Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. – Chapter 79 – Sanctuary of Restful Purification: Final Battle (5)

Author: Cireng

Chapter 79: Sanctuary of Restful Purification: Final Battle (5)

The Saint charged toward the colossal golem without the slightest hesitation.

“Artein shall protect us!”

The commander of the Torch of Purification raised his sword and sprinted after her, while the Holy Knights also charged headlong into the swarm of enemies.

Not a single person hesitated.

Naturally.

Every one of them had abandoned worldly wealth and glory to come all the way to the Sanctuary of Restful Purification for the sake of protecting the weak.

They were foolish idiots who did not even fear death.

Boom!

Leaping high into the air, Seraphina smashed the giant golem around the knee with the sacred buckler Clerisium.

A devastating blow, powerful enough to visibly stagger its enormous body.

She had already possessed tremendous physical ability to begin with, but with the buff from Spotless Earth, her strength and speed now rivaled or even surpassed that of the Holy Knight Commander.

—You’re really going to fight us after all?!

The peacock golem flapped its wings furiously as it giggled.

[Peacock-Type Commander Golem (Level 6)]

[One of the commanders leading the artificial army pouring out from the dungeon Golemophia. Possessing transcendent intelligence, it should be eliminated as quickly as possible.]

A tactical commander who, originally, shouldn’t have appeared until the fourth day of the monster raid.

The premature arrival of the Gigantic Destruction Golems was most likely because of that thing.

It had probably regarded this white sanctuary as nothing more than a speed bump on the road toward the densely populated Kingdom of Lumes.

But after encountering unexpected resistance…

It must have hurriedly summoned higher-level units.

—Creatures whose thinking organs are protected by nothing more than bones truly are foolish! Let’s kill every last one of them!

The peacock golem soared high into the sky.

—Destroy them all!

—Commencing extermination!

Every giant golem braced itself and roared.

WOOOOOO—!

Blue beams erupted simultaneously from mouths opened nearly half the size of the sanctuary itself.

The Seventh-Tier Pure Mana spell:

Transcendent Mana Beam.

“Artein stands behind us!”

As the white sacred buckler was thrown into the air…

The straight-flying beams abruptly curved, converging into a single point where they were all intercepted.

The peacock golem’s beak fell wide open in shock.

—…How can an ordinary human possess such an absurdly powerful sacred relic?! Everyone! Use Light Shells!

Following the commander’s order…

The giant golems unfolded hundreds of long cannons from their bodies.

BOOM! BOOOOOOM!!

Another deafening roar that shook both sky and earth.

The barrage of Light Shells, an advanced version of Mana Bullet, devastated the sanctuary, reducing everything in sight to rubble.

As the clouds of dust finally settled…

Holy Knights who had failed to withstand the bombardment lay scattered across the battlefield.

Many had less than half their bodies remaining.

Thousands of golems and dolls had also been destroyed by the blast…

But the enemy didn’t care in the slightest.

—Inferior lifeform, you were meant to die.

—Ki, ki, kiii!

Artificial monsters tore apart and desecrated the bodies of the already-dead Holy Knights.

Their intelligence far surpassed ordinary beings…

But all empathy and compassion toward living creatures had been stripped away.

That was by design.

The mages who built them had intentionally created them as weapons of war.

“Artein!”

Brilliant white light flowed from Seraphina’s body, spreading across the battlefield.

The same miracle she’d used in the infirmary:

Artein’s Touch.

A Mystery that pushed allies as far away as possible from life-threatening injuries and negative status effects.

It was a desperate measure.

The divine power cost was enormous.

She’d undoubtedly wanted to save it for later…

But if she didn’t use it now, even more people would die.

“I shall protect the weak!”

Breaking through torrents of fire, ice, and lightning pouring from the giant golems…

The Saint thrust her sacred spear Sigea straight into one giant golem’s groin.

CRRRUNCH!

The white spear burrowed into the enemy’s body under its own power before erupting vertically upward…

Piercing straight through the crown of its head.

—N-No malfunction detected!

The Gigantic Destruction Golem remained standing.

Its body had been forged from metal even stronger than blacksteel.

The Saint was undoubtedly among the strongest of all Level 9 powerhouses…

But even she couldn’t casually kill something of that colossal size.

Still…

Unlike what I’d remembered…

The golems’ offensive power wasn’t quite as overwhelming.

‘They must’ve overstrained themselves rushing here ahead of schedule.’

The mana and fuel required to sustain bodies that massive were beyond imagination.

Naturally…

High-speed travel had never been part of their intended design.

These were golems meant to slowly march through enemy formations, turning battlefields into slaughterhouses.

Forcing them to move at full speed would’ve caused numerous mechanical failures.

“Everyone ready?”

Before their self-repair Mystery could fully restore those malfunctions…

We had to destroy one Gigantic Battle Golem immediately.

