### Chapter 154: Mad God
Long ago.
I tucked away the letter and picked up the golden orb, fiddling with it.
In a flash, the orb suddenly sprang open, emitting a dazzling golden light that floated before my eyes. Inside the orb lay a sharp tooth.
In the next moment, white light burst forth from my chest, and white branches shot out with a “buzz,” devouring the tooth, turning it into golden streams that were quickly absorbed. The golden light faded, leaving the empty medium orb to clatter on the ground in the eerily quiet basement.
I stood frozen in place for a long time, unable to move.
After all, if the Mother Deity is dead, then I’m dead too because I’m merely a fragment of her will…
Is that so?
I no longer knew what I should think.
My thoughts were a muddle, like echoes of the past swirling in my ears. Countless images danced in my mind—some faces still clear, while others had become blurred.
I was thinking chaotically about everything that had happened since arriving in this world, from Silgaya to Winter City, then on to Order Royal City—those people I encountered along the way, the laughter, the tears, peace, and war.
I thought of Father, of Mother, of Viki, of my two brothers, and of Barry—imagining what they would look like years from now, canes in hand, white-haired and aged, picturing myself beside them calling Viki “Grandma.”
I thought of Grandma Claire lying in the hospital.
I thought of everyone.
I wondered, would I really never see their faces again?
As I pondered these things, my once calm heart seemed to stir slightly, sending gentle ripples through my emotions—I felt a bit reluctant…
Is that true?
I didn’t know.
The one thing I never considered was escaping.
Because that was a decision long made, wasn’t it?
I turned back in confusion, glancing at the grotesque corpse of the Romani on the stone platform. The last mad experiment she spoke of—her bl**d drained, they sacrificed themselves—was this the power of Infernal Fire?
Were they planning to burn the Mother Deity alive?
Romani said it was useful.
Then—who was it that absorbed everyone’s bl**d to carry out this plan?
Where’s Angel?
I wanted to toss Romani’s letter aside but hesitated for a moment, placing it back into the music box and locking it up again. The white light flickered, and both the box and key were returned to my chest.
“Hil…”
Suddenly, that eerie voice returned to whisper in my ear.
“…Angel!?” I exclaimed in shock.
I had sensed familiarity in that voice before; it was definitely Angel’s voice!
“Hil… little…”
“Little… coal…”
The voice was both familiar and strange, echoing in the dark, narrow stone chamber—utterly bizarre.
I struggled to pinpoint the source of the voice since it seemed to come from right next to me. I began to feel my way through the underground space. Before I left, I thought for a moment and summoned Infernal Fire to burn Romani and the corpses beneath her.
The stone chamber wasn’t large, and after a few minutes, I found another set of downward stairs.
The passage continued to be pitch black, narrow, and steep.
As I walked, I suddenly halted.
Am I… really ready?
After a moment’s thought, when I lifted my head again, the young woman’s gaze hardened with determination. With a flash of white light, the branches appeared, and her figure was absorbed into Dragon’s realm.
Half an hour later, she reappeared.
This time, the young woman stepped forward, determined, walking into the depths of darkness.
At the end of the darkness, I heard flames crackling.
“Little… black… Hil… Viki…”
That whisper continued to swirl in my ears. Ignoring it, the young woman descended the last step, passing through the narrow stone pathway, and moments later, she stepped into a wide-open space.
It was still the scene from a dream long forgotten.
A vast expanse, stout stone pillars, and an infinite darkness filled with Dead Smoke, where a fire burned fiercely.
Black flames tinged with white light.
Chaotic Fire.
Buzz—
The white light blazed bright, vaguely accompanied by a dragon’s roar. The next moment, a bloody scythe appeared in my hand, its blade igniting with the fire of sin, the blaze illuminating the surroundings in crimson, as the young woman walked forward, kn*fe in hand, slowly approaching the flames.
That was an eye.
A gigantic, jet-black, foul-smelling eye, part of a human skull.
The skull didn’t move.
“Little… coal…”
Painful moans echoed from behind it, no longer just from my ear, but from the massive skeletal body behind.
That was Angel’s voice.
But it seemed there were others too.
Male, female, elderly voices mixed together, softly calling my name. Their chant seeped into my mind, and I frowned, taking a step aside. With the bl**d-red glow, I clearly saw countless figures struggling on that enormous skeleton, some still recognizable, while others had long turned to bone. They writhed in agony, shrieking and moaning, all calling my name.
