I ran for a while with Kancho on my shoulder.
I stopped when the movement of the light changed.
Until now, it had only been surging up from the ground and stretching toward the sky, but now it was gradually turning toward the ruins.
It seemed to have started.
The resurrection ceremony to awaken the violent light.
"It's mumbling!"
I closed my eyes and listened.
The entire air felt strangely vibrating.
Just how fervently did they have to pray to cause a phenomenon like this?
I opened my eyes and took in the entire floor.
"Incredible."
It was such an overwhelming sight that the word "spectacular" came to mind.
"Right! It's super cool!"
Kancho's ears twitched wildly.
Then, as if remembering something, his fluffy hands moved busily.
"What are you doing, Kancho?"
"Taking a picture! I have to take a picture!"
"Oh, is it finally starting?"
"Yes!"
A few days ago, Kancho had been watching NewTube and suddenly jumped up, shouting.
He said he was going to take lots of cool pictures and become famous!
I was thinking of buying him an action cam that could also record video, but he said that wasn't romantic and chose a camera that was suitably antique and cute in size.
'The price wasn't cute, though.'
I slowly nodded.
It wasn't a financial burden, but it was a moment that made me realize once again that romance is expensive.
Click, click!
"Perfect! It's captured perfectly!"
Kancho took pictures of the light pillars shooting up from the ground and the ruins where the light was gathering.
"Now I just need to capture the moment of the explosion that blows it all away! The title will be 'It Was There, But Now It's Gone.'"
"Nice. You're a true artist now."
I stroked his twitching ears and moved on.
I was on the hill with the highest elevation on this floor.
It was a strategic point where I could directly strike the ruins while also being the primary route to the main base on the cliff.
When I put him down, Kancho started moving busily.
Dododododo! Papapapapap! Shashashashak!
After running around for a while, Kancho wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Yodel Ranger... Hoo! Hoo! Deputy Commander Kancho! Temporary base construction complete!"
I looked around.
Nothing had changed!
When I couldn't find it, Kancho kindly held up his Yodel Telescope for me.
"Do you see that branch sticking out about 1 Kancho-meter to the lower left?"
Kancho-meter.
A unit of measurement Kancho had started using at some point, roughly equivalent to Kancho's height.
"That's way too many!"
"Right! They're all places where I planted explosive clay!"
I swallowed dryly.
In front, behind, left, and right, there were branches everywhere.
This wasn't just a minefield; the entire area was a mine.
Since it was a solo mission today, he seemed to have put in more effort than usual.
Clank!
I set up a heavy machine gun, changed to the darkness attribute, in the center of the hill.
Kancho camouflaged the surroundings with pre-prepared branches and grass.
He was much more Yodel Ranger-like than usual.
"Kancho. What do you do if it gets too dangerous?"
"Retreat to the main base!"
"What if you think you'll get caught while retreating?"
"Re-manifest to where the Commander-in-Chief is!"
As expected of the Yodel Ranger Deputy Commander.
He remembered everything about the operation.
I wanted to tell him to just completely cancel his manifestation and wait if it got dangerous, but Kancho hated that option, so I left it out.
I held out my fist.
He came close and bumped his fluffy fist against mine.
I smiled, then leaped down the hill.
"Kanchoooo!! Don't detonate the explosive clay until I've passed!"
I shouted that out like the coward I am.
As I always say, the clay is scarier than the enemies on the floor.
"Got it!!!"
He gave me a thumbs-up, and I increased my speed, crossing the forest and plains.
The ruins soon came into view.
It was definitely different from when I came from the 86th floor.
Perhaps because it was imbued with divine power, it felt strangely alive.
As I got closer, stairs appeared.
They led from the ruins to the temple, so long and high that the end wasn't visible from where I stood.
I activated Stealth and Aura Suppression and climbed the stairs.
The sound of prayers coming from all around made my whole body tremble.
And at the end of the stairs.
I entered a faintly drawn curtain, and the temple where the ceremony was taking place revealed itself.
"Holy shit."
As expected of a temple where a deity resides.
It was fucking huge.
I think if you combined dozens of Egyptian pyramids, you might get this size.
Each pillar was a skyscraper in itself.
Suppressing the overwhelming feeling, I entered the Lovecraftian temple.
Light poured down as if it had been waiting.
I squinted, and a message appeared.
[This is an incredible light! Human eyes cannot withstand it! If you do not close your eyes immediately, you will pay the price!]
It might have been a warning not to dare look upon the scene of a god's resurrection.
I completely ignored it and moved forward.
I regretted it a little.
I should have brought sunglasses.
Ding!
[This light is fatal to the eyes! The status ailment 'Blindness' is applied! If the status ailment duration persists, you will become permanently blind!]
I swallowed dryly.
So there were status ailments this brutal.
[Innate Trait 'All Status Ailment Resistance SSS+' activates! You are immune to the status ailment 'Blindness'!]
I looked around the temple as I moved inward.
Hundreds of giant statues were placed everywhere.
It felt like the Terracotta Army of Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum, magnified dozens of times.
Creak, crack.
The statues were slowly shaking, shedding their old rust.