Otherwise…

It would shatter the protective barrier and destroy the sanctuary.

—Stop this meaningless resistance already!

“That thing’s way of talking is seriously irritating.”

Bartimir frowned as he presented his back.

I climbed aboard without hesitation before looking over everyone gathered nearby.

“Captain! We’re ready!”

“So are we.”

Pendrick, Bartimir… Valentin, Lucius, and Ilia.

Our comrades had come here together as volunteers.

After looking over every face…

I turned forward.

“Let’s move.”

“Let’s go!”

With Bartimir carrying me in the lead…

We all sprinted diagonally toward the Gigantic Destruction Golem standing furthest to the right.

“From here on out, we’ll be targeting that golem’s weak point!”

As black lightning rained down to assist the Holy Knights desperately fighting nearby…

I continued speaking.

“The Gigantic Destruction Golem’s mana core is where a human heart would be! And the only way to reach it… is through its mouth!”

WOOOOOO—!

As if on cue…

The giant golem unleashed another mana beam into Unblemished Sky, the barrier protecting the sanctuary.

Cracks spread across the previously immaculate white shield.

Even the Saint couldn’t both fight the golems and continuously reinforce the barrier with divine power.

At most… It had five minutes left.

‘We complete the mission within that time.’

The path wasn’t clear.

Countless artificial monsters swarmed us, bombarding us from every direction.

“We’ll open the way! Ilia!”

The instant the order was given…

Ilia activated her sacred instrument, and a hymn echoed across the battlefield.

—The One Who Protects All is beautiful! Radiant! Shining! La-la-la! La-la-la! La-la-la-la!

It was a children’s hymn personally composed by Ferris, the Saint of the modern era.

Pure white energy wrapped around our legs.

A blessing that temporarily increased everyone’s Agility by two.

“We shall protect every innocent soul!”

Valentin swung his sword, engulfed in divine power, carving violently through the enemy ranks.

Pieces of golems and dolls scattered through the air like flower petals.

Heretic Crusher.

His strength perfectly explained why someone with such a bright smile and gleaming teeth bore such a fearsome nickname.

“AAAAAH! Here we go!”

Thanks to Valentin and Ilia…

A path to the giant golem opened in moments.

Bartimir smashed aside every enemy blocking our advance with his petrified feet as he charged forward.

I also showered the battlefield with black lightning, striking mana cores and circuits… the weak points of the artificial army.

Occasional attacks reached us.

I ignored them.

“O Star!”

Astrimia ignited the third star… Phecda.

Trusting only in the protective barrier it wrapped around us…

We continued advancing toward the giant golem, which remained completely focused on bombarding the sanctuary.

It didn’t even acknowledge our existence.

Compared to the Saint or the commander…

The rank of our souls was simply too low.

Its efficient design prioritized conserving mana and fuel by ignoring weaker opponents.

That efficiency… Would become its downfall.

“Everyone, be careful!”

Climbing down from Bartimir’s back while narrowly dodging attacks…

I shouted instructions.

“Lucius!”

“Please bless those two not with enhanced strength!”

“Understood!”

As Lucius hurriedly laid his hands upon my two companions to activate his Mystery…

I burned back the approaching enemies with black lightning.

Crackle!

—It stings.

—Pointless.

—Heehee… hehehe…

More and more enemies now continued functioning even after taking my lightning head-on.

The newest combat golems…

Manufactured with Mystery specifically designed to defend against electricity…

Were steadily joining the battlefield.

Displaying the intelligence expected of advanced units…

They immediately prioritized attacking Lucius while he was casting blessings.

Fwoosh!

With my left hand…

I created a wall of fire, separating my companions from the enemy.

Of course… I remained on the same side as the golems.

Within our expedition…

My primary role was to act as the tank and draw every bit of aggro onto myself.

—Abnormal behavior detected. What are you?

“What else? A meat shield.”

I suddenly dropped lightning directly above the golems’ heads.

Their bodies briefly convulsed before they launched a simultaneous counterattack.

Swords. Spears. Arrows. Mana.

Weapons of every imaginable type hacked, pierced, and tore into my body.

“…It’s useless.”

I endured it with clenched teeth.

The current me could survive being focused by an entire group of monsters Level 6 and above.

The effects of Artein’s Touch had almost completely faded.

But that was fine.

[Thanks to multiple Mysteries working together, your Life Force is decreasing at an extremely slow rate!]

Veil That Defers Wounds, Ghoul’s Mobility, linked with Thundercloud Rumble.

And… The cornerstone of the Immortal Cultist build:

[Life · Reverse · Cycle.]

Its effect…

A conditional super-regeneration ability.

“No matter what methods you use… You won’t be able to kill me as I am now.”

Activating [Life · Reverse · Cycle.] caused my Vitality stat to increase dramatically for a short time.

[A layer of Dark Solitude has settled upon you!]

The price…

Each activation accumulated a debuff called Dark Solitude.

