Chapter 1464: Hall of Ascension (10)
The Guardian Spirit Beast, tears streaming down its face, casually swung its forepaw once, and the monster’s head exploded like a balloon.
Molten flesh rained down, and the monster’s headless torso staggered in place.
The impact was so immense that nearly all the flesh on its upper body was ripped away, revealing its tattered insides.
A golden radiance followed the arc of the Guardian Spirit Beast’s paw, piercing through District 49 and leaving a faint afterimage.
Kwoooaaaaah-
“…Huh?”
Even the Transcendents of the Magic Tower gaped blankly for a moment at the completely unexpected, one-sided result.
Even the Guardian Spirit Beast that had swung its paw at the monster was surprised, its large, teary eyes widening.
[Ah, ooh?]
The pig-dragon looked from the monster with the exploded head to its own chubby paw and back, its eyes moist.
Just as it was staring at the monster’s body—a headless torso from which smoke billowed—the creature that had lost its head in a single blow began to slowly regenerate with a bizarre groan.
[Guh, guuuuh-]
It gathered the flesh of the ghouls and mutants composing its body, forcibly sending it upward to form an upper torso.
The monster, rampaging with the memories of the Ascendant Yega—the Perfected One said to have mastered a thousand talents and ten thousand arts—unfolded its skills before their eyes, adjusting its physical proportions and composition to replace and restore its organs even after its head had been blown off.
Chiiiiik…!!!
The monster pulled flesh up from the stump of its neck to regenerate its head. The moment it glared at the Guardian Spirit Beast with its tattered eyeballs…
…the startled Guardian Spirit Beast shrieked and swung its paw, instantly blowing the monster’s newly regenerating head to bits once more.
[Bbooehng!!!!]
Ppeo-eo-eo-eong!!!!!
A golden halo wrapped around the white pig-dragon’s paw spun in reverse, grinding the monster’s flesh to pulp.
Unable to withstand the rotational force, the monster’s massive body was flung back as if in an explosion, shaking District 49 as it flew.
Kwoooaaaang!!!!
Having lost its head for a second time, the monster flailed its limbs, grabbing onto the surrounding buildings for support.
As the dumbfounded superhumans watched the absurd spectacle, the Guardian Spirit Beast, still crying, swung its paws at the staggering creature.
[Bbooeh! Bbooehng!!!]
Pop!! Pop!! Papapapapop!!!!
Each time a careless paw, seemingly swatting it away, connected, the monster’s body erupted as if hit by a bomb.
Its flesh, composed of ghouls and mutants, ripped away like paper, instantly revealing parts of the eroded skeleton hidden within.
[Guooooooooh!!!!]
The enraged monster regenerated its head and tried to fight back against the Guardian Spirit Beast’s attacks, but it could do little more than be pushed back, losing chunks of its body in the process.
Only then did the Tower personnel, snapping out of it a moment too late, begin to cheer for the furiously swinging Guardian Spirit Beast.
“G-Go for it!!”
“You can do it! You can win!!”
“Protect the Magic Tower! Don’t lose to that thing!!”
In the Magic Tower, now buzzing with cheers, other colleagues looked at one another with dumbfounded expressions.
“Seriously, that thing is just ridiculously strong! What is it?”
“Have you forgotten how long we’ve been raising it? It grew up eating every expensive and rare thing we could find. It should be this strong.”
“Its innate power output is truly exceptional. Is it really producing that much destructive force with such careless swings?”
“I’ve never seen a Guardian Spirit Beast that pulverizes its opponent while making such cute crying noises before…”
[Bbooeh!!!]
With a sound that was now impossible to distinguish from a cry or a war shout, the pig-dragon relentlessly charged into the monster’s side.
Two giant monsters, each hundreds of meters tall, tangled violently with the streets of District 49 beneath their feet.
They grappled like wrestlers, grabbing each other’s paws, and each time they slammed their torsos together and staggered, the very ground and sky shook.
