Chapter 332: War of the Apocalypse (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 332: War of the Apocalypse (1)
'The Apocalypse of Creation.'
It was the Unique Sacred Chant that symbolized Alice.
At the same time, it was one of the abilities that always came up when discussing the strongest.
Hummmmm!
Black wings sprouted along her shoulders.
Behind her back, a crimson halo took shape.
In an instant, a calamity fire, heavier and hotter than Cerberus's flames, blazed to life.
It was an overwhelming presence.
Fitting for an absolute being—the head of the Ataraxia family, who was once praised as the strongest among all heads, and the Empress of Pure Blood.
"Impressive, that power. But it's still a far cry from what it used to be."
"You speak the truth. It is embarrassing to even compare my current self to my past self."
Alice extended her right hand to the side.
"However, it is more than enough to kill you."
Dozens of crimson-stained skewers materialized from the tips of her long, pale fingers.
However, even with countless skewers pointed right at her, Hyacinth merely smiled with ease.
It was only natural.
"We'll see. I wonder who will be the one to die?"
For she, too, possessed a Unique Sacred Chant.
[Hyacinth unleashes her Unique Sacred Chant, 'Lightning Armament'!]
Hyacinth's entire body was dyed in pure white.
Her hair, which had been a luscious purple due to magic, also reverted to its original white.
Crackle!
Sparks flew as a terrifying magic power began to encroach upon the space.
A spear completely enveloped in white flames.
"This time, I will burn you to a crisp, you specter of Ataraxia!"
Hyacinth vanished on the spot.
Boom!
As the harpoon and the spear clashed, the pillars lining the sides crumbled like toothpicks.
It was a devastating blow, enough to alter the very landscape with a single strike.
Alice immediately followed up with her next attack.
Thrust! Thrust! Thrust!
Crimson spikes erupted from the ground, aiming to impale Hyacinth's body.
"Tch! As if this could stop me!"
Hyacinth grabbed the oncoming spikes with her bare hands.
With a sharp cracking sound...
...the spikes crumbled into dust.
The blood could not maintain its structure under the unimaginably high voltage and heat.
"Now, it's my turn!"
A blinding brilliance flashed at the tip of Hyacinth's spear.
[Hyacinth activates Lv.?? 'Blazing Lightning'!]
Heat easily exceeding 50,000 degrees Celsius.
A single line of light shot straight toward the space between Alice's brows.
Crackle!
Alice reshaped the harpoon she was holding into a sword.
Spear and sword.
Both were deadly armaments forged from their Unique Sacred Chants.
And the moment the two blades clashed—
Ruuuuuumble!
—the entire temple shook violently.
* * *
While Alice and Hyacinth entered their full-scale battle,
"Well then, shall we get started on this side too?"
Jinhyuk channeled black magic into both of his hands.
As the 'Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art' was activated, his fists were completely enveloped in a dark energy.
Beckon.
His index finger curled back and forth.
It was a provocation.
A gesture telling them he would yield the first move, so they should come at him.
Naturally, Cerberus was not one to just stand by and watch.
"Groooar!"
Along with Cerberus's roar, a long stream of fire spewed toward Jinhyuk.
Its range was narrowed, but its firepower was maximized.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
In an instant, the spot where Jinhyuk had been standing turned into a sea of fire.
Of course,
Tap!
Jinhyuk had long since vanished from that spot.
'First, let's lightly test its level.'
Taking Cerberus's back in the blink of an eye, Jinhyuk threw a heavy punch.
Bam!
"Kaaaah!"
A painful shriek erupted from Cerberus's mouth as its hind leg was struck.
Having taken a direct hit from the Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art infused with a whopping four stars of internal force, the impact was bound to be massive.
However, Jinhyuk, the attacker, was equally surprised.
'It's sturdier than I thought.'
He had intended to throw off its center of gravity in one go.
But Cerberus's defense was unexpectedly high.
Indeed, it hadn't earned the title of the Underworld's watchdog for nothing.
Seeing how both its offense and defense were top-tier.
Whoosh!
His foot swept across the ground, narrowly dodging Cerberus's claws.
In a split second that was almost simultaneous,
Thud!
Jinhyuk firmly planted both feet on the ground.
An indescribable energy rose from his weighted fist.
'Black Heaven Demonic Emperor Art.'
The exclusive martial art of the Dark Emperor.
The martial art he had further refined and enhanced in the Murim was slowly beginning to bloom.
And this was its first form.
'First Form.'
Swallowing the light, the surroundings were dyed in black.
Magic power gathered toward a single point.
'Black-Wheel Dark-Shattering Fist.'
The condensed qi was released all at once.
Boom!
The fist that penetrated the skull scrambled the inside of Cerberus's head.
Yip!
Cerberus's body was driven into the ground.
One of the struck heads was bent to the right, its tongue hanging out completely.
The attack had landed perfectly.
Since he had taken care of one of the three.
However,
just when he thought things were going smoothly, Cerberus activated its unique ability.
[Cerberus has used the unique ability, 'Call of the Underworld'!]
The remaining two heads channeled magic power into the dead head.
Then,
the limp, lifeless pupils regained their focus once more.
"Grrrr..."
The head revived as if nothing had happened.
Once again, fierce flames surged along its jaws.
"Unbelievable. What on earth do you have to eat to get a head like that?"
Jinhyuk clicked his tongue in disbelief.
Having checked with 'Gluttony's Eye', he knew that each of Cerberus's heads possessed a different attribute.
Effective damage could only be dealt through physical attacks, magical attacks, and the unique magic of divine or phantom beasts, respectively.
