Twitch, twitch!
Yodel Ranger Vice-Captain Kancho's ears perked up as he displayed erratic movements.
Kancho, who had been holding a yodel telescope, stuck out his thumb.
"Operation Ni-Yaji drop has been successfully completed!"
"What the hell is Ni-Yaji?"
"It's a combination of Nia and Do-Yaji. I made it up!"
Kancho puffed out his chest with a proud expression.
As I patted him on the head, a chubby face poked in from the side.
"Where did Nia go?!"
Momo was examining Kancho's bamboo fishing rod from all angles.
Why is she checking that fishing rod first when she's looking for Nia?
"Nia is gone."
"What?! Where to?!"
"The Commander-in-Chief threw her down there."
"!?"
A *boom!* sound effect seemed to ring out.
Momo's eyes trembled in shock.
"What kind of owner just throws away Nia because she eats too much, you pot-bellied jerk!"
I realized something anew.
That words can get greatly distorted when passed along.
And she's one to talk, with her own huge belly!
"The eating broadcast begins!"
At Kancho's words, I quickly turned my head.
The Fangs of Gluttony burst out explosively, spreading in all directions.
If my Gwangshik's teeth were like a puppy's, those were probably like the teeth of Fenrir, the monstrous wolf from Norse mythology.
*Kwa-ga-ga-ga-k!!*
The fangs didn't touch the Blue Knights.
They only focused on chewing and swallowing the light surrounding the sanctuary.
It seemed they too realized what Nia was trying to do.
They shot out an enormous amount of light to repair the barrier.
"What idiots, not hitting the glutton Nia but fixing the shield instead!"
"Hey, Momo-dari! That chubby head of yours is just for show! Hitting her is useless, so over there… Aya-ya!"
"Don't call me a pig!!"
"When did I ever call you a pig?!"
I subtly pushed the bickering Kancho and Momo far away.
Then I looked at Nia, who was in a power struggle with the entire sanctuary.
The name 'little giant' truly suited her well.
To think she was taking on all those Lumennds with such a small stature.
'They must have serious PTSD.'
From the Lumennds' perspective, the appearance of the Seed Knights alone would have been enough to make them faint.
And on top of that, Nia, whom they thought they had sent away forever, had reappeared.
It was a situation that would make anyone's legs give out in despair.
Yet, Nekiel and the apostles still gathered as much light as they could to reinforce the barrier.
'Well, they have to give it their all, what else can they do.'
For those Lumennd bastards, that barrier of protection was their last bastion.
If even a tiny crack appeared?
That would be the end.
The nightmare that had come from afar to finish them off would pour in.
'Let's see, let's see.'
I rubbed my chin and surveyed the battle situation.
'There!'
I snapped my fingers and stood up.
Nekiel and the apostles had emptied their other sides, focusing entirely on Nia.
They probably had no idea, even in their dreams.
That another Gwangshik existed, even if it was only at the level of a puppy.
"I'm going."
At my sudden declaration, the Kan-Mo duo, who had been bickering, drew question marks.
I gave them a thumbs-up and then threw myself downward.
"What kind of owner goes skydiving?!"
"Hey, Mo-yaji! Where did you pick up such a disrespectful word?! Words can become trees, you know! You need a beating to come to your senses!"
"Yaaaaa!"
Whatever was happening below, the Momo and Kancho duo started hitting each other first.
Meanwhile, Jinhyuk, who had fallen to his target height, flipped his body around.
And he reached out his hand toward the empty spot that had been left vacant.
[Gwangshik (Light Eater)]
The puppy's teeth reached out toward a corner of the barrier.
It looked like an incredibly weak attack, but the result was grand.
*Kwa-deuk!!*
A part of the protection was bitten off and torn away by the teeth.
The Seed Knights, who had momentarily stopped moving, turned their heads toward me.
'Oh shit.'
All eyes shifted at once.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it a scene from a horror movie.
If they were enemies, I might have collapsed in fear.
'Huh?'
It wasn't just the knights who sensed this change.
My eyes met Nekiel's, who had been dealing with Nia on the opposite side.
He didn't have mind-reading abilities.
But it was so clear that I couldn't miss it.
An immense rage that wanted to rush over and tear me to shreds.
I raised both hands and then turned one hand as if spinning a virtual pulley.
My middle finger was raised powerfully toward Nekiel.
Finally, I even drew a smile before stepping back.
A brief silence flowed through the sanctuary.
Nekiel's eyes widened as he realized the situation.
'That treacherous rat bastard!!!'
He opened his mouth, his voice filled with radiance.
"Block them!! Lower left side!!"
He shouted, but it was too late.
*Kwa-aaaa-ah!!!*
The knights crawled up the barrier at incredible speed and poured through the gap.
What followed was predictable.
The knights began doing what they had to do.
They stabbed, slashed, and crushed every Lumennd in their path.
It was only a part of the entire sanctuary, but the sight was enough to shake all the Lumennds.
The Lumennds who had been adding light stepped back, and Nia's Devouring, which had been struggling, instantly consumed the protection.
