Chapter 1134: Showdown (5)

Ssssssizzle…!!!

From within the rising smoke, the Clown took a step forward.

“Haaaaah…”

With a sigh of satisfaction, the lacerations etched onto the Clown’s skin healed at a rapid pace.

It wasn’t a healing spellcraft to mend wounds, nor an artifact borrowed to restore his body.

He was merely using his own illusion magic to deceive even himself, making his wounded body appear perfectly fine.

Using illusion magic to deceive even himself, he blurred the lines between fantasy and reality until they were indistinguishable.

In that fleeting moment, reality was fooled within the pinnacle of illusion, where one could no longer discern which was real.

Before anyone knew it, the Clown’s entire body was perfectly healed, without a single scratch.

“Ah, it seems I’ve succeeded again.”

The Clown covered his face with one hand and tilted his head back, as if intoxicated by his own success.

But even that bizarre sight couldn’t compare to the shock Lennok felt looking at the Clown.

The conversation the Clown had with Antares just before rolling the dice. Even the miracle that occurred immediately afterward.

Lennok, too, could instantly grasp the Clown’s intention.

‘No way. Bringing a psychic was his plan from the very beginning…!!’

The way the Clown manipulated his hierarchy was by rolling the dice and drawing out the highest value corresponding to it.

To obtain a 7th-level hierarchy, he had to roll seven dice and land a [6] on every single one.

The probability of rolling the desired number by stacking a 1/6 chance seven times was, quite literally, infinitely low.

Yet, astonishingly, the Clown succeeded in drawing out that infinitely low probability by using Antares’s foresight.

“He kept cycling foresight until the desired dice roll appeared, pinpointing the exact timing…!!”

Camlodal, who was commanding the cult priests, also watched from above, his eyes gleaming.

The Eighth Apostle, with his characteristic keen intellect, instantly perceived what the Clown had done.

“I understand the principle. It’s enough if he can just increase the probability up to a specific point?”

Using Antares’s ability, he continuously foresaw the dice rolls the Clown made.

He discarded any premonitions that were off or incorrect, repeating the foresight until the desired outcome appeared.

Even without aiming for the exact moment when a [6] was certain on all dice, if he rolled immediately after foreseeing a similar outcome, the probability of a good result would drastically increase.

Thus, in a situation where the probabilities were heightened using Antares’s foresight, the Clown succeeded in instantly drawing out the desired outcome.

“Hehehe, you all are just too quick on the uptake, aren’t you?”

Whoosh…!!!

As his wounds healed, smoke poured from the Clown’s entire body.

His body temperature rose due to the rapid physical changes, adjusting the boundary between reality and illusion.

Yet, the Clown walked forward with a leisurely voice, all the while emitting plumes of smoke from his entire body.

“I wanted to save it as a surprise. But since your cult keeps messing around, what can I do?”

“Guh…”

The Clown’s form moved effortlessly through the cult priests.

But the priests could no longer cast spells or rush at the Clown.

They simply convulsed in place, frozen as if unable to move even if they wanted to.

“Ugh… Guk…!!!”

The Clown slowly approached a priest who was desperately trying to move.

Just as the priest squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth to avoid the illusion magic.

“It’s no use.”

The Clown plunged his fingers into both of the priest’s eye sockets.

Thwack!!

“…!!!!!”

“You’re faaaar too late. Do you think giving up your eyesight can stop my illusion magic?”

His eyeballs were crushed, and a searing pain, as if his eyes were being branded, washed over him.

The Clown smiled gently, watching the priest convulse, his face stained crimson, streaming tears of blood.

“Triggers are everywhere. A single moment of your senses reacting is enough.”

Thwack!!

His eye was crushed, and his optic nerve burned.

“There’s no need to deceive reality itself; like this—”

Thwack!! Thwack!!

His lens tore, and a viscous fluid streamed down his eye.

“Even using primal pain as a standard, I can easily—”

Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!! Thwack!!

Eyes shatter. Eyes tear. Eyes crush. Eyes pulp.

The moment his two eyes were pierced and pulverized repeated infinitely.

Within the repeating illusion, only the pain remained undimmed, while the priest’s mind grew hazy.

The pain, burning his optic nerves, clearly transmitted through his brain, making his head hot.

It’s hot. Suffocating. I want to cool down quickly.