Watching the magnificent sight, the people shouted, overcome with an inexplicable excitement welling up inside them.
“Ooooooooh!!!”
“Go for the leg sweep! Take it down!”
“Get its flank! Don’t lose the initiative!”
THUD!!!
The Guardian Spirit Beast brought its paw down with force, tearing off the monster’s left shoulder.
Staggering, it bit into the monster’s shoulder, bared its teeth, and ripped into the nape of its neck.
[Gwoooooooooh!!!]
The enraged monster immediately regenerated its paw and slammed it into the Guardian Spirit Beast’s stomach, but the thick belly fat merely rippled, absorbing the impact.
The monster paused for a moment in bewilderment, and the pig-dragon, as if waiting for that exact moment, swung its belly forward and sent the monster flying back.
[Bbooeh!!]
Kwoooaaaang!!!!
Overpowered, the monster’s massive body toppled backward, sweeping through the outskirts of District 49 and pulverizing everything in its path.
The people watching erupted in cheers.
“That’s it! How’s that for a taste!”
“That’s what you call a weight class difference, you monster bastard!!!”
“Isn’t it just really heavy…?”
[Grrrrrrrrr…!!!]
Amid the swirling dust, the fallen monster opened its maw wide toward the Guardian Spirit Beast.
The instant a gloomy, ashen light flared deep within its throat, a beam containing immense thermal energy accelerated explosively and struck the Guardian Spirit Beast head-on.
Kwoooooooooooaaaaaah!!!!
“Kuhk…!!”
“Wait!! What is this!!!”
The sky over District 49 turned a gloomy shade of ash and grew intensely hot.
The heat was so fierce that those watching the kaiju battle had to duck and shield themselves.
The superhumans, realizing what was happening outside the tower wall a moment too late, let out a torrent of furious, curse-laden shouts.
“Foul! That’s a foul!”
“What are you doing?! Fight fair and square!”
“Are you insane? You think this is a sporting event?”
“It’s a charged particle cannon. Though I have no idea how a monster can use such a technique.”
The Fearsome Blood King remarked, his expression subtly hardening.
“That strange regenerative ability from before, and now this. It seems that monster possesses quite a variety of powers.”
“That sounds incredibly dangerous just hearing about it. Shouldn’t we really intervene now?!”
“No, wait!”
Jenny, watching from the window, cried out in surprise.
“I-It blocked it…”
Kuuuuuuh!!!
Although the massive beam of light slammed into the Guardian Spirit Beast like a wave, unleashing a searing gale, the creature at its core was perfectly fine.
Where the charged particle cannon had dissipated, only the massive, unblemished shell of a giant turtle stood loftily.
The Tower’s Transcendents, recognizing the somewhat familiar form, let out faint gasps of admiration without realizing it.
“Ooh…!!!”
“That form, don’t tell me!!!”
THUD!!
Thick legs shot out from beneath the shell, planting themselves firmly on the ground to withstand the torrent of the particle cannon from the front.
The head of a Black Tortoise with deep, solemn eyes rose from the shell and silently gazed down at the monster with its gaping maw.
The Black Tortoise, staring with a gaze so grave that the monster momentarily shrank back, slowly opened its mouth.
[Bu-eoeo]
“That thing was about to cry ‘bbooeh,’ wasn’t it?”
“It seems to have picked up a strange habit. Is that going to be okay?”
[Guoooooooooh!!!]
Kwoooang!!!
Realizing its particle cannon had failed, the monster staggered to its feet and charged the Black Tortoise.
Simultaneously, dozens of tentacles shot from the monster’s body, attempting to burrow inside the Black Tortoise’s shell.
It was an attack aimed at the vulnerable interior of the Tortoise, which was fixed in place with its legs planted firmly.
However, by the time the monster brandished its tentacles, the Black Tortoise was already gone.
Fwoooosh!!!!
