Apostle of the Void

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]

Chapter 33: At the Forbidden Grounds, The Beginning of the Journey (6)

The "Flag of Twilight" is a mid-tier miracle where light gathers into the form of a pole, primarily used for holding enemies in place.

‘It has the effect of binding the target.’

The lower the grade of the monster, the more likely a direct hit would paralyze the entire body.

Arzen took two running steps to gain momentum.

Then, he hurled the pole of light.

"Kreee!"

The Goblin King swung his fist, attempting to deflect it.

‘Useless!’

The pole of light, ignoring physical force, pierced deep into his arm and began to glow.

"!"

A momentary slowdown in his movements.

Sia wasn’t about to miss that opportunity.

The blade of the Executioner's Sword shattered the Goblin King's gorget and sunk into the flesh beneath.

"Kiiiiiiiiiit!"

However, because Sia had to strike deep, it left her exposed to a counterattack.

‘The pole's paralysis has already worn off? Is this Elder Goblin King a higher grade than expected!’

But this, too, had been anticipated from the previous exchange.

"Wall!"

Even before Sia shouted, Arzen was already reciting the sacred chant.

The echo of the gospel spread across the land through his voice, and the miracle materialized.

A veil of light wrapped around Sia, shielding her from the Goblin King's incoming punch.

"Nice!"

Instead of retreating to recover her stance, Sia didn’t step back.

Instead!

She leaped outside the barrier and thrust the Executioner's Sword into the Goblin King’s left eye.

"Kiiiiiiiiiit!"

In agony, the Goblin King went berserk, turning the battlefield into chaos.

Goblins were being trampled, and even the Void Bees, which had been slaughtering those goblins, were now at risk of being caught in the carnage.

Arzen lunged forward, throwing himself into the path to protect the Void Bees, particularly the worker bees.

"You worthless Goblin, keep your hands off my insects! Barolus!"

The Apostle's command allowed a demon to descend into this world.

The demon’s arm shot up, grabbing the Goblin King’s fist… and crushed it, a mix of skin and shattered bone.

As if bursting a leather pouch, effortlessly.

"Kyaaah!"

The Goblin King's hand hung limp like a rag, pitiful to behold.

“Wow, both of them are amazing. I've never seen anyone support Sia's movements that perfectly,” Kitan marveled in awe.

“Kitan, leave them! Let those two handle things over there, and let’s focus on this!” Jerome shouted, motioning toward the center of the lake with his chin.

Elder Goblins were pouring out from the dimensional rift, swimming across the lake.

And that wasn’t all.

The Elder Goblin vanguard, which had spread throughout the Forbidden ground, was now converging here, drawn by the king's roar.

“Witch! Can you set up a barrier around the lake?”

"Are you out of your mind? The lake is huge! How could we possibly create a barrier that vast… That’s something only a Grand Witch could barely manage!"

"It doesn't need to be that big! Just enough to temporarily block the goblins coming our way!"

Without waiting for Yuz’s response, Jerome turned his gun towards the lake.

Then, he unleashed a storm of bullets at the goblins crawling out of the water, turning their bodies into mangled pieces.

"Cover me! You two witches go and pull that thing out!"

Kitan assessed the goblin corpses that filled the water’s surface.

By sensing the ripples, he could tell whether the bodies had floated up due to buoyancy or if there was a pile of corpses building up from beneath.

Kitan’s footsteps were quick and light, and every time he stepped on a corpse, it didn’t sink but held firm.

It was a mountain of corpses.

"Hup, hup, heave… Catch me if you can!"

Occasionally, he intentionally stepped on the heads of still-living goblins.

The goblins, infuriated, swung their weapons at Kitan.

But being submerged in water, their movements were severely limited.

Kitan laughed even louder, gradually heading towards the center of the magic circle.

The dimensional rift widened.

More goblins poured out.

Tudududududududu…!

However, the newly arriving goblins were shredded into chunks, splattering across the lake.

The earlier goblins acted as if they were protecting something precious.

They desperately tried to stop Kitan from reaching the center.

But intelligence was always an issue.

While their focus was on Kitan, Yuz moved.

"Go, Witch!"

Yuz, being a witch, of course knew how to fly a broomstick.

In the next moment, Yuz sped forward on her broom, grabbing the stake that was driven into the lake's center.

‘Huh? It won’t budge…!’

Up close, the stake was about as thick as a grown man’s wrist.

And it didn’t even move, firmly lodged into the magic circle.

That’s when it happened.

Buzzzzzz……!

The worker bee reacted.

In front of Arzen, who had collapsed to his knees, vomiting blood as a rebound from using Barolus, the worker bee buzzed.

"What’s wrong, worker bee? You need to control the underlings!"

But the worker bee wasn’t looking at the Goblin King—it was staring at the object the witch was desperately trying to pull out.

Arzen realized something.

‘Whenever the worker bee reacts like this…’

It always happened when something was deeply connected to the Void.

Like when the Power of the Void was about to be unleashed…

‘So, this means I need to head over there right now?’