My head feels tight and heavy, I can’t stand it.

Yes, a little cool breeze should fix it.

“Kuaaaaaaaaaaak!!!!”

The priest, letting out a terrible shriek, brought down the mace he held onto his own head.

Crunch!!

His skull was crushed, and viscous contents burst forth from within.

Greyish-white fragments streamed down the priest’s face.

Yet, the priest who had shattered his own head wore a look of utter peace.

“So, so cool… cool, it is…”

The priest’s corpse collapsed with an incomprehensible utterance.

Other priests watching nearby also raised their maces and smashed them down onto their own heads.

Crunch!! Crunch!! Crunch!! Crunch!! Crunch!! Crunch!! Crunch!!

The cult priests who had surrounded the Clown successively committed suicide.

In an instant, hundreds of cult priests collapsed, their brains oozing, becoming corpses.

A grotesque path of dead, shattered-headed corpses lay strewn across the stadium’s audience seats.

The surviving priests beside Camlodal stared at the horrifying scene with stiff expressions.

“…Illusionist.”

One of the most anomalous and twisted heresies even within the category of Trait-type Spellcraft.

A devilish power based solely on the caster’s inherent nature, with no inherent standards or rules within the spellcraft itself.

Whatever they imagine can become a miracle that overturns reality, or a blade that pierces the caster themselves.

Thus, illusion magic boasts transcendent power the more twisted the caster’s sensibilities and imagination are.

And the Clown, as soon as he recovered his illusion magic, made hundreds of cult priests commit suicide as if playing a game.

A bizarre outcome, so overwhelming it was hard to believe even after seeing it.

“Even priests armed with dogma and faith are captivated. Truly an absurd spellcraft.”

Thud!!

Camlodal struck down a priest who was about to commit suicide, then looked down at the Clown.

“It is a power that drives one mad and kills them not long after mastering it, and that’s how it should be. Yet you still survive and seek to become an enemy of the cult?”

“I’m regrettable too. I thought I owed the cult something because of the Well incident.”

The Clown grinned, wiping the blood from his cheek, and said.

“But if the cult wants to make me an Apostle-Slayer, how can I, as a human, refuse?”

“…”

“Let’s see, the Order Alliance’s Apostle-Slayer recently died, leaving a vacant spot, didn’t they?”

The Clown shook off the vitreous fluid from his hand and turned towards Camlodal.

“I’ll take that remaining spot this time.”

“Does one who wields illusions of radical change cling to such worldly vanity?”

Camlodal said this and slowly crouched down.

“No, even that is merely a taunt to deceive our cult.”

At that moment, the grotesque tentacles dangling from the man’s face instantly straightened.

Camlodal’s entire body was covered in thick keratin, rapidly swelling in size.

KABOOM!!!

In an instant, Camlodal transformed into the colossal form of a rock giant, nearly 5 meters tall.

Camlodal, his entire body encased in solid rock armor, stared down at the Clown with sunken eyes.

[Then I, Camlodal. I shall merely break the twisted blade of Pandemonium right here.]

“Oh, I naturally expected a cute octopus monster to pop out.”

The Clown tilted his head.

“Why did you suddenly turn into a rock that can’t even be roasted?”

“It’s not a rock.”

Swoosh-CRASH!!

Lennok’s form, having circled and spun around the stadium, slammed down beside the Clown with immense speed.

Even amidst that, Lennok, who had been rapidly exchanging blows with the Fifth Apostle, had momentarily put some distance between them.

Screech!!

Lennok, skidding several meters from where he landed before coming to a stop, spoke.

“He borrowed the power of the Subterranean Giant that the Sixth Apostle uses. That’s its shell.”

“Ah, I see.”

The Clown gave a strange smile, looking at Lennok who had landed beside him.

“I actually knew. I saw it once at the Well of the Codex, didn’t I?”

“…”

“There’s no need to ask why he intentionally brought that shell here. It’s obvious.”

Thudddd!!!

An old man gripping a sharp sword descended onto the shoulder of the colossal rock giant.

His head was covered by a fedora he had somehow reclaimed, and he looked down at them with a benevolent smile.

The Eighth Apostle Camlodal, who had descended upon this place by borrowing the shell of the Subterranean Giant.

The Fifth Apostle Eldrich, who had regained his sanity thanks to Ureka Naydree’s power.

