Chapter 174. The Second Coming (1/2)
“This is no joke.”
A man chuckled as he looked down at Arden Fortress with one foot on Dawn Peak. He was exceptionally burly, being over 2-meters-tall and wearing pieces of armor that would easily weigh tens of kilograms altogether.
“Whore, Queen Fanboy, and Obnoxious Blackie… The hell? Did the Parasite Queen suddenly go crazy?”
“I’m going back.”
A husky voice rang out. The burly man stroked his shaggy beard and looked back with a face that seemed to ask, ‘What the hell are you on about?’
A small group of people was standing on Dawn Peak, with each member wearing a nervous expression. Although the Parasites had now pulled their armies back with Haramark being the only exception, the unprecedented threat of war had forced humanity to achieve a never-before-done collaboration.
After returning to the Temple of Luxuria, Seo Yuhui had joined hands with Sinyoung’s Yun Seohui and brought all existing Executors together.
Just now, one of these Executors announced a boycott.
It was a young, bespectacled man giving off a stubborn air with a book under his armpit. Described in the way of Paradise, he was a Level 7 Magician and also the apostle of Avaritia.
“Huh? Really?”
When the young man turned back without hesitation, the burly man quickly held him back. The young man glanced back before opening his mouth.
“I agreed to help given that there weren’t more than two Army Commanders present. Since there are three here, forcing me to fight would be going against the terms of our agreement.”
“Ya crazy bastard. You’re gonna talk about some contract in this situation? If you leave now, what are you gonna do about her!? Looks like she already joined the fight!”
“She’s not even an Executor. It’s none of my business.”
The young man snorted.
“I am refusing to participate in accordance with our contract. That woman stormed off without a single word. Who’s the one who acted as they pleased?”
The young man’s skillful rebuttal made the burly man speechless.
“Bro, but still… you’re just going to give up and go back?”
“Hm. I might have thought about it a bit more if we had just one more Executor. I don’t want to die a dog’s death, you see.”
“But we do! Can’t you feel her aura down there?”
When the burly man gestured toward the fortress gate, the young man burst into laughter.
“Don’t jest. She and her Servant are half-dead.”
When he refused flat-out as if there was nothing else to discuss, the burly man’s expression distorted.
“Damned guy. Just what the hell is your God thinking? Making a punk like you an Executor.”
“I’m curious too. Well, if our goals no longer align, I can just quit.”
The young man retorted with a hoarse voice and turned around completely.
“You’ll regret it.”
A cold voice rang out. The young man was familiar with this voice.
Sensing a gaze on his back, the young man opened his mouth without looking back.
“Will I? Haramark isn’t my base of operation. My leaving is fully justified.”
“I’m not saying you aren’t.”
“Then I’m leaving. It’s not like I haven’t been criticized before.”
The corners of the young man’s mouth curled up.
“Well, if you come back alive, I’ll give this worrying thing a go.”
Light enveloped the young man’s body before he vanished. It was the Unique Rank spell, Teleport.
The Magicians amidst them suddenly grew chatty. They didn’t know what to do now that their leader had suddenly disappeared.
The burly man scratched his head roughly.
“Damned guy, what does he want us to do? Huh?”
Shouting, ‘Do we go or stop?’, the burly man abruptly shut his mouth. A powerful, never-before-seen energy undulated around him, spreading out over the entire battlefield.
The holy energy caused heaven and earth to rumble.
At last, the burly man was able to see Seo Yuhui kneeling on the peak, praying with her hands together.
Seeing as how her mouth was moving, she seemed to be reciting a ritual prayer.
Similar to how Sacred Empress, the strongest member of the reinforcement group, acted on her own accord, Seo Yuhui was also making her move.
‘Come to think of it…’
Seo Yuhui had recently advanced to Level 8 after returning to her position as an Executor. This was only the second time in the history of Paradise that a Level 8 Earthling was born.
When the burly man saw her maintaining her holy and noble appearance and praying in such a messy environment, he couldn’t help but think, ‘Could it be?’
At that moment, the rumbling stopped. The noise faintly ringing in everyone’s ears vanished, leaving behind absolute silence.
In this odd soundlessness, people could see the valley suddenly turning bright.
The clouds split, the ray of daylight dawned, and brilliance dyed everyone’s vision white.
Seo Yuhui’s chin slowly tilted up. Opening her gently closed eyes, she stared at the blue sky dancing with light.
Gazing at the sky with profoundness in her eyes, her lips opened slightly.
“…O Stars.”
Level 8 Atera’s Saintess.Wide Area Buff / Debuff.Requiem of Stars.
Countless stars quietly appeared in the clear sky. The incandescent stars burned white and rained down on the ground like shooting stars.
The moment the countless particles of light gently touched the ground, they spread out in a circular motion and dyed the ground white.
