Chapter 216
A monster wielding a giant double axe.
It stood over five meters tall and wore a rather sturdy suit of armor. The creature also had wings of light.
"That one has primordial holy power, too."
"Let's take down any of them that have holy power. When we descend from the mountain, we can always use spatial movement to get down."
Everyone gave a sly smile.
I wasn't sure if that monster's holy power would be the same, but primordial holy power in its raw form felt different.
Just as Donnie said, it contained authority.
It was power bestowed by the main god.
That monster was one of those that had existed since the beginning.
KUAOOOO—
The monster gave another ferocious roar.
It didn't approach us since it was a gatekeeper.
As I walked toward it, I took a look at the stronghold.
It was a fortress built by piercing or carving into a rocky mountain. Covered in ice, it was hard to distinguish it from an iceberg.
If that stronghold had existed before the separation of light and darkness, I wondered what its purpose was. It was blanketed in ice, but the architectural style felt sacred.
"Could this be... a temple?"
This was Eilin's voice.
It could be.
If it was a primordial temple, there would only be one.
"This is the temple of the main god Apeon."
"Young master, could it be that an Apostle of either Apeon or Elin is sealed here?"
"That's possible."
If this really was Apeon temple, it might have been sealed because of the Apostles of the betrayed god. They could have seized this temple and opened the devil's door.
Everyone stored away their holy swords with one hand and drew their greatswords. These greatswords, into which Eilin had bestowed holy power over a year, weren't to be underestimated even if they lacked true holiness. The monster was gigantic, after all.
I dashed out first.
The squad spread out in front.
KWAKANG—
As I charged, the monster slammed its double axe down. I dodged by dashing aside and then leaped up right away. Whirlwind!
TWOKOKOKOKOK—
Spinning rapidly, I unleashed Whirlwind, mercilessly slashing through the monster's neck. Only after that did the creature twist its body toward me. The others quickly sliced the monster as well.
KRAAA—
As the others slashed at its legs and flanks one after another, the monster shrieked. Holy power and magic power were clearly different. Our holy power, converted into magic power, had the upper hand.
Dodging another falling axe, I moved to get behind the monster. It was just like when we took down a Guardian. The key was aiming for its back. Hans kept its attention from the front.
TUKKANG— SEOKOKOK—
The back of the monster's suit of armor was deeply sliced, sending sprays of blood flying. Seeing red blood, it didn't seem to be a demon.
KRRRAAAK—
As we nicked and sliced it countless times, the monster extended its double axe and spun. It was imitating us. It was quite threatening, so everyone dashed away from it.
Spinning toward where our squad had just been, the monster then leaped straight at me. It was like a giant gorilla pouncing. It brought its huge axe down with tremendous force.
KUKWAKWANG—
I barely dodged, then immediately leaped up and unleashed Whirlwind again.
TWOKOKOKOK—
After slashing its neck half a dozen times, I kicked off the monster's back and leaped away. As it swung its axe, the others managed to slash the monster several more times.
Eilin and the Tuji brothers kept firing Arrows of Light. Yuri, floating in the air, shaped and threw something like a 'fireball' at the creature.
It really was much like a Guardian.
So, the way to defeat it was similar too—steadily whittle away at its magic power, then strike it down with a decisive blow.
"Its defense is weakening!"
"It's about to go berserk! Fall back when I give the signal!"
"Yes, sir!"
It was obvious that we had gotten stronger.
If this monster was the same level as a Guardian, we were defeating it much faster this time. I figured we'd be able to handle its berserk phase without much trouble.
After a bit more attacking, just like a Guardian, the monster began to show signs of going berserk. Its body gradually grew larger, surrounded by a reddish aura.
Now, I knew what the power of its berserk state was.
It was the power of rage.
The same as the one I possessed.
"Neutralizing it!"
All at once, the squad leaped back. At the same time, we unleashed Horizontal Swordline at the monster. Then, we flew at it.
