Chapter 580
Chapter 580
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 580
Chapter Title: Good Friend to Meet
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The two abominations were already torn to shreds and dead.
Thankfully, they'd been butchered while I was off dealing with the heretics. Killing them while they were bound wouldn't have been hard at all.
Thud! Thud!
"Lord Vercel!!!"
"Ooh!! Oooooh!!!!"
But the three freed abominations were dominating the space, swinging their massive arms.
Whoosh!!
Screeeeech!!!
Boom!
Their enormous, grotesque forms gave them an incredibly wide attack radius with no blind spots.
Sharp horns protruding from their arms and hands boosted their attack power even further. Perfect natural weapons with long reach, plus surprising speed from their huge bodies.
No matter how strong Barkrel and the holy knight were, they were at an absolute disadvantage in terms of size!
"Holy Lord!!!"
The abominations were stuck right together as a trio, making it impossible to flank them or find an opening. They had no choice but to clash head-on.
What kind of insane wall of flesh was this!
And ominous black and purple auras were pouring out from their bodies.
These bastards are fucking strong!
No, the terrain was against us from the start!
How the hell do you even kill these things!
"Paladin! Support Sister Elise for now!!"
"Understood!!!"
Barkrel was deftly dodging and parrying attacks while chipping away at the abomination's arm. The terrain and situation made finishing it off impossible, but he was still giving it his all.
The holy knight beside him was doing the same, and so was Elise standing next to him.
Anyway, the three of them were locked in a stalemate.
Roar!
That's when fireballs slammed into the abominations' heads one after another.
Queeeeeh!!
Screech! Screeeeech!!!
"Fuck...! It's barely working!"
Winia was firing off spells, but these organic freaks had high fire resistance. Claudy was hanging back a bit, twirling her curved sword as she waited for an opening.
"Katt, you need to lure them forward a little more. That way I can slip behind and hit them. Or knock them down."
"I'll make it happen!"
Fwoosh!
I bolted straight toward Elise.
It was a three-on-three standoff for now. But with the massive abominations backed against the wall, circling behind was impossible. They were lined up single file with no gaps, forcing a frontal assault.
It was like an ironclad defense.
Fine, then I'd stab at the flanks first!
"Elise! You holding up?"
"I'm good!"
Whish!
Elise dodged every attack from the abominations using her full physical prowess. Crackle! At the same time, a pure white flash erupted from my sword.
Elise's Holy Enchant!
The other two were marked by Barkrel and the holy knight anyway. If I helped Elise take this one down first, then we could move on and finish the rest!
"Elise, here we go! I'll go for the flank—cover the front!"
"Got it!"
"Divine Attack, you fucker!!!"
The moment I linked up with Elise, I eyed the timing to dive for its side.
Kuoooooh!!
From the front, the abomination exuded overwhelming menace. Its bizarre form and massive size were perfectly optimized to instill terror and chaos in humans.
Meeeeeow!!!
The abomination roared and slammed the floor.
Boom!
The countless white horns embedded in its fist looked like a giant version of Elise's mace. Its attacks were fast and heavy, but not unavoidable. Elise and I dodged in sync, biding our time.
Just as the abomination reached out with its other hand...
"Holy Lord!! Now!!!"
"Yeah!!!"
Thwack!
Elise whipped her mace like lightning, severing the massive incoming finger. Taking that as my cue, I plunged toward the abomination's flank.
If I could rip into its side, we'd shatter their ironclad formation!
Kyaaah!!
But the instant I reached its side, some grotesque creature let out a hideous screech and lunged at me. Was there another monster hiding there—
Keeeeek!!
"Mommy!!! What the fuck is this!!!"
The abomination had some fucked-up attached pet growing from its side! A massive, horrific human-faced worm connected to its innards writhed and attacked me!
Kyaaooooh!!
What kind of bullshit monster is this!
"It's a human-faced worm!!!"
The worm's face was eerily similar to a real human's.
Of course, it was so grotesquely modified that only the brown hair and incomplete features hinted at its human origins.
What?
Wait.
Originally human...?
"You don't mean—!!!"
A whirlwind of thoughts hit me, and I froze in shock. These abominations! Their skin and brown fur looked so familiar!
Maybe these things were—!!!
"Made from human flesh and skin!!!"
Keeeeek!!
The human-faced worm charged with its maw stretched wide. Its mouth structure was much like a human's, teeth and all.
But above all, this human-faced worm...
Drip.
Was shedding bloody tears.
Keeeeeek!!
"I see."
No more fear. No more hesitation.
Slash!
I swung my sword, severing the worm's head in one stroke. Thankfully, Elise was holding the front perfectly, so the abomination's arm didn't come my way.
"Execution Sword Aura."
Crackle crackle crackle!
I layered my Execution Sword Aura over Elise's Holy Enchant. White holy light fused with my blue mana blade, shimmering like a mirage.
First time trying this combo, but it felt right.
"Holy Lord!! Watch out!"
At the same time, the abomination switched targets to me and turned its body.
Kuuuuh!!
That meant its massive arm, bristling with countless horns, was coming for me.
"Elise! Dive in! I'll cover now!"
"Got it! Captain Barkrel! Come in and support! There's a gap in the abomination formation!!"
