NOVEL NEXT Chapter 643
Chapter 643: It’s Really Terrible. (3)
Even as flesh fell away, Morbus did not lose his will to fight. There was no retreat for a monster that knew nothing but destruction.
Kwuaaaang!
With a sound that seemed to tear through the air, Morbus’s massive fist slammed down towards Ghislaine.
Ghislaine’s body plummeted to the ground like a lightning bolt.
“Guh!”
His skin and muscles rapidly rotted away, revealing bone beneath. The surrounding poison burrowed deep into his bones.
Yet, a smile spread across Ghislaine’s face instead.
Suuu…
As if reversing time, his rotting body rapidly returned to its original state.
Combining the ability to absorb poison with formidable regeneration, Ghislaine suffered no damage even in the midst of the toxins. Now, it was hard to tell who the real monster was.
“Huuh!”
With every breath Ghislaine took, the surrounding poisonous mist was drawn into his nose and mouth.
The deadly poison fog that had filled the area noticeably decreased. The eyes of those watching widened.
“Ah, this place is a real delicacy, huh?”
The smile on Ghislaine’s face grew even brighter. His voice was filled with joy, like a gourmet discovering delicious food.
A whirlwind erupted from his feet. Ghislaine lunged at Morbus with lightning speed.
Kwuaaaang!
Under the incessant attacks of the superhumans, Morbus’s body began to crumble little by little.
The rotten flesh and innards of that which had reigned as a terrifying figure in this forest burst forth, leaving only pale bones behind.
Guhuhuhuh!
Morbus let out a horrifying scream. It was a chilling sound, like the Gate of Hell opening.
Even in a state of mere bones, Morbus moved freely using the powers of decay. This fact once again proved how repulsive an entity it truly was.
However, the power of decay had considerably diminished due to the divine power continuously emanating from Parniel and Piote.
The superhumans’ attacks were only meant to weaken Morbus’s flesh. The real objective was to eliminate the powers of decay with divine energy.
“Let’s wrap this up.”
Kwuaaaang!
Ghislaine’s sword shattered Morbus’s cracked skull like lightning.
At the same time, Yulien and Gillian crushed Morbus’s ribs from both sides. Morbus’s upper body crumbled away.
Kwok! Kwuaang!
Belinda’s daggers danced through the air like a whirlwind. With every pass, bones split in two.
Parniel’s mace struck Morbus’s lower body, causing bones to collapse like a sandcastle.
Jerome and Vanessa then crushed the remaining bones with powerful gravity magic.
Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!
The completely shattered bones tried one last time to gather themselves together, as if struggling for life.
The bone fragments squirmed like living creatures. It was astonishingly tenacious vitality.
“Phew, time to start the purification.”
Parniel drew a holy sign and unleashed divine power onto the pile of Morbus’s bones. Piote poured all remaining divine energy into the bones as well.
As their divine powers intertwined, they emitted a brilliant light.
After pouring divine energy for a considerable time, the movements of the restless bones finally ceased.
“Now it’s gone. It was still quite the challenge, wasn’t it?”
As Ghislaine slumped to the ground, everyone shrugged their shoulders.
Morbus was indeed a powerful monster. Excluding dragons, he was probably the strongest opponent they had encountered so far.
But those gathered here were strong. They had experienced even more dangerous battles.
If they could not defeat this enemy, then no one could.
Nonetheless, it was a strenuous fight. Everyone had expended considerable energy and sat down to rest.
Belinda looked at Ghislaine with a frown.
“Ah, I tried so hard not to feed you anything weird when you were little. Now you see poison and get all excited about it. What are you, a poison monster…?”
“Most poisons don’t even faze me anymore.”
Indeed, most poisons no longer did anything to Ghislaine. At this point, practicing mana circulation seemed to be more effective.
However, Morbus’s poison was potent enough to inflict damage even on superhumans. For Ghislaine, it was practically a precious elixir.
Jerome looked bewildered.
“No way, eating poison and getting stronger? How does that even work?”
“It turns out my mana circulation method surprisingly matched well with poisons. I guess I absorb only the energy of the poison?”
“How is that possible?”
“Not sure? I just found out by chance. Maybe you could do it too.”
“How?”
“That magic book I showed you. You might figure it out if you get that.”
“Hmm?”
Jerome frowned and tilted his head. Seeing his expression, Ghislaine just found it amusing.
That magic book primarily explained how to deal with energies.
Ghislaine had modified it to amplify his mana. Surprisingly, it also turned out to have the effect of absorbing the energy of whatever entered his body.
Aside from the Dragon Heart, poison was the most potent energy-laden elixir.
Belinda, shaking her head in resignation, looked around.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like we can clear out this area anytime soon.”
“Yeah, purifying everything will definitely take a long time.”
Morbus was gone, but the area was already in a state of thorough decay. Toxins continuously seeped from many places.
Given the vast area that was corrupted, it would take a long time to purify.
Suddenly, Ghislaine had a thought.
“Since absorbing that guy’s poison made my mana increase faster than doing mana circulation, what if I just eat all the remaining poison here? Wouldn’t it purify faster? I could come here and train whenever I have time.”
Even now, Ghislaine was continually converting the absorbed poison into mana.
The others looked at Ghislaine as if he were a little disgusting. It was everyone’s first time seeing someone enjoy poison like that.
Seeing their reactions, Ghislaine smiled and continued speaking.
“Anyway, we can clean this up later. The area we’ve secured is already pretty vast, right?”
Everyone nodded. Although Morbus had occupied a wide area, it was but a fraction of the entire Forest of Monsters.
They had advanced almost in a straight line to the center, securing an enormous area and acquiring numerous resources.
Now, they just needed to check what was at the center. The remaining territory could be developed leisurely afterward.
