Pioneer's Spear - Rhongomyniad
This death experience of Iver was completely different from the one he had experienced during his previous ascension to the Dedication Path.
Although he was killed by the Shadow Fiend himself, his consciousness did not separate from his corpse. His perspective neither rose upwards nor fell into darkness.
His consciousness remained within his body.
Although his body was dead, Iver could still feel the many pains of being stewed.
It was as if he had not been killed by the Shadow Demon and thrown into the Magic Cauldron, but rather boiled alive.
This giant cauldron, nearly three meters high and over six meters in diameter, looks like a low crucible or a huge bowl.
His outer shell was dark gold, covered with the grotesque and tormented faces of various races. It was like a mask mold cast from gold, or like someone struggling to escape from a pot, the face of a vengeful spirit protruding from the pot's surface.
And all of these heads had pupils made of dark red garnet, like dried, congealed beads of blood.
Barton could clearly see from below... that the dark red gems suddenly shone brightly after Mr. Aleister entered the Magic Cauldron.
Iver's body was curled up in a ball, sleeping like an infant.
An invisible heat flowed into Iver's body through all the orifices of his body.
First, there's the skin, as if it's being soaked in very hot ginger or chili sauce, gradually heating up and becoming scalding hot. This transitions from a very short period of comfort to increasingly intense, uncontrollable pain.
The flesh and blood seemed to melt, or perhaps be scorched to solidification. The bones were the hottest, and one could even clearly feel the marks they left behind within the body.
When the heat reached his chest, abdomen, and brain, Iver suddenly felt the whole world become quiet.
It was as if the whole world had been scorched to ashes, and a flame of fury ignited in my chest.
Then, the heart, which had stopped beating, began to beat abnormally, and all the muscles in the body began to writhe and swell.
It became increasingly intense and violent.
Footsteps came from the doorway, while a roar erupted from within the Magic Cauldron.
It sounded like a roar born of pain, or the cry of a warrior charging into battle.
A gigantic, dark red humanoid figure gradually rose from the Magic Cauldron —he appeared to be about three or four meters tall, his clothes completely torn apart. Once he stood Magic Cauldron, his chest was exposed.
A huge hole ran through his heart—a wound left from when he was killed by Shadow Fiend.
The wound did not heal; instead, it continuously pumped out billowing hot air. The rising white steam, along with the ember-like dark red heart, made this giant "Aleister" look less like a person and more like some kind of Magic Creature.
Or rather, this is Magic Creature are—
The crimson light from "power" poured into his body continuously, and the tall warrior, who had been resurrected and still exuded a rich aroma of vegetable broth, remained silent.
Having returned from the realm of the dead, he had lost the ability to speak.
"What happened?"
A deep, muffled female voice rang out. It was a Valkyrie who appeared beautiful and humanoid, but was enormous in size.
She had fiery red hair, a dignified and resolute face, and appeared to be only about ten meters tall, reaching just to the chest of the red-haired bear. The Giantess had just gotten up and was not wearing any clothes. Her abdomen and thighs had visible, vine-like muscles, and she had not an ounce of excess fat on her body.
However, in contrast to the Giantess's human-like appearance and figure, her skin was unusually dry and rough, pale white like waxed tree bark or a plaster statue, reflecting a bright white light under the lamp.
Because of Iver inside the Magic Cauldron, she didn't notice Barton huddled in the corner. The Giantess's entire attention was focused on Iver.
"A slave has escaped!"
She quickly realized what had happened.
The Giantess roared, her first instinct being to run to the bedside to grab her weapon.
To humans, it would be considered a giant axe—nearly two meters long, made of refined steel incongruous with the bronze structure. But to the Giantess, it was merely a light hand axe.
However, at that moment, black liquid suddenly shot out from Iver's hand, preemptively sticking to one of the two hand axes and dragging it back into Iver's hand.
He tried to chop at the Magic Cauldron beneath him with his hand axe, but couldn't cause any damage. The axe even chipped slightly.
With a roar, Iver turned back and reached for the Holy Lance once more.
In battles fought on a mortal level, the spiraling spear that Shadow Fiend conjures is enormous. But in battles fought on a giant scale, Shadow Fiend appears as tiny as a thread.
—But even a line can serve a sufficient supporting function.
Even if the axe cannot harm the giant, it can at least reduce the giant's weapon.
Now that the Holy Lance has fallen into Iver's hands, a message appears before his eyes.
That is the name and attributes of this Holy Lance.
[Pioneer's Spear - Rhongomyniad]
[Divine Weapon (Candlekeeper): This weapon was forged by the Candlekeeper and can only be wielded by those who agree with the Candlekeeper's ideals.]