“You slut!”
Vulgar Chastity exploded in anger.
All troops fell into disarray. The succubi flew around like mosquitos, frantically dodging the sudden shower of starlight.
Those who were hit by the light had their bodies melt, and even when the light fell on the ground, it dyed the earth white, turning it into its own territory.
What would happen when two conflicting energies took control over the earth was as clear as day.
Seeing the dazzling brilliance dancing in the air, Vulgar Chastity gritted her teeth. Spreading her wings wide and rousing her strength, the earth reacted to her terrifying energy and quaked violently.
[KIAAAAAA!]
Vulgar Chastity let out a piercing scream. Cracks formed on the rumbling earth, and violent pillars of lava shot up from the ground, rushing towards the falling starlight.
Boooooom!
Light and lava clashed, pushing against each other in a spectacularly fierce tug-of-war. By the time they devoured each other until they reached mutual annihilation…
“Heuuuu!”
With her hair drenched in sweat, Vulgar Chastity glared at Dawn Peak.
Now that the battle had progressed in this manner, she no longer showed any signs of leisure.
“Go!”
The Parasite army that had been waiting on standby after retreating marched forward like a tide. Vulgar Chastity also flew up high.
An all-out war.
Although the precious Nests might be threatened, this was something they had to risk.
Soon, the group of succubi led by Vulgar Chastity began to fly toward the distant peak.
On the other hand, Unsightly Humility was also in a hurry. Just as he was about to finish off the Star of Sloth and enter the fortress gate….
“Huaat!”
The burly man suddenly dropped from the sky and struck down with his body-sized greatsword. Simultaneously, a chained arrow flew in and tried to restrain his body.
Detecting a threat to its owner, the spectral horse quickly kicked off the ground and dodged the attack, but Unsightly Humility’s complexion— no, his skull texture— was not so great.
Thud! The burly man landed on the ground with a thud.
“Iya~ Iya~ It’s been a while, eh?”
A burly man who was resting his greatsword on his shoulder and swaying it gently, and an Archer aiming his weapon after blending into the surroundings to become invisible.
The Star of Wrath and the Star of Pride.
New Executors had appeared. Two of them, in fact.
Seeing the two Executors’ Servants retrieve the Star of Sloth and her Servant, Unsightly Humility clattered his teeth.
The Executor of Wrath spoke.
“Geez! I know we haven’t seen each other in a while, but what happened? Those two did this to you?”
“…It was a bad matchup, unfortunately. Her skills are nothing to scoff at either.”
Unsightly Humility replied with an eerie voice and held his longsword straight. The half-blown-off skull regrew, and the destroyed remnants of the Death Knights gradually reformed themselves.
Seeing the enemy who instantly regained his battle prowess, the burly man clicked his tongue.
“Damned guy. So you had strength left over.”
“No comment. I’ll be starting now.”
Unsightly Humility kicked the spectral horse’s stomach and rushed in.
“What? Why are you in such a hurry today?”
The burly man smiled and took up the challenge without hesitation.
Undying Diligence, in the meanwhile…
“…Ha….”
…held his chest and breathed out a deep sigh.
With a despondent look, he stared at the woman who interrupted him. She was holding an apple-green spear diagonally and wearing a white traditional jacket that was long enough to brush against the floor. Altogether, she was giving off a rather mysterious atmosphere.
“I don’t know why you came here, but…”
Staring fixedly at the woman who was leisurely returning his gaze, Undying Diligence opened his mouth.
“Do you mind leaving here quietly? We will not chase after you. I shall promise you that.”
Undying Diligence glanced outside the fortress. The Parasite army was flooding in after remaining on standby for a long time. Vulgar Chastity was also heading towards Dawn Peak with her army of succubi.
The woman in front of Undying Diligence was one of the few humans he couldn’t let his guard down against. But if one were to ask whether Undying Diligence was shaking in fear, the answer would be a resounding ‘No’.
The Parasites also had strength left over, so humanity’s reinforcements did not pose much of a problem. However, the arrival of the spear-wielding woman and the Executors had turned their plans of returning to Tigol Fortress to null.
In addition, there was now a small chance that they would fail to accomplish the Queen’s mission.
He had glanced at the woman to signal, ‘Even if you fight, you will still lose.’ However, the woman wasn’t looking at him but at the youth coughing behind him.
Seol Jihu had woken up after being grabbed by Undying Diligence. It was just that he lost consciousness again because of Undying Diligence’s powerful grip.
“…You stupid idiot.”
A soft whisper flowed out.
Seol Jihu raised his teary eyes. Perhaps because his vision was blurry, he couldn’t see well. When he subconsciously tried to put more strength into his eyes…
“Run.”
The woman muttered calmly and lightly waved her hand. A fierce wind blew out from her palm as though she had fired an energy blast.