The Circulation’s Red Horse glares at me.
As the master of this place, he made an offer to those who wished to break the cycle.
He said he would provide a suitable reward, so just leave quietly.
But I did not accept his enticement.
I will not leave; instead, I plan to send him away from here.
Kugugugung!!
The earth quakes as the Red Horse, as large as a small mountain, charges straight towards me.
I pour the holy power into it, increasing its size while turning the hammer around.
“Ssseup.”
Kwahaaaaang─!!!
For a brief moment, the tremendous weight in my hand holding the hammer is overwhelming.
…!!
Puhihihihik!!
As a colossal shockwave erupts from its surface, the Red Horse loses its balance and falls backward.
With a thunderous boom that shakes the ground, fragments that made up the world scatter in all directions.
The strange power imbued in each fragment pours over here as well.
I immediately transformed the hammer into a spear and launched it.
Kwahgak! The fragments flying towards me disintegrate upon contact with the spear, protecting Jeoksa and Wind Rapid Blade behind me.
“Insane…”
“Stay back. I think the circulation stacks might apply to you as well.”
If you die, I can resurrect you, but I’m not sure how the 512-day resurrection wait time would apply.
In the 4th state, I could ignore those 512 days and resurrect you immediately, but right now…
“Well, who knows.”
I’m not so sure.
[Awesome]
[Hahahahahahahahahahaha]
[130 is about the same level as Sugarado, right?]
[Whoa!]
[Sugarado is stronger, though.]
[Iceman was level 140, so it seems similar to before awakening?]
[One hit KO, lol]
[Lily is seriously strong though.]
[If this is the 3rd state, how strong is the attacking 4th?]
[Resurrection time 512 days, lol]
I check the wrist holding the hammer.
It creaks slightly, but quickly recovers back to normal with holy power.
It looks like it has quite a mass, but in reality, it has even more mass than it appears.
Purruk.
It seems that the ‘circulation,’ a sort of collection of powers, has such a form that it possesses dozens of times the visible mass—
“Uht.”
Kwahaaak!!
Easily stepping back, a giant red spear embeds itself right where I was standing.
Not a spear. A horn.
Kwahaaaah!!!
The power of circulation surges, revealing hundreds, thousands of red horns in the air, emanating intense hostility.
Thousands of horns fill the sky, raining down towards me.
A rather familiar style of attack.
“Spears of the Rain.”
“Spear.”
Dozens of spears that appeared behind my back immediately flew into the air and split apart.
Dozens of spears quickly became hundreds, and hundreds of spears turned into thousands.
Thousands of spears intercepted the horns.
The Red Horse seemed to channel its power into the horns, but it was useless.
While the horns were only a few thousand, the spears endlessly split and aimed at the enemy.
Drip drip drip…!
Before long, all the horns had vanished, leaving only the pure white spears in the sky, surrounding the Red Horse.
…….
It seems I’m now ready to talk.
“Let’s have a conversation, Red Horse.”
Whoosh.
The Red Horse, having raised its body, glares at me with vigilant eyes.
It looks as if it’s perceiving a monster that is impossible to defeat, but I’m not in perfect condition either.
The spear of the pouring rain demands more holiness than I expected.
“Weren’t you looking for a friend?”
─……
“I’ll be your friend. A friend who shares your eternal life.”
[Friend?]
[Oh lol Let’s be friends]
[I was wondering why you weren’t choosing, and this is it?]
[Be my comrade]
[HAHAHAHAHA]
[Lily as a friend…? So jealous]
[Let’s be pals]
I lightly reached out my hand.
Then the Red Horse fluttered, seemingly mocking me, and soared high into the sky.
─How do you plan to do that?
The world trembles.
As if the very essence of this space was filled with a voice, the Red Horse responded for the first time in human language rather than a monstrous cry.
It sounds like a rough, ancient male voice, yet also like a gentle, young female voice.
Various sounds mingle together, indistinguishable by age or gender, resonating throughout the world.
The eyes of the Circulation’s Red Horse blaze red.
─It’s not such a light matter. Eternity, that is.
“Becoming friends is not a tough problem. If we get along, we’re friends.”
Even if it is the ruler of this place, the Red Horse that was just fighting me moments ago can be a friend.
Just like how I used to befriend many monsters by blending their souls into weapons.
[Huh]
[Seems difficult though]
[Why are you hitting, Lily?]
[HAHAHAHAHAHA]
[???: Making friends was the easiest part]
[What?]
