Chapter 215
Chapter 215
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 215
Chapter Title: ACT.41 Angra Mainyu (5)
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“What's going on, Kim Se-hyeon! Did you find something strange!?”
“...There’s a lot that’s strange.”
It wasn't that Encroachment hadn't activated.
It had definitely activated inside the Calamity, but the Dimension Stone embedded in its body was nullifying the power.
‘Those bastards from the Order.’
They were truly and utterly insane.
Otherwise, there was no way they would keep strengthening a Calamity.
‘Those who summon beings from other worlds,’ as the Disaster of Solitude had called them.
I already knew that meant the Order.
I hadn't been able to do anything about them because messing with them was too dangerous.
‘But this changes things.’
Leaving them alone had become the greater threat.
I had planned to take my time since I still needed a lot of preparations, but now, it seemed I would have to push up the timeline, even if it meant overextending myself.
If a ‘Holy War’ broke out, it would have a significant impact on the entire planet.
Even with the existence of a facilitator, could people overcome and adapt to that?
‘Ugh.’
My head was already starting to hurt, but if it had to be done, there was no other choice.
I took out the Red Ogre Grass from my inventory, put it in my mouth, and chewed.
Sie, who was busy blocking Angra Mainyu’s attacks, somehow noticed and shouted.
“Kim Se-hyeon! Are you really going to use that yourself!?”
“What, you thought I was just saying it? Besides, this one alone won’t have much effect. The situation is a bit special.”
“Red Ogre Grass has no effect…?”
After chewing for a while, the Red Ogre Grass began to heat up.
Normally, I would swallow it immediately and channel its energy for absorption.
‘But if all I need is its yang energy, this is more efficient.’
I brought the Black Moon Divine Sword close to my mouth and blew the hot energy of the Red Ogre Grass onto it, as if whistling.
I slowly moved the sword, coating the entire blade with yang energy.
“Done.”
After confirming the vermilion aura surrounding the sword, I spat out the remaining Red Ogre Grass.
It was shriveled, all its energy having been extracted.
Hwang Chan-jin sliced through several arms coming near me and asked.
“Are you ready?”
“More or less.”
When I took out the final preparation, the Elixir, Hwang Chan-jin’s eyes narrowed.
“An Elixir…”
“This is when you’re supposed to use it.”
“I know that.”
I wanted to ask why a guy who knew that made such a decision last time, but I decided to save the questioning for later.
Sie didn't seem to know about the Dimension Stone.
As long as Salvatio was an enemy, it was better that he didn't know what exactly a Dimension Stone did.
I made my decision and gave the order.
“Hwang Chan-jin and I will launch an all-out attack to push it to the final phase! Sie, you immediately fire off a powerful shot to delay its pattern activation!”
“Don’t order me around!”
Sie grumbled but took his position and began to watch the situation unfold.
I smirked and immediately charged toward Angra Mainyu.
*Swish!*
Hwang Chan-jin’s sword cut through the Calamity’s body first.
It was the exact spot where I had found the Dimension Stone earlier, but the inside was empty, as if it had moved.
“It's moving its core at will! This won't be easy!”
“It’s fine. There’s a way.”
Through my Extreme Eye, I could see the Dimension Stone’s movement.
It was moving through the Calamity’s body at an incredible speed, as if trying its best not to get caught.
At this rate, it was practically advertising itself as the weak point.
“Take this first!”
I forcefully threw the glass bottle in my left hand.
With a crash, the light pink liquid sparkled and scattered across the Calamity’s body.
It was a bit of a waste, admittedly.
But knowing that the creature had been enhanced, I had no intention of holding back.
‘The reason I absolutely must get the Elixir from the Corrupted Ignis.’
An Elixir is a miracle potion that can save anyone as long as they aren't dead.
However, specifically for the Calamities of Apostasy, it also acted as a key item that forced a groggy state and skipped two phases.
[Oh, ooh…]
The Calamity, which had been swinging dozens of arms and firing all sorts of mud spears, suddenly went limp.
The Dimension Stone that had been zipping through its body also slowed down.
