novelraw Chapter 162 : Ambush (2)
Chapter 162 : Ambush (2)
Ambush (2)
The sky was rotting away.
The acid rain unleashed by the Sin of Envy Cult Leader melted the castle walls and scorched the earth.
"Sniff, grr..."
Gula, the Sin of Glutonny Cult Leader, picked out Noxcar's scent amid the bloody stench of the battlefield with astonishing precision.
As he wiped away the drool spilling from his mouth and smacked his lips, he looked every bit the fiendish eater.
"Looks delicious... There's a perfectly ripened treat... and it's right nearby."
Beyond that ravenous gaze was Scarlet.
She surveyed the battlefield with despair-filled eyes.
Endless flames and acid rain poured down from the sky, and the ground was surrounded.
Her companions were falling one by one, and their leader, Noxcar, had yet to fully recover.
There was no opening to escape.
"The Greed cult was beaten by such weaklings? Unbelievable."
A giant shadow suddenly drew close.
Brakium, the Sin of Wrath Cult Leader, approached Scarlet with intimidating force.
"Let me take care of one girl first."
Brakium raised his rocklike fist.
He was about to bring it down on Scarlet's head when—
― Swaaaaaaash!
A chilling sound of air being ripped apart echoed across the sky.
"...?"
Brakium instinctively looked up.
In the red night sky, drenched by acid rain and flames, a pitch-black hole of a different dimension yawned wide open.
And from within it—
― Kwooooooooom!
A mountain-sized shadow plummeted down.
"Wh-what the...!"
― KABOOOOOOM!!!
A massive object fell.
The impact struck Eldergrove Forest as if a meteorite had crashed into it.
"Kraaagh!?"
"Uaaaaaah!"
The vanguard of the demonic human legion was swept away by the shockwave before they could even scream.
The earth heaved, and the demonic beasts brought by the demonic humans were ground to dust.
Amid the billowing dust, a giant boasting overwhelming stature slowly rose.
The Ancient Luminari Golem.
A weapon from the glorious golden age of a forgotten arcane civilization had descended upon the battlefield.
― Sssssss...!
The golem's breastplate opened, releasing a stream of blue smoke.
On the giant's shoulder,
A man in a black robe stood overlooking the battlefield.
"... Ah!"
Scarlet recognized at once that the man was Ian.
Relief weakened her legs.
"..."
Ian frowned as he looked down.
As expected, the battle was not going well.
He turned his head and spoke to Nayuta in the cockpit.
"Nayuta. Please take care of that big demonic human."
What Ian pointed to was Brakium, the Sin of Wrath Cult Leader.
[Yes, leave it to me! Honored envoy!]
After hearing Nayuta's spirited response, Ian wasted no time and leaped from the golem's shoulder.
His gaze was locked far across the battlefield, onto Zeros, the Sin of Envy Cult Leader, thrashing his staff irritably.
"What is this?! What's with this ridiculously huge hunk of junk?!"
Brakium, brushing off dust as he got up, glared at the golem.
There were bloodshot veins in his eyes.
Having lost his prey, rage boiled within him.
"I'll smash you to pieces!"
― KWAANG!
Brakium stomped the ground like a cannonball.
The red demonic energy of Wrath surrounding his body swelled explosively.
The authority of evil that grew exponentially stronger the more wrathful he became—
The destructive power, able to crumple adamantium like paper, burst towards the golem's chest.
But Nayuta didn't flinch in the slightest.
[For the Moon of Silvani! For the Herald!]
― WHUUUUUUM!
The life jewel embedded in Nayuta's forehead shone brilliantly.
The authority of the High Luminari and the magic power circuits of the ancient golem resonated perfectly.
The golem's massive arm shot out with lightning speed.
― KWAANG!!
"Gah!?"
Brakium's fist collided with the golem's.
The shockwave blasted in all directions, but the golem didn't budge, as if it had roots planted in the earth.
At the same time—
[Kneel!]
Gravity magic shot out from the golem's fist.
― BZZZZZZZT!
"W-what...!"
― KWAANG!!
Brakium's body was slammed straight down.
