Chapter 117

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 117

Chapter Title: Alone

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Another 4-star hero's holy relic, Walter's "Gula," was an extremely peculiar holy relic.

The grotesque thing, resembling twisted innards, had no effect on its own. It only activated when the chosen hero "consumed" it. The moment the hero swallowed Gula, it fused with their stomach, granting the power to devour any kind of energy.

So...

"Hahaha! Don't you have any learning ability?"

The black-haired woman—Pandora, the name Eugene had given her, a former curse vessel now working as a 4-star employee—unleashed a barrage of spells saturated with curse energy.

Her open grimoire assisted in casting the magic, blending with the purified curse energy implanted in her heart to create miracles. Spells far more potent and vicious than ordinary magic rained down on Walter, but every ounce of power vanished into his stomach.

"Gulp... Hmph. Looks like you know how to handle curses a bit... Do you really think you'll curse me if you keep casting?"

Walter wiped his mouth, unperturbed even by curses that rotted flesh. He grabbed the throat of the charging curse vessel and twisted it viciously.

-Crack!!

A curse vessel that would have lasted at least a minute before now shattered in under ten seconds. Walter devoured even the erupting curse energy without a trace left behind, his muscles swelling even further.

"Fine by me. Keep it coming... The more you do, the better for me."

Compared to the transcendent Gula, Walter's other three holy relics had rather mundane effects.

Wave: Gauntlets that unleashed shockwaves proportional to the impact of a punch.

Gauss: Unconditionally doubled the hero's final physical abilities, including all buffs and blessings.

Factor: Allowed anything grasped in the hand to be compressed.

Each was a fine holy relic, but compared to truly transcendent ones, they seemed plain. However, in the hands of Gula's master, Walter, they became something else entirely.

With Factor's power, he compressed incoming attacks—no matter what—to a swallowable size and devoured them. The energy entering his stomach fueled his amplification, and the boosted physical prowess doubled once more under Gauss's effect.

That was Walter's combat style: unleashing devastating shockwaves with Wave using his massively enhanced physical abilities.

"Puhahaha! Yes! Keep firing!"

The more attacks his opponent threw, the stronger Walter grew. He mocked Pandora, who kept muttering and hurling ineffective spells, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deliberately picking off curse vessels one by one instead of charging her outright.

'Ugh... That brute... How much curse energy is she pumping out?'

But inwardly, he clicked his tongue. Curses were notoriously tricky to wield. Handling such vicious ones should have caused severe backlash on the user—even high-grade curse blockers might not suffice. Yet this mad half-breed had been firing off ominous curses relentlessly...

'Leave her be, and she'll self-destruct. Might as well power up a bit...'

Figuring she'd keep feeding him magic to boost his strength without him needing to intervene, Walter ignored Pandora and continued compressing and swallowing the incoming spells.

-Crunch!!

"Urgh...! This... is killer!"

By the time he'd felled all the curse vessels, an unprecedented surge of power coursed through Walter's body. It wouldn't last forever since it would all be "digested" eventually... but this strength would greatly aid in conquering the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dungeon.

-Bulge. Bulge.

The more spells and curses he devoured, the more his muscles ballooned. Power exceeding limits began accumulating in his body. Drunk on omnipotence, he swept through the curse vessels, reveling in his growing might. His muscles kept expanding without end, bestowing ever more power upon him.

Only after rampaging for a while and wiping out most curse vessels did Walter belatedly sense something off.

"[Elivagar], [Hell Flame]..."

'...Why...'

"[Melting Field], [Reaper's Mark]..."

'...is the curse barrage not ending?'

She should have hit her mana limit long ago from casting so many spells. No—even before that, using this many curses should have backlashed and killed her under their own weight. Yet the half-demon's magic showed no sign of stopping.

Pandora's curse backlash was completely nullified by her [Trace of Curse]. And for mana, the crucial factor...

A unique talent framing spellcasting as a "cleaning action." Eugene had assumed it simply meant earning points from magic-based cleaning, but its effect was far superior.

Magic equaled cleaning. Thus, every efficiency boost for cleaning actions in the "Cleaning Game" system applied fully to her spells.

That meant...

Magic efficiency skyrocketed insanely. Combined with the massive potions supplied by the witches, Pandora could unleash spells without restraint.

"Die die die die I'll kill you this time I won't let you live."

"This crazy...!!"

The endless barrage of spells poured forth. Even as Walter desperately compressed and shoved them into his mouth amid the bombardment, he began feeling a real sense of crisis. He lunged to deal with Pandora, but persistent curse vessels and bizarre golems blocked his path.

"These golems...!"

For some reason, the golems—clad in indestructible armor that showed no scratches no matter how hard he hit—held him back. Floundering against them, Walter called for support from the other heroes. But...

"Ugh... These bastards. What kind of armament...!"

