85. Abyssal Legion Commander
The Devotees of the Fallen Souls.
It was the true name of the Dark Merchant Company, an organization that more closely resembled a religious group than an actual Merchant Company.
They were fanatics who worshipped the Monarch of the Abyss residing beyond the Negative Dimension as their god, believing that true order would arrive when he ruled this world.
Therefore, the Devotees of the Fallen Souls had one overriding objective.
To manifest the Monarch of the Abyss, who resided within the Negative Dimension, upon this continent.
To achieve that goal, they did and sacrificed everything within their power.
In return, the Monarch of the Abyss lent them his power and even connected them to his closest confidants.
The Chosen Worshippers.
The Coalition Forces referred to those Chosen Worshippers as “Abyssal Legion Commanders”.
In that sense, Avarus was not an Abyssal Legion Commander.
Avarus had merely been bestowed with a “True Name”. He had not been chosen by an Abyssal Entity.
The Elixir of Infinity created by Avarus—
Even that had originally been intended for Seraphia, not Avarus himself.
Avarus had not received power from the Monarch of the Abyss or any other Abyssal Entity.
Therefore, calling Avarus an Abyssal Legion Commander would have been something of a stretch.
Iratum, however, was different.
Iratum was one of the Chosen Worshippers, an individual who had formed a “Pact” with an Abyssal Entity and received power directly from it.
However, as the translucent message had confirmed, Iratum was dead.
Therefore, the true identity of the being concealed within that dark crimson mist was—
From beyond the deepest reaches of the Negative Dimension—
The entity that had formed a Pact with Iratum and lent him its power, as well as the Abyssal Entity who served closest to the Monarch of the Abyss.
And now, it emerged from within the dark crimson mist.
Using Iratum as its vessel and forcing its way through a crack in reality to manifest itself.
That entity was—
The true Abyssal Legion Commander, Craulgarr.
Rooooooooooooooooooooar—!!
A tremendous roar erupted from within the dark crimson mist and shook the entire sky above Violess.
“Urgh...!”
An eardrum-shattering reverberation enveloped the entire world.
Fear surged instinctively from deep within my chest. The storm-like roar pierced directly into my consciousness.
Just as my mind was becoming dyed crimson—
◆Player’s Will [EX] resists Incarnated Anger!
A translucent message appeared before my eyes.
My mind instantly cleared. Then another message appeared before me.
◆One Born from Anger [?] : The user can absorb, generate, control, or manipulate the anger and mental-abnormality energy of themselves, other people, or their surroundings. Through this energy, the user can amplify or suppress the intensity of anger while generating and strengthening new anger energy.
The user possesses the ability to transform absorbed and generated anger energy into a physical form and convert it into power.
Craulgarr’s ability, One Born from Anger [?].
Craulgarr was an entity born from the negative emotion known as anger, the progenitor of anger, and an Abyssal Entity who ruled over anger energy.
Iratum had merely been a vessel who borrowed power from Craulgarr.
In other words—
Craulgarr existed on an entirely different level from Iratum.
KABOOOOOM!!!
When Craulgarr slammed his enormous mace-like arm into the ground, an earthquake erupted and shook the earth to its foundations.
The destructive power he gained by absorbing Violess’s anger energy was overwhelming.
There was a reason all the heroes of the Coalition Forces and the commanders of every Battalion had been required to work together just to subdue him.
That was why I had attempted to eliminate Iratum quickly.
I had deceived Iratum completely, lowered his guard, and waited for one perfect opportunity.
As a result, I had managed to obliterate Iratum with Dragon Rage Explosion [E], but—
Rooooooooooooooooar—!!
I took a container of oil from my inventory and poured it down my throat.
Continuing to accumulate calories, I carefully observed Craulgarr.
‘He’s unstable.’
Craulgarr’s condition was far from perfect.
‘He’s also weaker than I expected.’
His destructive power shook the earth to its foundations.
It was tremendous, but it did not compare to what he had displayed in my previous life.
‘He’s also much smaller.’
Craulgarr had not been this small either.
Of course, he was not exactly small now.
However, the Craulgarr who had overwhelmed the heroes stood close to one hundred meters tall—more than twice his current size.
That meant—
‘His Manifestation is incomplete.’
The Iratum from my previous life had existed approximately fifteen years after the present day.
He had been capable of manifesting Craulgarr completely, but he could not do so now.
Most importantly, the vessel named Iratum had suffered devastating damage from Dragon Rage Explosion [E].
Craulgarr had merely forced his Manifestation through the dead body of the person bound to him.
That much was evident from how Craulgarr’s body was continuously collapsing with every passing moment.
In other words, the operation had succeeded.
‘We have a chance.’
This was certainly worth attempting.
‘I need to buy time.’
However, confronting him head-on was impossible.
As for Isolde—
“Hah...!”
Isolde’s body staggered violently.
She had used Divine Ascension repeatedly.
Combined with her fierce battle against Iratum, it had left her in an extremely poor condition.
“Are you all right?”
“I-I’m fine...!”
Isolde swallowed her words and bit down hard on her lower lip. A line of crimson blood flowed from beneath her ogre mask.
Even though her body was composed almost entirely of Holy Power, she could no longer heal her injuries.
In other words, Isolde had reached her limit.
She could not continue fighting.
Expecting anything more from Isolde would be pure greed. She had fulfilled her role far beyond my expectations.
