The Creature Abandoned by God – 3

-KWAARGH! You insolent….

The creature couldn’t even finish its sentence, stumbling and swaying as it retreated. The weapons in its hands fell to the floor, turning into shadows and disappearing as if melting into the Abyss.

It was the signal announcing the start of Phase 2.

I also widened the distance and caught my breath. It was time for a brief rest. As I did, I looked down at the blood-stained sword in my right hand. Its blade was shining brightly, like the sun.

The duration of Eclipse seemed almost over, as the flickering light gradually faded. I took out the Divine Catalyst tied to my waist and brought it to the blade of the blood-stained sword.

The bright sunlight surged back.

‘…Is it a bug?’

From some point, ever since the Divine Catalyst suddenly started glowing, it had been like this. No matter how much I used Eclipse, I didn’t feel my Faith depleting.

While the situation itself was undeniably good, it wasn’t something I could simply rejoice about. It might be a favorable situation, but it was definitely not a normal one.

‘I hadn’t heard anything about a hidden gimmick in the Creature Abandoned by God boss battle.’

If there had been such content, it would have been revealed long ago, one way or another.

As with any single-player package game, B-Dark 4 had also undergone data mining by countless people. This was especially true for the B-Dark series, which traditionally had a lot of dummy data.

There were even mods that gathered and implemented only the dummy data, so even if there had been a hidden gimmick, it would surely have been dug up and exposed completely over ten years.

However, I had never heard of a gimmick where Faith suddenly surged limitlessly during the Creature Abandoned by God boss battle.

‘…Well, I guess it’s good if it’s good. It doesn’t seem to be harming me.’

There was no sign of my life force draining or anything similar.

Not only was there no immediate noticeable penalty, but if there was an unnoticeable one, it would be impossible for me to figure it out on my own even with time, so worrying about it was pointless.

What happened can be asked to an Inquisitor or Heretic Inquisitor once I get out of here. For now, I was busy making the most of the given opportunity.

On the premise that I could use Eclipse infinitely, if I played well, I might be able to finish it within the next hour.

-Ah… Aaaaaah…

The monster, covering its entire face with its four arms and groaning in pain, suddenly lifted its head and looked up at the ceiling. Then, it cried out in a mournful voice.

-Oh, benevolent Sun! Oh, merciful Moon! Why have you abandoned me?! Why have you cast me out?!

It was the dialogue from the Phase 2 cutscene. It would mumble a few more words like that before trying to fight again, so I just needed to rest until then.

Whether God truly created the world according to the Holy Kingdom’s doctrine, or if that monster was God’s creation, I didn’t know. But if one carefully read the lore descriptions of items related to that creature, it was all self-inflicted.

It had tried to cover the world in Shadow and the Abyss to usurp God’s place, which was why it had been banished to this location.

And yet, it thought it had done nothing wrong and had been unjustly abandoned. There was no room for sympathy whatsoever.

The creature, having vented its grievances to the sky, lowered its head again. All eight of its eyes turned towards me. Its numerous fangs nervously clacked together.

-You know nothing!

Shadow and the Abyss began to gather in its hand, soon transforming into the shape of a Divine Catalyst. It was a catalyst far more grotesque than those used by the Holy Kingdom’s NPCs or players.

-My way is right! This world must be submerged in the Abyss!

The raspy voice from Phase 1 had subsided considerably, replaced by a slightly higher-pitched tone. It seemed its true personality was starting to emerge, now that its health had been chipped away.

A dark, ominous light swirled around the catalyst. Black energy slowly seeped up and converged above the creature’s head. The black mass soon transformed into a sun and a moon.

To be precise, they were spheres that merely mimicked the appearance. For something dripping Shadow and the Abyss to be called the sun and moon-if the people of the Holy Kingdom heard that, they’d foam at the mouth and rage.

The spheres floating above the creature’s head glowed with an ominous black light. From Phase 2 onwards, magic was added to its existing attacks, making things even more chaotic. This was the opening pattern that signaled its start.

KWAANG! The sun and moon exploded, scattering their fragments everywhere. An enormous number of black shards rained down across the entire boss room. I slowly widened the distance, securing my space.

Where the sun fragments fell, black flames enveloped the ground, and where the moon fragments landed, black frost erupted. When the frost and flames met, another explosion occurred.

The entire boss room was engulfed in roars and explosions. It was utter chaos.

