## Chapter 224 – 224. The Abyss (4)
#224. The Abyss (4)
Basically, magic circles are designed not to affect the caster. It’s a kind of safety device.
But the safety device on a forced 5th circle spell couldn’t possibly work properly.
“Kugh…?!”
Even through the barrier, I could feel the heat as if my skin was roasting. Moreover, cracks were forming everywhere.
I frowned, but focused on what was beyond the flames. There, fire and lightning were mixed together, generating tremendous heat.
It was truly a storm of lightning and fire.
The two elements with good synergy were boosting each other’s power.
Clearly, that thing’s scales had such strong magic resistance that spells below the 3rd circle wouldn’t even work.
But just like a crab becomes a dish when it goes into a steamer, no matter how hard those scales were, in a storm where ultra-high temperature heat was raging, they were nothing more than a shell keeping the flesh inside moist.
Of course, I wouldn’t be able to use magic for a while because my mana circuits had overheated from spamming two 5th circle spells, but logically, there was no way it could be alive in that situation.
Only then could I relax and let go of the tension.
But at that moment, the screen floating in the corner of my vision caught my eye.
「Intruder of the Abyss
You are an intruder who has set foot in the prison.
Survive against the Incarnation of the First Tempter.
Failure results in death.」
‘…Why isn’t it disappearing?’
The goal of the penalty mission was for me to survive that snake.
Now that I’ve dealt with the snake that was the source of the problem, the mission should be over. But the message window didn’t respond.
Chills-
Suddenly, the worst assumption flashed through my mind, and anxiety washed over me.
But maybe because I had used 5th circle magic in quick succession, my body just wouldn’t move.
And the price for that was terrible.
Kwaang!
The thing’s tail, swung like a whip, shattered the barrier and struck my abdomen.
“Keuhuk?!”
The impact sent me flying backwards, and I collided with an opaque membrane. It felt like my back was about to explode.
Pain that felt like my mind was about to break rushed in. But if I fainted now, I would really die.
Thought Acceleration didn’t activate. It was because my mental power was exhausted from using 5th circle magic in succession.
I had no choice but to forcibly draw up mana and cling to consciousness.
“Cough.”
Dark red blood gushed from my mouth.
It was the price for trying to use mana when my mana circuits weren’t normal.
The price for taking a hit in an unguarded state was terrible. I could feel broken ribs piercing my lungs, and blood flowing from ruptured internal organs.
The extent of the injuries was so severe that even Rosario’s divine power was not enough. I hurriedly took holy water from my inventory and poured it into my mouth.
No matter how good holy water was, it was difficult to expect a quick recovery in the case of fractures. Instead, the pain was lessened. The bleeding in my abdominal cavity also stopped.
Drip, drip.
Carefully loosening my body, I got up from my seat.
“…Was I being too naive?”
The thing that emerged after the storm cleared looked relatively unscathed. Other than being scorched overall, it didn’t seem to have any major injuries.
I never thought it would be able to block 5th circle magic.
Moreover, it seemed to have resistance to heat as well.
「The First Tempter smirks bitterly.」
「”Khehehe, I can see it. The fear and anxiety you harbor.”」
An unpleasant laughter echoed in my head.
I put Gileniun into my inventory.
「The First Tempter wears a gentle smile.」
「”Yes, you’ve thought well. If you quietly let me devour you even now, I will grant you the honor of being with me.”」
I responded to the words that weren’t even worth answering with my middle finger.
「The First Tempter is furious.」
Whether it was a gesture that was understood even in different worlds, the thing lunged at me with its mouth wide open.
Kooong!
Stepping on the footwork, I avoided the attack and took out another bottle of holy water from my inventory.
It boasts an absurd level of hardness.
Swinging a sword against something like that would only damage the blade. Unless I could use Kanggi.
I threw the empty bottle away and took a stance.
‘It’s my first time using it in a real fight.’
Golden Ki rose above my fist. It was Fist Ki.
Since ancient times, there’s nothing like a fist for catching beasts.
I slowly beckoned my fingers, showing the palm of my hand towards the snake head that was glaring at me as if it would kill me.
“Are you just going to keep staring forever?”
The thing, half out of its mind, rushed at me with tremendous force.
Kwaang!
The entire underground shook from the tremendous impact. Of course, I wasn’t hit directly.
The Unparalleled Step, which recently reached 4 stars, is a footwork focused on approach and evasion. It’s only fast, but I could avoid an attack that only flies in a straight line with my eyes closed.
Of course, the thing didn’t just charge straight at me.
It whipped its tail like a whip or spat out purple globs of goo during the attack, forcing my movements.
My whole body was screaming in pain from excessive physical enhancement. But if I didn’t do this, hunting the snake would be impossible.
Avoiding the pouring attacks amidst the scattering dust and rubble, I approached the thing.
「The First Tempter shouts.」
「You insignificant human!! Die!! I said die!!」
The thing screamed in a fit of rage.
At this point, I doubted if that was really the Serpent of Eden.
Clearly, in Genesis, the serpent was a beast of sin that cunningly used its sly tongue to tempt Eve. It was more skilled at plotting than using force.
But what was in front of me now was like a mental patient who couldn’t control his anger.
At that moment, a plausible hypothesis came to mind.
In Genesis, the serpent is said to have had legs and even flew with wings.
But it is said that it lost its legs and wings due to God’s curse, and was forced to crawl for the rest of its life.
Although it’s a bit big, the thing’s appearance now is unmistakably that of a snake.
