Scott agreed with Azadin's opinion.
"That makes sense. They must be drawing the light of the king's virtue here using the Book of the Divine King too. It'd be better for the captain to take it rather than letting them have it, right?"
"That's not the point. If the light of the king's virtue weakens, it'll become easier for them to summon nether entities, right? This is like sawing at the support beams of a house that's already on fire and about to collapse."
No sooner had Azadin said that than the ground began to shake.
— Krrrumble!
Dust and bits of stone rained down from the ceiling.
"Ah?!"
"What the hell?!"
The underground corridor's water surface rippled, stone fragments plopped into the water, sending up splashes, and water gushed in through the walls.
"You jinxed it by saying the house was collapsing!"
"That's not it. Damn it. Let's go, now!"
Azadin jumped down into the lower part of the underground corridor. It was shaking like an earthquake, and though stones were falling dangerously from the ceiling, standing still seemed even riskier than moving.
"Hey, captain. Wait a sec."
Scott cast necromancy on the corpse of the crocodile Azadin had killed and climbed onto its back, lying flat.
"Go."
The crocodile corpse slithered forward, stone fragments bouncing off its back as it moved.
"Ugh. Hey, holy knight—can't you raise your shield over me or something?"
"Just use your arms to protect your head."
Zebeck shielded only his own head with his shield, but when they reached Shati, who had transformed back into a human, he raised the shield over her as well.
"Oh, thank you—"
"Let's go."
***
The throne of Coral Sahar was a massive quartz pillar rooted deep into the earth, and around it, quartz crystals jutted upward from the ground, forming the bedrock foundation of the royal castle.
Those bedrock formations were submerged underwater, and beneath the throne, a sepulcher had been constructed. Standing atop the sepulcher and the coffins was an Aragasa woman.
She was one of the Four of Beauty of Nature, the emperor's heralds—Demia of the Flower, casting magic toward the base of the quartz pillar, the root of the throne.
Around her, countless sea snake naga sorcerers chanted incantations as they stood atop blood-drawn nether runes, participating in the ritual.
Piles of copies of the Book of the Divine King surrounded Demia of the Flower, and from them, they were extracting white magic, siphoning both that and the light of the king's virtue from the throne.
"Magnificent! The King of Raging Tides has descended!"
"Well done, Herald!"
The sea snake nagas rejoiced. Some of them, overwhelmed by religious fervor, collapsed to the floor like lizards and trembled violently.
"Ooooh! The Great One is coming!"
"The Age of Jupiter has begun! The old kings shall once again take their rightful thrones! And we shall stand at their side!"
On the nagas' necks grew spiny frills covered with a blood membrane, which they flared and quivered—resembling frill-necked lizards.
A scene of madness. That was the only way to describe it.
'Too many,' Zebeck thought, his brow furrowing.
Over thirty nagas, and quite a few heralds as well. Even though the nagas were lost in frenzy, the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming.
'To fight such evil beings who summon the emissaries of the nether—that is the holy knight's calling, something to be embraced without hesitation…'
But the numbers were just too many, and Zebeck wasn't even fully armored. To enter the water, he had removed his full plate and now wore only light clothing. Could he really face this many foes in such a state?
Just then, Azadin signaled with hand signs.
Amazingly, even with so many enemies present, Azadin was planning to attack.
"We're going in."
"There's way too many—are you sure?"
"No problem."
Azadin drew a black iron arrow, like a spear in size and weight, from underwater and nocked it onto his steel bow.
It was a Black Steel Arrow.
With every reuse, its contained magic diminished, weakening its power. But even if it had been used once or twice, even if all the magic and curses had faded and it had become just a regular arrow, its sheer mass still made it a deadly weapon.
Azadin asked Zebeck for the Mace of Judgment, then sprang forward and loosed the Black Steel Arrow.
The target of the flying black arrow was none other than Demia of the Flower. But at the last second, a man leapt out from beside the startled Demia.
"No!"
It was Instructor Krasley, a former herald and now a trainer for the Korasar Pedders' Guild. He threw his body forward, lifting a thick metal shield to protect Demia.
'Even if it's a Black Steel Arrow, I can block it! That Azadin's notorious for being unable to use magic—he wouldn't have imbued it with yellow crane or white crane!'
Krasley judged as such and angled his shield just right to match the arrow's trajectory, striking it with the thickest side of the shield.
Even a powerful arrow should bounce off!
Confident, Krasley was caught off guard as the Black Steel Arrow plunged deeper and faster than expected.
It tore through his shield and pierced his arm.
"Aaaargh!"
His elbow was severed. His forearm flew into the air, and the Black Steel Arrow, still brimming with force, roared past and shot straight at Demia behind him.
Demia tried to dodge, but having drained herself executing the ritual to extract white magic from the throne, she knew she couldn't avoid it.
"Tch!"
Using her sword and hand axe, she braced to meet the arrow's impact…
—Thunk!
…but still couldn't fully block it. The Black Steel Arrow pierced through her arm. Bone snapped, and her flesh and muscle barely kept the limb attached. Blood gushed out in torrents.
Any normal person would've fainted from the pain and bled out, but Demia calmly pressed her armpit tight to begin stopping the bleeding.
