Chapter 262
262. Raid (1)
Shocking news reached the girls who had just regained their happiness.
Baimon, leading a massive golem, descended with Radon on his back.
He rushed over and laid Radon down, a serious expression on his face, sending a chill down everyone’s spine.
“Our brother-in-law isn’t breathing!”
At those words, everyone’s hearts sank collectively.
Not breathing only meant one thing—he was dead.
But why? Just moments before boarding the golem, he had been perfectly fine.
Except for having exhausted himself to the point of his mana dropping to zero, he had no physical injuries.
It was an utterly unexpected turn of events.
“N-no, you’re joking, right? That can’t be true…”
Of course, for Jenny, it sounded absurd.
It was medically impossible for someone to go from perfectly fine to not having a heartbeat in just a few hours.
It was hard to believe that the shock from Baimon controlling the golem could cause this.
If Baimon had driven so recklessly, Radon would have bruises all over his body.
“How strange…? His heart just stopped a short while ago.”
“And his body is still warm, looking perfectly fine.”
Mary and Luska immediately began a thorough examination of his body.
Mary’s magic could determine the illness Radon had, and Luska’s gestures could reveal any physical defects.
Their diagnostic results, reminiscent of doctors, came back completely ‘normal.’
“Then why has this happened?”
Jenny shouted, on the verge of tears.
Not only Jenny, but everyone present shared her feelings.
Radon was an irreplaceable friend. More than that, he was someone very special and important to them.
It was impossible to predict what would happen if he died, which path they would take… how they might explode with grief.
“Step aside!”
“We’ll give it a try!”
Even Angela and Nebia stepped up to examine Radon’s body.
They were the two saints with the best divine power in this land. At the very least, they should yield more beneficial results than Mary and Luska.
However…
“Ugh…!”
“Eek…!”
“What’s wrong?”
The two saints, examining Radon’s body with sacred magic, suddenly gasped.
When Jenny asked what was happening, they trembled as they spoke.
“Something… is lurking.”
“Radon’s soul… is being consumed by something!”
Jenny and Luska didn’t understand what that meant, perhaps a term related to the priesthood.
But suddenly, one crucial fact came to mind.
Was it possible that he stopped breathing because of the curse of that thing?
Jenny’s question was pretty plausible.
The curse of Liar. If you can’t tell a lie, the consumption rate rises, and if it reaches its maximum, it takes your life.
A horrific curse that could never be spoken of outside of Eternal Flame or the two saints.
In reality, Radon was currently in a faint state. So, there was a possibility that while he was asleep and could not tell a lie, his consumption rate had risen.
However, that suggestion was dismissed.
“That’s not it.”
“Why not?”
“Jenny, you’ve heard it before. When the consumption rate reaches its maximum, the body turns to sand.”
“Then….”
If his death was due to the curse, his body should have turned to sand by now.
Not just a sudden heart failure like this.
“In short, Radon’s consumption rate is still stable. But it could rise at any moment.”
They understood that something was gnawing at Radon’s body.
It seemed to be attempting to drive out his soul and seize his body, but who could it be?
Aside from knowing it was something very ominous, there were no clues.
Just then, they wondered where in the world his soul had been taken.
– Grrr…
– Wooong?
Suddenly, a beastly howl nearby made them jump.
Was it a monster? They turned their heads, ready to be cautious, only to find two wolves standing there.
What were these guys? They thought, though they looked somewhat unusual.
“Divine Beast…?”
One had nine tails like Angela, while the other was a wolf with angel-like wings.
Especially Luska and Angela were able to simultaneously identify the two.
Of course, there were questions as well.
“Why are divine beasts in a place like this?”
It was like spotting a desert fox in a snowy land, and Jenny wondered why such a rare creature was found in this ruin.
However, when they thought it over, having these creatures here wasn’t odd at all.
“They were probably subjects of experiments underground.”
“But they somehow survived that explosion.”
None among them knew that these creatures had been rescued at Lyman’s rapid speed.
But oddly enough, the mystical nine-tailed animal was typically a fox, yet both were wolves here.
They thought it might be some kind of mutation over the years.
– Grrrr….
– Awoo~
The creatures howled again.
It was surprisingly cute, and Jenny nearly reached out without noticing.
“What? You want to help us?”
At that moment, Angela understood their words.
Because Angela also had the blood of a divine beast flowing through her, communication seemed possible.
– Wooong!
– Awo!
As the creatures spoke, everyone except Angela was left with question marks on their heads.
“What are they saying?”
When Nebia inquired, Angela translated the divine beasts’ words.
“They say they’ll let us into their illusory world… and that we should leave it to them…”
“Illusory world?”
It was a term that even Angela had never heard before.
They weren’t sure if these divine beasts possessed some special power, but help would always be welcome.
– Awoo! Awoo!
– Awooow!
“What are they saying this time?”
“They say they want to repay the light that saved them… because it puts their minds at ease…”
The two divine beasts spoke with a peculiar sense of loyalty.
It seemed Radon had saved them when he went underground.
Angela continued to translate the divine beasts’ words, and through that, they learned how to save Radon.
