Record of a Thousand Lives

Chapter 153

‘A pretty star is falling,’?Amon thought as he pressed his face against the window. The cathedral was in an uproar, but the goblin could not be bothered to worry about that, as he was mesmerized by the falling star. His mouth hung agape as he thought, ‘It’s my first time seeing something so cool…!’

A giant meteor was falling from the sky toward the plain, and an extremely strong gust of wind blew across the landscape as if a mighty typhoon were passing by. The winds were so strong that even the large, sturdy cathedral started to shake.

The monsters inside the cathedral panicked.

“W-What should we do?!”

“Kyaruk! Kyaruruk!”

“Damn it! Will the cathedral hold out? That’s a huge meteor! Everything will be obliterated!”

“I don’t know! How should I know?!”

“It’s still not too late! Let’s run away!”

Some of the Templar Knights ran for the door, but Reanna blocked their way and shook her head. She said, “It’s too late. You won’t be able to outrun the blast that will follow when the meteor hits the ground.”

“But we can’t just sit here twiddling our thumbs! We have to do something!” the Templar Knights protested.

“There is one thing you can do if you’re a true believer,” Reanna replied as she pointed at Amon. The one-armed goblin was on his knees praying.

The Templar Knights’ expressions were suddenly filled with shame. Even a goblin was praying, prepared to accept his fate; and yet, what were they, who were Templar Knights, doing?

Meanwhile, Amon was mumbling a prayer. ‘Oh dear god, please let me touch that pretty?star?at least once…?Please let more of those stars fall,?so Amon can get one too!’

The atmosphere soon quieted down. The Templar Knights started to kneel one by one and began to pray, and even the monsters composed themselves and prayed as well. Meanwhile, the cathedral windows started to crack and the floor trembled wildly.

Rekil bit his lip and mumbled, “Will we make it out alive?”

Reanna extinguished her cigarette and replied, “We have to believe in that skeleton.”

Then, the siblings also began to kneel and pray.

***

The plain resembled what the world might look like moments before annihilation. A meteor was falling from the sky, and the vegetation was being blown away by intense winds. Was this how the world would look if it was destroyed by the Demon Lord?

‘No.’?

This was nothing but an appetizer compared to what the Demon Lord was capable of.

Kang Yoon-Soo charged even faster toward the Bone Dragon.

“Gwuoooooh!”?The Bone Dragon roared and thrashed around. However, the flames engulfing its body could not be extinguished no matter what it tried or did. That was because the raging flames had been ignited by the death of a phoenix.

Kwachik!

The Bone Dragon’s thrashing crushed a boulder as large as a hill, and the stone fragments that fell from the sky were no different from a natural disaster to a skeleton like Kang Yoon-Soo.

Kang Yoon-Soo readied his sword and muttered, “Strike of the Underworld.”

The sword that had absorbed the energy of the underworld crushed the stones flying toward him, and he easily destroyed the remaining fragments due to his amplified physical stats.

Pukeok! Puk!

Kang Yoon-Soo ran like the wind. Right when he was about to reach the Bone Dragon, however, he ran past it.

Puk!

Kang Yoon-Soo did not even spare a glance at the Bone Dragon as he stabbed his sword into the ground. He then opened up a cache of beer hidden by the Templar Knights. He thought, ‘It?hasn’t broken?yet. It was completely shattered in my previous life.’

At the very moment when he was about to drink the beer, however…

“Gwuoooooh!”?The Bone Dragon breathed out a powerful cloud of darkness. The cloud rushed forth, devouring anything and everything it came into contact with.

Kang Yoon-Soo leaped aside to avoid the cloud, then looked up at the sky, thinking, ‘There’s still a lot of time before the meteor hits the ground.’?However, he then gripped his longsword and thought, ‘But the location isn’t?good.’

The Bone Dragon he was fighting at the moment was of the same kind as the one he had fought against at the Red Rock Excavators’ dig site. Both were undead dragons made of bones. However, this Bone Dragon was different from the one that had been buried under many layers of earth for countless years.

‘I?have to make the meteor hit it?directly,’?he thought.

The place where the Bone Dragon was standing at that moment and the impact zone of the meteor were too far apart. Kang Yoon-Soo had to make the meteor strike the Bone Dragon directly to make sure that it would be destroyed. Additionally, considering its tenacious regenerative powers, it was imperative for him to kill the Bone Dragon in one shot.

‘I have to lure the Bone Dragon to where the meteor will strike,’?he thought.

Kang Yoon-Soo wedged a beer bottle between his ribs before making a move.

Meanwhile, the Bone Dragon rampaged around, thrashing wildly due to the flames surrounding its body. It vented its anger and frustration onto anything it could find on the desolate plain.

“Gwuoooooh!”?The Bone Dragon breathed out another cloud of darkness, and a dozen large boulders on the plains were instantly destroyed without leaving even a speck of dust behind. Then, the Bone Dragon turned its head toward the white cathedral.

