Chapter: 187
All senses except sight were blocked. I took steps without touch, relying only on balance, and I had removed even the pain that constrained my actions.
Without hearing, there was no noise. The last sound I heard was that being’s howling, one that tore through the earth, so perhaps it was for the best. The pain from that howl had also disappeared.
The tingling sensation in my skin faded away too. I was finally free from the pressure caused by its presence.
Facing an immortal with a mortal body had always been this way. Removing the inadequate things, sacrificing the unnecessary ones, taking just one step forward.
One step forward.
In this moment, someone who has put down all unnecessary things becomes a dagger. A dagger meant solely to pierce the heart of the divine.
I know that dagger. Ivan still remembers it. Though the scenery and the situation were different, he knew of the daggers that advanced to confront such beings.
There are none now.
That fact causes irrational pain. Since I had removed all senses of pain, this was phantom pain. Yes, this phantom pain had long been something I was used to enduring.
So it’s alright.
Ivan swung his axe down once again.
It was a senseless strike, one that a typical swordsman could never perfect. The weight at my fingertips, the sense of balance at my toes—those sensations had been removed.
It was solely about perfectly mimicking the posture of that day which I remembered so clearly.
Since it wasn’t my own martial art, instincts were unnecessary. Only logic. Walking perfectly in imitation of another’s technique as if I were taking a photograph of it.
The angle of my arm was 87 degrees at the start. My wrist extended at 110 degrees. The weight distribution from my index to my ring finger was 1:1:1:2. The direction was perfectly along the midline.
Crack.
My broken right arm screamed out. But still, it was okay. Because I couldn’t hear it.
I couldn’t feel it. Pain wasn’t a necessary factor for this strike I was mimicking right now.
Once again, I pushed my right foot 23 cm forward. I loaded my weight onto my toes and lifted my heel slightly to face forward.
The posture I envisioned was that of an arrow being shot.
An arrow shot towards the sky, tearing through dark clouds. Thus, at last, wishing for the morning star—a beam of light shining through the darkness of that night sky.
When the weight distribution became perfect, in that fleeting moment, I aligned the flow of mana.
One strike.
Boom—!!
The strike shot straight out, cutting through the pillar. Every fragment that broke off was larger than a human body. Eyes and ice scattered, and when the silhouette finally reappeared—
“About 1%… perhaps.”
In comparison to that massive body, it was no more than a fingernail’s worth. Just a mere scar that had formed. The enormous, tree-like being began to twist its body toward me.
The surrounding eyes shattered in an instant. My body was pushed back two steps.
Did it roar?
Even though I had blocked my hearing, that didn’t mean my hearing was completely lost. I had only severed the nerves that perceived sound, while my eardrums and sensory organs still existed outside my perception.
So, perhaps if I had faced such noise directly, I might have lost my hearing.
In front of my eyes, it blazed red for a moment. Blood tears flowed, momentarily blocking my vision. I quickly wiped them away and regained my stance.
It’s coming.
I quickly kicked off the ground and twisted my body. A small branch stretched out and struck the spot where Ivan had been standing. The atmosphere around it froze, revealing a pouring spectacle.
All kinds of spells scattered like fragments. Thunder, flames, cold—occasionally explosions, and at times, powerful telekinesis.
All manner of spells used by the elven factions surged indiscriminately from the movement of that small branch. That branch was three times larger than a human.
Had it been three days? Since Elpheira had escaped from this place.
I could count time down to the second, but that made it all the more bizarre. Even if this space was the king’s den of the Seven Dragon Lords, twisting typical ‘space-time,’ it was strange.
Hunger, thirst, and mana exhaustion were now gone.
I dodged attacks by running ceaselessly, pouring all the mana from my body into a strike, with no loss of energy.
No, rather…
It felt like the more I fought, the stronger my power returned.
With every strike I delivered, a surge of vitality coursed through my body. I felt no fatigue even without sleep, and though my entire body screamed in pain, my movements were unimpeded.
A well-trained agent knows how to quantitatively assess their physical capabilities. The body is the most reliable tool to guarantee minimum performance.
