Chapter 131 : Chapter 131

Chapter 131 - The Blessing Usurper

The inside of the cauldron became insanely hot.

The fire that the archipelago ghost, Goul, had first lit had long since gone out.

The firewood, blazing fiercely with only the power of the Blue Flame Spirit, was now ashen.

I stood on top of the hardened blood.

“They say a spirit is a commander of the west. Seeing that a spirit can be used even in a space created by a god, that saying must be true. Don't you agree?”

[You, you! What is your identity…!!]

As if to answer that question itself, the Blue Flame Spirit popped out onto my shoulder.

A body with a fist-sized ball of fire attached to another half-fist-sized ball of fire.

Still, it had limbs, and it bent its short arms diligently to lean jauntily on what could have been its side or its hip.

“This is a Blue Flame Spirit. It’s a high-ranking one among the fire-attribute spirits, but you probably wouldn’t know even if I told you.”

[Not that! You! I’m talking about you!]

“Ah, I am Dante. Feel free to call me Young Master-nim.”

A strange phenomenon where a conversation was happening, but no communication was taking place.

Inside the heat that made it stuffy to breathe, let alone think, the lowly creature before me was perfectly fine.

[H-how… How can you be so fine…?]

The lowly creature let out a small laugh.

To be honest, it was utterly pathetic.

“I suppose I shattered the well too quickly. I should have first told the toad in the well that a world exists outside of it.”

[Krrgh…!! You bastard!!]

The archipelago ghost Goul, the toad, raised both its arms wide.

Whether it was power accumulated in its five-layered belly fat, the immense strength it unleashed by squeezing out every last bit of its energy shattered the hardened blood.

Pzzzzzt─

The pool of blood, which shattered like thin ice, had served its purpose.

“Is this phase two?”

With a composed voice, I reached out and completely retrieved the water that had been turned into blood.

In the meantime, Goul didn't stop at breaking the restraints; it even broke through the outer wall of the cauldron.

Booooom─!!

[Haaah!]

The pleasure of escaping after enduring as if about to faint in a sauna.

What happiness was, was written precisely on the ghost’s face.

“Seeing your face, you seem to have enjoyed it.”

The Youngest Son, perched on the rim of the cauldron, raised the corners of his mouth.

A smile also spread across Goul’s face.

[Khehehehet. You shouldn’t have let me get out of the cauldron.]

“You looked like you were about to die.”

[…What?]

He asked back without realizing it.

Then wasn’t the intention to kill him?

The ingredient that came late to the god’s kitchen had become a guest and now a thug.

“You have to give me the blessing. Until you give me that, you can’t die even if you want to.”

[You crazy bastard….]

He couldn’t help but curse.

He couldn’t think of any other word to describe him besides a crazy bastard.

[This is my space that I created. There is no longer any moment where you can corner me.]

“Delusion is free.”

Behind the calm voice, he opened his hand.

The Blue Flame Spirit that was attached to his shoulder jumped into his palm.

The spirit landed on its bottom with a poof.

It was the only private soldier I could use right now.

‘Not many things can enter this dimension other than spirits belonging to the spirit category.’

This dimension was strange.

Even now, I was in the form of a ghost, not a real physical body, yet I was within the laws of physics.

The same went for Goul over there, and the offerings that came as ingredients.

It was a world where spiritual bodies had physical force.

‘I can use magic, but since I don’t have an existing body, I can’t summon the existing private soldiers. Besides the spirit, is there only one left?’

Tak─!

Goul, who had snapped his fingers, caught the kitchen knives that flew to find their master.

There were two of them.

One was slender, as if it could slice a tuna, and the other was thick, as if it could strike a bull’s head.

[I will flay your bones and flesh one by one and savor you for 100 years!]

“Oh my. I’m quite an expensive ingredient. It’s a bit of a waste to give myself to someone who doesn’t know how to enjoy fine dining.”

[That’s enough of your nonsense!]

Thump thump thump thump─

In just four steps, the distance of several dozen meters was closed.

The kitchen, which was sized to Goul’s original size, became a giant battlefield when Goul shrank its body.

But he couldn’t increase his size.

There was no time to recharge his power, and he desperately wanted to kill the lowly creature in front of him.

