Advent of the Three Calamities

Chapter 668: Meeting Again [2]

Lazarus suddenly thought of one of the quotes he had read in the book, talking about Xa’hurl.

‘Perhaps the greatest mercy that this forsaken place has to offer is not what we see, but what we cannot. No, it’s not that the truth is hidden… It’s that our minds are simply incapable of comprehending its real form. We lack the capacity to perceive it as it truly is. And in that failure, I believe, lies the only mercy the Mirror Dimension offers.’

Lazarus had a hard time understanding the quote at first.

Mercy?

For what? For not being able to see Xa’hurl’s true form? What sort of mercy was that?

It made no sense.

It was stupid.

And… it was very likely the truth.

Staring at the hulking mountain that stood before him, Lazarus finally started to believe in the quote.

Even now, he couldn’t see the primordial one’s true figure.

Xa’hurl hid behind a deep mist that hid its entire figure. However, deep within the mist, one could see the blackened outline of its enormous frame as two glaring deep eyes shone from behind the mist, staring at all those beneath it.

“Quickly! Do not look!”

The Saint’s voice echoed the moment Xa’hurl’s gaze fell on the people beneath, but by then, it was already too late.

“Ahhh—!”

“Help!!”

Screams tore through the surroundings as several of the emissaries grabbed onto their heads, veins pulsing down their necks as their eyes turned bloodshot.

“Ahhhhhh!”

The screams were heartwrenching.

To the point where it made Lazarus’s blood curl.

“K-kill me! Please.. kill me!!”

“Ahhhh!”

Splash! Splash!

Of the many that were affected, several jumped out of the ship, swimming down the depths of the crimson waters without holding their breaths.

They simply swam all the way down until they ran out of breath and drowned within the depths of the water.

The few other ones that didn’t choose to drown themselves ran towards the nearest walls and smashed their heads against them, causing blood to splatter all over the deck of the ship.

“Help me! Make it stop! Make it stop!”

Madness had overtaken the entire boat with just a simple gaze.

Even Lazarus wasn’t completely unharmed, his entire body turning pale as he stumbled to the ground and took deep and heavy breaths.

His mind was pierced with a terrifying pain that made him want to end it all as images flashed across his mind.

But thankfully, he was still able to hold on.

And that was thanks to none other than his high mental capacity. If not for that, he would’ve also met the same fate as the other people on board.

“Ahhh!”

As even more screams tore through the air, Lazarus slowly raised his head to stare at the distant Saint. He also wasn’t completely unaffected by Xa’hurl’s presence, with his face slightly pale.

He was still faring a lot better than most people.

Anne and An’as were also doing well, with neither one of them looking up. Already aware of the fact that they were being haunted by such a creature, they knew enough to know not to look up.

This was what probably saved their lives.

It was unfortunate that not many people were able to be like them.

Before Lazarus knew it, almost two-third of the members of the entire ship had bashed their heads into the walls or jumped into the water.

It was total chaos, and all it took was one gaze.

One… simple gaze.

“H-how in the world are we supposed to defeat that thing?”

Amidst the chaos, Lazarus heard An’as’s desperate voice, and he craned his neck to look at him. He was trembling, and his face was pale.

It was pretty obvious to Lazarus that An’as was scared.

But even in his fear, he didn’t seem to have given up. He turned his attention towards him while talking.

“D-do you have a way to solve this? I… remember you said something about Sylas. Did you find him? Did he come?”

Even now, he was trying to assess the situation.

It was the only thing they could do at this very moment as the primordial one’s attention appeared to be fixed on the Saint.

An’as’s words were what Lazarus needed to hear in order to snap out of his state.

‘Yes, I can’t let the fear take over me. I need to quickly solve the situation.’

The Goddess had directly told him it was possible to handle the monster. Quite frankly, Lazarus had a hard time believing her.

Just one look at what had happened upon its appearance was enough to make him think it was impossible for the current him to defeat such a creature.

He was even starting to doubt where this creature was truly just at the primordial rank.

It just felt… So damn powerful.

‘If a creature at the primordial rank is this powerful, just how strong is a god?’

Lazarus bit his lip and shook the thoughts away. Now was not the time for him to think about such matters.

He needed to get his hands on the eye.

“Sylas… did appear. He’s currently located at the bottom of the Maw.”

Before the others could say another word, Lazarus continued.

“…But Xa’hurl was with him. It’s as we previously suspected. The two of them are working together.”

This had become pretty obvious to them long ago.

It was just that it was only now that they were truly certain of the cooperative relationship between the primordial one and one of the seven lords.

He was still unsure of the reason why they were helping each other, but he had several ideas that he was sure were the truth.

