Ch.25Ep.25: Living Flame

“..! Elysse!!”

“Did you call for me, Lord of the Underworld?”

“Go to Kadinant immediately! Cthugha has descended!”

Hades, Lord of the Underworld.

While he had been contemplating how to quietly send Elysse up to Kadinant from the Underworld.

He detected a tremendous explosion in Kadinant, realizing that Cthugha had been summoned.

It was much sooner than expected.

Even for an Outer God, forcibly manifesting a Great Old One in Kadinant would be difficult.

But what did that matter now?

“Rescue Radios! If he meets his death, we have no future!!”

“I follow the Lord’s command.”

Elysse nodded respectfully to Hades’ order and headed toward Kadinant.

Hades had wanted to send her directly to Northret, but.

Given the situation, Elysse would likely land in an unknown location.

He could only hope she wouldn’t end up in Southret.

If she went to Midret, she would be detected by Namgung Ihyun, and if she detoured through Eastret or Westret, she would be too late.

“Radios..!”

Fortunately, it seemed he had managed to avoid danger by using the Sword of Judgment.

Hades watched the confrontation between him and Cthugha while trying to hide his trembling hands.

Hoping that Radios wouldn’t break while fighting against such immense power.

***

“Cough! Cough! Urgh….”

It had been a close call.

The moment Radios heard the incantation summoning Cthugha, he simultaneously activated the Sword of Judgment and his Goblin Mask skill.

To think he’d be thrown into such an insane situation with no preparation.

Still, he had managed to control it enough that his Guardian Spirit companions hadn’t entered the Underworld realm.

Should he consider that fortunate? He would have to face Cthugha alone.

[I sense… the foul energy of Olympus from you…]

As Radios was recovering his body and coughing.

A message was conveyed from the massive, blazing flames.

It was like telepathy, a method of communication.

Radios composed himself, feigning arrogance while maintaining a calm demeanor.

“Olympus may be dirty, but it’s cleaner than you lot.”

[I am Cthugha, the Living Flame. King and god of lightning and fire spirits.]

“What bullshit, you bastard.”

Though their exchange was brief, Radios realized he had lost one of his cards.

Specifically, he couldn’t use Zeus’s spear, Astrape, the weapon of the lightning god.

‘Lightning won’t work against this one.’

Of course, if Radios’s Order had been higher than Cthugha’s, he could have ignored any resistance.

Unfortunately, Radios hadn’t yet attained the Order of a demigod.

He had only gained attack power and destructive force equivalent to a demigod through the collaboration of the Goblin Mask and the Sword of Judgment.

His body hadn’t truly reached the realm of demigods.

The only card Radios could count on was:

‘Hades, you bastard… you’d better send her in time…’

That Elysse, who would arrive at Northret, would join the battle.

Elysse, who served as the Underworld’s messenger, was also a woman who had reached the realm of demigods.

While her powers would be restricted when coming up to Kadinant, once she entered the domain of the Sword of Judgment.

She could utilize all her Underworld abilities without restriction.

In other words, the plan was for Radios to wear down Cthugha’s health while taking damage.

And when Elysse arrived, she would deliver the finishing blow, making it perfect.

The problem was not knowing when Elysse would arrive, and that Cthugha was stronger than expected.

“Hey, you. Since you’re here, I’d like to ask you a few things.”

[I have no intention of conversing with a mere human. Especially one who has deep connections with the filthy Olympians.]

“Are you stronger, or is Cthulhu stronger?”

[…]

When Cthulhu’s name was mentioned, Cthugha’s body flinched.

It was just a momentary reduction in size as a strong wind swept through the flames.

But this alone revealed that Cthugha was agitated.

‘These prideful types can’t resist a versus debate.’

The argument about who’s stronger has been universal across all ages and worlds.

Especially among the three leaders of the Great Old Ones.

Cthugha the Living Flame, Cthulhu the Great Dreamer, and Hastur the Lord of Interstellar Space.

The debate about which of these three was the strongest among the Great Old Ones had been ongoing for ages.

For Radios, who needed to buy time, there couldn’t be a better provocation.

“Honestly, apart from fire, you don’t really have anything exceptional, do you?”

[You ignorant human. I am the strongest of the Great Old Ones. That explosion just now must have wiped out countless lives, don’t you know?]

“Sorry, but not a single person died from that explosion.”

To be precise, he had diverted the explosion’s aftermath to the Underworld realm using the Sword of Judgment.

But if saying this would irritate Cthugha, he was more than willing to do so.

Moreover, Radios had currently deactivated his Goblin Mask skill to catch his breath.

Through training, he could maintain the Sword of Judgment for extended periods.

