Chapter 97: The Queen Of The Underworld

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[You and your Party have defeated [Human-Slime Demonic Chimera: Roy] x1!]

[You earned 500.000 EXP]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[Level Up!]

[…]

[Your Level has increased from Level 0 to Level 12!]

[All of your Stats have increased.]

[You gained Bonus Stat Points and Skill Points.]

[The [Sunlight Blade (B): Lv3] [Dagger Arts (C): Lv3] [Cosmic Transcendent: Lv1 (SSS)] [Miracle Magic (A): Lv1] [Celestial Body (A): Lv1] Skills have Leveled Up.]

Twelve Levels out of Roy was really good, and a level on Cosmic Transcendent and Celestial Body is always welcome! Do I earn more Skill EXP if I fight powerful foes? I’m guessing it might work like that.

Though there are a lot of things we need to do, I can’t just stand here looking at my gains. I better pick these things up, though. I wouldn’t want this guy to reappear later on if I let one of his chunks regenerates.

[You have stored [Human-Slime Demonic Chimera Frozen Ooze Fragment (B++ Rank)] x54]

[You have stored [Human-Slime Demonic Chimera Shattered Magic Core Fragment (A+ Rank)] x6]

[What Luck! Both Items have increased their Ranks by one!]

[The [Gatherer (D): Lv6] Skill has Leveled Up.]

I never thought I would be looting Roy out of his own body parts. But they’re quite high quality at A and S Rank now. Slime materials can be merged to create some interesting weapons and armor.

It might sound ruthless or even inhumane to use the pieces of a person to make myself some new equipment, but I can’t really waste the materials.

“Phew… They’re gone?” I looked into the battle with Heisenberg and Shade, realizing both were gone; probably they panicked after Scarlet betrayed them and Roy died.

“It looks like... Hahh… I’m exhausted.” Baihe sat down over the rubble, sighing in relief.

“Ugh… That guy... was surely at least an S-rank threat, right?” Kevin muttered. “At the very least! Right?! He thrashed us so badly."

“Probably.” I sighed. “If it took all our strength... Annabelle, are you alright?”

“I-I am…” Annabelle seemed a bit saddened. “Roy…”

Maybe she had some memories with him. After all, they shared the same family all this time. We’ve only known Annabelle for a couple of days. To be forced to kill her former ally like this... I can understand her pain.

“Roy attacked us and tried to kill us.” Baihe interrupted my train of thought. “And he also wanted to kill you, Annabelle. I know it sounds harsh, but... You shouldn’t forgive people who try to kill you so easily.”

“Ah…” Annabelle sighed. “But you guys forgave me."

“Oh…” We all fell silent for a bit.

"Maybe there was another way?” I wondered.

But Roy’s personality... He was clearly much older than Annabelle, and he had a chaotic personality. He wasn’t innocent at all and knew very well what he was doing and trying to do. I doubt anybody was forcing him; he clearly was enjoying it.

It is not the same with Annabelle, who was forced to become a monster and try to kill us. The circumstances might be easy to compare, but the details are what make them both glaringly different.

“I…” Scarlet stepped to our side, slightly shy. “I’m sorry… I should have helped you earlier. I lacked courage, maybe resolve. For doing this.”

“Scarlet…” I glanced at her face; she looked devastated. “It’s… Well, it’s not alright. But we can talk about this later. The thing that matters now is that you chose us instead of them. I know it hurts, but... I think you did the right thing.”

“Anna…” Scarlet sighed. She tried to smile, but she really couldn’t. “Thanks…”

“Yeah, there’s a lot for you to explain.” Said Kevin.

“You better do it later on if you don’t want us to send you to jail." Baihe crossed her arms.

Well, I don’t know if jail would work for someone as strong as her. One of the reasons why hunters are usually forgiven for their crimes when they reach a certain level of strength is because there are not many things that can contain them other than stronger hunters.

Killing them is sometimes not an option, as they’re precious for the survival of civilians, taking care of monsters nobody can defeat. It is a complicated conversation, and honestly, I am not into engaging in any of that.

“Shiro, come here,” I said, calling my pet. “Baihe, can you unfreeze the people that became monsters?”

“Yes, I think I can.” Baihe nodded as we quickly gathered all the people that were affected, and we froze.

Baihe touched a frozen person as the ice slowly started to dissipate, turning into steam. It was a Spell called “Unfreeze” which she could create thanks to her Skills.

I held a similar Skill to hers, which I inherited from her, named [Great Sorcerer], so naturally, I was also able to create Spells out of the Elements I had an affinity for and understanding of, and lots of Mana.

