Absolute Dweller-Chapter 225

"Of course."

It was obvious, but this wasn’t the first reconnaissance.

After several experiments, I was able to specifically determine the range at which it reacts.

‘About a 20km radius, huh.’

The place where it coiled itself was the central area of the city, including Shinjuku and Shibuya.

Its body, coiled up in a circular shape, had a diameter of 10km, so if it were to stretch out, its body would span several dozen kilometers.

Considering its size, a 20km radius wasn’t all that wide.

‘Are all the ones over level 80 like this?’

The Ice Dragon's domain, which had frozen everything in its path just by flying above.

And the domain of the Undying Ghost that brought death to the surrounding area.

Each had its own sphere of influence, a specific range within which they exerted their power.

However.

‘…Isn’t this range a bit narrow?’

My personal impression was that, given the strength they possessed, the range of their power felt incredibly small.

It was only natural to feel that way.

After all.

‘My domain is covering half of the Korean Peninsula right now.’

What’s more, the edge of the domain even stretches into Japan.

Even the most powerful Ice Dragon I had encountered so far, which was around level 80, didn’t have such a wide domain.

‘Just what...’

What kind of being could possess such an expansive domain as the owner of this black energy?

What was even more shocking was that.

‘There’s still room for my skill level to grow.’

I didn’t know just how much further it would expand.

Once again, I felt the overwhelming power of the being that was targeting my body.

A chill spread over my entire body.

‘That kind of thing is targeting my body.’

Could absorbing all the deities on Earth allow me to stand against it?

‘Of course, I first have to worry about whether I can even absorb all the deities...’

The Yamata no Orochi right in front of me wasn’t a pushover either.

Creeeek—

Silver chains were digging into Kim Geon’s body.

This was a phenomenon that occurred when entering its domain.

If it hadn’t been for the black energy protecting Kim Geon’s body, a mutation would have occurred immediately.

‘It’s difficult to approach without the enhanced state.’

And then.

‘Open warehouse.’

I summoned the reinforced steel ball that had been falling from Seodaemun.

Screeeech—

The reinforced steel ball, falling at an incredible speed, struck the snake's head that was looking up at us.

However.

Thud!

There was no explosion, and the snake’s head didn’t burst open.

It was still staring at us, unharmed.

Boom!

The explosion sound came a moment later.

Along with the message that the hunt was successful, experience points and settlement funds flooded in, but it all meant nothing.

I had only taken out a few minions, and hadn’t dealt any damage to the main body of the Yamata no Orochi.

It did seem like the explosion had created a huge hole in its body, but that was no injury.

As proof, the scattered body had restored itself to its original form within a few seconds.

‘Does that mean physical attacks are completely useless?’

Its body was like a massive fog.

Therefore, regular physical attacks were ineffective.

At that moment, all eight heads simultaneously opened their mouths.

At the same time.

[Would you like to summon the Undying Ghost (Lv. 81)?]

[Yes / No]

‘Summon it.’

[444,444,444 won will be consumed.]

A pitiful skeleton appeared in the air.

And at the same time.

‘Summon the servant.’

I called for Kim Geon.

Just before he was about to move to a safe zone, all eight mouths simultaneously exhaled silver mist.

Even with Kim Geon’s enhanced state, it would have been dangerous had he been hit head-on.

But.

‘Enhance.’

A being that had originally dealt with deities.

The Undying Ghost at level 81 was different.

Whoooosh!

A black flame flared up in the chest of the pitiful skeleton.

At the same time.

Whoooosh—

The black energy exploded, rapidly expanding around.

The domain of the Undying Ghost clashed with the silver energy emitted by Yamata no Orochi.

Crackling—

The silver mist, unleashed with explosive force, pushed back the black energy.

But rather than resisting, the black energy accepted the silver mist.

And.

Whoooosh!

It burned and consumed it.

As it had done when encountering other deities in the past.

‘......’

