novelraw Chapter 134 : Chapter 134
Chapter 134 : Chapter 134
Chapter 134 : Sleep…?
- Kyaaaaaaak!
- Save me, please save me!
- Mom! Dad!
- Uwaaaaaaang!
For a moment, I thought it was a magic that caused auditory hallucinations, but I soon realized that wasn't the case.
Unlike me, my companions' expressions didn't waver at all.
‘Then this is…?’
The Demon Devourer answered that question.
- Grrrr.
An image that came to mind with its growl.
The scene of the protective shield expanding using that red stone as raw material, causing a crack in the stone, and the thick resentment remaining inside flowing out, was replayed in my head.
In other words.
“Fucking hell! That's all from people's…!”
I intuitively knew that the mysterious red stone was, in fact, created from the condensed life force of countless people.
“Sir Muno!?”
“What the…?”
Just how many lives had been ground into it?
Dozens, hundreds? Or thousands?
No, maybe…
“In that one stone! The resentment of nearly ten thousand people is embedded!”
As I said that, I became certain.
A shuddering sense of disgust brought forth an instinctive rage.
“I'll tear these bastards to pieces!!!”
At those words, I felt the expressions of my companions beside me harden as well.
And.
“I'll break it, no matter what. So get ready! You know!?”
“Of course!”
“Yes!”
Woooooong.
Muno’s hand, which had seemed unable to penetrate the protective shield any further, began to pick up speed again.
It wasn't just a temporary phenomenon caused by anger.
‘The spirits… are gathering.’
The rage that had surged as soon as I realized the true nature of that red stone had colored my mana.
And the spirits, who had been fleeing or holding their breath to avoid the thick demonic energy that had been lingering around until now, began to respond strongly to that mana.
The feeling was very different from usual.
‘Is this…?’
I still couldn't see them with my eyes.
But there was a feeling.
If the spirits in their normal state, without demonic energy, were like children laughing cheerfully, the spirits gathering around me now felt as if they were empathizing with my anger and getting fired up.
Originally, only the cold spirits of metal could respond to my mana, so the feeling of metal endlessly boiling was unfamiliar.
At that moment, Rasmia's words came to mind.
- It's a common misconception, but spirits are not kind. They just treat those they can communicate with benevolently.
- Spirits lend their power to those they like, but they don't care what is done with that power. Even if a great massacre is committed.
They just cling to their contractor, always smiling like an innocent child. You understand what that means now, don't you?
- However, there is one case where spirits show negative emotions. Yes, that's right. When they face demonic energy.
- In most cases, spirits just scatter, expressing their displeasure to avoid the demonic energy, but when they feel that the order of this world is being excessively distorted, they get angry and gather instead.
- I don't know the standard for that. It seemed to be different each time.
What's certain is that there must be a Spirit Master to act as a medium for it.
- I heard that high-ranking Spirit Masters artificially control it to fight magicians….
‘The spirits' rage.’
That red stone seemed to have become the trigger.
And as if to prove that the feeling was not a delusion.
His black armor began to turn red-hot in an instant.
At the same time, a perplexed voice was heard.
“Sir Muno!”
The voice of Rauel, who was gathering mana by pulling out the artifact Headshot.
Glancing over, I could see that the mana gathered on the three small arrows loaded on her outstretched right arm was also glowing red.
The spirits of metal that had been gathering around me had overflowed and flowed into Rauel's weapon next to me.
“Don't panic! It's the spirits!”
Muno shouted as if to reassure her and glared at the protective shield in front of him again.
Chiiiiiiiik.
As if a heated branding iron were digging into a sinner's flesh, his arm and chains began to quickly melt the protective shield again.
It felt as if the spirits, who had only been fleeing from demonic energy, were pouring out their rage through his mana and body as a medium.
‘Good…’
I could feel the speed of penetration increasing as the black armor turned red-hot.
And.
From the center of the magic circle, I could see the black robe staring at this side again.
But he just bared his teeth slightly and smiled, not sending any more red stones.
Instead, he created another layer of a protective shield that enveloped his own body from within the shield.
That pitch-black protective shield completely erased the magician from Muno's sight.
‘Hah?’
From that moment on, the speed at which the corpses on the floor were melting away and disappearing began to pick up.
