Strange Grief Wants to Retire ~ The Weakest Hunter Dreams of a Hero ~ - Chapter 352.1: Sytry's Strategy ⑤

The jet-black altar in the innermost part of the 【Temple of Origin】. At that place, which had been recalled from the memory of the stars by the Mana Materials, the consciousness of Keller, the masked god, suddenly surfaced.

The masked priests who had been waiting at the altar were in a commotion as they noticed that their god’s consciousness had surfaced.

A huge amount of Mana Materials is required for the manifestation of the god. Currently, Keller is only conscious and very unstable. It knew it shouldn’t wake up until the time was right. Just by being awake, the accumulated Mana Materials are burned away, and the time of its full manifestation becomes more distant.

If so, why did it wake up? What woke Keller up?

Except for Keller the center pillar, the temple is almost fully manifested. There shouldn’t be anything that can disturb its sleep. The devout priests, who were supposed to respond immediately if something happened, didn’t receive anything from the believers. They probably didn’t notice anything. It spread its consciousness and took control of the entire temple.

Then Keller realized why he had woken up.

――It had a bad feeling about something.

Something felt wrong. That was what lifted the godly Keller’s consciousness from the depths of its deep sleep.

That premonition could not be put into words. It is because it hasn’t actually found any concrete evidence of anything.

The temple was fortified. There was also a strong barrier now. No one can come in from the outside and although it is only inside the temple, measures have also been taken to prevent spatial leap.

The believers did not feel anything strange either.

However, even if it was just a hunch――It was enough reason to move its believers.

No matter how low the possibility is, if there is any attempt to prevent Keller from manifesting, the spark must be removed before reaching Keller.

It gave an oracle to the believers who were praying.

The intelligent lifeforms that exist in the vicinity are no fools. Although they were at the very bottom, they were able to defeat an army of believers that had manifested themselves in the 【Temple of Origin】. Until Keller achieves its complete manifestation, the army must be kept as strong as possible. In that case, all it has to do is send soldiers who do not matter even if they die.

It probably didn’t need a long speech.

After receiving a few words of revelation from their god, the believers who had been waiting looked up. Keller is the god of war, the god of strength. Its followers also do not hesitate to fight.

After Keller confirmed that its followers were preparing for battle, it sank into a deep sleep again.

§ § §

The mirror of reality is a Monster that has transformed from an old mirror to one with abilities and a will. It takes a lot of effort to find and subdue a mirror Monster that had fallen asleep. But it was worth it. Although there are some conditions, the power of the mirror of reality to reflect everything is unparalleled. I never thought that two people would be able to detect the mirror’s surveillance which no one had ever noticed before, but its convenience hasn’t changed at all.

In front of this mirror, all secrets will be revealed. Uno, who is looking into the mirror together with me, gasps as she sees the scene reflected in the mirror――An army of Phantoms lined up inside the barrier that existed at the border of the 【Temple of Origin】.

“Nothing was supposed to be here until a few hours ago…… Why――” (Uno)

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There were more than a hundred of them. The sight of an army of masked Phantoms in a wide variety of costumes lined up as far as the eye could see was spectacular. Generally, Treasure Shrines are divided into several categories based on their characteristics. 『Castle-type』 Treasure Shrine is famous for being a Treasure Shrine that attacked with a large army of Phantoms, but the rumor that a Temple-type Treasure Shrine is a higher version of a Castle-type Treasure Shrine seems to be true. The power that can be transmitted even through the mirror is authentic. Both in number and quality, they are superior to the army that we once led. Moreover, that army is probably only one part of the 【Temple of Origin】.

An army of Phantoms that will continue to increase as long as the Mana Materials are not exhausted.

A truly hopeless-inducing opponent. I always feel elated before fighting a hopelessly outmatched opponent. An unprecedentedly strong opponent, a Temple-type Treasure Shrine. Against an almost depleted army. Moreover, Hunters who are usually not on our side, and 《Infinite Variety (Senpen Banka)》 who said he would deal with half of them by himself.

I am sure of it. This battle will surely be etched in the history of 《Night Parade (Hyakki Yako)》. At the edge of Yggdra. In a park full of nature with no people around, I think about the upcoming battle and smile.

“Isn’t it interesting? Kuku……” (Adler)

“However, it’s been a while since we fought with such a small number in our army.” (Quint)

Quint, who is sitting cross-legged, has a difficult expression on his face. In front of us is a small armed card soldier――The last member of Quint’s army.

The usual battle strategy of 《Night Parade (Hyakki Yako)》 is to crush the enemy with an army. Most of our battles are based on securing a numerical advantage, so we are not accustomed to taking on an army with a small number of Monsters.

Even if we want to subdue a new Monster, we will need military strength to do it. In particular, Quint is the only one among us who has lost his trump card, Zork, the Dark Cyclops. The Card Soldier is the last member of Quint’s army to survive the battle against the Phantoms. It is not weak by any means, but those are Monsters that originally formed groups, and no matter how you think about it, it cannot fight alone.

“Adler has Yuden left, and Uno has Ripper, so it’s fine, but I’m a general, right? It’s not cool to lead an army of one Monster.” (Quint)

“Didn’t it get strengthened thanks to the Mana Materials? Besides, it was useful in taking care of Yuden. Thanks to you, it was able to regenerate just in time.” (Adler)

“My army is not your caretaker!” (Quint)

The Star-Eater Centipede’s vitality is outstanding, but it can’t do anything with just its head. While we became 《Infinite Variety’s (Senpen Banka)》 disciples, the card soldier was taking care of Yuden, who was dormant. The Mana Materials in Yggdra are quite concentrated, but still, Yuden would not have been able to regenerate in time if the Card Soldier had not carried out small tasks such as carrying food and water and prescribing medicine made from medicinal herbs and other minor chores.

Thanks for reading! Even Keller feels threatened by Cry’s divine powa! Do you think you are in control of the situation? Fufufu, dance little puppet, dance! Everything is according to Cry’s plan!