Chapter 154: Everyone’s Own Stance (5)
Aside from the moment the sword was first swung, there wasn't even the sound of anything being severed.
Thud.
It was a chilling sound.
And a moment later, something's head shot up into the air before powerlessly falling to the ground.
But that wasn’t the end of it.
Lian’s sword had cut through more than just its neck.
“~~~~~~!!!”
First was the massive mass of tentacles that pulsed and squirmed quietly like a living creature.
A part of it had been sliced cleanly, smoothly.
With that, it began to thrash about wildly, flinging its tentacles around.
And that wasn't all.
Lian’s sword had also sliced through part of the stone wall of the underground waterway like paper.
Worse yet, some Cultists of the Evil God who had the misfortune of standing within its path were cleaved in two before they could even scream, collapsing on the spot.
Everything that had been within the arc of Lian’s swing was severed without exception.
Was it just his imagination?
In the wake of his strike, something like a shimmering mirage seemed to remain in the air, wavering faintly.
“……!”
It had happened in an instant.
For a brief moment, an oppressive silence hung over the place, enough to take one’s breath away.
The only sound that could be heard was the deep red bodily fluid pouring from the severed tentacle mass, soaking the floor as it writhed.
“Guh… mmph!”
In that silence, Lian barely managed to swallow the scream that tried to escape him.
He glanced at his own right arm, the one that had swung the sword.
His right arm was twisted at an abominable angle.
Tendons bulged, muscles contorted, and even the bones were bent grotesquely.
His arm had been shattered, plain and simple.
And it wasn’t just the right arm.
It felt like all the joints and muscles in his body were screaming, as a horrendous shockwave swept through him.
That shock had driven itself into every corner of his body, shaking his internal organs.
Even though he had pushed his divine power to the limit and invoked the Miracle of Strengthening, this was the result.
Gritting his teeth, Lian thought:
‘So this is what Airos was talking about.’
His warning had been literal.
He had said Lian would destroy himself if he couldn’t withstand the power.
And just as he’d said, Lian’s right arm had crumbled, unable to endure the force.
“…….”
Without hesitation, Lian began to pour out his divine power once again.
But this time, it wasn’t for strengthening.
It was the Miracle of Healing.
A brilliant white light burst forth, enveloping his right arm.
Soon, the shattered and twisted parts began to rapidly recover.
The sensation of healing seemed to press down on the searing pain, and Lian unconsciously began to break into a cold sweat.
Surely, this was the perfect opportunity for the Cultists of the Evil God.
An enemy who had just self-destructed with his own strike, and even had his arm destroyed in the process.
It would’ve been natural—no, expected—for them to rush him all at once and finish him off.
However…
“…….”
“…….”
The remaining Cultists didn’t move.
No, they couldn’t.
As if on cue, they flinched and kept glancing at one another.
Because what Lian had just shown them defied their understanding and common sense entirely.
So what if his arm was destroyed?
There was no guarantee that such a monster wouldn’t slice them all down just as easily in the next instant.
What if his shattered arm was merely bait to draw them in?
Fear and suspicion.
All kinds of emotions tangled together and shackled their legs.
Above all, what shook them the most was the absurdity of that massive tentacle mass being cleaved.
That thing was both their mother and the sacred entity bestowed upon them by their god.
Despite its fleshy appearance, it had always shrugged off most magic and sorcery, and not even sharp weapons could leave a scratch.
And yet it had been sliced through so easily.
No—not just sliced, but severed clean through.
Witnessing that alone cracked the foundation of their faith.
Add to that the comrades who had died without even a scream, caught in the same sword strike.
Their gruesome end ripped out what little will to fight they had left.
Before such overwhelming power, there was nothing they could do.
It was the moment fear suppressed their faith.
“Hah…”
And the Cultists weren’t the only ones stricken with shock.
‘That’s… impossible.’
Even Professor Shagas was briefly at a loss for words at the sight before him.
Exceptional swordsmen often imbued their blades with their own strength and energy when striking.
Like magic, some could cut down distant enemies, or even cleave someone in half—armor and all.
Professor Shagas had passed that level long ago himself.
But what Lian had just displayed… was on another level.
That wasn’t merely a powerful swing.
The arc the sword traveled had cut through everything in its path.
Wasn’t it as if he had sliced through space itself?
‘Just what…’
Even with all his years and experience, he had never seen anything like it.
“…Hm?”
Perhaps he had been too distracted by the sheer scale of what had happened.
Only then did he belatedly realize that the werewolf’s severed head rolling on the ground belonged to Jode the Unyielding, whom he had encountered not long ago.
‘Isn’t that Jode?’
It wasn’t a mistake.
Why was he in such a horrific state…?
Then that must mean it was Jode who had been trying to break out of the tentacle mass earlier?
Professor Shagas found himself more and more unable to comprehend the current situation.
“…….”
From the very start, the fact that they had followed Yuran all the way into this underground waterway had been one unexpected development after another.
