Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: God Slaying (2)
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God Slaying (2)
I thought we'd seized the advantage by landing a hit on its head, but suddenly, he just stopped moving.
“Hyeon-ung!”
“What are you doing! Hurry and dodge...”
But despite my warning, he didn't move, and the giant serpent swallowed him whole.
“Hye... Hyeon-ung...”
“Bio, what are you doing? Please, hurry and help Hyeon-ung!”
“Bio!”
I begged Bio for help as we all unleashed a full-scale assault on the evil god.
Hanna was the first to act, kicking off the ground and launching herself toward the beast like a streak of golden light.
CRASH—
Milli fired a relentless barrage of arrows, and Timi conjured and hurled a massive orb of white flame, but neither left so much as a scratch on Apep's hide.
“What in the world are you doing, Bio!”
I looked at him in desperation, but Bio simply stood with his arms crossed, a relaxed expression on his face.
“He isn't in danger yet.”
“What do you mean, he isn't in danger?”
“The serpent ate him!”
“It made a foolish choice.”
“A foolish choice? Are you saying he's foolish?”
“No. That evil god did. Among the gods I know, none can maintain their aura from within their own body.”
The evil god, which had turned its attention to us after swallowing Hyeon-ung, suddenly froze.
Thud—
The serpent's mouth opened and spat something out. It wasn't Hyeon-ung, but the golden sword he used.
“Isn't that Hyeon-ung's sword?”
“This looks bad... Bio, please help him...”
“The situation is not dangerous.”
“But what if something happens to him...”
“There is no growth without trials. Trust in Hyeon-ung. He is not as weak as you fear.”
****
The paralysis wore off the moment I was swallowed, so I imbued my sword with mana to light up my surroundings.
Just in time, massive, sharp teeth like saw blades tried to clamp down on my torso, but I managed to narrowly avoid them.
Or so I thought, until the floor beneath me began to move.
Don't tell me... was this its tongue?
This time, I couldn't dodge.
CLANG—
The sword was knocked from my grasp, and the teeth made direct contact with my body, but there was less impact than I expected.
Instead, a white powder? Shards? Something like that fell from above.
Are these... tooth fragments?
Looking up, I saw that a portion of the sharp, saw-like teeth had shattered.
It seemed I was just as durable as the beast.
Well, considering my current Vitality stat...
We're both too tough to damage each other... wait. If I'm inside, wouldn't my attacks be more effective?
The moment I had that thought, light poured in from behind me, revealing the outside world.
Its tongue convulsed, trying to push me out. It seemed to be trying to vomit me up.
The sword I'd dropped earlier was flung outside first.
I should have retrieved my sword first. I considered just leaving, but I made my decision and plunged not toward the light, but deeper into the pitch-black darkness.
A horrendous stench filled the air, but I ignored it and pressed deeper.
The ground stopped moving, so I assumed I was off its tongue and halted.
Shall we begin?
The day before the Labyrinth closed, I think it was, I had a sparring match with Bio.
He had challenged me, saying he needed to gauge my level, and after a moment's thought, I accepted.
I knew he was incredible, but having defeated Arpeus, I'd gained a fair bit of confidence myself.
And I wanted to properly test my own abilities.
Of course, the result was that I couldn't even lay a finger on him.
‘Still, you've clearly grasped how to imbue space with your will without a medium. Practice this until we meet again.’
‘What is this?’
Before he could finish, a nearby tree disintegrated into dust and scattered.
‘H-how did you do that? With just a glance, the tree...’
‘Not with a glance. I used a sword.’
‘A sword? What sword?’
‘You may not see it, but my sword is here right now.’
‘There's nothing here.’
‘It is invisible to the eye, makes no sound, and has no movement of mana or killing intent.’
‘What kind of sword is...’
‘The Sword King called this the Formless Sword.’
Wasn't Bio the Sword King?
He spoke as if he were someone else, which was strange, but when I asked for the principle behind it, he explained it very simply.
The Formless Sword is created by compressing one's will.
You must fix it in place with a powerful will so that it doesn't dissipate in a space without a medium.
Then, you must layer the will to cut upon the will to cut again.
It sounded like complete nonsense at first, but after practicing in my spare time, I started to get a feel for it.
RUUUMBLE—
The walls and ceiling churned and shook violently, causing me to lose my balance and fall.
It seemed the beast had also sensed the presence of the sword being formed.
The Formless Sword Bio had shown me was soundless, without killing intent, and formless—completely imperceptible. But mine was not yet perfect.
The more the beast thrashed, the more I was thrown around, constantly feeling impacts from the outside, but I kept my eyes closed.
Lying where I had fallen, I focused on layering my will into the sword I was creating.
Before long, a tiny blade, the size of a finger, materialized in my mind's eye.
Size is not an issue.
Soon, the finger-sized blade expanded to tens, no, hundreds of times the size of my body.
There are no limits to the will, after all.
The moment I opened my eyes, I swung the sword.
Slice— Slice—
I don't know if it was because my guess that its insides would be vulnerable was correct, or if the power of the Formless Sword was simply beyond imagination, but fresh air rushed in along with a flood of light.
My Formless Sword had split the evil god's torso open.
“Gyaaaaaaaah! You wretched human! How dare you!”
‘A bit clumsy, but passable.’
“Hyeon-ung!”
“Mister!”
They all looked incredibly worried.
I gave them a wave to show I was fine, then swung my sword once more.