By combining this skill’s effects with Miracle Magic, I quickly created a spell that utilized both Mana, Ki, and the Celestial Energy my body could now naturally generate.

“{Exorcizing Light}”

FLAAASH!

The zombie-like person, still in a stupor, slowly lost its purple-colored skin. As their skin returned to normal color, the demonic energy accumulated inside of their bodies emerged as black-colored smoke, which seemed rather toxic.

Thankfully, Violet was right there, so he quickly absorbed the smoke and fed on it happily while we cleansed the dozens of people that became monsters at the same time as my brother, Henrietta, and Lee made their way towards us while they freed the people my brother had within his shadows.

“A-Ahh… W-What’s going on?!”

“Cough… cough!”

“Ugh… My head…”

As everybody was healed, people started to wake up; the ambulances were already echoing in the background as cops and even the news reporters started swarming the area.

[The Cosmic Throne {Maiden that Watches Over Nature} seems to be happy that you were able to heal most of the innocents affected.]

[She has sponsored 5000 Plot Points for your good heart and bravery against your recent foes.]

[The Cosmic Throne {Warrior That Seeks Calamity} is pleased by your fighting spirit.]

[He has sponsored 2000 Plot Points.]

[The Cosmic Throne {Divine Judge of Flames} smiles silently at your acts of kindness.]

[He has sponsored 3000 Plot Points.]

[You have unlocked new Privileges in the Privilege Shop! Old Items you have yet to purchase have been upgraded to higher Quality Grades.]

<PRIVILEGE SHOP>

[Showcasing Privilege Shop…]

{Privilege Shop: Master Rank}

[Aura of Protection (C Rank Privilege)] [Cost: 10000 PP]

[Summon Friend (C+ Rank Privilege)] [Cost: 15000 PP]

[Spirit’s Little Sister (C++ Rank Privilege)] [Cost: 20000 PP]

[Super Growth Package: Skills (C Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 10000 PP] [Limit: 4]

[Super Growth Package: Titles (C Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 10000 PP] [Limit: 4]

[Super Growth Package Gift (C Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: Varies] [Limit: 13]

[Random Weapon Treasure Chest (C Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 10000 PP] [Limit: 4]

[Random Armor Treasure Chest (C Rank Privilege)]: [Cost: 10000 PP] [Limit: 4]

Oooh! The Shop upgraded! Nice! And I got three new Privileges too! They seem much stronger than the ones from before as well. Aura of Protection, Summon Friend, and Spirit’s Little Sister? The last one sounds… odd.

Also, the non-Privileges gained more Limits, and because I hadn’t purchased any yet, they’re now 4 instead of the usual 2 because the older D Rank was upgraded to C Rank, in exchange for now costing more.

As for the Super Growth Package Gift, I got 5 more purchases, so I guess every time I Rank Up my Class I can get 5 more. I doubt I’ll ever find so many people to give them all to. Unless I can further upgrade the already-given Privileges.

Currently, I have 26500 Plot Points, right… What do I get? Aura of Protection seems like a no-brainer, seeing as it's a simple name. Maybe it’ll give me some much-needed defense boost. I’ll get the second one too, it sounds important.

[You have exchanged 10000 Plot Points; you have purchased the [Aura of Protection (C Rank Privilege)] Privilege!]

[You have exchanged 15000 Plot Points; you have purchased the [Summon Friend (C+ Rank Privilege)] Privilege!]

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[Aura of Protection (C Rank Privilege)]

A Little Sister is always protected by the incredible power of Plot Armor. Sadly, you’re not so much.

To compensate for that, you’ve been blessed with a natural Aura of Protection that encompasses your body, which grows stronger based on your Charm Stat.

Decreases All Damage Taken by 10% with every 5000 Charm Stat. Current Bonus: 30% (Max 50%)

You can also utilize your Aura of Protection to enchant your attacks, Defensive Skills, and Spells, by +5% with every 5000 Charm Stat. Current Bonus: 15% (Max 100%)

Additionally, while using Aura of Protection on offensive Skills and Spells, there’s an added +5% chance every 5000 Charm Stat to either provoke [Shock] [Charm] or [Confusion] on a foe for a couple of seconds. Current Bonus: 15% (Max 50%)

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[Summon Friend (C+ Rank Privilege)]

Sometimes, you can’t beat everything by yourself, so calling a friend to gang on a baddie is recommended!

With this Privilege, you can Summon any Tamed Monster with a [Friend] Title on your side, at no cost of Mana whatsoever.

You can readjust and decide in which area within an imaginary bubble of ten meters around your body can your Friend be summoned.

