Chapter 264: The Strongest Reinforcements (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 264: The Strongest Reinforcements (2)
"Stop trying to act tough and just surrender quietly. How dare a fragile little Saintess..."
The demonic human reaching out his hand couldn't finish his sentence.
Teresa, who had been standing right in front of him a moment ago, was gone. Instead, he saw Gawain and his other comrades who should have been behind him.
This was physically impossible.
"...Huh?"
His head had been twisted nearly 180 degrees.
His stumbling body soon collapsed sideways.
Thud!
"Where do you think you're putting those filthy hands?"
She hadn't used any special weapon.
With her bare hands... and so effortlessly, she had snapped an adult man's neck.
Crackle!
Black sparks erupted around Teresa's body.
It was an incredibly ominous magic power—one that could never be associated with a Saintess who had once offered her life to save others.
"To wield a power so similar to... demonic qi. No matter how much your personality changes, manifesting opposing attributes should be impossible..."
Divine power and demonic qi.
They were forces that could never coexist within a single person. Yet, to think someone existed who could wield both simultaneously.
"It's structured a bit differently from what you know. Well, not that I have any reason to explain it to people who are about to die."
Teresa slowly stood up.
Shring!
Her dark, ink-colored sword pointed forward.
"Do you really intend to fight? If you can wield demonic qi, it would be far better for you to join us. We can grant whatever it is you desire."
"Hmm. Granting my desires... You guys?"
"Of course."
Did he think she was swayed?
A glimmer of hope flashed across Gawain's face. But it lasted only a brief moment.
"Sorry, but the veterans on our side are much more appetizing. Jinhyuk and Yu-seong are exactly my style, whereas... you demonic humans just aren't worth the effort of raising and devouring. In short, you're boring."
"Then negotiations... have failed."
"That's about right."
Teresa nodded.
At that, Gawain gestured to the demonic humans on either side of him.
"Yes."
"Understood."
Swish.
Swoosh.
The demonic humans quickly spread out.
A dark red energy began to take shape around their weapons.
"What a pity. A talent like you would have been highly useful to the Association."
Since she refused, there was only one option left.
"Kill her," Gawain ordered.
At the same time, the demonic humans released the magic power they had gathered.
[Activating Multiple Incantation Spell Lv.20 'Serpent of Arcnia'!]
A hexagram drawn in blood seemed to form beneath Teresa's feet, and then—
Rumble!
Black serpents suddenly erupted, binding her entire body.
It was a high-level binding skill activated by channeling the magic power of over ten people. On top of that, they had even prepared 'Energy Drain' to gnaw away at Teresa's magic power.
"Binding a lady with snakes. Isn't that a bit rude?"
Teresa violently thrashed her arms and legs.
However, the tightly coiled serpents didn't budge.
"It's a bit difficult to treat someone who twists a man's neck with her bare hands as a lady."
"Oh my. That hurts my feelings."
"Hmm. Rather than your feelings, perhaps you should worry about the wounds your body is about to receive?"
Smirking, Gawain drew a spear.
While the binding held, he intended to pierce the Saintess's body with it. The sharp tip of the spear stopped precisely a few centimeters in front of Teresa's heart.
"Since you don't seem to have any intention of letting me go, I guess I'll just have to break out myself."
"Break out? That's impossible with your level of skill."
"Is it? We'll just have to wait and see."
Teresa's eyes darkened to an even deeper shade.
Right at that moment—
Whoosh!
"Screeech!"
The serpents binding her body shrieked in agony as they began to burn away.
"This... No way!"
Sensing an ominous demonic qi, Gawain hastily thrust his spear forward.
However, the magic power erupting from Teresa's entire body was faster than the spear could pierce her flesh.
[Teresa activates her Unique Ability, 'Saint of the Fallen Kingdom'!]
Her second Unique Ability, usable only when her corruption was manifested: 'Saint of the Fallen Kingdom'.
A Saintess who had taken up the sword to save her country, only to be betrayed by the very nation she saved.
Though history claimed she had no regrets about her life until her dying breath...
That was not the truth.
She had resented them.
She had suffered.
She wanted to... live. She wanted to survive that horrific blaze.
And so, in her final moments, the Saintess had wanted to curse everything in existence.
"Ah..."
A sorrowful sigh escaped Teresa's lips.
[Conditions have been met.]
[The resentment of the Divinity 'Joan of Arc' dwells within!]
[The purest demonic qi blossoms!]
An aura incomparably darker than before surged.
Everything in her field of vision began to dye black.
"You can run if you want. But I won't let a single one of you leave here alive."
With those final words—
Boom!
Teresa's figure vanished.
She reappeared right in front of the demonic human on the far flank. They were close enough to feel each other's breath.
Splat!
Teresa's sword slashed from top to bottom.
From the crown of his head...
To his crotch.
His body was split perfectly in half.
"Guh... ugh...?"
Teresa walked out from the mist of blood spraying like a waterfall.
Slash!
Splat!
Every time her sword swung left and right, the limbs of the demonic humans flew into the air. Her strikes were so fast and precise that reacting to them was nearly impossible.
In less than a minute, over five demonic humans were reduced to butchered corpses.
Teresa rested her sword on her shoulder as she searched for her next prey.
"Hmm~ hmm~ hmm~"
Humming while drenched in blood, she looked like a scene straight out of a grim fairy tale.
Of course,
"What a monster..."
To those who had become characters in that fairy tale, it was nothing short of hell.
