The front lines of the main camp, where the ritual was taking place.
Renya, who had been sitting on a rock, opened his eyes.
An eerie energy that made his entire body tingle.
As he slowly turned his head, he saw its source.
Energy leaking from the main camp into the sky, forming pitch-black storm clouds.
The form of what was inside wasn't visible.
But anyone with keen intuition would have realized it immediately.
That something absurd was hidden there.
'To think they'd summon something like that.'
Lowering his gaze a little further, he looked at the main camp on the cliff where the ritual was in full swing.
He had felt it many times before, but as expected, there wasn't a single normal human in this party.
A smirk crept onto his lips.
The owner, Eugene Hyuk.
Being able to gather people like this was a skill in itself.
The storm clouds, connected to the main camp, began to surge toward the temple.
Probably the moment they arrived, a full-scale battle would break out at the temple as well.
It seemed this side would start a little earlier.
Boom! Kwaaang!!
Until just moments ago, the explosions had been circling around the forest.
The little one had been acting as bait as much as possible, trying to lure the divine army away from the main camp.
But now, those explosions were gradually getting closer.
Thud.
He took a step toward the explosions.
This was a predetermined sequence.
The divine army wasn't stupid either.
It didn't make sense for them to keep chasing the Yordle after something like that had been summoned.
Lowering his stance, he gathered energy beneath his feet.
Then, he leaped powerfully.
He had waited long enough, so it was time to stretch his limbs.
At that moment.
"Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Kancho, the deputy captain of the Yordle Rangers, moved his short legs busily.
He didn't forget to occasionally scatter clay lumps from his bag to slow the enemy's advance.
'The Yordle bait operation ends here!'
They had been chasing him like they wanted to kill him for a while.
But as soon as the old shaman lady summoned something, their priorities changed.
They decided it was more important to destroy the main camp that had summoned the storm clouds than to chase the infuriatingly wiggling Yordle.
Fwoosh!
"Huh?!"
A sound of wind cutting through the air, and then his body was lifted.
A massive explosion of energy erupted behind him.
Kancho rolled a few times and wiped his forehead.
If he had been just three Kancho-meters closer, all his tail hairs would have been burned off.
"Where did that come from?!"
Jumping up and looking around, Kancho frowned.
He wondered how they managed to land it here, but it was from the sky.
Seven lights shimmered in his vision, apparently reloaded.
"Evasive maneuvers!"
Darting away!
He scattered clay to create an explosion and then changed direction, sprinting off.
Since his body was small, as long as he didn't get hit directly, it was fine.
Or, unless the entire surrounding area was blown away...
"Huh?!"
Cold sweat trickled down his face as the light filled his vision.
Now he saw it wasn't seven, but dozens.
This, this, maybe he should de-summon his manifestation... Spot!
Something leaped into the space between the projectiles and Kancho in an instant.
[Spread of Fighting Spirit]
A blue energy scattered into the air, forming a domain unique to a Dokkaebi.
And by the time he came to his senses.
Kwaaaaang!
All the incoming projectiles were deflected outward.
Twitch, twitch, twitch!!
Kancho's eyes sparkled intensely.
He had been watching the whole time, but he hadn't seen a thing.
That was how absurdly fast the movement was.
"You're here! This is totally daebak!"
Renya, glancing back, spoke.
"Go to the main camp and tell them. I can't stop all of them from getting through."
Killing them one by one was no problem.
But the other army would probably try to ignore Renya and push past.
It was physically impossible to block all of that too.
"Roger that!"
Kancho saluted, spun around, and ran off.
Another projectile flew in from behind him, but the result was the same.
Attacks that couldn't penetrate Renya were deflected elsewhere.
Crack.
Renya stretched his body and looked straight ahead.
Unlike last time, he wasn't wearing gauntlets or greaves imbued with attributes.
That was because he already knew.
That in all areas swept by Kamela's storm clouds, the protective barrier surrounding the enemies was removed.
In other words, he just had to kill them as he always did.
Swaaaah!
Dodging a sword that shot up from the ground, he pulled out a monster that had been hiding.
It was disgustingly huge and wouldn't come out completely.
He crushed its neck and then glared at the legion surging forward like a flood.
They seemed to be real angels.
More than half of the monsters were flapping their wings and floating in the sky.
'It's been a while.'
Bending his knees at a right angle, he lowered his stance.
[Dokkaebi Fist Art - Qi Explosion]
As he extended both hands, the formation pattern of the domain began to change.
A deep blue light shimmered in his clenched fists.
And as he lightly thrust them into the sky twice.
Kwaang! Kwang!!
Two monsters in a straight line fell, their faces crushed.
'Is this the best range I can get?'
Having made his assessment, Renya kicked off the ground.
He plunged into the midst of the divine army and began pounding everything in sight.
A smile slowly spread across his lips.
Maybe because they were so big, the feel of hitting them was satisfying.
"Kuaaaah!!"
The monsters poured out attacks as if they had been waiting, but it was futile.
Renya dodged everything as if he had eyes in the back of his head.
Because he was weaving between the monsters and attacking, even targeting him was difficult.
Ratatatatatata!!!
Projectiles made of blue energy were launched.
Monsters that couldn't even react properly to the dozens of suddenly surging energies were crushed.
Thump!
Renya leaped forward and extended his leg.
It was a simple push kick with nothing special about it.
Kuuuuuuung!!
But its power was far from simple.