*Kwa-cha-ang!!!!*
The sanctuary's protection shattered and fell spectacularly.
I spread my arms wide and welcomed the fragments with pleasure.
*Kwa-deu-deuk! Kwa-jik! Kwa-jak!*
The knights surged in like a tidal wave, slaughtering the Lumennds.
It was different from when they faced Radiana and her army.
How should I put it? Perhaps because they were facing what they truly wanted to catch, they rampaged much more violently.
*Ppyong!*
Nia, who had materialized on my shoulder, drooped like dried fish.
Perhaps because she had finished a long-overdue reckoning, she looked incredibly relieved.
A moment later, the great sin of Gluttony that had filled Nia subsided, and the great sin of Sloth, which had been cowering in a corner, poked its head out.
How do I know?
Her eyelids, which had been wide open just a moment ago, were slowly drooping.
She had already become the usual half-closed-eyed Sleepyhead.
Nia, who was looking at me, stuck out her tiny thumb.
Since the culprit was satisfied, it was okay.
"I'm sleepy."
She said that, and in less than two seconds, she was fast asleep.
It wasn't surprising, considering she had done more work than she had since joining us.
Maybe this time, she wouldn't wake up for over a week?!
Then I'd have to make sure to feed her well so she wouldn't be hungry.
She's a friend who eats well even in her sleep.
*Jeobeok.*
I thought about lending a hand and stepped beyond the shattered protection.
At that moment.
*Ding!*
[The corrupted World Tree, Nemesis, has been affected by an unknown Seed!]
[Due to the Seed, the contamination level drops to its lowest point! The memories of Nemesis, suppressed by the contamination, awaken!]
[It is an old memory. Nemesis wishes to show the Player her memories! Do you accept?]
I stopped in my tracks at the unexpected message.
I had momentarily forgotten since entering the sanctuary.
That this place was still connected to Nemesis's domain.
'Memories of the World Tree?'
I couldn't resist that.
I immediately nodded to accept the proposal.
[The memories of Nemesis, the World Tree that once supported an axis of the past world, unfold!]
* * *
The Lumennd Sanctuary.
The god Nekiel's face twisted.
'This is my space.'
A sanctuary perfected with long hours and effort.
And that sanctuary was being thoroughly violated by a pursuer who had chased from afar.
'This is my power.'
Nekiel grew stronger by consuming faith and belief.
The Lumennd followers who held such faith and belief were essentially fragments of his power.
And that power was being swept away helplessly.
'It is all mine.'
Even seeing it with his own eyes, he couldn't believe it.
Just an hour ago, the sanctuary was a perfect space for the Lumennds, but now it had turned into a tomb for them.
"Kuaaaaagh!"
"G-God!!"
"Save u…!"
Followers were dying without even completing a single sentence.
The remaining ones looked at Nekiel with desperate eyes.
Even in this state, they firmly believed.
That whether it was the nightmare or the Seed Knights, their almighty god would save them.
But Nekiel did not.
He moved his steps.
More precisely, he turned his back on the followers.
Then he walked toward the apostles standing at the altar.
"The descent?"
"They are aware of the situation beyond and are hurrying. The first descent will be possible soon!"
Apostle Grude stepped forward.
He was supposed to descend first among the advance party.
"I will go ahead and clear the path!"
*Kwa-aaaa-ah…!*
Light poured out from the altar.
It meant the ritual had begun beyond.
Grude moved toward it.
*Seogeok!*
"…?"
Grude looked down at his lower body, which had gone cold.
Where had it gone?
It had been perfectly attached just a moment ago.
He turned his head toward Nekiel to find an answer to this question.
Then, an unbelievable sight came into view.
Nekiel was crushing and killing all the nearby waiting apostles.
"G-God…?"
Nekiel reached out and crushed Grude's head.
There was no time to clear a path.
It was only a matter of time before the sanctuary was devoured by that nightmare.
He had to escape immediately.
Even Nekiel couldn't subdue all those nightmares.
*Kwa-deu-deuk!*
He clenched his fist in boiling rage.
Only one face came to mind.
Yoo Jinhyuk, the instigator of this entire situation, who had dragged a nightmare from another dimension here.
For some reason, he had now vanished without a trace.
Perhaps that was why an even more terrible rage surged.
To turn his sanctuary into this state and then run away.
There were no words to describe this intense frustration.
'I will find you and kill you. I will surely give you the worst possible death.'
The first thing to do after the descent was decided.
No matter how long it took, he would catch and kill him.
He had no doubt that it was absolutely possible.
According to Min Soyul, beyond was a world with restrictions for them.
In contrast, he was at one hundred percent of his power.
Whether it was the great sins of Gluttony and Sloth or Yoo Jinhyuk, it was impossible for them to defeat him while bearing those restrictions.
"You will awaken again as a part of me."
He muttered to himself as he watched the followers being slaughtered.
It wasn't to save them.
It was merely to gather the scattered fragments of power again.
After speaking, Nekiel slowly turned away from the collapsing sanctuary.
And he melted into the light of the altar.
It was the descent.
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T/N:
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