MTLNOVEL Chapter 390
“If there was an easy way, wouldn’t it have been nicer if we used it sooner?”
Lily said with a slightly blunt tone, as if purposely avoiding the convenient shortcut and opting for the hard path instead.
“An easy way…? No way that’s true.”
Alice replied to Lily with a tinge of rebuke.
“Betelgeuse is a city of considerable size. To scan an entire city using magical detection… I hope you think about what that really means before you speak.”
Clearly irked by Lily’s words, Alice spoke with a faint annoyance. From Alice’s perspective, attempting such a colossal feat was no small task, so talk of easy methods was bound to annoy her.
“Ah, I… I’m sorry…”
“Anyway, it would have been great if we could have done it another way, but now that it is like this, I have no choice but to search for it myself.”
“Are you sure you’re okay? With your current state…?”
“It’s quite the strain, but there’s no other way.”
Alice stated firmly.
“Given that the one in question is that Shadow Sage, and considering the blessing contained within that object… I can’t just let it slide.”
Although it wasn’t exactly the most overwhelming blessing… Hmmm…
“Maybe they’re trying to use that power to resurrect the Demon King.”
At this, everyone’s expressions hardened.
The resurrection of the Demon King.
That was something not even a joke could be made of.
“N-No way… The Hero and the Dragon Priestess defeated the Demon King, so no matter how great the Goddess’s blessing is, that kind of thing… “
Finnak stammered, but Alice’s expression remained serious.
After all, these words came from none other than the Dragon Priestess who had defeated the Demon King, and the weight of that assertion was on a whole different level.
But Alice was sincere.
Even now, she could feel the presence of the Demon King, vying to take over her body.
If the Shadow Sage intended to use the Trophy of Glory’s blessing to revive the Demon King… she had to stop it at any cost.
That’s why Alice was trying to suppress her urgency and push herself to the limit.
“So, we need to hurry.”
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
Thus, Alice located the position of the Trophy of Glory through the extensive searching spell, and mentioned that the trophy was sensed deep underground in Betelgeuse before collapsing into a sleep.
Using the information Alice provided, the hero party, excluding the sleeping Alice, went down to search for a way to the underground, but… Hmmm.
I was a bit discontent.
No, if a valuable treasure had been stolen, shouldn’t we be focused on finding it? We should be discovering clues, unravelling the thief’s tricks, and capturing the culprit!
Turn my expectations back!!! I thought I’d get to see an exhilarating detective story!
No, well. I guess it’s pointless to sift through suspects when a major suspect like the Shadow Sage can simply melt into the shadows. Sigh…
But still, disappointment is disappointment.
So while the hero party searched for a path underground and eventually discovered that there were sewers beneath Betelgeuse, they rummaged through the maze-like complex of the sewers.
Meanwhile, something began to stir around the sleeping Alice.
Shadows moving slowly. As that shadow oozed up from the ground, it gradually took shape into the figure of an old man draped in a black robe.
The Shadow Sage. The one who played the role of advisor among the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King.
The most cunning and malicious figure, who had driven the hero and the Dragon Priestess into a crisis.
And the prime suspect who had stolen the Trophy of Glory.
“Finally, the time has come.”
The Shadow Sage slowly approached the sleeping Alice.
“A chance created with many sacrifices in mind. We can’t waste a second.”
Then he raised his hand.
A hand grasping nothing. Slowly, a shadow began to form in that hand, morphing into a tangible shape.
The shape was that of the trophy. The stolen Trophy of Glory, to be exact.
“If I could, I’d love to rip you apart and kill you right now…but…”
The Shadow Sage spoke with a face twisted by complicated emotions.
“Now that the suspicion has been confirmed that the Demon King might remain within you, if I were to harm you, my goal would just slip further away.”
He tilted the trophy he held toward Alice, and something began to ooze from it and seep into her.
Black energy and silver energy. Two opposing hues mixed and poured into Alice.
“Demon King. Overcome this. Overcome and lead us, the forsaken ones, to the gods.”
There was a palpable earnestness in those words.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
In the depths of the sewers, the hero party pressed forward, overcoming numerous traps and monsters, even fighting against humans tainted by darkness.
The demons. Humans who had become the subordinates of the Demon King. Among them, for some reason, were elves whose skin had darkened.
Dark-skinned elves transformed as if they were beasts. They lost their rationality and rampaged, and while the hero party was horrified at their appearances, they subdued and captured them, continuing onwards to find the Shadow Sage conducting some sort of ceremony with the Trophy of Glory in the darkness.
And the ensuing fierce battle. Though the Shadow Sage and his minions attacked viciously, the hero party remained calm and fought back resolutely.
With Lily’s determined efforts, being furious at her kin who were darkened, the hero party managed to defeat the Shadow Sage and seize the Trophy of Glory, yet they couldn’t celebrate.
After the battle ended, the Shadow Sage merged into the shadows and escaped, and even though they had defeated him, there was still no reversing the darkened elves.
At least, they could take comfort that they had succeeded in restoring their consciousness.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
“Thank you for retrieving the Trophy of Glory.”
The manager of Betelgeuse, Eloide, expressed gratitude to the hero party.
He and the guards of Betelgeuse were completely oblivious to the enemies that lurked deep within the sewers. If they hadn’t caught them, the scale of the damage that could have occurred… it’s frightening just to imagine.
“But…. those kin of ours…”
Eloide gazed at the darkened kin with a worried expression.
Although their self was restored,