Chapter 231 - (1/2)

Death Mage 231 – Gordon becomes a her…

Having paid a considerable su Ar Arm' Gordon left the city of Morksi several days after the duel, a day after he lost his title

“shi+t… damn it… shi+t…!” he cursed under his breath repeatedly as he walked at a quick pace away from the city

Those ere heading towards the city seemed uneasy with his presence and averted their eyes from him That didn't bother him

But he was very bothered by the gaze of the people who had also left the city of Morksi

Gordon couldn't stand the stares of pity, contempt and disdain from those who had witnessed the duel or heard about it

The injuries Gordon had received fro the duel had been healed, and there would be no lasting effects Simon and Natania hadn't taken money from hiht and punished by the guards

But Gordon was soth to bully those around hie to the reputation of such a person could become fatal

Even though the people around hiainst hi as he was 'strong' But due to recent events, he had lost the 'Strong Arm' title

That meant that there were now less people who feared hi Arm' than people who had decided that he didn't deserve to be called that

Gordon had left the city that he had based himself in and co that, the news that he had been defeated in a duel would not have reached the ears of those he had harmed… the adventurers whose money and monster materials he had taken from them by force and the relatives of the wo their consent

But once it did… ould happen if the people who had thought that they could not stand up to his, decided that they could stand up to him after all?

“Even if they're D-class or lower, I wouldn't be able to get through all of this unharroups shi+t, I'll have no choice but to start over in another duchy,” Gordon muttered to himself

That hy he had left the city of Morksi He had been unable to endure the gazes of the city's people, and the great influence of the 'Starving Wolf' Michael and Vandalieu, the master of the Ghouls

But escaping from the Alcrem Duchy would be an effective choice for Gordon He was a little extreme, but he wasn't a criminal He hadn't ever killed anyone other than cris from others, he had always only taken a small portion; he had never stripped anyone of all of their possessions

As for the woh he had left theed for his actions

Thus, infor him wouldn't spread widely like it would if he were someone with a bounty on his head If he went to another duchy, there would be al at him with pity and contempt

And if he dedicated hi requests at the new city that he chose to base himself in, his reputation would return as well The Guild hadn't given hi Arm' title, the Skills that he had trained so far were still there

As a C-class adventurer, he would be

One day, as Gordon continued down the highway, it had been a few hours after he left a village along the road Just as he began to think that he should have a simple meal with some dried meat and water in a flask, his feet suddenly stopped

His gaze wandered towards the snow-covered grasslands that extended away frohway

“… Why don't I just leave the highway and go that way?” he said to himself

He didn't knohy, but this seeood idea to hi up reasons for obeying this hunch in his et hih this would be dangerous for ordinary travelers, someone as capable as himself would be fine

He began treading the snow beneath his feet Ordinarily, one would realize that it iser to follow the highway rather than venture into a snow-covered wasteland, even if the highas the slightly longer route, but… Gordon continued onwards, as if guided by so

And after a while… a flash of lightning stretched upwards towards the sky

“W-what is this?!” Gordon shouted in alarm as he looked up at the clouds

“… This is the 'Lightning of Purification,'” said a boy's voice, nanize

Gordon looked down again to see that a boy had appeared in front of him

“Having spirits watching over so them,” the boy continued

“W-who are you?!” Gordon demanded

The boy, who had a mediue years He earing leather armor of the sort that would be sold at any ar an equally ordinary axe

From his appearance alone, he looked like the kind of new adventurer that one would find in the Adventurers' Guild of any city, other than his peculiar hairstyle

But the pressure that was e from him told Gordon that this was not the case

“… Y-you're no ordinary guy Who are you? Wait, are you even hu his axe

But the boy… Haji at the sky

“I suppose spirits are perfect for watching over people, since humans can't see them unless they are 'Spiritualists' or have very special Skills,” Haji to talk to himself “But my spell will have cleared away the spirits in the area… Gah, he has so their distance? How many spirits has that bastard sent?” he cursed under his breath “'Lightning of Purification!'”

