Chapter 29
It seemed Mirati’s side had been taken care of.
Now only Belgious remained…… and there probably wasn’t much to worry about on that front either.
—How dare a rootless minor god try to take the body of a great ancient dragon! You must have felt so good dreaming that sweet dream, even if only for a moment!
<Kuh! You damn loser bitch, getting all cocky……!>
Now freed from <Balmun> and having regained all her previously suppressed spiritual power, Entur’s presence was truly overwhelming.
Using the blizzard she summoned as both spear and shield to drive Belgious back, she was nothing short of a living natural disaster.
If her thought form was already this strong, just how powerful must her true body have been?
And how insane must the Knight King have been to defeat such a true body with a human one?
‘Well, I suppose he had to be that strong to……’
I briefly thought about the Knight King before shaking the thought away.
There was no point thinking about someone who wasn’t even here.
I pushed aside the random thoughts and decided to cheer from the back so Entur could safely finish off Belgious……
“……?”
But something felt off.
—You bastard!
<Loser bitch!>
The flow of battle hadn’t changed.
Entur was unilaterally pressing the attack, while Belgious was barely holding on while spewing all kinds of curses.
However, something was wrong.
The blizzard with which Entur was pressuring Belgious was gradually losing momentum.
The breath that had been pouring down like a tidal wave and the frost swords she summoned in the air were also starting to shrink in size.
“……”
The moment I realized the cause and quietly unfolded my arms that had been leisurely crossed,
Swish—!
—Kugh……
<What’s wrong? Are you already tired, loser?>
Finally, Belgious—who had been overwhelmingly pushed back—counterattacked by firing a black beam from his single eye.
The beam, letting out a chilling sound like the blade of a guillotine, tore across the thought form’s side.
Entur urgently tried to raise her spiritual power to recover the wound tainted with turbid divine power, but……
It didn’t go as intended, and she grit her teeth.
<Kuhuhu…… You’ve rusted in the face of time, you pathetic dragon. It’s truly pitiful that you can’t even properly handle your own spiritual power.>
—Damn it!
<More spiritual power is being wasted than actually used. It’s painful to watch. Now, is it my turn?>
Swish—!!
Six strands of slashes made of black flames mercilessly shredded the thought form.
Entur tried to protect herself by explosively releasing her cold spiritual power, but it was just as Belgious had said.
More spiritual power was being wasted than used.
The spiritual power she managed to raise wandered without direction before scattering away meaninglessly.
‘A thought form that has wandered the mortal world for far too many years without ascending. Not only has her sense for handling spiritual power dulled, but fundamentally……’
The world of the living was not a stage where a dead soul could exert its full power.
……Damn it.
At this rate, it was obvious who would eventually fall.
‘Should I join in?’
I considered adding even a little strength, but I quickly realized how foolish that idea was.
This was essentially a battle between a dragon and a god.
It was bearable as a spectator, but in reality……
Boom—!! Rumble—!!
Every time Entur and Belgious clashed, a terrifying pressure crushed my body and made my flesh tremble.
No matter how much of a cheat-class I had possessed and no matter how high my achievements in the <Lava Pond of Evolution> were,
This was not a fight I could participate in.
But I couldn’t just sit here twiddling my thumbs either.
There had to be some way……
‘……There is one.’
There was. It wasn’t nonexistent.
The only problem was that it was quite the gamble for me.
No, calling it a gamble wasn’t quite right.
You don’t call a hand that results in loss even if you win the round a gamble.
However.
“Ancient Dragon—!”
This was not the time to be picky.
Even if there was a loss, the most important thing was to kill that damn minor god and survive.
When I raised my voice, Entur—who had been injured and panting—turned to look at me.
—Ruth Fried……?
The moment my voice interrupted the battle between transcendental beings, a brief silence fell over the battlefield.
Then.
“Give me your spiritual power.”
In the flowing silence, I looked straight at Entur and said,
“Lend me all of your spiritual power.”
—What are you……!
Entur was greatly shocked by the sudden request, while Belgious burst into laughter.
<You’re saying you’ll fight in place of the exhausted dragon? What a commendable fool. Hey, Entur. Try doing as that guy says. I’m curious how it’ll turn out too! Hahaha!>
—Do you even understand what kind of request you are making? Do you know what it means for a living human to handle the power of a dead soul……?
I know.
It’s fucking insane.
Spiritual power is akin to death energy. It is a power permitted only to the dead.
For a perfectly living person like me to handle it would be going against the natural order.
Regardless of whether I could control it or not, the moment I accepted the spiritual power, my body would begin to rot.
I would decay from the top of my head to the tips of my toes in less than half a day.
“You entrusted your heart to this human.”
Of course, I had absolutely no intention of meeting such a miserable end.
