Chapter 113
Chapter 113
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 113
Chapter Title: Sloth Unleashed
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"Very well, I permit it."
The moment Go Yohan expressed his assent.
Wriggle!
The curse, the tattoo imbued with Sloth, began to writhe and assert its presence.
At the same time.
Thump!
Go Yohan's heart, laden with sin, pounded.
This was the power that had atoned for the fate of the apostles, who were meant to become vessels for the archdemon.
The price Go Yohan paid for shouldering that force entirely—a power no human could accept or contain.
And so.
Thump!
The apostles could neither reject nor betray Go Yohan.
Moreover, to fully unleash their true nature, they required his permission.
Fwaaa!
Aura began pouring out around Yun Seunga.
The curse she was meant to bear was Sloth.
And Sloth was.
Kwaaaaa!
A being possessing magic more potent and vast than any other curse.
Magic so immense it could kill or manipulate foes with mere thought, without moving a muscle.
Crunch!
The area above one side of Yun Seunga's forehead began to writhe.
Crunch-crunch!
What soon burst forth was a horn.
A single horn, yet utterly unlike those of demons.
Swoosh.
Yun Seunga slowly opened her previously closed eyes.
Half-lidded, they made her appear as if she were asleep.
"M-MCrazy…!"
Kim Shion spat curses while crossing his arms.
"Sis, you're even stronger now—!"
Pang!
The magic surging from Yun Seunga slammed into Kim Shion, sending him flying.
He twisted his body in an instant and tried to awaken his magic to deflect it, but her magic was so overwhelming that no such trick worked.
The magic she unleashed surpassed even Go Yohan's.
Fwaaaa!
Magic too vast to quantify began to blanket the space.
Paa! Paa! Paaaa!
The aura pouring from her pushed back the swamp, revealing the swallowed earth.
The withered trees shattered under her aura and vanished entirely.
This was not her authority.
Merely the result of her immense magic.
Swoosh.
She slowly extended her hand.
A motion so languid it could lull onlookers to sleep just by watching.
Boom!
Something happened.
"……Incredible."
Even Go Yohan was moved to admiration.
"Truly remarkable."
This was her authority.
Go Yohan, able to partially wield the Curse of Sloth as the Knight of Sloth, could use the authority "Non-Action."
A power that subdued the will of living beings, leading them to death in an instant.
But Yun Seunga's true authority "Non-Action" was on an entirely different level from his.
Her authority.
"The trees aren't moving…?"
Unlike Go Yohan's, which affected only living beings, it extended to inanimate objects as well.
And further still—to space itself.
All space where Go Yohan, Kim Shion, and Yun Seunga stood lost its power and fell dormant.
Everything acting upon the Fallen Forest came to a halt.
In this moment, even the absolute labyrinth slumbered, pacified.
Click.
Go Yohan stepped forward and grasped the Mark of Great Sin.
Humm!
The dagger of light shining in his hand—had it grown slightly longer? Or was that an illusion?
But such things were unimportant now.
'The moment Seunga created.'
Unleashing the true power of an apostle was a great burden on both them and Go Yohan.
It was a moment that could not be sustained for long.
"Shion, get out of the way."
He had to seize this opportunity decisively.
"……Captain! Warn me sooner next time!"
Kim Shion cried out in a scream-like voice as he shot up into the air.
Beneath him.
Whoosh!
Go Yohan swung the Great Sin.
Half his full power—a level he'd never shown before.
"Aaack!"
The heat and storm battered Kim Shion, who was midair, sending him flying once more.
By the time Kim Shion, manipulating his magic to tumble through the air several times, landed on the ground in a disheveled state.
"…Whoa…wow…."
Everything that had blocked their path lay severed.
"Seunga."
At Go Yohan's call, Yun Seunga closed her eyes.
The horn that had grown vanished in an instant.
Wobble.
Her body swayed.
"You okay?"
Go Yohan caught her.
"……Yeah."
Her voice languid, unlike usual. And as if finding Go Yohan's embrace comfortable, Yun Seunga nestled into it.
Snore.
She fell asleep.
"Sis has to remember this."
"We don't have much time, and we don't know how big it is. Let's hurry."
Go Yohan scooped up Yun Seunga and began moving.
*
*
*
The Fallen Forest began to writhe.
Yun Seunga's Non-Action, unleashed with even demonic power, had faded, allowing the forest to awaken.
Her power could still pacify space but not kill it.
Gurgle, gurgle.
The swamp began to rise.
Wriggle.
The dead trees began to surge upward.
"Captain!"
Kim Shion called to Go Yohan.
If the forest fully awoke, it would become a labyrinth again.
They had come far, but even that short remaining distance could force them to loop endlessly.
[Time Remaining: 140 hours]
Even the goddess seemed to be urging him on.
Moreover, Yun Seunga wouldn't be able to unleash Sloth's power for a while.
