Chapter 211
Chapter 211
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 211
Chapter Title: The Collapsing World
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The world is collapsing.
That was Hanok's thought as he gazed up at the sky from deep within the underground altar.
Hanok had barely managed to take down the weakest of the undead.
Yet fighting something that feeble had left him battered and broken.
But the battlefield around him now teemed with entities incomparable to the one he'd felled.
A colossal Death Worm larger than a building clashed with a Death Dragon, reducing the surroundings to rubble.
Blood rained from the skies above, while rivers of shadow churned below.
Curses erupting from the shadows afflicted even the undead, crumbling them to ash.
"Uwaaak!"
Hanok rolled across the ground to dodge a collapsing building.
The corpse of the fallen undead he landed on shattered into pieces.
In the distance, flames and blue fire exploded.
An endless scene of fierce combat.
Hanok, the only one here who hadn't reached hero-class, shrank back.
"Ha, Haron... Do you think Leyzon really had a reason to leave us here?"
"Kiiing."
Haron could only let out a helpless whine, unable to give a firm answer.
When whales battle, the shrimp's back splits open.
Just like the saying, Hanok could do nothing in this fierce clash.
Kuwaaaang!
Meanwhile, Rackroden hovering in the sky, along with three women, launched a joint assault on the Ossuary.
From the ground rose a Jewel Dragon, colliding with the Ossuary's Spine Dragon.
The Jewel Dragon scattered multicolored lights, pressing the Spine Dragon back.
Rackroden, mounted atop the Jewel Dragon, unleashed a ceaseless barrage of blue flames.
Each time, the Ossuary's black aura neutralized the blue fire.
The Ossuary aimed its staff at Rackroden.
In that instant, space warped, and a massive black bony hand burst forth.
A hand that seemed condensed from death itself.
The moment he saw it, Rackroden leaped from the Jewel Dragon.
Kwajijijik!
The Jewel Dragon was crushed in the bony grasp and shattered to pieces in an instant.
"Recira!"
One of the women cried out the Jewel Dragon's name, but it was too late.
Fragments of the shattered dragon plummeted across the underground city.
Yet Rackroden pressed on undaunted, raining attacks upon the Ossuary without respite.
A desperate resolve emanated from him.
In contrast, the Ossuary handled Rackroden with effortless leisure throughout.
Pakak!
"Kuhak!"
In that moment, a black spear erupted from behind Rackroden, piercing his side.
Before anyone could react, it burned away both his flesh and the spear.
Blood trickled from his lips.
A black spear with no detectable presence.
This was the third time it had impaled him already.
He was barely twisting away at the last second, but the damage was accumulating.
And the others were faring no better.
Not even the abyssal undead could reach the Ossuary.
In such a situation, the Ossuary fixated on just one thing.
The Abyss, who had concealed itself from the start.
Rackroden swallowed his blood and poured forth his power.
"Look over here! I'm the one fighting you!"
With that, he detonated another burst of blue flame and charged.
Hanok watched him streak across the sky, a chill running down his spine.
Everyone was struggling.
He realized anew just how formidable the Ossuary was.
And in its presence, he felt utterly insignificant.
Now, no one paid Hanok any mind.
Even the undead and apostles had all swarmed to that side.
"Kyung!"
Suddenly, Haron barked.
Haron's head popped up over his own shoulder.
"Kelok."
Soon, Haron began regurgitating something.
"Huh?"
Hanok realized it was a note.
He hurriedly unfolded the paper to find Leyzon's handwriting.
His eyes widened round.
Could Leyzon have foreseen this and left something behind?
Hanok's eyes raced across the text.
〔Hanok, I told Haron to give you this when no one was paying attention to you anymore.〕
Hanok felt a pang of sadness.
Leyzon had waited for the exact moment when everyone ignored him.
But Hanok understood it well enough.
〔The Ossuary moves with primal magic, not skills.
It needs the altar.
An altar is fundamentally a site for religious rites—offering sacrifices or prayers.
So there must be specific conditions to activate it.〕
Only then did Hanok grasp his role.
He was the scout to gather intel and definitively destroy the altar.
His eyes gleamed.
The face that had shown frailty moments ago transformed in an instant.
He was a born hunter.
And a warrior who faithfully executed Leyzon's commands.
The order had come.
From that moment, Hanok was already on the move.
Landscape Phantom [A] enveloped his body.
At the same time, the robe he wore thickened its presence-concealing aura.
[Silver Star Robe].
A unique piece of gear Leyzon had personally handed him before departure.
Finally, he employed the footwork taught by the five Crows.
In no time, Hanok's presence had been utterly erased from the area.
The undead and apostles, engrossed in the fierce battle, had no chance to look elsewhere.
They had to tangle with undead spawning endlessly.
The Ossuary was no different.
In a battle this massive,
Even it couldn't notice Hanok, the least among them.
The sole outlier amid the chaos.
That was Hanok.
Hanok ran.
He accelerated further for the mission Leyzon had entrusted.
The specific condition to activate the altar.
What could it be?
The altar centered around a massive statue.
'The answer's been there from the start.'
The fierce battle raged along the northeast line.
Leaving the center slyly distanced.
Perhaps by the Ossuary's design.
Fighting on the periphery to guard the center.
Hanok slipped past undead and apostles, finally breaching the central zone.
The floor had become a circular stone staircase.
Spiraling around the statue.
Mysterious pillars stood at intervals.
Atop each, a human statue with only a head perched.
Descending the stairs felt like entering an antlion pit.
His tail fur bristled.
Instinct screamed to flee.
But Hanok had no intention of retreating.
Instead, he widened his eyes and advanced carefully.
All senses on high alert, never letting his guard down.
