Chapter 44
I’ll translate the chapter into natural English and format the system messages as styled HTML blocks, keeping the title line exact and preserving the chapter’s tone and terminology.CHAPTER_TITLE: Chapter 44
When we were quickly clearing out the goblins—
“Huh, this is easier than I expected.”
Ye Jiram said as she blasted away another goblin core.
“There isn’t anything bigger coming after this, is there?”
“……I’m not sure.”
I rolled my eyes as I swung the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword.
[122/150]
The number kept climbing. Once it was full, another bastard would be summoned.
I guess we have to kill that thing.
That seemed to be the case.
Bang—!!!
As I dealt with a goblin, I glanced at Ye Jiram.
She really is experienced.
Maybe it was because she’d been active for so long as an A-class superhuman, but she handled her power with complete familiarity.
Not only did she distribute her skills well, she hunted goblins without moving an inch from her spot.
Compared to that...
What about me?
Crack—!!!
The sword wasn’t familiar to me, so my movements were sluggish, my distribution of strength was clumsy, and pointless fatigue kept piling up.
The so-called skill I was using—
Useless.
One-hit kill techniques. Since the Heavenly Demon’s Fangs made me lose consciousness the moment I used it, I couldn’t rely on it either.
……Tch.
That was the sort of problem you ran into when you were thrown into real combat with a sword in hand.
It was the kind of moment that forced you to face reality.
And then, while I was fighting Ye Jiram in earnest—
[148/150]
At last, the number filled up.
“Two left. Let’s finish this.”
“Yes.”
The moment Ye Jiram’s thorn shot out, my sword smashed through a goblin’s torso.
Crack.
[150/150]
Just like that, the number was completely filled.
“Looks like there’s nothing more. Then the next room should open—”
■ The wraiths of the dead are being filled.
■ The wraiths of the fallen are being filled.
■ The lord of Maze 10F.
■ The King of the Dead: Commander of Wraiths is being born.
Hissssss---!!!!
Black smoke, from nowhere, began pouring toward the center of the room.
■ Warning.
■ Warning.
“What the hell?”
The siren that suddenly blared filled the room with a sound I couldn’t even place.
“What is this all of a sudden—”
As Ye Jiram looked around in confusion—
■ The wraith of the reaper is being filled.
■ The lord of Maze 10F.
■ The King of the Dead: Commander of Wraiths is being born.
—!!!
Black smoke grew denser and denser, until it finally took on a shape.
■ Warning.
■ Exercise caution.
The interior of the labyrinth shook as if an earthquake had struck.
The difficulty of the gate can rise?
I’d never heard of anything like that. The difficulty of a gate was supposed to be fixed from the start, so what the hell did they mean by raising it all of a sudden?
And an S-class one, at that.
“……What the hell. What are we supposed to do?”
Ye Jiram reacted the same way.
“The difficulty went up. Just what is about to come out of that thing...?”
The shaking intensified even further, until cracks began to spread across the wall.
The smoke that had been spilling out gathered little by little,
and finally, as the trembling subsided, it took the shape of something.
At a glance, it looked human, but it didn’t take long to realize it was not.
A huge figure, too large for a human, draped in thick, rusted armor and holding a sword.
The moment I saw it, goosebumps rose all over me.
Danger sensed.
The most vicious killing intent I’d ever felt through my danger-sense.
When I tensed and froze in place—
Swish—!
A flash of red gleamed from within the dim visor.
The strategy is the sam—
Hooosh—!
Before I could even finish the thought, something came crashing down in front of me.
A blade? The Commander of Wraiths had swung its sword at me.
It was too late to dodge. Just as it looked like my head was going to be crushed—
“What are you doing!”
With Ye Jiram’s sharp shout, my body lurched sideways.
Crkkk—!!!! The sword slammed down on the place where I had been standing.
Ye Jiram had cracked her whip and yanked me out of the way.
“Focus—! Are you out of your mind?”
“……Sorry.”
I’d nearly died. I tightened my nerves and stared at the Commander of Wraiths. The thing pulled the sword embedded in the floor free and turned its gaze toward us.
[Danger sensed.]
[Hero’s Super-sensory is activating—]
Before the system text could even appear, I moved my sword.
Bang—!!!
“Kgh!”
I blocked the Commander of Wraiths’ sword.
I’d read the attack route and moved first, but—
Crack.
Crap.
Even blocking it put strain on my hand. Pain shot through it.
“……Stay there.”
Wooooooong—!!!! I could feel energy surging from Ye Jiram’s side.
“Black Moon Flying Thorn Bullet.”
Swish-rustle-rustle—!!!!
Her whip split as if into countless strands and began slashing at insane speed.
The whip lashed out like it would rip the Commander of Wraiths apart, but—
Kwa-ga-ga-gak-!
Thud-thud-thud—! Most of the attacks bounced off the Commander of Wraiths entirely.
They didn’t work at all.
And then—
Crack—!
“Ugh!?”
The sword I was blocking suddenly moved, and my field of vision changed all at once.
Bang—!!
“Ghk!”
The Commander of Wraiths put force into its sword and flung me away.
I slammed into the wall and coughed up blood.
My vision wavered for an instant.
“Uuugh...”
This was the first time I’d felt pain like this. Had I ever been injured in a gate before? Probably not even once.
“Haaah... Hah.”
My head spun.
“Aaah!”
A scream rang out. The Commander of Wraiths charged at Ye Jiram.
“You ugly bastard...!”
She barely dodged the sword and wrapped her whip into a tight coil.
Black Moon Demon Bullet.