The more she used it, the more it would erode and consume her.
"You can go faster, right?"
Go Yohan said as he traversed the forest.
"…Of course…."
Fwaaaa!
Go Yohan shot forward like a spear, piercing the air with a sonic boom.
Whatever blocked his path.
'I'll smash it all.'
The dead trees couldn't withstand the aftermath and were crushed. The swamp rose to devour him, but Go Yohan advanced faster.
At the same time.
Swoosh.
He protected Yun Seunga with holy power to withstand the speed.
His speed gradually increased.
Through the dark, murky Fallen Forest.
Fwaaak.
Until they reached a place where bright light poured down.
Tap.
Finally, Go Yohan came to a complete stop.
There were already visitors ahead.
Figures clad in black from head to toe, wearing rags that barely qualified as clothes.
Of course.
Fsssh….
The darkness soon took the form of armor.
"……!"
It was only natural, thinking about it.
Yun Seunga had pacified the entire forest with Sloth's authority, so the dark elves desperately seeking the World Tree wouldn't miss the chance.
Proof: No ambushes to slow Go Yohan's steps had occurred.
"……You."
One among them recognized Go Yohan.
"From Travania?"
Go Yohan walked toward them without hesitation.
"Or perhaps."
Bows were already drawn and aimed at him.
The reason modern firearms like guns couldn't dominate.
Kwaaaaa!
The simplest was the dimensional difference in energy they could unleash.
Dark elf bows came in myriad forms, their draw strength easily exceeding tons.
They reinforced the bow itself, tensioned it to the utmost, and channeled power that could not contain even bullets into a single arrow.
Far surpassing any gunpowder force.
"Were you the vermin I trampled in the past?"
Go Yohan advanced.
Crunch.
The dark elf who recognized him raised a fist, signaling no one to move rashly.
"It doesn't matter either way."
"……Ilhandra, great tree of the world, might we speak for a moment?"
The dark elf looked ready to drop to his knees.
"……Negotiate…if you just withdraw from here…!"
Ilhandra, as he introduced himself, groaned.
"The land where you now take root—we dark elves will never trespass."
As if the World Tree alone was their goal.
The four-horned dark elf pleaded.
He must have heard tales of repeated failures and defeats in the demon world.
The demons' old nemesis from the past had reclaimed his power and declared war anew.
"Please, show mercy…."
Ilhandra dropped fully to his knees.
That was when.
Riiip!
A sound like air tearing rang out.
"Captain…! Too… huff huff! Fast…!"
Kim Shion, who had just arrived.
He stuck out his tongue, panting in exhaustion. As eyes turned from Go Yohan to him.
Something shifted.
Flash!
Ilhandra, who had been kneeling, opened his fist wide.
Paaaaang!
With a sonic boom shredding the air, the dark elves' arrows flew without hesitation.
Arrows breaking kilometer distances in an instant.
At this range, nothing could dodge, nothing could withstand penetration—or so they thought.
Kakakang!
Sparks flew.
A sight like fireworks tracing paths.
Spurt!
Blood sprayed from the dark elves around Ilhandra.
Kclang!
And only then, slower than light, came the metallic clash.
Dagger against dagger.
Kim Shion and Ilhandra stood facing each other, blades locked.
'What speed?'
Was this truly human?
In that brief moment, with speed alone outpacing other demons' followers, dispatching the dark elves.
Ggrrrrind!
Then instantly lunging at Ilhandra himself.
"I'm… super pissed right now, you see…!"
Beyond the daggers, Kim Shion's torn lips curled into a smile.
In his rippling eyes.
"……!"
An inscrutable madness.
And.
"You…!"
Envy's emotion.
Beyond it, a sin as deep as the ocean's abyss peered through.
"Captain, can I kill this one?"
"A demon bold enough to negotiate with us."
Spurt!
"Kill it."
Before Go Yohan's words fully escaped, Ilhandra collapsed, headless.
"Whew, that was close to dying."
Having dispatched the dark elves in a flash, Kim Shion slumped down as if his whole body was numb, kneading his limbs.
Meanwhile, Go Yohan continued forward.
Through divine sight, lines of light were visible.
Waves formed a barrier.
The dark elves hadn't pierced it and had stopped.
And.
[The World Tree rejects you.]
Even Go Yohan had no choice but to halt.
Zzzzt!
The World Tree's power tore into him like it would shred his body.
[The World Tree rejects you.]
But far from repelling it, Go Yohan was accepting it.
Even the power meant for Yun Seunga in his arms—he took it all alone.
[The World Tree rejects you.]
Drip, drip.
Blood trickled from his torn skin.
Slash! Slash!
Blades of wind assailed him fiercely, as if to cleave him apart.
[The World Tree…]
That was when.
[It recognizes you.]
For the first time, a change occurred.