A thick fog billowed, and a mystical Cloud Dragon wreathed in white clouds rose into the sky, looking down on the monster.
In one paw, it held a crystal orb that emitted a blue light, its gaze contemplative as it watched the monster with eyes as clear as a lake.
The monster, left alone on the ground in the blink of an eye, let out a desperate roar, but the Cloud Dragon paid it no heed.
Instead, it raised its gaze to the sky, gently clenched the crystal orb in its paw, and drew upon its internal magic.
Ouroboros Magic System
Decomposition Engine—Activate
Kiiiiiiiiing-
A golden halo spread above the Cloud Dragon’s head, and an immeasurable torrent of light poured down toward the ground.
Simultaneously, an impossibly vast golden spiral became a pillar of dazzling light, descending from the sky upon the monster.
Antinomy
Binding Spiral
[Ooooooooooooooh!!!!!]
The golden radiance formed a double helix as it gently penetrated the monster’s flesh.
The monster shrieked and struggled madly, but its resistance passed right through the spiral as if it were intangible.
Unable to regenerate, the monster’s fleshy body began to slowly deconstruct where it stood.
Before the eyes of everyone in the Tower, it lost its existential cohesion and began to decompose into nothingness.
Annihilation
Shaaaaaaaaak!!!!!
In accordance with the will of the cloud-swimming dragon, the golden halo spun, completely deconstructing the monster’s existence without a trace.
This was the power of the Ouroboros magic system: to forcibly deconstruct and analyze all existing laws and spellcraft.
And the Guardian Spirit Beast was a being born from that very Ouroboros as its origin, within the domain of the Tower.
Within the domain of the Tower it protects, it possessed the innate authority to enforce that power, regardless of target or range.
“This is…”
Paaaaaaaaaah!!!!!
The other colleagues who realized this stared blankly, their mouths agape, at the sight of the monster transforming into golden particles and scattering before their eyes.
The golden particles, all that remained of the vanished monster, scattered like rain across the sky of District 49, illuminating it with a dazzling light.
The Cloud Dragon descended, reverted to its original Guardian Spirit Beast form, and opened its mouth wide to the sky.
Hwaaaak!!
With a single light breath, it inhaled all the golden particles scattering through the air.
And so, having devoured the monster it had disintegrated in the blink of an eye, the Guardian Spirit Beast contentedly patted its belly.
[Bueh-]
“…The radiation levels in District 49 are dropping. All readings are back to normal,” Priscilla said, unable to hide her surprise, next to a silent Jenny.
“It looks like the Guardian Spirit Beast devoured all the power the monster had spread throughout District 49…”
[Pueh, pueh….]
It sat down in the middle of the ruined street, patting its belly and looking around.
As if searching for someone to praise it, its expression turned sullen, and it slowly blinked.
[…Zzz.]
It rubbed its eyes, trying to fight off drowsiness, but eventually succumbed to the overwhelming sleepiness and slowly lowered its head.
Everyone watched, speechless, as the pig-dragon fell asleep right there, hugging its thick belly like a pillow.
“W-Well, should we start cleaning up?”
“…”
At the same time, inside the Hall of Ascension.
The mercenaries gathered around Lennok’s phone, watching, all burst into cheers.
“Th-That’s it!!”
“It won! Attaboy!”
Soo-ryun shouted, and Dylan cheered.
“See, I knew it could win! I knew it!”
“It was worth staying up all night together to feed and raise it,” Felix remarked, deeply moved, standing with his arms crossed and lost in thought.
“To think it’s already old enough to pull its own weight… Indeed, hard work never betrays you.”
“Felix, don’t talk like an old man. Why are you acting like you raised it all by yourself?”
Their bickering voices carried all the way over.
They hadn’t let their guard down completely, but they couldn’t hide their relief that the situation had been resolved safely.
Mila, who was clutching a terminal, waved her hand excitedly.
