## Chapter 753 – Paladin Kim Kat
“Leave this to me, friend!”
“What?”
Before my eyes, Vugal grabbed my shoulder and shouted confidently. But his demonic face was etched with urgency, and he was sweating profusely all over.
What’s with this guy?
ㅡFwoooooosh!!!!!
“What’s that?”
I looked over and saw Bulverza flying like a rocket. It was propulsion that far exceeded the creator’s expectations.
But why Bulverza all of a sudden?
「Krrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!」
The one who sent Bulverza flying was none other than the transcendently huge Archduke Berial. The black great demon filled the horizon, and when he swung his arm once, the heavens and earth shook, and the earth cracked. Bulverza was hit by that and sent flying.
ㅡOverwhelming size.
When I properly recognized the situation, I saw things like dryads and kobold guardians flying along with Bulverza as a set.
Even black birdmen were flying in the sky.
“I won’t let you get away with this!”
“Krrraaaughhhh!!!”
“Die, demon!”
At the same time, brave shouts rang out, and three people shot past me and Vugal. It was Mersin, Garros, and Baron Salverin.
“These guys?”
They appeared from nowhere, raised their most trusted weapons, and charged towards Berial. Mersin with his longsword, Garros with his claws, and Baron Salverin with his magic sword.
“This is a dream.”
I thought something was up, but it was a dream.
“Yeah, it’s a dream, friend.”
Vugal echoed my words.
“It is a dream.”
Vugal, who had been looking at my face, turned his head back and put his arm around my shoulder. I also raised my arm and grabbed Vugal’s shoulder, then looked at Berial with him.
ㅡKuaaaaaaack!!
ㅡCough!
ㅡWaaaaaa!
It was.
ㅡThwack!
ㅡPapat!
It was literally a mythical battle.
Mersin, much smaller than Berial, fought fiercely, wielding his sword, and Garros, who was running on all fours, transformed into multiple beings, aiming for the great demon’s head. Baron Salverin, raising his magic sword, was single-handedly blocking dozens of flying tentacles.
“We’re fighting Berial, friend.”
Vugal said.
“Ah.”
I guess so.
My friends.
My comrades.
To kill the newly appeared formidable enemy Berial, they were fighting forever and ever. A space where the concept of time is meaningless. From the beginning to now. Perhaps even into the distant future.
The beings who became my friends, who died for me, were now attacking Berial to establish the identity and justice of Fusion Confucianism.
ㅡI felt it.
This was a dream, but.
It’s not a dream.
“Friend. I believe in the friend who believes in me. Berial is a strong archduke, but he is not an existence that cannot be overcome with the power of friendship.”
ㅡCrack! Crack crack!
Vugal’s body began to change gradually.
ㅡPuddeuk!
Murderous horns, strong and thick thorns, and the most solid exoskeleton protruded from Vugal’s body, which was wearing a black latex suit and looked like an inhuman pervert.
That was a kind of ideological armament symbolizing the enhanced Vugal.
“So.”
Vugal’s tone was filled with absolute confidence. Small beings. Vugal and Mersin are both too small and insignificant. They are by no means legendary beings. That’s why they can’t beat a huge and magnificent being like Berial.
“Believe.”
But there is Vugal saying, “We can win.”
“Believe in me.”
ㅡWhirr!
At the same time.
“Believe in your friends.”
Vugal’s body is enveloped in a brilliant and sacred radiance. With that, his skin color changed to white. This is no longer a demon sword. Hwalin (活人).
Beyond saving people.
The true form of the sacred Holy Sword Vugal.
ㅡFwoooooosh!!
The flown Bulverza got up again and rushed towards Berial. Compared to Berial, who filled the horizon, the old and weak orc seemed like just a small microorganism.
Even so.
ㅡFwoooosh!!
He struggles.
Even if he is attacked, flies away, is crushed, and destroyed. The guy who gets up again goes to collide with Berial over and over again only to defeat him.
At the end of that may be his eternal destruction.
But the true warriors of Fusion Confucianism.
Never give up.
“Bulverza…!”
I can’t interfere with them. As just an observer, I can only believe in them, cheer them on, and watch.
ㅡThud.
The angel (天士) Vugal, who completed the Holy Sword transformation (聖劍化), puts his hand on my shoulder.
“Friend.”
“…Vugal.”
My shoulder is hot.
The power of true friendship is flowing in.
“I believe in you.”
“I believe in you too.”
Vugal said, and I answered.
“Me too!”
“…Me too!”
“I believe in you too!”
Mersin, Garros, and Baron Salverin also say so. Friends I can trust. My comrades whom I deeply believe in.
If it’s them.
“Yeah.”
Go and.
Defeat Berial.
ㅡNod nod.
Vugal nodded, and in an instant, he became a brilliant flash and flew towards Berial beyond the horizon at transcendental speed. The attack emanating from that overwhelming radiance would surely easily…
ㅡPoof.
At that moment, I woke up from my dream.
“Kuhuk…!”
I wake up from my dream.
Recognizing it was instantaneous.
ㅡDrip!
At the same time, a tear runs down. The flowing tear wets my sideburns and seeps into the pillow.
It was a dream that I could never forget or erase.
Sadness. Regret. Romance. And.
Friendship.
ㅡSo touching.
All those emotions welled up, and I shed tears.
“Ah.”
But I mustn’t cry.
My friends.
With only the thought of killing Berial for me, they were launching endless offensives while destroying their own souls. Berial was strong. A being so strong that victory could not be guaranteed. But. Even so, there are friends who don’t give up.
ㅡThe power of friendship.
This was such a dream.
ㅡPapat!
