With the prepayment done, it's time to move on to the investigation of the monster.

　I know it's weird for my client, King Paul, but I want to get the worst part of the job done first. That's why I get permission to go to the mausoleum underneath the castle to uncover the coffin of the previous king.

　And immediately, I checked the sarcophagus of King Bohdan on the same day in the presence of King Paul. The result - no remains, only burial accessories. It's still possible the killer used the remains to disguise himself, but it's more likely that Bohdan the First could be a monster.

　However, there are other discoveries as well.

''Ryota-sama, there's a divine reaction to the vial of the by-products. I thought it was definitely a type of divine tool.

　The second artifact in this royal family?

　Normally, this would be the thing that King Bohdan the Preeminent made the treasure of the hero Salatina private. But according to Salatina's handbook and lore, the only divine tool given to her by the gods was a feather. Was it given to him outside of lore and memoirs?　Or was it in the possession of the royal family, separate from the heroes?

　I couldn't think of anything. Maybe we should ask King Pawl about it.

'King Pawl, were there any other sacred objects owned by the royal family other than plumage?

No, only feathers in the royal records. You can take it out and examine it if you need to, okay?

　With those words, I took it back to the armored car without any hesitation, left half of the remaining liquid here and dedicated it to the Goddess.

　Nectar is the sacred wine of immortality. But the miasma contaminated and altered, and the liquid sample we sent was a few drops. They don't know the exact effects of the miasma when taken by the goddess as well. The miasiasias are harmful, and after death they are likely to become an evil spirit.

　Also, the miasmic pollutant was sent to them suddenly and the goddess was very angry with them. The window flower said there was no problem with the slight miasma....

　Has the goddess' allergy to miasma worsened, or is the window flower harassing her?　At any rate, it was recognized as an important document and an achievement, though. Wouldn't it be time for Windowflower and Goddess to make up with each other?

　I digress, I'll get back to it.
　A quick guess based on the Goddess's information.

　We don't know why the nectar was in the royal family, but King Bohdan, who needed a child, probably drank it to rejuvenate himself. But the result would have been death from the tainted toxic nectar, and then he would have turned into a monster... a man of no recompense at all.

　Next, we'll use the few drops of contaminated nectar we had left over here to test the effect, and we'll start the experiment with a few rabbit cells. Once the cells have absorbed the contaminated nectar, they cease to function. Then they quietly underwent genetic mutation, and after all the cells had completed their mutation, they suddenly resumed their activities.

　These cells have a very strong ability to proliferate. The symbiont, the mitochondria, and the symbiont that refines magic power from the magic element unique to this world, have also been activated.

''The DNA has been altered into a ring shape. This won't produce a child.......

You mean like a prokaryotic DNA structure?　With complex human DNA, it would be impossible to... No, it wasn't human anymore, it was a monster. And with a prokaryote, it increases with replication, and certainly can't produce children.

　King Bohdan's attempts to do the opposite had resulted in the complete destruction of the child's potential... Could an uncontaminated Nektar have had a chance?

　Anyway, I found out that the cells were troublesome, so I analyzed their weaknesses. After all, it was impossible to make a ring of human DNA, and its DNA repair ability was almost gone.

　Therefore, they are vulnerable to ultraviolet rays, X-rays and active oxygen. Fire and acid are also highly effective, but fire in the mausoleum is afraid of acidity, avoid using fire. In addition, the sacred wine of the goddess is also effective in weakening the cells, probably due to the effect of the miasma.

From eyewitness accounts, I believe King Bohdan has retained his human form. I'm not going to be able to say that I'm not going to be able to do anything about it. However, he is a powerful enemy that can no longer be called a human being, and is nearly immortal, with no known means of saving him. I think we have no choice but to exterminate it with all our might.

　Midia and Pina were a little troubled, but in the end, they all agreed.
　With Madoha taking the lead, they began to prepare for the elimination of the monsters.

　First of all, they mass-produced bottles of sacred wine and acid, and then scavenged ultraviolet (UV) lights for water tank sterilization from all over the armored car, making the luminous intensity stronger and adjusting the wavelength to have a higher penetrating power to create a UV irradiator. He also prepared acid bottles and anti-Bohdan rounds.