And Ivan was a very well-trained agent. Thus, he understood more precisely than anyone what his body could and couldn’t do.
From that perspective, maintaining this level of combat endurance was beyond expectation.
And the hazy afterimage that flickered at the edge of my vision.
Having grown more distinct over the past few days, the afterimage now began to take on the silhouette of a person, which irritated Ivan to the point that he finally turned his head.
“Finally, you’re looking at me. I’m a bit hurt.”
A familiar voice reached out from the afterimage. Ivan quickly wiped away the blood from his eyes and turned his head again.
It was a situation where he shouldn’t be able to hear anything. That being’s howls were still echoing, yet amidst the silence he had created, the voice came through clearly.
“Oh dear, am I being ignored again?”
“Veolgrin.”
“Indeed, our scout. How have you been?”
“Dead?”
“Me? Or you?”
“Stop the wordplay.”
At Ivan’s words, the silhouette swayed. It seemed as if it was smiling. That troublesome thing. Ivan grumbled as he leaped sideways again.
A deep furrow formed where he jumped. Telekinesis twisted the ground underneath.
It was growing increasingly adept at using magic. That being was like a newborn creature. Terrified and chaotic, it was rampaging without even knowing what it was capable of.
It was becoming sharper, more precise. That meant it was gradually realizing its own power.
How much time had I bought?
Had Elpheira succeeded in escaping?
Had she managed to rally the elves?
Had the other agents retreated safely?
Was this enough?
It might be better to hold out a little longer. My arms and legs were still moving. Thankfully.
At least until that thing moved more efficiently.
“You’re alive. Dying, but alive. I am the same. Dying and living at the same time.”
“And the elves?”
“Five out of twelve factions have gathered. The other seven are conserving their strength to amass troops. Once this situation is over, a civil war will break out. Those who conserved their strength will emerge victorious, and the elves will be formed into the council of the seven factions.”
Even if I win this battle, even if I defeat the monster in front of me, even if I manage to thwart the seven deadly sins that have finally arrived in Kalion, victory will be elusive.
At Veolgrin’s words, Ivan unknowingly smiled.
The hero party that was discarded after eliminating the Seven Dragon Lords and the Demon King looked exactly like that. In the end, weren’t elves just like humans?
“I wanted to apologize to you.”
“Go ahead.”
“Oh dear, aren’t you going to ask why?”
“I’m not interested.”
Veolgrin smiled wryly at Ivan’s response. For he was someone who knew that apologies do not resolve anything.
If one has made a mistake, an apology is merely a regret for something that has already passed. What is required is prevention of recurrence or resolution of the situation. Nothing more.
Thus, Ivan was uninterested in anyone’s apology. He only cared about handling what had occurred. He was an extraordinarily efficient man.
“I drew you into this place. To peril. Before the eyes of the Seven Dragon Lords. I’m sorry. One might say that all the hardships you’ve faced, I ultimately caused them.”
“What’s the solution?”
“What?”
“If you needed me, then say for me to kill that thing. I cannot deal with it with my own power, so tell me the solution.”
Still uninterested in apologies.
Veolgrin briefly lowered his head. After a moment, he spoke calmly.
“I had Patricia’s help. Everything in this world can be reproduced by magic; wouldn’t divine power be no exception?”
“And?”
“I confirmed that divine power could be reproduced. However, mages originally should consider not possibility but usability.”
“Conclusion.”
“Divine power is merely a fragment bestowed by the gods. Compared to the real gods, it is vastly insufficient and a trivial strength, but its origin lies with the gods, doesn’t it?”
“Conclusion.”
Ivan pressed for more, and Veolgrin smiled wryly as he spoke.
“If divine power can be created by magic, and divine power is a fragment of the gods, then according to the syllogism, it would mean that one could conjure the gods through magic, wouldn’t it?”
So it means you created a god.
As Ivan gestured toward the distant monster, Veolgrin shook his head and reached out toward Ivan.
“Your soul’s structure has been twisted.”