Then everything would end. The Ruthania Kingdom, having taken over the Forest of Monsters, would enter its golden age.
Jerome asked curiously, “So, there aren’t any stronger ones left, right? Just these creepy guys?”
“Probably. This guy was occupying the center.”
It had been written in the journal of the Duke Delphine faction, who had explored most of the Forest of Monsters, so it should be accurate.
There were no obstacles left ahead. They just had to keep going like this.
Ghislaine’s heart raced slightly.
‘Finally made it this far.’
He had once vowed to properly explore the Forest of Monsters. In a way, everything had begun because of this forest.
The fall of Perdium, and Ghislaine’s rapid growth after returning to the past, were all due to this forest.
‘At first, conquering the entrance was tough.’
He didn’t know how many times he had risked his life. One misstep could have meant immediate death.
But now he had reached this spot easier than ever. All because of those who believed in him and followed him.
‘Now I should be able to get one step closer to the truth.’
Ever since obtaining the sacred relic and dreaming, Ghislaine had been curious about the war a thousand years ago.
After hearing the rough story from Ereness, his curiosity only grew. He had merely postponed it, as there were more immediate matters to address.
When they reached the center of the forest, he would surely discover something more. He had a hunch.
What had the Duke Delphine discovered in the center of this forest in his past life? What were they trying to do?
He wanted to resolve that curiosity soon.
“Let’s take a short break before moving.”
No other reinforcements could come here. He planned to take only the current personnel who could withstand the toxins to check the center.
Being here too long would only lead to trouble. For Ghislaine, the poison was a tonic, but for the others, it was a constant battle to suppress the toxins using their mana.
If it weren’t for Parniel and Piote occasionally purifying the surroundings, they would have had to leave this place long ago.
Ghislaine tilted his head slightly towards Yulien.
“How about it? Isn’t it fun? This is what I meant by ‘living it up,’ right?”
“…….”
The others sighed and squinted their eyes. They simply couldn’t understand Ghislaine’s standard for ‘having fun.’
But Yulien was different. A momentary flicker of contemplation crossed his cold eyes.
He was seriously pondering in what way it was enjoyable and fun.
Noticing his question, Ghislaine’s eyes sparkled like a mischievous child.
“It feels like we all came to play together, right? Camping, checking out interesting monsters, and getting physical with some fun fights. And most importantly…”
Ghislaine’s voice was overflowing with enthusiasm.
“We finally get to see the center of the Demon Realm that Ereness talked about. Everyone’s been curious about that, right?”
At those words, everyone nodded. They were now one step closer to the secrets of a thousand years ago.
Of course, unlike Ghislaine, they were realistic. They weren’t expecting to find any great artifacts or shocking secrets here.
If such things existed, Ereness would have been the first to come here.
But Ereness had not participated in this expedition to the Forest of Monsters. He had not opposed it either.
He merely remained silent in his quarters.
So everyone assumed they might only catch a glimpse of ancient myth and traces of war. It felt similar to being on a sightseeing trip through ancient ruins.
Only Ghislaine, who was dreaming of the Saint’s relic, believed there would be something special.
“Hmm.”
Yulien felt Ghislaine’s words held some truth.
He had lived in isolation for a long time. Though he was stronger than anyone, in some ways, he was like a child who knew nothing of the world.
But now, it was different. His life changed after meeting Ghislaine and his friends.
‘So much has happened.’
They had fought together to lead a victorious war and saved the continent. When facing mightier foes like Helgenik and Arterion, they had trusted one another with their backs.
In this forest, he had encountered many truly fascinating monsters. Fighting them wasn’t very difficult either.
He had admired ancient ruins and conversed, in his own way, with the friends present here.
All those experiences were new to Yulien. Feelings that he had never once felt during his time in the tower were now accumulating.
If he were to attribute a name to this unfamiliar feeling now…
‘Got it.’
A faint smile appeared on Yulien’s lips. He had no choice but to admit it.
He was feeling ‘joy’ at this moment.
“Ah? Huh? Did you see that? You smiled, didn’t you? I was right!”
Ghislaine said, looking around at everyone. The others stared at Yulien with wide eyes in disbelief.
The smile he had worn, like a frozen statue, was as warm as the sunlight in spring.
As everyone’s gaze focused on him, Yulien finally smiled softly for the first time.
“Yeah, it seems fun.”
At those words, everyone held their breath. For the first time, warmth could be felt in his voice that had always been as cold as frost.
Like solid ice melting, his cold facade gradually began to strip away.
Everyone looked at him as if they had just discovered a rare creature. But upon feeling that gaze, Yulien’s expression instantly faded.
Yet now everyone could understand.
The true self of Yulien hidden behind that cold face.
And how, bit by bit, his heart was beginning to thaw while being with them.
*
Splash, splash, splash…
The rested group began to walk toward the center. It was a place where no creatures could live, so no monsters attacked them anymore.
Still, the smell of decay and sticky discomfort was truly hard to bear.
“Ugh, it’s so sticky. Isn’t this still alive?”
Jerome grimaced as he stepped on the ground filled with black sludge.
This place was disgustingly filthy. He almost wanted to fly off alone but felt a bit bad for not sticking with the group, only to regret it now.
Fortunately for Jerome, before long, an enormous spectacle unfolded before their eyes.
“Oooh…”
Jerome, the most expressive one in the group, gasped in admiration.
It was an immensely wide open space. The pitch-black ground, seemingly a portion of hell, was deeply scarred in many places.
From the cracks, black mist writhed and rose. Sounds akin to something moaning from the depths of the earth echoed.
The corrupt sludge and energy that had tormented them until now seemed blocked by an invisible wall, unable to cross that ground.
And above that deathly plain…
There loomed an enormous black veil, impossible to describe in human language.