Chapter 132
Chapter 132
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 132
Chapter Title: Evil's Transcendent Being
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That existence held scant information even in Dungeon Replay.
However, one thing was certain.
Borrowing power from Evil's Transcendent Being always came at a tremendous cost later on.
But who were players, after all?
Even if it meant paying a heavy price, they'd rack their brains to squeeze every bit of efficiency out of it.
Leyzon had once been one of them.
He'd played Dungeon Replay countless times.
He loved it so much that even now, a decade later, he still remembered it vividly.
And one conclusion Leyzon had reached after all that:
'Evil's Transcendent Being is something you never get tangled with, no matter what.'
Even a veteran like Leyzon had never conquered it.
The system was designed so that the moment you contracted with Evil's Transcendent Being, your character would inevitably meet its end, one way or another.
No amount of rewards mattered if your character died.
So Leyzon had washed his hands of it.
But before he did, he'd gone through trial after trial of errors.
And in one of those experiments,
Leyzon had tried a change in perspective.
'If the character is going to die as the price anyway...'
What if he killed Evil's Transcendent Being first?
Of course, Leyzon hadn't managed to kill it.
Evil's Transcendent Being was an out-of-game object.
But in the process, he'd learned a few crucial facts.
He couldn't kill Evil's Transcendent Being, but he could use it without contracting.
Kwaaaaang!
Right before his eyes.
The apostle of Evil's Transcendent Being burst through Line Roden Forest.
Hundreds of insect legs sprouted from the head of Evil's Transcendent Being's apostle.
Its body was endlessly massive, like a fusion of maggots and humans.
Its torso was bloated, swollen with water-like flesh.
And amid that flesh, countless eyes blinked grotesquely.
A rotten stench emanated from Evil's Transcendent Being's apostle.
"Kkuuuh."
Hanok bristled his fur, expressing his agony.
The smell had seeped in before Syria could block it with shadows.
A monster so profane it defied comprehension at first glance.
But Leyzon smiled upon seeing Evil's Transcendent Being's apostle.
Malice dripped from that smile.
Evil's Transcendent Being demanded he retrieve Eden's daughter.
For that, he needed plenty of apostles.
And here one had walked right into his lap.
Of course he was thrilled.
Thud thud thud thud thud thud!
Evil's Transcendent Being moved its numerous maggot legs, charging forward.
The thing was the size of a house.
Before the beast that pulverized the forest completely,
A Shadow Wolf stood tall.
Within that Shadow Wolf,
Leyzon twirled the Staff of Abundance.
"Eden."
At Leyzon's call, a man stepped out from the shadows.
A gray-suited man with his mouth sewn shut.
Eden Yupiter.
The Sword Saint narrowed his eyes at his appearance.
Even the Sword Saint sensed Eden's strength.
At that moment, straw burst from the curse doll that was his body.
He swelled enormously in an instant, infused with darkness-laden straw.
"Gueeeek!?"
The apostle cried out in shock at the sight of Eden.
A giant had suddenly appeared, its head brushing the sky.
But startled as it was, the apostle didn't falter.
Instead, it accelerated, charging madly.
Before the apostle,
The straw giant clenched its fist like a hammer.
"Block it."
At Leyzon's command, the straw giant slammed down its hammer fist.
Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!
With the impact of the blow, the apostle's body toppled.
Unlike its confident charge, it rolled across the ground, devastating the river and forest.
The apostle tumbled wildly.
'Its durability matches its massive size.'
Leyzon gauged the apostle's level as it flew.
It had taken the straw giant's fist head-on and survived.
'At least Hero-grade apostle or higher.'
Fitting for the home of Evil's Transcendent Being devotees, the Impudent Highland.
A dangerous apostle had appeared.
But the apostle didn't know.
That the place it had rushed into on its own was far more perilous.
Pajijijik!
In that instant, Leyzon spotted a streak of red lightning.
The lightning bolt arced toward the apostle's position above.
Just then, the apostle thrashed, trying to rise after the straw giant's hit.
Thud!
Simultaneously, someone landed on the apostle's belly.
An overwhelmingly house-sized apostle.
Anything climbing on would be like an ant.
Normally, it'd be flung off and crushed the moment the apostle shook.
'But.'
The one atop the apostle now was no ant.
'The worst matchup for an apostle.'
Leyzon spotted a red-haired man in his view.
He raised a sword steeped in holy power above his head.
Red sparks spread from his entire body.
Sword Saint, Begris Fernando.
