approximately 5 minutes.

Around the tombstone, necromancers continue to respawn, and since they have powerful defensive and obstacle skills, it is impossible to attack the tombstone directly unless you break through them.

If you fail to destroy the tombstone before the next tombstone is summoned, the respawn of the demons will accumulate, making defeating them even more difficult.

Five minutes after the last 12 o’clock tombstone is summoned, the creature uses the tombstone as a spell to cast a great magic spell.

Area damage is inflicted proportional to the number of remaining tombstones, and if two or more remain, annihilation is virtually certain.

In a situation where the tombstone remains, it is impossible to defeat Bartholomew with a direct hit, as he will regenerate infinitely.

in other words.

You could say that it’s a strength test style boss that tests the attack power and breakthrough power of party members.

As expected of a leader of the Demon King’s army, the level of their power struggles is quite high, and they are a formidable opponent that would be difficult for an ordinary party to avoid…

“Holy… smiteee!!”

— Boom bang bang bang bang kkaaaang…!!

The demonic spirits fall like bowling pins to the shield charge of Krimhilt, who wraps her entire body in divine power.

“Haaa …

“Sigh…!!”

The demonic spirits that were rushing to her left and right were cut down by Julia and Hyunwoo’s quick swords.

— Pot, pot, pop…!! Papapapap…!!

Zion’s barrage of arrows is nothing less than a barrage of bullets, slicing five or six corpses with each pull of the trigger.

“Hoo….”

Well, it’s a bit embarrassing to say this now, but…

This is a party of warriors that I personally raised, found hidden pieces, and equipped with items.

I’m saying that the Demon King’s Army officers and Nabal aren’t so weak that they would be pushed around in a power struggle by such low-level bosses.

“In the name of the goddess…. I purify you aaah!!”

— Kukwaaang…!!

— Crack, crack… Kwarrr….!!

Krimhilt’s mace struck the tombstone as if it were a bulldozer.

Only two minutes and 11 seconds had passed before the first headstone crumbled to ashes.

“That, ugh….. Yes, you four bitches… How dare you!!”

— Kuuung….!!

With a roar that sounded like he was spitting blood, Bartholomew summoned a second tombstone.

However, the pattern itself did not change much, and the warrior party members regrouped and calmly attacked the tombstone.

— Thump, kooquaaang…! Kwaddeuk….!! Kookwang….!!

like that.

The warrior party destroyed five tombstones in about 12 minutes.

“Ugh…. Grrrrgh…! You bitches, you bitches…! I won’t forgive you!! I’ll kill all of you…!!”

As they rushed towards the sixth and final tombstone, Bartholomew raised his staff and began performing a bizarre ritual.

A tantrum pattern that activates when only one final tombstone remains.

This is a spell that forms a magic circle across the ground and inflicts continuous damage proportional to the number of demons defeated so far.

but….

“–Krimhilt!!”

“– !!”

— Paaah….!!

As I had instructed in advance, Krimhilt formed a sanctuary centered around the warrior party and blocked the bastard’s long-range attack.

“This, this….Fucking….! How did you do my drinking….!! Like this, perfectly….!?”

— Pot, pop…!! Crack…!!

While Bartholomew was screaming.

Julia, Hyunwoo, and Zion’s concentrated attack destroyed the last tombstone….

“Ugh…. Extreme…. Gaaah….!!”

The bastard’s body began to disintegrate due to the side effects of the excessive use of magic.

— Bam, bang! Guss, bang… Thud, thud… Crack…

The flesh disguised as a human old man melts and scatters on the floor.

What was revealed was the black crystal, the true identity and spiritual crystal of the bastard.

If it were as per the original, the key to the strategy would be to concentrate all firepower and destroy the crystal…

“–All, stop attacking!!”

I had given instructions in advance: ‘If you attack the crystal of the guy that appears after clearing Phase 1, Bartholomew’s magic will go out of control, so you must absolutely not attack him.’

Is it because the strategy itself isn’t that complicated?

Everyone seemed to remember my instructions, and stopped attacking and stood still…

“Ultimate…. Grrr…. Ugh…. Ugh……”

About a minute later, Bartholomew disappeared, letting out a strange howl.

Only the remains of the robe he was wearing remained, scattered on the floor.

“Okay. This clears phase 1. Phase 2 will begin in a few minutes. Everyone, drink water and rest without letting your guard down. ”

“Whaaa…..”

“Phew… You’re a tired boss……”

“Cream, I’m tiredooo…. Heuheu…..”

Party members taking a break, either sitting on the floor or leaning against their swords.

Krimhilt was lying on the ground alone… well, she had been under a lot of pressure in this battle, so she must have been quite tired, and it’s understandable that she was a bit broken.

— Swish….

In the meantime.

I walked slowly towards Julia.

“Julia.”

“……?”

“If Bartholomew is left in a crystal state without stopping his breathing, he will choose one of the nearby humans and possess them to reconstruct their body. He will preferentially choose the one with the weakest mental power and blood ties to his enemies.”

“……..!!”

A deep shock spread across Julia’s sunken eyes.

“You, no way…..”

Immediately after that.

