#266 The King of Madness (5)
The very bottom of the Auterica dimension.
The dimensional trash heap where the dregs of an entire world gathered and stagnated.
The Abyss.
It was a place that permitted no living being, nor even anything with form and individuality.
A place that could be called chaos itself, where not only time and space but even abstract concepts and phenomena mingled and flowed together.
But there was an exception to every rule.
Even within that dreadful space, there existed a being that had not lost “itself” to the very end, flaunting its presence.
Wriggle.
—The thing buried and sunken deep within the Abyss thrashed about irritably.
At the movement of that being, whose light had not faded even while half-assimilated into the surrounding environment, the nearby currents twisted, and the entire space shook violently.
But such a commotion was no different from an everyday occurrence in the Abyss, and so it could have no effect whatsoever on the outside world.
Just as it always had until now.
After thrashing for a while, the being’s movements gradually subsided.
It had reacted reflexively to something that had not gone its way, but he had existed for far too long to be swayed by every little thing.
Rumble.
—Having come to a complete stop, it quietly sank down once more.
Though the failure of something he had put considerable effort into—and even his impulsive attempt to intervene—had allowed a significant degree of erosion, it was not as if everything had ended with that.
Frustration was a daily occurrence for him anyway.
As there was still much time left, opportunities would continue to come.
What he had to do was seize that moment when it arrived and make use of it at the right time.
And so, it quietly began waiting for its chance once more.
For the day that would come before long.***
The dark red vortex that had covered the northwest of Tarak City slowly dispersed.
To be precise, the flow of madness spread throughout the world remained as it was, but as the force and density of that raging current decreased, its concentration fell to a level that was invisible to the eye, just as usual. ‘Even if it takes a little longer to complete the madness, doing it this way should be safer.’ Otherwise, the monsters bewitched by that flow would throw the continent into chaos all over again.
In truth, the situation was not exactly good even now.
From the revolutionary’s attempted awakening to his elimination, only a little over ten minutes had passed.
Since the situation had been handled relatively quickly, most monsters would have returned to their original places, but there would be no small number of cases where they continued moving out of inertia or where the boundaries of their habitats had already been disrupted.
And that damage would probably be passed on in full to the nearby residents. ‘…Well, it’s fortunate enough that it ended at this level.’
Considering the current level of vigilance in each region, that much disturbance should be containable before things grew more serious.
At this point, it was fair to say he had done the best he could.
“Urghhh— whew, my stomach feels awfully bloated. My body’s stiff too!”
At last, amid the silence after the storm that had swept through the surroundings had completely vanished.
Having returned to his original size, Harley leaned against the giant’s corpse, which was slowly turning to powder and scattering, and stretched his body this way and that as if easing the strain caused by the sudden influx of power.
His eyes were fixed on the system window floating in front of him.《The individual has met the conditions and will grow. Acquired special skill 「Seed of Madness」.》What he had plundered had been notarized by the system and settled in as a skill.
However, perhaps because it was still an incomplete core, it was nowhere near the Immortal King’s level, nor could it be called a particularly special ability.
At most, it allowed him to freely draw in the world’s madness and could itself serve as an enormous source of energy? ‘No, that alone is already incredible enough. And on top of that, Harley’s own rank seems to have risen considerably.’
Even now, in order to properly contain that rank, 「Ultimate Evolved Lifeform」 was continuously growing and evolving his body.
He would only know after testing it himself later, but the maximum size he could reach when becoming a giant had probably grown far larger than before.
Besides, hadn’t he just experienced firsthand how strong Harley could become when backed by abundant energy?
In effect, it was no different from him gaining a gigantic energy tank.
And there was no telling how the ability might evolve once the seed fully germinated later. ‘More importantly… as expected, there’s no authority like the one he mentioned.’
That was a bit of a pity.
He had hoped that, through this opportunity, he might obtain a clue about that mysterious sense Diana and the revolutionary possessed. ‘Does that mean it can’t be stolen this way? Well, it did seem like an authority related to the imprisoned god. It’s a little disappointing, but… now that the revolutionary is dead, there’s no need to worry about it anymore anyway.’
He recalled the intervention of that being Hans had experienced when fighting the revolutionary at the border of the Abyss, then gave a slight shake of his head.
Naturally, releasing a god trapped in the Abyss could not possibly be an easy task.
And since he had smashed that grand operation, which had been prepared over such a long span of time, so thoroughly, perhaps he would not have to face that so-called god again, at least while he remained in this world.
“Saint! Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“Ah, I’m fine. It is all thanks to the Saintess’s support.”
“It’s been a while, Mr. Harley. It was so hectic earlier that I couldn’t even greet you. You fought at the very front—are you all right?”
“Wahaha! Ah, this body of mine is always sturdy itself! Good grief, I just came to see a friend after so long, and I never thought I’d run into a guy like that! Kahaha!”
As they enjoyed the lingering feeling of everything having concluded safely for a short while, those who sensed that the situation was over began gathering one by one.
“Hmmm~ You told me to take the children and fall back, yet in the end, you were the only one who got to have fun, High Lord?”
“Hmm, fortunately, it seems everyone is safe.”
“They’re all True Bloods, after all, aren’t they? Well, there were a few who looked a little off, but after hitting them a few times, they were completely better, you know? Ohoho.”
So that was why a few of them had seemed particularly haggard.
Still, the fact that there had been no particular sacrifices was good news.
Well… the reason they had struggled against him was because of the durability and regenerative ability paired with that overwhelming size. It was not to the point where five transcendent-class powerhouses, including the three avatars, the Saintess, and Briki, would find him too much to handle.
In fact, throughout the battle, they had held the advantage and overwhelmed him from beginning to end.
