Death Mage 289 – With Five Sins

Without warning, Carlos suddenly felt dizzy and his body felt heavy.

He thought it might be a sudden illness, or perhaps he had been poisoned – but that wasn’t the case. He checked his Status to see that ‘Rubicante’s Divine Protection’ and ‘Rodcorte’s Divine Protection’ were gone.

Understanding that he had lost something important that had supported him, he collapsed onto the ground with shock.

Ten days passed. No matter what he did, nothing went well. His physical symptoms had quickly disappeared, but during battles and training, he couldn’t help but feel that his skills had become unreliable all of a sudden.

When he still had the divine protections, he had truly felt that he was improving with each battle and each completed request. Although it was gradual, he was sure that he was climbing the stairs of progress. But now, he felt as if he were walking on the spot in front of a wall.

After that, Carlos fell, like someone rolling down a hill. His previously overflowing confidence was broken to pieces. He wanted to blame the loss of his divine protections for everything – the weather being poor, him stubbing his foot painfully against a hard object, and even feeling terrible because he had been drinking too much – even though reason told him that this wasn’t true.

If it were only Rodcorte’s divine protection that Carlos had lost, he wouldn’t have been so shocked. To him, Rodcorte was a god whose identity he did not know; he had only prayed to Rodcorte because Rubicante had instructed him to do so through a Divine Message. He had been thankful for the divine protection granted to him, but if one were to ask whether he had respected Rodcorte and prayed to him every day, the answer would have been no.

The loss of that divine protection would have been a disappointment, but not such a shock that Carlos would start drinking himself into a stupor every day… Ediria, who was also considered to be a potential hero by the gods, had also lost Rodcorte’s divine protection. But she had shown no signs of despair.

But it wasn’t just Rodcorte’s divine protection that Carlos had lost; he had even lost the divine protection of Rubicante, whom he had worshiped.

Sitting in the bar inside the Adventurers’ Guild, Carlos knocked back a drink.

“I’m… I’m finished. It’s over for me, now that I’ve been abandoned by the gods. You guys should leave me and find someone better to team up with,” he said.

Meanwhile, his party members were trying to console him.

“Don’t say such stupid things, Carlos!”

“That’s not true! You might have lost some divine protections, but it wasn’t as if you were born with them. You gained those divine protections after you became an adventurer and partied up with us, right?”

“We were all just E-class adventurers back then, but you pulled us together and did a great job as the leader.”

“And no matter what anyone says, it’s not your fault you lost the divine protections. That much is certain.”

Carlos’s companions were all in agreement with one another. Indeed, Carlos had no idea why he had lost Rubicante’s divine protection.

The God of Heat Hazes Rubicante, who was a god of the fire attribute, was not a strict god. His teachings were lax, at least to the point that one would not be going against them just by living a normal life as an adventurer. Thus, it was unlikely that Rubicante had given up on Carlos because Carlos had gone against his teachings.

So then, was it possible that Carlos had been abandoned because of a lack of piety? Had Carlos shown insufficient respect for the god who had granted him his divine protection?

But that was unlikely, too. Carlos was as devoted to the gods he worshiped as any other average person before he gained Rubicante’s divine protection. He held an above-average amount of respect for Rubicante after receiving it.

He would always make short prayers before meals and before sleeping, and whenever he earned money from requests, he would give small amounts to the poor and make modest donations at Churches. He wasn’t a fanatic by any means, but he was certainly a worshiper.

And despite that, he had lost his divine protections.

“That can’t be right. I’m sure I messed up somewhere without realizing it. Or… maybe they figured out that there’s no future for me even if I kept the divine protections,” Carlos said in self-deprecation.

He would never have guessed that the reason for Rubicante removing his divine protection was because he had become obsessed with Kanako’s idol concerts and been guided by her.