I immediately swung my sword and entered the Calamity's body.
*Chwaaaak!*
The moment I snatched the Dimension Stone, which had stopped in one place, hands made of mud reached out from all directions.
It seemed to instinctively recognize that this was important.
‘Incomparably sluggish.’
*Chwa-jajak!*
A few swings of my sword cut off all the surrounding mud hands.
Not missing the opportunity, I escaped through the opening I had created.
“The Dimension Stone!?”
“Of course I secured it. This will push it to the next phase.”
Hwang Chan-jin nodded and immediately moved toward the coastline.
I followed him.
If we were too close when it entered the final phase, we'd be turned to ash in an instant.
[Ooooh…!]
The mud began to collapse faster.
It was only natural, as the Dimension Stone that had been precariously maintaining its balance was now gone.
However, it was more accurate to say that its seal was being released.
“This isn't what I had in mind…!”
Sie, who had been busy defending against attacks all day, complained resentfully.
He had every right to be anxious, having failed to deal any significant damage by the time the final phase arrived.
Since I had orchestrated the situation that way, I sneered inwardly.
As if I’d give an opportunity to get stronger to someone who wasn't a 100% trustworthy ally.
[…Impressive.]
From the body of the Calamity, which had now completely melted away, a form no different from a human’s floated up, glowing darkly.
A part of Angra Mainyu’s main consciousness.
It looked down on us with distinct eyes.
Now, the final phase began.
[To think you could stand against me so well, even if I am but an avatar... This is the end. Let's see if you can overcome this trial as well.]
*Swoosh.*
The form changed, becoming a perfect sphere.
The final core of the Calamity of Apostasy.
It was flaunting its core for all to see, but there was a reason for it.
*Kwaaaaaa!*
Without any warning, an indiscriminate barrage of lasers began to fire from the core.
“I hate bullet hell shooters.”
“If you have time to complain, move your arms, Kim Se-hyeon!”
[Inversion of Principle (1) - 03:20]
Simultaneously, a timer started.
The final pattern had a total of three stages.
It would power up every three minutes and twenty seconds, and if it reached the fourth stage after a total of ten minutes, the pattern would be considered failed. The entire west coast would turn into an ‘Inverted Holy Land,’ slowly contaminating the earth.
A land of death that drained your energy just by standing on it.
If that happened, stopping the world's destruction would become virtually impossible.
‘At a glance, it seems like a race against time.’
*Kwa-gwagwagwang!*
I parried the lasers that rained down, leaving no room to even step, and glared at the core.
It was a part of the evil god said to be the strongest, even if it was just a fragment.
It was never going to be easy.
‘Getting impatient while watching the clock is the enemy's trap.’
I had to wait.
For that single, perfect moment to strike the core.
Hwang Chan-jin’s face contorted as he yelled.
“Dammit! It shouldn't have been this intense!?”
“We removed the Dimension Stone, but it must have already absorbed its power and gotten stronger!”
At least Hwang Chan-jin and I, with the buff from the Manpasikjeok, had the breathing room to talk. For Sie, it was a completely different story.
He was drenched in sweat, desperately defending against the lasers.
If it was too much for him, he could just use ‘that.’
Could it be that he hadn't reached that level of proficiency yet?
“I'm not used to the spear, so I didn't want to use this, but…!”
*Crackle!!*
Suddenly, electricity swirled around Sie, and his eyes and hair turned golden.
The weapon in his hands had changed from a sword to a spear, and he began to destroy the lasers with movements that seemed to strike ten times a second.
Thunder Emperor Mode.
A type of buff and transformation that consumed a large amount of mana to drastically increase all stats.
Why it changed to a spear was a hidden piece within a hidden piece, but I had no reason to tell him that.
*Kwaaaang!*
“Agh!”
However, even that began to fail as time passed, and the number and power of the lasers increased.
“No way… I'm being pushed back even in Thunder Emperor Mode!?”
Sie’s balance faltered for an instant in his shock.
His spear, failing to properly parry a laser, was knocked away, and the subsequent lasers rushed toward the defenseless Sie like snakes eyeing their prey.
