Chapter 16: Black Star's Relic
Chapter 16: Black Star's Relic
Bang! Bang!—
A bang echoed throughout the cave every time the black mucus giant took a step.
The dozens of black tentacles gushing out of the giant's back wriggled menacingly.
'...'
Ohjin stared at the giant with shaking eyes.
'What's this all of a sudden.'
Of all time for this to happen, of course it just had to happen after he had boasted in excitement when he saw the star relic.
'How do I run now...?!' he tilted his head and looked at Vega.
She was comfortably floating in mid-air with her arms crossed.
Her golden eyes sparkled in anticipation, looking forward to what kind of new method he would use to face the monster.
'What am I supposed to do with that?'
Biting his lips, he faced the mucus giant once again.
Around five meters tall...
The body composed of mucus swelled up like a bodybuilder that had taken lethal doses of steroids.
It looked somewhat like the monster he saw on the Venom poster while walking down the street.
'You can tell it's damn strong with a glance. I think I'll get launched back to the entrance of this cave with one hit.'
"Fuu."
Forcefully moving his fear-halted body, he grasped his spear.
He was in a situation where he couldn't flee, as he had already spilled the beans.
'If I can't run, I can only fight to the death; it's not like I have no chance of winning.'
'Although it looks like a monster from Nordic mythology, it probably isn't that strong.'
'The slimes were originally weaklings anyway; there's no way they would be reborn as an invincible monster like Exodia just because some arms and legs are attached to the body.'
'Let's give it a shot. I only need to flee when It feels impossible.'
"Krrrrrrrrrk."
Sounding like it was coughing up phlegm, the mucus giant lowered its stance.
Splurge!—
As the giant's back split apart, dozens of black tentacles poured out.
The moment the black tentacles were about to fire at Ohjin...
"Eat this, you fuckers!!" he pulled out a small handgun from his pocket and pulled on the trigger.
Naturally, the small handgun didn't contain a simple bullet.
Flash!—
"Krrrrrrrrg?!"
The stun grenade scattered a blinding flash throughout the entire cave like the sun had risen.
The giant frowned and took a step back, not used to the light.
'Now!'
Bang!—
The moment the giant faltered, Ohjin sprinted forwards with all his might.
"Huff, puff!"
He had one shot.
As a sudden attack such as the stun grenade wouldn't work twice, he needed to risk everything on this one chance.
The gap between them closed.
The faltering giant took a step back, trying to regain its balance.
'Five meters...'
He grasped the spear.
Crackleee!!—
Blue lightning blazed.
His stigma poured out light.
'Three meters...'
His eyes locked onto the giant's hip.
Even with a spear, a clear strike at the head would be too difficult.
He aimed at the widest target possible, pouring maximum output into this single strike.
'One meter...'
Ta-tap!—
He kicked the ground and squeezed every last bit of mana into the stigma.
Blue Lightning.
He prepared the strike that had surprised even Vega, his strongest current attack.
And then—
"Kruk?"
"Hyaaaaaaaa!!!"
—striking out with all his might—
Crackleeeeeee!!!!—
"Kruuuuuuuh!!!"
—the sharp blow precisely pierced into its spine.
The mucus giant stumbled and swirled flailed its arms.
It was an attack borne of desperation, but it still contained a powerful force behind it that could separate bone and skin.
Just a graze would kill him.
"Krrrrrrgh!!"
Bang!—
The spazzing giant got down on one knee as the lightning spread across its body.
Its two arms swung through the air in vain.
However—
Swooosh!!—
—even in its current situation, the dozens of tentacles pouring out of its back accurately aimed for Ohjin.
"Hmpf!"
Taking in a short breath, he let go of the spear impaled into the giant's hip.
'As expected, one blow isn't enough.'
Well...
It was a monster with the build of a tactical tank.
No matter how much an Awakener was a supernatural being outside the scope of humans, taking down a monster with that build in one strike was close to impossible.
Ohjin himself also knew of that fact.
