The sound from beyond the crack seemed to tease Shia’s ears as if asking if she could hear it.
That voice calling her was so sweet and hopeful.
It felt like an old connection, one she thought she’d never meet again, was reaching out.
It seemed absurd, but it felt like another version of Yeonhwa from a different world had come along with a fragment of the Demon King, not a doppelganger.
If that’s the case…
Then it could be possible that Menelapie or Teresa might come to find me too…
“Unnie, unnie…!”
As Yeonhwa tried to warn her, Shia couldn’t help but move closer to the crack, her expression blank as she placed her hand on the fractured space.
Then, a hand suddenly shot out from there.
It was a familiar hand.
‘Could it be, Menelapie….?’
She spoke with hope.
It shouldn’t be possible…
She didn’t think it could be real…
It couldn’t be.
The face of someone she thought she would never see again flickered before her eyes.
It was a simple matter.
All she had to do was reach out.
If she could just grasp that hand… then perhaps…
Just a little more.
Just a bit more…
Crack!
“Ugh!?”
The moment she tried to grasp the hand, it seized Shia by the collar.
Caught off guard by the sudden situation, Shia gripped the firmly clenched hand.
There was no longer a need for that hand to search for support.
Shia tried to shake off the hand gripping her collar with all her might, but for some unknown reason, that hand wouldn’t budge at all.
‘What kind of strength…!’
Clack
Clack
“As a corpse… you held onto hope.”
The voice that echoed in Shia’s ear felt oddly familiar.
“Foolishly.”
It felt even more familiar.
“You dream of a dream you shouldn’t hold onto.”
That, of course… felt familiar enough.
“Remembering the warmth that should not be remembered.”
It was.
“I am.”
Isia.
It was her own voice.
“I am something that shouldn’t exist. I shouldn’t be here…”
With a voice identical to Shia’s, it crossed through the crack while wearing a thick smile.
Yet, despite having the same face as Shia, it was clear from the atmosphere and gaze that the two were separate entities.
The one that stepped out from the shattered crack had a beauty that could only be described as mesmerizing, yet it also appeared cruel at the same time.
“So… heh heh heh.”
Ah, how beautiful.
It was so lovely and captivating that… it resembled a flower with teeth that devours everything approaching it.
“You’re getting dragged out now.”
Licking the dark, dripping malice, it took a deep breath.
The fragment radiated one of the most primal and intense desires.
The Erosion Dungeon, which had already progressed over 120 percent into another world, was no longer a limited dimension called Earth. Instead, it had become a nexus of numerous dimensions, a point where it could be drawn into other worlds at any moment, and conversely could become countless parallel worlds.
Moreover, overlapping with the traits of the Witch of the Dark Star capable of granting miracles and wishes, the fragments of the Demon King spread something inward.
“Haahhh….”
Before long, it gently released its hold on Shia’s collar.
What emerged gazed at the scenery before it.
A frozen cityscape.
The reddened sky and the malice emanating from all around.
And…
The mouthwatering scent of humans.
“Still, it’s quite warm.”
“…..!”
Ah, how intoxicating….
It caressed its own cheek.
As if going mad with fondness,
As if it might die from happiness,
It smiled as though its brain were drenched in the delicious aroma.
Ah, ah.
This is why I can’t tolerate it.
“It’s delicious.”
It wet its lips with its tongue.
“That’s how hope is…”
A rotten, useless torture.
I know all too well.
Because I was once like that.
It strode, dripping flesh and blood.
“When I eat it all right in front of you… the expression of despair that follows.”
Blood splashed at its feet, and the remnants of those it had passed bubbled with hatred.
Carrying the remnants and blood, it caressed the ignorant beings with a loving touch.
“Heh, that’s the most dreadful and delicious of all….!”
“…”
Why that expression?
Ah, I forgot to introduce myself.
What a ridiculous face.
No, perhaps it’s an unpleasant expression.
I’ve seen such faces often, but I’ve since forgotten.
What kind of emotion was it again?