“Remember your objective, Rawelkan,” Kang Yoon-Soo called out while standing in front of the Bone Dragon.

The Bone Dragon stood still for a moment before lowering its head, still wreathed in phoenix flames, and stared at the skeleton with its hollow eyes.

“Grrrr…”?It let out a low growl.

“Your objective is to take the blessing of the underworld from me, but why are you going on a rampage instead? Remember, what you’re doing now is futile,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

“Grrrrarraaraa…”?The Bone Dragon growled.

“Remember your objective. The one you have to kill right now is none other than me,” Kang Yoon-Soo said.

Kang Yoon-Soo was nice enough to help his enemy remember what it had to do.

“Grwwuuoooooh!” The Bone Dragon bellowed. It then looked away from the cathedral.

Kwachik!

Kang Yoon-Soo narrowly avoided a swipe from the Bone Dragon’s claw, but it instantly followed up that attack with its breath.

“Gwuuuuoh!”?The Bone Dragon breathed out a cloud of darkness that swept toward Kang Yoon-Soo like a tidal wave, swallowing everything in its path.

Kang Yoon-Soo nimbly evaded the cloud, but he was not able to fully avoid it, and a few parts of his body were caught in it.

Crack… Crack…!

His left arm and a portion of his jaw were destroyed, and Kang Yoon-Soo was sent rolling along the ground. However, he quickly got back up and hid in a nearby hole.

There was not much time before the meteor would make landfall.

‘There’s no time,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought.

The Bone Dragon was going on a rampage, while the meteor fell inexorably toward the ground. It was an extremely dire situation, and Kang Yoon-Soo only had one thing he could do at that moment.

‘Evolution.’?

The Skeleton Swordsman Blessed by the Underworld could evolve once he had gathered one thousand followers. The followers of the Church of Madness had already exceeded one thousand, but Kang Yoon-Soo had pushed back his evolution for this precise moment.

[You have achieved the number of followers required to evolve.]

[You will obtain a special power upon completing your third evolution.]

[It is recommended for you to evolve at the right time.]

[Do you wish to evolve?]

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

[You have taken a special route.]

[Your evolution choices have been narrowed down to one.]

It was right when Kang Yoon-Soo was surrounded by darkness that the Bone Dragon found him.

“Gwuooooooh!”?The Bone Dragon roared, gathering its energy to unleash a cloud of darkness at its target. It was much too late for Kang Yoon-Soo to avoid the attack.

“Gwuoooooh!”?The Bone Dragon unleashed its breath.

A significant portion of the plain was covered by the Bone Dragon’s breath, and everything in the path of the cloud of darkness was devoured. The place where Kang Yoon-Soo had just been standing did not even have a speck of dust remaining.

“Grrrr…”?The Bone Dragon let out a low growl of satisfaction.

The Skeleton Church Leader was dead, but Rawelkan still had quite a lot of time before his transformation ended. There was no reason for him to stop the destruction he was causing just because he had obtained the blessing of the underworld. Thus, the Bone Dragon turned around and faced the cathedral.

It was at that moment…

Clack…

In the spot where everything had been obliterated…

Clack… Clack…

One…

Clack…!

…single bone shot upward.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack!

The bone moved, and other bones shot up from the ground and flew toward it.

Clack! Clack! Clack! Clack! Tak!

The bones linked together and created a vicious-looking skeleton.

[Third Evolution!]

[You have evolved into the Immortal Church Leader of the Church of Madness!]

[You have evolved into a powerful species due to the accumulated trust and faith of your followers.]

[The Immortal Church Leader of the Church of Madness will never die.]

[Your powers will weaken if your followers are reduced in number or lose faith in the Church of Madness.]

[You have obtained the ability to absorb black magic and darkness.]

[You have obtained a new divine skill.]

[The divine skill of the Mad God Urnokra has been decided.]

[You are now able to unleash the powers of the underworld.]

‘Good,’?Kang Yoon-Soo thought as he read the messages. He could feel an immense amount of power flowing through his bones. His body had grown larger than before, and a sinister aura emanated from his bones. He opened and closed his bony hand, then clenched it tightly.

[The authority of the Head of the Church of Madness!]

[The Church Leader has obtained divine powers by collecting his followers’ faith and prayers.]

[The powers and prayers of the followers in the cathedral are being transmitted to the Immortal Church Leader.]

[Reanna Ruinek is praying.]

[Rekil Ruinek is praying.]

[Ravotel Asherel is praying.]

[The goblin Amon is praying…]

A bright stream of light shone from the cathedral in the distance, as the faith of Kang Yoon-Soo’s followers manifested. Their desperate prayers flowed into him and were absorbed by him.

“Gruowoooooh!”?The Bone Dragon roared as it charged at Kang Yoon-Soo.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo was unfazed, and he stared up at the sky.

There was less than a minute left before the meteor would make landfall.

“Gruooowh!”?The Bone Dragon unleashed a cloud of darkness once again.

