Chapter 127
◇◇◇
Now, the sealed armor guarded by the Holy Knight Nelly Virtuous is called the Shield of Comprehension. It was one of the three sacred items used as a catalyst to seal the Sealed Domain. The cave enshrining this armor, the Shield of Comprehension, is believed to be the epicenter of the coming Fog and the accompanying monster appearances.
For this reason, the town of Skuld is chosen as the base for the operation—to search and destroy the Fog as soon as it’s found—due to its proximity to the cave and its capacity to accommodate a large number of personnel.
In the lodgings of Skuld town, Purume En Dynast is checking her movements while dressed in the best equipment she can muster, preparing for the undoubtedly fierce battles to come.
She has generously modified the Legendary Grade 「Exodus Armor」 for her personal use, wearing separate pieces on her shoulders, neck, elbows, knees, wrists, and chest. She moves her body, checking once again to ensure they don’t interfere with her movements, adjusting as necessary.
The aforementioned armor has been modified with the concept of not hindering her movements, particularly suited for her specialty in punching.
Moreover, the Yggdrasill Twig is hanging on her right hip, while the Magic Sword Nidhogg is on her left. Belts wrapped around both legs are equipped with two dagger-sized artificial magic swords called Imitation Gold on each side. And there’s more—
As she steps into the guild’s conference room, the members who are supposed to be there are already gathered, and almost all of them turn their eyes towards her. When they confirm her equipment, they all invariably gasp.
This time, the command of Virtuous’s defense has been entrusted to her.
「Well then—」
The words she needs to say are already within her.
In front of the leaders of prominent clans and parties, she takes a deep breath, unnoticed by anyone.
「Several days have passed since the monster known as the Fog appeared. Many of us are numerous, and some might think that we can easily overcome this situation if we continue like this.」
It was true that there was a somewhat victorious mood flowing through everyone. They didn’t actually know about the previous Sealed Domain, so it couldn’t be helped. Purume had come to terms with this.
「Indeed, your thinking isn’t wrong. Because this is close to the royal capital, many capable individuals have been gathered as the most important defense point for this incident—yes, I’m talking about you and the organizations you represent.」
Purume tells them with a majestic demeanor.
「The elites gathered here—the Arcana Knights, the Royal Magic Corps led by Honest and other capable individuals, Clan Rebellion, Clan Eden’s Garden, and independent parties like Firestarter and Wolf’s Head, and even that Holy Knight Nelly Virtuous added to the mix—each and every one of you is a remarkable hero who stands out from the rest.」
She confirms the faces of all attendees and continues,
「Yes, with you here, the situation will undoubtedly come to an end in the not-too-distant future—」
She takes another deep breath there.
「However, I want you to remember what I said.
Earlier, I said ‘if we continue like this.’ Let me declare this.
The situation will not proceed smoothly as it is.」
In response to Purume’s statement, the man in black—the leader of Wolf’s Head—raises his voice.
「We’ve been doing well so far, haven’t we, Guild Master! What’s your basis for saying such things?」
There were no jeers typical of rough adventurers piggy-backing on his words. On the contrary, he himself was merely voicing the opinion on behalf of those around him. As expected of individuals leading first-class groups. They were all listening intently to Purume’s words.
「There are three reasons.」
Purume says, making a gesture of folding one finger.
「First, I have experienced the great disaster caused by the previous Sealed Domain. Some of you might already know this. The multiplication speed of the Fog should never be underestimated. I once saw a scene where the multiplied Fog engulfed people. And the extermination of the overgrown Fog was impossible. That’s why we had to seal it back then.」
Someone’s throat moves as they imagine the scene she described.
「Second, as long as we are human, human error will never disappear. At the very least, if we don’t act with this in mind, we will undoubtedly repeat the same mistakes as last time.」
No matter how careful one is, overlooking something is human nature. By being aware of this, not only does one’s overall attention increase, but even if an undesirable situation arises from an oversight, one can deal with it with some degree of composure.
「And the third reason—」
By now, everyone is listening to what she has to say, and there’s no one here who objects.
「—is my ‘intuition.’」
Her words create a suddenly confused atmosphere among the gathered capable individuals—but,
「I don’t mind being criticized as a coward.
But this is undeniable. My ‘intuition’ is often correct.
Even now, an ominous feeling sticks to me and won’t let go. Whenever this happens, something bad always occurs.」
Many people in the room feel as if the temperature has dropped at Purume’s words.
Then, the black-clad leader of Wolf’s Head from earlier exclaims,
「I get it. If the Blue Flame says it’s that serious! My party will thoroughly follow the Guild Master’s instructions!」
…he shouted out loud.
Triggered by this, many of the people present decide to thoroughly follow Purume’s instructions and direct their organizations to do the same.
This was one of the miracles brought about by the dialogue between Yamada and Purume.
◇◇◇
In front of Sensei, who sits cross-legged with her eyes closed, Yamada continues to think.
There has been something nagging at Yamada for a while.
According to Sensei, why did the Fog Slime, which supposedly didn’t appear last time, show up now?
What exactly was different between last time and this time?
In reality, he already had an idea close to the answer within him. It started to become vaguely visible when he saw the boss monsters appearing with each advancing floor.
The first floor boss was a monster based on the Crystal Doll, the second floor boss was a monster based on the Angel. At that stage, he couldn’t completely rule out the possibility of coincidence occurring twice.
And the third floor boss—was a monster based on the Dragon Bone Swordsman’s living form.
All of them were monsters deeply connected to them, including Yamada.
If it were a coincidence, the denominator would be an astronomical number.
If so, then this is—
In addition to the above information, at this point, there was only one person in the world who had information from Sensei, who experienced the previous incident—Yamada Ichiro.
And he had come to realize one possibility.
If you enjoy it and wish to see more, please consider giving it a 5-star rating for the series on NU. Click Here.
Check out my Patreon for early access to upcoming updates. Patreon Link