How the Shadow of the Marquis Lives

Episode 26

Purification Church.

It is a religion that believes in the god of the sky, a denomination of the Somer Empire.

It was a sizable religious order that was far from secular status and power, but had quite a few followers among the nobles as well as ordinary citizens.

At one time, when it was in its heyday, there was even a discussion to establish it as the state religion of Somer.

Although it has declined a little now compared to then, it was still the religion with the greatest prestige.

Shamilla Drake.

If you were a candidate for a saint there, you would be treated more favorably than most nobles.

Apart from that, being a high priest deserves respect.

Doesn’t that mean that he is a master of divine magic?

“I heard that if you defeat the ghoul and bring back the magic stone, they will give you a reward.”

Shamilla answered Xian’s question. in a very loud voice.

“that’s right! If you bring a lot, I will give you a lot of money! But you have to be careful. Ghouls are ghouls, but they’re much stronger than the ones I’ve met elsewhere!”

much stronger?

The information was nice, but it wasn’t really of much use.

It’s because it’s the first time Shian has faced a ghoul.

Even though they were much stronger than other ghouls, I couldn’t tell how much difference there was.

“Relativity is simple! Whatever you do, open the chest and pour holy water on the magic stone you see inside! Then, as the magic stones are purified, the ghouls will also be reduced to ashes!”

She handed me holy water. 20 bottles of holy water in a small bottle the size of your index finger.

5 bottles per person.

“Is this holy water?”

“D, I’ve heard of it, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it… … .”

“If you spray this on it, all the ghouls will melt, right?”

The party peered into the bottle with curious eyes.

Seeing that, Shamilla asked again with a bright smile.

“You have to pierce the ghoul’s chest and soak the magic stone inside with holy water. Melting everything just by spraying it would have to be as much as the holy water that springs from the holy land.”

At her words, Ian scratched his head as if slightly embarrassed.

After that, a brief explanation of ghouls followed.

Xian listened intently to her words. No matter how much information on monsters there was, it wasn’t enough.

“For now, this is tidy! If you have any more questions, feel free to ask! Even if you look like this, you learned a lot from 12 masters!”

“… … There are many masters.”

“The first master was like that! Even a baby can become a teacher if there is something to learn!”

Xian nodded. I don’t know who the first master was, but it’s a pretty meaningful statement.

… … By the way, I don’t know why the voice is so loud.

At first, I liked it because it had a cheerful impression, but hearing the explanation in such a loud voice hurt my ears.

“Then let’s go.”

“yes! Be careful~!”

Xian and the others walked away from her and walked towards the ruins.

“greatly… … You are a lively person.”

Ian glanced back and spoke softly to Xian.

Xian nodded.

Lately, there has been no word more relatable than this.

“I want to go in right away. Does anyone need a break?”

In front of the barrier surrounding the site of the ruins.

Standing in front of him, Xian looked at the group.

But no one said they would take a break.

At most, it was about riding a carriage for half a day. There was no one in Everway who would get tired of it.

‘yes.’

Then, suddenly, Ravi’s voice was heard.

A low, anxious voice that was completely different from his usual lively and sultry voice.

Because of being in Xian’s body, that emotion was passed on to Xian as well.

He frowned and looked back.

“what’s the matter?”

“What’s going on?”

The group asked in a sudden attitude.

For a moment, Xian, who had been staring at the back without answering, replied with a wink in his eyes.

“No, nothing.”

what? What is Ravi’s strange reaction?

However, because there were so many people, I couldn’t find anything suspicious.

‘yes!’

Ravi’s voice had also returned to normal.

Was it nothing?

Putting a small sense of incongruity in one side of her head, Xian headed towards the entrance of the ruins.

* * *

It was a ruin in the form of a city.

A tall tower visible from afar.

Ruins site with collapsed ancient buildings scattered throughout.

The entrance was no different from the outside.

A place teeming with mercenaries about to depart and mercenaries to depart.

“Let’s go over here.”

Opening the map he had received from Shamilla, Xian pointed out the primary destination.

The ruins are in the right place, not too far from here, but not too close.

A nearby location was good for safety, but such a location would be overrun with mercenaries.

Conversely, the further away you go, the higher the risk.

It was a position that was decided after properly considering those two things.

“let’s go. nervous.”

“Yes.”

Before long, the four of them also started to leave.

The farther away from the entrance, the fewer people I could see.

Droned, as well as Ian and Raina, were all tense.

They were the ones who had experience close to real combat as a training subject for actual combat, but the actual actual combat was different.

This heavy air unique to the monster’s nest.

The smell of blood and dust and corpses carried on the wind.

The air, much thicker than outside, pressed down on their bodies.

Feels like falling into the deep sea.

Even Reina, who was so noisy outside, kept her mouth shut and looked nervous.

‘It’s natural that I have little experience.’

Xian saw them.

When I was young, I recalled the memories of wandering around and defeating monsters by the hand of the Yeomno.

Of course, at that time Yeomno mainly hunted and he was in a position to watch.

Still, thanks to that experience, I was somewhat used to it.

In this damp, stuffy, oppressive air.

“If a ghoul appears, respond with the formation we discussed beforehand. Detailed instructions are given from time to time.”

Xian spoke with a little magic in his voice.

The voice was heard clearly in the ears of the party.

The party wakes up as if they were splashed with cold water. They calmly began to use magic.

“uh.”

“huh.”

“Ah Okay.”

The group nodded and grabbed their weapons.

Ian holding a short walking stick. Similarly, a droned holding a staff and Reina armed with a bow.

“what. Why are the kids here?”

Then, they heard a laugh at them.

It was a group of mercenaries nearby.

“hey! Little kids! This is not a place to play!”

