Narrator's POV
In the middle of the night, a dark figure can be seen walking across E-Rantel's great cemetery.
The figure's entire body is covered by a black cloak with a hood. They advance in a unique, ghostly fashion without moving their shoulders or waist.
They nimbly evaded the magic lights of the cemetery and entered the inner part. It was only after the figure reached a mausoleum that they removed their hood, revealing the face of a young woman.
Her features are delicate, giving her a cat-like beauty that might make her look cute, but her expression makes her look more ferocious, like a carnivorous beast that might lash out at any moment.
Her name is Clementine.
"Finally here~," Clementine sings in a humorous tone to herself.
She brushes her short orange hair before pushing a small stone carving on the stone coffin at the center of the mausoleum while humming without any real rhythm. As she does so, the sound of metal clicking against metal can be heard from the woman's armor hidden beneath her cloak.
After pressing the carving, a clicking sound is heard, and the coffin opens up, revealing a hidden stairway leading to an underground cave below.
The stone of the mausoleum, and more particularly the stones of the staircases and walls going down, seem to have absorbed a large quantity of perfume. The sweet smell irritates Clementine's nose with its overwhelming presence.
"Coming in~," she sings in a carefree manner with a slight frown, as she starts walking down the stairs. A hidden mechanism makes the entrance close behind her, leaving only a normal mausoleum that smells surprisingly good to any wandering eyes.
The mud in the walls and floor of the staircase is exposed, but it has been processed by craftsmen and won’t collapse easily. The air isn’t stale; it is rather fresh from ventilation somewhere.
This place isn’t part of the cemetery, but somewhere more sinister.
Strange tapestries hang from the walls, with red candles made from blood below them, emitting a faint glow and the smell of charred blood—the same smell the sweet perfume is meant to hide. The smell of blood and decay.
The flickering candle flames cast countless shadows. There are several caves within this space, and all of them are rank with the unique smell of low-level undead.
Clementine surveys her surroundings until her eyes linger on one spot.
"Hey~ The person hiding over there, a guest is here~," she calls out playfully.
The man hiding in the dark corner, spying on her, shudders.
"Hello~ I am here to meet Kaji-chan; is he here~?" she continues, unaware of the man's fear, or perhaps enjoying it.
The man is at a loss as to what to do and starts trembling when the sound of her footsteps approaches him.
"It’s fine. You are dismissed." Those words are spoken by a short, bald, skinny man with a sickly pale complexion, making it seem as if he’s never been exposed to sunlight before in his life. Yet, despite his sickly appearance, his voice contains a quiet, arrogant authority.
His eyes are sunken in, and he doesn't have any eyebrows or lashes. His appearance makes it hard to judge his age, but he can’t be too old since his skin isn’t wrinkled.
He is dressed in a dark red robe with a long chain adorned with three small animal skulls around his neck.
He doesn't have much musculature, looking almost like a skeleton with skin, making him look more like an undead than a human.
"Hi~, Kaji-chan," greets Clementine casually in her ever-present playful and singsong tone, unbothered by the man's appearance.
The greeting makes the man—Khajiit—frown.
"Can you not call me that? It tarnishes the name of Zuranon," he demands, and although it sounds casual, there is an underlayer of threat to his words.
Zuranon: This is the name of a cult that worships Death and Undeath; every member of this cult is a necromancer. They have been viewed as a public enemy by the nations since one of their twisted experiments resulted in the destruction of a small city twenty years ago.
"Is that so...?" asks Clementine dismissively in response, causing Khajiit's frown to deepen.
"So? Why are you here? You knew I was injecting energy into the Pearl of Death here. If you plan to make trouble, I have my ways of dealing with you," he asks threateningly while his grip on his staff tightens.
"How mean~ Kaji-chan. I came to bring you this~," she sings with a cute smile while searching for something under her cloak, clearly not even bothering to pretend to take Khajiit seriously.
Once she finds the item, she happily shows it to Khajiit.
