Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Rift Opening (12)

Thanks to my swift judgment, the claws of the Corrupted Bodies that had crossed in several directions failed to reach me and tore through empty air instead. 

However, a Corrupted Body that had aged for over five years and started going berserk was beyond standard in every single movement it made.

WHOOOOSH.

As my body floated in midair from the fall, three human silhouettes ran along the waterway wall and flew toward me at high speed.

Behind me, beyond the collapsed wall I had passed through, a dark river shimmering with light drew closer with every passing instant.

I stretched a hand toward the undead.

Reptile Transmutation.

Undead Serpent, Giantification.

RUMBLE……!

The already massive body of the Undead Serpent rapidly swelled.

The undead’s body, now ten times larger than before, plunged into the surface of the water and sent up a violent spray.

The Undead Serpent reached the riverbed, supported its body, and opened its enormous jaws toward me.

TAP.

Inside that mouth, I grabbed one of its fangs, poured Demonic Aura into it, and cast a curse.

Mid-Rank Black Magic, Deadly Poison Curse.

HSSSSSS!

Black smoke rose from the fang.

The deadly poison mixed with neurotoxin and corrosive poison transformed into a poisonous mist strengthened by Black Magic, swallowing me and the Corrupted Bodies alike.

The movements of the Corrupted Bodies that inhaled the poisonous mist halted, and their feet slipped free as they fell downward.

Normally, I would have been affected by this ‘Deadly Poison Curse’ as well, but.

Valak’s Authority, Reptilian Poison Immunity.

Valak’s Authority, which granted resistance to all poisons related to reptiles, nullified the poison’s effect itself.

Then, I pulled out the second fang of the Undead Serpent beside me and set foot atop the undead’s head.

Shadow Forging.

Shadow Lance, Single Forging.

I used the fang as a medium and forged a Shadow Lance.

Because the fang itself was so large, the cone-shaped lance was more than ten times my height.

CREAK.

I grasped the handle of the completed Shadow Lance with one hand.

Curse Enchant.

Deadly Poison Curse.

Black deadly poison rose from the lance, letting out something like a screaming activation hum.

Shadow Forging.

Shadow Lance, Rotation.

RUMBLE!

The cone of the lance began spinning to one side and immediately gained speed, turning the rising ‘Deadly Poison Curse’ into a spiral.

In terms of pure power and range, this was the strongest Black Magic I could currently perform with my abilities.

If it struck them directly, even a Special Grade Corrupted Body would suffer a fatal wound.

‘Let’s go down.’

SWISH!

The undead thrust its head toward the falling Corrupted Bodies.

I, standing on its head, lowered my body in time with it and aimed the lance tip containing the fang toward the Corrupted Bodies.

CRACKLE! SNAP!

Soon after, I frowned at the sight of the Corrupted Bodies beginning to jerk their bodies.

Hah, I did not think it would fail to bind them for even two seconds.

As expected of Special Grade Corrupted Bodies, they had already developed resistance to the poison.

GRIND……!

BAM!

The Corrupted Bodies noticed my attack and drove their mutated tails into the wall all at once, firmly fixing their falling bodies against it.

CRAAACK……!

The wall they touched was corrupted black-red, and at the same time, it writhed like a living creature as the range of corruption spread.

That was unmistakably ‘Reptile Transmutation.’

Since it was an Authority activated by three Special Grade Corrupted Bodies together, its range and power would be considerable. 

However, the range and power of this Shadow Lance were not inferior to that either.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Black-red snakes burst out one after another from the corrupted wall.

Large and small corrupted snakes writhed, weaving their bodies together like vines.

The swarm of snakes, moving as though it were a single body, rushed toward me and bared its fangs all at once.

I adjusted my stance, stood at the very front of the undead’s head, and thrust the lance forward with both hands.

RUMBLE!

My Shadow Lance collided head-on with the swarm of snakes.

The snakes that came into contact with the lance were shredded by the deadly poison and rotational force, sending dark, murky blood flying.

The Undead Serpent also tried to thrust its head toward the Corrupted Bodies.

However.

KIIIIII……!

‘X-damn it, do they not know the meaning of moderation?’

I had intended to pierce through the swarm of snakes and immediately drive this Shadow Lance into Lucia, but the number of snakes emerging from the corrupted wall showed no sign of decreasing.

GRIIIIIND!

No, if anything, the number of snakes being transmuted had doubled compared to just a moment ago.

My undead and I gradually began to be pushed back by the snakes’ sheer numbers.

At this rate... I was the one who would die instead.

GRIND!

I caught an out-of-place noise from inside the swarm of snakes and sent a Thought-Message.

‘Move your head to the side.’

KIRRK.

The moment the undead carried out my order, Lucia burst out from between the snakes and raked her nails across the spot where I had just been standing.

Her nails cut through empty air, but Lucia did not stop there. 

She deeply tore open one side of the undead’s head.

CRUNCH!

Having lost sight in one eye, the undead’s body swayed, unable to keep its balance.

It was desperately trying to steady itself, but at this rate, stopping that swarm of snakes would be impossible.

“Kh…….”

I cannot keep this up any longer.

I put strength into the tips of both my feet.

‘Bend your body to the left!’

KIIIK……!

At the same time the undead snapped its body once with great force.

Void Storage.

I reverse-summoned the Giantified undead as it was.

KIIYAAAH!

The swarm of snakes, having lost their target, covered the spot where I had been a moment ago.

Lucia, who had fallen straight from the Undead Serpent’s body, was left floating in midair.

“Grr……?”