That was why I was earnestly pleading to Entur with an unwavering, firm voice.
“So why not entrust me with something else as well?”
—…….
Entur stared at me silently with eyes that seemed to ask if I was out of my mind.
I was nervous that she might make the wrong decision, my heart pounding despite <Iron-Blood Heart>……
Hwaaaak—!!
Seeing the silver current flowing into my body, I quietly lifted the corners of my mouth.
Spiritual power.
The energy of the dead.
The cold that a living person must never embrace seeped deep into my bones.
[Spiritual power is penetrating!]
[Status ailment: ‘Highest-grade Curse’ has been applied!]
[Stamina consumption rate has increased by 500%!]
[Pain has been amplified!]
[Status ailment: ‘Highest-grade Decay’ has been applied!]
[Massive bleeding will occur at regular intervals for 3 minutes!]
Splash—!!
The moment the message appeared, blood spurted from my temple with a sound like exploding insect eggs.
And that wasn’t all.
My body shivered as if I had malaria, and my legs staggered against my will.
My hand suddenly stung, and when I looked, pus was dripping from skin that had already begun to fester.
Highest-grade Decay. And the aftermath of the highest-grade Curse.
“Ugh……!”
—Ah, aaaaah…….
Before the pain of my entire body rotting away in real time, <Iron-Blood Heart> and everything else became meaningless.
Damn it, I can’t even control my expression.
The vomit rising in my throat felt as sharp as a box cutter.
Watching my state, Entur let out a sigh.
[<Authority of Resistance> reduces the effect of negative status ailments by 90%!]
……Insane. This is what it’s like after a 90% reduction?
If I didn’t have <Authority of Resistance>, I didn’t even want to imagine what state I would be in right now.
<Just as you wanted. Kuhuhu, even though it was your own choice, the regret must be crushing. Do you even realize what kind of state you’re in right now?>
“Hoo……”
<It’s only been about ten seconds since you accepted the spiritual power, yet you already look like a corpse that just crawled out of a coffin! Hahaha!>
I know, you idiot.
I hated to admit it, but I resented myself for making such a crazy decision, just as he said.
But no matter how crazy the decision was, it wasn’t meaningless.
Because the only way to finish off that bastard here was ‘this’.
Enduring the excruciating pain as if my joints were coming apart, I
Slowly—
Extended my right hand toward Belgious.
Rumble—!!
Spiritual power, repeatedly overheating and expanding, ran wildly out of control.
Forcing myself to endure the dizzying cold and pain, I looked at Belgious, who was sneering as if it were laughable.
<Oh, you’re holding up quite well. But the result of your self-destruction will not change. Struggle all you want, you fool.>
A Constellation.
An existence that even a Blood Mage boasting unrivaled skill should never dare to confront.
But was the body I possessed an ordinary one?
Inside it lay the pinnacle of swordsmanship and magic. The grace of a saint and the mysteries of shamanism.
And.
[Blood Link Skill, ‘Ki Bullet Creation’ has been activated!]
[The unyielding hunter’s fighting spirit stands with you!]
[Blood ki is consumed!]
The soul of the hunter who, as a human, had slain a god, was awakening.
The Hunter character. Arthur Horizon.
His unique skill answered my will and manifested here.
Kwaaaaaaaa—!!
The spiritual power that had been boiling like a furnace began condensing toward my outstretched right hand.
<Ki Bullet Creation>.
A skill that compresses the user’s power into a single point to amplify its strength and create a bullet.
It didn’t matter what kind of power it was.
As long as it flowed within the caster’s body.
Whether divine power, blood ki, death energy, mana, or spiritual power — anything.
<……Wait.>
He would turn it into a ki bullet and annihilate the enemy.
<You…… How are you handling spiritual power? Weren’t you a living human?>
Belgious, who had been waiting leisurely, straightened his posture in alarm.
He had instinctively sensed danger from the massive mass of energy swirling above my hand.
<No matter what, that power is against the natural order for a living being like you! Instead of struggling and destroying yourself, I’ll personally end your breath!>
Kwaaaaa—!!
The impatient Belgious fired a slash filled with all his strength at me.
There was no way for me to dodge it while in the middle of activating the skill.
I didn’t need to dodge anyway.
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
Crunch—!!
With a beast-like roar, a blue sword aura blocked Belgious’s slash like an ice wall.
Wolfgang, who had stepped in at the perfect timing, shouted at me while his blood-soaked white hair fluttered.
“I’ll buy you time! Hurry and finish it while you can! Kuhuk……!”
As expected of the Tyrant of the North. Even in his aged body, he could block a Constellation’s attack.
Of course, the shock made him cough up blood and turned his complexion pale.
I couldn’t let his effort go to waste. The time he had just bought was more than enough.
