Chapter 204: Sloth and Thunder (6)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 204: Sloth and Thunder (6)
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!!!
A violent explosion erupted as the purple star fell, swallowing the ruins and the forest.
As the dust settled, a scene was revealed.
“Kh—!”
Deus had lunged forward in an instant, burying his sword deep into the heart of the Apostle of Sloth.
It worked.
Watching the scene, Alon let out a soft sigh of relief. Just as he’d hoped, Deus had executed his advice perfectly.
The tip Alon had given him concerned a technique the Sin of Sloth used in the game during its second phase, after the player finished the first.
Specifically, it was the ability to bind invisible "mana" with threads.
...As I thought, teaching him how the Sin of Sloth uses threads was the right move.
With that thought, Alon looked at the Apostle of Sloth. The Apostle was in a wretched state. Not only were both his arms gone, but the right side of his skull was caved in; it was a miracle he was even standing.
Deus’s sword had cleanly pierced the Apostle’s heart.
“Cough—!”
Splurt! Black blood sprayed in every direction. Blood surged from the Apostle’s mouth. To anyone watching, it was a perfect victory.
At the very moment Deus tried to drive his sword deeper to deliver the finishing blow—
“Heh—”
The Apostle burst into laughter.
“Hehehe—”
It was a hollow laugh, yet different from any emotion he had shown until now. It was a laugh that sounded far too relaxed.
Deus stared at the Apostle, who wore a thick smirk.
“!”
Slash—!
Deus immediately changed his grip and yanked the sword upward. A fountain of blood erupted.
However.
“!”
Despite being split in two from his heart up to his head, the Apostle spoke.
“Fine, I admit it. I let my guard down. I never imagined you could use your abilities to that extent without borrowing His power.”
The Apostle of Sloth wheezed out those words, then—
“But—do you really think this is the end?”
“!”
He wore a grotesque smile. A smile so bizarre it would give anyone goosebumps.
In response, Deus used his purple threads to wrap around the Apostle’s remaining limbs and tear them apart, but—
“!”
The mangled flesh turned into black threads and was sucked into black veins.
Pshaaaa—!
Eggs cracked open, and spiders came pouring out.
Skreeee—!
The spiders, as large as grown men, were incredibly grotesque. Every single one had a human face patterned onto its abdomen like a crest. They crawled out of their broken shells with skin-crawling movements.
It was a truly nauseating sight.
But that wasn't the end.
Soon, the spiders that had poured out—
Thud—!
—began to commit suicide.
“...?”
“W-what is this?”
Sirkal looked on in bewilderment, and Reinhardt let out a voice of disbelief.
The mass suicide of the spiders did not stop. As if possessed by something, they tore their own throats or ripped their bodies apart to end their lives. They collapsed onto the ground and began to be absorbed into the veins.
“—!”
Only then did Alon realize what these spiders were doing.
At that moment.
Boom—!
The ground began to collapse.
Kugugugugugugugu—!!!!!
Accompanied by a tremendous noise that battered everyone’s eardrums, a vibration so powerful it was difficult to even stand shook heaven and earth.
“This is insane—!”
Reinhardt, having spotted something, spat out a harsh voice.
Something was emerging, overturning the entire earth.
It was—
“What is that?”
Something so massive it threatened to bring down the entire ruins—
“...An Abomination.”
It was Kraksha, harboring the Abomination of Sloth.
■■■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!!!
As if hatching from an egg, Kraksha shattered the ground and rose up with a blood-curdling screech. At its appearance, the knights' eyes were simultaneously filled with terror.
“This is crazy—”
Reinhardt, unable to help himself, cursed and readjusted his grip on his sword. His face was etched with a look of utter defeat as he hurriedly scanned his surroundings.
The reason was simple: surviving spiders were crawling all over the ruins.
“B-black mana—!”
To make matters worse, black mana began to leak out the moment Kraksha emerged from its burrow. The knights' faces turned from terror to pure panic.
“Tsk—!”
Deus hurriedly scattered his purple threads to block the black mana, but—
“Hey, Marquis! You didn't say anything about this!”
Only Reinhardt’s urgent voice echoed back.
...I didn't expect an Abomination to show up.
Behind his expressionless mask, Alon frowned as he scanned the area. He saw hundreds, thousands of spiders. But what was more despairing was the fact that even if they dealt with all of them, they couldn't escape.
Even if every spider was eliminated, Kraksha was here, scattering black mana just like the Apostle.
To anyone’s eyes, it was a desperate situation. They couldn't run, and even if they fought, victory was far from guaranteed. They were trapped on all sides.
In the midst of it all, Alon let out a small sigh.
I didn't intend to use this here, but—I have no choice.
The moment he reached into his coat—
“!”
The scenery before his eyes changed.
What he saw was the Milky Way in a blue night sky. As soon as he realized this, Alon instinctively knew where he was.
[I’m glad you came early.]
A girl’s voice—no.
[However, the situation seems unfavorable, so I’ll tell you quickly.]
The voice of Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver, echoed.
[How to manifest.]
Dark clouds began to loom over the blue sky.
* * *
The worst-case scenario. Literally the worst.
Alon’s already expressionless face hardened even further. Seeing this, Reinhardt grit his teeth.
Dammit...!
The monstrosity loomed before them. A spider of overwhelming size stood in its full glory, as if to crush the world. Of course, to Reinhardt, the size of an enemy didn't mean much unless it was something like the Monument Altar.
And yet, he was being overwhelmed. He felt it instinctively.
That thing was dangerous.
