Chapter 121 – 17th Floor. Backstab

Crack— Crack—

The collision of powerful forces focused on a single point.

The spear thrust, which would have softly penetrated even a fairly solid stone wall, failed to pierce the transparent crystal imprisoning the twisted and mixed souls.

However, tiny cracks spread from that point.

With the spider web-like fissures, tens, hundreds of thousands, millions of pairs of eyes inside the crystal pillar simultaneously looked at Blue Tongue, who had created the damage.

Gulp.

Though she had never felt anything like fear.

Blue Tongue experienced for the first time in her life a chill rising up the back of her neck, and she regrasped the spear that had returned to her hand.

But that was only momentary.

Kuguuuuuguuuguuuguuung———

“Is this a trap?”

Along with Albert’s wary voice, the room began shaking violently.

Simultaneously—

Crack—

The sound of a small crack forming.

Albert and Blue Tongue’s gazes turned toward the broken crystal pillar, but there was nothing beyond the multiple fracture lines from just moments ago.

If so, the source of this vibration and sound is elsewhere.

As this thought reached their minds, both kicked off the floor and rolled sideways without anyone taking the lead, and it was immediately evident that the survival instinct honed over decades on the verge of death was correct.

Kwagagagagagagang—!!!

What rose from the floor was a giant hand.

And not just any hand—a patchwork of some kind of sticky, creepy, rotten meat stitched together like rags.

A giant hand, or rather, just one finger joint.

What rose to nearly break through the ceiling was merely a part corresponding to a single finger joint.

Anyone would be dumbfounded by its monstrous size, and considering it was made of decaying flesh, there wouldn’t be a person in the world who wouldn’t feel nauseated.

“This is yet another monster I’ve never seen or heard of in my life! Where the hell do they keep coming from!”

However, instead of being overwhelmed by this foreign entity, the two seasoned warriors became flashes of light and rushed forward.

The straight, silver sword slash and the snake-like, curved two-line attack.

Slash—!

Each time the two types of trajectories passed, chunks of soft flesh flew through the air, being sliced away, and in the brief time it took to take a breath, it was butchered countless times.

Kuguuuuguuuguuugung…!

But the protrusion doesn’t stop.

Considering its size, the combined attack of the two warriors would be no more than a finger pricked by a needle or cut by paper.

It wasn’t a matter of skill or attack power, but of weight class.

“No one could sleep peacefully knowing such monsters roam the world.”

“Hmm. This might be a bit dangerous.”

The floor.

The walls.

The ceiling.

The surfaces composing the enclosed space collapsed, and with the sensation of stale air being punctured, an infinitely vast space spread out.

Beyond the fracture revealed before the two people’s eyes was infinity.

It’s a bit like looking up at the deep night sky. But it’s also like looking down at the luminous creatures in the deep sea.

Countless lights stretching, shrinking, and distorting.

With this, the two finally understood why the Infinite Gallery of Knowledge had only appeared in legends or myths.

To be precise, it was closer to comprehension than understanding.

“…Not hidden in the deep sea or wilderness, but between dimensions? Certainly doesn’t seem like something one could find normally…”

“If you have time to admire that, you’d better dodge, old human.”

Albert recalled snippets about dimensions or spaces from fairy tales he had read as a child, from books he had seen in his reckless young knight days, and from reports he had skimmed during the glorious period when he was the highest knight protecting a kingdom’s noble blood.

Of course, not being a mage or scholar himself, he couldn’t properly understand even a tenth of the content, but it helped him roughly guess the phenomenon currently visible.

However, what was needed now wasn’t understanding or comprehension, but action.

Showering stone fragments and shattered pieces of artwork.

Things that surely would have been considered as valuable as gold coins were being ground to pieces in the blink of an eye, yet regrettably, no one present paid any attention to that.

As the scene continued, with art collectors or artists surely shedding bloody tears if they witnessed it, the walls gradually crumbled, clearly revealing the form of that enormous thing.

“Damn ugly thing!”

“Really? It looks exactly like what you’d get if you buried something in the ground for about a week, old human.”

“That’s too much…”

Yet even as they exchanged these trivial words, neither had room to spare.

