The Evil God Has Descended!

[Ding! Hunting Quest Complete: Ghoul I (100/100 Ghoul Killed)]

[Rewards: 4000 Lesser Experience Orbs, Monster Bestiary - Ghoul]

Hunting Quest: Ghoul II (Kill 8/250 Water Ghosts)

[Ding! The Monster Bestiary "Ghoul" has been unlocked in the Monster Encyclopedia. The "Ghoul" will appear in 54 seconds during the Conjunction of the Spheres. Please be prepared!]

The moment the System Notification sounded, he abandoned the ghouls around him and looked up at the tentacle in the sky, which was closest to the densest concentration of the tower's eyeballs.

Countless translucent threads stretched out before my eyes.

With a slight thought, Ailin activated his Divine Power.

In an instant.

"Whoosh!"

A soft sound.

The scene before my eyes transformed from countless chaotic ghouls into a dense mass of eyeballs.

Then, before it even landed.

A flicker appeared on Ailin's body, and his ancient and ferocious Wild Hunt Conquest Armor appeared for a second before being concealed by the illusion of the mirage pearl.

[Name: Conqueror's Armor of the Wild Hunt]

[Type: Magical Item]

[Function:

1. Helmet - Skull: Disguise your face with a skull illusion, which has a deterrent effect on non-supernatural creatures and a probability of having a deterrent effect on supernatural creatures.

2. Chest Armor - Ghostly: When activated, it turns the user into Ghosting, making them immune to physical attacks.

3. Handguards - Iron Grip: Enhances strength and provides immunity to disarming.

4. Shoulder Pad - Balance: Balances elements and greatly suppresses elemental surges.

5. Greaves - Magic Amplification: Increases spell power and gathers magic energy.

6. Boots - Flat: Immune to the negative effects of most terrains such as swamps, silt, and snowfields.

Set bonus:

1. Spiral:...

2. Resurrection:...

[Remark:...]

Smack!

Its two feet landed firmly on the slippery tentacles, as if walking on flat ground.

"Pfft~"

[Demon Hunter] 48%.

Then.

Everything in front of me suddenly turned blood red.

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres! Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres!]

"Buzz~"

The Witcher's badge tore at the chains beneath his armor.

When Ailin paused his attack and tried to steady himself, the Conqueror's Armor of the Wild Hunt proved to be more reliable than he had imagined; his two boots seemed to be glued to his tentacles.

"Boom!"

In an instant.

The entire valley roared as if it were about to collapse, with boulders, pine trees, and large clumps of barren brown soil falling from the towering ridges at its edges.

From the forests outside the valley came panicked human shouts and sounds of maintaining order. However, since the epicenter of the Conjunction of the Spheres was in the valley, Ailin was not worried about being accidentally injured.

Vesemir turned back and looked in surprise at the figure on the tentacles. Taking advantage of the ghouls' panic, and with the help of the Greater Griffin's gusts of wind, he waved his dark red light and moved among the ferocious monsters.

The Conjunction of the Spheres was also an old acquaintance for him.

The earth-shattering tremors did not affect his killing speed in the slightest; on the contrary, they aided him.

The monsters screamed in terror and helplessness.

The tentacles that covered the valley fell down with a crash, like puppets with broken strings.

"Boom boom boom~"

The Rotfiend and the Spiked Fiend exploded in a dazzling burst of fire.

More Ghoul and Giant Ghoul were smashed into piles of minced meat.

[Ding! Hunting Quest Complete: Rotfiend I (50/50 Rotfiend)]

[Rewards: 50 Experience Orbs, Monster Bestiary - Rotfiend]

Hunting Quest: Rotfiend II (Kill 26/100 Rotfiend)

[Ding! The Monster Bestiary "Rotfiend" has been unlocked in the Monster Encyclopedia. The "Rotfiend" will appear in 59 seconds Conjunction of the Spheres. Please be prepared!]