“Don’t be too discouraged. They say that if there’s a god who throws you away, there’s a god who will pick you up. I’m sure there will be a god who sees your potential, Carlos,” said Vandalieu, who was consoling Carlos along with his party members, having guessed the reason as to why Carlos had lost his divine protections.

Vandalieu was doing this because Carlos, a potential hero… apparently a former potential hero now, had joined his companions – but the real reason was because he felt pity for him.

He didn’t believe that he had done anything wrong, and he didn’t think it was because Kanako had awakened to become a Guider, so he felt no guilt about it.

Vandalieu just felt sympathy for him.

Of course, he remembered that Carlos had tried to invite Doug to join his party, and that he was always following Kanako and the others around. However, he didn’t have a bad impression of him.

After all, it was only natural for exceptional individuals to draw attention. And although Carlos had been rather persistent in trying to recruit Doug to his party, the two had already settled the matter on their own.

… Those who had used malicious recruitment methods had been dealt with by the ‘Starving Wolf’ Michael, also known as Miles. As for the crafty ones who had tried to recruit people by holding their friends and relatives hostage, they were currently being managed and educated by Luciliano.

“If you keep drinking on an empty stomach, you’ll get drunk faster, so please eat something as well,” said Vandalieu, wanting to cheer Carlos up. “Chef, could you prepare something, please? I’ll pay for –”

“Wait! We should be the ones paying!” interrupted one of Carlos’s party members.

“We’re not going to let a child pay for our drinking snacks!” said another.

And it seemed that Vandalieu’s attempts to comfort Carlos were not really working. Perhaps the words of comfort of a twelve-year-old were not very convincing.

“Master Carlos, it might seem that you’ve hit rock-bottom in life, but that isn’t true. I thought the same when I lost my good arm, but I’ve managed to make a comeback as an adventurer,” said Simon.

“Even when I lost all of my limbs, I never thought ‘it’s over.’ I was desperately thinking about what I needed to do to keep on living somehow,” said Natania.

“If you do your best to think of every desperate way you can live on, I suspect things will work out,” said Simon.

It seemed that Simon and Natania’s words in addition to Vandalieu seemed to strike a chord with Carlos.

“R-really? Do you really think so?” Carlos asked.

“Of course. Your whole body is still intact, and you’ve got your friends with you,” said Simon.

“Even if your divine protections are gone, it’s not like your Attribute Values or the Levels of your other Skills have decreased, is it? So things will work out as long as you don’t give up,” said Natania.

“Well… I mean, it seems that my Attribute Values have actually increased somehow,” said Carlos.

Indeed, it wasn’t as if Carlos had become weaker. The loss of his divine protections had reduced his room for growth and the efficiency of his progress. However, the strength he possessed remained as it had been before. And if one only considered his Attribute Values, they had actually increased due to being guided by Kanako and Vandalieu.

In the first place, Carlos had been chosen by Rubicante as a potential hero because he had potential. If he shaped that potential rather than let it rot away, there was still room for him to grow.

“Maybe you’re right? … Do you think I can become stronger even without the divine protections?” said Carlos.

He still seemed to only half-believe what he was being told, but he was beginning to get himself together.

With this, I’m sure this guy will be fine. All I’m concerned about now is whether my main self is doing well, Vandalieu thought.

The wobbling noises of Kühl accompanied his thoughts.

This Vandalieu was not the real one. It was Kühl, who had disguised himself as Vandalieu, with a voice-projection-type Demon King Familiar inside.

As proof of that, Gufadgarn was not lurking in the shadows behind him… though there were not many who were capable of realizing this.

As for the real Vandalieu –

Five ships were sailing across the sky above a blue ocean whose waters reached as far as the eye could see.

On the bow of one of those ships was Vandalieu.

“There doesn’t seem to be any movement,” he murmured.

The space behind him distorted as Gufadgarn appeared out of thin air.

“Great Vandalieu, shall we begin things ourselves?” she asked.

“No, let’s go around one more time. Cuatro, please keep sailing in a circle,” said Vandalieu.