Dozens of giants fell like dominoes, unable to withstand the weight.
Stepping on a knee, he launched himself up and blew off the head of the next monster.
"Ha."
Renya, floating in the air, stretched his lips into a long grin.
As expected, it was fun.
Killing things.
So.
Kwaang!!
Let's kill them with all our might.
Until our body stops moving.
Without stopping.
Continuously.
Kwaaaaang!!!
* * *
Temple of Azriel.
"Ugh..."
Beria Blackwell, coming to her senses, frowned.
What the hell had happened?
The moment the false apostle disappeared, a bombardment had struck.
That bombardment had completely destroyed the temple that had protected this place for ages.
'Such an absurd level of power.'
The bombardment had, of all things, possessed the opposing dark attribute.
Thanks to that, even the divine army that had just begun to rise was swept away.
Even having witnessed it directly, it was a reality difficult to accept.
"L-Lord!?"
Beria, realizing belatedly, turned her head.
Azriel, looking at Beria indifferently, spoke.
"What happened?"
Azriel spoke as if the whole thing was terribly boring.
Even though the temple had collapsed and the army had been swept away right before his eyes, his tone suggested that such things were no problem at all.
Then Azriel's face twisted.
"How dare a mere servant look upon me?"
"F-Forgive me!"
Beria quickly bowed her body.
"Since you performed the ritual for me, I will forgive you this once. But do not forget. I spared your eyes only because I needed someone to carry out my will. I can replace you with another at any time."
"I will keep that in mind!!"
Swallowing dryly, Beria looked around.
All the pilgrims except for her had been horribly crushed by the explosion and debris.
'The Lord protected me.'
Her heart swelled, and her body felt hot.
It felt like her years of asceticism were being rewarded.
'The Lord...'
She carefully observed the progress of the resurrection ritual.
Although the temple had been swept away, the ritual itself was unaffected.
The gate had already been opened.
Now, nothing could stop Azriel's descent.
'Truly... an absurd level of divine power.'
Beria, who also handled divine power, could feel it.
A divine power so vast its end couldn't be fathomed, making one wonder if an end even existed.
He wasn't even half awake yet, and it was already this strong. When the Lord fully descended, just how powerful a light would be cast upon the world?
'The light awakened from the abyss will brighten the sky, defeat the darkness, and awaken the ignorant, ushering in a new era.'
Reciting the scripture in her heart, she clasped her hands together.
The Lord's words were correct.
Even if there was interference, it was just a struggle that wouldn't affect the overall situation.
If she ignored it and continued her prayers...
"Whoa, it's disgustingly big."
Her eyes, which were about to close, snapped open.
Was he mistaken, thinking this was his own home?
He had vanished like a shot before the explosion, and now he was strolling back in.
She rose to her feet, hands still clasped.
As a servant of the Lord, she had to inform this false apostle.
That no matter what he was plotting, it was already too late.
"If you bow your head to the Lord even now...?"
A question mark formed over her head as her body floated into the air.
What the hell was that human?
What was he, that he would kick her the moment she started speaking?
Before she could even seek an answer to this, Beria was swallowed by a pit of light.
'Was that too much?'
He wondered if, as a decent human being, he should have listened to the end before kicking her.
Well, she was already gone, so there was nothing he could do.
Shrugging his shoulders, Jinhyuk walked over to face Azriel.
As expected of a Cosmic Horror.
Even though only his chest had emerged, he had to crane his neck for a long time just to meet his eyes.
"We finally meet."
[The Divine Being Azriel is staring at Player Eugene Hyuk!]
"You have lost your fear, just as before."
"I hear that a lot."
A strange silence flowed between them.
Unlike before, Azriel did not command Jinhyuk to bow his head.
Because he knew it was a human who wouldn't listen even if he tried.
"I heard you slew Teharam in the Sea of Wailing."
"The rumors have already spread that far, huh."
"It happens from time to time. A being who accomplishes a very small feat and mistakenly believes it to be a great achievement."
Azriel leaned forward.
"The name 'Remnant of Judgment' was given by humans. To me, Teharam is nothing more than a very small pet creature."
Having said this much, Azriel let out a small hum.
"You are overly arrogant for the power you possess. But I admit it. That power will be very useful in the human world."
"Compliments always feel good."
One corner of Azriel's mouth lifted.
"Now... stop hiding and tell me. What do you desire? What is it that you truly wish for, that you awakened me and also killed the remaining pilgrims to monopolize my grace?"
As Jinhyuk remained silent for a while, Azriel extended his newly revealed hand.
"Human. If you wish, I will bestow my light upon you. Become my servant."
"Light, huh. That sounds nice. But sorry, that's not nearly enough."
"Not enough?"
"I want all of you."
"Excessive greed invites calamity."
Azriel's voice was laced with anger.
But Jinhyuk didn't care.
"That's not important."
"What?"
Jinhyuk smiled leisurely and continued.
"I want it. So..."
He glanced back.
It seemed it had arrived.
He returned his head to its original position and met Azriel's eyes.
Then, he stretched his lips into a long grin.
"It's a bit sudden, but I'll enjoy my meal."
He lightly swung his hand, removing the Black Dragon's scales that had been enveloping the temple.
At the same time, pitch-black clouds, containing something ominous, revealed themselves.
----------
T/N:
Just for being a free member, you'll get 5 advanced chapters every week!
Access 35 chapters in advance on my Patreon:[email protected]//towerup
