Chapter 57 - King of Hungry Ghosts (2)

Alon glanced down at the thing he had frozen into a crescent, then turned his gaze to Maverick.

"I told you. Get a hold of yourself."

"!"

Once he had confirmed that Maverick had hastily risen and was finally collecting himself, Alon turned back to the thing—no, the Outer God.

It wore black robes in an Eastern style and, until moments ago, had been watching him with eyes full of ennui and arrogance.

'Why have things gone wrong?'

Alon watched the Outer God, his expression taut with tension.

According to the reports, it should have reached the fifth floor three days from now, not today. Even that estimate assumed it suddenly began moving quickly. The expedition had actually judged that it would take more than five days for the Outer God to come down here.

That was how it should have been.

Yet the Outer God was already on the fifth floor.

"..."

Alon lightly shook his hand, which had begun to tingle without his noticing.

The Outer God before him had taken the form of a goblin. Its ears were far too large for a human's, and its green skin and hooked nose clearly identified it as one.

And yet no one, Alon included, thought this being was a mere goblin.

Not Argonia and Himan, who had gained the Eye that brought them closer than others to the truth of the world. Not even the mercenaries who lacked that Eye.

No one here was judging it by its appearance anymore. Its naturally emanating presence was enough to overwhelm the entire space.

Alon, who knew that fact, was no exception.

Then the thing spoke.

"... Oh?"

The arrogance in its eyes had not vanished. But interest had replaced its ennui, bringing a smile to its lips.

"What an amusing trick, insignificant creature."

It leisurely curled its raised index finger back in and stroked its chin.

Watching it, Alon quietly spoke.

"... Kailas."

An insignificant creature that had coveted knowledge precisely because it was insignificant. One that had reached the end of that pursuit, understood the Law, and attained the stature of a god on its own.

The king of all hungry ghosts.

As Alon spoke Kailas's name, the interest in its eyes deepened.

"You even know my name? Admirable."

It swept a hand over its head and gave a cheerful smile, unlike the one it had worn before.

"Very well. I am in a good mood, and those things seem to be attached to you as well. I shall grant you one act of mercy."

"..."

"Fuck off. Then I shall let you live."

An offer.

But Alon answered with an order to the expedition.

"Prepare for battle."

"Tsk. I meant to spare you because you were an amusing little creature."

Hearing his answer, Kailas stared at him as though faced with a fool.

"If you insist on choosing punishment, then so be it, insignificant creature."

It raised its hand before it once more.

"Prepare for battle!"

Argonia's voice, raised to shake off fear, heralded the start of the fight.

####

The Outer God's arrival on the fifth floor had already thrown everything off, rendering Alon's original plan completely useless. It would have required a full day of work to carry out.

But he had not yet given up on slaying the Outer God. Even with the plan ruined, he believed they still had every chance of defeating it.

There were two main reasons.

First, unlike Ultultus last time, Kailas had not progressed very far toward becoming an incarnate god, just as Alon had expected.

Second, unlike when they had fought Ultultus, the mercenaries had made some preparations against the Outer God.

ZIP!

Magic shot from Kailas's hand toward Alon and the mercenaries in an instant.

But—

CRACK!

With the sound of something shattering, Kailas's invisible slash was blocked by the sword in Argonia's hand.

"A Dispel Sword...! You have brought something amusing...!"

Argonia held a Dispel Sword, a blade capable of cutting magic, of which fewer than a hundred existed on the continent.

Though it could not cut people, the sword, made solely to sever magic, was more than sufficient to cut through the spells of Kailas, who had yet to become an incarnate god.

BOOM!

Reassured, Argonia kicked off the ground and charged Kailas, beginning the battle in earnest.

Maverick, likewise armed with a Dispel Sword on Alon's advice, joined the fight, while Myaon swiftly began using the surrounding terrain to loose arrows.

Three against one.

A fight in which they held an overwhelming numerical advantage.

Thanks to Alon, the mercenaries already knew most of the types of magic Kailas used. They proved formidable opponents, pressing it hard.

Yet despite the combined assault of four mercenaries and the realization that all its magic had been countered—

"!"

Kailas twisted its lips into a broad grin, as though thoroughly enjoying the situation. It brought its index and middle fingers together in a seal and gently raised them.

Then—

■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■!!!!!!!!

As though the peace of moments before had been a lie, monsters began being hastily formed beneath the ground and rising out of it.

The fifth floor descended into chaos in an instant.

Naturally, Alon was not idle either.

"Whew..."

Exhaling a cloud of white vapor, he uttered a phrase.

"Ice and Snow."

