Chimera.
The priest of the consumer and operator of the largest consumer.
The name of that priest, surprisingly, had been recorded in history.
As the most terrible tale of trust and betrayal in history.
It started quite simply.
A wendigo, a monster imbued with divinity and a follower of Eternity and Night who had fallen, attacked a village.
As the village burned and most of the people died, a young mother made a contract with a consumer to protect her child and became a priest.
It was a story you could hear anywhere. The important part came afterward.
Surprisingly, the woman did not lose her mind, nor did she have her sanity stolen by the consumer.
So she fled with her child to the Pervere Kingdom.
The great kingdom of the southern continent, which had the village where the woman lived under its sphere of influence, accepted her as a soldier and used her as military power while granting various conveniences.
At first glance, it seemed like a happy story.
The mother protected her child and received respect from the child and admiration from the people.
People deeply trusted the woman and praised her powerful strength.
The kingdom trusted her deeply as a strong and controllable asset.
The child also didn’t seem to mind that his mother had changed; he loved her so much that they appeared to be a happy family.
At least, until a certain point, that’s how it seemed.
One day, just as the woman had become a priest to protect her child from monsters, she suddenly turned into one herself.
On the outskirts of the Pervere Kingdom, near the Polaina Duchy, in a small town.
Where the woman and her child lived, a mutation occurred.
This marked the beginning of the priest’s activities who would later be called Chimera.
A hundred guards tried to stop her.
One hundred twenty knights of the lord.
Twelve hundred residents.
All of them were consumed and became resources for Chimera.
Her son was the first to be eaten, becoming a part of her.
As Aslan knew, this was a typical strategy of consumers.
Deliberately leaving behind will and sanity to gain deep trust before collecting as many “resources” as possible.
It was a sort of guerrilla warfare reproduced in a twisted way.
Afterward, Chimera became a headache for the southern continent.
A massive body resembling a wendigo.
Using giant arms that evoked towering trees, pressing down on the ground to crush opponents with that huge frame.
According to Aslan, high priests inevitably became chimeras.
But something went wrong because Aslan met a chimera who was still only a priest after three years.
“It was a terrible fight.”
That’s how Aslan recalled the battle at the time.
Though not a high priest, the chimera was slightly smaller, and its defense wasn’t as high as expected, but for Aslan at that time, it was almost an unbeatable enemy.
His lower half was completely crushed, his limbs torn apart.
The techniques infused by Budonggong, his mastery of magical tools, swordsmanship, and martial arts were useless.
At that time, Aslan was not yet a veteran in combat and certainly not someone who could defeat a priest through sheer force.
Above all, there was no preparation, leaving Aslan with no choice.
It was then that Aslan first used Equalization.
Had it not been for the help of Rooting inscribed during the fight and the Equalization scroll purchased on a whim, Aslan would have died there.
Afterward, Aslan used every means at his disposal to kill Chimera.
He used all the scrolls he had accumulated: the might of giants, metal heating, vibration enhancement buffs from transformation magic.
Debuffs like curses, darkness, blindness, and material alterations from transformation magic.
He poured out all the manifestation school magic he possessed and fought for an entire day.
In the end, Aslan barely managed to kill Chimera.
Tearing off thick gloves, melting them, cutting them, grinding them away, he finally managed to stab the core with a blade.
Aslan thought he had definitively killed Chimera then.
For the priests of consumers, their mechanical forms’ weakness was the core.
It was both the soul and a component used to sustain life, an essential part.
No matter how powerful a priest of a consumer might be, a core existed.
He pierced the core and saw the soul leaking out in the form of plasma.
He witnessed unrestrained mana and soul energy exploding out.
He watched the giant body fall limply and collapse.
Thus, when Aslan faced the Dragon King in Belus Alphen and asked after a few exchanges if it was a high priest, he thought it wouldn’t be strange if a new high priest had emerged after nine years.
The problem lay there.
The Dragon King had been a priest of the consumer for a thousand years.
There was no Dragon King priest in the game.
Even if it had been a high priest for a thousand years, the Dragon King seen in the game was not a priest.
No matter what branch of events was followed, the Dragon King never became a priest.
It was always just a dragon with wings and a bit of divine power.
Seeing this, Aslan thought that just as deities without form and the Dark Ram Herd, which didn’t exist in the original game, had appeared, there had been changes in this Geladridion where he had fallen.
Whether it was a distortion caused during the arrangement by the ancient gods,
Or a butterfly effect due to the emergence of a new evil deity,
He couldn’t tell, but one thing was certain.
Regardless, the Dragon King was a high priest, and that Dragon King was incomparably stronger than Chimera, nearly matching Supreme Divinity’s Sword.