“The illusory world…”
“I’ve heard about it in class. It’s a space within one’s mind, manifested with mana.”
Since they had only learned it theoretically, they didn’t know the details unless they entered themselves.
They followed the instructions the two divine beasts provided.
First, Jenny and Luska took hold of Radon’s hands and laid down, followed by Mary holding Luska’s hand and Nebia taking Jenny’s hand in a similar fashion.
In that position, they shared their mana to exchange sensations.
It was preparation for everyone to enter the same illusory world.
– Awoooooo!
– Awooooooo!
Then, the two divine beasts let out a loud roar and sank their glowing teeth into Radon’s forearms.
Next, they marked the same wounds on the girls lying down.
A surge of pain shot through them, but for the sake of reviving Radon, they could endure this much.
“We must bring back Radon.”
“Of course, we should.”
“Alright! The Ninja Squad of Assassination is on the move!”
“We never formed such a group!”
As each of them spoke up, they naturally closed their eyes and fell into the depths of mana.
They had sent their consciousness into the illusory world where Radon existed.
“Everyone must come back safely.”
Lastly, Angela slowly infused divine power into Radon’s body.
According to the words of the divine beasts, the only beings they could send away were humans, and their powers wouldn’t work on their own kind.
After all, Angela was of the same kind as them.
Instead, she had an important role left.
“Will this really stop Radon’s body from being consumed by someone?”
– Wooong~
– Grrr.
The two divine beasts nodded, indicating yes.
Though they weren’t exactly sure what kind of ritual it was, this was the only method they had to rely on.
In reality, Angela was doing the right thing.
Thanks to her staying in the real world to protect Radon’s body, the Destruction God’s corruption was delayed.
*
– Hmm? What is this….
In the pristine illusory space, the Destruction God Endless tilted his head.
Having split Radon Crawler’s body in half, he now sought to fully absorb his spiritual form.
So, he was attempting to elongate the body to swallow Radon.
At that moment, while transforming his body like mud or slime…
– This light is….
Radon’s split spiritual form suddenly began to glow.
It wasn’t blinding enough to obscure his vision, but Endless gave up trying to touch it.
While surrounded by that light, it would be quite challenging to absorb him.
Only after observing the situation outside could Endless understand.
– I see. So it is indeed the saint’s interference?
The saint with fox ears and nine tails was protecting Radon’s spiritual form.
It would be easy to eliminate her if he could just descend right now; however, he was unable to do so due to Lyman’s annoying interference.
Moreover, he was gradually being pushed back by Lyman. The likely cause was the brutal incapacitation of the Zombie Evil God.
Given the circumstances, he needed to absorb the new vessel, Radon Crawler, as soon as possible.
– Hehe. It won’t last long anyway, saint.
It would likely be taxing on him to maintain the light surrounding Radon.
Once that time limit expired, Radon’s spiritual form would become Endless’s charge.
Resulting in what seemed like nothing more than delaying the inevitable.
– No, after all, it isn’t alone?
On either side of Radon Crawler were the girls who held his hands as they lay down.
With happiness yet a grim determination reflected in their expressions.
And Endless noticed the bite marks on their forearms.
– In that case…!
Endless smiled as if intrigued.
The corners of his mouth rose on his pitch-black face, devoid of any markings, appearing rather sinister.
Just as he had predicted… someone was summoned to the two-person illusory space.
“Uwaaaaah!”
“Yikes!”
“Eek!”
“Eek!”
The four suddenly appeared in mid-air, falling one by one and smashing their faces.
As they looked up, they quickly realized where they were.
“Where is this?”
“Did we come in correctly?”
“It’s completely white. I can feel pain.”
“And my hearing is fine. Where on earth….”
For an illusory world, all senses seemed intact.
Having the prejudice that the mental realm was no different from a dream, they were initially displeased that this place felt real.
However, it was after they gazed around that their doubts began to clear up.
– Indeed, unexpected guests have arrived.
A dark figure spoke up.
It had the shape of a black humanoid but twisted like a liquid monster.
Seeing the corners of its black face rise up into a grin was incredibly unsettling.
“What is that…?”
“Is that the monster that’s gnawing at Radon’s soul?”
The girls instinctively recognized that it was not a good entity just based on its appearance.
And Mary immediately revealed her horns, getting into a battle stance.
“Be careful, everyone. That thing… is extremely dangerous.”
“Right, it’s neither human nor monster.”
Nebia sensed its darkness with her saintly instincts.
Jenny, who still didn’t know this, asked the black monster.
“Are you the monster trying to take over Radon’s body?”
-….
“Where is Radon?”
Quickly return Radon’s soul and get out of there.
There was no need to say that far.
– Radon Crawler… Ah!
The monster’s black arms slithered like tentacles, bringing something forth.
It was the body of a person, split in half.
The girls gasped in shock, their eyes widening.
– Is it talking about this?
At that moment, the atmosphere grew chilly, and an indescribable mana swirled around.
– Hahaha! Is that all the power you have?
Yet the monster only scoffed at the sight.
– I am what you call the Destruction God.
As it said that, the black form began to grow larger, pressing down on the girls.
– Let me show you what fear is.