Chapter 20: Rabata Mine Sweep Part 2

– Slashhh!!!!

My teachings had paid off.

El leaped through the larger and more skilled mercenaries without a moment's hesitation and swung her sword at the tar orc.

– Gueeeee...!!!

The sword El wielded sliced precisely between the tar orc's shoulder and head. The shining blade nearly cut through its thick neck, causing the tar orc to stagger only then. The area touched by the sword that I had previously purified began to burn and the tar orc's skin started to bubble and boil.

– Siwiiiiiiiish!!!

I did not miss that opportunity and shot the arrow I was aiming. The arrow, lodged exactly where the cut was made, sprouted vines as usual. This time, thanks to me using the [Curse of the Forest], the vines were bristling with sharp thorns. The thorny vines embedded in the tar orc's neck drew upon its blood to grow rapidly, and they soon enveloped the entire head of the tar orc.

– Slasshh!

El swung her sword at the floundering torso of the tar orc once more. Normally, the blood would have sprayed everywhere, but before that could happen, the roots of the thorny vines absorbed all the blood. This fortuitously prevented El and the other mercenaries who were nearby from being infected.

– Bang!!!

The hefty body of the tar orc collapsed to the ground, and the mercenaries stabbed at it with their swords to ensure it couldn't rise again. The blood wasn't splattered around; rather, it oozed onto the floor before it got mixed with the swamp. Yuck

"Master!" 

El ran towards me with an excited voice

"Did you see?!"

"Yes."

It was too brief a response for someone who seemed to be expecting praise. Oh, I'm not good at this kind of thing…

"…Keep it up."

"Yes!"

Fortunately, El seemed quite satisfied with just that. Was I being too strict all this time?

I left the cleanup to the mercenaries and surveyed the surroundings.

This was supposed to be the halfway point…

But the path doesn't continue.

It's as if this is the end of the mine.

There's a chance the path got blocked while it wasn't being used by the miners…

I felt the mine wall with my hands.

It's solid.

Just by looking or feeling the surface like this, it's impossible to tell where the original path was.

"Ayla."

I called Ayla over to sniff around the area. Knowing that beasts possess sensory capabilities different from humans, I was confident that Ayla would be able to discern the right direction.

Soon after, Ayla began to scratch furiously at a certain spot with her front paws.

"Here?"

When I placed my hand on the spot Ayla had scratched, I could faintly feel a flow of air.

It seemed there was a passage beyond this point that was blocked naturally or perhaps by monsters.

I inserted a few small seeds into the scratched area and used the [Breath of the Forest]. The seeds began to burrow into the earth with their roots, slowly lifting and creating a gap.

This will take some time.

After ensuring the plants had sprouted properly, I turned back to attend to the injured mercenaries.

-Bubble, bubble, bubble!

"Wh-what in the world is that?!"

Unfortunately, before I could tend to the mercenaries, the swamp began to boil.

-Bubble, bubble, bubble!

Upon closer inspection, it wasn't the swamp that was boiling.

It was the body of the tar orc.

The tar orc's black sticky body was literally bubbling and swelling, and it swallowed up the corpses of the rock goblins that had been gathered nearby to be burned.

Then, the unidentified mass twisted with the swamp like a whirlpool, creating a spectacle as if the very space itself was warping.

This was not the work of creatures like goblins or orcs.

An ominous premonition briefly crossed my mind.

– Riiiiiiiiiip!!!!!

With an indescribably unpleasant and horrifying ripping sound, space itself was "torn" apart.

There was no other way to describe it.

It was literally torn apart.

Beyond the torn fabric of space was nothing but pitch-black darkness, but something soon began to emerge from that ominous abyss.

– Grrrrrrrrr….

A chill ran down my spine, and cold sweat covered my body in an instant.

"I-it's a demon beast!!!"

The oldest-looking mercenary screamed out in terror.

Demon beasts were not ordinary monsters. While monsters could be classified into races like packs of wolves or dogs, demon beasts defied any such categorization.

Demon beasts were monsters created by demons for their own sinister purposes.

Demon beasts varied greatly depending on which demon had created them and what materials were used. Each creation was new, and no two were alike, which made them difficult to deal with.

The creature standing before us now was a case in point.

A hybrid of a rock goblin and a tar orc, possibly infused with some demonic power…

Since the tar orc's head had been severed by thorny vines, in its place sprouted the heads of rock goblins. The grotesque sight of a dozen small heads screaming on a huge body was a vision straight out of hell itself.

– Thud

– Twuk

The mercenaries fired their crossbows at the goblin heads. Some arrows hit their mark, but as expected, the body of the tar orc remained unaffected.

That's not its weak point.

To defeat this creature, it seemed necessary to carve out its unholy heart that had started beating once again.

However, the places where El had cut were now gruesomely reattached, so it was impossible to aim for its heart.

To ask El to dive back in now would be far too dangerous.

Demon beasts and monsters were entities of a different order entirely.