But he was restraining himself from transforming into a goblin’s body, fearing he might be consumed by greed.

Of course, if Cthugha were to attack immediately, he was prepared to use it.

But Radios’s goal wasn’t annihilation but survival.

There was no need to fight until Elysse arrived.

However, Cthugha didn’t see it that way.

[I judge this to be a cheap trick to buy time. Come at me, youngster.]

“So it doesn’t work after all.”

Seeing Cthugha gathering magical power, Radios clicked his tongue as if he had no choice.

He used the Goblin Mask to transform into a goblin’s body and flew into the sky.

“Twilight Blade.”

[Fire Rain.]

Whoosh.

Tiny flames fell like rain.

Radios had experienced a fire rain skill in his previous battle with Kim Aram.

But Cthugha’s Fire Rain skill was on a completely different level.

‘Damn, it’s so hot.’

If he hadn’t been using the Goblin Mask, he would have been severely burned and unable to move properly.

But just as the goblin’s body wasn’t invincible, damage was steadily accumulating on Radios.

Moreover, despite swinging his Twilight Blade multiple times, Cthugha didn’t even bother to block.

[How foolish to try cutting me with a physical object, human.]

“So it really doesn’t work?”

Finally, Radios landed on the ground and prepared his next move.

“Formless Twilight Blade.”

[Oh, this is.]

Swish!

A formless blade shot toward Cthugha’s body.

Intrigued, Cthugha increased the size of his flames.

Whoosh.

The Formless Twilight Blade that Radios had fired vanished without a trace.

“Wow… this guy is truly insane…”

[Now you understand? Who you’ve dared to mess with.]

“What? You’re the one who messed with me. I just wanted to resolve things peacefully through dialogue.”

Even if that dialogue was aimed at buying time.

He had absolutely no desire to fight an opponent he couldn’t match right now.

“And you know this isn’t my full power.”

[Hmm, you are indeed fighting half-heartedly. Waiting for someone, I presume?]

“Correct. So why not wait a little?”

Since he’d been found out anyway, Radios decided to be straightforward.

Even the Formless Twilight Blade that had destroyed Petrick didn’t work.

There was no way to deal with Cthugha right now.

If he were to release the 4th level seal and achieve unity with his divine sword, things might be different.

‘The 4th level seal won’t break easily. That wall is the wailing wall for martial artists.’

Radios himself had endured countless hours of patience to first reach that realm.

Did he think the 4th level seal would be released just because he was fighting Cthugha, and not even fighting seriously or able to kill him?

That was impossible.

Excluding gambles with no chance and pursuing those with even a slight possibility.

This was Radios’s motto.

“So can’t we take a little break before you go?”

[I’m sorry, but I haven’t used my power in a long time, so that won’t be possible.]

“But we seem to communicate well, unlike your appearance.”

[…]

Cthugha seemed displeased, as the blazing flames began to burn more rigidly.

…It seemed like buying time through conversation had reached its limit.

“Then let’s stop this pointless argument and start fighting?”

[Shut up.]

Whoosh!

As Cthugha expanded his body, the surrounding temperature began to rise rapidly.

Radios started to find it difficult to breathe even while standing still.

This was because Cthugha was gradually burning up the oxygen.

“I didn’t expect to be suffocated in such a novel way.”

[This is just the beginning.]

As Cthugha’s main body continued to expand, it suddenly covered the entire Underworld realm.

The flames then sculpted a human form, and a red humanoid figure appeared.

Cthugha had manifested using a vessel.

“Now it seems we have suitable conditions for a fistfight.”

“You’re making this so troublesome!!”

First strike for victory.

Of course, striking first doesn’t guarantee victory, but without it, there’s no chance.

Radios cut off his own arm and threw it at Cthugha.

Momentarily confused by this bizarre action, Cthugha showed an intrigued look.

“You’re an interesting one.”

He casually shot flames from his hand, incinerating the arm.

Naturally, Radios had already regenerated his arm.

They had both thrown their warning shots.

Now it was time to clash.

“Hnngh!!”

Radios kicked off the ground with all his might.

The Fire Rain was still targeting his body from the sky.

His health was steadily decreasing.

He instinctively felt it.

There was no more time to stall.

“Take this!!!”

Click. Click, Click, Click.

Radios gathered all the magical power in his body to create a massive sword.

“This… looks a bit dangerous.”

Cthugha assessed the sword Radios had created.

It was power far too excessive for a human.

That sword was Radios’s ultimate technique at his prime.

A skill that would leave him bedridden for three days after a single use.

The Flashing Heaven Sword.

Kwaaang!!