Chapter 392: Quickening (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 392: Quickening (7)
The Black Wood, originating from the royal castle, rose up and split the heavens and earth into thousands of branches.
A delayed sound followed.
■■■■■■■■■■—!!!!
It was the blood-curdling shriek of the Unique Entities.
The sound, resembling hundreds or thousands of people screaming in unison, echoed throughout the Colony.
"Ah—"
The black tree, which had maintained its form until a moment ago, began to gradually vanish.
And then.
The fruits that had been hanging from the tips of the black branches began to plummet toward the earth.
Thousands of Unique Entities—creatures that even a skilled fighter would struggle to block—hit the ground helplessly, crushed like soft overripe fruit.
"Didn't you say it yourself?"
Akaron muttered blankly as he watched the scene.
His mind had already deduced who was responsible for this. It would have been stranger if he hadn't.
Excluding the 1st Prince, who was currently trying to hand them over to those monstrous Unique Entities...
There was only one person left in that castle.
"Say what?"
"That he was just... a bit stronger than the Golden Flash?"
A thick wave of goosebumps broke out across Akaron's body. Looking at the sight before him, he couldn't help but recall the Golden Flash.
The first Babayaga of the Colony.
The strongest among all the Babayagas.
The Golden Flash.
Akaron knew her strength well. It was only natural; she had been the greatest help in fending off the Unique Entities during the past few battles.
If other Babayagas were to die in future battles, Akaron would feel a brief moment of regret and nothing more. But if the Golden Flash were to fall in battle...
Akaron would flee that fight without a moment's hesitation.
Her death would mean that the enemy was a being that could not be defeated even if all the remaining forces in the Colony combined their strength.
That was the level of strength Akaron attributed to the Golden Flash.
However, the sight currently unfolding before his eyes...
"That's just... a god."
It was so overwhelming that even he couldn't help but let those words slip out.
"...It seems the rumors weren't exaggerated after all."
Kazan, who had also been staring blankly, nodded in agreement. Just then—
Boom—!
Another bone-chilling explosion erupted from the half-destroyed royal castle.
■■■■■■■■■■■—!!!!
More Unique Entities, so repulsive that one couldn't help but grimace just by looking at them, began to pour out once again.
"Goddammit! So many of them died, and that wasn't the end!?"
Akaron screamed at the absurdity of the situation.
But his outburst was short-lived.
"Tsk, hurry up and grab the luggage!"
At Kazan's shout, Akaron finally snapped back to his senses.
Grimacing, he tucked the fallen soldiers under his arms. They immediately began moving toward the Colosseum.
* * *
'...Is the evacuation complete?'
As the Black Wood vanished, Unique Entities rained down from the sky.
Alon gazed at the now completely ruined royal castle of the Colony, confirming that his plan had succeeded.
"Ha—"
A sound came from beside him.
Alon turned his gaze to find Karan, who was letting out a hollow, absurd laugh.
"..."
Karan's condition was clearly far from normal. His body, which had been filled with a look of ecstatic joy as he waited for Alon's death the moment the Unique Entities were summoned, was no longer intact.
Of his limbs, only his right leg remained.
There were also three massive holes pierced through his torso.
It was a gruesome state—one where any normal human would have died instantly.
Yet, Karan was alive.
"...Just as the rumors said. Your reputation wasn't built on nothing."
"..."
"But I'm afraid you'll be disappointed. I do not die."
Alon silently observed Karan's body.
Beyond merely being alive and speaking, his body was actually slowly regenerating.
The only difference from before was that his flesh was transforming into something more akin to the Unique Entities he had just summoned, rather than a human.
However, Alon showed no surprise or horror.
From the beginning, Alon had easily predicted that Karan would have a hidden trump card like this.
Karan's actions had been far too bold for someone without power, and he had been overflowing with confidence even while facing Alon.
In the end, seeing Karan's current state was nothing more than a confirmation of Alon's suspicions.
"What do you plan to do by regenerating alone? It seems I've already dealt with most of the Unique Entities you summoned."
"Heh—don't worry. I still have plenty of subjects to unleash besides the ones you disposed of."
Creeeeeak—!
As if to prove his words were no lie, Unique Entities began to pour out from the outskirts of the royal castle.
"...Were there two summoning circles?"
"How unfortunate for you."
Karan flashed a playful smile.
"Now, watch with your own eyes. The moment my creations rule this city with terror, That Person shall appear. Ah—"
He smirked, but he seemed emotionally precarious. Despite the smile on his face, his eyes were filled with delusion and doubt.
"—No, wait. I should have asked if you'll even be able to see it first."
As Alon watched Karan, he suddenly realized that the Unique Entities—the creations of the Divine Blood—had surrounded him before he knew it.
"..."
