Chapter 642
This Is Truly Horrifying. (2)
The creature stood as tall as an ancient tree, yet it was far from an ordinary giant. Its flesh was cracked and split like decaying bark, with sticky spores and mold growing in the crevices, glowing in sickly shades of green and purple.
Its face was even more grotesque. One side of its cheek had completely rotted away, exposing a twisted maw of teeth and bare jawbone. It had five eyes in total, additional ones sprouting from its forehead and temples, gleaming with a sinister red light.
A massive tumor protruded from its back, endlessly spewing spores into the air. Any living being that inhaled those spores would slowly begin to rot away.
The creature had four arms, each in a different state of decay. Some had bones protruding through the flesh, while others were covered in melting, sticky rot.
With every step it took, the ground beneath it blackened and withered. Each time its mouth opened, thick, black poisonous mist seeped out. Through the rotting flesh, its exposed organs pulsated, oozing a pitch-black fluid.
Wherever it passed, only decay and disease remained. More formidable than any creature in the Forest of Beasts, it was given an ancient name:
The Lord of Decay and Pestilence Morbus.
A massive shadow loomed between the decaying trees. As the distance closed enough to make out Morbus' grotesque form, the stench of rotting flesh thickened in the air.
Each step it took made a sickening, suction-like sound, as if something was sinking into a swamp.
Then, Morbus spotted the intruders and let out a deafening roar.
GAAAHHHHH!
With just a single cry, the toxic mist exploded outward in all directions. A normal knight would have collapsed the moment they inhaled it.
But those gathered here were far from ordinary.
“Guh… That’s strong.”
Jerome grimaced and waved his hand, casting a cleansing spell that purified the air around them.
GRRRROOOHHH!
Even with the purification spell, the toxic miasma did not dissipate easily. Its potency was simply overwhelming.
But those present were warriors capable of suppressing the poison through sheer force of will. And among them was Piote.
“O Goddess, hear my prayer!”
As Piote prayed, a brilliant light of purification radiated outward from him, far more powerful than Jerome’s spell.
SSSSHHHHHH!
Holy flames surged, instantly burning away the surrounding toxic mist. At the same time, the purifying light cleansed even the venom that had seeped into the warriors’ bodies.
Parniel gripped her mace tightly and turned to look at Ghislain.
“I can see its heart. If we destroy it, will that be enough?”
The blackened, pulsing heart throbbed violently within the decaying flesh, spewing out dark ichor.
[…Morbus had no weaknesses. Count Kaiyen Balzac had once cleaved open its heart, but it had no effect. Instead, Balzac was counterattacked, severely wounded, and forced to retreat.]
Ghislain shook his head.
“No, that won’t work. You have to pulverize it completely, down to the bone.”
Parniel frowned.
“How the hell do you even know that?”
Ghislain smirked as he spoke.
"You don't know me? I'm the one rumored to be a Holy One. The goddess tells me everything in my dreams."
Parniel let out a laugh, as if finding his words absurd. If this weren’t the current situation, she would have smashed a mace into his head and begun an inquisition on the spot.
Postponing the inquisition for later, Parniel spoke.
"I'll go first."
At her words, Ghislain asked,
"You remember what we discussed earlier, right?"
"Yes. Once you give the signal, I'll unleash all my power."
"I'll take off one of that bastard's arms."
"Got it."
Parniel surged forward, radiating brilliant divine energy.
The others followed closely behind her.
Grrrrraaaaah!
Morbus' massive palm came crashing down toward Parniel.
Glaring at the impending hand, which loomed over her like the shadow of death, Parniel deployed a Shield of Light.
Kwaaaaaang!
A blinding flash of light exploded upon impact.
The Shield of Light had blocked the attack, but it couldn’t completely nullify the force. Parniel was sent hurtling backward. The sheer power behind the blow matched the monster’s enormous size.
As she held the monster back, the others seized the opportunity to launch their attacks.
Flash!
Kwakwakwakwakwa-boom!
Bolts of lightning struck Morbus' body. The first attacks came from Jerome and Vanessa.
Decayed flesh burst apart as if detonated, and thick, black ichor gushed out like a waterfall from the ruptured wounds.
Grrrraaaah!