Sia was holding her own against the Goblin King.

One of the Goblin King's hands had been destroyed by Barolus.

For the moment, Sia could handle things on her own.

Arzen made his decision.

He immediately ran over to Jerome.

"Uncle Jerome! Launch me over there!"

"Over there?"

"Yeah, just toss me!"

The Gatling gun's barrel had turned a fiery red from overheating. Jerome discarded the steam-powered gun and its core, nodding in agreement.

"Given your size, I think I can manage. But hurry! The witch’s barrier has collapsed, and the goblins are coming."

Jerome gripped Arzen’s belt tightly and hoisted him into the air. With two spins to add momentum and force, he hurled Arzen far across the lake.

As Arzen flew over the water, he felt the worker bee on his shoulder buzz more intensely.

‘The only power I can use is...!’

The only ability he had left was the Night Face, slightly different from the Void creatures' power.

‘Is the worker bee telling me to use it again?’

He had already used it once and wasn’t sure he could again, yet the bee seemed to insist he could.

"Kiiiiik!"

One goblin attempted to slash at the airborne Arzen, but Kitan’s dagger flew through the air and pierced the goblin's skull.

‘Range: 1 meter! I just need to get within 1 meter!’

Closer, just a little more!

"Out of the way!"

The witch, who had been struggling to pull out the stake while shielding herself with a barrier from the goblins’ attacks, was startled and jumped back.

"Now, right now! Barolus!"

As Arzen descended in a long arc, a demon's hand tore through the dimensions above him, reaching out.

The demon followed Arzen’s command without hesitation. It slaughtered the dozen goblins that were feebly resisting and grasped the stake.

"────!"

As the demon's hand and arm began to dissipate into particles of the Void, its muscles bulged with power.

And in the next instant—

With a sound like the world itself splitting, the stake shot up from the ground, still clutched in the demon's grip.

"It... it’s out!"

Yuz shouted in disbelief.

At that moment, the light of the magic circle spinning above the lake reached its peak... and exploded.

The radiant blast purified the entire area, cleansing it of all evil, leaving behind only a serene, peaceful stillness.

***

Dragon Sage Rain Ludwig.

The second being in history to reach the realm of Grand Sage. He was the one who defeated the Spider Lord, one of the Forgotten Kings, when it broke its seal.

The influence Rain Ludwig had on the world was immense.

To suppress the stirrings of the Abyss, he had placed sealing formations at every crucial point in the world’s ley lines.

These were the legendary 36 Sealing Circles.

When these formations ran wild, they wiped out all foreign entities in existence. Yet the power inflicted no harm upon humanity, a marvel that was both mysterious and miraculous.

‘The miasma… it’s gone?’

Sia, who had been locked in a fierce battle with the Goblin King, muttered in confusion.

‘The bloodlust that always needs to be quelled through slaughter…!’

It had completely subsided, almost as if it had been a lie.

‘This warm sense of peace… how long has it been since I’ve felt this…?’

The pure white wave did more than just erase the ominous energy engraved on Sia's right arm.

The King Goblin, who had been locked in battle, also vanished as if it had never been there.

“The dimensional rift... it's gone. The Goblins that had been pouring out of it, their corpses, all of it... gone.”

Everything had disappeared, swept away by the light that still faintly colored the forest.

“Is this power because of the sealing formation created by the Dragon Sage?”

***

That pure white wave revealed a different scene to Arzen.

"Huh?"

The moment Arzen was enveloped in the light, the world he saw completely changed.

“Where is this? A dream? A world of illusion?”

It was a space where black fog and dark green mist swirled chaotically. At the center of the fog stood a being.

Its radiance was so blinding that it was impossible to look at directly—much like staring at the midday sun.

「Now, it all begins. One by one.」

This presence, this voice—impossible to forget, even if one tried.

“That’s right... the voice I heard when the world was on the verge of collapse.”

It was the voice of the God of the Void, Rodenkal.

Arzen could feel that this entity was staring directly at him, and a transcendent sensation rushed through his body.

「Hasten your awakening to the power of the void. You shall become the vessel of the Apostle, linking this era to the final age.」

With those final words, the vast space that had filled Arzen's vision was sucked away somewhere.

Reality slowly returned to him.

“Was that an illusion? A dream?”

Yet, the memory of that encounter began to fade, slipping away as if it were some distant, hazy recollection—perhaps erased by some transcendent force, as if to prevent anyone from prying into it.

In reality, the wedge that Nightface had drawn out was spinning through the air, falling right in front of Arzen.

"Don’t touch it!"

Just as Arzen moved to catch it, the witch urgently shouted.

“?”

Her magic snatched the wedge mid-air, using an invisible force to pull it toward her.

“I can’t believe I’m saying this... but it’s a Wedge of the Abyss. If you touch it recklessly, your mind will be consumed.”

She then removed her pointed hat and used it to securely wrap the wedge. The eerie thoughts that had been pressing down on them suddenly subsided.

“The Abyss? The Abyss?”

The Abyss was the domain of the Forgotten Kings, an entity that stood as an existential threat to the world.