ㅡBoong boong!
Immediately, I got out of bed, jumped down to the floor, and picked up Vugal, which I had leaned against the wall. At first glance, it’s just a sword made of black steel.
However.
ㅡThump, thump.
I feel a pulsating power.
ㅡThump!
A wave is transmitted from the fist holding the handle.
No matter how much Vugal is the demon of the sword, he couldn’t be strong enough to absorb all the souls of the archduke.
Of course, there is a burden.
Berial’s soul was enormous.
“Executive Sword Energy.”
ㅡPatsut.
Immediately, I suppress the waves and pour my mana into the blade.
ㅡInhuman power.
Refining the energy.
Refining it to suit me.
Killing the energy of the archduke.
Killing it and making it melt into the sword.
As my friends are fighting on the other side of the dream, I must also help them here.
If Berial is defeated like that.
Vugal will become an even stronger sword.
This was such a task. It sounds easy to say. However, it was not as easy as I thought. Even though Bulverza, Mersin, Garros, and Baron Salverin are lending me their strength, it’s like this.
It’s so hard.
“Son of a bitch.”
ㅡTsu tsu tsu!
Properly adjusting the rushing mana and maintaining the shape of the sword energy correctly. Indeed. Absorbing Berial’s soul has made the feeling different. But it’s unstable. Vugal’s condition right now feels precarious.
I should focus on this for the time being.
“Father?”
“Ah. Aria.”
At that time, Aria woke up. Aria… my Aria. It seemed that her body was getting better by continuously consuming Alaune’s breast milk.
“Are you going to the dungeon today too?”
“I’m thinking about whether to go or not, damn it, what should I do.”
I haven’t returned to the capital yet.
I’m taking a break here for a while.
The operation of the dungeon has been completely stopped. The golems stopped, and the heteromorphic monsters melted away. Berial’s residual energy had all run out.
It happened later than I thought, but in the meantime, we collected the cores like crazy and sold them all to get even more money.
Of course, now that the dungeon has stopped, the value of the cores has plummeted.
“Even if you go, you’ll only smell corpses. Blackie. Shouldn’t we just go slowly?”
“That’s true.”
Above all, the inside of the dungeon is now a scene of utter chaos, so much so that it could be called hell. As I expected, as soon as the operation of the golems stopped, people started flocking in like crazy.
So they fought each other like crazy, and dozens more died. That’s just what I saw. In reality, hundreds must have died.
The dungeon is now a huge corpse landfill.
Dying, killing. Stealing, then dying again, digging through corpses, then dying again. It has transformed into a pit where crazy people throw their lives away.
The nobles also led their soldiers and tried to figure things out, but they judged that they wouldn’t be able to find anything useful anymore, so those who left were pouring out.
Right now, probably only the Royal Knights are doing a proper exploration. Those bastards were trying to control the people who were entering the dungeon like crazy and were talking about some kind of order to them, but there’s no way they would listen.
Anyway, the reason I’m still here and not going up to the capital is to gather clues to make up words in the report.
I’ve decided to just keep my mouth shut about this.
Killing Berial is a great achievement, but I can’t prove it, and there are many things that get in the way. So I decided that it’s better not to say anything.
Fortunately, the dungeon is a mess, and that has created a good excuse.
「We discovered a large number of golems and seemingly evil monsters moving with unknown power in the dungeon. They are not impossible to kill. However, it can be said that it is a special matter that we caused friction with the overflowing criminals while entering the dungeon. Many cases of vagrants who came to make a fortune suddenly turning into criminals are occurring.」
First, I wrote only the facts in the introduction.
「We continued the exploration.」
From here, I thoroughly conceal the truth.
「However, during the exploration, all the golems suddenly stopped operating. It is presumed that the power has run out. The power was stored in the dungeon before the sealing, and the power was used rapidly as the dungeon was activated by human intrusion. It is thought that the dungeon has completely silenced because it has all been used up.」
That’s it.
All I have to do is modify this content appropriately and report it.
Anyway, there is no evidence that we went there below. All that remains is a huge room full of geometric patterns.
There is not a single piece of evidence that Berial was there.
Probably the Royal Knights will be the first to reach there. When those guys discover the innermost room, they will be quite puzzled, but again, they won’t be able to figure anything out.
Above all, this is a dungeon that has been sealed or abandoned and forgotten. It’s suspicious, but there’s nothing they can figure out.
Risha couldn’t figure it out, so what can they do?
Anyway, I’m resting without going to the capital to at least `pretend to investigate`.
「Due to the complete silence of the dungeon, adventurers, mercenaries, and criminals aiming for the golems are invading in `large numbers`, and the inside of the dungeon has now transformed into a battlefield where those forces are fighting. With the abilities of this paladin, it is impossible to control hundreds of humans engulfed in madness and judge crimes one by one. In this situation, I judged that further exploration was impossible and decided to withdraw.」
“Good.”
That’s all I have to do.
The conclusion has come to a pretty neat end.
With this, there are no particular achievements and nothing has been done, but it can’t be helped. Still, it’s convincing content. And would the Saintess say anything to me for failing once? A person can’t do everything.
This is what the Saintess emphasized to me.
She won’t say anything special.
She’ll just give me a little bit of a reward.
“Then I should rest a bit today.”
I’ll just pretend to investigate like this for a few days and then withdraw.
“…”
I touched Hilde’s feet, who was sleeping in bed. I was determined to squeeze them, but I haven’t completely absorbed the power of the archduke yet, so every time I do it, she’s knocked out.
Let’s think about it slowly.
I’ve grasped the gist of the report, so I should properly deal with the matter of Vugal.
