Chapter 939: Anathema (13)
The lightning that erupted from the heart of the city spread boundlessly, illuminating the night sky with a blue glow.
A force that, without direction or form, simply burst forth by repelling compressed will-thought, its residual afterglow alone enough to swallow a small city.
The World-Opening Thunderclap spell, which tore open the dark sky, poured down light, and ushered in the dawn.
“That is……”
Even Krod, who had steeled himself, couldn’t control his expression, holding his breath.
The morning scenery unfurled by a shooting star that had fallen into the heart of the city.
He too realized that the magic and will-thought, falling from the sky only to surge again, were an ultimate technique, compressed, fused, and then unleashed at the particle level.
That it appeared in the form of a shooting star, wished upon in the night sky, was only possible because it was a destination inherently beyond reach.
Twisting mind and will, it momentarily built an impossible miracle in reality.
Even without deploying a Domain, the wizard’s Mind Imprint took precedence over the physical laws of reality.
And even the recoil of that gained miracle was used to amplify its power, a divine technique that incinerated the incarnation of ruin.
The grand wizard, who wielded lightning from a distant sky, used even his profound insights as a tool, gazing beyond.
While Krod silently contemplated this fact with a complicated expression, Peshia, too, muttered quietly.
“I almost died once to that magic……”
“……”
“If he hadn’t held back at the end, I would have died.”
Blood trickled from under her fingernails, but Peshia couldn’t control her rage and bit her lip.
Just seeing the glow of that lightning still made her whole body tremble as if in a seizure.
It was the magic that had etched the fear of death into her, a fear she had never known.
Belatedly realizing what her emotions were, Peshia’s expression twisted like a fiend.
“Damn it, still……!”
The last battle, where her entire body had been crushed and burned by the lightning wielded by Adamant Thunder.
She should have just died then and there.
If she had died fighting that wizard in that place, she wouldn’t have had to feel such wretched feelings.
She wouldn’t have had to struggle so pathetically, becoming a lapdog for the wizard who had toyed with her.
Even thinking that, only murderous intent surged within her, for she was still miserably alive, tasting the bitterness of defeat.
“……This is the first time I’ve seen Governor Grisbern so daunted.”
Krod looked at Peshia with a curious expression at her intense reaction, something never seen normally.
“As expected, for a mad dog—”
Thwack!!
Peshia, with a murderous look, punched Krod in the stomach, then kicked him and stood up.
“Looks like the senile old man is determined to die.”
“M-My wound…… it’s opening up……”
While Krod took deep breaths, his face pale, Peshia slapped her own cheek and looked around.
Her senses were so mangled that she couldn’t even properly feel pain. She had to stimulate herself like this just to stay conscious.
Peshia desperately ignored the flashing lightning behind her, turned, and asked,
“I know it’s heading out of the city. Where were you planning to go?”
“……Towards the direction Olinic and Kiriya were responsible for the ritual.”
Krod replied, leaning heavily on his spear to stand up.
“In the end, no one else returned throughout the battle with Anathema. We need to confirm what’s happening outside.”
“You’re incredibly naive. Do you really believe those others didn’t come to help us because of unavoidable circumstances?”
Peshia openly scoffed at Krod’s words.
“Those traitors aren’t such great people. They’re just vermin who try to profit by cautiously withdrawing their feet from every situation.”
“……”
“It’s the same as during the Civil War. They skirted important matters and eventually handed the victory to Lord Bajour. Were you on that side and still haven’t realized?”
“……Of course, I know.”
Krod’s eyes sank deeply for a moment.
“From their perspective, they might have hoped for the Sixth Apostle and the Magic Tower Lord to destroy each other, using a suitable excuse. In fact, that possibility is quite high.”
“……”
“But if so, wouldn’t it be proper to inform the Tower Lord of this fact?”
“Hah! How absurd. After all that talk about being a guard dog, you’ve really become a lapdog.”
Peshia scoffed and abruptly turned her back.
“Stop bullshitting, I can’t deal with this anymore, so go by yourself or—”
Kwaaaaaang!!!
At that moment, a massive roar that shook the earth echoed from beyond the desert.
White sand exploded like a fountain, glinting as it reflected the morning sunlight, and a gigantic metallic sphere surged upwards.
The metallic sphere, intricately assembled from hundreds of thousands of parts, was so immense that its mere presence rivaled a skyscraper.
Kiiiiiiing!!!
Appearing simultaneously, the metallic sphere, rising like a sun above the desert, rotated violently in the air, scattering magical power.
Extreme Deviation Golden Chain
Jeonryun Geumgu First Form
Sand Iron Manipulation: Golden Cherry Blossom
Ku-gwagwagwaga!!!!
Following the rotation of the metallic sphere, countless particles of metallic sand rose from beneath the desert, transforming into a black storm.
Sweeping like a tsunami across hundreds of meters outside the city, at the moment it extracted and wielded all metallic substances.
[Kieeeek!!!]
Following the rising metallic sand, a colossal centipede was dragged out from beneath the desert, screaming madly.
