Chapter 447: Undead Scourge
The three Heretic Gods—Sun Wukong and his two brothers—had vanished, returned to their myths.
After Susanoo charged into the black mist, the Black Prince and John immediately appeared and launched a swift assault.
The two quickly eliminated the second brother, while the third brother was handled by the arriving Touma. Ignoring Touma's objections, they joined forces to defeat the third brother as well.
Finally, Sun Wukong, who had been engaged by Luo Hao, was swiftly eliminated with the aid of the three newcomers.
Naturally, this action provoked Luo Hao's hostility, and she might even have attacked them outright.
However, Luo Hao also realized why they had hurried to eliminate Sun Wukong and the other Heretic Gods: to corner the Apocalypse Knight, leaving him no escape.
The primary reason for their rapid success was that Sun Wukong had not yet regained his full power.
The intended sacrifice to restore his strength—Asherah—had been unexpectedly swallowed by the Apocalypse Knight's barrier world, preventing Sun Wukong from returning to his peak state.
After the swift elimination, aware that a more unique Heretic God remained, Luo Hao refrained from attacking the Black Prince and the others, eager to pursue the hunt.
Since the defeat of the three Heretic God brothers was not achieved solo, none of them gained an Authority.
The prerequisite for obtaining an Authority is to slay a Heretic God alone.
But what about the high school student named Godou Kusanagi, who had external assistance during the battle against Sun Wukong?
That was permissible because no Campione was among the attackers. As long as the final blow was dealt by a non-Campione, it was considered a success.
"Alexander, stand back for now. Let me go first."
The golden-haired youth, hefting a massive silver greatsword, burned with fierce fighting spirit.
"Don't be absurd!"
"Not at all. The opponent is a knight, a swordsman wielding a blade—just like me. Of course, I should face him first. Charging in all at once lacks chivalry."
"Sir Salvatore, this is no time for solo duels. The enemy's existence is highly dangerous..."
John spoke up, succinctly explaining the grave crisis their world now faced.
The Apocalypse Knight and the divine envoys he created were likely intended to replace [The Last King] in dealing with them.
"Moreover, that Apocalypse Knight may not be from our world's mythology but from a parallel world."
At this point, John no longer withheld such critical information.
After all, none of those present—not even the notoriously ruthless Luo Hao—would want to see their world thrown into chaos by an external force.
As for the true mastermind being the Goddess of Fate, John chose not to reveal this, as instructed by Pandora.
Otherwise, Luo Hao and Touma might attempt to seek out the Goddess of Fate.
"Correction, not possibly, but definitely."
"Has the Last King inexplicably disappeared and ceased to appear? That's not the truth, is it?"
This was an interesting question from Luo Hao.
"I don't know. All I understand is that's how it is."
John answered this way, not intending to elaborate further.
The Luo Hao before them clearly also sensed that the Last King wasn't born from the world's revision of Campiones as she had speculated, but suspected there was a deeper conspiracy behind it.
After saying this, a magic gun appeared in John's hand, aimed directly at the rapidly contracting black mist.
Bang—!
A magic bullet capable of evaporating solid rock and altering terrain shot toward the black mist.
There was no deafening explosion as one might expect; it seemed as though the magic bullet was swallowed by the black mist. However, John confirmed that the density of the black mist had decreased after being struck by the bullet.
Moreover, she was certain that another bounded field existed within the black mist.
No, not inside the black mist—the black mist was the entrance.
And this bounded field, in a sense, was right beside John, as if existing in a different dimension at the same coordinates.
She intended to shatter its barrier and force whoever was inside to come out.
Bang—!
A second magic bullet was fired, but this time not at the black mist. Instead, it inexplicably struck empty air, causing intense ripples.
These ripples forced the bounded field to materialize, prompting the others who witnessed it to attack without hesitation, intensifying the ripples and even revealing cracks.
Crack, crack, crack, crack!
It felt as though no further action was needed—the bounded field would collapse on its own.
"Oh dear, the old man is here too."
Touma twisted his neck and looked up at the sky, sensing a viciously sinister aura approaching.
"Troublesome."
Alexander sighed. If this one could join in the encirclement, it would be like adding wings to a tiger.
Unfortunately, like Luo Hao, this individual was not one to be reasoned with.
"Boom—!"
Countless bolts of lightning simultaneously struck the bounded field, accelerating its fragmentation.
At the same time, amidst the lightning, an old man descended to the ground.
In that moment, the air grew heavy with oppressive energy.
He's here!
The bounded field finally began to crumble, no longer just cracking but shedding fragments and turning into fissures.
Through the cracks, one could glimpse inside—
Before anyone could peer in, black liquid seeped out.
The bounded field was like a giant vat filled with black liquid, now overflowing due to the cracks.
The next instant, the vat completely collapsed, and a tsunami of black liquid surged outward, forcing everyone to leap away.
Some, however, didn't evade—like Luo Hao and Marquis Voban. One split the black liquid apart with a single palm strike, while the other's eyes flashed with an eerie light, petrifying the black liquid and forming a shield in front of him.
In the blink of an eye, the entire Mount Nikko was dyed black.
Though it appeared to be black liquid, as Campiones, they immediately recognized its true nature—it seemed to be the Netherworld.
Originally an immaterial existence, the Netherworld had materialized in the mortal world in this liquefied state.
Thus, something was hidden within this black liquid.
The next moment, countless squirming protrusions emerged, sending chills down their spines.
In the blink of an eye, thousands—no, tens of thousands—no, over a hundred thousand spirits took form!
This was nothing short of a cataclysm of the dead.