How was this even possible?
A whirlwind of hypotheses filled the mind of the old crone.
She had known the mage was skilled in shamanism, but even so, clearing her spell at such an incredible speed should have been impossible.
It should have taken at least a full day, or at minimum, half a day to grasp the meaning embedded within the spell.
“What… what is this? What went wrong?!”
Kirrrrr!
The old crone lowered her gaze.
There lay the Holy Grail, protected by her own spell.
Beside it was the Bishop who had embraced the Grail even in death; his body was dried up and lifeless.
But something was wrong. The Holy Grail showed scorch marks and was blackened as if it had been burned.
Even more troubling, the Bishop’s shriveled body, the most critical medium for the spell, had partially melted away. To think he had held the Grail in his arms until his death, only for it to end like this.
“So that’s what happened!”
She had assumed she had successfully blocked the mage’s magic by channeling energy from above to counter it, but the mage had managed to inflict serious damage on the medium of the spell after all.
The result was due to her negligence. She had been too preoccupied with paying the price for forcibly activating the Forest of Life and Death to focus on defending it.
With the medium in such a state, the completed Forest of Life and Death must also be riddled with internal issues.
“Krrrkk!”
Her gaze snapped to the mage.
On a spiritual level, the flow of time worked differently.
If she left things as they were, the mage would escape from the Forest of Life and Death within minutes.
Isn’t this ridiculously fast?
That thought crossed her mind briefly.
But if the mage joined the battle now, things would get far more troublesome.
No matter what, she had to resolve the issue at hand.
I have no choice.
She would have to enter the Forest of Life and Death herself.
The cost would be incomparable to what she had already paid, but it was a better option than losing everything she had built so far.
“Kirrrk! Monk! I’m going to deal with that mage! Can I leave this to you?!”
“Of course.”
The high priestess Eleanor had already been taken down by the spell.
All that remained were Bern and a handful of unremarkable level 3 and level 4 warriors, who weren’t even worth considering.
The Butcher Monk responded firmly.
***
The Butcher Monk’s confidence wasn’t without reason.
He hadn’t yet unleashed the full extent of his true strength.
However, if he used [Blood Mountain Reincarnation] any further, there was a high chance he would lose his sanity.
Fortunately, the spell of [Soul-Strength Siphon] cast by the old crone was compensating for that limitation.
And if you look at the battlefield—
The paladin, who had poured all his abilities into defense, was being overwhelmed by his fists without any way to retaliate.
And those stragglers in the back?
They were nothing but vermin who wouldn’t even survive a single blow from him.
“The souls of you benefactors will be put to good use.”
[Blood Mountain Reincarnation] was a growth skill strengthened through killing.
To grow, he needed to kill high-level opponents.
The paladin before him would serve as a significant contribution.
Even the stragglers in the back had souls that were worth something. This presented an opportunity for [Blood Mountain Reincarnation] to grow further.
Of course, the old crone wouldn’t just sit idly by and watch.
“Asura Salbarta.”
After all, wasn’t this a world where the strong claimed everything?
In a world riddled with hypocrisy, strength was the only means to truly protect oneself.
The Butcher Monk threw another punch. Once again, it was blocked by Bern’s shield, but—
“You can feel yourself weakening, can’t you, benefactor?”
“…Ugh!”
Meanwhile, Bern who had been forced to retreat significantly gritted his teeth.
The situation was dire.
By nature, he was a paladin specialized in defense rather than offense.
That didn’t mean he lacked confidence in his offensive capabilities, but—
He’s strong…
The Butcher Monk’s nimble yet crushing martial arts made any reckless moves impossible.
The one silver lining was—
The old shaman has disappeared, right?
What had the mage done?
The old crone’s body had also started to distort like the mage’s and became a spirit form.
If he could buy enough time, either the mage or the old crone would return.
The problem was whether Eleanor who was struck by the curse, could hold on until then.
The three phantom warriors created by the old crone’s “Two Blades, Three Warriors” had already slashed at Eleanor’s neck, heart, and stomach.
She wouldn’t die immediately, but—
If the curse wasn’t lifted quickly, her life would truly be in jeopardy.
It’s time to…
Make a choice, perhaps.
Bern loosened his grip on his shield.
Trying to block the Butcher Monk without suffering any damage had been a mistake from the start.
If the other side was attacking with full force,
Then I’ll respond in kind.
Offer the flesh to take the bone.
Just as Bern was about to lower his shield—
“Priestess!”
Aiden, who had been powerless to do anything but watch, moved Eleanor to the rear.
But then, something began to happen to Eleanor.
“Hmm?”
Even the Butcher Monk, out of curiosity, turned his gaze to Bern’s rear.
From Eleanor’s body, divine power was erupting.
***
“So, this is already the final gate.”
Jun had just passed through one of the two remaining doors.
Naturally, the door Jun hadn’t chosen bore signs of having melted away.
“When I first entered, it felt so overwhelming.”
Even without this latest anomaly, Jun had a way to escape the Forest of Life and Death.
But if he had relied on that method, it would have taken quite some time.
“Guess I got lucky.”
It was all thanks to the blow he’d landed on the medium.
“And now, the final stage…”
The scenery changed again.
This time, a vast black wall came into view.
Unlike the landscapes he had encountered so far, there was no path forward.
Jun’s gaze fixed on the center of the black wall.