The man's sunken eyes widen after seeing the item in the woman's grip.
It's a tiara.
Countless small jewels decorate the gold threads, like droplets on a spiderweb. It is a delicate artwork. The center of the tiara—where the forehead should be—is a slightly larger jewel that looks like a black crystal.
"This is!" he blurts in shock and becomes tongue-tied.
This is an item he had only seen from a distance in the past, a long time ago.
"The symbol of the Miko Princess, the [Crown of Wisdom]! Isn’t this one of the greatest treasures of the Slane Theocracy?" he asks, more for a confirmation of his doubt rather than a real question.
"That’s correct~—I saw a cute girl wearing this strange tiara, but since it didn’t suit her, I took it~. But then I got a shock! She immediately went berserk~, letting her bowels go~," she explains playfully, then bursts out laughing as if the whole thing were hilarious.
If one snatches the [Crown of Wisdom] away, its current bearer—who is a central figure of the Slane Theocracy’s magic ceremonies, the Miko Princess—would end up in a terrible state. There is no way that this woman, who is a former member of the Black Scripture, didn’t know exactly what would happen if she did so.
After all, it is the task of the Black Scripture to send the mad Miko Princess to the gods after the crown is removed, in order to allow the next Miko Princess to ascend.
Those are the thoughts running through Khajiit's mind after hearing the sadistic woman's tale.
"But it can’t be helped. It was the only way to obtain this~—it wasn’t my fault, it was the fault of the crown’s creator~—," she keeps going, as if making a point of proving Khajiit's opinions of this woman correct.
There is no way to safely remove the crown, except by destroying it.
The crown seals the wearer’s self, turning the human being into a high-level magic item; there shouldn’t be anyone who’d be so wasteful as to destroy someone like that.
But there is this unhinged person.
"Humph, the thing I had to steal at the expense of betraying the Black Scripture is trash. I should have taken the divine artifact left behind by the Six Gods," she exclaims, seemingly dismissive despite knowing full well the value of the item in her hand.
"Calling it trash is a bit—" Khajiit begins, but is interrupted by a now-pouting Clementine.
“—But it is trash, right? Only one in 10,000 women can wear this item. It will be hard to find someone suitable outside a nation like the Slane Theocracy,” she explains her opinion with puffed cheeks.
The Slane Theocracy is the only nation in the region with a population register. Using the register, they are able to easily find someone suitable to wear the tiara—a sacrifice.
If it weren’t for this, it would be hard to find suitable candidates even with Zuranon’s influence.
"It’s impossible to steal that divine artifact anyway~ It’s protected by the strongest monster in the Black Scripture, who went beyond the physical limits of humans. The blood of the Six Gods runs in its veins—an atavistic bastard~," explains Clementine, and though her expression and tone are playful, her words are full of venom.
"Demigods... Are those guys that strong? I’ve only heard about them from you," asks Khajiit curiously.
"Those guys are beyond the realm of being strong. You didn’t know because the information is classified~. If those who knew were interrogated using mind control, it would be disastrous. It was said that if news leaked out, it would start a war with the remaining forces of the True Dragon Lord. The Theocracy will be affected and might even be destroyed, so I hope you can pretend you didn’t hear anything~," she replies carefreely.
"Sounds unbelievable," Khajiit answers dismissively to her explanation.
“You only think so because you haven’t witnessed that power~. Back on topic: Khajiit Dale Badantel, as one of the 12 core members, would you be willing to lend me a hand?” The woman finally changes her tone.
"Oh, showing your true colors in the end? The body double of the Empress of Tears... and don’t call me Dale; I don’t use that name anymore," Khajiit retorts, sounding almost pleased, if that's even possible.
Khajiit's words cause Clementine to frown. "Don’t call me the body double of the Empress of Tears either, okay? Call me Clementine," she asks lightly, though a sharp undertone can be heard.
"Clementine, what do you want me to help you with?" asks Khajiit curiously.