“In the name of the Dark Star, I declare. My name is Isia.”
CRACK
Vertebrae shatter and rejoin.
Tentacles wriggled out between broken bones and flesh, gnashing their toothy maws as they searched for prey.
Snap!
Crack!
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
Snap!
But some called it like this…
Those tentacles, just like Shia’s, gnawed fiercely and horrifically.
“The Saint of Fire and Steel. The Saint of the Dead. Mother of Corpses and…”
“The Witch of the Dark Star, Lirisia Alpenheim.”
Now then, did you earn that light of hope by protecting everyone?
I did not achieve any salvation, but gained the sin of despair.
You still have something to protect. I do not.
That is the only difference between us.
“Call me as you wish.”
Yet you remain there, just like I did before I lost my light.
Twisted in despair, still seeking your hope and salvation like a prisoner on death row wrapped tightly in the rotten noose of hope.
Yes, the saint shouts hope, manifests miracles, and sings of light.
“I came to hear of despair…”
I once was like that, too.
“There are only those who hold hope. Unaware of my arrival, merrily holding hands with each other amidst the looming threat, blissfully ignorant of what situation they’re in.”
That’s why this place is nice.
“There’s so much despair to consume.”
“…..”
At those words, Shia no longer dazed.
With wide eyes, she stepped forward as if to protect Yeonhwa and faced the other Isia, who looked identical to her without hesitation.
“You may be the saint who grows strong on hope… but I am not.”
Yet even with those words, Shia did not step back.
No, stepping back wasn’t even an option.
As the saint, she appeared in the most fallen form, so how could she step back?
Understanding Shia’s heart, Lirisia smiled wide.
“If you hold onto that rotten quality noose of hope, then…”
A black divine power, bolstered by physical force, materialized.
The filth and divine power mixed together in Lirisia’s hand became chaos.
Chaos that threatened to erupt at any moment.
Was it frustration? Anger?
Or perhaps trivial jealousy?
“Hold on until the end.”
Oh stars, please forgive me.
They know nothing.
CRACK!
I will become the shepherd leading these ignorant souls today.
[Flesh Miracle – Great Rupture]
Today, the light of this world shall fall!
○○○○○
Shia didn’t know everything about herself, but she thought she understood to some extent.
After more than 60 years of enduring all sorts of hellish situations from her previous world, even now she hadn’t fully grasped her divine powers, body, or miracles, yet she believed she was utilizing her body, abilities, and miracles quite well.
That was how she saved and rescued numerous people and successfully took down the Demon King.
Yet, the moment she saw that dark Saint of the Dead, Shia thought.
‘Ah, I’m totally done for.’
Not just done for.
Like, really done for.
Of all the numerous ways to be done for, this was one of the worst.
Seeing Yeonhwa, who had been devoured by the Demon King’s fragment in a parallel world, Shia braced herself for the worst-case scenario of running into Menelapie, Yeonseo, or Teresa, all of whom had also been consumed.
The one she most wanted to see was coming back in the worst possible form, and she had prepared herself for that.
But what…?
‘Me being the enemy? Even cliché games would get criticized for this level… Ugh, damn it…’
Shia was well aware of how capable she was, but she also knew the opposite side of the coin.
When you’re on their side, they are the most reassuring.
However, when they are your enemy, they are the most terrifying of all; that is the Saint of the Dead.
“Hah, hah…. ugh…”
Destruction settled down.
The buildings resembling a bustling cityscape were neatly cleaned away, and in the center stood Lirisia, with her black divine power undulating.
Hunter Association personnel had deployed drones to assess the dungeon situation, which had also been cleaned up.
She barely managed to block the destruction from reaching the shelter as Shia let out a sharp breath.
‘Hah… this greeting sure is intense.’
“Oh wow, impressive.”
The [Great Rupture] released from Lirisia, who introduced herself as the Witch of the Dark Star, was strikingly similar to Shia’s [Holy Body Destruction] miracle, yet its nature was completely opposite.
