[Chapter 192]
[Clash of Gods (4)]
His head flew off.
His vision flipped upside down.
Ah...
Am I dying again?
Sindorim couldn't believe he was facing death once more.
But he couldn't deny reality.
His consciousness was fading.
His will was also about to scatter.
Right at that moment─
─I don't want to die.
The thoughts Sindorim had devoured until now united their disparate opinions.
Faced with the predicament of death, the gathered thoughts truly, desperately wished.
His fading consciousness returned.
His mind became sharply alert.
I don't want to die.
I want to live.
There's someone I want to meet.
I don't like dark places anymore!
He heard the voices of the thoughts.
I want to live.
The unified will soon encroached even on Sindorim's will.
I can't die like this.
And finally.
Sindorim was devoured by the will he had been controlling.
His identity was ambiguous from the start.
It wasn't unreasonable for him, who was defined by his sister's memories, to lose the identity of Sindorim and assimilate with the thoughts.
To begin with, hundreds and thousands of identities were sleeping inside one body.
The moment he lost control of them, he could no longer be called Sindorim.
Therefore─
─I am
He, no, they presented a new ego to the world.
Thus, Sindorim did not hesitate to use even the corpse of his precious sister he had been protecting.
☆
The manifestation of myth is no different from overlaying one's will onto the world.
In that sense, Sindorim excellently overlaid his will onto the world.
"─Ho-oh, to think you realized that realm on your own without anyone telling you, truly impressive."
Amidst the chaos where all sorts of things were mixed and fighting to live.
The old man, Armageddon, was calmly watching the fight as a bystander.
In particular, his gaze was directed towards where the National Assembly building had collapsed.
There was one human and a being calling itself
And Sindorim who had become a Lich.
Other things assisting in the battle between the two beings were none of his concern.
"Did the struggle to live instinctively pull him up to that realm?"
Meanwhile, the old man greatly admired.
Until now, living legends had strictly kept silent about methods of manifesting myth and not passed them down to later generations.
Because manifesting myth is dangerous. And the world has become an era where one can live without manifesting myth.
Yet Sindorim manifested myth and ascended to the realm of gods.
"Well, though I didn't teach him, he had long since fulfilled the conditions for manifesting myth."
In fact, the conditions were met.
Sindorim extorted people's souls and made himself into a macrocosm.
Furthermore, he clearly demonstrated divine dignity of resurrecting the dead before people, accumulating achievements worthy of being called myth.
Just look at how Mana Religion believers are fervently absorbed in chanting Sindorim's name.
Their religious devotion, that is, strong will, was reflected in the world.
Thus Sindorim became a being who could do anything in this chaos.
Nevertheless, he suddenly appeared and didn't gain firm enough religious devotion for the world to be organized around him.
"So that's why he mentioned my name."
Imperfect religious devotion.
To transform that into something complete, Sindorim invoked the Mana God.
I uphold the will of the Mana God.
Riding on the name of the Mana God, he added power rivaling myth to the alias
An alias is soon another self.
A simple and intuitive name that makes people recall the myth entangled with it the moment they hear it.
It was also a 'keyword' that clearly changes the world.
However─
"─It's surprising that he manifested myth, but it seems he was devoured unable to bear the weight of myth. Like that he can't be said to have fully embodied it."
The fact that he couldn't manifest myth without borrowing the Mana God's name was proof of imperfection from the start.
Armageddon grasped Sindorim's state at a glance even from a distance.
He clicked his tongue in regret.
In the end, his gaze turned from Sindorim to No Eun-ha.
"─Now then, how do you plan to respond?"
It's not entirely impossible for many dwarves to join forces and defeat a giant.
Of course, that would require corresponding sacrifice.
Moreover, Sindorim's myth was special.
A myth forming an army of the dead.
To conquer that myth would inevitably require enormous sacrifice.
If not that─
"─Only myth can oppose myth. Tsk tsk."
You too should show manifesting myth.