It felt as if a whole mountain had dropped on top of him.
"G-ghhh! This scrap metal...!"
[Calling the legacy of my ancestors scrap metal? Such barbarism!]
― KWUOOONG!!
When Nayuta increased power output, Brakium was forced deeper into the ground.
"KRAAAAGH!!"
Up in the sky, another battle was raging.
"Tsk... you ruined my meal... I won't forgive you..."
Gula, Sin of Glutonny Cult Leader, was floating on his obese body.
As he gaped his mouth wide, a black, cloud-like substance billowed out.
― BZZZZZZZT!!
The sickening drone of insect wings.
Tens of thousands of flesh-eating demonic insects swarmed out with a hideous beating of wings.
"Devour everything... Leave not even a piece of bone."
The black swarm of insects surged toward the fortress.
As the blood kin recoiled in horror at the overwhelming numbers, Scarlet stepped forward.
"Everyone, pull yourselves together!"
Her shout snapped the blood kin back to their senses.
"Are you just going to let those disgusting bugs eat you?! After all we did to gather here—are you that willing to give up? If we fall, our families behind us die too!"
At her words, a change came over the vampires' faces.
Fear turned into a deadly resolve.
"Y-yeah! Don't make us laugh! Who's eating who? We're the predators!"
"We'll rip you all to shreds!"
Scarlet, Judy, and the blood kin unleashed their bloodthirsty bestial instincts.
― KIRRRRRRR!
Red bloodlust burst forth from their backs and transformed into thousands of sharp-fanged crimson bats.
― FWAP FWAP FWAP!
The crimson bats collided head-on with the black insect swarm.
The sky tangled in red and black.
They bit, tore, burst, and shredded each other.
"An opening."
― KURRRRRRR!!
All the while, Marcus, the old vampire biding his time, twisted his body.
He ballooned up in an instant, morphing into a giant bat the size of a house.
― WHOOSH!
With a single beat of his wings, he broke through the insect horde and charged straight for Gula's true form.
― KRAK!
Marcus's sharp claws ripped across Gula's bloated cheek.
"Keeeaagh!!"
Gula screamed, clutching his cheek.
Marcus landed after a spin in midair, looking down distastefully at Gula's blood on his hand.
"This one reeks just as badly as it looks..."
"Y-You... you damn mosquito!"
Gula grimaced and slung acid magic, but the experienced Marcus had already closed in and escaped to his blind spot.
Amid the chaos of the battlefield.
Ian was marching towards one person and one person alone.
Zeros, Sin of Envy Cult Leader.
"Y-you!"
Zeros's eyes had rolled back in fury.
But his gaze wasn't on Ian, but on the ancient golem pinning Brakium to the ground further behind.
"That's mine! It was mine! H-how dare you?! How dare you shamelessly parade around with what you stole from me!?"
Zeros ignited his demonic energy.
"Give it back! I'll kill you and take it back if I must!"
― CHA-CHA-CHAK!
Dozens of artifacts materialized in the air around Zeros.
Staffs, orbs, books, long spears...
Evil products, crafted into artifacts by transforming talented heroes and holy relics with the authority of Envy.
"Turn to dust!"
― BOOM! CRASH! KABOOM!
Fire, lightning, sharp ice, bizarre curses—
A bombardment of different elemental magics rained down on Ian.
Ian responded-nimbly.
― SCHING!
What he held in his hand was the Arkazenon, the Emperor of Thousand Swords.
"Petty toys, all of them."
Ian lightly swung Arkazenon.
Dozens of legendary swords unfolded in a fan shape from the subspace behind him.
"Y-you wretch! Don't get cocky!"
The two men's armaments clashed in midair.
― FLASH! FWAP! KRAAAK!
If Zeros shot fireballs, Ian would send a blade imbued with frost to cancel it out.
When lightning struck, he'd counter with a sword possessing the trait of earth.
Curses—he simply took them with his own body, thanks to Demon-Infused Constitution.
― BOOM! BAM! KA-BOOM!
Everyone of Zeros's attacks was effortlessly intercepted.