Fundamentally, the black energy was different from other deities.

‘Only the black energy consumes the energy of others.’

I had previously thought that it was just a higher-level deity devouring a lower-level deity.

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net, it has been stolen.

‘I was wrong.’

No matter how low the rank, that place was Yamata no Orochi’s territory.

It’s said that even a mutt can eat half when it’s in front of its own home, and the same applies in conflicts between deities.

The black energy’s influence weakened outside of its proclaimed domain.

Moreover, it would weaken even more inside someone else’s territory.

Even with the Undying Ghost as a medium, the limit was clear.

But even now, look at this.

In the grand scheme of things, the black energy was clearly being pushed back.

The size of the area the Undying Ghost had created had already been reduced to less than half.

But the silver energy pushed it back, while the black energy consumed it.

It was like a predator eating its prey.

Even though it was being pushed back in terms of momentum, the black energy still clung to and bit at the silver mist.

‘This is strange.’

It should have been unsettling.

Yet, even though I had realized that it was targeting my body, I still felt secure.

‘I don’t feel like those teeth will bite into my neck.’

Is this what it’s like to raise a wild animal as a pet?

Even after experiencing the black energy’s attempt to devour my body, I wasn’t too repelled by it.

‘Maybe it’s even affecting my subconscious.’

Lowering my guard, getting more familiar with the black energy.

So that it could naturally consume my mind.

‘Eventually, it will show its fangs towards me.’

But for now, the leash on the black energy was still in my hands.

In order to absorb other deities, the black energy was indispensable.

Ironically, in order to build the strength to resist the black energy, I had to use the black energy itself.

‘Until then, I’ll rely on you.’

The Undying Ghost wielding the black energy rampaged for 4 minutes.

With a long sword, it sliced off the snake’s head several times and cut through its body.

In the last minute, the entire skeletal form bloomed, revealing its true form.

A skeletal dragon with a body length of several dozen meters.

The black energy scattered in all directions as it tore apart the body of Yamata no Orochi.

But.

‘It’s useless.’

There was no doubt that it had inflicted some minor damage.

The fact that all eight heads were writhing in madness was certainly annoying.

However, nothing was fatal.

Neither the sword imbued with black energy nor the death domain created by the Undying Ghost.

They all seemed to just be a minor nuisance.

Then.

The summoning time was nearly over, and the Undying Ghost was being recalled. One of the snake's heads had come dangerously close to it.

A massive silver eye, as large as a high-rise building, looked down at the Undying Ghost.

Through the eyes of the Absolute Being, the snake's eye was directly staring at me.

Crackle—

At that moment, the summoning time ended.

‘...What was that just now?’

The last moment, when I faced the snake's eyes, gave me the feeling that it was trying to convey something.

It was hard to imagine saying anything other than curses to the creature that had suddenly invaded my domain and attacked.

‘But it didn’t feel like that.’

It felt like it was trying to communicate something important.

I wanted to understand right away, but I had no more cards left.

To summon the Undying Ghost again, I would have to wait for a two-week cooldown, and my avatar was dead.

The avatar had been the one who first discovered Orochi in Tokyo.

At that time, there was still little information about it, and I hadn't yet recognized the nature of its domain.

‘It was a mistake.’

Since it was enhanced, I hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly.

Right after the discovery, the avatar had used teleportation to move onto the body of the Yamata no Orochi and was swallowed by its body.

‘Thanks to that, I learned that its body is like a vessel.’

The price for that information had been the avatar's life.

The silver energy that immediately invaded its body and the black energy that covered its entire form had clashed, and before the avatar had a chance to react, its body had exploded.

‘Too dangerous.’

Even the avatar couldn’t withstand it for long.

The retainers would be even more at risk.

The only ones with any chance were Lee Joon-hyuk and Kim Da-bin, who had surpassed their limits, but even they couldn't be counted on for sure.

‘I’ll have to wait for the avatar's resurrection.’

