By the Grace of the Gods: Volume 14 [Parts 1 to 2] by Roy

Author:Roy
Language: eng
Format: epub

Chapter 8, Episode 20: The City at Night

Light lingered on the city as the edge of the sky began to darken. Closer toward the center of the city, some early-bird Undead monsters were crawling out of the woodwork, which meant it was time to get to work. We’d set up everything we needed after lunch, and after a vial of magical potion and a power nap, I was fully recharged with physical strength and magical energy.

“Like we discussed, leave the defense to us and the slimes,” Sever said.

“No sweat, Ryoma, Focus on your spell,” Remily added.

Those encouraging words kicked off our operation.

From a bird’s-eye view, the section we had cleared in the City of Lost Souls looked like a mirrored E with three horizontal lines crossing one vertical line that was the central stairs. Our first step was to block all eight entrances to our perimeter—where the zombies and skeletons would most likely come through—with grave slimes. They had multiplied to a total of 1745, now combined into seventeen big grave slimes. I placed two at each entrance and one next to me, ready to jump in where extra defense might be needed. The only defenses on our perimeter, by the way, were the grave slimes and the Holy Space itself. Since our plan was to retreat to last night’s basecamp in case our operation failed or some unexpected situation arose, I had the goblins sit this one out to keep our numbers low for a swift retreat.

When dealing with Undead, no ally was as reliable as a grave slime. If we were only here to wipe out the Undead, rather than experiment with magic or pay our respects, we probably could have just multiplied the grave slimes and set them free into the city.

“Now then...” I placed the dishes I’d prepared on a stone dais—well, more like a large table—in the center of the stairs. These were offerings to the Undead, similar to the food offerings on la ofrenda during the Day of the Dead. On tonight’s menu: sautéed potatoes and dried meat; a simple ham and veggie sandwich; instant soup; and a salad. To drink, I offered water and goblin-made white liquor. I did offer a few sweets and some fruit, too. Maybe any food was good enough for the starving Undead, but a hot, proper meal might bring them peace a little easier.

The spell I was about to cast was all based on my own memories and concepts of religious ceremonies from my previous life, so not even Remily and her experience as a former royal sorcerer could provide me with any advice. The only way for me to improve it would be to contemplate how each casting went and adjust accordingly. I’d construct each element of the spell, then combine them, similar to the process of agile software development.

“Here we go,” I announced, and started a fire before the ofrenda.

Five grand bowls—modeled after the ceremonial goblets used for sumo champions—formed a line above the fire. If

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