Ch.76Labyrinth (2)

After dealing with those who appeared to be holy knights, I moved back to the center. The power I gained from consuming the remains of the Forest Lord greatly helped me in these one-against-many battles.

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【Elements[Earth]】: You can control the power of earth.

*You have acquired this trait through the remnants of a powerful being’s power. Though this is your first time acquiring this power, you can use it more naturally than anyone else.

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A simple yet incredibly powerful statement. When I first acquired 【Elements[Thunder]】, the description was much longer.

The text that once explained how mastering it would allow me to command lightning and use more powerful thunder forces had shortened to match the brief description of Earth.

And thanks to the new trait I just obtained from the skeleton I was fighting, I gained an even greater advantage in one-against-many battles.

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【Life Drain】: The most basic trait of the undead, converting the vitality of those you kill into morale. However, when a living being acquires this trait, it changes to absorb vitality to heal your wounds and recover your energy.

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Life Drain. Fortunately, it doesn’t convert to morale, making it a trait that allows me to recover rather than tire as I kill more living beings in large-scale battles.

Satisfied with my increased strength, I arrived at the center. There stood a massive chair made of stone.

“Khan! You worked hard! Are you going out again?”

Mary, who had been sitting on the giant chair, flew over to me as I emerged from the ground and asked about my well-being.

“Mmmmrrrr— (Yes. I need to go out a few more times to reduce their numbers. Wait here.)”

“Okay! Oh, and there was someone breaking through a wall and moving away in that direction! They kept smashing through with a hammer!”

Focusing my attention, I could see that the walls in the direction Mary pointed were indeed being destroyed. I thanked Mary, sent several golems in that direction, and headed there myself.

* * * * *

“Huff… Huff… Huff… Uldur, oh Uldur. Great god who descended upon the world with brilliant light to drive away darkness and share fire and light with us humans. Your little lambs are now lost without light. Just as you descended with brilliant light to drive away darkness, please drive away the darkness that exists in my heart…”

A man in priest’s robes was praying while gasping for breath. Dozens of people around him were also praying to Uldur.

“Uldur… oh Uldur. Please, please let us hear your voice… Just once, even just once, please let us hear your voice… Your little lambs are trembling with anxiety, and darkness fills our hearts, desperately needing your light. Please…”

A person praying devoutly while turning their head from side to side.

“Damn it! Let’s all stay strong! Lord Uldur said he only gives us trials we can endure, and we can certainly endure this trial too! Let’s be strong!”

One person got up from praying and encouraged the others.

“F… Fu… Fuck… We’re… we’re all going to die… Hehehe… We’re all going to dieeeee!!!”

“Damn it! Calm her down and strengthen her mental barriers with Lion Heart! Unless you want to go mad like the Aegis sisters!”

Some were restraining a woman who was flailing her arms, having completely lost her mind.

They were either going mad from extreme fear or praying to overcome that fear.

Everyone had faces stained with terror, looking around as if worried about what might jump out next, and this was true even for those who were praying.

Those praying weren’t focusing on their prayers but scanning their surroundings, and although other believers should have reprimanded such behavior…

Even those who should have been scolding were constantly turning their heads to survey their surroundings.

“Brother Ebiphros, why don’t we sing hymns instead? No matter how that evil being approaches, even that monster would fear and retreat from songs praising Lord Uldur…”

“Have you forgotten what we were doing just earlier!? Brother Zekan suggested singing hymns, and when we did, all sorts of golems burst out from the walls, and Wrath came and tore us apart! Many brothers and sisters have gone to meet Lord Uldur because of that, and we’re soaked in fear not knowing when that monster will appear, and yet you suggest such…”

“Hiiieeeek!!!”

While Ebiphros and Zekan were arguing, a priest screamed in terror.

Everyone’s gaze turned to the screaming priest and then to where he was pointing… but there was nothing there.

Just as Ebiphros was feeling like he might go mad too, as the number of people who had completely lost their minds—beyond what Lion Heart could protect—kept increasing.

CRASH!!!!!

“Aaaaargh!!!”

“Kyaaaah!!!!”

The wall that the screaming person had pointed to shattered, and debris rained down on them.