'—If that's the case!'
Ta-tap!!—
Using the spear stuck into the giant's hip as a foothold, he jumped into the air.
Swoosh!!—
The tentacles immediately changed their direction and rushed towards Ohjin, who was still in mid-air.
"Kugk!!"
It was a gamble from there on out.
Ohjin threw the rope he had prepared towards the cave's ceiling.
The hook on the end of the rope caught onto the stalactites poking out.
'Please!'
If the stalactites couldn't bear his weight and broke down, it was the end.
The only option from there was getting beaten up by the tentacles and begging Vega to save his life.
"Hmpf!"
He pulled down on the rope with all his strength.
Krkakak!!—
The sound of steel echoed as the hook scraped on the stalactites.
With a floating sensation, he could see the dozens of tentacles passing under his feet.
"Yes!"
Fortunately, the stalactites didn't break.
Just when the tentacles that cut through the air were about to change direction towards him—
Tak!—
—he let go of the rope.
Led by gravity, his body quickly fell downwards.
He spread his arms and fell directly towards the giant's head.
"Die, you bitch!!!"
"Krrrrghh!!"
Crunch!—
He shoved his two arms into the soccerball-sized eyes.
Gloop—
Black mucus overflowed out as he felt his arms dig into the jelly-like eyeball.
The sticky mucus twisted.
"Krhuu!"
Ohjin's smile turned into a smirk.
* * *
Translator - Maccas
Proofreader - ilafy
* * *
Bzz, Bzzzzz!!—
Blue lightning blazed up out of the radiantly shining stigma.
"Thunderbolt, you dipshit!!!!"
He focused the lightning that coated his entire body into his two arms that had mashed their way into the creature's eyeball.
"PIKAA— CHUUUUUUU!!!!!!"
Crackleeeeee!!!—
"Kraaaaaaaarak!!!"
The ginormous body stumbled as the giant's head exploded.
Soaring through the air, he landed on the collapsed giant's body.
"Pant, pant!"
He had difficulty catching his breath after using Blue Lightning two times in succession.
He felt like he had done 20 consecutive 100m sprints.
His sight wobbled; he felt nauseous.
Forget about the star relic; he wanted to lie facedown on the spot and go to sleep.
'But still...'
He succeeded in beating a monster he couldn't possibly imagine being—
[It's dangerous!!!]
"Huh?"
Swoosh!—
Simultaneously with Vega's shout, he could hear the sound of something ripping through the air.
"Kugh!"
He quickly twisted his body and braced his arms towards the direction the sound was coming from.
Baaaaang!!—
"Kughhh!!!"
As a heavy impact like that of a battering ram shook his body, he was knocked close to 10m into the air.
Ba-bang!—
"Kugh! Kuk! Cough! Cough!"
[O-Ohjin! Are you alright?!]
Vega approached him with a pale expression.
Ohjin crawled on the floor, clutching both of his arms that radiated with intense pain.
"The fuck?" he slightly turned his neck to confirm the being that had slammed him.
—A headless monster.
He could see the headless mucus giant was standing just fine.
'Holy shit. It didn't die?'
'Dammit.'
A complete calculative error.
'My arms... are fortunately not broken.'
You could say it was thanks to the stigma of Lyra.
Even though the impact was enough to one-shot your average 2-Star Awakener, not even his bones were broken.
However—
He took a look at his body with cold eyes.
—On top of being weaponless, his legs were shaking and the intense pain still lingered in his arms.
'...This is the worst.'
There wasn't any other method now.
"Vega," he called out to the Goddess while forgetting to address her with honorifics.
"Grant me a blessing."
[Okay.]
As if she had been waiting all along, Vega raised her hand.
Radiant silver light poured out.
Bzz!—
[Ut...!]
Vega's expression distorted as the commandment's restriction took effect.
As the silver sheen of silver light settled in his body—
[Vega bestows upon you the Star's Blessing.]
[Stigma of Lyra's proficiency temporarily increases!]