The speed at which Muno's hand penetrated the protective shield and the speed at which the corpses in the plaza disappeared seemed to race against each other, getting faster and faster.
The moment the corpses on the floor had all disappeared without a trace, leaving only their clothes and equipment.
Bzzzt.
The protective shield that had been blocking the entrance of the plaza completely collapsed.
And.
“Now!”
As if in response to Muno’s reflexive shout.
Flash.
The small arrows, which had been waiting in Rauel's hand, heavily condensed with red light, dashed through the air as if shortening space.
At a glance, the small arrows looked as if they were wreathed in red lightning.
The arrows, which originally displayed unbelievable destructive power for their size and were said to be able to pierce even steel plates, received a tremendous boost in penetration power and firing speed thanks to Rauel's 'The Piercer' trait.
And with the spirits' rage added to that.
Kwaaaaaang!
A miracle occurred as the black protective shield of a 6-Circle magician, which they should never have been able to pierce, was penetrated just like that.
“Ugh!?”
The moment a scream mixed with bewilderment erupted from within the protective shield.
A pure white gale struck from above it.
Shhhnnnngk.
The wind, no, the smoke that had become a giant blade, split the weakened protective shield.
And the sight of it splitting the black-robed magician, whose eyes were wide open inside, vertically in one go, entered the view of Muno, who was belatedly running towards the center.
‘Damn, it?’
Even the shape of the magician's contorted mouth right before he was split.
Victon's secret art, whatever it was called, that amazing strike had settled the situation in one go.
‘It’s… over!?’
Exhilaration and emptiness. The moment his steps slowed slightly amidst the complex emotions.
The red stones, which were still wreathed in black demonic energy, no, were gathering even more demonic energy, above the head of the fallen magician, caught his eye.
“It's not over yet!!”
Tudadada.
At that shout, Victon, who was staggering with a pale face in front of the fallen magician's corpse, raised his head and looked up.
Whoosh.
Kwakwakwakwakwa.
At the same time, the demonic energy that had erupted from the magician's split corpse like an explosion engulfed him.
‘Damn it!?’
The moment his face contorted automatically.
Through the gap in the surging demonic energy, a thin, white smoke was seen shooting out.
And soon, that smoke gathered to take the form of Victon, then tumbled to the ground nearby.
Only then did the arrows, once again tinged with blue light, begin to hit the wall of demonic energy.
The moment he felt that it was clearly not dealing any damage, Muno shouted.
“Rauel, get that guy and get out of here!”
And without waiting for Rauel's reply, he leaped up from his charging posture.
Thud.
His body, which had leaped up to the vicinity of the red stones in one breath, shot out chains.
Chwaaaak.
The demonic energy swirling around the red stones blocked the approach of the chains, but Muno paid it no mind and began to absorb the demonic energy, coiling around the stones.
However.
Woooooong.
“Keuh…”
The amount of that rampant demonic energy was lightly beyond what he could handle at the moment.
Even though he was absorbing it to his limit, it felt like scooping a single bucket of water from the sea.
[Puhahaha!]
Soon, the demonic energy that had gathered among the red stones took the form of a black face and laughed at him.
No, it wasn't a laugh; it was more like the laughter of a madman high on drugs.
But that sight provoked Muno's defiance.
‘If I can't absorb it…’
I'll scatter it.
Fortunately, he could see a way.
Whether it was because the energy was too great, or because its controller was dead.
The flow and pattern of that immense demonic energy were easy to read.
‘I'll twist that direction.’
Hup!
Woooooong.
Cruuunch.
The demonic energy that had exceeded the absorbable capacity within his body and had not been converted to mana flowed out from his entire body in a cacophony.
But soon, he could see the flow of demonic energy changing, little by little.
‘Just a little, just a little more!’
The more complexly intertwined the waterways, the more everything is bound to be ruined by twisting the flow even just a little.
Muno began to struggle to ruin the flow of that demonic energy.
Then, a reaction came immediately.
[You bastard!! Do not interfere!]
The black face that had only been laughing finally began to glare at him, who was stuck to the red stone, with empty eyes.
That sight rather made Muno smile.
It was as good as proof that he was doing it right.
