Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 601
Chapter 601: Third Record (4)
From beyond long, wig-like hair peeked a singular eye.
Boom!
It looked to be around twenty feet tall, already beyond the bounds of a large monster, and its absurdly proportioned arms made it look even bigger still.
Well, even with that, it was still smaller than a Hipramajent.
Boom!
Still, the pressure I was feeling from this was on a different level. I knew this guy better than anyone else.
The Lord of Silence, Siliut, was the lord of the fifth floor who was maxed out with all sorts of tricky gimmicks. A being that was on par with a disaster and adventurer like me who used essences.
I couldn’t counter this guy by using the companionship spell as we did against the traitor Ricardo Lüchenprague who had this guy’s essence…
Why is this guy here?
Though my mind was conflicted, my movement was instantaneous.
The moment I met my eyes with it, I immediately jumped back and grabbed Erwen. To replace my voice that refused to make sound, I gave a simple order using signals to Gahuin, who ended up meeting my eyes.
Attack it.
Full force.
If he was a member of the Anabada Clan, I would have been able to give a much more complicated order using hand signals, but there was no changing the fact that he wasn’t at this point. Fortunately, Gahuin moved as soon as he received my order.
[Gahuin Versilus has cast the ancient magic Katuka’s Thunderstorm.]
Katuka’s Thunderstorm was an insta-cast and one of the ancient magic spells that Gahuin was able to use in his role as the Wizard. It went without saying, too, that it was very powerful.
Light flashed multiple times, filling the canyon as if the sky were collapsing, and the great rumbling wasn’t heard but, instead, felt as vibrations on our skin.
[You have left the area of Nullification.]
With that, I listened to the sound of the Lord of Silence, Siliut, falling down the cliff it had just been climbing up.
“Uh…” Gahuin looked shocked after he cast his spell.
By contrast, the village chief was calm. “Hmm…that’s an interesting monster.”
Ah, come to think of it, when this old man was alive, the Lords of the Floor must not have existed in the labyrinth. According to what was recorded on the Stone of Honor, the Lords of the Floor began to appear in the labyrinth after the Abyss Seeker, Limenin, reached the tenth floor.
“Sir Versilus,” he continued, “do you know what that monster is?”
“If what I saw was correct…wh-what we just saw was the Lord of the Floor of the Great Demon Realm…”
“Lord of the Floor…?” The village chief tilted his head at the unfamiliar word, but I didn’t have time to explain it to him.
“What are you doing? Come quickly!”
We needed to get out of here first. Although we would have to defeat that monster at some point, on top of a narrow canyon wasn’t the proper place. I also needed some time to think.
“Erwen, hold on tightly.”
“Y-yes!” she stuttered in reply, and with her firmly in my grip, we were dashing forward.
As I began running, I noticed another change. If a monster appeared in front of us, I was planning on just charging through it…
A silver lining…
However, perhaps because the Lord of Silence had appeared, the monsters who would have blocked our path were nowhere to be seen.
“Lord Baron, tell us where we are going!”
“We’re going down.”
“Down…? The Lord of the Floor will be waiting for us down there if we do!”
“That’s why we need to go down there. If we are to fight it, the open field will be better than on top of this canyon.”
“Are you…really thinking of fighting it?”
Gahuin was shouting as if what I was saying was ridiculous, but I had only one thing to say to him..
“Then is there another way?”
“Fuck, it’s the Lord of the Floor! The Lord of the Floor you need to prepare against with hundreds of people, and then still suffer casualties! Are you saying us five will be enough to defeat it? Even while this elf here can’t even support her own weight?”
To be honest, I could understand where he was coming from. The infamy of the Lord of the Floor didn’t need to be restated. But the way he said it…
Well, I guess it was probably because of the field effect. Since I didn’t have time to cure him with my hammer, I decided to just let this pass—
The village chief’s shout echoed around the canyon.
“Gahuin Versilus!”
It was the first time I had ever heard him snap at someone like that.
“Y-yes…?”
Gaze set on Gahuin, who looked completely caught off guard, the village chief sterly said, “Don’t nag, and follow the baron’s instructions. This is my order.”
“Pardon? B-but—”
“Are you going to commit insubordination?”
