Chapter 173: The Night Before.

One day left until the Halloween event ends.

-The scale of the street is too small. It’s a fact I heard from the resurrected lingering spirit.

The number of discovered lingering spirits has clearly decreased.

Maybe because many have been subjugated so far.

Or perhaps simply because we can’t find them.

Either way, it doesn’t seem like a sufficient number of lingering spirits will gather.

At this rate, I have a feeling the event will end lukewarmly.

-Let’s go with subjugation after all.

└Isn’t it okay as it is?

Amid differing opinions.

A post went up.

[I think I found a star.]

***

The dancer knocked on the cabin door.

No answer came, but he opened the door and went inside.

“I’m here.”

“Tsk. You’re here again.”

“Yes. Elder.”

“I told you not to come anymore.”

“You’re not serious about that.”

“Tsk.”

The dancer went into the kitchen and took out the snacks he had brought in his bag.

As he opened the cupboard and tried to fill it.

“You only ate the things you like again. You need to eat a variety.”

“Tsk. They’re all snacks, so what’s the difference.”

“That’s why they’re different, right?”

“Tsk. Anyway, I don’t have many days left to live, so I’ll eat what I want and die.”

“Don’t say things like that. You need to live healthily and for a long time.” “Tsk.”

An old man with a nasty temper who frowns and clicks his tongue whenever he gets the chance.

The dancer was spending the latter part of the Halloween event with him.

“Can I watch today too?”

“Tsk. Do as you please.”

The old man stirred a large jar as usual today.

Inside, it was full of alcohol.

When we first met, he was making dough.

A few days ago, he was baking the dough.

Today, he was stirring alcohol while adding various things.

At first, I tried to help, but he scolded me harshly, saying how dare I touch it when I don’t know anything about alcohol, so I just watched.

As the dancer watched the old man making alcohol, he thought of his grandfather.

To the eyes of his childhood, his grandfather was very scary.

He was curt and quick to anger.

He was even scarier because he often fought with his father, who refused to inherit the family business.

One day, his grandfather and father had a big fight, and after that, he never went to see his grandfather again.

The next meeting was through a posthumous photo.

After his grandfather passed away alone and lonely, his father regretted it greatly.

Is it because I saw that?

When I found an old man living alone in a remote place making alcohol, I couldn’t just pass by.

Even more so because his grandfather was in the brewing business.

“Tsk. Getting old, I can’t even do this anymore.”

The old man let go of the stick and massaged his arm.

Then, he turned his gaze to the dancer.

“Tsk, you healthy human. Are you just going to watch an old man suffering with your perfectly fine limbs?”

“I’ll help!”

Although I vividly remembered the scolding I got last time when I tried to help, the dancer immediately approached the old man.

“Tsk. You have no idea how to work.”

“Tsk. Do it like this.”

“Tsk. With arms that weak, how can you even function as a human.”

The dancer followed his instructions while being scolded.

As a result, the murky contents of the jar gradually became clear.

The old man tasted the alcohol with a ladle.

“Tsk. It’s ruined.”

The dancer tensed up, wondering if the alcohol that the old man had invested several days in was really ruined.

“S-sorry.”

“Tsk. Why are you sorry for something you did.”

The old man scooped only the clear alcohol from the top of the jar with the ladle and poured it into a bottle.

“Since you ruined it, you take it.”

Only then did the dancer understand the true meaning behind the old man’s words.

“Elder!”

“Tsk. Why are you shouting?”

“Thank you! I’ll drink it preciously.”

“Tsk. Drink what? It’s not even complete yet.”

“Do I need to age it?”

“Tsk. Young people these days don’t know how to wait for an elder to speak.”

The dancer closed his mouth and waited for the old man making alcohol to speak.

“Make seven alcohol cups in the shape of the Big Dipper, place the alcohol bottle at the ladle part, and bow once, then a star will fall from the sky and settle.”

“…Yes?”

“Tsk. How can a young guy be so dense?”

The old man explained again and then drove the dancer out of the cabin.

“From now on, I won’t be here, so don’t come looking.”