“I… can go to Sylas at any moment, but the thing that I’m worried about is the primordial one. If it tries to do something while I arrive before Sylas, then I don’t think I’ll be able to do a single thing.”

There was still a statue beneath the Maw.

Lazarus still had a connection with it, and he could go there at any given moment.

But going there wasn’t a problem for him.

The real issue lay in the fact that the moment he tried to do something to Sylas, Xa’hurl would most likely act and kill him on the spot. Sylas was currently untouchable.

“The only way I can see myself going back there is if the Saint can distract the primordial one for long enough for me to get to the Maw, then…”

Lazarus stopped there.

In truth, he wasn’t sure if he could even accomplish his goal if the Saint managed to distract the primordial one.

His goal was to find the eye.

However, in order to do that, he needed to have the mirror, which was currently in the hands of Sylas.

The problem lay in the fact that Sylas was far stronger than he was.

Even if he tapped onto the fifth level of Emotive Magic, Lazarus wasn’t sure he could defeat Sylas.

This put him in a rather bad spot.

He wasn’t the only one who understood this as Anne suddenly turned her attention towards him.

“Will you be able to handle Sylas?”

“…..”

Lazarus’s silence was all Anne needed to hear to understand the situation.

She took a deep breath in that moment and looked at him.

“If that’s the case, allow me to help.”

“….?”

Lazarus cocked his head, only to be met with a frown.

“What? Did you really think I wouldn’t help?”

Her face looked like that of someone who was looking at an idiot.

“Our current predicament isn’t one where we have much of a choice. Can you make it happen?”

“….”

Lazarus didn’t answer immediately. He didn’t know either.

However, after a brief exchange with Wobbles, he nodded his head.

“Yes, I can make it happen.”

He wasn’t going to reject Anne’s help. She was extremely strong and could be of massive help when handling Sylas. If the two of them worked together, then there was a chance they could defeat Sylas or at least get the mirror back from him.

The only issue was…

The Living Saint.

Could he hold Xa’hurl back long enough for them to fight Sylas?

Slowly lifting his head, Lazarus and the others turned their attention towards the Living Saint as he stood at the bow of the ship, his gaze directed towards the great primordial one.

‘The fact that he can at least look at the primordial one without going insane shows just how strong he is. Maybe, if it was him…’

“Turn the ship back.”

The Saint’s voice suddenly echoed throughout the ship, his face still directed towards the great primordial one.

“….We’re leaving. Turn the ship away.”

“Wha…”

Lazarus immediately tried to say something, but the moment he tried to do so, he felt a terrifying power lock onto him, freezing his entire body in place.

“…!”

He wasn’t the only one.

Anne and An’as were the same, their bodies stuck in place.

‘What’s happening?’

‘What is going on?’

Lazarus could see exactly what they were thinking from the expressions they were making as their entire faces paled. One didn’t need to think too hard to understand their current situation.

As expected…

The primordial one wasn’t just going to let them go.

As if sensing the situation behind, the Saint slowly turned his head, fixing his gaze towards them as his head cocked to the side, his brows furrowing at the same time.

“Who are you three?”

He looked lost as he looked at them.

“…How did you get here?”

Lazarus and the others wanted to answer, but in that very moment, neither of the three could move or act at all. The only thing they could do was simply remain motionless in place, watching as the Living Saint looked at them with confusion.

“I don’t ever recall bringing the three of you on this ship with me. No, something is not right…”

Pausing, the Living Saint turned his attention back to the primordial one.

From the expression he was making, it appeared like he was starting to make the connection as he started to rummage through his body in order to look for something, but by the time he realized that something was up, it was already too late, as the primordial one began to move.

Splash—

Once more, the ship rocked as massive waves started to form across the surface of the crimson sea.

A terrifying pressure suddenly took over the surroundings, crushing everything within it as Lazarus and the others were locked in place, completely and utterly immobile.

‘This is bad….’

Lazarus’s eyes constricted as Xa’hurl began to act, his mind churning with all sorts of thoughts. Although the situation was hopeless, it wasn’t as though he didn’t think things would turn out this way.

He had already fallen for the same situation once before.

He wasn’t going to fall for it again.

‘I didn’t really want to do it now, but I don’t have a choice. I’ll—’

Tak!

Lazarus’s thought suddenly stopped as he heard the gentle click of what appeared to be a heel.

The sound was subtle, and yet…

The moment it sounded, it almost felt as though it rang loudly within the surroundings.

Tak—

The click was followed by another as time appeared to freeze completely.

Following the second click was another, and then another as the world appeared to pause before the sound.

Gently, the sound drew closer until…

A lock of black hair crossed Lazarus’s vision, and his entire body froze in place.

That’s…