Estelle's magic wiped out Crocodilus Rex, but we continued to defeat Crocodilus for a while after that.
　The effects of the Goddess Sanctuary also wore off, and we secured a safe zone and protected it with me and Estelle.
　I've also roughly taken care of the guys around me, including flying Centimeter Turbra and stabbing Excalibur directly with my Dimension Bracelet.

''Looks like we've finished taking them all out.

I know. But those big crocodiles are still popping up, and they're not going away.

　The numbers are much lower than right after they sprang up due to the activities of the Nors, but even after that, light particles are gathering and adding crocodilus one after another.
　Not to mention Gigas, and even Rex are now springing up. When in the world will they settle down?
　There have been anomalies in the hunting grounds until now, but this time the speed at which the demons are springing up is extraordinary.
　This is a level that will undoubtedly develop into a major defeat if left unchecked.

''Anyway, why did the foothold that Esther made suddenly collapse?

''Hmm, maybe it was caused by something thrown by a flying demon. It's not normal for the ground that was made to withstand an explosion to collapse like that. Could it have directly interfered with the remaining magic power?

　The red demon that was flying in the sky.
　It looked similar to Diabolus, so maybe that was a rare species.
　It wasn't even attacked, because the foothold that Esther had made crumbled like sand in an instant.
　Whether that was that demon's ability or the effect of the thing he threw at me is a mystery.
　While I was thinking about it, Gretto-san and the others who had gone on the offensive and were hunting Crocodilus and the others came back.

It's just that there are so many demons out there at once, no matter how many you kill, there's no end in sight.

'This is what you call an aberration. You certainly can't leave it at that.

We need to get to the bottom of this. It's running out of magic. Kruse, how many arrows do you have left?

...severe.

If it were normal, we'd be dead already. It's a good thing I'm with Mr. Okura and the others. After all, Mr. Noll is very strong.

　Out of the corner of Azery's eye, Noll was jumping around the lake, taking care of crocodilus one after another.
　I had made Noll wear air shoes, so he seems to be using them to successfully move to a foothold.
　Noor is able to kill the occasional Rex that pops up from time to time all by himself.

　And there's another priestess who's flailing around against Crocodilus.
　He grabs the crocodile by the tail and swings it around, hitting it with another crocodile, blasting his hand with his prominence finger right after hitting it and blowing it up, or slashing it with his magic blade.
　He's doing it again in the throbbing of the melee.......
　As I was so dumbfounded, Sisha finally returned.

'Well, it's quite a formidable demon. It's worth killing.

Totally. I think it's time to cut the shit.

I don't mind a little bit, since there are so many of them.

　Since they came out all at once like that, did Sisha's fighting instincts get lit up?
　Well, even though he was fighting, let's say it's a good thing because he was also performing a solid recovery role near Gretto-san and the others.
　Satisfied, Sisha was wiping the sweat from her forehead, but then Mars-san, who was looking at her as if she was looking at something stinky, called out to her.

''........Are you really a priest?　Maybe he's a swordsman or martial artist in priest's clothing?

What are you talking about? I'm a full-fledged priest. I'm a full-fledged priest.

Yeah, but, you know, a lot of things don't make sense.

'Uh-huh, don't worry about the details.

Oh, well I'm sorry to say that I won't even fight you directly.

　Oh, come to think of it, he said something like that when we first met.
　Maybe he had a lot of ideas after seeing how well Sisha was fighting.

　Noll also finished defeating Crocodilus to some extent and came back to us.

It's not just a matter of time before he or she is defeated. It's not going to go away, is it?

'Maybe we can't just keep knocking it down. As I recall, there was something spewing out of the lake before this happened, wasn't there?　Shall we raise the bottom of the water there?

'Yeah. It looks like there's no end in sight if we keep knocking him down.

　The demons were distracted by a whole bunch of demons and distracted by that one, but just before that, there was a light erupting from the lake.
　There might be something submerged at the bottom of the water there, so it's worth checking it out.

　I calmly checked the lake and found that parts of it were black and murky.
　Perhaps there was something within that range, and it's discolored by the effects of that.
　Quickly, Esther took out her yellow grimoire and began to raise the bottom of the water again.
　Then she dealt with the crocodilus that had been launched together and split up to look for something.
　I told Gret and the others that I expected it to be a jewel based on my previous experience, and we started looking for it while Estelle removed the mud, but the work was difficult.
　I was beginning to wonder if we could really find something in there, when Mars-san called out to me.

'Hey, do you have any idea what this is?'

　Mars-san's hand held a black, ragged stone in his hand.
　Hm?　I thought I told you that what you were looking for was some kind of jewelry.

'It just looks like a rock, what does that matter?

'That's what it looked like to me at first, too, and it bothered me, oddly enough. Check it out just in case.

'All right. I'll have the girls check it out for you.

　Mr. Maas seems to have a keen intuition. If this person is concerned about it, then there might be something in it.
　The first thing I did was to check the stone I received, but it's just a raggedy stone.
　........I can't do it myself, can I? I think it would be better to show this kind of thing to Esther and others.

"Esther, Sisha, do you feel anything from this?

Oh, what's wrong with the rock?

What's that pebble... hmm?　I just need to borrow it.

　After receiving the black stone from me, Sisha placed it in her palm and began to observe it carefully.
　Esther tilts her head as if she doesn't understand, but does this reaction from Sisha mean it's not just a stone after all?

This has the same vibe as the guardian deity I felt in the temples and shrines.

