Chapter 122 - Episode 18. God Without a Vicegerent (4)
Chapter 122: Episode 18. God Without a Vicegerent (4)
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Jihan, second battalion commander of Alliance ‘Mogi’ and Vicegerent of the God of Whirlwinds ‘Highcircle,’ frowned as he examined the traces left in the sky.
“So there really was a bastard who broke through the ceiling and climbed up.”
A faint crack still lingered between the intermittent sparks. It was unmistakably the trace of that Stab.
“I told you, didn’t I? That bastard would try again. Did you watch the video I uploaded?”
“I did.”
Beris grinned as he switched on the video cam.
Metaverse Version 3.12. Beneath the sky of the old version stretched the desolate stage of the Sixth Floor. Dolls stood scattered here and there, and a tiny village sat alone at the edge of the ruins.
Today’s target was probably there.
[LIVE] Metaverse 3.12VER. Came to throw down with the rumored ‘Naked Stab’!
#500-Year_Revolution #King_of_Crows #Andersen #NakedStab #Naked #Stab #gacha_draw #DemonKingofSalvationSkin
Broadcast begins in 10 minutes.
The gods began connecting as soon as he entered the title.
[A large number of gods are participating in the live broadcast.]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ has entered the broadcast.]
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ has entered the broadcast.]
[The God of Gambling ‘Baccarat’ asks if you are not doing gacha draws today.]
“Welcome, gods. Haha, this isn’t a gacha draw broadcast today. If you came in after seeing the title, you already know, but today’s content is...”
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ sneers, asking if this is just more content where you bully weaklings anyway.]
“Weaklings? Come on. Our opponent is that very ‘Naked Stab.’ And do you think that bastard is alone?”
Beris launched into the story as if waiting for the opening.
“Gods, you’ve heard of Andersen, right? The calamity from five hundred years ago. The legendary god who sent three of the Metaverse Six Gods, said to be the strongest in the Metaverse, straight to their deaths. And Naked Stab is that god’s Vicegerent. But that’s not all!”
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ asks what else there is.]
[Some gods are confused.]
“There’s a rumor that one of the current Metaverse Six Gods, the ‘King of Crows,’ has joined hands with them. So what, you still don’t get the situation? This vicious terrorist group is plotting to overturn our Metaverse all over again.”
Of course, unlike Beris’s grandiose speech, the Alliance did not view the situation as quite that serious.
The results from the World Force Observatory had confirmed that Andersen had fallen to low-grade, and while Naked Stab was irritating, that bastard was still only a Vicegerent visiting the Metaverse for the first time.
The only enemy worth truly watching was the King of Crows, but the truth was that the last confirmed Combat Power for that current Metaverse Six God had been recorded five hundred years ago.
A god that had been isolated for five hundred years.
There was almost no chance that a god that did not even gather Followers had truly maintained the Combat Power of its prime.
Even so, there was a reason Beris was kicking up such a fuss and inflating the matter like this.
“The Alliance isn’t the sort to just sit back and watch this mess. Shining Spear ‘Galateon,’ the head of Alliance ‘Mogi,’ foresaw this situation in advance and rushed troops to the area where the King of Crows is. In other words, the revolution from five hundred years ago is going to be reenacted today.”
Because it made money.
[Alliance ‘Mogi’ has awarded you 500,000 trust.]
If major content like this went well, the Alliance could make enormous profits through the new passengers flowing in through 《Little Brother》.
In other words, this battle, which looked on the surface like a small-scale reenactment of the Great Revolution, was really nothing more than a sort of large goblin-frying event from the Alliance’s perspective.
Beris had simply been lucky enough to get the broadcasting role on site.
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ asks if you were the ones who threw the first punch, judging from the broadcast.]
“No, gods. You know that too, don’t you? They were the ones who killed our Harvester first. We came here for justified revenge.”
[The God of Flames ‘Ignis’ laughs at the idea of justified revenge.]
[The God of Flash ‘Rayray’ shakes their head, saying the Alliance is up to something pathetic again.]
[‘Anonymous God58’ says they heard on ReneTV that this Naked Stab is a beginner.]
“A beginner, my ass...”
[‘Anonymous God48’ says the Alliance is picking on a beginner again.]
With public opinion clearly turning sour, Beris smacked his lips and briefly shut off the broadcast feed.
“Hm, the transmission quality’s pretty bad. I’ll turn the screen back on later, gods.”
The gods raised a great clamor, but Beris was not especially worried.
