I'm the Only Totem in Another World - Chapter 118

Chapter 118: Saintess Scramble （4）

The allied forces of Barbarians and Imperial soldiers. Jay knew them too.

‘A Loa named Malak has descended and is building his power. The last time I encountered them, they were stealing the legacy of a mage named Beatrice. It seems they have also joined forces with you civilized people.’

Karon had said that when they exchanged information before. He was a gruff person, but not one to lie.

She hadn’t even told Karon about it, thinking she might use it later during negotiations, but she had actually sent the modified creatures she named Chimeras to search for that force.

The Chimeras were silent and agile enough to make even the best assassins of the Empire bow down.

As Jay could share vision with the Chimeras through magic, there was no better tool to gather information quietly.

A few days after sending the Chimeras, she was able to confirm the force herself. They were living in Symphony’s castle.

‘There were quite a few of them and their equipment looked good, so I gave up on attacking. That Malak guy was also unsettling….Should I have told Karon back then?’

Jay frowned.

It was certain that Teams 4 and 6 were also attacked by them. There were many reasons to attack.

The fact that the Evolutionist School was allied with Karon, who was in conflict with the Loas, was probably the biggest reason.

“We don’t know how they found our teams or how they managed to attack three teams simultaneously.”

“There is a Paladin among those who serve Malak. He must have been involved.”

Jay had seen a female Paladin through the eyes of a Chimera from afar.

The possessed Paladins could communicate with each other using the ultra-long-distance communication tool, the community, created by the Goddess’ power.

The other Paladins who had become Malak’s followers must have quickly exchanged information.

It was an ability that was truly enviable for their side, which lacked personnel capable of using long-distance communication magic.

‘If only the elders of the School hadn’t been massacred…’

The horrifying image of the winged reptilian creature came to mind. The appearance of that demon, spewing destructive green fire from its seven mouths, shattering magic towers, and burning the ground.

It was the shadow of the apocalypse, the destroyer of worlds.

Even if she greatly enhanced the Chimeras, they would never be able to win. That’s why she had joined Karon, who had a chance of fighting and winning against it.

“…First, come back to me when all the teams return. I’ll come up with a plan.”

Jay sent her subordinates out of the room.

“Tsk.”

The three teams, which had even received Karon’s zombie army, had disappeared in an instant. It would be a disaster if they found out about this headquarters.

Five years. For a whole five years, she had been hiding in this building with the members of the School, avoiding the eyes of the demons. Waiting for her time to come.

It couldn’t crumble so easily.

“It’s okay. I’m the chosen one. The leader of the new humanity.”

Jay muttered to herself.

She still remembered the moment when the doubts that had vanished into the depths of her unconsciousness awakened as soon as she received the new humanity treatment and changed her species itself.

Why hadn’t they ever questioned why the Paladins, who only appeared in moments of world danger, were humans from another world who had obtained artificial bodies created by the Goddess’ power?

It was the Goddess who had used her power to hide the Paladins’ true identity. It was the deception and trickery of a divine being who wanted to oppress humanity.

The same was true for what was happening now.

That god named Malak must have been unable to accept them, the new humanity that was more advanced and developed.

‘There’s too little information. Aside from the Barbarian and Imperial allied forces, how strong is a descended god?’

In the end, she had no choice but to ask Karon for help. Jay once again injected magic into the black skull. The skull slowly became enveloped in a red aura.

[Didn’t I say I was busy? If you called me for something trivial, you’ll pay a hefty price.]

Karon’s voice was laced with slight anger. Jay quickly replied.

“Karon-nim, it seems that the god named Malak you mentioned has noticed our alliance. He seems to have joined forces with the possessed.”

Jay confessed that her soldiers had fought and lost against Malak’s followers.

[Malaak…! You again…!]

Could it be her imagination that Karon seemed extremely enraged at the mention of that name?

“Didn’t you say Malak has descended? I can’t gauge how much power he possesses.”

As Jay finished speaking, Karon, who had been listening quietly, opened his mouth.

[…Malak is the most powerful being among the Loas. As such, he needs a long time and many followers to interfere with the mortal world.

He shouldn’t have gained immense power yet. At most, he would have transferred his consciousness to a totem and be using minor powers.]

Karon added that Manifestation and Descent were completely different, and unlike Manifestation, where the main body temporarily appears on Earth, Descent only allows for the use of powers as a spiritual being.

