novelraw Chapter 54.2: Until You're Sick of It (4)
Chapter 54.2: Until You're Sick of It (4)
Translator: Dreamscribe
Helhound and the heroes were filled with rage.
Tears streamed down their faces from the overwhelming fury, and their eyes were bloodshot.
They had no choice but to be angry.
That Lord of Erosion was mocking everything.
He was desecrating what was most precious.
[What is happening all of a sudden..., why are you doing this!]
(This woman looks truly delicious. I’ll rip her to shreds and devour her! Hehehe!)
The Lord of Erosion flinched at the heroes’ transformation.
Jinwoo had cast an illusion magic in sync with the monster’s movements. As the Lord of Erosion stepped back, it made it seem like he kicked Helby with his hind leg. Jinwoo did his best to craft an incredibly realistic scene.
It was a hero-exclusive illusion magic, invisible to the Lord of Erosion but shown directly to the souls of the heroes.
The scent of blood, the acrid smoke.
And the screams echoing from all directions.
Even the tainted scent of Helby, corrupted by Erosion.
It would be impossible to reproduce without being an Archmage. Jinwoo himself could not maintain it for long within the aura of Erosion. As the Holy Sword dropped in front of the Helby Lovers Group, that scenery was wiped away.
‘The despairing future has not yet come. Do not stop.’
Leon’s voice could be heard.
“U-uaaaa!”
“Kill him!”
The Helby Lovers Group poured out everything as if in a frenzy. The Lord of Erosion was bewildered by the sudden shift in mood. Naturally so.
He had no connection to these monsters. They had suddenly appeared in the Land of Erosion and were treating him like a sworn enemy. And now, it wasn’t just an enemy, they were charging him like he was their mortal nemesis.
They were even self-destructing, blowing up their own equipment.
The Helby Lovers Group could not overcome the Lord of Erosion.
Even Helhound was cut down and collapsed on the spot. Even as he turned to ashes, he glared at the Lord of Erosion as if he would kill him.
[Kraaa! Hahh!]
(Hahaha! Despair will soon find you!)
With those words, the Helby Lovers Group was annihilated.
The Lord of Erosion collapsed to the ground. As Erosion energy swelled up, his shattered armor was restored. It didn’t take long for him to return to full form.
‘Alright, next guests!’
Once Jinwoo confirmed the Lord of Erosion had recovered, he summoned the next party in line. Then he checked their information.
‘This time, it’s Lunatie.’
It was a party that had been active mostly in Lunatie. Though each member was different, on average, he showed them the illusion of the place they cherished most.
“Khk..., you bastard!”
“Gasp!”
In the burning Lunatie, the Lord of Erosion was shown trampling a wolf’s head. The next party was from Evanth, and the one after that was from Rox.
Jinwoo crafted each illusion based on the heroes’ affinity information and gift lists, putting care into each one. It should have been exhausting, but he didn’t feel that way at all. Watching the Lord of Erosion suffer was highly entertaining.
‘Oh, he’s starting to get pushed back a little.’
Could that have been the catalyst?
Each time a party was annihilated, the Lord of Erosion became battered and bruised.
[Ugh, ugh! H-How much longer...!]
The Lord of Erosion groaned in agony.
Because he was the main body containing the core, he was experiencing quite a significant amount of pain. Every time he used Erosion energy to repair his body, he convulsed as if he had stubbed his pinky toe on a corner.
Still, he hadn’t died yet, so his recovery was relatively quick. For a human, it was like endlessly spawning stray dogs coming to bite and tear at your flesh.
With no rest in between. And those dogs gradually became smarter, turning into leopards, then tigers. They were growing as they consumed the energy of Erosion.
Jinwoo pulled out a sandwich and a drink from the subspace.
He ate with great pleasure while watching the suffering Lord of Erosion.
He never got tired of that sight. That delightful time continued for a while. Enough time had passed for a single party to have experienced the subjugation multiple times.
‘This party is...’
Jinwoo summoned the next in line.
‘Oh.’
This party was powerful.
It was Haebyul, UruBear, and the Northern Grand Duke with her guild members. The Northern Grand Duke was level 34, and the other heroes were all level 32. It was the result of focusing on leveling rather than boss hunting.
‘Wow...’
Looking at the heroes filled Jinwoo with confidence.
[Kraah! Don’t come near me!]
(You vermin! Hehehe! Come at me!)
The Lord of Erosion provoked them!
Haebyul and the heroes charged in. Their synchronized movement caught the Lord of Erosion off guard as he swung his sword.
Crashhh!
