NOVEL NEXT WORLD Chapter 1029
<1029 – Lord of Darkness (7)>
The instructor’s attacks on the Celestial Observer escalated rapidly.
Having briefly built a friendly relationship with the instructor, Zhang couldn’t turn a blind eye to his crisis.
– “Oknodie. That person is a kind senior.”
– “That’s not Oknodie. That’s Mud Oknodie.”
– “…?”
A response so unexpected it left him utterly perplexed!
Zhang blinked a few times.
Suddenly, the speed of his thoughts caught up with reality.
Oknodie’s trademark.
Shadow Clone.
– “Where’s Oknodie?”
– “We used a location swap technique 15 seconds ago.”
It was at that moment Zhang finally saw it.
Deep underground, Oknodie was stealthily approaching the Celestial Observer.
It was a very subtle hint that Zhang, as a best friend, had sensed right from the start.
Oknodie’s intended concealment was impressive enough to earn Zhang’s recognition.
Zhang, a master of advanced stealth techniques.
Sing, the owner of the Origin Area.
And then there was the chaotic Jibsa Jang Okashii-ne.
Having hung out with countless stealth experts, it wouldn’t be surprising if Oknodie had accumulated substantial experience in hiding.
‘That fool. How far ahead does he think he can go on his own? It’s hard enough to keep up as it is.’
But this time, the opponent was formidable.
The Celestial Observer.
The abuser’s skill level was at least that of a top-tier professor.
Oknodie had even managed to bring down the retired professor, Buzhaar, after exploiting his weaknesses.
But that was only because Buzhaar’s vulnerabilities were well-exploited.
The Foundation’s intelligence, which assisted Oknodie’s overwhelming information prowess, couldn’t possibly reach this far into the Eastern Empire.
‘Incredibly scary, but this is precisely the moment I have to step forward, right?’
The moment an assassin must act.
The moment clouded by emotions.
Once stepping off the line, he finds himself stepping back on willingly.
Boom!
Zhang, gathering his courage, counterattacked the Celestial Observer’s flanks with Shadow Assassination using the shadow created by the instructor.
By manipulating the Dark Mana within shadows and training his own shadow, he could either seep into them or exert physical force on other shadows.
Breathing life into an existence’s illusion is half-technique already familiar to the Production Department, but assassins are naturally also producers of poison and concoctions.
Assassin and production.
The two couldn’t be awkward together at all.
The Celestial Observer displayed mild fury at Zhang’s intrusion.
“You know, at this rate, we won’t finish the cleanup before His Excellency goes for a stroll.”
The Celestial Observer pulled out a sparkling white ice jewel from his robe.
It contained a chilling aura comparable to a commanding stone possessed by the wizards of the Alliance of Necromancers, which could act like a potion for those who developed a certain level of ice resistance.
However, to someone like Zhang, who couldn’t accumulate that level of resistance, the ice jewel was nothing more than an uncontrollable weapon of mass destruction.
━━━
<Ice Shadow Seal>
━━━
As the ice jewel shattered, coldness filled the shadows in the garden, and icy shadows began to rise from all directions, reaching out to create frostbite.
Zhang’s dagger fiercely deflected their approach, but the shattered ice fragments lowered the temperature in the air, generating a fearsome cold wave that made counterattacks seem reckless.
“Junior. This way!”
Realizing he could take no more risks, the instructor summoned a new bird for escape and cast a growth spell.
“No! Oknodie is still out there!”
“Get on together!”
“Who said I’d let you?”
The mask formed on the ground opened wide enough to rip its mouth up to the ears, trying to swallow everyone along with the growing bird.
Even with all the swordsmanship learned from the Tomb of the Sword, it was impossible to block the closing jaws of the mask.
Zhang’s desperate resistance cracked the mask, but it had already closed its jaws before that could happen.
“Lucky break! I succeeded on the first test flight.”
“Mud Oknodie?”
“That’s the original’s message. Just hold onto anything tightly. If you don’t want to fly away.”
The mana circuit of <Marine who Specializes in Strength All-in> settled over Mud Oknodie’s body.
Though he didn’t possess the stats of an all-in strength build, Mud Oknodie replicated that build.
With repeated enhancements boosting an immense power, it granted Mud Oknodie a miraculous strength with just one hit.
