The heroes were finally able to escape the Death Mist region. The moment they left the mist-covered area, the heroes gradually began to regain their original forms. Watching their companions return to normal one by one, the heroes let out sighs of relief.
Their tension had reached its peak because they had been unable to distinguish friend from foe. Before the hero party, which had emerged from the mist region, stretched a vast plain. It was the very place where the First Hero Party had been annihilated five hundred years ago.
There, the hero party reorganized its ranks for the final battle. After carefully examining his surroundings, Deimon opened Increcia. He had to arm the heroes with the weapons and antimagic armor he had stored inside.
“Hellbertron, if you would.”
At Deimon’s words, the death knights, led by Hellbertron, grumbled as they approached Increcia.
“Damn it…… Are we playing pack mule again?”
But they were the only ones who could take out the armor and weapons stored within Increcia. Perhaps because the final battle was so near, the Four Great Knights began carrying out the supplies without a word. The death knights gathered from the Dark Portal and Winslett also joined them in taking out the armor and weapons.
“My armor.”
As the heroes hurried toward their own equipment, Deimon warned them.
“The armor and helmets will be extremely cold. So wait a little before putting them on.”
Deimon also prepared himself for battle. Since they might have to engage in close combat, he donned his spiked gauntlets for the first time in a very long while. Because he had maintained them consistently, the vanadium comprising the gauntlets had not lost any of its luster.
Looking around, he saw that the members of the Casim Mercenary Band were also busy preparing. Illumina admired Mitchell, who was impeccably dressed in his armor of fantasy.
“You look amazing, Mitchell.”
Embarrassed, Mitchell shrugged. Thanks to the Dragon Lord’s magic, the armor of fantasy was always as good as new, even without regular maintenance. Casim and the remaining members donned their new armor in pristine condition. Since Increcia was overflowing with antimagic armor, there was no reason to conserve it.
Though somewhat outdated, it was of higher quality than the armor worn by the other heroes. Its antimagic protection, in particular, was incomparable. Seeing that preparations were nearly complete, Deimon turned his head. The Temple of Verhazel came faintly into view.
“Thus, the final battle begins at last.”
The battle fought five hundred years ago had ended in a crushing defeat for humanity. But Deimon believed that things would be different this time.
“This was where I parted from Daphne.”
Perhaps recalling that desperate moment, sorrow clouded Deimon’s eyes. It was here that Deimon had been forced to part from Daphne, the woman he loved more than his own life. Afterward, he had not seen her for five hundred years.
After countless hardships, he had succeeded in persuading the Dragon Lord to turn her back into a human. Yet because of Berchis’s subsequent intervention, he had once again been forced to suffer a painful separation. Thus, Deimon could not help but harbor endless sorrow and affection for this place. Shrekheimer was likewise overcome by renewed emotions.
Because of the defeat here, the humans of Truvenia had been forced down the path of a惨? catastrophic defeat. After enduring countless hardships to form the Second Hero Party and journey here, he could not help but vividly recall the horrific circumstances of that time. After surveying the surroundings for a while, Deimon cautiously ordered the advance.
“Be especially wary of places where piles of rocks have accumulated. They may transform into stone golems at any moment.”
The fully armed heroes began advancing, carefully watching in every direction. Then, as he walked, Deimon suddenly found himself troubled by a strange thought.
“Odd. Why didn’t that bastard Berchis mobilize the liches? He should still have plenty of them left…….”
Shrekheimer also seemed troubled by the same point.
“That is true. If we had been attacked by liches while crossing the mountain range, we would have suffered considerable damage.”
In truth, what Deimon had feared most was the lich army led by Gedenhyde. Completely unaffected by the cold, they could fly freely while raining down magical attacks, making the liches a formidable enemy. Taking that into consideration, he had brought a large number of high-ranking mages of the sixth circle or higher, but stopping them completely would have been impossible from the outset. The orc warriors lying in ambush atop the mountain had necessarily been much easier to deal with.
Yet not a single lich had appeared during their journey here. As a result, Deimon was nearly maddened by curiosity over what Berchis was plotting. For now, however, there was no way to find out.
“We’ll know once we confront him and see what scheme he has prepared.”
Without hesitation, Deimon led the heroes onward. In the distance, the Temple of Verhazel, shrouded in mist, was gradually coming into view.
The first things to greet the heroes were the traces of the battle that had taken place here five hundred years ago. With every step, rust-red weapons, armor, and helmets were kicked aside. Weapons so massive they might have been wielded by medium-sized monsters lay scattered haphazardly beside the traditional horned helmets of orc infantry, various glaives, and longswords.
Yet not even a trace of the weapons’ owners’ bodies remained. The piles of rocks lying about, carved with sword marks, must have been stone golems…… Crobitz, who was walking while surveying the surroundings, tilted his head.
“That is strange. Five hundred years have passed, yet the iron weapons have retained their shape.”
Deimon responded.
“It is because the power of a god is at work here. Even the souls of those who die in this place cannot escape. They cannot find peace and must wander here forever.”
After speaking, Deimon extended a finger and pointed toward the Four Death Knights.
“Their souls, too, wandered this place without purpose for five hundred years before meeting me and becoming death knights.”
At those words, Hellbertron turned and glared at Deimon. But since the statement was not incorrect, he said nothing and turned away again.
“G-good heavens…….”
The heroes listening felt chills run down their spines. Though they were heroes who did not fear death, they could not help but feel dread at the thought that even their souls would be unable to escape. As if trying to shake off that fear, Crobitz shook his head.
