Chapter 1258: Facility Infiltration

We sensed a massive amount of undead in front of us.

Klimt’s Great Spirit had wiped them all out, but they simply spawned more. And it seems these undead were being summoned in the same way as Apollonius. Rather than reanimating a bunch of corpses, they were recreating past warriors who had fought in this area.

I might be able to dominate them using Evil God’s Trust, but they seem too weak to be of much use…

But while I was considering it, a hundred undead were suddenly blown high into the sky, along with a deafening explosion.

And this was not a singular occurrence.

Explosions and bursts of flame covered vast swaths of the horde, obliterating countless undead.

Yet none of these attacks were actually aimed at them.

An intense battle was taking place at the base of the undead-infested mountain.

The combatants flew through the sky at incredible speeds, exchanging fierce attacks. The undead were merely getting wiped out by stray bullets and shockwaves.

I saw three figures engaged in battle, likely in a 2-on-1 fight.

All three were exuding tremendous amounts of mana, and I could easily sense them even from this distance.

We decided to pause for a moment and observe the fight. Rushing in will only get us caught in the crossfire.

「Maleficent…」

『Yeah, and he’s up against Nameless and Laranflura.』

Even from here, I could tell that Maleficent was completely berserk. He’s probably gotten taken over by his demon.

At any rate, he didn’t seem to care the slightest about dealing with the Evil God Fragments.

Meanwhile, his opponents Nameless and Laranflura were much stronger than when I last saw them.

A rampaging divine sword wielder versus two abominations who were at least Threat Level A.

In that case, it might be a miracle that the entire region wasn’t flattened yet. Maybe their battle had only just begun.

『Since Maleficent is here, does that mean Persona is in this facility?』

（Yeah, that’s right.）

Apollonius and his friends already knew of my existence, so I simply talked to them via telepathy. In fact, Sibylla and Madred were the only ones here who didn’t know about me.

『Is she still alive?』

（She should be.）

Hmmm. Depending on Persona’s condition, Maleficent might go completely insane…

Persona, huh…? Apollonius and his friends were apparently recreated through some form of power from the information accumulated in the land.

In other words, they were reproductions from data.

Persona possessed an Extra Skill called “Source of the Data God”. Could this similarity be a coincidence?

（If Persona is there, we need to rescue her.）

『Right, and this might be the perfect chance to do so.』

Maleficent was keeping Nameless and Laranflura distracted, so we could infiltrate the facility, shut down the ritual, and rescue Persona. That should solve everything in one fell swoop.

『Alright! Let’s sneak in.』

（Nn!）

『Apollonius, we should be close to the summoner’s facility, right?』

（It’s on that mountainside on the left!）

『Quite close then.』

We can be there in a few minutes.

『Perfect! Let’s move through the sky and close the distance with a teleport!』

「Nn! Teiwas, we’re teleporting. Start by going up.」

「Roger that!」

Teiwas cast the teleport while giving us a military salute. Despite his talents, his range of teleportation actually decreased significantly once he joined us.

He was previously connected to the Evil God Fragment sealed in the land of Raydoss. Consequently, this allowed him to use the Evil God’s power for long-distance movement within Raydoss territory. That’s why we didn’t sense the Hero Zombies at all when they ambushed us.

Now that he’s connected the Evil God Fragment within me instead, his teleportation range was greatly reduced. Makes sense, since we had no connection or affinity with the land of Raydoss.

That said, the current situation also had its advantages. Namely, the ability to teleport long distances in the sky. In his previous situation, distancing himself from the land would diminish his powers.

We all rode on Urushi’s back and used teleportation to quickly ascend into the sky.

「Everyone, hide your presence. Urushi, cover everyone with dark magic.」

「Woof!」

We concealed our presence using every means possible, but I still had my doubts. We’re trying to sneak past a divine sword wielder and a monster who has devoured tens of thousands of human sacrifices…

Our plan was honestly more of a gamble, but it went surprisingly well. The three combatants were so focused on their battle that they had no attention to spare for us.

Finally, we teleported straight from the sky to the research facility’s entrance, slipping through the battlefield where Maleficent and the others were still raging.

Fran and the others readied themselves as Apollonius unlocked the door.

「We save Persona and defeat all the enemies!」

「Yeah! Those bastards slaughtered so many Raydoss citizens… They die here!」

「Countless children have lost their lives… Absolutely unforgivable!」

The killing intent coming from Sibylla and Amanda was really intense! I’ll be counting on you two!

Sibylla led the charge into the facility with high spirits, and it was packed with undead, including the Duke Zombies. It seems they didn’t take security lightly.

We had to clear the path as sneaking was no longer an option. It wasn’t much of an obstacle for us, though.

「Smash ‘em all!」

「Fuahahaha! Charge!」

「Dammit Apollonius! Leave some prey for me!」

「Hohoho! Then I’ll take a piece of some those dukes.」

Sibylla, Apollonius, Begareth, and Zinga eagerly stepped forward to mow down the undead. Furthermore, the undead surging up from behind were quickly eliminated by Yuvel and Oldona.

「Yuvel! We should start doing our jobs or our liege will get angry, you know.」

「Hmph. Oldona, cover me.」

「Sure thing!」

Yuvel practically cleaved through the entire front line, with the skilled mage Oldona occasionally supporting him with enhancement and flame magic.

It’s hard to imagine from his noble appearance, but Yuvel’s fighting style was brutal. He rushed in and obliterated the undead by swinging around a giant sword that was larger than himself.

There was no need for defense. Any enemy that attempted to attack him in melee range was struck down before they could even finish their swing, along with any of their nearby friends. His strategy was simply annihilating his enemies without allowing them any chance for action.

As for the long range attacks, it seems he either deflects them with his greatsword or leaves them to Oldona’s barriers.

「Aw, mine isn’t very effective against undead. I envy those with the brute force relics.」

「But Vio-neesan, can’t you just punch them like normal?」

「Punching zombies will only get me covered in filth! You go punch them, Lucard. Are those worthless muscles just for show?」

「W-Worthless muscles…? I-I don’t want to punch zombies barehanded either! Besides, your red mist can do physical attacks too, right?」

「But it’s so inefficient.」

「…I-I see…」

Well, I guess we’re already kinda steamrolling the undead, so Violetta and Lucard don’t need to join the fight. Despite their argument, I noticed how they were on the watch for sneak attacks.

In the end, we managed to reach the center of the research facility without stopping once.