Chapter 173
Chapter 173
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 173
Chapter Title: The Crawling Ossuary
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Within the Resonance World claimed by the Evil Transcendent.
Leyzon met the sharp gazes of Syria and Iden.
Leyzon's current form was that of Ryu Han-hyuk.
In the past, even Pauli hadn't recognized him immediately upon seeing this appearance.
So, he hadn't been entirely unprepared for a situation like this.
Still, facing the killing intent of these two undead head-on was proving quite burdensome.
'They've both grown even stronger through evolution.'
The malice he felt from Iden now was far denser than before.
Just this killing intent alone felt like it could shred his soul to pieces.
Their growth was impressive.
But the problem was that this killing intent was directed at Leyzon himself.
Yet he wasn't the least bit afraid.
Because he knew how to awaken both undead at once.
Leyzon slowly rose from his seat.
A sense of leisure emanated from his eyes.
"Syria Nosferatu, Iden Ufera."
He addressed them by their full names and straightened one of the chairs in the room.
Then, leaning back against it, he sat down slowly.
He brought his hands together in front of him.
His body tilted forward accordingly.
"Think carefully about who you're directing that killing intent toward."
Leyzon had vanished and reappeared as Ryu Han-hyuk.
The two had instinctively reacted to what seemed like a completely different person appearing out of nowhere.
However, if they calmly pieced together the situation, they would realize it soon enough.
Syria and Iden's expressions began to change gradually.
"The material used to create Syria was White Jade Bat."
Syria's face turned stark white.
"For Iden, it was the Thread of Curses."
Iden's face froze solid.
These were the expensive materials he had invested a fortune in to create fine undead.
Of course they remembered them.
Leyzon lowered his posture even further, slowly.
This was information known only to the undead's creator.
"Lord Leyzon, forgive us!"
"We failed to recognize you."
Syria and Iden prostrated themselves flat on the floor simultaneously.
The killing intent that had filled the space vanished in an instant.
Leyzon watched the scene and sighed inwardly.
'That scared me.'
Perhaps because it was his soul, his body reacted far more sensitively to killing intent.
He had thought he was going to die from the stinging pain.
He softened his expression toward them.
"Syria, Iden, come here."
Syria rushed straight to Leyzon.
He caught her in his arms, and she made a tearful face.
"To think I couldn't even recognize you, Lord Leyzon. I'm sorry! I'm such a foolish child!"
"You tricked us completely, Lord Leyzon."
"I needed it to operate in the soul realm. It's fine. It was understandable that neither of you recognized me."
He couldn't tell the truth, so he glossed over it appropriately.
Still, the two undead looked sullen.
"Even Pauli didn't recognize me."
Only when he mentioned Pauli did their expressions ease a little.
They realized it wasn't just them; another undead had failed too.
"I'm actually glad you didn't recognize me. It means I'm that hard to identify, right?"
Encouraging the two undead like this brightened their faces.
"You're right! As expected of Lord Leyzon!"
"Even the Evil Transcendent would be fooled."
Syria and Iden regained their vigor.
He wasn't sure if "undead regaining vigor" was the right phrase.
But seeing them recovered put his mind at ease.
"Good. Then let's go."
Time to search for Flamehead again.
Leyzon quickly opened the door.
At that moment, urgent footsteps echoed from beyond the door.
Flamehead was sprinting down the corridor like a madman from further ahead.
"Abyss, block the door the moment I enter!"
He shouted as he ran at full speed.
Too late, Leyzon realized what was chasing Flamehead.
It was a pitch-black liquid covered in hundreds of masks.
The black liquid filled the corridor as it pursued him.
It looked like something he absolutely shouldn't touch.
"Syria, Iden."
Leyzon called to the two undead and gripped the door tightly.
Shadows and darkness surged from Syria and Iden's bodies.
Thud!
Flamehead barely made it through the entrance.
He normally couldn't enter a private room, but even that rule seemed broken now.
The shadows and darkness slammed into the entrance simultaneously.
Shadows, darkness, and the black liquid collided.
Ruuuumble!
A massive shockwave shook the entire Resonance World.
Through the shadows and darkness, he could see the masks crumbling.
As the impact faded and things quieted down.
Leyzon closed the door he had opened.
Beside him, Flamehead clutched the furniture, gasping for breath.
"Flamehead, what was that just now?"
"Hoo, haa... It's the Soul Shredder planted by the Evil Transcendent. Just as the name implies, it pulverizes souls."
"It's filled this place annoyingly thoroughly."
The Ossuary bastard clearly intended to shatter the Resonance World.
"But since the Resonance World hasn't collapsed yet, that means it hasn't fully taken control, right?"
"Exactly. That's why I hurried in."
Flamehead took a deep breath and raised his finger.
A blue flame flickered on his fingertip.
The moment Leyzon saw that flame, his eyes slowly widened.
"Flamehead."
The eyes undulating within the flame met Leyzon's.
"You're a Beast of the Earth, aren't you?"
Flamehead had always been full of mysteries.
He knew incredibly detailed information about the world.
Even Leyzon had painstakingly gathered and pieced together that info over time.
But Flamehead had known far more from the start.
And that information was all things unknowable through normal means.
'Even the ancient dragon and the knight captain didn't know it properly.'
How had Flamehead known such things?
Leyzon had always wondered about this.
All he had was that one 'blue flame' spreading around.
No one knew where he had lived or operated until now.
But if he was a Beast of the Earth, it all made sense.
Even Carmen, another Beast of the Earth, knew tons of info Leyzon didn't.
What Flamehead wielded wasn't a skill.