"I took the liberty of taking a tour around the city while the forces of the Theocracy hadn't arrived yet, and I found something interesting. Or rather, someone interesting~," she explains.
She pauses, eyeing Khajiit with a mischievous smile, as if waiting for something.
Khajiit, understanding what Clementine wants, lets out an exasperated sigh at her antics and asks, "What did you find?" urging her to continue her explanations.
Clementine's eyes light up as if she were just handed a gift, and she says, "Would you believe me if I told you that I saw a miko in E-Rantel?"
For the second time since their conversation started, Khajiit's eyes widen in disbelief.
"Oy, oy, are you serious right now? A miko? Here?" he asks, sounding almost desperate to be told that it's just a bad-taste joke.
The reason for his desperation is that a miko could pose a serious threat to his five-year plan. Not many people are aware of that because the Theocracy keeps the knowledge hidden, but a miko is a divine magic caster capable of casting 5th-tier spells. A true bane against undead.
When someone with the potential to become a miko is discovered, the Slane Theocracy tries by any means to get them and turn them into one of their six Miko Princesses while simultaneously hiding their existence.
Their role is as tragic as it is important for the Theocracy. They are simply vessels through which the Theocracy performs various high-tier rituals. "Sacrifices" and "tools" would be fitting words to describe them.
"Yep~," she replies with a smirk, far too pleased with herself. "And she doesn't seem affiliated with the Theocracy, as far as I could tell," she adds.
Khajiit frowns. "Is that even possible?"
For someone to become a miko without the Theocracy's knowledge and support... that woman must possess unheard-of potential, equivalent to that of a demigod. Truly a saint blessed by the heavens themselves.
Those are Khajiit's thoughts and opinions on this revelation.
Clementine stays silent at Khajiit's question, staring at him with the same playful smile. She speaks up after a few seconds of silence, "Whether it's possible or not, the fact is that she exists and is here~. And I was thinking that this tiara—" she spins the Crown of Wisdom with her finger, "—would look perfect on her cute little head~. Don't you think~?" she asks with a smirk, gripping the tiara with her whole hand.
Khajiit gives his own smirk in response. "I'll help you; in exchange, I want to use that miko for my ritual," he demands.
"Of course, it would be a waste not to use her, wouldn't it? While you do your thing, I'll slip away, far from the forces of the Theocracy," she explains.
"That’s wonderful, Clementine. If you are willing to assist, the Spiral of Death will be finished ahead of schedule. No problem, I will do everything I can to aid you. Then you can make your escape with peace of mind," Khajiit announces happily.
The two smirk at one another with satisfaction.
Lydia's POV
There are two routes from E-Rantel to Carne Village if you travel by carriage: the northern route that keeps hugging the edge of the forest, or the eastern route, safer but longer, as it allows one to avoid the forest entirely before joining the northern route further ahead in the journey.
From a bodyguard's perspective, the northern route is the wrong choice. Yet it was chosen unanimously. The Swords of Darkness wanted to use it to hunt monsters during the travel, and Ainz wanted to honor his previous promise to the Swords of Darkness to hunt monsters with them.
I feel like I really didn't have a say in this, but given that everyone agreed to it, I just followed everyone else's choice.
At least it makes me glad that I opened that book about miko spells back in my manor before leaving, as I'll surely have to fight in order to prove that I can indeed cast 3rd-tier spells. But most of a miko's spells are above 3rd-tier, so I'll surely have to improvise something in the end.
I could do some miko rituals, but against low-level monsters, it would be way overkill. Perhaps just some purification spells? That should be doable for a miko. Maybe buffs and restoration spells as well, in order to keep a low profile and stick to a support role.
I should have read that book more carefully rather than just skimming through it carelessly in one go... Well, no helping it, I'll improvise some spells on top of those I can remember.
The group agreed unanimously that I should sit in the back of the carriage as well, despite the lack of space and my protests. So in the end, I'm swinging my legs back and forth one after the other on the back of the carriage while looking around with the Eye of Heimdall.