Dudududu—
Clatter, clatter.
And it was not only the Hero’s party who had fought together with them and Hybrid’s vampires who gathered there.
Behind them, from the direction of Thalia City, a large number of people riding horses and carriages were approaching in a line.
Heinrich, who glanced in that direction, opened his eyes slightly wider and stroked his chin. ‘A master-class knight and an elite knight order… Were they dispatched by the Tulk royal family? And over there… Cardinal Donovan of the Ficaol Great Temple came in person? With paladins and archbishops too?’
They were reinforcements that had rushed over after hearing of the incident occurring here.
Not only the kingdom’s elite troops, who could be considered the owners of this land, but also the powerful figures of the Ficaol Great Temple, which oversaw the western part of the Ion Continent.
Furthermore, Cardinal Donovan, whom he had become acquainted with in the past while taking the trial of the holy sword, was the person in charge of the Great Temple.
He had heard that the man was a former paladin, but he had not expected him to come personally to a place like this. ‘Certainly, if they had arrived early, they would have been useful in one way or another.’
Of course, now that the situation had already ended, it could be called a response that was far too late, but in truth, it was he who had responded quickly by sending an avatar immediately; it was not that their deployment had been slow.
The fact that the battle ended faster than expected thanks to Harley’s performance at the end had also played a part. ‘Well, they’ll still be plenty useful even now.’
And in a way, it was just the right timing.
Rumble—
Boom—!
Because this incident was not yet entirely over.
Neighhh—
Brrr—
Snort!
“Whoa! Whoa! What is it all of a sudden!”
“Huh? Over there, that way!”
“This is, don’t tell me…!”
Those who had nearly reached them and were about to exchange greetings grew tense and seized their reins.
The horses, frightened by something, began to rampage, and the people struggled to calm them down.
At that sudden abnormal situation, the gazes of everyone present turned toward one place.
Rumble—
Crackle—!
There was no need to make any special effort to find the source of that abnormality.
From the very beginning, the visual effect that accompanied the roar as if space itself were being torn apart made it impossible to ignore.
A place somewhat removed even from where the giant had fallen.
The space in midair there was cracked like broken glass.
Dark clouds surged in all at once and covered the sky.
Then black lightning struck down amid thunderous peals.
An eerie wind wrapped around the area, and frost unsuited to the weather settled over the ground.
“Dismount! Form ranks!”
“Paladins to the front!”
“We beseech the Lord God. Bestow Your grace upon Your children…”
At that, the troops who had approached nearby immediately prepared for battle and raised their momentum.
The same was true for those whose hearts had relaxed after fighting the giant.
At the center of the sudden abnormal phenomenon.
In the middle of the space cracked in every direction as if glass had shattered.
Crackle—
Crash—!
It broke apart spectacularly.
And dense black magic began to cover everything in all directions.
Then, from within it, he revealed himself.[Kekeke, it has been a while. Knight of Light, Heinrich Saint Landgard.]
An absolute evil incomparable to the giant lying there now, the true mastermind seeking to bring ruin upon this world.
The fear of the continent, the despair of humanity, the incarnation of death that had crawled up from the Abyss.
“…Immortal King, Hannibal Strauss…!”
The Immortal King had descended upon this place.
With countless undead exuding a sinister aura behind him.***
The founder and leader of the Heaven-Defying Oath, the revolutionary.
He was a mastermind who had hidden in Auterica’s darkness and tried to manipulate this world, a heretic who dreamed of the revival of the evil god imprisoned in the Abyss, and a supermassive giant who had displayed tremendous majesty against numerous powerhouses.
In truth, aside from Hans the Immortal King, who was nothing more than an actor playing a villain, he was an existence that could be called the actual final boss of this world… ‘Well, it’s good if things go smoothly.’
The end such a being met was so empty it was almost absurd.
The giant, who had shown an ominous appearance as if he were about to do something at the very last moment.
But before he could properly display whatever that something was, Harley had smashed his skull to pieces.
Then his Seed of Madness was plundered, and he exited in vain.
And that was the end of it.
In truth, from the perspective of someone who was still continuing to work out the scenario even now, there was no choice but to feel dissatisfied with the way that guy had wrapped things up so carelessly.
If you lay down foreshadowing, you have to pay it off, and if you show something meaningful, you have to present something worthy of it!
That was a serious lack of professionalism. ‘Honestly, these masterminds nowadays have no grit.’
Of course, that was a joke.
But apart from that empty end, he was an extremely attractive piece of material.
Was he not the host of madness, the decisive factor that had turned this world into chaos, and a monster who had stood proudly while fighting many transcendent-class powerhouses, including the Hero?
Naturally, it was too much of a shame to let him exit in such an unsatisfying manner.
So he had prepared this.[Aah— impressive indeed. This one was a gift I prepared with considerable care.]
The final show that would perfect the role of that pitiful giant.
“So it was your doing after all, Immortal King!”[Since I received something, should I not return the favor? What a pity. I thought that thing would be able to wipe out at least one nation.]
Thus, the role assigned to the giant was the secret weapon sent by the Immortal King.
In other words, the mid-boss.[Hero, Knight of Light. I still have not forgotten. The moment in the south when you drove that cursed holy sword into this body’s heart.]
“So, are you saying this is revenge?”[Kuhuhu— of course not. I am merely delighted. Delighted that my adversary can entertain me to such a degree.]
And the scenario of this meeting that continued from there was—[But Hero, do you know? It will soon be a year since that day.]
“…What are you trying to say?”[Aah— nothing much. Merely…]
The beginning that led toward the final act of “Living Room Theater: Demon King and Hero.”[I have grown a little bored of waiting any longer.]
To make the story a little richer.