Chapter 132: 132Heroes are nothing special
After taking care of things, I had a conversation with Lorel. How long had it been since we had a normal conversation?
Lorel looked troubled when I brought up Lord Grant.
"Actually, to be precise, that language is Elfae."
"Elfae?"
"The ancestors of us Elves! They came from beyond that distant black sky, not from here."
I tilted my head. What was Elfae now? I had never seen such a name, neither in the original story nor in the game. Was it because something I didn’t know was mentioned? A chill ran down my spine.
As the sluggish conversation continued, Lorel smiled softly.
"Oh, that reminds me, the residents recently told me something interesting."
"What is it?"
"You know that path that leads to the coast when you go outside the territory, right?"
"Yes, I know it as a gravel path."
"They say a strange hole has appeared at that path. I don’t know if it’s true, but it’s such a rarely visited place!"
A dungeon appeared on a path like that? I had no idea, as it was opposite to the road leading to the capital.
"It’s a hidden piece. It was about time for it to appear."
I stood up and bid farewell. If I’d found it, I should quickly claim it.
Thump!
I rode Lynn and went towards where the gravel path should be. I was able to leave the territory and immediately enter the gravel path. I descended and landed.
"It feels eerie somehow?"
The conversation I had with Fiora came to mind. Didn’t we say we’d go to the beach together sometime? If I wanted to keep that promise, I should clean it up. Why? Because I’m the Lord.
I moved forward. As expected, there was a dungeon. Fresh and piping hot.
"Found it!"
I approached to check the dungeon information, but I froze. It was too different from what I knew.
[Corrupted Street]
-Composition: Open Area, Infinite
-Difficulty: ★7
-Objective: Defeat Named Boss
-Reward: 15000 Gold, Random Masterpiece-grade Item x3
※Main Composition: All Outer Gods
I was dumbfounded. Corrupted Street, all of a sudden?
"What is Corrupted street in Asgard Chronicle?"
Of course, it wasn’t impossible, as dungeons were sometimes said to be sub-dimensions of other worlds. The problem was that it was corrupted.
"Corrupted, you say? The hidden piece that was supposed to appear here was just a normal 7-star dungeon. Hah, seriously."
Amidst my bewilderment, the Goddess seemed even more flustered.
"Right, they’re an alien race connected to you, Goddess, aren’t they?"
"They were defeated once, so won’t they be unable to come for a while?"
"That’s a bit horrifying."
I shrugged. In any case, this was just one of countless dungeons. There was no reason to be nervous.
"Don’t worry, I’ll give them a proper lesson!"
I threw myself inside. As soon as I entered, the familiar Street appeared before my eyes. Hah, it was a place I used to visit when I felt stifled. A plaza was faintly visible in the distance.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
"It’s the same, it’s the same street I knew. Of course, it’s severely broken and polluted, though."
I shook my head. There was no clean and sophisticated Corrupted Street; instead, cell-like masses were plastered everywhere. An image of contamination was dominant. Why had it become like this? It might just be a temporarily created world, or perhaps truly a parallel world somewhere.
I cautiously looked around and moved forward. When I raised my head, the sun had also turned gray, so the light was weak.
"A gray sun... what the hell."
Everything here felt alien and unnatural. There wasn’t a single person, and I didn’t even feel like I was truly here. In a word, it was an unpleasant place.
Crack, Rumble! Thud!
As I continued forward, figures began to rise one by one from a nearby collapsed building and a wrecked car. Looking closely, they were the Outer God Vanguards I had seen last time. They crawled out like cockroaches. There were twenty of them in total.
Rustle, Rustle-rustle!
"Numbers mean nothing before me. Show and Prove!"
I drew Dawn and engaged in battle. The Vanguards circled around me, leaving afterimages with their transcendent speed.
Whoosh, Whoooosh!
The wind blew fiercely just from them passing by. It’s cool. At least thanks to these bastards, I won’t have to worry about this summer’s heatwave.
"Fast, so fast. But slow to me."
I spun and kicked one of the Vanguards passing nearby.
Whoop, Wham! Crack!
[Enemy defeated!]
[Acquired 5000 Collector Points (CP)!]
Ugh, for guys this fast and with such tough carapaces. They only give 5000? These Outer Gods are real sons of bitches.
The Vanguards moved frantically, then charged at me all at once. Their speed was truly transcendent, but.
"Stop."
At my single word, the Vanguards began to move as if in slow motion. Combining it with the ring’s other ability, time manipulation, I spoke again.
"I said, stop."
Finally, the Vanguards stopped as if time itself had frozen. I shook my head.
"How did Horuz even manage to stop time, seriously? Sigh."
I took out Dawn and beat every single one of them. Still, with twenty of them, a fair amount of points accumulated.
As the Vanguards died off like insects, they each dropped special byproducts. They were all unfamiliar byproducts, each named ’Outer God’s [something]’.
[Outer God’s Fragment]
Type: Non-categorized Item
Description: A special item that cannot be used for enhancement, magic engineering, or ascension.
「I am here, in the void.」
It looked similar to the Abyssal Orb or whatever it was from before. Was it somehow related to that?
"This... I might have to meet that information broker bitch again?"
Anyway, I acquired all of them. I’d probably have a use for them later. Who knows? Maybe they’ll become a great power later.
I continued forward, beating down Vanguards. Like swatting flies with a fly swatter, the Vanguards split apart and died with just a swing of Dawn. They really are just bugs. Let’s wipe them all out.
