Hell Mode: Volume 11, page 13
The Summoner was shocked when he saw the deity who had been resting in a stable on Hardcore User Island. Her body was covered in glorious scales, and horns grew from her forehead—Falnemes, the Goddess of Arbitration. She moved as nimbly as she did on land and approached Krena gently. Krena dodged Bildiga’s attacks and leaped away, only for her back to bump into Falnemes’s chest. The girl swiftly turned around, her eyes as wide as saucers when she reunited with her friend.
“Whoa! Fal!” she cried.
She was not the only one who was shocked, however. Bask also gazed at the goddess. He recognized her.
“Huh? Did ya get your free will back once that Demonic Deity Stone was ripped outta you?” he asked.
Allen turned to Bask as the Greater Demonic Deity leaped away from Dogora, clearly wary of Falnemes. The Demonic Deity Stone... Must be that black, round object that was ripped out of her neck back on the floating island. Is that thing capable of turning others into Demonic Deities?
“Because you needed that power, I’ve been freed,” Falnemes said indifferently. “And for that, I must thank you.”
Because the Demonic Deity Stone was removed from her neck, the Goddess of Arbitration regained her sense of self, it seems.
“The Goddess of Arbitration...” Kyubel muttered, joining the conversation. His usual playful tone had vanished, replaced with one of nervousness that Allen had never heard before.
“I’ve come to stop you,” Falnemes replied simply.
“And how can a deity who’s lost her powers do that?” Bildiga inquired.
The Goddess of Arbitration turned to Bildiga as she maintained her usual, nonchalant tone. “Just as you have done, I will choose my own path. That’s all I can say. I will put everything I have on the line to stop you.”
“Hmph,” Bildiga spat, unfurling his front legs.
Until now, he had only occasionally lashed out with his scythe-like appendages to counter attacks from Krena and Shia. Otherwise, he had kept them folded. The fact that they were now out in the open proved that he, too, was treating the newcomer with caution. What in the world happened between Kyubel, Bildiga, and the Goddess of Arbitration? Just then, Falnemes folded her four legs and lay in front of Krena.
“Please ride on my back, Miss Krena,” Falnemes urged.
“Huh?” Krena gasped.
“I shall lend you my power.”
“Okay. Thank you!”
Krena nodded and straddled Falnemes’s back. The Goddess of Arbitration stood up, allowing Krena to become a head taller than Bildiga. As the Greater Demonic Deity readied his scythe-like appendages, Krena gazed down at him and huffed angrily while raising her eyebrows. She pointed the tip of her greatsword at her enemy, the blade positioned diagonally to the right of the goddess.
“Are you ready, Miss Krena?” Falnemes asked.
“Yeah!”
When Krena nodded, Falnemes rushed forth as though she were racing across a grassy plain. She galloped through the waters without disturbing them and appeared in front of Bildiga in a flash. But before Krena could swing her greatsword down, the Greater Demonic Deity crossed his arms in front of him and swung outward, pushing the water away from him.
“Ngah?!” Krena cried as she and Falnemes were blown back.
Damn. I thought the goddess would be a reliable ally, but maybe I expected too much from her. She doesn’t have as much power as she did when she was an enemy and was letting Bask ride her. Maybe that Demonic Deity Stone made her stronger, or maybe Krena just isn’t as strong as Bask was back then.
The Goddess of Arbitration regained her balance and quietly descended upon the contest stage while Krena readjusted the grip on her sword. Neither of them gave up, again charging at Bildiga with everything they had.
“Futile,” Bildiga grunted as he once again crossed his arms in front of him. “You don’t stand a chance in your current form.”
Falnemes shook her head. “Let’s go, Miss Krena.”
A moment later, Krena’s view changed.
＊ ＊ ＊
“Huh? An island?” Krena wondered aloud. “Did we teleport somewhere?”
At first, the girl was utterly confused by the sudden shift, and she could only quizzically voice her bewilderment. Just a millisecond ago, she had been on the ocean floor, and she could have sworn that she did not blink, yet she now found herself on Hardcore User Island. She looked around, baffled, when the Goddess of Arbitration quietly called out to her.