Therefore, from now on—
“This time, I’ll draw his attention.”
It was my turn.
* * *
The moment that colossal roar engulfed the sky above Violess, Isolde felt as though thunder had exploded inside her mind.
Her destabilized consciousness became hazy in an instant.
She squeezed out her Holy Power and erected a Mental Barrier, but it was useless.
Her body, overloaded from repeatedly using Divine Ascension, refused to obey her.
“Hah...!”
The lingering resonance of the roar made Isolde’s body tremble, and she felt as though something enormous were crushing her.
Even breathing had become difficult.
Her legs could no longer support her body.
The roar’s echoes reverberated endlessly within her ears, destroying her mind.
Precisely then—
“This time, I’ll draw his attention.”
Adrian’s calm voice echoed through the air.
She could not sense any particular emotion within it.
Nevertheless, Isolde felt her reason and emotions, which had been wandering through an oppressive nightmare, gradually stabilize.
She slowly raised her head—
“Lady Isolde, get as far away from Violess as possible.”
After saying that, Adrian leaped as though taking flight.
KABOOM!
With his transcendent leg strength, he effortlessly jumped more than ten meters and began moving freely between the buildings that had not yet collapsed.
Although he lacked wings, his movements were practically indistinguishable from flight as long as there was somewhere for him to plant his feet.
However—
The colossal monster possessed rock-hard skin covered in glowing dark crimson patterns.
The patterns emitted a faint radiance as though they were living creatures, shining more intensely as his anger grew.
His glowing eyes burned like flames, and an emotion beyond anger—murderous intent—was engraved within them.
Murderous intent...?
No, that was not murderous intent.
It was malice—an emotion that made every fine hair across her body stand on end.
That dizzying malice violently shook Isolde’s mind.
Something beyond the abyss whispered to her incessantly.
And yet—
Adrian exposed his merciless instincts and leaped toward the monster. He charged up the monster’s leg, sharpened his nails, and tore at its rocklike skin.
‘How...?’
How could he endure that presence and continue fighting?
Merely sensing the lingering traces of its malice filled her with paralyzing terror.
Adrian continued attacking.
Each time his nails scraped across the monster’s skin, they carved a tiny crack into it.
However, there was an overwhelming disparity created by the difference in their weight classes.
That was a factor that could never be overcome.
Rumble-rumble-rumble...!
The earth collapsed when the monster moved—
KABOOOOOM!!
When the monster swung its fist, the air tore apart with an explosion. The impact split the ground and scattered soil everywhere—
“Cough!”
The resulting shock wave sent Adrian’s body bouncing across the ground several times like a stone skipping over water.
However, Adrian rose again.
Once more, he leaped with transcendent leg strength and swiftly slipped between the monster’s legs as though attempting to confuse its vision.
This time, he did not sharpen his nails.
Instead, he clenched his fist and struck the monster’s leg.
Booooom!!
The monster’s body staggered momentarily.
Rooooooooooooooooar—!!
Another tremendous shock wave swept across the entirety of Violess.
The monster’s red eyes blazed with anger as it stared at Adrian. A hand larger than a building swung toward Adrian once again.
KABOOOOOOOOOM!!!
The dust and debris thrown upward covered Violess’ sky.
The cracks in the earth grew even wider, and thunderous noise mixed with explosions echoed between heaven and earth.
“Leave this to me and get out of here immediately!!”
Adrian shouted urgently.
Isolde clenched her armored gauntlet before gradually relaxing her grip.
Her body was overloaded from repeatedly using Divine Ascension.
Objectively speaking, she could no longer fight.
If she joined the battle under the pretext of helping him, she would only hinder Adrian.
Leaving this place was the best way for her to help him now.
Even so, Isolde could not bring herself to leave.
“U-Ugh...!”
“Uaaagh...!”
The vagrants of the Ruins District.
These were the people whom Iratum had captured and who had been unable to evacuate.
Had the shock wave crushed them?
Or had their mental strength failed to withstand it?
Their eyes had rolled back as their bodies trembled uncontrollably.
What would happen if Isolde left now?
A momentary silence.
It was precisely then—
Kiiiiiiiiing—!
A strange sound suddenly erupted from the patterns carved into the monster’s skin.
The patterns radiated a burning red light as though they were living creatures. That radiance instantly destroyed the boundary between day and night.
“They won’t survive this!! Get out of here immediately!!”
Adrian shouted urgently.
His warning made it clear that she should not even dream of trying to withstand it using Holy Power.
Isolde did not know what the attack was or why Adrian was reacting that way.
However, she understood that these people would certainly die.
The surrounding scenery gradually transformed into ruins.
....Could she do it?
Isolde tightly clenched her armored gauntlets.
….She had to.
Without hesitation, Isolde charged forward.
She crossed her arms and expanded her Holy Power—
Whoosh!
A Sacred Veil spread outward from her crossed arms, enveloping both Isolde and the surrounding people.
Divine Martial Fist, Celestia Style - Celestial Guardian.
Craaaack—!!
Formless energy struck the Sacred Veil.
Isolde understood immediately.
....She could not withstand it.
Rampaging anger dyed the night sky red—
Rooooooooooooooooooooar—!!!
The hope surrounding the heavens was gradually devoured. There was no end to that savage anger. It contained nothing but horrifying malice.
Driving away that endless evil was impossible.
“You never listened to a damn word I said, either then or now!!”
Even so, this was a battle someone had to endure.
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