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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
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Chapter 71
Likewise, the rest of its body was the same.
From the gaping mouths scattered across its form, blood dripped endlessly, exuding an eerie presence.
“Ugh…”
“Uwaaack!!!”
Even those who had been through countless battles couldn't withstand the horrific sight, vomiting and staggering in place.
“Leon, that thing…”
“Yeah, I know what it is.”
“Damn… A corpse golem… and one made from the remains of dozens, no, hundreds of people…”
The Sword Saint, Osberg Mielephon, spoke in a grim tone, identifying the creature.
Ordinarily, something with that appearance would indeed be called a corpse golem.
But Luna and I weren’t talking about it in that sense.
Corpse golems come in various forms, but one with such a grotesque structure—where body parts seem to move as if they are still alive—is not just an ordinary corpse golem.
No, more precisely, it’s merely a fragment of something much greater.
That is no ordinary corpse golem.
A typical corpse golem is an artificial construct, created through twisted curses or experiments.
But this thing… it’s closer to a living, natural entity that grows by consuming corpses, blood, corrupted souls, and mana.
A twisted sapling of the World Tree.
A lure that the sapling creates to draw in powerful beings as sustenance.
Or perhaps, an executioner meant to ensnare the weak.
However, it lacks self-awareness, meaning it cannot move far from its source.
[Fragment of the Demon Tree detected. Exercise caution.]
As the Librarian warned, it was safe to assume that the cultists had secured a piece of the Demon Tree.
It makes sense—these were the same people trying to unseal a Lich, after all.
What a mess.
We came here to hunt a Kraken, and now we’ve stumbled upon an even bigger nightmare.
“Leon, step back.”
Sensing the ominous nature of the corpse golem, Osberg moved as if to draw his sword. I quickly intervened.
“You must not attack it! Absolutely do not engage!”
He shot me a questioning look.
“What do you mean?”
“That thing isn’t just a corpse golem. It’s a bait. If you touch it, we’re in for a world of trouble.”
“You…”
“Please, trust me.”
After a brief silence, Osberg let out a short breath before issuing a firm command.
“Cease attack! Everyone, stand down!”
He didn’t fully understand, but he trusted me.
The fact that he was willing to order a halt to an attack, despite the enemy being right in front of us, showed just how much faith he had in me.
That weight of responsibility sat heavily on my chest.
“Ugh… Aaaaaah!!!”
But then, a younger mage, overwhelmed by fear and panic at the monstrous sight, reflexively cast a spell.
I tried to react immediately to block the attack, but I hadn’t expected someone to lose their mind and lash out so recklessly.
This is what happens when you don’t have experience fighting in coordinated battles.
It wasn’t even one of Mielephon’s mages but a dispatched outsider—we couldn’t expect too much from them.
The fireball he unleashed struck the creature.
“…Yeah, I knew this would happen.”
“This is bad.”
Given its horrific form, it was understandable that someone would instinctively attack it out of sheer revulsion.
But understanding it and accepting it were two different things.
The moment the fireball struck, a blinding light erupted.
The corpse golem exploded, scattering fragments in all directions, releasing a wave of grayish energy.
I instinctively drew my sword, slashing through the strange mana surging toward me.
But there was too much of it—more than I could cut down in an instant.
And when I came to my senses, I found myself alone.
Standing in what seemed to be an underground cavern.
“Damn it. Just like a deep-sea anglerfish… What a pain in the ass.”
* * *
The bait created by the Demon Tree isn’t focused on combat ability.
Why is it a bait?
What does a bait do?
Literally, a bait is meant to lure in prey and get them to bite the hook.
The purpose of that grotesque form is to induce extreme disgust in any living being that sees it.
And when a creature attacks it out of revulsion, they take the bait.
The moment the bait is disturbed, the prey is caught on the hook.
The light that erupted when it exploded wasn’t just for show—it was meant to drag its targets to a location where they could be easily consumed.
It was a form of spatial magic, but something more—something entirely alien.
No mage could replicate it.
At least, not with necromantic magic.
“I need to move quickly.”
I had managed to cut through some of the key points where the power had gathered before the transfer completed, so not all of us would have been pulled in.
Moreover, the fact that I wasn’t sent directly to the Demon Tree’s core meant my interference had some effect.