How difficult that is.
Armageddon knew well.
The same coincidence doesn't happen twice, as they say.
He believed without doubt.
☆
It was the same in the previous life.
Even with his head cut off, Sindorim absolutely wouldn't die.
As if defying death, his severed head would cleanly reattach.
Though I'd heard stories, seeing it directly is no joke.
No wonder people called him
Leaving such a deep impression even after he disappeared...
So Eun-ha wasn't surprised.
Other players seemed shocked, but Eun-ha hadn't expected anything from the moment he cut off his head.
Therefore─
""""─...!!""""
When Sindorim swung his cloak.
Even when the air suddenly split and a woman's corpse came out of it, he wasn't very surprised.
Mana Religion saint Shin Yeon-su.
Sindorim embraced her corpse and activated magic.
─Mount The Life Vessel
Soul Sharing
Using ghouls as shields.
Sindorim using magic to resurrect his younger sister as undead.
This could be said to be the point where
It's going to be more troublesome.
I wanted to end the situation by just killing Sindorim if possible, but to think it's come to this...
Eun-ha frowned.
To take him down, he had to eliminate every part of his body without leaving anything.
But Eun-ha alone couldn't completely eliminate Sindorim protected by ghouls.
He lacked damage dealers.
Coincidentally, the players currently working with him lacked damage output.
At best,
She was vulnerable to close combat and a caster more specialized in defense than offense.
"...I've been wondering since I first saw it, but now I see that's not human. If I had to say, it could be called a 3rd rank overrank lich. Where on earth did such a thing pop out from..."
"I guess the Mana Religion was hiding a secret weapon until now."
"Those crazy cult bastards..."
Eun-ha answered with empty words, but other players were appalled.
They didn't even have the energy to joke.
That's how much the players' morale was greatly falling.
Just when they finally killed Sindorim by joining forces, it turned out to be just the beginning.
"Pandora Clan Lord. It's difficult to stop that thing with our power."
"But we can't run away either. If we flee leaving that thing behind, it will take the opportunity to expand the scale of its army."
""""...""""
"We have to hold its feet. If we let it go or let it leave here, a ghoul infection outbreak will occur starting from Yeongdeungpo-gu."
Eun-ha said coldly.
The players groaned.
They knew the danger too.
To begin with─
"─Do you think I'll let you go?"
""""...""""
It was a situation where they couldn't escape either.
In the middle surrounded by ghouls.
Even without hearing Sindorim's words, the players were aware.
"In the end, we have no choice but to hold out until reinforcements arrive."
And finally.
The players made a decision.
Eun-ha also set his whole body on fire.
Growl!!
Wubo
Blaze Crusher
Jin Parang rampages through the battlefield.
Eun-ha took advantage of the gap Jin Parang created to move a long distance.
Eun-ha appearing behind Sindorim swung his sword.
Right then─
─Corpse Shield
Corpse Explosion
Shin Yeon-su reacted first.
She who was leading the army to face Chong Eun-ju unfolded protective magic.
Ghouls positioned around Sindorim moved pulled by an unknown force to protect him.
Eun-ha's sword only managed to cut down a few ghouls.
─Boom boom boom boom!!
Meanwhile, Sindorim who gained time to cast magic exploded the remaining ghouls' shields.
Eun-ha blocked the explosion's aftermath with his flame-wrapped cloak.
Immediately─
─Ratatatatat!!
Other ghouls rushed in without minding being caught in the explosion.
They reached out their hands towards Eun-ha in a defensive posture.
Corpse Explosion
Ghouls rushing in filling his vision to the point he couldn't use Wubo.
Another explosion occurred.
A larger explosion than before swallowed Eun-ha.
☆
He can't defend.
At the moment dozens of ghouls' explosion enveloped him.
Eun-ha imbued mana into his necklace.
─Necklace of Restoration
The blue jewel emits a bright light.
The explosion enveloping him turns into mana particles upon touching the light and disappears.