The rough-looking men giggled at Xian’s party.

still young students.

It looks like a baby song. Mercenaries are especially sensitive to such things.

“Those children… … !”

“Ignore it.”

Sian spoke to Ian, who was in a fit of anger.

If you react to these trivial disputes one by one, the attack is a matter of crossing the water.

“Don’t worry about that. What we need to worry about is this demon.”

I understand the feeling that you shouldn’t look down on them, but they are students, not mercenaries.

A position that requires more attention to growth than appearance.

In the first place, it was impossible to scatter one’s concentration on useless things in a place where monsters appeared.

He didn’t learn that way from Yeomno.

“Hey, look at them rolling their eyes.”

“Cheuk, cute guys.”

“I’m going to run mom’s errands. What’s the matter with a place like this?”

The mercenaries still giggled.

Ian almost got angry once more, but he seemed to hold it in.

at that time.

– Puff!

– Pusuk!

The ground suddenly rose from nothing, and a ghoul appeared.

Distorted features and rotting skin.

It was a hideous appearance with no nose and only nostrils on a dark red body that seemed to have dried up blood.

“It’s a ghoul!”

“Respond!”

The mercenaries also began to panic.

Some of the ghouls headed for the bigger and bigger mercenaries.

“Ahh! Yumma, stop that way!”

“Why are these bastards so hard! Aren’t zombies soft!?”

“That’s a zombie and this is a ghoul you bastard! What did you hear when we talked about it yesterday!”

“What is different!”

The mercenaries became noisy with the sound of cancans.

Meanwhile, the rest of the ghouls moved toward the party.

Xian raised the black sword he had pulled out of his hand beforehand.

A sword dipped in holy water before entering the dungeon.

‘where.’

The ghoul’s movements were by no means fast.

It wasn’t as slow as a turtle, but if you hit it well, it’s at the level of a normal person.

They came trudging this way.

‘The characteristics of a ghoul are smooth movement and hard skin.’

According to Shamilla, ghouls move just like humans.

In addition to being slow, it is a completely different monster from zombie-like monsters whose joints are almost stiff.

In addition, it has a hard and hardened skin that is the exact opposite of that smooth movement.

Seeing how hard it would be in reality, Xian lightly swung the sword as a means of exploration.

kang!

‘hmm?’

Seeing the sword unable to pierce his neck, Xian widened his eyes.

It was tougher than I thought.

Even though it was a light blow, I didn’t deliberately put it in my hand, but it was surprising that there was not a scratch.

‘It would be difficult just by doing that.’

It wouldn’t be difficult to subdue it, but in order to pierce through this hard body and defeat it, you’d have to pour a lot of mana into it.

It wasn’t that I couldn’t do it that way, but more than that now.

Pod!

Xian injected mana into his power gauntlets.

A shamanistic tattoo floating on the back of the hand.

Feeling the ‘power’ flowing through his whole body, he struck down the knife with all his might.

Kwadeuk! Quadruped!

The ghoul’s body was literally torn apart.

A wound that cut through the chest from the shoulder blades to the chest.

The cross section of the shattered ghoul was not flesh and muscle, but rather something like a split piece of wood.

And a magic stone the size of a child’s fist located in the middle of the chest.

When the sword coated with holy water brushed against the magic stone, it burned, creating something resembling steam.

“ooo-”

The magic stone that gave off shady energy is purified with the power of holy water.

At the same time, the ghoul’s body turned to ash and began to sink.

While killing one of them, another attacked Xian from behind.

Kwak Kwa Kwa Kwa Kwam!

hooked!

Fireballs fired several times in succession hit the ghoul’s chest, and Reina’s arrow pierced the shattered chest.

The holy water-soaked arrow passed through the falling fragments and grazed the magic stone.

“done!”

Reina cheered.

The ghouls’ countermeasures that were set up before coming here.

Seeing them succeed in the real battle at once, they are also students of Everwhale.

One talent was enough.

“This is good enough. how is it?”

“It’s easy.”

“No problem!”

Hearing Ian and Raina’s strong voices competing for answers, Xian loosened his wrists.

Originally, when dealing with a ghoul, it was said that you would have to completely smash your body or forcefully tear off the magic stone.

However, thanks to the holy water, I was able to kill it simply by penetrating the chest.

This situation is fairly easy.

The rest of the ghouls were killed in the same way, and Xian picked up the magic stone and threw it at Droned.

He was in charge of giving support magic to the party behind the scenes.

In a situation that ended faster than expected, Droned, who had been overbearing, received a flying magic stone.

Reina grinned and blew a V at him, who was putting on a relieved expression.

“Go in.”

After briefly organizing the seats, Xian took the lead again. Thanks to the map I checked earlier, the geography of the ruins came into my head clearly.

In the middle of that, I passed the mercenaries from earlier.

They hadn’t even properly dealt with a single ghoul yet.

“Yours… … !”

The mercenary opened his mouth as he watched Xian and his party leisurely pass by.

Those who look nothing more than little kids can get past these tough ghouls in an instant?

But it is natural.

Everwhale’s students, even those with low rankings, have abilities comparable to those of ordinary knights and mages.

Not to mention, all 4 students here are top students.

The clumsy mercenaries were not the ones to be scolded for.

“back! Yamma back!”

They were so astonished, but there was no time to be stunned against those who couldn’t even stab themselves with a knife.

“Ahh!”

The mercenary rolled on the ground, trying to block the ghouls that attacked.

“… … .”

Ian glanced back.

But he was no longer annoyed or ridiculed by them.

After realizing the difference in skill, I realized that there was no reason to deal with them.

When the mercenaries woke up, Xian and his party had already entered the ruins.