“We aren’t on an island,” Falnemes corrected. “We haven’t teleported either. This is my holy ground. If you claim to see an island, your heart must be showing you a familiar location so that you can process my holy ground and temple.”
“Wait, a temple? You mean the one on that mountain?” Krena asked as she gazed at Goddess Freyja’s temple, which stood on the mountain in the center of the island.
“No.”
Falnemes quietly walked along the uninhabited island with Krena on her back. When she reached her destination, she lay down to allow Krena to dismount.
“That’s the stable!” Krena cried. “Fal, did you want to come back here?”
The girl stood in front of the stable that the Goddess of Arbitration had stayed in while on Hardcore User Island.
“No. I need you to open this door, Miss Krena,” Falnemes replied.
“Sure,” Krena replied. “But before I do that, why don’t we return to that fight? If we don’t, everyone will be in danger!”
“Indeed. And for that, I require you to open this door. Just as Sir Dogora has received Goddess Freyja’s power, I shall lend you mine.”
“You will?!” Krena’s face brightened excitedly. “You’re gonna make me stronger, Fal?!”
Cecil, Sophie, Meruru, and Dogora had all received power-ups recently, and Krena felt as though she had been left behind, unable to support the group. That feeling of loneliness and isolation grew especially strong whenever Allen opened his grimoire and coordinated his party while handing weapons and gear to his allies. She was able to forget her sorrow during fights, but it had been a while since she had fought a powerful opponent with Allen, making her painfully aware of her own powerlessness. She had been unable to so much as injure that massive beetle, and she had grown anxious at her weakness.
“If I can become your disciple and get stronger, I’ll do it!” Krena declared.
Falnemes quietly shook her head. “No, you cannot become my disciple. I don’t currently possess enough divine power to rewrite your entire existence.”
“Oh... So you’ll just make me stronger? I won’t be your disciple?”
“Precisely. However, you can only use this power when you fight alongside me.”
“Is it like a new skill?”
“That is correct.”
“Ooh! Yippee! A new skill! So, I can get stronger while I’m in this temple, right?” Krena happily leaped into the air before she suddenly stopped in pensive thought. “Wait, did Allen also get stronger by visiting a temple?”
“No. Sir Allen is different. Unlike a Liberated, the limits of his power are unknown. He operates on a different set of logic entirely. He is a Transcender. Making one is beyond my capabilities—beyond any Greater Deity’s. Only a deity of the highest rank can use their heavenly powers to turn someone into a Transcender.”
“I see... Okay, so a person gets stronger once they receive the approval of a deity and enter a temple, right? And Allen was approved by a super-duper deity and became a Transcender?”
Believing that this information was extremely important, Krena repeated it to the Goddess of Arbitration.
“That is correct,” Falnemes replied. “Miss Krena, a person like you, one with a pure heart, may even be able to reach the Judgment Gate, guarded by the descendants of the Dragon God. Should you do so, I’m certain that you will be able to aid your friends.”
“Right, the Judgment Gate, where the Dragon God is.”
“Not quite. The Dragon God’s descendants are there. That is all I would like to say.”
“Mm-hmm. Okay. Then please lend me your power!”
Krena opened the door to the stable and strolled right in. She was greeted not by the dingy, dimly lit interior of the stable, but by a windowless room made entirely of stone.
“Welcome, Miss Krena,” Falnemes greeted from behind. “This is my temple. Since I am losing my powers, the best I can do is maintain my holy ground.”
Krena whirled around and saw that the door she had entered through was gone. She faced the Goddess of Arbitration within the square room.
“Please head farther inside, to the center of the room,” Falnemes instructed.
“Whoa!” Krena cried. “My hand’s all wavy!”
Her entire body began to waver and flicker.
“Heh heh. Your soul has entered the domain of my divine powers, causing it to waver,” Falnemes explained. “When humans open the gates and touch upon divine power, they all waver and flicker like so. I shall transform your soul so that it does not do that anymore.”
Though Krena did not quite understand, she guessed that Falnemes was referring to when people used their Extra Skills. The girl then walked forward, away from the goddess, and spotted unfamiliar patterns etched onto the floor. When she walked farther, she found a small circle that she just barely fit inside—she instinctively knew that it was the center of the room.
