Five minutes before Momo and Kancho's mouths fell open.
*Dodododododo! Udadadada! Babababab!*
Kancho's short legs moved busily.
After entering the tower, Yodel Ranger Deputy Commander Kancho had been given the heavy responsibility of striking the enemy camp, holding the crossroads, and delaying the enemy's advance.
As an excellent ranger, he had successfully completed all these missions and returned.
One would think he deserved a rest as a reward.
"Kancho! Over here!"
Momo Sergeant's command began immediately.
"Coming!"
"Over there too!"
"Coming!"
"Back here again!"
"I'm here! Haaah, haaah!"
After moving the bundles, Kancho flopped onto his back.
The second-in-command of the Gut Troupe, Sergeant Mo's flawless yet extremely inefficient command.
Perhaps because of this, his stamina was depleting faster than usual.
'I can't! I can't rest!'
He gasped for breath and sprang back up.
At the enemy camp, Commander Jinhyuk was fighting, and not far away, Dark and Renya were facing the enemy army.
Even that lazy Neoguri Gul's Psybi, the old woman who was always saying "today or tomorrow," was continuing the ritual despite being exhausted.
He had to work harder.
"Huh?!"
Kancho, who had been moving busily, slammed on the brakes.
He sensed something—faint, but definitely there.
He pricked up his ears for a long while.
Walking to the cliff, Kancho leaned his head down.
It was hard to see through the fog, but something was slowly climbing up.
"Kancho, what are you looking at!"
Momo, wiping the sweat from her forehead, sat down beside him and leaned her head out as well.
About thirty seconds after the Kanmo duo started looking down.
The owner of the presence broke through the fog and revealed itself.
"Ugh."
"Ugh."
Kancho and Momo grimaced at the same time.
Not only was it disgustingly huge, but its appearance was even more grotesque than the Teharam they had seen last time.
Behind it were hundreds of angel-type monsters.
Since the frontal defense wasn't breaking through, they had made a large detour and come under the cliff.
Kancho quickly pulled out his Yodel Whistle.
*Piiiiiiiiiiiiii---!!!*
The whistle sound echoed throughout the entire cliff area.
Momo grabbed Kancho's pointed ears with her chubby hand.
"Hurry up and spread the clay! You clay-slinger!"
"Ow ow! There's no clay! I used it all!"
"No! It's a surprise attack!"
Momo jumped up to alert everyone.
But she didn't need to run far.
Because someone was already getting up and walking over.
The strongest force in the party.
"Battalion Commander is here! Down below! They're swarming!"
At first, they thought there were only about five or six hundred.
But as time passed, the number was growing exponentially.
Seira approached the cliff and looked down.
Then she placed her hands on Momo and Kancho's heads.
"Good work. Fall back."
"Understood! Loyalty!"
"Loyalty!"
Their answers were loud, but Momo and Kancho didn't run far.
They only moved about three Kancho-meters away before peeking down at the cliff again.
Their hearts were already pounding.
What kind of brilliant, incredible move would Black Knight Brigade Commander Seira Kincaiton show?
As Seira quietly gazed, four holy swords rose around her.
She reached for the red-tinted sword among them.
It was the Blood Demon's Sword, Bloodrain, once used by Vice-Commander Kan Randio.
Holding the sword upside down, Seira spoke.
"Pierce through. Blood Thorns."
She murmured softly and simply let go of the sword.
"The sword is falling!"
"No! That's an incredibly good sword!"
Startled, Momo and Kancho leaned out a little further.
Bloodrain fell right into the middle of the enemy camp.
Then, the sword seemed to gurgle with red liquid.
*Chwajajajajak!!!*
Thorns made of blood burst forth.
At first, only a few dozen were pierced, but that was just the beginning.
Bloodrain, absorbing the enemy's blood, created new thorns.
From the tip of a thorn, another thorn; from that tip, another new thorn.
Thorns made of blood freely changed angles and directions, swallowing the entire sky in an instant.
"Kuhuh...!!!"
"Kuh...!!!"
The Kanmo duo's mouths fell wide open.
Seira hadn't swung her sword while sweating or stomped her feet busily.
All she had done was drop her sword, and that alone had ended the battle.
The ancient lifeform that had surged up with tremendous force was the same.
It had quickly risen to dodge, but the blood thorns were much faster.
Pierced by thousands of thorns, the lifeform poured out a massive amount of thick fluid.
"Ugh! Momo, don't bring that over!"
"Ugh! We can't eat that! It's gross!"
*Clink.*
Kamelia, who had stopped the ritual, turned her head.
Then, like the Kanmo duo, she let out a hollow laugh.
'...Strong.'
She had lived for many years and met countless generals and warriors.
But she had never seen anyone so overwhelmingly powerful that the word "strong" felt inadequate.
Once all enemies were pierced, Seira reached out again.
Bloodrain rose as quietly as it had fallen and returned to its master's hand.
Perhaps because it had drunk so much blood, it was emitting a strange resonance.
"Hm?"
Was it because the sound had stopped?
Seira turned her eyes toward Kamelia.
The Kanmo duo, who had also realized belatedly, looked at Kamelia, who had somehow stopped.
