Chapter 155: Everyone’s Stance (6)
Anguster looked down with an indifferent expression.
“Disgusting.”
Beneath his feet, dark red bodily fluids and brain matter were mixed together in a gooey mess, yet he didn’t seem to care in the slightest.
He turned his head away, not bothering to hide the look of contempt on his face.
“……Elder, are you all right?”
Only then did Anguster look at Professor Shagas and Lian and ask.
His voice was low and composed.
“How did you end up here……?”
Professor Shagas couldn’t hide his surprise as he asked.
Anguster responded with a polite attitude.
“I’ve been chasing the ones behind this incident as well. I discovered some suspicious traces and followed them here. I didn’t expect to run into you like this, Elder…….”
While speaking, his gaze shifted toward the remaining Cultists of the Evil God.
In that moment, his eyes narrowed, and a dense murderous aura settled over them.
“Some stragglers are still left.”
As he spat out the words, his body moved.
“We’ll talk more in detail later.”
And with that, he charged at the Cultists of the Evil God.
He looked like a beast hunting its prey.
With a roar, he rushed forward, wielding a sword in one hand and an axe in the other.
“Gah!”
“Sp-spare me……!”
With sporadic screams, the slaughter began.
The Cultists of the Evil God, too terrified to even resist properly, fell like dominos before his sword and axe.
The once-prestigious Declaum Knights.
The name of Anguster, who had served as its commander, was no mere empty title.
His movements were as concise as they were lethal.
Not a single unnecessary motion. Every strike focused solely on cutting off the enemy’s breath.
“Aaaaagh!!!”
Some tried to flee, but not a single one made it.
As if he’d predicted their routes precisely, Anguster hurled his hand axes at their backs without missing a beat.
The axes he threw ripped through the bodies of the Cultists of the Evil God with a threatening noise, shredding them to pieces.
Just a brief moment.
In the blink of an eye, silence returned to the underground channel.
The only sound left was the faint, pulsing squirm of a giant tentacle mass, like a sea anemone writhing in the dark.
“Huu……”
Anguster picked up the axe he’d dropped and let out a breath.
“……Anyway, huu. I'm relieved I wasn't too late.”
Sweat had formed in beads on his forehead as he spoke.
With an awkward grin, he scratched at his expression.
“Can’t hide my age, huh. I’m already this out of breath.”
“Thank you. You saved us.”
Anguster gave a light nod.
He glanced around once more, as if checking to make sure no one had been left behind.
Then, his gaze settled in one particular direction.
It was the giant tentacle mass.
From the severed part Lian had sliced through, dark red fluids still oozed out as it twitched. But in the short time since, the wound had shrunk significantly, as if it had already started to regenerate.
“Whatever that thing is, we can’t just leave it alone.”
Without hesitation, Anguster hurled his axe at it with all his might.
Thud!
A dull thud echoed.
It was the sound of a clumsy blow against a leather sack.
The axe bounced off, not even leaving a scratch, and clattered to the ground.
Staring blankly for a moment, Anguster gave a small shake of his head.
“……That’s absurdly tough. I figured it wouldn’t be easy, but not to this extent.”
“Hmm.”
“That thing looks like it’ll be hard to deal with by ordinary means. We probably need a mage’s help, but none of us here are mages……”
He nodded to himself as he spoke.
“We don’t know what effect that thing might have. Staying here too long doesn’t seem wise either, Elder. We should head out and ask for others’ help.”
His suggestion was rational.
That thing was radiating a constant stream of ominous energy just by being there.
“……”
Professor Shagas remained silent for a moment.
Then, he asked Anguster,
“Have you seen Yuran, by any chance?”
“Yuran? You mean your disciple, Elder? The one from Garusol……”
“Yes. That child.”
Anguster shook his head.
“On my way here, the only people I saw were the Cultists of the Evil God. I didn’t see a single woman among them.”
“……Truth is, we tracked her traces and aura all the way here. She should be somewhere nearby, but we haven’t found any signs of her.”
Professor Shagas sighed as he spoke.
“Running into these Cultists was actually just a coincidence.”
“Then where did the last trace lead?”
“That.”
Professor Shagas pointed at the pile of tentacles.
“It was pointing in that direction.”
“……Hmm, in that case, maybe that big lump is blocking another passage or entrance.”
Anguster stroked his chin, deep in thought.
“Then it’s all the more reason to call for reinforcements, isn’t it? We can’t remove that thing ourselves, and if we mess with it and something unexpected happens, we’ll be in even more trouble. It’s probably best to quickly call someone reliable for help.”
“Hmm……”
Professor Shagas nodded, seemingly in agreement.
It was, indeed, the most rational decision under the circumstances.
‘But……’
A memory suddenly flashed through Professor Shagas’ mind.
Lian Gwendil.
Hadn’t he just sliced through that tentacle mass moments ago?
“……”
But then he remembered Lian’s right arm being shattered afterward, and he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
“……Yes, that would be best.”
“Then let’s leave here first.”
As Anguster said that, he stepped toward the axe that had bounced off the tentacle mass earlier.
The axe had landed a short distance behind Professor Shagas.
‘In that case……’
Just as Professor Shagas was wondering who he should contact for help—
Suddenly.
A sharp blade burst through Professor Shagas’ chest.
“Guhak!”
“……”
A sword thrust deep from his back—driven in by Anguster.
It happened so suddenly, so unexpectedly, that he didn’t even have time to react.
“Professor!”
Lian screamed in horror.
But Anguster’s assault didn’t end there.
Whirl!
