novelraw Chapter 76 : O-World (2)
Chapter 76 : O-World (2)
Chapter 76: O-World (2)
At the same time.
Lagertha, who had just arrived at the zoo, stopped dead in her tracks.
She could only stand there blankly, staring.
The sight before her eyes was simply too mysterious.
“The animals… have changed.”
Was this what it felt like to become spiritualized?
Various translucent divine and mythical beasts slowly gathered around Lagertha.
Woooong!
Between the transformed animals, the essence of souls shimmered.
Brilliantly colored orbs floated around as if waiting for their master.
This was…
Without a doubt,
the power of nature and primitivity itself.
As if possessed, Lagertha stepped into the safari zone.
“Grrr…”
Predators bared their teeth, wary of her presence.
“……”
A few herbivores sniffed the air and circled around her.
All of them looked entirely different from before.
The deer had translucent, bluish fur, and with every step it took, snowflakes fluttered in its wake.
From the tiger’s claws, black sparks flickered and crackled.
Countless other animals radiated their own unique powers.
Then, at that very moment—
[Special Quest for the class ‘Primitive Priest’ has been activated!]
A golden status window appeared before Lagertha’s eyes.
Unlike the common ‘Primitive Priest’ that many could choose, this one was different—‘Ancient Priest.’
A hidden class that could only be obtained by fulfilling special conditions had just been unlocked.
Thump!
Lagertha’s heart began to pound wildly.
She instinctively knew.
This was an opportunity that would never come again.
‘I don’t know how Brother Johan knew something like this and sent me here, but…’
Right now, uncovering the truth didn’t matter.
What mattered was not letting go of this fateful opportunity that had landed in her hands.
“Hello.”
Lagertha smiled softly as she walked among them.
Slowly, as carefully as she could.
She communicated with her eyes, her gestures, and her heart.
If there had been even the slightest hint of malice or deceit in her intent, all of them would have attacked her at once.
But Lagertha, who had lived amidst nature since birth, had long learned how to coexist with life itself.
Earning their trust…
came to her as naturally as breathing.
[Lagertha accepts the ‘Ancient Blessing.’]
[You have advanced to the Hidden Class ‘Ancient Priest.’]
A turquoise light spread out, dyeing the world in green.
＊＊＊
Kwaaaang!
Johan barely dodged the dark, incoming spear.
The spear grazed his shoulder and buried itself deep into the ground.
Tzzzt.
A tingling pain shot through his wrist bone.
The rib spears that Gluttony threw—each and every one of them was lethal.
“I intended to kill you in one strike… yet you dodged more than ten times. Impressive.”
Gluttony looked at Johan with something close to fascination.
And understandably so.
Until now, every human who had dared to approach this stronghold hadn’t lasted more than a few seconds before being shredded apart.
Even when dozens attacked together, the result had always been the same.
But this time—
It was different.
He alone was fulfilling the role of dozens—no, hundreds.
“Rather… I’m beginning to think that we should have brought him instead of you.”
“He’s a bit troublesome, but it’s only a matter of time. Besides, what use is a wolf that cannot be tamed, no matter how sharp its fangs are?”
“Your purpose… is to sate my hunger. Either bring me meat of deeper concentration… or become that meat yourselves.”
“P-Pardon? What do you mean by that…?”
Before Kain could finish his words, Gluttony seized one of the priests.
“Aaaargh!”
A massive maw erupted from his back, biting the priest’s upper body clean off.
Crunch!
The man’s legs twitched like those of a fish, and the sound of bones breaking drowned even his dying scream.
“The taste… is lacking. But if not by quality… then by quantity will suffice.”
Unless they offered strong humans as sacrifices, every priest in this place would soon be devoured.
Hunger that defied reason or logic.
It wasn’t just the Hunters who had to survive here.
“A-All right.”
“We’ll do as you wish, so please, calm yourself.”
Tap.
Papat.
The priests began to move in earnest.
[Sacred Relic ‘Book of the Lion’ has been activated!]
Upon the blood-drawn hexagram, a Reaper cloaked in black appeared.
Blue glowing eyes, and a skeleton white as snow.
Armed with a long scythe, its dreadful appearance alone was enough to chill one’s spine.
“N-No…”
“Please… please spare us!”
Dozens of people screamed and begged for their lives.
They were civilians, not Hunters.
To be precise, looters—those who had joined forces with Gluttony.