With those words, the cabin shook.

A huge crane that was underground raised its head.

The crane, carrying the cabin on its back, flew up into the sky.

“….”

The dancer, who had been blankly watching the sudden and astonishing situation, finally realized it wasn’t a dream through the alcohol bottle in his hand.

“A star falls?”

***

[I think I found a star.]

There’s an elder who makes star wine, right?

I was hanging around because it reminded me of my grandfather who was in the brewing business.

I tried to help, but I just got scolded and gave up.

But today, he allowed me to help a little and gave me a bottle of alcohol.

This alcohol.

If you place the cups in the shape of the Big Dipper and put the bottle at the ladle part and bow, a star will come down and settle, he said.

What if we perform this ritual at the royal castle and make a star fall?

-That old man is notoriously cranky.

└I also went there wondering if it’s related to stars. He clicked his tongue, scolded me, and tried to break my spirit, so I gave up and ran away.

└Star wine: Alcohol made with a special method. (NeXver Dictionary)

└I know.

└But that seems to be real star wine where a star settles.

└Indeed, a fantasy world.

-Isn’t that star a different star?

└What fell was a black star. We’ve already found that one.

└Still, doesn’t the fact that a star fell on the royal castle have some meaning in itself?

-Why not try it? There’s no harm in trying. These days, it’s quite easy to enter the royal castle, so no worry about being chased away.

└I’ll try it at 7 PM today, so if you’re interested, come.

7 PM.

A star descended from the sky above the royal castle.

A beautiful star descended slowly.

But to the lingering spirits who had lost their king to a falling star, it appeared as an entirely different sight.

-No!

Numerous lingering spirits rose up from all over the world.

From dark forests where human feet do not tread.

From deep underground.

From the ocean floor.

Numerous lingering spirits rose toward the star.

They threw their bodies to stop the star’s fall.

The star enveloped them with a gentle light and descended slowly downward.

Due to that warmth, the lingering spirits gradually regained their senses.

They realized that the star was not falling to kill the king.

To those trying to leave in peace, the ground illuminated by starlight became visible.

There was a landscape close to when the ancient kingdom was thriving.

The people on the ground gestured to them.

To go see the king.

That the king has forgiven them.

That the king is waiting for them.

The lingering spirits mustered their courage.

They lined up and entered the royal castle just like that.

“Amazing.”

The sight of the lingering spirits, shining as they received the starlight and flowing into the royal castle, was just like watching a waterfall of the Milky Way.

“Huh? Look at that.”

The royal castle trembled as if pulsing, and waves spread out.

Along with that, everything around the royal castle was pushed far away.

The empty land that formed was overlaid with the landscape from the golden age of the kingdom, like an illusion.

Every time the royal castle pulsed, that illusion gained more substance.

As the lingering spirit of the blacksmith entered the royal castle, the blacksmith shop gained substance.

As the lingering spirit of the baker entered the royal castle, the bakery gained substance.

As a group of lingering spirits entered the royal castle, the street gained substance.

When the slowly falling star reached the liquor bottle.

The capital of a great kingdom was completed.

People dressed up poured out from the gates of the royal castle.

They began decorating the capital in a Halloween style in an instant.

All monsters from the entire Halloween event started flocking toward that capital.

***

I finally found the star.

Originally, you had to solve various tasks given by the old man and barely obtain the star.

There should have been tasks as difficult to overcome as the Sphinx or the forest of alcohol.

But a person who obtained it through friendship without any tests appeared.

Well, that’s one way to solve it.

Isn’t the charm of a game that allows interaction in these variables?

Trick or treat.

The final event.

The monster ball began.

It’s not that grand of an event.

It’s just an event where all monsters gather, laugh, chat, dance, sing, eat, and drink to enjoy themselves.

The special aspect is that monsters who haven’t shown themselves until now come.

Monsters that seemed like village people show a different side.

And the fact that something like a pie in the painting comes out of the painting?

Well, it’s not that amazing.

A ball, huh.

Today is November 29th.

A day to play with Makina.

[Me: Shall we play too?]

