Chapter 97
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 97
Chapter Title: Orc Lord Hargon (8)
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Predator.
In the game, when a newbie first used the thing, it was nothing more than a trash bin.
But once its proper use was discovered later on, Predator became a staple piece of gear for tanks from then on.
And for good reason—its ability to nullify any kind of attack was downright broken.
However, it was still awkward equipment to use.
Setting aside the penalty of devouring its wearer when hungry, its value plummeted the further into the late game you got.
That was because there was a limit to the amount of energy it could consume.
In the higher tiers, it couldn't even block a single mob attack, devolving into dead weight that just took up an equipment slot.
You'd be far better off equipping something else in its place.
But.
There was a hidden feature that others didn't know about—one that only Jun was aware of.
The thing was growth equipment.
In other words—
"Wha...?"
An attack infused with Hargon's full power? It could block that just fine, at least once.
[Predator]
Nullified Hargon's glaive energy
The Predator devoured every last bit of energy packed into Hargon's power-infused glaive.
This thing didn't just chew up physical matter.
It gnawed and swallowed all sorts of energies contained within. Even the impact of the blocked attack was gulped down by it.
"Worth starving it for days."
At the same time, Jun's hand shot toward Hargon's abdomen.
"[Flare]"
No incantation needed—the instantly cast solar power slammed into Hargon's gut.
"Urk—!"
Mana-infused muscles resisted the magic.
But it couldn't stop his body from being pushed back.
Once more, particles gathered in Jun's hand.
"[Flare]"
Once wouldn't do? Twice, then.
"[Flare]"
Twice not enough? Three times.
"[Flare]"
Four times hammered in.
As many as it took, over and over.
"[Flare]"
Not stopping there, he summoned another [Fireball], which erupted with horrific thermal energy and crashed into the monster's entire body.
Its whole form burned away.
No matter its magic resistance, overwhelming firepower rendered it meaningless.
And it didn't end there.
From below Hargon, now pushed all the way to the outer wall, a storm of flames roared to life.
"[Volcanic Tornado]"
⟨ Adrian's 5th Circle Magic ⟩
The 5th-circle spell from Adrian, the mage who had once ambushed Jun.
The range was much narrower than back then, but the ravenous blaze devoured and tore at Hargon's flesh all the same.
Crack—!
The sound made Jun whip his head around.
The core of the golem linked by [Marionette Line] had been destroyed.
"So that's its limit."
It had held out longer than expected.
Among the golem cores Cloi had handed over, that one lasted the longest.
Releasing the incantation restraint, the mana storm swirling around Jun died down.
His hair, which had turned stark white, returned to normal before he knew it.
Rumble...
With the core shattered, the golem naturally crumbled.
"Good work."
Normally, unleashing that barrage of spells after releasing the incantation would be impossible.
He would've overheated long ago.
Beyond just overheating, the tidal wave of mana could've overwhelmed his mind entirely.
But Jun was fine.
The golem's core had shouldered it all instead.
"Hoo..."
That said, this method wasn't something he could chain repeatedly.
For one, sourcing intact golem cores was tough.
"Urgh..."
And there was no fixing his overheated circles.
Pain stabbing his chest, he pulled a potion from his dimensional bracelet and downed it.
"Pha!"
Then he turned his gaze.
There knelt Hargon, billowing smoke, on his knees.
His rock-solid muscles had half-melted, and the arm sliced by Aiden was bare bone.
"You really know how to wear everyone out, you bastard."
Orc Lord Hargon.
To seal its death, Jun raised his arm.
In that state, even a [Wind Cutter]—let alone [Flare]—would take its head clean off.
Just as Jun moved to cast—
"Kuhuhu..."
Hargon glared at him with his one remaining eye and spoke.
"Lost your mind from the pain or something?"
"Foolish... creature..."
"What?"
"Did you think... a worm like you... could stop me?"
"What...? Wait, where's your weapon?"
The glaive that had been in its hand was gone.
The moment Jun sensed danger, he cast immediately.
[Wind Cutter]
As expected, the half-melted neck couldn't block the [Wind Cutter].
Thud, plop...
Its head, still trailing white smoke, rolled across the floor.
"What the hell did this guy pull at the end...?"
When he turned around—
"Ha."
What caught his eye was the Black Mirror's head, pierced through by the glaive, lifeless.
Whoosh—!!!
A wave of mana surged from the Black Mirror's corpse as it died.
"Eleanor!"
"Got it!"
"[Block of Light]"
Monstrous mana rampaged through the area.
With the Black Mirror's death, the mana it harbored was unleashed, spreading everywhere.
The problem? It was so densely compressed that it wielded physical force on its own.
Soon, the mana filling the cavern detonated.
"Kgh...!"
"[Iron Rampart]"
The explosion was so fierce that Jun, sensing mortal danger, clutched his chest and raised a barrier wall.
Rumble rumble rumble—!!!
The cavern shook violently for what felt like ages, as if it could collapse any second.
Finally, the mana settled back into nature, leaving an eerie silence in the cavern.
And—
"So even this body has its limits, it seems."
"...Hargon."
Hargon, its body torn to shreds, rose unsteadily on two legs.
"What a gruesome sight."
Its entire form scorched by Jun's magic.
Shredded by the mana storm from the Black Mirror's death.