The forest and simply the nature around us are pretty. Beautiful even; nothing like the virtual world of YGGDRASIL, even the air is pure—purer than anything I have ever breathed through filtration systems.
The forest is dense enough to prevent sunlight from passing through the trees. It gives the forest some kind of eerie vibes that make it seem like anything could be hiding in the shadows of the trees.
Of course, the darkness isn't a problem for me, but I feel a tension surrounding the Swords of Darkness; they even adopted a protective formation around the carriage.
Nfirea is, of course, driving the carriage. The Ranger, Lukrut, is in front of the carriage; the Warrior, Peter, is on the left of it; Dyne, the Druid, and Ninya, the Mage, are on the right of the carriage, while Ainz and I are at the back.
It's a bit boring, but almost every escort mission is...
"Momon-san, from here on will be dangerous ground. We won’t encounter monsters we can’t handle, but to be safe, we need to be careful," calls out Peter as we enter an open plain beside the forest.
"Understood," is Ainz's only response, accompanied by a nod.
He sounds fairly confident, but given what he told me about the level of power in this world, it's obvious why.
Maybe taking my silence and passivity as anxiety or unease, Lukrut speaks up, "It’ll be fine, don’t worry. As long as there’s no surprise attack, it won’t be too hard. And with me scouting, no enemies will sneak by," he boasts while looking my way, perhaps in an attempt to reassure me or maybe to make me open up.
In response, I turn my head to the side toward his general direction and reply, "Thank you; it's reassuring to have a scout on the team," with a small smile.
He puts a hand over his heart dramatically, as if struck. "That's not fair. How can someone be so sweet and an adventurer at the same time?" he asks the sky, as if waiting for divine illumination.
I simply tilt my head to the side in confusion.
Why would he react like that after I simply acknowledge his role in the party?
Perhaps seeing my own reaction to his words, Lukrut doubles down on his dramatic act, clutching his chest above his heart as if struck a second time, with a dramatically pained groan. I even see the rest of the Swords of Darkness looking over with awkward smiles.
So I'm not the only one confused. That's reassuring.
"It will be fine. From here to Carne Village, we are in the territory of the 'Wise King of the Forest', a powerful monster. Unless we are extremely unlucky, we won't encounter any monsters," interjects Nfirea.
"Wise King of the Forest?" asks Ainz, probably trying to fish for more information as he already knows about it since he told me about it yesterday during our tour when talking about what he learned from the Chief of Carne Village.
It is apparently an ancient and powerful monster living in the forest. Its territory extends all the way to the village, meaning that other monsters are hesitant to even approach, indirectly protecting the village. It also doesn't seem to mind the presence of the human village, thus its title "Wise King of the Forest."
Ainz told me that it has lived for more than a century and is a four-legged, silvery beast with a snake's tail. Nothing comes to my mind with that vague description. Perhaps it's a chimera? I don't remember any monster in YGGDRASIL fitting that description accurately. Some are close, but it would be a stretch, such as a Nue.
Nfirea answers Ainz but doesn't give more information than we already have, which is a bit disappointing.
So rather than listening, I focus my attention on Nfirea more closely. Just like with Ninya, I notice something off about him. Not in the way the ambient mana moves around him, but something about his internal mana.
I don't know how to describe it, but if I were to give one word to describe the feeling I get from his mana, it would be "impersonal." His internal mana barely feels different from the ambient mana in the air.
Normally, from what I have observed of everyone, from local magic casters to Ainz, everyone absorbs the ambient mana to restore their own reserves. When the body of someone absorbs ambient mana, it is "processed" in their body to be turned into a usable form for their internal mana reserve. Normally, after that "process," the mana is changed by imprinting the affinity of the body and soul. For example, the mana of a summoner is slightly different from that of a mage, just as the mana of a mage is slightly different from that of a cleric, and so on.