Amidst this, the Creature Abandoned by God charged towards me with thudding steps, as I diligently dodged the sun and moon fragments falling nearby.

The Divine Catalyst in its right hand turned black, forming the shape of a flail. The flail swung horizontally, sweeping across the floor and grazing past my position. I rolled to dodge it and dove inwards.

Just as I was about to strike its leg, I saw a fragment falling towards me and quickly changed my strategy, dashing to the left to escape. The fragment that landed there caused a spectacular explosion.

‘Annoying.’

That magic wouldn’t last indefinitely and would soon fade, but missing that damage window was a bit of a shame. In any case, even after that ended, other magic would come flying.

It used a Divine Catalyst as a medium and closely resembled the divine spells used by Popes, but that was not a divine spell; it was black magic. This was where people were heavily misled.

-To dye the world in the Abyss! That is my mission!

Now it was just spouting whatever came to mind. It seemed to have lost its reason after experiencing pain again for the first time in hundreds of years.

Phase 1 was just a mask, and the demeanor it showed in Phase 2 was likely its true personality. From what it was saying, it had somehow become even more pathetic than in the game.

‘To think such a creature was the first Pope, truly…’

True to the B-Dark series, which conveyed its lore indirectly through item descriptions and character relationships rather than directly explaining it, even such minute details were all connected to the lore.

As people diligently gathered clues and activated their “B-Dark brains,” the conclusion was reached that the Creature Abandoned by God was none other than the founder of black magic and the Holy Kingdom’s first Pope.

For the Holy Kingdom’s greatest enemy to be its first Pope was truly ironic.

-KWADDEUK!

I rolled to dodge a hammer with black liquid squirming on its surface. When the hammer struck the ground, it made a sound like flesh being crushed.

In Phase 2, parrying shouldn’t be used on its weapons; it should only be used to block its tail attacks and stomps. Of course, there was a reason for that.

All the weapons that creature is swinging right now deal magic damage.

Outwardly, there seemed to be no difference. But unlike Phase 1, the weapons swung in Phase 2 dealt pure magic damage, not physical damage. Naturally, even if parried, piercing damage would still come through.

Without a doubt, I was a fragile human whose death was guaranteed by just that piercing damage.

I focused my attack on its left calf, then rolled backward to escape. Black flames erupted near its foot. Simultaneously, black magic plunged vertically from directly above its head.

I widened the distance and watched its movements. A flail appeared on its upper right arm and an axe on its lower left arm, while the Divine Catalysts in its other two arms glowed brightly.

‘That’s that pattern.’

I needed to focus intensely on this.

First, an axe made of black magic came flying. I rolled precisely to the left diagonal to dodge it. The Divine Catalyst in its other hand ignited black flames, but I was no longer there.

The creature scraped the ground with its tail and turned its body. I parried that, then immediately raised my sword to reduce combat fatigue. I rolled to dodge the hammer in its left hand and twisted my body.

Black flames grazed right past my head. Even in the game, this was a perfectly feasible action if one paid a little attention to the dodging direction.

‘Right hand, left hand, magic, magic, left hand, right hand, and finally, magic.’

I recalled the sequence of the combo attack in my mind and moved my body according to the counter-strategy for that sequence. Fierce tearing sounds and black magic continuously grazed right past me.

Finally, the axe slammed into the ground, causing a massive explosion. Seizing that opening, I swung my sword again. Another scream burst from the monster’s mouth.

Taking advantage of its stagger, I swung my weapon a few more times, then quickly retreated. The monster, which had been expressing painful groans for a while, stared at me with wide, glaring eyes. I ignored it and prepared to continue my attack.

-You… were you hiding your power?

I was about to.

That is, if the creature hadn’t suddenly uttered something unexpected in a calm, subdued voice.

‘Hiding power?’

It was an utterly absurd thing to say. If I had power to hide, I wouldn’t be in this situation. Why would I hide power? I should just reveal it all from the start and use it to the fullest.

This was a world where life hung in the balance with every dodged or failed attack. I had no intention or reason to “cosplay” as a weakling. If I died doing that, I’d be so resentful I wouldn’t even be able to close my eyes properly.

“What nonsense are you spouting? Did you lose your mind from getting hit too much?”

-Do not attempt to deny it.

The monster growled.

-Yet I feel the divine power of the sun and moon from you.

‘…Huh?’

What the hell is that supposed to mean now?