Kamelia was beyond exhausted, her entire body soaked in blood and sweat.
"Granny! Are you tired?! I'll get you a potion from Elia!"
"I appreciate it, but I'll decline."
Kamelia smiled faintly and shook her head.
Even if she collapsed from exhaustion, she didn't want to drink that.
"Surely not."
As if Seira's guess was correct, Kamelia slowly stepped aside.
At the edge of the Cheonmyeongdan.
The lifeform lying spread-eagled began to squirm.
The corner of the mouth of the shaman Kamelia, who had risen high, curled up.
Finally, it had awakened.
The gluttonous predator that would end this fight.
---
Inside the collapsed temple.
The divine being Azriel burst into laughter once again.
How could he not?
The being with the shabby name of "Sikwangdaeshin" that the human before him had confidently brought had just been annihilated.
So cleanly that not a trace could be found.
The amount that had been devoured until now was enormous, causing his descent to nearly stop and his entire body to be full of holes, but he didn't care.
He could just fill it back up.
*Swaaaaah!*
Azriel instantly recovered and spoke leisurely.
"What happened? It seems your faith has crumbled? Is this the result of daring to spout nonsense at me?"
Jinhyuk didn't answer.
He just quietly stared at Azriel, who had emerged up to his waist.
It seemed the potion that had weakened Azriel earlier had also worn off.
The descent was speeding up again.
"Now, what cards do you have left? How will you struggle? Don't tell me you're going to beg for mercy now?"
Azriel sneered.
The protection of divinity, which had been withdrawn when Sikwangdaeshin was annihilated, had returned.
From now on, whether the human shot scales or swung swords, they wouldn't reach him.
"I could crush you to death right now, but I won't."
He had never encountered a being that had deceived and insulted him like this.
He absolutely couldn't kill him easily.
"I'll make you watch. Watch as countless beings die because of your arrogance and recklessness. Don't think you're safe just because you're a being from outside the tower. No matter how long it takes, I will personally descend there. Just as I have been resurrected today."
The curses and threats continued endlessly.
Jinhyuk, scratching his ear, reluctantly opened his mouth.
"Do you know why Sikwangdaeshin disappeared?"
"You've become talkative now that you've used all your cards."
"Because he fulfilled his role. To be precise, he was like a straw."
"I should shut that mouth of yours first."
A giant palm descended from the sky.
Even if he didn't kill him, he intended to crush him so he couldn't speak carelessly.
At that moment.
*Kwadeuk!!*
A question mark formed on Azriel's face.
Where had it gone?
My arm, which was heading toward the human.
And what was that?
What had just surged up and swallowed my arm?
"A happy reunion, isn't it?"
Azriel's body shook violently.
The familiar... no, the unforgettable aura of his nemesis, who had suddenly appeared.
"Impossible!!!!"
He roared harshly.
It made no sense.
It was impossible.
That one could never return, so how...
"Since it's awakened, it's no longer impossible, right?"
Jinhyuk, smiling, turned his gaze downward.
The great sin of Sloth and Gluttony, Nia, who had just manifested in front of him.
Nia turned around and raised her small palm.
"Yoo-hoo. Mast-er."
How could this be?
Even her voice was so drawn out.
Was it because she had just woken up?
"Hi."
Rubbing her eyes a couple of times, Nia let out a long yawn.
"I'm sleepy."
She had slept, but it seemed it still wasn't enough.
She was almost at the level of a sleepy cat.
Nia slowly stroked her belly.
Just like Great-Grandma Teacher, it was bulging out.
"I'm hungry."
"It's an illusion!!!"
As Nia looked this way, an attack flew in.
I was about to tell her to watch out.
*Kwajik!*
Something like a wolf's snout shot out from Nia's body and swallowed Azriel's attack.
"Mmm, delicious."
Was it because Azriel was greatly shaken?
The entire temple trembled, and the light streams filling the puddles became unstable.
He was flailing his arms, trying to escape this place by any means.
"Huh."
Even though he was seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't easily believe it.
The divine being Azriel, with a cosmic horror-level size.
The majesty he had shown until just now had vanished without a trace.
Now, only intense fear remained.
The fear of prey facing the apex predator in the food chain.
Jinhyuk watched this for a moment, then curled his lips.
"You were lying. About fighting Nia on equal footing."
Nia didn't remember Azriel.
Even now, she was just drooling, thinking he looked delicious.
In other words, Azriel was nothing more than prey to Nia.
It made no sense that such a being had exhausted most of Nia's power.
"Master. Can I eat this?"
The percentage until complete descent was 20 percent.
Had he realized he couldn't escape now? Azriel shouted urgently.
"S-stop! I'll give you everything you want! If you want power, I'll lend it to you! I'll give you this endless brilliance! Do you want the world? I'll bring it to you with your own hands! Do you want to become a god?! I'll make you one!"
As Azriel babbled whatever came to mind.
Jinhyuk curled his lips into a long smile.
"Wake up."
"What...?"
"Prey talking about the world. Nia."
"Hm."
Slowly, he turned away from the prey.
"Eat."
With that single word, it was erased.
The brilliant light of tyranny was completely, utterly cleanly erased.
*Ding!*
----------
T/N:
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