Chapter 223: Eternal Spire[R-18] (48)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 223: Eternal Spire[R-18] (48)
I lightly dodged the Frost Ogre Lord's movements as I assessed the situation.
Led by Lauren and Tia, the guild members were effectively suppressing the hordes of monsters pouring out from all corners of the boss room.
“Focus your fire magic!”
At Lauren’s command, intense flames erupted from the fingertips of the mages.
-KABOOOM!
The red flames instantly spread across the ice walls, incinerating the frost spirits and ogres. Engulfed in agony, the ogres let out harrowing screams as they collapsed.
“Rearguard, maintain the defensive wall!” Tia continued to command in a calm voice. The guild members and their subordinates immediately reformed their defensive formation, steeling their ranks.
The situation wasn't bad. I slowly rotated my sword and stared down the Frost Ogre Lord.
It’s about time to end this.
The Frost Ogre Lord suddenly roared, launching a massive ice spear into the air.
-Fwoosh!
The giant spear shattered into dozens of fragments in mid-air, raining down on us like a hailstorm.
“Reinforce the defensive magic!”
A barrier was cast at Tia’s urgent cry, but a few fragments still managed to pierce through.
“Ugh!”
Some of the subordinate guild members were wounded by the ice shards and fell to their knees.
I swung my sword in a rapid arc.
-Swish!
The moment my attack connected, the ice fragments in the air shattered into pieces and fell to the floor.
I immediately closed the distance to the Frost Ogre Lord. It swung its remaining arm, bringing down a colossal ice hammer, but I twisted my body lightly to evade it.
-CRASH!
The hammer slammed into the ground, sending shards of ice flying in every direction.
“Everyone, maintain distance and prepare for ranged attacks!” Tia ordered calmly, and the guild members quickly adjusted their formation.
A blue aura emanated from the tip of my sword. I thrust it sharply toward the ogre’s arm.
-SHIIING!
The blade pierced through its armor and dug deep into its flesh. The Frost Ogre Lord screamed and staggered back as blue blood spilled onto the floor.
However, it immediately prepared to counterattack.
-Wooooong!
A powerful surge of magic swept through the room. The temperature dropped sharply as a blizzard began to rage.
The guild members flinched, bracing against the cold. Lauren gritted her teeth and shouted.
“Everyone, prepare yourselves!”
“No need for that.”
I spoke curtly, then kicked off the ground and dashed right in front of the Frost Ogre Lord.
Before it could react, my sword flashed, slicing through the air.
-CRUNCH!
The blade severed its arm. As the Ogre Lord stumbled backward, I unleashed a continuous flurry of strikes.
-KRRUOOOOOOOH!
A desperate scream echoed through the room. Without hesitation, I prepared the final blow.
It unleashed an ice storm in a final, desperate struggle, but I paid it no mind and brought my sword down.
-CRACK!
The blade split its head with perfect accuracy, and the Frost Ogre Lord slowly collapsed to the ground.
-Thud…
As its massive body fell, the subordinate guild members erupted in cheers. But Tia and Lauren’s faces remained tense.
“Nobody relax! The clear message hasn’t appeared yet!”
At Lauren’s words, the guild members silenced their cheers and nervously scanned their surroundings.
I looked at the fallen boss with a puzzled expression.
Something’s not right…
I had definitely killed the boss, but no system message had appeared. Something was clearly wrong.
“Maintain the rearguard formation. Mages, keep the defensive magic active,” Tia commanded, quickly taking control of the situation. The guild members remained on high alert.
It was then that it happened.
-Wooooong…
A blue light began to emanate from the Frost Ogre Lord’s corpse.
“A revival?” Lauren muttered, but this was no simple resurrection. A white mark on its body grew more distinct as a powerful energy surged forth.
I immediately swung my sword at the corpse.
-CLANG!
A transparent barrier deflected my blade. I focused my internal energy in my dantian and swung again with all my might, but the result was the same.
I urgently called upon the System.
“System, I killed the boss. Why hasn’t it registered as cleared?”
[This dungeon has not yet been cleared.]
“Someone has definitely interfered.”
This phenomenon was impossible without some kind of external intervention.
[Checking for abnormal external intervention.]
[No external intervention has been detected.]
At that moment, a powerful pulse of energy erupted from the corpse.
[The incarnation of Ares, the God of War, will soon descend.]
“Tsk…”
The Frost Ogre Lord’s body was engulfed in red flames and began to change rapidly.
I immediately shouted to the guild members.
“Everyone, fall back!”
The guild members instantly created distance, with Tia and Lauren protecting them and assuming a defensive stance.
What’s done is done. Figuring out the situation is the priority.
This had happened in the original story. There were only two instances of something like this.
The first was when a god consumed its own essence in an attempt to kill Yoon Jae-ho. The second was when Zeus used Hermes’s incarnation to carve a God’s Seal onto a boss, forcing a divine descent.
Zeus must have used Hermes.
Hermes’s incarnation was an entity that moved covertly by parasitizing the Tower’s inhabitants. It had no direct combat power, but it could use a few special abilities within the Tower.
The most troublesome of them was the God’s Seal.
By carving this seal onto a boss or a resident of the Tower, one could forcibly summon a god’s incarnation using that body as a medium. However, its use was extremely limited. Furthermore, the summoned god could only use a limited amount of power, scaled to the difficulty of that floor.
But even that limited power varied wildly depending on who was wielding it.
[The incarnation of Ares, the God of War, descends. The body of the Frost Ogre Lord is used as a sacrifice.]
The cold frost on the Frost Ogre Lord’s body melted away, replaced by a blazing red aura.
I clicked my tongue and tightened my grip on my sword.
“Everyone, stay as far back as possible. I’ll handle this myself.”
