episode_0162

A diagonal slash from the shoulder to the thigh, oozing with black ichor. The black bodily fluid flows profusely, staining the creature’s shadow with an even darker hue.

“Ugh…!”

Even for a monster that could easily regenerate injuries to its arms and legs, it seemed difficult to ignore such a serious wound, as Ganaegul clenched his chest and his dilated pupils trembled.

What’s with all the drama? He didn’t even touch my brain.

“Ow!”

“That’s delightful!”

Ganaegul roared as he retreated, raising his sword to chase after the creature. With a burst of momentum, the greatsword leaped up like lightning.

“Ganaegul!”

One of the bishops of the Abyssal Altar reached out towards us, shouting. The abyssal magic commanded by Ganaegul flickered at his fingertips.

In the next moment, with a sharp noise, the sword aimed at Ganaegul was caught by the creature’s teeth that appeared out of nowhere. It was the bishop’s summoned mouthpiece.

As soon as the sword was caught, a disgusting mass of tentacles wrapped around his arm, exuding a slimy and sticky saliva, and the pressure squeezing his arm felt as strong as being held by a gorilla’s hand.

So, this is the restraining effect they were talking about. If it weren’t for the gauntlet, my bones might have been crushed.

“Urgh…! Ganaegul, now’s the time!”

The bishop of the Abyssal Altar, who had magically seized my sword, grabbed his own arm and shouted as he staggered.

“Well done!”

Ganaegul smirked with a disgusting grin, saliva dripping down, as he reached out his left arm towards me, causing small flesh-like pieces to burst out like shrapnel.

– Thwack!

A magic that summons tentacles filled with venom at the spot where the flesh was hit. An attack that, if hit on bare skin, could cause tentacles to grow inside the body and result in instant death.

“You little…!”

I pulled out the sword caught by the mouthpiece with the power of my arm and twisted my body towards the shrapnel of flesh-like pieces.

The flesh-like pieces approached. Sensing the threat, I activated ‘Ice Heart’ to accelerate my reaction speed.

In the blink of an eye, I thought of every possible response.

Dodge to the side?

Rejected. Even if I dodge the shrapnel, I can’t avoid the tentacles sprouting from the seeds planted in the ground.

Use a divine barrier?

No, if I waste that, I’ll lose the means to block the Abyssal summoning.

Deflect with the sword?

All of them? Such a feat is only possible for a mother.

Jump to avoid it?

There’s no way to avoid the follow-up attack, and relying on the defense spell of the armor is not an option as I’m still recharging mana from the previous spell.

Then, the only remaining option is…

– Flutter!

I swiftly tossed my cloak with lightning-like speed. The feathered cloak of the archer fluttered like a celestial fabric, entwining the flesh-like pieces like a blanket.

Just before the flesh-like pieces tore through the cloak, I swung my body widely and threw the blanket to the side.

With a swoosh, the cloak flew in an arc, tearing apart in the air, and the protruding black tentacles also floundered in the sky before disappearing.

“To block the flesh-like pieces with the cloak? What kind of…!”

The bishop, astonished by the sight, reached out his right arm towards me again.

Unlike before, his left arm was missing below the elbow. In the moment he exposed himself to magically seize me, an assassin had seized the opportunity to cut off his arm and escape.

Despite losing his arm like that, did he not learn any lesson? The bishop once again aimed his magic at me.

To save the leader, is sacrificing a few arms nothing at all? You must have an incredible sense of loyalty to be mistaken for a cultist.

But that loyalty will not be rewarded.

“Fine, help me once more!”

With the help of the bishop, Kanagle successfully blocked the approaching Freide by summoning four mouths from the air, charging low like a wolf, and at the same time, reaching out his right arm to grab the bishop who had helped him.

“Where are you going!”

I tried to rush to stop him, but I found myself surrounded by a cluster of tentacles, three of which had expanded.

Although they were all the same type of magic, summoning seven tentacles at once was a feat close to impossible even for an Abyss Priest.

– Uuung….

What made this possible was Kanagle’s unique trait, “Enhanced Brainpower.”