If Chimera hadn’t been killed, whether it would have become a high priest or whether the Dragon King would have remained a high priest is unclear.
What mattered was something else.
The Dragon King was dead and thus no longer a high priest.
Chimera had discarded its original form, opted for a sleek aerial mobility type, and became a high priest.
That was all.
Aslan saw the spear flying toward him. High-temperature plasma. The projectile glowing golden had the same light and temperature as the Dragon King’s breath.
Could Resistance to Draconic Flame withstand it? It was likely impossible.
Aslan quickly drew the Artist’s Shield hanging on his back and muttered.
“Grasp.”
The plasma devouring space as it flew toward him. Straight ahead, the shield stretched out to block it.
—KWAHHHHH!
The sound of explosion and the blazing white steel shield. Aslan momentarily grimaced as he resisted the immense pressure.
It was enough force to break Grasp momentarily. Reflexively, Aslan shouted.
“Run away!”
To the elves. The elves froze and didn’t move, but Aslan had no time to wait.
With the clatter of the falling shield, Aslan extended his hand brushing his cloak.
JEEET, KWAJJIZZIK!
Flying daggers. Targeting Chimera’s chest. The airborne Chimera swatted it away like swatting a bug with a spear.
The dagger touched by plasma was flung away, glowing red before hitting the ground, and simultaneously, Chimera extended its arm.
“AHH SLAAAAAN!”
As if the only word it could shout was that. The extending plasma flew straight toward Aslan.
High temperature upon direct hit would mean instant death. This time, Angie intercepted it.
“HUUUUUUGHHH!”
KWOOOONG!
She drew and swung Victory carried on her back. There was no technique, no finesse—just pure strength.
Victory’s effect was simple.
Irresistible destruction akin to a verdict, damage proportional to strength.
For Angie, who had obtained a perfect body, there was no better weapon than this.
Perhaps no one in the world could wield it better than Angie unless it was the deceased Supreme Divinity’s Sword.
Her superhuman strength, nearing the realm of a deity, faithfully accelerated the sword, neutralizing the incoming spear.
With a roar, the flaming greatsword retracted, leaving no scratch, dispersing smoke like fire itself.
“Move!”
Angie’s command. The veterans reacted swiftly.
Tiamat drew her mace and moved, Ereta held her axe ablaze, Lumel spun his white steel spear, Richard looked around bewildered, and during this time, Aslan thought briefly.
The increased damage from Angie’s strength using Victory was extraordinary.
Comparable to Aslan’s enhanced attack from All Things Change.
If even such a blow from Victory could only counter the spear, the damage from the plasma hurled by Chimera must be extraordinary.
Direct hits wouldn’t just result in instant death—they’d cause area damage and ground destruction.
Aslan looked at Chimera floating in the air, preparing to throw another spear.
“There’s no time to hesitate.”
Still maintaining Grasp. While manipulating telekinesis, he murmured.
“Purity.”
A pure white blade revealed in his hand, along with white flames, a scale-like crossguard resembling a balance, and a long handle like an ancient tree.
Without gripping it, Aslan moved it with telekinesis.
Instantly stretching out, Purity split the approaching spear in mid-air.
KWAHHHHHHH!
A violent explosion. Trees nearby creaked and trembled, leaves falling off.
While the heated air circulated and melted the snow piled around, Aslan shouted.
“Phey, take the elves and escape!”
Phey showed no hesitation or reluctance. She immediately sheathed the two swords she had drawn and gestured to the elves, shouting.
“Follow me, let’s flee!”
Terrified elves couldn’t refuse the words of an elf who seemed more mature than themselves.
The elves turned their bodies in fear and ran away.
Towards those escaping elves, Chimera slowly moved its stiff head with a creak.
“AAAAAAAAAAH—!”
A yelling voice. That unintelligible scream. Following it, its back split open, and dozens of arms burst out.
Dozens of thin arms resembling dolls sprouted, and countless plasmas spewed from their fingertips, forming spears.
“What madness…!”
Tiyamal’s astonished voice. Seeing the spear tips aimed at the elves, Aslan stretched out Purity and grasped it.
Dozens of burning deaths slicing through the air. Fixing his single eye on their trajectories, Aslan gripped Purity with both hands.
‘Mooncutting.’
And he swung.
With a transcendent voice, the elongating trajectory split like cleaving the moon reflected on the water surface, colliding with dozens of spears.
KWAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA!
A fierce heat wave scorched the ground. A high temperature that would burn ordinary humans where they stood.
Only Aslan with flame resistance could endure it.
But enduring didn’t mean no damage.
Traces of skin peeling off, turning red and white. Clenching through the searing pain, Aslan extended his hand.
