LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 127
– 1 –
The war following the Duel of the Great Warriors continued all the way to the final battle. It had been ongoing throughout the night.
To sum up the events that occurred on this battlefield in one phrase:
“The most important thing in war is the will of those who participate in it… or so they say.”
This could serve as an apt example.
Right after the Duel of the Great Warriors, during a small-scale skirmish, the Dungeon Lord’s faction was pushed back helplessly.
This was the result of one person harboring resentment and managing to demoralize everyone else.
“I admit defeat.”
Not only Quirisia’s dungeon, which was testing the waters at an appropriate moment to raise the white flag, but even—
– … I surrender.
Perhaps influenced by the atmosphere, even Melzeros easily submitted.
There were exceptions, of course, but it was a rather easy victory.
“Kill them all—!!!”
“Master! No! If you go out first…!”
The exception was, of course, the Green Skin Dungeon Lord, Zarkra.
It was merely Zarkra alone who posed a problem.
“I’ll kill them… I’ll kill them!!”
“Master!”
Zarkra, having lost two warriors, charged fiercely as the vanguard of three factions, but her subordinates couldn’t keep up with that momentum.
Excluding the naturally furious Orcs and Ogres, even Goblins and the Trolls resembling her physically were hesitant.
While they took to the fight, they weren’t particularly active about it.
“You…!! How dare you…!!”
– Kireek…
– Kuruk…
Only after the battle had ended did Zarkra realize her allies’ demeanor, with her eyes filled with hatred directed not just at me but at her subordinates and other Dungeon Lords.
However, no matter how much resentment she directed, it was all too late.
Late is late.
Her forces, which had recklessly continued a group battle, were already halved.
“From now on, we will begin the final battle!”
With the atmosphere solidified, the outcome of the last battle was a foregone conclusion, yet…
That battle unfolded even more fiercely than I had expected.
It was due to a hidden move that the last participant had kept from being noticed until now.
– 2 –
If a war is to be waged, and if there are commanders or generals who switch sides to ally with you beforehand…
Then saving their “face” is more important than one might think.
This gives a sense of “You won’t face any problems if you surrender” to other surrenderers, while also preventing unexpected actions from the surrenderers themselves.
In this case, saving the face of Dungeon Lord Quirisia applied.
Kwahm – !!
“Crk…!”
– Krurururu…!!
Hwa-ruk – !
The method that maintained her pride and reputation was a “fierce battle that seemed life-threatening.”
To that end, Libertus sent Xue and Lan into the fray along with Lady Quirisia.
Xue’s “Blood-Draining Method,” filled with explosions and bombardments, and Lan’s “Enchantress Spell,” bursting forth with vibrant and beautiful purple flames, were both quite fitting for enhancing the battle’s brutality beyond reality.
“Fufufu. How about surrendering now?”
“Not yet… not yet!”
The two didn’t back down at all, even against Quirisia, her two aides, and the occasional charging monsters.
No, rather they overwhelmed them.
Kwahk! Udeuk!
Shuaak!
Monsters that flung themselves in awkwardly or were hurled by other battles became immediate food for the two.
Their flesh turned into Xue’s mana and stamina, while their souls became material for Lan’s fox fire.
“Don’t come here!!”
“Die.”
Kwahk!!
As a result, from the middle of the battle on, no monsters recklessly intervened, and instead, during their fight against Quirisia, they occasionally jumped into other fights to gather materials.
“Don’t act too dirty. Xue.”
“Rather than you, who hinders my rest.”
“Do you want to try me?”
‘… What are they doing?’
Fox and wolf. White and black. Strong against spirit and fiery flames.
Filled with opposing elements, the two squabbled throughout the fight, leaving Quirisia in disbelief, while simultaneously displaying teamwork better than anyone.
Just as Libertus had assessed, they were ‘not on good terms but had good teamwork.’
“…”
While Lan and Xue continued their flamboyant battle against Quirisia on one side, there also existed a place quieter than any other battlefield nearby.
It was the battlefield of Monster Lord Melzeros and the one facing him, Evangeline.
‘No openings.’
Count Melzeros was a Magic Swordsman who utilized both magic and swordsmanship, mainly employing illusions and sword techniques mediated by light.
However, in this battlefield, his illusions were halfway obstructed.
Sahhak!
Melzeros tried to test his illusions by bringing a sword created with magic close to Evangeline, but the sword immediately lost its shape and crumbled.
The reason was the mist created by vapor that deflected light in directions he couldn’t foresee.
It was the mist Evangeline controlled through a water magic spell.
“A Dungeon Lord is far too cowardly.”
– Well then. It’s only natural to be cautious if one can’t control a monster like you.
Melzeros, who had only acted passively until now, seemed to only grin cheekily at Evangeline’s simple mockery, his previously blank face lighting up with a smile.
Kaang!
“How sneaky.”
– If possible, I’d prefer it if you called me clever.
Evangeline felt just as frustrated.
The other ability of this Dungeon Lord who primarily dealt with illusion magic was none other than ‘body separation and transformation.’
Bang! Kakang!
Unable to use illusions now, he actively utilized this ability to keep dodging whenever she approached.
Transforming into numerous flying swords and shields, he would block and evade using bits of himself.
“Come out yourself. How much longer will you just run away?”
– Honor must remain intact to achieve anything.
Kaang!
However, if he concentrated his power to blow her away at once, she’d sense it instantly and interfere with his parts, making it not so easy either.
‘Running away only.’
Her ‘judgment advantage’ and ‘reduced defense’ only activated when directly clashing with an opponent using mana.
Against someone who was entirely focused on evasion, they couldn’t be properly activated.
Even so, Evangeline didn’t rush.
‘Still, with this, the task given to me by the Master is complete.’
The task Libertus had given her was solely to keep this unknown Dungeon Lord occupied.
It was difficult for Evangeline to finish him off, but conversely, Melzeros found it hard to shake her off.
Unless he blocked her with his transformed sword and mirror, he had seen the battlefield rapidly tipping towards Libertus’ side.
‘Just by getting her to stay busy, I’m doing my part in this battle. So…’
The one who should be feeling anxious was Melzeros. Not Evangeline.
As the two Dungeon Lords remained ensnared, another was dying.
‘Hurry.’
And it was indeed what he was waiting for.
“Heeek…! Heeek…!!”
With eyes and heart burning with resentment, Zarkra dragged her utterly exhausted body forward.
Faced directly by Libertus, she was self-destructing, not by the enemy’s power but by her own.
“How about stopping here?”
“Absolutely…! There’s no way I would do that…!!”
Despite her rough movements expressing refusal, as she waved her arms, Zarkra was pushing her remaining strength time and again toward Libertus.
“‘Fal’tharion Drath’!”
“‘Zygra’then’…!”
“‘Mai’gorith Tepla’!!”
The three most frequently uttered words among them were ‘kill,’ ‘weaken,’ and biocurse that caused parts of her body to explode.
What was drying up her body was not just a matter of stamina; it was mainly due to her last curse.
Kwahm!!
The result of repeatedly severing and throwing her arms like a lizard’s tail, causing them to explode.
No matter how exceptional a Troll’s regenerative abilities might be, since it was biological regeneration and not mana-based, nutrients were needed.
The reason her body was drying was that all the spare fats and proteins had been siphoned away for the regeneration of her arms.
“How unfortunate.”
Could you believe that her initially plump and alluring body had completely withered away in just about 10 minutes?
Her deep green skin made that grotesque impression all the more horrifying.
“Don’t look at me with pity, cough!”
Even so, Libertus didn’t hesitate to gaze at her with a pitying look.
With contempt directed at her enemy.
With her own sincere sentiments.
“How can I not pity you? Having lost your subordinates and lover due to your foolishness, you’re now driving yourself toward ruin.”
“Krreek……!”
Zarkra glared with swollen, red eyes that had burst and dried up while uttering her incantation.
Yet instead of the incantation, all that came from her lips was a bubbling cough, but the spells faithfully picked up their master’s intentions and activated.
Kwahm!!!
Once again.
Her withered left arm flew off, shaking Libertus’ barrier.
‘The strength is still there.’
Its power was undoubtedly strong.
Among the magicians in her faction, there was no one who could withstand her, except for her.
‘The spells require a greater offering than magic. However.’
It’s true that her attacks, using her Dungeon Lord’s own body while ignoring self-destruction, were exceedingly powerful.
But that was all there was to it.
As long as she could not overwhelm Libertus with greater mana, no matter how much the amplification of her spells increased, they could only bind her.
“It’s over.”
“Ah, cough, I still… still have things to say…!”
And now, her arms were no longer regenerating.
Finally, she had depleted the nutrients in her body.
Even so, Zarkra had no intention of stopping.
No, she rather smiled.
She was waiting for the moment when she would feel her emotions rise the most before facing complete death.
“Melzeros…!”
– I’ve been waiting.
Phwahk – !!
Dull, white blades pierced through her body all over.
Libertus turned to look at a portion of the battlefield where Evangeline and Melzeros had been present.
The many dull white mirror walls that had imprisoned Evangeline had disappeared without a trace.
– Ny’thulaak… Ny’thraxen… Ny’thulaak… Ny’thraxen… Ny’thulaak… Ny’thraxen…
Zarkra’s body, now turning to flesh, was accepting some unknown materials and inflating her size.
The previously withered flesh bulged, taking a round shape, with countless fleshly protrusions rising across its surface.
To put it metaphorically, it resembled countless animal teats, but the form lacked vitality or strength, appearing utterly profane.
– Kakakakak!
– Krueck!
The tip of that hideous mass split open, teeth emerging, and the twisted fingers and entrails of trolls sprouting all around connected to form tentacles.
“Indeed. Your rage, hatred, and grudges run deep.”
So deep that they could summon the ‘outside’ to plant in your own body. To burn your ends and peace for power.
Muttering this, Libertus gazed at the darkening form.
A massive terror so great that an ordinary human’s mind could warp and distort merely by witnessing.
That form was descending upon her green body.
The physical body and power of Melzeros, bursting forth from Zarkra’s now distorted form, intertwined with her flesh and spells, creating an unimaginable shape.
‘The black beast.’
A gigantic black goat, or mountain goat.
A body made from teats and square pupils, a profane beast it was.
She observed as a massive cluster of eyes, like enormous shadows, dangled down and scrutinized her.
“Your malice seems to lack the fame to match it.”
“Besides being a false apostle, I assure you our psychology isn’t that fragile, my Master.”
“How foolish…”
And even facing a being that ordinary Demon Clans couldn’t comprehend, she understood that her sentiments didn’t waver in the slightest.
Even her aides felt similarly.
While it didn’t seem to reach a level like hers—feeling only discomfort—they were in a situation where even being a mere ‘apostle’ wouldn’t have much of an impact.
‘Dantalion. His knowledge, for sure.’
The Grand Duke of the Sixth Magical Realm on the surface, who goes by the name of ‘Secret’, Dantalion.
He, who bears secrets and deception as his name, is said to provide forbidden knowledge to his followers to harness power.
The forbidden knowledge was precisely about the ‘outside.’
Knowledge of a world and beings structured by rules unimaginable by common sense and laws of this world.
The result of having embraced that knowledge was now manifesting through Zarkra and Melzeros.
“Since they’ve failed to attack one with three, they might have thought it was no longer worth living…”
As Xue put it, there exists the concept of honor even in the realm of Demon Clans and Dungeon Lords.
While it was an honor forged through power and cruelty rather than courtesy and tradition.
The despair of not being able to establish such honor, along with her hatred and resentment over losing her lover.
That led Zarkra to summon the outside entity, sacrificing her body and soul.
“Once you’re tainted by the power of the outside, I can’t even eat that.”
“… Yes.”
As Lan said, a being polluted by the laws of the outside could no longer be used as spoils for the dungeon.
Libertus felt pity over that.
From a practical standpoint, their core could only be used in an incomplete form.
And over Zarkra’s form, she imagined the potential loss that might await in the future.
While she would have likely acted the same even if she could turn back time, the grief still stung.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes. My Lord.”
Libertus turned her body away from that spot.
The moment they had merged so imperfectly with the outside, it was game over.
If she stayed close, those prepared wouldn’t be able to exert their full strength.
– “I shall return to equilibrium.”
A terrible roar of anguished hatred erupted, as if to say, “Don’t ignore me!”
And with that, a charge began to collapse her unfinished form.
“‘The judgment shall be cast.’”
Already, one wedge made for this black beast was prepared.
The attributes of the outside, which contravene this world.
And the divinity that governs that world.
A colossal sword targeting both.
Kwadududududuk – !!!
– “!”
It was the light of judgment poured forth by a hero.
『The dungeon’s level has risen. Lv. 4 ▶ 5』
『Demon Lord Candidate, the One Who Taints, Libertus’ dungeon Lv. 5』
Once, the ‘judge of absolute good’ had poured forth this judgment upon the presence of the outside.