Chapter 63
Chapter 63
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 63
Chapter Title: Dungeon (1)
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“Delant, what the hell are you doing? Are you in your right mind?!”
“Exposing our location on purpose to lure in the Church! It’s no different from suicide, you idiot!”
In a space shrouded in thick darkness.
Two men were unleashing their fury.
Standing in the direction they glared was a gaunt, youthful man.
The young man was staring blankly at a massive mirror that stretched all the way to the ceiling.
“Delant! Are you even listening to us?!”
“Come hide with us right now! Yulan is down to just the three of us! If we die too, Yulan’s line ends!”
The two men raised their voices again. But the young man continued to gaze only at the mirror.
“……I can’t hear it.”
Then, suddenly, the young man opened his mouth.
“No matter how long I wait, His sacred voice doesn’t come…….”
The young man caressed the mirror with both hands. The mirror indifferently reflected only his face.
“It’s the first time He’s gone this long without responding. It’s never happened before.”
The two men looked at Delant with expressions of utter exasperation.
“Stop staring at that damn mirror!”
“The Church is right at our doorstep. We don’t have time to waste on that crap…….”
At that moment, the young man whipped his head around.
His once-beautiful face had twisted into something demonic.
“That crap? You call it crap? The one and only channel to Him?”
Black mana erupted from the young man’s body. An enormous amount of it began shaking the entire space.
“You, who received His boundless grace, dare to blaspheme Him? Now it’s clear! He must be disappointed in us!”
The young man spat out his rage. The space shook even more violently.
“You couldn’t even carry out His orders properly! You forgot His grace! He’s disappointed in our pathetic display! That’s why He cut off contact!”
Overwhelmed by the young man’s dominating presence, the two men were too terrified to speak.
Not all of Yulan’s black mages possessed equal power.
These two were high-ranking black mages in their own right.
But they were far inferior to the young man. No, not a single Yulan executive could match him. Not even their leader.
“Why did I lure in the Church? To carry out His command! Wiping them out will shake not just the Church but the entire Apple Kingdom! Then He’ll be pleased!”
Just imagining it brought a blissful smile of ecstasy to the young man’s face.
“No! That’s not enough! I’m preparing a gift for Him! Flesh golems made from the superior corpses of Holy Knights! He loved my puppets, so He’ll surely be delighted!”
The young man’s mana calmed in an instant. He glanced at the two men and smiled thinly.
“Now that I look, your bodies seem pretty usable too?”
Chills ran down the two men’s spines. They hurriedly summoned their black mana.
At that moment, something burst from the ceiling.
It looked like an ordinary human at a glance. But its entire body was stitched together from parts of other creatures.
The flesh golem grabbed the two black mages’ heads and slammed them into the ground.
Their faces crushed, the two black mages lost consciousness.
“Kite, take them to the sealing room. I’ll perform the procedure right away.”
The young man commanded the flesh golem.
The flesh golem, resembling a human male, nodded and hoisted the two over its shoulders before vanishing.
“I need to find corpses excellent enough to satisfy Him…… I need to prepare a gift worthy of His satisfaction.”
The young man muttered while biting his nails.
Then it happened. A round glass window with bat wings flew in.
The window showed the Church members battling flesh golems.
“Finally, the materials are arriving.”
A radiant smile bloomed on the young man’s face.
“I wonder if they can pass the test I prepared?”
A flesh golem with a round body and multiple human faces attacked the Church.
The Church’s Holy Knights were getting overwhelmed without a chance to fight back.
“No, that won’t do…… Ordinary ones won’t cut it. The sect’s Holy Knights need to step up.”
The flesh golems placed at the entrance were ones the young man had put considerable effort into creating.
They weren’t something mere ordinary Holy Knights could handle.
“Come on, show me the sect’s Holy Knights…… Prove how superior you are as materials!”
The young man peered into the glass window as if to bore holes through it.
Then it happened.
One man stepped forward. He dodged all the flesh golem’s attacks before thrusting his sword into its torso.
The flesh golem’s movements halted abruptly. Moments later, it began to collapse.
“……Huh?”
The young man blinked repeatedly.
He hadn’t used divine power but mana, so he was clearly an ordinary knight.