At ten stacks…

You died instantly and became a mindless undead.

A textbook high-risk, high-reward Mystery.

At its current tier… Its restrictions were numerous.

But once I later learned the Mystery that compensated for its drawbacks…

It became extraordinarily powerful.

—Living creature incapable of dying. Analysis required.

—Mana Bullets ineffective. Switching to melee strategy.

—Gross! Recommend removing emotional circuits!

The murmuring artificial army abandoned ranged attacks and charged in all at once.

Sharp spears pierced my heart. Mana blades severed my brain. Heavy clubs shattered my spine.

“Ahaha… Ahahahaha!”

[Five layers of Dark Solitude have settled upon you!]

[Dark Solitude remaining before death and undeath: Five layers]

Still no problem.

I’d only just passed the halfway point.

There was still more than half the distance left before reaching the finish line.

Honestly…

Even if I didn’t find eternal rest and merely became an undead…

My companions could probably continue exploring while keeping me on a leash.

That wouldn’t be the absolute worst outcome.

“Karr! It’s done!”

While enduring everything and unleashing torrents of lightning…

I finally heard the voice I’d been waiting for.

Gathering lightning at maximum output…

I fired it like a wall, forcing the golems backward before shouting,

“Pendrick! Carry me! Bartimir! Throw Pendrick with me on his back toward the giant golem’s head!”

“…What?”

“Huh…?”

The genius swordsman widened his eyes.

The demon twitched slightly.

But both immediately ran toward me.

None of them was foolish enough to hesitate over my orders when the lives of everyone in the sanctuary depended upon them.

“Ah, whatever! I’ll just do what you said!”

Bartimir grabbed one of Pendrick’s legs while I clung to his back.

Having absorbed an immense quantity of negative concepts from the battlefield…

He effortlessly lifted two fully grown adults.

“Haaah… HYAH!!”

Pendrick, carrying me, shot upward toward the giant golem’s waist.

Grabbing one of the cannons protruding from its body with one hand…

The genius swordsman held Astrimia in the other.

He somehow balanced himself atop the cannon.

“Captain! This is going to hurt a little!”

SHWAAAAAA!

A tidal wave of starlight Aura engulfed me, hurling me upward.

My vision spun wildly.

Aura waves peeled away my skin as though flaying me alive.

[Remaining Life Force: 6/100]

[Remaining Mental Power: 2/100]

Both body and mind had become utterly ruined.

But somehow…

I’d reached my destination.

“…Hah… haa…”

The very top of the Gigantic Destruction Golem’s head.

Barely managing to land where I needed to…

I raised my reluctant right hand… Created a tiny sphere of lightning…

And swallowed it.

A violent headache exploded inside my skull.

[□□□ □□ □□□ □□ : 0/100]

[□ □□! □□□□!]

…What are these words?

Where… am I?

What… was I doing?

I don’t know.

I can’t remember anything.

“Don’t understand why the Saint refuses to abandon the patients and run away?”

A voice suddenly reached me.

Slowly turning my head…

I saw a child with especially beautiful eyes speaking to me.

“Well… imagine I’m about to die. What would you do?”

Ah…

I remember now.

This was Sun Orphanage.

The place where you had to die so meaninglessly.

The place I both loved and hated.

I’m sorry, Yoonji.

I’m sorry I went to school instead of staying by your side when you begged me not to leave.

I’m sorry, I never understood how you felt.

I’m sorry, all I could think about was that I couldn’t skip school because we had no money for cram school.

“Of course you’d try to save me somehow.”

“Exactly. That’s probably why. To protect people. It isn’t logical… but I think that’s reason enough.”

I want to save them.

I have to protect them.

But… Protect who?

From what?

Crackle!

Suddenly…

Violent lightning burst from my collarbone alongside an incomprehensible will.

Then…

An intellectual voice echoed through my mind.

【Karr, my child. Pull yourself together! Will you force me to waste this much faith?!】

A voice powerful enough to split my head apart.

Blood trickled from the corner of my mouth.

Then…

The memories and sensations that had briefly faded slowly returned.

“…I knew I could count on you.”

After gazing into Yoonji’s fading eyes for a moment…

I slowly stood up.

“So now you kind of understand why the Saint wouldn’t run away, right? Then hurry up and finish clearing the dungeon. I really want to know how the story ends.”

“…Yeah.”

Already transformed into lightning through Sin: Gluttony…

I moved my electrified legs toward the giant golem’s face.

Toward its mouth.

As I walked… I looked back and forced a smile onto my lips.

“I love you. Maybe… before long… We’ll finally meet again for real.”

I don’t want to die in any dungeon below B-Rank.

But… That doesn’t mean I’ll refuse an operation that requires risking my life.

“O deities who watch over this frail cultist, Karr.”

Right now…

I was about to stake my life to save people trapped within this labyrinth.

People condemned to die…