"On it!!!"
Turning its body meant exposing its flank to Elise and crumbling their wall-like formation!!
Miyaaaaaooong!!
The over-3-meter abomination let out a cat-like yowl and swung its log-like arm at me. Even with my armor, taking a direct hit wouldn't end well.
I had to dodge all its attacks focused on me until Elise could land meaningful hits.
But.
Just enduring wasn't enough.
Screeeeech!
Its huge arm swept through the air toward me.
"Kim Katt Dropkiiiick!!!"
Roaring, I dropkicked full force toward the wall ahead. Whoosh! The arm that had swept the ground veered upward toward me in midair, and that's when my feet hit the wall.
"Supremacy of the Heavenly Demon."
Boom!
With my soles planted on the wall, I bent my knees like a stationary jump, contracting my muscles before exploding off with mana.
Swoooosh!!
The dropkick was just to plant my feet and gain acceleration! My body shot like an arrow straight at the abomination's head!
"Divine Execution Sword Auraaaah!!!"
Mid-flight, I aimed my sword at its head. I was an arrow piercing its skull. The dazzling sword aura of holy power and mana scattered brilliant starlight, tearing through space.
This was the only way to target just its head while avoiding its thorny body!
Squelch!
Time seemed to stretch, then snapped back as my living sword plunged into the abomination's head.
Guh...! Guhuk! Kuooh!! B, breeeek...!
"You fucking bastard!"
The attack landed solidly. I could feel its body shudder! Gripping the living sword's hilt tight, I mounted its shoulder.
"Holy Lord! Well done!"
Elise went berserk, hammering its knee, while I yanked my sword free, reversed my grip, and hacked wildly at its neck.
Spurt!
Black smoke billowed with red blood.
Significant damage!
Together, Elise and I butchered the abomination!
"Lord of Order!!!"
"Hwanwoong!!!"
The abomination's massive body toppled as we slashed. Boing! I timed a jump to land safely.
Now just two left!
"What about the other two!!!"
No time to rest. I needed to support Barkrel and take them down, but it looked like only one remained.
"Just one left!!"
"What, one already down?"
When it turned toward me, exposing its flank and breaking formation, Claudy had slipped in during the bait and decapitated one.
"Lord Vercel!!!"
"Uoooooh!!!"
With only one left, it was easy to attack from front and both sides. While the holy knight held the front, Barkrel and Claudy flanked and dropped the last abomination's head.
"Uoooooh!!! Justice prevails!!!"
"Oh, fuck yeah! We won!!!"
"Our victory, Holy Lord!!!"
In the end, we took down all five abominations pretty quickly! They were strong, but not unbeatable for our team!
"Claudy! Winia! You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine."
Winia, who'd been guarding the rear, was unscathed. Claudy looked fine too.
"Katt, you did great. So bold."
She came over and touched my cheek.
"Diving in like that to create an opening. Yeah, good call. Make a brief gap, and you can drop huge monsters like that easily. Heh heh, you've gotten stronger."
"Hoo... You think? Heh heh, you did great too, Claudy."
Claudy had been waiting for her moment, and the instant I made it, she sliced one apart.
"Aw, I didn't do much this time. Fire magic barely worked on these creepy fucks."
"You still dished out damage. That's all that matters."
Anyway, the fight was over.
"Holy Lord. That was a valiant strike. Scaling the wall to target the head—truly beyond expectations."
"Only 'cause you held the front. We made it work together."
The basement held only iron chains and chunks of the shattered abominations. Barkrel and the holy knight were finishing off the corpses. The priest was channeling holy power into them.
"Paladin! Confirm kills first!"
"Understood!"
I joined in.
But these chunks...
"Claudy. Winia. Elise. And Captain Barkrel."
"Yeah?"
"What is it?"
If I wasn't mistaken, these abominations were all made from human bases.
"These abominations."
This underground facility was probably used to create them.
"Seem to be made from people kidnapped for human trafficking."
"H, Holy Lord? What do you—"
"People...?"
The heretics had been using humans to make these monstrosities. Suddenly, everything clicked in my head.
The kobolds' idols.
The skeletons in the ossuary.
The flash golems at the zombie festival.
The heretics in the sewers.
The corrupted kobold queen. The ghouls and evil giant under Isvant slums. Finally, the demon gate outbreak and the abomination creation by the human trafficking ring in the Fog Plains.
A ton of shit.
But they're all connected.
Necromancers using forbidden magic to summon dead souls. Users of mind control magic that manipulates living beings.
And monsters made from human flesh.
Fuck.
Something's taking shape. And all these incidents were done by heretics using the same symbol.
Meaning it was all for some purpose.
"Th, these bones...! Just like the paladin said—human bones! Even the skin! The flesh!!! What I thought was beast fur and savagery was all human hair!!! Grraaaaaah!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"What in the world happened here!!!"
"Uwaaaaaah!!!"
The Brass Celestial Society priests realized the truth and tore at their hair, screaming. Eyes rolling back, foam at their mouths.
"Holy Lord...! Unbelievable!!!! These abominations were all trafficked people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Even Elise was clawing at her head.
"Kyaeeeeek!!!!!!!"
I tore at my hair and screamed too.
I had to scream to face this horrific scene.