“N-no… It’s just I feel that there must be a way other than to fight that thing—”
“A yes or no will suffice, but I do hope you make the right decision. Your answer here will determine your future.”
After a beat of hesitation, Gahuin backed down. “I will follow him.”
Thanks to the village chief’s quick interjection, the situation resolved itself smoothly. Things usually went terrible when the command chain broke in situations like this, and it seemed that the village chief knew this as well.
The village chief sped up and approached me at the front.
“Judging by his reaction, it seems that the monster will be a difficult opponent. You do have an idea, don’t you?”
“…Of course.”
I was still thinking, however. In any case, however, our situation wasn’t all that bad. We already had everything required for a raid.
Priest, wizard, knight.
These three were the most important human resources needed to fight the Lord of Silence. Of course, five was too low of a number to attempt the battle…but with infinite divine power, ancient magic, and the village chief’s stat boost stacked on top, our group had put on a phenomenal performance during this chapter. At this rate, we had fulfilled the minimum requirements for the fight.
The problem is Erwen and I…
Still, thinking about it optimistically, there was a high chance that we had a role in this battle as well. That was the kind of game Dungeon and Stone I knew was.
As soon as the boss battle begins, I’ll need to look for an opening while those three work as the main force.
The most important person here was the priest. If he could use his infinite divine power properly, then there was a chance that we could endure almost anything—
“B-Baroooooon—! Stop!”
At that moment, a problem occurred behind us.
As I stopped running and turned around, I saw Gahuin and the archbishop stopped on the path. No, to be precise…
“The archbishop has stopped moving for some reason!”
The archbishop stopped as if possessed and Gahuin looked at him with worry.
“Step aside for a moment,” I commanded, putting Erwen down to approach him, but the archbishop only looked into the empty air in silence. It seemed something bad had happened to him.
What is it?
I didn’t remember the Lord of Silence having an effect like this. Was it different because we were inside a rift? Then there were too many—
“Lord Baron.”
But then, the archbishop suddenly turned to me and spoke.
Yikes, that scared me…
I subtly rubbed my shocked heart as I calmly assessed the situation. “Archbishop, are you alright? What happened?” If something had happened, we needed to quickly think of a way to deal with it—
“Don’t worry,” he reassured, “I’m fine. I’m honestly in a better condition than ever before.”
What?
Slowly, I asked, “What do you mean?”
“It’s as I said. God’s miracle is filling my body. I’ve never felt this full in my life…”
Judging by the look in his eyes, it seemed that the archbishop was still out of it.
Hah, this wasn’t the time to be doing this.
“Lord Baron.”
As I thought over how to fix him, the archbishop looked directly into my eyes.
“Have you ever thought about serving something else other than the spirit of your ancestors?”
It was the same thing he said before the Lord of Silence had appeared before. However, when I heard him speak this time, I immediately sensed that something was off. I wasn’t sure of it yet, but…
“I’m asking just in case.”
I needed to check.
“Is this ‘something else’ you’re talking about Reatlas?” I continued.
The archbishop remained silent.
But as if to answer my question…
Shwaaa.
Thousands of small black beads bubbled up from the darkness of the labyrinth. As if to bless him, they gathered around the archbishop.
Unfortunately, I knew what that effect meant. It was the effect that appeared when someone advanced to a priest of Karui.
Shwaaa!
The archbishop smiled brightly as he reached out his hands toward the black beads. There was no point denying it anymore. Although it was so sudden and hard to believe…
“Do you see them? The grace of god?”
The archbishop had become a priest of Karui.
***
[Eden Hesteia has fallen to temptation. Karui’s Authority is now available to use.]
My head instantly felt weighed down.
Our team’s priest had suddenly become a priest of Karui. What could I do about that?
Do I need to kill him now?
Seeing his defenseless state, it didn’t seem impossible. No, now might just be the only chance I got. I needed to make a decision, and quickly. If the archbishop with infinite divine power became a priest of Karui and became our opponent, things would become far more difficult.
But if I kill him…is there an answer after that?
Ignoring the moral question of if it was right to kill an archbishop, we would never be able to defeat the Lord of the Floor if we lost our priest. However, my thoughts were jumbled.
Maybe we aren’t supposed to kill him.
