The Three-Headed Six-Armed Judge
The gate exploration event that begins from the main scenario of questions and choices can be cleared without any major issues relative to the gate’s difficulty. That is, as long as we avoid fighting more than six demonic beasts. But right now, thanks to Halpas, we had absurdly fulfilled that exact condition. As a result, the mid-boss we faced was none other than—
“What the hell is that?”
“A three-headed, six-armed?”
A demonic beast possessing three heads and six arms. Each of the three faces displayed sorrow, rage, and serenity respectively, while every arm carried the traits of the beasts we had already slain.
Rumble.
“Those who have committed the sin of taking life.”
“Whoa?! It—it talks!”
“Is that seriously the monster we’re supposed to defeat?”
“Since it has intelligence, maybe we can actually communicate with it?”
The team members began to panic at the words of the mid-boss—the demonic beast players called Natara. It made sense. Intelligent monsters were rare. They were probably treating it less like the beasts we’d been slaughtering and more like an elf or a dwarf.
“I shall pass judgment upon your sins.”
“Everyone, execute the plan! Mir!”
“On it!”
That thing clearly had no interest in conversation, though.
Natara brought down an arm encircled by rings of ice, slamming it toward us as it spoke.
“Reincarnate.”
Boom!
“Ugh!”
“Is everyone okay?”
“We’re fine!”
“So you have no intention of talking at all!”
It was a simple downward strike, yet its aftermath was anything but light. Frost spread from the point of impact across the ground, and in moments the entire area was swallowed by biting cold.
“Yongyong. It’s our turn.”
“Grr!”
“Go, Cheonmaryong! Flame Breath!”
“Kyaaaaah!”
But we had our own answer. Where they brought cold, we would bring heat. The orb glowed faintly as scorching flames erupted from Cheonmaryong’s jaws. The cold blanketing the area was devoured by Yongyong’s heat, dissolving into thick clouds of steam. It was a technique adapted from the breath attack dragons naturally used.
Crack.
“One arm first!”
Body reinforcement through the Heavenly Demon Divine Art combined with the explosive force generated from within—one devastating strike.
“Heavenly Demon Punch.”
Haa……
…It’d be easier if you just gave up.
Don’t give up. He’s your disciple, after all.
One of Natara’s arms shattered beneath my Heavenly Demon Punch. My massively increased stats played a part, but the debuffs my teammates had layered onto the enemy from behind were just as crucial in amplifying the damage.
While shielding them, Mir fired a beam of light directly into the severed cross-section of the arm I had destroyed.
Bang.
The power Mir possessed would halt Natara’s regeneration and steadily devour its stamina.
Creak.
“How sad. That there are still those who must return to death like this.”
Natara’s serene face twisted into one of overwhelming sorrow. At the same time, the very space we stood upon began to change.
“Ah, how truly sorrowful.”
Drip. Drip. Drip.
“Rain?”
“Ugh, it’s soaking everything.”
To jump straight into phase two just because one arm was gone? It seemed my strike had dealt far more damage than I realized.
I wouldn’t recommend staying under this rain for long.
It has the property of absorbing mana.
Just as they said, the rain carried the ability to gradually siphon away the mana of anyone it touched. The amount was so minuscule it couldn’t be felt at first, but as time passed, everyone would begin to notice something was wrong—their mana depleting faster than usual, their stamina draining more quickly.
“Phase two is basically a time attack. Maybe going all-out right away was a mistake.”
Still, there was a silver lining.
“Whoa?! My attack just gained an ice attribute!”
That was because the arm I had destroyed was the one imbued with the power of ice. Destroying Natara’s arms allowed us to temporarily wield the attribute each arm had possessed.
“Everyone, wrap cold air around your bodies! Make it strong enough to freeze the rain the instant it touches!”
This way we could neutralize the rain. At the very least, rain frozen solid by our cold wouldn’t be able to absorb our mana.
A few of them were surprisingly talented with ice. They went beyond simply blocking the rain, coating their weapons with it or finding other creative applications.
“What… what is that?”
“Wow……”
“Insane.”
Of course, the one drawing the most attention was me.