“Kkaaah…. Ouch, ahhh….! Woof woof woof….!!”

Someone walked out of the hall with a terrible scream.

Lucius, the second prince of the Kingdom of Rekaia, whose body was more than half eroded by a black liquid.

With a look of pain, fear and despair on their faces.

The creature desperately tried to protect itself from the encroaching fluid by flailing its remaining limbs.

“Please, please…! Kkaaaah…. Save meee….! Eww, ah, ah….! It hurtseee! ”

“………..!!”

“Ugh…..”

“You, idiots… You little bastards…! Do something about this…! Kkuaah, hak, hak…! The worst…. What, something is crawling into my head… There, uh…! Kkuaah…. My brain, my brain… feels like it’s being eaten away…!!”

“…………..”

“Guk, stop, ugh…. Ugh…. Ah, no…. This can’t be… I, I… will become the hero of this country… Ugh…. inherit the throne…. great, one….. Ah…… Aah…..”

After a while.

Lucius’s voice became quiet, and a subdued tone resonated.

“Sorry, everyone. It took me a while to get my body back together.”

“Bartelo….!”

“Ugh… You…!!”

“Then… shall we start over from the beginning?”

Bartholomew raises his cane with a leisurely smile.

After giving that guy a snicker.

I left Julia’s side and whispered one last thing.

“The board is set. From here on, it’s your turn. ….Do your best.”

After nodding very slightly.

Julia aimed her sword with a murderous attitude.

About twenty minutes later.

— Pot, pop…! Kwarrrrung….!!

Repeating the same pattern again, the warrior party destroyed the sixth tombstone.

“Okay…. Everyone, attack Bartholomew’s body with all your might!!”

— Blame, blame…!!

The warrior party members rush towards the guy with a murderous spirit.

The bastard raised his hands hastily and began to grit his teeth.

“Hey, wait a minute…! You bitch!! This body is your brother’s!! And, she’s still alive!!”

“………..”

“If you swing your sword now, the owner of this body will die!! You, do you think it’s okay to sacrifice your own family? You’re a so-called warrior party, so you wouldn’t do that, right?”

“After…..”

“……..?”

“Huh, huhuhuhuhuhu…. huhu…. hu…..”

With a soft laugh.

Julia slowly raised her head, her eyes stained with an unprecedentedly sinister madness.

— Disaster…!!

“Ugh….!!”

Bartholomew’s right arm is severed and blown away by a sword that is so sharp it is invisible to the eye.

Without giving him a chance to scream, Julia continued to unleash a barrage of blows.

Right leg.

Left arm.

Thigh.

eyeball.

Neck line.

A relentless onslaught that tears, pierces, and cuts through flesh.

Julia whispered in a voice that was incredibly soft.

“Don’t worry, brother. As the sword of the royal family, for this continent, I will never let your sacrifice be in vain.”

“Gasp, ugh, huh… Yes, you bitch….!! From, from the beginning…. I was planning to tear this human to pieces….!!”

“Please….”

— Crunch….!!

“Ugh…!!”

After tearing Bartholomew’s neck apart, he was unable to bark anymore.

Julia smiled bitterly.

and.

— Phew…!!

With a single stroke of the blade, the exposed lens was pierced.

She whispered in a small voice.

“Rest in peace…. Brother.”

“Ugh, ugh…. Grrr….. Kkaaah…..!!!!”

After that.

Although there were some twists and turns, the situation was resolved without any significant aftereffects.

The death of Prince Lucius became a huge issue, but since all the focus was on Bartholomew, the one who was responsible for it, no one appeared to suspect the warrior party or question their involvement.

Even if there were those who harbored suspicions, it would be foolish to raise such suspicions against a party of warriors who had ended the Northern Plague and defeated one of the Twelve Horsemen of the Demon King’s Army…

It would mean giving up one’s own political life forever.

Most of the soldiers of the Knights Templar led by the prince were killed during the battle with the Command Corps that surrounded the city of Dalek.

The power and forces that Lucius had held were literally blown away, disappearing without a trace.

The sect has canonized Lucius as a saint who died in battle against the Demon King’s army, and his body will be transported to the capital and buried with a grand funeral.

Looking at my brother’s remains being carried away in a magnificently decorated coffin.

The smile Julia wore was so creepy that it would have made anyone faint if they had seen it.

As a result of the discussions among the relevant parties, it was decided that the acting lord of the castle would be Huebel, the commander of the Purification Knights, as before.

Perhaps because of the incident where Lucius, who had been appointed as governor, lost his life less than a month before, no one showed up to support a successor…

It was concluded that the Royal Army would provide troops and the religious order would dispatch administrative and operational experts to assist Huebel.

The orphans that Lucius had taken in to be used as private soldiers were placed in a foster care facility run by the religious order.

According to Luagat’s grumbling, he seems to be a normal adult raised by the goddess’s subordinates, but his size is wrong…

Well, at this point, there’s nothing I can do about it.

With the disappearance of Bartholomew, the originator of the plague, the Ghoul Plague has come to a complete end.

The warrior party returned to the Labyrinth City after a long northern expedition.