This time, I was faster.

I tried to stab Lucia, intending to drive even the remaining curse into her, but even that was not easy.

BOOM!

‘You X-shit…….’

Before I knew it, two Corrupted Bodies had leaped right in front of my eyes and were bending one leg toward me.

Are they really Corrupted Bodies? 

Why are they coordinating so well?

To block the Corrupted Bodies’ attacks, I raised the Shadow Lance above my head like a shield.

KU-BOOM!

The lance was struck directly by two roundhouse kicks from Special Grade Corrupted Bodies and immediately broke apart in two.

After taking the remaining impact head-on, I was driven diagonally downward.

I was moving so fast that my body struck the surface of the water and skipped across it like a stone.

BOOM!

“Hoo, haah…….”

It was hard to breathe. 

My ribs were definitely broken.

I forced myself to ignore my entire screaming body and steadied my shaking vision.

The impact had been so powerful that the stone waterway boundary I had risen onto was deeply gouged.

This is damned rotten, truly……. Was this river not about one kilometer wide?

Truly, the physical abilities of those Corrupted Bodies far surpassed my expectations.

I immediately cast my gaze to the opposite side and frowned.

The area around the river, which flowed one kilometer wide, was wide open.

That was why I could see it even more clearly.

“…Wow, insane.”

BLOOP, BLOOP……. BUBBLE…….

Not only the wall where the Corrupted Bodies had just stood, but even the surface of the nearby water had turned black-red.

Although not much time had passed since the Corrupted Bodies appeared, the range of corruption was greedily expanding as though it intended to devour everything.

KIIIIII……!

KIYAAAA……!

Black-red snakes constantly burst out from the wall and water surface altered by corruption, writhing their bodies.

They varied in size, and among the snakes raising their bodies, there were even some similar in size to the Undead Serpent I had Giantified. 

They were large enough to make the Undead Serpent I had summoned look cute.

The gazes of the corrupted snakes, having read the will of the Corrupted Bodies that created them, fixed on me all at once.

Lucia and the two Corrupted Bodies led the corrupted snakes, stepping across the water’s surface as they charged fiercely toward me.

HSSSS…….

Each time their feet touched the water, corruption spread across the surface, expanding the black-red domain.

The corrupted snakes created within that domain also slid nimbly toward me.

“Hah, X-damn it…….”

I could not even tell how many there were.

“So they were not called a ‘Spark of War’ for nothing?”

This was my first time facing Lucia after she had gone berserk.

On top of that, Corrupted Bodies I had not anticipated had joined Lucia, making the battle far more disadvantageous than I had expected.

My physical condition was also at its worst.

If I stayed like this, those Corrupted Bodies would tear my body apart and kill me.

-Keek keek, where did that momentum you showed a moment ago go?

‘You are noisy. You keep chattering on and on.’

-You failed. It seems you have done everything you can with my Authority, have you not?

Valak snickered mockingly.

-Khuhuhu, still, do not worry. Once you die, I will put your soul to good use.

Even if she had become a Corrupted Body, she was still a Contractor who had contracted with Valak, so Valak’s Authority did not work properly on her.

The compatibility was not very good.

Even so.

GRIN-

I twisted up the corner of my mouth.

‘Well, I wonder about that.’

-Did you come this far and still fail to abandon your arrogance? Enough with the bluffing.

‘The arrogant one is not me, Valak.’

-What?

‘Did you think I made this bet relying only on your Authority?’

SHING.

I drew the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger.’

CRACK……!

‘One hundred percent.’

The ‘Mana Crystal Dagger,’ which had stored enough Demonic Aura after a sufficient amount of time had passed.

-That is…….

‘Consider it an honor.’

The Black Magic that only I, who had steadily refined it since my previous round, could use, and the Black Magic that had become the source of my regression.

SQUEEZE.

I absorbed the Demonic Aura stored in the handle of the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger.’

After the ‘Mana Crystal Dagger’ fulfilled its role, I slid it back into its sheath and gathered the Demonic Aura surging through my body straight into my heart.

THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!

My heart throbbed from being overfilled with Demonic Aura, but I ignored it and drew a formula onto my heart.

Each stroke of the formula carved into my heart made the capillaries across my entire body feel as if they were about to burst. 

Even with my enhanced ‘Full-Body Demonic Armament’ active, the burden placed on my body was considerable.

KIYAAAH!

The maw of the black-red snake at the front was already right before my eyes. 

It was moving faster than I had thought.

When I looked closer, red ‘Demonic Armament’ had risen over the snake’s entire body. 

Had the corruption already advanced that far?

If I stood still like this, that corrupted snake would swallow me whole, but that did not matter. 

The formula was already nearly complete.

At the same time I drew the final stroke of the formula with Demonic Aura.

High-Rank Black Magic, Curse of Time.

SSSSHHH…….

All color vanished before my eyes.

***

Gray.

No matter where I looked, everything was gray.

I glanced sidelong at the maw of the snake that had charged at me just a moment ago.

Sssss…….

Slow.

The speed that had been so fast until just moments ago now felt like a lie... each individual scale came into detailed focus.

Lucia, the Corrupted Bodies, and the corrupted snakes on the other side were no exception.

Their speeds varied, but all of them were equally slow.

Everything before my eyes was perceived like a scene in slow motion.

A sense of silence, as if I alone were alive and breathing in the broad landscape.

A soundless stillness.

No, perhaps it was not stillness.

-Wh-what? What… is… this……?

After all, Valak’s Thought-Message was stammering inside my head.