Chapter 161
Chapter 161
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 161
Chapter Title: The Third Night (12)
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The moment he checked the message that popped up...
'Outer God...!'
Park Chan-woo couldn't hold back his admiration.
Eternal, not death. The master of the temple overseeing that name was an Outer God—an external deity.
Transcendental beings considered the most special even among ancient existences.
There was no clear interpretation of them.
Not a few worshiped them as true gods.
Others called them 'Outer Gods'—entities that had awakened as supremely exalted beings beyond the world itself, even attaining divinity.
Opinions varied, but one thing was certain: they were superior in and of themselves.
However, Park Chan-woo knew what they were.
Outer God.
Commonly known as an external deity.
'Dimensional destroyers that should be inside the Great Rift.'
The Great Rift.
After the Abyss appeared, these dimensional destroyers had emerged several times, singing of apocalypse.
They unfolded on a scale utterly different from ordinary rifts, and the colossal monsters bursting from them were said to be powerful enough to threaten the Abyss and all other races alike.
Park Chan-woo had never experienced a Great Rift himself.
But long ago, he had witnessed once—just once—an 'ancient existence' that emerged from one and was then sealed away.
It was called an 'external deity,' wielding godlike powers true to its name.
'Aheta sealed an Outer God here.'
Now he understood why Aheta was obsessed with the 'Temple of Death.'
And why he cherished this place above all else.
A temple sealing an Outer God.
One powerful enough to store souls and even grant them form—it held value that any lord would covet.
He could guess why mysteries overflowed in this land of the 'Third Night.'
The leyline energy here was on another level entirely from ordinary territories.
A land meticulously selected by Aheta to withstand an Outer God.
What had the bastard sought by investing such immense value?
'A wish.'
He could guess that too.
The creation of a race surpassing the twelve races!
Producing a new species—that was his wish.
Whether it had succeeded, he didn't know, but if it was the Outer God he knew, it seemed possible.
He stroked his chin thoughtfully.
Make a wish, and it comes true.
Simple words, but if truly possible...
'...I could eliminate my death sentence.'
Erasing the already confirmed and progressing 'negative level' wouldn't be easy.
No, there was no need to erase it anyway.
It meant his growth potential and limits were inherently higher.
It might be tough now, but as his level rose, he'd gain strength beyond others' trajectories.
But the 'death sentence' was different.
It was purely tied to Park Chan-woo's death.
Less than 500 days left—if he didn't return to normal level within that time, the abnormal status 'death sentence' would claim him.
'Honestly, it's tight.'
He believed it possible at his current leveling pace, but he knew well that reality was even harsher.
It wouldn't be easy.
Returning to normal level within the death sentence's timeframe.
However, if he could just remove the 'death sentence,' he'd be free from time's constraints.
He could simply grow stronger without a care.
'I nearly died trying to remove it with the World Tree's fruit.'
The World Tree's fruit, which removed all abnormal statuses.
Right after consuming the one he'd painstakingly obtained from the demon merchant Dagon, Park Chan-woo had hovered on the brink of death.
The death sentence's timer had shortened instead.
If Radiant Anubis 'Poksil' hadn't sacrificed itself as an offering, the mere thought of what fate might have befallen him was horrifying.
'...An Outer God's power can't even be compared to the World Tree's fruit.'
But this time...
Maybe... it could work.
Since the Outer God had outright offered to grant a wish.
There was ample chance this fearsome destroyer could shatter his death sentence.
That wasn't the end.
Having acquired an orc-related title and even secured a class level point...
'The Eternal Sword has been strengthened?'
One odd thing, though: he had no idea how the hidden trait had been strengthened.
He immediately checked his status window.
Maybe a description had been added.
But nothing had changed.
It was exactly the same as the description he'd seen before.
Park Chan-woo tilted his head in puzzlement.
"Strange. Why did the Orc Lord's essence strengthen my sword?"
Kankun voiced his own confusion.
The essence's power had forcibly strengthened one of Kankun's greatswords.
Probably because Kankun had defeated the Orc Lord.
But he had no clue why strengthening Kankun's greatsword connected to the 'Eternal Sword.'