Powerful strength started to boil up his body.
Crackleeeee!!!—
A brilliantly blazing blue lightning.
Was it because he had grown a lot compared to when he had first received the blessing?
He felt powerful, incomparable to how he had felt before.
'Although the burden on Vega increases...'
It couldn't be helped.
Without the blessing, there was no other method to take out the mucus giant.
"Fuu," he pulled himself together with a deep breath.
Lowering his back with his two hands on the ground, he stretched his legs all the way back.
Crack, Crackle!!—
Blue lightning started to gather by his feet.
Focusing the power overflowing over his body into his legs—
Bang!!—
—he kicked his feet!
"Kr...ruk... guk."
He shot like an arrow towards the giant that couldn't even make a proper sound without his head.
Swooosh!—
The bundle of black tentacles rained down from all directions.
'No sweat.'
It wasn't even a threat for him who had been blessed.
"Hmpf!"
Crackleee!!!—
As he lightly swung his fist, blue lightning swept forward in a fan shape.
Blue Lightning erupted from every punch.
Fiercely swinging his clenched fists, he headed towards the mucus giant.
"Haa, haa!"
His breathing started to become rough.
Every time the Blue Lightning erupted from his fists, he could feel the stigma's mana burning out.
'It doesn't matter; I have overwhelming amounts of mana anyway.'
'No.'
The simple expression 'overwhelming amounts of mana' wasn't fit.
'What— is this?'
He couldn't understand it at all, but...
The more he used the stigma's mana, the more his amount of mana increased.
"Kugh!!"
Like a sky filled with black clouds pouring down rain,
the torrent of mana that filled up his tank faster than he could use it shook his body.
He felt like his body was about to explode from the expanding mana, like an overfilled balloon.
"Huaaaaaa!!!"
Crack!! Crack!! Crackleeee!!!—
Roaring out like a beast, he continuously swung his fists without rest.
Tens, hundreds of Blue Lightnings swept across the mucus giant's body.
You could no longer find a trace of the giant's corpse that had turned into ash.
Intending to disintegrate even that ash, he continued to send torrents of Blue Lightning.
'A little more...'
His head was scorching hot.
As if a black cloud was covering his eyes, his sight slightly darkened.
'A little more...'
A burning exhalation.
An electrifying thrill.
If he continued a little more, he felt like he could grasp onto someth—
[—Stop.]
Together with the clear echoing sound of the Goddess's voice, the slightly darkened sight cleared up.
[It has already died.]
"Haa, haa!"
Taking in rough breaths, he flopped himself onto the ground.
'What was that...?'
The burning feeling of exaltation.
An unknown sensation together with the explosively expanding mana.
Just when he focused his mind in order to recall the sensation that had disappeared without a trace—
Owooooong!!—
"Kugh!!"
The stigma engraved on his left chest burned up with bright lights.
[Is this... p-perhaps!]
Vega's two eyes opened wide in disbelief.
"Ah, ugh. Ahhhh!!"
Crack! Crackle!!—
As the blue lightning sparked, the flick engraved stigma increased by one.
Now, there were a total of three flicks engraved on his stigma.
-Ring!
['Stigma of Lyra' has been promoted to 3-Star!]
[ has increased to !]
[ has increased to !]
The clear sound of bells faintly echoed in his ears.
[T-To be able to reach 3-Star in under a month.]
Vega stuttered in astonishment.
It was a stigma not from some average celestial but from a North Star.
The speed of growth was unbelievable, even for a Heaven-defying Star.
It was no different from racing on a motorcycle alone while everybody else ran in a marathon.
[Just what...]
She looked down towards Ohjin, who was lying on the ground with a dumbstruck expression.
[Hm?]
His figure was dead still.
[My child?]
Reaching out her hand, she poked Ohjin's cheek.
However, his firmly shut eyes wouldn't open.
[W-Wake up!]
The Goddess's dejected voice echoed throughout the spacious cavern, alone.