episode_0021

It was akin to a unilateral massacre.

With each swing of Mukya’s weapon, nearly a dozen necks of monsters and villains were severed, followed by the bodies of the staggering dregs being torn apart.

But there was no room for complacency.

The most formidable creature identified outside the gate was a calamity-level monster rivaling the top tier A-ranks.

There was no way the most potent force would recklessly be unleashed outside; either there was something even mightier than a calamity-level creature here, or it was plausible that there were several calamity-level monsters.

However, among those currently charging at me, none possessed such power.

Instead, these creatures… gave off a sense of deliberately seeking death.

“For what purpose?”

While there was a sense of time being stretched thin, there was also a feeling of missing something crucial.

Amidst the relentless swings of Mukya, I assessed the surroundings.

It didn’t seem like they intended to hold people captive and stage a hostage situation. Fortunate from my standpoint.

From the passages in all directions, malevolent figures clad in robes poured out endlessly. Looking at this, the square… seemed somehow familiar.

“It’s like an altar.”

A massive altar used for offering sacrifices to deities.

As I recalled that, the current circumstances fell perfectly into place, and understanding began to dawn on me.

These creatures had intended to conduct some kind of ritual here.

Moreover, it was a mass sacrifice, performed to summon something.

Given the number of people involved, assuming it was to summon something…

It wouldn’t be impossible to call forth a judgment-level monster comparable to Anubis.

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine.

“Are these vultures really…?”

Even if they summoned such a creature and caused chaos, did they genuinely believe they could rebuild the ’empire’?

They truly resembled a group of fanatics driven mad by ancient beliefs.

“Even if the ritual succeeds, do you really think you can control everything as you wish?”

In response to my question, the man who had been observing from afar let out a chillingly eerie laugh, his lips stretching unnaturally wide.

“Seeing through it all, as expected of the Twilight Beast. A devilish yearning that devours even Castlevania.”

It was a chilling voice, like scraping a chalkboard with iron nails.

As he tapped his staff, the closed doors slowly creaked open.

Kwahng!

With a force that shook the ground, they charged at me.

Fast. Almost too fast to see clearly.

If I hadn’t raised my gear to 5, I might have allowed a few hits.

“These are the ones.”

Disaster-level monsters known for abducting people outside the gate in large numbers.

“3? No, 4.”

More of them than I anticipated. Slightly inconvenient.

And most importantly, I didn’t know what kind of monsters they were.

They seemed more human-like than monster, yet not entirely human.

Like someone had grotesquely stitched together monster corpses into human-like forms.

As one leaped from afar, slashing with sharp claws, I muttered under my breath while brandishing my staff.

“…What a foul taste.”

However, before my staff could strike, another creature with large claws intercepted, forcing me to evade.

Each seemed to have different roles, with distinct features.

The one that charged at me first exhibited beast-like movements, wielding large claws, hence referred to as “Big Claw.”

The one that intercepted had wings where arms should be, thus called “Wing Arm,” and there was also one resembling a muscular human or samurai, with one arm replaced by a sword made of monster bone. Yet, these two had not shown any significant movement so far.

A man observing my confrontation with the monsters chuckled. Unpleasant to hear.

“Impressive, aren’t they? Our recent experimental creations we’ve been diligently working on.”

“…”

“Considering they’re chimeras, a fusion of human and monster, you might just be kin to them.”

Taat!

Without a word, I leaped toward the robed man with all my might.

Simultaneously, the two entities that had been silent until now blocked my path.

Ssuaeaak!

The mukya, swinging like a scythe, carves a dark trajectory and collides with the arm of the samurai entity.

Even in the midst of it, the man continued speaking.

“Isn’t that right? Kasparov.”

“Me.”

Kakak. The mukya digs into the samurai’s arm, bit by bit.

“Don’t call me that way!”

Finally, the samurai’s arm is completely severed, and it cuts from his right shoulder to his left flank.

However, other chimeras are not staying still.

Taking advantage of the samurai’s death, a humanoid creature comes in swinging a stone-like fist, which strikes my side.

“Ugh!”

My body floats up with a heavy impact. But the enemies don’t give me a moment’s rest and press on.

A massive claw, waiting in the direction my body was thrown, swings its claws with force.

I won’t die from taking that hit, but it certainly seemed like it would hinder the upcoming battle.