KUKWAKWAKWANNG—
Red beams struck the monster's body as it tried to go berserk, exploding with force. The moment it dropped to its knees and was neutralized—
I soared and unleashed the Sword of Rage.
A red sword of light over five meters long came crashing down right on the monster's head.
PUKANG— SEOKOKOKOK—
The red sword completely cleaved the monster from head to body.
TUK—
As I withdrew my magic power and slung my greatsword over my back.
The monster stopped moving, still in a kneeling posture. When I struck its head, a powerful barrier tried to block me, but I just broke through. Then, I cut down without hesitation.
JWA-AA-AA-AK—
The monster's torso split left and right as blood gushed out. At the same time, its body turned to light powder and rushed toward us. It carried less holy power than the dead Apostle of Gadisil.
It really was much like a Guardian.
These monsters were a kind of guardian.
They didn't have any particular authority.
The primordial power gathered in us again. Indeed, it felt much stronger than the primordial holy power formed by the fusion of light and darkness. Like the difference between a campfire and a forge.
We moved toward the castle gate again.
There was a massive arched gate, but there was no mechanism to open it. Above was a cliff.
Then, Eilin walked up and placed her hand on the door. When she infused holy power, kRRRRR— a sound rang out as the door started to open inward.
"How did you know?"
"I'm not sure myself. I just had a feeling it would open with holy power. Maybe I've experienced this before."
Was Apeon guiding us?
We went in right away.
It was a very large temple.
Its style was similar to the one in Hairopro, but unlike that one, there were no symbols of the seven Apostles here.
There were no monsters or devils, either.
Strangely enough, the power of darkness was actually weaker here than lower down the mountain. The primordial holy power washed over us faintly.
We kept walking.
At what seemed to be an altar stood the symbol of Apeon. On either side were seven arched structures.
"They look like doors of light."
"Two of them are open."
"We can't see anything."
I could see the flow of magic power.
Of the seven doors, two were shielded by invisible barriers of light, and five showed no magic power at all.
"These must be doors leading to the seven worlds."
"Might they be related to the seven Apostles?"
"Maybe."
Seven Apostles and seven worlds.
Perhaps the worlds administered by the Apostles.
From one of the open doors, holy power was seeping out.
"Eilin, can you sense darkness?"
"Not here. Over there."
Eilin pointed to the far right.
There was a door at the far right end.
So, we all moved in that direction.
We stopped the moment we entered through the door.
It was clear what the Apostle of Gadisil had done here. Some kind of sorcery had taken place.
Magic arrays were drawn on the walls and floor, and darkness was emanating from them. Above, the symbol of Apeon hung, but it had a wooden peg driven through it.
"The holy power is being repelled."
That was exactly what was happening. The holy power emanating from Eilin's sword couldn't penetrate into the magic array. It looked like a barrier had been raised to keep Apeon from interfering with the ritual.
"Feels like devil's sorcery."
"Were they trying to summon the Demon King?"
"Looks like the Demon King can't come directly to this land."
"Apeon may have sealed the Demon King. Maybe now is when he's trying to awaken. The grand duke and priest Roman, the devils showing up—it's no coincidence."
They said the devils that once invaded the continent all disappeared at once. It could have been because the Demon King was sealed away. With no master, they would've returned to hell.
"The grand duke belongs to Hanuk's bloodline, who served the Demon King, and for some reason, the devils kidnapped Roman. To summon the Demon King, some combination of rituals must have been needed."
"So, the grand duke might become the Demon King."
"That could happen."
"Could the grand duke be an incarnation of the Demon King?"
This was Eilin's question.
It might be true.
After all, Eilin was said to be the incarnation of a god.
That's why Apeon needed us. As the Demon King, dormant for a thousand years, tried to awaken, we were chosen to stop them.
"If the Demon King is sealed, there are three betraying Apostles left. Dran, Tak, and Gadisil. Gadisil's Apostle performed a ritual to break the seal here in Rac."
"The other two Apostles could be somewhere else."
"There were two open doors before. It's very likely those two Apostles are in two worlds."