***
“…I do not think so.”
Seong Woo-hyeon spoke calmly.
At his words, the Saintess, Emilia-na, tilted her head.
“What do you mean by that? Do you truly believe they can defeat that monster on their own?”
“Yes.”
At his firm answer, which came without a hint of hesitation, the corners of Emilia-na's mouth turned down slightly.
“Did I overestimate you? I thought the guild master of Korea’s largest guild would be able to judge an opponent’s strength and the likelihood of victory without having to fight them directly.”
“Should I take that as an insult to us?”
Lee Min-hwa responded with a cold expression to her blatantly disappointed tone.
Emilia-na smoothly passed it off with a sly, “Of course not,” so Min-hwa couldn't say more, but she had already figured out what kind of person the Saintess was.
‘A nine-tailed fox bitch. No, what's nine? She must have fifty.’
The thought that people were revering a woman like this as a Saintess made her want to vomit.
How many people had been deceived by this mask?
At the same time, she thought, this woman was terrifying.
The fact that she was being so semi-blatant was based on the premise that 'even if you expose me, no one will believe you.'
No matter how many videos they filmed and distributed, those who blindly followed Emilia-na would surely not even look at them.
“I believe in Se-hyeon-nim.”
“…Do you not understand? Will you only understand after seeing that monster’s power for yourself?”
Emilia-na’s atmosphere changed.
It was an overt display of displeasure.
However, Seong Woo-hyeon simply smiled and continued.
“No. The monster is certainly strong. But I believe Se-hyeon-nim is even stronger. Just as he has always done, he will return victorious as if it were nothing. Well then, shall we make a wager?”
“A wager, you say…”
“Naturally, on whether Se-hyeon-nim will defeat that monster… that Calamity, or not. I will bet all the coins I possess on him defeating it.”
Seong Woo-hyeon smiled confidently.
By now, the smile in Emilia-na’s eyes had vanished.
***
*Kwaaaang!!*
Dozens of lasers exploded at once, obscuring my vision.
I grimaced at the boom that felt like it was making my ears ring and turned my head.
“Is this all China’s number one has got?”
“Th-that is, of course, not possible!”
Not expecting me to save him, the dazed Sie stuttered as he readjusted his grip on his spear.
Is there really nothing I can do about that damn translator?
His speech pattern keeps changing; I can’t get used to it.
I glanced at the elapsed time.
Three minutes since the first stage began.
It was almost time, but there was one unsettling point.
‘Can I cover the distance in a single leap?’
The laser barrage had pulverized all the floating rocks in the air, so there were no footholds.
The distance to the core was considerable.
I couldn't be sure.
“I’ll make a path! Go, Kim Se-hyeon!”
*Crack!*
As soon as I heard Hwang Chan-jin’s shout, I rushed toward the core at the fastest speed I could muster.
The sea of mud froze, and a massive sheet of ice formed a path to the core at a 45-degree angle.
It might have looked like the lasers were being fired randomly in all directions, but dozens of ‘cannons’ were firing in a set interval.
And among them, just once.
For a brief moment, less than two seconds, the number of lasers flying toward the ‘front’ would drastically decrease.
*Kwaaang!*
The lasers hadn't stopped, so the ice path was being shattered in real time.
I desperately stepped on the disappearing footholds, closing the distance.
I poured a massive amount of mana into my sword.
So much that I couldn't use it for any other action—everything I had.
*Kwaaang!*
“Kuh…!”
Taking the occasional laser head-on with the power of ‘Diamond Body,’ I finally reached the space right in front of the core.
[The ‘Principle of Light’ now dwells within the Black Moon Divine Sword.]
*Fwaaat!*
Using the ‘Light’ given by the Angel of Benevolence, I temporarily granted the Black Moon Divine Sword the same power as the Sa-jin-cham-sa-geom.
“Just fall already…!”
*Kwaaaaaaa!!*
The sword energy of Shattering Moon, unleashed with all my strength, cut through all the lasers as it advanced.
And then, as if there had been no interference at all.
*Crack!!*
It split the giant core perfectly in half.