Chapter 217
Chapter 217
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: In the Memories, the Main God of the Holy Mountain (3)
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7.
“That damn witch had to interfere at the crucial moment…”
Saitonan panted atop Shealzbel’s carapace.
The mental resonance had been forcibly severed.
This flesh… it still falls short of perfection. To be shaken by something like this?
Unforgivable…
The memories of the seal he’d glimpsed before the mental resonance body was extracted…
Edel Weiss.
He had a rough idea now of where that sly bastard was hiding. All that was left was to offer up that mongrel as sacrifice.
Then all the glory would be his. And to achieve that…
“Shealzbel.”
Saitonan manipulated the [Ice Ring Wheel] to issue a command to his clone, Shealzbel.
“Capture one of the humans who infiltrated my home. We need to draw out Ari-shel’rap’s true form.”
8.
“What kind of fucked-up building is this? It’s like a goddamn maze.”
Heo Cheon-gyeom grumbled under his breath as he dashed through the Shin Palace corridors. Do Ye-jin glanced over her shoulder at Ryu Hyeon-ji.
“But… even if we escape from here, what chance do we really have?”
“Yeah. When… when we came in, I saw a signal flare go up… from the mountainside.”
“A signal flare…?”
She couldn’t recall the Nowon District crew ever using them. Which meant…
“The main force must be on their way to link up! All the <Association> executives…!”
Such a thing… did that mean the entire <Association> had come for her alone?
It was a joyous yet terrifying thought.
How many more sacrifices would there be because of her alone… Black’s guidance ended about five minutes later.
“Here. Here. This way.”
Even without Black’s words, they could tell that the left path led to the exit.
Blinding natural light poured in alongside a cool breeze.
Was this the escape…?
Could they really meet everyone again? Just as she drew in a hopeful breath.
“Huh…?”
She spotted Ryu Hyeon-ji.
Her entire body was wrapped in tentacles like a pure white slug. Before she could even reach out, Ryu Hyeon-ji and White were dragged into the darkness behind them.
“H-Hyeon-ji──────!”
Do Ye-jin gasped.
No way. She’d been right there… Escape was so close. Laughter echoed from the shadows.
“This way, Ari-shel’rap. You’re not thinking of abandoning this wench and fleeing, are you?”
The moment her body began trembling uncontrollably, Heo Cheon-gyeom grabbed Do Ye-jin’s shoulder.
“Don’t go!”
“What? What about Hyeon-ji!”
“She’s done for! Or… at least knocked out. Look, Black’s form is fading!”
How could he be so heartless…
As Do Ye-jin started to protest, Heo Cheon-gyeom shoved Black into her arms.
“You get out of here.”
“What?”
“Link up with Shin Tae-yeop. Ryu Hyeon-ji… I’ll find that little shrimp somehow.”
Ridiculous.
Unless a warrior-type Hunter had overwhelming skill like Kim Baek-jun or Im Yong-gon, they were at a massive disadvantage in a one-on-one against a colossal subordinate.
Heo Cheon-gyeom was a veteran now, but not yet at that level.
Fool’s pretending to be cool… Rather than waste time arguing, Do Ye-jin decided to act.
“Hey, hey──────!”
She bolted in the direction where Ryu Hyeon-ji had been dragged. Heo Cheon-gyeom hurriedly followed.
“Black, you’re still alive, right? Snap out of it, snap out of it!”
She hadn’t noticed before, but on the opposite side of the exit stood a grotesquely massive iron gate.
No, it was only natural she hadn’t noticed.
It hadn’t been wide open like it was now. Like a predator gaping its maw…
“Good thing your nose works well. Yes, right here. Enter this sanctuary.”
???
The carvings etched into the iron gate… alien spirals that shattered human reason…
“Fuck…”
Heo Cheon-gyeom faltered, overwhelmed by the carvings. Saitonan’s voice rang out again.
“Do you have time to hesitate? If you’re fine letting this wench die, then sure. Hahaha… hahahahaha…”
Amid the boy’s pale laughter came Ryu Hyeon-ji’s faint groan.
Hyeon-ji was alive…
Proof of that: Black hadn’t vanished yet. It was just breathing raggedly.
