### Chapter 21: Battle of the Abyss (Part Three)
… Capture the king before you catch the thief!
I stared at the pitch-black sun hanging high in the sky, my expression thoughtful.
Hmm, it’s about a hundred meters off the ground—not exactly unreachable.
Those weird-looking little monsters, while individually weak, were annoyingly numerous. They had already scattered throughout the village, and unless I had an equally substantial army, there was no way to deal with them. If I kept killing them like this, they’d wipe out the villagers before I could finish them off.
And who knew if that guy up in the sky would summon another wave? This was completely pointless.
… Enough thinking! I’m all alone, so I’ll just pull that dude down from the sky first!
With a decision made, I urged the ice beneath my feet to extend towards the black sun, dodged two flying blades, and zipped along on the ice like a freakin’ ice skater.
At full throttle, that hundred meters was nothing but a blink of an eye.
Fifty meters… thirty meters… twenty meters… ten meters!
A stream of black smoke erupted around me, wrapping my ginormous scythe in frost. The dual protection of frost and abyss was guaranteed to launch my weapon’s damage into the stratosphere.
“Whoa—”
Taking a deep breath, I leaped towards the black sun, raising my scythe high and swinging down with all my might.
“Swish—”
I tore a huge rift in the black sun, and dreadful black smoke surged out, instantly engulfing my body.
If I were a human, I’d probably be devoured right then and there.
Too bad, that trick doesn’t work on me!
In fact, being wrapped in black smoke felt strangely comforting, like a warm hug from home.
“Clang-clang—”
My hands gleamed with icy light again.
Wait, that’s odd…
… No! No solid contact!
A wave of foreboding washed over me, and I instinctively crossed my scythe over my chest.
“‘Abyss Language’ Slay.”
A whisper tickled my ear.
The next moment, countless crimson tentacles burst forth from the rift in the black sun.
“Meow what the…!”
“Bang!”
I could barely get my curse out before I was knocked off balance, and my body started plummeting.
I was falling fast—faster and faster! The intense sensation of weightlessness made me feel like I might just wet myself; this was way more thrilling than bungee jumping!
I was hundreds of meters up!!
Oh no, oh no! I’m gonna d*e, I’m gonna d*e, I’m gonna d*e…
Panicking, I squeezed my eyes shut, curled up, and hugged my head while forcing the black smoke around me to tighten like a protective cocoon, bracing for the impact.
“Boom—!!”
I crashed into a half-collapsed house like a meteor trailing black smoke. Upon landing, I sank straight into the ground instead of bouncing, which definitely wasn’t part of the plan.
The impact left me momentarily dazed; my ears buzzed as if my soul had detached from my body, and I couldn’t feel anything.
Time passed, maybe just a second or perhaps a century. As my senses gradually returned, I heard a rumbling sound of collapsing debris.
The remaining half of the house suddenly crumbled, smashing me under a pile of stones and wooden splinters.
“… Ugh… waah—!! Cough, cough…”
The dust choked me, and a searing pain seared through my waist. The heavy debris on top made it hard to breathe, and I felt like crying.
It hurt so much, I wanted Grandma Claire’s comforting hug.
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”
Suddenly, I heard the sound of something slicing through the air.
My heart raced, and I ignored the pain in my body, urging the frost power once more.
Now’s not the time for drama!
“Crash—”
Ice spikes burst from the ground, shattering the weight above me, and the force propelled me aside as I rolled like a confused tumbleweed.
“Boom boom boom—!!”
Before I could roll far, three massive black blades came crashing down, and the resulting wind blast sent me flying again.
“Yah—”
My body described an elegant arc in mid-air. I was a mess of panic, flailing my hands, trying in vain to adjust my landing position.
But it was futile.
“Thud.”
I hit the ground headfirst.
“Waaaaah!!”
The moment I landed, I scrambled to get up, clutching my poor little head, tears welling in my eyes as I whimpered softly.
That hurt like heck! It felt like I had a giant bump growing on my forehead.
My eyes were red as I glared angrily at the sky.
Why?
We all came from the abyss!
But why?! You get to fly!!!
“‘Abyss Language’ Slay.”
“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—”
The colossal black blades were coming again.
“‘Abyss Language’ Slay, slay, slay—this is so annoying!!!”
