Chapter 514

After that, it was truly a march of hardships. It was also a scene that proved why masters, who could easily kill a hundred knights, were treated hundreds of times more valuable than ordinary knights.

The increasing number of Magi beams. If they were ordinary knights, even with Lacey’s blessing, they would have already turned to dust.

In battles against monsters of different power levels, quality is more important than quantity. That’s the fundamental reason why those who surpass the wall are respected.

If we pushed with overwhelming numbers, we might win, but it would be much cheaper to attempt subjugation with a small number of elites rather than suffer massive casualties.

– Kwaaaah!

The stray beam clawed the earth, leaving deep marks, and the Lake of Magi seeped into the cracks, forming a black river. Even if we miraculously win, it would be impossible to restore this city to its original state.

It would probably be designated as a forbidden zone. Land contaminated with Magi too dense to purify would turn into a demonic realm where people cannot live.

After the situation is resolved, paladins and priests will strictly control civilian access and endlessly hunt the occasional monsters that appear.

– Kwooo!

Of course, now is not the time to worry about what happens later. If we don’t defeat that monster, the destruction of the Holy Kingdom will begin here, let alone a forbidden zone.

We desperately threw ourselves around, dodging and creating barriers, racing towards the Arm of the Evil God.

If we went straight, it wouldn’t take long, but dodging the beams made us waste a lot of time.

Ten minutes felt like an hour. Finally, my toes reached the edge of the Lake of Magi. The black pool, emitting a foul stench, rippled like waves.

And there, in front of the bottomless lake filled with darkness, I finally realized a fatal problem I had overlooked until now.

…Is it really okay to go in?

Swamp, lake, puddle… It’s ambiguous what to call this black Magi area. The pitch-black color doesn’t even show the bottom, so I couldn’t guess what state it might be in.

If it’s just Magi pooling, it wouldn’t be too deep, but what if it’s a bottomless abyss connected to a passage like the black hole in that monster’s chest?

The moment I step in, I could be sucked into the darkness and meet my end.

【 Gr҈̶҉̸wo҉o҉̴o҉̶o҈̴o҉҉! 】

There was no time to think. The monster, sensing my approach, roared like a hungry bear and swung its massive arm towards me.

Three arms. One pair swept low across the surface, while the other slashed down from above.

Even a simple swing becomes terrifying with size and speed. It had the power to slaughter dozens of knights in one strike.

“Ha-shal-leur!”

Seilon, who arrived behind me, spread a Barrier of Divine Light above and swung his thorny sword towards the monster’s left arm.

Only one arm remained. I charged towards it.

– Kwaaaah!

The first collision. The barrier shattered like glass after a few seconds, and the monster’s hand above was filled with fragments of light.

Its claws missed slightly, only deeply gouging the ground.

At the same time, another arm from the left blocked Seilon’s sword with its claws. Seilon, hit by the massive force, flew like a deer hit by a truck, leaving only a split wound on the monster’s claw.

“Ugh…!”

Seilon collapsed on the ruins. There was no time to worry about his safety.

The right arm approaching me stopped just out of reach of Durandal’s blade, revealing a mouth-like opening on its palm.

The mouth, shaped like human lips, opened wide, and a tongue resembling a slug’s wriggled out.

The tip of the tongue had petal-like flesh, and countless tentacles sprouted like anemones underneath. Sticky saliva dripped from the tentacles.

The grotesque sight made me hesitate, but I quickly regained my composure and charged towards the tongue. As long as my sword could reach, I was confident I could cut it.

Then, the monster’s hand retracted its tongue and took a deep breath.

Breath…?

No, it was more like feeding.

– Whoooooosh!

The sound of wind roared like a whirlwind in a cave. The wind pressure pushed my body forward.

Not just me. Like dust sucked into a vacuum cleaner, debris on the ground spiraled into the monster’s mouth!

This bastard, it’s trying to swallow me whole…!

I lowered my stance and drove my left arm into the ground like a stake.

– Crack!

My hair flipped back as I was pulled towards the monster. My left arm creaked, and my teeth clenched. Debris being sucked into the monster’s mouth hit my back, and the ice blade embedded in the ground slowly slid forward.