The pondering continued.
But it didn't last long.
...The Moon Lord Aheta had made his boldest move yet.
At the temple's entrance.
Anubis looked around.
All trials from every faction had ended, and crowds of people and warriors now surrounded him.
"Oh ho."
He was a bit surprised.
Among them were even 'Death Knights' like Gula.
He confirmed that the 'Flower of Death' he'd imprinted on them had withered.
Instead, a new 'Flower of Life' had bloomed, granting them life.
Probably the Archmage's doing.
The one who had made his master, Moon Lord Aheta, anxious.
But he didn't seem to be here.
"Anubis! Ugly monster, give up. We're no longer afraid of you!"
Gula stepped forward.
Having evolved into an Arc Knight, immense divine power swirled around his entire body.
Anubis nodded.
Indeed...
"Amusing."
The thought that they could defeat him with this much.
It was truly amusing.
They had completed trials and grown stronger, resurrected from death—the knights stood hale.
But he was Anubis.
The ultimate death.
The pinnacle of all death.
Swooooosh!
Soon, 'black smoke' began rising around him.
Glimmering specks like tiny starlights danced within the black smoke.
"Touch that smoke, and you'll turn into monsters. Everyone, be careful!"
Gula cried out in alarm.
A curse of unparalleled potency.
Anubis's signature ability, transforming any living being it touched into a monster.
However, it wasn't without a counter.
"Drive out the curse with divine power!"
"Only the blessed, step forward!"
The holy knights, their divine power restored, took the vanguard.
They scattered all manner of blessings around, resisting the curse.
In the past, humanity lacked proper 'divine power' and couldn't escape that curse.
But not the holy knights like Gula.
Here, only they could withstand it.
Whiiiish!
Rumble!
Countless attacks rained from afar.
Arrows, magic—every ranged assault surged toward Anubis.
However.
Clang-!
They bounced off.
Not a single one connected.
Even though they had clearly grown stronger.
They'd shattered every 'trial' Aheta had forcibly balanced, empowering all challengers to defy death.
Yet still, none landed.
Because.
"The Staff of the Earth...!"
The staff Anubis wielded had erected a powerful barrier.
Staff of the Earth.
Among all staves, it was peerless—the ultimate treasure of the world.
Aheta had gifted Anubis his finest staff.
With this staff in hand, Anubis was invincible.
"Did you think you could win?"
Anubis mocked their efforts.
Their narrow-minded hope—that a mere stat boost and recovered divine power made them his equal—was laughable.
Even if their stats had risen through strengthening, it wasn't true skill.
Their swordsmanship or spell hierarchies hadn't improved.
Attacks from those who hadn't properly leveled up and surpassed their limits were mere tickles.
Moreover.
"Your god is dead."
Even the power of Gula and the holy knights, restored divine power and all, couldn't touch him.
The might of a dead god could never oppose him.
Of course, they staunchly believed their god lived.
...But from the start, it wasn't power from their god.
Yes. Far from any lingering will or fragments left by a dead god.
Rather, it was power left by whatever had restored their lives.
In other words...
'The influence of the being that bloomed the Flower of Life.'
Someone with the opposite power from his own had left it for them.
Still, Anubis found it puzzling too.
Who could it be?
Who could offset the 'Flower of Death' and bloom the Flower of Life?
If the Archmage was behind it, it meant he wielded potent 'holy divine power.'
The idea that such a being remained in the Abyss was baffling.
All with true holy divine power had been slaughtered by Abyss demons.
Their god, 'Ahpe,' included.
At best, holy relics they'd left behind still tumbled about.
"Kill you all, and the Archmage with you. That's it."
Anubis shrugged.
A truly simple solution.
The Archmage who had dared ignore him and enter the temple.
He could never forgive that.
Thud.
He plunged the Staff of the Earth into the ground.
In that instant.
Rooooar!
"Wh-what is that?"
"Are they insane?"
"We can win this... right...?"
The people trembled and screamed in shock.
An unbelievable sight unfolded before them.
Death Warriors numbering over a million.
Thousands of Death Knights burst from the earth.
...The true 'Legion of Death' had revealed itself.