Chapter 12
Around that time, Bianca, having somewhat regained her characteristic composure, displayed her excellent situational judgment.
"Ailet, I think... we're inside a dungeon."
"Yeah. Of all things, a public graveyard dungeon. The feng shui of the Count's estate is terrible."
"What do we do? I heard you can't leave a dungeon freely unless its master is subjugated."
"It's okay. I'll protect you, Bia."
"Ailet..."
Her rabbit-like eyes filled with emotion, but there was no actual trust in them.
It was a wistful gaze, as if she had just heard a vow to die on the same day of the same year, like the Oath of the Peach Garden.
I emphasized.
"I mean it."
"Yeah..."
"I really mean it?"
"Mhm. I'll protect you too, Ailet."
It seemed my sincerity wasn't getting through at all.
It was then.
"What rare guests! To welcome you, I, Ardiman, have personally come out to greet you!"
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The boss showed up right off the bat.
The master of the dungeon was a typical black mage draped in a black robe.
Through the evil aura billowing from his entire body, his glowing red eye sockets, and the goat horns piercing through his hood, it was clear that he was not human, but a demon.
"Gasp."
Bianca let out a small, breathless sound.
Human fear was no different from perfume to demons. Having caught an exquisite whiff of it, Baron of the Demon Realm Ardiman bared his teeth and laughed.
"You're too young to be adventurers! Or perhaps you are the pure souls of young children sent by the humans to curry my favor!"
"If we... offer a sacrifice, will you let us live?"
Bianca let go of my tightly clasped hand and stepped forward.
"My name is Bianca Gillette. As the next head of the Gillette Count family, I promise you this. I will offer you a hundred children, so please let me and Ailet go."
"Hooh? You wish to propose a negotiation to me?"
"Yes!"
Ardiman made a motion of stroking his chin with his skeletal fingertips. He was playing along.
"A promise from the next family head is reliable. Not bad."
"Then..."
"Instead, leave the brat next to you."
"What?"
"Only the next head needs to return alive, right? She looks like a mere maid, so leave her and offer the remaining 99."
Bianca didn't even hesitate.
"Absolutely not. Ailet is not just a maid. She is my..."
"Your what?"
"Anyway, no! I'll give you 200, so let both me and Ailet go."
Despite a face that looked like she might faint from tension, Bianca tried to stand tall.
But to the demon who had sniffed the fragrant scent of her fear, her true feelings were already exposed.
"No, I don't need them. I must take one right here, so one of you will stay. You decide who will be the sacrifice."
"...!"
He was a demon, after all. A person's desperate heart was merely a plaything to him.
Bianca's eyes shook violently as she looked back at me. My mood sank to the bottom.
Ah, I hate things like this.
As expected, it's better to just smash him quickly.
"Hey, you ugly gravekeeper... Huh?"
As I called out to Ardiman and tried to step forward, my wrist was suddenly grabbed. It was Bianca.
"Don't go, Ailet."
"Bia?"
"I'll stay."
Bianca's face was deeply resolute. It seemed she misunderstood my action of stepping forward.
"No, Bia. This isn't what you think..."
"As the next head, it's only natural to protect my people. And... you're my friend."
"..."
While I briefly lost my words, Bianca whispered softly. Her voice was slightly moist.
"Ailet, you're smart, so you'll know what to do once you get out, right? I'll wait until you come to rescue me."
"..."
It was then that a voice interrupting the mood rang out.
"You boring brats! Do you think I instigated this so you could act out a melodrama?! Enough. Just die!"
A blood-red orb was summoned in Ardiman's hand. The black aura spewing from it was extraordinary.
"This is different from what you said!"
"Kukuk! How foolish, human child! I never agreed to your proposal in the first place! Kukuk!"
"Y-You, you demon...!"
"Puhaha! Did you just curse at me? We're both cut from the same cloth! You were also spouting pure lies without any intention of offering 100 or 200 children. I bet you were planning to send the corpses of dead children anyway."
"How did you..."
"Kukuk. Still young, so young. Still, it was a fairly entertaining trick, little young lady."
"Heup..."
I pulled the trembling Bianca behind me this time.
