Episode 1115 Pendren Ho: Samun (2)
If there are traitors to humanity even within the Ruas Theocracy, then there is a flaw in the method of identifying them through the Inquisition.
If some of the seven archbishops were bound by fate, then those higher up cannot be considered clean either. Perhaps the cardinals of the three prefectures, and even extending further to the divine beings.
It is dangerous if the Religion of Light, which most of humanity believes in, is even slightly tainted. Its impact might be even greater than the current Second War of the Transcendents.
Let’s think about it later.
Future anxieties are not important right now.The immediate problem comes first.
This one-eyed man is Verden’s agent.
I don’t know what kind of magic Verden used to construct such a being, but its ideology looks extremely dangerous, just like the dense emotions overflowing in its large single eye.
Decisive power to detect and instantly kill a follower of fate. An autocratic madness that enforces its own will without persuading others, and does not shy away from chaos.
Another… … ‘Pure Evil’ Verden, who stops at nothing to achieve his goals.
Regardless of his level, his mere existence feels more ominous than the Empire’s commander. Ican say with certainty that this is not an unfounded fear.
but.
In any case, he is a transcendent-level reinforcement sent by Verden, and Tearel is a Legion Commander. It is up to her discretion how to handle him and lead the War of Pendren to victory.
The accident accelerates.
Tearel’s intent pierced his mind. Most criminals had weak cognitive abilities and could not answer immediately, but the giant was able to keep up with that speed.
───Be precise. Can Sarkannon hide inside a traitor’s body?
[The rest. Excluding. Us.]
The “we” that the giant meant referred to those who were deeply influenced by the Transcendent and Verden. This implies that Sarkannon is hiding among the others.
Followers of fate, or ordinary people unrelated to resistance.
It seems that Sarkannon has the ability to dwell in their lives.
[Unless the entity the familiar will move to is dealt with first, the chances of victory are slim.]
The water droplet falls slowly.
[If that water droplet falls, someone dies instantly. Then they hide, and the cycle repeats. But you’d find it awkward to kill an ally yourself, wouldn’t you?]
The giant urged a choice once again.
[So. I. Will. Kill. Not. Us. But. Everyone. The. Most. Efficient. And. Easiest. Way. For. Us.]
───No. There are too many reasons why it shouldn’t be done, but especially if you go on a massacre without persuading others like that, the legion will collapse.
[Why. Have. We. Have. to. Persuade. Them. Instead. Us? Understanding. Isn’t. Being. Understood. Not. Being. Encouraged. But. Being. Ordered.
Another method.
[… … Weak. Just like Father.]
The conversation continued in time flowing extremely slowly through extrasensory perception.
[The Kin. Cannot. Escape. The. Battlefield. Because. We. Must. Protect. The. Source. And. Even. Now. We. Are. Imbuing. Power. into. the. Soul Tree.]
───Sarcanon… …was dispersing his power?
[And yet. Just. Putting. a. Heavy. Shovel. on. a. Kin. Kills. At. 70%. of. the. Force. Here. Is. Dead.]
The giant whispered softly.
[Life. Is. Not. Equal. Do not. Hesitate. Over the death of others. Our. Blood. Is. Noble. Than Theirs. For. The Great Cause. Small. Sacrifice. Is. Inevitable. To. Put. Them. At the Forefront. To. Create. The. Battlefield. Most. Advantageous. For. Us.]
Bad Verden’s advice was not wrong. Giving up flesh to take bone is a natural tactic in war. If you give nothing, you will only lose everything.
A corps commander leading more than 200,000 troops must be willing to make decisions on a grand scale.
───No.
So, Tearel was chosen as the Legion Commander.
The objective of the Extermination Corps is to shut down the Gate of Death. Exterminating the Commander is secondary. If you can’t catch both rabbits, just catch the one closest.
The giant’s eyes swayed sharply toward the Soul Tree.
[Then. You must drive them back so that the familiar reclaims the power they bestowed upon the Soul Tree. So that the Legion can destroy the Root Body of the Four Sect more easily. However, facing that familiar, who is completely unrestricted, means you must stake your head on the scales.]