THUD— THUD— THUD—
With each swing of the sword, chunks of the beast's body were severed and fell to the ground.
But the situation wasn't good. The fallen pieces would float back up and reattach themselves to its body.
My companions attacked the severed parts of Apep's body with arrows, white flames, and Rina's white lightning, but it only slowed the reattachment speed; it couldn't stop the regeneration.
“This is absurd...”
“Do you insects truly believe you can harm a god!”
Just as I was thinking that a god is a god after all, and prepared to slice it into even smaller pieces, Nix soared into the air.
At first, it radiated a red light, which soon turned into a warm golden glow, and then shifted to a pure white light.
The severed body parts touched by Nix's light began to melt away.
“This is the damned light of Ra! How is Ra here...!”
All that remained of Apep's massive body was its head.
Maintaining the Formless Sword had consumed a great deal of my mental energy, and a splitting headache washed over me, but I mustered my last bit of strength and swung the sword one more time.
Thwack— Thud—
The head, split into tens, no, hundreds of pieces, rained down upon the ground and, just like the rest of its body, melted away.
[You have defeated Apep, the Incarnation of Evil.]
[An unbelievable, great achievement. You have acquired the title God Slayer.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
...
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
[You have leveled up.]
The notification window scrolled endlessly, and the sky seemed to turn yellow before my vision went black.
****
“Kkyuing! Kkyuing!”
I opened my eyes to a noisy cry and saw the golden dragon sitting on my stomach.
Looking at the ceiling, I realized I was still in the pharaoh's pyramid.
“Hyeon-ung, are you okay?”
“Mister!”
“Can you see me?”
“Hyeon-ung, are you all right?”
My companions stood over me, their faces etched with sorrow, looking as if they were about to cry.
Anyone would think I was dead.
“You were all so worried. I'm fine. I think I just got a little dizzy.”
It seems I passed out from using too much mental energy.
“Bio said the same thing, but still...”
“Alright, enough with the nagging. More importantly, where's Bio?”
Bio's face was not among those looking down at me.
“He's talking with the pharaoh. I'll go get him.”
Hanna went outside and returned with the pharaoh and Bio.
“You woke up sooner than I expected.”
“How long was I out?”
“Five days.”
“F-five days?”
I was stunned. I thought it would be an hour or two at most, maybe half a day if it was long...
But five whole days...
“What's so surprising? Even with a perfect Formless Sword, using it as recklessly as you did would normally put someone in bed for a week. You're just tougher than most, so you woke up early.”
Bio's tone was as indifferent as ever, but I could sense a hint of pride in his words.
“Really? So how was it? My Formless Sword...”
“Tsk, tsk. It was pathetic. A proper Formless Sword would have finished the job in a single strike, without needing to be swung so recklessly.”
I was hoping for a compliment, but his critique was merciless.
“Bio, is that really something you should say to Hyeon-ung, who just woke up after five days?”
“That's right. You're being too harsh.”
“And you didn't even step in when he was eaten, just stood there posturing about how trials lead to growth.”
That was Timi, Elaine, and Rina, in order.
“No...”
“I'm really disappointed in you, Bio. Even if it's you, Hyeon-ung is the one who summoned us.”
Even Hanna, who usually adored Bio no matter what, gave him a cold shoulder.
“I wasn't posturing, I...”
“Our Nix is better than you.”
Ah, right. Nix.
The true hero of this battle was undoubtedly Nix.
It nullified that insane regenerative ability that even my Formless Sword couldn't overcome.
Without Nix's help, I probably would have collapsed from exhaustion first.
“I don't see Nix. Where is it?”
“The Sunbird is currently at the Altar of Ra.”
The pharaoh answered. The Altar of Ra?
“What's that?”
“Apparently, it is a place where it can meet its original master.”
“There is an altar in my pyramid for offering rites to the sun god, Ra. It consumes a great deal of the pharaoh's power to operate, so I was unable to use it before. But that is no longer the case.”
“It will help, not harm.”
If Bio said it was fine, then I guess it was. As I sat up, my body felt... ugh, a bit stiff from lying down for so long...?
The pharaoh suddenly prostrated himself before me.
“To the benefactor who has defeated the evil god Apep that tormented us, I, Rakset, offer my deepest gratitude.”
[60th Floor Hidden Quest. You have cleared the request of the Floor Boss, Pharaoh Rakset.]
[Luck +10, Strength +5, Vitality +3, Agility +2]
“I do not know how much help it will be to my benefactor, but may I offer you my humble blessing?”
I was about to nod, but then I paused. Wait a minute.
Don't tell me the pharaoh's blessing is like the Harpy Queen's...
“Is something wrong?”
“Does the blessing involve... physical contact?”
“It does not.”
Relieved that it wasn't a blessing bestowed through skinship like the Harpy Queen's, I nodded.
The pharaoh extended his hand, and a blue light burst forth, enveloping my body.
[You have received the Blessing of Pharaoh Rakset.]
[Luck +50, Mana +50]
[You have acquired the hidden trait, Lord of the Desert.]
Wow, a hundred stat points and a trait on top of that. The rewards are incredible.
I think there was also a reward marked as '???'...
Was sending Nix to the Altar of Ra the '???' reward?
Anyway, when I defeated the evil god, I think I achieved some great feat called God Slayer,
and I remember leveling up a ton.
I opened my status window to check.
...Is this really my status window?