The problem was that if they were destroyed one by one, they would simply be revived through the 'Call of the Underworld' just like now.
'To kill this thing, I have to use three different attribute attacks simultaneously without a single error... This is getting troublesome.'
Unfortunately, he was currently all on his own.
But still,
that idiot vampire was fighting so hard, he couldn't give up over something like this.
He had made a promise.
That he would make her smile at the end of this battle.
That he would make her forget all the pain and suffering she had endured.
Jinhyuk's gaze drifted toward the far end of the temple.
Exencion.
The usurper of the Ataraxia family was also somewhere in this temple.
The moment to finally put a period on Alice's long journey was right before his eyes.
Hummmmm!
A pure white blizzard swirled around Jinhyuk's hand.
"From now on, you're going to curse that sturdy body of yours."
['Glacial Shaping', 'Sword of the Sky' has been activated!]
Frozen crystals formed the shape of a massive sword.
The frost descending from the sky and...
['Glacial Shaping', 'Sword of the Earth' has been activated!]
...the frost surging from the earth met.
Crack-crack-crack!
Cerberus's body was frozen solid right between the swords.
But it was only for a brief moment.
The ice slowly began to melt under the calamity fire radiating from Cerberus's body.
"I figured as much!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Blood droplets seeped from the skin cracked by the extreme cold.
As 'Blood Explosion', which he had obtained from Amuram, was activated, the blood detonated all at once.
"Kaaaah!"
No matter how sturdy Cerberus was, it wasn't immune to pain when attacked.
Especially when the attack replicated the power of a family head.
With its vision thus obscured,
Jinhyuk summoned 'Tombgrave's Right Arm'.
The arm of the colossus, and
the high-speed sword,
two abilities unfolded in unison.
The afterimage of the Twin Dragon Sword blurred and faded.
The ripples of the spreading shockwave vanished from sight in an instant.
It hadn't evaporated.
Rather,
the shockwave had simply transformed into an invisible blade.
One of Cerberus's heads was severed cleanly.
However,
there was no trace of a smile on Jinhyuk's face.
"...So even mixing the magic of Glacial Shaping and the Colossus race isn't enough."
Even after going this far, it wouldn't die.
He had certainly faced this creature before, but it had never been this resilient.
Right then,
Jinhyuk reflexively deployed a barrier.
[Unique ability 'Ancient Barrier' has been activated!]
[The 7-Star Barrier 'Elemental Severance' unfolds!]
The barrier that neutralized fire-attribute energy deployed just in the nick of time.
Whoosh!
The stream of flames spewing from Cerberus's mouth subsided significantly.
Of course, that didn't mean the threat had vanished.
To begin with, the giant magic beast's body itself was a lethal weapon.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Its paws slammed mercilessly against the ground.
"At least it's a relief that its attack patterns are simple."
Executing 'Sword Demon Heavenly Spirit Steps', Jinhyuk slipped through the gaps like an eel.
Of course, even while evading, he swung the Twin Dragon Sword, leaving numerous lacerations on its ankles.
Blood dripped from the tip of his blade.
...Too shallow.
This wouldn't bring an end to it.
"Grrrr..."
Cerberus, having taken hit after hit, also realized that continuing like this would only prolong its pain.
To break this deadlock, a new variable was needed.
Cerberus was the first to play that card.
"Groooar!"
At its resounding command, crimson eyes gleamed all at once from the shadows cast by the pillars.
Multiple teleportation through shadows.
Just counting those slowly rising from the ground, there were dozens of them.
Furthermore, none of them were low-ranking; they were purebloods carrying Hyacinth's bloodline.
"Hmm. Was this really something that required our intervention?"
"It is surprising. To think there's a human this monster can't even touch. He must be several levels above what we heard."
"Even so, he is still alone."
"True. Since Lady Hyacinth is fighting alone, there's no way we can't subdue that single guy if we all attack together."
Annoying, but true.
Facing Cerberus while simultaneously dealing with the blood clan was close to impossible.
For the first time in a while,
it felt like this was going to be a tough fight.
Jinhyuk drew Fang in one hand and Kruger in the other.
But at that very moment,
an unexpected anomaly occurred.
[A new player has entered the temple!]
[Number of players allowed to enter: (2/2)]
Beyond the gate, a figure radiating waves of murderous intent burst in.
* * *
"Damn it! How dare you leave me behind? If you made me scout around the gate just so you could enter alone, I'll slice your neck off right now!"
Cheon Yu-seong roared in anger.
However,
"...Hm?"
Tilting his head, Cheon Yu-seong looked around.
Punishing Jinhyuk for coming here alone had been the plan, but...
What on earth was this?
Now that he was inside, the interior was a complete living hell.
A temple packed to the brim with vampires.
And in the center, wasn't there a three-headed dog indiscriminately spewing drool and fire?
"Wow, what a relief. My dear Yu-seong. I was waiting for you with bated breath, and you're finally here!"
Jinhyuk smiled brightly.
"Huh...?"
"Hurry up and help. You know how to swing a sword, right? Just slash away like you always do. It means you have to kill everything in sight."
"Wait... Hold on a second! Explain what's going on first...!"
"I'll take the left. You take the right. I'm counting on you."
Whoosh!
Jinhyuk leaped forward.
"You absolute bastard... Damn it!"
Cheon Yu-seong had no choice but to readjust his grip on his sword with both hands.
As 'Song of the Sword' was activated, a faint energy began to rise.
With that,
the battle entered a new phase.