Its grotesque appearance featured human eyeballs sparsely embedded across its body, with blood vessels protruding from its carapace.
The gigantic centipede attempted to swallow the metallic sphere with its acid-dripping mouth.
Kagagagak!!!
As the metallic sand, driven by the sphere’s rotation, assaulted it, the centipede’s head was ground away, scattering green bodily fluid.
Even after its head was crushed, the monster clung to the sphere, convulsing, regenerating in real-time.
Just the collision of the tens-of-meters-sized monster and the sphere violently vibrated the desert, sending sand erupting in all directions.
Kwoooooong!!
Feeling the ground shake from the impact of the battle they encountered immediately upon leaving the city, Peshia muttered.
“That is……”
A divine technique that commanded the battlefield on a localized scale, using the metallic sand mixed within the desert’s sand.
A mastery that skewed the polarity of metal to its extreme, transforming the desert environment itself into its own battleground.
“……It’s Olinic.”
The leader of Gisusingung. A Giant of the Light. A hero of the Civil War.
Cheoknoe Olinic was engaging in battle, fully deploying his metal manipulation spellcraft.
The metallic sphere, Jeonryun Geumgu, with a diameter of tens of meters, was practically Olinic’s signature technique when taking to the battlefield.
Realizing this, Krod looked at the metallic sphere with a strange expression.
“Jeonryun Geumgu…… That artifact seems far more complete now than it was during the Civil War.”
“What a pathetic observation. Were you on the same side and still don’t even know your ally’s strength?”
“……Bound by the Prohibition Edict, we weren’t truly on the same side, you see.”
Krod offered a wry smile at Peshia’s sneer.
“Gisusingung is a powerful major force even among the Giants of the Light, and Olinic is also a wizard skilled at concealing himself. Especially, what exists within the Jeonryun Geumgu, which he has used since the Civil War—”
At that moment, the metallic sand surrounding the Jeonryun Geumgu sharpened, transforming into colossal spikes.
The metallic sand, imbued with the sphere’s weight, became a rotating drill, crushing the convulsing centipede and grinding its elongated body to dust.
[Kieeeek!!!]
The centipede writhed, its dozens of legs trembling, but the metallic sphere, surrounded by sand, simply descended, plunging the centipede into the desert and grinding it away.
It landed near the ruined city outskirts where Krod and Peshia stood.
Kwoooooong!!
The centipede’s bodily fluid exploded, scattering and creating massive acidic puddles everywhere.
But the Jeonryun Geumgu, covered in acid potent enough to instantly melt metal, stood utterly undamaged.
On top of the sphere, which had immediately ground the centipede to death, stood a lean man with a spherical head, his hands clasped behind his back.
[I thought I heard familiar voices, and it truly is you.]
He spotted Krod and Peshia in the middle of the ruined cityscape and raised a hand with a look of welcome.
[After staying up all night, it’s so heartwarming to see you again. At least it’s much better than these disgusting monsters.]
“You damn scrap metal junk pile.”
Peshia responded to Olinic’s calm greeting with a string of colorful curses.
“Anathema manifested and caused all hell to break loose ages ago, what were you doing that you’re only crawling out now?!”
[No, after seeing what I was just doing, do those words still come out?]
Olinic shrugged, looking troubled despite Peshia’s curses.
[It’s not that I didn’t want to watch the arrogant noble lord’s downfall, but I had my own circumstances, you see.]
“What kind of ridiculous excuse are you……”
Kieeeeee!!
At that moment, the centipede, crushed beneath the metallic sphere, let out a shriek, and the desert shook again.
The centipede, clearly more than half its body ground to death, had already finished regenerating and began to convulse beneath the Jeonryun Geumgu.
[Oh dear, already again……!!]
Olinic shrugged and rotated the metallic sphere again, and the sand exploded, rapidly carrying the centipede away.
“Wait, that regeneration…….”
Krod, who had been silently watching from behind, frowned.
Despite having its body virtually ground to death, the grotesque healing ability allowed it to regenerate itself from mere fragments of flesh.
That strangely unreal vitality felt different from that of a monstrous beast or a Long-lived Being. The unpleasant and eerie sense of déjà vu, which emphasized the regeneration of its existence over physical strength, was surely—
“……An Apostle? Is that really an Apostle?”
“It’s an Apostle, Azlan.”
Paat!!
A silver-haired woman, drawing a pristine white blade, landed beside Azlan.
A strange figure, clad in silver armor emanating chilling will-thought, with a pristine white frost halo floating behind her back.
Her arrival brought an electrifying chill that settled over the surroundings, transforming the hot desert air into a cool breeze.
Chwaak!
The woman flicked her hand, shaking off the bodily fluid from her blade, and when she turned her gaze, the armor covering her body disintegrated and vanished.
Kiriya, her gaze icy, almost like ice itself, glanced at them and asked,
“You’re alive. I thought you might have died during the battle with the Sixth Apostle.”
“……Kiriya.”
Had they already heard news of the battle inside the city? If so, then it must be that Habaek, whom they had sent out just before the battle, had successfully relayed the battle situation here.