There stood an altar made of the same black material as the wall, and upon it lay Elias, the Bishop whose soul had been dragged here much like Jun.
But perhaps it was to be expected.
He was far from intact.
“It’s hot… so hot…!”
Half of his soul had melted away.
From his head to his left shoulder and down to one leg, not a single part of him remained whole.
Yet, as if it were the most precious thing in the world, he clutched the blazing-hot Holy Grail to his chest.
“If I just have this, just this…!”
It was clear his mind was no longer intact either.
By this point, the Forest of Life and Death might as well have been fully resolved.
“Phew.”
The ritual’s medium.
Once Bishop Elias was dead, it would all be over.
Jun gathered his magical power.
He conjured a spell easily and a [Fireball] shot toward the Bishop.
Even as death loomed right before him, Elias clung tightly to the Holy Grail.
“Goodbye.”
Just as the roaring fireball was about to consume the Bishop’s soul—
[You insolent wretch!!!]
A piercing voice rang out, filling the entire Forest of Life and Death.
An invisible force materialized and swallowed the [Fireball] whole.
As the flow of magic was forcibly cut off, Jun frowned.
“Talk about timing.”
Unbelievable.
When he looked up at the sky that was filled with gray clouds, the enraged face of the old crone replaced the sky.
[You struggled so desperately, only to claw your way here at last!]
The old crone immediately understood the situation in this place after arriving in the Forest of Life and Death.
The gates of death, which should have endlessly trapped the intruder, had all melted away.
It was the result of Jun hitting the medium with [Flare].
“So you’re personally stepping in now. Didn’t expect an event like this to pop up.”
Even in the game, it was rare for the old crone to appear directly in the Forest of Life and Death.
Typically, this kind of event only occurred when the old crone was cornered with no other options.
But is there really a reason for her to be in such a desperate situation right now?
It hadn’t even been a year since Jun entered Blackout and started altering the story.
Jun himself wasn’t fully aware of just how much he had disrupted the old crone’s plans.
However, the old crone’s standing within the Church was now far weaker than it had been in the original game storyline.
She urgently needed to secure the vessel, Eleanor, to recover her dwindling influence.
Jun’s actions had driven the old crone into such a tight corner.
“Well, whatever…”
The fact that she had shown up in person was a good sign.
While it made her a tougher opponent, she was still only Level 6.
In the game, Jun had pushed even a Level 7 old crone to this degree.
If I can kill the old crone now, things will get a lot easier.
At the moment, the old crone was stretched thin. She was maintaining spells elsewhere and could not fight at full strength.
This was the perfect chance to take her down.
[You insolent wretch! How dare you act so calm! I’ll rip out your heart and toss it to the dogs, and your soul will suffer eternal torment!]
The old crone seemed to notice Jun’s calm demeanor and erupted in rage.
And it wasn’t just empty threats.
“Aaaah! Aaaaaargh!”
The melted Bishop Elias began screaming.
A surge of energy descended from the old crone in the sky.
Jun focused his magical power in his eyes and watched the process.
Like a puppet on strings, Bishop Elias’s limbs were bound by the old crone’s energy.
And then—
“No, no, nooooooo!”
His arms were forcibly lifted, bringing the Holy Grail in his hands to his mouth.
Of course, Jun had no intention of watching the scene unfold to the end.
[Multicasting]
[Fireball]
In an instant, numerous fireballs were summoned and flew toward Bishop Elias, who writhed in agony.
However, once again, the energy descending from the sky blocked the attack.
She’s pushing herself too far.
Using such defensive power within the already completed Forest of Death was no easy feat.
After all, this Forest of Death wasn’t created solely by the old crone’s abilities.
It was forged with the borrowed power of an Outer God, and every action she took required a price in return.
[It’s useless, you wretched worm!]
Even as she shouted those words, the old crone’s face contorted with strain.
But the price was worth paying.
In the meantime, Bishop Elias who was controlled by the old crone had begun to swallow the energy contained within the Holy Grail.
The divine power, now tainted by the demonic power of the Outer God, seeped into Bishop Elias’s very soul and contaminated it entirely.
“Huff… Huff… Aaaaargh! Kraaagh!”
The Heavenly Church.
Most of those associated with the Heavenly Church, as Jun had seen in the game, met a similar fate.
None of them ended well.
The problem was that Jun himself wasn’t exempt from that fate.
“Damn bastards.”
Bishop Elias’s body which was now filled with the demonic power of the Outer God became shrouded in a cocoon of pure white energy.
Even as he screamed incessantly, what kind of torment was he enduring?
“This isn’t right! Aaaaargh—!!”
The divine power he had spent his entire life cultivating began to distort.
The very essence of his glory, his life, and his history was being completely transformed into something foreign.
The process was unbearably excruciating, denying everything he had lived for up to that point.
And at last—
[……]
He made eye contact with the Outer God.
Just locking eyes with that being alone—
Bishop Elias’s soul disintegrated and was replaced by something entirely new that began to well up in its place.
“……”
Jun couldn’t see what was happening within the cocoon, but he realized one thing at that moment.
Some absolute entity had begun to exert its influence over the Forest of Life and Death.
“An Outer God.”
The main villain of the game, and the very existence the imperial family feared the most.
That Outer God had filled Bishop Elias’s body with its own power.
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