But when they arrived, Yuran—the very person they were looking for—was nowhere to be found.
Instead, the Cultists of the Evil God who had been hiding welcomed them with open arms.
And those cultists, in turn, seemed to have already been… by someone else……
Perhaps it was Yuran who had attacked him—his body was in tatters.
Naturally, what followed was a battle against the Cultists of the Evil God.
In the midst of it, they had discovered a grotesque mass of tentacles lurking in the darkness.
A repulsive entity exuding an overwhelming aura of the Evil God.
And now, Lian had struck down Jode, who had been trying to crawl out from within it.
‘…Just what is going on here, really.’
Everything was happening so chaotically, it was dizzying.
So much so that Professor Shagas felt a wave of vertigo as his thoughts tangled into a disordered mess.
With a complicated expression, he looked down at Jode’s severed head lying on the ground.
A madness too vivid to be that of a dead man still lingered in the eyes.
It was then—
“…!”
Professor Shagas narrowed his eyes.
He didn’t miss it.
Jode’s severed head—specifically, his eyes—had twitched, however faintly.
“…Hup!”
He didn’t even have time to think. His body reacted on instinct.
Smoothly, as if guided by flowing water, Professor Shagas picked up an iron spike from the ground, etched with strange patterns.
It was a tool used by the Cultists of the Evil God, but that didn’t matter now.
Without hesitation, he hurled the iron spike with all his strength at Jode’s severed head.
Whoosh!
With a sharp tearing of air, the iron spike flew toward Jode’s forehead.
And then something unbelievable happened again.
“Krrh?!”
Just before the spike could pierce him, Jode’s head suddenly sprang up and narrowly avoided it.
The Cultists who witnessed the sight gasped in horror, murmuring in shock.
Lian, whose shattered arm had nearly finished healing, furrowed his brow at the sight.
‘What the hell is that?’
Lian knew well how ridiculously resilient werewolves were.
But even so, to move like that with just a severed head?
‘…Well, considering it came out of that, it’s no surprise it’s not normal.’
Thinking so, Lian readjusted his grip on his sword.
His arm had recovered to a degree, but a strike like the one before… no, even if he pushed his strength to the limit, twice would be his maximum.
“Khhhaaa…!”
Jode’s head, which had leapt into the air, let out a strange sound.
Then it fell like a diving beast upon the nearest Cultist corpse lying nearby.
It was like a starving animal pouncing on prey.
‘Is he trying to… devour it?’
That thought crossed Lian’s mind for a moment.
But the reality was far more grotesque than expected.
From the stump of Jode’s severed neck, something like squirming, black-red tentacles—almost worm-like—crawled out.
They instantly latched onto the dead body’s neck and began burrowing in.
Crack, squelch…
With revolting sounds, the corpse began twitching violently.
Then, in an unnatural motion, it slowly began to rise to its feet.
Though it wobbled and moved awkwardly, it was clearly standing under its own power.
And upon that reanimated corpse’s neck—
Where the original head should have been—there, grotesquely fused, was Jode’s severed head.
It looked unnatural, monstrous, like it had been forcibly sewn together.
“Hhhh…”
Having returned in such a bizarre way, Jode staggered awkwardly for a moment, then glared at Lian.
His head, still not properly reattached, sat crooked on his shoulders.
His eyes gleamed with a madness more chilling than before.
“…Was it you? You’re the bastard who took my head?”
His voice, Professor Shagas noted, was rough—unlike how he had originally sounded.
But the murderous aura and presence within were unmistakably Jode’s.
“Thanks to you, I’ve ended up like this. Hah…”
Jode let out a bitter laugh as he looked down at his new body with disgust.
It was a frail human body, incomparable to the strength of his original form.
But in this moment, even that was better than nothing.
“Well, no matter. I’ll just take your body instead!”
He shouted as the corpse—no, the body with Jode’s head—lunged at Lian.
Whish!
From the shadows, a hand axe flew, slicing through the dark and aiming directly for Jode’s arm.
“Grrk!”
Jode instinctively raised his arm to block, but the result was devastating.
Had it been his original body, the attack wouldn’t have even scratched him.
But now, he had nothing but the body of a fragile human.
The weak arm couldn’t even withstand the blow—his arm was severed cleanly, blood splattering in dark red arcs.
“Damn it…!”
Recoiling in pain and confusion, Jode faltered.
And in that brief moment—
A figure shot out of the darkness like lightning.
Without a hint of hesitation, he swung his sword once more at Jode’s neck.
Slice!
Once again, with a horrid sound, Jode’s head soared through the air.
It was his second beheading.
“……”
Having only just acquired a new body, Jode once again found himself reduced to a mere head, his expression one of hollow disbelief.
Soon, his head rolled helplessly to the ground.
And the man who had beheaded him stomped down with all his strength—
Crushing it.
“You are…”
Professor Shagas muttered quietly upon seeing the man.
On his armor was an insignia he recognized.
It was the emblem of the Declaum Knights.
He was none other than Anguster.