The Author Reincarnated As An Extra
Chapter 56: • The Corruption of Aldus

Chapter 56: • The Corruption of Aldus

The river churned violently. Madly.

Varion, Sarah and Cestrel held on tight to their boat, praying the mad waves wouldn’t topple it over and send them into the water.

At that time, the Stone Sentinel had already regained its footing, water cascading from its rocky limbs. The mammoth moaned once again, shaking its massive head in defiance as the battlefield quaked under the World Shaker ability.

Elora barely managed to stay upright. She bent her body low, darting across the mammoth’s back, breathing in short, heavy bursts.

’That monster is so resilient!’ she said in her thoughts. ’If the Mammoth is unable to kill it, then I’m going to die for sure.’

The Sentinel locked onto her again, and without wasting a single second, it lifted its colossal sword and swung down with unstoppable force.

SWOOSH! — CRASH!

Elora twisted at the last moment, rolling out of the way and finding safety behind a rocky protrusion.

She lifted her hands to her face just in time to block the dust and debris that blasted on her. She had barely escaped the descending blade and that attack had carved another deep scar into the mammoth’s hide.

The beast wailed in agony, its trunk lashing wildly, disrupting the fighters clinging to its back.

"Elora!" Deremiah called to her. "You have to get back to the Pillar!"

She knew this, and so, before he even finished, her feet were already moving. Then, successfully dragging herself all the way to the center of the Mammoth’s skull, she raised her hand and yelled for the Sentinel.

The sword rose and sped down once again. Elora got out of the way, crashing on the hard ground as the magic of the Pillar shattered into bits, followed by rocks and grass.

"Now!" Deremiah’s voice rang out, urgent and commanding.

The participants quickly obeyed.

A barrage of magic, arrows, and raw Aether energy soared through the air once more, colliding with the Core Pillar on the mammoth’s skull.

The magical circle splintered under the onslaught and the rocks shattered deeper, exposing a large hole through the ground that led to profound darkness.

In great pain, the mammoth thrashed — desperate — its giant form shuddering as if trying to resist its fate. But the attacks kept coming.

Then, when a final, concentrated blast struck the Pillar... CRACK!

BLAST!

The structure collapsed in on itself, and a bright green light from the inside rose high above while the Pillar shattered into splinters of magical energy that rained upon the battlefield.

A surge of mist and debris erupted into the air, momentarily obscuring everything.

Then came the familiar voice of the Inquisitor.

[Congratulations, Participants]

[The Core Pillar has Fallen]

[A 15% Energy Refill has been granted]

The fighters let out victorious shouts, some slumping in exhaustion, others nodding in satisfaction.

Varion wiped his brow. "That’s two down."

Sarah glanced at Deremiah and then turned to Cestrel. "You are with that guy, right?"

Cestrel’s eyes widened. "Mhm? Yes. But... I’m not with him like that."

"Oh," Sarah appeared amused. "I didn’t mean it that way. I just thought you might know who he is."

Cestrel shook her head. "No," she replied. "He’s just a guy who saved my life."

Up on the Mammoth’s tusk, Deremiah glanced at his Status Cube.

[Void Reserves: 40% Refilled]

His fingers flexed slightly. ’Good. With that 30% refill added to my earlier 10%, I think I might just be able to do it.’

He looked at the Stone Sentinel with determination.

’The next Pillar is the Heart Pillar, but it’s going to be a problem.’ His gaze shifted to the Mammoth beast. ’Unlike the other Pillars, the Heart Pillar is positioned beneath the mammoth’s neck, nestled between the beast’s massive legs and its thick, armored trunk.’

This was going to be a major problem. How were they going to get the Sentinel to strike there?

The Heart Pillar was completely protected by the mammoth’s own body. If they were to use the Stone Sentinel to take it down, then it would have to outright battle the Mammoth.

But the Sentinel would never do that. It had no reason to attack the Mammoth, irrespective of everything. All it wanted was Elora.

Speaking of the Dawn Descendant, she was still moving across the mammoth’s back, dodging as the Sentinel continued its relentless attacks.

Deremiah clenched his jaw. They couldn’t leave this Trial without taking down that last Pillar. So... It was time for him to make his move.

His eyes snapped toward the Sentinel, still locked in its endless, unwavering assault against Elora.

