Chapter 567: The Ashen Sin and the God of Stitched Skin - 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 567: The Ashen Sin and the God of Stitched Skin - 2
The Sacrificial Vessel, squinting the eyes he had received from the priestess as if even the moonlight was too dazzling, took a step forward with his body that stood over three meters tall.
[It is done. What would a mere limb know of this god's will to become a greater being?]
“O-oh, Sacrificial Vessel!”
The Undying, seeing their god awaken from his long seclusion, bowed their heads in fear. The Sacrificial Vessel was a local deity. While they had all seen him once or twice, it was unprecedented for him to awaken and venture outside himself.
“Oh! Sacrificial Vessel! You've awakened! Perfect timing.”
Rasch, however, greeted the Sacrificial Vessel by waving his hand as if to an old friend.
“I heard you ordered the guest to be killed! But did you really give the order to kill the Teacher?”
“Rasch, you damn bastard! What kind of tone is that to use with the Sacrificial Vessel!”
“What, can't I even ask a question? I'm sure the Sacrificial Vessel wants to speak for himself, no?”
Rasch is certainly more open-minded. He has no qualms about speaking face-to-face with a god. Is this what studying abroad does to you?
The Undying were terrified by Rasch's bold question, but the Sacrificial Vessel was not a god who minced words.
[That is correct. He is the King of Humans. The great being who dismembered this god in the distant past.]
“Ooh? Teacher, you were such a great being? But what? The King… of Humans?”
[But he has lost his power now. This is the only chance to devour him. If he regains his strength, this god will remain a pathetic insect, forever subjugated to that great being.]
Cower when the enemy is strong, and tear them apart when they are weak. To the Sacrificial Vessel, this was the perfectly natural law of the wild.
Moreover, the Sacrificial Vessel was a god of the jungle who had nearly achieved eternal life through the power of Gluttony. His eyes were crazed with the desire to devour my power.
“Sacrificial Vessel. Do you truly mean to devour the Teacher?”
[Right Arm. Will you do it?]
“I will stop you! You are already a great being who has gifted us with eternal life, Sacrificial Vessel. Must you go so far as to devour the Teacher?”
[One must devour when one can. Leave him be, and he will soon devour this god.]
Eliminate the enemy and make their power your own. Since the distant past, Gluttony had always been a survival strategy close to the correct answer. It was an Anathema now, but for the Sacrificial Vessel, Gluttony was as mundane an act as breathing.
Realizing the Sacrificial Vessel's firm resolve, Rasch answered hesitantly.
“…Uh. Mother Sacrificial Vessel. As your child, I wish to stop you?”
[You revered this god, borrowing life and power. And now you would defy this god's will?]
“That's right. A-although we live in this land, we must still interact with outsiders, mustn't we? If we devour a guest from beyond the plains, we'll lose all face.”
[You return from your time beyond the plains and now you put on the airs of a scholar.]
“No, that's…”
[Enough. I have no need of you.]
The Sacrificial Vessel waved his hand.
And the Undying staggered, overcome by a sudden weakness, and collapsed to the ground. The bodies they had offered to the Sacrificial Vessel writhed as their vital essence was stolen away.
[It seems this god must act directly.]
The Sacrificial Vessel's body swelled. The roughly stitched-together form filled with power. The Sacrificial Vessel, Ankra, who had barely clung to life after death by using the bodies of others, broke his two-thousand-year seclusion and unleashed his power.
Toward me.
The ground split. The moment I read his thoughts, the Sacrificial Vessel was already there. A massive hand tried to snatch me in a single grasp.
I couldn't let it catch me. If I were devoured, it wouldn't matter if I was a Divine or not; it would be a total loss. I reacted instantly, moving my body to escape the god's fist. Fingers of varying sizes grazed past my shoulder.
Whew, he's fast. Is this his speed when he's not even at his peak? Still, his body doesn't look very durable, so I should be able to dismantle it easily enough.