The fact that it seems to have low intelligence was also likely due to the curse.
That meant that now was the chance.
「The First Tempter thrashes.」
「”How long are you going to just run away like a rat!!”」
Koong, Kooong!! Kwaaaang!!
Perhaps it was because it was furious that it was avoiding the attacks by a hair’s breadth every time, the thing thrashed around, shaking its body.
As a result, the ceiling shook precariously as if it would collapse at any moment.
‘Hoo…’
I silently avoided the attacks and calmed my breathing.
I aimed for the moment when the thing’s head was unguarded.
Since there is no obstruction in the law, space is also meaningless.
In the enlightenment of non-duality and the principle of emptiness, the palm of the Buddha reaches beyond the constraints of space.
Unparalleled Dharma Empty Divine Palm.
──!
The golden energy spread out, and the thing’s head shook.
「The First Tempter cries out in pain.」
「”Kuaaaak!!”」
The impact was so great that the thing couldn’t even control its body properly.
But even in the midst of that, it never showed its underside.
The underside is the part of the snake that touches the ground when it crawls, and it was the only weakness of the thing that Weakness Detection pointed to.
Of course, it didn’t matter much.
Taking advantage of the gap where the thing couldn’t easily escape from the impact of the Shockwave Palm, I quickly closed the distance. My blood vessels throbbed from the unfamiliar palm technique, but I never stopped.
‘…Keuheup.’
Swallowing the blood that was about to leak out between my lips, I reached out my hand.
The thing, having escaped from the shock, rushed towards me with its mouth wide open.
Beneath the Buddha’s palm, good blossoms and evil perishes.
One thought is the law, and one hand is the sky.
Piercing with the will of a diamond, advancing unhindered like the wind.
The will of the Tathagata is in compassion, and the power of the divine palm is in justice.
That attack never reached me.
The moment my hand touched the thing’s scales, golden waves spread out in all directions.
In this one palm, I contain heaven and earth, and engrave the principles of good and evil.
Diamond Tathagata Subduing Demon Divine Palm.
Under the touch of the Buddha who saves sentient beings with compassion and wisdom, the thing’s movements stopped.
Afterwards, a sound like something exploding was heard.
「The First Tempter is horrified with a distorted face.」
「”W, what is this…?!”」
Dark red blood pours from the thing’s mouth.
I looked at the thing, which was clearly flustered as if it didn’t know what was going on, and withdrew my hand. Wiping the blood from my mouth, I took out holy water from my inventory.
“Have you ever heard of Internal Injury Palm Technique?”
No matter how hard the armor is, there’s no way to deal with it if the impact is transmitted to the inside.
It may look fine on the outside, but the inside of the thing’s body will be a mess.
Koong-
Drinking the holy water, I watched the thing’s huge body collapse. The stench of blood was strong.
Calmly calming the overheated mana circuits and blood vessels, I sat down on the floor.
The thing was glaring at me even in death, unable to close its eyes, as if it was so aggrieved.
Tting-
「Penalty Mission has ended.」
Only after checking the message window could I completely relax.
I don’t know what kind of hardship this is from the start of the matching. If I had known that the penalty was this severe, I wouldn’t have even come in.
‘…Wait?’
Suddenly, a question arose.
What happens if you don’t meet the matching target?
Until now, I thought that at best, I wouldn’t be able to get coins. But coins can be somewhat replenished by catching monsters, so it was difficult to see it as a penalty.
‘Could it be that there is no penalty?’
Certainly, the dating app has never specified a penalty. But that didn’t mean I could do whatever I wanted, and something felt off.
I turned my head and looked at Lucifer. A woman so beautiful that I couldn’t help but take my eyes off her was bound in chains.
Not only her face, but especially her body was my type.
‘…I’m glad I met her.’
Of course, it won’t be easy to build a good relationship with her, who is openly hostile to me.
But looking at her amethyst-like eyes, I was more looking forward to the future than feeling annoyed.
After all, face is more important than personality.
No matter how I thought about it, I was definitely a face fanatic.
Anyway, as I was checking my condition and resting, a strange thing suddenly came to mind.
“I caught the snake, but there’s no separate reward? It’s the Incarnation of the Constellation.”
「There is no reward for the Penalty Mission.」
My brow furrows.
I worked my ass off to catch it, but there’s no reward.
Moreover, perhaps because it wasn’t a monster, there were no coins given separately. There’s no such thing as a useless effort.
I wanted to protest, but it was a kind of cliché that these guys in the tower climbing genre had bad personalities. They might throw an unreasonable penalty mission at me for the reason that my tone is impure.
Swallowing a sigh, I was about to get up from my seat when.
「The First Tempter sneers.」
「”…Do you think it will end here.”」
“?!”
Kooong-
I sat down as I was from an unknown sense of pressure. It was even hard to breathe.
Soon after, a murderous aura that felt like my whole body was being torn apart was poured out.
Tting, tting, tting, tting, tting!
「Warning, warning, warning.」
「Penalty Mission has ended.」
「The First Tempter cannot intervene.」
「Penalty is applied to the First Tempter.」
「Penalty is applied to the First Tempter.」
「Penalty is applied to the First Tempter.」
·
·
·
A red message window covered my vision along with the anxious notification sound.
The message window seemed to be taking some action, but the unknown ‘presence’ still showed no sign of disappearing.
Rather, my hands and feet are shaking faster.
My violently trembling heart felt like it would burst at any moment.
「The First Tempter uses authority.」
「The Incarnation is resurrected.」
“…What?”
