07 — A Battle Decided, Papal Negotiations Underway

07 — A Battle Decided, Papal Negotiations Underway

Under my robe, I kept my satchel slung over my shoulder. I jammed a hand into it and pulled out my bow and quiver.

“Get ready, pal.” I nocked an arrow, pulled back, and took aim. The wight growled ominously. When I found my target, I infused my magic into the arrow and let it fly just as the creature grew impatient enough to resume charging up its own magic. The arrow zipped straight past the monster’s left side, barely grazing its robe. I immediately prepared my next shot, lamenting how little I’d practiced archery.

Although I had missed the first shot, the wight had dodged to the side with an angry roar. I felt its rage swell in the air between us, possibly because I’d interrupted its casting. Or maybe because I’d torn its robe. Or possibly both.

“Get on with it. Start your next spell,” I taunted, hoping to gain time to recover some magic and stamina. Thankfully, I had been trained in the art of Brod.

I’ll buy you a souvenir when I get paid, Master, I thought as I fired my next arrow. Again, it zipped harmlessly by my adversary. I prepared the next shot, but the wight simply wouldn’t attack. It only howled, and I shared in its frustration.

I continued to shoot and miss, and it was starting to wear me down. “I think this is where some sort of latent potential is supposed to suddenly awaken!”

Gradually, I felt my strength return enough to allow me to move... For a time, at least. I loosed my thirteenth arrow, then set things in motion. I was running on pure adrenaline now. Cattleya had said that healers couldn’t cast while swinging weapons around because magic required concentration. I didn’t know if the same rule applied to the undead, but it was the only hint I had to go on, so I clung to it.

The wight’s rage and hate towards me were palpable, so intense that it would have burst a blood vessel if it had had any. In short, it was pissed.

“I’m honestly a little impressed you can stay that angry. People normally can’t be mad about the same thing for more than fifteen minutes. But then, you’re not a person; you’re a monster.”

Were my provocations working? I had no idea. But I kept them up, breathed, and watched for my chance. I worked and reworked the plan in my head, firing arrows, searching for just the right moment. Then I launched my seventeenth arrow and dashed straight at the monster. It dodged widely in an attempt to protect its robe, but it knew I was coming and began to cast its spell. And that was the moment I’d been waiting for.

I shot my last three arrows in quick succession, causing the magic it had accumulated in its staff to break apart. An instant later, I pulled Brod’s sword from my satchel and imbued it with magic, then pounced and brought the blade straight down onto the monster’s crown, driving through its body and splitting it in two. Down it went.

Normally, this would have been the moment where the body vanished. If it weren’t a boss-level enemy, that is. It picked itself up off the floor behind me and prepared to fire a deadly spell at my back.

“Saw that coming a mile away! I knew the jerk who made this place wouldn’t make my life that easy!”

I pivoted around and picked up the shortspear conveniently placed at my feet, then hurled it like a bolt of energy at the wight, which had now reformed itself. As the spear pierced its withered skin, I charged forward and drove it in deeper before raising the sword in my left hand and cleaving the ghoul’s head clean off.

This time, stay dead! I cried in my mind.

The head shrieked as it arced through the air, until it, along with the body, vanished like dust in the wind, leaving only its robe, staff, and necklace, along with a red stone several times the size of any others I’d seen so far.

“Yes!” I cheered, then winced as I remembered the aching in my body. “Please work this time. Oh Lord, receive my energy and mend this wound. Heal!”

A familiar pale light enveloped me.

“So, no magic until you beat the boss. These illusions aren’t too different from video games.”

After a short break, I cleansed myself with Purification and cast Recover for good measure, just in case.

“That covers any status conditions.” I tended to my remaining wounds with Middle Heal, but left my fatigue and burning muscles to their own natural recovery. “If I let myself get weaker by the next time I see Brod, I... I don’t even wanna think about it.”

I pushed my exhausted body for one last spurt of activity and collected the stones scattered around the room, as well as the robe, necklace, and staff, after casting Purification on them all.

When I finished, there was a sudden rumbling in the ground. A new path leading down had opened up.

“Of course there’s more. I get the point already, guys.” I peered down the stairs. “Hold on...”

I dashed back to the main chamber door and pulled on it, praying, until it creaked open. Without any items or magic for escaping dungeons, I didn’t know what I would’ve done if I hadn’t been able to leave. Relief washed over me.

