Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 75 - Sanctuary of Restful Purification: Final Battle (1)

Chapter 75: Sanctuary of Restful Purification: Final Battle (1)

 

Evening, as the crimson sunset slowly faded.

To the northeast of the sanctuary, a force that could by no means be called numerous had gathered.

The Holy Knight Order stationed at the Sanctuary of Restful Purification, the Torch of Purification.

Though the name could easily be interpreted as rather bloodthirsty, in reality, they were simply sincere people who had voluntarily followed the Saint to this harsh place of duty.

“May Artein protect us!”

The commander, the strongest among them after the Saint, raised the sword in his hand high into the air, rallying everyone’s fighting spirit.

“We shall never break!”

Cheers. Passionate cries.

Barely forty Holy Knights roared together, their voices echoing across the battlefield.

[They’re noisy!]

Every last one of them had abandoned worldly glory to come help the Saint.

A group of stubborn, single-minded fools.

Naturally, their voices were thunderous.

Meanwhile, some distance away, our expedition quietly prepared for battle.

“I’m nervous…”

“Stay calm!”

The genius swordsman Pendrick gripped Astrimia’s hilt tightly despite his trembling body.

Perhaps it was thanks to the countless realistic sparring matches he’d endured over the past week.

For a mere Level 3 swordsman…

He was finally beginning to show genuine courage.

“Hoo…”

Bartimir vigorously stretched his body.

The bandages around both hands had already been removed.

Following my advice, he held long strips of them trailing from his hands.

“I sincerely hope things turn out well.”

Priest Lucius, who had agreed to fight alongside us, carefully polished his bell as he spoke.

“With Artein protecting us, surely we can overcome this tri–”

“Yeah, yeah! Sleepyhead, enough with the obvious speeches already!”

The demon cut off the solemn encouragement midway and casually slung an arm around the priest’s shoulders.

After a week of healing us after every sparring session, Lucius had grown surprisingly close to our expedition.

“…Please remove this.”

“Come on! Let’s do our best!”

Lucius’s handsome forehead wrinkled deeply, but Bartimir merely grinned as he thrust a fist triumphantly into the air.

Being that cheerful before a major battle…

That itself was a talent.

“Sir Karr.”

The bright-smiling Holy Knight Valentin called out to me while maintaining his sword, together with the youngest knight, Iliaa.

“Yes, Sir Valentin.”

“Will the labyrinth truly not reset as long as the Saint remains alive? What if… by some chance… that’s simply a mistaken assumption?”

It was a good habit to always consider the worst possible outcome.

Living every day worrying about disaster naturally sharpened one’s ability to prepare for the future.

I deliberately smiled before answering.

“In that case… Let’s all travel through the dimensional rift together. I’ll personally serve as your guide and show you all the famous sightseeing spots.”

“…I expected you to say something like, ‘Don’t worry. Just trust me.’ Anyone who tells you to stop worrying and just trust them is usually a con artist.”

[Question: Don’t you also frequently tell people not to worry?]

‘Wave. Wave.’

“I’ve noticed you’ve been waving your hand at empty air for a while now. Why do you keep doing that?”

“It’s a hobby. Cheerfully waving my hand for absolutely no reason.”

“…Ah. I see.”

Looking as though he’d intended to continue the conversation depending on my answer, Valentin quietly lowered his gaze back to his sword.

Just then…

As we calmly prepared for battle while listening to the Holy Knights’ spirited shouting…

“Brothers and sisters who have made such a noble decision.”

Saint Seraphina walked forward through the center.

Clad head to toe in gleaming white armor.

She looked every bit as dependable as an elite Holy Knight.

Though she was technically a priest…..

Neither her gait nor her bearing looked awkward in the slightest.

“The time has come.”

In her left hand was a white buckler.

In her right… A pure white spear.

Both weapons were holy relics.

Her armor was as well.

The Saint, fully equipped with three sacred relics, pointed the tip of her spear toward the heavens.

“Artein watches over us. The One Who Protects All shall shield us. We shall not fall.”

Those were almost certainly the exact same words she’d spoken in the original history.

Artein had likely exhausted enormous amounts of divine power trying to protect Her beloved Saint, the real Seraphina.

As everyone knew…

That story had ended in annihilation and destruction.

But at least in this labyrinth… Things would end differently.

Because I intended to make them.

“…They’re here.”

The moment Seraphina quietly spoke…

The enemy appeared beyond the horizon.

“So many…”

Lucius murmured blankly.

There really were a lot.

An absurd number.

An endless tide of golems and dolls, an army of artificial beings, surged toward us.

Roughly estimating… Perhaps ten thousand.

“…I’m starting to feel a little uneasy.”

“Aah!”

“There are way too many!”

Each member of the Moonlight Expedition expressed their tension in a different way.

A perfectly normal reaction.

Anyone who saw an army that vast advancing like a tidal wave without feeling anything was the one whose brain wasn’t functioning properly.

Wow. That’s a lot of golems.

“Be afraid.”

Stepping forward two paces, Seraphina continued.

“Fear their strength. Their resilience. Their overwhelming power. Fear is not a shameful emotion. It is the instinct for survival shared by all living creatures. The very instinct that has allowed every one of us standing here today to preserve our lives.”

Fear wasn’t an obstacle meant to be overcome.

“Simply don’t allow yourselves to be consumed by it. Accept it as your ally… And move forward.”

Fear was merely a companion who stayed beside you…

Warning you whenever danger approached.

If one thought about it…

It was actually a surprisingly considerate friend.

“I shall lead the charge.”

Her buckler rose skyward.

Whoooooosh—!

Brilliant radiance, as dazzling as sunlight itself, spread across the entire battlefield, dyeing the earth pure white.

