Chapter 1077

〈 Chapter 1077 〉 1077. Spirit’s Atlantis

Elena appeared near Sector 5,485. She originally intended to teleport directly into Sector 5,485, but the area had eroded so much it no longer resembled what she knew.

“Hmm… Erosion is progressing. It’s already consumed at least two sectors and is now moving onto a third.”

She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

Inside there… it’s not just any sector. It’s saturated with an unknown power of the Spirit Thrones and strange entities. Once you enter, getting out won’t be easy.

No way would she recklessly barge in like some idiot. Instead, Elena used magic to peer inside.

At the outskirts, mindless undead aimlessly wandered around. In the center stood a towering black pillar, and atop it was a pair of crimson eyes that stared directly at Elena.

「You have been targeted by the Gaze of Death.」

「You are outside the sector.」

「You are unaffected.」

“…Of course.”

Elena nodded quietly as she glanced at the notification window floating before her.

A certain spirit came to mind. She’d already studied the Spirit Thrones extensively through the Exiles—everything from spirits and monsters of myth to lesser heroes and legendary figures.

“If this is a spirit associated with eyes, there might be a few ways to deal with it. Either reflect its gaze using a mirror or sneak in without being noticed.”

But neither option seemed foolproof.

The former was too simplistic and likely wouldn’t work, while the latter would be nearly impossible given how exposed the terrain around the black pillar was—just flat, pitch-black ground.

“I can do it. I’ll use illusion magic to conceal my presence.”

More importantly, Sung Yoojin wasn’t visible near the black pillar. He could very well be hiding somewhere within this vast sector.

Elena exhaled softly. A small blue butterfly appeared on her left shoulder.

“Stop it, Mirror. Don’t rush in.”

A familiar voice spoke from behind her. It was Samuel, the boss of Hellten, wearing his usual featureless white octagonal mask covering his face.

“Boss… and who’s that behind you?”

Behind Samuel stood a figure cloaked in a robe that concealed their entire body, along with a white blank-faced mask. The person’s gender was indiscernible due to the robes.

“This is White, our newest recruit. Since I’m mentoring them, don’t worry about it.”

“…”

White simply stared intently at Elena without saying a word.

“Of course, they’re also tight-lipped. Your true identity will remain safe with them.”

“Well, looks that way.”

Elena crossed her arms, her irritation clear as she turned back to Samuel.

“Erosion has begun. The cause is Qing Xiaoli from the Black Bamboo Sect—they’re part of Gottwall.”

“I know.”

“…And you’ve decided to involve yourself in matters concerning Black Bamboo Sect?”

“Not entirely. I merely nudged Qing Xiaoli a bit. When you and Heavenly Horse were in hell, I judged him to be useful.”

“Heavenly Horse is inside? Is he dead?”

“Nope, he’s alive and kicking. In fact, he’s reaping benefits—it’s surprising how well he’s doing. Oh, by the way, could you tone down the killing intent? Not that it bothers me personally… but White isn’t fond of overt hostility.”

Elena narrowed her eyes and glanced at White. From White, she sensed no killing intent or animosity. But as their gazes met…


The moment I touched, my skin started to tingle. My instincts warn of danger.

‘The fact that I’m with the boss already means I’m not an ordinary person.’

Standing against them with brute force wasn’t a wise move. Elena retracted her Killing Intent.

“I intend to rescue the Heavenly Horse.”

“Hmph. Didn’t expect you’d care this much about the Heavenly Horse.”

“I owe him one.”

“Ah, you mean that Hell incident? That was quite famous. But is that all?”

“Do I have to spell it out?”

“Nope. No need for that. Rescuing the Heavenly Horse is fine. He’s competent after all. But for now, please bear with us.”

“What’s your scheme? I can’t decide whether to cooperate or not unless I know the boss’s plan.”

“It’s a confirmation.”

“Confirmation?”

“One: The Erosion Zone. We need to figure out how far Cheng Guoli’s plan has succeeded. This ties directly into our goals.”

“…”

Our goal.

To slay the Spirit.

Elena felt a bitter taste in her mouth. When Samuel gets this serious, Elena couldn’t push back either.

“And what’s the second reason?”

“To gauge the Heavenly Horse’s capabilities. Even if he’s a returner, there are limits to the knowledge we can utilize. We’ll use this opportunity to check his potential.”

“If he doesn’t meet expectations, will you eliminate him?”

“Pfft. Not at all. The Heavenly Horse’s knowledge is still useful, and his abilities are decent. If anything, I’ll just be disappointed in him.”

“This situation is under the boss’s control, right?”

“Don’t overestimate me too much. There might come a time when we need to flee.”

At that moment, White tilted his head to the side. To the east. Elena instinctively followed White’s gaze. About 10km away, a group was heading toward the Erosion Zone. Sixty people. Judging by their armaments, they were a medium-sized Legion.

“Wasn’t this area supposed to be under your control?”

“Eh? This is also part of the plan. Wasn’t it BoomBastic Legion? I leaked some info.”

“So you lured them here on purpose. Why?”

“AP. That black pillar needs AP. You could say it feeds on it.”

“A kind of offering? That’s cruel.”

“Tch. It’s their choice. All I did was leak some info. Look at their faces—they’re brimming with greed. If they succeed, they’ll gain a lot. This might even be the stepping stone for them to become a Great Legion.”

“A stepping stone to becoming a Great Legion… Opportunities like this don’t come easily. In other words, it’s that dangerous. There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world.”

Samuel merely shrugged.

