Chapter 137. Stage 3
The corpses of Skull Angels gathered by the hunting party.
Nyara Nepenthis offered those corpses as a sacrifice, then focused her mind and cast the unsealing ability on me.
［Son, whether it’s a seal or unsealing, if the subject doesn’t resist and calmly accepts it, the effect is much greater. So, relax your body and open your heart.］
I already knew that.
Even when I was sealed by a thousand magicians, I had let go of all my defenses and accepted it in a completely defenseless state.
Since unsealing worked the same way, I had already been relaxing my body from the start.
【Mir-Stin】 ─But wasn’t Geon originally SSS-rank?
【Mysticism】 ─Yes, he was. 😃
【Pururu】 ─That’s right.
【Mir-Stin】 ─How did the sealing magicians manage to seal someone who’s SSS-rank? Even if he accepted the seal calmly, the power gap is too large, isn’t it?
【Bubble Bubble】 ─The sealing magicians of Elemencia are the best in the dimensions. Probably.
【Luna-chan】 ─Our world is really advanced when it comes to sealing magic. Of course, if Gauntlet had resisted even a little, the seal wouldn’t have worked. o_O
【Luna-chan】 ─By the way, the Great Sage and the First Hero were among those sealing magicians! ><
【Yumi】 ─Hmm.
【Yumi】 ─Now that I think about it. If Luna-chan hadn’t originally suggested sealing Geon’s power, he’d be tearing through the Ancient Labyrinth by now. What a shame.
【Rizenova】 ─Luna is the root of all evil.
【Luna-chan】 ─It was because of a case where someone returned to their world and destroyed it. ㅠWㅠ
【Luna-chan】 ─But don’t worry, I made sure Gauntlet’s seal could be easily undone.
As I accepted the unsealing magic.
I suddenly recalled something I had forgotten after seeing Sage Lunaris’s message in the chat.
If Earth’s dimensional barrier were to tear, or if I encountered beings from another dimension while on Earth,
Sage had set it up so my seal would be lifted at that time.
And now I remembered that she had also mentioned there was another way to break the seal.
“Sage, I’m really late in asking this, but what’s the other method you didn’t tell me to break the seal?”
【Luna-chan】 ─If you’re ever in a life-threatening situation, I set it so the seal would break. But only on Earth…
【Pururu】 ─Ugh, what a useless condition. She’s crazy.
【Luna-chan】 ─Oh! And come to think of it, if Gauntlet ever crosses into another world, the seal was supposed to be released as well. I must have forgotten because I hit my head.
“Even if I cross into another world? Then why wasn’t the seal lifted? The Ancient Labyrinth is also a different world from Earth.”
【Luna-chan】 ─Hmm. It must be because the Ancient Labyrinth is a high-ranking world beyond our reach.
【Rizenova】 ─Then why is the seal still intact? Isn’t the seal your power?
【Luna-chan】 ─Yeah, that’s weird, isn’t it?
While chatting with my Assistants,
Nyara puffed her cheeks in a way that didn’t suit her and scolded me.
［Son, refrain from talking. If your concentration wavers, the unsealing might fail.］
She was right.
I was in the middle of accepting the unsealing right now.
To minimize the chance of failure, I shut my mouth again.
Of course, the Assistants’ chat continued.
【Pururu】 ─I know why the seal is still there.
【Mysticism】 ─No, Pururu, you don’t! 😠
【Pururu】 ─?
【Mir-Stin】 ─What’s the reason? Do you have any guesses?
【Pururu】 ─Yeah, it’s obvious. The Ancient Labyrinth adjusted the balance.
【Bubble Bubble】 ─Why would the Labyrinth need to adjust the power of an explorer? It seems like the Labyrinth wants the birth of a ruler.
【Pururu】 ─Nope. Geon wasn’t summoned as an explorer in the first place. He wasn’t even a drifter.
【Pururu】 ─Geon was summoned as Min Hyeong-seok’s companion, so the seal was left as is to maintain balance. Okay?
【Mysticism】 ─Pururu, stop acting like you know everything! 😡
【Yumi】 ─What Pururu said makes sense. How did you get so smart all of a sudden?
【Rizenova】 ─It’s a plausible theory.
【Mir-Stin】 ─Pururu, you’re so smart! You deserve a compliment sticker!
【Mysticism】 ─Huh?
【Mysticism】 ─You’re so clever, Pururu! 😃
【Pururu】 ─Shut up, you.
【Bubble Bubble】 ─Hmm. If he became an explorer, they should’ve released the seal.
【Pururu】 ─There’s no way the Labyrinth would go out of its way to accommodate a single explorer’s convenience.
【Luna-chan】 ─That’s true, too. O_o
【Rizenova】 ─Indeed, the Labyrinth likely doesn’t care about the circumstances of an explorer. After all, explorers can always be replenished.
【Mysticism】 ─Pururu is so smart! 😃
【Pururu】 ─ㅋㅅㅋ
While the Assistants’ chat continued pouring in,
Sizzle—!
Suddenly, I heard a burning sound from my back.
【Mir-Stin】 ─Huh? One of the markings on your back is disappearing!
【Mysticism】 ─😮 Is it a success?!
【Pururu】 ─Don’t jinx it.
Then, a sensation as if power was overflowing throughout my entire body began to surge.