"Why do you suppose that is?"
I mulled over several possible explanations.
If two Apostles were in two worlds—
What brought them there?
They could be suppressing Apeon's power, or looking for the dying Apostle of Elin. Or they could also be preparing for the Demon King's descent there.
Rod once said—
In that white space, there were left and right doors, and he'd go through the right door and die.
"We're talking about the lands we've explored."
"The seven worlds?"
"Yes. They match exactly. The black land, the desert, the red land, and hell, which was overrun with devils."
"So, the four betraying Apostles were in those places."
"That's right. The remaining three places are lands connected to Elin, Amir, and Yan's Apostles. The right door Rod spoke of is the land of Elin's Apostle."
"So, this Rac is the land of either Yan or Amir."
"Yes, it's one of the two."
They'd said Apostle Amir was at the osu tree of As in Hairopro. The world of the left door Rod mentioned was probably related to Yan's Apostle.
"We need to destroy this place first."
I took hammers from my magic bag.
With one in hand, I smashed the magic array first.
KWAANG—
With the floor shattered, the rising darkness cut off in an instant. I thrashed and completely broke it, then pulled the wooden peg from Apeon's symbol. Nothing particular happened.
We moved back to the room with the seven doors. Destroying the arched structures didn't seem to serve a real purpose, but for now, I smashed the five doors that were closed.
Everyone stood before the open doors.
When I put my hand into the structure, it disappeared from view. That meant there was a shield of light within.
So, I stuck my head inside to look.
It was a desert.
The same one we passed through to reach hell.
I stuck my head inside the second door.
I was astonished by what I saw.
What was this place?
A strange world of light. I was inside some building, but it was utterly saturated with light. It looked like a spirit realm, but it didn't seem to be an ethereal plane.
I pulled my head out and said,
"This place is brimming with holy power. It might even be the divine world. It was flooded with light."
"Let's go inside."
Everyone swapped back to their holy swords, and I was the first to step into the world full of light. On exiting, I found myself in a temple similar to the one we'd just been in. The same symbol of Apeon was present.
We walked through interiors awash with waves of rainbow hues. The temple we'd come from was the temple in Rac, but this was one of the two worlds we hadn't yet visited.
We walked down a wide passage to a door.
The moment we exited, I gasped in awe.
There was an unbelievably massive tree far in the distance.
"Is that the osu tree?"
"Think so."
It was larger than the osu tree in Rac. The surface was entirely blanketed with forest, with only this gigantic tree towering above everything else. Except for where we stood, it was all forest.
As we appeared, beams of light began to appear here and there. They were spirits. So many of those lights. The forest seemed to be filled with spirits as well.
The world was truly mysterious. Every object shimmered with light, and there wasn't a single artificial structure. Maybe Elin's homeland was originally here.
"It's a world of spirits."
"They don't seem like ordinary spirits."
"Could they be souls?"
"Not sure."
Where we stood was a rugged mountain range.
The forested ground below was quite far away, but the osu tree was so huge it looked close.
"Yuri, let's fly toward that tree."
"Okay!"
Riding on Yuri, who transformed into a dragon, we took off from the mountains. Soaring high into the sky and crossing the rugged mountains, a vast plain spread out before us, leading to the location of the tree.
I looked at the long chain of mountains.
They were extremely rugged, with towering snow-capped peaks everywhere. Some of those peaks looked eerily familiar.
Though I'd only seen them in photos, they resembled the Himalayas. One particularly sharp peak was reminiscent of K2. The only difference was that there was a visible radiance about them.
In any case, we descended from the mountains and headed south, toward the sea of forest. As we flew swiftly, a burst of light exploded upward from the forest near the massive tree.
Like startled birds suddenly taking flight from the woods. Then, a new figure suddenly soared high into the sky. They began to gather light into the axe they held.
This time, it was Tak's Apostle.
One of the two remaining Apostles!
This one also had wings of light.
He hurled his axe at us with incredible force. The spinning axe, charged with immense magic power, hurtled toward us in an instant.
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