āNow that Iām no longer being controlled by Linford, all I have to do is seize control of the dungeon, and Iām basically free!ā
[What do you plan to do with your freedom?]
āNaturally, I will use the power of the dungeon to create my true paradise! Unlike what Iāve been limited to doing so far due to that shitty Linford shoving me away in the corner of the dungeon!ā
So it was that after all. I was really hoping that she would disappear quietly butā¦ Like I thought, this woman should never be free.
āAnd so, allow me to use your power, I wonāt let you refuse.ā
Damn. What should I do? If I specifically refuse her here, Murellia will immediately attack me and Fran. Maybe I should try to employ a bit of subtle implication here? Maybe thereās still a chance that sheāll try to equip me-
As I was pondering the dilemma, she began to move. Black viscous magical power escaped from Murelliaās body with incredible speed. Like a jellyfish tentacle, it slowly began to worm its way up my hilt and blade.
āFufufu!ā
[Dammit!]
I tried to fly out of Murelliaās hand with all my might, but it wasnāt enough. What monstrous strengthā¦
[Get away from me!]
āAhahaha! Itās no use, no use~!ā
I quickly activated a bunch of lightning magic, though itās nullified once again. Seems she has immunity to lightning damage after all. I also tried out Flame Magic, and used ćInferno Burstć, but it still isnāt strong enough to Murelliaās Barriers.
Space-Time magic isnāt any good either. Considering the fact that I could still use Dimensional Storage, it seems that only the activation of transportation type Space-Time magic is hindered by the barrier made by Murellia.
[God dammit!]
āUfufu. Is it frustrating?ā
Murellia taunts my futile attempts while making a sadistic smile.
āIs it painful~? Is it scary~? Do you want me to stop~?ā
...Huh? No, itās not particularly painful or scary. My durability value hasnāt changed after all. Though I was confused, Murellia didnāt wait for a reply and kept ranting with a smug face.
āDonāt you want to be freed from this pain? If you ask me to, I canāt refuse~! Kukuku. No one with a soul can escape the rule of the Evil God!ā
Huh? What does that mean? Is something supposed to be happening? Iām pretty sure sheās referring to the evil tentacle things butā¦ But nothings happening, you know? Or rather, have I lost control of my body?
āNow, submit to me!ā
[...]
No, it seems like I still have control. I can refuse just like normal, and I donāt really feel like my soul has been hijackedā¦
āWhatās wrong? Submit to me!ā
I donāt really get it butā¦ I guess Iāll pretend sheās taken control of me?
[Uhh, Master Murellia?]
āIs that it? Even if it has a soul, I suppose a sword is still a sword. Well, Iāll be flying now, fly by yourself.ā
[Understood.]
As she commanded, I tried using telekinesis to move around a bit. Yeah, thereās really nothing wrong with my body at all. Iām moving around as expected. I moved left and right, and I even allowed myself to fall for a few moments.
Iām not really sure why, but it seems that the āRule of the Evil Godā that Murellia tried to impose on me really did fail. Though, Murellia herself doesnāt know that, and orders me around with a confident look on her face.
āIt seems like you were trying something, but I suppose you canāt disobey now that youāre my servant? Ah, it seems that you have a Control Immunity skill, but itās useless in the face of the Evil Godās power! Fufufu, I wonder what kind of face that girl will make when sheās attacked by her own Intelligent Weapon? Now, pierce that eyesore!ā
Murellia commands me, as she points towards Fran. It was a crystal clear order, but I didnāt really feel compelled to do it after all.
Though, Murellia isnāt wary at all against me since she thinks that sheās completely subjugated me. This is a big chance! I simulated different attack patterns to see if there was a way I could take advantage of this. Do I simply attack Murellia while her guard is down, or do I pretend to be controlled and return to Fran?
However, even if I go back to Fran, Iāll just be stolen back by whatever ability she used to take me away in the first place. Rather, maybe this is the first time Iāve had an actual opportunity.
Then, how should I go about this? I obviously canāt use one of my most powerful attacks, ćKanna Kamuić since she clearly has Lightning Nullification, or something extremely close to it. I donāt know if Iād be able to finish her off with Telekinetic Catapult either. Iāve been trying to figure out where her magic stone is, but I havenāt been able to figure it out yet. Actually, Iām not sure if she even has a magic stone in the first place.
She was originally a Black Catkin. She may be an Evil Being now, but itās entirely possible she doesnāt have a magic stone. If she does, the head and the heart are possible targets, but even if they were there, would I be able to pierce them? Even that was doubtful.
What do I do! Think! I take full advantage of Accelerated Thinking and Parallel-Processing. Murellia will become suspicious if I take too long to complete her order. I need to decide now! What is the best way I can take her down!
What spell can I cast other than Lightning Magic that can be optimally boosted with Sorcery? In the end, doing this is probably the best option I have that can deal decent damage to Murellia.
Since we donāt meet certain conditions and therefore canāt evolve Swordsmanship skills, I think I can safely take physical skills off the table. I donāt have the confidence that Iāll be able to get past her defences without Franās help.
In the end, it has to be magic, but I only have 11 Self-Evolution points left. The candidates are either Flame Magic or Earth Magic. I double-checked to make sure these were the only choices, but it seems I also gained not only Light Magic, but Nature Magic and Sandstorm Magic in our battles today as well.
Actually, wait a moment. Is there a possibility that I'll be able to take out one of the Valkyries by pretending to attack Fran? If I try to use the logic that being dominated also increased my ability to reason, it would be within possibility that my attempt to attack Fran āaccidentallyā got the Valkyrie involved as well. Iām pretty close to gaining a Self-Evolution level, so killing her might be able to get me the points I need. If I get enough, Iāll have more options for being able to attack Murellia.
Though, if I took this approach, Iām not sure whether Iād be able to get this close to Murellia again. And Iām pretty sure if I started attacking indiscriminately Murellia would probably decided to intervene and make the whole thing fail anyways. If thatās the case, should I just attack now?
Damn, what should I do?
Then, I figured it out. While I was desperately skimming through my skills to see if there was anything that could help, I found something miraculous.
It was one of the skills that was added to my list of skills that I can buy by spending points, like my Appraisal Block and Demon Beast Knowledge. Maybe I got it because I reached Self-Evo Rank 15. It seems that I unlockedĀ various other skills at that time too.
ćSmite Evilć: Doubles damage against the Evil God and its subordinates. A skill used to banish Evil.
[ćSmite Evilć... an Evil Being specialized skill?]
Rather than raising the level of some magic skills, this was clearly a better candidate!
TN: Very sorry for the wait, please enjoy the next few chapters.