There were hundreds of them, at a conservative estimate.
Alon looked at the creatures approaching from the distance with their overwhelming size and grotesque footsteps, then turned to Karan, who was sneering while hiding complex emotions.
"Do you think I won't be able to handle them?"
"Of course not. Having witnessed your power firsthand, there's no way I'd think that. You could probably slaughter these things over and over again. But—"
He grinned.
"Can you keep doing it a hundred times? Two hundred times?"
In sync with Karan's murmur, magic circles like the ones from before began to appear one by one behind his back.
"That Person's army is infinitely larger than you can imagine. What I've summoned here is a mere fraction."
"..."
"I wonder, just how long can you hold out?"
Karan's reasoning was logical.
If his words were true, Alon wouldn't be able to hold out for long against an endless army.
After all, Alon's Mana Hole and the Art of Defying Heaven were not suited for a war of attrition.
Nevertheless, Alon did not panic.
There were two reasons.
First, he judged there was a high probability that Karan was dressing up a partial truth as the whole reality.
It had only been about a month since the Divine Blood had begun appearing on the continent in earnest and causing issues.
While he had received reports of Unique Entities appearing before then, it was practically impossible to have created such a vast number of them in just a few months.
And above all...
If they truly possessed such a massive army of Unique Entities, there was no reason to focus solely on the Colony, regardless of how important faith built on terror might be.
And the second reason.
Even if everything Karan said was true...
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I have no intention of 'holding out.'"
Alon had no intention of staying in this spot.
And.
"What—?"
The moment Karan's face twisted in confusion...
Crackle—!
Golden lightning struck.
"Mentor!"
Seolrang, her entire body wreathed in golden light, landed in front of Alon.
She grabbed him and immediately took flight.
"...Huh?"
Karan could only stare blankly at the spot where Alon had vanished.
And then.
"...You bastard—!!!!"
It didn't take long for Karan to realize that the citizens had gathered at the Colosseum under the protection of the fighters, and that he had been played for a fool.
* * *
Immediately after escaping the castle with Seolrang's help.
"Thank you, Seolrang."
"It's nothing, Mentor! Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
Landing in front of the Colosseum, Alon patted the head of the worried Seolrang and looked ahead.
"...It's already started."
Perhaps because a battle with the Unique Entities had already taken place, the scene before him was a mess.
Groans could be heard from all directions.
The corpses of Unique Entities and fighters were scattered about in a chaotic jumble.
"Marquis!"
"Are you alright!"
As Alon silently surveyed the surroundings, Penia and Evan rushed over.
From them, he was able to quickly learn how the situation was unfolding.
'The plan was a success, then.'
Ultimately, Alon's plan had worked.
While he drew Karan's attention and the Babayagas dealt with the soldiers to prevent word from reaching the castle, all the citizens had been evacuated to the Colosseum, preventing a mindless massacre.
But just because the plan went as intended didn't mean everything was over.
The thing he had to deal with from the start was—
"You—!"
—The Divine Blood itself.
Turning his gaze toward the voice, he saw Karan, who had been at the castle just moments ago, looking down at him.
"...Is that the Prince?"
As Penia asked, Karan's appearance was now far from anything that could be called normal.
Most of his body had already mutated to resemble the Unique Entities.
Even his eyes, which had been the only normal part left, were now grotesquely distorted.
"You thought you were clever—but even so, the situation doesn't change—!"
At the signal of his madness-laced voice...
As if waiting for the cue, Unique Entities surrounded the Colosseum and magic circles began to form.
The fighters cursed in unison, and just as Alon held his breath to cast a spell—
Crunch—!
Karan's back, as he looked down with eyes full of madness, suddenly began to swell massively.
"Ah?"
In that instant...
Karan looked at his own body with a confused expression.
Then, as if realizing what was happening...
"W-Wait—! Please, stay still! O Divine Blood!"
He hurriedly opened his mouth, but—
Crunch! Squelch—!
His body began to swell even further.
"O Divine Blood! Keep your promise!! I—I will offer everything! I will sacrifice everyone here! Every promise, perfectly—!!"
Karan struggled desperately, as if sensing his own end.
However—
"Pleasepleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease—!!!!! AAAAGH—!!!"
His uncontrollably expanding body silenced him by completely tearing through his skin.
And with that, what appeared was...
CRUNCH—!!!
A massive leg.
One that was far too large.
"Crazy..."
A spider's leg, easily surpassing the height of the Colosseum, erupted from Karan's body.
Soon after.
[Prostrate yourselves.]
A profound, resonant voice echoed.
Crushing Karan's remains and forcing its way through a space that seemed impossible to emerge from, 'it' finally revealed itself.
[Before me—]
Finally, it stood before Alon and his party.
[The One Who Swallows Poison.]
It had fully manifested.