Chapter 117: Eliminating The Problem From The Root
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[The [Blood Thrall Wendigo King (A+++ Rank)] has woken up from his slumber.]
[He’s thirsty for blood and hungry for flesh.]
[The King bares his fangs at you and your Party!]
“W-Wha…?!”
“T-That Thrall… It is much stronger than any of the others!”
“That’s not a Pack Leader, is it?!”
“T-To think a person would be twisted into such a monstrous appearance..."
“Careful, everyone! Step back!” Inferna quickly commanded the troops, their footsteps rapidly moving back, only for the King to begin moving at that very moment.
“GRRRHH…!”He roared. “GRAAAAHHH!!!”
With a furious roar that sent a sound wave across the entire caves, making rocks crumble down from the ceiling, the gigantic monster leaped forward, swinging its huge, thin arms as its sharp claws were a split second from tearing some of the demons to shreds.
CRASH!!!
However, in that split second, I boosted my physical abilities to my limits while activating several items and their effects, successfully blocking the devastating attack with my Bastion Shield!
Crack, crack, CRACK!
The shield gained dozens of cracks again, its Durability pummeling as it now reached below 800! It fulfilled its purpose well, at the very least.
BAAAMM!
“Urgh…!”
The force of the impact pushed me back several meters, but I kept myself standing as the beast faced me with its empty, blazing eyes.
The effects of various items activated at once as I decided to go all out. I couldn’t possibly underestimate this monster right now.
[The [Bastion Shield] has taken a large quantity of damage, and the [Bastion’s Fortress] Ability has been activated. User’s DEF has increased by +20% and all foe’s ATK has decreased by -15% for 5 Minutes.]
“GRRHH?!”
It definitely felt the debuffing effect of the Bastion Shield activating, like a malefic curse wrapping around his body and decreasing his attack power.
“RAAAAHHH!”
It grew furious, rushing forward, moving its thin yet gigantic legs rapidly towards me, and swinging its huge claws to destroy me. If I were just anybody, I would be torn into pieces in this very instant.
Ding!
[The [Warrior’s Necklace] Ability [Warrior’s Stigma] has been activated, 50 Durability has been sacrificed, and the wearer’s HP, STR, and VIT Stats have increased by +30% for 10 Minutes.]
[The [Sylph’s Tear] Ability [Wind Spirit’s Blessing] has been activated; by imbuing Mana into the Ring, the user’s DEX and AGI have increased by +100% for 5 Minutes, and can only be used thrice a day.]
But I was not just anybody.
FLASH!
CRAAASH!
RUMBLE!
I evaded its powerful claws once more, and I disappeared from its sight only to reappear as dozens of clones climbed his huge body.
“RAAAH?!”
The Wendigo King roared, beginning to shake its body as its bony, sharp spear-like tail started to attack me, attempting to pierce through my body and failing as it ended up killing my mane Reflection Illusion Clones.
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
Good, perfect; keep doing just that!
FLASH!
[The [Holy Sunlight Charm] Ability [Sanctifying Light] has been activated, 25 Durability has been sacrificed, and a small fraction of the true Sunlight that shines upon the Realm of Heaven that can deal great damage against Demons and Undead-type Monsters has been summoned!]
[The Sunlight that shines upon the Realm of Heaven is encompassing your body and weapons! Your physique is reacting to it, slowly beginning to grow stronger! All Stats have increased by an additional +10% for 5 Minutes.]
I combined the power of the Charm with my Privilege of Aura of Protection, the Privilege of Death’s Little Sister, and, of course, Gram’s {Celestial Mode} at the same time!
“{Sunlit Arc}!”
SLAAASH!
I spun in midair as I leaped towards its neck. The beast noticed me before I could cut its head off, managing to move a few centimeters and making me miss the mark.
But not without taking something with me!
CRASH!
With a strong slashing strike, Gram pierced through the King’s left shoulder, slicing its entire arm off as black blood started splattering everywhere.