Oh, so this is a deity of Master Testudo's?

''Probably... but compared to what I saw before, there's a much more disastrous atmosphere mixed in. Let's purify it for now.

　Sisha wrapped her hands around the pitch black stone and closed her eyes as if she were praying.
　Then both hands were enveloped in blue light, and a black smoke-like substance flooded through the spaces between his fingers and disappeared.
　When it was done, I opened my hands together and saw that the stone, which had been completely black, had turned gray.

''You were able to do that too?''

Yeah, this is a piece of cake.

The last time I saw the shrine wards, Sisha did a lot of things.

'Of course!　I'm a priest, you know!

　Sisuha is proud of his chest.
　If it weren't for this kind of thing, he'd be a respectable priestess.

''Okura-dono - have you found something, sir?''

Yeah, I found what appears to be a sacred object of Lord Testudo.

'What!　Is there such a thing!

　I don't know if it's really the deity of Mr. Testudo, but if Sisha says so, there's a good chance it's not.
　I'm not sure if this is because of the purification process.
　At any rate, I found something that seemed to make sense, so I decided to tell Grette and the others about it.
　And I also tell them that this could be Testudo-sama's divine body.

'Come to think of it, when I went to the temple, I was once prayed to in front of a huge mass. Could this be part of that patron deity?

But, how could you possibly have it in here?　If that had anything to do with it, did the guys in the Temple have anything to do with it?

　Hmmm, as Maas-san said, it's a mystery why there was a piece of the deity here.
　Esther answered those questions.

'No, probably, but this was at the shrine we went to last time. It is possible that it could have been taken away without being broken, but they may have used it this time. I didn't know that a goddess could be used in this way.

　What........after all, the sacred object at that shrine had been taken away?
　And they used it to cause the current Crocodilus outbreak.

　If that's the case, when in the world did they set this up?
　Gret and the others found the diabolus here at about the same time we went to the shrine.
　There was a time lag of a few days after the shrine was attacked, so I wonder if they took the sacred body away and set this up during that time.
　After the installation, Gret and the others found it and got into a battle, and they were alerted that someone might come?
　If I think about it, I can understand why that mysterious red demon was there.
　But I don't know what they wanted to do by generating a mutation here.
　.........Yeah, I don't know even if I think about it, so I'll leave the consideration to Esther-san later.

''We know that this is the cause of the problem, and if Sisha has purified it, then it's all right now, isn't it?

We'll have to wait and see if the discoloration in the lake returns while we kill the crocodiles that come up.

　In the meantime, I've removed and purified the causal-looking deity, so now it's just a question of whether or not the Crocodilus outbreak and the blackened lake will return.
　While hunting Crocodilus for an hour or so, I was checking the lake... but the results were worse, not better.
　The lake was being eroded by more and more black things, and the Crocodilus was springing up even faster.
　It was like a hellscape, with two Rexes springing up at once as well.
　Gretto-san and the others are looking at it and seem anxious.

It's unlikely to return. In fact, isn't the erosion spreading gradually?

Yeah, Crocodilus is gushing forth faster than ever. Are you sure you were able to properly purify the gods earlier?

''You are rude, aren't you? With me, even a curse like a persistent oil stain can be exorcised cleanly.

　The Goddess has definitely been purified by Sisha.
　He's not a priestess, but it's safe to say that her power is the highest of all the priests.
　And yet, if it doesn't go away.......does that mean that the power of the Goshintai remains in the lake itself?
　Maybe that's why the erosion continues, even if the source is cut off and it doesn't stop.

'Sisha, can't you cleanse the black stuff that's encroaching on that lake too?

Oh, that's a good idea. Let's try it.

　
　Then he tightened his sides and shouted in a terrific voice.

''Haaaaaaah!''

　A blue light emanated from my entire body, and the light converged on my right hand, which was clenched.
　Seeing this figure, Mars-san called out to me.

''Oh, hey, is this really an attempt to purify you?''

Come on, now?

　I don't want you to ask me but it doesn't look like I'm going to purify it from now on, no matter how I look at it.
　Sisha let out a yell as if she was about to transform from now on, and swung her right hand down as if she had saved up her strength.

''Seiyaaaaah!

　When I slam my fist into the ground, the ground shakes with a thud, and the entire area is enveloped in a dazzling light.
　When the light touches the black discolored lake, black smoke rises and turns into crystal clear water.
　Seeing this scene, Gretto-san and the others were astonished.

''Amazing........is this what purification is all about?''

I feel the holy vibrations... and I've never seen anything like it.

This is the power of the Priestess...............................great.

There's a mystery to it, like the one we saw in the temple.

No, there's something different about that...

　Only Mars-san is pulling a face.
　Yeah, it's definitely a priest's power, but I feel like something's different.
　You were praying quietly during the warding, so why are you screaming and hitting the ground during the purification....... And it shook a bit.
　Perhaps she had exhausted the power of the purification, Sisha put her hands on her hips and exhaled with a sense of accomplishment.

''Huh, it's been a while since I've done a real purification.

'Isn't purification supposed to be done in a quiet prayerful way, like with the Goddess?　That's an attack now.

It's so sweet. The purification process requires a strong will to destroy absolutely. That's why you have to get into the spirit like that.

In a way, it's a typical Sis-Ha way of doing things...

I hope this works out for you.

　After that, Sisha's cleansing power safely restored all of the black lake to its original state.
　There's still a lot of things to go into, but his power as a priestess is the only thing that's real.......