The monster settled down, watching Galthor, and soon it disappeared as if it wasn't there at all.
"Did it want me to think that it can't become visible when it's not moving? Why isn't it fighting me? Or had it already fought me?"
A lot of thoughts ran through Galthor's mind as he looked at the space where the cursed monster should have been. He briefly looked at his hand where he was clawed earlier, but it was already healed.
'...so no poison...'
'...Then what? Wait, what was I thinking about?...'
Galthor's face turned blank and he looked around him with mild confusion. For some reason, he couldn't think straight as his memories were getting muddled.
'...I am thinking about something. But I can't remember, a shame. Wait! What am I doing in this cave? Am I not in the hospital listening to the audio book of...'
Galthor lowered the axe he was holding, looking at it with deep confusion. "I... am Galthor? But I am Luki! Yes, that's what I am. Right? Then how do I have two memories? There's even more...?"
Indeed, the monster took hold of Galthor's mind the moment he stepped into the lair. Its power indeed messed with the mind but not in the normal way.
The cursed monster had the power of Defiance, and it used it skillfully. The first was to make Galthor deny its existence, and the other was to make him start denying himself by twisting his memories of himself into something else.
Obviously, the monster would lose its power over the mind the more it moved, but it didn't really need to do much when it could just watch and wait.
That was how it hunted. It was why the other faction in the Revolutionary base refused to fight it. Its power against the mind was just that dominating.
It would slowly work through the mind, its power digging and denying the 'self' that makes up a person until what remained was the will of the monster.
But today, the monster was in a hurry because of the tantalizing aroma it sniffed from Galthor when his blood was spilled.
It was the smell of the Divine.
And it awoke a hunger in the monster.
So, it sped things up.
Its power crashed into Galthor like the weight of a mountain. It made the air ripple and forced the barbarian to stagger, his hand going slack on his weapon as an invasive power dug into his mind.
The monster was so much in a hurry that it went directly into the root of Galthor's mind to start from there.
Down and down, ignoring the mental shields and attacks that the barbarian was putting up.
It kept digging.
Towards where the memories of a dead god were locked away.
Galthor was losing himself fast, and at the same time, he was trying to resist the vile thing from taking over his mind, but it was a losing battle.
But then something happened.
As the monster's will struck the very bottom of his mind, a slumbering gate of memory flinched away with a shattering roar. Galthor and the monster recoiled at the sight of what they saw before the door closed again.
It was just a glimpse, but Galthor's mind began reeling as if his soul was going to be extinguished by seeing something he shouldn't—something he didn't have enough power, not even close, to see.
It was much worse for the monster, as it was closer to the door of memories.
It let out a loud shriek, and then its mind collapsed.
Just like that, the dominating mind of the cursed monster was extinguished as if it were a candle not even worth noting.
Galthor shivered and trembled, his body covered in goosebumps. "What the...?"
He knew he carried the memories of the long-dead Barbarian God, but was it supposed to be like that? Just a glimpse and his mind was about to snap.
That... is the power of a god? Even a dead one?
And the memory is his. Just what type of power would he gain from it?
It was a terrible thing. And yet, it was something that made Galthor's blood light up with anticipation and excitement. His hands clenched unconsciously.
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. His heart was beating faster and his face was still filled with shock. "Calm down, damn it! You are a god as well!"
Galthor didn't really know the level of divinity that the dead Barbarian God had reached, but he knew the difference was like a candle and the sun.
But even then, they both had one thing in common—divinity, and an entire major race of potential worshippers.
After he calmed himself down, he straightened and finally turned to the monster. "Well then."
The monster was now fully visible and was lying on the ground twitching. The price for seeing what it should not have seen was having its mind wiped away. It wasn't even that the memories were trying to hurt it.
It was just that they were the memories of a god.
Galthor walked closer to it, his steps measured and cautious. Just because the monster was near death didn't mean he was going to let his guard down, not after he had witnessed the power of the cursed monster.
"I really was arrogant," Galthor said. He was lucky. If not for the god's memories, he would already be food for the monster.
Worse, he wouldn't even know when and how he was killed.
When he was sure the monster wasn't going to stand up anytime soon, Galthor exploded forward. His axe carved through the air and bit through the monster's neck in one chop.
Blood gushed through the air and it went still as its head detached.
Galthor looked at the war axe. "It is really a good weapon."
He was soon distracted when he saw a wisp of red light rise from the monster and enter into him.
And at the same time, he heard his own voice, familiar and solemn, whispering deep in his mind as if his consciousness was speaking to him.
[Divine Interface has awakened and recognized a new owner!]