Unless they were of the caliber of paladins, facing demon beasts meant most would be in a rush to flee.

Damn, I've never used it before…

I hadn't expected the moment to use [Moon Light], which I gained upon reaching level 28, to come so soon.

To use [Moon Light], the seeds of the moonflower were required.

However, in order to increase their number almost all of the seeds in the dimensional garden have been planted.

The moonflower seeds I had in my possession now…

-Gulp.

Were merely three.

I had to make the beast expose its heart with just three shots.

I placed a moonflower seed into the notch I had prepared in the arrowhead and pulled back the bowstring.

Then, quietly, I recited a prayer to the moon goddess Nemeya as I let the tightly drawn bowstring go.

-Whoosh!

The arrow traced a silver arc and landed at the feet of the demon beast.

"It missed!!!"

A mercenary cried out in despair but he was mistaken.

-Thud!

It was a hit.

The moonflower seed planted in the arrowhead took root and began to sprout on the ground instantly. Leaves and flowers bloomed in a moment. I could sense the fresh fragrance unique to the moonflower, just as a huge and grotesque foot attempted to trample the beautiful, delicate flower.

-Whooshhh!!!!

From the flower erupted a powerful silver flame, reminiscent of moonlight. From that small flower, flames large enough to envelop the giant demon beast's body and more blazed forth. It was an unbelievable sight.

– Gyaaaaaaaah!!!!

The tar orc screamed in agony as the rock goblin heads sprouting from its neck each let out their own screams.

"Ayla!"

I shouted towards Ayla, who charged at the demon beast without a hint of fear. Ayla's teeth looked even sharper in the reflection of the silver flames.

– Crunch!

Ayla bit into the burning leg of the demon beast. Yet, she herself seemed unharmed; rather, it appeared as if she gained strength from the moonlight, which was no surprise. Ayla was a "Shadow Wolf" and she was blessed by the moon goddess Nemeya.

Such was Ayla's strength that the beast's leg soon came off. Although something seemed to wriggle in the severed part, trying to regenerate, nothing came of it due to the searing silver flames.

– Bang!!!!

In the end, the creature staggered on one leg before collapsing. Then, Ayla dashed to the other side and began to tear into the remaining leg.

"El!"

As if waiting for that moment, El raised her sword high.

– Thrust!

The sword plunged into the creature's midsection, and the heads quickly fell silent.

For the final blow, I shot another arrow into the wound made by El's sword.

– Wooooshh!!!!

As the moonflower rapidly grew and burst into silver flames, the demon beast ceased to move. It was finally dead.

"Phew…"

I hadn't expected a demon beast to suddenly appear after I thought it was all over. If I hadn't leveled up in advance and learned [Moon Light], I couldn't imagine what would have happened.

I was lucky.

I stood in front of the swamp where the monster was created and scattered the particularly strong and thick seeds that were in the seed bag.

"Great Lynshaka, goddess of the forests and earth, protector of life, bless this land so that nothing vile and evil may tread upon it again."

When I used the [Blessing of the Forest], purifying plants with cleansing power, like those I used on the cursed lands, sprang up vigorously and soon there was no trace of the swamp.

"My goodness…"

The mercenaries stood agape in their place and they were unable to close their mouths as they witnessed the spectacle. Some speculated it was a miracle; others thought it was magic, but they were all mistaken. This was a druidic ritual.

"It seems true that an evil presence has taken hold here. With the growth of the purifying trees, there will no longer be any incidents of monsters emerging from this place."

"Thank you, Sir Theodore. We are truly grateful."

"Of course, you must periodically exterminate any monsters to prevent them from nesting here again."

"We will keep that in mind."

As the mercenary leader bowed his head, I heard a faint sound that was akin to a whistle. I pulled out the book I had been carrying and opened it.

[Achievement Unlocked: Esteemed One]

[Additional Effect: Gain Favor (Medium) from Neutral Factions]

My status had risen from [Respected One] to [Esteemed One]. Not bad at all.

But what about the quest?

[Quest: Grand Success in the Rabat Mine Subjugation!]

Another grand success, it seems.

There were no titles to be gained, but the experience gained was substantial. That was enough for me, especially with the rewards from the mercenary guild still to come. I was satisfied and about to close the book when suddenly,

[A Chain Quest Appears!]

Huh?

[Quest: Rabata Mine Purification]

Oh.

It seems there's still something left in this mine.

I was planning to scout the area for the Shadow Cloak before heading back anyway…

It appears there are more spots like that swamp where monsters could emerge. Well, planting more purifying trees firmly in the ground like I just did shouldn't be too difficult.

I turned to the mercenaries who were getting ready to leave and opened my mouth.

"Ah, just to be safe, I'll plant some more purifying trees in a few places before I go."

Admiration erupted from all around me.

"As expected of the saint of purification…"

"It's incredible. To think there are still such good-hearted people around these days!"

…no need to tell them how it's just for the quest, I suppose.