Even the gods who babbled about goblins having rights would be too busy watching goblins get fried once the broadcast started.
That was what gods were like, and 〈Metaverse〉 was a place that existed for the amusement of beings like them.
Naked Stab and the remnants from five hundred years ago would die here today and be recorded as just another piece of content.
One by one, Mogi’s advance force began to arrive nearby.
From Vicegerents of low-grade gods to Followers of high-grade gods, all of them were members of the Alliance.
Beris asked Jihan, who was still observing the crack in the sky,
“Has the Shining Spear still not arrived?”
“The Shining Spear will be joining with the later arrivals. There is a meeting with the other Six Gods.”
“Oho. Even a meeting? I guess the name Andersen really does carry weight.”
Jihan silently nodded.
Andersen, the Naked God.
A being that had been the calamity of 500 years ago in 〈Metaverse〉.
Three of the Metaverse Six Gods, who had been called the strongest at the time, were killed at Andersen’s hand, and the Door to the Tenth Floor guarded by the Alliance had nearly been breached.
Jihan remembered those days as well.
“If Andersen had returned at the height of her power, even all of Mogi wouldn’t be enough.”
“What? That strong?”
“Of course, that was five hundred years ago. There’s no need to worry now. Andersen is only on the level of a low-grade god.”
“And even so, you came with the advance force yourself, despite being Mogi’s second-in-command.”
“Because the King of Crows is in this world.”
The King of Crows.
One of the current Metaverse Six Gods and a legend from five hundred years ago.
Beris smirked as if he understood.
“You mean that god you have deep ties with.”
“......”
“Ah, I didn’t mean it badly. When it comes to that ‘incident,’ everyone envies you.”
Jihan’s presence remained cold, so Beris rubbed his hands together and casually changed the topic.
“By the way, is it really fine for just us to come down like this? The Shining Spear definitely told us to wait.”
“We can handle it ourselves.”
“But didn’t we already announce the date? We said we’d come in five days, and if we show up already...”
“We have justification.”
Jihan’s chilly eyes turned toward the cracked sky. What the Alliance had sent to this world was, strictly speaking, a clearance order.
“We told them to vacate this world. We never told them to destroy it.”
Excitement flushed Beris’s face.
If this went well, today could produce truly major content.
That was when something suddenly flashed through the air.
“Kuaaak!”
It was a scream like a goblin being fried in oil.
When Beris turned, one of the Alliance members who had been standing nearby only moments ago was plunging down to the ground below.
“What?”
Pshussh.
A sharp flash came flying from far away.
At first Beris thought it was an arrow, but it was not. It was World Force honed impossibly thin and sharp.
“It’s him!”
It was a Stab.
In an instant, five or six Vicegerents were struck by the Stab and sent plummeting.
“Naked Stab!”
The place where the village had stood vanished in its entirety, as if someone had stuffed the whole village into a pocket and stolen it away.
When Beris heightened his eyesight, three figures could be seen rapidly pulling away above the place where the village had disappeared.
It seemed the other side had noticed them as well.
Jihan spoke.
“We’re going after them. The later arrivals will be here within ten minutes.”
“Wait. Are we really fine on our own? If even the King of Crows is with them...”
“We prepared for that.”
Jihan pulled a small cube-like object from inside his clothes.
“Today will be the crow’s last day.”
* * *
“We’ve been spotted. They’re coming.”
Ethan spoke after checking the enemy’s movements from afar through the crows.
“What an absurd bastard. To think that bastard actually planned to carry out a strategy like this.”
“What about the villagers?”
“I put them in my ‘Worldview.’”
Ethan patted their pocket.
From the look of it, Ethan had folded the entire village up and tucked it away somewhere.
Jaehwan nodded.
That eliminated the risk of the Dolls being taken hostage. Which meant only one thing remained.
“We run straight to the volcano.”
Their plan was simple.
Jaehwan’s Task was to destroy this ‘world.’
And to destroy this world, they had no choice but to make the distant volcano erupt.
Those bastards gliding down through the air were all Sacrifices for that volcanic eruption.
“Pick up the pace! Everyone on that side is armed with Skins, so they’re insanely fast!”
At Andersen’s signal, Jaehwan turned back and unleashed a rapid barrage of Stabs. Several Alliance members struck by the Stabs were blown away with screams.
Ethan warned,
“Don’t take too many out. We won’t have enough to drop into the volcano.”
Their goal was, in the end, to use the enemies’ World Force to make the volcano erupt. They needed to lure as many enemies as possible toward the volcano.