“Ah, I must stop Kyuplus,” Falnemes remarked. “They aren’t the type who prefers this method, and thanks to that, the Heavenly Realm will shift dramatically.”
Krena ignored those comments, deeming them unimportant, and merely turned to face the Goddess of Arbitration.
“Should I just stand here?” she asked.
The moment Falnemes nodded, Krena felt something surge from the soles of her feet, causing her to gasp. Just as she felt power fill her body, the view in front of her eyes shifted once more.
＊ ＊ ＊
The moment Falnemes had urged Krena to head forth, the girl, who sat on the Goddess of Arbitration’s back, shuddered ever so slightly. No longer did her body waver, an effect that implied that she was under the effects of Limit Break. Instead, it was enveloped in a pale blue glow.
“Miss Krena, you are now a Liberated,” Falnemes reported, also basking in the pale glow.
“Right!” Krena replied with a firm nod.
Allen intuited that something must have happened to Krena. Huh?! I feel like she’s gotten stronger! He immediately opened his grimoire, obsessed with the idea of strengthening, class promotions, and growth, and checked her stats.
* * *
Name: Krena
Age: 15
Class: Sword Emperor
Blessing 1: Goddess of Arbitration (Mid)
Level: 60
HP: 4,150
MP: 1,832
Attack: 4,150
Endurance: 3,968
Agility: 3,510
Intelligence: 2,250
Luck: 2,688
Blessing 2: +5,000 All Stats, +30% Attack Damage, -30% Cooldown on Super Skills
Skills: Sword Emperor {1}, Super Slash {1}, Super Phoenix Smash {1}, Super Healing Blade {1}, Super Supreme Ruling Blade {1}, Limit Break {1}, Deep Impact (Limited), Sword Mastery {6}
XP: 0/600,000,000
Equipment
Orichalcum Greatsword: +12,000 Attack
Adamantite Armor: +6,000 Endurance
Bracelet 1: +5,000 HP, +5,000 Endurance, halves Cooldown Time, +20% Attack Skill Damage
>Ring 1: +5,000 Attack
Ring 2: +5,000 Attack
Necklace: +3,000 Attack
>Earring 1: +7% Physical Damage
Earring 2: +2,000 HP, +2,000 Attack, +10% Physical Damage
* * *
Krena’s Stats with Full Gear and Buffs
HP: 43,115
MP: 16,682
Attack: 45,975 + 12,000
Endurance: 27,412 + 6,000
Agility: 25,363
Intelligence: 14,658
Luck: 13,894
* * *
Whoooa! The Blessing of the Goddess of Arbitration?! Did Krena enter Extra Mode like Dogora did?! Allen looked ecstatic, as though he had received an enhancement of his own, while Krena rushed toward Bildiga atop Falnemes’s back and raised her greatsword up high.
“A Liberated?” Bildiga muttered. “Did you use what little remaining divine power you have to welcome her into your holy ground?”
At that precise moment, Krena swung down with a powerful battle cry. “Hiyaaaaah!”
CLANG! She activated her Super Slash and swung down with everything she had, but Bildiga guarded himself by crossing his front legs in front of him.
“Have you gone mad, Goddess of Arbitration?” Bildiga asked. “What can a Liberated who receives the power of a fallen deity possibly do?”
Bildiga swung his long front legs once more, knocking Krena and Falnemes back.
“Ngh!” Krena grunted.
Yeah, no dice. Her skill levels have reverted back to 1, so even if she’s got the stats for Extra Mode, she probably doesn’t stand a chance against Bildiga, who can resist most physical attacks. Allen tried to think of a way to offer assistance as Falnemes safely landed on the contest stage.
“Miss Krena, try using Deep Impact,” Falnemes advised. “I’m certain that our blade will reach Bildiga if you do.”
“All right, got it! Deep Impact!” Krena shouted.
She tilted her blade in front of chest, its tip pointed right at Bildiga as the Goddess of Arbitration rushed forth once more. The goddess, still glowing a faint blue, glided through the water without disturbing it, her hoofbeats echoing throughout as she charged toward Bildiga like an arrow. As the goddess rushed past the massive beetle, Krena’s greatsword thrust forward as though it were being sucked into Bildiga’s body.
