Chapter 58
The battle inside the altar divided into three major fronts.
Closest to the Old One’s true body, the two Apostles stood facing each other.
Neither had fully begun fighting yet.
The innocent residents dragged down to the altar occupied the middle area.
Many had already fallen under the fragrance’s influence.
They staggered toward Bulsum.
Gunfire and attack magic exploded everywhere.
Yet the bewitched residents did not even flinch.
Their mad advance was easily the strangest sight on the battlefield.
At the very rear, expedition members followed their commanders’ signal.
They injured their own bodies to resist Bulsum’s temptation.
“Ghk!”
“A-Aaagh!”
“The stronger the pain, the safer you are! Don’t hold back your screams!”
Groans filled the area.
Residents enchanted by the scent no longer screamed.
The slaves did not need to.
Only the expedition members still screamed in resistance.
Ugthun could clearly see them even from a distance.
He chuckled.
“So you plan to reject His touch through pain.”
He looked amused.
“Not a bad strategy.”
Even with Yohan Blake standing directly before him, Ugthun calmly observed the battlefield.
That composure was worthy of an Apostle.
“But how long will that work?”
He smiled.
“All sensations eventually become familiar. Your body adapts.”
Ugthun pointed toward the expedition members.
“As long as you remain trapped here, your comrades will need stronger and stronger pain to resist Him. Cuts and stabs won’t be enough forever.”
His smile widened.
“Eventually, severing an arm or leg will feel trivial.”
Yohan said nothing.
“And the most hopeless part?”
Ugthun laughed.
“Even if you struggle like that, your chances only get worse. Our numbers will keep increasing while your comrades become weaker and weaker.”
He spread his arms.
“What an incredibly foolish decision!”
Ugthun pointed directly at Yohan.
“Even now, surrender and join us, outsiders!”
His voice thundered through the cavern.
“Become eternal beings who neither age nor die! Spread His name and authority all the way to the end of the Dungeon!”
His grin widened.
“We’re allowing outsiders like you to participate in such a glorious mission. Shouldn’t you be grateful?! Hahahahaha!”
The offer was effectively mockery.
Yohan did not bother responding.
He prepared to attack.
Ugthun noticed Yohan’s shadow expanding.
He snorted.
“Planning some pathetic trick? Useless.”
Ugthun raised his chin.
“Go ahead. Struggle as much as you want. You’ll only realize that surrender is the only thing you can do!”
“...If you insist.”
Yohan smiled.
“Then I won’t hold back.”
RUMBLE...!
A heavy vibration shook the entire underground cavern.
Yohan’s shadow moved with it.
RUMBLE!
The thick ground split open.
Before long, Her incarnation appeared again.
The expedition members immediately became overwhelmed by terror.
Just as they had in the Dark Swamp.
Slime sprayed in every direction as the horrifying incarnation displayed its presence.
It struck aside every resident approaching Bulsum.
Then it raised its enormous body.
Its mouth opened.
It charged directly into Bulsum.
BOOOOOOM!
“Ghk!”
“Whoa?!”
“Don’t leave the barrier! Hold on!”
The collision between the two divine manifestations created enormous shock waves.
The ground shook.
Slave soldiers and expedition members alike were thrown around.
The commanders grabbed anyone in danger of leaving formation and hurled them back.
Only two people remained standing completely unaffected.
The two Apostles.
Ugthun looked toward the monstrous incarnation trying to swallow Bulsum whole.
His expression hardened.
“...Impressive.”
Then he smiled.
“But nowhere near enough.”
He was right.
Crack...
Even the goddess’s massive body...
Her hundreds of teeth...
Her countless tentacles...
Even the acidic liquid capable of melting nearly anything...
None could completely penetrate the enormous layers of Aura covering Bulsum.
[HEHEHEHEHE! IF YOU’RE GOING TO RESIST, THEN I’LL JUST TRY SOMETHING ELSE!]
Tentacles twisted together inside her mouth.
They formed one enormous drill-like spear.
The incarnation whipped its body.
The spear shot forward.
CRAAAAACK!
It pierced layer after layer of Aura.
Dozens of meters.
Until it stopped just one meter before Bulsum’s true body.
Red tulip-like petals scattered.
A blade flashed.
The entire bundle of tentacles was severed in one strike.
SHING!
The sword released the same fragrance as Bulsum.
■■■■■■■!!
The incarnation let out an ear-splitting shriek.
Half of the mass acting as its tongue had been severed.
Unknown slime dripped everywhere.
Then the incarnation sank back into Yohan’s massive shadow.
The goddess appeared with a shortened tongue.
She was furious.
[Wha ish dat guy?! Sho annoying! Kill him quick, Yohan!]
Yohan lightly patted her head.
Impossible.
He shook his head.
If he were just a slave, sure. But that bastard is an Apostle granted immortality by a Great Old One. Killing him is impossible.
[...Den what?]