Malice and black, viscous divine power unleashed a physical shockwave that spread across a wide area like a nuclear bomb. Shia obstructed it with the Orphan’s Sanctuary.
She had indeed succeeded in blocking it.
The miracle of Great Rupture intended to obliterate not just Shia and Yeonhwa, but also the civilians hiding in the nearby shelters, yet it had stopped at merely erasing a few nearby buildings due to Shia’s miracle.
However…
“Cough…!”
As black blood surged from her throat, Shia frowned.
‘That hurts…’
The Orphan’s Sanctuary was neither an absolute invincible barrier nor a miracle.
It blocked destruction by having Shia’s divine power and body endure all impacts, and until now, she’d never encountered an attack with enough destructive force to put that kind of strain on her divine power and body.
Fortunately, the destructive force of the Great Rupture was immense, but perhaps it couldn’t be used consecutively; Lirisia wrapped up her black divine power and dusted off her hands.
“I tried to bestow you with despair that I couldn’t protect… but you held out better than I thought. Good for you. Really impressive.”
“Stop talking like you’re my mom.”
“Oh right. What can I do? My sincere sentiment is hard to control.”
“You talk too much.”
Clack
Shia, spitting out the rancid blood she’d held in her mouth, slowly walked toward Lirisia.
Lirisia gazed down at Shia with a gentle smile as she drew closer.
Snap!
Crack!
The tentacles emerging from Shia’s waist and those from Lirisia’s waist were gnashing their teeth, ready to bite each other at the slightest provocation.
The slightest trigger would cause them to clash instantaneously.
“……”
“Heh heh heh.”
Their heights were the same.
Their golden eyes too; even in this situation, the sturdiness of their divine power pouches was an amusing sight.
Ah, one had shining silver hair while the other had charred, faded color. That was another difference.
In any world, the body of the Saint of the Dead was rather appealing by even her standards.
If it weren’t for this situation, she might have even waved at that other self.
What were you like over there?
How were Menelapie and others faring?
Were they doing well?
Maybe we would have exchanged words to comfort each other.
But now…
Wham!
It wasn’t joy but a punch from a saint who was meant to eradicate a being deemed deserving of death.
The moment they faced each other, they understood.
They could not tolerate each other!
As Shia’s fist collided, Lirisia was sent flying back into a building, the tentacles extending from her back leisurely supporting her body as she regained her stance.
“Your punch is rather hard.”
“Oh, really!?”
Of course, Shia thought that this wouldn’t end there and charged straight at Lirisia.
Whoosh!
However, it seemed that she had intentionally taken the first hit as Lirisia gripped Shia’s fist, casually moving back while delivering a harsh kick to Shia’s thigh.
Anticipating that movement, Shia twisted her body to dodge the kick and aimed another punch toward Lirisia’s solar plexus with a whipping sound, that fist was caught again, and they both retreated and twisted to dodge attacks and counter again.
Thud!
Thump!
Crash!
In those brief moments, dozens of exchanges took place, and Shia realized.
They understood each other’s movements far too well.
Because they were the same.
As attacks were exchanged at unimaginable speeds, their bodies collided with a force greater than that of an average S-grade monster, yet the tide of battle did not easily tip to either side.
Even though they were from different worlds, at their core, they were the same entity, sharing similar combat styles.
But one thing was different.
“I wanted to talk more.”
It was experience.
Crack!
“Gah!”
Lirisia quickly dodged Shia’s punch meant for her face and bit down on Shia’s fist, fixing it in place.
She was far more accustomed to combat.
That wasn’t merely a brutal and bloody matter.
The Saint of the Dead knew better than Shia how cruel and merciless it could be when the Saint of the Dead did not hold the line.
“Ugh?!”
And with a speed that surpassed sonic, Lirisia’s tentacles were imbued with black divine power.
They writhed like separate living entities, skillfully guiding Shia’s fist while also restraining her.
“It was brought upon by yourself.”
Holding Shia’s fist in her mouth, Lirisia concentrated black divine power into her empty hand.
