Yena was confident.
With the change in her race, she received teachings from Myeosin, a being with powers surpassing that of an advanced World Boss, and she had acquired not one, but two mythical weapons she had longed for.
Additionally, she was currently in a situation where she had even received the power of That Guy Uncle to complete this quest.
At this point, Yena felt she had no fear of any user.
Even if the being before her was Leo or the Sword Saint, she was sure she could clear the quest.
The problem was…
“Kyahhh!”
The Heavenly Horse was no longer the Heavenly Horse of the past.
■
[Yena??]
[??????]
[What?]
[True Heavenly Horse’s Dominance ㄷㄷ]
[Whoa, what’s this?]
[Yena is screaming?]
[Wow]
[Yena is going to win?]
[Great Heavenly Horse]
[Heavenly Horse is insanely strong;;;;]
The desert was turning upside down.
Under the immense pressure, Yena’s body twisted, and she couldn’t stabilize herself as she vomited particles of blood with every movement of the Heavenly Horse.
It was a power that felt like pure disaster.
Yena gritted her teeth and tried to inflict a fatal wound but found it hard to even approach the Heavenly Horse using Heavenly Horse’s Dominance.
The Heavenly Horse not only had exceptional mobility but was also enveloped by a far greater amount of internal energy than before.
Ultimately, she lost one life but barely managed to catch her breath and escape the area.
“Give up.”
Cough.
“I’ve raised the prowess of the Defense Barrier to the 10th level. This means minor damage won’t come through anymore.”
“…But the Green Hermit has a cutting effect that activates upon being hit… meow.”
“Is that so?”
Drak’s numbered masterpiece, which held a mythical grade, each possessed special abilities.
Among them, the Green Hermit’s ability was cutting.
When hit, the struck area is ‘certainly’ severed.
The Heavenly Horse raised both hands.
“Then why are my arms and legs still intact?”
“…?”
[?]
[Oh, right?]
[Huh?]
“Your dagger pierced through Black’s armor, its power, and additional abilities all at once. That is certainly an item that defies logic.”
“Of course…”
“But ‘nothing’ is absolute.”
An absolute fate predetermined from birth.
‘Sky.’
No matter how much one claims to be the sky, endless training can even break that absolute.
“Strong laws naturally collapse under stronger laws.”
“…Somehow, I feel like I’ve heard that before.”
“From whom?”
“My Master. And Lady Lily.”
Yena’s dagger moved.
The technique she had been learning and endlessly developing since the moment she first met Lady Lily.
She had fallen countless times, but in the end, she reduced it enough to use without difficulty, and with Master’s help, she was able to achieve an incomplete form of completion.
I could complete it imperfectly with help.
“There’s no absolute… meow.”
A storm dwells within the dagger.
As all of Yena’s magical power gets sucked into the dagger, the Heavenly Horse, feeling something off, condenses its internal energy and charges in.
One hit will probably cost a life.
“But that’s wrong, meow!”
There is absolute!
“This is! The absolute technique!!!”
“…!”
“The roar of the spear.”
The roar of the dragon that burst forth from the dagger engulfed the Heavenly Horse.
The outcome was decided.
■
Kooong…
A faint sound is heard.
The familiar yet unpleasant clash of techniques.
The highest level of the Sun Palace is sealed off.
Yet, no matter how faint, the sound was enough to wake the sleeping emperor.
“……”
Chwaaaaak…
The emperor, Pharaoh, lifts his upper body as golden water drips off of him.
Beneath him lies an altar, surrounded by standing statues, part of a sacred ritual passed down through the ages.
The process of inheriting the power of the ‘star’ that emits infinite light and heat from afar, embarking on a great path.
An ancient Pharaoh performed this ritual and became a great being, eventually surpassing that realm to become the God of the Sun.
The reason for conducting a concluded ritual was not to inherit the star’s power.
“…A guest has arrived.”
The Pharaoh is the Sun God.
To him, the power of ‘bestowing’ was no longer of value.
What he seeks is the memory of the inheritance.
─Great one. You have yet to see it all.
“Wait just a moment.”
The process of Scorpio, who inherited great power, acquiring the ‘memory’ of the inheritance.
Though it might be meaningless to him, Scorpio needs that memory for the structure of the body he saw to align completely, achieving perfect unification.
The 50-meter scorpion stares intently at the Pharaoh.
─Great one. A perfect being from the start. No.
“Is that funny?”
The ancient beast was strong from the beginning.
To be precise, it was strong by the standards of ‘ordinary’ life forms.
They were born to smash enormous boulders and had the power to battle thousands of humans, but before them, it was all the same.
‘Celestial Race and Demon Race.’
Those born with divine power and rank from the very beginning.
