Chapter 394

Chapter 394

Chapter 70 Mind Games (4)

Except for the initial brief moments, the consumption of divinity was not that active.

It was used so sporadically during the battle that it was hard to believe it was indeed a battle, as if there was a considerable time difference.

The purification records displayed on the Alpha management program fluctuated and were a mess.

I had stationed Hasan, who was capable of purifying monsters, in Seoul in my place.

However, I couldn’t discern whether he was faithfully doing his job or slacking off.

He was someone who had grown too accustomed to backstabbing, which raised a slight worry.

‘It would be dangerous if this is during battle…’

When the use of divinity was minimal, I occasionally pushed the force button through the Alpha management program.

It was about all I could do, trapped here.

Could it be that I made a mistake?

Was my judgment wrong leading to a disaster?

As time passed, my anxiety continued to mount.

The fact that I had to patiently wait for the system to arrive irritated me.

Thus, over the past five days, I vented my frustration by sweeping away more monsters.

Among the things I found out in the process was…

‘There’s fewer of them.’

The number of monsters remaining here was fewer compared to those I had driven away while destroying Biharin.

Even with a rough visual estimate, it was evident there were fewer.

“It should be roughly three times this number to match the scale…”

Moreover, there weren’t many Evolved Species either.

This might mean there is another monster holding area similar to this one.

Perhaps with Omby crossing over, a hole connected to that side might have opened?

“I’m glad I decided to follow.”

If I had remained stubborn and stayed on Earth, leaving the players who crossed over here behind, the future would have been extremely tough.

Letting out a sigh of relief secretly, I became engrossed in the monster sweep.

I soon discovered something strange.

“What is this?”

It was approximately one meter in size.

With a protruding snout and perked ears.

A long tail stretched out behind where it sat.

Claws gripping a massive entity ahead.

It had a form combining both a rat and a human.

Though I hadn’t killed them, these limp creatures, which seemed already dead, were something I was familiar with.

‘Dolls.’

They were filled with a black substance.

There were possibly dozens of them, all lying limp as if they were unable to function anymore, like dead bodies.

‘Why didn’t they cross over to Earth and died here instead?’

The phrase “killed” seemed more appropriate.

Since the piled-up bodies seemed disposed of as if they were discarded.

The strangest part was the trace left at the corners of their mouths.

“It looks like blood…”

It wasn’t the monsters’ black blood; rather, it was red blood that had dried and turned brown.

It’s quite odd since all the bodies piled here shared this state.

‘It’s as if something was gnawed on.’

After muttering this to myself, I realized it was a rather plausible inference.

“Consumed, huh…”

If only I could access Finelpenia’s authority to view past records in such a situation.

In frustration, I swept the black ground.

Hoping to discover something, I dissected the rat-like doll carcasses entirely.

However, these creatures had no organs.

Although there were clear blood and flesh traces on the hair and teeth around the mouths.

They simply didn’t have the organs to consume and store it.

It was impossible to open them to check the contents inside.

“What could these creatures that don’t need to eat have been so eagerly consuming?”

While muttering in frustration, I had a sudden thought.

Something that Omby would have consumed, hidden somewhere in this space.

‘Could it be the Seed of Divinity captured from Rice Cake’s dimension?’

Maybe they consumed the primordial god of that place here.

Indeed, what these creatures had consumed wouldn’t have simply disappeared without a trace.

It surely impacted Omby, as they were all connected.

As I was about to delve into thoughts, recalling the thread attached above the dolls’ head,

“The trait Berserker is activated.”

“The system transitions to support mode. Support target player Kang Hyunwoo.”

The message window updated.

Then, I felt hands freely kneading me as if I was a clay doll.

《System Message》

Kang Hyunwoo! Kang Hyunwoo! Are you alright? You are safe, right?

Finally, the system that succeeded in breaching the gate arrived.

* * *

Rashar parried the descending black blade aimed at her.

Clank-!

The blade housing the puppet motif chipped upon impact.

It wasn’t the first time it happened.

The sword Rashar wielded was already in a tattered state.

Even though it was a legendary-tier artifact borrowed from the guild.

It noticeably worn away with each clash against the doll’s corrupted divinity.

‘It’s already been two hours since the battle started.’

Not only the sword, but the combatants were quite exhausted as well.

Though restoring injuries with potions, physical limits couldn’t be overcome.

If the purpose wasn’t containment rather than annihilation, it would have been survivable to this extent.

If they seriously intended to kill the monster, most would already be dead.

“Khup!”

Rashar resisted the immense force pressing on her by pushing her sword out more.

Yet, her feet were what ended up being pushed back.

Scritch, scrape.

Rashar and the puppet’s power struggle clearly leaned in the puppet’s favor.

However, the power she possessed was not limited to physical strength alone.

“Hrrrgh!”

A golden bolt of lightning surged up along the sword as if taking flight.

The puppet furrowed its brow, recoiling its body back as soon as it made contact.

Rashar closed in the distance, thrusting her blade sharply.

The blade meeting resistance from the corrupted divinities hinting at an unwillingness to yield easily.

Rashar gritted her teeth at the sword multiplied into a dozen or so blades.

Then, a lightning bolt came crashing down from the sky.

‘Puppet!’

While not overly threatening, it was enough to split the puppet’s attention.

Rashar didn’t miss this gap.

She swiftly slashed the puppet’s neck as if decapitating it.

“The main body?!”

As soon as the combat ended, Horfe shouted breathlessly.

Upon confirming the puppet’s demise, Rashar responded by leaping off the ground.

“Gretman followed last!”

Two hours into the apostles’ joint attack.

Omby wasn’t particularly aggressive in the battle.