[I will send a high-ranking demon with good mobility as reinforcements. Use the ritual tool I gave you before to control him. Then you will be able to wipe out Malak’s followers.]

“Will that be alright?”

[It doesn’t matter.]

Well, Karon had been carrying around two high-ranking demons as zombies even when Jay last saw him. He must be controlling even more high-ranking demons now.

ROOOOAR━!

Suddenly, the sound of a bear roaring came from the black skull that served as a communication device. The divine power contained in that sound reached even Jay, who was far away.

“Ugh…!”

Jay, feeling a fragment of the divine, shuddered slightly. It was a power she could never dare to challenge.

[Udan, you’re quite angry. It seems you overheard our conversation.

How does it feel to have manifested by chipping away at your divinity and borrowing the divinity of other Loas? It must be miserable. Beast called a god, I will grant you annihilation…!]

With a bang, the connection with Karon was cut off.

“…”

Was it the influence of the divine power? Her hands and feet trembled, and her heart pounded. Her whole body felt hot.

She was afraid of Karon, who faced such a powerful being without fear. Even though she pretended not to know, what if he was aware of all her schemes?

What if he found out that the ‘Paradise’ that the Evolutionist School was planning to create was a project to eradicate the old humanity and allow the new humanity to flourish? Would that really please Karon?

As she thought that far, Jay’s head began to ache.

“All teams have returned. They are awaiting the President’s orders.”

The voice of her direct subordinate from outside the door snapped Jay out of her thoughts.

“Issue a standby order. Karon-nim has decided to send reinforcements. We will advance to Symphony when the reinforcements arrive.”

Anyway, what was important now was to finish off Malak’s forces. Before they discovered the location of the headquarters and how to use the badges that only team leaders possessed.

Even if they found the location of the headquarters, it would be difficult to figure out how to use the badges. Although team leaders held the badges, it was the executives who came down after receiving contact from the headquarters guards who could handle them. Even if they tortured a team leader, they wouldn’t be able to find out how to use the badges.

Unless there happened to be an authority on magic device development on their side.

It was cutting-edge technology, after all. It would be difficult to figure out even with the legacy of the Archmage Beatrice, which they had stolen.

“What about the Saint?”

“She hasn’t said a word. Should we torture her?”

“No. Even if she looks like an ordinary woman, she is the Goddess’ representative. The moment we harm her, we might be cursed by the Goddess. Try to persuade her as much as possible. Mention Paradise.”

“Understood.”

Several hours passed after the subordinate left.

Jay, lost in thought while looking out the window, realized that a shadow large enough to slightly block the sun was approaching the headquarters.

“Ah…!”

Jay immediately opened the window, confirmed the identity of the shadow, and gasped in admiration.

A giant stingray-shaped zombie demon landed on the ground, accompanied by other winged zombies. The stingray demon’s wide back was equipped with numerous saddles, enough to accommodate hundreds of people.

It was a high-ranking demon that enabled large-scale troop movements.

“President!”

Her direct subordinate, having witnessed the sight, urgently sought out Jay.

“Send all teams except the garrison team to Symphony on the back of that demon. Don’t forget to tell them to finish it quickly.”

She couldn’t just send mindless zombies. To collect the spoils of war after the battle, she also had to send living soldiers.

“Yes!”

Jay, whose expression had brightened compared to earlier, took out the ritual tool that Karon had handed over from a drawer.

It was a scorched twig, and when she infused it with magic, it trembled as if vibrating.

Jay issued a command to the high-ranking demon through the ritual tool. A simple command to take the troops to Symphony and kill the enemies.

Since the user’s brain and the zombie’s brain were briefly connected when using this tool, there was no need to explain where Symphony was.

Originally, she should have entrusted the ritual tool to a team leader, but she couldn’t entrust a force as powerful as a high-ranking demon to a mere team leader.

It was only right for her, the President, to hold it for the sake of maintaining power.

Soon, the stingray-like high-ranking demon took off with the soldiers on its back. Flying zombies followed behind it.

“Phew.”

Jay, breathing a sigh of relief, sat down on her chair. She was about to lie down and rest for a bit.

“There are intruders!”

“…What?”

Jay’s vertical pupils, already as thin as snakes, narrowed even further.