Watching pure white frost begin to form before his hand seal, Alon thought,

'I have to finish this as quickly as possible.'

Kailas and the mercenaries were evenly matched, but he already knew full well that it would not last.

He could see it. Argonia's and Maverick's Dispel Swords were slowly cracking after blocking only a few spells.

Himan's expression was growing darker.

"Form."

As he watched them and recited another phrase, frost bloomed around Alon.

Then—

"The Snowy Mountain's Shadow..."

The round sphere formed before Alon's middle and ring fingers froze, beginning to produce a snow crystal.

"The Blind Man's Inevitability."

An ice flower blossomed.

The hexagonal crystal rapidly grew in strength, devouring the surrounding air as it formed an enormous shape.

CRAAACK!

At the center of the crystal, a spear anyone would have called beautiful appeared before Alon's eyes.

At that very moment—

"Whew..."

Rine, standing behind Alon, drew a book from inside her clothing and murmured softly,

"Eh-setra-ee ama tia..."

FLIP-FLIP-FLIP!!!

The grimoire sprang open in an instant, giving off a harsh resonance.

CLATTER-RATTLE!!!

Dozens upon dozens of black chains burst out of thin air and shot toward Kailas.

"!"

The Outer God's eyes widened as it watched the chains, apparently not having anticipated this.

But—

CRUNCH!

Before it could do anything, the ravenously hurtling chains bound its body in an instant.

This unexpected assistance gave Alon an opening sooner than he had anticipated.

"Ice-Crystal Painted Halberd."

Without hesitation, he manifested his magic.

Then—

CRAAAAACK!!!!

The spear that had blossomed from the ice flower shot toward the Outer God, engulfing it in an instant.

CRACKLE-CRUNCH!

It froze everything around it, and then—

"..."

Silence fell over the fifth floor.

####

The monsters stopped moving.

With that, the mercenaries who had been frantically crawling out of the ground stopped moving as well.

Then they turned their gazes toward a single spot.

The old ruins.

The enormous ice flower formed at their center.

Count Pallatio, who had created it.

The mercenaries' awe poured over him.

Likewise, the guildmasters who had been fighting the Outer God until moments ago stood with their mouths hanging open.

Even Alon let out a small sigh.

But—

CRACK!

"!"

At the sudden, incongruous sound of something breaking, every gaze swung toward the enormous ice flower.

CRAAACK!

With a sharp sound—

GRR-RUMBLE!!!

The ice flower that had drawn everyone's awed gaze began to collapse.

Then—

"!"

The Outer God strolled leisurely out from among the collapsing petals of the enormous ice flower.

Despair filled the mercenaries' eyes. Dismay settled into the eyes of the guildmasters who had faced it.

Yet the Outer God, the source of all their despair and dismay, spoke with a faint smile.

"You got me there, insignificant creature."

Watching Kailas speak with a faint smile, as though the attack had been rather entertaining, Alon could not make sense of the situation.

By his reckoning, a being that had not yet become an incarnate god should have been annihilated by a direct hit from that attack.

"But you still know nothing, after all."

Alon stared at it in incomprehension.

"!"

Then he realized that not a single piece of ice clung to the Outer God's body; only the wreckage of the ice remained.

'... It shredded the entire Ice-Crystal Painted Halberd with slashes...?'

As Alon stared at the Outer God that had defeated his attack with such an absurd feat, hiding his shock behind an expressionless face, Kailas spoke with a cheerful smile.

"Still, you have put me in a playful mood, insignificant creature."

"So I shall play along with you. Well... in my current state, the manifestation will be imperfect, but even that should provide some decent amusement."

It wrapped its right hand around the upright index finger of its left, forming the Fist of Wisdom seal.

"Release."

Mana spread out at that instant.

Instinctively sensing danger, Argonia and Maverick simultaneously kicked off the ground and rushed toward the Outer God.

"Vibration..."

Myaon, who had let her guard down until moments before, immediately drew an arrow and fired from where she stood.

Himan raised his staff and cast instant magic to stop the Outer God's spell.

But just before Argonia's and Maverick's swords reached the Outer God's neck, Myaon's arrow reached its heart, and Himan's magic reached its neck, the mana already spread around it made the air vibrate in accordance with its phrase.

"... Expansion."

With the Outer God's softly uttered phrase—

CRUNCH!

Alon saw it.

Maverick's and Argonia's bodies crumpling in midair, as though compressed.

The flowers of blood bursting forth with them.

"The Nameless Way of the Law."

The soft murmur issuing from the Outer God's twisted lips.

Then—

■■■■■■■■■■!!!!

Pure white light blotted out everyone's vision.