[Flesh Miracle]
“…!”
[Rupture]
Thud!!
Oh, she can’t fire consecutively… but it seems she can cast another one shortly after…!
An intangible physical shock slammed into Shia’s body, sending her flying through five buildings.
‘Ugh… this is tough…!’
It isn’t just tough.
Shia gritted her teeth in response to the powerful pain, one she hadn’t felt in ages.
Protected by divine power, her skin was tougher than steel, yet it boiled as if it had been devoured by the black divine power.
Even though Shia thought she had grown accustomed to pain, it felt as though she were experiencing her first scraped knee as a child, letting out a pained gasp.
After a while, Shia realized that she had been thrown back hundreds of meters and crashed deep into a building.
The charred skin, devoured by black divine power, quickly returned to its original fair state, but the lingering traces of destruction remained quite profound.
Rumbling..!!
Lifting her head, Shia recognized that the building she had collided with was literally collapsing from the foundation.
She had struck hard, much like a meteor.
‘Aah… if that collapses, it’s going to be difficult to get out…’
[Absolute Zero]
In that moment, Yeonhwa approached Shia, and the entire building froze solid, coming to a complete standstill.
Shatter!
Then, Yeonhwa swung her sword at the frozen giant structure, slicing it cleanly in half before landing in front of Shia.
It seemed easier to shatter it once frozen than being crushed by the debris of such a bulk, as the shards of ice crumbled like snowflakes, and Yeonhwa helped lift Shia back up.
“Unnie! Are you alright!?”
“Hah, I’m fine. I’m fine.”
This was the first time she felt real pain since returning to Earth, back when she was caught in Yeonseo’s space distortion, and now it hurt even more than back then.
“Get your act together, Unnie.”
“…..”
“Don’t fall apart and spiral into despair and sorrow just because you met another version of yourself from a different world.”
“…Right.”
In a surprisingly composed manner, Yeonhwa’s demeanor prompted Shia to smile lightly without realizing it.
Thanks to Yeonhwa’s words, Shia could sort her disoriented feelings somewhat.
Right, let’s set aside these chaotic emotions.
For now, they needed to bring down that crazy Witch of the Dark Star who was intent on killing them.
Clap, clap, clap
“Oh my, it seems you’re an unfamiliar face to me.”
Crawling between broken ruins like a spider, Lirisia appeared while laughing like a child at a circus.
At that sight, Yeonhwa, who was supporting Shia, felt her gaze grow colder.
“Well, you don’t seem to be a magician, being an ice user. Ah, could you be an elemental sorceress? The meat of an elemental sorceress varies based on the spirits they control…”
Crack!
In that instant, the ground where Yeonhwa stood split apart.
The ground, laced with cold, trembled with Yeonhwa’s emotions, shattering.
In an instant, Shia flinched at the murderous intent shooting through Yeonhwa.
‘Huh… Yeonhwa…?’
How dare you?
What, you, no… how dare someone like you claim to be Isia? Shia’s sister? Truly absurd.
“So what? I wanted to know your name. You don’t have a name to tell an old hag like me?”
“I won’t tell you anything, you old hag.”
“……………..”
At that moment, Lirisia’s face twitched slightly, but she quickly returned to her original gentle smile.
“Hah, don’t be so harsh. It’s just that the person I didn’t have is now in that girl, making me a little curious…”
“It’s jealousy, not curiosity.”
Her brow furrowed just a bit more, but Lirisia smiled again.
Smiling. Smiling.
“…..”
“And what about it? The Dark Star Saint? Must’ve really been a wannabe when you hit that middle-school syndrome hard. I’m honestly curious; how old are you?”
“…….Ha, you silly girl. I’m probably much older than you think…”
“Our Shia Unnie was assessed to be 21 in emotional age by the Association, but you seem to be just an old hag?! Wow, an old hag who blathered on about dying while being old and stuff; do you even know how pitiful that sounds?”
‘….Is Yeonhwa perhaps ashamed of that dead saint thing?’
