Chapter 85 That Monster
'Magus' was peeking out from the darkness of the unknown.
[God's Remains Labyrinth] 36th floo――The explorers were fighting against Nord, the unique individual that housed the main body of 'Ipsissimus'.
A total of 76 people were hiding in the snow, surrounding Nord, and the mages from the [Four Great Families of the Seals] were deploying the [Four-Square Boundary Disruption].
The magical energy released by this barrier magic became the beacon of war.
"Now, now... can they really defeat that monster?"
His voice was full of confidence.
The monster that was born in this world by chance during the research process――'Death'.
It was certainly a great power for them, but even if they were defeated, it wouldn't be a significant loss for the organization. It was an existence that wasn't originally part of the plan.
However, its power was real.
It was hard to believe that the explorers, who were just humans, could defeat it...
"But, 'Death's' fragments have been defeated many times already..."
Even though they were weaker fragments, they were still monsters. Originally, even one of them could cause massive destruction. If they were released on the surface, they could easily destroy a city.
Since they had already defeated such monsters with ease, there was a possibility of winning against the main body of 'Death'.
"Now, the one who contributed the most to defeating those fragments is... him."
The abnormal Nord realized he was trapped and launched a preemptive attack with powerful Thunder magic before crawling out from under the snow.
The man seemed to have caught the magic's warning signs. He reacted faster than anyone else and stepped forward to protect its allies.
Aaron Gale.
Whether it was true or not, he was now widely known in Necronia as the ≪Extreme Sword≫ explorer. He was the man who had been a nuisance to them many times before.
The lightning spear clashed with Aaron, who had jumped out, and the lightning went wild, vaporizing a large amount of snow and creating a thick mist.
Normally, he would have died, you'd think.
However, this was the second time 'Magus' had seen "that".
"Did the lightning spread out?...He used that skill in the wasteland, didn't he...?"
Originally, the [Divine Thunder Spear] that should have easily pierced through humans and gone out the back would have released all its energy at the moment of impact. That means it didn't pierce the target.
And in the next instant, a slash flew out from the dense steam towards Nord.
"A black slash?"
A black slash dyed in pitch black. When it hit Nord, it blew his massive body away in an unbelievable manner.
It was a ridiculous, dream-like scene.
"Heavy property attack...or something? What incredible power...!"
Since he counterattacked, it's certain that Aaron Gale is alive. Although it's only been a short time since the battle started, 'Magus' was once again shocked by Aaron's abilities.
And in the next instant, Aaron emerged from the steam, and 'Magus' received a shock.
"What the...!!"
He couldn't help but blurt out.
"Why did he go naked again?...Wait, he's always naked, isn't he?"
Even in Hellem Wilderness, he went naked after receiving a simultaneous attack from 29 'suitable candidates (adept)'. This time, the reason he went n*aked is probably the same――his clothes were blown away by the intense attack.
"Why does only his clothes get blown away...!!"
It's ridiculous that his clothes get blown away, but his body remains unharmed. He must have used some skill to protect himself, but even 'Magus' doesn't know what kind of skill that is.
"Is he intentionally going naked...?"
He couldn't help but think that, but he shook his head, thinking it's impossible.
Who would intentionally go naked in a life-or-death battle? That's unthinkable, logically speaking.
"Then...could it be a skill that transfers damage to his equipment...? It's possible if he had a Unique Job as a shield user, but he's supposed to be a Swordsman-type Job...Ugh...but whatever, it's not important right now!"
He couldn't help but think deeply about it, but he brought his consciousness back to the "field of vision" to observe the battle's progress.
"――No way, he's going to fight like that!?"
Aaron jumped into the air, moving at an incredible speed, and landed, revealing his naked body to Nord.
The previous attack was a surprise, so the shield users couldn't react, but now it's different. Even the 4 shield users near Aaron could buy some time to put on his clothes if he wanted to.
But why didn't he choose to do that?
"Could it be, his combat ability increases when he's naked because of a unique skill...?"
It's his bad habit. When he doesn't understand something, he starts thinking too much.
"Is he going to avoid those attacks in mid-air..."