***
One of the markings on my back started to slowly disappear.
About 10 minutes passed, during which I felt energy surging through my whole body.
“…It’s been a while since I’ve felt like this.”
［Congratulations, son!］
At last, I had succeeded in reaching the third stage of liberation.
Pure danger rank: S-rank.
By Elemencia’s standards, I had regained power on par with a Demon King, a Hero, or a Sage.
【Mysticism】 ─Congrats, oppa! 😃
【Yumi】 ─I feel relieved now. Third stage liberation, that’s S-rank, right?
【Mir-Stin】 ─Whoa! So, you’re S-rank now?
【Pururu】 ─Yep, and in the Labyrinth, that’s the same as being SSS-rank. Power weakening only applies to creatures within the explorer’s range.
【Rizenova】 ─You’re practically invincible now.
【Pururu】 ─He’s on the same level as Solorb now. ㅋㅅㅋ
【Bubble Bubble】 ─That’s not true. You still have to be careful around beings like Solorb. Unlike Gauntlet, they haven’t had their power sealed.
【Luna-chan】 ─Exactly. Even though the SSS-ranks’ power is weakened, their fundamental strength is still vastly different, so you have to be cautious. If you fight carelessly, your life could be in danger.
【Pururu】 ─Well, he said he wouldn’t fight anyone ranked lower than him anyway. Even if they’re lower-ranked, he said he’d be careful.
After regaining some of my strength,
I immediately thanked Nyara Nepenthis.
“Thank you, Nyara. You’ve helped me break the seal twice now.”
［Hehe. I’m happy to be of help. A mother would do anything for her son. And you should be calling me ‘mom,’ not Nyara, right?］
Though I wasn’t thrilled,
as a gesture of gratitude, I decided to humor her.
After all, with what she had done for me, it was the least I could do.
“Alright, thanks for your hard work, Mom.”
［Heehee.］
【Mysticism】 ─😨 Her smile is creepy.
【Luna-chan】 ─She makes that face in front of Gauntlet, huh? She must really think of him as her son and love him sincerely. o_O
【Rizenova】 ─What a doting mother.
【Mir-Stin】 ─Or just a fool?
【Bubble Bubble】 ─Her expression is kind of gross.
【Yumi】 ─That’s not how she seemed at first…
【Pururu】 ─Still, this is better. Before she became a puppet, she was just a psycho.
Afterward,
just as I managed to pry Nyara, who was hugging me like a baby and stroking my head, off of me.
［So, it was you who weakened my power.］
High above in the sky, a monster descended, fluttering a crimson cape as it revealed itself.
It wasn’t a Skull Angel.
This monster was in the form of a knight, clad in full plate armor.
That is, it wore a heavy, full-body plate armor.
And its nerfed danger rank was A-rank.
Its actual danger rank was SS-rank.
The creature pointed a massive sword, which had a clock embedded in it, directly at me and asked in a deep voice.
［One who possesses strange power. What is your name?］
“Before asking for someone else’s name, you should introduce yourself first.”
What an impolite monster.
Did it not know its own name?
Well, I guess it was a newly born monster, so it probably didn’t have a species name yet.
It can’t be helped.
I’ll just give it a name myself…
［I am called Chrono Knight.］
…The armored knight revealed its name.
Chrono Knight, huh? That seemed to be its species name.
It either named itself upon birth, or the species name was engraved in its soul.
‘But why does its voice sound familiar? I feel like I’ve heard it somewhere before…’
Was it just my imagination?
The voice was familiar, but its appearance wasn’t at all.
It must have been a coincidence, just a voice similar to someone I knew, giving me a sense of déjà vu.
［Now, reveal your name as well.］
“It’s not hard to tell you, but why are you so curious about others’ names?”
［I remember the names of those I intend to kill. It’s my belief, and my respect to my opponent.］
“…Hold on a second, why do you want to kill me?”
I asked, utterly dumbfounded.
Was this guy another one of the Skull Angel’s group?
［You are a threat to our world.］
“Me?”
［Yes. That is my judgment. Therefore, I will annihilate you here and now.］
Is this an inherent trait of creatures born in the Celestial Realm?
The monsters I met here were not only arrogant but also failed to properly gauge their opponent’s level, looking down on them.
Moreover,
they seemed to deeply loathe any intrusion into their territory.
‘An SS-rank filled with hostility is too much of a hassle to tame. Even summoning Necro wouldn’t work since mind control doesn’t work on SS-ranks…’
I quickly gave up on the idea of taming it.
And I didn’t really want to fight it either.
Avoiding unnecessary battles was the wisest choice.
“Chrono, do we really need to fight? I was about to leave here anyway.”
［Reveal your name.］
“I’m leaving, so there’s no need for us to fight.”
［Reveal your name.］
“You’re so stubborn. If I don’t tell you my name, will you not attack me?”
［…Reveal your name. If you do not, I will eliminate you regardless. I’ll kill you and remember you as the nameless one.］
This guy couldn’t be reasoned with.
Just because someone had high intelligence didn’t mean they were always reasonable.
‘…Maybe I should use this as a chance to test my strength.’
It seemed I had no choice but to fight.
After a brief moment of contemplation, I sighed and made my decision.
Actual danger rank: SS-rank.
Nerfed to A-rank.
I decided to see just how much power my current S-rank strength could unleash against this opponent.