Episode 1005 Continent (6)
The Control Center of Gluttony was a massive underground facility completely cut off from the outside world.It was a renovated cavity that had once held vast amounts of groundwater, and given the variety of biological experiments conducted there, the environment of the experimental zone was frighteningly clean.
Jose was in Area 7.
His prison was a space of just over 80 pyeong located in the corner of Area 7. There was a bed, a desk, and some reading material.
I frowned because it looked like they had only roughly imitated a human living room.
Rings wrapped around his wrists and ankles held him captive, preventing him from leaving the area. As a sculptor, he could not know what mysterious principle this was.
How much time has passed since I abandoned the temple sculptures for the sake of those suffering from fever and hurriedly descended from the Blue Mountains to the Ternetia Federation?How long has it been since I was captured by the pale old man who murdered the Federation’s soldiers, and by the cruel man and woman who overwhelmed him?
Roughly a dozen or so days have passed…
Jose counted the days in his own way and leaned his head against the wall. As his thoughts deepened and deepened, the door to the laboratory opened.
Just as I was starting to feel hungry, something resembling a ‘modified human’ would bring me a meal. I tried hard to strike up a conversation, but he couldn’t answer. Not onlydid he lack intelligence, but he also appeared to have had his vocal organs removed.
However, this time, it was not a modified human but a weary yet alluring woman who brought the meal. She was a profound person with her own darkness.
The function of maintaining the body based on nutrients falls within the category of an ordinary human. The observation of the body’s peculiarities ends today.
Second Fang – Kire Molten Illions.
“Next is the dissection.”“…….”
Jose sat down at the table without much reaction and began to eat. Since it was extremely ordinary bread and water, he was able to eat without suspicion.
Kire stared blankly at Jose, then sat down opposite him.
“You won’t die even if the dissection begins. You must remain alive so that the as-yet-unexplained power you possess does not vanish. I will stitch it back up, but the sight of your body being torn apart while you are still alive will be quite shocking.”“Is there a reason you are dissecting me while I am conscious?”“All power is directly linked to the instinct for survival. Prayer, magic, and divine power, too. They shine intensely only when life hangs in the balance.”“It is a cruel experiment.”“You are strangely composed. You don’t seem to be acting.”
Kirue placed both arms on the table.
“Haenel, Renard, Faye. Aren’t you curious what happened to the children? Jose, unlike you, they are products of the Old Humanity with nothing special about them.”
Haenel peeled off only the usable skin and discarded the rest, and since Renard and Faye were siblings, they were used very harmoniously as transplant materials.The child’s organs are fragile, but they are filled with youth that the elderly cannot regain.
“This control center currently has no capacity to store useless old humans. Since we utilized them to the best of our ability, it was a meaningful sacrifice. It would be more comforting to believe that. My regrets—”“Do not try to deceive me.”
Jose cast his gaze over her shoulder.
“The three of them are trapped in an area not far from here. And they are fully intact. You haven’t touched the children ‘yet’.”
Jose’s divine power detected those seeking to become believers. Fortunately, it was within a distance where he could sense their life signs.
“It’s surprising that you noticed even though the space was sealed off. But still, I mean.”
Kire showed curiosity.
“You speak as if you know us well.”“I do not know you well, but I understand that you have crossed the line. If you wanted to, you would slaughter even newborn babies. However, I will not beg you for the lives of Haenel, Renard, and Faye. Because even if I did, you would not show me mercy. Rather, I would like to ask you.”
Jose’s eyes were clearer than usual.
“What made you so despairing?”
Kire opened her eyes wide slightly, then sincerely pulled up one corner of her mouth. The middle-aged man in front of her, who looked insignificant, touched her heart without the slightest fear.
widely.
Kirue took a surgical knife from her bosom and placed it on the table. It was a sophisticated tool she intended to use to personally cut through Jose’s skin and muscles, just as planned.
“You are not in a position to listen to my story. But… if you tell me first, who knows?”“….”“The unknown power you possess appears infinitely close to divine power. In the sense that there are aspects that cannot be explained by Qi and magic alone. And in your calm demeanor. Not giving up because you have someone to lean on is a characteristic of a devout believer.”