From the blind spot behind Professor Shagas, something came hurtling toward Lian with terrifying speed.
It was the axe—the same one that had just taken so many lives.
“Ugh!?”
Lian twisted his body on instinct.
In that moment, the brand carved into his collarbone glimmered faintly—but no one saw it.
Perhaps thanks to that—
Lian barely avoided a fatal blow, but the axe grazed his cheek, leaving a deep wound.
“Ghh……!”
A burning sensation spread as his skin was cut.
Alongside the pain, he could feel something strange seeping through the wound.
Poison?
No, it wasn’t just poison.
It was an unpleasant feeling, as if the energy flowing through his whole body was scattering and his strength was draining away.
“Good reaction.”
Anguster muttered.
Before anyone noticed, he had already drawn his sword. He grabbed the collapsing Professor Shagas by the nape from behind.
“Live a long, healthy life, Elder.”
With those mocking words, he hoisted the old man’s body and hurled it forcefully toward the tentacles.
“……Gghk.”
Professor Shagas had been stabbed straight through the heart, and didn’t even have the strength left to resist.
The fact that he hadn’t died instantly was, if anything, a miracle.
His limp body was thrown and crashed near the Tentacle Mass.
“~~~~”
As if it had been waiting for that moment, the mass twitched and began stretching multiple tentacles toward Shagas.
The slimy tentacles, dripping with viscous mucus, extended slowly but relentlessly.
Soon enough, Professor Shagas was engulfed, completely powerless, and dragged in.
“You bastard……”
Lian gritted his teeth and muttered.
But before he could charge at Anguster, he suddenly froze upon seeing his surroundings.
The number of corpses that had been scattered across the ground had visibly decreased.
Tentacles.
The Tentacle Mass was pulling the corpses toward itself with its appendages and sucking them into its body.
And that wasn’t all.
Several corpses had tentacles lodged in them, pulsating continuously as if draining their bodily fluids.
It looked as though the mass was feeding to recover from its injuries.
“……”
Lian realized he couldn’t afford to hesitate anymore.
He gripped his sword even tighter.
His not-fully-healed arm screamed in pain.
But this wasn’t the time to care.
‘Just one more time……’
Lian once again pushed his divine power to its limit.
Then came a strike—a blow that seemed to slice through space itself, severing everything in its path.
An unbearable pain, like every bone in his body was being crushed, followed.
Around his sword, a haze-like aura began to rise.
There was only one target: Anguster.
‘Ah.’
In that moment, he felt a strange sensation from the wound on his face.
It was as if cold water had been splashed on him, and his energy scattered all at once.
His hand gripping the sword didn’t tremble.
But his vision did.
That subtle difference, that tiny gap—was enough for Anguster to dodge the blow of death that had been aimed at him.
“Ugh.”
Even so, Anguster couldn’t completely avoid it.
Part of his armor was sliced open, and blood spurted from his shoulder.
But it wasn’t a fatal wound.
“……Even though I knew and was prepared, I still ended up like this. If I hadn’t known, I’d have been done for.”
Anguster muttered, clutching his wounded shoulder.
There was a strange look of admiration in his eyes.
Seeing it, Lian realized something in the darkness—Anguster had watched and memorized his technique.
“~~~~~!”
A horrible sound rang out again from the Tentacle Mass.
Unlike Anguster, it hadn’t dodged in time and got caught up in the attack.
This time, the blow must have gone deeper—massive chunks of flesh burst apart, and the contents inside poured out.
And from within that mess, the limp figure of a person spilled out helplessly.
Seeing that figure, Lian unconsciously muttered,
“Yuran……?”
It was Yuran.
She had been trapped inside the Tentacle Mass from the beginning.
Her body hung limp, as if unconscious, and a hand axe was deeply embedded in her back.
Anguster.
It was the same kind of axe he had been wielding moments ago.
“Had to work hard to find the right opening from behind.”
Anguster shrugged nonchalantly as he spoke.
“I was wondering how I’d get her out of that thing later, so this worked out nicely.”
He adjusted his grip on his sword and began walking toward Lian.
Lian switched his sword to his left hand, since his right arm had been shattered.
“……”
The wound on his cheek.
It had darkened half his vision, and now, it was even scattering his divine power.
‘Not here.’
Not in a place like this.
Lian was thinking that quietly to himself when—
“Well then, farewell. Lian Gwendil.”
Anguster’s sword flew straight at Lian’s heart like a bullet.
Lian felt his consciousness fading.
And then—
“……Huh?”
Lian blinked.
The darkened vision from one side of his face had returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
“……What?”
He muttered without thinking.
The pain he had felt just moments ago had vanished like a lie.
Moreover, divine power was now flowing through his body just fine.
He hurriedly looked around.
“What’s wrong, Gwendil?”
“……Professor?”
Professor Shagas.
He was standing there perfectly fine.
Looking concerned, he pointed ahead, as if to say not to worry.
“Well, I suppose it’s natural to be surprised. Anguster… it’s no wonder he made a name for himself on the battlefield.”
Lian looked in the direction Professor Shagas was pointing.
There, Anguster was wildly swinging his sword and axe at the Cultists of the Evil God.
“Gah!”
“Sp-spare me……!”
With intermittent screams, the slaughter began.
The Cultists, paralyzed with fear, were unable to properly resist and collapsed one by one before his sword and axe.
‘This is……’
It was the exact scene he had just seen and experienced.
Lian found himself speechless.
Shiver.
And then—the brand carved into his collarbone…
The one that had changed after that dream—quietly stopped trembling.
As if it had just finished what it was meant to do.