A massive wave of sword energy burst forth, but no heroes were hit. It was a fully revealed pattern. The lack of development and inability to produce variations was the Erosion Core’s greatest weakness.
[Despair is rising.]
[4%]
“We’ll bring him down before the gauge fills!”
“Yes!”
“Understood!”
At the Northern Grand Duke’s command, Haebyul and the party members cast powerful skills. Magic imbued the Northern Grand Duke’s axe, and a snowstorm began. Haebyul’s spirit arrows became a tempest.
Crashhh!
From the heroes’ attacks, the Lord of Erosion was severely pushed back.
The chestplate fell off with a clatter, and black smoke surged up.
Jinwoo grinned. It looked like it was time to move to the next stage.
[Ugh, aah! Grk! How is this happening...?]
(Be engulfed by Erosion!)
[44% 87% 99%]
To the heroes’ eyes, it looked like the Lord of Erosion was flailing in a rage, unleashing energy. Black energy whirled around and swept through the surroundings. Of course, in reality, the Lord of Erosion was clutching his chest and retreating.
Haebyul and the Northern Grand Duke grit their teeth.
“The gauge...!”
“We can’t let it overflow.”
That’s when it happened.
A breeze blew, and the black current disappeared.
Haebyul’s eyes widened.
Leon was standing before them, appearing with the light. Leon showed up as though he had been waiting for this moment. His figure looked faint, as if he could vanish at any second.
Was it an illusion?
Was it just a manifestation of memory?
Leon looked toward the heroes, gave a gentle smile, then charged at the Lord of Erosion.
Light burst from Leon’s sword, illuminating the area.
He pierced through the torrent of despair energy emitted by the Lord of Erosion and rushed like a ray of light, swinging his sword.
Crack! Clang!
The sound of something breaking rang out.
[99%...]
The despair gauge floating above the Lord of Erosion split in half, then shattered like glass and fell to the ground.
Landing behind the Lord of Erosion, Leon looked back at the heroes and gave them a thumbs-up. Then he scattered into particles of light.
He still became the hope that surpassed despair.
“...Phase 1... we passed it without witnessing despair.”
“Let’s kill him just like this!”
Haebyul wiped her tears and loaded another arrow, and the Northern Grand Duke raised her axe and charged in.
Morale surged.
[Ugh, agh?! W-Wait! Kugh!]
(I will be resurrected again!)
That day, for the first time, the Lord of Erosion experienced death.
He met his death while releasing a tremendous surge of energy toward the heroes. However, it was only the very first death.
[10 minutes until resurrection]
Jinwoo kindly displayed an information window in front of the boss room to notify everyone.
The event period was extremely long, and no one was tired of it yet.
* * *
With news of the first clear, the atmosphere in Arsilan Worlds heated up. The boss patterns were being shared and continuously optimized.
Title: Guys, rather than...
Looking at the top-tier raid parties, it seems like a 30-minute clear is possible, but it's gonna be tough for us. So like, if it looks like we won’t be able to set a record, what if we just go all in with sacred techniques and strip him down?
Might as well farm something.
That armor and sword looked pretty good.
Wouldn’t the bones or whatever be usable as materials?
StoneHammer (TastyKimchiAlliance): Doesn’t sound like a bad idea?
MagicNightOwl (BlueMage): If you’re not going to make the record anyway, taking it slow and stripping him clean might be okay too.
Pinklight (LiberationFront): Should we give it a shot? There's gotta be a way.
SockThief (SockShop): If we strip him completely before killing... the Lord of Erosion’s bare flesh... oh my~
The punishment of flaying the bones and flesh of a criminal was known as a "slow death" torture.
It was at that moment the "slow death" raid party was born, one that gave up on speed records and targeted bones and flesh instead.
* * *
After being annihilated, the Helby Lovers Group returned to Evanth.
They rushed to the Platinum Coin Shop and ran inside. Helby was leisurely drinking coffee, and the ribbon still hung from her tail.
“Bwaaaaahhh!”
“Uwaaaaah!”
The Helby Lovers Group collapsed where they stood, burying their faces into the floor and wailing. Helby blinked at the sudden situation and slowly approached them.
"Wh, what difficult matter happened?"
At Helby’s words, they cried even harder.
They sobbed so sorrowfully that Helby became extremely flustered.
“Uh, um... hang in there.”
Pat, pat!
She crouched down, extended her hand, and gently patted their heads.
“Bwaaaaahhh!”
“Uwaaaaahhh!”
The Helby Lovers Group bawled, soaking the floor with tears and snot.
*****
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