Over 60% of its body was gone.
Yet it lived and moved.
Or more precisely.
Its soul had manifested, forcibly puppeteering a body that shouldn't move.
"Still kicking in that state?"
"Frankly, calling it intact would be a stretch."
Hargon couldn't understand human speech, but it inferred and replied anyway.
"But I endured. A new body can be found. Like... that one, for instance."
Hargon's gaze shifted to Aiden.
Aiden had already risen, thanks to a recovery potion and Eleanor's healing magic.
"Possessing a human body?"
That wasn't even a pattern from the game.
Hargon looked down at its soul-formed body, ignoring Jun's mutter.
"Black Mirror. Truly, even a calf of the world-devouring whale wields such spirit power. Hard to contain."
Which meant it needed a new body, and fast.
Tap—
A faint footstep echoed right after.
Maya, fully recovered, had used [Spirit Charge] to slip behind Hargon.
"Your body won't do. Too cluttered with junk."
Thud.
"Gahk—!"
Hargon's massive hand seized Maya by the throat.
"Now... what to do next."
Its eyes, gleaming with chilling madness, turned to Aiden again—but Aiden was already gone.
[Charge], [Bash]
Mana-clad, Aiden rammed Hargon's abdomen, then swung his aura-infused sword to sever its wrist.
No matter how potent the spirit form, it couldn't ignore an aura blade.
Aiden caught the falling Maya and retreated.
"Kuhuhuhu... Quick one. Tempting. So very tempting... That flesh. Innately built to endure countless karmic debts. A vessel ample enough for my soul..."
Except.
Hargon stopped mid-sentence.
Thump—
Its melted legs buckled at the knees.
"What...?"
"Should've managed your minions better."
"Huh?"
It couldn't understand Jun's words, but the mocking tone was clear.
Only then did Hargon glance at its own chest.
A grotesque giant nail was embedded there.
"This is...!"
"Barbatta. Your mentor, right?"
"Barbatta...!!"
Barbatta. The first orc shaman subjugated by Jun and his party.
That totem-shaped nail was none other than Barbatta's handiwork.
"Barbatta...! Barbatta...! Why the hell would you...!"
"Looks like that shaman didn't trust you."
Hargon was oblivious, but.
Barbatta, once humbled by hubris and losing his legion to an outer god, couldn't trust his lord and disciple, Hargon.
He'd followed outwardly, but as a shaman, he'd always prepared a backup.
This totem was made for if Hargon went berserk absorbing souls.
"Simple tool to release bound souls by force... but fatal for you, I'd bet."
"Krahk...!"
The effects were already kicking in.
First, two souls dispersed.
Just a glimpse, but they were the first two it had absorbed: prisoners named Brait and Mustache.
Their souls freed from its body, they faded into the air.
More followed.
Unknown humans, monster souls.
"Aaaaaaaah—!"
The agony of forcibly ripping apart souls fused into one—what was it like?
No doubt, a torment like flesh being torn off, never something you get used to.
Yet Hargon thrashed to the end.
Its resilient soul desperately clung to the Black Mirror's.
Rustle—
But even the orc soul—its original body's owner—split away, collapsing what remained of the flesh.
"You bastard! What grudge do you have against me to do this?! What the hell for!!"
"No real reason. If anything, you just needed to die."
It still couldn't comprehend Jun's words fully.
But the indifference? That it got. Twisting its soul in rage,
"I can't go like this! Not I, the Conquest King...!!!"
"Tch, persistent."
Time to end this farce.
Jun pulled a case from his dimensional bracelet.
Soul Annihilator Tears.
Swallowing the tears made by the witch who slays eternity, Jun drew up mana once more.
A colorless [Flare] flared toward Hargon.
"Rest now."
Splurt—!
"Guhk..."
Its abdomen pierced, cracks spiderwebbed from there.
The Soul Annihilator Tears forcibly erased Hargon's lingering soul from this world.
"Nooooot liiiike thiiiis—!!!"
Its怨 voice echoed through the cavern.
The cracked spirit body shattered into fragments, vanishing entirely.
"Hoo."
The end of the tiresome Orc Lord.
"Finally over..."
Woooong—
The cavern quaked.
Aiden, Maya, and Eleanor instantly clustered by Jun.
"What...?"
"Leader, look!"
Where Hargon had vanished.
There writhed a massive Black Mirror soul, undulating.
But not freely swimming like a whale in the sea.
Woooong—!!
It convulsed in agony, as if tormented by something.
Then, something burst from the Black Mirror's spirit body.
Hargon's soul.
"I won't go alone!!"
As its voice rang out, Hargon manipulated the Black Mirror soul to engulf the party.
At the same time, Hargon's spirit was dragged to the underworld by its deal with the outer god.
"Heh heh heh... Come with me... to the underworld..."
As Hargon's madness-tinged voice echoed lowly—
[Denied.]
The voice of the underworld's outer god replied to Hargon.
"Hoo..."
Cloi rubbed her tired eyes after battling paperwork.
Her long-troubled potion business expansion was finally gaining traction.
Once the roads were paved, it'd surge ahead unimpeded.
But not a spark of joy in Cloi's eyes.
"Where the hell did they go...?"
White Whale Mercenary Corps.
It had been a full month since their disappearance.
With the season ending in—
Just one month left.