* * *
The sense of futility one feels when all prepared plans fall apart is incomparable to anything else.
It was only natural.
Who wouldn't feel devastated when a plan they were absolutely certain of victory crumbled like a house of cards?
"How..."
Tristan's voice trembled faintly.
If even one of the three locations had succeeded, they could have shaken the enemy's foundation. But now, their forces had been divided and defeated individually instead.
The only reason they were holding even ground was because the players of the Gandhara Guild were highly skilled; the demonic humans, on the other hand, were being unilaterally slaughtered to a disastrous degree.
Gawain was barely holding on, but he was in just as much danger.
At most, he had a few minutes left. After that, his head would be severed just like the rest.
"I happen to have quite a few connections. Since I usually live such a virtuous life, everyone is eager to help me out when I'm in trouble."
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
This was why one had to accumulate good karma in daily life. He felt a sudden wave of emotion, almost bringing a tear to his eye.
Yu Yeon-hwa and Lee Tae-min gave him looks that clearly said, What kind of bullshit is that? but Jinhyuk, busy tearing up, didn't notice.
Right then, the Wailing Witch slowly spoke.
"...So, in the end, you have completely won the battle in the rear."
Indeed, the rear battle was their overwhelming victory.
The problem was that the main event of this fight was right here, not in the rear.
A chill ran down their spines, and the air froze.
Although the Lich Bayorodum was far superior in terms of magic, the Wailing Witch was second to none, not even to demons, when it came to curses and barriers. In fact, she easily surpassed most demons.
Yet, Jinhyuk intentionally maintained a relaxed expression.
"I have quite a few other tricks up my sleeve besides this. So I'd appreciate it if you didn't waste your energy and just surrendered quietly. The winner of this battle has already been decided anyway."
"Do not delude yourself. All you did was stop the plan prepared by the demonic humans. I have not even played the cards I prepared yet."
The Apostle of Gluttony was still perfectly fine.
And as long as the Apostle stood, the master of these ruins still held the upper hand over the players.
"Chew that bastard up, bones and all. Make sure he dies a painful death."
"Groooar!"
Thud!
The Apostle of Gluttony charged once more, swinging his iron mace.
It was the exact same situation as before.
That massive lump of flesh, immune to all attacks, was rampaging wildly, and the four of them would have to dodge and run to escape it. If they couldn't find a way to counter it, this cycle would repeat infinitely.
That is, if I didn't know how to eat that dish.
Jinhyuk pulled a book out of his dimensional subspace inventory.
"Three minutes... Everyone, just hold out for three minutes."
"Three minutes?"
Yu Yeon-hwa immediately asked back while dodging the iron mace.
"But you have to make sure he completely takes his eyes off me."
Just running away wasn't enough.
The three of them had to face him head-on to buy time.
So that the dish could be cooked to perfection.
"Got it. We'll hold out somehow. Maria, please support us. Tae-min, focus on deploying smoke bombs."
"Yes, let's do this. We're counting on you, Jinhyuk."
"Okay."
The three of them sprang into action.
Meanwhile, Jinhyuk channeled magic power into the book he held.
[You have used '1,009 Recipes for a Glutton'!]
The 1,009 ingredients in the Tower that players could absolutely never eat.
The secret to making them edible was written in this very book.
Flip, flip, flip!
The pages turned rapidly, stopping precisely on the page detailing the ingredients piled in the cart.
['Otodobul' meat is highly nutritious, but it has an extreme stench and contains 12 types of poison. To resolve this...]
From the types of ingredients to the methods of preparing and handling them to make them edible, the cookbook for gluttons truly had everything.
Jinhyuk quickly began cooking the meat with the ingredients he had brought beforehand.
Having also activated 'Isekai Restaurant', his hand movements were second to no master chef.
However...
Hmm...
Looking at the finished dish, Jinhyuk tilted his head slightly.
Perhaps because it had been so long since he last made it, he wasn't entirely confident. Following a recipe didn't guarantee a perfect recreation of the subtle nuances, after all.
His hesitation didn't last long.
In times like this...
Hummmm!
As he channeled magic power into 'Braham's Ring', a 30-centimeter-tall Alice appeared.
"What is it? I was right in the middle of enjoying the show of them fighting the Apostle of Gluttony. If you summoned me to fight in your stead, that's out of the question. You know my body isn't in top shape right now after fighting that Decasus fellow, right?"
Fortunately, she didn't seem to have been watching him.
Judging by her annoyed expression, she had no idea of the fate that was about to befall her.
"I know that. I didn't summon you to fight, so don't worry."
"Then why did you call me?"
"It's nothing major. I just need someone to test... I mean, taste-test this food."
"Huh? Taste... test?"
Sensing something ominous, Alice fluttered her tiny wings and tried to quickly flee, but...
It was already too late.
Jinhyuk popped a small piece of meat right into her mouth.
Alice reflexively chewed.
"...!?"
Alice's eyes shook with panic.
That was the end of it.
Oh...
Seeing her head tilt back with foam bubbling at her mouth, the situation was clearly dire.
No wonder it smelled a bit sour. It was a failure.
Ah! Right. I was supposed to raise the fire temperature by about 2 degrees here. Starting from the outside of the meat to the inside... Yes, that was it.
Jinhyuk clapped his hands together.
Thanks to this, the recipe he had been confused about came back to him perfectly.
Jinhyuk corrected his mistake.
And just like that—
[Safe 'Otodobul' meat has been completed!]
Finally, the conditions to deal damage to the Apostle of Gluttony were met.