Chapter 195
Chapter 195
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 195
Chapter Title: Victory Ceremony (5)
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I had a hunch, but it really is an outer god?
"Outer gods are fundamentally incomplete existences that never fully formed. They're things we shouldn't even try to comprehend with our common sense."
Lordbroke's face was etched with clear tension.
"Give me your sword. We should put the quest on hold and get out of here first."
Without a word, Theo placed Drake's blade in her hand.
In that instant, the aura surrounding her sharpened dramatically.
It felt like facing an untouchable sword master.
She seemed to surpass the Nine Dragons, almost like another Kyle.
This was nothing like when she'd manifested in her true form.
'Lodi knows how to wield a sword?'
It was odd enough that a dragonkin like her had mastered a human weapon like the sword, but even stranger that she wasn't reverting to her true form to confront a divine being.
But Lordbroke had no time to address Theo's doubts.
Fwoosh—
Lordbroke surged forward, trailing an immense blast of heat.
"Aha! So you prefer playtime over dinner? That's fine too! Nothing beats food after a good romp! Eek!"
The mouth on the outer god's forehead twitched at the corners, then erupted into mad laughter.
Ehehehehe!
Each burst made the entire forest quake.
Theo suffered a splitting headache so severe he wondered if his skull might shatter.
[Unauthorized entity intrusion detected in the quest.]
[The entity has been classified as a virus.]
[Vaccine program activating to eliminate the virus...]
In that moment, countless messages rained down over the outer god's head.
"Hyah!"
Boom!
The creature slammed into the ground and launched toward Lordbroke, shattering the messages in the shockwave and garbling the text beyond readability.
[External impact detected. System operation disrupted■■■■.]
[Un■a■th■rized pro■gram ■■ing terminated.]
[Con■ti■nuous impacts■■ caus■ng pro■gram fu■■nctions to halt■■.]
[■■■■ ■■■■■]
[■■■■■■■■■■■■■]
[■■■■■]
.
.
Red warning messages overlaid the endless barrage of cluttered notifications.
[SYSTEM ERROR]
The messages were utterly powerless.
'The quest system's authority should be absolute here...!'
That realization hit Theo even harder.
From the circumstances, this outer god was unlikely to be the main body.
Likely just a fragment of malevolent intent that Granada and the Mad Dragon Emperor had dragged in to forcibly unseal the Dragon Arm Sword.
It must have awakened its true nature upon encountering the madness inherent in the Sword's Orb.
Even so, for a mere limb or appendage of the outer god to be this strong?
The overwhelming disparity he'd felt against the horde of outer gods before the Pantheon’s iron gates was no lie.
Its power rivaled—or even exceeded—Lordbroke, who had nearly regained her full strength.
Rumble!
"Ohohoho! As expected! You're way more fun than I imagined!"
Lightning crashed down relentlessly with every slash of Lordbroke's sword.
Theo recognized it as the legendary secret art of the progenitor Sigurd: [Lightning of the Sword].
Flashes of light severed the ogre's arms midair, blasted its legs apart.
Its upper body was riddled with holes, over forty percent gone.
Yet the outer god grinned even with half its face collapsed.
It kept reaching out, desperate to grab Lordbroke once, and each time she struck back before widening the distance as much as possible.
She clearly had no intention of letting it touch her.
"More! More! Play with me some more! Ahahaha! If you get caught, it's tag, you're it~!"
"......!"
In that moment, the outer god's hand shot out, narrowly grazing past Lordbroke's head.
A lock of her hair snagged on its fingertip.
Sizzle—
The caught strands withered instantly, drained of moisture, crumbling to dust.
"Too bad. Tsk! Could've switched. I'm curious what dragon meat tastes like."
"Who said anything about getting caught by you? If you're hungry, chew on your own arm!"
"Eek. Of course I've tried that. But how to put it... it's tough. All gristle, no substance. I think I prefer the 'it' players in this world—they suit my taste better."
"You little piglet."
"Hey, you don't know what you're talking about. Pigs only have like 15% body fat. So what you just said is basically praising me as 'nice and sturdy!'"
Thump thump!
The outer god slapped its belly and shook its head.
"So that doesn't insult me at all! Look at this gut! Do you know how much I suffered to build it? You gotta devour at least thirty worlds or so before anyone's like, 'Oh, got a bit of a belly now?'"
On the surface, it looked like the outer god and Lordbroke were conversing.
In reality, the outer god wasn't listening—it was just spewing whatever it wanted.
A speech utterly devoid of logic or topic.
"Companion! What are you doing?!"
Lordbroke glanced back at Theo in urgency.
She was signaling that her time was running out.