But… it’s true… I am the Saint of the Dead… I really am…
Nah, it can’t be.
“And you, with that old hag title, flaunting your title of Dark Star Saint? You look like you just came from a different world and threw everything into chaos here; are you not embarrassed?”
“………”
Yeonhwa’s icy cold words stabbed like a dagger into Lirisia each time she spoke.
“Ugh, girl…”
“Stop calling me kid. I have no name to give you.”
Clang!
Yeonhwa unsheathed the icy sword imbued with her ability.
The cold radiating from the blade felt cooler than ever.
“And stop spouting nonsense with my Shia Unnie’s face. You’re just embarrassing, old hag.”
“Haha…”
Lirisia’s smile remained.
“Yes, it’s true. How good it is to have a friend. Here, I…”
However, the darkening of that smile was predestined.
“Then I must break you.”
○○○○○
After that, the fight continued.
Crash!
Thud!
[Flesh Miracle – Cutting]
Lirisia swung her index finger, and materials were slashed apart following its trajectory.
From the cut surface, black divine power spewed forth, and Yeonhwa moved quickly, freezing the path beneath her feet to reduce friction, allowing her to evade the attack.
[Flesh Miracle – Spiked Hell]
Focusing around Lirisia, flesh bulged outward, and spikes of bone emerged.
Fortunately, Yeonhwa froze the flesh and bones and shattered them, leaving Shia’s reinforced body unharmed.
“It was a pretty effective miracle when I killed humans in one go… but it seems useless against you, huh?”
Unlike Lirisia, who could freely unleash her extensive attacks and ruptures, Shia and Yeonhwa had significant penalties to contend with.
There were still countless people inside the shelter.
Even as they tried to limit the battlefield as much as possible, Lirisia’s destructive capacity, likely on par with or greater than Shia’s, was terrifying.
Shia knew that fear all too well.
One punch could demolish a building, and they must have thrown each other into one dozens of times now.
Yet Shia continued to rise undeterred. She took on attacks meant for Yeonhwa as best she could, and she tried to counterattack with ice and cold, yet with civilian lives at stake in the shelter, she could not unleash broad miracles or an avalanche of attacks as she normally would.
If she didn’t limit her power, it would lead to destruction reaching the shelter.
Even if that wasn’t the case, if she misdirected Lirisia and that mad being landed in the shelter or some other place where civilians hid…
That would mean she would be directly killing many people with her own hands.
“Haha, why so downcast? For someone who boasts so confidently, you seem hesitant. It looks like you have much to protect, huh?”
Lirisia understood that as well.
From the moment she had torn through dimensions to arrive here, she caught a whiff of countless savory human scents, and if she wished, she could evade the two and consume the residents at any moment.
She held no qualms about crossing that line.
She was insatiable in her greed and hunger.
Why would the Saint of Darkness starve herself?
Yet still, Lirisia stayed in this battle perhaps only out of interest in this version of Isia and Yeonhwa from this world.
Are you still holding on?
Did you think you could have everything while grasping that rotting noose of hope?
It was so laughable that I simply wanted to squish it!!!
[Flesh Miracle – Great Rupture]
Boom!!!
[Miracle – Orphan’s Sanctuary]
“Oh, flow….”
As the Dark Star shone brightly, once again a miracle of widespread destruction swept through the dungeon.
Shia had to receive all that impact through her body using the miracle of her sanctuary once more, and as she knelt on one knee, Yeonhwa’s ice surged toward Lirisia.
“It’s becoming boring now.”
Gah!
However, with one hand Lirisia shattered Yeonhwa’s ice, and the tentacles extending from her waist grasped Yeonhwa’s form beyond the icy barrier.
“Haah, haah, haah….”
“What are you doing?”
Barely overcoming the shock of the Great Rupture, Shia coughed up black blood as she raised her head.
“What are you doing? Aren’t you going to help me?”
“……..”
“Are you seriously stopping because someone’s taken an hostage?”
Suddenly, Lirisia had an enlightening realization.
