Chapter 159
Chapter 159
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 159
Chapter Title: The Third Night (10)
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Temple.
A sacred hall dedicated to a divine being.
A place built to honor some holy figure.
'Aheta drove all deaths into this place.'
He could feel it.
An immeasurably vast death.
In the past, humanity had challenged entry here countless times, only to fail.
They had tasted despair without ever breaching Anubis's wall.
In other words...
'...I'm the first.'
It was something even the distant future had failed at.
And now, having returned to the past, he had succeeded.
Though he hadn't broken through head-on, simply stepping into the temple's interior brought an immense sense of accomplishment.
Moreover, he wasn't completely ignorant about the 'Temple of Death'.
'The orcs' memories. The tale of Priest Yan.'
Back in the Dungeon of Audience, when he'd seized Han Seon's arrangements.
He had broken the seal on Orc Priest Yan and consumed the 'Myriad Blood Vanguard', which held the lives and grudges of ten thousand orcs.
Since then, the orcs' souls had lingered with him, occasionally sharing necessary stories.
Just like now.
Swaaaaa!
As if guiding him like pathfinders.
Before he knew it, incorporeal orcs had appeared before him.
This temple seemed capable of manifesting the souls of the 'dead' into form.
Soon, the orcs opened their mouths as if pleading.
-Aheta turned our world into a sea of fire.
-We lost the war against the 'Legion of Death'.
-Countless deaths led by Anubis!
-Anubis then imprisoned us within this 'temple'.
-But 'Anubis' is just a fallen monster!
-The true master of the Temple of Death is not Aheta.
The orcs had been trapped in this 'temple' after death.
Aheta and Anubis had forcibly confined them.
The orc souls trembled in evident terror.
And soon, another orc revealed itself.
"The one who would become master of 'death'."
This one had a far more solid form than the other orc souls.
Seeing it grip a staff and bow politely, Park Chan-woo replied.
"It's been a while. Yan."
It was Priest Yan, the guardian of the barrier.
However, Yan's appearance was unexpected.
He'd thought Yan had embraced death after blooming the Flower of Life.
Back then, it had been the skeletal form of a necromancer, but now Yan retained the flesh of his living days.
"Yes. It's been a long time. But... you've already entered the 'Temple of Death'."
"Got lucky."
"No. I always believed you'd reach here someday."
"With you all appearing like this, it seems that's a trait of this temple. Right?"
"Yes. The 'Temple of Death' forcibly shapes souls. It's a very dangerous place. That's why no living being can enter originally. Keeping the soldiers out was the right choice."
The soldiers.
It seemed to refer to the test-tube beings evolved from death.
Park Chan-woo tilted his head.
"Why?"
"If they set foot in the temple, the influence of 'death' would grow uncontrollably, withering the Flower of Life and reverting them to Anubis's control. You must have instinctively held them back, Park Chan-woo."
......Indeed.
No matter how they'd evolved into 'Ark Warriors' or 'Ark Knights', having awakened to life meant they couldn't step into the 'Temple of Death'.
Forcing it would revert them to their former state, turning them hostile.
He'd nearly caused a disaster.
The moment he entered with them, his neck would have been severed.
That split-second choice had saved him.
"It wasn't instinct. It just happened that way."
Yan immediately denied it.
"No. From what I've observed at your side, the 'Master of Death' paradoxically possesses a powerful survival instinct. It's the mark of a true 'creator' who endlessly sings of life and pens stories. That will and instinct... they are transcendent."
Hearing that, he couldn't help but chuckle.
It was just a pretty way of saying he'd thrashed to survive.
In any case, if they could be shaped into forms...
'All other dead things exist here too.'
Now he understood the inscription seen upon entering the temple.
It was where the souls of countless races annihilated by Aheta were imprisoned.
Their souls would be bound solely by resentment and grudges.
He couldn't assume they'd be like these orcs.
"...If Aheta isn't the temple's true master, why does he guard it so fiercely?"
"The Temple of Death is Aheta's most vital 'treasure vault'."
"Treasures buried here?"
"To be precise, he creates countless things here for use in the Creation Abyss. The Myriad Blood Vanguard and such are just one example. Because he can shape souls here."
Shapes souls.
Manifests them, gives them substance.
Ten thousand orcs. Their lives and souls contained in a 'vanguard'.
Park Chan-woo stroked his chin.
'Alchemists would drool if they saw this.'
Now he understood why Anubis was used as a gatekeeper to bar intruders.
