novelraw Chapter 438
Chapter 438
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 438
“Bullshit!”
What kind of bullshit is this?
Who gave you the right to steal the memories of someone else’s Hall?
Do you even know the hardships, the pain, the despair that I poured into every single one of those Halls?
Those aren’t things light enough to be tossed out as some kind of meal.
This crossed the line—hard.
Still, I couldn’t afford to just stand here fuming.
If my attention wandered elsewhere, Isna would never miss that opportunity.
Kaaaanng!!!
I blocked the sword that swung like a flash of light, but perhaps because my mind had been elsewhere just moments ago, a sharp, tingling pain surged through my grip.
Looking now, a mysterious aura was swirling around her.
A power I had never seen before.
A thought suddenly occurred to me.
The powers that had corrupted her—and the ones she was currently relying on as her main force—were all abilities that I, in the closed world, had obtained.
Meanwhile, the only abilities I had were Thanatos and the pure white power of immaculate purity.
Just where the hell did that bastard obtain power like this?
Kaaang!!!
In the span of a fleeting moment, dozens of sword strikes were exchanged.
Having lost her reason, Isna’s attacks were completely different from before.
A killing blade imbued with the will to absolutely destroy the enemy.
That was the sword she wielded now.
Meanwhile, even when I saw openings in her defense, it was difficult for me to attack recklessly.
If she ended up dying, that would be a problem in its own way.
Fortunately, I wasn’t alone here.
Diririing!!
With a sharp sound, the melody of a line shook Isna’s authority for an instant—and Luna’s fist shot forward like a flash of lightning, mercilessly slamming into Isna’s abdomen.
Unable to even counterattack, Isna was blasted away like a bullet and crashed into the wall.
“Leon. Not focusing?”
“Sorry. Buy me a little time.”
I can’t just let this slide.
“Librarian.”
Jjjik… jjjik…
The Librarian didn’t give a proper reply, perhaps because it was processing an overwhelming flood of information.
Hadn’t it said earlier that one of the Halls I had pioneered had been devoured by the Martial God’s Hall within me?
This kind of situation had never happened before, so it was only natural that I was furious.
‘Librarian!!’
When I shouted again, louder this time, the continuous noise abruptly stopped.
[Confirmed.]
‘What the hell happened? Why is the Martial God’s Hall or whatever the hell it is eating someone else’s Hall?’
[This is a phenomenon that cannot currently be confirmed. The cause, process, and outcome are under investigation.]
From the beginning, the Librarian existed as an element created for the sake of the current me.
I knew it wasn’t omniscient, so pressing it further wouldn’t accomplish anything.
[The name of the Hall that has been consumed is… the Hall of Spiritual Arts. Confirmed. Would you like to request restoration?]
‘You’re asking the obvious.’
I didn’t know what the Martial God’s Hall was, but the price it took had crossed the line.
The Librarian fell silent for a moment at my request.
Then it responded.
[Access denied. It has been confirmed that all memories and karma within the Hall have already been extinguished.]
What?
Damn it.
Then that damned Martial God’s Hall—
[There is currently no authority to interfere with the Martial God’s Hall. It is extremely alien in nature. A detailed investigation is underway. Please wait.]
Regardless of what it said, I had been feeling something stirring inside my deep consciousness for a while now.
As if… an egg were slowly moving.
KWAANG!!!
The sound of Isna and Luna colliding once more snapped me out of my thoughts, and I took a short breath.
For now, I’ll leave the investigation to the Librarian.
And subdue Isna.
Isna’s martial strength was far greater than I had expected.
Had she become stronger?
The thought crossed my mind, but I soon realized that she had never once revealed her true power until now.
And besides, what had currently taken hold of her was none other than the Outer God, Yog.
That bastard’s power was gradually seeping into Isna.
If left alone, she would be completely consumed.
Before that happened, I needed to isolate Yog and Isna from each other.
“Baril. Dagon.”
I placed a hand on the ground and called the names of the two undead briefly.
Then I tightened my grip on my sword and stepped forward forcefully.
Teeeeong!!!!
