Chapter 142: The Being of Chaos

Kwaaang―!

The blazing white aura that burned like flames and the pitch-black energy crashed violently.

Krrrroooooom!

A storm-like shockwave spread in all directions.

Turklan and Fargodas, who had closed the distance right up to each other, clenched their teeth.

“By the name of God, I shall punish the sinner!”

“Shut up!”

In response to Turklan’s force, the aura surrounding his greatsword flared fiercely.

Even so, Fargodas’s two arms, which were pressed against the blade, were only being crushed further.

“There shall be punishment in God’s name upon the false one!”

At the continued prayers, Turklan’s brow furrowed.

Bang! Kwa-kwa-kwang!

Their clash continued without pause.

At that moment, I gathered all my strength into the greatsword and swung it.

“Kraaaaargh!”

The aura of the greatsword doubled in length. At the same time, it swept across Fargodas’s torso from a single step away.

“God shall not betray our faith!”

“I said shut up!”

Swaaaaaash! Bang! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang!

With a tremendous impact, Fargodas was lifted into the air and slammed into the rock wall.

Dust billowed outward, followed by a heavy silence.

“Huu… huu…!”

“Are you all right?”

“I’m still fine. More importantly, the other ones….”

We had been fighting frantically.

I had been worried because there were still priests remaining.

But I soon found that all of them had collapsed.

“You drew their attention enough for us to finish them.”

“Th-that’s a relief.”

“However… it seems this isn’t over.”

“…Excuse me? Don’t tell me….”

Turklan’s gaze turned toward the crumbling rock wall.

Ku-kuung….

The pile of stones trembled, and a muscular arm suddenly rose upward.

Stones slid in all directions as Fargodas emerged, panting heavily.

“God shall punish those who sin! I shall borrow His hand to enact His will!”

He was the very definition of a fanatic.

But from all over Fargodas’s body, an even thicker pitch-black energy surged outward.

“Can you keep fighting him?”

At Patrick’s question, Turklan seemed less confident than before.

Even a top-tier aura had only left scratches on this opponent.

Unless we were dealing with a dragon out of legend—

I couldn’t help feeling overwhelmed, having never encountered such a case before.

“If the master were here, I wonder how he would’ve dealt with him.”

“There wouldn’t have been any special method.”

“…Sorry? Are you saying the master would have been the same as us?”

“No. He simply would have crushed him with sheer strength.”

“Ah….”

Raion always disliked complicated methods.

Up to now, it had always been head-on breakthroughs.

It had been the same even when he fought Turklan before.

“Be careful!”

At that moment, Deborah threw her gaze upward and shouted.

Patrick and Turklan split left and right and rolled across the ground.

At the same time, Fargodas descended from above.

Kwaaang―! Jjeojeojeojeojeok!

“God is always by our side…. As He sheds steel-like blood, His tears colder than ice shall embrace us.”

His fanatical prayer continued even amid the dust cloud.

Fargodas’s eyes gleamed red, dyed by madness.

“I don’t think we can take him by force. What should we do?”

“In this situation, there is only one answer.”

“You have something in mind?”

To Turklan’s expectant question, Patrick answered in a calm voice.

“What else but to flee? For now, we should move as the master instructed.”

“Ah….”

“For the moment, I’ll lure that Fargodas fellow away.”

Shu-shu-shuk! Puh-puh-puk!

Before we knew it, Patrick had taken out throwing daggers and hurled them at Fargodas.

Fargodas’s eyes flared and his gaze snapped toward Patrick.

“God’s judgment shall be sweeter than the goddess’s honey!”

His body swelled further, the pitch-black energy ballooning with it.

“Please hurry and run.”

Drawing Fargodas’s attention with his throwing daggers, Patrick dashed into the forest.

“Kraaaaargh! Rejoice in the glory of God’s hammer!”

Just when it looked like he would immediately pursue, Fargodas opened his mouth wide, and pitch-black energy rapidly gathered before it.

And that wasn’t the end.

The energy swelled as if about to burst, then poured toward Patrick.

Shuaaaaaaak!

“Patrick! Dodge!”

Turklan shouted urgently in shock.

But the pitch-black energy erupted like a dragon’s breath and tore through the forest.

In an instant, a large portion of the woods disappeared.

“Sir… Sir Patrick…!”

Where thick vegetation had once stood, only a deep gouged trail remained.

“God shall not forgive you!”

Fargodas now seemed nearly devoid of reason.

His head turned toward Turklan and Deborah.

“You must run!”

Dying a pointless death here was not an option.

Turklan grabbed Deborah’s wrist and ran.

At that moment, Fargodas, exhaling harshly, suddenly moved at an alarming speed.

“…God grants strength only to those who believe!”

His enlarged hand swept down toward us.

“Ghhk―!”

Turklan, now desperate, tried to block the attack by raising his greatsword, but it was too fast—he barely managed to react in time.

‘Damn it…!’

Shuaaaak! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwaang!

All of a sudden, an enormous barrage of attacks poured down toward Fargodas’s face.

Fargodas, thrown backward, screamed for the first time as he actually felt pain.

“Aaaaaaaaargh!”

“It’s been too long since I moved my body properly. I almost made a mistake.”

The thing that had flown in just now was one of Patrick’s daggers.