By awakening the brains of others stored within him as auxiliary brains, he could manifest as many spells as the number of brains he had consumed.

However, the awakened brains would eventually dissolve, requiring him to replenish with new brains, which was a drawback.

Initially, I didn’t bother using this trait as they underestimated us, but after sustaining a severe injury, I became convinced that I might lose my life here if I continued to conserve my strength for the battle against Heid.

If only I had remained vigilant, it would have been appreciated. What a shame.

“Tsk…!”

Anyway, charging in and ignoring all of this was impossible for me.

So, I turned my direction, dodging a cluster of tentacles and then rolling on the ground to send another cluster over my head.

– Aaargh!

I deflected the last cluster with my sword. Perhaps due to casting seven spells simultaneously, the individual power of the tentacles was slightly weaker than before.

Even though weakened, they were still threatening enough, but not as powerful as before.

– Squeak! Squeak!

With each tentacle cut off, my upper body swayed slightly.

In the past, I would have been pushed back without a strong defense, but now I could withstand this level of power even without it.

I must thank my rigorous training for that.

Recalling the memories of the training that had exhausted me to the point of death, I sliced through the tentacle cluster spewed out by the mouths of the cluster.

And in the midst of Kanagle and me facing off against the tentacles, the bishop, who had been grabbed by Kanagle’s long right arm, was taken aback by the tentacles enveloping his body, shaking his shoulders in surprise and looking at Kanagle with wide eyes filled with fear and disgust.

His loyalty was willing to sacrifice his arms to save the leader, but perhaps he was not prepared to sacrifice more than that?

However, it was already too late to escape.

『 Al’phatan’s Offering 』

The moment Kanagle recited a prayer, the tentacles wrapping around the bishop’s body spread like the jaws of a predator, clinging to the bishop’s flesh.

It was a sight reminiscent of dozens of rubber hoses connected to the skin.

And then.

“G-Ganaggleeeaaah!”

The bishop, who had desperately tried to stop Kanagle, turned pale and let out a desperate scream, writhing in agony before he could even finish his words.

Tattered robes. The once sturdy body rapidly withered away, convulsing as flesh and blood were stripped away until only bones and skin remained.

“Grrr….”

As the bishop, transformed into a mirage in an instant, bowed his head to meet his end, the sword that had split Ganagel’s torso in half had mysteriously disappeared.

A magic that sacrificed the blood and flesh of allies to restore oneself.

This magic was the fundamental reason why, to defeat Ganagel, one had to either strike him down in a single blow or eliminate all of his subordinates.

As long as there were followers of the Abyssal Sect remaining, Ganagel could sacrifice them as many times as needed to heal his wounds.

Moreover, not only could he heal his wounds, but with the activation of , he could easily replenish the brains consumed by his followers.

“Hu, huaaah… Al’phatan….”

Nevertheless… revealing that magic meant that he, too, was feeling a considerable sense of crisis.

From Ganagel’s perspective, it was like exposing a hidden ace that he had cherished and kept. If he thought he could win without using it, he wouldn’t even consider casting it.

Al’phatan’s incantation was such a magic.

“Hu, huaaah! Bishop, Bishop Hammet has been devoured!”

“High Priest, what are you doing now…!”

The moment the magic was revealed, the morale of the cultists plummeted to the ground.

“Run, we must run…!”

Of course, it was only natural. Where would one find a human willing to offer themselves as a potion to be devoured?

While the cultists and the abominations had an inseparable relationship like a tick and a wolf, that was a story from the perspective of them offering the abominations. It was rare for someone to willingly become a sacrifice themselves.

Even if the cultists loved offering sacrifices to the extent of cutting open others’ bellies to offer them, hoping to become a sacrifice themselves was a rare occurrence. Unless they were fanatics brainwashed to the core, who considered it a glorious sacrifice, ordinary cultists had no choice but to fear Ganagel more than our assassins.

At least we didn’t capture them alive to be devoured.

As they fought against Argantir’s assassins, the wavering and fear of the cultists, who had dwindled to less than twenty, spread like a contagion.