Chapter 213: Chapter 66. Gustarte (5)
The entire mountain range turned red. The powerful beams that came from the hundreds of stones pressured Gustarte. The magic portals, which Krithli had prepared, shook and devoured mana. They were specially designed for Gustarte, and they worked very well on the wizard.
I calmly crossed my arms. Then I looked a Gustarte’s face. He was panting while lying on the ground.
The sky was no longer dark, and the moon lost its light. Gustarte, who had lost his fighting spirit, was shaking.
“Long time no see.”
I snickered.
Although I spoke first, I did not expect him to respond.
Even though Gustarte was a god and an immortal, he looked just like any other mortals at his current state. The wizard was trembling like a sheep that was about to get slaughtered.
“The flow of mana is blocked now, but he still doesn’t seem to recover his old memories,” I noticed.
I realized that Gustarte was not controlled by mana. Then I wondered how other demons were able to control the wizard.
I remembered running into a giant rabbit in the Reverse World. 0001 called it as Contamination. It also mentioned something like programs, which sounded like humans’ tools. Perhaps 0001 was implying at some hints.
I suspected if there was a bit more special way to control this wizard. Such a method would be related to the secrets of the gods. Ufa was able to control Gustarte, which meant that he knew about the secrets more than I did.
Ufa was never in the lead in the previous life. Ariel Diablo had always been the most powerful and influential one.
However, in this life, Oculus and Ufa took over.
Fortunately, I was able to destroy Oculus by myself. However, Ufa seemed to know more than I did, which implied that I could not simply kill him like Oculus even if I wanted and could.
“You have done a good job,” I commended Krithli.
I looked up and met her gaze.
“I did what I was supposed to do, Dungeon Master,” Krithli replied to me.
She was exhausted and was about to fall over. The magic portals affected other monsters, too. Half of them were looking down because of fatigue.
I was wearing the Infinity Armor, and it protected me from magic portals. I had tested this armor many times in the past, and it worked as it should. This armor was made out of Greed, the giant slime, and perhaps that was why I remained intact.
“Tell me about the damages that you sustained.”
“Gigantes died, and we lost about 30 high monsters. Twenty of them are severely injured. The rest of the monsters have escaped successfully.”
Wow! I was very surprised. The mission was a success. I expected that I would lose more than half of my monsters in this mission.
Krithli was indeed very useful. She managed to complete this mission with fewer casualties.
However, the loss of Gigantes made me click my tongue.
“Gigantes were very loyal, and it is a shame that they are no longer with us. Burry their bodies next to the Tree of Origin for me.”
Krithli quickly knelt down with one knee.
“As you wish, Dungeon Master.”
“And have the monsters rest.”
“Yes…”
Krithli looked very happy. She seemed to appreciate the way I treated my monsters.
Despite the loss, this mission was very successful.
And I believed that those who accomplished much should be awarded accordingly.
The least I could do was give out the areas near the Tree of Origin.
I heard that monsters considered being buried near the Tree of Origin as a great honor. I also learned that there was an unspoken rule that no monster would be buried near the tree unless I allowed it.
I liked that rule because I could reward my monsters without actually doing anything.
‘Gustarte, the intermediate god…,’ I thought.
I took out the Moon Arrow. Although I had planned to use the stones that came from Greed on Gustarte, I was not so sure if they would work on him. Fortunately, they did, and Krithli captured the wizard. Unlike the stones, I was quite confident that this arrow would have significant impacts on the wizard, even though I did not know how it would affect Gustarte exactly.
Grrr!
The tip of the arrow shook.
I was told that this arrow fixed things. I wondered if this arrow would restore Gustarte and make him a deity once again like what 0001 had told me.
‘If this doesn’t work…,’ I reflected.
I wouldn’t really mind if this arrow did not work. In fact, it would be better for me if this arrow would not work at all. I wanted to utilize Gustarte’s abilities to do other things. The wizard had the body of a god, and it was a treasure that no one could get in this world.
“I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can keep that promise for now,” I decided.
I snickered and put the Moon Arrow back in my pocket.
I had promised 0001 to bring back Gustarte, but we didn’t agree when.
In other words, even if I used Gustarte’s body for other purposes, as long as I used the Moon Arrow to make him regain his consciousness in the end, I would technically be keeping my promise.
“I feel something very familiar…,” I observed. “It feels that he is somehow connected to the Hell Lord.”
I realized that Gustarte resembled a part of me. My heart was beating very hard, and I suspected that the wizard was somehow related to my heart, the heart of the Hell Lord.
Such a connection, if there was, would be very odd. The Hell Lord failed to become a god, while Gustarte was a real god, even though he had fallen. I wanted to find out how the wizard was connected to my heart.
I changed my mind. I initially planned to use the Moon Arrow, restore the wizard, and see what would happen. However, I no longer wished to use this arrow.
Besides the connection between the wizard and my heart, I was also intrigued by Gustarte for other reasons. Not only was I interested in the secret of the gods, but I would also want to find out how Ufa had found the wizard before I did, as well as his methods to control him. In order to find the answers to these questions, I must thoroughly examine Gustarte’s body.
“The wizard’s body is a treasure box,” I realized.
