Chapter 84: The Goal of the Black Cult

I glanced at my Army and the Giant Tribe as they charged toward the enemies, then turned my gaze straight ahead.

Crack!

The Chimera that had been slammed into the wall walked out.

‘It’s gotten even stronger.’

Before, it only had the traits of the Giant Tribe, but now it had been mixed with the characteristics of Demonkind as well.

Its overall stats had risen from SS Rank to SSS Rank.

At least it was a relief that the boost was temporary, and its state seemed unstable.

If I dragged out the fight, there was a chance I could take it on.

The Chimera, which had been staring at me in silence, suddenly turned its gaze and looked toward the Research Lab, where chaos had erupted.

“You idiot! Get over here right now and wipe these guys out!”

The Priest, his face flushed red, gave an order to the Chimera.

With the Priest’s command, the Chimera, which had been dazed, started to move.

Boom!

As it kicked off the ground, an explosion erupted, the floor shaking violently. At the same time, its body shot forward, sprinting rapidly.

“Teleport.”

I crossed space and stood before the Chimera, right in its path. I stretched out my hand, drawing on the Mana from the Dragon Heart.

“Absolute Barrier.”

A translucent shield quickly spread out, blocking the Chimera’s advance.

Thunk!

The Chimera, blocked by the Absolute Barrier, looked at the wall with a blank expression, then clenched its fist and struck.

Boom!

A heavy vibration ran through the barrier.

A punch swung with the full power of an SSS Rank.

In the past, it would have shattered immediately, but after learning the Wind Prison spell, I gained new insight.

Shock Absorption, which was blended into the Wind Prison spell.

I applied that concept to the Absolute Barrier.

Thanks to that, even a small amount of Mana could now block powerful attacks.

Thunk!

Thunk!

The Chimera pounded on the wall with all its might.

But the barrier absorbed the full force and endured.

Of course, it still consumed a fair amount of Mana, but since I’d taken a Potion made by Anne, Queen of Witches, it was enough to buy me some time.

‘It’s clearly inexperienced at controlling its strength.’

Giants are a race born with innate magic resistance and physical prowess.

No matter how great the barrier, if it wielded its full strength properly, it would have shattered the barrier in an instant.

The only reason the barrier hadn’t broken yet was simply because the Chimera couldn’t properly use its power.

Perhaps realizing this, the Chimera stepped back and raised its hand.

Voom!

A black energy gathered in the Chimera’s hand.

The moment I saw it, a chill ran down my spine.

When it was only using Giant traits, I didn’t feel this, but now an intense, oppressive aura began to form in its hand.

“…”

The energy gathered in an instant.

The mass of black energy burst out like a breath attack.

Swooooosh!

The Black Breath melted the Absolute Barrier. The barrier vanished without a trace, and as I watched, the Chimera leaped forward.

The Chimera tried to rush into the Research Lab, where a battle was raging.

I moved my body to block it.

I used Teleport to keep up, channeling Mana into my fist.

“Burning Impact.”

I swung my fist, wrapped in blue flames, right at the Chimera.

Boom!

With a powerful explosion, blue flames engulfed the creature. Unable to withstand the impact, the Chimera staggered back two steps.

“…”

Perhaps due to its Giant traits, the flames didn’t completely burn it away.

Bang!

With a burst of force, the Chimera shook off the flames entirely. It kicked off the ground, heading back into the Research Lab.

The Chimera’s goal was the inside of the Research Lab.

No matter how much I attacked or restrained it, it paid me little heed. It focused solely on the mission it had been given.

‘It’s impossible to restrain it.’

But if I let it inside, it would cause catastrophic damage. I had to find a way to subdue the Chimera without any casualties.

Wind Prison couldn’t be used unless airborne.

Heavenly Destruction Blood Angel Formation would take too long to activate.

At that moment, I heard the Priest’s voice, giving a command to the Chimera.

“Just kill everyone you see!”

The Priest screamed, madness twisting his face.

He was the one I’d seen when I first arrived here—

Tens, the Priest who served the Bishop of Greed.

The moment I laid eyes on him, I moved.

I Teleported behind Tens and grabbed him by the scruff of the neck.

Using body-strengthening magic, I hurled Tens toward the Arena.

Whoosh!

Tens’s body flew through the air, crashing into the Arena and tumbling across the floor.

I Teleported to where he landed and stomped hard on his palm.

“Ghhh… aaaargh!”

Just in case I could appoint him as a Guardian, I tried to do so.

[Already subordinated to another entity.]

The appointment failed, accompanied by this message.

“Kill this bastard first! Riiiiiight now!”

At Tens’s command, the Chimera responded instantly.

The creature, which had been about to enter the Research Lab to exterminate the enemies, spun around and glared at me, then kicked off the ground.

It charged at high speed, swinging its fist.

I dodged with Teleport, got behind it, and cast a spell.

“Dragon Fang Spiral Spear.”

A fierce dragon’s fang shot forward, maw wide, hurtling toward the Chimera.

The Chimera raised its hand and unleashed the Black Breath.

Boom!

A powerful shockwave spread out, shaking the Cave. Stalactites above the Arena fell to the ground.

If the Chimera had any will of its own, it would have tried to protect its master, Tens.

But it saw only me.

It ignored the falling stalactites above its head, rushing at me.

‘With this level of obsession, this might work.’

I used Teleport to move behind Tens. Raising my hand, I cast a sleep spell at him.

Whack!