Morbus felt no pain his entire body was already rotting. But as his flesh was torn apart, he let out a roar of fury.
Slice! Crack!
Before his roar had even finished, Julien and Gillian had already closed in and slashed at his ankles from both sides.
The massive ankles were severed in an instant.
Splat!
Belinda's daggers embedded themselves into Morbus' joints, aiming to disable his movements.
But it had no effect.
A thick, black ichor oozed continuously from the wounds, stitching his severed parts back together.
Gaaaaargh!
Morbus attempted to swing all four of his arms at once. But then, sensing an approaching presence from above, he lifted his head.
Kagagagagak!
Ghislain’s Aura Blade flashed, splitting Morbus’ head in half.
A normal monster would have died instantly.
But Morbus was already nothing more than a walking corpse.
Between the two halves of his face, a gaping black void could be seen.
And from that void—
Fwoooosh!
A Breath of Death erupted like a waterfall, engulfing Ghislain.
“Urgh!”
Struck by the overwhelming poison, Ghislain staggered. His head spun as if he had downed a strong drink.
At the same time, his body rapidly began to decay. His skin turned a sickly shade of violet, cracked open, and oozed blackened pus.
He now looked no different from a walking corpse.
Gaaaaaaaah!
One of Morbus’ four arms came crashing down on Ghislain, who was still alive. He barely managed to dodge, gasping for breath.
“Phew!”
In the meantime, the others lunged at Morbus once again, launching another round of attacks. Thanks to their efforts, Ghislain was able to retreat a bit further and catch his breath.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Grrraaaah!
Morbus let out a horrific shriek, swinging his four arms wildly in a frenzied dance. His massive limbs tore through the air, while jagged bones protruding from his arms stabbed into the ground.
With those four relentless arms flailing, it was nearly impossible for anyone to get close.
However, Morbus also struggled to mount an effective attack against Ghislain’s group. Jerome and Vanessa continued their relentless bombardment of spells from a distance, causing Morbus’ rotting flesh to explode repeatedly.
Gaaaaah!
With a furious roar, a cloud of pitch-black poison burst forth from Morbus’ body.
In an instant, everything was shrouded in absolute darkness. A Death Mist that no one could escape.
Sssssss!
Yet, despite the deadly poison, the others moved without suffering any major harm. It was thanks to Piote, who had cast Light of Purification over them.
The sacred light repelled the corruption, preventing the poison from invading their bodies. Whenever the toxic fog touched their skin, it burned away instantly.
But Ghislain, who had remained at the rear, was an exception. He had specifically instructed Piote not to cast the purification spell on him.
For him, potent poison was actually beneficial - it fueled his growth.
“Huuuuup!”
He took a deep breath, deliberately inhaling as much of the toxin as possible.
Gaaaaargh!
The five cores within Ghislain’s body began to spin violently. They absorbed the deadly poison, breaking it down and converting it into mana.
His decayed flesh rapidly regenerated, and his once-purpled skin returned to its natural color.
“This is... pretty intense.”
The poison was stronger than he had expected. Even with his high resistance, it made his head spin for a moment, pushing him to the brink of death.
But the more dangerous the poison, the greater the effect. It was as if he had swallowed a Dragon Heart mana surged explosively within him.
“Kh… Ugh!”
As his mana capacity reached its absolute limit, Ghislain coughed up blackened blood.
His body could no longer absorb any more, so he expelled the excess.
Sizzle!
The black blood hit the ground, releasing a toxic vapor as it evaporated.
“Hah… A bit of a waste, but it can’t be helped. I’ll just have to take in more while fighting.”
Wiping his lips, Ghislain grinned sharply.
From the moment he had read the records, he had been looking forward to this fight against Morbus.
The stronger the poison, the stronger he could become.
[Because of the Poison Mist, we couldn’t even approach Morbus. Anyone who got too close was instantly poisoned, collapsing as their bodies rotted away in seconds. Left with no choice, we first gathered a large-scale Priestly Order and mages to focus on purification efforts...]
In their past lives, the Duke of Delfine’s forces had suffered multiple defeats because of this very poison.
They had no effective way to counter the Poison Mist that Morbus unleashed in all directions.
But the Transcendents here could all withstand the poison. On top of that, Parniel and Piote’s divine energy shielded them.
