Chapter 442
Chapter 442
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 442
>Chapter Title: Return of the Immortal
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"Eternal and immortal... Eternal and immortal...."
"Eternal and immortal... Eternal and immortal...."
The followers chanted in perfect unison. It was a bizarre, spine-chilling sight that made one question if they were even human.
They lined up before an altar large enough for one person to lie upon, simply waiting for events to unfold.
Step...
Step...
A young woman with her eyes covered by a white blindfold was led by the followers to approach the altar.
The blindfolded woman offered no resistance. She accepted it all meekly, as if this were her destined fate.
Step...
Step...
After the Immortal departed for the afterlife, the Eternal Life Cult splintered into four branches: Bone, Shadow, Blood, and Flesh.
Among them, the Blood Branch had suffered near annihilation during the schism, leaving only its bare remnants.
Yet, thanks to the exceptional abilities of a new leader recruited by the Blood Branch, it managed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the others despite the setback.
Now, the leaders of each branch approached the altar, carrying jars wrapped in precious cloth.
"Kukukuk... Truly, the moment we've awaited for so long."
"......"
"Once He returns, this world will be a sight to behold."
"Young ones have it good. I wonder how much longer I'll live to see His reign."
"Don't be so dramatic. We hear you're overflowing with lust every night despite your words."
"Oh dear! The rumors have spread that far? Hahaha!"
Clink...
As if having heard their chatter, the lid of one jar trembled slightly.
"Whoops... We should be quiet."
"You all heard that, right? Silence!"
The followers all fell silent.
In the heavy stillness, the woman who would become the sacrifice drew near the altar.
Bria, her face half-covered in bandages, spoke.
"Silroy, the tree that is you has finally borne fruit."
"Lady Bria... I'm scared."
"There's nothing to fear. He is kind and perfect. Your soul will witness His greatness from the closest vantage, without wandering a cold world."
"Will it hurt?"
"Not at all. It's merely like falling asleep."
Though her eyes were hidden, the visible features alone revealed Silroy to be a beauty without equal in the world.
Swoosh...
Silroy lay straight upon the altar.
Bria, who had suffered a crushing defeat at Kang Seol's hands yet survived as the sole remnant of that horrific massacre, oversaw the ritual.
"Silroy's body is one that all humans would covet."
She spoke calmly of the qualities of the woman now lying on the altar.
"The Eternal Life Cult has endured many failures. Flesh and blood of infinite regeneration. Bones tougher than any monster. Balance without discord. We lost Shuro, but we obtained Silroy."
The followers listened intently to Bria's words.
Whoosh...
"Silroy is the flame of the Eternal Life Cult. She is the endurance we built in silence after the Immortal's departure, our vow."
Crackle...
Crackle... crackle...
Silroy's body floated upward.
She was already limp, as if deep in slumber, as the ritual proceeded.
"We offer her to You. Descend upon her at last."
Rumble—crackle crackle crackle!
Black flames and lightning swirled around the altar.
No one showed fear. Only the Black Knight, leader of the Blood Branch, watched the proceedings with a wary gaze.
"Immortal, Taliaad."
Boom—rumble rumble!
A black bolt of lightning struck the center of Silroy's chest.
Soon after, it was engulfed in black flames.
Roar—flame!
"Eternal and immortal... Eternal and immortal...."
"Eternal and immortal... Eternal and immortal...."
The followers raised their voices in harmony, hoping to lend even a modicum of aid.
"Eternal and immortal! Eternal and immortal!"
With their fervent cries, the flames grew fiercer.
Roar roar roar—flame!
Silroy's body was sometimes charred crisp, at others melting away.
Yet her superhuman flesh endured it all.
Bria and the branch leaders shouted the ritual's finale.
"Only one life shall endure eternally!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh...
The flames began to subside.
[Taliaad uses the ultimate phantom technique: Eternal Life.]
[A body capable of withstanding vast madness and the ritual is required.]
[Cooldown is extremely long.]
......
From the dying flames, Silroy rose, her blindfold gone.
"Bring something... to cover myself with."
The voice from Silroy's lips did not seem her own.
A neutral tone, despite her feminine form.
Swoosh...
A robe of fine cloth draped simply over her, concealing her body perfectly and exuding an inexplicable dignity.
No—perhaps majesty.
Silroy opened her eyes.
Whoosh whoosh...
Pale purple glow emanated from her.
"Ooh! Immortal!"
"Immortal!"
Silroy—no, Taliaad—glanced briefly at the bowing followers before returning inside the building.
The branch leaders followed the figure whose pronouns they had yet to settle upon.
Taliaad caressed a throne carved from bone.
"Truly... it's been ages."
"Immortal, the wait has been arduous."
"You old fool! Seeing you again fills me with indescribable joy."
"Sentimentality unchanged, I see."
Taliaad plopped onto the skull throne.
Draped only in thin cloth, she appeared sturdier than anyone present.
Bria, head bowed low, asked.
"Immortal, is the prepared body to Your liking...?"
"It falls short. It'll take time to adjust."
"Forgive us. The male vessel we had prepared got caught in an unfortunate incident and..."
It was the tale of Shuro, charred black in Uru's flames.
"Well, I can manage with a little effort."
"Immortal..."
"You have questions. Speak."
Bria hesitated before asking.
"What You sought to achieve..."
"......"
"I-I apologize if that's impertinent; I'll withdraw the question."
"No, it needs clarifying."
Taliaad let out a hearty laugh.
"A utter failure."
"...Pardon?"
"Puhahaha! A failure, plain and simple. Spectacularly messy too. You'd have averted your eyes if you'd seen it."
The Immortal's flippant tone.
His manner was ambiguous.
It always had been.
At times like an emperor, then a child, or a clown—shifting unpredictably.