Then.

‘...What is this?’

Within my domain, I felt the presence of Orochi’s energy.

***

Thud—

Something dropped onto my forehead.

Thud—

A warm, sticky liquid.

Nakamoto Hiroshi thought.

‘Again.’

The sticky liquid fell onto his forehead at regular intervals while he lay there.

And the smell that stung his nose.

This scent—

‘It’s that dream again.’

It was always the same dream.

Lying down with his eyes closed, unable to move.

The sticky liquid falling onto his forehead.

The blood-like scent.

And then.

‘I… I don’t want it.’

He already knew what came next.

His eyes were slowly opening.

Nakamoto Hiroshi desperately tried to keep his eyes closed.

But in this dream, he was powerless.

No movement was allowed.

All he could do was accept it.

‘Aaaahh!’

There they were on the dark ceiling.

Horribly tangled bodies.

Men, women, the elderly, children—all of them miserable, mixed together in a heap.

The vengeful eyes of those bodies were looking down at him.

Soon after, rotten blood dropped down from that place.

Thud—!

The unpleasant sensation made the blood scent even thicker.

The entire ceiling was soaked in blood.

Drip drip drip!

Blood poured down like rain.

Whooosh—

The room was quickly filling up with blood.

The blood that had been tapping on Nakamoto Hiroshi's forehead now began to cover his entire body, and it started to flow into his nostrils, mouth, and ears.

Soon, the room was completely filled with blood.

He wanted to scream, but he couldn’t move.

Silent screams reverberated endlessly, and just when he was fully swallowed by the blood...

“Huff!”

He managed to break free from the nightmare.

“Huff, huff.”

His bed was soaked with cold sweat, and his body trembled.

The blanket was damp.

Was it an illusion?

Thud—

“Huff!”

It felt like blood was dripping onto his head.

He hurriedly raised his head.

The room wasn’t dark.

He always slept with the lights on, even when he was tormented by nightmares.

There was nothing there.

However, the scene from the dream vividly came to his mind.

“Ugh.”

Desperately sitting up, Nakamoto Hiroshi rushed to the bathroom.

He grabbed the toilet and vomited.

“Ughhh!”

The contents were a hollow green liquid.

“Ha. Ha.”

He wiped his mouth, which had the remnants of the vomit, and stood in front of the sink.

His eyes, bloodshot and red, stared back at him.

They overlapped with the vengeful eyes of the corpses he had seen in the dream.

Instinctively, he grabbed the knife from his inventory.

Takahashi Ryo.

It was the knife he had carried.

He raised it to his neck.

At that moment.

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“Was that the reason you kept that knife?”

“Re, Rehyeon…”

Kim Jae-hyun was right next to him.

A brief silence passed, and Kim Jae-hyun spoke first.

“Have you ever heard of Hercules' Twelve Labors?”

“That… isn’t that the story of him killing the lion and the Hydra?”

“Correct. Hercules performed those labors to atone for his sins.”

Nakamoto Hiroshi pondered for a moment, then replied and asked.

“So you're saying that my death wouldn’t be atonement? That I have to atone while alive?”

“Hm. That’s one way to interpret it. But that’s not what I mean. When I first heard that story, I thought Hercules had no sin.”

“...What?”

“Hercules killed his family, but it was Hera who drove him mad, right? In the end, it was Hera’s jealousy that caused the crime, yet the atonement for that crime was expected to fall on Hercules. That never made sense to me.”

It sounded like a wordplay, but Kim Jae-hyun’s expression was dead serious.

“If I were Hercules, I would have killed Hera. Because she was the one who drove him mad, after all.”

“...I see.”

Nakamoto Hiroshi was oddly persuaded.

“So, I think the one you should be angry at, Nakamoto-san, is not yourself, but the one who turned you into a mutant.”

Kim Jae-hyun extended his hand and continued.

“If you think that life is so disposable, how about leaving it to me instead?”