Chapter 332: In the Name of Sloth— (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 332: In the Name of Sloth— (5)
The Phildegrin Kingdom.
"Phew—"
Lately, Line Grof had been relentlessly researching the Sins.
...In truth, if things had remained as they were at the start, she would have preferred to spend more time with her godfather, perhaps over a pleasant tea time seasoned with the pursuit of knowledge.
Unfortunately, however.
Because someone had broken the badge gifted to her godfather, her workload had significantly decreased.
Regardless, thanks to that, Line was now spending a great deal of time on her research. Even though hundreds of years had passed, there was still so much knowledge she didn't know or hadn't yet grasped.
And today.
For the first time, she had managed to get her hands on meaningful information regarding the Sins.
Of course, it wasn't information that revealed the true essence of the Sins. However, it was information that could explain, in part, why the 'previous Sins' had been dealt with so anticlimactically.
...To think the host's identity would cause such a difference in power.
She already knew that the Apostles of Sin existed and that they personally chose the bodies for the Sins to manifest in. However, she had only perceived it as finding a being that could synchronize well with the Sin.
She hadn't realized until now that the Sin's abilities changed depending on the entity it manifested within.
"..."
She mentally reviewed the knowledge she had just acquired.
As she did, new questions arose. While it was clearly stated that 'the power of a Sin varies wildly depending on the host,' there was no further information to be found.
Naturally, a thought occurred to her.
...Then why do they look for a "suitable" host rather than a "strong" one?
Since she hadn't finished reading all the available knowledge, she couldn't know the exact reason. The 'book' she had found likely didn't contain the answer either.
After pondering the question for a while, Line decided to focus on thoroughly reading the book currently in her hands and closed her eyes once more.
Immediately, as if by magic, the scenery of the library appeared vividly in her mind, and she continued turning the pages of the book she had been reading.
Before long, having finished the entire book in her head...
"..."
She opened her eyes, her expression slightly stiff.
As expected, she hadn't found the answer to her question. However, she had once again confirmed the stark difference in power when a Sin manifested in a strong being.
"..."
Staring at her cold tea, she sank back into thought to resolve the mystery herself.
* * *
The battle began.
Three of the Seven Strongest attempted to charge toward Alon in the sky—
Boom—!
And the battle erupted as Seolrang, Ladan, and Elivan moved to thoroughly obstruct their path and eliminate them.
The situation was overwhelming.
Golden light flashed before Alon’s eyes as Seolrang’s form repeatedly appeared and vanished. It was a speed so great that, had he not been using Defying Heaven, he wouldn't have been able to track her even for a moment.
Moving with such speed, Seolrang was literally toying with the Dragon Strike Spear.
With a thunderous Crash!, the Dragon Strike Spear was slammed into the ground and then into the cliffs. A blink later, it was suspended in the air. The next moment, it was driven into the earth as if to grind the Black Territory to dust.
The enemy’s body repeatedly shattered and regenerated. However, the regeneration was visibly slowing down, as if the body had reached its limit.
The Cliff Sword fared no better.
Countless relics rained down from the sky. Not only was its movement restricted, but the Cliff Sword, unable to pull out several relics already impaled in its back, could not properly respond to Ladan.
As for the Thousand Year Ice—
Crunch!
It couldn't even put up a fight.
The moment the Thousand Year Ice tried to act, Elivan’s sword moved. Immediately after, the Thousand Year Ice’s limbs were severed. It tried to regenerate its limbs and move to counter, but it still couldn't evade Elivan’s blade.
It was a truly overwhelming gap in power.
Was that even possible?
Alon, who had descended after finishing the 'preparations for the plan' on the ship, tilted his head in confusion as he watched Elivan. No matter how close Elivan was to max level in the game, he hadn't expected him to show such power against one of the Strongest—especially one with infinite mana due to a Sin.
Regardless, it was true that the balance of power was being maintained because Elivan possessed such ability at this point.
"Phew—"
Alon gripped his head, which was dizzy from the repeated use of Defying Heaven. He forced himself to look around at the situation.
The fight unfolding across the Black Territory was like a sequence of wars. Basiliora was crushing and obliterating the infinitely regenerating black things, while the soldiers were ceaselessly slaughtering the lumps of flesh swarming toward the walls and their surroundings.
A perfect equilibrium.
If we keep this up just a bit longer—
The moment Alon thought that.
Snap!
All movement stopped.
The Strongest, who had been moving just a moment ago, froze as if by magic. The lumps of flesh charging at the soldiers collapsed on the spot like puppets with their strings cut.
Thud, thud, thud!
The flesh that had been struggling and regenerating beneath Basiliora—who had since shed Blackie’s armor—scattered powerlessly.
And in its place.
It appeared.
"Ah—"
A low voice.
A very small, faint exclamation.
Yet that alone drew the gaze of everyone present to a single spot. To a single human who had suddenly appeared in this Black Territory.
No, it wasn't a human.
It clearly had a humanoid body, but everyone there could sense it.
That thing was not human.
"Hmm—"
White hair.
The entity, looking more like a boy than an adult, stared blankly ahead. Two pupils floated eerily within each of its two eyes. Surrounded by something as pitch-black as the Black Territory itself, it looked around vacantly.
Everyone present could read its emotions.
It looked unmotivated.
It looked bored.
It looked weary.
It looked uninterested.
It looked listless.
It was—
Simply, Sloth.
And as it calmly turned its head to survey its surroundings, its gaze finally stopped at one place.