Moreover, he instinctively felt that there was nothing the black face could do right now.
Woong.
The spirits also responded from within Muno's red-hot armor, lending their strength to twisting the flow.
Eventually.
Kwa-duk.
‘It worked!’
The moment he felt the flow twist with a sound only he could hear in his head.
[S-still.]
[Y-you can't stop me…]
[N-no.]
The black face that had been glaring at him began to contort, spitting out ominous words, and was swept away by the flow of demonic energy, evaporating on the spot along with the red stones.
“Damn it…!”
Thud.
As Muno, who had lost his grip on the physical form he had been coiling with his chains in an instant, fell to the ground.
Bzzzzzzzzzt.
Suddenly, a tearing sound began to ring out from the empty air along with black lightning.
Soon, the empty air contorted, caving in.
It felt as if something was being forcibly pulled from beyond an invisible space.
Thud.
Bzzzzzzzzzt.
Ruuuuuumble.
Krack.
Eventually, the empty air was torn apart as if ripped by something, and a black space revealed itself.
At the same time, nine pairs of huge, red eyes could be seen in that black space.
At that moment, he had the illusion that the surrounding air, no, the entire world was freezing.
‘Hup!?’
As I was blankly staring at those red eyes with a look of horror.
Ruuuuuumble.
Through the crack in the split space, the massive leg of a beast, reminiscent of a giant green rock pillar, shot out.
Ruuuuuumble.
The beast of unknown identity crawled out, stepping on the ground in succession.
- Grrrrrrr.
“Damn it…”
Only after the Demon Devourer in my head reacted to the eerie demonic energy was Muno barely able to move his frozen body.
“Keuh…”
Forcing his numb body up, he staggered further and further back.
Ruuuuuumble.
Rumble.
By the time he had backed up to the plaza entrance and barely raised his head.
A giant lizard monster with a total of six legs, nine heads, small wings, and a huge tail was revealing its body in this world.
Woooooong.
Ruuuuuuuumble.
A size that seemed to fill the vast plaza.
Nine heads that looked as fierce and imposing as those of a legendary dragon.
Demonic energy that covered all directions like a waterfall, even more intensely than its appearance.
A monster that exuded an overwhelming power that froze Muno just by existing.
‘Damn it…’
Just when he thought all his struggles until now had been meaningless.
[You bastards, because of you!!]
Among the nine heads, a head with a contorted human face, which was particularly noticeable, roared at him!
[You ruined everything! How dare you!!!]
A voice that echoed loudly in the plaza.
‘That magician from before…?’
A voice filled with a killing intent that seemed to want to tear him to pieces right now.
But unlike that momentum, the monster's body did not move at all.
“…!?”
Only then did Muno feel something a little strange.
Except for the human-shaped head that was screaming as if in a last-ditch effort, the other eight heads were just slowly closing their eyes with empty expressions.
The monster, which was emitting a tremendous amount of demonic energy, looked as if it were greatly exhausted.
Ruuuuuumble.
Soon, the eight heads began to lay their heads on the ground one by one, as if falling asleep.
Rumble.
Thump.
Accordingly, the demonic energy that had been pouring out like a waterfall began to subside quietly.
[I will definitely, definitely tear you to pieces!! Because of you!!!]
Even the human head that was screaming at the top of its lungs seemed to be gradually losing its strength.
That sight made the frozen Muno come to his senses.
‘Is it dying? No, that's not it.’
He tried to think as optimistically as possible, but he didn't think that was it.
And.
[It won't, it won't take long. I will definitely find you and…!]
Rrrrrrrrumble.
Even the human head that was letting out a roar finally closed its eyes and lay its body on the floor.
Muno's senses, which had been suppressed by the waterfall of tremendous demonic energy, finally began to function properly.
Then, the state of this unbearable monster was immediately read.
No, anyone would have been able to tell.
Drrrrrrr.
Just by hearing this snoring sound echoing from the heads with their eyes closed.
Sleep.
This obviously legendary monster had fallen asleep as soon as it came into the world.
“What is, this…?”
- Krrrrrrrrrrrrng.
Behind Muno's voice, which was filled with disbelief, the monster's loud snoring sound echoed and spread throughout the plaza.