Chapter 131

With a flutter, the blue smoke expelled from Thomas Andre formed a pair of blue wings.

The apostle of Itarim, now revealed in its entirety, was truly grotesque: an ash-gray giant with blue wings, too repulsive to be an angel and far too holy to be a demon.

A viciously twisted smile spread across its enormous face.

"It appears to be an apostle granted a higher order of power than the Frenzied Blood Tyrant!"

Beru was quick to assess the apostle's strength.

Beru had once explained that this world's Monarchs and Fragments of Brilliant Light had been created by an Itarim known as the Absolute Being.

In that case, the Monarchs and Fragments of Brilliant Light, likewise created and granted their power by an Itarim, differed from the apostles of Itarim in name alone. In essence, they were the same kind of beings.

But with different creators, there were bound to be differences between their creations.

Indeed, wasn't Sung Jinwoo—the greatest Fragment of Brilliant Light and the Shadow Monarch—on a vastly higher plane than the other Monarchs and Fragments of Brilliant Light?

The apostles of Itarim, too, differed in the power each possessed.

Above all, however, there was one clear distinction between the apostles on either side: the number created.

The only beings this world's Itarim had created and endowed with power were the eight Monarchs and eight Fragments of Brilliant Light born from primordial darkness and primordial light.

That was right.

A mere sixteen.

By contrast, the Itarim of the outer universe had created dozens, even hundreds of times as many apostles, dividing their own power among them to elevate their existence.

Naturally, the apostles born that way could only be weaker than this world's Monarchs and Rulers.

Even the seemingly omnipotent Itarim did not possess infinite power.

All power had its limits, just as the Absolute Being who created this world had been slain by its own creations.

In short, it came down to this:

Itarim = Absolute Being

Fragment of Brilliant Light = Monarch > Apostle of the Outer Universe

In other words, while this world's Fragments of Brilliant Light and Monarchs were few in number, each had been granted tremendous power.

Conversely, the apostles of the outer universe's Itarim were weaker for being so numerous.

And the apostles who had slipped in to target their rear were among the lowest of their kind.

Had any stronger ones left the battlefield, Sung Jinwoo would have been the first to notice and intercept them.

"... Therefore."

At Beru's words, Suho nodded, glaring at the apostle of Itarim.

"Right. We can take it."

They had a chance.

Even if that giant was an apostle one level above the Frenzied Blood Tyrant, Suho had the blessings of the dead Monarchs with him.

Besides, with Thomas Andre back in his right mind and his mother beside him, he had two S-rank hunters on his side.

But the battle wasn't the problem.

CRACK!

RUMBLE!

"The sky is collapsing!"

Sirka screamed as she watched cracks spread across the sky like a spiderweb centered on the apostle of Itarim.

[The King of the Snow Folk, the Monarch of Frost, warns that the dimensional barrier will collapse at this rate!]

[The King of Beasts, the Monarch of Fangs, explains that they, too, descended to Earth in human bodies because of this very problem.]

CRAAACK!

RUMBLE!

"Young Monarch! The Glacier Dungeon is beginning to collapse, unable to withstand the presence of the apostle of Itarim in spiritual form!"

Beings as powerful as apostles of Itarim needed a considerable amount of time to cross dimensions with their full strength intact.

The world itself might be unable to bear their power.

Their chosen solution was to seize another being's body.

That was why the Monarchs of the erased timeline had borrowed human bodies to descend to Earth.

It was also why the apostle of Itarim that appeared in the Demon Realm had taken over the Frenzied Blood Tyrant's body.

Just then, Thomas Andre spoke.

"No idea what all that means."

Having heard Beru speaking in front of him, he bent his knees, his expression grim.

"But we just have to kill that bastard as fast as possible, right?"

BOOM!

Without a moment's hesitation, Thomas Andre kicked off the ground and charged at the blue-winged giant.

WHOOSH!

In an instant, he soared above the apostle's head, raised both hands, and brought them crashing down.

BANG!

The apostle of Itarim lifted an arm and easily blocked the blow, but Thomas seized it in midair.

His grip clamped tight.

"How dare you!"

With monstrous strength, Thomas hurled its body downward.

"...!"

CRAAASH!

The enormous angel plummeted into the heart of Echo Forest.

Thomas dropped after it, driving his fist down toward its head.

"You made me worship that creepy fucking god?!"

BOOM!

He felt filthy.

As an atheist, Thomas found the sensation of having sincerely worshipped an unknown god called Itarim, however briefly, utterly humiliating.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

A one-sided torrent of staggering violence rained down on the apostle of Itarim.

But then the prone apostle suddenly bared its teeth at Thomas in a vicious grin.

And then—

ROOOAR!

A beam of destruction, like a dragon's breath, erupted from its mouth toward Thomas.

"...!"

Thomas instinctively crossed his arms to block it, but the armor of mana covering his body rapidly melted away.

At that desperate moment...

[Using Skill: Storm Slash.]

WHOOOOSH!

Suho arrived in the nick of time. The storm of blades he unleashed struck the apostle squarely in the head, barely diverting the destructive beam away from Thomas.

BOOM!

Thomas Andre was flung backward. At the same instant, Cha Haein sprang forward and unleashed a barrage of attacks.

Taking the opportunity, Suho approached Thomas and gave him a potion.