I still didn’t know how to clear this rift, but what if the archbishop advancing to a priest of Karui played a key role in the story of this rift? An impulsive action could lead to a result that couldn’t be turned back—
[You have cast Swing.]
By the time I came to my senses, I had already swung my hammer toward the archbishop’s head. It wasn’t a decision I came to after contemplation, but an instinctual act.
Crunch!
As the hammer that I’d swung as hard as I could made contact, half of the archbishop’s head was flung away. Nevertheless, he continued to stand.
Since I knew that the priests of Karui could survive even while only having half a head, I wasn’t too surprised.
“You, wh-what are you doing?!”
However, it was different for Gahuin, who was watching us from the side.
“Y-you attacked the archbishop!” he screeched. “You are the brute here!”
Ah, this guy didn’t know what situation we were in. I didn’t have time to explain either.
One more time.
I swung my hammer one more time, and unfortunately, it was blocked by the tentacles that erupted from his body. It looked far too disgusting and slimy to be a divine spell and sent Gahuin sputtering. “J-just what is going on?”
I swung my hammer a few more times but noticing the retaliation from the tentacles, I stopped and explained the situation to Gahuin. “The archbishop has become a priest of Karui.”
“What?”
“Look at him. His head is already half blown off, but he’s still alive.”
“Th-then aren’t we supposed to defeat him as quickly as possible?”
Weren’t you the one shouting at me for attacking the archbishop just then?
“Count Saintred, could you try this?” I ordered hastily.
The village chief unveiled his aura without hesitation and swung his sword.
Boom!
However, those tentacles blocked even his aura, though the village chief didn’t seem too disappointed.
“It feels like it will be possible if I use everything I have…but I’ll be useless after that. It’s something like a finishing move. Is that something you want?”
He looked at me as if to say this was all up to my decision, sending me into deeper contemplation. With how sure he sounded, he would probably do it if I told him to.
But if the village chief disappears as well, I’ll only have the wizard left.
“You…”
The archbishop spoke again.
“You still don’t understand me even a little.”
The voice held no emotions, just like how the village chief spoke in the past.
“Do not worry,” he deadpanned ominously. “You will all soon understand.”
The tentacles then bent backward toward him, cracking open his rib cage to expose his heart as if he were getting exorcized.
Creak!
I could tell what that skill was as soon as I saw it.
[Eden Hesteina has cast Unstable Vessel.]
Unstable Vessel—the strongest skill a priest of Karui had. The effect of the skill was simple. You became invulnerable for the duration of the cast…
And you explode after that.
Considering its range and power, it was a powerful skill second to none in Dungeon and Stone.
It’s already too late for us to dodge.
Even if I were to give up on the village chief, we needed to stop this now. As soon as I went to say that out loud, the ground shook again as my voice disappeared.
[You have entered the area of Nullification. All essence skills are sealed.]
As they say, when it rains, it pours. The Lord of the Floor we had thrown down before had climbed back up again.
Attack it.
Full force.
I quickly signaled the same thing I did before to Gahuin at the village chief. However, the village chief only awkwardly shook his head while looking at me. Ah… could he not use it if his essence was sealed?
Damn it.
After that, I changed my signal.
Run away as fast as you can.
Anywhere.
Survive.
This was my first time signaling an every-man-for-themselves signal in my long life as an adventurer. After confirming that everyone understood what I meant, I quickly put Erwen on my back and ran up to the edge of the cliff.
Of course, I wasn’t sure of anything. I didn’t even know if I could survive falling from here.
Still…it’ll be better than getting hit in the face with that skill.
Rumble!
A huge hand raised itself from below the cliff just as I went to jump down. I tried to ignore it, but I noticed something odd about the hand’s movement. It didn’t seem to be aiming for us.
Huh…?
After the Lord of the Floor’s upper body was settled onto the path, it curled up on itself as if to swaddle the archbishop in a hug.
It met its eye with mine, and then it jumped down the cliff, still holding onto the archbishop.
[You have left the area of Nullification.]
Around three seconds after it began falling, the Nullification went away.
BOOOOOOM!
Then, an explosion like a nuclear bomb exploding erupted from below the cliff’s edge.
“Everyone! Hang on!”
The Great Demon Realm began to collapse.
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