Pioneering the Apocalyptic World - Chapter 97

Chapter 32: When the wind calms down

“L-Like I would let you do it.”

The potentially lethal blow was guarded by the Iron Shield held by Regulus, who flew in from outside of my sight.

“OuchOuch!?”

“Wuah!?”

However, perhaps because of his rather unreasonable posture, he was unable to fully block it, and I ended up being tossed with Regulus. Well, it’s much better than a direct hit.
Uru let out a sigh of relief and approached us… But she seems to prioritized preventing Zephyrus’ magic. She keeps an eye on her surroundings and throw arrows and big stones at him, I can feel her determination to never be hit.
While keeping it in the corner of my eye, since I was on top of my savior, Regulus, I hurriedly got off, and called out to him while sprinkling a potion.

“R-Regulus, are you okay?”

But Regulus did not wake up. Did he hit a bad spot by any chance? I held my breath for a moment, but it didn’t seem so. There was a light of will in his eyes.
The time that I could feel relieved was just a brief moment, Regulus had tears in his eyes, “It hurt that much!?” I panicked and tried to take out an additional potion, but I froze at his words.

“Rion, please pay attention……”

“… I-I’m sorry.”

It’s my fault being absent-minded during the battle. Regulus had also witnessed it??that’s why he was able to save me??I guess, that reprimand wasn’t loud at all, but that’s why it stabbed my heart.
However, it seems that his intention was different a reprimand, he immediately corrected saying “… Sorry, it’s wrong.”

“I know that I, who cannot make much difference in this battle, have no right to say that. I don’t think it’s okay to rely on someone who’s thinner than me to carry it on her back. But, even so… We only have you.”

Regulus brings his arms in front of his face. Thanks to the potion, while his clothes are dirty and torn here and there, he’s not wounded. But from his condition, I can easily guess that after leaving me, he defeated a large quantity of monsters.
His hand was trembling.

“To become like that monster, In a world full of miasma, I definitely don’t want it…”

The rotting bodies. The rotten land. The stagnant, sticky air that makes it almost impossible to breathe. Remembering them, Regulus trembled.
…… Even if there are no visible scars on his body, his mind is severely worn out. …… But it’s inevitable.
You normally wouldn’t be able to see monsters contaminated by miasma that much, and on top of that it’s a large horde. Even so, stopping to think, this area is too heavily contaminated. It’s a tragic scene that, depending on the person, just seeing it can break its mind.
If this, if something like this spreads all over the world… That might be the equivalent of being in ‘hell’. He must have imagined that world, with nothing but despair.

“So… Don’t give up… Make a future for us??”

“??”

Make the future.
Hearing that, I felt like a line inside me was connected.
That’s why these words naturally slipped out of my mouth.

“??Leave it to me”

You don’t have the item?

… If you don’t have, just make one.

You don’t know the recipe?

… What about it?

Did I have to come up with a recipe every time I cooked? No I didn’t.
Is there a recipe for carving Uru shaped dolls? There’s no way that exist.
Why didn’t I notice such a simple thing.

??You can make anything you want, even if you don’t have a recipe…!

I took out the holy flame arrow and the sparkfield arrow, and gripped the magic stone(arrowhead).

Then I started.

“Creation making??[Sacred Thunder Net Arrow]*”

From my hand overflowed a familiar yet somewhat stronger light than usual.
Regulus opened his eyes wide and let out a surprised voice, but I was so concentrated that I didn’t notice it.
I boasted I could make anything, but it must have been extremely difficult to handle lightning and holy attributes at the same time. I can clearly see my MP decreasing like a bucket full of holes.
But unlike when using magic, the skill is activated. In other words, whether this is completed or not is up to me.

I pour MP, I pour even more. It seemed like I was going to run out, so I splashed a MP potion on my head.
I imagine Its finished form. A Sacred Lightning. A strong net that tangles through the miasma.

And so, the two arrows changed into a single one.

“Uru!”

“Umu.”

In response to my call, whether Uru was aware of what I just did, or whether she guessed it without even looking, she gave a simple reply.
Furthermore, she started throwing arrows without the need of any explanation, and I started looking for a gap in the windshield.
It looks like it’s just a restart, but there’s one thing that’s decidedly different.

“Eat it…!”

??CRAAACLEEE!!

Goaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!?

A holy attribute spark field?though it’s a simple name, let’s call it sacred spark field. It’s long?
The holy-attribute thunder net clings to Zephyrus again, but unlike the first time, it’s definitely burning him with the power of purification.

I was hoping it would cause paralysis, but… I wonder if it’s got status ailment resistance from start. Zephyrus did not fall.
However, there is no need to panic this time. I calmly shot the remaining holy flame arrow, I aimed at his neck, but he was rampaging so wild that it hit him in the wing.

Aaaaaaaaaaah!

But that ended gouging his wings greatly, and even Zephyrus was unable to maintain flight and crashed down. So It turned out well!

“Rion, he is still alive!”

“I know!”

Uru rushes towards the fallen Zephyrus and kicks away the rubble in the line of fire of my bow.
Then, when the path to Zephyrus was opened… I shot another holy flame arrow.
This time, without mistaking my aim, I shot through his neck??the part where the miasma remained the thickest, and ended up splitting it from his torso… From the cut, a gigantic dark magic stone??a dungeon core fell out.
…… It’s not over yet, I have to purify that!