The black mana it was emitting was no different from the black mana the Apostle had scattered earlier.
The situation is not good.
Reinhardt assessed the current state of affairs coldly. Anxiety rose throughout his body. The giant spider radiated a presence so dangerous it made even him tense. Furthermore, smaller spiders surrounded the entire ruins, forming a perimeter.
But the most despairing part was the knights who had come here with them. He had brought them to prevent the Apostle of Sloth from utilizing the residual mana in the air, but now they had become a liability.
Once the temporary seal Marquis Palatio and Deus had placed on the black mana broke and it began to exert its power again, most of the knights here would essentially become puppets.
What should I do?
Reinhardt looked around with an anxious expression. Sirkal was unable to hide her tension, just like him. And even at this moment, Deus was using his purple threads to block the black mana that was trying to descend again.
As if mocking them—
[Heh—I didn't think you'd push me this far. It’s a good thing I prepared.]
A voice fell from above. Reinhardt looked up at the grotesquely distorted sound.
“Crazy—he’s not dead?”
He found the Apostle of Sloth, with only his upper body visible, looming over his head. The Apostle, in his horrific state, let out a sickening smile.
Soon, he spoke.
[Did you really think I wouldn't prepare for the end while making all these arrangements? No—well, I suppose you could think that. Normally, my power alone would have been enough to deal with you.]
Snap—!
[But it’s a pity. I’m the type to prepare thoroughly for any situation.]
Snap, snap—!
He began to snap the purple threads Deus had deployed.
“Tsk—!”
Deus hurried to reinforce the threads. However, despite his efforts, the threads were being cut at an even faster rate because he had used more power than expected in his previous strike.
Eventually, the purple threads that had been holding back the black mana snapped completely.
“Ah—”
A low groan escaped someone’s lips. The corners of the Apostle’s mouth, appearing atop Kraksha, twisted up even further.
Just as the black mana was about to flow into the area Deus had been protecting—
Rumble—!
“...?”
Reinhardt suddenly had a realization. The sky, which had been clear just a moment ago, was now covered in dark clouds.
That wasn't all.
Drip—! Pitter-patter—!
As if someone were artificially controlling it, rain began to fall from the cloud-covered sky in less than a few seconds.
“What—?”
The moment a look of confusion crossed the face of the Apostle of Sloth, who had been radiating triumph just a moment ago—
Step— Step—
Marquis Palatio, who had been silent until now, slowly began to move.
One step. Then another.
He moved his body toward the front of Kraksha, where the black mist was flowing in.
He didn't form any seals. He didn't chant any Phrases. He didn't speak any Sentences, nor did he move his mana.
He simply walked.
Toward Kraksha. Toward the source of the black mana. Like a moth to a flame.
He didn't stop there; Marquis Palatio continued to walk, casually stepping past the threads Deus was desperately trying to re-establish.
[Heh, have you given up!]
“Marquis, what on earth—!”
The Apostle of Sloth let out another mocking laugh, and Deus cried out in shock—
Zap—!
For an instant, the surroundings flashed.
And Deus saw it. In that split second.
The lightning that flowed from Alon’s fingertips.
Static occurred. It was tiny. But the static, which shone vividly bright in the dark, gray world, instantly emitted a blue light and touched the black mana.
The moment contact occurred—
Pazzzzzzzzt—!!!
The black mana began to turn into blue lightning.
[What—!]
The Apostle let out a cry of shock. However, the static flowing from Alon’s fingertips raced through the black mana without hesitation, converting all of it into lightning.
Watching the spectacle, Alon recalled the words he had heard from Kalanon.
‘Handling divinity isn't that difficult. You just have to pull up the divinity within you. However, to freely use the power dwelling in that divinity, simply pulling it out isn't enough.’
He looked ahead. There was no longer any black mana floating in the air. Instead, what he saw was lightning so blue it was vivid.
Kalanon’s voice continued.
‘Therefore, what you must do is accept the divinity you’ve pulled out.’
[I’ll kill you—!]
■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!!
As if realizing something ominous was about to happen, Kraksha’s massive leg was lifted. At the same time, the spiders surrounding them began to charge, emitting horrific noises.
‘Accepting divinity is difficult. It requires more practice than you’d think. But—I’ll help you this time. So, focus on pulling the trigger. The trigger is—’
The leg that had soared into the air, defying the falling rain, slammed down. Numerous spiders rushed toward Marquis Palatio all at once.
Yet, even in that split second, Alon did nothing but raise his left hand.
‘To catch—’
“The lightning.”
He simply grabbed the mana shimmering like lightning around him.
At that moment.
Snap—!
Everything stopped.
The pouring rain stopped. The spiders rushing toward Alon stopped in mid-air. Kraksha’s massive leg stopped, and the lightning held in Alon’s hand vanished.
It was as if time itself had stopped for the entire world.
And.
“...!”
Sirkal was the first to realize the bizarre anomaly.
Are they... disappearing?
She realized that the numerous spiders that had been rushing toward Alon just a moment ago were frozen in the air and vanishing like dust.
Starting from the tips of their legs, she watched as the spiders returned to dust, as if a corpse were returning to the earth.
“Manifestation.”
As the small voice echoed, a burst of lightning exploded from Marquis Palatio’s body.
As if to devour the entire world, blue lightning erupted with a tremendous roar. At the same time, blue horns began to grow from Marquis Palatio’s head.
Finally, amidst the wind and rain that began to fall again—even more violently than before—a god manifested.
Zap—!
Kalanon, the Lightning Receiver.