Yet this ordinary knight had precisely located and pierced the flesh golem’s core.
“How the hell……? Instinct? Or did he sense the mana?”
The young man was instantly captivated by the knight.
“Amazing…… I thought the sect’s Holy Knights would be the best…… To think such a material existed……!”
The quality of a material wasn’t determined solely by the flesh’s condition. The creature’s innate talents played a huge role too.
In that sense, this knight was the finest material the young man had ever seen.
“Found it! With that one, I can make a puppet that’ll satisfy Lord Dorgo!”
Delant the Corpse Puppeteer spread his arms wide and let out a cheer.
* * *
The subjugation force entered the dungeon’s interior.
After advancing some distance, new flesh golems appeared.
Flesh golems with human bodies attached to four legs assaulted the subjugation force from all sides.
Demian gripped his holy sword to fight the flesh golems.
“Demian Haksen, stay out of this. We, the Tangled Blizzard, will handle this battle.”
Gamal said in a cold voice.
Sanus asked at his words.
“Oh my~ Gamal, would you like our Dazzling Pain’s brilliant torment to assist~? We’ll cast buffs on you~.”
“No need. We’re strong enough without relying on Dazzling Pain. You lot go help the other Holy Knights.”
After flatly refusing the offer, Gamal shouted.
“Hear me, Tangled Blizzard. On the honor of our sect, don’t let a single one escape alive.”
At Gamal’s command, the Tangled Blizzard Holy Knights unleashed their divine power.
A chilling cold spread throughout the cave.
Frost formed on the flesh golems’ surfaces, noticeably slowing their charge.
“Charge!”
Led by Dionysio, the Tangled Blizzard Holy Knights rushed at the flesh golems.
Each time the Holy Knights swung their spears, the flesh golems’ bodies shattered like ice chunks.
The flesh golems screeched and counterattacked.
But with their bodies frozen by the cold, they couldn’t properly strike the Holy Knights.
‘No matter how many times I see it, it’s a terrifying power.’
The Tangled Blizzard’s cold could freeze not just objects but mana itself.
To undead powered by black mana, it was nothing short of poison.
‘Even I couldn’t imitate their authority.’
Demian was a once-in-a-generation genius, but not omnipotent.
Even he couldn’t replicate the sects’ authorities. They were powers fundamentally different from mana.
“An incredible sight, isn’t it?”
A voice came from beside him. Turning his head, Sanus had approached unnoticed.
Her skin was blindingly white, her platinum hair spotless.
Her saintly appearance was as if she’d just emerged from a holy relic.
“The Tangled Blizzard is one of the strongest among the sects~ Their pride is a bit much, though~.”
Sanus let out a giggle.
“Do you know why he told you to stand down~? It hurt his pride~ You took down that entrance flesh golem all by yourself~.”
It was an absurd reason to Demian. If true, it wasn’t pride—it was pettiness.
“……Ah, but they’re killing them too cleanly. Since they’re filthy heretics’ creations, they should rip out the guts and mince them up first.”
Sanus muttered regretfully while watching the Tangled Blizzard fight.
Hearing that, Demian shot Sanus a disgusted look.
‘Radiance, that madwoman’s disciple alright. This one’s not right in the head either.’
Demian had fought all Five Great Saints.
Azure Flame had been the strongest of the five, but the most annoying was Radiance.
Radiance was a fanatic among fanatics.
Her zeal was so extreme that other Holy Knights seemed atheists by comparison.
‘Come to think of it, it wasn’t just Radiance. Everyone in Dazzling Pain is insane.’
Back as a Death Knight, dozens of Dazzling Pain Holy Knights had once self-destructed just to kill Demian alone.
“I apologize for doubting you, Sir Demian~.”
“It’s fine. With a big operation ahead, thorough checks aren’t a bad thing.”
Demian replied indifferently.
Sanus taking the Tangled Blizzard’s side irked him, but he wasn’t one to hold grudges.
“I’ve never seen anyone fight like you, Sir Demian.”
Sanus gazed at Demian with eyes sparkling intensely.
It was a familiar look. An ominous premonition flashed through Demian’s mind.
“So, what I’m saying is, are you not interested in becoming a Holy Knight~?”
