Chapter 348: Libra (4)
Chapter 348: Libra (4)
Yggdrasil was surrounded.
Taken at face value, that sentence sounds incredibly dangerous, urgent, and—no matter how many times you turn it over in your head—like we were well and truly fucked.
But in reality, that wasn't the case at all.
In the first place, why had we concentrated our forces at Yggdrasil? It was to have a final showdown with the forces of Ugly Prosperity while utilizing the advantages of our home ground.
So, the encirclement of Yggdrasil itself wasn't a surprising fact.
…The problem was that the scale of the surrounding army was beyond imagination.
"Lord of Light..."
"Did you call me?"
"Ah, since you're here, let me borrow your ear for a second."
Fiddling with the ear of Solari, who had poked her head out, I surveyed the army of Ugly Prosperity spread out beyond the fortress walls.
The first things that caught my eye were several of those god-awful Meat Trees towering in the distance. They had probably planted one for every buff range.
Beyond that, there were people whose limbs had been replaced by tentacles—likely an influence of the Authority—others in revealing clothes performing dances of courtship toward us, and even bastards engaged in public orgies without so much as a tentacle-tent over them.
There were succubi giving handjobs to giant goblins—creatures capable of withstanding high-level magic if they clustered together—as they held a contest to see who could cum the farthest.
And then there were the goblins themselves, so consumed by a primal, almost pure lust that they were busy playing with and breaking their prisoners.
It was a scene of such utter depravity that it was hard to believe this was an army on the brink of war. It was enough to make one lose their mind.
I didn't think it would be this bad…
The quantity and quality of their forces were as expected. Actually, they were a bit fewer than predicted.
That was likely thanks to our efforts as a commando unit, thinning their ranks. Though we never had a proper head-on clash, high-level magic was powerful enough to be called siege-grade magic for a reason.
However, the sight itself was beyond anything I had imagined. It was so jarring that even stroking Solari’s fluffy ears didn't easily calm me down.
"I finally understand her divine name. This truly is 'Ugly' Prosperity."
"…Yes. A divine name isn't something a god chooses for themselves; it's born naturally from the faith of their believers. It can't help but reflect their true essence."
At a glance, it looked incredibly erotic, even exciting, like a festival. But that was only for the followers of Ugly Prosperity.
Those who did not follow her… even at this very moment, they were being thoroughly trampled for the sake of a fleeting moment of pleasure.
The Meat Trees were essentially consumables. Since they constantly radiated buffs, once their internal power was depleted, that was it. Their stiffly raised heads would droop, and they would rot away in an instant.
But nothing is more dangerous than a buff cutting out during battle. So, those bastards decided to charge them with plenty of power.
How?
By killing women who had been forced to take so much semen their stomachs ruptured, and then having the Meat Trees absorb them.
Those monstrosities were graves for those whose lives and even afterlives had been violated after being gang-raped.
The ones whose limbs were replaced by tentacles dragged people behind them who were reeling as if drugged.
Those dancing lewdly in blatant outfits even a prostitute wouldn't wear were prisoners whose minds had been broken. They were begging anyone and everyone to please fuck them.
Then what happened to the prisoners who weren't broken yet?
They were the ones being humiliated by the surrounding goblins right in front of everyone's eyes.
For elves who valued chastity, there could be no greater shame than public violation.
I was too afraid to even imagine what they were thinking or what they were whispering as they looked up at the World Tree.
Finally, the succubi giving handjobs to the giant goblins—what were they using to stroke those massive members that a hand couldn't even wrap around?
It didn't matter if it was a man or a woman. As long as there was a hole, they ruthlessly shoved people onto them.
Naturally, given the human anatomy, they couldn't possibly be fine. Their lower bodies were being pulverized as they screamed and died, but the succubi didn't care, only increasing their pace toward the finish.
To them, non-believers were nothing more than disposable onaholes, tissues to be used and tossed away.
"I knew it in my head… but seeing it in person feels different."
H&A was an all-ages game. Even though I had received information through Fafnir, it meant there were parts that couldn't be depicted exactly as they were.
Several scenes had been toned down or skipped for the sake of censorship, and the sight before me was likely one of them.