Anyway, he'll think about that question later and focus on the battle situation for now――he told himself again.
Aaron dodged Nord's multiple lightning attacks by moving quickly and avoiding them.
And then――,
"A black spear!? It's heavy-attribute again! Is that sword the source of it!?"
A massive black spear was fired from Aaron, piercing Nord and stopping it in its tracks.
He quickly realized that the source of the heavy-attribute attack was the unusual sword Aaron possessed. The 2-handed straight sword was divided into white and black colors. What was it made of? It didn't seem like metal, at least.
"Is it an ancient artifact or a recreated artifact...?"
Ancient artifacts refer to relics created in ancient times using godly technology that hasn't been completely lost, or relics created by gods.
Recreated artifacts are items replicated by the labyrinth from past relics, commonly referred to as drop items or drop weapons.
Aaron continued to fire heavy-attribute spears from his white and black sword, keeping Nord in place.
However, Nord soon began to counterattack.
Although the heavy-attribute attacks were hard to destroy, they were still made of aura. Nord wrapped itself in a massive amount of lightning and destroyed the spear in a short time.
And then, the amount of lightning increased, and Nord succeeded in eliminating the black spear before it could even pierce it.
Nord immediately counterattacked.
A massive amount of lightning burst from Nord's outstretched hand towards Aaron in mid-air.
But――,
"That's right. They're buying time until they can surround Nord, I suppose."
While Aaron and Nord were fighting, Garon Gasterk, the leader of the shield knights, and his team had surrounded Nord. Their shield skills dispersed Nord's lightning, changing its trajectory and redirecting it towards the surrounding shield knights.
From there, the intense battle between the shield knights began.
With their perfectly synchronized movements and skillful swordplay, they completely blocked Nord's fierce attacks and managed to seal him within a massive aura prison.
"As expected of Garon. Good job."
Garon Gasterk, the man who possessed the Unique Job 'Legion Knight' as a shield knight.
When it came to leading shield knights, there was no one better than him.
But, well...
"That's a huge aura consumption. They can't keep this up for long."
Although they had gathered a team of highly skilled shield knights, the aura prison that sealed Nord was consuming a massive amount of aura in a short time. Even for an Expert Explorer, it was an exhausting consumption that would deplete their magical energy in just a few minutes.
He already knew how Aaron Gale and Io Suleiman's combo, had defeated the unique individuals. They had basically bound, sliced, and burned them to a crisp.
But, to begin with, Nord was not an enemy that could be bound and defeated.
From the initial conditions of the battle, it was impossible to achieve victory.
That's what he thought, but...
"What the...!? That aura density and quantity are!? And the sword is stained black...?"
He couldn't help but take a step back.
The 'Magus' skill [Remote Viewing] was a combination of Space magic [coordinate specification] and [Space perception]. Therefore, it allowed him to "see" and "hear" things, and within the range of [Space perception], he could sense the flow of magical energy and aura.
So he understood.
That sword had absorbed the aura and turned black.
"Is it being dyed black by the aura...? Wait, I know this! It's definitely... that's right! The 'Gravity Elemental Treant's Core' or something! Is that the sword that was created from it?!"
Right after he realized that, Aaron, who had been falling from high above, swung down a sword dyed in jet black.
What was released was an enormous amount of aura.
The heavy-attribute aura, dyed in black, instantly formed a simple spear and fell towards the ground, heading towards Nord with a meteor-like force.
And then――
"It won't break with lightning..."
The gigantic spear that pierced Nord and stuck into the ground, suddenly grew countless "thorns" all over its body. The thorns pierced through Nord's body from the inside out, protruding outward.
The strange, jet-black giant spear had successfully pinned Nord down, sealing its movements.
However, he thought that, as it was a spear made of aura, it would soon disappear due to Nord's lightning. But――it didn't break, no matter how much time passed.
The characteristic of heavy-attribute alone couldn't explain it.
He had never seen or heard of such a skill.
This wasn't something that happened suddenly. That's why he was "observing" it, and the spear didn't just disappear in an instant, so he had enough time to observe.