Kirue rested her chin on her hand.
“José, what god do you worship?”
Jose showed no signs of panic despite having his divine powers discovered. His pupils remained strangely motionless, like a statue.
“Have you ever seen the moment the heavens were turned upside down?”“A turning point?”“I saw it with my own two eyes. Before I knew it, my faith in Luas, to whom I had prayed every day, had faded, and I belatedly realized that this was my path.”
Jose’s voice was appealing.
“I am a heretic.”
Jose began to talk about the meaning of religion and enlightenment. At first glance, it sounded like proselytizing.
Actually… I thought it would be boring, but perhaps because it was the sermon of a heretic I had met for the first time, it was extremely interesting. Especially the fact that it was not the Goddess Luas worshipped by the old humanity, but another god with tangible power.
Before anyone realized it, Kir had set the surgical knife aside and was engrossed in his conversation with Jose.
* * *
Leader of Grimnax – Vlad.
The most dangerous assassin on the continent, who joined Mauler’s ranks, is crawling on the ground battered and bruised with one forearm severed.
Eventually, he writhed his whole body in agony from the excruciating pain that began deep inside him.
“Cough…… Cough……!!”
This was a curse of magic obtained from an island in the Hiaremar Inland Sea…
A huge island rising in the inland sea along with an annular solar eclipse.
Under Mauler’s orders, I infiltrated the expedition’s airship and arrived at the island. It was to eliminate Elder Leon, who supports the son of the Master of the Diamun Magic Tower and is supported by Eon, without any evidence.
Eon and Delharun were in great conflict over the Diamun Magic Tower, and this was a political intrigue.
───Yes, you bastard are Grimnax’s… … *Cough*?!!
Naturally, the assassination was successful.
Taking advantage of the chaos caused by the Mira Knights, he flawlessly stabbed Elder Leon and his two guards in the heart from behind with a single stroke.He even delivered a finishing blow by twisting the blade mercilessly, as if digging out their hearts.
The body was also disposed of very neatly, leaving the person permanently missing.
If you return undetected, the mission is complete.
With the formidable figure of Mauler on his back, Vlad sought to reign in the light rather than the shadows. Merit would accumulate and lead him into the sunlight.
At that moment.
───Kwag
Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning fell from the island’s sky and pierced the underground labyrinth in a straight line. A torrent of dark red lightning raced through the passage.
───What… … .
Unfortunately, and very unluckily, Vlad was straddling the boundary of the magic range.As soon as he saw the ominous glow, he threw himself, but the lightning was faster.
It might have been divine punishment.
───… … ?!?!?!!
Intense destruction struck.
Vlad, slammed into the wall of the labyrinth, suffered a near-fatal injury. Destruction, which even the Transcendents find troublesome, seeped into his body.
The body began to be destroyed from the inside.
I barely managed to sneak onto an airship amidst the destruction of the island, but the aftermath of the catastrophe showed no signs of ending and gnawed away at my life little by little, like an incurable disease that never ends until death.
So, while I was still fully conscious, I took Grimnax with me and headed south to the Kingdom of Ronia.I received information that there was a special magical item in the Kingdom of Ronia that could restore a body and make it like new.
Artifact [Pandemir’s Coffin].
With the ability to preserve the body using a large amount of blood and a top-tier magic stone, Vlad immediately obtained the coffin and tried to escape the destruction that was about to end his life at the Royal Castle of Ronia.
The effect was certain, but… the royal castle was attacked before the recovery was even complete.
Just in case, I boarded the airship to finish cleaning up the foreign matter from my body, but Eon’s commandment execution unit appeared and pursued me.
The result was a crash.
He fought valiantly, but having been struck by magical bombardments multiple times, defeat was imminent.While fighting the Aspects directly, Vlad stiffened the moment the Ruin within him twitched, and he suffered the humiliation of having one of his forearms severed by Grave.
If the undead forces had not intervened, Vlad would have died then.
dump.
He fled the battlefield without looking back and became alone. His surroundings were safe, but the destruction that had not yet been completely erased relentlessly killed him.
