Chapter 17
The expedition members were so exhausted that even their vision had begun to blur.
But even for them, the sight before their eyes was far too shocking.
Everyone stared with their mouths hanging open, and some even trembled at the manifestation of one of the great ancient beings.
An apostle capable of controlling a manifestation of that size and power as though it were his own was by no means common.
And even more so when that apostle served a being that had protected humanity for hundreds of years.
Yohan was not the only apostle chosen by an Inner God.
The Great Old Ones were beings beyond human understanding.
No human could ever know the reason behind their actions, no matter what they chose to do.
Even taking that into account, however, Yohan's actions so far had been strange beyond belief.
There were times when Inner Gods clashed because of differences in their positions, but even then, they often stood together.
Yet an apostle of an Inner God was using an Inner God's power to try to liberate the four major factions.
How could that possibly make sense?
The expedition members, seeing Yohan use a manifestation for the first time, couldn't hide their shock at that fundamental question.
Of course, Yohan had never intended to answer them in the first place.
“S-Senior Yohan!”
After witnessing that tentacle attack earlier, there was no way they could approach him casually.
So Dexter and the others welcomed Yohan's arrival while keeping several meters of distance from him.
Yohan himself didn't even spare them a glance and continued straight ahead.
This time, he ran into Frank, who was farther away.
“...Weren't you already heading down? With your ability, you should've been able to go alone...”
“That was the plan. Until a moment ago.”
“......”
“Now you bastards will have to make a choice too. There won't be anywhere safe left in this place anymore.”
“A choice... Feels like there's only one path left anyway... Urgh!”
The tension suddenly left Frank's body, and his knees buckled.
His companions hurried over to support him.
Watching them hold one another up, Yohan snorted as though the sight was absurd.
Then, as Yohan walked forward with both arms extended, enemies began gathering around him once again.
The believers who had barely survived the judgment of the tentacles pointed their daggers toward him with dead eyes.
There was no longer any will left in them.
The goddess folded her arms and let out an amused chuckle.
[Hmm... They're all already under mind control? I thought that ability of yours was nothing special, Naberius.]
“It isn't.”
[Oh, really?]
“Even against those soulless fanatics, he can only control them by taking away their consciousness first... That's about the level we're dealing with.”
Yohan glanced at the countless trails of blood scattered across the ground and lightly smacked his lips.
Magic flowed out from beneath his feet and spread across the area like mist.
All the blood around them began moving toward Yohan.
“...Blood?”
Even the believers whose minds had been dominated by the demon stared in astonishment.
After gathering all the blood around him, Yohan skillfully changed its form with a movement of his hand.
From mist to liquid.
Then from liquid into long vines covered in countless thorns.
The dead blood soon scattered in every direction and began mercilessly piercing the vital points of the remaining believers.
“Aaaaargh!”
“Kugh!”
“K-Kegh...!”
They dropped dead one after another without even having the chance to properly question what had happened.
Yohan once again strode toward the center of the village.
Watching cries of life turn into death screams with satisfied eyes, the goddess wrapped herself around the back of Yohan's neck.
[When it comes to blood, you're probably even more of an expert than that ‘Ir-Tar,’ Blood Mage Yohan.]
“...Maybe. It doesn't really matter anymore.”
[I remember what you looked like six hundred years ago. You were cool then and you're cool now... but back then, you were much more dignified.]
“Was I...? I don't remember.”
[I'll tell you when it's just the two of us later. Hehehehe.]
“I refuse.”
Thanks to Yohan's overwhelming performance, the area near the village entrance had become relatively calm.
But the closer they came to the center, the worse the situation became.
A completely blackened lump of flesh rolled out from a building that had already burned down to ashes.
The bodies of those who had managed to escape outside before dying were comparatively less damaged.
Instead, every one of them wore horribly twisted expressions.
They were the faces of weak living creatures desperately struggling to survive when the calamity called death suddenly invaded their peaceful daily lives.
“......”
And now, Yohan had finally reached the entrance of the temple.
The stone pillars they had somehow built despite the harsh environment of the dungeon were quite impressive.
His gaze followed the pillars downward.
Then he suddenly noticed a familiar face.
When he focused his eyes, he saw Danforce Korsi near the entrance, gasping heavily for breath.
Yohan crossed the distance in an instant.
“Hah... Hah... Urgh!”
A dagger was buried deep in one side of Danforce's abdomen, blood pouring steadily from the wound.
Seeing Yohan arrive so late, Danforce raised his head with a bitter smile.
“You're late... Way too... late...”
“You did well surviving alone.”
Yohan quickly examined the gruesome scene around them.
He immediately understood what had happened here and how Danforce had managed to overcome it.
“Even after being ambushed, you still didn't lose against mere believers... Not bad.”
“Hah... Looks like... this is as far as I go, though...”
“We'll see.”
Aside from the severe wound in his side, blood covered many parts of Danforce's body.
So much blood had flowed beneath where he stood that a small pool had formed on the ground.
Unable to endure any longer, Danforce collapsed where he stood.
Yohan approached and extended a hand over his wound.
“What...?”
“This will hurt a little.”
