Chapter 257: Chapter 257

Chapter 257: Dragon's Corridor (2)

Kim Minwoo shook the blood off his sword and bowed to the Sword Saint.

"Thank you, Elder. Thanks to you, it was easy."

"You're being too formal given our relationship."

Yet, seeming in a good mood, Seo Jinchul clasped his hands behind his back with a pleased smile.

Kim Minwoo looked around.

Beyond the massive mural, he saw a huge painting that reached the ceiling.

Soon, he observed the painting.

A single, enormously huge dragon.

Its body was decorated with all kinds of precious gems, and it wore a beautiful crown.

'This painting feels... familiar?'

He read the written inscription.

[The greatest Primordial Dragon.]

[The Absolute of the Dragon Era.]

[He who weighs everything on golden scales to judge.]

[A fair judge who separates lies and truth with unbiased eyes.]

[His breath burns injustice, and his massive wings shall protect the collapsed order.]

[The Great Lord of Judgment, 'Archaia'.]

[You have obtained information about the Dragon Lord, Archaia!]

Kim Minwoo's face hardened stiffly.

It was a memory he couldn't forget even if he wanted to.

Before possessing this body in the game.

The final boss of the Stage 5 he faced at the very end.

The memory of collapsing from a single hit of the bastard's Dragon Tongue was still vivid.

'Is it talking about that Dragon Lord?'

Or is it talking about a different Dragon Lord?

He couldn't tell yet.

The appearance of the corridor began to change grotesquely.

"It seems there is a hidden painting in each corridor. It looks like a structure where the truth is revealed when we catch these guardians here."

"Hmm... I see. How was the place you were at?"

"From majestic dragons, it changed to look like they were depicting slaughterers."

The changed painting was...

A bright red magic circle was drawn around the giant dragon.

Above the magic circle, all kinds of corpses were piled up like a mountain.

Corpses of monsters, humans, and all kinds of races piled up without discrimination.

The magic circle beneath them seemed to ripple ominously.

"...No text appears."

"To know deeper information, it seems we have to go to the next room."

―Crazy dragons and all sorts of corpses... The more I look, the more unpleasant this place is.

Cedric said while clattering his teeth.

Artorias, and the dragon killed just now.

The dragons here were all either crazy or cruel.

Swallowing his words, the Sword Saint scanned the mural with a bitter gaze and shook his head slightly.

"Well. It felt a little different at the tip of my sword."

"Rather than killing intent... it was closer to a scream. A very deep sorrow, like begging to be killed. Rather than slaughterers, they looked like prisoners forced to hold a knife, controlled by someone."

Just as Kim Minwoo was about to make a puzzled expression.

A red message window appeared in the air along with a loud warning sound.

[The status of party member 'Han Siah' changes rapidly!]

[Faith in the target has breached the critical point.]

[Your most devout priest transforms into a 'Fanatic'!]

[A massive amount of faith flows into you!]

Kim Minwoo's jaw dropped.

When the light shattered and her vision returned, Han Siah was utterly alone.

A fierce sense of crisis struck.

Neither the sparkling jewels nor the beautiful decorations around caught her eye.

She had no significant means of attack.

The only thing she could trust was one thing.

[Summoning Holy Relic Iberk (SSS)!]

Only the cross-resembling holy relic, Iberk.

She summoned the holy relic, but anxiety still assailed her.

[Casting Divine Barrier (S)!]

A silver sphere floating in the air circled around, forming a faint barrier.

From the darkness of the corridor, rough breathing was heard along with the sound of something dragging.

"Grrr... Great... Archaia...."

It was closer to a sculpture made by someone with bad taste than a living being.

A human head with rolled-back eyes was embedded in its grotesquely swollen side, and a dragon-like tail sprouting from above its nape squirmed uncontrollably.

Red flesh and pus oozing stickily between scales that looked forcibly stitched together made its very existence an insult to life.

Furthermore, blue blood was gushing all over its body.

But the bastard, seemingly feeling no pain, kept banging its head against the wall and muttering continuously.

"Judgment... Scale... I praise. Even if my body rots and crumbles... Only for you...."

It was a crazy Dragonkin.

No, saying it was crazy wasn't enough.

That was closer to madness-filled faith.

It looked like it wasn't even paying attention to her...

Han Siah bit her lip.

Leaving a monster encroached by madness alone was no different from suicide.

A preemptive strike was the only way out.

She aimed the Holy Relic Iberk.

'My Lord, destroy the unclean.'

[Skill, Divine Explosion (S) is activated!]

A blinding flash exploded, swallowing the Dragonkin's back.