“GRYYEEEHHHH…!”
Giving out an agonizing shriek, the Wendigo King grasped its wound tightly with its other arm, glaring at me with anger as its sharp spear immediately unleashed a dozen strikes in a single second!
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
“Urgh…!”
I blocked them with all my effort, utilizing both Gram and my Sunlight Blades, alongside the Frost Wolf Fang Dagger, but those bones were way too tough, pushing me all the way down as I clashed with the wall and shattered.
CRASH!
“Anna!”
Inferna panicked, rushing towards me as the Wendigo King set its gaze upon her and the other demons wielding spears.
“SHAAAAAH!”
With a furious roar, it swung its only claw towards them!
However, Inferna swiftly imbued her entire body with her Demonic Energy, her Demonic Stigmas activating as her tattoos glowed with red and purple light.
“{Demonic Spearmanship Mastery}!!!”
With a scream of both desperation and wrath, Inferna’s spear flared with demonic flames, clashing against the Wendigo’s gigantic claws with several strikes and managing to actually push the beast’s hand back!
CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!
“GRRRHHH…!”
However, the Wendigo King only responded by kicking her away with a powerful strike using his right foot.
BAAAMMM!
“Urkh…!”
Inferna fell to the ground, vomiting blood, as she most likely felt a few of her bones broken at that moment. Yet she was still alive. She was tougher than she looked, and I made sure to make her tougher.
“Hey, you’re fighting me.”
I appeared right above the Wendigo King. The reason I didn’t save Inferna was because I trusted her strength and needed the time she brought for me!
“GRRRHH…?!”
The empty eyes of the Wendigo King flared with phantasmal flames as it opened its jaws in utter shock. Gram was glowing brightly, absorbing both my Ki and my Celestial Energy.
My small wing had suddenly grown larger, temporarily transforming into its grown-up form as I activated my Celestial Body Skill!
Combining it with the Ki to create Holy Blade Ki, I concentrated it until Gram suddenly grew ten times its original size, further reinforcing this transformation through my Sunlight Blade and Sunshine Skills.
“{Holy Decapitation}!”
I descended at sonic speed, the huge sword of light reaching the Wendigo King’s neck at long last, as the beast shrieked as it burned by the light, its tail reaching my sword and blocking me right before I could behead it!
CRASH!
“Tch! Not yet!”
While I feel my ribs break, I touched my chest through Healing Touch and recovered most of the damage dealt as I imbued my sword with a hint of Cosmic Energy!
“RAAAAH!”
The blade of light shone as if it were a fragment of the cosmos, with countless stars and neon blue light slicing through the Wendigo King's annoying tail!
“{Sunlit Arc}!”
I spun gracefully like a ballerina while descending; the cut was clean and quick, and the tail was now gone!
SLASH!
“SHYAAAAH!”
Desperate, the monster quickly opened its huge skull jaws, showing me a long, sticky tongue and its sharp maws, attempting to devour me whole as I fell!
However, this was the perfect opportunity.
“Why don’t you eat these instead?!”
I threw both of my daggers inside their open jaws, and both daggers swiftly pierced their tongues, shining brightly as I overloaded them with Mana!
“GRAAAH?!”
BOOOM! BOOOM!
Two huge explosions blew the Wendigo King’s entire jaws and half its head, blood and bones splattering everywhere as the beast shrieked in agony, using its only hand to grasp its falling face.
“GRYYAAAAHHHH…!”
Suddenly, on its suffering, its broken down, bloody face showed countless, red-colored tendrils emerging from within, still tenaciously attempting to grab me with them to suck me dry of my Blood!
“Not happening!”
I kicked the air through the Winds that the Sylph’s Tear Ring gave me as I evaded the bloody tentacles and then shot several Sunlight Blades towards them, slicing them up and blowing them into pieces as each Sunlight Blade exploded the moment they made contact.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
“GRYYAAARGH!”
