Chapter 84
Chapter 84
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 84
Chapter Title: Hungry Ghost
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The moment the man revealed himself, Yuri, Ha-ryeong, and Leisi moved. Yuri took the lead, Ha-ryeong a step behind, and Leisi at the very rear.
Charging in recklessly would be insane. A high priest who wields divine authority is on par with a high-tier martial artist or mage.
This was leagues above a Blood Evil Ghost whose tier had plummeted from qi deviation or an old hag wandering at the 6th tier. The instant they were trapped in this space, it was no different from stepping into a tiger's maw—but they hadn't been chewed up yet, and thrashing around inside its mouth was tantamount to begging to be killed faster.
[We need to buy time.]
Leisi transmitted the message as she fell back.
[The time for them to break this space from outside and invade, and...]
Truth be told, the former seemed unlikely. The fact that they dared pull this stunt in the heart of a major city meant they were confident it couldn't be breached from outside. It might eventually give way after enough pounding, but the enemy wouldn't grant them that much time.
[The time for me to reach the 6th tier.]
When it came to choosing a path to survival, this was it. She had to surpass the 5th tier, where she'd lingered for years, and ascend to the 6th. She'd been attempting it ever since waking from the dream and grasping the situation, but she still needed more time.
[Will reaching the 6th tier resolve this?]
Ha-ryeong responded, having overheard the transmission. Even a single tier made all the difference in capabilities, but that masked man was at least 7th tier by any conservative estimate. Even if Leisi reached the 6th, the gap would be too wide to bridge.
[Yes.]
Leisi answered without hesitation. It wasn't born of arrogance. Having mastered every spell corresponding to the tiers down to the bone, she knew exactly what she could and couldn't do.
[Once I reach the 6th tier, I can receive Lady Orca's support.]
Yuri and Ha-ryeong's minds lit up with the same question at her words. Receive Orca's support? Orca was in the Derusia Magic Tower in Lutran, an impossibly distant place from here—what kind of support could she possibly provide?
[Understood.]
Yuri felt the doubt but didn't press further. Leisi ascends to the 6th tier and receives Orca's support. In their current predicament, that was the closest solution.
“You're all stiff as boards.”
The masked man cackled.
“You were chatting away fine when I wasn't here. What, now that I'm right in front of you, you're too scared to even open your mouths?”
No reply came, but the man continued undeterred.
“Even so, calling a man a mad saint behind his back is a bit much, don't you think? Ah, right, introductions first. You know me, but I suppose I should make it official since you don't know me.”
The man pointed a finger at the mask covering his face. Inside the long, torn slit of a mouth on the mask, his lips curved into a smirk.
“I am 'Hungry Ghost.' Understand that I don't reveal my real name, and I can't remove this mask.”
Yuri clenched his lowered hand into a fist and glared at Hungry Ghost. At the look, Hungry Ghost shrugged theatrically.
“I go out of my way to introduce myself first, and all I get are glaring eyes. Fine, whatever. I'll forgive you since you're all dead men walking anyway. But how did you manage to open your eyes?”
How?
That was naturally what piqued Hungry Ghost's curiosity now. For years, he'd amassed divine power to construct a false sanctuary, artificially generating a rift within it. At the same time, he'd unleashed the divine authority, Spirit Devouring Tree, amplified by miracles within the sanctuary.
He didn't need to subdue them personally—he'd guided thousands into dreams. Dreams woven from miracles. Most humans never even realized they were dreaming, wandering to their deaths within. And even if one awoke to the truth mid-dream, it was a blissful one they wouldn't want to escape.
Inflicting fear or pain was easy. But granting happiness to those you meant to kill was exceedingly difficult.
Souls that perish in bliss brim with power. Death was common and cheap, but souls that died in happiness held far greater value.
That was why the Spirit Devouring Tree induced happy dreams. It fattened souls on the brink of death with supreme bliss—that was its true worth.
Even a 7th-tier expert wouldn't easily awaken from it... yet three 5th-tier weaklings had.
—Kuuuung...
A tremor from outside. Hungry Ghost's face twisted beneath the mask. Frankly, this vibration was a 'variable.' The grand archbishop of the Alderan Earth God's cathedral was absent, and the fortress-like barriers weren't optimized for sieges... so he'd figured external interference wouldn't matter much until the rift completed, and there was no need to feel rushed.
'An attack of this magnitude... on the level of a grand archmage or Peerless Supreme...'
By Hungry Ghost's prior intel, there were no grand archmages or Peerless Supremes visiting Alderan. Had reinforcements arrived from another city in these few hours? The nearest city was days away even on horseback?
Not impossible. Surpassing the 7th tier meant transcending humanity in some way. Among such transcendents, some could compress days of travel into hours or minutes.
'Or maybe the Maybeld Family's hidden forces? Damn those prideful bastards.'
—Kuuuung... Another vibration shook the sanctuary. No problem. An outside variable had emerged, but it wasn't enough to collapse the sanctuary.
So what about inside?
“No intention of answering, huh?”
Hungry Ghost's lips twitched within the long, torn slit. The exposed teeth were sharper and more pointed than a human's—more like a beast's fangs.
“That's fine. You don't have to.”
Three 5th-tiers.
Hungry Ghost was a saint of the church. He was arrogant enough, but not so much as to claim he was the strongest among saints. Though lumped together as saints, the differences in power and caliber among them were vast.
That didn't mean Hungry Ghost was weak. Three 5th-tiers? To him, they were no different from insects. Even as he juggled the sanctuary, rift, and Spirit Devouring Tree simultaneously, those pests weren't even variables.
“I have deep ties with all three of you.”
His shoulders shook with cackling laughter.
“Ties...?”
Leisi muttered, her face tense as she backed away. Her cheeks were still swollen, but now wasn't the time to nurse them.
Hungry Ghost didn't bother pointing it out. What did it matter if the faces of people he was going to kill were bruised or puffy? He clacked his sharp teeth together and grinned.
“How's that demon bitch Orca Derusia doing?”
“...”
“I once got burned by that wench. Never heard the story?”
Leisi's face paled at the question, delivered with a sly chuckle.
“So you're the ones who trapped Lady Orca in the past.”
“She got lucky, and we got unlucky.”
His gleaming eyes now turned to Ha-ryeong.
“Who'd have thought the Killing Guard Sect Lord would interfere there of all places.”
“I have no connection to the sect lord's past.”
Ha-ryeong replied, twin daggers already gripped in her hands.
“Is that so? Doesn't matter. Dark Flower, you and I share more than just the Killing Guard Sect.”
The smile on Hungry Ghost's face twisted. Surging emotions robbed him of the ability to laugh any longer.
“Thunder Cloud, Dark Flower, you fucking bastards. Because you rampaged in the Pantheon, years of my work went down the drain!”
His roar swallowed the latest vibration from outside.
“That's why thousands die here today, and why you lot croak right here! How dare you—how dare you ruin my efforts without knowing your place?!”
A colossal wave of killing intent crashed over them. Ha-ryeong and Leisi felt their blood turn to ice and staggered back. But Yuri didn't retreat. He too felt the hairs on his body stand on end from the killing intent, but within his chest burned a fiercer heat and flame than the chill of death it conveyed.
“You're wrong.”
His tightly shut lips parted. Yuri stared at Hungry Ghost and spoke slowly.