Chapter 265: 140. A Protective Shield -1 (Part One)

Translated by A Passing Wanderer

Edited by RED

**

I had finally learned the truth of how I got to this world. However, something still didn’t feel right to me.

Before the warp gate activated, I felt the sensation of my whole body burning away. I was trapped inside the VR capsule and eventually met my demise in the other world.

The capsule burned down, the warp was activated, and I got sucked inside. The sensation back then was kinda like someone or something was sucking me inside.

That sensation felt vaguely different from the ‘normal’ warp magic I’ve experienced so far.

I thought back to the warp gate connected to Purgatory back in Aihrance. More specifically, the grim reapers trying to invade this world via the warp gate, and the black hands that had stopped them from doing so.

Back then, those grim reapers were trying hard to cross the dimensions, only for the black hands to block their attempts and pull the undead back inside.

Without a doubt, there was something in this warp magic.

“The black hands inside the warp tunnel. What could those things be…?”

“Hands? W-what are you even talking about?”

I was only muttering to myself, but Count Timong displayed a very sharp reaction to what I had said. Even though he was currently suffering from a lot of pain, he still formed a puzzled expression. But his whole face stiffened up shortly afterwards.

Then, pure astonishment took over his expression as his eyebrows shot up high. “Y-y-you bastard, have you really seen the Mediators?! J-just where? Could it be, during the warp itself?!”

“Mediators?”

“That’s right! They are the ones who maintain the balance of the world!”

Of course I had no idea what Count Timong was even talking about.

Just before I opened my mouth again, I looked over the balcony and spotted Ronia’s army in the distance. They were felling the undead scattered around this place one by one, while steadily marching towards the ice castle.

I looked up toward the sky. The sun was setting over the horizon, and night was about to visit us.

After tonight, it’d be December 25th. The Tide of Death would be flooding over us. When that happened, all the zombies scattered around this place would possess an even greater level of strength.

“…Although I still have a lot of questions to ask you, we’re running out of time, so let’s wrap this up, shall we?”

I had found out what I wanted to learn, anyway. This Count Timong was no longer useful to me.

No, hang on a sec. This guy was way too dangerous to be left alone, wasn’t he?

“I, I told you everything you wanted to know. Now, tell me! Tell me how you know about the object from another dimension! C-could it be that you had a glimpse at this other dimension?”

Count Timong was clearly in a highly agitated state.

What Hans told me was right. The ultimate goal of all Alchemists was the warp gate; their dream, and even their life-long wish.

I snickered and stared at Count Timong.

My remaining doubts and concerns would be resolved for sure if I used all the data collected from this place, with Hans helping me decode it.

I drove in more divinity into Count Timong’s heart. It exploded, and the vampire’s whole body began melting down promptly.

I leaned in closer and whispered in his ear, “You are no longer useful to me.”

Count Timong’s eyes shot open wider even as incredible pain came over him.

“I have nothing else to say to you. Still, thanks for your earnest replies, vampire.”

Timong’s face began twitching in indignation. His expression distorted to an indescribable degree from his rage. “Y-you bastard-!”

I pulled my hand out from his melting body.

As expected of a Progenitor vampire; his head was still intact, so despite his heart being shattered, he was still capable of moving around.

But, it didn’t matter.

“Throw him away.”

Even if he was a Vampire, he’d no doubt die if his head hit the ground first and exploded.

Kasim tossed Count Timong over the balcony. And just in case something happened, I had Nasus take aim with his musket as well.

“You punk-! How dare you lie to me! I, I shall never forgive you! I shall have my vengeance!”

Count Timong’s tragic screams followed him. His voice was stained in resentment and hatred.

To put an end to it, Nasus began breathing into the musket next.

Too bad for the vampire, he wasn’t going to get a chance to get back at me. I mean, a dead vampire wouldn’t be able to do anything, anyway.

I turned around and tried to step away from the balcony and into the interior of the castle, but then…

THUD-!

My steps came to a stuttering halt, leaving me frozen on the spot. A thick stench of demonic energy wafted in and pricked my nose.

I turned my head and slowly walked up to the edge of the balcony before grabbing onto the railing.

THUD-!

The frozen ground below could be seen splitting apart like a spider’s web.

There was a massive open pit in the plaza of the ice castle below the balcony. Stakes and steel chains were arranged to resemble runes, forming a powerful barrier of some sort down there.

What the heck is that?

“…A sealing barrier?”

Snap-!

The chains were breaking loose.

My whole body froze up instantly. The stench of demonic energy previously wafting out lazily suddenly transformed into a typhoon and slammed into me.

A ridiculously massive demonic energy pool was breaking out of the sealing barrier. A massive hand suddenly emerged from the pit.

What the hell? What kind of a hand could be that big?

The emerging arm’s muscles seemed wet and soggy, while bits of bedrock were dotted around the arm itself.

