Chapter 204

Kwaaaaaa-!!!!

The fierce explosion caused by the falling violet star swallowed the ruins and the forest.

As soon as the dust settled, the revealed scene was—

“-!”

It was the sight of Deus instantly rushing in and driving his sword into the heart of the Apostle of Sloth.

‘It worked.’

Seeing this, Alon let out a small sigh of relief.

Deus had perfectly followed Alon’s advice, just as he had hoped.

What Alon had advised Deus was—

A technique used in the second phase after players cleared the first phase of the game against the Sin of Sloth.

It was the ability to bind ‘mana’ with invisible threads.

‘…As expected, teaching the Sin of Sloth how to use threads was the correct answer.’

With that thought, Alon turned his gaze to the Apostle of Sloth.

The Apostle’s condition was anything but normal.

Not only had both arms been severed, but the right occipital bone was crushed, making it a miracle that he was still standing at all.

Deus’ sword had pierced straight through the Apostle’s heart.

“Keuhk—!”

With a gushing sound, black blood sprayed in all directions.

Blood surged from the Apostle’s mouth as he coughed it up.

To anyone watching, it was an undeniable victory.

As Deus prepared to finish the Apostle by pushing his sword in deeper—

“Haha—”

The Apostle suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha—”

A vacant yet strangely serene laughter, different from any emotion he had shown before.

Deus stared at the Apostle, whose face was filled with a deep, unsettling smile.

Shiiing—!

Without hesitation, Deus switched his movement, pulling his sword upward.

A fountain of blood erupted.

And yet—

Even though the body was sliced cleanly from the heart to the head—

“Alright, I admit it. I was careless. I never imagined you could wield your abilities to that extent without borrowing His power.”

The Apostle of Sloth let out a raspy laugh and spoke.

“But do you really think this is the end?”

He grinned—a grotesque, skin-crawling smile.

A laugh so eerie it sent shivers down the spine of anyone who saw it.

In response, Deus wasted no time.

He wrapped the Apostle’s remaining limbs in purple threads and tore them apart.

But—

The shredded body instantly transformed into black threads and was absorbed into the dark veins.

Puhaaaak—!

Eggs cracked open, and from within, spiders poured out.

Kreeeek!

The spiders, each the size of a grown man, were hideous.

Each one had a human face embedded like a marking on its abdomen.

They emerged from the shattered eggshells with grotesque, jerky movements.

A sight so repulsive it could induce nausea.

And yet—

That was not the end.

Soon—

The spiders that had spilled out began to—

Pop!

—kill themselves.

“…?”

“W-what the hell?”

Syrkal was stunned, while Reinhardt unintentionally let out a shocked exclamation.

The spiders’ collective suicide did not stop.

As if controlled by some unseen force, they tore out their own throats or ripped their bodies apart, ending their own lives.

Their lifeless bodies then collapsed onto the ground, absorbed into the veins below.

“_!”

At that moment, Alon finally realized.

What these spiders were doing.

Then—

Boom!

The ground began to collapse.

Rumble—!!!!

A deafening noise slammed into everyone’s eardrums.

The tremors were so powerful that it was difficult to even remain standing.

“This is insane—!”

Reinhardt, who had spotted something, cursed harshly.

Something was emerging, overturning the entire land.

It was—

“What is that?”

Something massive enough to destroy the entire ruins.

A monstrosity.

A creature harboring the Abomination of Sloth—Krakscha.

—!!!!!

Like a creature hatching from an egg,

Krakscha burst through the ground with a bone-chilling shriek.

At the sight of its emergence, the knights’ eyes were instantly filled with terror.

“This is insane—”

Reinhardt, unable to resist, let out another curse and tightened his grip on his sword.

His face was marked by utter despair.

Even if they managed to eliminate all the spiders,

Krakscha, like the Apostle, was exuding black mana.

A situation of absolute peril.

They couldn’t run.

And even if they fought, there was no guarantee of victory.

Amidst this inescapable predicament, Alon let out a small sigh.

‘I wasn’t planning to use it here, but—looks like I have no choice.’

As he reached into his cloak—

“—”

The scenery before him suddenly changed.

What he saw was a starry blue night sky.

The moment he recognized it, Alon instinctively knew where he was.

[I’m relieved that you arrived early.]

A girl’s voice—

No,

[But given the situation, I’ll explain quickly.]

The voice of Kalannon, the lightning receiver, echoed.

[The way to manifest your true form.]

Dark clouds began to gather over the once-clear sky.

***

The worst-case scenario.

Literally, the absolute worst.

Alon’s normally expressionless face grew even grimmer.

Seeing this, Reinhardt gritted his teeth.

‘Damn it…!’

A monstrous entity loomed before them.

A spider of incomprehensible size, its sheer presence crushing the atmosphere.

For Reinhardt, the size of an enemy didn’t matter unless it was something like the Rain Altar.

And yet, he felt overwhelmed.

Because instinctively, he knew—

That thing was a calamity.

The black mana that the creature was emanating—

It was no different from the black mana that the Apostle had scattered earlier.

‘This situation is not looking good.’

Reinhardt coolly assessed the current state of affairs.

A sense of urgency flooded his entire body.

The massive spider radiated such an overwhelming presence that even he found himself tense.

To make matters worse, the smaller spiders had completely surrounded the ruins, forming a siege-like encirclement.

But the most despair-inducing factor here— was the presence of the knights who had entered this place with them.

