Chapter 160

Posted by Kuze, ? Views, Released on January 22, 2025

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Bang! Crash!

With a thunderous roar and a cloud of dust, the towering walls crumbled like a sandcastle. The moment the maze set up for the challengers of the Trial collapsed was here.

At the center of it all stood Ulan, the barbarian, swinging his axe silently.

His face showed no signs of change.

As he lost himself in the frenzy of smashing the maze, a sudden noise broke his focus.

“What is…?”

Intermittent explosions and vibrations.

Explosions don’t occur in a place that is completely void of existence.

In that moment of realization, Ulan had an instinct.

‘An exit!’

The sounds of explosions indicated the direction he needed to head toward. Maximizing all his senses, Ulan soon pinpointed the exact direction.

At the same time, he visualized the shortest path to reach his goal from his current location.

Thus, a direct line was formed.

And soon, a fierce charge began.

However, there was a problem. There were still numerous barriers in the way. But nothing could stop him.

He just needed to break through.

Crash! Boom! Whoooosh!

No matter how many stacked on top of each other, it was useless.

The walls crumbled like dominoes, and the maze faced a fierce collapse.

It was an unstoppable momentum.

The monsters that appeared in between met the same fate as the walls. Just as he approached the end of the straight path—

Bang!

The furious axe broke through the outer walls.

A haze of dust obscured his vision.

The axe sliced through the dust as well. Soon, a gigantic shape of a monster came into view. It was a creature familiar to Ulan.

“Arbik?”

Known as a magic predator, the Abyssal Monster.

Why is it here?

That question briefly flickered in his mind, but he didn’t pursue it further. With the monster before him, he had only one thing to do.

Wham!

A dazzling blow struck Arbik’s body. A dull collision sound echoed as it sent the monster crashing into a corner.

“Maybe that was a bit too shallow.”

Was it because of the instinctive swing?

It wasn’t a sense of losing its breath. So, he moved closer to finish the job.

Just then, a familiar voice echoed from afar.

“Ulan!”

A black-haired girl waved her hand, looking relieved.

It was Noa, who had arrived a step ahead. And he could also see Delia, with tears brimming in her eyes, next to her.

They found him just fine.

Ulan smiled with satisfaction.

But suddenly, the expressions on their faces changed.

With expressions of shock, Noa and Delia both yelled in unison.

“Behind! Look behind!”

“The monster, it’s coming!”

He knew without them saying anything.

He had felt the vibrations shaking the ground for a while now.

At that moment, the creature howled menacingly.

【Grahhh!】

A roar imbued with the Power of the Abyss.

For an ordinary person, just hearing it could lead to despair. But to Ulan, it was just loud noise.

BAM BAM BAM!

At the same time, Arbik charged forward.

It was targeting Ulan.

However, unlike the wildly rushing creature, Ulan merely stood firm.

A symbol of the Master.

At the center of the Domain.

And when the creature stepped into the Domain—

There was a chilling cutting sound.

Slice!

In a single stroke, the axe seemed to have sliced through the air, but the reality was different. In that split second, Arbik’s body shattered into hundreds of pieces.

“……!”

Splatter! Thud thud thud thud!

Flesh and bodily fluids raining down like a storm.

Arbik couldn’t even let out a scream.

A scene that far surpassed common sense. The masked swordsman widened his eyes in disbelief at what just transpired.

But he had no time to be stunned.

Right after taking down Arbik, Ulan’s axe flew straight for the man’s head.

Just as his lethal momentum closed in…

Noa suddenly shouted.

“Don’t kill that man!”

“Why?”

“I have questions to ask!”

Ulan accepted her request.

It wasn’t the first time he had interrogated an Abyss Worshipper to extract information in his past life.

The axe showed mercy.

Slice! Crunch!

With a chilling sound, the man’s arms and legs were severed. A truly skilled job. Ulan turned to Noa and asked.

“Is this okay?”

“Perfect!”

Now he couldn’t resist or take his own life.

However, the man showed no hint of panic, even while losing his limbs. His eyes still retained a fierce glare.

“You won’t gain anything from me.”

“That’s something you’ll find out soon.”

Noa pulled out a black talisman.

A talisman infused with a curse spell.

No matter how devoted a worshipper might be, in the end, they’re just human; they can’t endure the pain of their soul being devoured.

‘Unless, of course…’

If they were puppeted by the Lord of the Abyss or an Apostle, those fanatics who have gazed into the Abyss would be immune to torture and curses.

But that wouldn’t happen.

For the Gate of the Abyss had yet to open.

[Notification]

*Shortcut skill #44 activated

*Intermediate Curse: 【Soul Harvester】

The curse infused in the talisman slowly devours the target’s soul. The consumed soul is then converted into Mana and stored.

The black talisman quivered once.

The man began to tremble.

Soon, blackish-red blood started to flow from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. This phenomenon was the result of the soul being devoured.

But there was a problem.

“…Though we couldn’t kill the Star Witch, you won’t win either.”

Noa’s eyes widened.

Even while his soul was being devoured, he continued speaking calmly. This meant he had not succumbed to the curse.

“On the day the gate opens, we shall meet again.”

The man’s body suddenly swelled like a balloon.

It looked ready to explode any second. Noa’s face turned pale at this bizarre change.

But there was no need for concern.

“Get back.”

Ulan, sensing the anomaly, moved.

Pulling Noa away, he kicked the man, who was ballooning like a pufferfish.

WHAM!

His body whizzed through the air.

Simultaneously, a thunderous explosion occurred.

────!

A powerful shockwave rattled the scene.

