Chapter 116
Chapter 116
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>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 116
>Chapter Title: The Saint King's Will Awakens
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There was a word called "umgeunjin."
It was a term coined by taking the first letters of the words for strict, solemn, and serious.
No face fit that word better than Charlie's right now.
"...Pardon?"
The solemn aura was so intense that even Gildeti, the guild master, let out a dazed sound for a moment.
What on earth was this?
Gildeti blinked, question marks practically floating above his head.
"...."
Perhaps the explanation was lacking, as he glanced this way, but Do-hyun had nothing more to add.
It was true, after all.
From Charlie's perspective, he had simply manifested through the system, so it wasn't wrong.
Do-hyun, lacking confidence to explain it in detail, shrugged.
Gildeti, who had looked momentarily flustered, soon nodded.
"...I have many questions, but that's not important right now."
These things weren't what mattered anyway.
It was just one of many curiosities. Who cared where or how he had appeared?
"Once again, I offer my heartfelt thanks, Sir Charlie, and to you, the hero. Thanks to you, we prevented countless casualties."
What mattered to Gildeti was that they were the heroes who had saved Brion.
The other priests felt the same.
"Indeed. Thanks to you, hero, I could return to my family's embrace. We are truly grateful. We won't have to relive that nightmare of that day."
"I never thought you'd actually pull it off... How can we ever repay this grace...."
"Sir Lebed will be astonished when he hears! Who could have imagined!"
"Ah, I'm curious about Sir Lebed's shocked face. How that stern expression will change, haha."
Their gratitude felt genuine.
Most of them weren't thanking him for saving their own lives, but for rescuing the citizens' safety.
Though not combatants, they were still high-ranking priests.
Holding significant positions in Brion, the Holy Empire, they bore heavy responsibilities.
"We of Brion will never forget this grace. If you ever need our help, just say the word. Anything related to His Majesty the Kaiser will be our top priority."
Finally, High Priest Gildeti bowed deeply.
As the high priest of Brion's grandest cathedral, he was expressing utmost respect with sincerity.
[The High Priest of Lair Cathedral, 'Gildeti's' favorability has greatly increased.]
[Gildeti's favorability is at maximum.]
[Gildeti regards you as a benefactor and noble.]
Ordinary users would have been shocked to see this.
Gildeti was known for his kind and courteous nature, but he had never bowed to anyone.
He stood shoulder-to-shoulder with foreign kings, so it was only natural.
Swish. Swish.
The surprises didn't end there.
One by one, they began bowing, until over a hundred people paid their respects to Do-hyun.
Do-hyun smiled as they surrounded him, expressing their reverence.
'Master... this feels too good.'
But Gehard was grinning even wider than Do-hyun.
Who could have guessed he was such an attention hog.
Do-hyun chuckled, mischief sparking at the sight of Gehard's mouth stretched ear-to-ear.
'Why are you the one enjoying this? Charlie, sure, but you just stood there gawking.'
'Ahem... Nah, right, Eliza?'
'Li... za?'
'E-Eliza? Even you....'
Gehard reached out, hurt, but Eliza subtly turned her head away.
It was resolute, but Do-hyun could see it.
Eliza's face, turned away, secretly holding back a laugh.
'Wow, now even Eliza's teasing him.'
They say even a dog from the schoolyard recites poetry after three years. It was remarkable progress.
In the touching atmosphere, the untimely skit made him chuckle.
Bzzz-
A communication orb rang from somewhere.
"...."
"...."
Perhaps because they had been so formal.
The vibration shattering the silence felt incredibly loud.
The grand mood deflated pathetically, and one high priest straightened awkwardly.
"Ahem. It's mine."
"...Please take it, High Priest Berzid."
"Of all times to lack tact...."
"Ahem. Sorry. Then...."
The priests, their mood broken, straightened up one by one.
High Priest Berzid answered amid the group standing awkwardly, huddled together.
"...Sir Baric? I don't know what it is, but the timing is a bit... Hm? Is that true?"
Berzid's grumbling voice suddenly brightened.
As the other priests glanced curiously, Berzid, confirming again, shouted loudly.
"Everyone. Word from Sir Baric: Sir Lebed is almost here. About five minutes...."
"Ooh, Sir Lebed is finally coming!"
"Perfect timing. Hero, if you have time, please meet Sir Lebed before...."
Excited by the good news, their words sped up, but Do-hyun couldn't properly hear them.
It wasn't that their pronunciation was slurred.
Ding-
[The Immortal Lord detects the contractor's death.]
[Location revealed per the oath of kin.]
[A dreadful aura gazes here. They detect the alien aura.]
[Danger! You may lose your life.]
The alerts ringing in his ears almost simultaneously, and messages obscuring his vision, scrambled his mind.
'...?'
Stunned by the sudden warning.
Whoosh.
For a very brief moment, all sounds of the world vanished.
Even the white noise one inevitably hears in life disappeared, leaving utter silence.
The eerie sensation of losing one sense made his skin crawl.
Then, the surroundings changed drastically.
"What is this...!?"
"Th-the ground is collapsing."
Darkness eroded the floor.
The endless, vile darkness writhed like crawling insects, exuding horror.
Soon, it climbed the walls from the ground, swallowing the auditorium.
And then, it opened.
[The Eye of the Abyss opens.]
It was an eye.
The sole light and darkness in this shadowed place.
"Ah...."
Cosmic horror couldn't look more grotesque or bizarre. It evoked utter powerlessness in any who beheld it.
An overwhelming presence that erased any thought of resistance.
This presence, seen for the first time in his life, simply gazed at them silently. Not just one gaze.