The moment my foot touched the ground, my body accelerated instantly like the counterstrike of the Nameless Sword.
I then approached Isna, who had just blocked Luna’s attack head-on and was about to launch a counterattack.
The moment she spun her orichalcum sword into a defensive stance, my sword slammed hard against hers.
Jjeeeeoong!!
A massive shockwave like a sonic boom erupted, and her body was pushed backward with a long scrape.
But despite the heavy blow, she immediately recovered her stance and attempted a counterattack.
Flame-infused sword aura burst from the blade she swung.
But the aura never reached me.
A massive being that emerged from the shadows blocked the flames with its body.
The wraith, Dagon.
An Outer God that once ruled the Sky Island of R’lyeh.
A subordinate of Yog.
And now… my undead.
Hmm… should I poke at her a little?
“Hey. Your subordinate is pretty damn awesome.”
At my taunt, her momentum grew even more savage.
From this, I obtained several pieces of information.
The one fighting me right now was clearly the Outer God Yog.
But unlike the humans who had previously been consumed and transformed by Outer Gods, this case wasn’t a disposable puppet.
The ones who had been consumed by Outer Gods until now moved as if brainwashed.
But with Isna, it felt like Yog had taken residence inside her body itself and was controlling her.
On the other hand, the fact that bloody tears were streaming from Isna’s eyes as Yog’s aura grew more violent meant that Isna’s will had not completely disappeared.
Perhaps because of the provocation, the bastard failed to respond to the attack from behind—Shadow Dragon Baril.
A breath imbued with immense power struck her directly.
As she staggered while blocking the attack, Baril—apparently displeased with the sight—stopped its breath attack and used its massive forepaw to slam down on Isna.
Jjeeeeoong!!!
But that was the result of Baril underestimating Isna too much.
Isna’s small hand shot upward like a flash, grabbed Baril’s claw, and hurled it straight toward Dagon—sending the two undead wraiths flying away.
Both Baril and Dagon were fairly high-tier undead, so scenes this one-sided were rare.
But Isna didn’t stop there.
She stamped the ground heavily and drew her sword through the air.
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Jjeeeeoong!!!
The lattice-shaped barrier that had gathered around Baril shattered instantly, and Baril’s body was sliced cleanly in half.
Dagon, who had been behind it, was somewhat better off—but he wasn’t completely unharmed.
A massive wound appeared across his body, and black necromantic mana poured out endlessly.
As a wraith he wouldn’t die, but he would need time to recover.
Without hesitation, I returned both undead wraiths into the shadows for restoration.
Then, facing the enormous sword aura flying toward me once again, I gripped the Demon Sword with both hands and opened my eyes wide.
[Nameless Sword]
[Revolution]
Like a celestial body revolving around a massive star, a gigantic aura formed a tail, distorting space as it rotated around me.
The attacks canceled each other out.
She really is impressive.
My specs aren’t something to be ashamed of anywhere, but for her to neutralize that… that’s quite an astonishing result.
Her talent was impressive enough to make me feel jealous.
However, Isna was not completely unaffected by the world I was forcibly imposing.
She exposed a large opening.
And Lispa and Luna did not miss it.
Like a tag-team maneuver, my sword slipped past Luna and pierced Isna’s shoulder blade.
She might have been able to endure one-on-one thanks to the Outer God’s power.
But once Luna and Lispa’s combined assault came into play, Isna’s current strength simply couldn’t handle it.
Puhwak!!!
One of Isna’s arms flew through the air, spraying blood.
“Sorry, but I’ll reattach the arm later.”
Dozens of lightning spears slammed down around her staggering body, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
“Leon. If this continues, Isna’s body will be damaged beyond recovery.”
“I’m thinking about that too. But I can’t see a way.”
How do we deal with someone who has been consumed?
The whispers of an Outer God can be resisted longer the stronger the target’s will is.
But would that still work for Isna, who had already lost the struggle and been consumed?
As if mocking my dilemma, the corner of Isna’s mouth curled upward.
And then—
From the severed cross-section of her arm, tentacles covered in grotesque eyeballs began to burst forth at incredible speed.