━━━
<Mud Oknodie>
<Strength All-in Heart>
<Death Blow: Mud Bomb>
━━━
As Mud Oknodie struck the closing mask, the crack created by Zhang spread even further.
Comparing it to the original strength all-in, it was an infinitely humble strike, yet it nonetheless shattered the ominous mask territory in half.
Beyond the crumpled mask territory, Mud Oknodie scattered like particles of light.
“Clone!”
“Don’t worry. I’m just a part of Oknodie. We’re all one. We’re just returning to where we’re supposed to be.”
Mud Oknodie calmly met his end.
His bravery, unafraid of death, resembled the all-in strength build despite his small stature.
Zhang could discern which part of himself Oknodie had transferred into Mud Oknodie.
“Punching through the mask territory… physically?”
The Celestial Observer was stunned.
If such a mad act were possible, the Weird Creatures wouldn’t have made their home in the mask.
The mask, bearing the same nature as barriers used in the Western World, had a defense power that surpassed the domain, just as one would expect, making the mask’s defense overwhelming.
And it was pierced in one blow.
It was no wonder the Celestial Observer was horrified.
“This guy is more dangerous than he looks. I really didn’t want to use my trump card…”
“Why me again?!”
The instructor’s grievances rose to the heavens.
His inadequate techniques were enhanced by Oknodie, and his techniques were treated as if they were his, causing him to feel the entire world was conspired against him.
‘Why aren’t you stepping forward? Until now, you’ve used me to your heart’s content. You’re not thinking of stopping this crisis? There are your friends here too?!’
He wasn’t even human!
As the mask, which followed the Celestial Observer’s incantations, restored its shape, its empty eye sockets gleamed like a giant was descending, despair flooded the instructor’s face.
The mask’s monstrous presence was terrifying enough to evoke thoughts of Gegeobdo-in.
The mask’s mouth gaped open.
From the gaping mouth, countless overpowering beasts and wandering souls trapped within the mask territory rushed out, and at that moment, Zhang’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘That’s… the Soul Sculptor I saw earlier?!’
Why are the Soul Sculptors popping up here?
Beyond the rushing demons.
And slightly behind the mask.
High Spirit Entities resembling Shinigami but wielding sculpting tools instead of sickles stood at the feet, shoulders, and heads of the mask giant.
The Celestial Observer realized their presence too late and flinched, attempting to sever the connection with another dimension, but even then, the Soul Sculptors did not disappear.
Because Oknodie, hidden in Gehenna, maintained the coordinates, continuing to open the door.
“That pure energy… it must be the fallen Asin. She is a being like us—a Soul Sculptor that has successfully escaped into a physical form.”
“Don’t worry, young Soul Sculptor. I swear I won’t let the hands of that rootless creator defile our future, which emerges from pain and screams.”
Soul Sculptors, traversing dimensions to seize dimension drifters, haphazardly altering their species characteristics, traits, functions, and other elements!
Just as Titosso altered the desires of Goblins and the Sun God turned Goblins into beings, they too could change the direction of human desires.
Their sculpting knives mercilessly carved away at the Celestial Observer’s soul and instincts.
The Celestial Observer felt everything he had painstakingly honed—techniques, ancient mystical arts, and the effects of the elixirs he had consumed—being eroded one by one.
━━━
<Soul Sculptor>
<Sculpting Destruction Art>
━━━
From someone confident in his abilities within the imperial palace, all the power he had to influence every matter inside the imperial palace was vanishing.
Functions, achievements, titles.
Countless elements were chipped away, cracked, and fell apart, deteriorating incessantly.
“Young Soul Sculptor. Next time, I shall impart my teachings upon you.”
“We shall carve for you a ‘better corporeal form.’”
“Cast aside the flesh of the lowly humans to become an exceptional being with 8003 eyes and two wings, capable of birthing 75 offspring at once, we shall gift you the body of a fly.”
As the Soul Sculptors finished their work, the mask giant lay dead, spilling blood everywhere, while the now-dazed Celestial Observer slumped on top of it.
Thud, thud, thud.
With a late realization, Oknodie peeked out from hiding.
She glanced at Zhang and asked,
“Did it go?”
“It’s gone.”
“Phew. Strategy successful!”
Finally, having cleared out all the nuisances guarding the Spirit Herb, Oknodie smiled brightly.