With Lupusregina following invisibly behind him, Vahn made his way over to the mausoleum, through its open stone doors, and began sweeping the interior with his gaze. Inside were nine differently sized stone coffins with sealed lids, several caged shelves containing burial urns, and, at the back of the structure, a large square capstone that must have weighed at least several tons.
"How did the investigation squad miss this...?" Vahn asked aloud, taking note of the scrape marks and stone dust behind and gathered around the capstone, suggesting it was moved fairly regularly. Such capstones were intended to deter grave robbers from accessing the tombs of particularly wealthy individuals. Many had their seams sealed with concrete, so it was odd to find one that showed signs of frequent movement.
"Perhaps the people hiding here are allied with those who were sent to investigate?" Lupusregina posed, contending, "If they've been operating here long-term, they could have a team or two on standby to respond to investigation requests."
"That's very well reasoned, Lupusregina. Excellent work," Vahn affirmed, nodding his head and smiling approvingly. At the same time, he extended his right hand to the heavy slab of granite without touching it. It appeared to have enchantments that made it resistant to magic, but after spreading his senses through the surrounding stone as a pulse, he was able to force it to slide open using Earthbending.
"What kind of technique is that...?" asked Lupusregina, her golden eyes flashing in the low light of the chamber as she noted, "It doesn't appear to be Magic."
"It's called Earthbending," answered Vahn, spreading his senses through the deep, pitch black staircase that had appeared as he explained, "As the name implies, it and other Bending techniques allow the user to interface with the natural world and manipulate the elements of Air, Water, Fire, and Earth. There are advanced variations that allow people to manipulate Lava and Lightning, but I've never attempted them."
"Do you think I could learn how to do it...?" asked Lupusregina, stepping forward and sniffing the cold, death-heavy air that flowed from the stairs as an ominous, rolling fog.
"I'm not called the Dragon God of Infinite Possibilities for no reason. As long as you possess the will to learn, I would make it possible..." asserted Vahn, taking advantage of Lupusregina's proximity to give her bubbly butt a light smack and a punctuating squeeze.
"I don't mind being trained if it's Lord Vahn providing his big carrot and firm rod..." Lupusregina hummed, her voice a sensual, husky purr as she reciprocated Vahn's smack by cupping his bulge.
"Let's wrap things up here first," Vahn affirmed, sliding his middle finger along Lupusregina's slit through the fabric of her mantle and the multiple layers of cloth adorning her waist. Then, before she could get too excited, he removed his hand and took the initiative to lead the way down the long and winding flight of steps.
"Lord Vahn is a bully..." Lupusregina sighed, following in Vahn's wake, her hungry gaze focused on his back before sweeping the area as the stairs eventually opened to a spacious cavern lined with massive support pillars. Some were broken, but those that were fully intact were five meters wide and close to thirty meters in height, seeming to prop up an uneven ceiling adorned with glossy stalactites. Purple crystals that emitted ominous light adorned several of the pillars, and near the epicenter of the vast chamber was what appeared to be a stone altar, encircled by eight crystal-adorned pillars.
"Someone's been busy..." Vahn noted, similarly scanning the area with a growing frown marring his face. The cavern was mostly natural, but there were clear signs that it had been excavated to accommodate the strange altar. And in place of the crypt or coffins that should have been present, a number of demonic-looking statues had been erected, each reeking of rot and blood.
'My Lord—there are about a dozen people concealing themselves behind these pillars and rock formations...' Lupusregina conveyed, using Message to communicate with Vahn telepathically.
Nodding, Vahn addressed the cavern, stating, "Let's not drag this out any longer than we have to. If you show yourselves and surrender peacefully, I can guarantee you'll have the chance to defend yourselves in court. The alternative isn't something you're prepared to deal with."
"You poor, ignorant fool. You speak as if you're in control here, unaware that you've just walked into your own grave..." countered a deep, raspy voice. At the same time, a bald man with a conspicuously pointed head, gaunt features that could give Ainz's skeletal visage a run for its money, and bright crimson robes adorned with miniature skulls stepped out from behind a large stone. His hunched posture gave the impression that his hands and long, bony fingers extended past his knees, and in his left hand was a conspicuously simple-looking staff with a maroon-red varnish that radiated a menacing aura.
"Are you the person in charge here...?" Vahn asked, feeling somewhat disjointed as, as far as he could tell, the man before him couldn't have been much higher than Level 20. He definitely had a stronger aura than the masked and robed men who revealed themselves after him, but that wasn't saying much.
"I am under no obligation to answer your questions. But if you want to prolong your life for a few moments longer, you will answer mine—starting with your identity and how you were able to locate this place..." stated the man, producing a pallid purple orb covered in darker purple blotches from the interior of his crimson robe.
"I am Vahn Mason, leader of the Mithril-Ranked Adventurer Party, Retinue of the Dragon..." answered Vahn, materializing his bladed mithril mace and resting it on his shoulder as he observed, "And both you and that orb reek of death..."
"You won't have to worry about that for much longer," responded the man, a sadistic grin pulling at the loose skin drooping from his face as he raised the orb, causing it to emit a dim purple glow.
"Acid Javelin—!" chanted the man, causing a glowing sphere of bubbling green liquid to materialize next to him before it morphed into the shape of a spear and accelerated toward Vahn's left knee at the speed of an arrow.
"..."