Twice more, he released the spell towards the sky But it seemed that he was not satisfied with the result

“They're too far away, huh It can't be helped; I'll leave the rest It'll be too much of a pain to purify them all And it's not like he hasn't noticed aze towards Gordon “Welcome, Gordon I'm relieved that I was able to call you here despite your questionable level of religious devotion”

“Y-you calledabout! I don't know you! I've never even seen you before!” said Gordon

“No, you should know h it is true that you have never seen me before,” said Hajime

Gordon did not feel anger towards Hajime and his cocky tone of speech Hiswhat Hajime was

But soht happen to hier, he could not take his eyes away from the boy in front of him

“Now then, Gordon, the defeated loser I have soood news is that you can become a hero Your name will be left behind in history, and stories of you will be passed down froeneration,” said Hajime

“W-what's the bad news?!” Gordon asked in a panicked tone

Hajime's mouth twisted in an unpleasant sh your name will be left behind in history, your consciousness will not”

A athered in Hajime's hand

Gordon knew that he would not be able to get away if he ran And so, he let out a shout and charged towards Hajime With footsteps so powerful that it was difficult to believe that he had been unable to ed and raised his axe

“You fool,” said Hajime

Before Gordon could cohtning was released fro struck him directly

Gordon dropped to his knees, but the lightning from Hajime's hand did not stop

“Th… that's enough… Coed to utter

The moment the word 'Co With his body burned by the lightning and white sulped down a Potion taken from his pouch

“Tastes disgusting! Seriously, what a weak body To think that this is a C-class adventurer! The quality of adventurers these days really has fallen!” said Gordon… or the person as once Gordon, as his burns healed

“That can't be helped The tied since you were an active adventurer, 'Mountain Breaking Strong Spear' Bobby,” said Haji to Gordon by the name of someone else, a certain hero

The 'Mountain Breaking Strong Spear' Bobby was a hero who had lived several tens of thousands of years ago He wielded a powerful spear made of Obsidian and an Adamantite core that even a titan warrior could not carry, and it was said that he was capable of breaking mountains with it

He had been a member of the mercenary band that Fitun, the God of thunderclouds, had led as a human After his death, he had become a heroic spirit

Ordinarily, he would not exist upon the world's surface unless soh 'Heroic Spirit Descent'

But the being that was speaking through Gordon'sSpear' Bobby

This was all the doing of Hajime… or rather, Fitun, who had taken over Hajime's body

“Is that how it is? But… I thought I'd be staying back this time,” Bobby said

“Sorry, his co you, and it's quite hard to find capable vessels,” said Fitun

At first, this had been a si Hajime's soul while he was defenseless, before his spirit clone could descend upon him

When familiar spirits, heroic spirits or spirit clones descended onto this world, a pillar of light accompanied them from the sky This was visible even fro a signal to Vandalieu saying, “Please attack us”

Thus, Fitun had thought that it would be best to have the spirit clone that would descend upon Hajime stay close to Hajiive Haji his spirit clone… an Artifact, and have the spirit clone enter his body without giving Vandalieu the opportunity to strike

But the compatibility between Fitun and Hajireater than he had iined

In the process of fusing with Hajie about how brain cells functioned, knowledge that should have been impossible to acquire in Lambda

And then it had occurred to hi the 'Marionette' ability with his own authority as the God of thunderclouds, could he not have the heroic and familiar spirits that served him descend upon the world as well?