Now it was my turn to face Ardiman.
"So you finally reveal your true colors, you ugly gravekeeper."
"You are not surprised! It seems you have accepted the fate of your bones, flesh, and soul being separated! Consider it an honor! Your white bones shall become a skeleton legion and serve me, Lord Ardiman, your flesh shall become fertilizer for my beautiful garden of corpse flowers, and your soul shall become an instrument playing screams of agony for all eternity!"
After listening to all his rambling, I replied.
"Done talking? Then I'll reveal mine too. My true colors."
"What?"
"Divine Descent!"
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"W-What is this...?!"
The night sky of the dungeon split open, and a pure white light poured into me. As my entire body was enveloped in a divine aura, my feet floated into the air.
As if declaring that I could not tread upon the same ground as mere lowly creatures.
[
[
Even the system is confused.
I slowly opened my closed eyes. What entered my vision was the horrified face of Baron of the Demon Realm Ardiman.
"D-Divinity?! That's impossible! The gods, the gods abandoned this world and left! Divine power was steadily weakening, wasn't it! I-It's certain! It's certain the gods threw this world away for us to feast on!"
I tossed a single line to the bewildered Ardiman.
"Your successor is here."
"W-What?! What are you talking about...!"
"Enough small talk. Let's fight."
"Wait...!"
"Omniscience."
I immediately used the Divine Authority skill.
"W-What kind of wicked trick are you trying to pull!"
Sensing an extraordinary omen from the aura radiating from me alone, Ardiman was seized with terror.
However, I was a bit flustered looking at the newly popped-up screen.
'What is this.'
[
"..."
What appeared on the screen was a search bar. Setting aside my bewilderment, I followed the guide.
'Divine power skills, in order of strongest.'
[
I scrolled through the list organized in descending order. I went all the way down to check the name of the number one skill in this worldview.
The method of use was simple. I just had to activate Omnipotence, the other Divine Authority skill, and call out the skill name.
"Omnipotence..."
It was then.
*Beep!*
[
"Damn it."
So much for that.
I felt slightly annoyed by the sudden restriction, but I saw Ardiman taking up an offensive stance in front of me. An evil aura gathered in the blood-red orb.
"D-Die! I'll finish you off in one blow before you can even use the power of a god!"
"A-Ailet!"
Hearing Bianca's scream, I activated the 15th-ranked skill.
"Omnipotence. Barrier of the Fortress."
[
*Kwagwagwang!*
A massive shield engraved with a silver cross blocked the front of me and Bianca.
The black aura Ardiman spewed out was entirely blocked.
"I-Impossible! How can a young human like you use an ultimate barrier...! Not even the Pope can use it anymore...!"
"Now it's my turn, right? Omnipotence. Divine Punishment."
[
The moment I activated the 11th-ranked skill, lightning struck down from the sky.
"Uwaaaah!"
*Bzzzt! Kwagwagwang!*
As expected, since it was no ordinary lightning, all the tombstones in the public graveyard were shattered and blown away, and the ground crumbled with a crunch.
It only looked like lightning; in reality, it had the effect of dropping a bomb.
"Ughhh..."
After the dust settled, what came into view was Ardiman, writhing in the center of a massive crater.
"Still alive?"
"S-Spare me... Please, spare me... I beg you..."
"You want me to spare you?"
"Y-Yes... Please, mercy..."
The battered Ardiman pleaded abjectly.
I examined him up close. I hadn't noticed from afar, but his body hidden beneath the robe was a skeleton.
This guy was an undead too? Then...
I smiled softly and reached out my hand.
"Alright. I'll heal you right now."
"H-Heal? W-What do you..."
"You asked me to spare you."
"W-Wait...!"
I immediately activated a basic skill that wasn't even in the rankings.
[
It was the moment the holy, warm white light seeping from my hand enveloped Ardiman's body.
"N-No...! Kueeek!"
*Fwoosh!*
Ardiman's undead body burned away without a trace.
To undead, who are especially vulnerable to divine power, even healing is a fatal attack.
"Phew."
A message popped up in front of me as I dusted off my hands and stood up.
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Special Privilege for the Possessed