Level Up Inquisitor [EN]: Chapter 154

154. Relic (4)

[Roo’s Lieutenant Familiar, ‘Epona,’ has descended!]

Roo’s familiar appeared with a burst of brilliant light.

She revealed herself before Aile, who had used the orb, her long hair flowing as she spread two pairs of wings.

A Valkyrie clad in white armor and wielding a sword.

‘So, this is a goddess’s familiar…’

Aile stared blankly at Epona’s appearance before him.

However, Agria, Bahamut’s familiar, did not welcome her arrival.

“Vanish again!”

Crack!

She swung her frost-laden spear.

Agria’s spear attack, now surpassing level 200, possessed tremendous power, and an immense chill extended toward them.

It threatened to freeze everything it touched.

Swish!

With an expressionless face, Epona drew her sword.

Her sword, drawn from its scabbard, emitted an intense sacred fire.

Whoosh!

The flaming sword was swung mightily.

The exploding flames completely neutralized the cold that had been trying to engulf them.

The aftershock swept away all the surrounding believers, and Epona wrapped her two pairs of wings around Aile to protect him from harm.

“Kuh…”

“Aile, you’ve done well.”

Epona, who had come closer to protect him, spoke to him.

Aile, startled, looked at her.

A familiar using honorifics with him.

Even the apostles, who performed important roles, were by no means of such status compared to them.

In the case of the executioners representing the Order, they were treated slightly better, but even so, those who transcended the earth were still superior beings.

“The Goddess said that Aile is a special person. It is a natural attitude to have as one who serves her.”

She spoke as if she had noticed Aile’s expression.

‘Could it be because I’m the first apostle…’

Aile had been designated as an apostle and had been active since Roo was struggling with influence, so perhaps he was being treated a little better.

If this guess was correct, it was something to be subtly proud of.

However, the current situation was not good enough to be thinking about such things leisurely.

“It’s already too late to stop me. Even more so for you, a lieutenant familiar!”

Agria’s dark eyes shone with an eerie light.

Her power was unleashed, and the frost on her spear and the ice that had frozen the surroundings were stained with blood.

A much stronger chill, imbued with an even more potent energy, dominated the entire space, and began to freeze Epona, who was spreading her wings to protect, whole.

‘Indeed, it’s as she says.’

Aile’s expression hardened at the sight of the blood-red ice surrounding him.

Agria had entered the level 200 range while undergoing an adaptation period, whereas Epona had only just manifested on the ground.

Moreover, there was a difference in their very class as familiars.

There was no way she could compare to the higher-ranking familiar Agria, who had manifested in the body of the Grand Inquisitor after undergoing a long ritual.

Even if Roo’s familiar had been summoned now, it was unreasonable to expect the situation to dramatically reverse.

However, Epona, with a calm expression, began to slowly spread her wings, breaking through the ice.

“Now, you can leave it to me. It might get a little violent, though…”

Epona, gathering strength in both hands, passed him the light containing the power of protection.

The light soon took on a round shape, enveloping Aile and creating a barrier.

Crack!

Epona, having fully spread her four wings, broke out of the ice.

The spear of frost and the sword of flame collided, and the shockwave exploded, throwing Aile back.

Thanks to the power of light protecting him, he was not shocked, but the surrounding believers had long been annihilated by the aftermath of the battle alone.

Crack!

Epona’s fist slammed into Agria’s face.

Then, she pushed her fist in once more, slamming the staggering opponent straight into the ground.

Bang!

The floor where Agria was embedded shattered in a circle, leaving a large mark.

The floor of the sanctuary, which had never been broken even by the rampaging of a giant monster, was easily shattered.

Agria’s health decreased rapidly.

It was truly an enormous amount of power.

From the moment they crossed weapons, Epona had been gradually pushing forward, and now she was completely overwhelming the battle.

“How… ?”

Agria, barely managing to create distance by swinging her spear, frowned.

Contrary to her initial expectations, the situation was not good.

“Could it be…”

‘So that’s what happened.’

They both noticed the situation at the same time, astonished by her incredibly manifested power.

The way Agria descended to the ground under Bahamut’s plan was not simple, even though she borrowed the power of the relic.

It was a manifestation that took place after obtaining an entity to permanently operate on the ground.

That is why it required a more complex ritual process and a long time, including the sacrifice of the Grand Inquisitor’s body.

However, Epona, who appeared in front of them now, was only a temporary manifestation.

After arbitrarily creating a body to operate, it was a body that would disappear again after time passed.

A familiar who manifested in such a way could not last long on the ground.

But thanks to that, the situation changed.

She did not borrow the body of a mortal, nor did she forcibly piece together a body suitable for the ground.

