Novels online

My alter ego is becoming a big shot - Episode 94

#94

The abyss opens (1)

Immediately after the ritual to open the abyss took place..

The response of the church, which had recently been in a state of tension according to the saint's will, was immediate..

“Hurry! Get ready and gather quickly!”

The elites of the church who were waiting at the Great Temple of Roselia began to move due to the saint who immediately identified the center of the situation..

“Haha... I guess the immortal king has started to move in earnest..”

“I expected it wouldn't stay still while it was hidden, but this exceeded my expectations. A ceremony of this magnitude?···.”

“It must have been something he had been planning for a long time with his followers..”

“I can't even imagine how long it took to prepare..”

Archbishop Latius, who was next to her, nodded in agreement at the saint's lament-like words..

While the Immortal King disappeared, the things we feared became reality..

No, rather, it could be said that it happened on a scale that far exceeded the scope of what was assumed..

“The place where the ceremony took place is deep in the wilderness of the southern part of the continent. There is no temple nearby, so even if you arrive as quickly as possible, everything will already be over..”

“But isn't this something that can't just be left idly by? And since you've already prepared it in advance, it won't take that long. Then you might be able to find some clues..”

The observed location was so deserted and remote that heading there itself was a problem..

A long distance trip that could waste at least a month if you go the normal way..

But the main church members were not such easygoing people..

“From Weila, the city in the southern part of the empire, which is the closest place to the gate... If you hurry as much as possible, you can get there in about half a day..”

They were already preparing for a variety of situations, and in advance, they gathered people with blessings that would be helpful for quick maneuver and placed them on standby..

To be able to respond quickly no matter what happens.

And less than an hour after the sudden incident broke out, they had completed all preparations and were gathering in the gate room..

“You're ready. Well then, I’ll just leave, saintess..”

“···Thank you, Archbishop Latius. I need to talk to other factions quickly. ···The existing negotiations have not been completed yet, so will I be able to sleep properly at this rate??”

The saint told Archbishop Latius a self-deprecating joke as he saw him off..

“Hehehe, I will come and help you too. Then wouldn’t it be possible to buy some time to sleep??”

“···Did you promise? Please come back and help me?”

Of course, those who would be dispatched this time were the elite of the church, designed to safely get out of any crisis situation..

However, since they were the ones who carried out this large-scale ritual, no one could know what kind of threat was lurking there..

Maybe there is a trap targeting them..

“Of course. Well then, let's really go now..”

Archbishop Latius gently comforted the saint with a dark expression and headed straight toward the gate..

She always expressed guilt about sending others to dangerous places, but as a follower of the main lord, she could not carelessly expose her to danger, so it was inevitable..

Like that, Latius, the archbishop, and the paladins led a group of people and entered the gate..

They arrived at the temple closest to their destination through the gate, waited there for a while, and then···.

“···That's it. Please go in now..”

I went back into the gate I came out of..

It was a blessing for 'movement' using the gate as a medium, and was a way to move further by creating a virtual exit in the direction they wanted to go..

There were limitations as the distance was long and it involved moving a large number of people, but thanks to this, we were able to narrow the gap with the destination as much as possible..

“···Even here, I can feel the energy shaking due to the influence of consciousness. Let's hurry up a bit..”

As the distance got closer and the turbulent energy felt more vivid, the expressions on the faces of those who arrived in the middle of the southern wilderness became hard..

The moment when the members of the church tried to get help from someone with the blessing of 'Chukji' in order to move quickly..

Gooooo—!

Far away, in the direction they wanted to go···.

A black pillar rose up connecting the earth and the sky..

Even though it was still a long way away, the black straight line that seemed to divide the world was clearly visible to their eyes..

“···iced coffee.”

“Archbishop, that could not be···.”

“pillar of the abyss···.”

It was a sign of the opening of the abyss, which now only exists in literature and few people know about..

“···Let's move.”

Grinding their teeth, the group headed to the place where the pillar rose at a faster pace..

Even if it was already late, I couldn't just sit back and watch..

For about half a day, the group continued heading toward their destination..

The black pillar that soared with the force to pierce the sky had already disappeared as if its strength had run out, but after moving in silence, they were finally able to reach it..

At the place where the ritual of opening the abyss began.

***

Whiiing—

[As expected, everyone has already run away..]

Hans floated in the air and slowly went down, looking around..

There was a large hole in the ceiling of the ritual space located underground, so it was easy to get inside..

‘Did you leave as soon as you finished work? Well, it's already been a few hours. They wouldn't just stupidly remain on the scene after causing continental aggro on this scale..’

The energy in this area fluctuated so strongly that the coordinates were unstable, so we had no choice but to move to a place some distance away..

Afterwards, I flew all the way here, but there was already no sign of anyone at the site..

All that remains are magic circles carved here and there for rituals and blood traces that appear to belong to those who were sacrificed here..

Other than that, there was no trace left behind, as if the work had been thoroughly prepared in advance..

‘That is?’

Except one.

Something foreign was detected in Hans' sense of reading the entire space..