The suction force was immense. Just holding on made my teeth grind.

“Grrrr…!”

As I held onto the ground, the monster’s long tongue lashed out like a whip, trying to strike or wrap around me. It was as fast as a blazing beast.

“How dare you!”

Half-crouched, I swung Durandal with my right arm.

Not a slash, but a strike with the flat of the blade. The slug-like flesh burst apart, and the recoil pushed my body to the side.

I rolled on the ground and sprang up, glaring at the monster’s arm.

“Don’t face its palm! You’ll get sucked in!”

A warning to my allies. If you’re on the ground, fine, but if you’re in the air, you’ll be sucked in and become a meal in an instant.

【 Gr҈̶҉̸wo҉o҉̴o҉̶o҈̴o҉҉! 】

Annoyed by the fly that had bitten its tongue, the monster roared, shaking the heavens.

The Lake of Magi rippled like waves. The sound pressure alone pushed my body slightly.

【 Gr҉r҈r҉r҉….̵ 】

The Arm of the Evil God, after roaring, lowered its long neck and looked at me with its two heads.

The real battle began then.

—

Despite its 18-meter size, it was just a small wound, but perhaps because it was hurt by those it thought were mere moths, the monster recognized us as enemies to be wary of and began to attack with serious intent.

Eight arms swept through the area with thunderous noise, and the hands at the ends sucked in debris, twisting the air.

A whirlwind mixed with rocks blew like a blizzard.

If we tried to distance ourselves from the hands, black beams shot from its eyes, creating deep cracks in the ground.

This monster was like a living natural disaster. Only someone like me could dodge and counter, while even Seilon was barely defending.

Nigel and Leonor couldn’t even think of attacking and only managed to draw the attention of one arm each.

Even then, Nigel, who got hit once, was bleeding from his mouth despite Lacey’s healing.

Honestly, even if they attacked, it was questionable if they could inflict any real damage.

Nigel and Leonor were knights trained mainly for human combat. They had some experience fighting monsters, but they weren’t suited for such a massive enemy.

Unlike Damien’s greatsword, their weapons had a narrow attack range.

Moreover, the monster’s attack patterns weren’t limited to that.

– Swoosh!

One of its arms plunged into the Lake of Magi, turning black from the inside.

The moment it pulled its arm out, our eyes turned towards it. Among its attack patterns, this was the most powerful.

The next moment, the monster’s arm lashed out like a whip, spewing black water. A black blade several meters long flew towards us.

“Elpinel!”

Lacey urgently spread a barrier to block the Magi slash.

– Kwaaaah!

The divine barrier shook and crumpled under the impact. The water cutter collided with the divine light and scattered like waves, covering Lacey’s barrier.

Leonor, moving with Lacey, grabbed her waist and quickly dodged the Magi wave.

“I am the sword and shield of Astraea. May her wrath descend upon this place!”

Seilon’s Light of Judgment. A radiant beam shot from the circle of divine script in the air towards the monster.

The monster growled low, and a waterfall of Magi rose, blocking and neutralizing the light.

The endless surge of Magi clashed with the Light of Judgment, scattering it.

“Blocked…!”

In the momentary gap, black water lashed out towards Seilon. Massive Magi wrapped around him, crushing him.

“Damn…!”

His golden Armor of Divine Light crumbled under the Magi. Seilon gritted his teeth and drew more power from Astraea to resist, but he couldn’t stop the tentacles from lifting and pulling him.

“Not here!”

I rolled on the ground, dodging the claws aiming for my torso, and swung Durandal at the black whip holding Seilon.

A Spatial Severance slash cut through the Magi, turning it into nothing. The severed tentacles melted and rained down, blackening the ground.

Seilon, repairing his armor with divine light, landed and thanked me.

I nodded slightly and glared at the countless Magi tentacles pouring towards us.

The black lake around the monster was literally its weapon, shield, and armor.

It was like my Life Force Technique but on a much larger scale. Belcus did something similar with Magi, but the scale was on a different level.

Each tentacle had the power of a master’s strike. Its eight arms surpassed even Ryu-rik’s strength.

It felt like fighting an army of heroes and masters.

—

* Fragment of the Evil God – Arm of Desire

This is roughly what it looks like!