However, while Kang Yoon-Soo was swept away by the cloud, it did not harm him at all.

[You have absorbed the cloud of darkness.]

[Your divine powers have been greatly amplified.]

The new divine power of the Church of Madness manifested, and Kang Yoon-Soo gathered that power into one hand. He thought to himself, ‘I’ve become powerful after my evolution, but that isn’t enough to kill the Bone Dragon.’

That in itself was a testament to how powerful the Bone Dragon was.

Kang Yoon-Soo gathered his hands together and thought, ‘But I’m now strong enough to lift it up for a few seconds.’

A dark aura enveloped the Bone Dragon’s body. It resisted as hard as it could, but its body started to float slowly against its will.

“Gruoooooowh!”?The Bone Dragon roared in anger. Then, it finally realized that its body was forcefully being lifted toward the meteor that was falling from the sky.

Baaaaaaaaam!

The meteor and the Bone Dragon crashed into each other in mid-air, and an ear-splitting blast reverberated across the entire plain.

The meteor was destroyed and splintered into multiple pieces, while the Bone Dragon was crushed into dust.

[You have killed the Hideous Bone Dragon, Rawelkan!]

***

The followers hiding in the cathedral opened their eyes when they heard the blast. They all ran toward the windows, and could not hide their shock at what they were seeing outside.

“O-Oh my god!”

Meteor fragments and shards of bone rained down from the sky. The fragments scattered all over the plains and created fissures wherever they hit the ground; some of them were even making their way toward the cathedral.

“Ah! N-Nooo!”

“Kyarururuuuuk!”

“W-We’re all going to die!”

Every single one of the followers, whether human or monster, closed their eyes and prepared to accept their fate.

However, contrary to what they expected, nothing happened. They slowly opened their eyes, and were awed by the sight unfolding right before their eyes. The meteor fragments that had been about to crash into the cathedral were being blocked by a dark aura.

“It’s that bastard!” Rekil shouted, clenching his fist.

Ravotel furrowed his brow and asked, “What do you mean by that?”

“What else? There’s only one bastard capable of killing the Bone Dragon and blocking those meteor fragments!” Rekil replied, then ran to the cathedral doors and opened them wide.

Then, the followers saw a tall skeleton walking toward the cathedral.

Reanna immediately recognized the skeleton and said, “It’s the Skeleton Church Leader.”

“But it looks different, doesn’t it? It’s also bigger than before,” Rekil said.

“Look, it has a beer bottle between its ribs,” Reanna said as she pointed.

Rekil smacked his forehead with one hand, then ran out of the cathedral. He shouted, “Hey! You damn skeleton! Do you know how worried I was?”

“Yeah,” Kang Yoon-Soo, who was holding a little bird in his hand, replied once he got closer.

Rekil tilted his head in confusion and asked, “What’s that?”

“Phoenix,” Kang Yoon-Soo said as he let the little bird down.

The dark clouds receded and the sky brightened once again. The little bird immediately grew feathers and flew into the horizon.

“Oh my, didn’t it die a while ago?” Rekil asked.

“A phoenix will resurrect even if it dies,” Kang Yoon-Soo replied.

The Templar Knights and monsters ran out of the cathedral.

“Church Leader!”

“Thank you! We survived thanks to you!”

“Kyaruruk!”

The followers all rejoiced, and were about to start praising their church leader when Kang Yoon-Soo suddenly said, “Duck.”

“…?”

Reanna tilted her head in confusion and asked, “What are you talking about? Are you trying to act like a drill sergeant now or something?”

“I’m out of divine power, and I can’t block one of the meteor fragments coming this way,” Kang Yoon-Soo nonchalantly replied.

The followers’ faces turned pale in an instant, and they all immediately ducked, except for Kang Yoon-Soo who remained standing.

The meteor fragment destroyed the cathedral’s ceiling.

Kwachiiiiik… Bam…!

The followers were petrified at the sight of their cathedral being destroyed by the meteor fragment, and they all looked back and stared at the Skeleton Church Leader.

However, Kang Yoon-Soo was unfazed. He opened the beer bottle and started to chug it down.

It was then…

The meteor fragment that had crashed into the cathedral’s ceiling broke apart and scattered into tiny pieces. Countless specks rained down from above like snow, sparkling wherever they came into contact with sunlight.

The scene of glittering dust raining down within the cathedral was indescribably beautiful.

“Wow…” Rekil said softly, his mouth agape.

The Templar Knights and monsters were mesmerized by the sight as well.

Reanna smiled and said, “It’s beautiful.”

It was indeed a beautiful sight that made them forget about the intense battle they had just fought.

The goblin Amon thought delightedly, ‘God?has answered my prayers!’

Amon could not hide his joy, and he started to dance. The rest of the followers could not help but smile at the sight of the innocent goblin dancing.

Kang Yoon-Soo took another gulp from the beer bottle as he thought, ‘It’s time for the third trial to end as well.’