The moment I finished speaking, an overwhelming fighting aura exploded from the boss’s body.
That thing was no longer a simple monster.
It was the incarnation of a god, descended into the Tower.
A sort of loophole avatar.
Ares is a lower-tier god than Tiamat, but…
In terms of rank, Tiamat was several levels above Ares, the God of War. But I had defeated her with my dick, not with force. Unlike Tiamat, I had no choice but to face Ares in a pure contest of skill.
I took a deep breath and readjusted my grip on my sword.
I’ll just have to hope he’s weaker than Tiamat.
I rolled my shoulders lightly and stared at the figure before me.
The light slowly faded, revealing a massive humanoid figure clad in burning red armor. Beneath a red helmet, its blazing eyes shone with a sharp light. Its presence was, in a word, overwhelming.
As it slowly raised its hand, the fighting spirit in the air compressed, crushing the very space around us.
“Ugh!”
The guild members who had retreated couldn't withstand the pressure and began to fall to their knees.
“Seo-yun…!” Tia called out to me, her voice trembling slightly.
“It’s fine. I can handle him.”
As soon as I spoke, the incarnation of Ares spoke in a low, deep voice.
“Insolent fool. You dare claim that the likes of you can face me?”
I smiled leisurely and aimed the tip of my sword at him.
“Someone who’s not even as good as Athena? I think you’ll be more than manageable.”
His eyes grew cold, and his red aura flared violently.
“How dare you compare me to that bitch. Your life ends here.”
A powerful storm erupted around him. The crushing pressure from all sides made the guild members struggle even more.
I circulated my internal energy to its peak to protect myself and laughed nonchalantly.
“Getting angry, are we? Did I hit a nerve?”
With a furious roar, the incarnation of Ares instantly charged toward me. A red spear materialized in his hand, wreathed in flames. An intense shock traveled up my sword.
-BOOM!
I withstood the impact, stumbling back a few steps, but I didn't lose my balance. Instead, I calmly read his movements, searching for a weakness in his attack.
He’s certainly strong and fast, but his moves are simple.
I immediately corrected my stance and launched a swift counterattack.
My blade, glowing with a blue light, aimed for his armor.
-CLANG!
The blade scraped against his armor, creating a small shower of sparks. The attack wasn't fatal, but it was a solid enough hit.
His expression hardened.
“For a grand descent, you’re not all that impressive, Ares.”
He spun his spear and spoke in an icy tone.
“A worthless human dares to run wild, ignorant of his place.”
Ares tilted his head back, looking down on me with an arrogant expression. His eyes were filled with a venomous pride and conceit.
I looked at him and let a cold smirk form on my lips.
“I like that arrogance unique to you gods. It just makes me want to crush it completely.”
In that instant, Ares’s face contorted with rage.
“How dare you… speak such blasphemy to a god! I will make you die regretting it!”
As Ares roared in fury, his fighting aura exploded. The space distorted, and the entire boss room filled with the seething energy of a battlefield.
Watching him, I slowly raised the corners of my mouth.
“Calling yourself a god, yet getting so worked up. What a pathetic sight.”
I tapped the ground with the tip of my sword, moving my body provocatively. His pride clearly wounded, he glared at me with blazing eyes.
“You worthless human…”
He then charged, swinging the spear in his hand with great force.
I slowly drew upon the internal energy deep within my body.
-CRASH!
Ares’s spear and my sword clashed, sending out a powerful shockwave. His overwhelming strength traveled up my arm, pushing me back slightly. But I didn't let my smile fade; I was actually enjoying the situation.
“A contest of strength is a bit childish, don’t you think?”
Unable to contain his rage at my taunt, Ares spun his spear again, pressing his attack.
“Silence, you lowly creature! This is the true power of a god!”
Flames erupted from the tip of his spear. I didn’t back away from the fire; instead, I stepped forward.
-FWOOSH!
I pushed his spear aside, twisting my body and resetting my stance. Ares spun his spear again and shouted, his voice a mixture of excitement and bloodlust.
“I will show you! What the true power of a god is!”
As Ares swung his spear in a wide arc, a wave of burning aura surged from its tip. The air in the room was instantly compressed, and a pressure that made it hard to breathe crushed the space.
Taking that head-on would be reckless. I had to use his own strength against him.
I waited for Ares’s attack timing, focusing to my absolute limit. The air around me began to stir silently as my energy condensed.
“Are you afraid, human!”
He swung his spear wide once more and lunged at me. In that moment, his movements and speed came into my vision with perfect clarity.
Now.
I quickly turned my body, letting his attack flow past me by the narrowest of margins.
-CRAAACK!
Ares’s spear scraped the floor, creating a long fissure. In that brief moment when his power was spent, I swung my sword without hesitation.
-Stab!
My sword sliced deep into his waist. But Ares didn't lose his smile; instead, he looked down at me with an even more sinister expression.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
His hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder. An immense force crushed down, feeling as if my shoulder would shatter.
“Kugh…!”
“You were too arrogant, human.”
Ares lifted me up and hurled me against the wall.
-CRASH!
My back slammed into the wall, sending a painful shock through my entire body. But I caught my breath, pushed myself up, and got back into my stance. He frowned for a moment at my persistence and muttered.
“A god is not a being that a mere human can challenge.”
I wiped the blood from my lips and said with a sneer.
“I heard your wife is Aphrodite, right? They say she couldn't be satisfied with your small dick, so she spreads her legs for man after man. Should I give her a taste, too?”
At those words, Ares’s face instantly turned crimson. Flames erupted in his eyes, and a red fighting aura exploded from his entire body.
“I will tear you to shreds and shut that arrogant mouth of yours for all eternity!”