“Hil… Viki…”
I felt a chill run down my spine as Romanis’ words came back to me: That damned Gidales—an existence we could never comprehend or fully grasp.
But what truly sent shivers down my spine wasn’t those words or their voices. I saw Angel’s face among the writhing forms.
He was closest to me, most conspicuous.
As if he had only recently “attached” himself, his skin still unrotted and untainted by the stench of decay. His face was pale and lifeless; at least I could still recognize him as Pope Angel, the carefree young man whose thoughts ran deeper than anyone else.
His back was covered in countless bony protrusions, like ribs jutting out from his chest cavity but clearly not normal human ribs. These bones were evidently related to the mad experiments Romani described, the fragmented powers of the Goddess of Sin.
As I looked at him, he suddenly noticed me, his eyeballs spinning oddly, and he broke into a grin, arms outstretched as if to embrace me. “Little… coal…”
“Long… time… no see…”
“Let me… check… your… body…”
At that moment, I almost swung the scythe at him.
I clearly intended to do so, yet my body refused to act—why?
Thoughts swirled in my head.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted that chaotic flame shift in position—wait, I had already circled around the enormous bone structure, yet the skull had somehow turned its ghastly face back toward me!
!
I swung my scythe in a brutal arc—no, I still couldn’t act.
Instead, I was walking toward the skeleton’s face.
—What am I doing?
I… should be approaching it.
That flame felt so warm.
How long had it been since I felt this way? Was it before the Eastern Continent, or after? I always had this empty feeling inside, as if something was missing—this sensation followed me day and night, so long that I nearly grew accustomed to it, no longer finding it troubling.
But at that moment, when I saw that flickering flame, something warm flowed in and filled that void.
It felt like this.
“‘Abyssal Tongue,’ Hillary…”
This sensation—this feeling—was right.
“‘Abyssal Tongue,’ my divided will…”
I had been led by this feeling all along; I didn’t need to delve deeper into what was happening here—especially after hearing the Sword Saint’s words and seeing the letter Romani wrote. I knew I wasn’t ready; I should have left first…
The underground was just blocked by debris; I knew I could escape. I needed to get the last of the three relics; I hadn’t settled the score with the Old Man, nor had I found that bag of relics. I should be preparing for the final confrontation with the Mad God…
Why didn’t I do that?
Why was I—
“‘Abyssal Tongue,’ return to my embrace…”
…Ah.
It was calling to me.
I understood…
It was because…
I murmured, “‘Abyssal Tongue,’ I am… the will of the divine…”
“Roarrrrr——!!!”
Suddenly, a world-shattering dragon’s roar echoed through the darkness, jolting me awake!
Buzz, buzz, buzz…
The white light at my chest vibrated, the scythe in my hand screamed with fury, and a flash of crimson flames engulfed me. I came to my senses to find myself gripped in the palm of the massive skeleton; that terrifying skull was mere inches from my face!
What on earth was happening!?
Sizzle!
The burning Infernal Fire crackled against the Mad God’s decaying flesh, which seemed to recoil in pain, attempting to roar in anger as it flung me across the room—
“Roar——!”
A sing-song wail that echoed like ancient music contrasted sharply with that grotesque, obliterating corpse. I slammed against the wall with a resounding crash, creating a deep crater.
“‘Abyssal Tongue,’ Rabishixemos… Rabishixemos… Rabishixemos… Rabishixemos… Rabishixemos…”
The Demon’s Whisper surged forth, and the gigantic skeleton suddenly stood up, its towering form engulfed in black flames, the white light emitted illuminating my entire field of vision.
It was going to pounce on me!
But as the massive corpse moved, the resonant hum of miracles filled the air. The stout stone pillars began to glow with golden light, radiating outwards and illuminating the chains that firmly shackled the Mad God’s hands and feet, even fastening around its neck.
“Roar——!!”
The Mad God roared louder, thrashing fiercely. Each movement diminished the light, with Dead Smoke swirling all around, enveloping those light pillars.
It couldn’t be contained here much longer…
Since we had come this far—
“Then I’ve got no choice but to go all out.”
By this point, I had landed firmly on the ground, flexing my ankles and taking a deep breath, swinging my scythe with increasing ferocity. “Come on, Captain Gray, this is the final showdown—let’s make it a spectacle!”
In the next moment, Infernal Fire raged, and I took my step forward with Moon Step.