“You’re a toad, so you jump well.”

I showed off some footwork.

A knife that would reach the heart in a single stab, and a knife that would slice one in half if it cut.

Between the two blades, the Youngest Son danced.

For a ghost, his swordsmanship was decent, but this was a body that had been fighting with the best Cursed Knight of the east until now.

“How come you’re worse than my house’s gatekeeper? Still, at this rate, you could probably be the outhouse keeper.”

[Uwaaaaaaah!]

Goul, whose face had turned red only when he was in the cauldron a moment ago, swung the twin knives wildly.

But they didn’t reach.

When he swung once, I dodged; when he swung twice, I blocked.

“No, you don’t.”

Shwaaaaaa─

The blood taken from the cauldron was used for both offense and defense, alternating between liquid and solid.

Even a bullet loses most of its power in water.

The power that would have sliced a human spiritual body into several pieces was repeatedly blocked by the wave of blood.

The power that had been sufficiently drained along with his sweat by the heat of the blue flame could not break anything more than the cauldron.

[Th-this bastard!!]

“You’re hurting my ears.”

Kuuuuung─!!

I threw a straight punch wrapped in blue flame.

The blue flame was a fire that could be called the purest in this world.

Coming from the pure Wisdom family, its purity was beyond question, and the power of its clone was also impressive.

[Keoheok….]

The large body, pushed back without even a moment to catch its breath, rolled on the floor.

It was a dirty floor where human by-products were scattered about, as it hadn't been cleaned.

Hiek- Hiek-

It was the Blue Flame Spirit here that was more out of breath.

As if it had just completed a long-distance run, the creature collapsed on my palm, panting for breath.

Each time, its small belly bulged out and shrank repeatedly.

“Sorry. It was tough heating the cauldron, wasn’t it? Just a little more effort. It won’t take long.”

Its head, burning softly like a campfire, nodded slightly.

It was a sight that no one would believe was the incarnation of the Blue Volcano.

“It should be close by now.”

I looked at the empty air.

[Haaat…!]

While his opponent was looking away, Goul aimed for an opening.

He threw his body not for an attack, but to recharge.

The direction was the kitchen entrance.

On the other side, ingredients that had not yet been prepared were scattered about.

With his current appetite, he could grab one in each hand and tear them apart alive.

“If you go any further, you’ll get hit.”

I warned quietly without moving a single step.

Goul snorted and giggled.

[You are truly a dead man now! Once I eat those guys and replenish my strength, you’ll be less than a fly!]

The ghost’s words were not wrong.

“That’s why I’m stopping you.”

Kwaaaaaaaaaaang─!!

A warship smashed through the temple wall and thrust its head in.

[Kueheeek!!]

The victim(?), who was hit squarely in the entranceway, was sent flying high into the air.

It broke through the temple wall once more and was sent flying far away.

The body, which seemed to have flown the distance of a cannonball’s range, was quickly captured by the ghost pirates.

After being dragged and bound with the anchor’s chain, he was finally ready to talk.

“Have you become a little more willing to give up the blessing?”

Tiring─!

The system window opened before Goul’s mouth did.

[You have deviated from the existing route and solved the quest in a very unique way.]

[The quest is updated.]

──「The Blessing Usurper」──

[Description]

: You have subdued the master in the dimension of the archipelago ghost. Subjugate the god and seize even his blessing. Usurp and plunder everything.

[Reward]

: God’s Blessing

: 「Dimension: Kitchen of the Gluttonous Ghoul」

─────────────

[The ghost pirates and the soul of the Pirate King pay their respects to you, who plunders even a god.]

[They acknowledge you, who plunders a god, as the greatest pirate of all.]

[The Ring of the Ashen Sea is destroyed and engraved upon your soul.]

[You can now summon the Ashen Queen without the ring.]

[You have acquired a title.]

──「True Captain of the Ghost Ship」──

[Description]

: Pirate King Frey and the crew have acknowledged you as their true captain. The bond of pirates makes the crew stronger.

[Effect]

: Ashen Queen’s durability increased by 20%

: Pirate King Frey’s base attack power increased by 20%

: Crew members’ base attack power and durability increased by 20%

───────────────

Although he called himself a god, the sight of him plundering the blessing from a ghost who owned a personal dimension.