[Lance, heavy, tough, sharp, penetrating, adaptable]
[Divine Trait: Its attacks ignore resistance bonuses for "Divinity", "Defilement", and "Force Field" categories]
[Extraordinary Module - Challenger's Courage: The holder remains steadfast when facing enemies stronger than themselves]
[Divine Module - Devotion: Instantly sacrifice 99% of your Maximum Life to activate your Mythic form "Myth - Rhongomyniad"]
[Divine Module - I Am the Vanguard: When you are alone, all attacks initiated by Rhongomyniad automatically gain maximum advantage; you will not be flanked by enemies; the more enemies within your attack range, the higher all your damage.]
[Divine Module - No Retreat: You cannot retreat; a Holy Counterattack is automatically triggered each time an enemy attempts to leave your attack range. The additional damage from the counterattack is determined by your current percentage of health; the lower your percentage of health, the higher the damage. If the Holy Counterattack is enough to kill the opponent, any excess damage will heal you for the same amount.]
[Rhongomyniad Myth: The power of the Candlelight Guide protects the Eternal Vanguard. Whenever the holder is attacked in a way that could result in death, they automatically enter the "Eternal Vanguard" state for three seconds.]
[During the "Eternal Vanguard" state, all damage received is absorbed and converted into an equivalent amount of healing; this effect completes its cooldown three seconds after "Eternal Vanguard" ends.]
"—I am the Eternal Vanguard of the stag, unyielding, unretreating, invincible, and immortal."
When the Holy Lance fell into the hands of Iver, who had transformed into a giant, it suddenly shrank, becoming a length suitable for Iver to use.
Without a doubt, this is a true divine artifact.
A trial card for a magical artifact!
This is Divine Weapon that the Candlelight God made specifically for His beloved "Eternal Vanguard"—the giant apostle who originally lived in this Candle Holder Temple, was over twenty meters tall, lived a simple life, and rarely left his home.
And Iver understood why only this gun could harm the "Giant Couple" and destroy the Demon Magic Cauldron...
As an apostle of the Supreme Heaven and a divine artifact bestowed upon it, only this weapon, capable of ignoring resistance to "divinity," can shatter it!
Even if he is only First Level superhuman, with the warrior's body enhanced by the Magic Cauldron and this Holy Lance personally blessed by the Candle Master, he can fight the giant apostle head-on! Although many of the weapon's attributes are invalid... its mythical form, if used properly, is basically equivalent to having invincible health!
Thinking of this, Iver turned his spear around and slashed down heavily.
The Holy Lance, gleaming with golden light, shattered the Magic Cauldron with ease! Just like striking a clay pot with an iron hammer, the Magic Cauldron offered no resistance; with a mere tap, it crumbled and shattered.
The food that had been continuously produced from the Magic Cauldron was scattered all over the ground along with the shattered Magic Cauldron and the splattered soup. It hissed and disappeared like ashes.
After the Magic Cauldron was shattered, the red garnets, even though they were not attacked, also shattered simultaneously.
Countless white souls were released from the gemstone, mingling with the rising white steam and causing the temperature in the room to drop sharply.
" —Kastenning's Holy Lance!"
The Giantess exclaimed, "How did you pick that up?!"
The Giantess clearly recognized the gun and visibly hesitated.
However, Iver had already launched an attack on her.
Although the Giantess was wary of the spear, she was not intimidated. With a roar, she launched an attack on Iver.
With just a roar, Barton, who was cowering in the corner, bled from all seven orifices.
His brain was buzzing, and the intense imbalance and nausea made it impossible for him to stand.
Even the temple walls, solidified by the power of the gods, could not resist the power of the Giantess.
She crouched low and launched a series of attacks on Iver, her ten-meter-tall body moving with the agility of a cat. As she moved, she stirred up a fierce whirlwind, her hand axe slashing viciously at Iver's head!
A deafening roar echoed through the air, and howling winds swept outwards from the point of impact. The entire room was completely destroyed by the typhoon.
But at that moment, the Holy Lance in Iver's hand suddenly burst forth with divine light—
Black, hollow thorns sprouted from the handle, like the roots of an old tree, and pierced Iver's arm. In an instant, deep red blood stained the black thorns crimson.
The Holy Lance seemed to have found fuel, and pure white flames suddenly ignited, distorting the air.
A surge of intense heat caused all the fabrics and papers in the room to spontaneously combust.
Despite being struck hard by an axe, Iver did not retreat, nor was he seriously injured.
Instead, pure white flames burst forth from his pupils, and he instantly regained his health.
Iver roared and thrust the Holy Lance, burning with Holy Fire, heavily towards the Giantess!
Just then, a silver-white scale appeared on Iver's left hand.
[Authority - Silver Scale: When you attack anyone who has broken their oath, gain +1 Advantage (Divinity)]
That was the mark of the Silver Crowned Dragon, proof that He was watching over Iver.
This also signifies that the giant before him is someone who has broken his oath and is hated by the Silver Crowned Dragon—
These two chapters are slow to write and not finished yet! I'll post the second chapter at 6 PM tonight, but I might post it earlier if I finish it earlier!
Today's dungeon is cleared!