She stepped her left foot into the darkness.
In that instant, the pitch-black interior lit up with a bluish glow. Blue candles ignited one by one along both walls.
That was how she saw it immediately.
The slug god, Shealzbel.
The beast sluggishly writhed in the center of the chamber, and atop its carapace stood Saitonan.
“Remove your shoes. This is a sanctuary.”
Saitonan commanded in his signature condescending tone. Do Ye-jin shouted furiously.
“Shut up and hand over Hyeon-ji! Give her back! You’re after me, aren’t you!”
“Is a mere wench like this enough to get you so worked up? Mongrel indeed.”
At Saitonan’s nod.
One of Shealzbel’s massive tentacles extended forward… the one coiled around the unconscious Ryu Hyeon-ji.
“Don’t worry. I have no intention of bothering with trash like this one by one. More importantly…”
This time, another of Shealzbel’s tentacles stirred.
There… what was that?
Something that instinctively inspired awe.
A silver chalice?
No, if pure white had existed in ancient times, wouldn’t it have been this color?
“Behold, Ari-shel’rap. The Holy Grail.”
“The Holy Grail…?”
“Do you know what it’s made from? Probably beyond that pathetic brain of yours.”
“Keep calling me stupid, and I’ll rip that mouth of yours apart!”
Do Ye-jin bristled at the words.
Of course, her body quietly assumed combat stance. Saitonan chuckled.
“It’s the blood of Lead Hunters. To fill it completely, we need all four.”
What…?
Lead Hunters…?
Shealzbel tilted the Grail slightly toward them, revealing about a quarter filled with blood. Do Ye-jin said, her eyes trembling.
“Bullshit. Don’t lie!”
Did Kim Baek-jun really die?
No, no. I don’t believe it… I won’t believe it. Saitonan continued.
“Each Absolute God possesses one such Grail.”
At Saitonan’s gesture, Shealzbel brought the Grail to him.
“Ikilas, Labelhein, Ryuinion, She-Piker, Balladon. These five Absolute Holies seek to fill their Grails from a single world.”
Five Absolute Gods…?
Why? What happens when that Grail is full that they’re trying to fill it?
“Hahaha… Do you understand what it means to completely fill this Grail?”
No way she could.
But that laughter… it couldn’t be anything good. Do Ye-jin decided to ignore it.
“Defeating the other four Absolute Apostles means annihilating one world.”
“World… annihilation…?”
“There’s only one reason they go that far. To prove their worth and ascend to godhood.”
Pretend to listen while inching closer, step by step.
One step, one step, one step.
Sneak forward until a single leap could reclaim Ryu Hyeon-ji.
“Your father, Edel Weiss, ascended to divinity the same way.”
What…?
A moment of silence.
That man from her memories…? It took a surprisingly long time to process the words.
“Disgusting, isn’t it, Ari-shel’rap?”
“…?”
“A mass murderer who annihilated a world, then fathered a daughter and lived like a human? Hahaha…”
Lies.
She’d been toyed with enough by Saitonan already. This was just another ploy to unsettle her.
“So what… so fucking what!”
She wouldn’t give it an opening to exploit.
“Sorry, but I don’t have a single memory of my dad?”
That was why she shouted it.
As if shaking off the invisible chains constricting her body. As if blasting away the image of the sharp-suited man from her memories.
“Whatever my dad did has nothing to do with me!”
“Oh… no need for family bonds? Quite godlike in this moment.”
Saitonan raised one eyebrow in disbelief. Do Ye-jin pressed on.
“Thanks for telling me how my dad lived. I don’t know your scheme, but I won’t live like that. Got it?”
“You foolish wench, don’t you get why I explained the Grail to you step by step?”
Good, strike now in this gap.
Do Ye-jin began moving again.
“To let you know that the Grail War is the arena to prove your worth to the Absolute Gods.”
One step, one step, one step.
Five more steps. Then she could shred that tentacle and grab Hyeon-ji…
“In that outer cosmos, only those who prove their worth receive worship and favor as gods.”
The instant.
With one step left.
Shealzbel bellowed, yanking the tentacle holding Ryu Hyeon-ji far back.