It seemed to have been viewed favorably by his pirate seniors, and he was unexpectedly acknowledged as a true pirate.

‘It’s good that I can use the ghost ship without the ring. A very nice side income.’

All that was left was to open the mouth of the pig ghost who was slowly starting to wake up.

“In the meantime, you all plunder this temple. Bring everything of value onto the ship.”

The ghost crew poured out as if they had been waiting.

Their momentum, as if they would steal even the temple pillars, showed what true plunder was.

“Now it’s your turn.”

Chwaaaak─!

I slapped him with a hand wrapped in blue flame.

[Krrrrrrk!]

The sound of a slit throat immediately followed.

There was no need to drag it out.

“You have two choices.”

I held up my index and middle fingers.

First.

“You get beaten to death by me here, and beaten again, to experience exactly what you did to your offerings.”

[…….]

It was a proposal that made one swallow dry saliva.

However, if there was a hell in the world, there was also a heaven.

“Second. You obediently hand over your blessing and then tell your sorcerers over there that you no longer need offerings.”

[Th-then I’ll starve to death.]

“Speak formally.”

[I-I will die, sir.]

Quick wits in front of a knife were a universal language.

“You won’t die from using the blessing. You wouldn’t have so readily cast such a blessing on humans otherwise.”

Also, it was unlikely that he would starve to death just because there were no more offerings.

It wasn't just because of his belly, which made one worry if he was pregnant.

“You can just come out of your dimension sometimes and eat sea monsters, can’t you? With your strength, it should be more than enough.”

[Th-that’s true, but.]

“If you say it’s a bother, I’ll make you crawl for the rest of your life.”

[N-no, sir! I will carry out your orders perfectly!]

Situation over.

The Youngest Son stood up, holding his knees.

“If your sorcerer attacks me after I leave, you should know that what comes next won’t be fun.”

[Of course! Please enter safely!]

I boarded the Ashen Queen.

The crew had already brought a lot of things, and they had also loaded the offerings that were once ingredients on top.

If I take them like this, they would return to their own bodies.

[The ghost crew has completed the plunder.]

[The crew’s morale increases.]

[The durability of the broken Ashen Queen will be repaired more quickly.]

Kugugugugugugung─

The warship that had come through the temple wall rose as it was and even broke the roof.

“Let’s go back.”

With a single word from the captain, the ghost ship crossed dimensions just as it had come.

Finding the way was not difficult.

Just as it had come here by looking at the Youngest Son, all it had to do on the outside was to look for Enad.

Shwaaaaaaaaaaa─

A coldness, as if being thrown into a blizzard, momentarily enveloped my entire body.

.

.

.

[I thought you would die, but you managed to come back alive.]

“It wasn’t easy.”

The Youngest Son replied and looked around.

This was the blessed land of Specter Island.

In the sky, the mother and daughters were in an uncompromising battle.

But that too did not last long.

Kurururung.

─Sorcerer of Gu'an, listen.

Faye’s hand stopped.

The voice of the god, echoing majestically like thunder from the sky.

At an event not even recorded in the literature, Faye’s eyes trembled uncontrollably.

─It is enough now. No more offerings are needed, so stop the ritual. This is the will of the god.

The thunder ceased with that.

However, the sorcerer of the tribe had to ask.

“Th-then, oh God! What should we do for the tribe’s power, which we gained through the ritual, from now on!”

She shouted loudly enough to make the sky ring.

But the one who answered was below.

“You must find it within yourselves.”

The Youngest Son, who had risen from below, put his foot on the anchor and ascended to meet her eye level.

“The Second Wife is the master of a Millesdusk maternal family. The place to gain true strength is not above, but across the sea.”

“…We have survived like this until now. Don’t try to teach us as you please.”

“Yes. I am not in a position to teach.”

Tak─

He snapped his fingers.

Along with an ashen ember like Goul’s a moment ago, a bright yellow crystal was caught.

“What am I to be teaching the family’s Second Wife.”

It was at that moment that Faye’s eyes widened, just like someone who had been hit by a ship a moment ago.

“I have simply received a blessing.”

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