Massive fragments tore the choir members to pieces, with severed limbs and heads flying in all directions, defiling the ground.

The golems that emerged after smashing through the wall attacked the confused choir members.

A golem’s fist pulverized someone who was still steadfastly praying to their god despite the situation, and the golem’s tail, moving with surprising agility for something made of stone, swept through the choir.

Those hit by the tail were split into upper and lower bodies, spilling their entrails and further defiling the ground, while others were sent flying by the golem’s kicks.

“Ha… Haha… Lord Uldur… How could you give us such a trial…”

Ebiphros, who had witnessed the entire scene from beginning to end, finally lost his mind at the very end.

The last thing he saw was a massive stone fist rushing toward him.

CRASH!!!

* * * * *

Three hours after Khan had transformed the battlefield into a labyrinth. During that time, members of the Holy Spell Order and the choir were having their faith tested.

Brothers and sisters who had been walking normally disappeared, and golems in the form of minotaurs suddenly appeared.

They summoned Holy Golems to bind the stone golems’ feet and shattered them with various impact-based holy magic, but each stone golem still managed to kill two or three brothers and sisters before being destroyed.

These people were capable of healing even severe injuries like amputations, but the golems completely pulverized their victims, making healing impossible.

This was already their seventh such engagement. Over 20 brothers and sisters had died, and this was the seventh time they had gathered and buried the horribly mangled corpses.

Their numbers, which had been around 80, had already dwindled to 60, and the number of those who could summon Holy Golems was gradually decreasing as well.

“Sigh, at this rate, we’ll all be annihilated. We need to find a way somehow.”

“But there’s nothing we can do… Many of the choir brothers and sisters have gone to Lord Uldur, and fewer than ten remain.”

“I know, Sister Parion. The number of people in our spell order reporting holy power depletion is also increasing, but we must somehow…”

Zenphil, the deputy leader of the Holy Spell Order currently leading the group, and Parion, the next leader of the choir, were conferring, but they too had no solution.

Everyone knew that the Wrath mentioned in Lord Uldur’s revelation would be powerful, and they had come prepared.

They also knew that many would die in this holy war.

But… they never imagined so many would lose their lives so meaninglessly.

Currently, their task was to find their way through the labyrinth while occasionally confronting emerging golems.

They had thought their duty would be to face Wrath together with all their brothers and sisters according to Lord Uldur’s revelation…

CRASH!!!

While the two were in the midst of their discussion, a thunderous sound erupted from the rear. Thinking that golems had attacked the rear again, they quickly looked back.

There stood someone wielding a massive siege hammer.

* * * * *

“Thanks to you, we survived, Brother Jess.”

“How did Brother Jess, who was at the front, come all the way to the rear where we are…”

“Hahaha! It seems like a shallow tactic to divide us by targeting both the front and rear lines, so I rushed back immediately. I may be a bit late though.”

“Not at all. You arrived just in time. Our spell order’s holy power is being depleted, and the choir is in the same state.”

“Then I’m glad. Now, I’ll help get you all out of here, so please hold on a little longer!”

Jess. One of the Knights of God who had reached Master rank long ago. Along with Baytram, Plock, and Bell, he was counted among the strongest in the order.

With his appearance, the expressions of the Holy Spell Order and choir brightened, and they began to hope they could escape from this place.

CRASH!

As if to cruelly crush that hope, a stone golem appeared, smashing through the wall. Large fragments became weapons aimed at the order members.

“Hmph!”

But here was Jess, one of the strongest among the Knights of God. He caught the vibrations of the approaching golem and moved to where it would emerge, swinging his hammer.

The hammer swept away all the incoming fragments, sending them back toward the charging golem to stop it, and the follow-up strike shattered the golem into pieces.

CRASH!

As the golem exploded with a thunderous sound, Jess once again encouraged the Holy Spell Order and choir.

“Come! Do not worry, brothers and sisters! Jess, Knight of God, will protect you!”

Hope glimmered in the eyes of the order members watching him, and they began to encourage those beside them.

CRASH!

But a massive minotaur appeared silently, crushing that hope. A dark red body, red fur and mane, and a muscular physique on full display.

Khan, whom the order called Wrath, appeared before them, throwing a punch toward Jess.