He understood it by analyzing the movements of the aura that created the spear and the magical energy that created the lightning.
The magic was being repelled on the surface of that spear. That's why it didn't break.
"...A gigantic spear pierces and grows thorns, sealing movements and repelling magic...? No, it's too complicated... Is it possible to control aura to that extent with a skill? If so... then it's certain..."
The magicians surrounding Nord, who had created a massive flame tornado, gazed at it while deep in thought.
The conclusion was quickly reached.
"It seems what Logan and Ail said was true... That's not a skill."
It was hard to believe, but Aaron was controlling the aura himself and unleashing such a complex and powerful technique.
"I'm surprised... You're monstrous, Aaron-kun, rivaling even the 'Ipsissimus'..."
Maybe the heroes of the ancient era could do the same.
However...
If it's under the same conditions as Aaron Gale, then even heroes would be impossible.
"Troubled..."
Many explorers have already attacked Nord, gradually whittling down his physical body.
At this rate, it's only a matter of time before he's defeated. But what's troubling 'Magus' isn't that.
"I finally got the hang of replicating the [Seal], and now it looks like I'll reach the lowest floor before I can even take out the [God's Remains]... Did I get the order wrong? Should I have replicated the [Seal] first and then used 'Death' to cause a stampede... But if I did that, I wouldn't have been able to stall for time either... Ugh, what a pain..."
Deciding that there was no point in getting hung up on it, 'Magus' didn't insist on killing Aaron Gale.
Although 'Magus' didn't think that judgment was wrong, the time it took to replicate the [Seal] was longer than initially expected. The timing was really tight.
"I told her that he didn't need to be killed, but now that I said that, it's kinda embarrassing to say I'll kill him now... No, I won't do it because it would be a shame. I mean, even I couldn't kill him alone. But then, who gave him that sword, anyway?"
'Magus' thought.
"Do I need another plan?"
The [Temple] is already complete. With the [Temple]'s functions and the 'Magister Temple', controlling the extracted [God's Remains] shouldn't be a problem. All that's left is to replicate the [Seal] and shut down the [Seal Temple]'s functions, and then take out the [God's Remains] from the coffin.
Humans――no, we ourselves are about to obtain the power of the Gods.
"I absolutely won't let anyone interfere!"
Magus' voice was filled with unwavering determination. There was no pretence or deception in that voice. It was the voice of someone who affirmed their own actions from the bottom of their heart.
Because...
"You may think we're evil, but we're the ones who will absolutely save humanity, so..."
There are few people who can resolutely carry out evil deeds, knowing they're evil.
But, even if it seems like an evil act at first glance, if one is convinced that it's justice, they can carry out even the most outrageous actions without hesitation, because that's just how humans are.
'Magus' reaffirmed its determination and decided to observe the direction of Aaron's battle.
It didn't matter who won or lost.
In the end, they would be the ones to emerge victorious――that's what they were convinced of.
"――Huh?"
And then,
"――Huh? Huh? ......What, why? That form... Lie, what's going on? When did this happen... Wait, is this a lie? [Four-Square Boundary Disruption] is broken? No way, it can't be broken that easily! What's going on?! What is this?! I've never seen anything like it! Could it be that the [Four Great Families of the Seals] are doing human experiments...?! Ahhhhhh! This is crazy! That girl! If there are more people like her, it's game over! Even if she's the only one, it's still game over! Ah, ah, ah... Yeah, that's right! Her magical energy will run out soon ...Hmph, what's going on? You're scaring me! Ah, but this means 'Death' will escape, right? The barrier is gone too... I mean, could it be that she's the one who destroyed the barrier? And didn't she have the order? Is the [Testament (Contract before God)] still alive...? ...But what is Aaron doing in the middle of the battlefield? Has he gone crazy? Is 'Death' still...? Wait, what's going on? Is this what happened earlier? Lie, can he use it too? Failure? Ah, failure. That's right, of course... So, did he succeed?! ......This guy is a monster, I've had enough of this!!"
Since there was no one around, he let out a loud, unfiltered reaction.
Something completely unexpected had happened all at once.
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