I extended the game instead of my hand to my decade-long friend.

[Makina: OK.]

Makina and I in the screen played around.

It’s a game famous for having high freedom but excessive freedom leading to terrible controls.

Still, once it gets into our hands, it moves very naturally.

Compared to Slime Land, there are fewer possible activities and not many things to enjoy.

Since it’s about who you spend time with, it was fun.

Still.

[Me: It would be nice if we could play together in person someday.]

There was a slight regret.

I sent a slightly risky message regarding our relationship.

The reply came back after a while.

[Makina: Yes.]

***

Those carrying loads of <Slime> gathered in a certain building.

They took out the <Slime> they had obtained from the packaging and stacked it on the altar.

An amount of <Slime> so much that it had to be stacked gathered in one place.

The followers of the Ribbon cult gathered around the altar where <Slime> was stacked.

“I will begin the ritual.”

The followers swallowed a potion mixed with curses.

They drew out the most vicious emotions.

“Die! Die! Die!”

“I hate it! Please, stop!”

“I was wrong. I was wrong.”

Trapped in the nightmare of that day when they wished for the world to completely disappear and be reborn, they screamed.

The words the followers spat out gradually lost form.

“%$^#!#$^%”

Screams that were hard to believe came from human throats continued.

If aged screams were added here, it would be more effective, but they didn’t have the capacity to prepare that far.

It’s okay.

Even if impure things are mixed, these <Slime> are His Greatness’s divine body.

There’s nothing more suitable for summoning an apostle.

Gathering the pouring curse-mixed emotions together, the priest performed the ritual.

“■■■■ ■■■ ■■■!!!”

The mountain of <Slime> gathered in the center writhed.

The tentacles of <Slime> began to tangle with each other.

Last time, we used humans and animals that were summoned as sacrifices.

The apostle took flesh as its body, wrapped nerves and blood over it, and covered it with blood.

It took a form like a human, but it couldn’t be called human.

It had taken a blasphemous form where the outside and inside were reversed.

This time, it was different.

It was not an incomplete form like a human.

It had only changed to a color like rotting blood flowing.

Without taking a human form, it raised its body as a mass of tangled tentacles.

When this absurd and irrational world is devoured and reborn by Him.

That was precisely the form that we, the chosen ones, would take.

The perfect form we would obtain by shedding the lowly human flesh.

The apostle was summoned in a complete form.

The priest, sensing that, exclaimed in ecstasy.

“O apostle of Him! Please bring down the iron fist upon those who fill their bellies using Him! Please awaken Him who sleeps and cannot wake! Please guide us to Him!”

The apostle rose into the air without forming wings.

Light fell upon it.

The holy knight, jumping from the helicopter, broke through the ceiling and entered the building.

Carrying the momentum of the fall, he drove the sword into the apostle’s body.

Splendid golden flames erupted and burned the apostle.

“Why are you here?!!!”

This place was not America, the domain of that demon.

It was Chile, far away on the opposite side of the Earth.

‘Why is that demon here, a place that takes over 10 hours by plane!’

Clearly, information about the ritual had leaked out.

Otherwise, it would have been impossible to arrive on time.

‘Who! Who interfered with this great feat! No, that’s not important now.’

Searching for and dealing with the traitor could wait.

Now, he had to deal with that incarnation of evil somehow.

At that moment, the apostle swung its tentacles and shook off the holy knight.

It shook off the clinging flames and expelled the flames that had penetrated its body along with the surrounding flesh.

The holy knight dodged the flying apostle’s flesh and charged.

“Don’t think it’s the same as last time! The apostle has descended in a complete form!”

The tentacles and great sword clashed.

Sparks flew.

While tearing away and regenerating the parts touched by the golden flames in real-time, the apostle extended dozens of tentacles.

The flames enveloping the holy knight’s entire body burned those tentacles.

But in the end, the tip of a tentacle that broke through the flames touched his body, leaving a wound.

“O apostle! Bring down the iron fist on that evil!”

The holy knight retreated and let go of the great sword from his hand.

From the S-class artifact <Weapon Box>, he drew a sword that exuded an ominous aura.

