Chapter 271 – Catastrophe – 1

“Are you sure, Goddess?”

“Yes. I’ve checked it hundreds of times. The broken dimension outside is twisting only in specific areas, and that twist is rapidly approaching here. That means one thing. The only thing existing outside this world is the Immortal Centipede and nothing else.”

I marched down the hallway of the Imperial Palace, gritting my teeth. It was a very bad omen. The difference between me going after that guy and him coming after me was as vast as heaven and earth.

The last fight was in Eclipse’s world, so it ended with just me getting hurt. If the Creature that Devours the World comes here, I should worry about the continent being destroyed before worrying about winning or losing.

“If he’s coming here, it means the Recovery of the wounds is done. No matter how much he’s burning with a desire for revenge, he won’t let it happen twice.”

“…Yes. I think so too.”

A small Light Mass hovering beside me responded in a creeping voice. Perhaps unable to maintain its form as the Sun and Moon for too long, it had shrunk to a fraction of its size.

“By the way, where are you heading now?”

“To the Mage Tower.”

“The Mage Tower? Why there…”

“Why else? Don’t you remember the gimmick the Goddess put in Brightest Darkness 4?”

In Brightest Darkness 4, there were two gimmicks that had to be solved to fight the boss, the Creature that Devours the World.

One was to extinguish the invincible essential protecting his body, and the other was to seal his flight.

But the former was no longer needed. He wouldn’t leave his weakness exposed in this world like a game, and even if I couldn’t deal damage with a one-sided weapon, I could just use True Death.

I decided not to think about the possibility of the Creature that Devours the World becoming resistant to True Death or not being affected at all. If that happened, it would be hopeless anyway.

‘The method of using the Draconic Language is still a bit vague.’

The second gimmick, even I, who thought of the plan, wasn’t entirely sure about it. It was questionable whether a being overwhelming the Creator God of this world would be limited by the world’s laws.

‘Still, I have to try as much as I can. I can’t just sit still.’

Whether it works or not doesn’t matter. I must use everything I can.

Especially if he’s not as arrogant and careless as before, but filled with rage and trying his best to kill me.

“Parnari! Are you in here?”

As soon as I entered the Mage Tower, I erased all the perceptions of the mages with the power of Eclipse and headed for Parnari. Parnari’s room was directly below Minerva’s, so it was easy to find.

Parnari, who was sitting at her desk and groaning, looked at me with wide eyes.

“You came looking for me first, how unusual.”

“What were you doing?”

I glanced at the notebook on Parnari’s desk. Even at a glance, it was filled with incredibly complex equations.

“Oh, this? It’s nothing much. Just studying magic to cool my head. I do it whenever I have time, so you don’t have to worry about interrupting me. What brings you here?”

Studying magic to cool her head didn’t make sense to me, but I decided to let it go. This level of studying to cool off in the Mage Tower seemed quite normal.

“I came to ask how far you’ve progressed on the Draconic Language we talked about last time. There’s not much time left.”

“…Well.”

At my words, Parnari hesitated.

“It’s almost completed, but there’s a problem.”

“What kind of problem?”

“We’re missing the last word.”

“The last word…?”

“Um, I think it’d be faster to show you directly. Come this way.”

Parnari opened her workshop door and stepped inside. Her workshop was quite large, comparable to Minerva’s, but much simpler.

Parnari picked one of the target boards lined up on one wall and placed it nearby.

“Just like you asked, it’s a Draconic Language that can create the laws of the world and enforce them by your will. Watch closely.”

Her crimson lips fluttered. Waves generated by the vibrations of her vocal cords flowed out with her breath. The wave became a word filled with power, and the powerful word swallowed the target board.

The target board engulfed by the Draconic Language floated into the air.

“I created the laws of the world to make it rise into the air, then forcibly imposed them on the target board. Up to this point, I succeeded.”

“Then isn’t it already complete?”

As soon as I said that, the floating target board plummeted to the ground.

“As you can see, the duration is too short.”

Parnari frowned.

“If it were a Draconic Language for other purposes, I would have been satisfied here. But, you’re going to use it on an enormous dragon, right?”

“…That’s correct.”

“You said it was the size of a small mountain, so with this duration, it would have no significance for him. And a dragon wouldn’t fall for the same Draconic Language twice. Worst-case scenario…”

“So you mean it could be used?”

“Exactly. To resolve this, I would need at least a month… but you said there’s no time, right?”

“Yes. He’s already at the gates. He’s just about to arrive in this world.”

“I see.”

Parnari sighed deeply.

“I understand that the situation is grim. I know it needs to be dealt with urgently. But I can’t do anything beyond this point. It’s my first time creating a Draconic Language that enforces the laws of the world.”

“Do you know exactly what part is the problem?”

“There’s too little to distinguish right from wrong. I have to carve out all realms on my own, and judging whether the realms I’ve created are correct is up to me alone. Even if I come up with a way to improve the Draconic Language, I can’t tell if it’s the right direction or the wrong direction.”

ㅡI can help with that.

Suddenly, the Sun and Moon rose in the workshop. Parnari’s eyes widened at the sight of the celestial bodies appearing as if they had descended from the sky.

It was puzzling why they chose to show up so suddenly, but I decided to remain quiet. Surely, she must have a reason.

ㅡO ancient dragon, I seek your answer. If you could witness the process of creating the laws of the world, could you complete the Draconic Language for this individual?