But even so, questions remained unanswered.
Kiriya, as if guessing, turned her cold gaze towards Olinic, who was fighting in front of them.
“You’re probably wondering why we were held up here.”
“Is that even a question, traitor?”
Peshia cursed loudly, as if she had been waiting for the opportunity.
“What the hell were you doing playing around with that monster?! You wanted to see us die in there, didn’t you?!”
“I don’t intend to seek understanding from a lunatic. I have plenty to say without needing excuses.”
“Bullshit……!!”
“Immediately after the ritual ended, we noticed Anathema’s betrayal, but the Cult held us back.”
Kiriya said without batting an eyelid.
“They deployed a sanctuary outside the city and used an Apostle to prevent us from entering the city.”
“Using an Apostle…… surely not?”
As Krod looked at the giant centipede fighting Olinic with a troubled expression, his eyes suddenly glinted with understanding.
He realized that the centipede, which was madly slamming its head against the metallic sphere, possessed no intelligence.
“As you’ve noticed, it’s not an Apostle with normal judgment.”
Kiriya nodded with an expressionless face.
“The opponent is using an Apostle, fallen into madness and reduced to a beast, as bait to confront us. It was that person who effectively held us back.”
“Is that…… not impossible?”
Krod asked, sounding as if he could hardly believe it.
“If the Cult had a way to strategically use mad Apostles, they wouldn’t have failed to try it during the Holy War.”
Krod, as a protector of Turyeonmun and a participant in the Holy War, knew what Apostles were.
Monsters who received power as incarnations of ruin, but whose minds were devoured as they shared the dreams of the Outer God.
As time passed, their minds became assimilated with the Outer Sea, leading to their collapse into madness, unable to endure in reality.
Hadn’t even the mighty Cult, which boasted such powerful influence, lost many excellent warriors because it couldn’t stop the madness of its subordinate Apostles?
They were uncontrollable monsters, who, if gathered in one place, would be preoccupied with devouring each other, which wouldn’t be strange at all.
“There are at least six Apostles, that I know of, who have fallen into madness and become beasts. If such a power existed, why didn’t they use it sooner—”
“That’s because I have newly completed my succession and emerged into the mortal world.”
At that moment, a raspy voice echoed above Krod’s head.
Shraak!
A leopard-like beast, its body covered in long, shaggy fur, dropped onto the desert.
The massive beast, twisting its half-frozen body, landed effortlessly and silently on the sand.
Kiiiiing!!
The third eye embedded in the leopard’s forehead glowed, and a strange light flashed, stopping and petrifying the sandstorm.
On top of the leopard’s head, which scattered petrifying rays upon its arrival, someone holding a staff was riding.
A woman with a dangerous, edgy appearance. Pristine white hair and bronze skin.
Despite her slender physique, she wore the Cult’s ceremonial robes, which were not just elaborate, but lavishly voluminous.
Her slanted eyes gazed at the humans, and she let out a scoff.
“Divine abilities aren’t conveniently granted whenever needed. Miracles don’t happen unless a proper mission is fulfilled.”
“……”
Her raspy, grating voice, as if her throat were torn, sharply pierced everyone’s ears.
“But under the macroscopic plan, everything is meant to unfold according to His will. In that sense, the authority given to me is perfectly suitable.”
“……You are.”
The person who, upon arriving, immediately looked down on Krod and the other humans, revealing her affiliation with the Cult.
Krod instinctively knew this woman was the one Kiriya had spoken of, and asked,
“What deity do you serve within the Cult, Apostle? Were you the one who aided Anathema’s awakening?”
“I explained it once, but you still don’t get it. Do I look like an Apostle?”
The woman’s sharp eyes curved into a crescent shape.
“If you were a priest serving me, I would have ripped your tongue out right here.”
“……”
“Azlan.”
The woman scoffed, and Kiriya calmly replied,
“It’s not like that. From the beginning, she is……”
“I thought you’d be quick-witted, having survived a fight with Anathema, but what a waste of time.”
The woman, irritably brushing back her white hair that reached her shoulders, said,
“Why did the previous Naydree leave these bugs alone? I can’t understand it, no matter how much I think about it.”
“……Surely not.”
Naydree. Krod’s expression stiffened upon hearing that name, and the woman opened her mouth with a satisfied look.
“My name is Ureka Naydree.”
Pababababat!!!
At that moment, the desert beneath Ureka’s feet churned, and three more gigantic monsters emerged.
A tentacled lobster. A wild boar with half its face severed. A knight whose armor was patched together with human faces.
Even the giant centipede, which had been fighting Olinic like a madman, bowed its head as if in obedience to her words.
Stepping on the unutterably grotesque monsters and beasts beneath her feet, she spoke.
“I am the priestess who inherited the name of Naydree, following in the footsteps of Seina.”
“……”
“The one who held us back wasn’t an Apostle, but the Cult’s new priestess.”
While Krod remained silent, Kiriya calmly explained.
“She commands Apostles consumed by madness as her servants. The most dangerous presence on this battlefield is that woman.”