If the body was hardware and the soul was its software, then the 'Marionette' ability was hacking

Fitun had , replaced the information in his brain with 'Marionette,' then downloaded the 'Mountain Breaking Strong Spear' Bobby from his divine realm and overwritten Gordon's soul

That was a rough metaphor for what had happened to Gordon's body

“Capable, huh My body is heavy and my senses are dull,” said Bobby

“If you're going to complain, complain to Vandalieu who just appeared out of nowhere Thanks to him, I had to rush to find a vessel for you,” said Fitun

Heroic and faiven just anyone's body First, they needed to have at least a little religious faith in Fitun They didn't need to be as pious as to pray to hio to a Church once a week, but it was certainly impossible to have a heroic spirit descend upon someone who had never prayed to Fitun in their lives

And humans to be used as vessels needed to have a certain extent of compatibility with the downloaded heroic or familiar spirit It was desirable to have vessels of the saender, and if possible, of similar physique It would be best to have bodies that ell-trained to some extent

“I suppose if you're searching for a body like that around here, your options are limited,” said Bobby

“Yes, because if I were to look for a vessel fro them come to Morksi would be far too much effort,” said Fitun “But this is part of the pleasure of a battle to the death”

It was rare for one to be perfectly equipped and in perfect health during a battle to the death In fact, it was far e their already-chipped blades and fight with a fatigued body Their enes

That was best It was a thrill that didn't exist in duels carried out with perfect preparations on a predeter it happen And there was y to it

How to defend against the eneed equipue and wounds To Fitun, a battle without these factors was nothing but a game

The heroic spirits who served hiht this way as well

Bobby chuckled “That's very like you, Commander”

“If you've got ti, hurry up and check your Status Your body wasn't that of a hero with the 'Heroic Spirit Descent' Skill; it's the body of a defeated dog There are no abnormalities with its Attribute Values or Skills, are there?” Fitun asked

“Alright 'Status!' … My name is Gordon Bobby I suppose my Attribute Values and Skills are not too bad I think this body would break within th, however”

Bobby, or rather, Gordon Bobby, who had consumed Gordon's soul and taken over his body, frowned

“I'd expect as much But some of the others that I found wouldn't have lasted atrained in eon”

Fitun wasn't classified as an evil God, so he would noreon But it was possible for hieon, just as Alda, the God of law and fate, had done to create a Dungeon for training Heinz

But Fitun had forcibly stretched his power for this purpose over thousands of years, tens of thousands of years before Vandalieu was reincarnated in this world

Even so, his Dungeon wasn't on a scale that could be compared to Alda's, however

“You are training them in the Labyrinth of Thunderclouds? That is a trial for those who desire your divine protection, Artifacts or to become heroes, is it not? You are rash as always,” said Gordon Bobby

Though it was inferior to Alda's Dungeon, Fitun's Dungeon was difficult enough for B-class adventurers to struggle with it Facing it with a body that one was unaccusto pushed into a bottomless ravine

“They're all those like you ere my subordinates in their previous lives, or those who stood out fro it, being able to experience fighting for their lives again because they've become weak,” said Hajime Fitun “You're the last, so you don't haveup before the battle to the death against the De”

“Yes, yes… Ah, come to think of it, the Goddess of rainclouds tried to ave up and left quickly, realizing that she didn't have any acquaintances in your divine realm,” said Gordon Bobby

“That gloomy woman,” Hajime Fitun muttered

Hajirimaced as Fitun remembered Bashas, the Goddess of rainclouds

Bashas had becoh they had actually become Gods several centuries apart, it was but a small difference to Gods

Gods that were related to clouds had originally been led by a God as one of thethe subordinate Gods and a confidant of shi+zarion, the God of wind and art However, like shi+zarion, that God's soul had been destroyed by the De Guduranis

The champion Nineroad, who had become a heroic God after her death, had appointed a new God of clouds, but a single young God did not have enough power to fulfill this important role on his own Thus, the role was divided into'thunderclouds' and 'rainclouds'

Thus, Fitun did not think positively of Bashas, as she was someone who represented the fact that Fitun lacked power as a God despite being an accomplished hero on the battlefield

“Leave her alone She hasn't descended upon the world, so she can't interfere unless she does soht us,” said Hajime Fitun

Fitun already inhabited Hajime's body on the surface of the world of La that Bashas could do to interfere with him now

“Very well… Speaking of heroes, I wonder why the other Gods are not doing what you are doing, Co behind Hajime Fitun “It would be possible to have devout believers offer their bodies for heroic spirits or what have you descend onto them, even without that 'Marionette' ability”

The Gods had chosentheainst Vandalieu

But wouldn't it have been more efficient to have heroic spirits incarnated in their bodies, as Hajime Fitun had done?

