Chapter 486
This is absurd…
How… how could this be happening!
Reitman swallowed the scream and cry erupting from within.
He couldn’t help but curse.
This wasn’t some kind of high school reunion in hell. And yet, somehow, all the higher demons emerging through the holy relic were acquaintances of Jinhyuk.
Even if he forcibly increased the usage count of the relic, there was still a risk of summoning someone who could help Jinhyuk again.
“What kind of trouble have you stirred up this time? Summoning me to a place like this. I’ve got mountains of work piled up cleaning up other messes.”
“I volunteered to come. I sensed a familiar magic and thought it might be you. So, how’ve you been?”
Berial and Behemoth bombarded Jinhyuk with a storm of questions.
Meanwhile.
Nyarlathotep clenched his teeth as he watched the situation spiral further out of control.
“That’s why I told you. It was better not to use that holy relic.”
Jinhyuk grinned.
Of course, there was no way he didn’t know the rank and characteristics of the holy relics here.
Well, he could understand Reitman’s position.
Though the Gate of Hell was only a flawed half-version, he must have thought that with the help of a higher deity-level being, its shortcomings could be compensated.
That’s probably why he activated the relic without hesitation.
But the fatal flaw was that he didn’t know how drastically the balance of power in the Demon Realm had shifted recently.
‘In the world’s eyes, it’s not me who went to the Demon Realm—it’s Unknown.’
There was no way the Veteran Corporation could have imagined that he was entangled with the upper beings of the Demon Realm.
If used well, this kind of misunderstanding could lead to some very lucrative opportunities.
Good.
Now that he had not one, but two solid reinforcements…
…should he reshuffle the board again?
Jinhyuk’s mind began to spin rapidly.
* * *
“You fools.”
Nyarlathotep exploded in anger as he looked at Reitman and Trochia.
“Hiiik!”
“S-sorry! We only meant to help… that’s all we were trying to do.”
The two, knowing nothing, could only bow their heads.
Nyarlathotep’s gaze shifted to Trochia.
“Trochia. What relic do you possess?”
Now that the Gate of Hell was useless, the only thing left was the relic Trochia held.
At the very least, they needed a relic with enough power to divert the enemy’s attention.
“Worry not, O Angel. I’ve already prepared something just in case.”
Trochia swiftly pulled something from his coat.
A human skull.
[Holy Relic, Inca Empire ‘Atahualpa’s Grudge’ is being activated!]
The blue jewel embedded in its forehead gleamed.
A power that resurrected ancient Incan warriors.
Each one didn’t have outstanding combat power, but they made up for it with sheer overwhelming numbers.
Enough, at least, to tie down the enemy’s feet.
“These soldiers took three months of effort to prepare!”
Trochia raised the skull high with both hands.
But then—
“…Huh?”
Something was wrong.
Trochia tilted his head.
The warriors that should have surged in from the underground didn’t show up at all.
“W-what’s going on? Why is no one coming?”
Trochia activated his personal status window.
Once the connected CCTV feed played, the reason for the warriors’ absence became clear.
KWAANG!
PUHPUHPUHPUH!
“I’m going to wipe them all out.”
“I don’t have endless stamina like Grandpa, you know!”
Yoo Cheonyeong and Melena were rampaging like mad.
“Kraaah!”
“Krooooh!”
Even as the warriors swung spears and swords, they were no match for Yoo Cheonyeong.
He was simply strong.
Transcending age and level, he embodied what it meant to be a martial artist who trained in pure combat.
Yoo Cheonyeong’s body slipped between the warriors at imperceptible speeds.
A single sweep of his foot shattered shields and armor like paper.
With Melena adding support, hundreds of warriors were completely tied down.
The narrow entrance path was entirely blocked.
“Nyarlathotep. Must’ve been tough coming all the way down from the top of the Tower, but if you wanted to fight me, you should’ve come a lot better prepared.”
FWAAASH!
Jinhyuk imbued each of his swords with different elemental powers.
‘Mandala’ and ‘Blessing of the Stars.’
Two powerful magics flared up.
“Swords won’t work, don’t you know that?”
Nyarlathotep summoned his tendrils again.
The wounds inflicted by Goguma had already healed completely.
“Who said I was only using this?”
Jinhyuk focused his gathered mana into his blade tips.
“Mooogi!”
Empowered by mana, Goguma opened his mouth wide once more.
A breath combining three different attributes rapidly grew in scale.
[Teresa activates Unique Ability ‘Call of the Stars’!]
“I’ll assist.”
The ceiling turned as black as the night sky.
Countless stars responded to Teresa’s call and swarmed in.
At the same time—
A sinister aura rose from Alice’s direction.
[Alice activates Unique Holy Spear ‘Apocalypse of Revelation’!]
A crimson ring appeared with a pair of wings on either side.
Spikes of blood filled an entire wall.
“I don’t know why you desire me, but only the contractor who has formed a pact with me may possess me.”
The Head of Ataraxia.
The pure-blooded True Ancestor lent her strength as well.
VROOOOOM!
All kinds of magic circles overlapped.
But it still wasn’t over.
Behemoth and Berial poured mana into the breath.
[Berial summons Unique Holy Spear ‘Black Spear Kishan’!]
[Behemoth activates Lv?? ‘Step of the Storm’!]
At this moment, there wasn’t a single ability strong enough to kill Nyarlathotep.
Naturally.
As you climbed higher in the Tower of Trials, the game’s balance became ridiculously broken.