“The connection to the Corpse Ghost Spell Master is re-establishing! Now that the monster’s gone, it looks like we can open the passage again, right?”
“So because the monster using the power of Heaven’s Gate vanished, we can use the gate again.”
“I thought you said it was the memory of a dead Ascendant? Is something like that really possible for a mere fragment of memory, not even a soul?”
“That’s how they managed to reach Level 9 and make a name for themselves in this crazy world.”
Chattering loudly, they quickly began to prepare their return to the real world.
A series of unexpected events had cost them time, but fortunately, no one was seriously injured.
None of them coveted the overwhelming transcendence or information contained within the Ascendants’ memories.
As long as they could finish this short adventure and return safely to reality with Van, that would be enough—
“…Wait.”
Dylan’s expression, hidden behind his mask, went slack.
“Van? Where’d Van go?”
Goooooo…!!!
The long commotion ended, and silence once again fell over the quiet museum.
Lennok left the boisterous voices of his comrades behind and walked slowly down the wide corridor of the hall.
Without a word, he manipulated his Incarnation Body, dragging the fallen Yuseong by the collar.
“Cough… Congratulations.”
Yuseong, who was being dragged across the floor, spilling black blood, spoke in a faint voice.
“The commotion outside… seems to have been resolved safely… I am glad that no innocent victims were created…”
“…”
“The memories of the Ascendant Yega are those of the Perfected One, who handled a thousand talents and ten thousand arts…”
Yuseong, struggling to lift his gaze, managed a soft smile with his ruined body.
“I, too, am interested to see how the potential your Spiritual Beast has obtained will manifest… but unfortunately, this is as far as it goes for this time.”
Jjeojeojeojeok…!!!
Yuseong’s upper body, stained completely black, was already shattering beyond repair.
Yet, as Yuseong gazed down at his dying body, his eyes showed not a trace of fear or terror.
Perhaps it was because he did not believe death was the end, or perhaps he was looking forward to a next time that Lennok could not fathom.
He faced his end calmly, as if he had known this would happen the moment he met Lennok here.
“It is a pity I will not be able to watch what the two of you discuss from here on… but one cannot always have things their way.”
Saaaaaak!!!
In an instant, Yuseong’s body turned to a handful of ash and began to scatter cleanly away.
Looking up at Lennok with his disappearing face, he smiled faintly and said,
“Well then, I will see you again next time.”
With those words, the Left Prime Minister’s form vanished in an instant, leaving not even a trace behind.
However, Lennok continued walking without a backward glance at the spot where Yuseong had been.
From the moment he had met Yuseong, he had vaguely sensed that the man had no intention of letting things end here.
Yet the reason Lennok had not left the hall was because he knew there was still something he had to do.
It was the lingering question that remained even after he had accomplished his original goal of confirming Pyeonram’s life or death in the Hall of Ascension.
It was the reason he had been vaguely certain that the situation itself was unfolding far too conveniently.
Hwaaaaak…!!!
He forcibly unsummoned the Incarnation Body that had been scattering gloomy darkness and walked alone toward the end of the hall.
The staircase, which had remained completely unscathed even during his battle with Yuseong.
Seeing the blue-skinned demon standing there with her back turned, Lennok stopped.
“Ah, you’re finally here.”
Sakia, who had been gazing at a painting on the wall, slowly turned her head.
Looking at Lennok’s expressionless face, the demon smiled strangely.
“I knew you would come. Or should I say, you’re later than I expected?”
“The opposite.”
Lennok said calmly.
“I knew you would be waiting.”
“…”
“You were the first one to tell me about this hall, and yet you haven’t made a single move until now…”
Lennok slowly raised his gaze to the entrance of the cinema where Sakia stood and continued,
“…because I had a feeling you intended to take the final moment for yourself.”
“Huhu… You don’t have to worry so much.”
Sakia turned slowly, as if she couldn’t hold back her laughter.
“What I want to show you… will be over in an instant.”