The emergence of the Abyss had always driven the world to the brink of apocalypse.

Four hundred years ago, the Lista Hero Party ventured to the ends of the earth for that very reason—the Abyss.

“What on earth is going on? If you keep staying silent, even a gentle soul like me might start to get angry.”

Jerome spoke up.

Yuz responded.

“I don’t know what’s going on either, but I suppose I owe you all an explanation.”

“Then, get on with it.”

“I’m warning you though, revealing this in the wrong place could have dire consequences. The White Dragon Legion is extremely strict, you know? The Yellow Dragon Legion too, and as for the Red Dragon Legion, well, they’re the most severe when it comes to punishment.”

Everyone knew this well, and Arzen swallowed nervously.

The one currently leading the White Dragon Legion was Mirengadia of Cheongseong.

Alongside Setsunen of Thunder and Akirea of the Crimson Flame, he was one of the Three Dragon Heroes.

These three were considered successors to the Three Divine Dragons, who once led the Golden Age.

“This forbidden zone... it's where one of the 36 Sealing Formations of the Dragon Sage (용현) was located.”

“!”

“Cheongseong himself dispatched Seal Keepers to guard each of these 36 formations. They're known as the Order of Light, Jerenion.”

At that moment, Sia approached, quickly wrapping her right arm with a bandage, as if to hide something shameful.

“And where exactly is this so-called proud Fairy Sealer now?”

Yuz gestured with his chin toward the back, where a robe was half-buried in a pool of blood.

“He's dead. Probably killed by the King Goblin. That body back there? That's him.”

“...!”

“If I were part of Jerenion, I’d have a way to contact Cheongseong directly... but unfortunately, I’m not.”

Sia waved her hand dismissively.

“Well, that’s something for them to deal with. We’ve completed the request, so let’s head back to the guild and get our payment.”

Of course, Sia had no intention of actually finishing things here.

This was a classic tactic: prolong the task to make the client pay even more—a hustler's strategy.

“The Abyss? The Order of Light? The Dragon Sage? These key words being mentioned together... this is an insane goldmine of a request!”

Not only would the reward be immense, but the overwhelming contribution points would make for a hefty payoff.

“Opportunities like this only come once in a few years. It's best to take advantage of it while I can!”

Without hesitation, Sia spun around to leave.

“Wait!”

As expected, Yuz called out immediately.

“I need to bring this to my master... so I’d like to borrow your strength a little longer.”

Meanwhile, Kitan, now stripped to his undergarments, was wringing water from his clothes.

“Where is your master?”

“In Aurelinope.”

“Whoa, that’s the Purple City! One of the Seven Great Cities! What a place to be! Are they rich? Beautiful?”

“She’s in her 60s now. Probably was pretty in her younger days.”

“Aww.”

Witches have a fully established apprentice system.

Unlike wizards, a witch, once becoming a master, only takes in two or three disciples throughout their life.

Thus, the master-apprentice relationship is almost familial, with strong emotional bonds between them.

“My master is Serna, the last disciple of the previous priestess, Lady Yuliana. She’ll definitely know what this wedge is and how to contact Cheongseong...”

Yuz tightly gripped the pointed hat wrapped around the wedge.

Jerome flashed a satisfied smile.

“And she’ll also have the authority to provide us with the proper compensation.”

With a resigned sigh, Yuz nodded.

“True. But tell me, are all skilled adventurers like you guys such misers?”

Sia shrugged.

“If we weren’t, we wouldn’t survive long in this line of work. Maybe elite witches who grew up only seeing the good sides of society wouldn’t understand that.”

Yuz glared at Sia, then her gaze shifted to Sia’s right arm.

“But what happened to your arm...?”

Sia shook her head firmly, clearly indicating that she didn’t want to answer.

“It’s getting late, and I’m exhausted... Let’s rest here for a bit. The lake is unbelievably clear, and we can drink as much as we want... plus, it’s so peaceful… it feels nice.”

With that, Sia wobbled and collapsed to the ground.

Yuz moved in shock, but Jerome shook his head.

“She’s just asleep. She always does this after releasing that power. It brings on overwhelming fatigue.”

“What exactly is that... do you know?”

“I don’t. But even if I did, I wouldn’t say. These kinds of things should be heard directly from her.”

Arzen, however, wasn’t participating in this conversation. The bee sitting on his shoulder had begun to change form.

‘Everything is going as expected. No, it’s more accurate to say this is what I hoped for!’

Just like when he had defeated the giant slime, the bee was now transforming into a universal key.

‘Even though the King Goblin’s death was caused by the Seal exploding, it still counts as a successful subjugation! Did the Void Bees absorb its essence?’

The specifics of the process didn’t matter much. As long as the results were perfect, that’s all that mattered.

His heart was already racing.

Perhaps it was because he was still a boy, but the anticipation of gaining new power always made his heart pound.

‘Yes, I’ve got it again! The universal key that can unlock most miracles without any prerequisites!’

[Translator - Kiteretsu]

[Proofreader - Kyros]