Flesh burst and bones were exposed, but the bastard didn't even scream.

Instead, along with a creaking noise, his neck twisted grotesquely and turned around.

His empty eyes stared piercingly at Han Siah.

"It is prayer time now. Do not disturb."

It was a frighteningly solemn warning.

A scene where an ordinary person would have backed away in fear.

But Han Siah was different.

For a moment, curiosity appeared in her eyes instead of fear.

Once again, a chilling rupture sound rang through the corridor.

Blue liquid mixed with blood and brain matter soaked the floor, but the monster in front of her still didn't stop the act.

The madness of seeking god while crushing one's own head.

In front of that gruesome scene where an ordinary person would have vomited and run away, Han Siah opened her mouth as if possessed.

"...Doesn't it hurt? Why did you stay still even when I attacked?"

At the cautious question, he turned his head.

His crushed eyes glistened toward Han Siah.

"Pain? Khehehe... This is not pain. It is an ascetic practice to reach Him. I carve my bones to make His throne, and sprinkle my blood to pave His path. That is the joy of a lowly servant!"

The Dragonkin's shout was close to a scream, but a strange euphoria permeated within it.

In an instant, Han Siah's eyes widened.

That appearance of rejoicing even while tearing and offering one's own flesh.

That tenacity to praise only a single existence even while the body collapses and the mind crumbles.

If there is such a thing as 'perfect faith' in the world, wouldn't it look exactly like that?

A gasp escaped her mouth unconsciously.

It was pure admiration, and fierce jealousy.

"...It's beautiful. So much."

The words she repeated a hundred, a thousand times a day.

That phrase that had supported the reborn her.

That monster was practicing that phrase with its whole body.

No, beyond simple obedience, it had reached a realm beyond that.

The realm of Utopia she had not yet reached.

"Kuaaa! Did you... come to worship... Him too!"

The Dragonkin roared, opening his torn mouth.

It was a growling shout, but to Han Siah, it sounded like a question confirming camaraderie.

She answered with a face flushed red.

"No. But, I think I understand. That heart of yours."

Han Siah walked out of the barrier.

Iberk's barrier trembled, but she paid no heed.

A chillingly deep intelligence dwelt in her eyes.

"I am the same. If He desires, I can tear out my heart to pave the way for Him, just like you. Because He gave me everything."

She looked down at her clean hands.

Her smooth skin, without a single scratch, felt unbearably shameful today of all days.

The day she was abandoned by her mother and her world collapsed.

The only god who saved her, Kim Minwoo.

Her feelings for him could no longer be defined by words like love or respect.

Yet, hadn't she been hiding behind a barrier, worrying about the safety of her mere physical body?

Unlike that Dragonkin praying madly without caring about terrible wounds!

"Seeing you, I realized. My faith was still far too lacking, wasn't it?"

Before she knew it, she had drawn close to the mad Dragonkin.

"May I... pray with you?"

"...It is prayer time now."

Han Siah clasped her hands with a solemn attitude.

It was at that moment.

The mad Dragonkin's fanaticism awakened her dormant nature.

A holy, yet somehow twisted golden aura began to ripple explosively around Han Siah.

[You have offered the most holy and pure prayer toward the object of your faith!]

[Your prayer strengthens the target's faith!]

[Unfathomable Achievement!, 'Mother of Divinity' achieved!]

[Your own small god has finally begun to take shape!]

[Every time you pray to the god, your skills will be massively strengthened!]

[Trait, Fanaticism is created!]

After the message that Han Siah had become a Fanatic.

Messages kept appearing continuously.

[Priest Han Siah prays to 'Kim Minwoo'!]

[Blind fanaticism flows in from the target!]

[Breaching critical point.]

[The worship pouring from Earth and the Kaisar Continent, and Han Siah's fanaticism resonate to cause a massive synergy!]

[The latent 'Weak Divinity' awakens.]

[Hidden Stat, 'Divinity' opens!]

[Unfathomable Achievement! You have achieved 'Birth of a God'!]

[You have acquired the title, 'Baby God'!]

[The Saintess of the 'Death Cult' has been born!]

[From now on, the Cult will be activated in earnest!]

[Cult Composition Information]

[Worshipped God: Kim Minwoo (Lowest-grade God)]

[Number of Fanatics: 1]

[Number of Believers]

[1. Kaisar Continent: 124,236]

[3. Eastern Witch Society: 762]

[4. Demon Realm: 421]

[Tip!) From now on, you can utilize Divinity to use Descent (EX).]

[However, be careful.]

[Divinity is a very precious asset.]

[Please use it carefully.]

What on earth is happening?