Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: The Forsaken Creature's Second Phase
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“Kraaaak! You insolent…”
The monster couldn’t even finish its sentence before staggering back unsteadily. The weapons in its hands clattered to the floor and melted away into shadows, dissolving into the abyss.
It was the signal for the start of phase two.
I put some distance between us and caught my breath. It was time for a brief rest. As I did, I glanced down at the bloodstained sword in my right hand. Its blade was shining as brightly as the sun.
The eclipse’s duration was nearly up—the flickering light gradually faded away. I drew the holy catalyst from my waist and pressed it against the bloodied blade.
Radiant sunlight welled up once more.
‘…A bug?’
Ever since the holy catalyst had suddenly started glowing, this had been the situation. No matter how much I used Eclipse, I never felt my faith depleting.
On its own, it was an incredibly welcome development, but that didn’t mean I could blindly celebrate. It might be a good situation, but it sure as hell wasn’t a normal one.
‘I’ve never heard of a hidden gimmick in the Forsaken Creature boss fight.’
If there had been something like that, it would’ve been uncovered long ago, one way or another.
Just like any single-player package game, Brutal 4 had been thoroughly data-mined by countless players. The Brutal series in particular had a tradition of overflowing with dummy data, which made it even more so.
There were even mods that implemented nothing but the leftover dummy data. So even if there had been a hidden gimmick, it would’ve been completely dissected over the past ten years.
But I’d never heard of anything like unlimited faith suddenly refilling in the middle of the Forsaken Creature boss fight.
‘…Well, good is good, I guess. Doesn’t seem to be harming me.’
There was no sign of life force draining or anything like that.
No obvious penalties were visible right now, and if there were any hidden ones, there was no point worrying about them since I couldn’t figure them out on my own anyway.
I could always ask the heresy inquisitors or interrogators after I got out of here. For now, I was too busy making the most of this opportunity.
Under the premise that I could use Eclipse infinitely, I might be able to finish this in under an hour if I played it right.
“Aaaah… Aaaaaah…”
The monster, clutching its entire face with its four arms and groaning in agony, suddenly threw its head back and gazed at the ceiling. Then it cried out in a voice thick with anguish.
“Benevolent Sun! Merciful Moon! Why have you forsaken me! Why have you cast me out!”
It was the dialogue from phase two’s cutscene. It would mutter a few more lines like that before coming at me again, so I just had to rest until then.
Whether the theocracy’s doctrines were right about the gods creating the world, or whether this monster was truly their handiwork, I didn’t know. But if you carefully read the background descriptions on all the items related to it, every single one boiled down to it getting exactly what it deserved.
It had tried to blanket the world in shadows and abyss to take the gods’ place, and this was where it had been exiled as punishment.
And yet it thought it had done nothing wrong and had been unjustly abandoned. There was zero sympathy to spare.
After unleashing a torrent of grievances toward the heavens, it lowered its head again. All eight of its eyes fixed on me. Its jagged teeth clacked together irritably.
“You know nothing!”
Shadows and abyss began gathering in its hand, soon transforming into a holy catalyst. It was far more grotesque than the ones used by the theocracy’s NPCs or players.
“My way is the righteous one! This world must be submerged in the abyss!”
Its gravelly phase one voice had sunk even lower, replaced by a slightly higher-pitched tone. It seemed like its true personality was starting to show now that I’d chipped away at its health a bit.
A murky glow enveloped the catalyst. Black energy crept up and coalesced above its head. The black mass soon turned into a sun and a moon.
Or more accurately, crude orbs mimicking their appearance. For something dripping shadows and abyss to call itself the sun and moon—it’d make the theocracy’s people foam at the mouth.
The orbs hovering above its head gleamed with an ominous black light. From phase two onward, magic attacks were added to its existing arsenal, making things even more chaotic. This was the opening pattern signaling it.
Kwaaaang! The sun and moon exploded, scattering fragments everywhere. An enormous number of black shards rained down across the entire boss room. I steadily backed away to secure some space.