But I had no idea how many had been dragged into this.
In an instant, I slipped behind them, and before they even noticed my presence, the heads of four necromancers flew off.
Srrrng...
For the first use of the cursed sword Elekstra, it wasn’t bad.
Unbelievably solid. Incredible sharpness.
It had no special abilities aside from restoration, but even that alone was enough for it to be called a cursed sword.
Satisfied with its excellent cutting power, I turned my attention to the person they had been dragging—the one wrapped in a sack.
And I let out a sigh.
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HELHEIM SCANS
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"You really got yourself into trouble, huh?"
"Mmmph!"
She struggled, making muffled noises through her gag.
Watching Luna, bound at both hands and feet and squirming, I asked her,
"Want me to untie you?"
"Mmmph!"
"Nope."
She kicked at my leg with her bound feet.
"When else will I get a chance to mess with you like this?"
A sense of relief washed over me upon finding her safe.
But she kept trying to say something.
Curious, I pulled the cloth from her mouth, and she immediately fired off her words.
"You idiot! They're trying to apply the Tome of the Lion to the Kraken!"
Her urgent outburst made me pause and recall what exactly the Tome of the Lion was.
"The Tome of the Lion?"
"The Necronomicon."
"And? So what?"
Did she think there was only one kind of Tome of the Lion?
But her next words made my heart drop.
"It’s the Necronomicon that can summon an Ancient God."
"Wow. That’s... not good."
I had seen it before.
A foe I was certain I had defeated had fed themselves to a book bound in human skin—and when it activated...
A gate to hell had opened.
That was something I wanted no part of.
Necromancers using the Tome of the Lion was one thing, but an Ancient God’s Necronomicon was completely different—its method, structure, purpose—everything.
"How do you know about this?"
"I pretended to be unconscious and overheard them talking. This isn’t the time for jokes. If their ritual succeeds, forget slaying the Kraken—a fifth of the continent will be wiped out!"
That sounded about right.
I had fought an Ancient God before, but that was not a monster you could defeat with luck alone.
No matter how much experience I had, no matter how vast my aura, necromantic power, or the Heart of the Machine God—I was not yet at the level to handle that.
"We need to find them."
"I’ve seen that Necronomicon before."
She pulled out something from her subspace storage—Compass of Laplace that she had purchased before.
A cursed artifact that could read the user's memory and use the world's records to point toward the desired object.
"If what they said was true, this will definitely react."
The moment she activated it, a violet light gathered above the compass, forming a magic circle.
The needle spun rapidly before settling in a specific direction.
"As expected. It really is the Necronomicon."
"These bastards have already revived a 7th-circle lich, and now they have something like this? Just who the hell are they?"
"I don’t know. This is beyond what mere cultists should be capable of."
The enormous cave system was like a labyrinth, but with the Compass of Laplace, it didn’t matter.
Of course, the compass wasn’t some GPS that would guide us step by step...
[Heart of the Machine God]
Vrrrrr...
Shhhhh...
The cave walls crumbled silently as I activated my ability.
Meaningless resistance.
After walking for some time, the compass pointed downward.
"Looks like it’s directly below us."
"Then let's go in."
Before it was too late.
I activated the Heart of the Machine God again and reshaped the ground beneath us.
As we slowly tunneled down, voices reached us through the thin ceiling.
"Preparations are complete. We have gathered enough sacrifices."
"Good. Very good."
A man’s voice responded, followed by a hesitant cultist’s voice.
"But... are we certain this is safe? Once the ritual begins, we won’t be able to defend ourselves..."
"No fool would ever find this place. Besides, the traps should have lured them into the territory of the monster tree by now."
"Still, if the Sword Saint were to barge in while we’re defenseless..."
"We’ll use those to buy time. Begin."
I glanced at Luna.
"Weren’t you captured? Why do they think no one’s here?"
"I overheard them saying their communication artifact broke."
Lucky for us.
"Now, let the ritual commence!"
A sinister aura surged beyond the wall.
Unable to resist?
Now that was good news.
I didn’t hesitate.
I deconstructed the thin ceiling that had been supporting us—erasing it completely.
And we dropped straight into the center of the cultists' ritual.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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