In comparison, the difference between ancient beasts and humans was merely the difference in the strength of bugs.
‘An ancient beast is just a slightly troublesome big bug. Humans are just bugs.’
Of course, no matter how much of a bug, over a long period, it can gain a higher rank, but such beings were few and far between, even when searching the world.
There were only a few of such beings that could be obtained even after searching the world.
In the end, the so-called great beings like Myeosin or Progenitor were simply ordinary Beastmen and Humans at birth.
“Do you know the true nature of the great Emperor you revered so much?”
─No.
“What is the reason?”
─A great being. I too am a small creature.
Scorpio was a small creature, a Scorpion.
Not the enormous Scorpion of today, but a tiny one, barely 15cm long.
That small creature is now having a conversation, neck held high, with an ancient being who has lived for tens of thousands of years after gaining the power of a great being.
─Great power. Molting and divine existence. I have changed. I will change.
“You’re a tiny creature trying to walk the great path?”
─The primordial Sun was originally one.
Sre…
Scorpio’s claws approach the Pharaoh.
Though it seemed sharply honed and about to attack, the Pharaoh didn’t budge.
Pook!
The tip of the claw pierces through the Pharaoh’s shoulder.
Blood flows from the center of the sun tattoo located on his shoulder, and the unity of body and spirit stabilizes.
─You are the one derived from the oneness. Gentle and great Sun, what do you desire?
“A single perfect and great path. That is my mission.”
He said.
“In the past, that’s what I said…”
The Pharaoh lets out a bitter smile.
With his shirt ripped open, he pulls out the claw himself and waves his hand.
In the blink of an eye, the blood flowing from his shoulder stops, and a golden cloak wraps around him.
“Unfortunately, while I may not be called great, I have lost too much to walk the ‘perfect’ path.”
– “Great one. Maintain your dignity.”
“Dignity was abandoned long ago.”
On that day when Serrek was half-dead and he lost everything he had to the upper Demon Race.
That day, he went mad and was subdued by a strange Celestial Human and subsequently sealed.
The Emperor’s authority had long hit rock bottom.
“Now I am called ‘That Guy Uncle.’ Isn’t it truly a hilarious thing?”
─Not really.
“…Yeah. It’s not.”
He remains the Emperor after all.
“When the transmission of power is fully completed, the constraints of disaster that oppress you will also disappear. At that time, I will restore your power.”
─Are you sure?
“The Emperor does not lie.”
─Understood.
Scorpio withdraws.
Tuuk.
The Pharaoh lightly descends from the altar and opens the door.
“I will welcome the guest, so stay quiet.”
─Great one.
“What is it?”
─Why do you keep me alive? I cannot understand. Is it consideration?
“Consideration…”
The Emperor is not a considerate being.
The Emperor reigns and dominates above all else.
At the moment the power difference became apparent, it wouldn’t be strange to absorb all of Scorpio’s power and kill him right then and there.
When the two first met, the Pharaoh didn’t like Scorpio because his powers were ineffective against him.
“It’s simple. The knowledge of your body is useful, but your powers are not. They are far too weak compared to mine.”
─Not useful? But that’s hard to understand. The more power, the better.
“Hmm… If I had to find a reason…”
Yeah.
“This is the first time I’ve encountered a ‘successor’ like this.”
─Successor? Are you talking about a child?
“I cannot create children. There has been no being able to accept the powers of this body.”
The Pharaoh walked the great path and when he reached the end, he became overwhelmingly strong.
The problem was that there were no other beings capable of accepting that overwhelming power.
Since it was a singular great path, there could be no one capable of following it.
“Then, can’t I just deal with those hybrid races?”
─Why not?
“Because the remaining beings are all ones akin to gods and dragon races. The dragon race is asexual, right?”
Dragon races can change their gender, but they are fundamentally asexual.
Among the ancient monsters, there were a few females, but they were all those who had reigned as gods in their respective positions.
“Most importantly, they did not live in the desert, so it’s a meaningless assumption.”
─You can make them live there, right? Isn’t that the problem?
“They have their own territories. The balance is maintained due to their existence, so it cannot be disrupted by mere self-interest.”
─What if it’s a greater race?
“Greater?”
Celestials and Demons?
─A meaningless assumption. But not impossible.
“…I don’t know what you’re imagining. I wouldn’t even be able to mix with such beings, and above all, they cannot blend together.”
Why can’t the Pharaoh create children?
It’s because of the difference in powers and ranks; would the stronger Celestials and Demons be able to interact with other races?
Even so, both powers purify or corrupt all other powers except their own.
─Then what about other great beings?
“That’s… an exception.”
That being’s very existence is a question from the start.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
