Rashia was confused by the sudden event. Wilhelm, who was also surprised, couldn’t move carelessly without knowing what had happened.
“No need to worry!! This effect happens when the requirement has been met and a new skill is learned!!”
Shin raised his voice to calm the two confused people down. Apparently, Shin’s calculation was not wrong, and the 200th body was the Skull Face just now.
The light effect faded away as soon as Shin raised his voice. Rashia’s gaze wandered through the space as if she became engrossed in something.
“Oi, Rashia! Are you alright?”
“Fue? Ah, yes. I’m alright.”
Wilhelm called out to her while tapping her shoulder, and she replied with a somewhat lifeless voice.
“With you staring into space like you are dazed, are you really alright?”
“I’m alright, okay. It was because the way to use the skill suddenly flowed into my head.”
“Was there any difference from the time you used the secret book?”
“Um, yes there was. The secret book somehow had a more gentle feeling to it, while this time, it was more of an abrupt feeling. But maybe that explanation is poor and difficult to understand.”
It seemed to feel differently when compared to the secret book.
For some reason, there seemed to be various effects that occurred when a person learned a skill. Because the person in question wasn’t harmed, he didn’t have to worry, but Shin just didn’t understand that feeling properly. In the first place, the experience of information flowing directly into the brain was impossible.
“Well, first of all, because you successfully acquired 【Purification】. Congratulations.”
“Indeed, you did well.”
“Kuu!”
Shin, Wilhelm and Yuzuha each gave her their blessing.
“Thank you very much. I can take care of the orphanage with this, too.”
With the acquisition of 【Purification】, the orphanage would not have to worry about the inheritance problem anymore. It was Rashia’s real feelings as she thanked them with tears in the corner of her eyes.
“Now then, let’s go to base, get some sleep, and quickly return to the Bayreuth kingdom in the morning.”
“That’s right. There is no reason to stay here any longer.”
“Yes, let’s go then.”
With each of them smiling, they went outside the seal. There were no signs of enemies around the three people and one animal.
The request ended with this. They only had to return to the kingdom now. All of the members who were there thought so.
Until that happened.
◆◆◆◆
It happened out of the blue.
Right then, in the Wraith Plains, the insects and wild animals in the night strangely went silent. Therefore, Shin noticed immediately. Yuzuha, who was on top of Shin’s head, also perceived the unusual event with its superior hearing, which was the characteristic of animals, as its ears stood up.
“Hmm? What is that sound?”
“Kuu?”
It was a sound like the wind blowing through the grass. Shin wouldn’t mind if it was only the sound of the surrounding grass rubbing against each other.
But he couldn’t help but worry if the sound was also happening at the same time as a strange noise was heard, like that of a creature being crushed.
Shin and Yuzuha came to a halt and looked back, and so they saw the grotesque scene.
“What…is that?”
“Kuu…”
“Hmm? What happened to you…guys.”
Wilhelm noticed Shin’s movements and turned around, he too was speechless as he saw the same thing.
The place where the Skull Face was just defeated before, there was now a black orb just floating there, one that did not exist until just now. It was now in the process of swallowing the Pecker Hollow. When he looked at the map screen, a huge red marker, which wasn’t there before, was now at the edge of the view. White and blue markers were displayed which indicated Shin and the others.
The Pecker Hollow was rapidly being sucked into the black orb, which was about 30 cemels wide. The volume obviously didn’t match. A crunching, cracking sound was being made, because the Pecker Hollows body was being compressed.
The Pecker Hollow, which was the prey, didn’t even raise a death cry or show any other kind of resistance. All of the faces that appeared on its body seemed to be smiling. It appeared to be pleased with being completely absorbed.
“What the hell!? What the heck is that thing!?”
“Ugh, it is disgusting…”
Rashia covered her mouth from the spectacle of a person’s face being crushed slowly, and crouched down. Wilhelm rushed to Rashia, and Shin stood between them and the black orb.
It didn’t take much more time and the Pecker Hollow was completely sucked into the orb. Simultaneously, a big tremor suddenly occurred and the ground quivered.
“Uoo!?”
“Kya!”
“Kuuu!?”
In the spur of the moment, they somehow managed to keep their balance and avoided falling. When they looked around to see what had happened, they saw a purple light blowing toward the sky from everywhere in the Wraith Plains.
From the place where the Skull Face had fallen, a sparkly light was rising to the sky.
“Beautiful…”
Rashia muttered. This sudden occurrence was indeed really wondrous and beautiful.
If only there was no mysterious black orb in front, Shin would have enjoyed it, too. However, this was not the time to enjoy the scene.
He slightly expanded his map view. He noticed that the red markers, that had progressed to the edge of the view, had disappeared from the map.
“This is…”
His turned his attention away from the map and stared in the direction of the red markers where the monsters were, using the skill 【Long Sight】, while staying cautious of the orb. Then, he saw that the Gel Bison and Ein Jackal were emitting a sudden purple light from throughout their bodies. That glittery and shining light resembled the effect that happened when an undead monster was killed during the time in the game.
The monster, which was emitting light from its body, gradually lost it outline, and a short time later it would vanish like it was dissolved into the air.
And that, the light, which painted an arc in the atmosphere, was absorbed by the black orb.
Shin and Wilhelm who saw the scene moved to protect Rashia. While wary of their surroundings, they looked at the orb in front of them.
“Shit, its sucking the demon essence in!”
“Demon essence?”
“Ah! That light, the demon’s essence, is what moves the undead. Because it’s disappeared, it becomes impossible to maintain the body.”
“I see.”
After a while, all of the demon essence that existed in the atmosphere was absorbed into the orb. Then the sphere whirled up into the sky, and stopped at a height about 10 mels from the ground. At the same time, a dark aura spread around the orb. It gradually took shape, and bones like a Skull Face were formed. In addition, it expanded to several times the size of a regular Skull Face. It was covered with jet black armor, and the aura filled in between the bones and the armor. It only took 10 seconds.
A Skull Face more than 10 mels in height appeared before Shin and his party.
If it didn’t have a skeleton head attached, it would remind them of a valor knight. It was unimaginable that the ornament on the armor was made from the aura.
But from the body, there was a sinister aura rising up. It was the definite evidence that it was an undead.
And, its burning look in front of Shin and the party caused their bodies to freeze from tension.
―――― 『Lord Skull Face Lv. 804』
When Shin activated 【Analyze • Ⅹ】, it displayed to him its name and its level.”
The levels numerical value was considered a high ranking enemy, even in THE NEW GATE.
“Level 804. Is it this dungeon’s boss?”
Shin was calmly asking himself this but Wilhelm intensely responded.
“Oi, the level you said just now, was that true?”
“Yes, no doubt about it.”
“That…it is at a level that could destroy a country!?”
“Kururuuu!!”
Yuzuha openly raised a roar to try to intimidate it, but Wilhelm and Rashia couldn’t hide their shaking from the impossible numerical value. Except those monsters that stayed in the Sacred Place, since the Dusk of the Majesty, the monster with highest confirmed level didn’t even reach level 600. Moreover, even that monster destroyed several countries at that time.
“B-But there is the seal and it is not possible to get out, right?”
“I wonder.”