183 – Nymphs and the Game of Darkness #7
“Uuuuuhhh…”
“Haahhhh…”
As we descended into the basement of the arena, there were some incredibly emaciated men flailing about.
They looked as dry as anchovies left in a dryer for ten extra hours—completely parched.
“Vex and Trapo! Those guys are the officers of the ‘Tomb Raiders’ I told you about!”
Ank was identifying the men by the crocodile and bird hieroglyph-like tattoos on their foreheads and eyes.
Then, looking at the shattered stone tablet in front of them, Ank clicked his tongue.
“The seal of the devil god has been broken! Vex, Trapo! What on earth have you done!”
Ank questioned the fallen men, but they could only mutter sounds like “uhhhhr…” or “aauuuu…” like mummies or zombies.
It was clear that their tongues were dried up and their throats choked with dust or sand.
At that moment, Inoi stood up proudly and proclaimed loudly.
“This Inoi will handle it! Nymph big spitters, let’s go!”
Sshwwaaaaahhh!
Inoi blasted powerful water jets from his mouth. The mechanism behind this water jet was unclear, but Inoi’s spraying was almost like a fire hose, drenching the tomb raiders, who seemed to regain a bit more awareness.
Life returned to their desiccated bodies, and their mouths seemed to open slightly.
“Belly… the serpent devil god… betrayed us…”
“They never intended to grant us immortality…! We… were deceived…”
Of course, villains betraying other villains was nothing particularly new.
After all, they’re called villains because they don’t follow the rules of the world. Honestly, it would be funny if villains actually kept their promises to each other.
“Muhehe, you’ve made an excellent spectacle! And for making Illinois come all this way in vain, we will now relieve you of your pocket contents!”
“That’s an excellent idea indeed!”
Jangling, jangling…
The nymphs rummaged through the tomb raiders’ pockets.
The tomb raiders tried to resist, but their dried sardine-like forms, soaked in water, were unable to protect themselves from the pocket-raiding nymphs.
“Today, once again, we have found plenty of coins in the pockets of villains! Today, once again, we nymphs have upheld justice on this land!”
“Let’s dance in celebration!”
“Let’s dance!”
Doom-chit, doom-chit.
After stealing all the coins, the nymphs danced joyfully.
Seeing this, the tomb raiders lamented, “It’s shameful…! Not only have we been used by the devil god, but our coins were stolen as well…!”
Frankly, who cared?
“The devil’s seal has been broken?”
Looking at the tablet’s remains, I grew slightly tense.
A broken seal means the devil will seek its vessel.
BOOOOM!
A massive earthquake shook the ground.
We rushed out of the basement toward the arena.
A sports stadium in Seoul, designated for the final match, where someone was already fighting.
“What on earth are you?!”
First to appear was Seo Ye-rim.
Seo Ye-rim held flames in both hands, throwing fiery orbs like a child throwing snowballs in a snowball fight.
WHOOSH! BOOOOM! BOOOOM!
But the power was stronger than any ordinary bomb.
Seo Ye-rim must be facing someone formidable.
PFFHT!
A woman wearing a beak mask confronted her.
Her beak resembled the Egyptian god Horus, but with her agile maneuvers and graceful movements, her identity was clear.
“That’s the same wretched villain from before!”
The woman in the beak mask.
The mysterious villain organization’s officer.
And there she was.
PLOP!
The beak-masked woman leaped high into the air and performed a 1440-degree somersault, delivering a spinning kick to Seo Ye-rim.
1440-degree spinning kick.
Seo Ye-rim lifted her hands to defend, and with a thunderous BANG, she slid across the grass, leaving a smoky trail.
“Oof—”
Though she had guarded herself, Seo Ye-rim still felt the impact as she rubbed her palms.
To her, the beak-masked woman spoke.
“The history of mankind ends here. Gone are the proper gods, and the age of serpents and dragons has arrived. I won’t be easily tamed like Typhon.”
Her voice seemed to resonate in everyone’s minds, tempting and hypnotic.
I knew this feeling all too well. The possessed Hex’s body by the demon Typhon felt just like this.
“Who are you?!”
I asked. The beaked woman chuckled.
“I am the dark dragon, Apophis—!”
Her voice echoed loudly.
Hearing this, Seo Ye-rim shouted.
“Hey! Haildo! Get away quickly! This woman has at least the power equivalent of an S-class Awakened! This place is about to become a battlefield!”
“There’s no need for that…! That accursed dragon can be dealt with by us, the nature spirits, the Nymphs!”
“This Coris also thinks so… Having done it once makes it easier a second time! Let’s all spray water together!”
“Let’s do it!”