The coiled whip spun with blinding speed and shot toward the Commander of Wraiths.
But—
Grrrrrkkk—!!!
This time, it landed with a little more impact than before. In the end, it was only a scratch.
Kekekekek—
Perhaps angered by being attacked, the Commander of Wraiths made a grotesque sound and tried to strike Ye Jiram.
Right then.
Crack.
I dragged my battered body forward and charged again.
Fwoosh. Flame seeped into the sword.
■ Heavenly Demon Divine Sword activated.
■ Heavenly Demon Divine Art has been used.
■ Duration: 15 seconds.
All right, then. It was now or never. That was the conclusion I reached as I used the skill.
The Heavenly Demon’s skill that had even torn through Irene’s barrier swept over the Commander of Wraiths.
Ku-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak----!!!!!
A deep navy flame shot out and struck the Commander of Wraiths.
Did it work?
The attack had landed. If I could just destroy the core here—
[Danger sensed.]
[Hero’s Super-sensory is activating.]
“What?”
It wasn’t dead? How the hell wasn’t it dead?
I didn’t have time to wonder.
Tingling—!
“Kuh!”
The backlash from the skill hit me. This was bad.
Through the flames, red light gleamed. Swoosh—!!! The Commander of Wraiths’ sword flew toward me.
Ah, damn it.
This was death. I couldn’t dodge it. Just as I clenched my teeth and braced myself—
Bang—!
“Ugh!?”
A shock slammed into me and shoved my body aside.
For a second I couldn’t tell what had happened, but to my shock, it was Ye Jiram.
She’d slammed into me and knocked me out of the way.
In that case—
……The attack—!
The Commander of Wraiths’ sword struck Ye Jiram.
Kwaaaang--!!!
Her body was hurled straight into the wall by the blow.
...
I had to lie sprawled on the floor and watch it happen.
“Ye Jiram!”
It was the first time I’d ever called her by name. Debris rained down from the wall. I couldn’t see what had become of her.
■ Party member has died.
...
So that woman... died in my place?
Why?
I was stunned. Not just stunned—
God damn it.
This whole situation made my blood boil.
Grrrkkekekek...
As the navy flame disappeared, the Commander of Wraiths came fully into view.
Its armor had melted away, and the rotten flesh beneath had been torn apart so badly that bone was showing through.
Inside the exposed chest, I could see a red sphere, unlike anything in the other goblins.
So that was the core.
If I broke that, the bastard would die.
“......How?”
I couldn’t do it. Now that Ye Jiram was dead too, was there any way left to beat that thing?
My eyes trembled. At this rate, I was just going to fail the gate clear.
Already... the duration too.
Only a few seconds remained.
When this ended, I’d lose consciousness.
Dammit.
Was this how it ended?
Even so.
I had to do what I could. I grit my teeth and got back up. If only for a few seconds, I had to keep fighting.
“Ah...!”
The sword wasn’t in my hand. I must have dropped the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword when I was flung back.
The sword lay on the floor over there. I needed to grab it quickly—!
■ The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword is falling away from the body.
■ It is possible to change from the Heavenly Demon (S) attribute to the War God (EX) attribute.
■ Would you like to change it?
...
The notification that rose up froze my body in place. Right.
...My attribute.
The Heavenly Demon had been something I’d put on top of myself.
My original reincarnated self was not that.
■ 2 seconds remain on the skill duration.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword was already at the end of its duration.
Geeeeeeeeek—!!!!!
The Commander of Wraiths was regenerating its body little by little.
Would you like to change it?
There was no need to think.
Greeee... e... e... e... ex—
The sound cut off.
The Commander of Wraiths was still charging at me, but—
It slowed down.
The speed at which it approached.
The sound it made.
Even its presence as I felt it.
Everything had become shallow. The thing that had looked absolutely impossible to beat had, in an instant, become—
A bug.
Something I could crush without effort.
Ki... eeeeek...
■ Danger sensed.
■ Hero’s Super-sensory is activating.
The Commander of Wraiths had slowed beyond all measure. Its sword descended gently.
My heightened senses picked out the opening inside its attack.
What I needed to do.
I didn’t have the time to think about that sort of thing before my body moved first.
The second stance of Patcheonmu activated.
■ Automatic counterattack (3%) failed.
The skill’s automatic counterattack didn’t trigger, but that didn’t matter.
I can see it.
The space inside the Commander of Wraiths’ attack where a counter could fit. The speed. The timing.
Everything was visible.
Following that path, I drove my fist forward.
Wooooooong---!!!!
A strange sensation surged up from below my navel.
It rushed through every blood vessel in an instant.
An intense rush of ecstasy stabbed through my head.
My fist slipped past the sword and struck the Commander of Wraiths square in the chest.
Thunk.
That light sound was followed by—
Kwa-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-gak------!!!!!!
An enormous gale erupted, ripping the Commander of Wraiths apart and smashing every wall in the labyrinth to pieces.
Crack.
The Commander of Wraiths vanished without even leaving a shape behind, and the walls fell into ruin.
At the same time—
■ Gate Maze Appearance (A->S) 10F has been cleared.
■ Achievement: First Conqueror of the Labyrinth completed.
■ You have successfully used Paryeolbando directly for the first time.
■ Synchronization Rate has increased by 1%.
■ The War God is faintly pleased.
■ Party 328 has cleared the gate.
■ Rewards have been distributed.
■ As Maze 10F is cleared, entry conditions for 9F have been unlocked.
■ Congratulations.
■ You have taken one step closer to the end of the world.
The notifications came flooding down on me.