The explosion using dozens of ghouls ended up in vain like that.
Rather, the Necklace of Restoration gave Eun-ha a chance to turn the tables.
───!!!
Mana particles are scattering.
Eun-ha ran holding two swords.
The two sword blades emit light.
The sword blades that absorbed all the scattering mana roared.
Dunning Blade
Ghouls rush in.
But they disappear as soon as they touch the swords.
A commander-class ghoul charges.
He blocks with Winter Blooming Coldly and swings Winter Blooming Coldly.
It disappears futilely.
Eun-ha launched a silver sword strike.
Moving urgently in the situation, he accurately targeted commander-class ghouls to collapse the command system.
Even so─
─Rumble rumble rumble
Ghouls rise endlessly.
Ghouls in the form of mounted knights.
Ghouls using bows.
And ghouls in dragon form.
They've gotten stronger than before.
Not just Sindorim, but Shin Yeon-su is assisting with magic too.
Eun-ha gritted his teeth.
Once he started running, he couldn't stop his feet like this.
He used Wubo while kicking off the ground.
Gift
Mode: Blade Wolf
Blade Claw
Blaze Crusher
Flame Thorn
Jin Parang intervened at the right moment.
Appearing from the side, he bites the neck of a horse rearing up.
The ghoul riding the horse floats into the sky.
Eun-ha whipped it with Winter Blooming Coldly.
At the same time he launched flame thorns at the ghoul aiming arrows at him.
Tch
The ghoul riding the horse was annihilated but the bow-using ghoul avoided the attack.
But there was no need to regret.
The Lord said,
I will kill death.
Meteor Shower
Light flashed in the black sky.
The light split into hundreds of branches and fell to the ground.
The bow-using ghoul was caught in the arrow rain and perished.
Roooooar!!
Meanwhile the dragon roared.
It spread its huge wings to block the arrow rain pouring down.
At the same time, people who heard the roar suffered a debuff causing chills.
Winter Blooming Coldly
Familiar Transformation
Phoenix Wings
Blast Counter
Though Iriya responded too.
Eun-ha used the magic imbued in Winter Blooming Coldly.
Flower winds blew in the area.
Eun-ha didn't even check the magic's effect and spread his wings.
Mana was mixed in the surroundings.
Ghouls were going crazy trying to grab him to prevent his flight.
When Eun-ha drew his sword in the air.
Explosions chain-reacted to the point of even engulfing himself.
──!!
Using even that as propulsion.
Eun-ha shot up into the sky.
He compressed mana in his sword.
Once, twice, thrice.
Winter Blooming Coldly was dyed in brilliant light.
Roooooar!!
The dragon appears.
A dragon made only of bones.
He used magic right in front of it where its eyes should be empty.
Blast Cross
Flames spreading in a cross in the air.
The dragon that took it head-on roars loudly and falls.
Ghouls below are crushed unable to move.
Chong Eun-ju seized that opportunity to use magic to bury the ground.
Roooooar!!
But there were more dragons.
A dragon flying in behind Eun-ha.
It was preparing breath.
Gift-Bestowing Artifact
─Copycat's Mirror
A magic circle that appeared in front of Eun-ha then.
Eun-ha who was about to block with Blast Counter immediately canceled casting.
It's Cha Eun-woo.
Eun-ha realized she had come to support.
Right after, Cha Eun-woo's magic almost perfectly imitated the dragon's breath.
Interference cancellation occurs and─
─Whoosh!
Suddenly something shot up.
A sword.
Now Eun-ha could grasp another presence too.
Sword Spirit Return
The sword disappears.
Choi Eun-hyeok appears.
He lands on the dragon's skull.
Gift-Bestowing Artifact
Gift
Flash Sword
A device made from a Chungmu-grade treasure.
His sword was enveloped in enormous light.
Soon Choi Eun-hyeok holding a thick beam of light struck down on its skull.
It screamed.