"Potions? Using something that precious like water...?"

"Why are there so many demons in a newborn dungeon...? This scale exceeds most established ones!"

The other heroes weren't faring much better. The demons outnumbered their expectations and were the elite among southern demons, each brimming with power.

And moreover...

"Ugh..! Even curses on us now...!!"

"Why are those guys unscathed!"

As the heroes tangled and moved about, magic circles embedded here and there activated, spewing horrific spells and curses. Faced with such attacks, anyone would hesitate—but these mad demons charged through the flames and curses without flinching.

"Graaah! This is the master's blessing...!"

"The Dungeon Master's blessing...?"

When the demons—uniformed in eerie, synchronized attire—endured curses and flames while proclaiming it all as the Dungeon Master's grace, chills ran down the heroes' spines.

'Handing out that level of power to so many?'

Nothing matched their predictions. In the end, without support from the others, Walter kept gulping down the relentless spells until he hit his limit.

"Cough...! Ack... Gurk...!"

His muscles kept swelling, his power amplifying endlessly. But his body, trapped in a finite frame, bloated grotesquely as if deeming it insufficient. He felt his digestive organs charring black.

-Bulge! Bloooat!!

"S-Stop...! Stop, you crazy mongrel...!!!"

Terror gripped Walter as he exceeded his limits and ballooned uncontrollably, but Pandora ignored his screams, firing curses at the same relentless pace.

"Repay him... Protect him... Same half-breed... Hehe... Like me... Gave me a name.... Protect protect protect"

"G... Graaaah!!"

Walter tried to scream in agony but his jaw muscles swelled, forcing his mouth shut. Unable to open it further or swallow more spells, he slowly perished, buried under the onslaught.

His overdeveloped physical abilities wouldn't let him die easily, so it was excruciatingly slow.

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"This doesn't feel good."

"....Hoo..."

Inside the ruins. Two pristine figures, without a single scratch despite the fierce battle, glared at each other. Lumen had the leisure to sense ominous energies from outside the dungeon, but Erzsebet's breathing was ragged.

'A monstrous man... Regeneration surpassing even the Blood Demon Tribe.'

Unlike her, who consumed vast blood with each regen, this man regenerated limbs torn and organs shredded without a hint of pain or apparent cost.

'Still... I can do this.'

Erzsebet glanced at the [High-Pressure Cleaner] in her hand. Thanks to the dragon blood she'd ingested earlier—far superior due to her master's gift—she'd held her own against him, better than calculated.

At this rate, even without the 'reinforcements' from her master, she might win with her own power if she played it right...

"Can't drag this out any longer."

But contrary to her thoughts, sensing the heroes outside struggling more than expected, Lumen hardened his expression and slowly spun the bracelet on his wrist three times.

"I'll give you credit, demon. I was saving this for the unidentified Dungeon Master suspected of killing my friend, but..."

Lumen's publicly known abilities numbered three: power of radiance, power of indomitability, and power of immortality.

His swordsmanship infused with those three powers and auras was enough to shred Erzsebet dozens of times over... but Lumen decided not to prolong it further.

"You're the fifth to see this holy relic's power. Until now, I'd only used it against other demon realm lords..."

"What suddenly—"

-Whoosh!!

As Lumen spun the bracelet and muttered something incomprehensible, Erzsebet's retort died as his figure vanished from her sight.

'Missed—'

-Kwaaak!! Boom!!

In an instant, Lumen closed the distance, ripped off all three pairs of her wings, slammed her head into the ground, and unleashed his aura, vaporizing 70% of her body in one go.

The fourth holy relic. "Transcenders." Its ability...

'Converts damage taken over a set period into power.'

For other heroes, "damage taken over a period" amounted to little, even with priests' heals or potions. The body had limits, after all.

But for Lumen, with near-infinite regeneration like an immortal god, he could theoretically accumulate near-limitless damage. And the damage piled up from countless mutual kill attempts...

"You survived? Tougher than I thought."

"....Cough!"

Even after regenerating, Erzsebet vomited blood uncontrollably—a disgrace unbecoming the queen of blood manipulation.

'Several times... faster...'

The already monstrous man's speed had multiplied several-fold in an instant. Horror struck her; enduring attacks of this caliber repeatedly would soon exhaust even her regenerative blood.

"No more need to hear from you."

Once more, Lumen blurred forward at invisible speeds, sword thrusting to crush her skull.

'...Whew. Master. I admit it.'

Looks like I can't do this alone.

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"W-Woah! A-Arrived...!"

"Whirring!"

"....What?"

And in that moment, two demons appeared between them without warning.

"Th-Then... the thing we prepared!"

Ominous mana poured from the pink-haired succubus, who stammered her words, soon manifesting a grand illusion.

-Groooowl...!!!

The deep, abyssal ocean depths. The environment of the heart of the sea itself.