As it lost concentration due to its agony, I descended and quickly decided to do a different approach, flapping my only wing to change the trajectory of my fall, and then piercing the Wendigo King’s right shoulder, slicing through its last arm!
“What will you do once your two arms are gone?!”
SLAAASH!
“GRYYYGGH?!”
The Wendigo King shook, suddenly losing its balance due to the pain and falling into the ground. Its decaying flesh and bones still felt pain, which was surprising and actually quite useful.
I gave a glance at Inferna, who was still alive and gasping for air as she glanced at the scene, drinking a potion I had given to everyone beforehand, just in case things got worse. The other soldiers had created a circular formation around her, fending off the hiding Blood Thralls that began crawling from the ceiling and holes, woken up by their King.
They were alright, but if more Blood Thralls come, they’ll be in a bit of a pickle, and casualties might be imminent. I have to end this quickly!
“GGRRRH… GRAAAH!”
The Wendigo King wasn’t going down yet, quickly beginning to crawl away from me, hissing at me furiously as its amorphous face kept bleeding out black blood, which it suddenly began to manipulate.
“GRAAAH!”
With a furious roar, the splattered black blood started floating in midair, gathering and shaping itself, and then crystalizing into dozens of black spears, which were shot down toward me!
“{Sunshine}!”
However, I did not fear his feeble magic projectiles. I charged forward, relying on my armor’s defenses and the shining, burning power of Sunshine combined with the Dragon Flames of my dagger, as purifying holy dragon flames erupted from my body the moment I combined their effects together.
FLASH!
The projectiles were burned to ashes before they could pierce my armor as I leaped in midair and pointed Gram downwards, descending towards the beast’s chest!
“Just die already!”
“SHAAAHHH!”
The King was tenacious, swinging its huge legs and utilizing them as claws, unleashing a barrage of slashing blows that I forcefully and rapidly blocked with rapid swings of my sword and daggers, cutting down its claws and fingers with each slash!
SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!
“You’re only delaying the inevitable.”
My chest suddenly glowed with blue, cosmic light as another small amount of Cosmic Energy boosted Gram’s power. Combined with its Celestial Mode boost and my Holy Blade Ki together, a huge blade made of starlight pierced the Wendigo King’s chest.
CRASH!
The King resisted, using both of its legs to attempt to grasp the blade and move it away, but they only burned away; its blood magic was too weak as well, and it turned into ashes before it could reach me.
“This is… YOUR END!”
The starlight and cosmic energies reached their peak as the entire blade collapsed into a huge explosion of light, consuming the Wendigo King, burning its entire body, blowing its head into pieces, and charring everything else.
BOOOMMM!
The shockwave of light blinded and burned the Blood Thralls coming from their hiding places, giving the demons the perfect chance to finish them off in that very instant.
I quickly joined them, having little time for celebrations. As I fully healed Inferna and then joined her, we hunted down the Blood Thralls until my senses could no longer detect them anymore.
“Hahhh… Hahh… W-We did it…” Inferna laughed, resting the weight of her body on her spear.
“Oof… Well, that was a good warm-up.” I stretched my body while sighing in relief. “There’s no more Blood Thralls now, for real.”
“W-We did it; we really did it."
“Are there any casualties? Is anybody heavily wounded?”
“I have a dislocated arm, but I’m fine…”
“My shoulder hurts like hell, but I’m not dying yet.”
“There are no casualties."
“No casualties?”
“T-This is… W-We really won…”
“Are we free from these monsters?”
“W-We are!”
The demons were in complete disbelief; with their King gone and mostly all of their population defeated, the Blood Thralls were no more.
“And this was not something I alone accomplished; it was our combined efforts.” I smiled, looking at everyone. “You should feel proud and happy! This was done thanks to all of your combined strength."
“UOOOOHHHH!!!”