“No.”
Demian answered promptly.
“Why not~? Holy Knights act as proxies for divine wrath. It’s truly glorious~.”
“I’m still far too lacking to proxy divine wrath.”
“To think you harbored such insecurities…… But don’t worry~ If you’re lacking, we can fill it~ Dazzling Pain happens to have a special six-month scripture study course for outsiders~.”
Sanus didn’t back down easily. Demian was starting to feel fatigued.
“And becoming a Holy Knight would neatly solve your mana shortage issue too.”
That one line blew away his boredom.
As Sanus said, Demian’s weakness was his low mana reserves.
He’d consumed mana crystal elixirs and practiced the Tyrant’s Power Accumulation Technique daily, but he was still far from sufficient.
To think she’d pinpoint it so accurately.
“You don’t believe me?”
Misinterpreting Demian’s gaze as doubt, Sanus began explaining.
“Holy Knights receive divine power based on their faith. Every time they execute filthy heretics, the Lord grants more divine power.”
Holy Knights increased their divine power differently from knights.
Through prayer, good deeds, service, and so on.
Many methods existed, but the most effective was executing heretics.
Offering heretics to the Lord increased divine power accordingly.
But it wasn’t a very appealing option for Demian.
‘I can’t submit to the Church just to fix a mana shortage.’
Becoming a sect Holy Knight brought too many hassles.
Above all, his mana issue would resolve with time.
Complete the mana cultivation method, consume more spirit medicines.
Just absorbing the spirit heart he had would grant an enormous amount of mana.
“How about it~? Tempting, isn’t it~? If Sir Demian wishes, we can baptize you right now…….”
“Sanus, what are you doing?! Why are you trying to steal Demian?!”
Then, Margata bellowed.
“Margata, whether Sir Demian joins us or not, what does it matter~? What’s important is that his skills are used to tear heretics apart~?”
“That’s nonsense. How many Holy Knights have you lured away like that?! That’s why the other sects complain about manpower shortages all the time!”
Margata shoved Sanus’s back.
“Shut up and get back to your sect.”
“Sir Demian~ Let’s talk later~.”
“I said go now!”
Margata straight-up hoisted Sanus and headed toward the Dazzling Pain group.
With Sanus gone, Demian let out a sigh of relief.
“……Sir Demian.”
Agnes was looking at Demian with a dark expression.
“You refused me so firmly when I invited you. Why couldn’t you shake off Lady Sanus?”
Agnes’s voice was thick with hurt feelings.
It was a ridiculous complaint to Demian. Sanus had clung shamelessly; it wasn’t that he couldn’t shake her off.
“I thought at least you wouldn’t fall to Lady Sanus…….”
“But what’s this about recruiting Holy Knights? I thought only those who’ve awakened authorities could join sects?”
Changing the subject, Demian asked a question. Agnes answered despite her displeasure.
“Under the pretext of following the sect’s interpretation of doctrine, ordinary Holy Knights can join too. They receive sect support in return. But they also gain the duty to aid the sect.”
That explained Margata’s anger. Sanus had poached all the talented Holy Knights.
“Sir Demian, Lady Sanus may be beautiful, but you mustn’t fall for it. True faith is…….”
Agnes began preaching with a stern face.
At that moment, something snagged in Demian’s senses.
Demian drew his holy sword. He swung it widely.
The released aura broadly sliced the ceiling, walls, and floor. Black blood spurted from the cracks.
-Kieeeek!
-Kieeek!
With screeches, something poured out from the walls.
Flesh golems clad in thick insect-like carapaces.
“Wh-what is that?!”
“Ambush! Flesh golems in the rear!”
The soldiers shouted in panic.
‘They have stealth abilities.’
Demian examined the flesh golems. They hadn’t been visible even as they closed in this close.
Likely flesh golems capable of blending with their surroundings.
‘But their combat prowess isn’t lacking either.’
The carapaces encasing their bodies looked quite sturdy. They seemed extremely troublesome to deal with.
Demian summoned his aura to deal with the flesh golems.
“Please rest, Sir Demian.”
Agnes blocked him. She grew her knuckles and said.
“I’ll handle those.”