Eclipse’s voice echoed softly, like a voice speaking inside a cave. She truly resembled a goddess overflowing with holiness.

‘Well, she’s technically a goddess, so it makes sense.’

My experiences of Eclipse were generally quite far from holiness, as her usual demeanor tended to be more of a somewhat absent-minded woman.

Whatever she might think of herself.

“Uh… um? Y-yes, if there’s a clear standard, I can judge right from wrong…”

The overwhelming amount of light and holiness seemed to force Parnari to speak in honorifics, as she stumbled over her words, mixing informal and formal speech.

ㅡThen, behold.

The Sun and Moon gleamed brightly. Then Parnari’s body floated into the air. It seemed to be her first time floating in human form, as her limbs flailed about.

ㅡI changed the laws of the world for you. Do you understand now?

“I-I understand! Since I now—”

Before she could finish that sentence, her feet touched the ground. After stumbling a bit, Parnari managed to regain her balance and took a deep breath.

The Sun and Moon, which had shone brightly enough to light the workshop, gradually dimmed. I approached Parnari.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yeah. I guess…?”

“You seemed quite shaken. What exactly did you feel?”

“To touch the ground, I felt like I had to ‘fly’ towards it. No, it was much more complex than that… I don’t know how to express it with human language. I also don’t know how to express it with the Draconic Language.”

Parnari held my hand and straightened her back as she glanced around. It seemed she was looking for the Sun and Moon that had just appeared. However, Eclipse had already settled near my shoulder.

“Um, what was that just now?”

“That was the god of the Holy Kingdom.”

“A god?! A god appeared before me?!”

“There’s no need to make such a fuss, Parnari. When you see it in person, it doesn’t feel divine at all. It actually feels a bit shabby. It’s all just an illusion.”

“……”

Eclipse didn’t provide any rebuttal. Perhaps she couldn’t.

Parnari, who didn’t understand the full context, looked puzzled at my description of the shabby goddess.

“…I get it. Now that I have a standard from that, I’ll try again.”

The confusion was brief. With her eyes closed, Parnari began to mumble incomprehensible words. They were contradictory and peculiar words that seemed understandable yet hard to grasp.

Instead of attempting to interpret Parnari’s mumbling, I subtly asked Eclipse.

“What did you just do?”

“I performed the same action you intended to perform. I am the one who created the laws of this world, so naturally, I can overturn those laws within a local scope.”

“So wouldn’t it have been possible for you, Goddess, to prevent that guy from flying instead of me using the Draconic Language?”

“I’ve tried several times, but it has all ended in failure.”

Eclipse’s voice gradually faded.

“However, the Draconic Language you’ll use could be different. I failed, but you have wounded its essence.”

“……”

From the way her voice dropped, it seemed even she wasn’t entirely confident in that statement. Considering it was related to the Creature that Devours the World, it was only natural that she couldn’t foresee the outcome.

“It’s done. The Draconic Language.”

Parnari opened her eyes shortly after.

“So quick?”

“Yeah. It was easy since I could distinguish right from wrong. But I need your help for the last one. Is that alright?”

“Of course! What is it?”

“Right now, we’re left with just the last stroke of the Draconic Language. It’s about embedding the law you desire. You need to add that last stroke, meaning you have to put the law of the world into the Draconic Language.”

“How do I do that?”

I quietly left the Mage Tower. The mages there were completely oblivious to my presence.

“Do you think you’ll be able to succeed?”

“Well, I’m not sure.”

This wasn’t a joke; I genuinely didn’t know. In the past, I could just keep pushing onwards because I had infinite lives, but now that’s not possible.

“That’s okay. I believe in you. I believe in you, who has always pulled hope from despair and turned the impossible into the possible. I’m sure you can do it this time too.”

“Well, we’ll see about that. How much longer do we have until he arrives?”

“In a broken world, the concept of time doesn’t exist, so I can’t say for sure. But if I calculate the speed of the distortion approaching… There may not even be a full hour left. It could come sooner or slower.”

“So that means that’s the last time we have.”

The taste in my mouth became slightly bitter. I hadn’t regained my memories of Brightest Darkness 1 yet. I wasn’t in full condition while he was in full condition and even had revenge burning inside him.

Last time, the Creature that Devours the World had been mired in arrogance, so I took advantage of that opening, but this time?

“Having a bit of time left is good. Before he arrives, I’ll return to the Reality and—”

While I was speaking, the surroundings were drenched in red. It looked as if a red filter had been placed over everything. I stopped mid-sentence and looked up at the sky.

“……”

And I stared in silence, horrified.

The sky was covered in a deep red color reminiscent of the Creature that Devours the World’s eyes.

This color was absolutely not one that should appear just yet. After all, it was said that there was still about an hour left before he showed up.

“…So, about why the sky looks like that, is it because of the reason I’m currently thinking?”

“Yes… it seems so…”

“Didn’t you say it was definitely a full hour left?”

“It was just a moment ago, but… I don’t know. I’m sorry…”

Eclipse repeatedly apologized in a voice that was almost on the verge of tears.

I comforted Eclipse and took out the Immortal weapon. It had arrived earlier than expected, but ultimately it was a result that had to come.

The sky stained in red.

This was the phenomenon that would appear during the boss battle against the Creature that Devours the World in Brightest Darkness 4.