Where Alon stood.
Those four bizarrely etched pupils stared at Alon. Alon, too, felt a sense of bewilderment as he looked at Sloth.
...What is this?
Alon knew the Sin of Sloth. That is to say, he knew the appearance of the Sin of Sloth. Aside from the hair color changing to white, it was exactly as Alon remembered.
However, what confused Alon was that reaction.
The Sin of Sloth Alon knew was filled with a rage that felt somewhat distant from the title of 'Sloth.'
But the being before him was different. It was the very embodiment of the word itself. There wasn't even a detectable aura. It was just staring at him, devoid of any will.
Just as Alon’s confusion grew at this bizarre discrepancy...
Thud.
Sloth sat down.
Sitting cross-legged, Sloth leaned his chin on one hand, propped up by a knee, and gazed at Alon. It was a posture that showed absolutely no intent to fight.
Yet, none of those present could easily move in the face of Sloth’s attitude. No, it wasn't just that they couldn't move.
"Ugh—"
"Gah—"
One by one, they began to gasp and wheeze as if they couldn't breathe properly.
Sloth hadn't done anything. He hadn't unleashed mana or projected an aura of intimidation. He just sat there, showing no will to fight.
Nevertheless, the sheer pressure his existence exuded was enough to make the soldiers watching from a distance faint where they stood.
Soldiers collapsed one after another. A chill ran down the spines of Selaim and Parkline. The expressions of Seolrang, Ladan, and Elivan grew increasingly grim.
Yet, in that situation, the one who had been staring at Alon with nothing but boredom finally spoke.
"You all... intend to fight, don't you?"
He spoke slowly.
"..."
Unlike the previous Sins, he was attempting a rational conversation. Alon was momentarily stunned before he composed himself and answered.
"...Yes."
"Is there no way... to avoid fighting?"
"Weren't you the ones who started this fight?"
At those words, the Sin stared intently at Alon for a moment.
"...Because I want to protect."
He muttered with a slightly sorrowful look amidst his lethargy.
"What...?"
Alon asked back instinctively. He couldn't understand it at all. Why this thing had appeared before him with such a personality. Why it was saying such things.
At the very least, the Sloth Alon knew was a being that simply killed every human in sight in the most brutal way possible.
But Sloth did not answer Alon’s reflexive question. Instead, still sitting in place, he let out a sigh and watched him for a while.
"One minute."
He spoke listlessly.
"For one minute starting now, I won't move from here."
"What did you say?"
"I'll take every attack you throw at me. So that you can be convinced."
How natural it is for you to die by my hand.
So that you won't feel resentful.
After muttering those words, Sloth quietly declared.
"Now, then. Begin."
A very brief silence followed, and the first to move was—
BOOM—!!
Seolrang.
Charging with a clear smile on her face, Seolrang appeared before Sloth faster than anyone could perceive.
Cr-cr-crack—!!!
She compressed her body to the limit in front of him and then—
─────────────—!!!!
She kicked the Sin upward.
The air exploded as Sloth’s body soared into the sky. Simultaneously, Elivan and Hidan, who had been staring blankly at Sloth until a moment ago, also began to move.
That wasn't all.
"This—we should prepare."
"Everyone, get ready—"
Selaim, Parkline, and the mages, who had been silently watching the situation, manifested their magic as if they had been waiting for this.
50 seconds.
Sloth’s body, launched into the sky by Seolrang, was slashed by Elivan’s blade—which had appeared out of nowhere—and slammed back into the ground. Above him, Ladan’s greatsword plummeted down.
Blood sprayed from Sloth’s mouth.
And in that moment.
It was only for a split second, but Alon saw it.
On the lips of the supposedly bored Sloth...
A small smile...
A faint sense of expectation was flickering.
40 seconds.
"Swaying Spear—"
Lightning gathered around Seolrang’s body as she drifted through the sky. The ground and sky were connected by golden lightning—
─────────────!!!!
The lightning fired downward blinded everyone present. Immediately following, Ladan’s greatsword, falling from the sky, tore through the air and shattered the ground.
30 seconds.
The mages' spells were fired simultaneously into the dust-filled ground. Like a Milky Way in the night sky, the magic rose into the air and then plunged straight down, grinding the earth.
And as if to mark the grand finale.
A massive pillar of fire erupted, looking as if it would swallow the entire world.
20 seconds.
As the pillar of fire cleared, Selaim’s magic manifested, and a massive block of ice surged up through the shattered ground. Like a giant ice palace rising, Sloth was brought up, frozen within a structure that resembled a giant amethyst.
10 seconds.
With an expression filled with the firm resolve to deliver the final blow, Elivan gripped his sword hilt and drew his blade at a speed invisible to the eye with a strange Sss— sound.
The rising ice exploded, settling the dust.
And the moment the trident Ladan held was plunged into Sloth, who had fallen to the ground amidst the shattered ice.
0 seconds.
Ladan realized. His spear had not reached Sloth’s heart.
Once all the dust had cleared, everyone gathered there witnessed it.
"Ah."
Sloth’s appearance was wretched. Blood flowed from his mouth, and his body was covered in large and small lacerations. One could clearly say the attacks had landed and caused damage.
However.
Despite being in such a state.
"...Ah."
Sloth’s expression was merely bored.
No.
It wasn't.
That wasn't a bored expression.
That was—
...That was—
"...You couldn't kill me."
Regret.
The emotion revealed on Sloth’s face was disappointment.