Spearheads still remained. Toward those numerous spears, Steamfalos’ metallic feathers flew.
“Grasp.”
With a commanding voice, metal feathers shot out like a machine gun. Dozens of feathers were expended to neutralize a single spear.
Rapidly diminishing, Aslan’s cloak fluttered behind him as Chimera extended the arm it had retracted.
The last spear left in reserve. Aimed at Aslan’s body, it flew to pierce and kill. Angie intervened toward the incoming spear.
“HUUUUUUGHHH!”
Drawing in a breath, ignoring the skin peeling off from the heatwave, Angie swung the greatsword with her sturdy arms, striking the plasma.
KWOOOONG!
An explosion accompanied by a fierce flame shooting sideways. The grassland caught fire as the ground was scorched.
Scattered flames everywhere. Through the flames, Ereta appeared. Right next to the airborne Chimera.
“Ah?!?”
Chimera’s exclamation. Ereta swung her firmly gripped axe ablaze.
KAGAGAGAJIK!
Accurately piercing and splitting the chest armor, the axe blade withdrew.
Ignoring the excellent detection ability commonly possessed by priests of consumers and successfully landing the ambush was entirely due to the effect of the thief’s tatters worn under Ereta’s dress and cloak.
The effect that completely silenced movement allowed Ereta to climb the tree and succeed in slashing.
Split chest armor.
As Ereta fell through the cracked and scattering armor, Tiyamal immediately aimed the unfamiliar mace at Chimera.
“Don’t complain if you miss!”
TUNG!
A pitiful sound compared to the bow she used before. However, the effect was definite.
The accurately aimed mace struck the chestplate, causing it to fall. Before the falling armor completely peeled off, Lumel, avoiding the flames, aimed his white steel spear.
“Huff!”
And threw it.
The white steel spear flew in a straight line.
A seamless combination of attacks. As Ereta rolled upon hitting the ground, the white steel spear pierced Chimera’s chest.
KWAZIZIZIZIK!
The white steel spear precisely piercing and embedding into the chest. Chimera’s body shuddered, and seeing this, Aslan was confident of victory.
However he survived, with the core pierced, it should be the end.
Until some unforeseen event happened.
When Chimera’s trembling body stopped, fierce energy flowed out from the split chest cavity.
KWAZIZIZIZIZIK!
Golden lightning. The intense mixture of surging lightning and flames caused the white steel spear embedded in the chest to melt.
The molten white steel dripped onto the ground, and the partially melted shaft plummeted.
“Huh…?”
Tiyamal’s surprised voice. Plasma still flowing from the chest cavity.
The party members looked at Chimera with bewildered expressions as Chimera slowly raised its head.
Then the split gap in its chest was clearly revealed.
Aslan’s expression also showed confusion upon seeing it.
The core was a fatal weakness for priests of consumers.
Every priest of consumers had a core, and the fact that the core was a weakness was an immutable truth.
There had never been a case denying this truth in both the game and this reality of Geladridion.
Not since about 4000 years ago, from when the sky split until now.
Thus, the sight entering Aslan’s single eye was undoubtedly an abnormal phenomenon.
The split chest cavity. Inside, the core emitting light and energy was damaged.
Exactly as Aslan had stabbed it with a sword nine years ago.
“AHHHHHH…!”
Chimera screamed, exposing its chest cavity. As the pitch of the screaming rose, the energy flowing out of the split chest grew increasingly wild.
KWAHHHHHHHHH!
As the wild energy erupted, dozens of arms sprouted from its back.
Zzzziiip, Pazziijiikk!
Plasma taking shape under the control of electricity. The intense heat creating a heatwave that swept around as snow scattered on the ground.
Aslan realized late but understood.
For priests of consumers, the core was essentially the soul, mana, and power source.
What was flowing out must definitely be the soul.
The soul flowing out in the form of plasma.
The strangeness of using the very power that moved its enormous body as an attack method.
Surviving under conditions where it should normally die and repeatedly unleashing bombardments.
Two possibilities came to Aslan’s mind.
Either the involvement of the Dark Ram Herd transcending death or replenishing the soul through some means.
And the moment Aslan considered these possibilities, an image overlapped in his mind.
The race rich in divinity and souls—the elves.
To whom Chimera had thrown spears.
The overlapping possibilities led Aslan’s luck to react.
The following answer arose instinctively.
‘Chimera consumes souls.’
And the moment he realized this, the chimera holding countless souls in its hands screamed.
“AAAAAAAAAAA—!”
A scream so shrill it made ears ring.
As Aslan heard the high-pitched female voice and broke out in cold sweat, plasma poured out from the open chest cavity, striking the ground.