───So?
[Will you volunteer for the sacrifice?]
The giant laughed.Probably sincerely.
[If you want.]
The giant seemed to be in a better mood than when he had suggested the sacrifice of others. Was it a test? To see what choice she would make. I didn’tknow what was going on, but it was obvious that the giant had a bad personality.
The giant explained the method.Tearel silently nodded.
and.
I’ll ask you just one thing. What are you?
[A being born from the father’s darkest, most intense emotions. Hating the heavens. Choosing rebellion. The source of the pitiful father.]
The giant’s eyes were bloodshot.
[Apostle of Curse.]
Click.
Finally, a water drop fell.
“Ugh, Aaaargh!”“Doel!”
The giant’s grip immediately seized the Zentir Tower Elder’s bodyguard mage. It felt as though his body was about to be crushed by the fingers at any moment, but he did not die.
Life Rift
Dark purple rifts opened across the entire body of the wizard exposed to the unique dark magic. It was an 8th-rank curse that causes semi-permanent damage to life itself.The Elder of the Zentir Mage Tower hurriedly tried to save him, but Tearel dissuaded him.
[A mere minion. Are you afraid?]
The giant showed malice.
[Death.]
Pow!
Darkness surged from the wizard’s rift and took the form of Sarkanon. He stripped away the curse of the
Reflection of the curse.
Just as with direct mental magic, the moment it is countered, the black mage receives the curse back. A crack appeared in part of the giant’s upper body, but he paid no heed, pushed the mage aside, and faced off against Sarkannon.
The Mark of Defying Heaven
Death: Horizon
The moment the Giant of Obstruction was slashed by the pitch-black line of death—the curse of rebellion was engraved upon Sarkannon’s very existence.He, who had sought to bestow death upon the lives of others by parasitizing them, came to a sudden halt.
[The power of the Apocalypse… … .]
Verden is the opposite of fate. It would be fair to call him a natural enemy. Since he is afflicted by the curse of the Fate Destroyer, it is inevitable that there will be problems in wielding the power bestowed by ‘your’ apostle.
Sarkannon was struck directly by the great sword and slammed down.
What kind of being did the last resistor create?
He had not anticipated the curse that sealed a portion of the power derived from fate. Sarkanon was still convinced that Oldark was behind the giant.At least at this moment, he could not think of Verden in the Ternetia Federation.
‘Giant… … I must kill that ‘Unfinished Apostle’.’
The red blood that poured from the giant defiled the transparent sea of the Samun world.The price of the curse, along with the wound of death.Respecting Tearel’s choice, the giant shed his own blood instead of causing a massacre, thereby sealing one of Sarkanon’s troublesome powers.
Thearel leads the next offensive.
Sarkannon felt that the flow was very annoying.
The danger of the giant exceeded expectations.
If only I had the time, I could sentence the giant to death, but the living, including the transcendents, are filling the gaps that the giant could not fill.
The battlefield, which should have been overwhelming, is changing from what was expected due to the presence of giants.
Since I am no longer able to use the power to efficiently annihilate the enemies… … it would be right to temporarily exclude the unidentified transcendent being outside the Gate of Death and use my supreme power to snatch away the heads of the extermination army in a short time.
As long as one is an intelligent being, one cannot destroy the source of the Four Sects without hesitation.
We must weaken the World Alliance’s power as much as possible before the source body of the Four Gates is destroyed.
[As Yuksado intended.]
Ss
The aura of death bestowed upon the Soul Tree returns to its master. Surrounded by the Legion’s most formidable forces, Sarkannon brought his hands together in a coiled embrace.
Death: The Binding of Fate
The death of the apocalypse is revealed.
* * *
Crunch crunch!
The airship caught in the giant root of the Soul Tree is crushed, and the crew members crash. The wizards perform acrobatics with
“They say it’s a special unit, but to think it withstood the fleet’s bombardment to this extent…….”“Still, we’ve stripped off most of the shell.”
Following the advice of high-ranking adventurers, we swiftly attacked the Soul Tree.Unlike previous specimens, the Death Soul Tree did not fully withstand our offensive, but no matter how much we moved its branches and roots, the trunk remained in place.It was the perfect target for projecting magical destructive power.
Eventually───the sixth Japanese bombing raid was launched.
“……! It’s been breached!”
Finally, the core beyond the bark was severely damaged, creating a vulnerability in the Soul Tree’s resistance. Although its resistance seemed to weaken suddenly for reasons unknown, it was undeniable that it had breached a part of the anti-air defenses.Consequently, the creature contracted its range of motion and began to wrap its trunk widely around itself.
“You are really building a wall of plants. However! As you can see, gaps have opened up everywhere! Except for the personnel maintaining the bombardment, those capable of
The captain of the colossal flying ship, the Atorium, who had received command of the fleet from Melissa, the Lord of the Imperial Magic Castle, pointed straight ahead.
“Destroy the source!”“Disembark!!”
The elites of the punitive force jumped out of the airships without fear despite the high altitude. Casting
Roots and branches smaller than the main body sprouted from a part of the Soul Tree’s body and blocked them while wildly flailing in the air.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang! Kwaa-a-ang! Kwa-ang! Kwa-zzzzzzzzzz!
It was reminiscent of a siege.
The casualties who were ultimately intercepted fell downwards, while those focused on evasive maneuvers gradually closed the distance. The situation was temporarily halted because a hit would be fatal.
“Struggle to the very end…….”“Behind!”
It was then.
The airship of the Ruas Theocracy, surrounded by various divine shields, accelerated. The shields were damaged en route, and the hull was broken.Nevertheless, the Archbishop’s airship did not wreck and eventually burrowed into a crack in the wall of vegetation.
The Archbishop of Silver, who had reached the trunk of the Soul Tree first, pointed upward.
“The source is over there!”
Up!Go up!
King Ryu and his beastmen disembarked from the Holy Kingdom’s airship and swiftly climbed the vine. Although some were pierced by the tree’s thorns along the way, they did not stop.Under the protection of the Archbishop, adventurers and mages closely followed behind.
Boom!
An ominous light touched Ryuwang as he shattered a branch as thick as a human torso. It was the faint radiance emitted by the massive inverted cone crystal wrapped in the Soul Tree.
“The source body of the Four Sects. Damn, that looks like it would be incredibly hard… what is that?”
They paused as they witnessed the interior of the Source Body. And not long after, the Archbishop and his party arrived at the space where the Source Body was located.
The Paladin shouted.
“Suin! We can’t last long here. What are you doing not destroying the Source Body right now…!”“Shut up and look at that.”
King Ryu pointed to the source body.
“저건 뭐지?”“저건…… 맙소사.”“……소울 트리는 죽으면 새하얀 빛을 내뿜습니다. 기록에 따르면, 그 빛은 소울 트리가 양분으로 삼아 온 영혼들을 뱉는 현상이고…… 그렇게 풀려난 영혼들은 자유를 되찾아 성불한다고 전해지죠. 물론 근거 없는 낭설에 불과합니다만.”
고위 모험가가 식은땀을 흘렸다.
“그런데, 낭설이 아니었던 모양이군요.”
소울 트리가 뿌리내린 역원뿔의 수정에는 수많은 ‘인간’의 머리가 떠다니고 있었다. 그런데 문제는 익숙한 면면이 많다는 것이다.
사문에서 죽은 병사들.거인에게 살해당한 성염의 대주교.
그들의 영혼도 보였다.
은휘의 대주교가 사문의 근원체를 응시하며 조용히 물었다.
“근원체를 부수면 어떻게 되는가?”“낭설 그대로라면 해방되는 게 맞지만…… 이곳은 사문입니다. 근원체를 부수는 순간 사문이 폐쇄되기 시작하니…… 아마도.”
영혼은 빠져나오지 못할 수도 있다.
빛을 신앙하고, 인류를 위해 봉사한 신자들이 삶의 더러움을 정화하고 죽었는데도 루아스의 곁으로 가지 못한다.
류왕이 앞으로 나섰다.
“부수지.”“……잠깐.”
그것은 망설임이 되었다.
* * *
생명은 탄생한 순간부터 죽음을 향해 일직선으로 달려간다. 아무리 미루고 미루어도 결국에는 죽음을 맞이하게 되어 있다.
사르카논은 그 결말을 한없이 앞당겼다.
토벌자들의 시체 사이에서 힘겨루기가 발생했다.
콰아아아아──────!
저해의 거인의 저주를 막아내는 와중에 토벌자들이 뒤를 쳤다. <죽음: 허상>의 잔상으로 여섯 명의 기사와 전사, 그리고 마법사를 죽였지만 최고 전력은 그들을 넘어서서 간격을 좁혔다.
한쪽 팔을 뒤로 뻗어 장막을 형성했다.
테아렐의 고유 마법이 그를 관통했다. 심해의 창에 직격당한 사르카논에게 원거리에서 공격이 퍼부어지며 권능을 방해했다.
저해의 거인이 점차 손을 더 내밀었다.
쿠구구구구구구구구!
막대한 흑마력이 사르카논을 구성하는 모든 것을 저주했다. 그의 손뼈에 금이 갔다.토벌자 십수 명을 죽인 대가로 그 과정에서 생길 수밖에 없는 극미한 공백을 거인과 테아렐은 집요하게 비집었다.
‘그렇다면…….’
사르카논이 저항하지 않고 거인의 저주를 모조리 받아들였다. 토벌자들의 공세가 이어지지 않는 찰나의 간극이 생겼다.
<죽음: 광망(光芒)>
사르카논의 오른손에서 사기가 일었다.
─────────!
다섯 개의 손가락 끝에서 죽음의 개념에서 비롯된 망자의 광휘가 점멸했다. 사르카논이 팔을 휘둘렀다. 광선들이 전장을 갈랐다.신체 능력으로는 도저히 반응할 수 없는, 그야말로 순간의 절명.
거인의 왼손이 토막 났다.젠티르 마탑 장로가 수평으로 절단됐다.다크워튼 마탑 장로의 다리가 날아갔다.에브란의 팔이 날아갔다.메리사의 오른손은 손바닥 중간 부분부터 사라졌다.
그 한 방에 젠티르 마탑이 전멸했다. 테아렐 파티를 제외한 모험가도 무력화되었다. 제국의 전력도 반으로 줄었다.
“끄으윽……!”“마탑주님!!!!”
권능이 발해지기 전에 유르기엔을 밀친 메드란트를 광선이 스쳐 지나갔다. 즉사는 면했지만 로브 너머의 피부가 검게 죽었다.신체가 절단되어도 비명 하나 지르지 않을 것 같은 메드란트가 눈이 뒤집힐 듯 신음했다. 오스테아 마탑 전력도 크게 줄었다.
유르발이 넘어진 채 눈을 크게 떴다.
“테아렐, 너…….”
뚝, 뚝…….
테아렐은 복부가 검게 죽었다. 저항력 덕에 뚫리지 않았지만 사기가 침범한 것이다. 장기가 망가져 피가 입술에서 흘러내렸다.그런 상태임에도, 옛 파티원인 에브란의 팔이 하나 날아갔음에도 테아렐은 한시도 사르카논에게서 시선을 떼지 않았다.
쩌적…….
사르카논에게서 뼛가루가 떨어졌다.
사르카논이 전력을 다하고 있다. 다시 말해 소울 트리는 약화되었고, 사문의 근원체를 수월하게 부술 수 있다는 것.
품속에 넣어 둔 통신 장치가 반응했다.
마력을 조작해 손을 대지 않고 연결하자 다급한 목소리가 흘러나왔다.류왕의 음성이었다.
───군단장……! 사문의 근원체에 도달했는데, 여기서 내분이……!!
“……내분?”
───사문의 근원체에 영혼들이 있다……! 여기서 죽은 인간들의 영혼들까지……! 근원체를 당장 부수면 영혼의 행방이 어떻게 되는지, 그 따위 것의 논쟁 탓에……!