The apostle extended its tentacles, but was burned and collapsed by the intense flames the holy knight spewed from his entire body.

The flames the holy knight was spewing began to condense.

The apostle’s extended tentacles evaporated and disappeared before they could touch.

At the moment when the flames were condensed to their limit.

The holy knight became the incarnation of the sun, shining vividly and brilliantly.

Under the light he emitted, the apostle’s tentacles shrank back.

“No….”

The incarnation of the sun slowly raised the sword held in both hands high into the sky.

It was as if looking at it would blind him, but the priest couldn’t look away.

“No….”

The blade swung back over his shoulder.

The sword was swung.

In an instant, nothing was left where the apostle had been.

“Hahaha….”

The priest laughed as if he had gone mad.

“Hahaha!”

He laughed while shedding bloody tears from his eyes.

“This can’t be! It was a perfectly summoned apostle! An apostle summoned by gathering His divine body! For such an apostle to be defeated unilaterally without doing anything? Is there anything more absurd than this? Hahaha!!!”

The priest covered his face and laughed for a while, then scratched his face with his nails.

“It’s that guy.”

He said with a distorted face and voice, full of anger and hatred in his chest.

“That demon mixed impurities into His body. That’s why the apostle couldn’t exert its power. Otherwise, His apostle wouldn’t lose to a mere human.”

The priest slowly looked up at the ceiling.

“Be cursed. Alchemy Slime. Even in death, I won’t forgive you for defiling His divine body.”

Then, he turned his head and looked at the holy knight.

“Be cursed. Holy knight. Even in death, I won’t forgive you for hindering His awakening.”

With those words, the priest vomited blood and collapsed.

The holy knight looked around.

There were devotees who had fled, but their arrest was for others to handle.

There were still devotees remaining.

This ritual was carried out by mobilizing all the remaining devotees of the Ribbon cult.

Yet, it failed.

As their last hope crumbled, they sat down in despair.

One devotee with deep faith completely lost it and muttered.

That voice reached the holy knight.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. We can do it again. Next time, gather more of His divine body. If we gather more, a more complete apostle will be summoned. Slime Land. Yes, that big <Slime>. We’ll perform the summoning ritual there. Then, surely, an incredible apostle will be summoned. And Slime Planet too. It’s okay. It’s okay. We can do it again.”

His divine body, a more complete apostle, <Slime>, Slime Land, Slime Planet.

Those words entered the holy knight’s ears.

‘Kill the monsters.’

The holy knight looked around.

On the floor, there were large quantities of <Slime> packaging.

<Pack Slime>, <Insole Slime>, <Gargle Slime>, and so on; it seemed they had gathered all kinds available.

‘Kill the monsters.’

The packaging was all empty.

The amount was excessively large to just be carelessly piled up after use.

None of the devotees were using <Slime>.

Even though some devotees had hair left in an odd state.

‘Kill the monsters.’

Gisu could no longer deny it.

The circumstantial evidence spoke.

<Slime> was a fragment of the evil god that this doomsday cult believed in.

‘Kill the monsters.’

Gisu recalled his friend who had awakened as an alchemist and was making and selling <Slime>.

‘Kill the monsters.’

He recalled how his friend suddenly started appearing in a bizarre state from one day.

‘Kill the monsters.’

He recalled his friend’s attitude of never showing his face.

‘Kill the monsters.’

Gisu recalled their previous meeting.

Back then, he had definitely burned it, but it was unharmed.

But it was that guy.

It wouldn’t be strange if he had one or two ingenious tricks hidden up his sleeve.

‘Kill the monsters.’

Gisu recalled the curse left by the lich.

[The one you cherish most will fall into the Swamp of Despair, struggle, and meet their end by your hand!]

‘Kill the monsters.’

Gisu could no longer deny it.

His most precious friend has become a monster.

One that has covered half the world.

A giant monster that will soon cover the entire world.

‘Kill the monsters.’

‘Kill the monsters.’

‘Kill the monsters.’

Golden flames that blossomed in his chest enveloped Gisu’s body.