“Envelop us.”

Immaculate Earth.

A Ninth-Tier Mysteries that dramatically increased allies’ physical abilities, regenerative power, and even the rank of their Mysteries.

—Enemy detected.

Flying reconnaissance units of the monster army…

Creatures equipped with wings on their backs or propulsion devices beneath their feet… Soared toward us.

“Glory to Artein.”

Seraphina threw her spear.

The holy relic Segia.

A weapon that pursued and pierced enemies entirely on its own.

‘Crunch!’

‘Crack!’

The pure white spear flew through the sky, shooting down golem after golem.

—Powerful enemy detected. Requesting reinforcements!

Realizing immediately that she was no ordinary opponent, the flying golems fled in haste.

Segia then returned faithfully to its master’s hand.

“I want a weapon like that too…”

Bartimir stared at the spear with sparkling eyes.

By then…

The monster army had already reached us.

Golems specially designed for combat. Constructs created for grueling labor. Service work. Household chores. Information-related professions. Even dolls built to satisfy disgraceful desires.

Every one of them possessed independent intelligence.

“The time has come.”

Seraphina looked back once toward the Holy Knights and volunteers standing behind her before striking the ground with the butt of her spear.

“Forward!”

“Glory to Artein!”

“Glory to Artein!!”

Empowered by Immaculate Earth, the Holy Knights of the Torch of Purification charged forward at astonishing speed.

“Let’s go, Bartimir!”

“Let’s gooo!”

Bartimir immediately hoisted me onto his back before sprinting forward and leaping high into the air.

‘Crunch! Crunch!’

He bounded across the battlefield, stepping directly on the heads of golems and dolls alike.

This overwhelming physical ability had only become possible because he’d spent the entire pre-battle period running around the sanctuary absorbing negative concepts.

The tremendous Strength and Speed were temporary…

But they’d last several hours at least.

Stretching both hands forward over Bartimir’s shoulder…

I unleashed my trump card.

Bzzzzzt!

Black Lightning Blossom.

Both my arms transformed into black lightning, sweeping through the ranks of golems and dolls.

—M-mal… malfunction… Critical… e-error… Gyaaah.

Even a light brush of black lightning caused entire groups of golems and dolls to malfunction simultaneously.

The magical cores and circuits that formed and animated their bodies…

Their vital organs… Had been temporarily damaged by electricity amplified through Immaculate Earth.

Mere golems could never stand against lightning.

‘Crackle!’

“Lord Su’eje. I was planning to do that anyway.”

Scattering lightning one blast after another…

I squared my shoulders.

“I’ll burn every last one of them.”

 

***

 

Pendrick steadied his racing heart as he ran after Captain Karr, who rode atop Bartimir’s shoulders.

“O stars!”

A gentle starlight aura enveloped Astrimia’s blade.

Power capable of ignoring more than thirty percent of an enemy’s defense.

Even the bodies of the golems from that bizarre future labyrinth were sliced apart like tofu the moment they touched the aura.

—Exceptional target confirmed. Highest elimination priority.

Every golem had fixed its attention on them.

Suppressing his nervousness by force…

Pendrick flashed a confident smile.

The enemy certainly wasn’t going to attack any less fiercely just because he was scared.

Besides…

He had a reliable pillar to lean on.

That alone made it easy to suppress fear and anxiety.

Bzzzzzt!

Black lightning rampaged in every direction.

Captain Karr’s Mysteries.

He’d suffered terribly against it inside the Library of Sin.

Now…

Nothing had ever felt more reassuring.

—M-m-movement… stopping…

—U-uh…

—Damn it!

Each time they were struck by the savage lightning…

The golems either froze completely or malfunctioned in grotesque ways.

Electricity that directly attacked their greatest weakness…

Their magical cores and mana circuits.

Come to think of it… Electricity was also a weakness for humans.

But regardless… It was vastly more devastating against this artificial army.

“Bartimir! Now throw me like a spear! Like a berserker!”

At that moment…

Karr issued an order that made Pendrick question his own hearing.

“…Okay!”

Bartimir hesitated only briefly.

Then he grabbed the skinny half-elf around the chest and groin…

Lifted him overhead…

And hurled him forward with all his strength.

Spreading both arms like an eagle… Karr became a bolt of black lightning and crashed directly into the middle of the artificial monster army.

Bzzzzzt!

Black lightning erupted like a fountain, sweeping away every nearby golem.

“……”

“……”

The two lovers silently continued cutting down enemies together for a moment…

Before finally laughing.

“What kind of strategy is that supposed to be…?”

“I know, right…”

‘Ding.’

Lucius, who was advancing alongside the Moonlight Expedition, calmly rang his bell as he spoke.

“Still… I have to admit I admire him. He keeps using lightning to disrupt the enemy’s movements while intentionally drawing all their attention.”

Indeed…

The golem and doll army had clearly designated Karr as their highest-priority target.

An intentionally reckless strategy meant to create opportunities for his allies.

Sometimes he went so far that it bordered on insanity.

Even so…

Lucius couldn’t help feeling that joining the Moonlight Expedition had been the right decision.

They had an incredibly dependable captain.

“Let’s help him.”

“Yeah!”

Whoooooosh!

Starlight Aura swept through the enemy ranks like a tidal wave.

“Oh yeah! This feels great!”

Having regrouped with the others, Bartimir swung the long strip of bandage wrapped around his hand.

It was coated in hardened demonic energy.

‘Slice.’

The sturdy bodies of the golems were cut clean in two.

“…Huh?”

Even Bartimir himself flinched in surprise.

Then, moments later, he shouted cheerfully,

“The Moonlight Expedition, move out!”

“Let’s go help the Captain!”