Elena stared at the black pillar Samuel was observing. What an unsettling structure. Or rather, maybe it wasn’t a structure at all—it might be a living being.

“I’ve got a rough idea about those eyes, but I don’t get this pillar. What is it really?”

“There’s not much time left. Just wait and see. You’re in for something interesting.”

“…”

Elena tightly shut her mouth. She was prepared to intervene if necessary.

“Oh, speaking of the Heavenly Horse…”

“…Where?”

“Over there.”

She looked in the direction Samuel pointed and involuntarily furrowed her brow. Sung Yoojin was wielding an odd golden mask while commanding an army of undead.

—

Having received the crimson gaze from atop the black pillar, I uncovered Qing Guoli’s Contract Spirit Seat. The true name of the “Heavy Gaze” is none other than Balor.

Balor is a giant from Celtic mythology possessing the Evil Eye. According to legend, any living creature his gaze touches dies instantly.

“Dying with just a glance… What a ridiculous broken ability.”

But there was a loophole.

You die the moment his gaze touches you. And to die, you must first be alive. But if you’re already dead?

“The hint lies with the undead in this zone. Since they’re already dead, receiving his gaze won’t kill them.”

I died upon receiving the pillar’s gaze. There was no time to resist. If I had used Celestial Heart (天心), which grants immunity to status ailments for a minute, I might have held out, but at the time, I didn’t even think of using it. By the time I realized, I was already dead from his gaze.

‘That guy immediately lost interest and shifted his gaze elsewhere after I died.’

That helped. I revived using Full Restoration and immediately summoned “Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask,” placing it on my head. From then on…


I ran away. Even while fleeing, I felt someone’s gaze upon me, but as expected, I didn’t die.

“Tutankhamun’s Golden Mask

While wearing the golden mask, no curse can affect you.

You become one of the dead.

Mana increases by 50.

You can control undead based on your mana levels. However, you can control mummies regardless of mana.

Wearing this will destroy your mind. If your sanity remains intact, you can fully master it. But if your mind breaks, you’ll turn into a mummy.

Rank: SSS”

“I don’t know if that gaze was some kind of curse or not. But as long as I’m wearing this mask, I’m treated as one of the dead. I’m alive, but in an undead state.”

I didn’t attack the black pillar right away because its full strength wasn’t something to be underestimated. I knew there were countless undead hiding around the black pillar.

“Ching Guorli is a dark mage—a necromancer at that. If he uses an army of hundreds of undead… then I’ll just need to use an army of hundreds of undead too.”

So, while keeping my distance from the black pillar, I wandered around capturing undead.

“Thousand Horses! Haven’t you given up yet? If you hand over that mask to me, I might spare your life.”

Ching Guorli’s voice echoed from the black pillar. He was taunting me.

Riding my skeletal horse, I flipped him off in the direction of the black pillar.

“I’ll come to kill you soon, so leave your last words behind!!”

“Futile. You have little time left. Don’t you realize I’m showing you mercy?”

“Mercy? Like hell.”

KUHNG, KUHNG! KUHNG KUHNG KUHNG!

From behind, Wang Xuan came charging with his massive body. Wang Xuan, the ogre, was disgusting no matter how many times I saw him in a day.

“Here comes this brat again. I’ve already dealt with this guy. Hey, boys!!”

I shouted. The 200 undead under my control quickly formed ranks.

KUHNG, KUUUNG!

Wang Xuan fell into the trap I had prepared earlier. He sank deep into the ground.

“Destroy him!”

First, 20 skeleton warriors armed with chains jumped into the pit where Wang Xuan had fallen. They didn’t care if their bodies shattered and faithfully attached chains to Wang Xuan’s body. The chained Wang Xuan struggled. The chains were tightly pulled and connected to huge rocks surrounding the area—dwarf-made, impossible to break easily.

“The monster has three big advantages: strength, size, and immortality. But its disadvantage is… lack of intelligence. It’s worse than an animal. At least animals learn after falling into traps a few times. This thing doesn’t learn anything.”

The most important thing to watch out for is when Ching Guorli directly controls Wang Xuan.

“We’re far enough now. There’s no way he can directly control Wang Xuan from this distance.”

This was valuable information I discovered after several trials and errors.

“Kill him! Kill him completely!”

The undead attacked from afar, firing arrows and throwing spears. Following my orders, they poured oil into the pit.

KWAAAAAAAANG!

Lightning struck. The oil caught fire, flames shooting high into the air from the pit.

“KKIIIIIAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”

The soul inside Wang Xuan’s body evaporated. Amidst all this, the undead army continued attacking him without pause. Every second, 4 to 5 souls were extinguished.

“Hmph. This is what happens when you mess with me.”

Wang Xuan is an opponent too tough to handle alone. If I were by myself, running away would be the best option. How could I possibly kill him 7,000 times by myself? My stamina wouldn’t hold up.

But what if I’m not alone? If I can trap and tie up Wang Xuan… things get incredibly easier.

“Hey corpse minions. Stop fooling around and finish off this guy quickly. Hmph.”

Watching Wang Xuan die filled me with satisfaction.

“…Hmm?”

From the direction of the black pillar, an army of undead charged toward me. Their numbers exceeded 300. Among them were quite a few high-ranking undead like Death Knights and Dullahans.

“Are you here to save Wang Xuan? Caring about your lord, huh?”

“That guy is a failure… but he does have some unique traits. Losing him now would be unfortunate. I intend to take Wang Xuan back.”

Ching Guorli’s voice rang out.

“With only 300 undead? If you wanted to take Wang Xuan, you should’ve sent five times more.”

I stepped forward, sword in hand.