테아렐이 퍼뜩 고개를 들었다.
사르카논이 말했다.소울 트리가 있는 곳에도 들리도록.
[근원체를 파괴한 순간 소울 트리가 흡수한 영혼은 전부 사문과 함께 사라진다.]
그리고.
[그들이 부활할 기회도.]
……!
죽은 사람이 부활할 수 있다는 말에 공기가 경직된 듯했다. 거짓이라고 믿는 것이 당연했지만, 테아렐은 직감했다.
‘진실이다.’
사르카논은 펜드렌호의 사문으로 죽은 존재들이 살아날 수 있다고 단언했다.
테아렐은 많은 시선을 느꼈다.
친구, 이웃, 동료, 가족 등의 죽음 탓에 세계 연합에 참여했던 이들이 테아렐을 응시했다. 그녀의 선택을 기다렸다.
당장 사문을 부술지.일단 부활의 방법을 찾을지.
후자는 사르카논을 앞두고 그런 생각을 한다는 것 자체가 말이 안 됐지만…… 죽은 자들을 되살릴 수 있음에도 포기하느냐, 아니면 노력이라도 해 보느냐는 큰 차이였다.
[사문을 폐쇄하면. 산 자들. 은 너를 원망할. 거고. 부활. 방법을. 찾으면. 그동안. 많은, 산 자가. 죽게. 되겠지.]
거인이 묻는다.
[선택은?]
“부숴.”
테아렐이 명령했다.
“당장 부숴.”
테아렐은 군단을 택했다.
통신 장치 너머에서 잡음이 발생했다. 연합군끼리 전투가 벌어질 듯했다. 사르카논은 힘을 갈무리하며 낮게 비웃었다.
그리고.
거인이 눈웃음을 지었다.
[그 선택. 도와줄게.]
* * *
사문의 근원체 앞.
The people were divided into those who wanted to find a way to bring the dead back to life and those who did not. Naturally, most of the Ruas Theocracy belonged to the former group.
King Ryu bared his fangs.
“Get out of the way. Before I really kill you!”“Shut up, Suin!”
The Paladin aimed his sword at him.
“A believer in the Light who has cast off all filth ought to go to the Goddess’s side. Yet to vanish along with those vile monstrosities—I cannot tolerate this.”“Lord Eorok!”“Your Holiness the Archbishop…! If you are a believer in the Light, you should naturally care for their souls; how on earth are you standing there!”
Archbishop Eunhwi stood on the side that the Gate of Death should be closed. Although he had not yet made a decision, he was concerned that if the Gate of Death was not closed quickly, there would be more casualties.
“Your Excellency the Archbishop.”“…….”“Surely you aren’t giving them up?”
Archbishop Eunhwi squeezed his eyes shut.He hesitated deeply.There was no way to persuade them.
Eventually, King Ryu was in the middle of trying to break through by force. The Paladin’s waist twitched. The space bag containing the lower half of the Archbishop of Holy Flame, recovered for resurrection, was moving.
“what…….”
Crunch!
A sword extending from the spatial bag pierced beneath the Paladin’s jaw. The Paladin collapsed. Immediately, a monstrous being manifested from his spatial bag.An upper body composed of a great curse rested atop the lower body of the Archbishop of Holy Flame.
Unique Dark Magic Circle:
At the time of contemplating the body of the Archbishop of Holy Flame, the Giant of Obstruction concealed another black magic circle. Magic capable of transforming corpses, linking them to his own power and will, and manipulating them at will.
Corpse────The Giant of Obstruction assumed a stance.
Ilgwang
Arthur Tarenfold’s technique, grounded in dark magic, sliced through the horizontal.Those who desired the resurrection of the dead perished instantly. It did not matter whether they were followers of fate or ordinary people. For they had dared to defy the Tearel Legion Commander acting on behalf of the Father.
[Getting in the way. Getting in the way.]
A sword was embedded in the source body of the Four Gates.