I spun half a turn and thrust my skewer between the stitches. For someone who once made a living as a pickpocket, tearing human skin was—
[Fingers.]
The moment the Sacrificial Vessel uttered the word, his five fingers suddenly bent backward. The joints inverted, his palm became the back of his hand, and his right arm became a left arm, twisting outward.
Thwack. My skewer was caught by the back of the Sacrificial Vessel's hand.
“What?”
[It's true. You've grown weak.]
Muttering, the Sacrificial Vessel crushed my hand in his grip. Crunch. The sound of shattering came from my fist. I felt the distinct sensation of my fist being pulverized into liquid.
The inverted joints were no problem at all. The Sacrificial Vessel's body was stitched together from pieces. It didn't matter how the joints were attached.
Coming to my senses, I turned the skewer back into a card and used the reduced volume to pull free from the Sacrificial Vessel's grasp.
[Oh. How did you do that?]
The Sacrificial Vessel, though intrigued, swung his arm with the joint still bent. His fist flew at an angle impossible for a human. Before I could react, the fist struck me head-on.
“Kuh!”
I felt as if the world itself had rejected me. My body flew for a long moment before getting caught in a thicket, its momentum finally broken by snapping branches.
His arm bends outward? I can't expect him to follow common sense. Just as I managed to push myself up, the Sacrificial Vessel loomed before me.
[Caught you.]
Even though he was still ten paces away, his arm stretched out and swallowed the very space I occupied. His stitched-together body was also remarkably elastic.
That's not even a human body anymore! Just as I was about to roll on the ground to dodge the fist, a shadow suddenly cut in, blocking my path.
“Sacrificial Vessel!”
WHAM!
Rasch grabbed the Sacrificial Vessel's right arm. Even with his massive frame of over two meters, he couldn't overcome the god's strength and was dragged along.
“Hup!”
Rasch took a deep breath and used his Gon Qi Art to grip the ground. His feet dug halfway into the earth as he braced against the overwhelming force. Screeeech. After tearing up the ground, he finally succeeded in stopping the Sacrificial Vessel's arm.
The Sacrificial Vessel was surprised to see his kindred rebel. It wasn't just because he was being blocked. Unlike the other Undying, Rasch was still perfectly healthy.
The Sacrificial Vessel spoke.
[I certainly reclaimed my power, yet my strength still resides in your right arm. Has your body been away from the plains for too long?]
“I don't know! This must also be your will, Sacrificial Vessel!”
Rasch still held on, refusing to let go. The Sacrificial Vessel asked.
[This body's actions are this god's will. Why do you stand in my way?]
“They are people I'm indebted to from my time in the Abyss! I met them by chance and even received the fleece of the Sheep King as a gift! I personally welcomed them as guests, so wouldn't it go against tradition to turn a blind eye and let them die?”
[Following this god's will is also a tradition.]
“I know! But if two traditions contradict each other, shouldn't I follow the one that sits right with my heart?”
Rasch's position was different from the other Undying. He had a personal connection with me and was the one who had guided me here. With his straightforward and honest personality, he couldn't betray his loyalty just because a god commanded it.
Rasch grinned and continued.
“And while I'm at it, I'd like to uphold the other tradition too! Sacrificial Vessel, you don't have a reason you must devour the Teacher, do you? How about you reconsider?”
[Hah. A limb of this god dares to try and control me.]
“Not control, exactly. More like… loyal advice…”
[Unnecessary.]
The Sacrificial Vessel swung his arm lightly.
In that instant, his arm bent like a whip. As if Rasch's massive body was no burden at all, his arm extended all the way to a distant boulder. Before he could let go, Rasch was slammed headfirst into the rock.
[A disobedient limb must be cut off. Even if it brings tears of blood.]
CRASH, CRASH, CRASH. After repeatedly smashing Rasch's body against the ground, the Sacrificial Vessel tossed him aside as if annoyed. Rasch's body shot up with terrifying momentum and disappeared from sight. Having dealt with the troublesome pest, the Sacrificial Vessel turned his head to find me again.