“Grr...” Bildiga grunted.
Falnemes then slowed to a halt and turned back to Bildiga.
“Bildiga, are you all right?” Kyubel asked.
Bildiga tried to respond, but he fell down like a human dropping to their knees. “Grr... My...body...”
Purple blood spewed from his chest and into the sea.
“Pathetic,” Kyubel remarked. Then, in a low voice, he added, “Are you still unsure about working with us, Bildiga?”
The Strategist glanced at the bleeding Bildiga, and then at Bask, who was still fighting the Kagutsuchi-wielding Dogora while periodically dodging Macris’s Ice Javelins. Kyubel lowered the hand he held above the black fire atop the altar and gave a command to the two Demonic Deities.
“Bask, Bildiga,” Kyubel ordered. “Unleash your true powers. This plan cannot and must not fail. Or else I’ll begin to wonder why I lived this long in the first place.”
It was unclear if anyone had heard him faintly whisper that last line, but it was Bask who was the first to respond.
“Yeah... Guess playtime’s over. Raaaaaaah!” Bask gave a powerful battle cry, his crimson body bulging repeatedly.
“I suppose we’ve got no choice,” Bildiga muttered. “At least for me, this is the only path there is...”
The large beetle stood up and unfurled four pairs of legs that had been neatly stored under his abdomen. A horn also extended from either side of his head, giving him the appearance of a stag beetle. Jagged teeth emerged throughout his wide-open mouth, threatening to shred anyone caught in them.
Bask pushed Dogora back, and Bildiga also struck Krena and Falnemes, forcing them away. Each was able to do so with a single strike. Cecil had been diligently casting her spells whenever she saw an opening, and Sophie and Luke were using their spirit magic too, but the two Greater Demonic Deities were unfazed. Bildiga used a back leg to block Shia’s low kick, and the spike on his leg hurt her instead. Damn, just when I thought that things were looking up for us... Allen clicked his tongue internally and produced more Summons.
“Very good,” Kyubel said with satisfaction. “See? I knew you guys could do it if you tried. Now then. Ramon-Hamon, we need our sacrifice and Holy Beast Stone. Could you go and fetch Shinorom?”
“Certainly,” the woman’s head replied.
“Got it,” the man’s head said.
A magic circle appeared within the water, and Ramon-Hamon vanished. They’ve lost their healer. But I don’t know if that’s enough to turn the tables...
“Bask, just do it already,” Kyubel urged. “We’re getting the Holy Beast Stone.”
As though that was his cue, Bask used both arms to shield himself with his greatsword against Dogora’s two axes, kicked the boy away, and turned toward the massive, white shadow swimming above.
“Got it,” Bask muttered. “And you! You’ve just been swimming around! It’s pissing me off! Berserker Mode!”
With a mighty roar, his muscles pulsated, and he began to transform. He easily dodged Macris’s Freeze Cannon attack and swam higher up.
“Gah?! What’s going on?!” Macris shouted.
When Allen turned toward the noise and gazed up at the fight, he saw Demon Sword Onuba’s dark miasma form an arc, landing a hit on the Holy Fish’s head. Was that Bask’s ultimate move? No matter the case, the white dolphin’s head was nearly split in two, and Macris’s body turned into millions of glittering particles that fluttered away. Even from the stage, Allen could see the Holy Fish slowly disappearing.
“Good. We killed Macris,” Kyubel said. “Do you see now? Anything you do is futile. This world will end, leaving only despair.”
Kyubel neither celebrated nor shouted with delight. He merely spoke nonchalantly, like he was reciting a shopping list. His eerie indifference permeated throughout the water.
Chapter 7: Pelomas the Merchant’s Battle
A day before the Songstress Contest, Allen and Pelomas were in the reference room of the Patlantian palace in search of clues.
“I knew it... Last year’s supply of crystal seeds is missing. Every last one,” Pelomas said, showing Allen a ledger.
“Yeah, that looks unnatural,” Allen agreed. “But tomorrow’s the contest. There’s a chance that Ignomasu secretly sold the seeds to a noble or something.”