As if replacing her arm.
Phase two?
From the earlier attack, I could feel Yog’s presence inside Isna grow drastically stronger.
“Scatter.”
Holding the Demon Sword in one hand, I drew the Spirit Sword, Falling Blossom, with the other.
After murmuring the command, I plunged the sword into the ground.
Kwadududududeuk!!!
The floor shattered, and an enormous number of tree roots burst forth.
In an instant, they wrapped around the massive lump of flesh—several meters long—that had sprouted from Isna’s arm and bound it tightly.
I could see it being corrupted rapidly, but it should be fine if it’s just a temporary seal.
“Le… on.”
At that moment, Isna’s mouth opened, and an incredibly strained voice flowed out.
“Kill… me.”
Lispa’s face twisted violently at the desperate resentment and sorrow embedded in the voice begging for death.
Having her body stolen by the one she hated most, rampaging in destruction while her body transformed into a monster—the sensation must have been unbearable agony for Isna.
Then it happened.
The eyeballs on the flesh that had sprouted from her arm all turned toward us at once.
And then—
The surrounding space began to twist.
A red mist burst forth, and the existing laws of physics were forcibly distorted.
Terrifying pressure differences changing dozens of times per second.
Gravity shifting at will.
Because a Grandmaster possessed the power to impose their own world upon reality, it was possible to endure it—but this was influence far beyond the line.
Jjeojeok… jjeok!!
Soon after, space cracked and twisted in multiple places, and through the gaps, grotesque things began to emerge.
Luna and Lispa immediately tore their gazes away from Isna and began intercepting the monsters trying to crawl out from there.
I didn’t know exactly what those things were, but Yog was spewing out monsters from beyond the twisted space it had created.
One thing was certain.
They absolutely could not be allowed to reach this land.
The eyeballs sprouting from her arm seemed to smile with their eyes, as if mocking us.
The Outer God Yog.
Right now, that bastard was playing with us.
Like a human watching an ant struggle desperately.
To it, our existence must seem infinitely insignificant.
It pissed me off—but that was the nature of that thing.
A being that devours dimensions.
A monster that stands against the chief gods.
Yog’s presence was terrifyingly intense.
Could Isna resist such a being?
There was no need to think deeply about it.
It wasn’t about vaguely choosing whether to believe in her or not.
Even now, she hadn’t disappeared.
She was still resisting Yog.
It would be foolish not to believe in someone who had already proven that much.
Then the only course of action I could take right now came down to one thing.
Create a means for Isna to drive that bastard out once again.
After that, I could prevent it from ever interfering with her body again.
And just as I was struggling to find an answer—
Text from the Librarian appeared.
[The core of the Transcendent Body is resonating completely. Please make use of it.]
Ah.
That thing?
Shall I… try it once?
I tossed the Demon Sword in my hand into the air.
The sword floated on its own and, as if it possessed a will, blocked Isna’s attack.
Then I dove in like executing a takedown and slammed straight into her, wrapping my arms around her waist.
“Keugh!”
A painful cry rang out.
“Leon… it hurts.”
“Leon… I hate it… please don’t kill me…”
Isna’s voice filled with pain came from her mouth.
But it wasn’t Isna speaking.
Yog was playing tricks to shake me.
After making contact with her, I opened a subspace with one hand and pulled out a staff.
The one the Librarian had mentioned.
The Memory Transfer Device.
The Void Enchanter.
Or the Staff of Kuralion.
The ability of this object was to transmit knowledge or memories directly to a target.
The memory I would show her was the conversation between the me of the closed world and the current me.
As the Staff of Kuralion began to vibrate, Yog must have judged that it absolutely could not allow that thing to activate, because it tried to stop it somehow.
But I wedged the staff between Isna and myself and embraced her, blocking Yog’s physical fragments from interfering with it.
“Isna. Don’t go crazy. Hold on.”
At the same time—
Isna began twisting her body violently and screaming.
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!”
From the middle of the scream onward, it turned into a grotesque noise that shook the surrounding air.
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