[The Passage of the Abyss opens.]
[The Abyss Lord, Immortal Lord, gazes here.]
[The Abyss Lord, Wrath Lord, gazes here.]
....
[The Abyss Dark Knight gazes here.]
[The Abyss Watchman gazes here.]
Beings beyond that strange eye watched this place.
No forms visible yet, but unmistakably felt.
The overwhelming presence constricting his body pressed from all sides. And that aura was drawing closer bit by bit.
They were crossing over here.
"Ugh...."
"Cough."
Priests shuddered, groaning at the sight of dozens of shadows approaching beyond the giant eye.
Do-hyun felt the same.
[Crushed by an unbearable aura.]
[All stats reduced by 30%.]
[All speeds reduced by 20%.]
[All detailed abilities reduced by 20%.]
[Trait 'Hero' blocks mental corruption.]
[Trait 'Hero' fails to block mental corruption.]
'No, what now? It ignores the Hero trait?'
God mode couldn't prevent the dizziness from these first-time situations.
Not just one mountain after another, but this bolt from the blue while everything was wrapping up?
He couldn't help but be awed by the sudden massive scale exploding before him.
And apparently, he wasn't the only one.
-M-Master. What is this? A surprise gift? Right?
-Li-Liza...? Liza-liza!
-Kuh... An aura of extreme potency... At least two Abyss Lords. What nonsense is this... Risking manifestation over a mere contractor?
Charlie, pleased with the sudden peace; Gehard and Eliza, in good spirits; all jumped in shock.
Contractor dead, location revealed by kin's oath?
Not coming alone, but bringing friends like cowards?
As Charlie said, this was truly absurd.
'No way level 35 summons these guys? Is this normal?'
Beyond that, the spectacle was one even rankers rarely saw.
Even Destroyer Geymon had shattered balance, but this...
'This is just made to kill us!'
It felt like punishment for defeating an impossible boss.
'If the developer was here, I'd crack their skull open to see inside.'
Curses rose against the developer who made this and the AI that executed it, but Do-hyun calmed himself as much as possible.
Getting agitated now wouldn't help.
As always, he had to find a way to overcome this.
"Hero... are you alright?"
"Kuh... When did they say Lebed arrives? Five minutes?"
"Th-that's the Abyss Passage we've only heard of...."
"Everyone, be careful. If they kill you, you'll be corrupted by the Abyss and cease to be human."
Tuning in, the panicked priests' voices rang especially loud.
Among them, "five minutes" stood out most.
'Five minutes? Hold out for five minutes?'
Utter madness.
Do-hyun's HP was barely 4%.
Even that was because his regen wasn't low. Mana was likely as depleted, if not more.
[Guardian Gehard Black's mana is insufficient.]
[Cannot summon undead.]
Same for Gehard.
His mana shortages were too familiar to expect anything.
-Liza....
Eliza wasn't realistically helpful now...
'At least Charlie...'
Charlie wasn't at full condition after Geymon.
The cooldown on his ultimate, Sword of Light, surely hadn't reset. And even if it had, what use now?
-...They're getting closer, my lord.
-Master... what do we do now?
-Liza-liza....
Seeing Charlie swallow nervously, Do-hyun gripped his hourglass tighter.
Do-hyun saw it too.
The shadows now close enough to discern shapes.
Grotesque monsters over 5m, a massive serpent that could swallow the auditorium, a three-headed wolf...
'Crazy....'
Even silhouettes chilled his spine.
Like a monster showdown, but the strongest presences were the relatively small silhouettes approaching slowly from the rear.
"Ah...."
"...My god."
How to describe them.
Hard to pin to a specific form, so just call them shadows—one met his eye.
[Encounter with the Immortal Lord.]
[Facing an unbearable aura.]
[All stats reduced by 70%.]
[Trait Hero blocks mental corruption.]
[Fails to block mental corruption.]
[Danger! You may lose your life.]
-I came because the forgotten one died, wondering at the familiar aura... It was you... Their vessel...
The blaring alerts and chilling voice echoed through the auditorium.
Heavy gravity crushed shoulders; priests knelt one by one, succumbing to the unbearable aura.
'No, can Lebed even break this when he arrives?'
As Do-hyun spat out disbelief at the morale-crushing message—
[The Broken Hourglass of Faith reacts to the abnormal malicious aura.]
[The Broken Hourglass of Faith regains its original form.]
"Huh?"
The unexpected alert shattered the choking tension.
An alien sensation came from his hand then.
Releasing his grip, the tightly held hourglass floated into the air.
And right after.
Flash-!
Blinding light erupted.
Shooting to the auditorium's center, then to the ceiling, it illuminated the darkness instantly, soon forming a woman's silhouette.
The massive woman in divine robes emanated a benevolent aura, as if embracing all.
"Ah...."
"Aa... Goddess."
Shaking off the Abyss aura with her benevolence, priests rose one by one.
Not just priests reacted.
[Abyss aura fades.]
Groooar-
The approaching Abyss beings rewound, retreating.
The passage vanished under the woman's immense holy power. The Immortal Lord ground his teeth at the receding passage.
-Why are you now, you bastard...!
Over a hundred priests gazed skyward as countless Abyss retreated.
Darkness melted into light.
"What the hell is happening now!?"
Unable to hold back at the insane scale chain, Do-hyun finally blurted his bewilderment.
As if answering, messages rose.
[The second piece of destiny, 'Hourglass of Faith,' reacts.]
[The dormant will of the Saint King awakens.]
[The Saint King of ancient humanity, Seras's will, manifests.]
It was the moment the will of the second piece of destiny, Saint King Seras, awakened.