[Extreme e-leaning Lily ;;]
[Friend (physically)]
─You underestimate the cycle.
With a rumbling voice, the world flips over.
The world is turning upside down.
It’s not a loop.
It’s a kind of illusion shown by the Red Horse.
The land is flipping, the mountains are flipping, and the sea is flipping.
Finally, as the sky turns upside down, the entire world plunges into darkness.
Ordinary beings cannot escape the eternity created by the Red Horse.
I felt as if my body was falling to the very end of the underground, and I was certain of that guy’s identity.
“A conceptual race. A special kind with eternity.”
A metamorphosis made of materials from the White Guardian that can accept both the holy and the demon.
A unicorn that can see the truth with eyes like a god, transcending dimensions and time.
Conceptual races are beings that possess god-like powers in a particular field.
They can see through all things in the world or possess wisdom higher than the upper and demon races.
However, their combat power is extremely low, so they have been killed countless times by the upper and demon races who look down on them.
“They are the only race that isn’t treated like bugs.”
Anyway, that Red Horse is a conceptual race with the power of eternity.
If he were an ordinary being, he would have fallen into eternity and lived a hamster wheel life.
─…!
Eternity is all too familiar.
Most conceptual races are close to immortality, and to the upper and demon races, it’s like a passive ability.
With a light step, the crumbled world returns, and before I knew it, I was on top of the Red Horse.
The Red Horse’s brows furrow.
─…What did you do?
“I just came up.”
I walked up.
─Did you go against the cycle?
“I just walked up, I said.”
[Hahahaha]
[Oh, you walked up]
[?]
[It looked so serious, but it’s nothing]
[Is it an illusion?]
[Alright, now be friends]
Unfortunately, the eternity held by the cycle cannot bind or distort me.
I already possess eternity.
I transform the spear back into a hammer.
─That’s nonsense…
“So, are we going to be friends or not?”
─…Eternity is absolute. You, who disrupt the cycle, are strong. Perhaps you might completely disrupt my cycle.
The power of the Red Horse rises again.
As he possesses eternity, he has cultivated and developed his abilities over a long time.
For him, the cycle is his identity, and everything that contradicts it must be excluded.
─The cycle must be eternal. I will lend you as much power as necessary, so don’t interfere and just get lost.
“No, it’s fine to cycle, let’s just be friends. It’s just a change of house.”
Does he dislike moving?
Is that so?
There are four friends living in the house I’m moving to, just like that guy.
All can become friends with the Red Horse.
“There are many friends like you. They’re all friends who live forever.”
─…Friends. I once wanted that.
“If you want, you can move─”
─But it’s meaningless. They will eventually die, and this place is my domain. I have no thoughts of leaving.
“Hmm…”
Stubborn, huh?
I checked the time for my transformation into the 4th phase.
[00:00:07]
Only 7 seconds left.
‘Once’ is enough time to open it.
“Then, would you like to take a look? If you come back and still don’t change your mind, I’ll just go back.”
─…Alright. Just know that nothing will change regardless of what you say.
■
“Now we’re friends, right?”
─That’s right.
“Let’s get along from now on.”
─Yes.
After a peaceful, comfortable, and atmospheric conversation, I was able to become friends with Circulation’s Red Horse.
It’s a happy ending.
[HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA]
[?]
[What did you do?]
[HAHAHAHAHAHA]
[Why did you become such a docile lamb?]
[???]
[Looks like someone’s a huge fan.]
[Lily disappeared and showed up again.]
[What’s going on?]
Riding the Red Horse, adorned with the semi-mythical item ‘Circulation’s Saddle’ I received as a reward for clearing the dungeon, I looked down at the Red Horse.
“I just had a little chat. With our professors, cute Sre, and the Spirit of Darkness.”
─……
“A lot of folks who’ve lived for a while gave various advice. I initially resisted, but gradually became sentimental, so I decided to stay. It’s a happy ending, right?”
─……
“Right?”
─Yes, yes! That’s right!
“He agrees.”
[HAHAHAHAHAHA]
[No matter how I look at it, someone seems like a big fan.]
[Hmm…]
[Mount +1]
[Professor +1]
“Especially Professor Lasty gave a lot of serious advice. Living alone like this can be lonely.”
─…That crazy blood monster…
The Red Horse muttered and shook its head in horror.
It was clear that Lasty must have done something serious, but she hadn’t really done much.
She just seemed to be trying to cast an illusion on me, and I merely showed her the horrors of her own hell.
It was nothing special.
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