Sigh—

Something stuck between the cracks in the flooring came out according to his will and was sucked into his hand..

‘metal piece?’

It was a piece of metal that appeared to be a broken part of a thin chain..

The only impurity left in this space where everything is neatly organized..

I don't know what meaning this has, but since it was the only clue, I decided to keep it..

‘Because my energy is so disorganized, it seems difficult to trace back from here..’

It was difficult to do anything here due to the energy of the abyss itself and the aftermath of something that seemed to have been taken out of there..

[Is this... ‘madness’? Perhaps because the door to the abyss was opened incompletely, it could not be taken out completely..]

Since we had not even assumed this would be the case in the first place, we had no idea what effect the madness that had broken down and begun to spread across the continent would have on the world..

But one way or another, there will be a big change from what it is now..

As he scanned his surroundings to understand the situation, his eyes turned to the hole in the floor that had been emitting a strong presence earlier..

The thick darkness writhing in the huge magic circle beneath my feet..

It was slowly shrinking in size due to the world's resilience, but in the meantime, it continued to violently emit an ominous energy..

[Oh, this energy···.]

「It was a heavy, sticky feeling that I felt when I looked inside with the “Heart of Immortality”, and it felt like I was going to lose my mind just by looking at it..

‘Is it the energy that leaked from the abyss?.’

And the moment Hans looked into it with the “Eye of the Abyss” to find out more details.···.

He was able to understand the energy in more detail..

‘···This was the origin of the dark magic contained in the heart..’

The dark magic that had been spewing out infinitely from the heart of the Immortal King was nothing more than a dilution of the energy that had been tightly compressed there..

‘That was nothing compared to this energy. The difference in concentration is this drastic..’

If black magic was just a poisonous gas, it was a highly compressed concentrate..

A vicious energy that is even more powerful than the notoriously difficult black magic..

however···.

‘···I think I can handle this myself.?’

It felt somehow familiar, perhaps because it has the same origin as the heart..

If you think about it, isn't he the immortal king who climbed up from the abyss, and also has the "eyes of the abyss" and the "heart of immortality"??

If anything, it's even weirder that he can't handle this.!

‘Let's do it.’

Hans slowly stretched out one hand and gently waved it in the air..

In that gesture of extreme concentration, the energy of the abyss that had been fluttering around him slowly began to move along with his fingertips..

For ordinary people, just breathing in this place would have put their lives in danger, but for him, it was just like the air of home..

‘Even though I can't breathe.’

Even as he was thinking such pointless thoughts, he felt himself getting used to this energy, so he absorbed it to the fullest and stored it in his heart..

The energy of the abyss was more dangerous than radioactive waste, but it is not a power that can be easily accessed, so isn't it a waste to leave it alone?.

[Hehe... I think this can be quite a useful power if used well..]

As it is difficult to handle, the effect will be excellent..

Hans, who had absorbed the energy of the abyss to his satisfaction, looked around again with satisfaction..

Looking at all the alcoholic drinks surrounding the slowly closing abyss, I could see how much effort they had put into this..

‘This would have taken at least 10 years of effort. Even more so if you think about the sacrificial rituals that took place all over the continent.···.’

The ability to carry out such an act across an entire continent, the stealth that allowed it to operate secretly for a long time without being detected, and the organizational skills to encompass it all..

Yeokcheon's Pledge was an organization with more power than expected..

At this level, it can be said to be the largest on the continent among the forces of the shadows..

And that means···.

‘These guys are exactly what I wanted..’

It was said that he was a very suitable choice as a supporting villain to assist the main actor, Hans..

In order for the story to proceed smoothly, casting is essential..

‘We must make finding them our top priority. Let's put off attracting small children like we are doing now..’

First, it would be a good idea to track down those who ran away from here, and if that doesn't work, it would be a good idea to find the teacher of the young warlock who performed the sacrificial ritual..

From there, if you climb up the tail, you will be able to reach that reality someday..

[hmm?]

Just as Hans was thinking about how to move forward,.

I felt a certain energy coming from the abyss that began to wriggle violently..

[Oh my, this is nice again..]

Although I had never met him face to face, I came to know him through 'experience' given as information..

‘another legacy.’

I felt something so large that it couldn't be compared to the Acrich Dwell that Heinrich faced, coming up from below..

In the meantime, the connection to the deep abyss was so strong that the one drifting on the border had no chance to come out, but as that power began to weaken, it seemed that it was naturally sucked up..

The pit of the abyss continues to squirm, and the energy becomes clearer and clearer..

wiggle—

and finally.

A part of that being emerged from the turbulent abyss..

Puhuaak!

But it was too large to be considered a part..

[Whoa whoa——!]

The surrounding air was shaken by the overwhelming body twisting its entire body to get out, as if the large hole was too narrow..

Smooth bones and teeth shining black, a huge skull shaking roughly, and even ferocious purple eye glow..

That existence.

‘Bone Dragon, Entracio.’

A huge dragon made of nothing but bones was crawling out from the bottom of the abyss..