Well, of course. How could you put this in a game? The unknown developer had done their best just by providing a brief text description.
"Yandel? Are you okay?"
A worried voice. I was snapped out of my thoughts by the sensation of a tail tickling my thigh as if patting my back.
"Yes. Well. I'm fine. It was a shock, but I'm okay now. It's just…."
"Just?"
"I'm a little angry."
Solari thinks highly of me, but I've never once considered myself a righteous person in my life.
However, the army of Ugly Prosperity, showing its true colors rather than just its battle-ready side, was enough to make even someone like me feel rage.
As expected, coexistence with an Evil God is impossible. How could anyone live sanely among such creatures?
That's why the offer to become an Apostle of Ugly Prosperity is a proposal that must never be accepted.
Even if a disadvantageous situation arose, accepting the apostleship might save my life. Perhaps not just mine, but my entire party could survive together.
…But in the end, that would be nothing more than surviving in body alone.
An Apostle is no different from an avatar of the god, a being that, like it or not, slowly assimilates into that god.
If it were a case like Helena and Solari, who were perfectly in sync from the start, it might be different. But what would happen to me and Ugly Prosperity, who have no similarities other than a strong libido?
It's simple. I would be drawn in by Ugly Prosperity and fall into corruption. And the true nature of Ugly Prosperity would be far more disgusting than the scene unfolding before my eyes.
To cease being myself. Could that really be called surviving? The answer was already decided.
No.
…It was just as I reached that conclusion.
The forces of Ugly Prosperity, who had been merely surrounding us and playing among themselves, reached out.
This time, an unknown cultist came trudging forward, stopping right in front of the barrier deployed a short distance from Yggdrasil's walls.
Then, a surging, massive divine power erupted. Along with the familiar phenomenon of the cultist's body melting down, unable to withstand the strain, an overwhelming presence descended upon the earth.
[Ah, ah. Can you hear me?]
I had even cast soundproofing magic to block out noise and minimize the influence of the Authority of Lust surrounding Yggdrasil.
As if mocking all these efforts, Ugly Prosperity bypassed the barriers and magic effortlessly to transmit her will.
It wasn't a voice heard with the ears, but a sweet voice echoing from inside the head.
Having borrowed the cultist's body to look straight this way—how she noticed me from that distance, I don't know—Ugly Prosperity continued.
[I see you can hear me. Then, I'd like to hear the answer to my proposal.]
"……."
As I glared silently, wondering what kind of trick this was, Ugly Prosperity began to babble on her own.
[Hmm. Are you still hesitating? Surely you don't think you can win after seeing this gap with your own eyes?]
[Of course, you're free to think that, baby… but I'm not sure if the others feel the same way.]
[I promised, didn't I? If only you become mine, I will gladly withdraw from this world.]
[I even said you could bring the others with you if you wanted… I suppose it's a refusal, then?]
[But that's alright. I like it when there's a little force involved, too. Of course, in the process, these many elves might be thinned out a bit, and they might become more honest with their desires.]
[That will all be your fault, baby Yandel. I certainly gave you a chance.]
Why, this piece of shit. I've been listening and listening, and now she's trying to pin it all on me.
She's probably just following a scheme she heard from Boiling Silence to isolate me. I know. I know that, but… I couldn't help but get pissed off.
So, instead of answering, I cast the magic I had prepared while Ugly Prosperity was running her mouth.
"[O walker of the winding and dark path. O lurker in the gloomy valley. By the authority of the Sun, I command thee. This is the flame of purification, the light of judgment. It is time to be crushed by the weight of your own karma.]"
A spell that required a considerably long preparation time and chanting even while using Spirit Language. Naturally, the amount of mana consumed was beyond imagination.
There was only one reason.
Power. I had sacrificed everything else solely to increase its destructive force.
As if to prove it, the flaming greatsword emerging from the magic circle drawn high in the sky carried a massive sense of intimidation.
If ordinary high-level magic couldn't pierce Ugly Prosperity's defenses, then I just had to fire a magic that wasn't ordinary.
An attack rivaling Iris's Elemental Burst or Iona's Tepes. The strongest strike I could cast right now.
I spoke the trigger word.
"[Punishment!]"
The first strike wins…!