[The Reaper casts ‘Absorption of Living Souls.’]
“Gaaaah!”
“Ugh… Aaagh! Kill me! Just kill me!”
Their vitality drained from their bodies while still alive, their flesh withering into mummified husks.
The greater the pain, the denser the magical power absorbed.
Thus, the priests of the Requiem Cult showed no mercy in their slaughter.
They all knew—if not them, they themselves would become Gluttony’s next meal.
“Kill them all.”
“Kieeeeeee!!!”
Instead of an answer, an ear-splitting scream rang out.
The Reaper, having devoured the sacrifices to its fill, released an overflowing surge of magical power.
Pzzzt…!
Red sparks flickered from its pitch-black scythe.
—So, it’s that thing again.
Nike readjusted her sword and shield.
The Reaper of the Requiem Cult that had already slaughtered over fifty yokai.
Nike had already defeated it multiple times, yet it kept devouring new sacrifices and reviving again and again, making it an enormous nuisance.
The most troublesome part was its special ability—to inflict direct damage to spiritual bodies.
‘Far trickier than any physical or magical attack.’
If one was cut multiple times, their soul would be tainted and eventually fall to corruption.
Unless one brought squads of Priests or Clerics, allowing it to strike more than five times was absolutely forbidden.
Pshuk!
The Reaper’s figure vanished.
“Kiiiii…”
That chilling sound came from directly behind him.
Sslice!
The tip of Johan’s hair was sliced off.
A difference of barely a sheet of paper.
To use short-range teleportation and [Presence Concealment] at the same time—it seemed there were quite a few sacrifices of particularly wicked alignment among them.
It had become far stronger than before.
To make matters worse, Kain was commanding the Priests and the Hunters who had betrayed humanity, making the situation even more dire.
“The Saintess is trying to summon the Sacred Sword from the sewers. Contact Samuel and the Twinsword Guild immediately—make sure they stop her.”
He had already gathered intel on the Saintess.
One of their trump cards had been completely seen through.
It seemed Samuel had already formed an alliance with them.
Well, that made sense—their interests aligned to some degree.
However, there was no room left to send reinforcements.
The Priests and Paladins down in the sewers would just have to hold on somehow.
“I must… protect it.”
“Kikik! The bloodline of the Great King…”
“Devour. Devour. Devour.”
Yokai and spirits charged in like maniacs.
The chaotic melee, where countless beings tore at one another’s lives, was hell incarnate.
“…Tch!”
Johan leapt away swiftly.
Crackkk.
The ground beneath him crumbled apart—
Kwaa-kwang!
From where he’d just stood, shriveled arms burst forth from the earth.
‘At close range, those ragged skeleton hands wreak havoc… and from afar, I have to watch out for Gluttony’s ribs. Not a second to lose focus.’
There wasn’t even a heartbeat’s worth of time to let his guard down.
Kwaang!
Kwa-kwak-kwang!
Arms kept bursting out of the ground without pause.
Standing still was not an option.
He climbed the walls, leapt over structures, constantly changing direction.
Tap.
Landing atop a fountain, he spun hard—
……Above!
Kwaang!
A rib crashed down, shattering the entire fountain.
Broken fragments and a torrent of water shot high into the air.
That was the beginning of the bombardment.
Ribs flew in succession, one after another.
As if playing a shooting game, Gluttony had created ribs on dozens of arms.
Kwa-kwak-kwak-kwak-kwang!
The entire map of O-World was being redrawn.
For that monster, this wasn’t even a battle—it was a hunt.
It wasn’t about overpowering with brute force but savoring the thrill of the chase.
‘That’s the only thing that could be called hope.’
Hiding behind the carousel, Johan panted heavily.
[Hunger Level is rapidly increasing.]
His stomach felt like it was being torn apart.
Just as he bit into the bread the Saintess had given him and tried to wash it down with wine—
Crack-crack-crack!
The carousel horses’ necks were severed one after another.
“Kieeeee!!!”
Before the crimson cut surfaces could even cool, a Reaper cloaked in a black hood lunged at him.
Even a dog shouldn’t be disturbed during its meal.
He almost spat out the wine.
[Skill ‘Reaper’s Dance’ has been activated!]
The scythe sliced through the air in all directions.
The pumpkin carriage was cleaved in half, and the pony behind it lost its head.
“I really hate stalkers, you know.”
