Chapter 95
Chapter 95
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: The Abyss Opens (2)
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The entity crawling out from the hole in the ground emanated black mana like dark flames across its entire body, radiating an oppressive presence that felt suffocating just to behold.
[Ooh! Excellent! Simply magnificent! Kahaha—!]
Hans burst into satisfied laughter, awestruck by its overwhelming majesty.
A skeletal dragon cloaked in flames—what necromancer's dream wasn't this?
[Kruuuh—?]
At the sound of his voice, the bone dragon, which had been twisting its body to escape the pit, turned its head toward Hans.
Their blazing gazes locked.
As they exchanged glances, Hans infused his voice with black mana and softly called out its name.
[Entrascio—]
Whumm—
His summons, resonating like a call from the depths of hell, spread outward with intent...
The peculiar vibrations pierced straight into the bone dragon Entrascio's body.
As per the ancient pact passed down through generations, the connection originating from the Immortal King's heart began linking to it.
Thus, the contract inherited from ages past was renewed right here and now.
[Kroooar—!]
With a roar that shook the space around them, the bone dragon's violet eyes gleamed.
It was a cry of ecstatic welcome for its new master, finally arrived after eons of sealing itself away.
'Feels like I've got myself a well-behaved pet. Hmm, actually kinda cute up close.'
Smooth, glossy bones, joints with wide range of motion, and those pretty violet eyes.
Twisted as Hans's tastes were, the massive, ferocious skeleton started looking endearing.
Admiring it contentedly as it fully emerged from the pit, he suddenly sensed...
'What's this?'
A new presence.
[Grrrlll—!]
Moments later, Entrascio sensed it too, growling lowly as it glared in one direction.
To Hans, it was a profoundly stimulating yet deeply familiar aura.
[The Church of the Main God.]
Even from a considerable distance, the stinging divine power prickled at him.
The church's elite forces—including numerous paladins and even an archbishop—had come all the way to this remote wasteland.
'Well, makes sense.'
They couldn't have missed a ritual of this scale, so investigating the site was inevitable.
'Now, what to do...'
Clashing with them head-on right now wasn't ideal.
Direct confrontation with the church should be saved for a more dramatic moment, and with so many variables at play, the scenario needed some tweaking anyway.
'But if I play this right, it could turn into a golden opportunity.'
Wasn't the current situation perfect?
Sudden anomalies detected, the abyss opening for the first time in a millennium.
Church members dispatched to the ritual site out of duty to protect the continent—only to face the wicked Immortal King bent on drowning it in death!
Light versus darkness, good versus evil.
A powder keg on the continent, shadows tightening their grip!
What fate awaited the world amid this colossal crisis?
'Yeah... perfect teaser material. Great setup, great staging.'
Hans turned to gaze at the bone dragon, now fully extracted from the abyss.
Perhaps due to its exit, the abyss was shrinking even faster than before.
'No more coming through this hole? Must've been a real strain.'
Truth be told, the biggest factor was likely the 'madness' the Oath of Reverse Heaven had drawn from the abyss.
If even fragments of that couldn't fully escape, the strain on the abyss's gateway must have been immense.
That the bone dragon made it out at all was sheer luck.
[Entrascio.]
[Grrrl—?]
At his call, the bone dragon tilted its massive skull, still growling toward the divine power's direction.
Hans lightly leaped into the air, landing atop its enormous cranium.
Stroking the dragon's horn beside him, he whispered softly.
[Must've been suffocating all that time. Good job enduring. Now fly free—show them what you are.]
Entrascio's eyes flashed at Hans's words.
Memories flooded back of endless, thoughtless drifting in timeless limbo—igniting a explosive surge of desire.
[Kaaaaah—!]
Flap—! Flap—!
Its roar, brimming with black mana, unleashed a gale as its wings beat powerfully.
Tattered from undeath, those wings wove the mysteries of 'flight' from surrounding black mana with each stroke.
And finally.
Kwaaaang—!
The bone dragon's colossal form shattered the cavern ceiling wider, soaring into the dawning sky.
Sky and horizon where light and shadow mingled, fierce winds whipping, vast wasteland sprawling below.
'...This feels refreshingly different.'
He could fly solo anytime, but standing on a bony dragon's head surveying the world was another thrill entirely.
[Kroooaaar—!]
And why not? This was the Demon King incarnate.
The church members gathered below stared up with tense faces at the descending demon king...
***
The church's clerics, blessed by 'Shrinking Earth,' crossed the wasteland in hours.
The first thing they heard upon arrival...
[Kroooaaar—!]
A roar laden with immense black mana.
"That sound..."
"Looks like they haven't left yet. Prepare for battle."
Exhausted from relentless marching, they were still the church's finest.
All but those depleted from repeated Shrinking Earth invoked divine power, instantly regaining peak condition.
As they cautiously approached the ritual site...
