Chapter 189
Chapter 189
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 189
Chapter Title: Special Chamber - 4
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Acteon felt troubled.
‘What’s going on? The speed picked up too much.'
Originally, he had expected them to hold out with the shield spell until it broke, then get crushed or drowned.
But the spell wasn’t just intact—it had grown even stronger.
Acteon racked his brain and realized.
“Serein turned her fame into power too.”
He yanked the iron chains binding Idria.
The chains dug even deeper into Idria’s skin.
“You should’ve said something sooner. You already knew, didn’t you? Seemed like you were communicating with some trick.”
“Urk.”
“Sigh. This is getting annoying.”
“If it’s annoying, why not go back and nap next to Bellosian.”
“You’re still talking, huh.”
“I learned that from Maide.”
Acteon smirked.
“Maide. Maide Mohan.”
“…….”
“I’ve been wondering about it for a while. Just what the hell is that guy?”
“Maybe he’s the heir of the Imperium or something.”
“That’s not wrong, but it doesn’t explain why he bugs me so much. Could it be…….”
A crack appeared in Acteon’s smile.
Idria narrowed her eyes, observing his expression.
Fear.
A faint but unmistakable fear floated on his face.
‘Surprising. For this guy, who’s a true god in this special chamber, to make that face.’
Then Acteon spoke again.
“No, no. That can’t be. I’m overthinking it.”
“……?”
“Anyway, Maide is a problem. I need to kill him right here.”
“If you’re set on that, stop messing around turning solid ground into ocean. Just clash head-on like Adin or Bellosian.”
“I don’t like direct confrontations. I’m a pacifist.”
“You’re joking.”
“I mean it. So I’m changing the environment a bit.”
Snap.
Acteon snapped his fingers.
And at the same moment, the seawater turned to lava.
“We’re here. I can see that Kaild bastard down there.”
“That’s the strongest curse I can muster.”
Just as Serein said, Acteon’s reflection appeared on the water’s surface.
Idria was with him.
Bound tight in those familiar iron chains.
She figured only seconds remained.
Snap.
Acteon snapped his fingers.
At the same moment, the surroundings changed dramatically.
From icy seawater to boiling lava.
“Gahhh!”
“Calm down. You’ll break the spell.”
“Ugh. This is worse than the deep sea.”
Serein was sweating profusely.
She carefully shrank the shield spell’s size.
“I need to narrow the range to maintain it.”
Neril nodded in response.
“It’s still plenty. Won’t be long anyway.”
She was right.
The sea had turned to hot lava, and the spell had shrunk, but the basic plan—“ascend to the surface”—remained unchanged.
[Sea to lava now, huh. You called that too?]
‘Did I?’
[The mouth is the root of all evil…….]
‘So why’s that my fault?’
Anyway, it wouldn’t be long now.
Convinced my voice would reach, I shouted.
“Quit changing it already!”
“Hey. It was cold before, right? So I warmed it up.”
“Can you manipulate this special chamber’s world freely?”
“Of course.”
“How’s that possible? Bellosian made this chamber, didn’t he?”
Gray had said it.
Bellosian gifted him the door underground in the imperial palace…… back then, it stood alone in a field, but anyway, that door.
But Acteon smirked.
“He only made the white doors outside the chamber. He saw this chamber and made fakes based on it. As the Demon King of Lies, he’s a pro at counterfeits.”
“……! So you made this chamber?”
“Something like that.”
“…….”
“That’s why I can change everything inside as I please. Like now.”
He continued mockingly, watching us sink into the lava.
“Keep struggling. You’re almost to me.”
“Hmph. Wonder how long you can act cocky.”
Neril focused her mind.
Our ascent sped up even more.
We’d escape the lava and reach Acteon any second.
But.
“Huh, huh?”
The distance to Acteon wasn’t closing.
The lava still engulfed us.
We felt the sensation of rising, but nothing changed around us.
No—there was a change!
‘What’s that? It wasn’t there before.’
[That’s…… a mountain?]
‘Yeah. More precisely, a crater.’
A crater filled with lava surrounded us.
Lightning struck my mind.
Then Neril spoke.
“The distance isn’t closing? The magic’s working fine.”
“The volcano grew that much taller.”
“What?”
“That bastard Acteon’s adjusting the mountain’s height and lava level in real time. Matching your flying spell’s speed.”
No one asked if such absurdity was possible.
We knew judging this chamber’s world by common sense was pointless.
Neril gritted her teeth, fired up.
“Something like that…… I’ll just pour in more mana…….”
Indeed, our ascent sped up.
Risel lent support.
“Mime! Push us up.”
“Yes, my king.”
Neril’s flying magic plus Mime’s aid.
This had to be our party’s max speed without Agril.
But the volcano’s height rose exactly as fast as we accelerated.
Like he was testing how far we could go.
We pierced the clouds in an instant.
Acteon still loomed at the same distance, looking down.
Pirensha said.
“This won’t work. Neril, I’ll send you my soul—eat it.”
“Even if I die, no.”
“Then what?!”
“Talking down to me?”
Offense cut in.
“My curse will get us out. Mime, scout outside this lava.”
“Y-Yeah. Mime.”
“No can do.”
It was a voice barely audible to us right beside.
But Acteon lightly snapped his fingers.
Mime’s form vanished in an instant.
“This is the second ti—like…….”
He didn’t finish before disappearing.
Acteon said.