[Ding! Hunting Quest Complete: Giant Ghoul I (Giant Ghoul Kills 10/10)]

[Rewards: 100 Experience Orbs, Monster Bestiary - Giant Ghoul]

Hunting Quest: Giant Ghoul II (Kill Giant Ghoul 4/20)

[Ding! The "Giant Ghoul" Monster Bestiary has been unlocked in the Monster Encyclopedia. The "Giant Ghoul" will appear in 59 seconds Conjunction of the Spheres. Please be prepared!]

The cold system notification sounded unexpectedly.

The Experience Orbs, which had been emptied in the evening, were instantly replenished.

The Witcher's Handbook actually determined that these carnivorous creatures that died under the tentacles were all his achievements.

"But it doesn't matter!"

Ailin crouched, leaped, and rolled among the tentacles that lashed out in response, seizing the opportunity to stab the eyeballs while contemplating the effects of the continuous Conjunction of the Spheres.

Killing one large monster is the same as killing two; it can't be more troublesome than Summoning Ritual.

Who knows, it might even help him deal with the Summoning Ritual and the big-eyed Evil God.

Moreover, taking advantage of the commotion caused by the Summoning Ritual, resolving the issue in this remote valley is not a bad idea; it's better than accidentally triggering it someday.

The only thing to worry about is the Wild Hunt.

After all, he hadn't arranged for Meritellie's Concealment Ritual beforehand.

However, on the other hand, setting aside the "l" level Conjunction of the Spheres, which doesn't involve much fluctuation, the Wild Hunt's current aggression should be firmly fixed on Ban Ad Academy.

Even if they sent elves to investigate, the grand rituals of the Evil God would be enough to convince anyone.

The monster's eyeballs, densely packed within pale bones and muscle fibers, abruptly ceased functioning due to the Conjunction of the Spheres.

This delighted Ailin.

He dodged to the side, his back against the Tower of Flesh and Blood, as the enormous tentacles nearly grazed his nose and were flung into the sky.

"Pfft!"

The sword was pulled from the flesh and blood, drawing a bright red line in the air.

[Demon Hunter] 57%.

The oscillations caused by the convergence of the Conjunction of the Spheres gradually ceased.

Just as Ailin was about to turn around while gathering his strength, he wanted to see what monsters the Ghoul ' Conjunction of the Spheres had summoned.

"Roar--"

"Smack!"

"Thump!"

The unfamiliar roar of the lion and tiger had just been uttered when it turned into a whimper of a feline, and then it stopped abruptly.

Immediately following was the sound of heavy flesh colliding, and then a dark shadow rolled and crashed heavily into the ridge on one side. Rocks broke and fell, burying the demon that had come from the Conjunction of the Spheres, leaving it completely still and its fate unknown.

Ailin:?

"That's it?" Ailin paused in his sword swing. "On the bright side, at least we don't have to worry about the new member being a ghoul and 'joining' the Summoning Ritual."

That makes sense, though.

Ghoul are carnivorous creatures similar in level to water ghosts, capable of summoning powerful monsters...

"Smack!"

He looked away, dodging the slapping tentacle, and jumped onto another nearby tentacle, habitually glancing up at it.

The eyeballs clinging to the tower trembled, their eyelids twitching, the muscles on them twisted and contorted.

"It's time to open your eyes!"

When Ailin, who was poking out the eyeballs, saw this scene, he once again flicked the translucent filament in front of him and teleported into mid-air almost a second before the giant eyes opened.

The dragon-like crimson vertical pupils opened and saw Ailin, causing his pupils to dilate in shock.

The eyeballs, which had already ceased their sacrificial offerings, showed signs of withering and bursting again.

However, before it could launch an attack, Ailin waved his right hand, and a cloud of brown magical dust shot into its single eye.

"Smack!"

The grayish-brown eyelids suddenly closed, making a loud slapping sound.

"Roar!"

The roars were filled with pain and rage.