The pitiful face of a Saint of the Dead, merely clinging to hope had never truly tasted despair, it seemed.
“Haha, really. I am quite foolish, aren’t I?”
So childish.
Grasping the life of a mere young girl, and yet hesitating to act?
Lirisia’s eyes turned pitch black.
“Stop moving, and you will die.”
“Will I only die? No, both of you will die. And soon the humans in the back will become a meat pile, too. You will lose everything.”
“My Emperor, my Witch, my subjects, even my fingers, everything, everything.”
“You feel precious for having someone taken hostage? You should be moving instead. You should’ve charged ahead instead of pondering. You should be acting instead of thinking. You should swear to strike down all those who dare to bring even a scratch to your precious ones…!”
“Your words ring true…”
“Ha…”
How absurdly weak you are.
You seem to have no idea what I’m saying, moaning just because an hostage is taken.
Is this truly what the version of me here is?
Is this the version I envied!?
So weak that it leaves me stunned.
So feeble that it makes me feel foolish.
It’s not even worth the expectation.
“Enough. You can stop now…”
“But you talk too much.”
“What?”
[Cryomancer Infection]
“Feel free to hug me. You old hag!”
Crack!
“…!”
At that moment, Lirisia’s body, which clutched Yeonhwa, began to freeze solid.
The chilling frost that exploded outward was almost self-destructive, causing Lirisia’s eyes to widen.
Being close under not just the influence of magic but nearly elemental raw nature meant her resistance, imbued by her divine power, had its limits.
There was no time to respond or even detach her frozen limbs.
She had been caught far too closely under the guise of taking an hostage.
Naturally, Lirisia would have resisted with her black divine power under normal circumstances, and the ice wouldn’t have inflicted a critical blow.
The divine power of the Witch of the Dark Star would have protected her body perfectly, and Yeonhwa’s ice would barely stick to her skin.
Yet Yeonhwa possessed powerful freezing capabilities enough to make her an S-grade Hunter, and in her vulnerable, unguarded state of focusing solely on Shia, Lirisia never expected Yeonhwa would recover and act this rapidly.
And also…
It wasn’t only Lirisia who suffered.
Even Yeonhwa, with her full capabilities unleashed, was frozen alongside Lirisia.
‘You’re actually freezing yourself just to freeze me…!’
Being a cryomancer does not mean one is entirely immune from their own ice.
Normally, one would consciously control their abilities to ensure no harm would befall their own bodies or self-inflict injuries from freezing. Yet here, Yeonhwa completely encased both herself and her limbs.
That act of sacrifice most likely stemmed from…
[Miracle – King’s Scepter of the Dead]
Yes, it must have been her.
It must be that other version!
That must be Isia!
The Saint of the Dead!
She believed in Isia to the point that this icy girl unleashed abilities that resembled self-destructive tendencies.
‘…!’
Boom!!
Shia gripped the mace summoned by miracle tightly and charged ahead.
What she initially believed was a stance of having kneeled down in defeat was merely preparing herself to launch at maximum speed as she dashed toward Lirisia.
In this moment, Shia’s ability to attack was greatly restricted due to the lives of civilians.
Neither widespread miracles nor Holy Body Destruction nor any other attacks could be executed either.
In this circumstance, the most destructive attack she could unleash was using the King’s Scepter of the Dead, which she had used to slay the Demon King.
“Best aim for the head!!!”
CRACK!!
Shia released all her pent-up emotions as the mace came crashing down right in front of the frozen Lirisia.
Five seconds.
The time it would take to free her frozen form.
It took Shia only a second to summon the King’s Scepter of the Dead.
It only took her two seconds to reach Lirisia, destroying the ground around.
That left a time frame of two seconds.
Shrouded in gleaming black divine power, she struggled to break free from frost, but those remaining two seconds were more than enough time for Shia.
Time to completely smash that wicked Witch of the Dark Star’s skull!
Do you know how disappointed I was when you showed up instead of Menelapie or Teresa?!