Internal mana can also be affected by other factors, such as personality and species. In the end, it becomes something like a personal and unique magical imprint. I assume that it can also be called a frequency, as every imprint emits a unique feeling or presence, or whatever you want to call it.
Even my own mana, much closer to ambient mana than that of any other being, still has some kind of imprint. Still, I'm a bit of a special case as, rather than absorbing ambient mana, I generate my own.
But Nfirea is different. It almost looks like his body doesn't "process" mana. There is no imprint whatsoever.
Does he also have some kind of talent? What would his lack of a magical imprint allow him to do?
Wait... Has Ainz already heard of that guy? He loves gathering all kinds of information from all sources, so he perhaps knows something about Nfirea.
I use [Telepathy] to form a link between Ainz and me. Of course, Ainz has to accept the link for it to really take form. [Telepathy] is like a private channel that allows two people to discuss using their thoughts. Usually, people prefer [Message] because [Telepathy] has a limited range. But unlike [Message], [Telepathy] doesn't require us to speak out loud nor make a gesture indicating the use of the spell, thus my comparison to a private channel.
"{Do you need something?}" I hear Ainz ask worriedly in my head immediately after the formation of the link.
"{No, I just wanted to ask you something.}" I reply. "{Do you know if Nfirea has a talent? And if you do, do you know which one?}" I ask, my curiosity leaking from my tone, even in my thoughts.
"{You were not listening?}" he asks in return; his surprised tone gives me the urge to look away bashfully. "{The Swords of Darkness talked about it during the presentation. He apparently possesses the talent to use any magical item,}" he answers nonetheless.
"{Ooooh... so that's what it is...}" I exclaim in the link.
"{You noticed something?}" he asks, surprised.
"{Yeah, just like with Ninya, their talent influences the mana, but each does it uniquely.}" I begin. "{For Ninya, not only is the ambient mana attracted to him, but his body is unusually adapted to mana. As for Nfirea, his body lacks the magical imprints everyone has,}" I explain. I'm not sure how much of it Ainz will understand, but I prefer to inform him rather than keep him in the dark.
"{I-I see...}" he stutters a little, which, I assume, indicates that he didn't understand a thing. He then cuts the connection in what I can only assume is embarrassment.
He is extraordinary; his body language doesn't betray a thing. He looks as composed as ever despite his mental stutter and his embarrassment.
I turn my attention back to Nfirea. Just like Ninya, his talent is fascinating. I can only assume that the lack of magical imprints is what allows him to use any magic item.
It actually is enlightening in the way magic items work. From there, I can formulate various theories as to how they work.
The first would be that magic items have a way to read their user's magic in order to allow them to use it if they have the right magical frequency.
The second would be that, rather than stopping or allowing the user to use them if they have the right frequency, the right frequency is needed in order to interact with the magic contained in the item. And if a user doesn't have said frequency, their own internal magical frequency would clash with that of the item, and thus, prevent them from using it.
It could also very well be a mixture of the two theories, or perhaps it could also very well depend on the magic item. For example, a staff that is restricted to only clerics could work differently than the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, which can only be used by the Guild Master of Ainz Ooal Gown.
One can only be used by a specific job class, while the other can only be used by a single person in a very specific position in a very specific organization.
How could an item possibly know? Could that also somehow be part of the magical imprints? Or is it something else?
I should spend a bit of time experimenting with that once we are back in Nazarick.
I turn my attention to the ring on my right middle finger, hidden behind my long sleeve.
Since I'm the one who created this item, does that mean I'm the only one who can use it? It would be logical for it to be calibrated to my own magical imprint. But I wasn't even aware of that during its creation, so I didn't specify anything about that in my mind while creating it.
I turn my attention to the rest of my clothes.
That also makes me think... What is a soulbound item? And what does it really mean? All of my stuff, besides the Eye of Heimdall and now the ring, is soulbound to me. In practice, it means that I'm the only one who can use them; they are linked to me and cannot be stolen—but how and why?
Does this also have something to do with the magical imprint? Or is it something else entirely?