Even so, if enough mana could be gathered…
It might just create the spark needed to rebalance the game.
KUKUKUKUKUKU!
The ground trembled violently.
Unimaginable mana engulfed everything in its path.
아 breath that couldn’t even be compared to the last one.
“How annoying.”
Even for Nyarlathotep, taking this head-on would be too much.
His tendrils shot forward all at once.
He was aiming to strike before the breath could fully form.
But just before the tendrils touched Goguma’s body—
[Ancient Species ??? summons Unique Holy Spear ‘Sword of Condemnation’!]
Goguma’s unique holy spear manifested.
It was a weapon that originally could only be summoned in his true form, but with the influx of massive mana, this became possible.
FWOOSH!
The blazing sword raced forward, incinerating the tendrils.
KWA-KWA-KWA-KWA-KWANG!
Stones evaporated as a streak of light split the space.
“Kuaaaagh!”
“Gwaaah!”
Reitman and Trochia screamed.
Their bodies evaporated completely, so their screams didn’t last long.
Only Nyarlathotep managed to gather his tendrils and resist the breath.
“Grrrgh…”
To endure this much under such heavy restraints—
As expected, Nyarlathotep was still Nyarlathotep.
However…
The blow that would decide the outcome of this battle was not Goguma’s breath.
[Holy Relic, Munch’s ‘Scream’ is being activated!]
[All within a 175m radius are inflicted with the ‘Trauma’ effect!]
[The caster is exempt.]
Munch’s Scream brought forth the most painful memory a person wanted to erase, disrupting their concentration.
In a battle where every second mattered, it could create a decisive turning point.
Its greatest flaw, however…
…was that allies were affected just the same.
“Ahhh! I’m sorry! I’ll pray and eat properly! I won’t go astray again!”
“Hiiik! I’m not an edgy teenager! I swear I’m not!”
“Mooogiiiii!”
“You lunatic! What the hell is this out of nowhere?!”
“I was a pig-like ancient species… No, maybe an amoeba… Hehehe…”
Screams of all sorts rang out.
ZZZAP!
“Ghh…”
Nyarlathotep furrowed his brow.
A bad memory must have surfaced—his tendrils trembled faintly.
The trauma effect had at least partially worked.
Normally, mental-type abilities wouldn’t affect Nyarlathotep…
But this was outside the Tower.
The usual divine authorities were dimmed here.
The stronger one was, the heavier the chains of restriction became.
‘Now.’
[You have equipped the ‘Crown of Domination’.]
One of the strongest holy relics in the Tower.
The crown obtained from the Heavenly Demon activated.
At some point, Jinhyuk had swapped out his dagger and drawn ‘Balmung.’
The magic sword of Siegfried, capable of slaying not only dragons but divine beings themselves—now paired with the Crown of Domination.
With this…
It should be enough to send Nyarlathotep back to his original level.
“Get lost. Back to where you came from.”
Jinhyuk threw the sword toward Nyarlathotep’s flank.
Spin.
Balmung spun like a pinwheel as it flew toward the tendrils.
SLASH SLASH SLASH SLASH!
Balmung cut right through them.
With no defenses left, Nyarlathotep’s body was fully exposed to the breath.
Nyarlathotep pointed a finger at Jinhyuk.
He realized he could neither block nor escape.
“…I will not forget this day.”
Almost at the same time those words ended—
The Sword of Condemnation, which had pierced the Vatican’s barrier, disappeared into the sky.
* * *
The battle at the Vatican had come to an end.
The cardinals who had been hiding and scheming behind the scenes were all either arrested or fled.
The heavily damaged Vatican poured all its resources into recovery from the devastation caused by the battle. It publicly announced its withdrawal from all frontline activities for the time being.
Of course, there was no need to inform the public of this tragedy, so everything was handled confidentially—known only to the major guilds and a few individuals.
And now—
The members of the Veteran Corporation were spending a few days on vacation at an estate owned by the Rosenberg family.
“A fountain pen, huh…”
Jinhyuk fiddled with the fountain pen he brought back from the Vatican.
At first glance, it was just an ordinary writing tool…
But it hid quite a few functions inside.
Not just turning surrounding objects into relics—but more than that.
[You are using ‘The Pen that Hides Truth’.]
After injecting mana into the pen, he brought it close to the paper he bought from the coin exchange.
Scratch.
Without even applying force, the pen began to move on its own.
A hidden ability that only activated on the ‘Starving Writer’s Parchment.’
It pointed to the location of the Necronomicon.
‘As expected, they probably didn’t know. That the ‘Starving Writer’s Parchment’ was one of Lovecraft’s relics.’
The dark mythos of an era without mythology.
The only one who recorded it was Lovecraft.
The great explorer Pesis, whom he had met before, was known even among the Tower’s elite adventurers, but Lovecraft—he was in a league of his own among the Tower’s residents.
‘Even divine beings couldn’t survive in that nightmarish environment.’
One of a kind.
Only one person had ever achieved such an impossible feat.
VROOOOOM!
The pen finally came to a halt.
[The second clue to the Necronomicon can be found in ‘Odin’s Memory’.]
The message appeared clearly in black ink.
The content written on the parchment was quite intriguing.
‘The clues given are random, so I was wondering what would come next… Odin’s Memory, huh.’
He had been planning to meet with the Norse divine beings at some point anyway.
Especially in preparation for eventually facing Olympus.
Jinhyuk placed the pen back into his subspace inventory.
With that, his next destination was set.