“We’re the same, Ari-shel’rap. Unleash your full power.”
What… she’d been right there.
Saitonan sneered down at Do Ye-jin disdainfully.
“I’ll crush your full power with my own. To prove my worth to Absolute God She-rashul’toryak.”
My full power…?
He meant activate 《Subordinate Form》?
No, not now… how, when I can’t even use it? She had much to say but managed only one word.
“…Can’t.”
In that instant, the smile vanished from Saitonan’s lips. Seeing it made her heart freeze.
“I planned to use family ties to draw out your true form, but no reaction at all. Interesting.”
The next moment, Shealzbel gaped its maw wide. Within… a cosmos… a universe swirled.
“Then we’ll have to use this wench.”
Pure white starlight tangled with darkness in a spiraling outer cosmos.
Ah… that primordial wonder!
In a single instant, their minds paralyzed, Do Ye-jin and Heo Cheon-gyeom couldn’t budge.
That was when.
Shealzbel lifted Ryu Hyeon-ji’s body into the air… and dropped her into that maw.
“Huh…?”
The scream escaping her throat snapped Do Ye-jin’s senses awake. She cried out in panic.
“What… what did you just do? You… Hyeon-ji…! Hyeon-ji…!”
Heo Cheon-gyeom stared blankly at Do Ye-jin. No, at Do Ye-jin’s chest.
Why’s he looking there…?
Following his gaze… she saw Black dissolving into starlight particles.
“No… no…! No! Black, no! Don’t go! Blaaaaack!”
Her mind.
Her mind was gone.
Only the <Association> manual line circled her thoughts: Summon-type unique skills vanish when their user dies.
“Hahaha… Scream all you want, it’s useless, Ari-shel’rap.”
The horrific monster harboring an outer cosmos within… Saitonan laughed coldly from atop its vast, towering carapace.
“Shealzbel’s maw connects to the Millennium Fragrance, Ikilas.”
“Iki… what…?”
“Simply put: that wench has been exiled to the distant outer cosmos.”
Do Ye-jin’s heart stopped.
The girl swallowed by the giant slug. The divine beast fading away.
What had become of Ryu Hyeon-ji?
She didn’t need to ask. The evidence above pointed clearly to the truth.
“She can’t even return in death.”
The everyday cruelty of this brutal world.
The severance of a fragile bond… and the despair and grief born from that severance.
“Hahaha… Even as a soul, she’ll suffer unending torment until she becomes a vengeful spirit.”
So she couldn’t see ahead.
She couldn’t breathe, her throat choked, words failing.
“How about that? Clear enough?”
Do Ye-jin pressed her fist to her suffocating chest. Something wailed within.
Something in her body.
The despair in her soul.
Thud, thud, thud-thud, thud-thud-thud-thud…
Like pounding on a door… the door to the room called reason. The pounding grew more frantic.
“U… uwaaaaaaaaah───────!”
The girl huddled in the corner, hands clamped over her ears…
Despaired.
Fell into despair.
Despaired utterly.
…Writhing in agony, sobbing, until at last she abandoned all and flung that door open.
「────────────PPPPPHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!」
The roaring despair, neck stretched long, was utterly overwhelming.
A hulking dragonkin body and tail clad in ashen dragon scales.
Grotesquely twisted wings.
A dragon head with teeth in three massive layers.
“Hahaha…! The [Daughter of the Abyss] has emerged.”
Saitonan laughed leisurely.
At the same time, the boy’s body began sucking into Shealzbel’s carapace.
Shealzbel was a fortress.
A clone created by separating his divinity to protect this fragile human flesh until its completion.
“You endured well, Shealzbel.”
He’d pinpointed the coordinates.
Now Ari-shel’rap was an offering to Absolute God She-rashul’toryak.
The reason for this tedious charade was simple.
Sending her in human form risked her flesh being torn apart before reaching Ikilas.
“No need to overdo it. Stalling for time wins anyway.”
He’d already implanted Ikilas’s parasites in her brain. Ari-shel’rap’s soul would erode toward Ikilas.
Even during this battle.
No, the more that mongrel rampaged in this fight, the faster the erosion.
“But no need for that. Now… Shealzbel. Let us prove our worth.”