“How am I gonna bring all this back? I’ve got four barrels of Substance X, Brod’s sword, lunch... No way I can leave any of this behind. I need to take these three boss drops, so what can I leave here?” Between my holy silver sword, shortspear, bow, and quiver, I could only fit one into my bag. “Oh, duh, why don’t I just wear my sword? And I’m getting hungry, so I’ll have lunch now.”

I cast Aura Coat and Purification as usual, then chowed down on my delicious meal, topping it off with my normal dose of Substance X.

Wait, oops, I already had some before I came in, I remembered too late.

My body was done. I decided this would be a good place to call it a day, so as soon as I finished eating, I hastily made my way out of the labyrinth.

Cattleya stood at the shop counter.

“Hi, Cattleya.”

“Hey, there. Back so soon?”

The fight had been a tough one but hadn’t lasted very long, especially compared to my usual excursions.

“I got roughed up a bit, so I wrapped up early.”

“You’re still new. It happens. I’m glad you’re pacing yourself.”

“I don’t know. I let myself get cocky. I feel like I could use a pep talk,” I said, grinning wryly as I hauled out my bag of stones.

“I suppose that means you’ll have less points this time.”

“It might actually be more. And once we’re done with this, there’s something I want you to look at.”

“Well, now I’m curious. Let me see what you brought.” I dropped the bag onto the counter with a thunk, and when she opened it, the wight’s massive gem was resting on the very top of the pile. “L-Luciel, what is this?”

“Yeah, about that. You know the boss room on floor ten? There was a huge swarm of monsters there and I couldn’t use my magic. It was a nightmare.”

“‘Boss room’? Wait, did you say floor ten?”

“That’s right. I managed to take out the swarm, but after that, this wight showed up. He had a crown, and floated around the place, and shot magic at me. I thought it was all (game) over.”

I had considered having the wight’s items appraised at the Adventurer’s Guild, but I didn’t know if they belonged to someone, so I decided to ask Cattleya first.

“Why would you do something so reckless?” Her usual calm demeanor had vanished. She was almost scary.

“I wasn’t trying to. I had no idea what was in there, or that I wouldn’t be able to use magic. No one told me.”

“No one explained any of this to you?”

This was starting to seem like Jord’s fault. And, I mean, it kind of was. “No. It is only my eleventh day. And I’m an exorcist. Isn’t this my job?”

“You’re... Yes, it is.” She paused. “Um, are you free right now?”

“I was just thinking about heading back to my room to rest.”

“There’s somewhere I’d like to take you when we finish here. Is that okay?”

“Yeah, sure.” As if I had any choice.

“These stones come out to 108,914 points.”

“Er, you’re sure that’s not a zero too much?”

“Yes. It’s correct.”

“Oh. Okay.” Well, it was a boss.

“And you had something else to show me?”

“Right. I can’t appraise these things myself. When I beat the wight, it left behind some of its equipment. Also, I purified it, just in...” I reached out to take back my card from Cattleya and her face was right there in front of my nose.

“Show them to me!” she shouted.

Maybe back up first! Why are pretty girls so terrifying?!

“S-Sure, no problem,” I stuttered. “This is the robe, the necklace, and here’s the staff.”

Cattleya picked up each of the items thoughtfully, one by one, then placed them back onto the counter. After a short while, she said, “Put these back in your bag and follow me.” Then she hopped over the counter and started towards the elevator. “Now!”

“Yes, ma’am!” I had no idea what was going on. I just did what I was told. One thing was obvious, though—there was more to this woman than simple shopkeeping.

“Oh, well hey, Cattleya, Luciel,” Jord greeted us. “Where’re you guys hurrying off to?”

Cattleya was having none of it. “Somewhere in a hurry, Jord.”

“Right, sorry,” he apologized, his face paling as he cleared the way.

“Sorry, I don’t know what’s happening either,” I said quickly as I followed Cattleya.

Anxiety filled every step we took. We passed through highly restricted areas that I never thought I’d set foot in. Through the paladin and templar area, up past the priests and bishops, and even beyond the archbishops’ area, then into yet another elevator—one that I knew I would never have found myself in under any other circumstances.

Cattleya, meanwhile, hadn’t said a word. I wanted to speak to her, but could never find the right time. This wasn’t the healthiest environment for a conversation. So we just kept walking.