“Yes, sir! Maintain a turn to the right!” said one of the Undead sailors.

The ships were not over the coast of the Demon King’s Continent, but over the ocean area where Peria, the Goddess of Water and Knowledge, slumbered.

The reason for that was that if Vandalieu and his companions kept fighting only against the force that defended Botin, there was a risk that the force that defended Peria would send reinforcements to the Demon King’s Continent.

In order to prevent that, Vandalieu had made his way to the ocean where Peria was sealed away, according to the spirits of Repobilis and Zvold. This would give off the impression that he was after both.

“Van-sama!” said Tarea, calling out to Vandalieu. “The fact that there are no battles is a good thing. They say that guards having nothing to do is a sign of peace, after all.”

Tarea had often been separated from Vandalieu recently, so she thought that coming out here with him wasn’t bad.

However, she still wished to avoid being on a battlefield where Vandalieu and his allies would be crossing swords with gods of Rank 13 and above, the kind that were only spoken of in mythological tales. After all, she was a craftsman who created arms, not a master in magic and combat.

“And the weather is so nice. I think we should go and play at an ocean somewhere far away from here! I’m sure it will be very fun for us to put on swimsuits, play songs, dance, and drink tropical juice!” she said, suggesting that they engage in the leisure activities that Vandalieu had once told her he believed celebrities often indulged in.

Vandalieu had a luxury complex, so he had a strong desire to do what the celebs of Earth and Origin probably did.

Though it was years ago now, he’d once had Basdia, Zadiris, and Eleanora wear bunny-girl costumes at the publicly operated casino in Talosheim so that he could pretend to be a celeb gambling at a casino while being waited on by beautiful women. That was how much of a complex he had.

But Tarea’s ploy was unsuccessful.

“I don’t really agree,” said Eleanora, looking at her through half-closed eyes.

“W-what?!” Tarea exclaimed.

“I mean, think about it. I was singing and dancing up until yesterday, so dancing again wouldn’t really be much of a break,” said Eleanora, who had been continuing her lessons with Kanako up until the previous day.

“And swimsuits, you say… We are in the sky,” Bellmond pointed out.

They were about a thousand meters above the ocean. It was very different from being at a beach. Of course, Cuatro was capable of flying at a lower altitude, but that would mean an increased risk of being attacked by monsters from the sea. Well, they would be able to repel ordinary monsters, but…

“It would be very troublesome if demigods were to attack from inside the sea. Cuatro may be fine, since the bottom of the ship has been rebuilt to be very sturdy, but the other four ships that are just imitations will not hold even for a moment,” said Zadiris.

“There’s no signs of demigods coming out now, but even if we wanted to show them some openings to draw them out, that would be going too far,” said Basdia, voicing her opposition to Tarea’s idea as well.

“That’s how it is, so there will be no leisure. Let’s enjoy ourselves next time,” said Vandalieu. “And you say you don’t like this, Tarea, but you’re quite fired up, aren’t you?”

Tarea had already activated her transformation equipment.

“This is not me being fired up; it is a sign of apprehension! I am wearing this because it provides protection!” said Tarea.

“But Tarea, if you see us fighting against demigods, you might get some ideas for developing new transformation equipment, you know?” said Vandalieu.

“I mean, that’s true, but…”

“And I’ll keep you safe.”

“Alright!”

Tarea’s bitter expression turned into a radiant smile in an instant. Since she was guaranteed to be protected by Vandalieu in the event of a battle, she had no more complaints.

“But Danna-sama, would it not be pointless for us to continue sailing in circles while the enemy stays in their positions like turtles? How about using that?” Bellmond suggested, pointing at the fake Cuatros.

Inside the fake Cuatros was a trump card for provoking the enemy.

If this was used, it would enrage the enemies protecting Peria and possibly drive them to make a move.