They had brought them along to prevent the Apostle of Sloth from utilizing the lingering mana in the air.

Yet now, they had become a liability instead.

If the temporary seal on the black mana, imposed by Marquis Palatio and Deus, were to break—

And the black mana regained its strength—

Most of the knights here would inevitably become mere puppets.

‘What should I do?’

Reinhardt glanced around with an anxious expression.

Syrkal, like him, was unable to hide her tension.

And at this very moment—

Deus was desperately using his purple threads to block the returning black mana.

As if mocking their efforts—

[Hah— I never expected you to push me this far. Good thing I came prepared.]

A voice descended from above.

At the grotesquely distorted sound, Reinhardt instinctively looked up—

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re still alive?”

There, looming over his head—

The Apostle of Sloth, his upper body exposed, stared down at them.

The grotesque-looking Apostle smirked sinisterly.

Then, he spoke.

[Did you really think I wouldn’t have prepared for the worst, after all this? Well, I suppose you could have thought that. Normally, my own power alone would have been more than enough to deal with all of you.]

Crack—!

[But unfortunately for you, I am someone who prepares thoroughly for any situation.]

Crack, crackle—!

The Apostle began severing the purple threads that Deus had woven.

“Tch—!”

Deus hurriedly reinforced the threads.

But despite his efforts—

He had already expended far more energy than expected in the previous attack, weakening his control.

As a result, the threads were being cut at an accelerating rate.

In the end, the purple threads holding back the black mana— were completely severed.

“Ah—”

A quiet sigh escaped from someone’s lips.

The Apostle standing atop Krakscha grinned even wider.

And just as the black mana was about to flood the area that Deus had been barely holding at bay—

Rumble!

“…?”

Reinhardt suddenly had a realization.

The sky, which had been clear just moments ago— was now covered in dark clouds.

And that wasn’t all.

Drip—! Drip, dribble—!

As if someone had manipulated it artificially— within seconds, rain began to fall from the clouded sky.

“What the—?”

Just as the Apostle of Sloth, who had been basking in his impending victory, furrowed his brow in confusion—

Step. Step.

Marquis Palatio, who had remained silent until now, slowly began to walk forward.

One step.

Then another.

He moved toward the front of Krakscha, where the black mist was seeping out.

He did not form any seals.

He did not chant any incantations.

He did not recite any passages.

Nor did he even manipulate his mana.

He simply—walked forward.

Toward Krakscha.

Toward the source of the black mana.

Like a moth to a flame.

And without hesitation—

Marquis Palatio continued walking, effortlessly stepping past the purple threads that Deus was desperately trying to reinforce.

[Hah, have you given up?]

“Marquis, what in the world—!”

The Apostle of Sloth let out another mocking laugh.

Deus shouted in alarm.

But then—

Crackle!

For an instant, everything flashed.

And Deus saw it.

In that fleeting moment—

A spark of lightning flickered at Alon’s fingertips.

A faint static charge.

So small—

Yet in this dark, ash-colored world, it shone brilliantly.

In an instant, the blue light touched the black mana.

The moment contact was made—

Crackle, sizzle, ssshhhhh—!

The black mana— began transforming into blue lightning.

[Wha—?!]

The Apostle let out a gasp of shock.

But the static coursing from Alon’s fingertips did not stop.

It surged through the black mana, converting all of it into lightning.

As he watched the incredible sight unfold— Alon recalled the words Kalannon had once told him.

‘Handling divinity isn’t particularly difficult. You simply have to bring out the divinity inside you. But to wield the power freely—just bringing it out isn’t enough.’

He looked ahead.

The black mana that had once filled the air— was gone.

Replaced entirely by dazzling blue lightning.

Kalannon’s voice echoed in his mind.

‘That’s why what you must do is not just summon the divinity— You must accept it.’

[Die!!!]

—!!!!

As if sensing that something irreversible was about to occur—

Krakscha raised one of its massive legs.

At the same time, the surrounding spiders let out hideous screeches and lunged forward.

‘Accepting divinity is difficult. It requires a lot more practice than you might think. But this time, I’ll help you. So, you just focus on pulling the trigger. The trigger is—’

As the pouring rain surged upward, Krakscha’s leg came crashing down.

A swarm of spiders hurled themselves toward Marquis Palatio.

But even in that fleeting moment—

Alon did nothing except raise his left hand.

‘Lightning—’

“Catch it.”

He simply grasped— the lightning that flickered around him.

And in that moment—

Snap—!

Everything came to a halt.

The rain that had been pouring down—

Stopped.

The spiders that had been leaping at Alon—

Stopped.

Krakscha’s massive leg—

Stopped.

And the lightning in Alon’s grasp—

Vanished.

As if time itself had frozen.

And then—

“…!”

The first to recognize the eerie anomaly— was Syrkal.

‘They’re disappearing…?’

She realized that the countless spiders that had been charging toward Alon just a moment ago— had frozen in midair, turning to dust.

Starting from the tips of their legs, slowly, as if decomposing into the earth, the spiders crumbled into dust.

“Manifestation.”

A quiet voice resonated—

And from Marquis Palatio’s body, an explosion of lightning burst forth.

As if it sought to consume the entire world.

With an earth-shattering roar, the brilliant blue lightning erupted.

At that moment—

A pair of blue horns began to emerge from Marquis Palatio’s head.

And as the storm intensified, even fiercer than before—

A god— had manifested.

Crackle—!

Kalannon, the lightning receiver.