By that time, I was behind his shoulder.
The right arm. I don't know if it was because of Rasch, but the Sacrificial Vessel's right arm was strangely sluggish. On top of that, the god seemed unfamiliar with his stitched-together body, unaware of his own blind spots.
[Hm? Where is he?]
“Right here.”
The Sacrificial Vessel was oblivious even as I inserted cards into the gaps in his skin. Just before he noticed and moved his arm, I channeled lightning into all the cards at once. The lightning-wreathed cards vibrated, burning his skin and making his muscles move erratically.
The Sacrificial Vessel cried out in shock.
[What have you done to this god's body!]
“Something less peculiar than stitching skin together.”
The Sacrificial Vessel's body was filled with a bizarre energy, so I couldn't control it, but the god himself wasn't very good at controlling his own body either. His arm spasmed, bending and twisting as if it had five or six joints.
[You bastard!]
The enraged Sacrificial Vessel tried to move, but to no avail. Unable to control his wildly flailing body, he could only swing it about.
Snap, crash. Trees were uprooted by the Sacrificial Vessel's rampage, and upturned soil and sand rose like clouds. Dodging the out-of-control body, I rolled on the ground and grabbed handfuls of nearby bushes.
The first thread was made from wood fibers. I used the Tree of Genesis to enhance the bushes, turning them into tough vines. I then tossed them haphazardly onto the rampaging god's body. There was no need to make a snare. The Sacrificial Vessel's lumpy, stitched-together body was a hook in itself. Entangled in the vines, the god tripped over his own feet.
I gradually extended the vines and launched myself toward a nearby giant tree. With a card in hand, I swung it, grazing the base of the trunk. Part of the tree turned into a card, and the thick trunk began to fall at an angle.
[To resort to such petty tricks!]
Just as the enraged Sacrificial Vessel was about to charge at me with all his might, I focused mana into my fingers and cast a spell.
“Set, Re. Volt!”
[Kraaaaaaah!]
An electric shock surged from within. His muscles convulsed and went numb, completely against his will. In the brief moment he was in agony, the giant tree continued its descent, falling faster and faster toward him.
THUD. The giant tree finally crushed the Sacrificial Vessel's body. Even he couldn't withstand the weight of nature that had grown for hundreds of years, and he was forced to one knee. But the Sacrificial Vessel was also a god who had cultivated his power for over a thousand years. He endured the weight of the tree with astonishing strength.
[This mere…!]
Kuh. Is using the environment not enough? As I realized my lack of power and scanned my surroundings, I heard Rasch's shout from above.
“Sacrificial Vessel! As your child, I shouldn't dare to strike you, but!”
The voice grew closer rapidly. Pulling his thick right arm far back, Rasch fixed his eyes on the Sacrificial Vessel and fell like a meteor.
“My right arm is the Sacrificial Vessel! This fist is you striking yourself, so it should be fine!”
[Right Arm…!]
“Snap out of it! This is a blow of loyal advice!”
With a bold cry, Rasch threw his fist at the Sacrificial Vessel.
The Sacrificial Vessel, who had been unfazed by any attack so far, was different this time. Rasch's right arm was the power of the Sacrificial Vessel itself. The god's body crumpled, twisted, and distorted. Crushed by the fist, the Sacrificial Vessel slammed into the ground with tremendous force.
The impact was enough to shake the earth. Pinned to the ground and crushed by the giant tree, the Sacrificial Vessel coughed up blood and screamed.
[Kraaaaaaah! You…!]
“Set, Re, Celsi! Fahrenheit!”
An incantation came from somewhere, and a moment later, a massive curtain of flame descended.
An immense firepower that I would have struggled to produce enveloped the Sacrificial Vessel. The magical flames climbed up my vines, incinerating the god's entire body.