“But that would be pointless if the enemy ignores it. We don’t have to fight, so it’s fine if we just go back without fighting, isn’t it?” said Eleanora, making the exact opposite suggestion.

Indeed, there was no need for Vandalieu and his companions to defeat the gods defending Peria right now.

The one they were trying to unseal was Botin, Mother of the Earth and Goddess of Craftsmanship, not Peria. The reason for sailing in circles above the ocean where Peria slumbered was to mislead the gods of Alda’s forces to believe that Vandalieu was after Peria as well, not just Botin.

“Eleanora is right. There’s no need to force a fight here,” said Vandalieu.

The provocation trump card was for nothing more than provocation. It was likely to be effective at agitating and angering the enemy, but it was not so important in actual battle. However, enough work had gone into making it that Vandalieu was hesitant to waste its use.

Keeping it and waiting for the next opportunity was an option.

“Indeed. Unlike Botin, who is sealed on the Demon King’s Continent, Peria slumbers inside the sea. With the gods in defensive positions, too,” said Zadiris.

“In order to approach Peria, we would need to enter the sea. The water-attribute gods and demigods would have an advantage if they waited to ambush us,” Vandalieu agreed.

The gods defending Peria were likely confident that they would be able to protect her even if Vandalieu were to fire ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ from above the ocean’s surface. There was also the possibility that Peria was slumbering inside a special space that could not be affected by external attacks.

… The difficult part was that Vandalieu could not afford to test whether this was true or not.

“Well then, let’s go back, shall we? But let’s leave fake Cuatro number four behind and make it self-detonate if anything happens,” said Vandalieu.

There was a risk that the enemy would attack as soon as Vandalieu and his companions turned their backs, but the exploding fake-Cuatro wasn’t a trump card or anything. The only thing needed to make it was wood and the Demon King’s fat, so it was a low-cost investment.

Thus, it was a convenient choice to leave behind to keep an eye on things.

“Now then, once we’re some distance away from this place, let’s open a ‘Teleportation Gate’ and –” Vandalieu began.

But he was interrupted by an enormous, towering pillar of water rising from the sea towards the heavens.

“Go! Defeat them!” a voice roared.

From within the pillar of water came six demigods – Elder Dragons, Colossi, Beast-Kings… but that wasn’t all.

“They are holding Colossi… No, they seem to be Golems,” said Eleanora.

The demigods were flying forth, carrying Golems that were just as large as them. The Colossi were humanoid, but the non-humanoid Elder Dragons and Beast-Kings looked quite awkward as they flew with the Golems on their backs.

“It seems that they intend to make these Golems fight us,” said Bellmond.

“How can you be so calm?! Those Golems are made entirely of Orichalcum!” Tarea screamed.

The strength of Golems changed with what material they were made of and their size. These Golems were a hundred meters tall like the demigods. If it was indeed made of Orichalcum, a material that only gods could refine, then it would be a minimum of Rank 13.

It would certainly not be weaker than the smaller, half-smashed Dragon-shaped Orichalcum Golem that Vandalieu and his companions had once defeated beneath Talosheim’s castle.

“Captain, begin our counter-attack,” Vandalieu ordered.

“Aye, sir! Begin counter-attack!” shouted one of the Four Dead Sea Captains.

The enormous cannons made of Demon King fragments, installed at the bottom of Cuatro and the fake Cuatros, roared as they fired a volley of cannonballs, and enormous eyeballs and lips began firing beams of light and sound wave attacks. These rained down on the Golems and the demigods carrying them, but…

“Use the Golems as shields!”

The demigods used the Golems as shields to avoid direct hits from the beams of light and cannonballs. The fragments of the Demon King were the body parts of the Demon King Guduranis, against whom only Orichalcum had been effective. Thus, even after these fragments had been absorbed by Vandalieu, they would not provide a one-sided advantage against an Orichalcum defense.

However, one of the Orichalcum Golems crumbled under the barrage of cannonballs.