Also, my theories until now could very well be false, incomplete, or flawed in some way. Because how does a magic item read the magical imprint of a warrior? Does everyone have mana in their body, and magic casters are the only ones using it?
Or could it be that rather than simply reading the magical imprint, items read every possible energetic imprint of a being.
Does stamina also have an imprint? Chi? Chakra? And whatever other types of energy?
Could all of those types of energy interact with one another? If so, how? Would they clash with one another? Or would they be able to harmonize? I'm more inclined to believe the former, as I've never seen a job class or a species using different forms of energy simultaneously. They all seem to be mutually exclusive.
I pause.
Does a soul also have an imprint? That would perhaps begin to explain the soulbound thing...
I let out a deep breath.
All of this is starting to get more and more complex and complicated, and I still only have theories; the only practical proof I have is Nfirea's talent. But is that enough to believe that everything works like this?
I feel like I need more data from other sources, or at least some experiments to base my theories on. Otherwise, I'm basically throwing theories into the dark.
"I have a few questions related to magic," Ainz suddenly speaks up, bringing me back to reality as I direct my focus toward him once more.
His head is turned toward Ninya, and in response to his question, Ninya nods.
Seeing her nod, Ainz begins, "If bewitched or controlled by magic, a person may divulge confidential information. As a countermeasure, are there any spells that will conditionally kill an affected person after they answer a few questions?" He asks a suspiciously specific question.
"I’ve never heard of such magic," replies Ninya, a bit too casually for the question.
Ainz, after hearing Ninya's answer, turns his gaze towards Nfirea, causing him to say, "I don’t know either. Magic to correct or strengthen something can be activated after a fixed period of time, but not to the extent you speak of."
"I see," he concludes in quiet disappointment.
"Be that as it may, my magic knowledge is quite limited. Magic casters sponsored and educated by a country might be able to create such a spell. The priests in the Slane Theocracy receive a faith-based magic caster education. The Empire has mystics, warlocks, and mages—sorcery-based magic caster schools. It wouldn’t be surprising if other states, such as the Argland Council State, were able to use dragon magic," adds Ninya.
"I see. With the backing of an entire nation, it wouldn’t be surprising for any sort of magic to pop up," replies Ainz to Ninya's clarification.
After that, Ainz keeps asking questions to Ninya about magic, martial arts, adventurers, and even politics. They keep going in this back-and-forth in which Ainz asks a question, Ninya answers, then Ainz asks another, etc., etc...
They have been doing that for so long that all the others are starting to look at them with a gaze that seems to radiate "Are they still chatting?"
At first, I found the questions and answers interesting, but I stopped listening after a while, as I got bored halfway through when the topic shifted to things unrelated to magic.
Instead, I started looking around with the Eye of Heimdall by increasing my range a little bit. Just a few hundred meters. Curious about the environment and the flora all around us.
I kept pondering nature for a while until I spotted movement. At first, I thought that I would see an animal for the first time and got excited. But it turned out that it was just some goblins and ogres. They seem to be waiting for a carriage to cross the road to attack it, and we are going toward them.
It doesn't take them that long to spot us and begin to walk toward us. At the same moment, Lukrut at the front stops and raises a hand, causing Nfirea to stop the carriage and catching the attention of everyone else. He then crouches down and puts his ear to the ground, probably trying to listen for some kind of vibration in the ground.
"There’s movement," he informs everyone tensely.
His tone has completely shifted from the easy-going guy to a veteran adventurer ready to fight for his life.
"Where?" asks Peter.
"There. Right there," he points at a corner of the massive forest beside the road.
The visibility is bad, yet even with that, everyone in the Swords of Darkness seems to trust him unconditionally. I see Ainz turning his gaze discreetly towards me, to which I simply give a small nod in confirmation. Only then did he begin preparing for a fight as well.
"What should we do?" Ainz asks the rest of the Swords of Darkness.
