Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 141: Endgame (8)

While Vyon was occupied, Riku and Arnold rushed to the sealed stone door.

"You did it. You tamed that monster," Arnold said, his eyes wide with a mixture of terror and awe.

"It won’t hold him for long. However, itt doesn’t need to," Riku said. He pulled out the Mysterious Key.

"Here goes nothing."

As he brought it near the keyhole-shaped lock, it pulsed with a brilliant white light. He inserted it.

The key dissolved into pure light that flowed into the dark red runes on the door. The runes hissed and sizzled, their corrupt energy being neutralized as if by a powerful acid. With a deep, grinding groan that shook the entire chamber, the ancient stone door slid open.

Inside, they found a horrifying sight. Suspended in the center of the chamber by thick, vein-like tendrils was a massive, pulsating, fleshy heart, the size of a carriage. It beat with a sickening thump-thump, and with each beat, a wave of red mist—pure Creep energy—was released into the air.

"By the gods..." Arnold breathed. "This is the source. It is reeking with the energy of the Creep, constantly pumping it out. How do we destroy it?"

"Let me try." Riku said as he got ready to cast a spell.

Giant Fireball [-100 Goodwill Points]

A huge fireball with shearing embers slowly formed, though not facing much resistance as Riku just channeled the mana from the tip of his fingers.

"Go"

The fireball soon reached the heart and covered it in a huge explosion.

BOOM!

"Did it work?" Clara asked with an anxious voice. Arnold also looked at the scene, holding his breath.

The smoke from the explosion slowly cleared, however the outcome doused all the excitement. The heart, just like normal, was still beating, covered in the Creep’s aura.

Riku had a new headache. How was he to destroy something which was completely unaffected by his magic?

"Riku, look closely!" Clara’s voice spoke in his mind. "The heart itself... it’s not made of the Creep’s energy. It’s a biological organ of some kind. The Creep is being generated by it, like a byproduct. Its natural defenses are against magical harm, but it might be weak to physical attacks!"

"What?"

Riku observed it and understood immediately. It’s vulnerable. Unlike Vyon and the giant, whose auras absorb magic, this thing is just an engine. A physical attack should work!

However, can I use Berserker King’s dance again? The energy of the creep is so thick. freēwēbnovel.com

Riku was running out of time. Though he was sure that the creep would lose its effect the moment the heart was shattered, it was a very risky gamble. If the creep completely took over Riku, he had no idea what would happen.

CRASH!

With a final, deafening roar, Vyon smashed through the last illusionary wall, stumbling back into the main chamber. His single red eye locked onto Riku standing before the exposed heart.

"NO!" Vyon screamed, realizing he’d been played. He launched himself across the chamber in a final, desperate charge to stop Riku.

No time. I hope that everything turns out okay. This is the only way.

Berserker King’s Dance [-2000 Goodwill points]

Riku started gathering his power, the air around him crackling with the same monstrous aura of a King once again as Riku’s mana circuits got sealed. However, this made him a direct target for the extensive Creep aura that was in the surroundings.

Ding!

[CRITICAL WARNING!]

[Foreign energy intrusion detected!]

[Host’s physical body is being corrupted! Creep energy is bypassing sealed mana circuits!]

[Berserker state is accelerating corruption! Immediate cessation recommended!]

[Current % infection: 51%...53%]

"STOP!" Vyon roared, lunging at Riku once again.

Riku, however, ignored the charging monster or the system’s warnings, focusing all his will on the heart. He lunged with his full force, aiming to take it down in one strike.

[Current % infection: 93%...96%]

"EXPLODE"

Maintaining his sanity through the sheer willpower and the rage of a Berserker King, Riku’s punch, fully empowered, hit the heart at full force.

PUCCHI!

With a disgusting explosion that echoed through the labyrinth, the beating heart shattered into a thousand pieces of flesh and blood, which spilled all over the entire cave.

Vyon, mid-lunge, watched in absolute horror as his source of power, his path to godhood, was obliterated before his very eyes.

"NOOO!"

--------------

While Riku battled with Vyon in the dark sump, the city of Luxia burned under the rampage of the Creep Giant.

At the forefront of the desperate defense was High Archon Seraphina.

A brilliant column of white-gold light—Riku’s Blessing of the Divine Champion—still enveloped her, making her a blazing beacon in the chaotic night. Her sword, wreathed in holy fire, cut through the smaller Creep-infested minions with ease, and her commands were sharp and clear, a rallying point for the terrified soldiers.

The Royal Guards and the knights of the Church had responded with speed, bolstered by Riku’s blessings. But it was a battle against a force of nature.

"Hold the line!" she roared, her voice amplified by the blessing. "Archers, focus fire on its eye! Priests, maintain the barrier! Do not let it advance past the Grand Promenade!"

For a while, it seemed to work. Bolstered by their new strength, the soldiers fought with renewed courage. They held off the endless tide of mutated creatures that poured from the alleyways, while Seraphina herself unleashed devastating blasts of light at the giant, forcing it back step by agonizing step.

But the battle was a losing one. The giant was relentless. Every wound she inflicted with her holy fire would sizzle and burn, only for the crimson veins to pulse and mend the flesh moments later. Its roars shattered buildings, and its clumsy, swinging arms leveled city blocks.

"This is pointless," Marquis Gregor said in frustration as he cut down a minion. The waves of attackers seemed to flow like a never-ending river. Every minion cut down would have two others that followed it.

Seraphina looked at the scene below, trouble showing in her eyes. She had to think of something fast.

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