Many think that larger beings are slower, but that’s incorrect.

Compared to minute creatures, it’s incomparably vast, so even a small movement would be faster than lightning to the minute beings, and being already dead, it has no need to moderate its speed due to pain aversion—I wonder how many could truly call it sluggish?

It’s fortunate that it’s only flailing its arms; otherwise, hundreds of ordinary soldiers would have died on the first strike.

“I wish I had a bomb!”

Albert recalled the method aaaa had used against the flesh merchant in the abandoned mine they had passed through, his parched tongue darting out.

It was a ridiculous thing called a sheep bomb, but just throwing one between those rags would have stripped away much more than his dozens of sword strikes.

“Ah! I should have at least received that living chest!”

Choices are brief, regrets are long.

Of course, he knew he wouldn’t have gotten it even if he asked, but in times like these, people search for “what ifs.”

Pak!

The momentarily halted feet move again.

And the larger of the two took a few steps ahead before stopping.

“If you’re going to die, at least take one of that bastard’s fingers with you!”

“Can you not hear this sound, old human?”

At Blue Tongue’s words, Albert contorted his face under his helmet but briefly stood still and listened.

Boom…

A sound like a drum beating.

But slightly more dull.

Boom…

It could be the footsteps of a large animal.

But with a bit more emotion.

Boom..!

Perhaps the sound of a siege weight hitting the castle gate.

But why would that be here?

Boom—!!!

However, one thing was clear even from where they stood.

That massive sound was rapidly approaching them, and now right…

Kwaaaaaaaang————!!!

The wall exploded, showering countless dirt particles and debris that struck and covered Albert’s armor.

Cough- cough- With an accidental inhale, the dust stuck to his throat, making it painfully hot and forcing him to cough, while tears welled in his eyes, obscuring his vision.

But he was too seasoned to be incapacitated by such trifles.

With superhuman endurance, he gathered phlegm to clear the dust stuck in his throat and looked at the exploded wall with wary eyes. Soon, the hazy dust began to clear.

Tap—

“You’ve caused quite a disturbance. I see I couldn’t subdue you by simply letting you go. I apologize for underestimating you. It’s just that there was no precedent.”

What emerged from the dust was a handsome man with brilliantly shining golden hair.

In contrast to his aristocratic appearance, which would have made many noble ladies swoon, his clothes were more ragged than tatters—a discordant image.

“Hmm…”

The suddenly appeared man briefly looked down at the wide-eyed Albert, then shifted his dark eyes to the vessel containing hundreds of thousands of souls.

And his flawless brow wrinkled.

“…So it’s been damaged. I simply cannot understand the sensibility of intruders who swing weapons first and think later when seeing this, but as a generous person, I’ll ensure your death is painless.”

His hand slowly rose.

A youthful appearance, looking about the same age as the young man he had been traveling with.

A youth who, as a knight, Albert would have teased and laughed at, calling him a greenhorn—just the mere raising of his hand caused Albert to feel his whole body’s nerves bristling.

Dangerous. Must avoid.

But where to?

Behind him, the giant hand of the rag corpse was approaching to crush him. In front, debris from the collapsed wall had formed a barricade.

Is this where he dies? Facing the sticky, ominous magic power emanating from the golden-haired youth that even a non-mage could feel, Albert rolled his parched tongue and swallowed.

“Heavenly Demon Surprise Attack.”

Shunk—

The wet sound of flesh being deeply penetrated, bones crushed, and intestines pierced.

Simultaneously, a long, rough metal blade emerged through the youth’s solar plexus, glistening red with blood like a flower in full bloom.

“Khep…”

Though only an air-leaking sound escaped the golden-haired youth’s mouth, possibly due to his lung being pierced, his expression revealed not bewilderment or shock, but annoyance or irritation.

But as if that didn’t matter, the blade that had pierced through his solar plexus briefly disappeared, then flashed again.

Once horizontally, then once vertically.

With the sword path drawing a cross, the victim fell to the floor in four pieces, and behind him appeared the familiar black-haired youth with a comical expression, who quietly muttered:

“Heavenly Demon Backstab.”