But Theo ignored her urging to flee, fixated instead on observing the outer god.
'No. If we force our way out now, it'll be the end for both her and me.'
With the guardian dead, the Dragon Arm Sword could fall into the outer god's possession at any moment.
This world was essentially its sanctuary now.
Trying to escape rashly could let the outer god's madness invade Theo's mental realm.
Especially precarious with the Sword's Orb already forcibly suppressed— that would be game over.
Even if not, abandoning Lordbroke here meant she'd face it alone... and she couldn't win.
She could die.
'Then its will would take over Lordbroke's body. Whether the Dragon Arm Sword or her flesh, the moment it infiltrates this world, everything's finished.'
Even the [Nameless Sovereign] was a tough opponent—another invader starting its conquest would end it all.
'What do I do?'
Theo scanned his surroundings, searching for anything he could do.
Right then, a woman's voice pierced his ear.
『Do you... hear me...? Chosen... one...?』
The voice was so noise-ridden it could cut out any second.
But Theo instinctively turned toward the fallen guardian Nesi.
『You hear... me... see me...?』
Before Theo could respond, Nesi pressed on desperately.
『Don't react... at all. If that outer god... realizes my state... big trouble...』
Nesi spoke in gasps, breathless.
'She's squeezing out her last dregs of strength.'
Theo realized there was no saving her, his face hardening as he listened silently.
『Nesi!』
『How did the progeny of the ancient dragon... end up like this...!』
Was it her comrades' voices?
Theo thought he heard Nesi chuckle faintly.
A voice wistful for ancient days long faded from memory.
『As you see... it's always... starving. So we must... exploit that.』
Theo hadn't known, but Nesi had survived the outer god's clutches for ages.
Though she'd finally been caught when her strength gave out, her long evasion in this cramped world meant she knew it better than anyone.
Even its weaknesses.
『Feed it... as much food... as possible.』
[The quest has been updated.]
+
[Scenario Quest #10]
An unidentified virus is forcibly occupying the Dragon Arm Sword 'Hrunti'. Activate the vaccine program to eliminate it.
· Difficulty: SSS
· Rewards: Ownership of the ancient dragon's relic, Sword's Orb malice enhancement.
· Failure: Death
+
As much food as possible?
Theo couldn't fathom what to feed it in this barren world of nothing but forest.
『The food... it loves... is right there... in front... of you.』
Her voice weak and fading.
In that instant, Theo's face stiffened.
In his eyes, he saw Nesi smiling sadly.
* * *
[■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■……]
[Th■s i■ a n■w t■■■ ■■■■.]
[The firewall program's stage has adv■■■■ed.]
[Current stage: Stage 3]
The firewall program activated.
Boom!
In a heartbeat, the air around the forest grew heavy, an immense gravity crushing down on the outer god.
Crack!
Lordbroke's outstretched hand slowed as it reached for her throat, skin splitting, muscles mangling with gruesome sounds.
The snapped elbow bone pierced through flesh, blood streaming—a horrific sight.
Lordbroke seized the gap to leap back, drawing deep breaths.
"Haa... haa... haa...!"
Sweat poured down her forehead.
'That was close.'
They'd been evenly matched at first, but while her stamina plummeted rapidly, the outer god seemed to gain momentum the longer they fought.
Likely a sign of its growing mastery over the avatar.
The terror of a world-threatening outer god was all too real.
'Still, I've managed to buy some time.'
Lordbroke exhaled long, confirming the outer god's turtle-slow movements.
Clank! Clank!
Over a dozen iron chains erupted from the ground, coiling tightly around its limbs.
[Current stage: Stage 4]
As the firewall advanced, the garbled text gradually restored.
Clank! Clank!
The outer god scowled irritably at the multiplying chains.
"And just when fun was starting—interference! What is this?!"
[The firewall program's stage is rising further.]
[Current stage: Stage 5]
Boom!
Each stage amplified the gravity by over tenfold.
The goal: crush and expel the avatar here.
"I see you're ignoring me, so you must be the god of causality, right?"
[The system administrator flinches.]
[The administrator asserts they are not that entity.]
"What do you mean, not? Your boomer speech is spot-on for a causality god!"
[The administrator insists they are not a boomer!]
[The administrator realizes their mistake too late.]
"See? Exactly!"
The messages flickered faintly, then ballooned at the outer god's grinning mockery.
[The administrator strongly asserts they are new-gen. Claims other gods already agree.]
"So when a boomer boss pesters subordinates about being new-gen or old-gen, do they say 'You're new-gen, sir!' or 'No, you're a massive boomer, sir?' Boomer?"
[The administrator trembles at the factual beatdown.]