There was no need for any adaptation time.

This meant that, with the exception of some essential restrictions that had to be passed when descending to the ground, she came down with her own inherent power intact.

Whack!

Epona’s left arm was cut off by a sharp spear attack.

But her arm regenerated in an instant.

It was impossible to exert the power to extinguish her with Agria’s incomplete power.

“You won’t last even a few minutes in that form!”

Unlike Epona, who was already in her original form, Agria could not even reveal her true form in a human body yet.

If she could just buy time and endure until her power was properly established, Agria would eventually overwhelm Epona.

But it was she who came down to stop that.

“That’s enough.”

Whoosh!

Vast sacred power poured down, sweeping the front.

Agria barely managed to absorb the shock by raising her spear.

But in that gap, Epona, who had spread her wings and approached right in front of her, cut off both of her arms in an instant.

Because her arms were helplessly cut off, she dropped her spear and a big gap was created.

Whack!

Epona’s outstretched hand grabbed Agria’s neck.

There was a cracking sound as if it would break at any moment.

“Kuh… If I just had a little more time…!”

Agria groaned painfully.

She struggled and writhed to somehow escape, holding on so that her neck would not break.

But it was all in vain.

Epona, who lifted her high, stretched out her arms.

“Kuaaaaaaak!”

Epona, putting strength in both hands, tore Agria in half.

An execution performed with bare hands.

Unidentifiable red blood clots fell in clumps.

It was such a gruesome sight that even Aile, who was watching from afar, was horrified for a moment.

But Epona, who was covered in blood, had an indifferent face.

‘Like goddess, like familiar…’

Beautiful and cruel, she had no mercy in her actions.

She was like a familiar in the form of a Valkyrie.

[‘Ruler of the Volcano’ cannot contain his joy at Bahamut’s pathetic failure!]

[‘Secret Explorer’ conveys that it was an enjoyable amusement.]

The reactions of the gods came up at the decisive victory.

To try to permanently summon the higher familiar of a god to the ground, of all things.

If he had succeeded, he would have overturned this world event and achieved great results by adding even the familiar to his forces, but his greed was excessive.

It was understandable that all the other gods were wary of Bahamut.

[Public Contribution +4,000]

[Public Contribution +1,500]

[Public Contribution +300]

Contribution support messages sent by the gods.

Razagael, who was at odds with Bahamut, gave a whopping 4,000 points as promised, and Freya, who firmly believed that Aile would become her apostle, also showed a big hand.

“First Apostle who follows the light, retrieve the relics and take them to the Order. A new chapter awaits you.”

Epona conveyed her last words to him.

She disappeared with a brilliant light, and the orb, which was a fragment of the relic, fell softly from the place where the light had disappeared.

Thud!

The orb was held in Aile’s hand.

[You have stopped Bahamut’s higher familiar, ‘Agria’!]

[Goddess’s Favor +10.00% (Currently 139.72%)]

[Light Order Contribution +25,000]

[Faith Stat +25]

[Madness Stat +25]

[Level Up!]

A feast of messages that appeared before his eyes.

Even though he didn’t take her down directly, he was given a lot of rewards.

In particular, the favorability exceeded 100 percent, and the increasing value began to decrease as it went up, but this time it went up by a whopping 10 percent at once.

‘My level went up by 4 at once, and it was hard work, but it’s more than a jackpot. Above all, the biggest thing is still left….’

Aile turned his head slightly.

There were also items to be recovered from Agria, who was lying dead miserably.

[You have discovered the sixth fragment of the ancient relic!]

[Due to the discovery of the apostle ‘Aile’, the god ‘Light Judge’ has acquired immense influence!]

Another relic fragment.

This time it was a white, shining dagger-shaped item.

‘The sixth and seventh fragments… It was said that the relic, which was originally one, was divided into several branches when the one god disappeared a long time ago.’

Aile recalled his memories as he looked down at the relic.

But beyond that, not much was known.

It was just information that no one paid attention to, thinking it was a vain legend that was commonly overflowing in Warlord, and even if they tried to find out more, the information was so limited.

“Hmm…”

Whirr!

Meanwhile, a sacred fire suddenly rushed into the ruined hall.

The flames that Epona poured out disappeared with her as she disappeared.

Aile even sprinkled holy water to buy time, and the sacred fires that had been set in various places spread to this place.

The fact that it had rushed to this place meant that virtually the entire sanctuary was on fire.

‘But there’s no need to rush.’

Aile had no worries.

The sacred fire he set could not harm him in any way.

There was no need to worry about burning to death even if he walked out leisurely.

Rather, it was better because it would burn all the remaining remnants of the Water Order and then subside on its own.

“Oh, right! Come to think of it….”