In other words, he was a Beast of the Earth.
Flamehead fell silent for a moment.
But since he was already exposed, he didn't bother hiding it and soon spoke.
"Yes, I am a Beast of the Earth."
Flamehead began drawing a magic circle on the floor with flames.
It was unmistakably a form of magic Leyzon had never seen before.
"To be precise, only half."
Half.
Flamehead was a half-breed between an imperial citizen and a Beast of the Earth.
That explained everything.
It also explained why he, unlike other Beasts of the Earth, didn't suffer from the black plague.
"Your parents were high-status humans among the imperial citizens, right?"
"...A noble."
That was why his face exuded nobility.
Leyzon didn't pry further and pulled out a chair to sit.
Flamehead glanced at him while drawing the magic circle.
"You're not going to ask more?"
"Do you want to tell me?"
Leyzon chuckled briefly and waved his hand.
"Nah. I don't like digging into people's pasts."
He had witnessed Flamehead's actions firsthand so far.
The enemy of my enemy could be an ally.
No reason to pick a fight with a potential ally by dredging up the past.
"Besides, you don't want to talk about it, do you?"
Flamehead fell silent.
Leyzon was good at reading people.
From a young age, living a life on the run from his gambler father's debts had honed that skill, like it or not.
So he instantly picked up that Flamehead wouldn't welcome this topic.
In the meantime, Flamehead finally completed the magic circle.
He exhaled through the flames.
"I feel it every time, but you're an unpredictable person."
"I hear that a lot. It's my charm point."
"One thing I know for sure is that you're brazen."
Having lived, he found that living brazenly was the way to go.
So that's how he lived.
He could sense Flamehead's expression lighten a bit.
"Abyss, looks like we'll be seeing a lot of each other."
He agreed with that.
He and Flamehead seemed bound by a long-standing grudge.
"Since we'll be together a while, teach me some of that Beast of the Earth magic."
The Poison Spider was researching primal magic independently.
Still, advice from someone who could wield primal magic would be hugely helpful.
"I'd rather not make you even more dangerous."
The completed magic circle began glowing blue.
"But I'll give you some advice at least."
'What a prickly guy.'
Thoom!
At that moment, the entire Resonance World resonated with the magic circle, rumbling.
The Resonance World was beginning to resonate with his magic circle.
"Abyss, from now on, protect the magic circle until I say it's done."
Thoom!
This time, vibrations came from another direction.
He understood what that meant.
The Evil Transcendent had noticed the suspicious movement in the Resonance World.
Flamehead entered a state of deep focus.
He had entrusted his life to Leyzon without hesitation.
From here on, it was all on Leyzon.
Thoom! Thud! Thud!
The Evil Transcendent began exerting force to shatter the Resonance World.
It planned to crush this place right now.
"Syria, Iden, time for a siege defense."
"Yes! We're ready!"
"Gotta put in some effort now."
The two undead began drawing out their full power in unison.
Darkness and shadows flooded the space in an instant.
Blood and curse power swirled in alongside them.
Their combined forces formed a solid wall.
The Evil Transcendent hammered at this place relentlessly.
But Syria and Iden held firm without budging.
Meanwhile, Leyzon raised his hand into the air.
In his grasp appeared the Staff of Abundance.
The Resonance World originally had restrictions preventing skill use.
But now, with the Evil Transcendent having seized it, the rules were warped.
"Flame Ring."
In other words, Leyzon could use skills.
A ring of flames formed above Leyzon's head.
Skills filled the void in his soul with sensation.
Sure enough, even as a soul, he could use skills.
"Fierce Poison Emission, Attribute Fusion: Blood Crystal, Attribute Fusion: Shadow Execution."
Leyzon began wielding skills freely.
With each one, a black sun slowly formed in front of him.
The light from Flamehead's magic circle intensified.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Accordingly, the Evil Transcendent's hammering grew even fiercer.
In the midst of Syria and Iden pouring out maximum effort.
Leyzon focused solely on birthing the Abyss.
'It's coming.'
They had caused this much commotion.
That thing wouldn't want to lose the Resonance World again.
So it would definitely come.
The Crawling Ossuary.
If it was that bastard, it would surely come to stop this.
Thoom! KABOOOM!
Syria and Iden's eyes narrowed.
The Evil Transcendent was stronger than expected.
The impacts were growing too hard for even the two undead to bear.
"Just a little longer!"
Flamehead shouted as if spitting blood.
He too was pouring out mana to his limits to complete the spell.
At that moment, Leyzon, sweat pouring down his tense face, slowly turned to look ahead.
What reflected in his eyes was the door he had closed just before.
Creeeeak—
Suddenly, without any warning, the door opened.
Neither Syria, Iden, nor Flamehead noticed.
But one person did.
Leyzon was watching the door.
It was pure instinct.
A vague sense that that door would open.
And that sense proved exactly right.
Leyzon unhesitatingly raised the staff.
"Attribute Fusion, Ignition."
Sizzle—
For an instant, flames spread across the Abyss.
Flames mixed with fierce poison blazed fiercely.
He grinned, baring his teeth, at the entity that had appeared beyond the door.
"You've arrived?"
He greeted it warmly.
Then, from within the pitch-black robe, ashen eyes gleamed.
A scythe slowly emerged from the depths of its eyes.
But it was too late.
The ignited black sun surged toward the door.
He pointed and lowered the staff.
"Eternal Slumber."
The ignited blaze instantly turned into an inferno.
Soon after, the black sun underwent an unprecedented explosion.
In one room of the Resonance World enveloped by the Evil Transcendent.
The explosion that began there erupted all at once.