Mythos Of Narcissus: Reborn As An NPC In A Horror VRMMO

Chapter 158: Holy Objects And The Abyssal Harbinger

"... I think I'm starting to hate fighting against a spectral-type Calamity Object that can influence our minds."

The giant 'weapon' it dragged trailed across the ground with a slow, dreadful scrape, carrying an aura that attempted to drain every ounce of courage from my body. I couldn't look away; it was as though its gaze was pressing straight into my mind, cracking it open, spilling out nightmares of endless pits and creeping shadows that swallowed everything whole.

The world around me dimmed, blurred by the thick smoke.

Every fiber in my being screamed to run, but my legs felt like lead as if they'd forgotten how to obey—but it was not enough to make me flee from my position.

At first, I thought that the others would be overwhelmed by this. That was, until I was reminded that I had the highest Psychic Sensitivity out of all of them by an enormous margin.

Yep, they will be fine.

"The Harbinger is entering our piece of land!" I shouted. "Everyone went to their positions except Naosi!"

""Yes, ma'am!""

"Kuzunoha, deploy the workshop and spew out as much wood and malleable material we have in the storage!"

"Order recognized~"

While they were guarding the perimeters, I started crafting like crazy.

My targeted object of creation: Cross.

"Should I make a giant one?"

The Harbinger's strength wavers when confronted with symbols of unyielding hope or light, but it didn't say what kind of symbol.

While not being the most devout follower of any religion, it was a well known fact that the cross is the principal symbol of the Christian religion, recalling the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ and the redeeming benefits of his Passion and death. The cross is thus a sign both of Christ himself and of the faith of Christians.

It symbolized love for humanity, faith, hope, sacrifice, and victory over death.

I started simple, carving out several large, wooden crosses. They were solid, unadorned, but unmistakably symbols of resistance and hope. As I worked, I could feel the rush of time closing in, but my hands moved faster still, each cross finished almost as soon as I began.

"Move them!" I commanded the nearby bastioneers. "Adorn our bastion with these holy objects!"

After making a good amount of crosses in all kinds of sizes and material, I started to change the product of my creation.

If the cross wouldn't be enough, I had to cover all my bases. I mentally cycled through every religion I could remember.

My fingers moved to form crescents, stars, lotuses, and even the Wheel of Dharma—I poured my focus into each one, ensuring the details were immaculate.

Their holy significance was more than just their shape—it was the belief behind them, the collective faith of millions, maybe billions, that had been poured into these symbols over centuries.

But it might not work on this occasion, or even in this world overall. Hence why, I referred to them as holy objects immediately—if the only belief that these objects possessed were my half-assed faith, then at least everyone in this bastion should believe that these objects were holy based on my acknowledgment and creation.

I had always been regarded as some sort of divine entity by some of them, after all—even though I'm far from something holy with all of the traditional sins I committed.

I felt a curious presence behind me and turned to see Naosi watching quietly. Her eyes were wide, a mix of awe and confusion. "Are these truly… holy objects, you're making?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yes," I replied, my hands never stopping. "Even if they are not holy objects in this world, they are one in different worlds and universes. Because they're not just mere objects. They're ideas, and ideas are powerful when acknowledged and pushed into realization."

Naosi nodded slowly, her gaze shifting between the growing collection of symbols and the horizon, where the Harbinger's dark form loomed larger with each passing second.

The Harbinger was starting to get close to the bastion now. Its form, once a distant blot on the horizon, had grown into a massive, spectral figure, towering over the landscape. Its eyes burned like molten coals, each one leaving a trail of scorched air in its wake as it moved. The thick, oppressive smoke that leaked from its form had already begun to creep toward the bastion, curling around the walls like the tendrils of some great, malevolent beast.

I could feel its presence pressing down on us, an overwhelming sense of dread that clawed at the edges of my mind. But I shook it off, focusing on my task.

With a final flourish, I crafted a massive, prismatic cross made of an amalgamation of materials—one that stood five meters tall.

I planted it into the ground at the center of the bastion with a satisfying thunk.

"This should do it," I muttered, stepping back to admire my work amidst the impending doom.

The rest of the bastioneers stood at the ready, their eyes fixed on the Harbinger as it approached.

The tension in the air was palpable, thick enough to cut with a knife. But we were ready.

The Harbinger stopped just outside the bastion's borders. Its massive, glowing eyes seemed to narrow as they swept over the crosses and other holy symbols that now adorned the walls and the ground.

For a moment, I thought I saw it hesitate.

Then, with a slow, deliberate motion, it raised its weapon—a twisted, nightmarish thing forged from shadows and fear—and let out a low, rumbling growl that reverberated through the air like a thunderstorm on the horizon.

"Attack!"

Starting from Verina—a firm ray of luminous energy was blasted off from the barrel of her lifeline-infused musket. Following it, were the barrage of projectiles that were imbued by enchantment that could damage the darn Harbinger.

The sudden flurry of attack managed to stagger the abyssal giant, preventing it from ever finishing its hurling toward the wall of our bastion.

And if that wasn't enough, Kuzunoha cast a spell that conjured a spiraling pillar of bluish, spectral, arcane flame below the Abyssal Harbinger.

The presence of the holy objects and the culmination of our every attack began to wear down the Abyssal Harbinger into a near-inactive level.

Just as it was about to shrink twice its normal size, a spectral arcane hand erupted from the ground and grabbed the misty existence of the Abyssal Harbinger—before compressing itself into the size of an apple and exploding into a bright luminescence light.

"We won…!" Yora said in disbelief.

"Let's go!" Kara shouted

"Alas, evil has been vanquished!" Lydia told herself in a prideful tone.

The rest of the bastioneers cheered their celebration. While it might not be the hardest one we fought yet, it was certainly one of the most dangerous ones.

After all, it needed solid interference from Kuzunoha, who had been bound to a contract that only allowed her to help in our fight for survival against the Ordeal if it was really a necessity.

So the fact that Kuzunoha needed to act as the one who did the final blow was telling enough that, if we didn't defeat the Abyssal Harbinger here and now, we would get heavily screwed.

"... Wait," Erika muttered in disbelief, as her eyes were latching toward the far horizon of the ever rearranging lands. "T-The Abyssal Harbinger! They are back!"