The bones crumble to pieces.
Choi Eun-hyeok also loses his foothold and falls.
To this, Eun-ha flapped his wings.
"You came at a good time."
"Not just me, other people came too. But what's going on here?"
"That's what I'd like to know. Can you drop me off anywhere below? I can handle it from there."
"Just drop me from here. I'll cover while assessing the situation."
Choi Eun-hyeok with his armpit grabbed by Eun-ha.
Soon Eun-ha let go.
As Choi Eun-hyeok falls.
He quickly landed on the blade of a sword passing through the air.
Riding Sword
Though still quite imperfect.
Choi Eun-hyeok was responding to aerial combat while riding the sword like a board.
Eun-ha passed by him.
He could feel the presence of Pandora Clan members everywhere.
[It's Jin Seo-na. From now on, Ha-yang will command the situation.]
[I'll leave the command to you. And tell me who came as support.]
[Me and Ha-yang and Eun-woo and Eun-hyeok and Eun-ah unnie, Soo-bin, Si-hyeong, Gu-rae, and...]
Jin Seo-na's telepathy.
There was no need to listen to the rest.
Eun-ha could tell seeing explosions occurring in the midst of swarming ghouls.
Memento Magia
Lock Stake
Load Grenade
Cover Hellfire
Accelerate
─Meteor
She must be somewhere on the battlefield too.
Just then, she activated the magic Eun-ha needed.
A huge mirror appeared in the air.
Well done.
Eun-ha smiled with satisfaction.
And not just her.
Eun-ah accurately cast magic on him flying at high altitude.
Magic to restore internal mana.
Feeling vitality surge through his whole body, he immediately turned his gaze to the mirror.
Stygian Eye
He brainwashes himself.
He forcibly activates his gift.
Thump thump thump
Hearing his heartbeat.
Eun-ha felt a sense of overflowing power.
Gift
He entrusted his body to the gift.
Mana flowing out of his body wrapped around him like a veil.
Eun-ha immediately dove sharply.
He violently swung his flame wings to burn the ghouls on the ground.
Familiar Transformation
Phoenix Cloak
Landing like that.
He folded his wings and wrapped himself in the cloak.
Sindorim was right in front of him.
Shin Yeon-su was also nearby.
With clan members providing support, now he could fight properly.
Moreover─
─Doppelganger
If he had enough internal mana.
There was no reason not to use it.
Eun-ha created his avatar.
"─My gift activated too."
Not the usual Jean Valjean he summoned.
An avatar the same height as Eun-ha.
The avatar wrapped in a cloak of flames grinned just like Eun-ha.
"Now the numbers match."
"Now we can fight properly."
""...""
The two spoke almost simultaneously.
Soon they snapped their fingers.
─Unification of Will
Fiercer flames blazed than before.
Heat that melts ghouls' bodies just by approaching.
A commander-class ghoul that foolishly entered the flames was incinerated without a trace.
Peep peep peep peep!
Crimson flames rose high like that.
☆
The battle situation keeps changing.
At one point it seemed to be pushed back when Shin Yeon-su became undead, but reinforcements arrived just in time.
"If the artifact brainwashing people was destroyed, waking them up is no big deal."
Twelve Seats
He spoke while checking the condition of people gradually regaining their senses.
He unfolded magic to break brainwashing together with Myeongwang Clan members.
But even so─
"─Why are you killing people! Do those look like monsters to your eyes!?"
""""...""""
As many people broke free from brainwashing, there were also many who voluntarily brainwashed themselves.
Mana Religion fanatics.
But they couldn't be unconditionally dismissed as fanatics.
From the moment Sindorim called himself
Uh...uh...
School.... I have to go to school...
It hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts it hurts....
People defending the ghouls.
Strangely, the ghouls absolutely wouldn't touch them.
Rather, they tried to protect them.
So it wasn't unreasonable for some people to step forward and block the players.
"...The reason ghouls exist is because those people believe in them."