One more elevator later and we came to a room labeled “Papal Chambers.”

Cattleya knocked on the door. “It’s Cattleya, Your Holiness. I beg an audience to discuss an urgent...”

Before she could finish, a voice came from the other side. “You may enter.”

“Follow me and do as I do.”

“Okay.”

Beyond the door, I saw women who looked to be ladies-in-waiting of some kind. They paid no mind to Cattleya, instead focusing their confusion and suspicion on the stranger behind her. The room itself resembled an audience chamber like you’d read about in stories, with the pope hidden behind a veil. I felt out of place, to say the least, but continued on all the same.

Cattleya stopped just before the stairs leading to the pope and took a knee. I followed suit.

“Cattleya, it pleases me to see you well. The boy you bring, however, I have no name with which to greet. What is it that brings you to me?” The voice behind the veil was gentle, ineffably mystical, and, to my shock, young and feminine. The pope was a woman.

“The boy is our newest exorcist, Your Holiness,” Cattleya reported. “He took the post some days ago and has shown to be staggeringly efficient in his work.”

“Oh, has he? Surely you have more to tell me.”

“Indeed, Your Holiness. Today, he reached the tenth floor of the labyrinth and did battle with a wight. The fiend’s lair seems to have held magic-obstructing properties unbeknownst to us.”

“Is this true?!”

“It is. The boy managed to retrieve the wight’s garments. My appraisal deemed his report to be accurate, so I’ve brought him here to you.”

This wasn’t Cattleya; not the one I was used to, anyway. I realized she must have had some sort of appraisal skill.

“I see. Boy, you may speak. I would have your name.”

“My name is Luciel,” I answered.

“Luciel, reveal the items of which Cattleya speaks.”

“Of course, but please be aware that I purified them with magic in case any of them were cursed.”

“Acknowledged.”

I handed the robe, necklace, and staff to a nearby attendant.

“I doubted my suspicions, but no longer,” the pope said. “This garb can be that of none other than Ozanario, whose whereabouts have eluded us since some dozen years ago. And here is his spirit necklace. And the staff of disruption. You have done well to return his effects.”

The items must have been quite important.

“The spirit necklace,” she continued, “halves the consumption of magic. The staff of disruption diffuses and disturbs magical energy, rendering the spells of others ineffective. This disseminated magic can then be harnessed, accumulated, and emitted. It is a powerful weapon.”

It sounded OP, to be honest.

“Luciel, I wish to keep these.”

There wasn’t a chance in hell I was allowed to deny her. Not with Cattleya next to me, who I was sure would kill me if I tried. But I was entitled to ask for something, wasn’t I? I wasn’t beholden to her, after all. It was time to put my business skills to use once again.

“They must mean a lot to you,” I remarked. “And given how powerful they are, I’m sure you could never put a price on them. I understand. They’re yours.”

“You have my gratitude.”

“I’m flattered, Your Holiness. But if I may be so bold as to ask a favor in return...”

“I would hear it.”

“During my exploration of the labyrinth, I’ve found myself constantly in need of greater carrying capacity. My magic satchel is too small and I would be extremely grateful for a larger one.”

“That is all you require? If so, I will gladly lessen this burden with not a magic satchel, but a magic bag. It will allow you to store items frozen in time within a pocket dimension the size of this very chamber, and all of its contents will be known to you.”

The pope sure was generous. “You would give me something that valuable?” This chamber was huge. Unless the pope could make one herself, an item that incredible shouldn’t have been on the bargaining table.

“I would, in return for your continued aid. Should you discover anything of note on your journey, return here with Cattleya and you will be rewarded. See her on the morrow to retrieve your new bag. I am in your debt, Luciel.”

“Thank you, Your Holiness.”

Cattleya and I bowed, then exited the chamber.

“You’ve sure got guts, Luciel,” Cattleya sighed as we left the room.

“Er, I do? I was pretty nervous back there.”

“You definitely didn’t seem like it, the way you asked the pope for a favor.”

“Was I, uh, being rude?”

She chuckled. “I think you were fine. She wouldn’t have offered that magic bag if she didn’t like you. Relax a little.” The nervousness on her face wasn’t very convincing.

She showed me back to familiar halls before we parted ways.

“I wonder if she works directly under the pope?” I mused.

The tension and excitement of having defeated my first boss had dissipated, but I found solace in the thought of that fancy new bag I’d be getting.