“Th-this isn’t working! This Golem can’t withstand –” the Elder Dragon carrying it shouted, before screaming as he plummeted along with the broken Golem he had been carrying.

Orichalcum was indeed an exceptional metal that was capable of opposing fragments of the Demon King. But in the end, it was nothing more than a material. It was only natural for its performance to depend on the skill of the one who had refined it.

“Oh no. They were too confident in their Orichalcum Golems. All that precious food and Orichalcum…” said Vandalieu, disappointed that he had made his attacks too strong.

“Danna-sama, there are five more demigods with five more Golems on the way, so do not be too disheartened,” said Bellmond, trying to cheer him up.

Indeed, the remaining five Golems were being damaged by the beams of light and cannonballs, but they were still shielding the demigods effectively.

“Gah! To think that great Orichalcum Golems crafted by the great gods would break… The repairs were insufficient!” one of the demigods shouted.

The Orichalcum Golems that the demigods were carrying were ones that had been used during the battle against the Demon King’s army a hundred thousand years ago and broken during battle; the gods who protected Peria had repaired them.

A large number of demigods had been gathered to defend Botin, who was sealed away on the Demon King’s Continent. That had left fewer demigods in the force that defended Peria, so they had brought out the broken Golems to make up for their lack of forces.

Of course, since they’re Golems, they are immobile. Even though they are able to float in the air, they cannot fly at high speeds. If we didn’t carry them like this, they would serve as nothing but targets in an airborne battle… though they are nothing more than shields now. When they were being repaired, I should have suggested adding flying capabilities! thought Zabak, the Sea Serpent Beast-King, cursing his past self as he carried his Golem forth alongside his companions.

They had not expected Vandalieu to come with a fleet of flying ships.

Once they got the Orichalcum Golems close, Zabak and the demigods with him intended to take some distance and regroup with their allies.

Their allies that weren’t present were currently warping space as quickly as they could in order to protect Peria – so that even if Vandalieu were to fire ‘World Piercing Destructive Hollow Cannon’ from above, it would be diverted away before it reached Peria.

Seeing Vandalieu and his companions stop flying in circles, Zabak and those with him had taken action to buy time until that task was complete.

The truth was that Vandalieu was trying to retreat rather than attack, but… the gods had not been able to withstand the pressure of his presence.

Just a little further! Thought Zabak, who was now less than a hundred meters away from the fleet.

But Vandalieu and his companions had been waiting for this to happen – for the forces defending Peria to come and attack them.

“If they get any closer, Cuatro might get some scratches. Van, is it about time for us to go out?” asked Basdia.

“I don’t mind, but all of you should target one pair… one Golem and one demigod,” said Vandalieu.

“Alright! Everyone, we’re aiming for that unagi!” said Basdia.

“Basdia, that’s a sea serpent!” said Eleanora, correcting her.

“Well, serpents and unagi are similar, are they not? Both are delicious when prepared using kabayaki,” said Zadiris.

TLN: Unagi is a Japanese eel that is a delicacy in Japan. Kabayaki is the technique that is typically used to cook them – skewered and dipped in a sweet soy sauce-based sauce and then broiled on a grill. (It is quite delicious.)

“I do not believe that argument makes a lot of sense,” said Bellmond.

With that, Basdia, Eleanora and the others leapt from Cuatro’s deck in Zabak’s direction. As a result of improvements that Vandalieu had made to Basdia and Zadiris’s transformation equipment, they now had the ability to fly. Eleanora and Bellmond were capable of flying on their own.

“Now then, let’s get rid of the fake Cuatros except the self-destructing one. Let’s use our trump cards one by one,” said Vandalieu.

One of the fake Cuatros began breaking apart and falling to pieces from within, revealing a Colossus with cloudy eyes and ashen skin.

Radatel, the Colossus of Lightning, who was now a Colossus Zombie, let out a roar and scattered lightning into his surroundings as he intercepted the Colossus and Golem that had been traveling towards him.