The target is susceptible to sunlight (ultraviolet light), so we expect them to be active only in underground mausoleums or at night. Originally, we'd like to have a daytime operation, but if we're searching the underground mausoleum, we can't expect sunlight. And the client's situation demands an immediate solution. Therefore, the search of the mausoleum starts tonight. I'll be the first one with the firearms, the second one will be Manya with the Impulse Gojinshu gun, the third one, Hasty, will be towed by the ultraviolet irradiator, the fourth one, Midia, will be in the rear with covering fire and acid bottles, and the window flower and Mogu will be the advance reconnaissance.

'Landlord!　Where's Pina?　Pina will help!

Pina would like to ask you to fly a warning flight around the castle. We can't let them get away with it this time. We'll provide you with a small ultraviolet illuminator and water balloons for the sacred wine. If you see him, you'll contact him and stop him in his tracks.

Pina, you got it!

　I think this division of roles is the best.

　The impulse gun, which is heavy, has a short range and high impact, and the powerful Manya is suitable for this role. The ultraviolet ray emitter, which has no immediate effect but weakens the target, and the Hasty, which is light and good at evading, are suitable for this role. Covering fire that doesn't repel the enemy and cannot be misfired, Midea, the accurate sniper, is the right person for the job.

　The inherently dangerous advance scouting, this is left to the spirit group. If the spirits are non-corporeal, they are not susceptible to physical interference and are unlikely to be detected first. There are some magic tricks that are effective for spirits, but the danger is quite low if you only give priority to safety and only search for the spirits.

　I'm the first in line, and I stick out a bit. When engaging, I'll put up a barrage of Saiga 12 bullets in my first move to ensure the safety of the rear members.

　Pina can't fly in a small mausoleum, so I asked her to fly a warning flight around the area. Well, I don't think they're going to escape from the castle, but they're going to be angry if Pina is the only one without a role. It's not a total lie, just in case.

　Well, I can't say I'm relieved, but this is the limit of the equipment I can improvise with. If we wanted the best, we'd need weeks to prepare. But now that we've uncovered the coffin, our goal is moving, and we have no choice but to move immediately to accomplish King Paul's request.

'The amount of time I couldn't provide the best security for the members of the group, I'll be the one on the front lines to make sure they're safe? ''Sir?''
My Lord, your concern for me on the battlefield, would you lose your position as a vassal?
'Ryota, didn't Madoha-chan get mad at you for not nurturing the group members like that?

　Well, the window flowers have been putting a lot of effort into educating the group members lately...
　f*ck!　You have no idea what you're talking about!

No, no, no, no. This was a request from the king. I can't fail, so it's called spearheading the charge.

Gentlemen, don't be fooled, okay?　This is not a noble motive such as Ryota-sama's bad habits or the safety of the group members first. I am afraid of what will happen if I make him do something recklessly and he doesn't like me. I am afraid of what will happen if I let him get seriously injured and escape from the group. I'm afraid that I won't be able to get back on my feet if someone dies. That's why I'm most comfortable leading the way and protecting everyone. This is the truth. I've made up my mind to trust my friends, but I hear it's still hard to do so.

　The window flower saw it all coming.

　Thanks to this, the members of the group looked at me coldly as if I didn't believe them yet, and they dared me to do my part to make sure that even the lousy ones could believe me, and I was even forced to overly declare that I wouldn't cover for my fellow man, making it a very stomach-churning departure.


* The mausoleum at night

　My equipment this time is a Saiga 12 buckshot, slightly smaller and with more bullets in one shot. I can use ricochets in narrow stone corridors, and I expect to have plenty of man-stopping power at close range.

　It's a 9mm round, but it's a gross bullet, so it has a high impact.

　The powerful lights are attached to the Met, and you're in a formation with your trusty friends, but I'm afraid of the grave at night!　I'm never doing anything this scary again!

Ryota-sama, we have found the target. The miasma has been causing him to go into a frenzy. The mogu is currently leading them to you. Please be careful, they move very quickly.