My control was so precise it called Regalia to mind. In fact, I was consciously modeling my ice manipulation after her right now. Well, not the current first-year version of her, but the Regalia from the future.
“Hoo.”
Beautiful ice sculptures bloomed across the area in the wake of my white breath. The raw power of cold, fused with explosive talent, had reached the level of creation and manipulation.
“Golem Asura.”
It took a similar three-headed, six-armed form to Natara, but every inch of my creation radiated ferocity. Like demons born solely for battle, each of its hands gripped a weapon forged entirely of ice.
“Restrict its movements.”
“KUOOOOOH!”
“Reincarnate.”
Thud.
With the Asura golem pinning Natara down, this was our chance.
“Everyone, break its arms!”
We had to destroy the arms and claim their powers. I scanned frantically, searching for the one that needed to be destroyed first.
“That one! The arm with the black feather ring! Focus it down first!”
Before coming here, I had studied the statues of the slain beasts to learn exactly what power each of Natara’s arms held. Among them, the absolute priority was the arm containing Halpas’s power—the one I had killed myself. No matter what else happened, that arm had to be dealt with before we touched anything else.
“Hoo……”
“The distance is too great. I’ll have to snipe it from range.”
The Asura golem was doing its best, but unfortunately the arm carrying Halpas’s power was positioned at the very top. In that case, the person who could reach that distance with enough power to shatter it was—!
“Mir!”
“I’m ready!”
Mir, who had already begun gathering light at her barrel, answered immediately. As expected, she had prepared in advance.
“Black Line.”
“White Radiance.”
Our long-range attacks. The strikes of darkness and light stretched outward and pierced straight through Natara’s arm.
Mir’s light, the power of the Goddess, gently stripped away all resistance, while the force of my Heavenly Demon Divine Art smashed through every obstacle in its path. Different methods, identical results. Our Black Line and White Radiance ultimately shattered the arm regardless, and in the sky, along with the flying fragments, the harsh cawing of a crow rang out.
“Caw! Caw!”
Thump.
Hearing the crow’s cry, I pressed a hand to my violently pounding heart and glared upward.
Did it just use Halpas’s power in that brief window?
“Caw!”
But contrary to my expectations, the crow I believed carried Halpas’s power simply circled through the air, cried out a few times, then melted into the empty sky and vanished completely. It wasn’t stealth—it had utterly ceased to exist.
I swear our eyes met at the very end.
If it wasn’t my imagination, the crow had locked gazes with me before disappearing. Then it bowed its head toward me like a subject before its king, offered a gesture of respect, and dissolved into thin air.
Did it disappear because it mistook me for Halpas?
Through Getia’s power I had gained the Demonization skill, but that wasn’t Getia’s original purpose. The being had been created from the desire to possess everything belonging to the seventy-two demons. Numerically, my body still couldn’t endure it, so the ability only boosted my stats through Demonization. Yet deep inside, everything that belonged to Halpas lay dormant.
Even if I knew the true name and sigil to summon Halpas, the one who might actually answer the call could very well be me.
So the crow born from Halpas’s power showed me respect.
Because it thought I was its master.
“Do not break free from your bonds!”
“KUOOO!”
Crunch.
“Ah! Zeon’s golem!”
“Don’t worry.”
At least while we fought Natara, the power of cold would not disappear. Even if the golem broke, it would repair itself on the spot and close any openings.
Thanks to the Asura golem taking every frontal blow from Natara, we gained far more comfortable windows to attack.
“Mmm. But my body suddenly feels strange.”
“Right? It feels kind of bloated.”
“Ugh… I feel nauseous.”
There was a small side effect to destroying Halpas’s arm—our teammates couldn’t handle its power. Since it was a demon’s strength, simply receiving it seemed to place a burden on ordinary people.
I’m fine because of Demonization, and Mir seems okay thanks to the unique nature of her own power.
That didn’t mean she was completely unaffected. Looking closely, Mir’s expression was twisted as if she had seen something truly repulsive.
“Ugh. It’s irritating. Unpleasant. And on top of that, it makes me sick……”
…Yeah. I should avoid using Demonization in front of Mir if at all possible. Her unusually strong reaction somehow left me feeling a little hurt.