Chapter 205
Chapter 205
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 205
Chapter Title: Named Monster, Gogrid of Greed
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"Ugh, uuugh-."
Gogrid, doused in potions all over his body, began convulsing like a rat that had eaten rat poison.
Tremble, tremble, tremble.
The hobgoblins restraining his body were dropping off one by one from how violently he was shaking. It was clear his condition was dire.
“Aaah-!! This is the 14th of Hell's 72 ultimate techniques, the Roiling Death, the Breath of Death-!!”
"Wha-, De-, Death Breath-!?"
“Lord Hassan's breath is stronger and more horrific than the flames spewed by the dragons of the furnace-!!”
"This is driving me insane!!"
Me too.
But without showing it, I kept pooling more potion in my mouth and sprayed it right in his face—puuuuh—.
"Stop!! Stop!! I'll talk, I'll talk!! I'll tell you everything, so please stop-!!"
Whether that horrific act actually worked, Gogrid—who had been sneering even after getting stabbed in vital spots and clubbed—started thrashing about.
"What a hellish smell! A hellish smell!!"
Luna's potions were definitely vile.
In this world that sells stuff like Menté hangover remedy pie, I was probably the only one chugging her potions in one go, having gotten used to health tonic monster juice.
Paranoya would secretly dump the ones Luna gave her in the yard.
Huu, sorry, Lady Luna....
I'd found that pretty infuriating at the time, but I could understand it in my own way. For a sweet-tooth like Paranoya, those bitter potions might as well have been poison.
Of course, they were incredibly effective, so forcing them down was good for the body.
Even so, that lingering smell in your mouth for days—unless you brushed with Menté oil, it was torture.
Maybe that's why Luna was so obsessive about personal hygiene? Worried the potion stench would seep into her skin?
“So, feeling like talking now?”
"Please, please let me talk. Stop, my nose feels like it's rotting!!"
Who would've thought this guy, who wouldn't yield to pain from beatings, would react so hypersensitively to potion fumes? Just like people have their own fears and disgusts, monsters did too.
Either way, it was a relief he'd obediently open his mouth.
Pop-.
I uncorked the wooden vial at my waist.
This was the stamina potion Luna had shoved at me, saying, “Hassan, it's good for you, so make sure to take it after lunch-!”
I'd force them down, eyes squeezed shut, when training left me too exhausted to even twitch a finger.
Who knew it'd come in handy here.
“If you don't answer obediently, I'll shove every last drop straight down your throat.”
"Okay, okay, got it. So close the lid already. My stomach's flipping!! There's goblin-chaser herb in there, isn't there!! Why the hell would you put that in?!"
His raw reaction of fear and revulsion seemed genuine—no need to doubt it.
Still, hating Luna's potions this much? It kinda pissed me off.
Lucky Paranoya was here instead of Luna.
No matter how much of a monster he was, treating something she made with such diligence like a horrific toxin might hurt soft-hearted Luna's feelings.
Anyway, thanks to Luna caring about my health, I got this far. If things go well, I'll bring some tasty meat and grill it for her.
So, what to ask first?
I prioritized my questions.
First up, the most important: this Hell Lord Mezayer he called his superior.
My gut said he was part of the same crew as those eyeing Luna.
Getting a rough outline on those cloud-shrouded enemies would be good.
“Tell me about your master, Mezayer.”
"Ugh, Me-, Lord Mezayer.... Leader of the greenskins.... Pioneer of Greed.... All green-skinned ones serve and worship him."
“So where is that bastard?”
"Naturally, in the heart of the burning Hell Tartarus. But, but soon he'll emerge beyond this earthly realm. The sacrifices are almost ready."
Gogrid chuckled—puhuhu-.
Sacrifices, huh.
A god in Hell.
To descend to the mortal world, he needs a vessel for his flesh?
Come to think of it, Luna's brother Moros had briefly appeared using the body of some fallen Titan descendant.
Luna's mother Nox could barely converse by borrowing Luna's body.
Of course, Nox had shown her true form this time, but even that lasted maybe 10 minutes tops. The other gods were similar.
They all seemed unable to linger long in this world, hurrying away.
“Why need sacrifices at all?”
Swoosh.
I shoved the potion vial close to his face to emphasize honest answers. His already ugly mug scrunched up even more—utterly revolting.
“Why need sacrifices to show yourselves in this world?”
Gogrid grimaced and laughed at my question.
"Kuhuhuhu, hehehe, because anything born in Hell, anything that rolls back into Hell, is eternally bound to it."
Those bound to Hell can't escape Hell-.
Felt like some rule or law I didn't know.
"No one can just waltz out of Hell. Not even Pluto. To cheat the rules, you need sacrifices. Therefore-."
Gogrid's narrowed eyes flicked over me.
He continued.
Therefore, it's clear you're not Pluto's son. A prince born in the underworld couldn't wander the world in human form like this.
“Yeah?”
"A prince of the underworld would be more bound than anyone. He couldn't even escape deep Tartarus. Those idiot Pluto cultists cling to false prophecies, waiting for their prince's descent? They know best it's impossible."
Swoosh.
His deeply furrowed green eyes shifted to Paranoya.
"Right? Female nymph? You're a Pluto follower. Or should I say heretic now? Heretic nymph. Warrior wielding forbidden necromancy. No matter how much you lie, truth can't be fooled. You're falling."
“Sh-, shut up, you!! Lord Hassan is, omnipotent...!! Laws of Abyss and high mountain Hypos can't bind him...!!”
"Yeah, keep acting that dumb and get branded heretics. Face reality. Pluto's era is over. Even underground hobgoblins know it."
