Chapter 800
Great Sin Card: King of the Wild Hunt
The lightning transformed into a beam, shattering the corrupted armor on Helchin’s back!
The splashing lightning, merely a beam as it left his body, then spread outwards. It transformed into a pair of large, bifurcated lightning wings—Helchin’s wings unfurled in an instant!
It had been less than three seconds since Alistair’s first charge.
The tips of both their lances remained embedded in the other’s body, frozen in this pose.
The downpour washed over them, bringing a sense of silence amidst the noise.
After a brief, yet seemingly long, silence, thunder rumbled from the sky.
The dim yellow on Helchin’s armor receded, and the storm raging within Alistair subsided.
He once again became a knight in silver armor, voluntarily dropping the broken halberd in his hand.
“…I lost.”
Helchin’s mask flipped upwards, his deep, echoing voice becoming clear and bright again. “Lightning destroyed my speed much faster than the storm tore you apart… If you and I were at the same energy level, I would have died earlier. And as long as I died, the storm would have stopped.”
Because he had no choice.
Helchin had only taught Eivass four techniques in total—two charges and two strikes.
Regarding strike techniques, there were only “Wrath of Thunder” and “Storm Strike.”
The former allowed the weapon to instantly unleash patches of high-temperature lightning, a very excellent burst attack and a ranged area damage that melee extraordinaries lacked; the latter could summon a storm during an attack, causing the enemy to lose balance and be unable to resist ranged attacks from afar, and the wind would grow stronger with each attack.
In Helchin’s opinion at the time, Eivass could basically deal with most enemies if he mastered these two techniques.
After all, Eivass, who was using Helchin’s body at the time, didn’t need the agile leaps, dodges, charges, and parries that a lizardman warrior like Origen required—he had Pegasus and didn’t need to worry about mobility.
As a result, the past Helchin had stumped himself.
Alistair seemed to have great resistance to lightning damage… so he could only use Storm Strike. Helchin, with his rich experience, chose the most logical combat method—piercing Alistair’s body and striking from within, thereby maximizing the effect of Storm Strike.
If Alistair had hesitated even slightly at that moment, she would have failed.
The lance was already embedded in Alistair’s body, and even if she transformed into a bat, she would have been directly swirled back and torn apart by the tornado. The best way to deal with the immortality of the Child of the Moon was control—even if Helchin couldn’t cast spells, he knew how to control the Child of the Moon.
But Alistair chose to fight a life-for-a-life battle!
She unleashed the more powerful “Wrath of Thunder” on herself first—at that moment, Helchin knew he had lost.
The rest was just him wanting to see if Alistair could still use Wrath of Thunder despite the pain of the approaching storm.
As Helchin surrendered, Alistair transformed back into a bat and reformed.
The blood energy on her body had become increasingly weak—a visible bluish-purple spiderweb appeared on her skin, and she was panting heavily. If she died one or two more times, she would probably die completely.
“…Your hand is really heavy, Helchin.”
Alistair complained.
For a moment, she thought she was going to die.
Because after she canceled the Lightning Halberd, her lightning affinity had already disappeared.
If Helchin hadn’t reacted and had continued to use “Wrath of Thunder,” Alistair would have likely turned to ashes at that time.
It was precisely because Helchin’s combat experience was rich enough and his reaction speed fast enough that Alistair won.
—It was like choosing to go all-in after laying down four cards that seemed to form a straight flush.
“This is my respect for you…”
Helchin paused and added the title, “Master. I remember the wager, and I will never break my oath.”
But in any case, the outcome was good.
It would have been impossible to persuade a pure warrior who fought to the death by other means. Even if he won, he might have chosen to obey out of politeness… Only through this method could Helchin truly be convinced.
Seeing the battle end, the Night Demon, who had been ready to go all along, finally breathed a sigh of relief and turned back into a crow. The blood rain in the sky also dissipated, leaving only a smaller, yet still considerable, downpour quietly washing over them.
Her feelings were complex—on one hand, she was happy for Alistair’s victory; on the other, she was jealous of having another new colleague.
Alistair rested in place for a while before commencing the sealing ritual.
—But it was slightly different from the original plan.
Originally, Alistair had assigned Helchin, the King of the Wild Hunt, to the Earth attribute.
