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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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Chapter 99
The group, still unaware of my presence, hastily attempted to move away.
Then it happened.
Boom... Boom!!!
A massive rumble shook the earth as something enormous emerged from the mist.
"That’s...!"
"Ugh... What is that?"
"We’re all going to die... We’re all going to die!!"
What emerged from the mist was a colossal stone statue.
Its height easily exceeded 20 meters.
It resembled the kind of stone statues seen in temples.
Its movements were puzzling, given the stone texture, and it trudged along as if it hadn’t noticed any humans.
With such an overwhelming mass, there was no need for anything else.
No creatures like that had ever been discovered on this continent.
But I had encountered this one before.
I had even fought it.
[Identified: Margah’s Colossal Sentinel.]
"Like the time with the Void Glutton... This isn’t related to the Red Moon, right?"
[No signs of the Red Moon phenomenon have been detected. Unlike the Void Glutton, Margah’s Colossal Sentinel is a monster from the past.]
Not that there are many ordinary creatures among these fog monsters anyway...
"So why is that ancient monster rampaging here now?"
[It is speculated that remnants of extinct monsters were trapped within this fog.]
Extinct monsters...
[Given the current circumstances, it’s likely that a past event caused most of these monsters to be trapped here.]
"And then the event subsided and reemerged, revealing those trapped here?"
It would make sense if time had been frozen.
Or if an ecosystem had formed here, it wouldn’t be surprising if some survived.
[This is the most probable theory. Whether intentional or not, this space effectively functions as an ancient ecosystem.]
The Colossal Sentinel halted its steps.
Then it slowly turned its head, taking in the sight of the people.
As its crimson eyes locked onto them, it began moving directly toward them, including the prince.
"Run... RUN!!"
But no human could match the speed of the Colossal Sentinel’s strides.
Within moments, the panicked crowd was overtaken, and they began screaming in terror.
Even the prince wouldn’t have a way to handle this monster...
Without thinking, I pushed off the ground.
The monster’s body was so tough that even an Aura Blade barely made a scratch.
But every monster has a weakness.
I accelerated gradually.
My fighting style focused on counterattacks.
I primarily used reactive sword techniques.
However, relying solely on counterattacks limited proactive combat strategies.
Thus, I had developed an aggressive form of attack as well.
I couldn’t accelerate as quickly as when countering.
Short bursts of speed were normally too taxing on the body to sustain.
The solution was to slightly reduce the maximum output.
By lowering it just enough to minimize the strain, the situation changed.
I accelerated instantly.
While not as fast as my counterattack technique [Single-Horn Flash], it was far quicker than my normal speed.
In a flash, I surged forward, my blade slicing the monster’s Achilles tendon before racing up its leg.
Like ascending a spiral staircase, I cut through its body as I climbed.
Only when I reached its head did it finally stagger, but by then it was too late.
Crack!
I drove my aura-wrapped cursed blade into the monster’s crown, piercing its skull.
A shattering sound echoed as if something had broken.
Thud!!!
The beast fell to its knees as if its body could no longer sustain its massive weight.
Cracks formed along its legs as they split apart.
Its defenses were disabled.
With its legs sealed, all that remained were its arms.
The Colossal Sentinel flailed its massive arms, trying to grab me, but its humanoid form left inevitable blind spots.
I slid down from its clavicle to the back of its neck, slicing through its armpit.
Using a blade tethered with necromantic mana, I wrapped it around the monster’s arm and launched myself back up.
As a result, its left arm went limp.
I had destroyed the cores that sustained its head and arm.
"Groooaaaar..."
The monster’s head swiveled 180 degrees to face me.
It reached for me, hovering in midair, determined not to let me escape.
Its sweeping arm covered a wide area, making evasion nearly impossible.
But I didn’t stop there.
[Sky Step]
[Breaking the Void]
Crack!
A sound like shattering air rang out as I propelled myself off the empty space, zigzagging like lightning to avoid all its attacks.
Seizing the opening created, I thrust my sword into its throat and twisted, slicing it horizontally.
Crunch!!!
Though its stone skin should have been tough enough to withstand an Aura Blade, its body now cut like softened clay.
Disabling its defenses and limbs...
The monster’s stone eyes fixated on me, defenseless.