“Is that also why not even a trace of the dead bodies remains?”
“That is correct. The very fact that they entered this place means they already incurred the wrath of the gods……”
The heroes fell silent all at once. The people of Arcadia had lived until now without the protection of the gods, but incurring divine wrath was certainly not something they welcomed. Nevertheless, they silently steeled themselves. The heroes had already come prepared to lay down their lives for their countries, their kings, and their families. Thus, the hero party advanced toward the Temple of Verhazel, taking one step at a time.
“Stop.”
When Deimon raised his hand, the heroes halted their advance in unison. Deimon’s gaze was fixed on the Temple of Verhazel, whose outline was only faintly visible. It was not particularly far away, but the thick mist made it difficult to distinguish anything clearly. Deimon shook his head as though something was strange.
“Odd. There was never any mist here before……”
The mist was not the only problem. Deimon had halted the hero party after sensing a murderous aura slowly stirring within it.
“It seems that bastard Berchis has prepared something inside the mist.”
Deimon felt anxiety quietly rising within him. They should have investigated the situation before entering, but unfortunately, nothing within the mist could be detected. After attempting a detection spell once or twice, Deimon had no choice but to give up entirely on examining its interior.
“That bastard Berchis has tampered with it. No matter how irregular the flow of mana is, detection shouldn’t be impossible to this extent……”
At that moment, a deep voice erupted from within the mist. It was loud enough for every hero to hear clearly.
“Hohoho. Has the Dragon Slayer finally arrived? Welcome to this place.”
A spark flashed in Deimon’s eyes. There was no doubt that the voice belonged to Berchis.
“You rotten bastard…… I’ve finally found you.”
“Now, now. Calm down…… Is it wise to get excited before a great battle?”
Deimon barely managed to compose himself. Even without Berchis’s words, this was no time to become agitated. To rescue Daphne and thwart Berchis’s scheme, he had to remain completely calm.
Yet the thought that Berchis was inside the mist made it difficult for his excitement to subside. As Deimon continued to snort angrily, Berchis’s smooth voice reached his ears.
“Four hundred sword masters…… You certainly prepared thoroughly, didn’t you?”
Having barely calmed himself, Deimon answered as though he refused to be outdone.
“It’s more than enough to turn you into a ghost haunting this place. Don’t worry. I’ll make sure to hold memorial rites for you for generations to come……”
“Memorial rites? I have no idea what you’re talking about. In any case, I doubt that force will be enough to handle me.”
“Bullshit!”
Deimon shouted furiously.
“Even if the heavens were overturned, you would not escape this place alive. I intend to chase you to the very ends of hell and finish you……”
Though Deimon hurled abuse at him repeatedly, Berchis showed no sign of being particularly shaken. His reaction was certainly unlike that of other dragons.
“Is that so? I’ll look forward to it. If you have the courage, come into the mist……”
“Heh heh heh. Who do you think would be frightened by that?”
Despite his bold declaration that nothing could stop him, Deimon cautiously whispered to Crobitz.
“He may attack with poison from within the mist. No—the mist itself might be a Stinking Cloud. Have the mages protect the heroes thoroughly. Assign one mage to every five heroes. I’ll protect the members of the Casim Mercenary Band myself.”
“Understood.”
After speaking, Deimon glared into the mist with furious eyes.
“I’m coming in now, so wash your neck and wait. The death knights are desperate to cut it off……”
“Those dull blades wielded by mere undead will have a hard time doing that. In any case, I’ll be waiting.”
After those words, Berchis’s voice vanished from the mist. Under the mages’ protection, the heroes cautiously began entering it.
The deeper they went, the thicker the mist became. Eventually, they could not distinguish even what lay a mere meter ahead. Deimon frowned as he watched the mist grow denser and denser.
“What kind of trick is this? Could he have spread the Death Mist here again?”
“That may be the case. Berchis is arguably the greatest among the dragons when it comes to magical ability.”
“But the fact that I can sense murderous intent makes me think there may be something inside.”
As if he had made up his mind, Deimon called for Crobitz.
“Did you call for me?”
“I suspect something is amiss. So warn the knights to be extremely cautious. Tell them to pay close attention to the enemy’s swordsmanship should one appear.”
“W-what do you mean?”
Crobitz looked perplexed.
“The identity of this mist remains unclear. It may possibly be the mist imbued with the illusion magic we passed through earlier.”
“You mean the Death Mist that makes us recognize our companions as enemies?”
“That’s right. They are all experienced knights, so I believe they will be able to determine whether the enemy’s swordsmanship is that of an orc or a human. Therefore, tell them to exercise caution when engaging the enemy, just as they did when passing through the mist region.”
Crobitz looked troubled by those words.
“But if we come under surprise attack, we won’t have the leisure to discuss such things, will we? Our lives will be in danger……”
“We’ll have to fight back first. Then, once the swordsmanship becomes familiar, you can try speaking to them, can’t you?”
Crobitz frowned, apparently dissatisfied, but nodded without offering any further objection.
“Understood. I’ll give the order.”
Crobitz’s command was passed down to the heroes in sequence.
“We’re in a situation where we have to fight for our lives, and now we’re supposed to identify the enemy’s swordsmanship…….”
The heroes were somewhat dissatisfied with the order, but they had no choice but to obey. They knew that the First Hero Party had been annihilated five hundred years ago because its members had killed one another before they could even properly fight. With their nerves taut, the heroes advanced little by little, deeper and deeper into the mist.