A holy swordsman clad in divine power.
The worst matchup for apostles—and he brought his blade down without hesitation.
Kwang!
The apostle's belly caved inward with an explosion of sound.
Purple blood sprayed from the apostle's maw along with a scream.
But the Sword Saint's sword knew no mercy.
He struck relentlessly without pause.
Kwang! Kkang! Kwang!
What monstrous strength—it delivered shocks even the apostle's durability couldn't withstand, one after another.
'Vicious bastard.'
Leyzon shook his head, watching the Sword Saint pound the same spot repeatedly.
"Gueeek!"
Sure enough, the apostle writhed in immense pain.
Ferocious energy poured from the Sword Saint's eyes.
He maintained a steady stance regardless of the apostle's thrashing.
His upright swings tore the apostle's body to shreds.
The Sword Saint hammered the apostle mercilessly.
Then, Leyzon noticed the apostle's body contracting.
Jjeok!
As it contracted, the flesh split open.
Thousands of thorns shot out from the gaps.
Poison-laced thorns rained in all directions.
The Shadow Wolf dashed across the ground, dodging them all.
Kwaaaang!
Instead, the thorns pulverized every tree.
Thorns larger than humans overwhelmed even Line Roden Forest.
The surroundings lay in total ruin amid flying debris.
A red lightning bolt streaked through the air.
Even the Sword Saint would be in danger facing those high-density thorns head-on.
So he'd activated Thunderbolt [SS], becoming red lightning to escape.
Before long, the Sword Saint landed beside the Shadow Wolf.
He glared over with evident displeasure.
"Vampire Queen. When do you plan to step in?"
When?
She already had.
Kuwoong!
In that instant, the apostle's body floated into the air.
As if unaware its massive bulk could fly,
The eyes on its body bulged wide.
Beneath the apostle,
A surging red shadow had launched the hefty apostle skyward.
The shadow didn't stop there.
It split with a jjeok,
Then snapped shut like jaws of teeth.
Kwadududuk!
"Kkuuuuuuk!"
Shadow teeth sank deep into the apostle's flesh.
The apostle screamed desperately as its maggot sections tore away.
But its ordeal wasn't over.
Inside the shadow,
Orbs of blood bubbled up.
As the apostle flailed, unaware of what they were,
The blood orbs split into hundreds and surged upward.
The blood unleashed red sparks in unison.
Blood Religion [SSS]
Pierces thick flesh, shatters bones, ravages internals
Perk!
The blood orbs pierced the apostle's thick flesh, racing inside.
They shredded flesh and bone, wreaking havoc within.
The apostle danced like a marionette in agony.
It resembled a fanatic crying out to the heavens.
Purple blood erupted repeatedly from its body.
Inside the shadow, a beautiful girl floated.
A bright smile adorned her lips.
It was a smile no human could feel—thoroughly unsettling.
Vampire Queen.
Syria Nosferatu.
The pinnacle of undead at Corruption Level 19.
To show what that meant, Syria unleashed her power mercilessly.
The apostle, its body mangled, twisted free.
The shadow constricted its body, inflicting torment.
But somehow, it wriggled out of the shadow.
And immediately began rolling madly across the ground.
A massively heavy apostle.
With the rotational force it had built, it barreled along the earth.
"It's escaping."
The Sword Saint noticed and prepared to kick off.
"Escape?"
But Leyzon already knew it was over.
Syria's blood orbs had already infiltrated the apostle's body.
"Syria."
Leyzon called, and spoke at once.
"Finish it."
"Yes."
Syria raised her hand and clenched it.
In that moment, the apostle's body halted abruptly.
Kwagagagang!
Unable to overcome its rolling momentum, it tumbled across the ground.
Line Roden Forest shattered in its wake, but the apostle lay still, toppled.
Like a battery drained dry.
At the same time, the apostle's body tore apart in an instant.
What emerged from its body were red bats.
The blood bats devoured the flesh from the inside out.
The Sword Saint watched the apostle silently from beside the Shadow Wolf.
The apostle had reached cardiac arrest.
The blood orbs inside had shattered its heart.
Apostles wore the guise of living beings too.
A destroyed heart meant death all the same.
The Sword Saint's gaze slowly shifted back to the Shadow Wolf.
He had mounted the apostle moments ago and swung his sword.
'If it had just been my sword, it wouldn't have cut so easily.'
The Sword Saint felled the apostle easily because he was a holy swordsman.