Iriya grasped the current situation.
The mana currents were unusual.
Since Sindorim's head flew off.
For some reason, the mana enveloping the area was rejecting her control.
Yet it was showing a favorable response to Sindorim and the ghouls.
Mana that usually doesn't have directionality is strongly responding to the will of Sindorim and the believers.
That could be said to be the reason why.
The situation didn't seem to be improving much despite reinforcements arriving.
What could be called the upper hand.
Or what could be called the atmosphere.
It was revolving around
We need to change the atmosphere somehow.
But how do we do that?
Iriya racked her brains.
She understood the cause of the phenomenon.
Sindorim's will was so strong, and the ghouls' memories and people's wills were sympathizing with him.
Then to change the situation, it would be right to strengthen will in a direction favorable to them.
But is that really possible?
People all think differently, unifying thoughts is impossible.
The phenomenon occurring now itself could be said to be extremely rare.
Even breaking the brainwashing on people didn't cause much change.
Do Wan-jun seemed to be thinking similarly.
Iriya turned her gaze from Do Wan-jun who was deep in thought.
She couldn't just keep pondering.
She had to unfold purification magic too.
It was then─
"─It's
""""...""""
Iriya looked at a person who had just woken from brainwashing and was being healed by supporters.
There were more people around that person muttering No Eun-ha's alias.
They were looking up at Eun-ha spreading three pairs of crimson wings under the black sky.
They seemed to be people of the Eun-ha God Religion.
There were often people among Mana Religion believers who believed in both the Eun-ha religion and Mana Religion.
No, even if they didn't believe─
─Everyone knows the divine dignity the Lord showed in Jung-gu during the Seoul Disaster.
Though there were fanatical Mana Religion believers.
In the case of neutral Mana Religion believers, they didn't blindly disparage Eun-ha, but acknowledged him.
Iriya thought these people who woke from brainwashing were that type.
It was then─
"─My child is suffering. It-it's all my fault. I ended up committing a sin. That's why my child came back to life in that form. I didn't wish for something like that..."
"He tells me he's in pain. It seems he remembers the moment just before death, I can't bear to watch him suffer in agony like this."
"We fell for the devil's temptation. We shouldn't have resurrected dead people."
""""So we pray.""""
"Please, please I beg you. My child, put him at ease. Please send him to the other side."
""""We beseech you, we beseech you.""""
""""We earnestly beseech the Eun-ha God.""""
People who couldn't abandon their religious devotion.
Those betrayed by the Mana God were now revering Eun-ha.
The players clicked their tongues while turning away from that sight.
Iriya blankly stared at them.
It was at that very moment.
Whoosh!
"...Huh?"
Flames blazed from their bodies.
Iriya doubted her eyes.
☆
The scene Iriya momentarily witnessed then was being observed in various parts of the battlefield.
Raging Inferno
She was blocking ghouls on the outskirts of the battlefield separately from Pandora Clan members.
Around her were not only players, but also people of the Eun-ha God Religion.
It was the Eun-ha God Religion Inquisition.
"Wake up, you fools!! Your mom is already dead!? Just give up!"
"Let go! That's our mom! I said let go!"
"I'll tell you as many times as it takes, you idiot!! Your mom is dead! She's gone now!!"
Though not players.
With their belligerent personalities, they were specialized in dealing with Mana Religion believers trying to offer their bodies to ghouls.
So they were helping players clear up the chaotic battlefield.
"Inquisition assemble!"
""""Assemble!!""""
"We save foolish humans brainwashed by the evil Mana God!!"
""""The Eun-ha God's flames are with us!!""""
The Inquisition and people of the Eun-ha God Religion were intensely excited.
The battlefield situation made their emotions heightened.
And so in the chaotic situation, emotions accidentally mixed and were implemented in this world as a principle.
─Whoosh!!
Fierce flames arose.
Crimson flames wrapped around their shoulders, bestowing power to annihilate ghouls.