"... Ugh. Is that your mother?"

"Yes."

"Your mother's an S-rank hunter? And what's this potion?"

Thomas's eyes widened as his wounds healed.

Meanwhile, Cha Haein dodged another destructive beam and returned, calling out to him.

"Thomas! I can't handle it alone! Once you're healed, let's attack together!"

"All right."

Manifested in its true form, the apostle of Itarim was far stronger than it had been while wearing Thomas's body.

The dimension was collapsing as a result. Apparently that was not what it wanted either, for it was tearing through the forest in search of another host to possess.

It could not target Thomas or Cha Haein, who had consumed the Spring Water of Echo Forest, so it was seeking a new host.

As it went, it trampled the densely growing trees flat, until at last it discovered a place where many living beings were gathered.

"N-no! Our village is that way!"

At Sirka's alarmed cry, Beru turned to Suho with a grave expression.

"Young Monarch, not just anyone can serve as a vessel for an apostle of Itarim. Just as a weak vessel shatters, the life force of those without sufficient strength will burn away the instant the apostle possesses them."

His words reminded Suho of the Mist Burns.

The scale was different, but wasn't the principle remarkably similar to being unable to withstand the blue mist and slowly burning to death?

"For now, let's follow it while you recover."

As he spoke, Suho signaled Sirka with a glance. She immediately raised the Icewood Spear in front of her and shouted.

"Hold on tight! We're going to ride the blizzard!"

Everyone grabbed the Icewood Spear.

At that instant, a tremendous blizzard swept in and carried them toward the apostle of Itarim.

WHOOOOOSH!

Meanwhile, Cha Haein began gathering her strength to use Sword of Light once more.

Just then, Suho noticed the daggers she had been holding all this time.

They were weapons the ice elves had given her after she arrived in this dimension empty-handed.

'Those are far too shoddy for an S-rank hunter.'

Suho immediately offered her Vulcan's Horn.

"Mom, I'll use my bow, so take this sword..."

Only then, at Suho's words, did Beru look at the weapons Cha Haein had been using.

His eyes went wide with shock.

"Kieeeek?! Lady Haein! Why have you been fighting with that rubbish?! What about your necklace?!"

"My necklace?"

When Cha Haein looked puzzled, Beru belatedly clutched his head in realization.

"Kihak! C-come to think of it, my liege only gave you the necklace without explaining how to use—oh dear!"

"What do you mean? How to use the necklace?"

Flustered herself, Cha Haein lowered her gaze to her necklace.

Sung Jinwoo had given it to her for their sixteenth wedding anniversary. Thanks to its mysterious properties, she had been able to understand the ice elves' language all this time.

'Could that not have been its only function—'

Beru pointed to her necklace and explained.

"This necklace is an artifact painstakingly crafted by the bearded dwarves. My liege personally inscribed a special rune in it just for you, Lady Cha Haein!"

"A special rune? What is it?"

"Now, repeat after me!"

Beru's eyes flashed as he carefully enunciated the word.

"Inventory."

"... I-inventory?"

The moment Cha Haein haltingly repeated it, a light flashed.

"...!"

A translucent system window suddenly unfolded before her eyes.

Her eyes widened at the items inside.

"Wh-what is this?!"

Indeed.

When the giants, one of the apostles of Itarim, invaded Earth, Sung Jinwoo had sensed that the same thing might happen again someday.

To prepare for the unexpected, he had therefore had a necklace with various functions made for his beloved wife, Cha Haein.

So that even if he were not beside her, she could protect herself.

The first function of the necklace made for her allowed her to communicate with other races.

The second was a pocket dimension: an inventory.

"We soldiers also gathered gifts of our own for Lady Cha Haein and placed them inside. One of them is..."

Just then, a blue blade slid out into Cha Haein's hand.

"...!"

Suho's eyes widened as he watched.

Item information had appeared before him.

[Item: Demon King's Longsword]

Acquisition Difficulty: S

Type: Sword

Attack +350

A longsword imbued with the power of the Demon King Baran. Each swing activates the effect “Storm of White Flames.”

Effect “Storm of White Flames”: Creates a storm of ceaseless lightning within a set area.

"Th-this sword! Could it be the one the Demon King wielded...?!"

Esil's shriek erupted from within Vulcan's Horn. She had recognized the sword at a glance, even without an information window.

But Cha Haein, too, knew this sword well.

"... This is Igris's gift."

Igris now wielded a better sword, crafted by the bearded dwarves and bestowed upon him by Sung Jinwoo.

In other words, he no longer had any use for this one.

But this was the first weapon Sung Jinwoo had ever bestowed upon Igris, and it held a special significance.

To Igris, it was a treasure he would not trade even for his life.

Cha Haein knew full well what it meant for him to give it to someone else. A small smile touched her lips.

CRACKLE! CRACKLE!

"Beru."

Blue currents reflected in Cha Haein's eyes as she gazed, entranced, at the blade of the Demon King's Longsword, wreathed in blue lightning.

"When you see Igris again..."

BOOM!

Just then, the Icewood Spear brought them within striking distance of the apostle of Itarim.

"Will you tell him I truly appreciate his gift?"

In a smooth sweep, the Demon King's Longsword rose in a semicircle from Cha Haein's hand as she landed on the ground.

At that moment, the air on the battlefield changed.