“I don’t think we need to worry. There are swarms of them coming. Damn it.”
Doors were opening continuously in the distant sky.
It seemed the Alliance was serious.
“That’s way too many for people who supposedly came just to catch me.”
For now, the main force was still made up of small fry, but with a unit that size mobilized, there was more than enough chance that the Alliance’s highest-ranking divinities would descend as well.
“Be careful, Ethan. This won’t be easy.”
Ethan was about to answer without thinking, then glanced at Andersen for a moment.
“You too.”
Jaehwan stared quietly at Ethan, who had muttered the words under their breath.
Ethan frowned.
“What are you staring at?”
Jaehwan did not answer and kept repeating Stab. The number of enemies covering the sky was rising rapidly.
Before long, the distance between them and the enemy had closed to almost nothing.
Knocking aside the arrows that came flying over now and then, Ethan shouted,
“That way!”
Ethan wrapped Andersen’s crow Doll in their arms, and Jaehwan hoisted Runald onto Jaehwan’s back.
The two started their dash up the volcano at the same time. When they raced all the way to the summit at tremendous speed, they saw a crater with dried volcanic ash crusted over it.
Its scale was immense even at a glance.
If a volcano this large erupted, wiping out this world certainly did not seem impossible.
Ethan poured their World Force into the surface of the crater. At once, the mouth of the crater cracked open, and the heat of churning lava began rising faintly.
Ethan said,
“We’re starting.”
The enemies at close range began diving down through the air.
“That’s Naked Stab!”
The Alliance members who spotted Jaehwan all activated their Settings at once and launched their attacks.
「Avenger’s Strike」
「Penitent’s Crescent Slash」
「Soul-Summoning Third Sword」
All manner of Settings poured toward Jaehwan at once.
Of course, Jaehwan’s counterattack was only one thing.
Stab.
Under the hail of Stabs that shredded the air, the Alliance’s Vicegerents screamed as they fell into the crater. The fallen Vicegerents quickly melted into the lava and exploded along with their World Force.
Kugugugugu.
“It’s working.”
Then Ethan spread both hands wide.
Pitch-black World Force flowed from Ethan’s hands, then changed into a flock of crows. The crows, scattering on the wind like volcanic ash, formed ranks and flew into the sky all at once.
Control-type Setting, 「Crow Bomb」.
“Kkeuaaaak!”
The Vicegerents struck hard by the explosions of the crows clinging to them fell helplessly into the crater.
Kugugugugu.
The volcano moved once more.
This was going smoothly. At this rate, it would take no time at all to make the volcano erupt.
That was when powerful World Force was felt from the sky.
A Crimson Flame Blade came slashing in with ferocious force.
Jaehwan avoided the incoming blade and stabbed forward with his sword.
「World Stab」
The moment the sword shot forward, Jaehwan knew. This enemy would not go down in one strike.
Jaehwan did not hesitate.
Two in succession, then three, then four.
With a thunderous roar, an air-ripping shriek rang out as half the sky tore apart.
The figure that emerged from the storm was
“M-Mad, you crazy bastard, my Skin!”
It was ‘Crimson Flame Blade Beris.’
Beris, who had equipped the brand-new Skin ‘Pro Gamer Yu Junghyeok,’ tore off the Skin now reduced to rags and equipped a new one.
“A free-to-play bastard like you... I’ll kill you!”
Crimson Flame Blade Beris.
Currently ranked sixteenth in 〈Metaverse〉, and the God of Gacha.
“Skin On.”
With gaudy brilliance, the Legendary Skin Beris had most recently drawn clung to Beris’s body.
“That’s...!”
Runald cried out with his mouth hanging open.
Beris laughed.
“So the brat recognizes this.”
There was no way Runald would fail to recognize it. Because it was the Skin Runald had wanted most of all.
〈Star Stream〉 Collaboration.
Legendary Skin, 「Demon King of Salvation Kim Dokja」.
Runald, eyes brimming with tears, looked up at Jaehwan and said,
“That Skin has been sullied now.”
Beris roared in fury and exploded with World Force as Beris activated Beris’s Setting.
Enhancement-type Setting, 「Crimson Flame Blade」
Almost at the same time, Jaehwan shot into the air and stabbed forward with his sword.
「World Stab」, five consecutive strikes.
It was the moment the god with more Skins than anyone else in this 〈Metaverse〉 clashed with the god whose only Skin was nakedness.
Footnotes:
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