Instead, it managed to fend off apostles and combatants by creating dolls from cutting its body.

Each time, they continued to approach the spatial boundary.

This was the reason Rashar was facing the puppet alone a moment ago.

Horfe was also stranded earlier upon being grabbed by a puppet.

Not only them but most other combatants.

Gretman was the last to pursue Omby.

By strength, none of those here could confidently claim victory over him.

‘He cannot wield Berserker.’

Therefore, they must catch up as soon as possible.

Watch Omby’s agenda revealed by constantly approaching the boundary.

‘He must indeed be trying to escape from here.’

Such a thing could not be allowed. They must hold out until Hyunwoo arrived.

With gritted teeth, Rashar and Horfe sprinted through the debris-stricken city.

A bit later, they detected the sounds of clashing weapons, shouts, and explosive bangs.

Following the sounds, soon,

“Push it away!”

They discovered the stranded individuals who were grabbed by another puppet prior were confronting the main body alongside Gretman.

Yang Taeho, Kim Yul, and even Yang Hyewon.

Excluding Gretman, all were players.

‘It’s dangerous!’

Players faced a disadvantage when confronting Omby compared to the Biharin.

Since they responded almost immediately to monstruous characteristics.

They didn’t slowly lose their wits like the Biharin.

Moreover, currently, Hasan, another Alpha capable of purifying manifested monstruous characteristics, was stranded elsewhere.

Rashar and Horfe jumped into the fray without a second thought.

At that moment, in an effort to evade rock spikes created by Yang Taeho, Omby leapt off the ground.

Simultaneously, it cut off its flesh again.

That flesh swelled and formed into another puppet.

“Yul!”

“Hyewon!”

Yang Hyewon and Kim Yul quickly took charge of the two puppets waiting opportunistically in the void.

Closing in the gap, Rashar and Horfe simultaneously kicked Omby.

Omby, who was hurled through the air like a projectile, crashed onto the open four-lane road.

Boom, crack!

The already riven asphalt road became a mess.

“Deploy the authority!”

A hastened shout from someone resonated, Rashar reacting to it was.

It was she who could unleash the most formidable authority among the apostles present.

Rashar directed a Berserker toward Omby who was embedded into the ground.

Boom, bang!

However, unfortunately, she couldn’t land a direct hit on the target.

As a rumble spread through the ground, Omby dodged the Berserker and surged toward them.

Two shadows leaped forward to intercept it.

Horfe and Gretman.

As the two collided with Omby’s main body, a colossal gust swept through.

Meanwhile, another unfamiliar shadow appeared behind Omby.

It was yet again cutting off its flesh to form a new puppet.

Rashar sprinted at full speed as she witnessed the puppet’s formation.

‘The number of puppets was indeed limited.’

So far, at most, Omby created 8 puppets simultaneously.

It had never created more than that.

It was likely due to a restriction related to causality.

‘A new one means the apostles who stayed at other spots have succeeded in hunting one down.’

The new addition to the apostle ranks was quite renowned in Korea.

If they eliminated another puppet, reinforcements would soon join.

Even if she hung onto this puppet, they wouldn’t let the main body slip away easily.

Rashar seized the rear of the puppet with-nimble movement.

And to prevent it from hindering her comrades engaging the main body, she wielded her sword.

Berserker engulfed in the sword fiercely cleaved through the void.

“Huh…?”

It even bisected a newly forming puppet.

Throughout the previous two hours, cutting the puppet necessitated Rashar gritting her teeth due to its toughness.

Yet, what she just cleaved through felt as if slicing tofu—soft.

It dawned on her then that this was a mere illusion by Omby, not a true puppet.

“Shah!”

At the call of Horfe, Omby’s hand emanated corrupted divinity.

Brandishing it like a whip.

Instinctively raising her sword to block, Rashar’s blade couldn’t withstand the assault.

As soon as it made contact with the whip forged from corrupted divinity, the already chipped and cracked blade shattered.

Fragments flung in every direction, embedding into Rashar’s body.

Alongside that, the corrupted divinity, unblocked by her blade, advanced right in her face.

“Kuhh!”

Caught off guard by the staggering impact, she unconsciously let out a cry.

Rashar was promptly flung against a building.

Boom, bang!

Piercing through the wall, she broke through another building’s wall again.

It was only after bursting through three buildings’ walls could Rashar collapse onto the debris pile.

“Urgh… Cough!”

The injury inflicted due to a moment’s negligence was quite severe.

As a testament, when she tried rising, she had to cough up blood.

Had she not decided to amass Berserker near the pit of her stomach at that moment,

‘It would have pierced through.’

Without a doubt, the corrupted divinity would’ve punctured right through her.

Of course, it wasn’t that she was any better now.

Not only did she lose two ribs, but her insides were also completely turned around.

The largest injury came from the shard of the broken blade embedded in her wrist.

Nevertheless, there was no time to wallow there.

‘I need… need to return quickly…’

Damned System!

**New Elements and Characters**:

1. 하산 = Hasan(he)

2. 알파 관리 프로그램 = Alpha management program(it)

3. 퓨전 몬스터 = Fusion Monster(it)

4. 인형 = Doll(they)

5. 특성 망나니 = trait Berserker(it)

6. 강현우 = Kang Hyunwoo(he)

7. 라샤르 = Rashar(she)

8. 괴뢰 = Berserker(it)

9. 호르페 = Horfe(he)

10. 그레트만 = Gretman(na)

11. 양태호 = Yang Taeho(he)

12. 김율 = Kim Yul(he)

13. 양혜원 = Yang Hyewon(she)

14. 옴빈 = Omby(it)