“Got anything else?”
He was toying with us.
Enjoying the show.
If he wanted, he could drop the sun from the sky to kill us.
That’d work, but it’d be no fun.
I said.
“Neril. Stop ascending for now.”
“But.”
“It’s pointless now.”
“If we go high enough, he’ll struggle to breathe. Aim for that?”
“He’d flip the sky and earth. We’d plummet back down.”
Neril gave me a look like I was spouting nonsense.
But I was serious.
Sure enough, Acteon said exactly what I thought.
“Wise choice. Maide Mohan.”
“Fun looking down from so high?”
“It’s alright.”
“You’ll regret it. Guys like you, all cocky and relaxed, usually go out the most pathetically.”
“That’s novel stuff. Reality’s more miserable than novels.”
“Adin too?”
His lip twitched.
“That’s because he wasn’t a real god. A fake peeking at humans, fretting over his faith.”
“…….”
“I’m a real god who doesn’t need human faith. At least in this chamber. You, playing fake hero, know the gap between fake and real.”
I focused on breaking the situation instead of bantering.
Then the silent Sovieus spoke.
“Use the ability you took from me. Absorb all this lava.”
“That’ll just make more lava. A guy who raises volcanoes at will can’t handle that?”
“Then what do we do.”
I spoke through souls.
Adwin was still relaying well from the spirit world.
[Risel. Are there…… spirits in this chamber too? Right here?]
[Spirits? Overflowing, yeah. This is untouched nature.]
[Attack Acteon through the spirits then. Just draw his attention a bit.]
[……Even that seems tough.]
I shut my mouth, chastened.
But Risel was already pulling out the branch of corruption.
[Don’t make that face, Maide. Even Serein’s resolved—I can’t complain.]
[Don’t mention me so dramatically.]
[I’ll give up becoming human.]
Risel’s wish was steadfast.
She snapped the branch with a crack.
And the next moment.
Risel became the Spirit King.
Nothing else described it.
“Ri-Risel?”
Risel’s form vanished.
She now stood half-spirit, half-human.
Originally, she’d have become full spirit and thus king.
But the branch of corruption let her stay both during the one-month grace.
“Where’d Risel go…….”
—Vadlina. Mater. Toreim!
Before Offense finished, Risel’s voice echoed.
Across the entire world inside this chamber.
Like Adin’s muddy rain over the continent.
Risel commanded ‘all’ spirits in this inner world.
I didn’t know spirit tongue, so no clue what, but I’d see soon.
“Urk.”
Acteon let out a frivolous groan, curling up.
A massive storm raged around him.
Blizzards that flayed skin.
Surroundings burned without fuel or spark.
Like witnessing the world’s end.
Neril muttered.
“That’s the Spirit King…….”
“No time to gawk.”
“Ah, sorry. Back to magic.”
“No. Watch Acteon closely.”
Neril looked up.
But her poor eyesight missed it.
Offense said for her.
“He’s watching us.”
“Yeah.”
Acteon huddled like a turtle in its shell, enduring the spirits’ assault.
Yet even curled, he eyed us.
“If you raise altitude again, Neril, the lava’ll follow.”
“Then what.”
I went silent, speaking via soul.
[That’s why you step up. Idria.]
Idria replied unsurprised.
[Knew it’d come to this. I’m physically closest to Acteon, after all.]
[Yeah.]
[How? I can’t use any power.]
[You can move a little.]
I explained quickly.
[I said it—he’s watching ‘us.’ Not you.]
[……! Heh. Making Risel attack was planned this far. You’re clever with tricks.]
Yes.
Acteon wasn’t dumb; he’d wonder why Risel became Spirit King.
He’d think, ‘Risel’s bait; real attack from Maide.’
Wrong.
Risel and I were both bait.
The real attack came from Idria.
[Bite his arm.]
[Did I hear wrong?]
[You absorbed Adin’s memories, right? When we rescued Agril from Adin, Agril bit his arm.]
[Treating me like a beast?]
[Sorry to Agril, but yeah.]
[…….]
[Only your neck moves anyway. So use it—bite his arm. Draw his blood.]
I tensed my legs.
Converted all 1.2 million fame to power, poured into my legs.
Crackle. Crunch.
My muscles swelled.
[Count of three, bite. Puppy.]
[Shut up.]
[One, two…… three!]
—Kwaaaaang!
I shot through the lava at terrifying speed.
“Hmph. Knew it.”
Acteon raised the volcano to match my speed.
Distance to him didn’t close.
But I achieved the goal.
Crunch.
“Ahh……?”
Idria sank her fangs into Acteon’s hand.
Tore, more than bit.
“Sorry. I’ll heal it later, Batole.”
Like a predator after herbivore prey, she ripped the skin clean off his hand.
“Ptoo.”
She spat it toward me.
Acteon’s shocked eyes widened vividly.
Time slowed.
I focused on the blood drop from the falling skin.
Pulled out the liquid of greed.
With acrobatics near divine……
Drip.
“N-No!”
I caught the drop perfectly in the vial.
“Urk. Think I’ll let you drink quietly?”
Thud.
Acteon kicked Idria away, then altered the terrain.
Reversing before—lowering the mountain’s height.
Distance between us shrank exponentially.
But I already sensed.
‘Plenty of time.’
Shook the vial, time to drink the filth ample.
I even waved the vial at approaching Acteon.
“To your doom.”
Gulp.