“Grrrr...!!”
Paranoya growled like she was furious but couldn't retort. I placed a hand on her head to calm her.
“Lord Hassan. This one's blaspheming...!! Punish him...!! No need to heed such nonsense...!!”
“No, tell me more.”
"What? No need for me to explain—you'll know soon. Before long, even Jupiter enthroned high in the skies will be dragged to earth. All rules of heaven and earth will change."
Jupiter.
As far as I knew, Jupiter ruled this world absolutely.
If a truly omniscient, omnipotent being existed, it'd be the king of gods, Jupiter. Honestly, I couldn't grasp just how mighty and grand that was.
Either way, dragging such a powerful entity to earth? Hard to believe.
I didn't know much about this world's faiths, but even to me, this goblin's words reeked of blasphemy.
Damn, he talks well. Super goblin or something?
I mentally bumped up this goblin's intelligence by half a star and asked.
“Dragging down Jupiter? Possible?”
"Why not? No eternal king. Strange warrior, know there was Saturn's era before Jupiter?"
“Saturn? God who ruled the skies before Jupiter?”
"Yes, now just whispers of the absolute one. Before Saturn, there was the era of sky and earth. World of the great ancient gods-."
Gogrid shuddered excitedly—not fear or pain, but ecstatic delusion.
"Mother Earth birthed new rulers, the Gigases, with the Abyss. Even Jupiter can't deny the new order."
“So that's this Mezayer guy.”
Yes, him and his six brothers.
Soon Gogrid laughed—kuhuhuhu—shaking the whole cave unpleasantly.
"The coming world is the children of the Abyss. Gigantes' world. When they rule, we monsters, descendants of the Abyss, will be lords of the world too!!"
“I see. Now it makes sense.”
Ancient gods.
I'd looked into them while studying about Luna—more precisely, her mother Nox.
Earth. Night. Darkness. Abyss. Love.
The world was created from those five primal elements of chaos, right?
They gained personalities and called themselves gods—the first five, the Protogenoi.
They vanished into myth and history's shadows at some point, their existence uncertain, but as world-creators, immensely powerful.
Some of them now want to overturn the board they made—that's my take.
“Any way to stop it?”
"Ha-. Long era of silence. With high Hypos' glory fallen to earth today. No one can stop the new order. If anyone, only children of equal rank: night and darkness."
Pink twintails came to mind: Luna. That's who he meant.
"Rumor among monsters: gods hid their daughter somewhere. Catch her before maturity, steal her power-."
“Steal her power?”
"Kill her! Total annihilation, not even to the underworld-!"
Kill Luna?
“You bastard-!”
Enraged, I swung the club in my hand at his skull with full force.
"Gyaak-!"
His head split open, and he died instantly.
Paranoya cheered at the sight.
“Excellent strike, indeed-!!”
“Whew.”
I had more questions, but I couldn't hold back after hearing he'd kill Luna.
Luna had quirks and odd tastes, but she was just a normal girl.
She loved good food and being recognized for her work.
Sweating away, happy her potion jars sold well.
Thinking she'd fall to some ridiculous god squabble infuriated me.
Suddenly made sense why I needed Gold-tier hero status minimum to marry her.
Beyond qualification—it meant being strong enough to face her trials together.
Anyway, I'd asked what I needed. No big deal if the goblin died. Hated lingering in this monster-fishy cave anyway.
“Paranoya.”
“Yes, yep-!”
“Bring the captive adventurer now. I'll show them this guy's defeat. Important, so do it right. Succeed, and I'll bump your shares to 6%!”
“Y-, y-, yes...!! Leave it to me-!!”
Paranoya trembled with excitement and dashed off.
Only after her presence faded did I steady my ragged breath and shoulders.
“Whew-.”
I'd learned what I could.
Time to escape this deep pit.
Shall I raise this giant goblin as an undead?
As I opened my mouth toward him with that thought—
"Useless. Wretch. Dying. Like this. He. Duly offered. Sacrifices. Good. Possession. Match."
The cooling corpse spoke in a bizarre tone. Like a marionette voicing.
No more rusty mumbling—the thick, majestic voice of a man burst choppily from its mouth.
“What? Shit? You Mezayer bastard?”
"Yes. Greed's Mezayer. But you. Necromancer. This one's useless, but. My flesh sacrifice. Can't yield to you. Thus, detonate. Sealed magic."
Gulp, gulp-.
As he finished, the already huge goblin body swelled even larger.
Like a waterlogged sponge. Breaking free of the hobgoblins' restraints.
What the hell was happening?
One thing clear: if it kept inflating, it'd eventually go boom massively. And that explosion wouldn't be good for me.
This way. Raze the area. Erase evidence. This fool. Spilled too much. Easier to wipe all.
“You piece of shit-!?”
Raze the area? Then me and Paranoya die too.
“Lady Nox-!”
『Consuming 10 Karma Value.』
『Current Karma Value +345』
Black shadows splattered onto my body, forming armor-like protection.
As I recalled, Grace of the Night's Armor》 wrapped the body in darkness, massively boosting defense.
"Nox's-. Holy warrior-!?"
“Block it, pin it down!”
I ordered the minions filling my surroundings, their blue ghostly lights glaring.
The 50-odd waiting hobgoblins clung to the massively swelling Gogrid.
Not sure if it'd help, but it might dampen the blast a bit.
"Whatever you're trying. Too late! With explosion. Blow away!!"
And so.
Soon.
A massive roar echoed through the tunnels.
!!
『Grace of the Night's Armor》 consumes 10 Karma Value to block fatal damage.』