Without holy power, inflicting damage wouldn't have been simple.
The apostle's soft flesh halved damage.
Yet inside were muscles harder than steel.
For all its appearance, its defensive prowess was on another level.
Even so, Syria's blood orbs pierced everything to reach the heart.
The Sword Saint felt the unbridgeable gap.
As he'd grown stronger since before, so had Syria.
That wasn't all.
The Sword Saint's eyes fixed on the Shadow Wolf.
Within the Shadow Wolf,
An unsettling presence lingered.
Having pursued the Vampire Queen, the Sword Saint knew her master.
'Abyss.'
The pinnacle of necromancers.
And on the day he reunited with Syria,
The one who'd unhesitatingly sent him flying.
Then.
Jjeok—
The Shadow Wolf parted, and someone stepped out.
A figure whose face was fully concealed by the equipment [Black Mask].
Abyss, Leyzon.
In that instant, the Sword Saint sensed a massive surge of mana.
Above his right hand,
A crystal swirled with mingled colors.
The Sword Saint winced at the sight of the crystal.
The power within made even him shudder.
Trees wove together beneath Leyzon's feet, forming a catapult.
Leyzon casually tossed the crystal into the cradle.
The apostle was already dead.
The Sword Saint couldn't fathom why he was doing this.
Then.
Hwooung!
The apostle's body, torn by red bats, compressed all at once.
The house-sized apostle shrank to human scale in a blink.
Eyes embedded in its flesh gleamed amid black skin.
The humanoid monster bared its jaw wide, exposing raw muscle without skin.
The second phase common to most Hero-grade apostles.
A form that unleashed full power in crisis,
Discarding defense to maximize attack and speed.
But it was the worst choice.
Before the apostle as it kicked off the ground,
The crystal launched from the catapult was already at its nose.
The apostle saw the light emanating from it.
"Fierce Poison Cataclysm."
A voice echoed from somewhere.
And that was the last sight the apostle beheld.
Jet-black light swallowed Line Roden whole, obliterating it.
Trees snapped like twigs, scattering everywhere.
A gale-force wind hurled even the swollen river waters away.
The monsoon clouds couldn't withstand it, revealing clear blue skies.
Shwaaa—
The inverted river waters poured down belatedly.
Amid it all, Leyzon slowly lowered his aimed staff.
Not a speck of the apostle remained.
The Sword Saint watched the scene with wide eyes.
He'd experienced that spell's power firsthand before.
But it was stronger now than then.
'So he wasn't even at full strength that day.'
And he still showed leeway.
That previous output wasn't his maximum either.
No lone mage could unleash such might.
The Sword Saint had always been confident of victory against mages.
But if he fought Leyzon again, he couldn't predict triumph rashly.
Even if he pierced the undead to reach him,
He lacked confidence in breaching his magic.
Flap flap—
In that moment, a single red bat flew in, clutching something trapped in a crimson blood crystal.
An intensely unsettling aura emanated from it.
Leyzon leisurely accepted the blood crystal.
Beneath the sunlight forced out by the dispersed clouds,
In the very place he'd destroyed, Leyzon smirked.
The Shadow Wolf and Vampire Queen flanked his right.
The curse-ridden demon lord filled his left.
Leyzon turned his head, red bat perched on his hand.
The pitch-black Black Mask cloaking his skin oozed menace.
The Sword Saint quietly swallowed.
This scene screamed the heart of evil, the descent of great malevolence.
The empire's foremost black curtain.
The necromancer pinnacle whose existence was once uncertain: Abyss.
Chill!
Facing him, the Sword Saint inadvertently gulped.
Up close, it was clear.
This man was truly dangerous.
"Sword Saint."
Then, Leyzon spoke.
The Sword Saint tensed at the mere call.
A Level 18 Ascension Silver Hero, on edge from one word.
Cold sweat beaded on his back.
Could he win against this man right now?
The Sword Saint couldn't gauge it.
"There won't be just one apostle at Impudent Highland."
His eyes slowly widened at the following words.
His face twisted in realization.
Hero-grade apostles were rare.
More of them spelled disaster.
"Evil's Transcendent Being's devotees came prepared."
The Sword Saint set aside his tension toward Abyss.
His words muddled his mind.
But priorities remained regardless.
Protect civilians from apostles.
It was a noble's duty.
The Sword Saint knew his duty.
"Then to Berra it is."
Leyzon grinned at his crisp reply.
He couldn't know how chilling his masked smile looked to the Sword Saint.