Each was a member of the cult’s top ten most formidable forces.

If they were determined to dig in their heels here, they would certainly be troublesome opponents.

Rippp…!!

Around the Torquepaz Stadium, the spatial rifts summoned by the priests were growing in size.

The Tenth Apostle’s Scale Spellcraft, whose output was maximized using human sacrifice.

Through it, did they intend to warp all remaining living beings in this stadium away entirely?

But—

“Victor. I apologize, but could you buy us some time?”

“What?”

The Clown chuckled awkwardly and looked back at Lennok.

“Although I manipulated the dice using foresight, this, in fact, transfers some of the backlash to Antares.”

“…”

“It’s a method of selectively choosing and obtaining the desired outcome for a short time, so it can’t be maintained for very long in the first place.”

Since he manipulated luck using foresight, did the precognition user himself bear some of the backlash?

He knew that the trick of manipulating dice wouldn’t be purely convenient.

Antares not directly participating in battle wasn’t just a matter of his position.

“It’s not that there’s no way to resolve this situation, but it’s an ability I can only use once, so it needs some time to activate. Could you help me for a moment?”

“No, you buy time.”

Lennok said this, raising his left hand forward.

Lennok tilted his gaze, looking at the Clown’s smiling face beyond his mask.

“I will use a large-scale spellcraft that encompasses the entire stadium. You buy time with your illusion magic.”

“…Huh?”

Silence fell.

The two stared intently at each other in the middle of the ruined battlefield.

“Ah, come on, just help me for a moment. It’s not that difficult if we use Manipulation Spellcraft, is it?”

“That’s ridiculous. What makes you think I should trust your method? I’ll do it myself.”

“No, wasn’t I the commander for this operation? And besides, when have you ever been trustworthy, Victor—”

[There truly isn’t a sane one among Pandemonium’s spellcasters.]

As Camlodal took a step, the ground all around the stadium cracked and surged upwards.

Crummmble!!!

[Even with such abilities, are you two truly passing the buck to each other in this situation?]

The massive rock giant’s form advanced, adorned with rising rock fragments from all directions.

The Fifth Apostle Eldrich stood atop one of those fragments, concentrating.

There wasn’t much time to ponder either way.

“Well, given the situation, there’s only one way. Let’s both do it.”

The Clown grinned, drawing up his mana.

“Once we start, one of us will surely survive to complete the spellcraft, won’t we?”

“You call that talk—”

KABOOOM!!!!

At that moment, the ground beneath Lennok’s feet cracked open, and a dazzling burst of mana erupted.

Rock fragments falling from the sky exploded like bombs, scattering debris.

Fragments, bursting like grenades, tore through the stadium facilities, constantly unleashing deafening roars.

Clang-clang!!

“Hup!!”

Lennok, drawing out Mana Threads, twisted and spun, and the Clown’s body scattered like mist.

The Clown reappeared above Camlodal’s head, throwing firecrackers into the rock giant’s mouth,

and Eldrich’s sword tangled amidst a bundle of Mana Threads, unleashing a sharp blade-light.

Fwup-fwup-fwup-BOOM!!!!

Amidst the intensely flickering applause of mana, the four forms intersected.

The giant, transformed entirely into rock, violently clapped its hands to seize Lennok.

The old man gripping the sword simultaneously parried daggers with the cackling Clown.

[Manipulation Spellcaster. You remember me, don’t you?]

Camlodal glared at Lennok with heavy eyes.

[The humiliation you dealt me in the swamps of Yorta was quite… stimulating.]

The priestess Seina Naydree, whom he had met on his way to Yorta under the guise of Victor.

The Eighth Apostle’s presence, who had borrowed another Apostle’s body to retrieve her corpse.

Did Camlodal still remember and not forget that defeat?

“It seems you still haven’t remembered how your head exploded back then.”

Whoosh!!

Lennok, grasping his Mana Threads, landed vertically on the stadium’s outer wall and sneered.

“This time, I’ll crush your soul so thoroughly you’ll never crawl out again.”

[It was you who held Seina Naydree’s soul until the very end.]

But Camlodal was unmoved by such provocation, looking at Lennok with the rock giant’s eyes.

[The High Priest’s authority, lost with the death of the Tenth Priestess. Do you possess it?]

Camlodal’s question, suddenly striking a weak point.