The huge hand snatched up Count Timong’s head and the remaining part of his melting body, which meant Nasus was unable to hit the Vampire with his holy bullet.

-Kwuoh-ooooooooooh…!

An unidentifiable yet still monstrous roar exploded out from the pit.

Something was crawling out from there while destroying the earth. Its massive right hand was holding onto Count Timong’s head, while its left slammed down on the ground outside the pit.

A head made out of sticky, sloshy mud then emerged from the pit. Its torso followed next, then its legs landed with a loud bang on the ground.

It was like I was staring at a land mass getting up and walking around. That’s how imposing this creature was.

The huge figure was at least eighteen metres tall, even at a casual glance. This giant was almost comparable to the archangel Metatron in its sheer size alone.

Its muscles and flesh were made out of mud, yet it was putting on pieces of bedrock around itself like some kind of armour.

Its bent back straightened up, and a thick dust cloud was spat out from its mouth, as if it was breathing out.

“Bloody hell-! My masterpiece is… Even though it’s this close to completing its maturing process!” Count Timong, writhing on the palm of the mud giant, cried out. “But, it doesn’t matter! You, you Holy King! When this mud giant devours you, it’ll come to possess an even greater level of power!”

Even though his lungs and the vocal cords capable of producing his voice were all gone now, Count Timong’s remaining head still continued to mutter like a madman.

“Oh, my Mist Calf, kill that Holy King. Devour that stinking bastard! I shall witness the other dimension with my own two ey…?!”

Count Timong’s face gradually hardened as he spoke. That’s because the giant palm he was on was heading directly towards the mud giant’s mouth.

“Huh?! W-wait…!”

The large mouth split open with a loud, wet ripping sound.

A strand of mud dripped out of the split-open mouth as if that was the creature’s drool. As for its teeth, they were ultra-sharp stones. And while exhaling a breath laden with dust…

“D-don’t eat me-! I’m your master, you fool…!”

…the giant creature tossed Count Timong inside its mouth.

The vampire’s head was too small to even chew, so the mud giant just swallowed it down.

The giant, referred to as Mist Calf by the vampire before his demise, began scanning its surroundings. Its eyes soon landed on the zombies wandering around in the ice castle’s plaza.

The giant’s body seemed to writhe, then the parts of its muscles made up of mud suddenly shot out like sticky strands of spider web.

Zombies found everywhere were suddenly impaled by spikes of mud. They were then dragged towards the giant. The mud rapidly crushed and broke the zombies down and absorbed them.

‘What the hell? What were the vampires even sealing down there?!’

It was like watching a piece of land shift around whenever Mist Calf took a step forward. It slowly raised its head and stared at me.

While resembling a wild beast gone mad from its hunger, the creature glared at me with eyes made out of rocks.

-You look like a fine meal.-

The damn thing even said something. This guy, it even had an ego.

The corners of the mud giant’s lips curled upwards.

The mud-like muscles forming the giant’s arms suddenly expanded as it clenched both of its fists tightly. It then raised its arms up high, as if it was planning to do something crazy.

“That’s gonna be dangerous…”

I instinctively retreated away from the railing.

“Kasim! Nasus!”

Kasim raised his greatsword higher, while Nasus took aim with his musket.

The blades of winds cut into Mist Calf’s head while the holy bullet penetrated straight into the giant’s forehead. But the giant head only showed a lukewarm reaction and simply absorbed all the impact force, instead.

-Come crumbling down, now!-

Mist Calf slammed down with both of its hands.

With the giant in the centre, the ground cracked and split apart like a spider web spreading out. In the blink of an eye, large boulders jutted out violently from the fissures in the ground.

The rising rocks destroyed the fortress walls, and even proceeded to shatter the ice castle’s foundation.

BANG-!

The layers of ice covering the ice castle tumbled down. Countless cracks ran up the walls and eventually, the imposing castle lost its equilibrium and began crumbling.

I staggered precariously and hurriedly grabbed onto the railing.

“…Crazy son of a b*tch!”

I looked down at the ground from the top of this ice castle now falling down into pieces.

The terrain had been altered.

The frozen wasteland was now surrounded by large boulders, while choking dust clouds had enveloped the land as far as eyes could see.

This giant was altering Mother Nature herself. Muscles around my eyes began twitching at this sight.

There was one saving grace here, though.

“What an idiot.”

And that would be this creature not being all that bright in its head.

The ice castle was about 120 metres high. The tall structure was tilting on its side, gradually crashing down to earth, right above Mist Calf itself.

The falling surface of the ice castle began crushing down on the mud giant next. As expected, its huge body was flattened under the structure.

By now it was far too late for me to summon the Bone Wyvern. Kasim quickly wrapped his arms around me while Nasus cast a protective barrier magic around us.

-Master, prepare for a hard impact,- Nasus warned me, and I sucked in a deep breath before locking my gaze ahead.

The top of the ice castle was falling towards the ground at a frightening rate now.

I squeezed my eyes shut at the sight.

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