‘Ber, Den… … !!!’
Unable to control his anger, he slammed the ground.
Vlad could not believe that he had ended up in this state.The pinnacle of the martial arts world…The apex of Grimnax meeting his death simply because he was accidentally swept up in the transcendental magic of a transcendent being—he simply could not accept the situation.
I must survive.Absolutely.
Vlad was not a man to crumble here. He repeated this to himself. He hadn’t assassinated countless lives for the sake of such an ending!Just as he managed to brace himself on his knees and stand up again, Vlad suddenly lifted his head.
[… … .]
Inside the forest, a heteromorphic creature made of thread strands was staring intently at Vlad with red eyes attached to the tips of its thin tentacles.
‘……devil?’
Vlad, having discerned the race, gripped a dagger and moved. It was dangerous if he did not deal with it before the magic curse struck again.
It was then.
His power.
A powerful psychic wave penetrated Vlad’s mind. Exhausted by pain and greatly dulled, he failed to resist and was seized by his mind. Withhis entire body brought to a halt, Vlad’s upper body slowly tilted.
Pfft!
“Cough.”
Sharp strands of thread rushed in from the left and right, piercing the inside of his ears. His eardrums were ruptured. The devil’s threads reached deep into his brain.As the threads unraveled and enveloped his brain, Vlad’s eyes rolled back.
[A magnificent body… imbued with His power. Ah, our God has given me a gift.]
The thread of the devil thinned out and entered Vlad’s head. Creaking like a broken doll, he slowly lifted his head.
[iced coffee…….]
The devil adjusted the voice again.
“iced coffee.”
The demon, having taken over Vlad’s body by dominating his infinitely weakened mind, took everything, including his memories and skills. Theinternal destruction did not kill the demon but rather strengthened its power even further.
It is an honor to be the first devil worshipper to set foot on this continent.
The devil who became Vlad prayed.
“Our God, we will come to see you after uniting the demons of the continent, as Commander Hadras commanded. Please watch over us.”
The rift in the world was divided into two by Verden.
The rift ruled by the first king of the human world.The rift where demons gather.
As space is separated and the forces of fate are unable to eliminate the demons, their numbers continue to increase, and the probability of demons crossing over to the continent through the rift is also gradually rising.
That’s right.
A believer from Verden who crossed the rift between worlds set foot on the real continent.
* * *
All forces on the continent are on the move.
* * *
While Eon was preparing to attend Prohas’s emergency summit, Verden meditated and gradually refined the 8th level.
Magic diminishes.Magic is derived.Magic is integrated.
As he reduced the number of spells, Verden’s magical power became even more distinct. An infinite sun composed of blue magical power and a sun of destruction composed of crimson magical power orbited Verden.Reflecting on the battle with the Empress, he further improved his magical tactics to make them more efficient.
“…….”
Verden deactivated his magic circuit. The suns of the two magic paths seeped into him. For a moment, his eyes glowed in different colors before returning to blue.
The time has come.
Verden walked down the hallway of the Grand Hall precisely on time. When he arrived at the meeting place, others were waiting for him.
[Ready.]
[Ready to attend.]
“As long as you aren’t late, that’s fine.”“A banquet with the guest of honor. I have no doubt that it will be the finest meal.”
Alpha, Beta, Thearel, Luzak.
He was one of the attendees for the banquet of knowledge hosted by the host, along with Verden. Carrying Alpha and Beta on his shoulders, he met everyone’s gaze.
Verden summoned Gring Arcanum from the subspace.
The smell of the sea wafted strongly.
Then I will leave.
As they opened the bookshelf of the Gring Arcanum, a sea vortex surged up and enveloped them. Verden and his party were transported once again to the bottom of the deep sea.
* * *
Is the guest of honor coming?
The host chuckled softly as he stroked the tentacles of the octopus’s head. He, too, seemed very excited and could not sit still for long, pacing around the room.
These are ingredients I specially prepared, even going to great lengths myself. I can’t wait to see the reaction.
The host stretched out his long arm.A luxuriously decorated birdcage caught on his fingertips and floated in the air.
{Isn’t that so, O soul of the Transcendent?}