“Begone, you minor god.”
<……!!>
The condensed spiritual power bullet left my hand.
The orb that swallowed sound as it crossed the silence struck Belgious’s single eye.
----------!!
An enormous explosion, as if the sun itself had split apart, erupted.
[You have defeated the Lowest-grade Constellation, ‘Belgious’.]
[You are the first human to hunt a Constellation!]
[<Authority of Growth> reacts to your unbelievable achievement!]
[Your Rank value rises dramatically!]
[Your Rank has evolved from 4 Stars to 5 Stars!]
[You have acquired the Legendary Achievement, ‘God Slayer’!]
Noisy messages rang out beside him, but Ruth ignored them and stared only at the point where the bullet had exploded.
Before long, the thick cloud of dust cleared.
As expected, there was not a single trace of Belgious left.
***
He had experienced all kinds of battles.
He had stood on battlefields countless times throughout his life—so many that he could no longer even count them.
Having gone through so many experiences, he had seen countless sights.
However.
“Good… heavens……”
This was a first.
The sight of a human defeating a god.
And it was a young boy at that.
Even though Wolfgang knew this wasn’t a dream, he still couldn’t believe his own eyes.
‘This…… cannot be explained simply as being strong. There is definitely something special about that boy.’
Something others did not possess.
Something others could never obtain no matter how much they struggled.
As Wolfgang suppressed his internal injuries with aura and gazed at Ruth with eyes full of reverence,
“Hoo……”
Ruth let out a long, exhausted sigh.
He too found it hard to believe the miraculous victory he had achieved.
‘It was only possible because Entur gave me all her spiritual power. No, looking back, that wasn’t the only reason……’
Wolfgang had stepped in midway and blocked Belgious’s slash.
If he hadn’t, it would have been Ruth, not Belgious, who was torn apart without leaving a corpse.
In reality, this fight could not be said to have been won by Ruth’s power alone.
Still, since Ruth had delivered the final blow, the system generously rewarded him.
‘Legendary Achievement, <God Slayer>…… I never thought I’d obtain this so soon.’
<God Slayer> was an achievement obtained when a player killed a Constellation.
As the conditions suggested, it was normally acquired quite late in the game.
And because it was a late-game achievement, its effects were extremely valuable.
Achievement Information
<God Slayer>
Grade: Legendary
Effect: The greater the gap with the enemy, the less fatigued you become and the stronger you grow.
The explanation was simple and clear, but its effectiveness truly lived up to the Legendary grade.
From now on, even if he faced absurd beings like Belgious, his survival probability would increase even if only slightly.
In a life-or-death situation, even a 1% chance was worth its weight in gold.
Standing before such a valuable reward, Ruth quietly tried to lift the corners of his mouth……
Splash—!!
……but he couldn’t.
One of the symptoms of the Highest-grade Decay—massive bleeding—was still afflicting his body.
When Ruth collapsed, coughing up blood from both his nose and mouth, Wolfgang hurriedly rushed over and supported him.
“Damn it, I can’t let my guard down until the very end! Come to your senses, warrior! You must not lose consciousness!”
“Please calm down, Lord. Aren’t you also heavily injured?”
“Compared to your current state, this isn’t even an injury!”
Wolfgang was dumbfounded, wondering who was worrying about whose injuries.
But Ruth had not spoken empty words.
He was genuinely, deeply concerned about Wolfgang’s health.
‘The sword forms…… he needs to be healthy to teach me.’
While Ruth was having extremely materialistic thoughts, Wolfgang grit his teeth and spoke with deep regret.
“Damn it……! I have no face left before you. It was my role to stop that black mage bitch’s ambition, yet in the end I ended up owing you my life.”
“It’s fine. Didn’t I also owe my life to you, Lord?”
“No! I must apologize. Because I failed to handle things properly, the trial itself was distorted. You would surely have achieved much better results……!”
If he had killed Mirati in time, <Trial of Entur> would not have gone awry midway.
As the person in charge and Lord, Wolfgang felt deep responsibility for this.
He was so ashamed and sorry that he could not even look Ruth in the eye properly.
—There is no need to show the boy so much guilt. My apostle.
“……Ancient Dragon?”
At that moment, Entur—who had lost her spiritual power and was exhausted—smiled faintly with great effort.
Wolfgang hurriedly bowed his head.
—This child has already completed the trial. Ruth only came to help you after he had finished everything he needed to do.
“……May I ask what result he achieved?”
—Hm? Did I not say it? He finished ‘everything’ he needed to do.
“……”
Upon hearing those words, Wolfgang lifted his bowed head and looked at Entur.
No—at Ruth.
—He has conquered even the place you could not reach.
The first on the continent.
The man who had seen the end of <Trial of Entur> stood there.
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