Chapter 52: Dishonorable but Effective

As the goat-headed giant clenched its fists, the white creatures filling the temple entrance began running toward me.

I remained where I was, resting the black umbrella against my left shoulder.

My right arm was still bent at an unnatural angle, and my ribs weren’t in very good condition either. However, I finally understood what the "100/100" value in front of my eyes meant.

Umbrella had collected a small amount of energy from every attack it endured and every creature it tore apart.

Now it was completely full.

The white creatures leaped at me from the walls and ceiling while the goat-headed giant charged straight toward me. The stone floor shook every time its hooves struck the ground, and its hot breath turned into white steam in the darkness.

Only a few meters remained between us.

I tightened my grip on the umbrella’s handle and gave the System the command to activate the ability.

At first, I heard nothing.

Darkness spread from Umbrella, expanding like a perfect sphere until it filled my vision and swallowed everything around me.

Then the sound of the explosion came.

The temple walls burst outward as the pillars supporting the roof snapped apart. The white creatures caught in the wave of black energy were torn apart in midair and thrown in different directions.

The goat-headed giant crossed its arms in front of its face, but the explosion still lifted it from the ground. Its massive body was thrown out of the temple, completely destroying the wall behind it.

Stones, snow, and pieces of white creatures scattered across the valley.

When the pressure from the explosion faded several seconds later, most of the temple was gone. Aside from a few pillars and sections of the outer wall that had remained standing, the rest of the structure had been reduced to rubble.

Dozens of white creatures lay scattered across different parts of the courtyard in pieces. Some were completely motionless, while others were still trying to crawl despite their missing limbs.

At the center of the explosion, I was completely unharmed.

A thin black layer formed by Umbrella had wrapped around my body and protected me from its own explosion. I rested the umbrella against my shoulder again and stared at the destruction in admiration.

"Fuck... this ability is incredible."

A muffled roar rose from beneath the rubble.

The goat-headed giant was trying to stand while throwing the stones off its body. Most of its fur had burned away, and its thick skin was scorched in several places. One of its horns had snapped in half, and its left leg was trapped beneath several large stones.

Even so, it was still alive.

I pointed my umbrella toward it.

"Isn’t it, big boy?"

Its red eyes locked onto me in fury.

"What’s wrong? Why are you so angry?"

"Did the great Noctis leave you speechless?!"

As the goat-headed giant struggled to free itself from the stones, I looked around. Some of the white creatures that had survived the explosion were getting back on their feet, while the horde outside the ruins continued advancing toward the courtyard.

There was no end to these creatures.

I let out a long sigh and ignored the goat-headed giant.

"You rest there for a while. I’m going to fuck your mother."

"Byeee, big boy."

I turned toward the stone altar in front of the temple.

The swollen heart was still beating inside the corpse’s chest.

All I had to do now was reach it and land one powerful blow.

I transformed Umbrella back into a spiked baseball bat and started running. After crushing the head of an injured creature blocking my path, I continued toward the altar.

Only a few meters remained between me and the Core.

I heard the rubble behind me explode.

The goat-headed giant had freed its leg from beneath the stones.

Without looking back, I increased my speed, but the creature’s heavy footsteps were approaching much faster than I had expected. Just as I took the final step toward the altar, an enormous hand closed around my ankle.

"What—"

The goat-headed creature grabbed my leg and pulled me backward.

My body rose into the air before slamming onto the ground on my back. The stone floor cracked beneath my armor, and as the air was forced from my lungs, a bloody cough racked my body.

The giant had clasped both hands above its head.

My eyes widened.

As its joined fists came down toward my chest, I rolled aside at the last moment. The blow struck where I had been lying and opened a large crater in the floor.

Stone fragments struck my face as I planted my right foot against the creature’s knee and pushed myself backward.

I transformed Umbrella into a long spear and aimed its sharp tip at the goat-headed monster’s chest.

The creature caught the spear in its palm before it could reach its body.

Cracking sounds came from the fingers squeezing the black shaft. A moment later, Umbrella’s spear form shattered inside its hand.

"You’ve got to be kidding me..."

The giant raised its fist and brought it down on me.

I transformed the remaining part of Umbrella into a spiked shield and blocked the attack. Although the black spikes tried to pierce the creature’s hand, they couldn’t break through its thick skin.

The force of the punch caved in the center of the shield.

As the black surface shattered, the impact traveling through my arm forced me onto my knees. My right arm was already broken, and now my left wrist had gone numb from blocking the blow.

I avoided the creature’s second attack by tilting my head to the side. Its fist passed only a few centimeters above my ear and scattered the pile of rubble behind me.

"You fucking son of a bitch, just how strong are you?!"

I jumped backward with all my strength and opened some distance between us.

The black explosion had completely destroyed several buildings. It had torn apart dozens of white creatures in a single attack, yet all it had done to this monster was burn its skin and break one of its horns.

I was beginning to doubt whether Umbrella could even pierce its skin.

Even if I destroyed the Overlap Core, there was no guarantee that the monsters inside would disappear immediately. Real Guardians could enter once the Overlap opened to the outside, but I had no idea how long it would take them to reach this place.

I couldn’t survive against this creature for several more minutes.

I looked into its red eyes.

The rest of its body was protected by thick muscle and tough skin, but its eyes couldn’t be just as durable. If I transformed Umbrella into a dagger and reached its brain through one of its eyes, I might have a chance to kill it.

The problem was that I wasn’t skilled enough to do that.

To reach the monster’s face, I would have to put my body directly at risk. If I made even the smallest mistake, it could crush my head with a single punch.

It attacked again before I had time to decide.

I ran to the side.