Whenever they’re summoned at your side, increases the Stats of all [Friend] Title bearers by +15%, their HP and MP Regeneration Speed by +50%, and their Skill Power and Effects by +100% for 10 Minutes, cannot stack.

Summon Cooldown: 5 Seconds.

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Wow! Both of these are really useful and amazing. I can cast Aura of Protection right away and leave it at that too? It doesn’t cost much, Mana! And it is giving me a slightly pink glow? It seems like nobody has noticed it yet.

I can even use it to enchant my Skills and Spells, sounds like an amazing all-rounder Privilege, I really needed something like this.

Lastly, Summon Friend is ideal; it has a short cooldown and no mana cost either, and I can summon them at my side as much as I want. Plus, they get a buff to everything!

“We did it…!” Baihe was really happy. “Thank you, Anna, with my powers alone, nothing of this would have been possible... It is just amazing how you created miracles!”

“Hahaha… Yeah, I guess.” I laughed a bit at the irony. I indeed performed a miracle, literally. “Are you feeling alright, though?”

“Yeah… Thanks for worrying, but I’m fine.” Baihe sighed with a smile. “All of this happened so fast; I am still kind of processing everything... But… I’m just glad we’re all still alive.”

“Ugh… I want a warm bath.” Kevin groaned behind us. “And a huge ass burger, with tons of cheese. My head hurts after overusing Odin’s skills; eating always relieves that pain.”

"It must be because those skills utilize physical stamina, and you recover it by eating food,” I explained.

"Huh, I never thought about it.” Kevin wondered, eating a cereal bar he took out of his pocket; it seemed all soggy and was probably warm, eugh.

“Of course you didn't; you seem like a guy that doesn’t even think.” Sighed Baihe, crossing her arms. She seemed slightly annoyed at Kevin for no reason.

“What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?!” Kevin complained.

“Anna, I’m a bit hungry... Maybe we could go eat something tasty to lighten the mood?” Annabelle had grown a bit more talkative the moment she mentioned a good meal.

Despite having met with these friends recently, I’m already quite fond of them. They’re not friends I’ve made through my entire life or something, but... I want to keep them by my side and protect them, while they also watch over my back.

I just wish there weren’t life-threatening situations every time, so we could just spend our lives normally. Though you can’t really have that in this world, until we finish off all of this wicked game.

“Anna!” My brother came running towards us as we finished our job, and the medics started carrying away all the people we had healed.

“Jack? Did Heisenberg and Shade escape?” I asked him.

“Yeah, the bastards escaped." He sighed. “Well, I would love to talk more about this in detail, but... It looks like we don’t have much time. Hilda called just now saying that there was a huge horde of undead running into the city, and in the walls, a silver-haired woman’s killing Hector.”

“Wait, what?!” I was shocked. “Silver-haired woman… Don’t tell me…?!”

“I don’t know either.” Henrietta sighed. “But if it’s really Sara, then maybe her sponsor, Hel, might have something to do with that. She never mentioned such a contract before.”

“Could she have become something like an undead after dying?” Baihe wondered, looking into my brother’s eyes.

“I don’t know, but we’ve got to go there. Are you all alright? If you’re too tired, you can stay behind.” My brother said, “If it’s just Undead, we’ll take care of things by ourselves.”

“No, I’ll go,” I said, quickly stepping forward.

“Ugh… Fine, let’s do it, one last round.” Kevin sighed. “Anna, you better buy me the biggest burger you can later.”

“Fine.” I laughed a bit.

“Of course, I’m going as well! After a Mana Potion, I feel as new as ever.” Said Baihe.

“Me too!” Annabelle nodded. “A-After that, we need to talk with Scarlet and stuff…”

“I get what you mean.” My brother nodded. “Scarlet, if you’re really on our side, come with us too. Let’s talk once this issue is resolved.”

“Very well. Thanks, Jack.” Scarlet nodded.

“Don’t mention it.” Jack sighed as we quickly made our way to the city by flying as fast as we could.

Once we arrived above the walls, we saw the scenery with our own eyes. It was not as terrible as when those golems attacked, but the situation wasn’t any better either.

“Just how many undead are those?” Baihe asked.

“Approximately…” I used my Eyes of Truth to quickly calculate their numbers. “Over a hundred thousand…”

“And there she is…” Henrietta gasped in surprise as she saw the silver-haired woman fighting against Hilda and Hector, holding a black scythe seemingly made of darkness.

It was really her, Sara...

[The Cosmic Throne {Queen of the Underworld} is watching you.]

And she turned her eyes right toward me.

“Fine, let’s do this. I’ve got my own small army as well. {Princess of Heaven}!”

FLASH!

A spear of light pierced the skies as several figures of angelic appearance descended in an instant.

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