The Demons raised their arms; some were even crying. Their blood and sweat combined with their tears made for a warm, exciting atmosphere that showed that their tenacious spirits had yet to give up hope.
[You have helped the Demons defeat [Blood Thralls (B+ Rank)] x52!]
[You earned a share of the EXP!]
[You have defeated the [Blood Thrall Wendigo King (A+++ Rank)] x1!]
[You earned 1.425.000 EXP!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[Level Up!]
[You have Gathered [Blood Thrall Wendigo King’s Corpse (A+++ Rank)] x1!]
[You have Gathered [Blood Thrall Wendigo King’s Arms (A++ Rank)] x2!]
[You have Gathered [Blood Thrall Wendigo King’s Bone Tail (A++ Rank)] x1!]
[You have Gathered [Beast King Blood Heart Core (A+++ Rank)] x1!]
[Amazing! All Gathered Items Quality Ranks have increased by one!]
I hit Level 55 after this entire ordeal. Not bad. I don’t think I’ll get to max level even after completing this entire thing, but I’ll probably do it outside whenever we raid that floating castle.
But every Level counts, the more I level up, the stronger I will become, and the more I will be able to fight these powerful enemies.
Especially someone like Blednica, who should be equally as strong as Solomon...
“Let’s go back home, everyone."
After healing everyone and enjoying a small porridge meal, we moved to the surface and went back with everyone else in the village. Nobody had attacked, and it seemed Blednica had indeed decided to just wait until I attacked her first.
Using our spoils of war, I helped every non-combatant absorb at least one Blood Crystal Heart from the Blood Thralls, and the warriors absorbed at least an extra one, some even two more.
Their stats increased and their skills were strengthened; some gained new Skills as well, making all our efforts even more worth it as our warriors became stronger.
And about the Wendigo King’s heart core, I decided to save it, as I could either absorb it because it was a Boss Magic Crystal that even I can absorb or also use it as a precious material after it hit S Rank when I gathered it.
The day ended, and I decided to go to sleep. Resting was even more important for me. Inferna got me a nice, comfortable bed, which I cleansed using my magic, and then I slept without trouble.
When I woke up, I realized more than 24 hours had gone by.
[Remaining Time: 41 Hours.]
“Alright, let’s do this…” I sighed. “The Blood Thralls are gone now; the only thing we can do now is train. Let’s not waste a single second.”
The next day and the morning of the third day were dedicated completely to training everyone as much as I could, teaching them skills, helping them get used to their abilities, and also spending some break time with Inferna and Isaac, the unexpected friends I made in this Realm.
Once the time’s up, I’ll be gone, perhaps forever, so that’s why I’m trying to treasure every second I spend with these friends. Even if our time together is short, I will never forget them.
And together, we’ll face the last challenge.
The red sun rose above the black skies as the black clouds slowly dissipated. The faraway castle glowed bright red as a malefic aura started to emerge from within.
It seems Blednica has not been slacking off either. Whatever she has been doing, she has definitely grown stronger.
“Today’s the day.” I sighed.
In front of me, there were a variety of materials: Blood Thrall Eyes, the Wendigo King’s Bones, Abyssitite and Blood Crystals, Soul Wine, Blood Thrall Pack Leaders Skins and Hearts, and a large, purple-colored mucous liquid.
“It’s not the exact recipe, and I’ve certainly replaced a few materials with “similar” ones," I sighed. “But I don’t have any other options…”
As I placed all the materials inside a large cauldron and started to boil them, I channeled the Alchemy Skill as I pointed my hands into the concoction.
“{Synthesis}!”
FLASH!
[Through the Effects of the [Jester’s Reverse Fortune (S Rank Privilege)] Privilege, your LUK stat has been reversed for the duration of this event!]
[Due to your high amount of LUK, the success chances of this recipe have risen to 100% from the original 6.5%!]
[You have successfully synthesized the…!]
This is…?!
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