HPDBC Chapter 680: Shea
Chapter 680: Shea
the beast god garm gazed into the distance, not focusing on zew.
“what are you saying? what’s this?”
*boom*
with a thunderous roar, the enormous temple shook violently. the impact was strong enough to shift the carefully placed floor tiles, causing zew to stagger.
it felt as if someone outside the temple was striking it with immense force.
‘things are getting noisy outside. the barrier seems about to break. let’s discuss your reward, shall we? shea?’
*boom*
the temple shook again, this time causing cracks in the ceiling, sending down a shower of dust and small stones.
“what? shea?”
zew felt a presence behind him and turned around.
“i-i’m alive? how am i unharmed...?”
where garm's gaze had landed, there stood shea, completely unscathed. the divine technique [the beast] had already been deactivated, and shea was examining herself, bewildered, ensuring there were no injuries.
‘of course. the trial was completed. any subsequent attacks are nullified.’
“were we being tested again? no, what you wanted to know was an answer, wasn’t it?”
shea observed the exchange between zew and garm, noting garm’s perplexed expression.through the trials, shea had come to understand garm’s swirling emotions; he seemed to be seeking some answer.
‘reading a beast god’s mind is a million years too early for you. it seems your comrades have come to rescue you. perhaps i overdid it?’
at the moment garm’s eyes, full of despair, closed, dogora’s voice echoed through the temple.
“full blaze!!”
*boom*
a powerful blow caused an even more intense tremor throughout the temple, and the ceiling at the corner of the hall where shea and the others were collapsed dramatically.
“dogora?!”
“hey, you’re going too far ahead!!”
dogora, with his potato-shaped face, entered riding on the bird b summon. his expression was filled with rage, and kagutsuchi glowed red, reflecting his emotions. behind him, kiel was shouting, seemingly unheard by dogora.
“shea, we’re here to help! let’s go, haku!!”
‘gyaoo!!’
from behind dogora, kurena entered riding haku, brandishing her glowing greatsword.
“form up. merus, prepare for the initial strike.”
‘got it!!’
allen, clad in black armor, gave instructions while riding a bird b. even at s-rank, merus’s responses were impeccable.
“allen, is it okay to destroy the temple like this?!”
cecile, riding with allen, voiced her concern, while sophie, riding with formar, also spoke up.
“cecile, it’s fine. we can’t forgive them for what they’ve done to our comrades.”
“good grief.”
formar sighed, staying out of the conversation as usual.
“this means i get to wield my divine artifact calypso already! i’m fired up! griff, move forward! we need to show our prowess so rapsonile notices us!”
‘grrr!?’
“i know.”
“here’s garm’s tail. please give it to isiris.”
shea handed over the freshly severed tail from her magic bag to cecile.
“thank you, shea! i can’t wait to see what kind of staff i’ll get!”
cecile waved her current staff excitedly, dreaming about her new divine artifact.
“save that conversation for later. have i given all the rewards?”
“no, the shard of the moon is still...”
“wait. i haven’t discussed my reward yet.”
zew, who had been silent, spoke up.
“huh?”
‘what are you talking about? i’ve already given everything to shea.’
shea was about to mention the shard of the moon, but zew’s insistent demand for his reward puzzled both her and garm.
indeed, zew had remained silent, letting shea take the divine technique, divine artifact, and blessing as if it was natural. everyone thought shea deserved all the rewards after defeating zew and fighting alongside him against garm.
“no, my wording was wrong. i also gained divine techniques from the challenges, and shea hasn't received them. please let her have all the rewards.”
zew bowed deeply, asking to transfer both divine techniques to shea.
‘you’re serious, huh? but life is harsh. the victor takes all. here, shea, take zew’s divine techniques.’
with a flick of his tail, garm transferred the divine techniques to shea, who felt a warm sensation.
“i’m sorry, but i’ll use these divine techniques to fight the demon king.”
shea received the divine techniques [tiger god soft destruction palm] and [bear god shattering strike].
‘now, about the shard...’
“wait. i won’t become the beast king this way.”
‘what’s this now?’
garm was confused.
“i hereby renounce my claim to the throne of albahar beast kingdom. i will be just ‘shea’.”
“what!? shea, what are you saying?”
zew tried to stop her decision.
“i will use these divine techniques to defeat the demon king. in the meantime, i leave albahar beast kingdom to you.”
‘hmph. if that’s your decision... zew seems more likely to follow orders anyway. i’ll remove all royal titles from you, shea.’
though zew looked like he wanted to object, garm quickly removed shea’s claim to the throne, leaving her feeling a strange sense of freedom.
“good. i am just ‘shea’ now. everyone, let's get along.”
no longer bound by royal titles, shea felt liberated, making a firm decision to stand on her own.
“yup, you're shea. we’re counting on you.”
despite the short separation, dogora felt the trials had been immense.
shea extended her hand to dogora, and he grasped it firmly, welcoming her back as a comrade.
receiving the rewards from garm, shea relinquished her claim to the throne. checking the grimoire, allen saw “shea von albahar” changed to just “shea,” her face reflecting contentment in her new identity.