I nodded and spoke to Krithli.
“Connect the stones and make a rope out of them. Then, use that to bind the wizard. Take him to the dungeon and study his body. You can have Gaparam take charge, but you must participate.”
“As you wish, Dungeon Master.”
“It is a hypothesis, but I think that we can learn a lot of things by studying Gustarte. I’m sure the lychi will like him, too.”
Gaparam, the lychi who researched about the homunculus, would love to study Gustarte. One had to enter the realm of the gods to make a true homunculus. Therefore, this opportunity to study Gustarte would be priceless for Gaparam.
In addition, probing Gustarte would help Krithli improve even more.
“My Dungeon Master, can I focus on my own research interests?”
I stopped, smiling, and looked at Krithli with curious eyes. The dark elf seemed to be very interested in Gustarte.
“You can do whatever you want with this wizard. But do remember to find out how Ufa could control Gustarte and how he found out about the secret of the gods. Take this with you and use it for your research.”
I was going to keep the Moon Arrow to myself, but I gave it to Krithli instead, who accepted it with enthusiasm.
“I can feel a tremendous amount of holy energy.”
“It is called the Moon Arrow, and this legendary item used to be Gustarte’s. I was told that if you touch his body with this arrow, he will regain his consciousness. However, you must not use this until the last moment. If he becomes holy again, you cannot continue your research.”
“I will keep that in mind.”
“And find more about this Moon Arrow, too.”
“Sure.”
Krithli noted all of my instructions and nodded. The dark elf loved research. When I had assigned similar tasks, she always exceeded my expectations.
I looked forward to seeing what she would find out. I would not be disappointed if she could not find much. The secret of the gods was a mystery after all.
“I will go back to the Royal Observatory of Greenwich. Go to my dungeon and wait for my return.”
“Please be safe.”
“No one can harm me.”
“Of course, I know that.”
The dark elf did not doubt my power. No matter how dangerous a situation was, I could protect myself, and Krithli knew that.
After I handed Gustarte to Krithli, I turned around.
I asked one of my monsters to take charge, and I would not be gone for long.
Besides, I had a bad feeling for some reason…
***
Lyhee stood on top of the clock tower of the Royal Observatory. At a glance, the fairy, looking quite serious with her arms crossed, seemed like a dungeon master. However, looking closely, one could easily tell that she looked somewhat awkward.
Oswen advised her not to talk and stay still, but it was uncertain if she would follow the blacksmith’s advice.
What bothered her was the attention of others.
“Whew!”
Lyhee frowned and her lips dropped. Copying her master’s gestures felt awkward, and the fairy doubted if she was doing it correctly or convincingly.
There were dozens or even hundreds of monsters hiding inside the castle. The monsters assigned to keep an eye on Randalf were now all looking at Lyhee, who was pretending to be her master.
Had it been some other times, Lyhee would not mind such intense scrutiny. However, she was disguised as her master, and the glances made her nervous.
“Archduke Randalf Bruciel…”
Then someone appeared from her side. It was a silver knight who was carrying a white insignia. The knight was one of Ariel Diablo’s subordinates, and the fairy had seen him in the past, too.
Lyhee gulped. She did not prepare for such an abrupt appearance. Normally, no one would come to Randalf and approach him like that.
The fairy turned around awkwardly.
“…”
The fairy remembered being told that she did not have to talk.
Lyhee decided to follow Oswen’s advice.
‘Master is terse, so it would be okay,’ she thought.
Randalf was an archduke after all. Even his monsters could not easily talk to him, and the fairy believed that monsters from other factions would not dare, too.
“Please excuse me. Where have you been? Archduke Ariel Diablo told me that you would be here at all times unless there are unusual circumstances.”
“…”
Lyhee felt extremely uncomfortable. She wanted to yell at the knight to mind his own business. However, the fairy realized that if she talked, the knight would find out that she was in disguise, an impostor. Lyhee always made a noise while she talked, which sounded like her name.
She could not imagine how her master would look if he made that weird noise every time he spoke. The fairy did not wish to speak at all. She would get busted.
When Lyhee did not respond, the white knight continued to speak calmly, “Miss Ariel also told me that if you were gone for a while, you had other intentions. Our master wants to maintain a good relationship with Archduke Randalf. I have blocked the mana nearby, so please tell me where you have been. It seems that you went to a place where we could not track…”
The knight was boldly asking Randalf to tell him what he had been up to. Lyhee did not have to answer, and it was foolish to do so.
When Lyhee did not speak a word, the knight backed up a bit.
“If you wish to keep mum, I will have to report this situation to Ariel Diablo.”
“…!”
Lyhee’s eyes twitched.
Should the knight tell on Lyhee, Ariel might misunderstand Randalf, and she might burn all bridges with him.
Lyhee remembered that Randalf had not provoked Ariel. She had been friendly to Randalf, and he seemed to think that there was no reason to start a war with her. The fairy then became concerned that the good relationship between the two might go south because of her. If it did, Lyhee was sure that her master would scold her.
Lyhee thought that she did not have any other options. She spoke in the most serious tone possible.
“I…I went…to get some…honey water. Lyhee-hee.”
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