“Are you a fool?” Hajihed “Only a fiend like me who doesn't think of my believers as people would come up with and carry out an idea like this This is an accomplishment that that sophisticated lot would be incapable of!”

Fitun was certain that he would be impaled by Alda's stakes once he learned of what he had done It was only natural Gods were supposed to lead the people, not use their believers as disposable resources

But there had apparently been a saying in the champions' world

'History is written by the victors'

If the Deardless of the method he had used to achieve it, and if he failed, he would simply be destroyed

It was a very simple, easy-to-understand plan

Doug Atlas grimaced at the stench that he had been familiar with in his previous life

The s houses and fields, and the stench of blood If there was gunpowder smoke in the air as well, it would have been identical to the smell he knew, but that was absent

There were the remains of a man and woman, presumably a married couple or lovers, piled one on top of another in the snow that was red with their blood

“… This isn't the city of Morksi, is it?” Doug said

“No It looks like a village that has been attacked by bandits or so a snohite one-piece dress… Pluto, one of Legion's personalities

“Yeah, I think you're right But… Why did we teleport here? We were supposed to go to the city of Morksi, right?”

Doug and Pluto had planned to teleport fro the ability of Jack, another of Legion's personalities

But after asuspended in mid-air, they were faced with this terrible scene For a ency situation was taking place in the city, but… they had quickly realized that that wasn't the case A quick glance at their surroundings had i city

Doug's question was a roundabout way of asking, 'What were you thinking, bringing me to a place like this?'

But as he looked at her, searching for an answer, she simply looked back at him

Her eyes, which had been praised as beingin confusion

“Hey, Doug… Where ht this place be?” she asked

“You… Are you seriously just lost?!” Doug exclaimed

It seeht him here with so destination

“It's not our fault, is it? We've never been to the city of Morksi ourselves, and Vandalieu is suppressing his death-attribute Mana more than he did in Talosheiic scene like this along the way,” said Pluto

“I guess that's how it is,” Doug muttered

Legion's teleportation was not soarn's It was an instantaneous uided by the presence of death and death-attribute ic that they detected It was Jack's death-attribute spell

Doug had been aware that they sometimes teleported to an intended location because they mistook the presence of death with the presence of their coiven the codename 'Jack-o'-Lantern'

“So then, this is a village so us to Morksi fro asked

“Yes, I think we should be fine to do that… but could you wait athat ant to test first,” said Pluto

“That's fine Well, it looks like I have a bit of work to do as well,” said Doug

The two of thes once more

They were being surrounded by a group of armed silhouettes who had their faces hidden by cloths andone after another fros

“You two… Where did you coe?” one of the bewildered

Doug was lightly equipped in leather armor, with dark skin and a distinctive hairstyle In contrast, Pluto had white, candlewax-like skin and black hair and black eyes, which were rare in this area On top of that, she was floating in the air No matter how one looked at it, the two of theers

“We're souys don't look like villagers or guards either,” said Doug, giving a safe answer

One roup of“Travelers, huh? I like that Your journey through life will co sacrifices to our God!”

“That person is quite the poet, despite his appearance,” Pluto remarked

“Yeah, everyone is a traveler on their journey through life… Wait, that's not e should be focusing on right now, is it?” said Doug

It seeers had been attacked not by bandits, but by these fanatics that worshi+ped an evil God Bandits e for food or s were of no value to fanatics who had cohter them as a sacrifice

Because of that, the village had been so thickly surrounded by death that it had caused Pluto to mistake this place for her destination

“This will be the final sacrifice for today! If we sacrifice these two… perhaps not thatmaiden, then Tubereese-sama, the evil God of wicked blood, should speak to us once e mask shouted, and the others shouted with him