Chapter 246
Near the Fourth Legion's encampment of the Demon King's army.
Glenn was hurriedly heading toward the place where the gigantic otherworldly plant was located, with Lucheria and Penelope accompanying him.
“Huff… Hoo…”
Because he had used all the Gray Rings available to him today, all ten rings were now inactive, making it difficult for him to move.
It was the backlash from pushing himself too hard to show an overwhelming performance against the Demon King.
Seeing Glenn's pale complexion, Lucheria and Penelope instinctively slowed down.
But Glenn shook his head.
“I'm fine. Don't slow down.”
Although all of his rings were inactive, he could still use the remaining holy power and demonic energy floating inside his heart to create holy demonic power equivalent to roughly a Seven- to Eight-Star level.
Also, they knew that Glenn would not stay behind even if they tried to stop him.
So although they looked worried, the two hurried onward.
After running for more than ten minutes, they finally found Romina.
Fortunately, the place was not very far away.
A gigantic otherworldly plant stood before them, and Romina was facing it.
“Romina!”
“Glenn?!”
Romina had been gathering her demonic energy when she suddenly opened her eyes wide upon seeing Glenn.
She looked quite exhausted from using a considerable amount of demonic energy.
Fortunately, she did not appear to have any serious injuries.
“Even the Saint and Penny?”
“What about over there?”
“It's been dealt with.”
“Explain the situation first.”
Seeing Glenn's serious expression, Romina soon nodded with an equally serious look.
“Kacerto Rienz ran away, so I chased him.”
“Then I found him and killed him, but suddenly…”
“The rest is exactly as you can see.”
Glenn followed Romina's gaze.
There, a gigantic otherworldly plant was waving its purple tentacles.
Because he remembered it, Glenn immediately recognized what the plant was.
Belliautus?!
The otherworldly flower, Belliautus.
It was the most terrifying and dangerous monster summoned by Kacerto's magic, Flower Beyond the Other Side.
It was weaker than the Nine-Star experimental subject Daddy in the underground laboratory of Angrelcher Fortress.
But depending on the circumstances, it could cause even more horrifying disasters.
In the original story, he summoned it using another Legion Commander as a sacrifice.
Judging from the situation, Kacerto Rienz seemed to have summoned Belliautus using himself as its host.
But according to the original story, Kacerto had already fused himself with the Immortal Flower and obtained the power of immortality.
If he summoned another otherworldly plant while in that state, when he had to constantly concentrate his mind to prevent himself from becoming its food, he should inevitably have his body taken over.
Kacerto Rienz feared both physical and mental death more than anyone.
So why had he done something like this?
The answer was simple.
“Hmm.”
“Glenn Wordsworth has arrived.”
Kacerto had maintained complete control of his mind despite summoning two otherworldly plants using himself as their host.
“I thought you would be caught by the Demon King and die there.”
“But the Demon King's presence is still intact, so you couldn't have defeated him.”
“Hmm…”
“What kind of trick did you use?”
His voice was extremely calm.
It sounded strange because another unknown voice overlapped with it.
Yet there was not even the slightest tremor in his voice.
Moreover, the countless purple tentacles extending from the flower's receptacle moved freely like fingers.
In other words, Kacerto was completely controlling Belliautus.
Rather than allowing the otherworldly plant he had summoned as his host to control his body, he was manipulating it as a source of power.
“…This is a bit troublesome.”
The situation was becoming difficult.
The reason an otherworldly flower summoned from another dimension possessed power comparable to its host was because it had no intelligence.
It simply grabbed anything around it and used it as nourishment.
Anything it could not consume was destroyed.
It was closer to a natural disaster than a living creature.
That's why its attack patterns were simple, making it relatively easy to fight.
But now, it would cleverly use its power according to the will of Kacerto Rienz, the very person it had tried to use as its host.
If that happened, it could unleash power exceeding Kacerto's own Eight-Star level.
Perhaps it could even reach the Nine-Star level.
There was no way to know how Kacerto could summon two otherworldly flowers using himself as their host while maintaining his sanity.
And Glenn was not particularly curious about it either.
It was probably because Kacerto was simply Lunatic, or because the changed fate caused by Glenn's actions had created a new phenomenon through the butterfly effect.
“Well…”
“Does it really matter?”
“After all, I have a chance to personally watch that hateful face twist in despair.”
The important thing was that Kacerto had no intention of retreating.
He intended to fight Glenn.
The problem is whether our current party can actually defeat him…
Glenn lightly bit his lip as he analyzed the strength of his opponent and his party.
Honestly, he was not confident about winning.
Romina, Penelope, and Lucheria had all lost some of their strength during the previous battle against the Demon King's army.
And Glenn, the center and most important combatant of the party, had burned through all ten of his rings to drive away the Demon King.
But…
So what?
Am I going to give up because of that?
The sharp radiance in Glenn's wavering gray eyes suddenly burned fiercely.
POP!
Saaaaaa—
Like dandelion seeds bursting apart, thick purple spores scattered in every direction from Belliautus's reproductive organs.
Most of them soon began flying eastward toward Ovenue Fortress.
Seeds containing an otherworldly plague had begun riding the wind toward the land where the sister he truly cherished lived, intending to destroy it.
“I'll tear your limbs apart right here.”
“Then I'll make you watch as the land you cherish is destroyed right before your eyes.”
“So I hope you'll take your time and savor the sight.”
It was as if the old demon with the familiar appearance was smiling viciously.
How could Glenn avoid fighting when something like this was happening right before his eyes?
He tightened his grip on his beloved sword, Einheria, and boldly pointed it at Belliautus.
“I've made one decision.”
“Once I've secured enough strength to survive, I'll reduce the number of people who negatively affect this world and let more people who have a positive influence live.”
“I can't eliminate every single one of them.”
“But I thought beating down a few major villains and killing them would have a good effect in many ways, so I picked out a few and wiped them out.”
“But there always seems to be someone who does the exact opposite of me.”
“A bastard who exploits the will of good people and throws them away once they are no longer useful.”
A hero named Rowen, who wanted to mediate conflicts more than anyone else, had been manipulated into massacring thousands.
Vanum, who loved children, had been lured with the life of a child and turned into an experimental subject.
And countless other evil deeds Kacerto had committed over hundreds of years, deeds that had not yet been exposed but definitely existed, flashed through Glenn's mind.
“Every time I clean up the mess you've left behind…”
“I make the same resolution again.”
“No matter what you want from now on, not a single thing will go according to your wishes.”
WOOOOOOONG—
White and black particles gathered around the cold blade of Einheria.
Glenn was smiling.
But his eyes were clearly fixed on Kacerto Rienz.
“I agree with Elder's words a hundred times over.”
“I'll help too, Brother!”
“Please, Glenn.”
“Help me.”
Penelope, Lucheria, and Romina also hardened their expressions and joined the battle.
“…The foolishness of struggling because you cannot face a future filled with nothing but despair…”
A voice that sounded as if it were clicking its tongue echoed through the area.
Then dozens and hundreds of tentacles poured down from the flower's receptacle like rain.
“How pathetic!”
At that signal, everyone in Glenn's party released their respective powers.
“Here it comes!”
FWOOOSH—
Lucheria moved first.
She stepped forward and released an enormous amount of holy power, forming a gigantic barrier.
KAGAGAGAGANG—!
Hundreds of clusters of tentacles struck the barrier like whips.
Tiny cracks appeared across its surface, but the barrier itself did not shake.
That brief amount of time was enough for Romina and Penelope to gather their demonic energy.
Goooooo—
It was an ironic sight.