Because at the time, Helchin looked like the World Boss of the past, a vengeful hero who was always roaring in anger. His armor was black, as heavy as the earth and as deep as the abyss. He himself was a ghost who followed the Twilight Path, affinity with the Earth attribute.
But now, Alistair had a new idea.
Helchin was indeed a ghost—
However, his personal will was now completely clear. He had also received the blessing of the Lord of Scales and Feathers, and the strength of a warrior. And his own combat style was that of storms and lightning… it was very much like the Gryphon Knights of Avalon.
—Although, in terms of causality, it should be said that the knights of Avalon were imitating Helchin. After all, the Knights of the Round Table led by Arthur respected the former hero Helchin. Helchin’s transformation from a vengeful spirit to the Wild Hunt was also related to Merlin’s ritual.
Considering this… perhaps Helchin was not suited for the Earth attribute, but more for the Wind attribute!
“Are you using Tarot Cards for your seal?”
Helchin leaned over and looked at Alistair, who was selecting cards. “I need two, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow—I don’t have enough mana left to seal you after fighting you.”
Alistair said casually, “You need one Tarot Card representing you, and then one representing a Pillar God that can suppress you.”
Saying that, she displayed the first card.
It was “Judgment” in its upright position.
The card depicted an angel blowing the horn of divine judgment, bringing salvation to the dead, even sinners’ souls had the possibility of redemption. This was the same as Helchin’s current situation as the King of the Wild Hunt.
This card predicted resurrection, recovery, reunion, and miracles of love—all good omens. It was also a celebration for Helchin, who had regained his sanity.
“As for the Pillar God to suppress you… I chose the Great Philosopher, and the Tarot Card is “The High Priest” in its upright position.”
It was a card that could awaken kindness, perfectly suited for Helchin, who had regained consciousness. At the same time, the High Priest was an interpreter of the unknown, possessing omniscient insight… and corresponding to the Emperor, they represented the rulers of the material and spiritual worlds respectively.
This perfectly corresponded to the relationship between Supreme Heaven and the Great Philosopher!
“See you tomorrow, Helchin.”
Alistair bid farewell to the King of the Wild Hunt.
She used horn powder and sapphire to infuse mana into these two cards. Then she went to Eagle Cape Village to stay for the night.
At dusk the next day, Alistair summoned Helchin again using the Lightning Halberd.
At this point, she had completed all the preparatory work for the ritual.
“I beseech the Great Philosopher, God of the sacred number four, God who sees truth, the silent God—”
“—Please watch over my spirit, make it ceaseless like a storm…”
“—I invoke the Fallen Heavenly Envoy!”
Alistair continued without pause, her voice echoing, “Heavenly Envoy of Great Sin, Fallen Heavenly Envoy!
“I have realized my sins—I willingly bear the brand of Wrath!”
The prayer, mistakenly interrupted, terminated on its own, but two distinct auras surged into Alistair’s hands!
The next moment, an eye opened violently in the dark clouds above her head.
A bolt of lightning struck Alistair directly!
At that instant, Alistair felt the world around her fall into complete silence.
Innumerable mysteries flowed before her eyes, the secrets of this world from its beginning to its end. Alistair’s eyes widened, but those things flowed through her mind like water through her fingers.
Nine black nails appeared from the void, accompanied by flashes of lightning, one by one, they struck Alistair’s head!
With each nail that fell, the knowledge flowing in Alistair’s heart decreased, as if the water level of a surging river had lowered. When all nine nails had fallen, she regained consciousness.
And she immediately began to call out to Helchin: “King of the Wild Hunt, Helchin Dragonflame!”
“I call your name now, and bestow upon you the brand of Wrath!
“My life is your life, my fate is your fate—
“—Obey me, Phantom Demon of the Twilight Path!”
As soon as she finished speaking, another bolt of lightning struck down!
This time, scenes of Helchin’s death before his demise flashed through Alistair’s mind.
She finally understood the full picture of Helchin’s past death:
—It was a despicable conspiracy and a shameful betrayal.
“Wildfire” Utgarðar-Loki laid a trap—he transformed into a human and lied to the humans in the survivor settlement, claiming to be one of them.
He claimed that “Helchin did protect the village for a while, but he couldn’t stay here forever. Once he left, the giants would immediately retaliate—and ‘his hometown’ had already been destroyed because of this. He was the only survivor.”