We put him to sleep.
Yohan’s eyes narrowed.
That’s Bulsum’s greatest weakness.
He briefly looked behind him.
Even inside the Dungeon, an Apostle could not maintain an Old One’s incarnation indefinitely.
There were many reasons.
Ran-Tegoth and Bulsum were unusual because their true bodies existed inside the Dungeon.
They could use power with fewer restrictions.
But that was only because their main bodies could not freely participate in battle.
If a Great Old One could unleash its entire strength without limitation, not even Yohan would stand a chance.
That was what a Great Old One truly was.
Legendary heroes.
Mythical beings.
Great survivors.
As long as the opponent was a sentient mortal, none could truly defeat one.
Borrowing the power of a being like that naturally came with countless restrictions.
That was why Yohan had recalled the incarnation earlier than planned.
It was not good.
...The question is how deeply fear has already taken root in them.
Yohan had used pain first.
Then fear.
Both methods were intended to stop the expedition members from becoming intoxicated by Bulsum’s fragrance.
Now that the incarnation had disappeared, the terror dominating their minds would slowly fade.
After that, only pain could keep them sane.
How long would they have before reaching that point?
That was the key to this battle.
“Well... I suppose we’ll only know after fighting.”
Yohan casually drew his sword.
Whoosh!
CLANG!
He appeared directly before Ugthun.
Yohan pushed his face close to the Apostle’s thin features.
He smiled with obvious battle lust.
Clang! Clang!
Every clash of swords produced sharp metallic sounds.
Since Yohan could no longer temporarily rely on the goddess’s authority, his main weapons became Blood Magic and swordsmanship.
Neither Apostle was a true master swordsman.
But Yohan’s sword skill was at least twice as refined as Ugthun’s.
Their advanced weapons were also ineffective against him.
Overall, Yohan possessed far greater combat power.
Even so, he never relaxed.
He needed to suppress Ugthun first before forcing Bulsum into hibernation.
And for the plan to work, Ugthun needed to become unable to move for at least five minutes.
If Yohan could achieve that alone, good.
If not, he would need the expedition members.
The problem was that the number of slave soldiers would continue increasing as time passed.
They needed to find a way to neutralize Ugthun immediately.
Whoosh!
Yohan’s sword cut through empty air.
Ugthun had vanished.
The Apostle reappeared three meters to the left.
He shrugged.
“Wrong place, outsider Apostle.”
Yohan looked toward Bulsum instead of him.
Then he deliberately broke every finger on his right hand.
He fired the bone fragments like bullets.
Most of the eighteen pieces flew through empty space.
Two nearly struck Ugthun’s left side and shoulder.
They barely grazed him.
“You are helpless before this divine sword personally granted by Bulsum!”
Ugthun raised the sword proudly.
“Gsartotega!”
Yohan remained silent.
“You outsiders could never comprehend the true nature of this great authority!”
Despite Ugthun’s confidence, Yohan already knew the sword’s ability.
Knowing did not mean countering it was easy.
The Flower Sword, Gsartotega.
A Sword of Bewitchment created from Bulsum’s own flowers and stem.
Bulsum specialized in confusing targets and trapping them inside hallucinations.
Naturally, a sword made from its own body possessed similar abilities.
The key was the activation condition.
Whenever the sword’s owner became the target of an attack, everything within fifty meters became part of the hallucination.
Long-range attacks exceeding that range could work.
Wide-area attacks large enough to make the hallucination irrelevant could also work.
The problem was Ugthun’s immortality.
Ordinary attacks were effectively meaningless.
[Hard to hit, and hitting him doesn’t matter. What an annoying bastard.]
The goddess’s tongue had already regenerated.
She perfectly summarized Yohan’s thoughts.
...Still, I found a way.
[A way? Really? What?]
Derhai physical abilities are worse than humans. And while he’s using the hallucination to distort my vision, he can’t distort someone else’s at the same time.
[...What are you talking about?]
If someone other than me attacks from outside the illusion range, he won’t be able to dodge.
[That changes nothing. Can those rookies defeat an immortal Apostle with one attack? Someone other than you?]
Yohan smiled.
I never said it would be one attack.
[...Huh?]
Yohan walked toward Bulsum.
“Hit him with everything you’ve got.”
“What are you muttering about, Sapiens?!”
Ugthun became furious at being ignored.
He charged.
Yohan easily blocked his sword.
Then he forced Ugthun backward with a barrage of blood arrows fired from point-blank range.
While Ugthun dodged the arrows, Yohan launched a huge blood-red bubble upward.
Just as planned.
Then...
Yohan’s body began sinking into his shadow.
“Running away?!”
“Of course not.”
Before Yohan completely vanished...
More than one hundred magic circles appeared around Ugthun.
“Now! Everyone, fire!”
“WAAAAAAAH!”
The expedition unleashed the single concentrated attack they had been waiting to use.
