NOVEL WEB Chapter 307
Chapter 307. Effective Utilization
“Mm… where am I…?”
– Virosa woke up.
It’s dim. Above her is the starry sky and… trees? It seems like she’s in a forest. A campfire crackles nearby.
“Ah, you’re awake.”
A voice. Looking over, she saw a young human staring at her.
Instinctively reaching for her sword at her waist, she noticed something familiar about his face.
“…Your Highness?”
“Yes. I’m currently in human form.”
The young man—Zilbagias, in his human form, looked down. The firelight cast deep shadows across his face.
“What happened to me…?”
“You were struck by lightning. In that cloud…”
Lightning—the blinding flash and the intense pain throughout her body… that’s what it was.
“It felt like I had fallen.”
“That’s right. Leila swooped down and somehow managed to recover you.”
Only then did she notice that next to Zilbagias, a silver-haired girl was sitting on a stump. It was Leila, whom she recognized, completely transformed into a human. She bowed apologetically.
“I see… so that’s what happened…”
She tried to sit up, but for some reason, it wouldn’t go well.
“You shouldn’t move. You’re not fully recovered yet. If Liliana were here, it would have been a quick fix.”
Zilbagias shook his head, forcing a smile despite clearly struggling.
“I’ll find an appropriate human soon, so just rest until then.”
– Virosa felt ashamed. She was supposed to help the prince, but right from the start, she ended up like this…
“I’m sorry—”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
She was about to apologize when Zilbagias interrupted her.
“You are not at fault. It’s all… due to circumstances.”
He showed a deeply pained expression—
“Rest now. I’ll wake you again.”
Virosa, being a top-notch spy, understood the importance of rest.
“Yes… Your Highness…”
Thus, obeying Zilbagias’s command, she closed her eyes peacefully—and before she knew it, her consciousness was consumed by darkness.
†††
– In front of me, small bone fragments within the barrier.
There, a soul was being absorbed.
Virosa’s soul.
“……”
I opened the locket pendant I wore around my neck and placed the bone fragments inside.
…Indeed, this was the magical tool of Spinethia that I had set as the core of Barbara’s body, enchanted to work in the Hunting Ground.
Since Barbara’s body was no longer usable, I thought there might be other uses for it and brought it along on this journey.
And now, it proved useful here.
“With this, Virosa is safe.”
Antendeixis smiled faintly.
– Immediately after pushing Virosa off.
We headed to confirm the corpse. Virosa, who had fallen in the flatland adjacent to the forest, managed to maintain most of her shape, likely due to the relatively soft meadow.
In her hand, she still tightly clutched her sword—she might have fought to stay alive until the very end, using the power of a Sword Saint… but it was no use. The strike meant to kill even a Demon Lord had naturally taken her life as well.
After confirming Virosa’s death, I initially intended to eradicate her soul promptly, just like with Albar and Emelgias’s subordinates.
However, it was Antendeixis who interjected.
“Don’t you think it’s a waste to just discard the multitude of information that this man possesses?”
Antendeixis whispered to me.
– To turn Virosa into an Undead and keep her at my disposal.
But… that was too…
“I understand. It pains you to consider treating a man, who was a master of the sword and felt like a distant friend despite being of the enemy’s lineage, in such a way…”
– Yet that pain gives rise to strength.
“Do you realize? You have already gained considerable power.”
I knew it…!
Staring at the desperate expression of Virosa’s body…
I felt… an overwhelming flow of power surging into me…!
…What I couldn’t forgive the most was.
Far beyond when I killed unnamed human soldiers on the battlefield.
The sheer amount of power I had obtained.
…She is the enemy. She’s the enemy!!
I knew that…
“What is your objective for this journey in the allied territory?”
– To annihilate the Night Elf’s intelligence network.
“Then, how much value do you think this man’s soul holds?”
………
I knew.
Antendeixis was right. I had noticed the potential information Virosa still possessed but was hastily trying to end things.
However…
To dismiss Antendeixis’s proposal outright.
Virosa was… too competent.
“……”
I stared at the locket and the white bone fragments inside.
Closing it with a snap, I hung it back around my neck.
Thanks to having lowered the consciousness level right after summoning her, Virosa was under the illusion that she had narrowly escaped death.
Since her soul was in suspended animation now, she likely didn’t feel time passing. For the first couple of times, I could extract information without drawing suspicion.
Even if the Sword Saint dies, their soul does not! Hahaha.
Sigh…
By the way, as for Virosa’s body, after taking the bone fragments used for anchoring the spirit, I had pulled in an appropriate soul and turned her into an Undead.
She was supposed to turn to ash when exposed to sunlight… If I had Necromancy, discovering how incredibly easy corpse handling was, was perhaps a worthwhile lesson.
“……”
The campfire’s light flickered. Insects danced, diving into the flames and burning out.
I don’t have the right to feel sorry for myself. If I thought like that, I should have just not killed her in the first place.
What if the Night Elves who killed my mother, or that bastard Emelgias, came to apologize and bow their heads—would I accept that?
Absolutely not.
So there is no meaning. There’s no meaning at all.