Then he incited the easily swayed people in the settlement to defect, promising them preferential treatment upon their return to their original forms. He swore in the name of Supreme Heaven that if they were willing to be loyal to the giants again, and as long as they did not betray again, the giants would not kill them, eat them, and would provide them with food.
These villagers, who had been slaves until recently, became timid and wavered. Then they succumbed and betrayed him.
Therefore, Utgarðar-Loki gave them poison, which the villagers were to put into the food of Helchin and his followers.
When Utgarðar-Loki returned, Helchin was already incapacitated.
He fought desperately, but still could not defeat the well-prepared Utgarðar-Loki.
They were all captured alive, and after torture, publicly beheaded.
Then, the giants threw the corpses of Helchin and all his followers into a large pot to be cooked. The blood flowing from the fresh corpses mixed with the dried corpses, stewed into a foul-smelling soup.
And the souls filled with resentment floated in that pot—the giant pot crafted by Supreme Heaven prevented their souls from transcending, from going to the Dream Realm, but rather submerged them into their own bones. At that time, their souls were still alive and had memories.
“Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Endless killing intent, anger, and hatred echoed in the pot.
Their flesh was eaten by the giants, celebrating the death of the troublesome opponent. And the humans who had betrayed Helchin were each served a bowl of soup—the hero’s soup that had once tried to save them, but whom they had betrayed. Each person’s bowl contained a head, this was Utgarðar-Loki’s promised “food”; and if they refused to eat, it would be “betrayal again.”
Some may have known about the betrayal and chose to remain silent; others disagreed from the very beginning. And more people were completely unaware of this matter—those who chose to betray for the sake of the village’s existence were pushed into deep pits by the angry people and stoned to death. Betrayers would also be betrayed by their own kind in the end.
And people tried to pick up the bones to help Helchin and his followers transcend and be buried. However, the seal of Supreme Heaven was not easily broken, and ordinary funerals could not help their wronged souls transcend.
These hero souls, soaked in anger and hatred, wandered in the wilderness at night, killing the humans they had once protected again.
—Until Merlin used the Wild Hunt transformation ritual, transforming Helchin and his followers into the Wild Hunt.
But even so, he was still angry. He should have had self-awareness, but the wisdom gained from the Wild Hunt contract could not suppress the unquenchable rage in his heart. He lived day after day, in a daze between life and death, almost forgetting who he was, yet not forgetting the hatred in his heart.
Until that Ascension Ritual.
He briefly became “Helchin” again, and finally remembered who he was.
Looking at himself in the photo, Alistair’s perspective overlapped with Helchin’s past perspective and then separated.
Looking at Helchin in the cabin looking at the photo, Alistair raised her right hand.
A large, horizontal black magic circle instantly formed on the ground, engulfing Helchin and rapidly rising upwards.
But when it reached its highest point, a Pegasus pattern appeared in the sky.
A sapphire blue circular mark was branded around the Pegasus pattern—then the magic circle began to collapse from the outermost ring, leaving only a blue ring about one meter in diameter.
Two brand new giant Tarot Cards, one above and one below, were slowly imprinted from the void, appearing above and below the ring. Sapphire blue lightning connected these two cards, as if some magnetic force was attracting them to move closer.
“Judgment” turned into “The Aeon,” where the angel blowing the horn became a triple body of overlapping light, shadow, and color. Symbolizing past life, present life, and afterlife.
And “The High Priest,” who raised his hands, kind and gentle, became somewhat frightening. Behind him was a mirror-like halo, and on his head, nine long nails with roses were about to pierce down. The throne behind him was made of elephants and cows, symbolizing a heavy burden. And beneath the giant High Priest, there was a small goddess, holding a bow in one hand and a sword in the other. In the center of the picture was a pentagram—a newborn baby was inside the pentagram.
Finally, as the two cards gradually formed and became clear, they slowly moved towards the center.
The moment the two cards tightly combined, they suddenly erupted with a brilliant flash of lightning—the illusion instantly shattered.
When Alistair opened her eyes again, she found a transparent card made of blue crystal slowly rotating in front of her. A Pegasus pattern was outlined on the card in dim yellow.
Alistair reached out and wrote Eivass’s name.
And its attributes immediately appeared.
[Great Sin: King of the Wild Hunt (The Aeon, The High Priest)]
[Level: 50 (Suppressed)]
[Twilight Path, Wind Attribute]
(End of Chapter)
