kscans

CHAPTER 7 CHALLENGE TO THE LABYRINTH – Episode 9 The Cave of Trials (Part 3)

5 (t/n: should be 7 but raw is 5)

Bard’s eyes widened in surprise. So this was the nature of this place. Is this the dwelling place of gods? If that was indeed its true form, or even a mere fraction of its power, then Godon would be utterly outmatched. Even if the six of them joined forces, they would fall far short.

Heedless of Bard’s concerns, Godon calmly ascended the steps. The moment he set foot in the arena, a pillar of light rose from beneath him. When the light subsided, there stood the giant form of Godon Zarkos, now towering nearly as tall as the God of Thunder Paul-Beau facing him.

Godon accepted this extraordinary transformation with remarkable composure.

“Hahaha, how delightful, how delightful!”

Laughing loudly, he rushes towards his opponent. Thud, thud. Each step of Godon’s massive frame shakes the arena, as if pounding the earth with a giant mallet. Towering like a giant reaching the clouds, Godon covers the distance of just eight steps to bring the God of Thunder within his reach. Gripping his gigantic battle hammer with both hands, he swings it down upon the God of Thunder’s* left shoulder. (t/n: Raijin)

Godon’s strike carries a force that even the mighty Bard could not withstand in his prime. And now, as a giant, his blow would be too much for even the gods to endure. Yet, the God of Thunder easily defies Bard’s expectations. Casually raising his left hand, he catches Godon’s attack with his war hammer. A tremendous sound echoes, and bolts of lightning scatter in all directions. Shockingly, the God of Thunder holds Godon’s attack with just one hand. At the same time, he strikes Godon’s left flank with his right-hand hammer. Sparks fly, and a loud cracking sound echoed. Godon’s armor is severely dented, and a scorched smell wafts through the air.

Godon, however, remains unfazed by the damage to his armor and body. Calmly, he raises his battle hammer with both hands and brings it down upon the God of Thunder with even greater force than the first strike. Yet, this powerful blow is also caught by the God of Thunder’s left-hand hammer. And once again, the God of Thunder’s right-hand hammer strikes Godon’s left flank. Cracks spread across Godon’s armor, and substantial damage must have been inflicted upon his body within.

Undeterred, Godon raises his massive battle hammer a third time. Until now, the God of Thunder had maintained a calm expression, but now a look of anger crosses his face. In response to this anger, the battle hammer in the God of Thunder’s right hand begins to glow with a golden light.

The God of Thunder, Paul-Beau, is the uncle of the Sun God, Corama. Normally, he stands behind the Sun God, quietly observing the exploits of the Sun God’s divine sons and daughters. But when angered, his strikes can shatter mountains and cleave the earth. Indeed, Paul-Beau is among the mightiest of the gods.

The God of Thunder’s wrathful blow strikes Godon’s left flank for a third time. The crack in the armor widens, and the God of Thunder’s hammer sinks into Godon’s flesh. Yet, Godon Zarkos’ firmly planted feet do not waver. The mighty battle hammer of Godon was swung down with a force that surpassed the first and second blows, striking the God of Thunder. The God of Thunder caught it with his left-hand war hammer, but could not stop it and was pushed back. Godon’s full-force attack struck the God of Thunder’s head.

Time seemed to stand still.

Eventually, the God of Thunder swayed and fell backwards. Somewhere, a bell rang three times. The arena flashed brightly, and the figures of the God of Thunder and Godon Zarkos vanished.

No, that was not the case. Godon Zarkos had returned to his original size and was kneeling in the arena. Zariya rushed up the steps and approached Godon Zarkos. There was no time to stop her. But the fact that she made it up safely meant she could now go up. Bard and the others followed behind Zariya.

Godon was spitting blood from his mouth. He was also bleeding from his side.

“Remove his armor!” Zariya said. Bard and Karz removed the upper half of Godon’s armor.

“That’s enough. Please move aside.”

Godon lies down in his chain mail. Zariya placed her right hand on his chest and her left hand on his injured left side. She then murmured an incantation. After a while, a red light appeared in both of Zariya’s hands. The incantation continued. Godon’s vomiting of blood stopped, and his pained expression eased. The incantation continued. The wound on his left side could be seen repairing from the inside out. Eventually, the wound was healed. However, the surface tear and burn marks remained.

“He’s alright now. But let me rest a bit.”

She then lay down there. In her place, Godon Zarkos rose up. He has his usual carefree look.

“Oh dear, my armor has been destroyed. No matter, I shall wear only the undamaged parts.”

He put on the armor on his shoulders, chest, and arms. After a while, Zariya got up.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. The door to the next area has opened.”

Looking in the direction Zariya was pointing, there was a hole opened up in the back of the arena, which was not there before. What could this mean? Probably, it was opened because Godon had defeated the God of Thunder. So that’s it. One must win in order to progress further. The party then reformed their ranks and entered the hole.