WHOOSH!
Nymphs blasted powerful jets of water, like brave fire trucks combating a terrible blaze.
However, the beak-masked woman remained unaffected by the nymphs’ water cannons.
On the contrary, the water merely gave her glossy leather suit an even smoother shine.
“Uh… I don’t know why it isn’t working…”
“This Coris also doesn’t know…”
“Dragons are supposedly immune to nymphs’ attacks… Perhaps the true identity of this beak-masked one isn’t a dragon at all! That explanation makes the most sense!”
The nymphs were panicking, when suddenly,
Thud, thud. Tap.
Teto, the priest holding a staff, appeared.
“To seal the devil god Apophis, we must perform the ritual of duel as the ancient heroes and deities did before. The Festival of the King. That is the only way.”
The duel ritual.
It was called the “Duel Stone,” a game based on ancient duel ceremonies.
“But I don’t know how to play card games?”
Seo Ye-rim frowned, keeping her distance from the beaked woman.
I turned to Teto and asked.
“Will you perform the rite, Mr. Teto? We can cover you while you do it?”
“No. As the priest of amusement, my fate is to be the arbiter of play. In my opinion, the hero worthy of confronting the devil god is you, Mr. Il-do.”
“Me…!?”
I was greatly surprised.
Soon after, Ank jumped up.
“Sis, you want to let Haildo duel this devil god? This guy isn’t even from the priest family! It’s too dangerous! He won’t be able to hold up; he’ll end up defeated…!”
“Ank, there’s much I want to say, but there’s no time for it now. I trust you. Mr. Il-do might not be an S-ranker, but he can handle even ‘God’ cards.”
Tch.
Teto extended a card to me.
Seeing this, the nymphs also started to offer their cards, treasures they held dear.
“The nymphs will join you!”
“Take Coris’ card!”
“Add Illinois’ power to your repertoire!”
“Fine, come at me. Warriors who challenge me will be defeated in a duel, and the souls of those who lose shall become mine…”
PFFHT!
The woman claiming to be the Devil God Apophis revealed a card disk from somewhere and attached it to her arm.
It was a very surreal scene, and my vision blurred somewhat.
# # #
Dark Dragon Apophis LP: 5000
Squirrel Beast Haildo LP: 5000
The words appeared on the large screen.
I drew my cards for the turn.
“My turn!”
In my hand were five cards, three of them the “Death Squirrels” given to me by Inoi.
“I will summon the squirrels!”
Clack!
I placed the squirrels on the field, and the Dark Dragon Apophis laughed.
“What can you possibly do with those small and cute squirrels? I summon the ‘Barking Snake’!”
Woof woof!
Cost 1, a snake that barks like a dog.
Its attack power was only 100, but it possessed the “Deadly Poison” keyword, which dealt continuous damage equal to the monster’s attack power for five turns upon hitting an opponent.
“My turn! Draw!”
Clack!
Second turn.
I drew another card.
It was…
「Level 15: Obelisk the Tormentor」
Effect: Can be summoned by sacrificing three monsters on your field as tributes. The divine artifact that guarded the desert and royalty.
Attack/Defense: 5000/5000
This was the card given to me by Priest Teto!
Called the “God Card,” it was an ultra-rare card worth hundreds of millions!
I trembled as I carefully handled the extremely valuable card.
I then placed two more squirrels on the field.
Now there were three adorable squirrels on my field.
But that was not the end.
“I summon the divine being!”
Second turn.
Sacrificing three squirrels as tributes, I summoned the enormous Obelisk the Tormentor!
Goooohh!
Thunder rumbled across the stadium, and the rainbow clouds made a sound.
—Yingyingyaaing.
Bang!
With a powerful storm, the towering god manifested.
Everyone was astonished by its overpowering presence.
“Summoning a god in only two turns… Mr. Il-do, you are indeed…”
“That’s the same Obelisk the Tormentor Illinois saw when playing chess against George Washington in Washington! Incredible!”
“This Coris has no idea what’s going on! I still don’t understand the rules of these duels! What exactly is this Xyz Summon?”
“This Inoi has never seen such a mighty divine being before!”
I felt a bit dizzy.
Summoning the card somehow drained my magic instantly. These weren’t just simple cards made of paper and ink!
The feeling was very similar to projecting my magic into creatures like Kkungkkungi, Bang Bang, or Ahn Ahn.
It’s similar to “Hyper Evolution.”
Are these cards truly relics of the divine age?
The sensation of materialization was akin to projecting my power into animals like Kkungkkungi or Bang Bang.
Hyper-evolution, almost. Are these artifacts from the era of the gods?