At the bottom, his ears perked.
The inside was subtly quieter than outside.
Hanok scanned the surroundings.
The clash outside was visible beyond the walls.
Yet no sound penetrated here.
An eerily bizarre space.
'Like an isolated realm.'
Hanok swallowed hard and examined the statue.
A colossal statue reaching to the ceiling, fingertips nearly touching it.
A pedestal lay at its base.
Hanok leaped onto the pedestal.
Silence.
An unsettling, chilling silence.
"What's here?"
"Kiiing."
Even Haron couldn't say for sure.
Hanok began inspecting the area.
Then his gaze returned to the statue.
He narrowed his eyes for a better view.
The statue's navel.
The moment his eyes fixed there, something sparkled.
Something was there.
With that thought, Hanok was already moving.
He bounded up, climbing the statue's leg.
Scaling a finely carved statue wasn't easy.
But Hanok had Haron.
Haron reshaped his armor for climbing.
Hanok's boots dug into the stone, enabling continuous leaps.
Soon he was far from the ground.
The ongoing battle was visible in the distance.
From above, he saw how dire the situation had become.
Getting caught in that would leave no bones intact.
Hanok climbed without looking back.
Finally reaching the navel.
There nestled a red gem the size of his face.
A gem with an eerie flame burning within.
For some reason, he couldn't tear his eyes away.
It felt undeniably crucial.
Hanok spun the [Silver Knight's Charge Spear] deftly.
Standing firm on two legs, he imbued it with a skill.
The spear whirled as skills layered on rapidly.
Kakakakang!
The thrust spear ground away the stone around the embedded gem.
Carving a circle freed it with a ting.
"Got it!"
Haron then wrapped around Hanok's body.
Kuwaaaaaaaaaaang!
A deafening explosion rang as Hanok plummeted.
Thung! Tureung!
He crashed to the ground, tumbling wildly.
His eyes snapped open.
"Huheo, wh-what?!"
For a moment, his mind blanked on what happened.
He looked up to see someone flying straight toward him.
The Ossuary approaching.
It had flung aside the pesky Rackroden and was coming here.
"Hiiik!"
Hanok's face twisted in terror.
The explosion just now was the Ossuary's attack on him.
He realized Haron had used its once-per-use invincibility.
Without it, he'd be dead.
Realizing this late, Hanok sprang up.
He grabbed the red gem and bolted.
"You little rat!"
The Ossuary's voice boomed from afar.
The price of fixating too much on the Abyss—missing Hanok entirely.
Hanok fled on all fours, gem on his back.
But the Ossuary was far faster.
Black entities rose from the architectural floors everywhere.
Spotting Hanok, they gaped wide to chant curses.
Whooooong!
But their chants were sucked away somewhere.
In this place, curses were permitted to only one.
The Curse Demon King, Eden Yfera.
A gale blew in at the same time.
Kwagagagang!
A massive Death Worm collapsed beside Hanok with a roar.
With it, a Death Dragon landed ahead, crushing undead.
"Shadow Warlord's brother!"
Estelle grasped that Hanok had done something upon seeing the scene.
He needed to link up with Estelle.
With that thought, Hanok sprinted her way.
Kung!
In that instant, the ceiling's darkness split wide.
Kwagagagagang!
A black lightning bolt struck down, birthing a lightning-forged apostle.
The lightning apostle pinned Estelle's head, unleashing attacks.
Estelle roared in response.
Hanok abandoned linking up and veered away.
Ossok!
Killing intent prickled his back.
Hanok twisted reflexively as dozens of black spears bore down.
Just before impalement, blood and shadow surged up.
Kagagagagang!
The black spears clashed with waves of blood and shadow, erupting thunderously.
"Not twice."
Syria, halting the Ossuary, soared into the sky.
She clashed with its black aura, pouring attacks.
But the Ossuary slowed without stopping.
The Ossuary gripped its staff reverse.
Kugugugung!
Buildings warped, blocking Hanok's path one after another.
As Hanok tried scaling a wall,
Kuguguung!
The wall turned to jewels, shattering to open a path.
Hanok dashed along the new route.
Now undead and apostles filled the surroundings.
They shifted targets to Hanok.
Red flames flickered.
Soon a dragonkin appeared, kicking an undead's head.
"Looks like you snagged something."
The Bloodless Sovereign.
Seeing her, Hanok grimaced but shouted,
"I grabbed a red gem from the statue!"
"Got a talent for thieving, huh?"
The Bloodless Sovereign swung her crimson-flamed legs.
Undead and apostles shattered, clearing the way.
"More importantly, that thing looks pissed."
The Bloodless Sovereign eyed the Ossuary closing in at tremendous speed despite obstructions.
Kuwaaaaaaaang!
A massive pillar of blue flame engulfed the Ossuary.
Rackroden exerting himself to hold it back.
Blue flame pillars rose repeatedly.
"Best at buying time."
The Bloodless Sovereign stopped clearing paths.
"Run as far as you can."
Instead, she turned and charged the Ossuary.
Hanok planned to run regardless.
An unexpected game of tag began.
A variable.
The worst scenario for one with a plan.
And this finally irked the Ossuary.
Veins bulging on its head, the Ossuary clapped its hands together.
Pak!
The crisp clap pierced all noise, ringing out clearly.
In that instant, the sound etched into everyone's ears.
"Insignificant vermin."
The Ossuary's robe billowed, myriad red eyes spawning within.
Udeok!
The area plunged into blackness.
All charging at the Ossuary froze mid-motion.
An unforeseen turn.
Behind the Ossuary rose a door evoking hell's gateway, then slammed shut.
"Seal them in purgatory."
Kiiiiiiik—
And the altar was swallowed by darkness.
Kung—