The supreme High Priest’s authority of the cult, which Seina Naydree had sacrificed herself to pass on to Lennok.

There was still one Apostle remaining who could possibly guess its whereabouts.

“You’d better ask your priestess, not me.”

Lennok adjusted his mask with a cold laugh.

“Surely, a ‘half-baked’ individual who doesn’t even know where her own authority is, isn’t posing as the cult’s priestess, are they?”

[Consider yourself fortunate that Priestess Ureka isn’t hearing those words right now.]

Camlodal, letting out a gloomy laugh, violently twisted his shoulder.

[She is a person who would not be satisfied even after tearing off your limbs and flaying your skin…!!]

The giant’s shoulder, clutching rock fragments, vanished from its spot.

The rock, fired like a cannonball, pierced through the stadium’s outer wall where Lennok had landed.

BOOOM!!!

Amidst the exploding fragments, Lennok, riding on a Mana Thread, burrowed into the rock giant’s embrace.

The Clown and the Fifth Apostle clashed, darting around the audience seats at immense speed.

The earth vibrated with the giant’s punches, and Mana Threads, ejected, twisted into circles.

The Clown’s daggers and the old man’s bone sword collided, deflecting blade-lights in different directions.

Holes, as if struck by cannon fire, tore through the stadium’s outer wall, and the impact caused the entire third-floor audience seating to collapse.

CRASHHHHHH!!!

Amidst the pouring debris, Lennok’s and the Clown’s forms crisscrossed, and the shadows of the Fifth and Eighth Apostles overlapped.

In a fleeting moment, they even swapped opponents, clashing with incredible speed.

An exchange of spells and slashes, with four different superhumans fighting at full power.

Lennok frowned amidst the frantic, high-speed melee that far surpassed the speed of perception.

‘Too many variables…!’

In a high-speed 2-on-2 clash, trying to calculate every move would be too slow.

Even setting aside the cult’s two Apostles, fighting while calculating the movements of the Illusionist Clown was almost impossible.

Unless he relied on intuition and instantaneous instincts to manipulate Mana Threads, he would only fall behind.

CRACKKKK!!!

Four shadows were pushed back with an explosion.

But even that brief respite was the simultaneous intention of the four superhumans.

[There’s no reason to hold back power before the great holy war, is there?]

Rumble!!

Camlodal, now one with a part of the collapsed audience seating, clasped his hands together and unleashed his full power.

The moment the rock giant brought its hands together and bowed its head, drawing up mana.

[Sanctuary Declaration]

Camlodal declared.

[False Sky’s Sprouting Legion (僞踐梢領)]

KABOOOM!!!!

From the vast stadium walls, dozens of colossal octopus tentacles surged forth, sweeping across the battlefield.

A grotesque spectacle, as half of the stadium, capable of holding a hundred thousand spectators, was instantly covered in massive tentacles.

Sanctuary Declaration: False Sky’s Sprouting Legion, which temporarily summons a part of Camlodal’s true form into the designated sanctuary.

“The moment I accepted faith, the universe within me became corrupted.”

Eldrich stood with his eyes closed, perched atop the constantly writhing tentacles.

“But the sword within me has not yet disappeared.”

Outer World Miniature Universe: Heresy Manifestation (이단화)

[Sky-Piercing Greatsword (踐重大劍)]

KABOOOOM!!!!

Above the stadium, a greatsword as colossal as Camlodal’s tentacles vertically appeared and began to spin.

The blade of the giant sword, the size of a skyscraper, was grotesquely covered in bulging, writhing veins.

Tentacle masses covered the battlefield’s ground and walls. A greatsword floated high in the sky, proudly spinning.

A secret technique, simultaneously unleashed by the cult’s two highest-ranking Apostles, consuming their mental images and will-thought.

“Ah, since we’ve come this far, of course, we have to go all the way. Is that even a question?”

The Clown cackled, clapping his hands together, and chanted.

“Self-Generated Domain Deployment.”

Whoosh!!!

As he formed a hand seal, the colossal shape of a roulette wheel appeared above the Clown’s head.

As Lennok clasped his hands together and closed his eyes, space opened behind his back.

“Summoning Spellcraft.”

The moment eight withered hands tore through space and burst out.

Tens of thousands of Mana Threads began to rain down onto the stadium battlefield.

“Tailor of the Imaginary Dimension.”