As the ceremony progressed, the god's army seemed to be preparing to awaken.
'Hmm.'
I watched for a moment with my arms crossed, then shrugged.
I thought about destroying them in advance, but decided against it.
Beria Blackwell seemed annoyingly cautious.
Since she was more of a coward than I thought, it would be a problem if she stopped the ceremony because of this commotion.
I walked into the interior, filled with the sound of prayers.
'Incredible.'
Status ailment immunity messages kept popping up in the corner of my vision.
It wasn't just blindness anymore; it was complete blindness.
I sent a will to my friends who would be in their respective positions.
Absolutely no manifestation on this side.
"O brilliant light, sleeping in darkness, lend us your ear. O being who tears the world with light, washes blood with light, and burns all boundaries with light. Your servants have arrived here, so lend us your ear."
The pilgrims chanted the prayer, filling the entire space.
'Heh.'
This was a place where you lost your sight the moment you opened your eyes.
I thought they were keeping their eyes closed until the ceremony ended, but that wasn't it.
They didn't close their eyes or lower their heads.
They were all staring at the sky, as if to witness the appearance of their god.
Their eyes, where eyeballs should have been, were filled with golden light.
'Grotesque.'
I shook my head and went to the edge of the space where Beria was standing.
There was an absurdly large hole, so deep I couldn't gauge its depth.
The light gathered from all directions poured into it.
The brilliant, violent light, Azrael, was probably down there.
Ding!
[The voices of the pilgrims flow into the deepest sanctuary! The sleeping being hears their voices!]
They say sincerity moves mountains, don't they?
The light that had been accumulating steadily began to surge.
"O brilliant light, lend us your ear!! Your servants offer everything!"
"Lend us your ear!!"
The pilgrims raised their voices, knowing the time had come.
Now, not only their eyes, but also their mouths, ears, and noses were emitting light.
Rumble, boom, boom!!
The entire temple shook, and piles of stones fell from all directions.
Crunch! Crack!
The pilgrims continued their prayers, unconcerned whether a follower beside them was crushed to death.
They seemed so absorbed in their prayers that they didn't even notice.
[The brilliant being slowly opens its eyes!]
[It turns its gaze to where the prayers are heard! It realizes it is time to awaken!]
[Cracks form in the door that tore through space!]
As the stages progressed, the sound of prayers grew louder and louder.
Soon, the message I was waiting for appeared.
Ding!
[The seal's door is completely destroyed! Nothing can stop the brilliant light's resurrection any longer!]
[The brilliant light descends upon the world!]
At the same time, a large percentage appeared in the air.
[Complete Descent: 7%]
Something enormous began to reveal itself beneath that light.
'Oh, shit.'
It was probably the top part of Azrael's head.
'He's bald.'
I always wondered.
Why are all beings depicted as deities completely bald?
Maybe losing hair isn't a loss, but a step forward?
I continued this pseudo-philosophical thought for a moment, then shrugged.
I reached into my pocket and pulled out the potion I had received from Elia.
A potion made from that ink-like substance Momo and Kancho had discovered.
When I asked about its effect, Elia had rubbed her chin and said.
-It's like a potion that eats light, I guess?
Meaning she wasn't sure.
When I asked how much to use.
-Probably a lot, I think?
Was the answer.
When I asked where to throw it.
-Just throw it wherever feels right, I guess?
She had said.
At first, I wondered if there wouldn't be a place like that.
It was an unnecessary worry.
No matter how I looked at it, it was there.
Whoosh!
Since everyone was blind anyway and no one would see me, I threw the bottle toward where the head was emerging.
The potion bottle was swallowed by the light and completely disappeared.
It was made by a Star Alchemist, but I couldn't help but have some doubts.
What effect could this tiny thing have against this absurd light?
Rumble!!
The head seemed to be rising higher, and finally, the eyes, among the facial features, appeared.
Ding!
[Azrael, the Brilliant Light of Violence, recognizes the Player!]
A bead of sweat ran down my back.
I was planning to wait until the potion reacted, but it didn't seem like that was going to work.
Whoooosh!
Light burst from Azrael's eyes.
And that was a signal.
Swish!
The eyes of all the followers, including Beria Blackwell, turned toward me.
It was like a scene from a horror movie.
A sight that would have sent the faint-hearted straight to the afterlife.
Without any further delay, I drew my sword, wrapped it in aura, and swung it toward the sky.
A crimson aura shot up through the open ceiling of the temple.
"Death to the intruder!"
"God's blessing upon the defiled one!"
[Azrael's army awakens to eliminate the intruder!]
A loud noise came from behind me.
It was the statues I had seen when I entered.
By now, all the paint had peeled off, and they had become imposing giants.
"Kneel, lowly being. I will grant you my mercy and speak with you..."
Perhaps because his mouth had risen above the light along with his eyes,
Azrael started babbling something.
But I had no intention of listening to the end.
"Good luck with that."
I waved my hand and shot three aura blasts into the sky.
Then I pulled out the Soul Reaper and used Resonance Extreme.
I had to get out of here now.
Because something was about to fall.
The bombardment of Kancho, the walking tactical weapon.
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T/N:
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