Chapter 101: Bone, Flesh, and Blood (4)
After all kinds of monsters poured out from the collapsed interior of Cuebaerg.
Hus and the other expedition members had to face the abyssal monsters that came like a tidal wave.
Cuebaerg, with its house-sized body, spewed out countless monsters to the outside.
Dealing with the monsters that Cuebaerg spat out was much more troublesome than facing its huge body.
Most of the firepower that the expedition had prepared was effective only for large targets.
It was only possible to sweep away the enemies by projecting massive firepower from a terrain that could withstand the onslaught.
“…They’re really filthy and numerous.”
“Barrier on the right! Monsters are coming!”
“Gilford! Don’t get too far away!”
“Support! We need support!”
Sion and Hus’s bombing only produced effective results for the first few times, and by now they were not able to perform as well as before.
The expedition that was created to face Cuebaerg had formed a relatively flexible formation.
It was mixed up and broken by the fast-approaching abyssal monsters.
Except for the rear, which had kept a distance from the beginning, they were fighting in a chaotic melee.
In such a melee where countless numbers were mixed up, it was impossible to indiscriminately project firepower.
The barrier that Hus had created was also already broken by the enemies several times.
“The Holy Sanctuary Cannon – Auras Saint!”
Perhaps the only consolation was that they had completely blocked the gaze of the evil god who was looking at this place.
The sanctuary created by the Saint of Hunting and the priests weakened the monsters and blocked the eyes of the evil god.
In such a sanctuary, elite troops were moving and slaying the monsters.
Of course, among the isolated paladins, there were also many who fell under the onslaught of the enemies.
Those who were judged to be alive among the wounded were treated by other paladins and moved in the direction where Oren was.
It was a possible means because half of the troops were paladins who could handle holy power.
“Aaaah! Aaah…!”
“Move the wounded soldiers to where I am as much as possible!”
“Sion! We need fire support on the right side of the barrier!”
“I’m already doing it! It’s not as fast as you think!”
“Cough…!”
“Hus! The barrier is about to break! Prepare the next barrier!”
Bang! Bang!
Sion’s arrows fell among the rushing enemies and exploded with a loud noise.
The merit of being able to hit any target against multiple enemies was gone in this situation.
It would be better to put all the front lines in the barrier and hold on, but the mobility of the paladins in front was not free either.
They had to continue this situation until some of the monsters were cleared.
Meanwhile, isolated paladins were gradually exhausted by the attacks of monsters.
Hus sighed as he looked at the situation of the battlefield that had changed into a strange flow.
“There’s no hell like this.”
He knew why the paladins on the front lines were fighting recklessly.
They were trying to prevent monsters from approaching heroes and saints as much as possible.
They were blocking monsters at the expense of their stamina.
But if they kept going like this, they would likely suffer more losses.
They had to find another way to end this battle efficiently.
Some way to drive the monsters into confusion.
“Where are you going, Hus!”
“The barrier has already been renewed.”
“Sion! There are enemies coming from behind!”
“I told you it’s not that fast!”
Hus floated in midair and escaped from outside of barrier.
He looked at ground.
At his fingertips, there was a blue lightning bolt.
Chain Lightning.
Hus didn’t like this magic very much, but it was a fairly efficient attack method in this situation.
Chain Lightning was a magic that had a narrow range compared to other wide-area magic.
It was also one of few wide-area magic that could distinguish friend from foe.
Hus raised his hand and fired magic toward ground.
A single lightning bolt that was attached to Hus’s fingertip connected to ground.
“——Chain Lightning.”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
The chain of lightning that spread sequentially electrified bodies of monsters on ground.
Monsters hit by Hus’s Chain Lightning screamed and burned black.
The lightning that knocked down enemies spread to another target, forming a huge chain of lightning.
Crackle! Crack!
Hus moved his finger flexibly toward direction where he needed to hit, using Chain Lightning skillfully.
The number of monsters reduced faster than before by Hus’s magic.
-Gwooooh!
-Kieeek!
The paladins who were fighting in front heard screams of monsters from behind and looked back at Hus.
They had admiring faces at sight of Hus clearing monsters.
Among paladins who looked at Hus, there was also Oren, leader of expedition.
Oren seemed relieved by sight of Hus hitting monsters without harming allies.
He swung his holy sword and cleared monsters, shouting in a loud voice to Hus.
“Hus! I ask you for a little more!”
“…”
But Hus shook his head at Oren’s words.
He couldn’t keep this method until end, it would only increase consumption.
He had to find a more efficient way to end this battle.
His eyes turned to a bunch of monsters in middle of front line.
There, several monsters were gathering their bodies to protect something.
As if they were trying to protect something precious to them.
“…Did they call it a lord?”
If they had such monsters, there must also be an entity that commanded them.
That would be the one that could be called Cuebaerg’s main body.
Hus’s finger pointed toward direction where monsters were clustered.
Hus’s finger, pointing at them, turned blue.
His eyes, aimed at the direction where the enemies were, emitted a fierce killing intent.
Hus unleashed a lightning magic at the monsters that were clustered together.
“——Lightning Spear.”
Kwaaaaang!
A spear of lightning pierced through the center of the monsters.
The monsters that were hit by Hus’s attack twitched and fell to the ground.
Among the fallen monsters, a small white figure was visible.
As Hus had expected, the monsters that Kuverg had spat out were guarding something.
The other monsters around them started to climb up to fill the gap left by the ones that were struck by lightning.
It was a clear sight of them trying to protect something precious.
“That one must be it.”
The command unit that directed the countless monsters.
There was no doubt that the white monster was its identity.