Thus, no one could read him. What was truth, what his aims.
"Then..."
"This affair seems more entangled than thought... We'll poke at it piece by piece. More importantly, your numbers have dwindled greatly."
"Forgive us... We failed to prevent the defections."
"Eh, whatever. Rabble multiplies quickly enough."
The Immortal methodically pieced together the tale.
"You're all... so weak."
"......"
"Was it always this way? You feel utterly frail now."
"...Forgive us. We shall strive harder."
"It's fine. With my revival, I won't burden you much anyway."
"Yes..."
"Where are the Death Messengers?"
The Eternal Life Cult's Death Messengers.
The Immortal's direct retainers.
Three in number, each a match for a thousand.
"When You departed, Immortal, they all fell into deep slumber."
"Wise choice. Locations tracked?"
"Two confirmed, but one remains elusive."
"No hiding from me. Fine. We must find the Death Messengers... Ah, and Humu was stolen."
Bria bowed deeply in apology.
"F-Forgive us."
"It's fine. We'll steal it back."
"...Yes."
The Immortal remained ever-positive, repeating it was fine.
"How do you remember me?"
"...Pardon?"
"Answer. What sort of man was Immortal Taliaad, founder of the Eternal Life Cult?"
"W-Well..."
"Be honest. Lies won't fly this time."
Bewildered why this absurd query became paramount, the leaders each offered a word on the Immortal.
"Knight, you first."
The Black Knight was the only one who hadn't met the Immortal before his demise.
"I don't know you."
"Then, impressions upon meeting?"
"...Impossible to read."
"Kuk... Spot on, it seems. Others?"
With the Black Knight starting, the rest chimed in.
"You are impartial and unbiased."
"Hm..."
"You choose means to achieve ends."
"Was I?"
"Neither good nor evil."
"That's right too."
The Immortal spoke.
"Now listen well. From this moment, Immortal Taliaad is..."
Taliaad's pale purple eyes gleamed ominously.
"Evil."
"......"
"To that end, we head somewhere urgently."
"Where is that?"
"Where the old era meets its end."
His destination.
"The North."
* * *
Unaware of one heading north, the traveling party already en route.
"Gregory, Gregory, Gregory!"
"...What are you doing?"
"He won't die. Part of the pact has crumbled."
Now able to utter "Gregory" freely, Jian grinned ear to ear as he exited the ruins.
"If the Assembly fools showed up this conveniently now and then, it'd ease this frustration."
Kang Seol asked Jian.
"Where to next?"
"Rifled their corpses. Found this."
Rustle—out came a paper.
It marked a place holding another fragment to unite with the Fragment of Assertion.
"The sacred mountain, Horus. Here."
"...A trap?"
"A bit suspicious... But to get the next fragment, no choice. We have to go."
Sindio said.
"Horus... Isn't that Deki Tribe territory?"
"Yep."
The Deki, another tribe unlike the Kesshi who followed Jin.
Though same race as the ungoverned zone's natives, their divergent origins warranted separate treatment.
"The Deki... They worship ancestral spirits, right?"
"Yeah, demigods. No idea why they'd revere flawed demigods over full gods..."
"You're not planning to say that to the Deki's faces, are you?"
"I've got some tact."
Sindio worried.
"The Deki shun outsiders harshly... And they're fiercely warlike. Must we go?"
Kang Seol replied.
"I needed to visit Horus for important business anyway."
"...No helping it then."
Kang Seol had planned to detour to Horus regardless.
'The great deer in Tansia's dream... Must be that guy in Horus.'
Jian said, hands behind his back.
"Well, shall we depart at once?"
"No, can't leave right away."
"...Why?"
Kang Seol pointed to the ruins' entrance.
A massive shadow blanketed the front.
"...Nighttime?"
Having exited the ruins, Kang Seol's party greeted their shadowy benefactor.
"...You waited here?"
"Fatty said wait!"
Bonecracker, the ogre who had guided them here.
He had been waiting.
"The liars?"
Instantly realizing they hadn't prepared an ogre-appropriate gift, Jian and Sindio's faces darkened.
Thud...
Then, a small pouch Kang Seol tossed landed in Bonecracker's hand.
"Check it."
Bonecracker nudged the pouch, spilling its contents.
Something tumbled out in a heap.
"Fingers! Right! You killed them all! You kept the promise!"
"Eugh... Fingers?"
Sindio grimaced in disgust, but Jian praised him instead.
"Hahaha! Most reliable that way. Less cruel than heads, and they're corpses anyway? Enemies."
"But..."
"Keep nitpicking philosophy, and you'll compile it from an ogre's gut."
"Good point. I'll accept that."
Kang Seol told Bonecracker.
"We kept our promise. So..."
"Nap time!"
Thud...
Thud...
Bonecracker's hand hit the ground.
The signal to climb aboard.
Kang Seol tilted his head, and Bonecracker explained.
"Fatty said bring you!"
"...Why?"
"Feast! Grand banquet! Bring you too!"
"...And if we refuse?"
Bonecracker's face twisted briefly. His eyes scanned the surroundings.
'Not alone.'
Kang Seol knew well from Triem how foolish challenging an ogre was.
"If refuse, stuff in mouth and bring!"
One by one, they clambered onto Bonecracker's hand without protest.
[You are the first invited to Triem's ruler, Fatty's, grand banquet.]
[Achievement 'What If They Eat Me' accomplished for the first time.]
[Acquired first title 「Grand Banquet Guest」.]
"Lunchbox basket again."
"Thought we were done with it."
Once all boarded the lunchbox basket, Bonecracker offered Kang Seol intriguing words.
"Fatty, give gift!"
"Gift?"
"Small thing, leftover! Give to you!"