Hmph… Is that all you can do?!
I summoned ice pillars again from beneath me, launching myself into the air a good dozen meters.
Still not high enough.
I pointed my toes downward.
“Crack!”
This time, an ice pillar formed mid-air, and I soared another ten meters upward.
“Whoosh—whoosh—”
Blades kept flying at me from the black sun, and I dodged with all my might, creating more ice pillars to keep ascending.
A sharp pain shot through my waist, but I gritted my teeth and bore it.
I was closing in on the black sun, now less than twenty meters away.
I held my breath, releasing a dense cloud of black smoke, wrapping myself up tightly.
Not dense enough yet. Compress… compress… keep compressing…
“Boom.”
The black smoke around me coalesced into a glowing black fireball, sweeping forth like a wildfire, just like an arrow unleashed, crashing once again into the black sun.
“Bang.”
It didn’t produce the resounding boom I imagined; it simply penetrated with ease.
I made it inside! Joy surged within me as I reached forward, grasping whatever was hidden in there.
“Ahhh—!!”
“Rumble—!!”
The black flames surrounding me suddenly exploded, blindingly white light bursting forth.
The black sun, unable to withstand the blast, was instantly swept away.
I finally pulled that thing out of the black sphere, and we were plummeting together.
In mid-air, I tightly grasped a tentacle of the monster, raising my right hand with the scythe for a hefty swing.
“Clang—”
The reverberation rattled my entire arm, making it feel tingly.
“Roar—!!”
The monster howled in fury, unleashing countless tentacles that wrapped around me, squeezing tightly.
“Ahhh—!!”
Frost energy coated the tentacles in a layer of fine frost, instantly reducing their grip on me.
While I freed my right hand, I poured in all my strength, smashing the scythe down on the monster relentlessly.
“Clang—” “Clang—” “Clang—” “Crack—”
Finally, I sliced into it, but the scythe shattered too, the blade embedding into the monster’s chest.
I dropped the useless broken handle and hammered my fist into the monster’s ugly dog-like face.
One punch, another punch.
I remembered Uncle Dole’s hearty laughter.
“Bang, bang, bang…”
Screw this wretched creature!!!
Then, we both plummeted to the ground outside the village.
“Boom—!!”
When we hit the ground, I purposely drove the monster down as a living cushion, shattering the earth beneath us.
And I was once again flung several meters away.
“Cough, cough…”
I spat out bl**d.
My body was a mess of scrapes, and my insides felt rearranged.
I lay on the ground, shivering uncontrollably.
Had that monster finally died!?
“Roar!!!”
But it seemed the monster hadn’t suffered too much damage. It swiftly rose, floating in mid-air, allowing me to see its full form.
Its upper body was shrouded in thick black smoke, while the exposed parts revealed familiar black armor. Its head resembled that of a wolf or dog, complete with two massive horns. Its lower half was made of writhing, bl**d-red tentacles, twisting grotesquely.
“‘Abyss Language’ My kin, what are you doing? Why do you obstruct us here?”
Instead of attacking me immediately, the monster tried to communicate.
Fine by me; I’d just stall for time while my body regained its capability to move.
“‘Abyss Language’ Cough, cough… Why k*ll humans?”
“‘Abyss Language’ We obey the will of the gods to correct the world’s order.”
?????
“‘Abyss Language’ What… are you even saying?”
“‘Abyss Language’ We exist only to follow the will of the gods.”
“‘Abyss Language’ … The will of the gods? Are you kidding me? The ones you’re killing are all innocent people!”
“‘Abyss Language’ Are you saving these inferior beings? … Stupid emotional constraints.”
Conversations were going nowhere, and the monster abandoned the dialogue, lifting its withered right hand high.
Oh no. I really should’ve played along instead of getting snarky!
I struggled to prop myself up, desperately trying to stand.
It’s not over yet, it’s not over yet!
If I d*e here, then Aili, Barry, and Grandma from the neighboring town, all the people in this region will be done for.
“‘Abyss Language’ Slay.”
As if declaring my d*ath sentence.
The next moment, a blinding white light suddenly erupted in the distance, a massive beam instantly swallowing the monster’s body.
“Roar—!!”
The beast’s roar shook the heavens. I turned to look and couldn’t help but cry out in surprise.
“Big White!”