“…-?”

For a moment, I felt a prick and shifted my gaze… And my eyes met the flying head, I felt like that.
He can still move in such a state? I thought that, but maybe it was just a baseless worry, and the eyes lost their light and eventually disappeared, after that there was no signs of movement from the head or the body.
Anyway, the that’s for later. If anything happens, Uru will take care of it.

When I rushed to the point where the core fell, it was still overflowing with miasma. Even though it’s only been a short while since it touched the ground, the earth became tainted in no time, and it was being polluted with furious momentum.
It was so intense that even I felt like I was being pushed back. Gritting my teeth, Zephyrus is supposed to be dead, but I have take one step at a time while receiving a wind pressure like tremendous force.
When I saw the miasma up close, it was so dense that it reminded me of the abandoned continent. Just it being there seemed to swallow everything.
Will I be able to purify this…? No, I don’t have time to worry if I can, I have no choice but to do it.

I hurriedly put holy stones around me ?? I just don’t usually use them, but I have some in stock ?? and turned this place into a sanctuary.
On top of that, I sprinkled the core with holy water, but it’s just like water on hot stone. It evaporated in no time. I tried using Holy Mist, but it didn’t work either.
… This is not the time to be stingy. I threw in all the remaining holy flame arrows. Boom! A fiery pillar of fire shoots up.
After the holy light subsided… Although it was considerably shaved off, there was a core still clad in miasma.

This was the item I had with the strongest holy attribute, but even this wasn’t enough…!
But I won’t give up! Don’t give up! Think, think…!
When I was looking for something with a holy attribute in my item box… I saw something.
And I suddenly had an idea.

After I took out the god’s knife and took a deep breath.
I cut open my own hand.

“Rion, what are you doing!?”

“Rion……!?”

There’s nothing they can do so, Uru and Regulus, who have been quietly watching over, shouted out, but I don’t have time to pay attention to them.
I grabbed the core with my bloody hands.

“Guaaaaah…!”

It hurts. I was prepared, but it hurt so much.
As expected, the Holy Mist is useless with this concentration of miasma. The miasma wriggles to erode me, trying to crawl inside through the wound. But I’m not doing this for self-harm. I push back the muddy stream with my blood.

??Which one has the highest holy attribute value among these?

… It’s me.

This body is a God-made doll hand-crafted by the Creator God.
In other words… My flesh and blood has a holy attribute, doesn’t it? Isn’t why there I have a bonus for using holy water and other items with holy attributes?
If the blood of monsters can be used as a material, can my blood also be used as a material?
With that in mind, I tried to touch the core, and voila. I literally felt the sensation of purifying the miasma with my hands.

Also, I learned one more thing from the direct contact.
As expected, this is a magic stone.
In that case.

I suddenly change the plan, I managed to tear off the core that was biting into my hand and wouldn’t let go, then I slash again to make blood drip from the corroding hand.
Then, with blood, I drew a pattern centered on me on the ground.
The content is… The same as the magic circle drawn on the magic stand. I don’t know if it can be used due to installation time issues, but I believe it will be more effective than not having it.

With the magic circle (magic stand), with my blood (catalyst) and the core (a magic sone)

“Creation start (making start). Oh holy thunder??”

I thought I’d have to follow the catalyst and make it a holy attribute, but, as if it was self-asserting, it felt like lightning ran through, so I left it on both. …… I wonder if I have grown an aptitude for lightning after all?
In other words, it became a magic that I do not know at all. So I don’t know the chant.
The miasma begins to resist as if it had a will, but I bite down on the pain and slam my MP into it.
Light overflowed from the magic circle as soon as the chanting started. It seems that this part have been recognized as well. I add more power (MP) to my gripping hands while pouring MP potions over my head again.
In that action, it doesn’t have the same delicacy as when I usually enchant magic. As if to subjugate it with force, I push in strongly.

“O pure light that gives warmth, O light that illuminates and envelops the earth. What I desire is a holy shield that protects me from evil powers. At the same time, a ferocious thunder-like iron hammer that crushes evil powers.”

There’s no way I’d know, but… I wish as my heart dictates. I give it form. I imagine.
I create.

“Dwell in. Sacred Storm.”

??Don!!

In an instant, even though there were no thunderclouds, a single line of blue lightning ran from the sky and pierced the core in my hand. A shock wave is released, blowing away all the oppressive winds around me.
It looked like it had penetrated my hand, but there was no pain at all. The thunder that should have burned my eyes felt strangely soft.

The light stopped shortly after, and after a few breaths, I peered into the core I was gripping.
The core had no traces of miasma and was filled with a white brilliance.
The rough work of purifying the core by granting it with holy-attribute magic was a success.

Before I knew it, the wind had calmed down, and all the miasma in the area had disappeared.

*Translator note: The sparkfield arrow was being described as an arrow that have the magic sparkfield enchanted in it, but in the [item name] is written with the kanji for ‘thunder’ ‘net’ and ‘arrow’, so I was in doubt of how translate it, maybe I return and change the name.