However, from the trembling of the one-eyed creature and the movements of the ghoul, Ailin could clearly sense that the effect of the Blind Dust was not as outstanding as when he first used the Magic Flash.

Therefore, without waiting for the free fall to stop, he glanced at the messy valley, and with another flash, teleported to the tentacle and stood firmly.

He swung his sword, aimed at one eye, and stabbed again.

[Demon Hunter] 57%.

Fortunately.

He had previously raised the level of [Demon Hunter] to level six, which allows the Demon Hunter state to last for 450 seconds, nearly eight minutes.

Otherwise, the demon-hunting state would have ended long ago after the struggles of the Summoning Ritual.

Even so, there was only a little over a minute left.

In other words, he has to poke an eyeball in four seconds.

It sounds easy, after all, with his attributes and swordsmanship, he could easily do three sword strikes in a second.

The key point is that the Summoning Ritual is not an inanimate object.

The tentacles were about the thickness of a tower, and when they were waved, they could practically blot out the sky.

Even the Lord of R'lyeh from the Cthulhu Mythos novels of my past life was nothing special, right?

Even though his swinging frequency and accuracy were not high due to his single eye not being open, he would be whipped every time he pierced an eyeball.

Dodging takes time.

so.

Time is of the essence!

If we fail to accumulate enough progress before time runs out this time...

To be honest, having gradually adapted to the Summoning Ritual 'Magic Flash and Blind Dust, and with the amulet now cracked, he didn't think he'd have a second chance.

"Once we stop the Evil God, we must collect all kinds of Sword Oil," Ailin secretly resolved.

This lesson was far too profound.

Without targeted Sword Oil, encountering troublesome monsters is more difficult and dangerous than facing a monster siege.

If it weren't for the fact that the Summoning Ritual still had his eyeballs as a weakness, he would have had no choice but to flee with Vesemir or wait for Ianna and Tissaia to arrive before fighting back...

No!

That wouldn't work either. If it really came to that, a huge horde of ghouls would swarm in, plus the Summoning Ritual in Cthulhu form.

Tissaia will definitely leave with the Sorceress of Aretuza, so he can only try to leave in a sorry state with a few acquaintances.

But then what?

Evil God descends.

How could Arland, so close at hand, possibly escape unscathed? Ianna certainly wouldn't have left then, nor would Arthur and Sala, and even Lyra might have...

Ailin couldn't think straight anymore.

Even in his low-emotional-fluctuation demon-hunting state, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He immediately buried his head and used all his strength, agility, and skill to mechanically stab and stab.

[Demon Hunter] 60%.

[Demon Hunter] 75%.

The progress bar grows little by little, which is incredibly frustrating.

His stamina was also depleted in the repeated high-intensity dodging and attacks, and he had to use the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid to replenish it from time to time.

However, the Drowner Heart Essence Fluid can only replenish physical strength, but cannot restore tired and sore arm muscles to their original state.

This intensified Ailin's anxiety.

However, he dared not stop for a moment, and could only use the effects of the Giant Ghoul Decoction to continuously stimulate the adrenal medulla to secrete adrenaline, forcibly counteracting the fatigue of his muscles.

"By Meritelli, please ...

He murmured to himself.

Unfortunately, the unexpected still happened.

"Pfft~"

Ailin pierced one of the eyeballs and instinctively glanced around, trying to dodge the impending attack.

But no...

Although sluggish, the tentacles that could have crushed him into mincemeat with a single blow did not lash out like a whip, accompanied by a howling gale.

"This is bad." Ailin felt more worried than happy, and his heart sank.

Another variable has emerged!

That's how you deal with intelligent monsters.

If the monster cannot be defeated quickly, every extra second will bring more variables.

Unlike in previous games, where even the smartest monster AI only had a few predetermined attack moves, these games wouldn't be like that. Once you memorized them and fought them a few times, even the strongest monsters wouldn't be that tough.

But that's not how it is in reality.

Once a clever monster discovers that one attack method is ineffective, it will quickly switch to another.

They can even react to situations just like humans.