That meant Ghislain could focus entirely on absorbing the poison without any concerns.
Drrrrrr!
His Fifth-Stage Core activated instantly, and Ghislain shot toward Morbus. His Aura Blade had grown even larger than before.
Kwaaaaaang!
A flash of light burst forth as one of Morbus’ massive arms was severed.
That was the signal Ghislain had absorbed enough poison.
At that moment, the other Transcendents unleashed their full power without holding anything back.
Grrrrraaaah!
Before Morbus’ scream had even finished, Julien’s sword gleamed. His will flowed into his blade, radiating with dazzling light.
Slash!
Julien’s sword struck true, severing another of Morbus’ arms. Black smoke poured out of the stump like a waterfall.
Parniel didn’t miss her chance. She raised her mace, imbued with divine energy, and slammed it onto the severed stump.
Kwaaaang!
Sizzle!
The decayed flesh burned and hardened, sealing the wound completely. No more black ichor seeped from the cut.
Suddenly, Belinda emerged from Morbus’ shadow and shouted.
“Piote! My weapon!”
Fwoooosh!
A radiant divine energy enveloped the dozens of daggers Belinda had thrown.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
Like a meteor shower, the daggers rained down, piercing Morbus’ back. The divine energy infused in the blades burrowed into his body.
Gaaaah!
Morbus howled in agony. He didn’t feel pain, but the divine power spreading through his body was unbearable.
It bound him, assaulting not only his flesh but also his soul.
As Morbus twisted in torment, Gillian relentlessly hacked at his ankles.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Like a lumberjack felling a giant tree, Gillian obsessively targeted a single ankle.
Kwaaaang!
Finally, one of Morbus’ ankles was severed, causing him to stagger and lose his balance.
Grrrrraah!
Lurching, Morbus raised one of his remaining arms, trying to crush Gillian beneath his palm.
Rumble!
But this time, his arm moved far more sluggishly than before. Jerome’s Gravity Magic had taken hold, weighing it down.
Gaaaah!
A lesser monster would have been completely flattened under such powerful gravity. But Morbus resisted, struggling against the force.
"Fall back!"
At Jerome’s command, everyone near Morbus swiftly retreated.
Up in the sky, Vanessa had ascended. Extending her hand, she summoned a massive spear of flame, launching it at Morbus.
Kwoooooom!
The moment the first spear pierced Morbus’ abdomen, a deafening explosion shook the ground.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The sky turned red in an instant. Multiple Flame Spears erupted in chain explosions, puncturing Morbus over and over.
Black ichor and spores spewed from his wounds, bursting like fireworks within the inferno. The surrounding swamps and trees were already engulfed in flames.
Sizzle!
Even as fire engulfed Morbus, his vile black ichor continually smothered the flare of magical energy, extinguishing the flames.
The fire flared up and died down repeatedly, while thick, putrid smoke filled the air.
And yet, Morbus still survived.
Despite being slashed, impaled, and burned, he refused to fall.
Boom! Boom! Booooom!
The Transcendents, led by Ghislain, launched a renewed assault. Their lightning-fast strikes carved into Morbus' flesh without pause.
Gaaaaaaaah!
Morbus’ roars echoed across the battlefield.
He had ruled this forest as its absolute overlord yet now, these sudden invaders threatened his very existence.
Even a mere graze from Morbus’ attacks melted armor and rotted flesh.
But Parniel and Piote’s divine power healed their injuries almost instantly. As long as the two fought together, Morbus couldn’t wield his full strength.
These warriors had hunted a dragon before.
No matter how powerful Morbus was, he couldn’t withstand their coordinated assault.
Kwaaaaang!
Grrrrgh!
Ghislain’s sword slashed deep into Morbus once again.
The battlefield was no longer under Morbus' control.
Absorbing poison and growing stronger with every moment, Ghislain was like Morbus’ natural predator.
Boom! Boom! Booooom!
Unlike before, Parniel wasn’t leading the charge this time, Ghislain spearheaded the assault against Morbus.
With his relentless onslaught keeping Morbus distracted, the others struck without hesitation.
Splat! Splat! Splat!
Like meat being butchered in a slaughterhouse, Morbus' body was being torn apart.