Though they had no pupils and didn’t move, they conveyed the sense that the monster was staring at me before falling silent.
Tap!
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
Join our Discord for release updates!
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I landed softly on the ground, noticing the many stunned gazes directed at me.
"You are...?"
"Are you injured, Prince Dorn Lu Pascalia?"
His identity was clear without needing further confirmation.
He was none other than Prince Dorn, Melissa's friend Lilia’s betrothed.
At my question, his eyes widened.
"You… you know me?"
"There’s no other prince in this city, is there? I am Leon Cascadia."
I needed to find Luna and Melissa, but since he was Melissa's friend’s future husband, saving him wasn’t a problem.
Besides, he might have some information on Melissa’s whereabouts.
"Leon… Cascadia… Ah! You must be the brother of Count Cascadia."
"Yes."
"Ah, what the Count said was true, then."
He offered me his hand for a handshake with a gentle smile.
His touch was endlessly warm and soft.
He looked older than me, but not aged in any way.
Handsome with a kind demeanor.
From what Melissa told me, even though it was a political marriage, Lilia Berner loved him.
With a face like this that could sway hearts, it made sense.
Not to mention, he had good manners and seemed to have a decent personality.
This must be what people refer to as an "alpha male" type.
"Have you met Melissa by any chance?"
"Ah… unfortunately, I haven’t seen Count Cascadia since this fog appeared."
He looked down with a bitter expression.
"Sorry I don’t have better news."
"No need to apologize. It looks like you’re injured."
"Haha. It’s a wound of honor. Thanks to it, I was able to protect them."
He answered as if it was enough for him.
The people he saved were just five.
But in this situation, saving even those five was worthy of praise.
"Do you know anything about what’s happening here?"
"Sorry. I don’t know much. This phenomenon itself is beyond comprehension."
"I see."
"However, before all this, there were signs through my private information network that cultists and members of the Moon Watchers infiltrated the city."
The Moon Watchers.
An unexpected name that made me narrow my eyes.
"The rogue group, Moon Watchers?"
"Yes. They’re notorious for being a band of murderers."
"Why would they…?"
Could they have caused this phenomenon artificially?
Even with rituals, creating something of this scale would require at least a 7th-circle mage.
"I don’t know the exact details either. But based on past occurrences, I suspect they’re involved this time."
Ah, the cultists again.
Cultists always awakened powerful forces like liches and krakens just to use them for their own means.
However, the Moon Watchers and cultists were supposed to be at odds.
Why would they suddenly join forces?
"I understand the cultists’ involvement, but the Moon Watchers…?"
"The Moon Watchers is a bizarre group with unknown motives. They don’t take assassination contracts like normal guilds, and even the Empire’s Intelligence Bureau has no solid information on them."
Most assassination guilds kill for money, but the Moon Watchers doesn’t even accept contracts—a mysterious group indeed.
"For now, go somewhere safe."
He smiled bitterly, understanding my words.
"Sorry. I’d only hold you back. I plan to continue searching for and guiding as many residents as possible to safe zones."
"Safe zones?"
"There are areas within the fog that monsters can’t enter. I’m currently leading survivors to those zones."
"Why don’t you just go and hide?"
"I can’t. They are citizens of the Empire. As a prince, I have a duty to protect them."
His firm words made me lower my gaze slightly to the blood-stained sword he held.
While not without skill, he couldn’t handle something like the rock beast that appeared earlier.
Unless he was a swordmaster…
"You could die. You understand what it would mean for a prince of the Empire to die, don’t you?"
Surely, he wasn’t foolish enough to be unaware of that.
"Haha. I’m just a minor prince, after all. At the very least, I must be someone Lady Lilia, my future wife, wouldn’t be ashamed of."
A husband, huh…
"Do you love her?"
I found myself curious.
Loving a partner was still unfamiliar to me.
"Love… I’m still clumsy with it, but perhaps so."
His soft smile left me feeling strangely unsettled.
I then reanimated the insect corpses around us as undead.
"I hope they’ll be of help."
"Necromancy… It’s fascinating how they’re different from regular undead. Thank you."
I didn’t plan on sticking with him from the start.
If he was rescuing survivors, I could move to destroy the enemies.
It was more efficient that way.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Night]
[Proofreader - Gun]
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