"We will begin the attack as soon as the target is in sight. Concentrate on blinding the eyes with UV light. When he stops moving, give him plenty of sake. Midea won't be able to break through, but if she stops moving completely, I want the acid.

　A figure that seems to be the target appears from the corner 50 meters away, closing the distance at once. This one also starts firing in a hurry, but even the walls and the ceiling are used as footholds, and it performed a three-dimensional evasive maneuver at a speed I can't follow with my eyes.

　Nevertheless, the abnormal physical ability was expected, that's why I'm choosing the shotgun.

　I fired three rounds of mild steel bullets in a row in a narrow passage, even if I can't follow them with my eyes, I can put up a barrage of bullets, and the ricochets that hit the wall hit Bohdan irregularly. It's impossible to avoid them because of the addition of Midea's fire. They're steadily giving you a hit.

　The hit bullets kill your speed, and the bullets and infra-red light prevent you from getting too close. Still, this target is not to be underestimated. Once they get a distance away, they claw at the walls and floor and shower me with shards of scraped stone. It's only a bruise, but without the bulletproof suit, it's a serious injury.

　Besides, the wounds from the gunshot wound are quickly closing up with an unusual regenerative power.

　But this is the first time he's ever been hit by a bullet. If it was a sword or spear, you could pull it out, if it was an arrow, the shaft might not seal the wound and you could push it out with your muscles. But we're bullets. And it's a bit of a hack, but we've been modified for Nektar tainted creatures.

　This time, the bullets bite into flesh and bone but don't penetrate, but with the target's high regenerative power, the wound is closed before the bullets can be ejected. The trick is for the bullet to stay inside the target's body, blocking the movement of muscle and bone.

　Even if you have a high regenerative power many times faster and more powerful than a human, your body structure is still human. Even if you regenerate bones, muscle fibers, and blood vessels, they can only regenerate in a distorted form because of the bullet that lodged in your body. And the body's functions would drop off a little by little.

　But the target wasn't as sweet as being hit like this either. Even though he should have lost his sanity, he used his magic and counterattacked with powerful flame bombs. Even the blade-proof body armor is made to be resistant to fire and heat to some extent. However, a preliminary feature.

　The body is protected by the defensive plate, but the legs, arms and head are not protected.

　The magic flame bombs will disappear as soon as they touch my skin. However, the heated air remains. You can't extinguish the heat that the armor has received or the fire that has been kindled by something else. They will burn the trachea and increase the burns on the limbs.

　Thanks to Manya's divine wine, I've managed to cool down, but the flame bombs that the target shoots are on par with advanced mage soldiers. It's a good idea to have a good time with your friends who don't have skin like mine, they're too scared to take it, and if you take out the potions, the whole bottle is going to be crushed.

　However, I'm sure we would win. All my friends are safe and my target is definitely weak. But I'm not sure I'll be able to heal them in time after I take them down... I'm sensitive.

　When the fever and the difficulty in breathing made me lose consciousness, he finally made a mistake. He failed to catch the floor with his twisted feet and lost his balance. At this moment, unable to make any immediate evasive maneuvers, he closed in on the close range and fired a shotgun blast. It was the torso that was avoided, but one of its legs was blown off.

'It's slowed down!　Anya and Hasty are all at once, with the sake and UV radiation!　If it stops completely, Midia's going to stop it with acid!

　Quickly, he pulls out the potions and inhales.
　I hold back my sobbing and forcefully recover my breath alone.

　If it's like Window Flower said, it seems that if it's hard, it was right to trust and rely on your friends. Manya, Hasty, and Midia boldly attacked the rampaging target and took away the regenerative power of her legs with ultraviolet light and Goshinshu. My body has also lost a lot of strength and regeneration power from Midia's gunfire.

　I'm at the limit of my strength and strength, let's make sure we win. I'm going to blow his head off with a shotgun blast and burn every piece of meat with acid.

　But before I can do it, the target changes.

"Where are we?　Who are you people?　Why was I attacked in the mausoleum?

　What if King Bohdan the First regained consciousness?