[Skill ‘Blood Fireball’ has been activated!]
Fwoooosh…! Pop-pop-pop!
Flames filled his vision.
And at nearly the same instant—
—Never awaken again, cursed servant.
Thoom!
Nike appeared above the Reaper, gathering her magical power.
A brilliant light condensed upon her shield.
From above—
to below—
Kwaaaang!
A series of sonic booms erupted, collapsing the area where the carousel stood.
“Kiee… eee…”
Its spine had been completely crushed; it would take a long time before its next resurrection.
At least one troublesome foe was taken care of for now.
“Reina!”
“I’m ready. But… there’s no way I can hit it like this!”
“Just keep it prepared for use at any time. The timing will come soon.”
Just a little longer to endure.
The problem was—
those few minutes felt like a thousand years.
Johan looked up at the sky.
Pzzzt.
An immense surge of magical power stormed through the air.
That was—
[Gluttony activates ‘Grand Feast of Gluttony’!]
Swoooosh…
Through the dark clouds, a spear made of flesh appeared.
Its blade bore human mouths and faces.
It was Gluttony’s signature skill, one that devoured everything within a 300-meter radius.
For him to bring that out now—
meant he was ready to end it.
“The sky! Stop that spear!”
Johan commanded the yokai and spirits.
It had to be stopped midair before it could touch the ground.
“We shall…”
“…obey your command!”
“Kihihihi!”
Hundreds of ghosts and yokai soared into the air.
“No chance. I’ll bring them all down.”
[Kain activates ‘Chains of Darkness’!]
[‘Cursed Arrows’ are being cast!]
[‘Ghoul’s Spinal Fluid’ is being fired!]
The priests of the Requiem Cult unleashed volleys of black-magic arrows and spells.
With no cover to hide behind, the casualties were immense.
It was already too late to erect a defensive barrier in the air.
In that case—
“Groooar!”
From among the yokai, one with the strongest defense emerged.
Its massive body reached nearly tens of meters in height.
The giant-class yokai, Gogugwi (Great-Mouthed Demon), opened its enormous jaws wide.
Please, let this work.
Piiing…
A ringing pierced his eardrums.
The sky split open.
The falling spear, spinning like a storm, was swallowed into the Great-Mouthed Demon’s gaping maw.
Crrrrk…
Its flesh was torn away completely—
Paaang!
The spear pierced straight through the Great-Mouthed Demon’s body.
The surrounding buildings were caught in the shockwave and shattered.
Roofs were blown off, outer walls collapsed like dominoes.
Paving stones were ripped from the ground and hurled into the air.
Buuuuung!
The spear began its second descent.
Though its power had been halved thanks to the Great-Mouthed Demon, the magic imbued in it was still far too great to withstand.
But just then—
Doom! Doom! Doom! Doom!
With the rumble of a wild war drum—
[‘Viking’ sets sail!]
A massive ship appeared through the clouds.
Finally, they had arrived.
＊＊＊
“Khahaha! Kept you waiting, didn’t we?”
On the deck—
Rodbrock appeared alongside countless warriors.
They were heroic spirits who had once fallen in battle and departed for Valhalla.
Now, at long last, these warriors who could once more breathe the air of the outside world roared with cries of freedom.
“Uwooooooh!”
“Battle! Everyone, raise your weapons!”
“Portside! Bring it to the portside!”
The ship anchored directly beneath the incoming spear.
Immediately, golden sparks spread violently across the deck.
[Blessing ‘Thunder Lord’s Lightning’ protects the target!]
A divine blessing granted only to those who serve Asgard.
Hundreds of bolts of lightning rained down.
Striking—
and striking again.
Kwa-kwak-kwak-kwak-kwang!
The Grand Feast of Gluttony was engulfed in flames, unable to pierce through the thunderstorm.
“Divine… intervention?”
Gluttony muttered as he watched lightning surge through the storm clouds.
The air trembled with a power far beyond the ordinary.
Even for Gluttony, it was impossible to ignore the might of Asgard’s main god—Thor.
But his surprise lasted only a moment.
“So it was… only once.”
Thor had not manifested in person.
They had merely borrowed a fragment of his power through those heroic spirits.
Nothing that could pose a true threat.
Yes—
that should have been the case.
But that assumption was shattered completely at the next moment.
“Once… is enough.”
Johan’s voice echoed from directly behind Gluttony.