"Don’t force your way. If it stays inside the forest, then let’s ignore it! It would be best to stick to the plan and let Nfirea fall back!" replies Peter, sounding as tense as Lukrut.
It doesn't take long for the goblins and the ogres to walk out of the forest and show themselves to the group.
There are fifteen goblins and six ogres.
The goblins are as small as children, with grass-green skin and wrinkled faces with pointy teeth. The ogres are much larger, at least two or three meters in height, with dark brown skin and faces similar to those of the goblins, even if a tad more dumb-looking.
They all wear rags and tanned animal skins for clothes. All the ogres have a wooden club, looking more like a sturdy branch of a tree than a real club, while the goblins have either smaller clubs, daggers, or sometimes even shields.
They also all have a ragged bag, probably for long journeys.
They all look at us with hostility as they leave the forest for the plains we are in.
"Their numbers are a bit high. It looks like a battle is unavoidable," Ainz informs the rest of us.
"Yes, you are right. Goblins and ogres will attack when they see a smaller group. Or rather, their intelligence tells them to gauge combat prowess by comparing numbers, which can be a bit of a hassle," replies Peter with annoyance.
"Is reality different from the game?" I hear Ainz mumbling to himself thanks to the Eye of Heimdall.
"Well then, Momon-san," Peter calls out, catching Ainz's attention.
"Oh, what is it?" he asks.
"We agreed to each take half of the enemies we encounter, but what about now?" Peter asks.
"Can’t we split into two teams and dispatch the attacking enemies?" Ainz asks back.
"It would be bad if all of them ran toward one side. Can Lily-san use an area attack?" he asks.
"I should be capable of that," I reply from the back of the carriage as I stand up and walk towards them.
I see some of them giving me uneasy gazes as I walk forward, probably wondering what a "blind" girl is going to do in a situation like this.
"Lily-san..." I hear Peter trying to say something, but he's stopped by Ainz, who puts his arm in front of him.
"If mere ogres trouble us, our bark would be worse than our bite. Please, watch us dispose of them with ease," he declares confidently.
Aren't we supposed to keep a low profile? Well, I suppose a few low-level ogres and goblins wouldn't show too much.
I store my Gohei wand in one of my sleeves while discreetly putting it back in my inventory before clapping my hands together. The sound seems to resonate around the plain. Then I begin an improvised prayer.
"O source of all magic, please allow me to borrow some of your all-encompassing might. Give me the strength to sanctify this land and banish evil," I incant dramatically and conclude more loudly, "[Himorogi]."
As I pronounce the spell's name, four thin, ethereal-looking wooden pillars materialize, each linked to two others by a rope adorned with shide, forming a large, perfect square between the four pillars. Inside the sanctified space, the air seems to become purer and the grass somehow prettier.
The area is large enough to encompass all the goblins and ogres in front of us.
During the whole process, I keep my hands clapped together in prayer.
Of course, it's all improvised and just for show; I could have very well cast the spell instantly without any chant or gesture.
The holy energy radiating from each piece of paper on the ropes attacks the bodies of the goblins and ogres, making them scream in pain as their bodies start smoking. It's not enough to kill them, but it's enough to cause them pain and greatly weaken them.
This ritual, [Himorogi], is a spell I made up on the spot while remembering a traditional miko ritual they used to do in real life during the last century. I read about it in YGGDRASIL a while back and in the book I skimmed before leaving Nazarick.
[Himorogi] creates a holy space that damages and weakens beings with a negative karmic value while strengthening and healing those with a positive one. It also prevents anything with a negative karmic value from entering or leaving the sanctified area until the spell is dispelled.
I limited the strength of the spell to a high 3rd-tier level in order to not stand out too much. I'm pretty proud of how much I managed to hold back.
...
Why are they not moving anymore? Did they all pass out? Are they... all dead? [Himorogi] didn't kill them all, right? It's just a 3rd-tier spell, nothing crazy!
Could I have overestimated their strength?
Every member of the Swords of Darkness looks at the result of my ritual spell with their mouths wide open in shock.