I trampled on Virosa’s loyalty, indulged in sacrilege to exploit her to demolish the Night Elves’ intelligence network…!!
“…!”
That’s what I will do.
I tucked the pendant I was holding under my shirt.
“Alex…”
Leila’s voice. When I looked up, I saw her, now fully human, looking at me with concern.
“Leila.”
I was scared to have her on my side again.
When I pushed Virosa off, Leila had…
Tensed, feeling sorry for Virosa.
But never once had she thought to blame me.
With a sigh of resignation, she would encourage me and affirm my decisions. Her comforting presence felt both grateful and terrifying to me…
Just then…
“I’m sorry!”
Suddenly, Leila slapped my cheek.
“…Huh?”
It didn’t hurt at all, but it was surprising… wait, what?
“Oh, um, I’m sorry, but…!”
With a tearful expression, Leila gently showed me her hand.
On her pure white palm was a red spot.
…Blood?
“There was a mosquito… on your face!!”
…Ah, I see.
Now that she mentioned it… I felt a bit itchy…
In fact, swarms of insects were buzzing around us. With Liliana gone, we had no choice but to deal with insect bites with whatever medicines available.
“Ah… thank you. Necromancy can wait; let’s repel the bugs.”
I relaxed my shoulders and smiled at Leila while closing the gate to the spirit world.
For safety, we were currently in human form. Naturally, our magic was weakened, so the gate to summon Virosa had consumed magic power for various Necromancy spells, along with maintaining soundproof barriers, preventing us from using other spells.
The mild curse-like insect repellent spell was handy, but it was also a bit taxing. Moreover, since it’s technically Dark Magic, it can’t be used within the allied territories. It would cause trouble if discovered.
– So, let’s handle it like a hero.
“Leila, it might sting a bit, but don’t worry, it’s harmless.”
“Y-Yes!”
I scratched the ground with a stick, drawing a circle around us around the campfire.
“[Shine forth, glow].”
Then I released a thin wave of holy power.
A silver wave spread out, crackling, causing the insects flying around us to burn out all at once.
Mosquitoes and poisonous bugs are far older foes of humanity than Demons and Vampires. Naturally, Holy attributes work exceedingly well against them. Knowing that the true nature of Holy attributes is curses stemming from humanity’s collective consciousness made the effectiveness obvious.
“Kya!”
Leila flinched, seemingly hit by the static-like Holy attribute. Being a Dragon, she was vulnerable to holy power too. The silver glow established a dome over us that encased our circle. Once spread out, the thin membrane of holy property surrounding the boundary wouldn’t burn Leila inside.
“This is an insect repellent spell with Holy attributes. Not being bothered by bugs in summer was a privilege of heroes and priests… of course, that’s when they have ample magic power.”
This would likely become one of the frequently used spells as we traveled through the allied territories.
“Well, to be honest, during wartime, it seems unlikely that we’d have much opportunity to use it, though.”
From Leila’s rapier, Barbara effortlessly materialized, knowing we would frequently unleash Holy spells during our journey through the allied territories, unlike how she was protected with Dwarf craftsmanship.
“That’s right… I was always exhausted on the battlefield…”
At Barbara’s words, I found myself gazing into the distance. Even Liliana’s miracles could only restore physical vitality, but there was no way to recover from mental fatigue due to magic overuse.
In the end, the only methods to recover magic were eating well and sleeping well, always on the edge during battles against the Demon Lord’s army…
………..I wonder if Liliana made it home safely.
“Is that so…?”
Leila said with interest, reaching out to the silver insect-repelling barrier, flinching as she got zapped.
Crack!
“Kya!”
Crack!
“Ah♡”
…Uh, why does she seem somewhat amused?
“I thought I should get used to it now…”
With a somewhat euphoric expression, Leila stroked her hand. I see…
“Let’s stay here for the night. This barrier should also keep beasts away, so you don’t need to worry about wolves… though magical beasts are a different story…”
“I’ll keep watch, so you both get some rest.”
Barbara said with a smile.
“I’ll help too. I’ll watch the campfire; you can relax.”
Antendeixis materialized, tossing more branches into the fire. Then he quickly returned within me.
“Thanks.”
I felt bad for them, but having companions who didn’t need sleep guarding us was immensely helpful…!!
After bowing in gratitude to Barbara, I grabbed the camping blanket from the pile of gear nearby.
“…We’ve got quite a bit of baggage…”
– Three people’s worth of supplies.
I had mainly planned for myself and Virosa to carry everything…
“……”
I slapped my cheeks to reset my mood.
Today, I would rest thoroughly. Tomorrow, we’d finally commence our operations.
First, I would head to the settlement we initially intended to visit. Then, to the city rumored to be the stronghold of the Night Elves, to gather intel, and if possible, eliminate the local spies—
I would crush them.
Get it together. Why did I come to the allied territories? To completely obliterate their intelligence network and set the foundation for humanity’s counteroffensive.
I had prepared the clues for that purpose. Now, all that was left was to act.
No matter what anyone says, I am here to protect humanity, for humanity—
Because I am a hero.