“You are Radatel?!” the Colossus shouted, his face twisting in anger as he recognized the Zombie. “So, your corpse was turned into an Undead… What a vile deed!”

He released his Orichalcum Golem and prepared to take Radatel down in a two-on-one battle.

And then Sam, Knochen, and Pete appeared from another of the fake Cuatros.

Sam let out a wild laughter. “I would never have imagined I would fight an Orichalcum Golem in a place like this!” he said, having not taken part in the battle against the Orichalcum Dragon in Talosheim.

Knochen, who was previously several separate Undead and had fused into one being as a result of that battle, let out fierce roars of excitement.

“Now then, we’ll be aiming for the Elder Dragon that’s carrying the Golem over there! We won’t lose to Father, Hof!” said Rita, who was riding Hof.

“Let’s go, Mähne! Pete, please come with us,” said Saria, who was riding Mähne.

Accompanied by Pete, the Living Armor sisters moved towards the Elder Dragon that was carrying a Golem.

Pete snarled fiercely as they charged forth.

As a result of devouring the Great Vortex Dragon God Zvold, his Rank had increased even further, and he now had the majestic appearance of what one might describe as an emperor of centipedes. He was likely capable of taking on an average Elder Dragon on his own.

… Mähne and Hof, who were carrying the Living Armor sisters, were considerably out of place in terms of their fighting strength, but they were using ‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall’ so they would likely be fine.

One demigod-Golem pair had fallen, and three of the remaining five had been prevented from advancing any further. Radatel had become weaker after being turned into a Zombie, but he made up for that by wearing armor made of Demon King fragments, so even a Colossus and Golem tag-team couldn’t defeat him easily. On the other hand, Sam and the others were likely capable of defeating a Golem and an Elder Dragon, given enough time.

As for the other two pairs, the trump card that Vandalieu had prepared was heading in their direction.

It was Fidirg, the Dragon God of Five Sins, an evil god with the appearance of an enormous hand that was covered in scales, with each of its fingers replaced by the head of a one-eyed snake.

“A complete recovery!”

“It feels good to look down on you fools that have sided with Alda!”

“Truly exhilarating!”

“This is payback for a hundred thousand years ago! Take this!”

“Ah, come to think of it, was this guy there a hundred thousand years ago?”

Fidirg laughed as he looked down on the demigods of Alda’s forces, spitting balls of light from his mouths.

“Impossible! Alda destroyed four of your five heads! You recovered from that and created a vessel in just a hundred thousand years?!” one of the demigods shouted.

“Don’t lose your focus!” shouted one of the Colossi. “He’s a small-fry among the enemies in Vida’s faction! He’s just a weakling that clings onto Vida. We’ll defeat him quickly!”

Indeed, Fidirg had been among the weaker evil gods in the Demon King’s army. His survival of the battle that took place a hundred thousand years ago was more due to luck than due to his valor.

His complete recovery was indeed surprising, and it would be foolish to underestimate him. However, he was about as much of a threat as the high-Rank Ghouls, the Vampires, Knochen, and Pete.

“I shall use my Golem to crush Fidirg! You hold Vandalieu back!” ordered the Colossus.

“Hmph, there is no other choice!” said Dolstero, the Sea Urchin Beast-King.

He closed in on Cuatro, where Vandalieu was, while holding his Orichalcum Golem between his spines as a shield.

In their original plan, they were supposed to throw their Golems at the enemy once they got this close, then evade further attacks. But one pair had already been taken down, and two of the remaining pairs were stopped in their tracks and were now forced into a close-quarters battle while being aimed at by cannons from above.

At this rate, they couldn’t buy enough time. Dolstero steeled his resolve; he and the other demigods were ready to fight themselves rather than rely just on their Golems.

But that resolve was not enough.

“See whether you can crush me or not!” Fidirg said tauntingly.

“I shall test whether I can!” declared the Colossus.