Unlike before, when they had always bounced off, three daggers were now buried in Fargodas’s face.

“Are you alive?”

“I don’t die that easily. Are you unharmed?”

“I’m still fine. But how are we supposed to deal with that thing…?”

Cheng— clatter— clang.

As the daggers fell to the ground, the wounds on Fargodas’s face began to heal, covered by a shroud of pitch-black energy.

“He really does seem to be a monster.”

“What should we do now?”

“Shouldn’t we just find a way to escape this place somehow?”

Even Deborah began to feel her anxiety grow as the situation turned increasingly hopeless.

“For those who have turned their backs on God, only despair awaits!”

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Growing even larger, Fargodas advanced with heavy, echoing steps.

The black aura radiating from his body seemed thicker and darker than before.

No one had expected true despair to descend upon them like this.

Fargodas’s physical abilities had already far surpassed all of theirs.

Even if they tried to flee, they would only be struck down from behind as before.

Kwaaang—!

It was then.

The ridgeline of the collapsed rocky mountain suddenly exploded.

At the same time, rubble scattered in all directions, and a massive griffin with two pairs of jet-black wings rose into the air.

“Gasp…”

It emanated an even deeper sense of despair than Fargodas himself.

Kyaaaaaaaaak—!

At its monstrous screech, those nearby clutched their ears and fell to the ground.

Even Fargodas, who seemed to have grown stronger than anyone else, was no exception.

As he held his ears, his eyes sparkled, and he cried out toward the two-winged griffin.

“Ooooooh! Divine beast, Graphios!”

He seemed to know what that creature was.

Graphios answered his cry with another harsh roar.

The trees that had stood firm around them trembled under the pressure of that roar.

Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaak—!

It felt as though everything was coming to an end.

Even Patrick’s usually calm expression turned cold and lifeless.

“I wasn’t expecting this to last long, but this seems darker than I thought.”

“You’re telling me…”

Who could possibly think of survival in a situation like this?

“Praise be to Graphios! God has not abandoned us!”

Fargodas, looking up at the hovering Graphios, released an even greater burst of black aura.

Kyaaaak!

Graphios noticed Fargodas and flapped its wings, drawing closer.

As the distance narrowed, the wind pressure intensified.

Everyone struggled to stay on their feet under the fierce gusts.

Then, when Graphios drew near enough, its overwhelming presence froze them completely.

“……”

It truly felt like the end.

Graphios landed heavily on the ground, its enormous eyes darting around—

As if searching for prey to devour right away.

Kyaaaaaaak!

Then, suddenly, Graphios jerked its head toward the ridge from which it had emerged.

It seemed to sense something.

In that instant, another section of the ravaged ridge began to swell.

Kwaaaaaaang!

A torrent of flame powerful enough to swallow a mountain erupted forth.

Patrick, Turklan, and Deborah could only gape in astonishment.

“What on earth…!”

“Is something else coming out?!”

The presence of Graphios alone was already despair incarnate.

The flames that had seemed endless soon subsided.

Moments later, from the massive crater, a figure floated up into the air.

Even from a considerable distance, the others could recognize who it was.

“Master!”

It was Raion.

Covered in dust, Raion frowned deeply.

“So you collapsed the cave like that, huh? Hm? Why are you guys here?”

Before the oddly shaped creature(?) that had hatched from the “??? Egg,” three people stood frozen.

“Master, we’re not the main problem right now.”

Patrick’s gaze was fixed on the two towering entities.

Realizing the situation, Raion descended swiftly to stand before them.

“What the hell is that thing?”

“He’s a priest named Fargodas. But that creature, Graphios—what is it…?”

Graphios was staring back at them with its enormous eyes.

Yet, it didn’t attack right away. Instead, it lowered its stance slightly, as though wary—almost fearful.

“I found it inside. But a priest, huh?”

At those words, Raion’s expression sharpened.

He had nearly been surrounded and overwhelmed by priests in the cave just moments ago.

“Yes. But are you alright?”

“I’m fine.”

Kyaaaaaaak!

Perhaps enraged by Raion’s attitude, Graphios opened its gaping maw and spewed a breath of pitch-black energy like a beam.

“Master, get back!”

“Master!”

“So noisy…”

Everyone gasped as the torrent of black energy rushed straight at them.

And it was right before their eyes.

“Gravity Shield.”

With the chant of a spell, a massive barrier appeared in front of them.

Graphios’s breath struck the barrier—and was deflected upward.

The shield had twisted the attack’s trajectory using a gravitational field.

“Rejoice, for you shall become the sacrifice of the divine beast Graphios!”

Fargodas, shouting as he unleashed another surge of black aura, charged at full speed.

His feet slammed into the ground so hard that his figure vanished from sight.

Startled, Patrick, Turklan, and Deborah hurriedly looked around—

Only to realize that Raion’s figure had disappeared as well.

Sasak!

In the next instant, two figures appeared in midair.

Raion had grabbed Fargodas by the head and slammed him into the ground.

Kwaaang—!

The impact split the rocky surface apart.

The three onlookers swallowed hard at the sight of a battle on a completely different level.

“He’s ridiculously heavy. But can a human really grow that big?”

“He kept emitting that strange energy and then transformed like that,” Turklan explained.

From that, Raion could guess what kind of state Fargodas was in—

And using his information, he understood even more.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep