## Chapter 225 – 225. Abyss (5)
#225. Abyss (5)
It was a scene befitting the word grotesque.
The snake’s corpse, chillingly growing cold, twitched, then violently spewed out crimson blood and burst entrails.
「The Avatar of the First Tempter is imbued with authority.」
「Danger, danger, danger, danger, danger.」
「We recommend players evacuate the area.」
‘…If it’s dangerous, stop it.’
The penalty from the message window didn’t seem to have much effect on the thing. Of course, the fact that I was still alive might be thanks to the penalty.
Creak, creak-
The scales, which had been so hard, began to peel off little by little.
Molting.
Watching it, I immediately moved my body.
My whole body creaked from forcibly unleashing the Tathagata Palm, but based on my experience so far, now was the time to move.
Ignoring the danger signals blaring in my head, I drew up my internal energy. Unlike crabs, which shed their exoskeletons during molting, snakes shed the outermost layer of their skin, the stratum corneum.
In other words, molting didn’t mean its defense would weaken.
Of course, that didn’t mean there were no openings at all.
Right before molting, the protective membrane over the snake’s eyes becomes cloudy.
In short, the snake’s head, which already had terrible eyesight, was now completely blind.
With the help of the sacred water, I had recovered from some of my internal injuries, and I approached the thing once more, stepping on the Unshadowed Steps.
Even if it revived and molted, it was still just an avatar, not the true form of a Constellation.
What could it do if its insides were bursting?
The swirling Vajra energy created golden waves. In a sense of omnipotence, as if my eyes had opened, I reached out my hand.
But my palm never reached the thing.
Thwack!
“?!”
Thwaaang!!!
The tremendous impact sent me flying backward, and I crashed into the wall. My consciousness almost flickered out, but I quickly regained my senses and checked my condition.
I couldn’t even scream properly from the extreme pain, but surprisingly, my body was in pretty good shape.
Unlike before, when I had taken a hit in a half-unprotected state, my body, with its circulating Vajra energy, was tougher than I had imagined.
Of course, it wasn’t Vajra Indestructible.
Well, it wasn’t impossible to reach the realm of Vajra Indestructible, but if I were to perfect the Unshadowed Vajra Art, I would be able to escape the interference of all creation, so why bother?
It was much better to reach ‘Unshadowed,’ a state of constant invincibility, than Vajra Indestructible, which only had infinite physical defense.
Anyway, I shook off the 잡념 and wiped the blood flowing from my forehead with the back of my hand.
I struggled to get up and lightly stretched my body, checking my condition again. The right side was fine, but my left leg was trembling slightly. And the same was true for my left arm.
‘Is it because I blocked with my left side?’
Fortunately, no bones were broken, so it didn’t hinder my movement much.
Of course, objectively speaking, my muscles were slightly torn, so I should have rested immediately.
I wanted to do that too, but I didn’t have the luxury.
“…Is that a snake or a dragon?”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh.
The thing’s appearance after molting easily surpassed my imagination. Not only did arms and legs sprout from its torso, but dust billowed every time its large wings flapped.
I quietly swallowed my saliva and composed my breathing.
In this situation, anything other than appropriate tension was a luxury.
“For a Constellation to molt just to catch one human, you really are a snake-head, aren’t you?”
I provoked it lightly, trying to induce a preemptive strike. If I recklessly charged first, I might get hit like before.
「The First Tempter sneers.」
「”Khehehe, say whatever you want. I don’t care if I get banished from the Tower, as long as I can kill the Saint.”」
“…Saint?”
「The First Tempter gazes at you.」
「”Don’t play dumb. That holy and unpleasant sacred light, that power is unmistakable.”」
I reflexively grabbed the rosary hanging around my neck.
The thing frowned, seemingly disgusted by the faint radiance of divine power emanating from it.
Only then did I realize why that thing was so desperate to attack me. If I had known this would happen, I would have kept it in my inventory.
‘There’s no point in complaining now, it’ll only hurt me.’
In the first place, I couldn’t afford to worry about such things one by one, and I didn’t want to.