He blocked the light projectiles being fired from Fidirg’s mouths using his Orichalcum Golem as a shield, and the Golem didn’t appear to take any significant damage.

“It seems that weak snakes do as much barking as dogs!” the Colossus shouted, ridiculing Fidirg. “The projectiles being fired by the ships are more effective… What?!”

He cut his sentence short as Fidirg began radiating a black aura.

“‘Familiar Spirit Demonfall!’”

Fidirg allowed his own vessel to become a body for a split entity of Vandalieu.

“If I can’t give divine protections or familiar spirits, I’ll borrow a familiar spirit myself!” Fidirg said.

“Y-you fool! Do you have no pride as a god?!” the Colossus shouted, astounded at how pathetic of a god Fidirg was. “And you don’t even have a Status! How is it even possible for you to do that?!”

“It’s called the wisdom of the weak!” one of Fidirg’s heads replied immediately.

“You guys can use magic and martial skills even though you have no Statuses either!” another pointed out.

There was no point in pointing out how weak someone was when they were already aware of it. The Status System was made for mortals, so gods did not possess Statuses, but that didn’t mean that gods could not use their experience, skill, and mastery in the form of magic and martial skills.

“I mean, I think you’re the first god in history to summon the familiar spirit of a mortal onto yourself,” said the split entity of Vandalieu inside Fidirg.

“In other words, I’m a trailblazer!” one of Fidirg’s heads said.

“Now then, take this!” said another.

In the mouths of Fidirg’s five heads, spheres of condensed black energy appeared instead of the projectiles of white light that he had been firing before, and the moment they reached their limit, five black beams of light erupted forth.

“IMPOSSIBLE!” shouted the Colossus.

The five black beams pierced through the Orichalcum Golems that had deflected the projectiles of light, creating five holes in the Colossus’s body as well.

“To think that a god would be willing to accept power from a mortal, even if that mortal is the Demon King…!” Dolstero muttered in shock as he continued dodging incoming projectiles, unable to stop Gufadgarn from retrieving the remains of the slain Colossus and his Golem.

The actions that Fidirg had taken were equivalent to abandoning the reason for a god to exist. Gods were worshipped because they were incredible, great beings that granted their divine protections to mortals.

It was true that the faith of a god’s believers acted as their source of energy, but they were never directly empowered by a mortal to this extent.

It was possible that actions like Fidirg’s would cause a god’s believers to abandon them.

“That’s not how it is. Fidirg and I are equals,” said Vandalieu, appearing on the bow of Cuatro, the ship that Dolstero was trying to approach.

He was holding a staff – and it was not the Gyubarzo staff that he had used in the past.

“Transform. Staff of Five Sins, activate.”

Five pipes emerged from the staff and fused with Vandalieu’s arm, and five protrusions that resembled the heads of snakes emerged from the staff’s tip.

“I-it cannot be!” said Dolstero, letting out a terrified noise.

Obeying his survival instinct that was screaming at him to flee, Dolstero cast his Orichalcum Golem away and attempted to escape. The Golem floated in place and let out a groan as it tried to get closer to Cuatro in order to protect Dolstero, but… Dolstero had not thrown the Golem far enough. It would not make it in time.

“‘Dark Peak Death Flash.’”

A new ‘Dark King Magic’ spell, which condensed the life-absorbing ‘Death Cannon’ into a single beam of light, pierced through the Orichalcum Golem and Dolstero and killed them instantly, not even giving them the time to scream as they died.

《The Levels of the ‘Constant Mana Recovery,’ ‘Super Strengthen Subordinates,’ ‘Murder Healing,’ ‘Self-Strengthening: Murder,’ ‘Divine Alchemy,’ ‘Greater Multi-cast,’ ‘Staff Technique,’ and ‘Soul Devour’ Skills have increased!》

《You have acquired the ‘Strengthened Magical Power when equipped with a Staff’ Skill!》