Where the sun fragments landed, black flames erupted. Where the moon fragments hit, black frost surged up. When the frost and flames met, yet another explosion rocked the room.
Roars and blasts filled the boss room. It was absolute mayhem.
In the midst of it all, as I dodged the sun and moon shards plummeting nearby, the Forsaken Creature charged at me with heavy thuds.
The holy catalyst in its right hand blackened and morphed into a flail. The flail swept horizontally across the floor, scraping toward my position. I rolled out of the way and closed in.
I was about to strike its leg, but spotted a fragment falling my way and quickly changed course, dashing left. The fragment detonated spectacularly right where I’d been.
‘Annoying.’
The magic wouldn’t last forever and would die down soon, but missing that damage window stung a little. Even after it ended, more spells would come flying.
It used the holy catalyst as a medium, mimicking the theocracy pontiffs’ holy spells perfectly—but this was black magic, not holy. That’s what tricked so many people.
“Dyeing the world in abyss! That is the mission I bear!”
It was spouting nonsense now. After centuries without feeling pain, it seemed to have lost its mind.
Phase one had just been a mask—phase two was likely showing its true colors. Listening to it talk, it sounded even more pathetic than in the game.
‘To think this loser was the first pontiff…’
True to the Brutal series’ style of revealing lore indirectly through item descriptions and character relations rather than spoon-feeding it, even this tiny detail tied into the setting.
Fans had scraped together every clue and fired up their Brutal brains, concluding that the Forsaken Creature was the originator of black magic—and the theocracy’s first pontiff.
For the theocracy’s greatest enemy to be its founding pontiff—it was deliciously ironic.
Kwaduduk!
I rolled past a hammer covered in writhing black liquid. As it slammed into the floor, a sickening squelch echoed, like flesh being pulverized.
In phase two, you couldn’t use parry on its weapons—you could only use it against tail swipes and stomps. And there was a good reason for that.
All the weapons it wielded now dealt magic damage.
They looked no different on the surface. But unlike phase one, its swings in phase two inflicted pure magic damage, not physical. Parry would just let the damage penetrate right through.
And there was no need to belabor the point—I was a pathetically fragile human who’d drop dead from that penetrating damage alone.
After targeting its left calf repeatedly, I rolled back out. Black flames erupted near its foot. At the same instant, a black magic bolt plunged vertically right above my head.
I widened the gap while keeping an eye on its movements. A flail formed in its upper right arm, an axe in its lower left, while the holy catalysts in its other two arms glowed brightly.
‘That pattern.’
This one demanded full focus.
First came the black magic axe flying at me. I rolled out precisely to the left diagonal. The catalyst in its opposite hand unleashed black flames, but I was already gone.
It scraped its tail across the floor as it turned. I parried that and immediately raised my sword to reduce combat fatigue. I rolled past the hammer in its left hand and twisted my body.
A black flame streaked past right beside my head. Even in the game, it was doable with a little care about dodge directions.
‘Right hand, left hand, magic, magic, left hand, right hand, and finally magic.’
I recited the combo sequence in my head and moved my body accordingly. Brutal rupture sounds and black magic blasts kept grazing right past me.
Finally, the axe smashed the floor, triggering a massive explosion. I seized the opening to swing my sword again. Another scream tore from the monster’s maw.
I landed a few more hits while it was staggered, then quickly retreated. After letting out anguished groans for a while, the monster glared at me with gleaming eyes. I ignored it and prepared to press the attack.
“You… were hiding your power.”
Or at least, I tried to.
If it hadn’t suddenly spoken in a strangely calm voice.
‘Hiding my power?’
What a ridiculous thing to say. If I had power to hide, I wouldn’t be in this mess. Why the hell would I hide it? I’d been using everything I had from the start.
In a world where one dodge meant life or death, there was no reason or desire to play weak. If I held back and died, I’d go out with eyes wide open in regret.
“What bullshit is that? Did getting beat finally break your brain?”
“Do not deny it.”
The monster growled.
“I sense the divine power of the sun and moon from you.”
‘…Huh?’
What the hell was that?