「The First Tempter murmurs in a low voice.」
「”This is my last offer. If you quietly give up your life now, I swear on my true name that I will take your soul without pain.”」
I flipped off the thing that was rambling nonsense.
“If you’re going to lie, at least hide your bloodlust.”
Thwaang!!
The thing’s fist accurately targeted where I had been.
Perhaps because it had shed its snake form, its speed had definitely decreased. Thanks to that, I was able to avoid it without much difficulty, but the problem was the interval between attacks.
Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwaaang!!
There was no room to set foot. The next attack came immediately after the first. If I allowed even one hit, I would definitely lose consciousness.
If I hadn’t been hit during the molting process just now, it would have been dangerous.
Ignoring the trickling cold sweat, I kept moving my body. If I stopped even for a moment, I would be done for.
「The First Tempter smiles slyly.」
「”A human with divine power is a special delicacy. I can’t wait to taste what you’re like.”」
It was a face I couldn’t get used to, no matter how many times I saw it.
Whether it should be called the uncanny valley, or an appearance that mixed a ferocious reptile with a human, my brow furrowed involuntarily.
I responded with a fig sign, pushing my thumb between my index and middle fingers. I didn’t know the exact meaning, but the thing’s attacks became even more ferocious, as if it knew it was an insult.
Unnecessarily quick-witted.
But thanks to that, my aim worked.
Thanks to the thing recklessly raising its pace, a small opening was created.
──!
The Forceful Palm Strike, flying through space in a golden wave, struck the thing’s head. But because my posture was unstable, its power was weaker than before.
「The First Tempter’s face contorts.」
「”A mere human…!”」
The thing’s maw opened wide.
At that moment, the instinctive danger signal blared more fiercely than usual. In a sense of unease that made the back of my neck tingle, I immediately threw myself to the side.
Thwaaaaaaa!!!!
Immediately afterward, the thing spewed out a jet-black breath.
At the sight, I abandoned any thought of footwork and ran, stomping the ground hard enough to leave a dent.
In the first place, footwork wasn’t a technique created to avoid such crude attacks.
Just before being engulfed by the breath, I kicked off the ground and jumped.
But it wasn’t enough to reach the ceiling.
Of course, it didn’t matter much, as I hadn’t jumped with the intention of clinging to the ceiling from the start.
[Levitation]
I used the Levitation magic embedded in my shoes.
Floating in the air, I barely managed to escape the range of the breath. It didn’t seem to be a typical breath that spewed flames. Even though I was using the rosary, my skin tingled from the poison.
If I had been hit head-on, I would have melted away.
Fortunately, it wasn’t free to turn its head while spewing breath.
If that had been possible, it would have been impossible to avoid the breath in this confined space.
Looking down at the thing from mid-air, I unleashed another Forceful Palm Strike. Thwack! Perhaps because my feet weren’t touching the ground, its power was pathetically weak.
The thing flapped its wings as if it found it laughable.
‘…Could it be.’
A sense of unease washed over me.
Thwaang!
Sure enough, the thing’s fist, flying up at an incredible speed, struck the ceiling. If I hadn’t used Thought Acceleration, I would have been turned into jerky.
I deactivated the magic and came down to the ground, composing my breathing.
「The First Tempter frowns.」
「”…You, why are you still okay?”」
The thing, stopping its attacks and looking at me, wore a look of incomprehension.
Tring-
[Resisted the Curse of Corruption.]
[Resisted the Curse of Decay.]
[Resisted the Curse of the Soul.]
[Resisted the Curse of Chaos.]
“…Curse?”
At the screen that appeared before my eyes, I briefly examined my body, even in its abbreviated form.
Sure enough, an unknown jet-black energy was spreading around my mana circuits.
Instinctively, I knew it was a curse.
Fortunately, the energy disappeared without invading the mana circuits.
‘What is it?’
I could roughly guess the route by which I had been cursed. Perhaps the breath from earlier had an added effect of scattering curses.
Because it wasn’t magic, I couldn’t even detect it, let alone reverse engineer it. If the app hadn’t told me, I would have remained ignorant.
The rosary blocked such a high-level curse?
‘That can’t be.’
No matter how much the rosary was consecrated by a Saint, it could never instantly dispel a Constellation’s curse.