As Tens passed out, I cast Absolute Barrier around him to keep him alive.

There were plenty of things I needed to hear from him.

【Elder Lopenheim, once the situation inside is resolved, please also subdue the Priest at the Arena.】

Just in case a catastrophe happened, I asked Lopenheim for help.

Then, luring the Chimera that was trying to kill me, I left the Arena.

I used Haste to boost my speed.

Whenever it seemed the Chimera, charging at incredible speed, might catch up, I used Teleport to widen the gap, leading it exactly where I wanted.

‘We’re almost there.’

Far ahead, I could see the Cave entrance.

I headed toward the place where white light was streaming in.

Leaving behind the Gatekeeper Giants pretending to sleep, I used Fly Magic to soar into the sky.

At the same time, I drew on the Mana of the Dragon Heart to prepare my magic.

Voom!

As expected, the Chimera emerged from the Cave and leapt off the ground.

But as if that wasn’t enough, wings sprouted from its back.

Flap!

With a beat of its black wings, it instantly ascended to where I was.

“You’ve worked hard to climb all the way up here.”

Watching the Chimera approach, I began my chant.

“Wind Prison.”

The ultimate spell I couldn’t use on the ground.

A fierce wind howled, green feathers scattering from the wings that had formed on my back, weaving a net that covered the Chimera.

“!!”

The Chimera, focused only on me.

Every time it unleashed a Black Breath to tenaciously target me, I used wind magic to block its attacks.

As time passed, the Wind Prison steadily shrank, and changes began to appear in the Chimera’s body.

Its limbs bulged grotesquely, then shrank, repeating over and over.

Demonic Power erupted out of control.

It showed signs of being unable to fully command its strength.

Unable even to struggle, the Chimera was completely consumed by the Wind Prison.

“Farewell.”

Splurt!

After taking care of the Chimera, I returned to the Research Lab, where the situation was finally being wrapped up.

“Guh!”

The Black Knight of the Black Order, who had resisted to the end, was defeated by an Orc, marking the war’s end.

But the Giant Tribe did not stop.

They vented their anger by mercilessly slaughtering the remaining Black Order survivors. Watching this, I turned to Tens beside me.

“Want to talk nicely, or do you want to end up like them? Choose.”

“I don’t know anything. I only did as I was told.”

He didn’t seem like the type to spill everything just because of torture, so I took out an item from the Dragon Lair.

Torture wasn’t the only way to make this guy talk—there were plenty of options.

I took a small Truth Pill and put it in his mouth.

It was a pill made by Anne, Queen of Witches, using cultivated Confession Grass Powder. Its effects were greatly enhanced—truly exceptional.

“Swallow.”

I used magic to fill his mouth with water. Gasping for breath, Tens was forced to swallow the pill.

And a moment later—

His eyes grew cloudy as the effects of the pill kicked in.

“Why did the Black Order come here?”

“To create a test subject with the traits of the Giant Tribe.”

“Who gave the orders?”

“The Bishop of Greed from the Black Order.”

For now, everything he said matched the facts I knew.

Satisfied that it was working properly, I continued with my questions.

“What were you planning to do by creating a test subject with Giant Tribe traits?”

“We intended to create a Chimera army and build our forces.”

“And what were you going to use them for?”

“To take control of the Sleeping Forest.”

“So you planned to unify the forest?”

“Yes. The Bishop of Greed wanted the test subject to… urgh!”

Tens grabbed his head and began writhing in pain.

I’d seen this happen before.

Last time, with no way to help, I’d had to kill the victim, but now it was different.

I could see the magic working on Tens.

[Through Blessing of Magic (EX), you comprehend the principles and structure of the Soul Contract spell.]

[Your understanding of magic is very high.]

[Your understanding of the attribute is average.]

[Adjusting rank.]

[You have acquired Soul Contract (S).]

Using the structure and principles of the magic at work, I nullified the Soul Contract spell on Tens.

Shhhhh!

Black smoke wafted from Tens’s body, and his tormented expression eased.

“Continue the story from where you left off.”

“The Bishop planned to hand over the Giant’s throne to the test subject and unify all the forests with the Bishop of Greed’s will.”

“Why unify the forest?”

“I don’t know.”

At least, when the forest was unified…

I confirmed that there was something in the forest worth the Bishop of Greed coveting.

“Tell me about the Bishop of Greed.”

“He is immensely greedy. He can’t rest until he has what he wants—he once wiped out an entire noble family just to get an artifact.”

“Then, if the Bishop learns of what happened here, what do you think he’ll do?”

“He’ll lead all his forces and attack this place.”

“Tell me about the scale and characteristics of his Army.”

The information Tens provided was so extensive that it took a moment to process it all.

After absorbing everything, only one conclusion remained.

‘I need to become much stronger.’

The Demonkind summoned by the Bishop and his elite Priests were incomparably powerful.

They were special beings that could not be confronted without Divine Power.

Even the Black Breath used by the test subject was the power of Demonkind.

“How long do you think it will take them to attack?”

“By now, they’ll know the Soul Contract has been broken. They’ll dispatch their forces within a week.”

“A week, huh.”

Long if long, short if short.

There was only one way to get stronger in that time.

‘Sacred Relic.’

If I could obtain just one Sacred Relic with powerful Divine Power, I could decisively defeat the Black Order.

With the Eye of Bluecat, finding it wouldn’t be difficult.

But I’d need a sacrifice to activate its second-stage ability.

“I’d better head outside for a bit.”