“I really hate this!”

Click! I raise the gear one more level. It’s already at level 6.

As my body heats up, the whole world seems to slow down.

Leaping over the ground with ease, in the distance, I see a rooster landing on the samurai’s remains.

“What is it trying to do?”

Before I can even think about it, the claw and the humanoid creature rush in and attack.

However, the gear attached to my body increases my physical abilities exponentially with each level rise.

It was a self-imposed restriction because my body couldn’t handle the power from the start.

So what I’m saying is, now, just two disaster-level monsters should not be a threat to me.

Dodging the consecutive attacks with ease, I asked the man who was still watching.

“Do you think you can rebuild the empire by creating such things?”

“You seem to be misunderstanding something.”

“…?”

“The empire never fell in the first place. Everything is simply flowing as ordained by him.”

“Him?”

“Oh twilight beast, is there something you’ve forgotten?”

What?

The large claw that was about to tear my throat with its teeth, after already having my arms severed, was split in half.

Are you forgetting something?

As I suddenly looked at the head of a rooster, it was eating the flesh of the samurai creature. Perhaps due to its influence, its body swelled, burst, and repeated the process of tearing and deforming.

It seems like the rooster has the power to absorb the strength of other creatures or something like that…

“That? Sorry, but with just that…”

“Not that. I’m asking if you’ve forgotten where you’re fighting right now.”

“Ah…?”

Following the man’s pointing finger, I looked down to see the bloodstained floor.

…No, it wasn’t the floor. It was a huge altar.

An altar performing a ritual to summon something through human sacrifice.

Thud, thud.

The man who had somehow come down to where I was walked toward the center of the altar with a dagger in one hand. It was still where I had collapsed with Dasul tied up.

“Although the sacrifice turned out to be the blood of our believers instead of what was planned.”

“Yes, Ye-rin!”

“Hwanghon’s beast, thanks to your rampage, the preparations are almost complete.”

They are trying to use Dasul as the final sacrifice!

When I tried to run at full speed to block him, a humanoid creature blocked my path.

“Get out of the way!”

I threw Mukya with all my might as if throwing a spear.

Whoosh! The humanoid creature with Mukya lodged in its abdomen flew far away.

Running with my claws sharpened as much as possible, an unexpected change occurred.

The man kicked Dasul far away and knelt in his place.

“The final sacrifice must be me. It was decided from the beginning.”

He plunged the dagger deep into his own heart and gazed at the empty space with a rapturous expression.

“Oh…! Oh! Mother! Have you come to meet me!”

Was he seeing hallucinations in his madness as he approached death? It felt like a bizarre and occult-like end.

He muttered incomprehensibly in a language I couldn’t understand for a while, then trembled and fell dead.

“…What?”

He died so dramatically, yet nothing happened at all.

Suddenly, there was a feeling of intense pressure. But it’s not over yet. Since the samurai entity has been absorbed by the rooster head, we need to deal with him quickly and take the survivors…

“Ah.”

The rooster guy. Before I knew it, he was munching on big claws and human-shaped entities.

Is he now a big-clawed human-shaped samurai rooster?

Even if only four disaster-level entities have merged, it doesn’t make much difference. Maybe they’ve just become about four times stronger than before?

I should be able to handle that level at Gear 6.

As I relaxed, intending to face him with a light heart, I suddenly realized that the situation wasn’t as relaxed as I had thought.

Kugung─!

In an instant, the blood of the dead scattered all around began to glow, flowing along the walls and floor, carving out a massive magic circle.

It was just a simple magic circle being carved before the magic unfolded, but it felt like my heart sank.

I absolutely cannot leave that thing completed.

It was an instinctive intuition.

If I endure the side effects and raise the gear more, I can somehow win and survive.

But then, all the survivors here would be dragged into the fight and perish.

I retrieve the mukya I threw earlier and cast a spell.

There are many ways. Since this type of magic heavily relies on the magic circle, simply damaging the magic circle would work, or I could block it with an “anti-magic field” spell.

Still, it’s better to be sure, so while casting the “anti-magic field,” I tried to disrupt the magic circle with mukya.

Kuwung─!

“…Oh.”

Standing in front of me, the super strong rooster let out a roar.

Krrararararararar!

…There isn’t much time until the summoning magic is cast, so it seems like I won’t be able to avoid a fight with him.