"D-damn it!"
"Azadin! Do you intend to sabotage the Herald Clan's great vow!?"
At that moment, another Black Steel Arrow flew. This time, it targeted a naga raja of the sea snake tribe, still stunned by the chaos.
"Human!"
The arrow punched straight through the naga raja's head, tearing off everything above the lower jaw in one clean blow.
Not even the regenerative powers of the naga race could save someone from that kind of devastation.
"Th-this bastard! Herald Clan!"
"No, but the Herald Clan attacked first!"
"Is it a different guy?!"
The nagas charged at Azadin.
Just then, Zebeck hurled his mace. As the Mace of Judgment's magic activated, a shockwave of light blasted through the approaching nagas.
"Guaaagh?!"
"Argh!"
Dazed by the dazzling light and struck hard by the shock, the nagas staggered. Seizing the opportunity, Azadin nocked the last Black Steel Arrow from his quiver. The arrows were so large and heavy that even with just three, his quiver had been filled to bursting.
"Now then… the most dangerous one…"
Azadin loosed another arrow, this time aiming at Demia, who was still breathing.
Though he had inflicted a massive wound, tearing through the flesh and bone of her arm, Azadin's instincts told him that the most dangerous enemy in this place was none other than Demia.
One of the Four of Beauty of Nature, leader of one of the four herald squads—if she wasn't subdued now, there would be no turning the tide.
But to his surprise, several massive naga threw themselves in the path of the Black Steel Arrow. Were they truly protecting Demia of the Herald Clan, even at the cost of their own bodies? Even after summoning a nether being, the nagas must still have need of her.
—Thud!
The Black Steel Arrow pierced through three of the massive sea snake nagas, and even then, it didn't lose momentum—it exploded midair.
"Aaaagh!"
"Kyaa!"
Even the nagas and Demia of the Flower screamed.
"Ah. That arrow's run its course. Damn."
Azadin muttered as he launched himself forward.
A massive naga blocked his path, swinging a trident, but Azadin, rather than flipping over it, dropped low, clinging close to the ground.
—Beauty of Nature, Dusk Light, Kazas Haeseo!
Chilling air rose in Azadin's wake as he sliced through with the Wendigo's dagger, emitting a freezing aura that cleanly sheared through the naga's skull as if slicing the corner of a watermelon. Blood and brain matter gushed from the severed head as the enormous naga collapsed helplessly.
"Warm-blooded creature! How dare you—our Raja!?"
Another naga charged with a curved blade, but Azadin swung his steel bow at it instead.
The steel bow, forged from springy black iron, cracked the naga's skull with a powerful blow, causing its eyeballs to pop out.
From all directions, nagas launched spells and spat poison, but Azadin used the body of the naga whose eyes had burst as a shield, blocking the oncoming magic and venom before hurling it like a projectile.
"No way?!"
"This can't be!"
The nagas were in disarray.
Among the sea snake naga males, even those not particularly large still weighed about 30 stones—roughly 190 kilograms. That was nearly three times the weight of an average human male from Hubris.
Their strength and endurance were incomparable to humans. Yet Azadin tossed one as if it were nothing?
What's more, he was wielding a dagger and a steel bow, meaning his grip strength wasn't even fully utilized. Handling an opponent like that required monstrous power.
"Scott!"
"Yes! Coming, coming!"
The orc, still mounted on the undead crocodile, formed a water sign and cast a spell, raising the nagas Azadin had slain as undead, increasing their numbers.
During that time, Azadin rampaged freely, picking off the most dangerous casters among the nagas. Zebeck, wielding a sword and shield, held the line against those approaching Scott and Shati.
'So that's what he was counting on. Those black arrows.'
Zebeck marveled at Azadin's courage, decisiveness, and overwhelming power. Perhaps it was because he had drawn strength from the Book of the Divine King, but Azadin showed no signs of fatigue as he tore through the nagas at a terrifying pace.
"Unbelievable."
Demia of the Flower was one of the Four of Beauty of Nature. That meant she was one of the most elite—chosen among the 108 heralds when all were assembled, based on exceptional skill and leadership. Those selected were the finest heralds of their generation.
Demia had no doubts about her own power.
And yet Azadin, once labeled a dropout, had overwhelmed the nagas and the Herald Clan even if aided by the Black Steel Arrows, breaking through everything.
'Those weren't ordinary Black Steel Arrows. That bow… it's stronger than the Moon Horn Bow.'
She looked at the steel bow Azadin carried. It didn't seem like something a human could draw by strength alone.
'Wait a moment. Isn't that a Dwarven heavy crossbow that is wielded by two people? ? And he's carrying it by himself?'
"Are you all right, Demia?"
Instructor Krasley spoke in concern.
Though his arm had been severed, he still worried for Demia. The faint kindness and passion in his tone stirred both revulsion and superiority in her.
But now wasn't the time to indulge in such emotions. The tide was turning.
Azadin and his allies had nearly seized full control of the situation, and the moment of her defeat was drawing close.
"Of course… I am. Hehe. Shall we see what power Hubris people can still offer?"
Demia took a deep breath, then began casting a spell.