As the goat-headed giant chased me, it crushed the large stones beneath its feet and closed the distance between us with every step.

When one of the white creatures blocked my path, I brought the bat down on its face and knocked it aside. Even that brief delay was enough for the goat-headed giant to reach me.

It lowered its horns and charged.

I moved aside at the last moment and struck the side of its head with the spiked bat using all my strength.

The sound of the impact echoed throughout the courtyard.

A blow that could have shattered an ordinary white creature only made the goat-headed giant stagger a few steps. A thin line of blood ran from the base of its remaining horn as it turned its head toward me again.

"God..."

I transformed the bat into a spear and drove it into the center of the creature’s chest.

This time, the sharp tip managed to pierce its skin, but after moving only a few centimeters, it became trapped between the monster’s muscles.

I tried to spread Umbrella through its body. Black lines emerged from the tip of the spear and entered the wound, making the monster roar in pain.

It was working.

At least, that was what I thought.

The goat-headed giant tightened its chest muscles and trapped the black matter inside the spear, preventing it from moving. It then grabbed the weapon with both hands, forcibly pulled Umbrella from its chest, and shattered it.

It was too late for me to escape.

Its hard forehead struck the armor covering my face.

The headbutt launched me into the air, and my vision instantly blurred. Before I could hit the ground, the goat-headed giant caught up from behind and grabbed my face with one hand.

Its fingers closed around my head as it lifted me into the air.

"Let... go of me..."

It slammed me onto my back.

The stones shattered beneath my armor as blood sprayed from my mouth. My broken ribs were digging into my lungs again, and the ringing inside my head made it impossible to think.

The goat-headed giant stood over me.

As it prepared its next punch, my eyes instinctively searched its body for a weak point. Its horns, eyes, throat, and the small wound I had opened in its chest...

Then my gaze moved below its waist.

Two round shapes were visible among the black fur between its goat legs.

"..."

I stared silently for several seconds.

I didn’t want to do it.

More accurately, I thought I didn’t want to sink low enough to use an attack like that.

But when the goat-headed giant raised its fist, every trace of honor inside me disappeared.

I transformed Umbrella into a short, thick club and gripped it tightly with my left hand. Using all my strength, I swung the weapon between its legs.

The spiked club struck the exact center of its target.

The goat-headed giant’s entire body suddenly froze.

Its red eyes opened as wide as possible, but no sound came from its mouth. Its raised fist remained suspended in the air, and its legs closed together uncontrollably.

Several seconds later, a thin, pain-filled sound rose from its throat.

"It worked!"

I shouted in delight and rolled aside.

I knew how dishonorable my attack had been, but I was in no position to care. As long as I survived, I could think about my honor later.

As the goat-headed giant collapsed onto its knees, I transformed Umbrella into a black dagger.

I jumped to my feet, moved beside its head, and drove the blade into one of its red eyes.

The creature roared and tried to grab me.

I gripped the dagger’s handle with both hands and pressed forward with all my weight. The black blade passed through its eye socket and entered its skull.

I expanded the tip of Umbrella inside its brain.

The goat-headed giant’s roar suddenly stopped.

As its massive body toppled to the side, I pulled the dagger from its eye and jumped backward to avoid being trapped beneath it. When the creature’s head struck the stone floor, the light in its red eyes went out completely.

For a moment, I felt relieved.

Then every white creature in the area began screaming at the same time.

Instead of calming them down, the goat-headed giant’s death had driven them into a frenzy. The creatures on the walls, rooftops, and throughout the courtyard turned toward me and began running.

"Of course it wasn’t going to be that easy!"

I transformed Umbrella back into a spiked bat and ran toward the stone altar.

When the first creature lunged at me, I struck beneath its jaw with the bat and shattered its head. I knocked the second one down with my shoulder, stepped on its face, and continued forward.

Three creatures blocked my path at the same time.

I pierced the first with a spear and threw it into the second. After ducking beneath the third creature’s claws, I broke its leg and brought the bat down on its head.

The Core was only a few meters ahead of me.

I could hear the creatures behind me getting closer.

I jumped onto the stone altar and stood beside the swollen corpse. The enormous heart covered in black veins was beating wildly beneath the skin.

I gripped Umbrella with both hands and transformed it into a heavy sledgehammer.

"All of this is your fault!"

I brought the weapon down on the corpse’s chest with all my strength.

The swollen heart burst beneath the blow.

As the black veins went dark at once, dark liquid sprayed from the corpse’s chest. The Core shattered and scattered into purple lights.

The corpse’s back suddenly arched despite the fact that it should have been dead.

It raised its shattered head, opened its mouth, and released a terrible scream that made the entire valley tremble.

I nearly dropped the bat as I backed away in panic.

"FUCK! Is he alive?!"

Black smoke poured from the corpse’s mouth as its remaining teeth clattered uncontrollably against each other.

Without thinking, I raised the bat again.

I brought the second blow down on its head.

The already shattered skull slammed against the altar, completely destroying its mouth and jaw. The moment its scream stopped, the corpse’s entire body began collapsing rapidly.

A blue System notification appeared before my eyes.

[Overlap Cleared.]

[Calculating rewards...]

Normally, I should have shouted in joy the moment I saw that message.

I had survived and successfully cleared my first Overlap.

However, the white creatures around me still hadn’t disappeared.

Instead of killing them, destroying the Core had made them even more aggressive. Dozens surrounded the altar and approached me, releasing muffled screams from their open mouths.

I pushed the reward notification aside with my hand.

After transforming Umbrella back into a spiked baseball bat, I rested it against my left shoulder. Despite my broken ribs and the wounds covering my body, I smiled beneath my mask.

"Let’s finish this."