Like Summoning Ritual.

It initially slowly eroded the amulet, but after Ailin broke through it with his weapon, he immediately sacrificed his eyeball to unleash a powerful telekinetic attack.

After the telekinetic attack was countered by the Magic Flash, a large number of eyeballs were sacrificed to give the tentacles, which were merely lines of a ritual magic circle, vitality and powerful strength...

"Sword Oil!" Ailin murmured to himself again.

If the Sword Oil is targeted and the time is not prolonged, he might be able to resolve the issue before the erosion of the amulet is over.

But now is not the time for regrets.

He didn't stop what he was doing, his eyes quickly scanning the surroundings. "After the tentacles, what other tricks has the Summoning Ritual come up with?"

The giant eye clinging to the tower was lifeless, its eyes closed and motionless.

The same applies to the other countless eyes.

The tentacles that had been raised around them fell silently to the ground without a sound.

The entire valley fell silent for a moment, with only the flapping cries of the Greater Griffin and the angry roars of Vesemir echoing through the air.

Even the immense pressure caused by the overwhelming magical favor gradually dissipated.

Aside from the somewhat eerie atmosphere, as if a storm was brewing and the Summoning Ritual had been successfully aborted.

"Pfft~"

[Demon Hunter] 81%.

Besides [The Demon Hunter], [The Demon Hunter] also reminded him that the Summoning Ritual was still alive.

"Never mind!" Ailin gritted his teeth, exerting all his strength to increase the speed of his sword swings. "Only seven strikes left. Without the tentacles to hinder us, it'll only take two or three seconds..."

Before he could finish speaking...

"Boom!"

A loud explosion.

Despite Ailin's instinctive dodge, the dark red, murky liquid still managed to splatter all over him.

It was an eyeball near the target he was about to stab with his sword that exploded.

Something's not right...

The eyeballs that were sacrificed previously withered and burst from top to bottom. Obviously, the Summoning Ritual could not deliberately leave the lower half for him to accumulate progress, so it must be because of some reason that the sacrifice could only be made from top to bottom.

This is normal.

When he curls his toes, he cannot curl only his middle finger.

He hesitated for a moment, then quickly stabbed at the intact eyeball.

"Boom!"

Another explosion.

The eyeball he was aiming for suddenly exploded. Elsa's sword pierced the empty "eye socket," sinking deep inside, but her Demon Hunting progress didn't increase at all.

This loud explosion seemed to have triggered some kind of chain reaction.

"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom..."

The explosions continued in succession, and a massive amount of dark red, turbid liquid rained down from the sky like blood.

This time, Ailin didn't even try to dodge.

In the blink of an eye, all the eyeballs exploded.

He was in despair.

Unable to think of a solution, the thought of summoning the Greater Griffin and taking Vesemir away flashed through Ailin's mind.

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres! Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres!]

[WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!]

[Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres! Fluctuations detected at the Conjunction of the Spheres!]

Everything before my eyes was crimson, as if the entire world was watered with blood.

Four red banners, almost black, flashed at the very top of Ailin's field of vision, radiating an extremely dangerous light.

The intense spatial fluctuations caused by the Conjunction of the Spheres meant that while the Greater Griffin and Vesemir could adapt, they were determined not to be able to evacuate safely, thus completely dispelling his idea.

He gripped the sword, standing there dumbfounded, unsure of what to do.

He suddenly thought of a question.

What would happen if all the eyeballs were sacrificed?

"Snap!"

The question had barely crossed my mind when I suddenly heard a strange sound like wood snapping against my chest.

The amulet, which had lasted until midnight before cracking, also broke open on the pregnant woman's neck.

He instinctively looked up.

The giant eye opened its eyes again, but this time...

Its single, dragon-like eye gleamed, its crimson light towering like the Blue Mountain peaks, yet chillingly indifferent.

In a daze, he felt that he had seen this light before.

No, don't think so...

He had indeed seen it.

The Evil God... has descended!