The Abandoned Heiress Gets Rich with Alchemy and Buys an Enemy General
Vol. 1 - Ch. 26 - The Unit to Destroy the Underworld Gate - 1

The Unit to Destroy the Underworld Gate - 1

The summit of the Northern Demon Mountain, when viewed from a distance, appeared as steep slopes. However, as we approached, it seemed large enough to encompass the central square of the royal capital where my shop was located, entirely covered in snow.

As we descended rapidly on Helios’s back, I could see a massive door floating in the air.

The rectangular door split in the middle, opening on both sides. Above the door, a sculpted face of an anguished person was carved, and the door itself seemed to be formed with overlapping human hands and feet. It was in pale white color, resembling the hue of human bones.

The door was so huge that it could easily fit two of my shops vertically. Beyond the opened door, an endless abyss stretched out, pitch black and filled with a powerful, unsettling aura. Even though I strained my eyes, I couldn’t see anything, but I felt an incredibly strong and unsettling magic presence.

In front of the gate, a gigantic beast with three heads, each connected to chains extending from the abyss, stood as the gatekeeper.

The beast was roughly a bit smaller than the gate, but much larger than a two-storey house.

With a large mouth opening to ferocious fangs and dull golden eyes, its facial features resembled that of a wolf, but its long mane growing on its body transformed into serpentine forms midway, each exhibiting a sense of individuality, while a long tail resembling that of a reptile emerged from its back.

The creature had a reddish-purple body with a drooping bright red tongue hanging from its mouth. The left head exhaled flames, the central one released icy breath, and the right one emitted a poisonous mist. Though untested, merely getting close to their breath would likely lead to dire consequences.

The snow beneath the beast’s three heads melted into a slushy, foul-smelling mess. Anything touched by the creature seemed to decay.

In front of the beast, two individuals laid on a snowy ground, surrounded by vivid red bloodstains. They wore impressive armor, indicating they were likely adventurers sent to defeat the gatekeeper to close the gate.

A man, seemingly the same size as the creature, stands protectively over the fallen pair, wielding a sword-like object that appears to be made of iron. He gazed up in surprise as Helios descended from the sky.

“Julius-san, it’s dangerous to charge in like that…!”

“Don’t make a fuss. You’re too noisy.”

Straight as an arrow, Helios dived towards the three-headed monster like a lightning strike.

Dodging the creature’s fiery breath with ease, Helios pointed towards the necks sprouting the three heads. Then I felt a scorching heat, as if my body was being seared by flames.

Julius, just like during the battle with the wise-eyed Mithra, seemed willing to endure some injuries as long as he could defeat his opponent. It seemed to be a strategy of cutting through flesh and bone, so to speak.

If we were wearing Ariadne’s cloak, we could withstand both heat and ice, but today, Julius was in his usual robe, and I was in my everyday apron dress. If we came into contact with even a bit of fire, our body will likely get scorched.

Not wanting to get sliced, I took out a magic-amplifying wand from my bag.

“O Guardian winds of the three thousand worlds!”

Holding onto Julius’s clothes with one hand while raising the staff in front of my chest, I began an incantation.

A protective wind barrier enveloped Helios and us. With each breath of fire deflected, the thin greenish defensive barrier shows visible distortions.

Healing and protective magic were my forte, but in the face of the power of the Gatekeeper, my skills might not last that long. Julius, after releasing Helios with both hands, pierced one of the creature’s heads with the spear’s pointed end.

As the beast tried to attack back, Helios jumped over, and with the spear’s pointed end still embedded in the creature’s neck, he in a matter of seconds, soared up, slicing the head straight through.

It all happened in a matter of seconds after the rapid descent, so swift that it was almost impossible to comprehend.

The severed head revealed white bones and blood started to drip down. Helios returned to the sky once again.

The creature of the Gate, seemingly unable to fly, raised its heads high and released ice and poison breath into the sky.

“...Chloe. If we inhale that, will we die?”

Julius spoke while swinging the spear to shake off the viscous breath.

“It might be fatal. I’ve never breathed it in, so I’m not sure.”

“We need to get close enough to kill it. Go figure something out.”

Julius said calmly, as if he assumed I could naturally handle any situation. He probably thought of alchemists as handy people who could solve anything.

However, I felt more happy being trusted than being casually dismissed as useless.

“...I’ll figure something out!”

Helios gracefully avoided the ice shards, but it seemed he couldn’t dive into the poisonous mist. The creature emitted a low rumbling growl as Helios circled around it.

“Poison, poison…” I murmured while rummaging through my bag.

I remembered the antidote alchemical item I had prepared earlier for dealing with highly toxic monsters. I couldn’t help but appreciate my own genius.

“I anticipated something like this, so I created an alchemical item that can purify even the venom of a deadly hydra. It’s called the ‘Purification Space - Floral Fragrance’! Listen, Julius-san, this Floral Fragrance creates a designated area where it purifies all toxins. In the past, it even saved the waterside city of Matilda from the venom of a deadly hydra. It’s truly a marvelous alchemical creation!”

“Enough talk, just get on with it.”