I opened my inventory and took out a book.
[Lelia’s Little Key
Grade: Epic
A magic book containing everything about the Witch of Curses, Lelia.
Understanding of curses increases.
Power of curses increases.
Resistance to curses increases.]
[A new curse has been recorded.]
[Curse of Corruption]
[Curse of Decay]
[Curse of the Soul]
[Curse of Chaos]
The next page of the book, which hadn’t turned before, opened. There, the contents of the curses that appeared on the screen were written.
I never thought it would even block a Constellation’s curse.
Pleased with the unexpected gain, I decided to study the curses I had obtained today soon.
Immediately after putting the book away, I quickly checked my condition.
My arms and legs still moved.
The burning mana circuits had also calmed down to some extent. Of course, I couldn’t use magic above the 4th Circle, but as long as I had the weakness of the back, 3rd Circle magic wasn’t useless.
Besides, the pressure and presence I had felt at the beginning had also decreased a lot. Perhaps it was because of the penalties the message window had imposed on the thing.
‘…Is it doable in its own way?’
Was it because I had almost died several times in the short battle?
I unknowingly raised the corners of my mouth.
I could feel neurotransmitters and hormones like adrenaline, dopamine, and endorphins exploding in my brain.
I had no complaints about being thrown into this situation as soon as I matched.
After all, I had come here hoping for such a dangerous battle.
「The First Tempter is enraged.」
「”Are you mocking me!!”」
Whether it was caught up in its own delusions, the thing roared in all directions and charged at me. Perhaps because the penalties had a significant impact, the thing seemed to be getting dumber as time went on.
Sharp teeth, which seemed to boast tremendous biting force, were getting closer and closer.
Crunch!
Using a hallucination as bait to evade the biting attack, I aimed for the gap where the height of its head had lowered.
The surging red lightning gathered in one place, creating thunder.
Thunderclap Palm Strike.
Thwaang!
「The First Tempter writhes in pain.」
「”Kuaaaaack!!”」
The thing shook its head and staggered backward, seemingly tormented by the blow to the crown of its head.
The Thunderclap Palm Strike was a palm technique of the Crimson Cloud Thunderclap Art. It wasn’t a particularly powerful martial art, but basically, the Palm Strike was a technique specialized in paralyzing the opponent’s muscles and nerves.
Since it was struck at close range, its brain wouldn’t function properly for a while.
I didn’t stop.
I had been aiming for the moment the thing exposed its head until now. The thing’s durability had become too strong to inflict effective hits with the Forceful Palm Strike like before.
In order to create an opportunity to use the Tathagata Palm, I had no choice but to directly strike its head with the Palm Strike.
And now was the perfect opportunity I had been talking about.
The compassionate hand of the Tathagata, who punishes demons, descends here once more. Just as the golden wave of vibrations was about to resonate.
“…Huh?”
───!!!
The jet-black energy that had been erupting from around the thing’s body exploded as it was. Losing consciousness from the shock of the explosion, I was sent flying.
***
How much time had passed?
Having hit my head on the collapsed rubble, I struggled to open my eyes.
My vision was red.
‘…I keep flying around today.’
Wiping away the blood flowing down like a broken faucet, I assessed the surrounding situation. Fortunately, I wasn’t dead. The thing was also crouching in place, staying still.
I had avoided the worst-case scenario, but in exchange, my body wouldn’t move.
My back muscles, including the latissimus dorsi, had ruptured from how hard I had been hit. Besides, my scapula, ribs, and collarbone were broken.
The front, where the aftermath of the explosion had been strongest, was relatively fine. It was thanks to reflexively concentrating the barrier on the front.
‘Is this the end?’
Honestly, if the compatibility had been better, I would have won much more easily. It didn’t make sense that the scales of something that wasn’t even a dragon could deflect 5th Circle magic.
I laughed in disbelief, but in the end, I would have been the one to win if we had gone to the end.
Just as I was about to end the match, recover my body, and then finish off the thing, I thought.
Tring-
「The Fallen Star proposes a contract with an Apostle.」
A screen that made me doubt my eyes appeared.