"A corruption of this magnitude will need at least 35% of my Void energy," he calculated. "That might not sound like much, but since Void is stronger than Aether, 35% of Void is probably worth the same as 50% of Aether."

’I might be making a mistake by trying this out on such a large target rather than smaller ones first, but...’ His eyes narrowed and he suddenly leaped into the air from the tusk. ’Desperate times call for desperate measures.’

A gust of wind blasted past his coat as the battlefield watched in stunned silence.

As she jumped from rock to rock, Elora’s eyes flicked toward him. "What in the name of Dawn is he doing?"

Varion’s grip on his bow tightened. "What...?"

Deremiah landed directly onto the Stone Sentinel’s shoulder.

The colossal warrior paid him no mind, its sole focus still locked onto Elora.

Deremiah gritted his teeth, reaching for its ear to climb onto the head. ’That’s right. Ignore me. Just keep doing... ugh... what you’re doing.’

His fingers gripped onto the ear and he used it to pull his body up, placing his right leg on the ear lobe before his whole body was successfully dragged on top of the ear.

He held onto the jagged protrusions of the hair, then grabbed a part of Sentinel’s crown, climbing higher and higher.

Finally, once he was perched up on the center of its head, Deremiah came to a halt, panting hard as he collapsed to rest for a bit.

Everyone who wasn’t Elora, watched with disbelief. "What is he doing?"

Deremiah then got to his knees and spread his hands wide, fingers trembling with anticipation.

"You are an entity of diligence and purpose through and through. But you are worth more than a protector of a lost river. I can give you a greater purpose.’

"Serving me!" He instantly slammed both hands down.

"Corrupt!"

An explosion of purple energy erupted from his hands.

Then came the [Writhe of Command], surging outward like a living, pulsing entity, thick tendrils of Void energy slithering over the Sentinel’s stone skin.

The purple glow spread rapidly, like ink spilling across a page, covering the massive warrior from head to toe.

It was then the Sentinel realized what was happening. It froze mid-swing, blade hung in the air as it began to tremble.

Then — suddenly — it reacted.

For the first time, an outer force caused it to change its course of action.

The massive being shuddered violently, its limbs twitching as it fought back against the corruption. Even though its eyes were stone and emotionless, it burned with resistance, struggling to maintain its original directive.

It was fighting him.

But Deremiah only tightened his grip.

A deep, resonating roar filled the battlefield as he poured more Void energy into it, his reserves were running down madly but he continued, the Writhe surging deeper into the Sentinel’s very essence.

Purple light consumed the battlefield.

Gasps echoed, everyone shielded their faces as they watched in shock.

In time, the Sentinel’s struggles grew weaker, and the lavender corruption spread, covering every part of the stone warrior.

Slowly it lowered its arms, powerless to the energy of Void. Until the corruption was complete.

[Target has been corrupted.

The Stone Sentinel is now under your control]

The entire battlefield stilled. Silence was supreme. Tight, stiffening silence.

Deremiah exhaled sharply, releasing his grip.

Thankful that his Void Reserves had lasted through that, he stylishly slid down the Sentinel’s hulking body, and he landed smoothly onto a boat in the river.

Apart from that, there was still silence.

Everyone stared.

Varion’s fingers were still wrapped around his bowstring, but he hadn’t released.

Sarah’s lips were parted, eyes wide with disbelief.

Elora — who was finally catching her breath — had lost it once again.

"What... just happened?" someone whispered.

Deremiah looked up at the giant statue. It was now glowing a dark lavender color, but on its chest was a lighter purple, as though the beast now had a soul.

Deremiah’s eyes narrowed. "Do you accept this purpose?"

First, the Stone Sentinel was still. Then, it slowly dropped to one knee, and before the stunned audience...

It bowed.

Ding!

[You have gained a Corrupted Soldier]

[Insert Name]

Deremiah glanced at the notification before drifting his eyes toward the Sentinel which was now fully under his command.

’You remind me of the Gatekeeper I faced in the first Trial.’

The sad, stone-faced Gatekeeper who had taken his own life in disgrace.

Deremiah’s expression darkened.

"...Aldus," he whispered coldly. "In honor of that valiant knight, your name shall be Aldus."