“Alright, alright!”

I went through all the trouble of making it, so I really wanted to explain it!

Despite my annoyance towards Julius, I reluctantly threw the transparent pyramid-shaped object towards the creature, crying out, “There!”

The usage of alchemical items was usually straightforward, often involving throwing them towards the target. After that, the alchemical item took care of things on its own.

I’ve always believed that if an alchemical item is difficult to use, it loses its purpose as an alchemical item. A truly wonderful and practical alchemical item should exhibit significant effects with a simple usage method.

“Purification Space - Deploy!”

As I uttered the activating words, the transparent pyramid began swirling above the creature’s head, where the purple poisonous mist lingered.

In an instant, the palm-sized transparent pyramid absorbed the poisonous mist. As the purification finished, a faint floral scent filled the air.

The presence of the floral scent indicated that the purification space’s cleansing ability had triumphed over the poison mist.

However, there were limits to its effectiveness. If it were to absorb a poison surpassing its threshold, the transparent pyramid-shaped cleansing space would shatter into pieces.

“I dealt with the poison! Please, Julius-san, finish it off!”

As I spoke, Helios began another rapid descent.

The creature kicked the ground, attempting to dislodge the thick chain embedded in its body that was connected to the gate. Helios, seemingly understanding Julius-san’s intent, flew low beneath the exposed belly of the creature.

With the ability to fly without flapping its wings, Helios maintained a low altitude. Then Julius raised his spear towards the sky and cut through the exposed abdomen of the creature.

The exposed belly was cleaved in a straight line, and the decaying bodily fluids sprayed with a putrid stench, corrupting the ground below.

“Chloe, hold the reins. Just keep holding them,” Julius said.

I tried to respond, but Helios suddenly changed direction at a sharp angle, turning my reply into a small scream.

“Eh, whoa...!”

With the sound of cutting through the air, Helios gracefully somersaulted, changing direction in mid-air. The world momentarily flipped, but thanks to the saddle, there was no danger of falling.

Avoiding the hail of ice shards, Helios soared directly above the beast. Then Julius leaped off Helios’s back, landing gracefully.

Now alone on Helios’s back, I hastily tightened my grip on the reins. But for some reason, Helios began to sway from side to side and spin in mid-air. Uttering a series of “Woah!” and etc, I clung desperately to the reins and the saddle.

Although it initially seemed like Helios was trying to throw me off, it was more like he was just having fun.

He emitted a cheerful “Kyu!” sound, expressing enjoyment.

Come to think of it, Helios was still young, or rather, in the long lifespan of a dragon, he could be considered a child.

Amidst all this, the ice shards kept coming, the beast extended its head to bite, and the reptilian tail attempted to knock Helios down. However, Helios effortlessly dodged every attack, as if he were playfully toying with them.

Being tossed around, my eyes welled up with tears. But more than that, I was concerned about Julius, who had jumped down.

Beneath my tear-filled eyes, I witnessed Julius leaping onto the beast, slicing through the serpent’s head as it lunged forward.

Meanwhile, he thrust the spear’s tip into the beast’s neck, which spewed poison. With a low growl, the head sank to the ground.

Without missing a beat, Julius leaped towards the last head with an astonishing agility. The spear, extended high into the sky, froze with the chilling aura surrounding the creature. I feared that if he swung the weapon now, the frozen spear might shatter.

It was a spear made of eternal diamond, so please, don’t let that happen. Definitely not.

“Chloe!”

Julius called my name again. It must be a plea for me to do something.

The creature behind Julius’s back launched an attack at him. With his weapon frozen, Julius deftly avoided the attacks, occasionally parrying with the handle of the spear, his body occasionally got grazed, and wounds started to appear.

Come to think of it, Robert had mentioned that weapons made of eternal diamond were highly sensitive to magic.

For a moment, I hesitated on what magic to cast.

What kind of magic would be effective against the gatekeeper of the underworld gate?

I wondered if such a thing even existed.

“...Chloe-chan, use the Dispelling Magic!”

A deep male voice called my name.

Feeling surprised, I nodded and pointed my magic-amplifying wand at Julius’s spear to construct the spell.

“Searing Angel Seraphim, pass judgment upon all wicked beings! Divine thunder of godly punishment!”

The Dispelling Magic is considered an advanced version of Holy Magic. Although I learned it in magical studies, I had never actually used it before. If chanting this spell proved ineffective, I had planned to resort to Holy Magic.

Being neither a mage nor possessing an extensive amount of magic power, so I had my doubts.

As I chanted the name of the Seraphim, I felt my body becoming lighter.

Soft, white feathers descended from the sky, cutting through the frozen air as lightning struck the frozen spear.

Julius’s eternal diamond spear gleamed with pure white light in his hands.

Alternating my gaze between the magic-amplifying wand and Julius’s spear, I was left dumbfounded. However, Julius remained composed. He swung the spear, and with a calm demeanor, he struck the creature attempting to entwine itself around him.

The beast’s body burst, shining from within. Julius then kicked the creature away, jumped into the air, and thrust the gleaming spear into the last remaining head of the beast—the head of ice.