The fierce blast swept the surrounding area, but it didn’t harm the group.

Thanks to Noa casting a defensive spell just in time. Just after barely escaping the crisis, Noa’s expression turned as hard as stone.

‘The curse was definitely activated.’

Yet the man showed no sign of submission.

What was more alarming was that the self-destructing attack he just witnessed was a trait exhibited only by worshippers who had fallen under the mental domination of the Lord of the Abyss in the original story.

‘That means…’

Noa’s eyes trembled with turmoil.

A conjecture had just crossed her mind. With an overwhelming shock, she felt the scattered puzzle pieces around her start to click together.

‘…More work to do.’

In addition to searching for Kazan Rudrik’s records, she felt her to-do list grow longer. Yet, this was ultimately the most important task, so Noa steeled her resolve.

‘First, let me finish with the current issues.’

They had only dealt with those who interrupted the trial.

The Hero’s Trial was far from over.

Just as she turned to look at Delia, the challenger of the trial—

“Huh?”

Delia suddenly collapsed.

Noa rushed to support her.

“D-Delia?”

There was no answer.

She was just hanging there like a waterlogged sponge. Noa’s eyes widened in alarm. She then called out urgently.

“Ulan! Delia…!”

“It’s okay. She just fainted for a bit.”

Ulan replied calmly.

As if there was no need to panic.

With that answer, Noa breathed a sigh of relief, and they both moved Delia to a safer place and laid her on the ground.

“We’ll have to wait for her to wake up.”

“Yeah, we should.”

Now, only the final trial remained.

With the battle against the Arch Lich ahead, they waited for Delia to awaken.

7.

The ruined Library of the Stars.

Ulan started a campfire. It was to prevent Delia from losing her body heat.

Flame flicker! Flicker!

Fortunately, there was plenty of firewood.

Books torn apart in the battle made sure the campfire didn’t go out and lasted a long time.

How long had passed?

“…Mmm.”

Delia opened her eyes.

Once she regained full consciousness, they explained how they ended up here.

They had seen a foreboding future in a dream, so they immediately crossed the border to come here.

Of course, it was all a fabricated story.

Yet, Delia accepted it as the truth.

She had complete faith in Noa’s prophetic abilities.

After grasping the situation, she bowed her head in gratitude to Ulan and Noa.

“Thank you so much.”

They deserved a hundred thanks.

They came to help her even at the risk of breaking the academy’s rules.

“I will definitely repay this debt.”

So, Delia made a promise.

If one day the two found themselves in danger like she was, she wouldn’t hesitate to help them. Just as a warm mood settled in during the conversation’s conclusion.

“Then, it’s time to find a way out.”

“Huh? Find a way out, of what?”

Delia responded as if asking why that was even a question. Meanwhile, Noa wore a perplexed expression.

There was only one way to escape this place.

They had to pass the trial.

‘But how do I explain this?’

To explain the trial, she would have to disclose things about the seven heroes as well. While perplexed, Ulan, who had been silent, finally spoke.

“This place is a trial.”

“A trial?”

“It’s a place to verify if you qualify as a hero capable of standing against the Abyss.”

“……!”

Noa gasped in shock.

She hadn’t expected him to throw such a straight line without even attempting to conceal it.

“Hero? Qualification?”

Meanwhile, Delia looked utterly baffled.

As if trying to comprehend what he was talking about.

“Could you explain a bit more?”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

“What? Why not?”

“Because we promised not to.”

When they had shared all truths and secrets before, Laurea had said they needed to be prepared mentally. She had asked them to keep it a secret until all seven heroes were gathered.

As that recollection crossed his mind, Ulan gazed intently at Delia.

“Soon, the day will come when everything will be revealed. So for now, I ask that you follow my words.”

“…….”

Her beautiful brows furrowed.

As if feeling uncomfortable due to unresolved questions.

But that was short-lived, and she relatively willingly nodded her head.

“Alright.”

With her determination sealed, Delia stood up.

“I’ll take on the trial.”

Though she still had some lingering doubts, she decided to comply with the request.

After all, they had come to rescue her.

‘And Ulan wouldn’t do anything harmful to me.’

Moreover, he had promised to clear her doubts soon. Delia chose to trust Ulan. So, putting all her questions aside, she asked again.

“What do I need to do?”

“Ah, I’ll explain that.”

Noa quickly began detailing the final trial.

After articulating her meticulous explanation, she summarized it in a single sentence.

“In summary, you just need to defeat the Arch Lich over there.”

“By myself?”

“Yeah. We aren’t the challengers.”

Afterwards, Noa added that when the challenger approached the final trial, all outsiders would be made to leave.

Delia nodded silently.

It seemed she understood the explanation.

“Here, take this.”

“A talisman?”

“Yeah, it’ll help in case of emergencies.”

The talismans were generally of two types.

One replenished lacking Mana, and the other disrupted the opponent’s incantation.

Noa also handed Delia every talisman that could assist in battle. After all, the Arch Lich, being the final trial, was a remarkably powerful adversary.

“Thanks. I’ll take it well.”

Did she sense their worrying intentions for her?

Delia gave a gentle smile.

Meanwhile, after finishing the talisman transfer, Noa turned to Ulan and jokingly asked.

“Don’t you have anything to give, Ulan?”

Before she even finished her sentence, Ulan strode over to Delia.

Suddenly, he wrapped her in a tight embrace.

“……!”

His golden eyes widened dramatically.

With a startled expression, Delia’s pointed ears trembled subtly. Just then, his deep voice penetrated her ears.

“I believe in you.”

“U-U-Ulan?!”