If Hus’s guess was right, then by taking out that monster, the other monsters around it would lose control and become a rabble.
There was no need to deal with the monsters that rushed in recklessly, risking their lives.
Hus, who had finally found the enemy’s commander, prepared his magic once again.
This time, he was going to pour out his magic and finish off Kuverg’s main body.
Crackle.
With a spark, Hus generated lightning and was about to use his magic.
“——Lightning Spear.”
“——Astraphe.”
Shuuuuuung— Kwaaang!
A black streak from the sky cut through Hus’s Lightning Spear.
Hus’s pupils shook for a moment at the sight of the lightning that cut his magic.
It was a pattern that he had never seen from the enemies before.
Moreover, it was not blocking his lightning magic, but cutting it. It was something that Hus could not understand at all.
The anomaly that Hus and the expedition team faced was not only that.
While he was astonished by his magic being cut by something, he heard another voice of a knight from around him.
“What is this······.”
“Look, look at the sky!”
Hus lifted his head and looked up at the sky, following the voice of the knight that pierced his ears.
Under his gaze, far below the sky.
He saw the sun starting to turn black.
Everyone who saw the blackening sun let out a deep sigh.
“Ha, the sky······.”
“The sun is suddenly turning black!”
“Evil god······! It’s an evil god! The evil god is making the black sun rise!”
Black sun.
An impossible disaster that only an evil god could cause.
Under the deep darkness, the sun loses its light, and those who walk on the ground become blind beggars.
They have to rely on a small light made by humans and wait for the curse of the evil god to be lifted.
The meaning of the black sun that suddenly rose in the sky was clear.
The evil god had started to move against them.
And it was to warn them who had tried to hunt down his minions.
“Ah······.”
A deep sigh came out of Hus’s mouth as he looked at the sky.
What kind of magic did he use to create such a result?
He couldn’t even guess how long he had to walk on the path of magic to reach such a level.
That was not a magic that could be reproduced by a mere human body.
The only thing possible for those on the ground was to light a small fire and be satisfied with seeing an inch ahead of them.
In no time, lights powered by holy power began to rise around him in the darkened sky.
“Don’t panic! The sanctuary proclamation of Her Holiness is still working normally!”
“Hus! Please secure our vision with magic!”
“Everyone! Be alert for incoming monsters!”
“Aaah! He, help me! I’m being attacked by enemies! Cough······!”
Confused voices echoed from all directions.
Oren tried to maintain his command in the darkness, and Hus attempted to restore his vision with light magic.
There were also knights who disappeared somewhere by monsters in the darkness that settled around them.
The black sun amplified the power of monsters abnormally.
It might not have a dramatic effect on high-level monsters, but it was a different story for these ones that came from all sides.
As time passed, the monsters’ offensive would become stronger and stronger.
They needed to clear this chaos as quickly as possible.
“We need backup! The monsters have become stronger than before!”
“We can’t provide long-range support because we can’t secure our vision properly!”
“This situation will continue and we’ll all be in trouble······!”
Hus frowned in the faint light and prepared his magic again.
The longer this went on, the more damage would be done to the expedition team.
To minimize the damage, he had to take out Kuverg’s main body as quickly as possible.
Hus pointed his finger at the place where Kuverg’s main body was.
And right after that.
A black lightning bolt fell on the spot where Hus was pointing.
“······.”
Light that embraced darkness.
It was an absurd sight.
How could black lightning exist?
Yet Hus had to face the corrupted light that fell in front of his eyes.
Kwang! Kwarrang!
Black lightning fell under the black sun.
The black light that fell in the pitch-black world was a very bizarre sight.
A human voice echoed from the rain of lightning that poured down irregularly.
“——Revere. Worship. Obey.”
A solemn and serious man’s voice.
A familiar man’s voice that he didn’t know where he had heard from was ringing in the sky.
Kwang! Kwaaang!
As soon as I heard his voice, a black lightning bolt fell from the sky.
A black lightning that looked unnatural and monstrous.
Only the hand of a god tainted by evil could create such a miracle. Underneath it, Hus looked up at the sky.
“This voice…”
In the sky that Hus looked up at, a huge thundercloud was visible.
The thundercloud that swallowed the black lightning was slowly expanding its size.
Like the cries of the monsters spreading in all directions, the thundercloud hanging in the sky also gradually extended its territory.
When the thundercloud that was growing bigger and bigger reached its saturation point,
The pitch-black cloud spat out the lightning that had been condensed inside it towards the ground.
Kwaaaaaaang!
With a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and the earth, a black pillar of light struck the ground.
The paladins who were watching him were deafened by the roar of the lightning and covered their ears.
Hus’s eyes stared at the center of the lightning that struck violently.
There was a huge sphere made of black lightning where the lightning struck.
“——The great one is watching you.”
Crackle. Crackle.
Black lightning splashed around and a man wearing a gauntlet emerged from inside it.
On the man’s back, there were wings of black lightning that were dyed in pitch-black.
Everyone gasped in horror at the sight of the half-wing fluttering behind the man.
A sinister look leaked from the eyes of the man who was wrapped in lightning.
There was no one among those standing here who could not guess what the man’s identity was.
“······He’s an apostle. Prepare for battle.”
“He’s an apostle! An apostle has appeared! Everyone, prepare for battle!”
Except for Hus, who was floating in the air and looking at the scene.
Hus Allemier stared at the man who revealed himself with blank eyes.
The person standing there was very familiar to Hus.
A voice without strength burst out of Hus’s mouth as he looked at Evan Allemier.
“······Brother?”
The Apostle of Black Lightning.
And the Hero of Knowledge.
The eyes of the two people who were separated by fate met each other in the air.