"N-no way! My perfect collection!"
Zeros was aghast.
Each artifact he'd crafted with the authority of Envy was a national treasure, yet Ian hurled weapons just as strong—no, superior ones, as if tossing chopsticks from a utensil holder.
"W-What are you?! Where did you get all those?!"
Of course, Ian didn't bother to explain.
Instead, he kicked off the ground and reached Zeros's nose in an instant.
His eyes glinted coldly.
― SHRK!
Zeros's shield was sliced as smoothly as cheese.
"GAAAAAH!!"
Zeros thrashed, blood streaming from a deep gash in his chest.
The tide of battle seemed to be turning completely.
But the Cult Leaders still held secret cards.
Cornered, they began to unleash their hidden powers.
"KRAGGGHHHH!!!!"
Brakium, crawling back up from the deep earth.
His body heated bright red, transforming into a giant demonic human beast.
It was a berserk rampage of wrath.
[Urgh! The output...!]
Nayuta was flustered.
Berserk Brakium's strength now exceeded even the golem's maximum output.
The giant golem slowly began to get pushed back.
"K-Heheheheh! Good thing I brought emergency rations...!"
Gula bared his true nature next.
As he opened his mouth grotesquely wide, a force like a black hole manifested inside, sucking in everything nearby.
"Aahh! Cult Leader, sir!?"
"P-please have mercy! Aaaaagh!!"
The bishop-level officers nearby screamed as they were sucked into Gula's mouth.
― CRUNCH! SNAP!
With hideous chewing sounds, Gula's girth instantly expanded after devouring his own kin.
Now his mass matched that of the golem.
"PTOOIEEEE!!"
Gula spat acid saliva like a cascading waterfall, knocking down swathes of the blood kin's bat swarm.
"Grgh...!"
"Give it all to me! Everything!"
Zeros, too, pushed his authority of Envy to its limit.
His surrounding space distorted, forcibly draining mana from the vicinity.
Even the magic power sustaining Ian's swords wavered, making them falter.
Just as the tide was about to shift again—
― CLICK. CLICK...
From the deep shadows of the fortress, the sound of footsteps echoed.
A heel striking the stone floor was distinct even amid the thunder of the battlefield.
Everyone's gaze reflexively turned there.
"You have made a real mess of my courtyard..."
A languid yet terrifyingly cold voice.
Noxcar Ravierre was walking out.
Her complexion was as pale as a corpse, her body looked frail, but the aura she exuded was greater than anyone else's on this battlefield.
Her blood-red gaze swept over the three Cult Leaders.
"The price for touching my children... is steep."
― SNAP!
She flicked her fingers lightly.
At that moment,
All the blood scattered over the battlefield responded.
Blood shed by demonic humans, by blood kin, even by the Cult Leaders—
― KUGUGUGUGUGUGU!!
Blood surged from the puddles, blooming into giant thorny vines and roses.
"W-What is this! My body...!"
Brakium panicked.
The blood flowing inside his body ran wild, hindering his movements.
"Aaagh! My stomach...! My stomach hurts!"
Gula clutched his belly and screamed as well.
"Now, Nayuta!"
Ian shouted.
Noxcar's intervention had created a decisive opening.
Ian and Nayuta seized the opportunity.
[Yes! Maximum output!]
― SHOOOOO!
The golem's breastplate opened wide, and a thick beam shot out, engulfing Brakium.
"K-Kaaagh!!"
All Brakium could do in the overwhelming radiance was thrash like an insect.
"Go! Now's the time! Charge!"
Scarlet and the blood kin rushed at Gula as one.
"N-Nooo! Get away!"
Their fierce bloodlust flayed Gula's flesh and turned his whole body inside out.
Now, only Zeros remained.
But Zeros too was bound fast by Noxcar's blood restraint and could not move properly.
They had a shot at a decisive blow.
Ian sheathed Arkazenon and opened subspace once more.
― WHUUUUM!
What appeared in his hand was a jet-black greatsword.
It was Vladiark.
"Let's finish this."
Ian channeled aura into Vladiark.
"Sword Spirit Release. Vladiark."