8

The cave was emitting a green light. The party advanced along the winding, twisting path. Yemite, who was leading the way, was small in stature but quick on his feet. The party’s marching speed naturally increased.

“Something is coming. A large number of enemies.”

Yemite stopped and said that, so the group took up a battle stance and waited. Something was coming from the front. It was approaching stealthily. It’s coming. It’s coming. Eventually, the enemy appeared in the twisted cave. It was a hideous creature the size of a palm. Short, countless tentacle-like appendages were protruding from the sides of its body, undulating and twisting its body as it advanced. Perhaps it’s because it was illuminated by the green light, but the color of its body is poisonous.

The approaching speed of the enemy was not particularly fast. As the enemy drew near, Karz slashed at it. The enemy was then effortlessly split in two and stopped moving with a slight spasm. Yemite also stabbed the enemy with a bone sword, killing it.

Just as they were about to relax, thinking it was not a formidable enemy, it happened. Those disgusting, crushed meat ball-like enemies stopped advancing and began to tremble. Then, they silently seeped into the ground and disappeared.

Where did they go? The enemies vanished. The tension did not diminish at all. It could be called a killing intent. They were lurking somewhere. The answer came soon.

Suddenly, Engdahl turned back and swept his broad sickle-shaped sword over Zariya’s head. There was a splashing sound, and the meat ball that had been about to fall on Zariya’s head was crushed and scattered. Bard involuntarily looked up at the ceiling of the cave. There, the meat balls that had seeped into the ground were oozing out. The oozing meat balls were dripping, dripping down onto the group’s heads. Had they moved through the rocks? Or had they pretended to seep into the ground and then moved in secret? No. If they could move through the air unseen, Yemite and Karz would not have lost track of them, for their ability to sense presence is no ordinary feat. Therefore, the meat balls must have the ability to suddenly teleport to distant locations.

Bard took Zariya’s hand and retreated to a position where the meat balls were not falling. Many meat balls had already attached themselves to Engdahl’s sturdy body. And from the points where they had attached, the meat balls were secreting some mysterious liquid. This liquid was dissolving Engdahl’s robust body. But Engdahl remained calm, peeling the meat balls off his body and slamming them against the wall. The meat balls that were slammed against the wall were crushed and died on the spot. However, it seems that the bodily fluid that is scattered also contains a dissolving agent. Engdahl’s body melted as it was covered in the bodily fluids. Kars and Yemite saw this and began to evade the spraying body fluid as well. Their evasion abilities are not ordinary, to be able to dodge such a thing.

Godon Zarkos’ body is also covered in meatballs. The meatballs attached to his helmet and armor are simply peeled off and crushed on the floor. But the problem is the torso area. The chain mail is exposed there, and the solvent from the meatballs seems to be seeping through the gaps, sizzling and burning Godon’s flesh.

As for Kars and Yemite, they have evaded all the falling meatballs. They have also sliced the meatballs in midair. The meatballs that fall to the ground scatter the dangerous bodily fluid, but the two have been evading them properly. However, a few splashes have inflicted some damage. After cutting down the falling meatballs, they also eliminate the meatballs that have fallen some distance away by slicing them. But the meatballs are not just passively being cut. They disappear on the ground and reappear on the ceiling, falling again. But since their pattern has been revealed, the meatball-like creatures are no longer a threat to this combat group. After dealing with the falling meatballs, Kars and Yemite turned to support Godon and Engdahl. It didn’t take long to eliminate all the meatballs. Fortunately, the attack range of the meatballs was limited. That is, they disappear on the ground and reappear on the ceiling, with a limited range of movement. If they had appeared all the way down to where Bard and Zariya were positioned, it would have been a serious problem.

When the battle was over, Engdahl’s body was in a terrible state, with various parts of his body melting away. However, he was probably able to survive this extent due to Gerkaast’s sturdy outer shell. If it had been a human who couldn’t even wear armor, they would not have survived. Zariya laid Engdahl down on the cave floor and treated his wounds. Engdahl’s scars healed. Not completely, as traces of the dissolved and festered areas remained on the surface. But the poison has dissipated, and the pain has significantly subsided. Zariya then also treated Godon. (t/n: Godon the meat shield)

There were still some melted and blistered marks, but the inside seemed to have been repaired considerably.

“Wow! Magnificent. Thank you, granma Zariya.”

“I’m not an old hag now. Call me sister.” (t/n: Ane-san)

Although they were engaging in a casual exchange, Zariya still seemed fatigued, so the group took a break before resuming their advance. Bard asked her, “That was truly an impressive power. Do all those possessed by spirits acquire such healing abilities?”

“No, it’s not like that. The kind of power that develops seems to vary from person to person. I think I gained this power because I was an excellent apothecary and shaman.”