"Hmm?"
I was surprised to see a cafe as I passed by. This cafe, I used to come here often when I went to Corrupted street. This place is wrecked too.
My reflection appeared in the mirror that was still somewhat intact. But something strange happened in the mirror. I saw something swaying behind me.
"Swaying?"
I subtly turned my head. There was a hospital with cracks all over it. That hospital collapsed in an instant.
Rumble, Crash!
And something emerged. Honestly, I was surprised. If a Vanguard grew taller and became a muscle-bound pig, wouldn’t it look like this?
"Oh, really? It looks like a beast, not a hero. These Outer Gods, their aesthetic sense is terrible."
It’s not like this is some world where beauty and ugliness are reversed. I approached the creature. It let out a roar and snarled at me. No matter how I looked at it, it wasn’t a hero.
"Hey, you..."
Just as I was about to speak. It suddenly threw a punch.
"You wanna go head-to-head? Fine by me."
I threw a punch back. My clenched fist collided with its fist.
A powerful shockwave spread in all directions. Due to the Alchemist’s Armguard, the Hero’s fist, arm, shoulder, and entire body began to crack and shatter significantly.
"Heroes are nothing special."
[Enemy defeated!]
[Acquired 15000 Collector Points (CP)!]
Then perhaps that place also ended up like this? There was a place I had some memories of.
I headed towards the Grand Cathedral. As the Grand Cathedral gradually came into view, the Goddess asked.
"Well, a little. Even in a world like this, there are Grand Cathedrals."
"The answer to that question is a bit ambiguous. It’s a society where both faith and justice have disappeared."
I heard the Goddess let out a laugh.
I arrived at the Grand Cathedral. The place where someone had guided me when I was a wandering teenager. Perhaps here....
The Grand Cathedral shook violently and then instantly collapsed. And what emerged from within was a giant.
"What the...?"
It had no facial features, and a vermilion cross was branded onto it like a mark. Its height was almost equivalent to a 20-30 story building, and its very posture, looking down, seemed magnificent.
"Oh, it’s big?"
"Well... I can feel it in my body. Besides, that one is the objective of this dungeon."
If that one was the strongest, then it must be the objective of this dungeon.
Tap-tap-tap!
My body was already running. Instinctively, to defeat it.
The Avatar, with its purple coat fluttering, assumed a praying posture. What, are you a cultist too?
[Calamity God’s Prayer]
Suddenly, intense energy gathered in its eyes and instantly shot out like a laser.
Unfortunately, I saw everything. I gathered power in my necklace and countered it.
"Sorry, but I can see everything. What are you gonna do?"
The laser beams, both its attack and mine, canceled each other out and vanished. Then, it made its cross glow.
"You, a mere Mortal, dare to challenge me?"
"Aren’t you a Mortal too?"
"I am a cosmic being."
Fuck, what is this, some superhero movie? Everyone and their dog claims to be a cosmic being.
"Goddess, is that true?"
Oh, if that’s the case, then it’s not difficult at all.
"Cosmic being, Mortal, does that even matter?"
"You will die by my hand...."
"Then prove it. I’ll show you what a Debauched Hero is!"
I ran with all my might. Power naturally flowed into the hand gripping Dawn. I was fighting an opponent transcendentally larger than me.
Yet, the excitement from the fight was greater than any fear. I wanted to overcome it. I wanted to prove how much I had grown. These thoughts dominated my mind.
[Calamity God’s Prayer]
It fired another laser.
"Is this motherfucker only going to use cheap shots?"
This time, I poured more of my thoughts and obsession into the necklace and unleashed it. A more intense energy than before condensed in the necklace, then shot out in an instant.
Not only did it cancel out its attack, but it also split it in half. Even so, it tried to regenerate.
"Faaaah, wh-why...?"
"Looks like you thought I was a fucking pushover, but this is Show and Prove. You son of a bitch."
I rode Dawn and ascended into the air. I activated both my lightning aura and regular aura. I was just going to finish it off moderately, but it’s making me send it on a trip to Andromeda.
The Avatar stretched out its hand towards me and shouted.
"Vanish along with this world!"
[Outer God’s Omen]
Purple energy gathered above its head and began to distort the surrounding space. A purple sphere, trembling precariously as if it would explode any moment, became visible.
"Oh, a full-power ultimate move? Then I’ll go all out too. True Dawn Guardiannnnn!"
Holding Dawn in mid-air, I poured half of my ki into it. In that state, I unleashed Dawn Guardian at it. Simultaneously, the sphere it had completed expanded as if to swallow the entire world, including me.
The void created by it and the light I unleashed collided. My vision flickered. Everything around me distorted. Every sensation was paralyzed as if hit by an EMP. As the entire world began to distort like a void, devoid of any color.
I opened my eyes. I could only see the empty space where the Avatar had vanished without a trace.
[Enemy defeated!]
[Acquired 35000 Collector Points (CP)!]
"As expected, they’re nothing special. These Outer Gods."
I laughed. These bastards are going to infest the entire universe? What bullshit.
"And I told you, about the title."
After some sweet flirting with the Goddess, I rode Lynn again and looked around. Centered around me, the surrounding 100km had cleanly vanished, becoming a void.
Well, I really made a mess. Though, it already looked like a ruined Earth anyway.
"I’m a bit tired. Shall I go there for the first time in a while?"
I chuckled silently and descended. It was time to rest.
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