Kwaaaang—!
A hill's crest exploded, hurling a massive black silhouette skyward.
Defying its bulk, it ascended swiftly...
[Kroooaaar—!]
Black mana erupting like dark flames from its body, roaring once more.
"...A bone dragon."
"A monster from legends only..."
The clerics tensed at its majesty, but the real threat loomed elsewhere.
Atop the bone dragon's skull, gazing down imperiously.
The continent's calamity, incarnation of death, harbinger of doom reborn—
"The Immortal King, Hans...!"
He surveyed the ground with haughty disdain.
[Kehh—aren't you the church's lapdogs? What brings you to this far-flung waste?]
From high above, his voice pierced their ears clearly.
A sound stirring primal fear just to hear—yet none here were so frail.
"You know damn well why."
"Black mage defying providence, Hans! We'll take your head!"
Paladins and Holy Knights drew weapons and advanced; priests fell back, channeling divine power.
As they readied for combat, Archbishop Latius discreetly relayed the situation to the Roselia Cathedral via holy spell.
Facing the Immortal King anew, their survival was uncertain—he hoped the intel would aid in any crisis.
Process complete, the archbishop bellowed at Hans, voice infused with divine power.
"Immortal King! We came knowing the abyss opened here."
[Oh? And?]
"It sparked sacrifice rituals across the continent. Countless lives lost for this one. And the damage from the abyss's influence? Incalculable."
He spat the words through gritted teeth, glaring daggers at Hans.
"All your doing?"
The archbishop finished with a resolute expression laced with certainty.
A mere formality to steel his comrades' resolve—no real question intended.
After all, wasn't the Immortal King the one plotting to shroud the continent in death?
But Hans answered earnestly.
[Kehh—why even ask? Who else could pull it off but me? Kahaha!]
A frank admission—but utterly true.
Not 'no need to ask,' but a literal 'who else could?'
'Honestly, I'm curious too.'
He knew only that the Oath of Reverse Heaven had started it—nothing more. He genuinely wanted to know who.
'Those ritual inscriptions earlier? No ordinary genius behind them.'
Even traces showed profound mastery from years of study and insight.
Definitely worth investigating the culprit—prime candidate for one of the Four Heavenly Kings!
While Hans pondered, the church's reactions sharpened.
"It was him after all...!"
"Calm yourselves. This was expected."
Holy Knights raised weapons with murderous intent; priests chanted prayers, divine power surging.
They steeled for desperate battle.
They knew odds against the Immortal King were slim, but no choice remained.
No escaping in this wasteland—even if they wanted to.
Their faith unyielding even at death's door.
Tension mounting...
[Ahh—everyone calm down. Not here to fight today. Just announcing my return... and issuing a warning.]
"What...?! What trick is this?!"
Unfazed atop Entrascio's head, Hans continued calmly.
[That Holy Knight who pierced my heart... Heinrich Landgard doing well?]
"Sir Landgard?"
Needing to defuse the fight, he deftly shifted topics.
To the Immortal King's nemesis, Heinrich.
'Refresh the name for any who forgot—subtly.'
All here were church elites; no harm in it.
[His meddling derailed my plans—quite the ordeal. Prepared a surprise gift as thanks, but he's not here. Shame.]
Exaggerating Heinrich's feats, Hans played up his fixation shamelessly.
On a stage others had set.
'Anyway, time to wrap up. Need a final, unforgettable impression... Ah! Perfect.'
As Immortal King, endings demanded grandeur for lasting impact.
[Wanted another look at his face, but oh well. Tell Heinrich Landgard: no more lucky breaks next time.]
Issuing the command mentally, Hans had Entrascio gain altitude slowly.
"Where do you think you're going, Immortal King...!"
[Kehh... The old order crumbles, a new era dawns—remember that, church dogs.]
Black aura erupted from him, blanketing the dawn-lit sky like an eclipse.
[I, Hannibal Strauss, am the continent's apocalypse!]
Thus promoting his cool alias to end the unexpected encounter...
[Can't leave empty-handed— one last gift.]
From the corrupted heart of the ascending Entrascio, vast black mana surged to its maw.
Whoooosh—
The bone dragon's mightiest attack: Death Breath.
"Breath attack! No dodging—brace!"
"...The Holy One shields; no harm crosses this line..."
Endless energy swirled, black mana condensing relentlessly...
Until it took final, ruinous form.
[Kuuuo—!]
Fooosh—!
Vast deathly energy swept the wide expanse.
Quakes from sudden pressure, earth upheaved and shards flying.
Its toxicity—flame, liquid, smoke—turned the barren wasteland into inescapable death.
Overkill for a farewell, but truly just a light greeting.
'Pros like them clumped together? No way one blast finishes 'em.'
A mere show for strong impression.
'Heh... bone dragons are just too cool.'
A touch of personal bias, sure.