Taking a single step to his right, Vahn stared at the withered, confused-looking Mage with a slight frown. He knew from his starting Level and his encounter with Gazef that the average Level of people was low. But since he was able to increase his own to twelve with minimal effort, he couldn't help feeling he was overlooking something.
"Aspersion..." Vahn droned, sweeping his left hand forward and causing a tendril of water to shoot out from the waterskin at his waist, glowing with a luminous golden hue. The unnamed Mage reacted by hastily erecting a wall of bones, but as the luminous liquid scattered into golden droplets, a large explosion of white and purple mist occurred as the exceedingly Holy energy contained within the liquid interacted with the negative energies in the wall.
"Kuh! I should have guessed you were sent here by the Holy Kingdom...!" exclaimed the old man, demonstrating surprising agility by leaping out of the explosion, his body veiled in a thin, flickering layer of protective purple energy.
"Fire Bolt...!"
"Rock Bullet...!"
"Air Cutter...!"
Seemingly realizing that their mentor or Master wouldn't be able to defeat Vahn on his own, the hooded, purple-robed Mages raised their staves and began barraging him with low-ranking offensive magic.
"Walking Church..." Vahn droned, his expression and tone flat as, using his Domain as a medium, a sphere of warm golden light expanded from his body, causing every attack that came into contact with it to fizzle out as if it never existed.
"T-There's someone else with him...!" shouted one of the hooded figures, prompting Vahn's brows to rise slightly as he looked back at Lupusregina, bereft of her Complete Invisibility. Walking Church was meant to enhance recovery effects and negate offensive magic below his Level, so he hadn't even considered that it might dispel the Level 59 Lupusregina's invisibility.
"Oh, my. It would appear that I've been exposed~" Lupusregina hummed, shouldering her oversized axe and hunching forward with a sadistic smile on her face.
"Try to avoid seriously injuring or killing them..." Vahn interjected, causing a frown to mar Lupusregina's face before he reminded, "Never forget that Karma is constantly waiting to screw us over. Compromising ourselves for fools like this is senseless—not to mention there is no merit to be found in slaughtering weaklings..."
"Then I guess I'll have to settle for chopping off their hands and feet..." responded Lupusregina, regaining her sadistic grin and licking her lips before she pounced forward at near supersonic speeds, far beyond the ability of the hooded Mages to react.
"What...just who are you people...?" asked the elderly Mage, a bead of sweat adorning his almost reflective brow as he had never seen anyone move as fast as Lupusregina. Then there was Vahn's Walking Church. As a Necromancer, he was intimately familiar with the troublesome skill. It was the trump card of high-ranking Priests, Paladins, and Holy Knights, but as far as he could tell, Vahn bore nothing to signify that he was a member of any known orders or religions.
"Ordinarily, I'm the beacon that lights the way for people to follow the paths of their choosing," responded Vahn, leveling the tip of his mace at the man's face as he added, "Unfortunately, the path you've set yourself upon would strip that right from those you believe beneath you. And that isn't something I can abide..."
"Damn it all. I didn't want to use this here, but you've left me with little choice...!" cursed the bald Mage, raising his ominous orb and shouting, "Come forth, Skeletal Dragon! Let this knave experience the pinnacle of undead sorcery! Let him drown in despair...!"
Responding to the man's chant, the rocky ground beneath him split open, followed by a giant dragon composed entirely of bones clawing its way out with a roar. It had four limbs, four void-black eyes set with crimson flames, a maw of dagger-like teeth, tattered, maroon-brown, membranous wings, and a long tail covered in serrated spines. It certainly resembled a dragon, but unlike the skeletal beast Issei had fought within his Corridor, Vahn couldn't sense even a whiff of draconic aura from the bastardization before him.
"You call this a Dragon...?" asked Vahn, his expression clearly unamused, borderline offended. He seldom went out of his way to lord his status as a Dragon God over others, but he couldn't help feeling contempt toward the unnamed Mage and his would-be Dragon—formed from what appeared to be thousands of skeletal, mostly human remains.
"Your ability to appear calm at the precipice of your impending death is to be commended..." remarked the elderly Mage, appearing to have aged at least an additional ten years as he pointed his staff at Vahn and asserted, "But I grow weary of this ordeal. Go, Skeletal Dragon. Devour this fool and present me with his corpse. I shall make your skull into a goblet and drink from it in remembrance of—"
Seeing a complex magic circle formed of golden light appear above him as Vahn raised his mace, the bald Mage's words caught in his contracted throat. Similar to Walking Church, he immediately recognized the skill that was being used as Judgment—the most powerful Holy Magic Spell usable by mortals. He didn't recognize the seven-winged symbol within, but even with its famed immunity to 6th Tier Magic and below, he knew that he and his Skeletal Dragon wouldn't emerge unscathed from the empowered 5th Tier Holy Magic Spell—which typically took dozens of Priests and several minutes to prepare.
Confirming the Mage's fears, Vahn swung down his mace and muttered, "Judgment..." with a tone of finality. As he did, thin beams of golden light began to rain down on both the Mage and the Skeletal Dragon, starting as a deluge and quickly turning into a singular pillar of golden light that filled the cavern with a blinding radiance. Even the Level 59 Lupusregina felt a modicum of discomfort being near the spell, so when the light faded, she was genuinely surprised to see the Mage had fallen onto his knees—alive but unconscious. As for the Skeletal Dragon, all that remained of it was a pile of shimmering, silvery-white bone ash as all the negative energy that had kept it together had been purified without a trace...
...
..
.