The temple's value was astronomical.
Its infinite importance couldn't be traded for the entire world.
Yan continued.
"But its primary purpose is 'life creation'."
"...Is Aheta planning to make homunculi?"
"This temple is the grave of countless races. Tribes directly toppled by Aheta, those defeated in wars with the 'Twelve Races', or in the 'Great Racial War'. And Aheta seeks to create a rival race to oppose the Twelve Races himself."
Was that even possible?
Creating a race.
It was beyond mere artificial life.
Was he intending to cross taboos and become a true god?
"What's at the end of this temple?"
"...We don't know. All we remember is despairing within these walls. We'll guide you as best we can, but..."
Thud!
Thud thud!
In an instant.
Something emerged nearby with a deafening roar.
"...Orcs?"
Park Chan-woo frowned.
They were clearly a horde of orcs.
But they were utterly unlike the orcs he knew.
A monster synthesized from multiple orc bodies.
"Forms shaped from souls jumbled together. We call them chimeras. They might have once been orcs... but now they're mere mindless wraiths, stripped of all orc pride."
-We are great warriors!
-Get out of the way!
-Protect Park Chan-woo!
The manifested orcs began clashing with them.
Their numbers kept growing.
Reaching ten thousand, it was a spectacle beyond words.
'This is a real war.'
Yet the orc chimeras' power was no joke compared to regular orcs.
One chimera could match fifty orcs.
"We'll escort you as far as we can."
"Yan. What happens if you die here?"
"We vanish."
"......What?"
"Our souls won't reach the Abyss's 'true sky'. We'll shatter and fade here."
The Abyss's Ninth Heaven.
Yan called it the 'true sky'.
Without reaching it, even summoning the 'Reaper of Souls' couldn't contain them.
In short...
'Eternal loss.'
Gone forever.
"Don't worry. We're not afraid of dissolution. What truly terrifies us is returning here, forgetting everything, and despairing again. Forgetting our orc pride."
Yan pointed his staff at the chimera.
A mere monster devoid of any orc pride.
Once, they too had wandered these halls like it.
"We're just freeing our comrades. So please, don't mind us. We're grateful for this chance."
Yan's expression hardened.
If not now, there'd be no chance to liberate the orcs.
Even if they all vanished, they had to burn away as many orc souls as possible.
So they wouldn't suffer anymore.
Park Chan-woo advanced through the temple, escorted by the ten thousand orcs.
How far had they gone?
Kwaaaak!
Kik! Kiiik!
A massive orc chimera appeared, dwarfing the previous ones.
It felt like hundreds, thousands of orc souls condensed into one.
Seeing it, Yan stammered in shock.
"L-Lord...!"
Priest Yan and the orcs couldn't help but stir.
The Orc Lord!
-Our king!
-Ah, how...!
-Have you been devoured by death!
The master of the orcs.
The absolute guardian all orcs had followed.
He had been consumed by death, becoming a monster.
Mindlessly absorbing orc souls endlessly.
Yet he had been valiant.
An indomitable orc who knew no defeat or fall.
Even so, he couldn't withstand the despair the 'Temple of Death' brought.
Faced with this bitter reality, Yan gripped his staff tightly.
"Peace for the Lord!"
-Peace!
-Liberation!
All the orcs charged with resolute determination.
But...
Bang!
Kwarung!
Their attacks did nothing.
Instead, a single stomp from the Orc Lord erased a hundred orcs.
......An overwhelming sight.
Honestly, he couldn't even gauge its level.
It was unbelievable that this was an orc.
It felt like beholding the legendary 'giant race'.
"...I'm sorry. We couldn't be of much help."
Yan bowed his head.
They'd tried to aid his progress as far as possible, but they'd hit their limit far too soon.
No matter that there were ten thousand orcs, in this 'Temple of Death', they were mere drops in the ocean.
Especially against the Orc Lord.
One that had absorbed countless souls, growing stronger than in life.
Even with Yan joining, they couldn't win.
This was the end.
"Tch. You pathetic lot. Giving up already?"
At that moment.
A familiar voice from behind.
"You...?"
Yan tilted his head at the figure.
An orc he'd never seen was there.
But Park Chan-woo recognized him instantly.
"......Kankun."
Creak!
"Long time no see, my comrade."
Orc Master Kankun!
The one who had climbed the Tower of Arrogance to the summit with him, who had given his heart to Park Chan-woo and met death—he had finally manifested in soul form.