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Chapter 219 Part 2

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Translation: Charlotte
Editor: Weasalopes

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I looked around a bit, and found that in the center of the shrine there was a room where the floor was raised a degree higher than elsewhere in the shrine.
The room was arranged in a very bizarre way. It definitely looked like a boss room.
The strangest part about it was a spirit in the middle of the room. It looked like a floating ball of fire.
Through 【Sense Magic】, I could sense that the spirit was carrying an immense amount of magical power.
Well then.
What is the event here?

Knowing that, there were some things I wanted to do beforehand.
I used strengthening spells on everyone.
I had to give my all to fight any new opponents.
I couldn’t get lax about that.

~o~O~o~

《The sun runs over our heads.》
《The moon also runs over our heads.》
《Will you not give your lives to the gods that move the stars above?》
《O Guardian of Aries! Come! 》

The info screens sounded a bit fishy…
But I left thinking about it for later.
What kind of enemy is it going to be?

~*~

Aries Guard – Hamal　Lv.3
Heroic Spirit　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground　Wind Resistance

Red Sheep　Lv.4
Demon　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground　Fire Resistance

~*~

Woah! Another Heroic Spirit!
It was also accompanied by two Red Sheep.
The whole situation reminded me a lot of the fights with the Twelve Heavenly Generals.

~*~

「True Practiced Spirit!」

Even then, I wanted to have some form of insurance.
I was still up against a Heroic Spirit, after all.
Aries Guard, huh…
Aries, as in, the astrological sign?
I wasn’t so familiar with astrological zodiacs, but I did know that Aries referred to the ram.
While thinking of that, I dashed at it to attack.

~o~O~o~

Conclusion.
It was certainly a tough enemy.
And a fast one too!
I thought all Heroic Spirits would be like the Bifrost Guardians, but I was mistaken.
Well, the Aries Guard was using a spear, so a difference in fighting styles would be expected.
The Aries Guard was also using much lighter equipment.

All those factors contributed to the Aries Guard’s speed, which made taking it down quite difficult.
The two Red Sheep were very easily taken down by my Summon Monsters though.
As I thought, the range of the spear made fighting it very troublesome.
But if I could get in close range, that advantage would easily go away.

With a Tonfa of Torture in one hand, I rushed in to close the distance. With a simple locking of its right arm joint, I could easily get behind it and take it down with a naked choke.
Looking back over the battle, I spent the most time trying to figure out the perfect time to attack.
I could have probably fought more recklessly and still made it out…
But it was certainly a strong enemy.
Not impossibly strong though, or at least that was my take on the matter.
I was comparing them to monsters like the Mammoths or the Dragon Puppies.

~o~O~o~

《The sun runs over your heads.》
《The moon also runs over your heads.》
《The god of time is cruel to you.》
《For death will equally overtake all of you.》

~*~

The info screens ended there.
After the fight, the temple went back to how it was before. There were no remains of our battle.
Well, I suppose that was to be expected.
The first shrine reminded me a lot of the 12 Heavenly Generals, and like the 12 Heavenly Generals, the enemy wasn’t so strong, probably because it was my first time fighting it.
I had a feeling they would get stronger the more frequently I fought them though.
On top of that, they didn’t leave behind any items. That part was similar to the 12 Heavenly Generals too.
What a shame…

~*~

After I passed through the shrine, I managed to get a good look at the inside of the crater.
There were some buildings, and smoke coming from the chimneys, but I didn’t get to look much closer.
There were more shrines around the edge of the crater, almost like they were surrounding it.
Including the shrine I had just gone through, there were 12 of them.
12 shrines for the 12 zodiac signs, huh?
I wonder what was waiting for me in the next shrine.

~o~O~o~

The crater was actually very wide. It took me 10 minutes to reach the next shrine over.
As before, the shrine had a very ruined look about it.
When I went inside, there was another spirit in the form of a ball of fire waiting for me.
Come on… Where were the info screens…?
I already had a feeling that all the shrines would be like with the 12 Heavenly Generals.

~*~

《The sun runs over our heads.》
《The moon also runs over our heads.》
《Will you not give your lives to the gods that move the stars above?》
《O Guardian of Taurus! Come! 》

~*~

Yep, I knew it.
The text was almost unchanged!

Well, from the info screens, I could already guess what kind of monster was about to come out.
My guess was right, but it somehow wasn’t a very satisfying guess.

~*~

Taurus Guard – Aldebaran　Lv.3
Heroic Spirit　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground　Earth Resistance

Fighting Bull　Lv.3
Demon　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground

~*~

As expected, the monsters accompanying the Taurus Guard were two Fighting Bulls.
There were two of them.
On top of that, it looked like the Heroic Spirit had some heavy equipment.
It had a strong-looking physique too.
Its weapon was an axe with a long handle, which it held in both its hands.
Just from its outward appearance, I could tell that it was a power fighter.

Well then.
It was time for another battle.

~o~O~o~

Conclusion.
It was certainly a tough enemy.
Its defensive capabilities were very solid.
I would love to have a similar type of armour.
But… There was one downside to its heavy defences.
Its movements were slow!
Its reaction speed was too dull!

It was very easy to get close and do a few throws and joint locks before backing off.
Once it was weak enough for me to confidently finish it off with a choke, I slowly choked it while I watched my Summon Monsters take care of the Fighting Bulls.
Too easy.
I knew it probably had some kind of special ability, but I had a feeling I didn’t get to experience it in full.
Well, if it had something to do with Fighting Bulls, it must’ve been quite a strong ability, if it had the opportunity to use it.

~*~

The info screens after the end of the battle were exactly the same as the ones for the fight against the Aries Guards, so I quickly skipped over them.
Alright. Next one.

~o~O~o~

《O Guardian of Gemini! Come! 》

~*~

Yes, yes…
Skip, skip…

There were still no changes to the info screens, but I couldn’t think of what monsters would be accompanying the Gemini Guard…

~*~

Gemini Guard – Castor　Lv.3
Heroic Spirit　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground　Light Resistance

Gemini Guard – Pollux　Lv.3
Heroic Spirit　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground　Dark Resistance

Dioscuri’s Servant　Lv.5
Heroic Spirit　Enemy Target　Active
Battle Position: Ground

~*~

Yep. The result wasn’t lying. There were two Heroic Spirits.
And the monsters accompanying the Heroic Spirits were more Heroic Spirits?

~*~

Castor was carrying a mace, and Pollux was carrying a sword in one hand.
They had two servants, and both of them were carrying spears.
None of them had shields, and both the armor and their helmets looked like light pieces of equipment.
So… What kind of opponent would it be?

~o~O~o~

Conclusion.
On their own, they weren’t scary at all.
But their teamwork made them a lot more difficult than expected.
That was especially the case for Castor and Pollux.
The two of them focused their attacks on me at the same time.
I couldn’t block all of their attacks.

One of my Tonfas of Torture was shattered by their barrage of attacks.
Ah, that was unfortunate…
I only had one Tonfa of Torture left.
Although I could make as many of them as I wanted, so when I thought about it some more it wasn’t really a big deal.
I had other weapons too, so it wouldn’t be a very pressing matter.
But still, somewhere inside me, I wanted to get back at them for it.
Argh!
You’ve done it now!

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