Chapter 339
Vargan’s Third Unique Spell.
Void.
It is the amalgamation of Vargan’s curse magic and summoning magic that has transcended.
It’s not actually a living creature, yet it takes on the form of one, utilizing magic in a way that is anything but temporary.
Unreal and bizarre, it stands apart from all previous forms of magic.
The third unique spell completed by Vargan was something even the scripture-wielding Schugenharz and Bael found foreign.
‘Regeneration… impossible.’
Bael, whose left arm was devoured by the Void, realized that he couldn’t heal it.
It was different from any red aura or corruption magic. A total annihilation. It appeared as if he were being ripped out of this world.
Vargan grinned a wry smile as he observed the mixed expression of anger and bewilderment on Bael’s face.
“No time for shock, is there?”
Crunch—!
The Void opened its massive mouth, attempting to chew and swallow Bael whole. Bael barely dodged in the nick of time, quickly assessing the situation as he moved backward.
‘…….’
Bael’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Vargan, wrinkles forming at the corners as his biological responses slowed under the influence of the powers festering within him, causing him distress.
Crackle— crackle.
From his left arm, which had been bitten by the Void, distortion occurred.
It gradually led to his body’s encroachment and annihilation.
However, what most bothered Bael’s nerves more than anything at that moment were not those two phenomena.
‘…Are you toying with me?’
Just a moment ago, when Bael was about to land a direct hit on Vargan, he had seen Shalom reflected in Vargan’s eyes.
To create a moment of hesitation.
To win the battle, Vargan had taken advantage of the form of the woman Bael loved.
“To toy with you? Bael, I never disrespected you nor intended to make you a laughingstock. It was merely the most ‘effective’ way to catch you. Isn’t your current state utterly meaningless?”
To reach this point, countless people had been sacrificed, and sins had been committed.
Even if he knew what Shalom meant to him, that would not be a reason for Vargan to hesitate.
“If you resent anyone, blame yourself for letting Shalom commit suicide back then. Who knows? Maybe Shalom, having fallen into hell, is now wishing only for your demise.”
“I just hope for you to die, blaming yourself,”
『… Vargan!!』
Bael, angrier than ever before.
He instantly brushes aside the swarm of familiars attacking him and charges at Vargan.
Vargan, facing him, also raises his momentum and rushes towards Bael.
KWA-BAAAANG!
The scene electrifies.
Even as pain that feels like their bodies will be torn apart torments them, the two beings do not stop.
Their eyes are solely focused on the opponent. Only the enemy they desperately want to kill.
KWA-DAK— PISSH-SHI-SHIK—!
The veins of Bael and Vargan, engaged in fierce combat, burst. From the gaping wounds, blood flows out like a fountain, and the screaming muscles start to tear.
The vision gradually darkens.
Consciousness begins to fade.
Yet, they force their bodies to move, even utilizing mana.
『How long do you intend to dishonor her?!』
Vargan continuously interferes with Bael’s vision, reflecting Shalom’s figure.
Once again, he tears a piece of Bael’s body through the void.
“Of course, it’s until you die!”
KWA-GA-GA-GAANG—!!
The clash between the two beings shows no sign of stopping.
Finally, as if coming to an end, the balance of power visibly tilts.
Vargan pushes forward while Bael falls into a defensive position.
After Vargan devoured Bael’s left arm with nothingness, he completely seized control of the atmosphere.
‘Almost there. Just a bit more… just a little more…!’
Not believing in God, Vargan endures with the mindset of praying.
‘Just a few more seconds…!’
Bearing the excruciating pain that shakes his brain, he forcefully pulls his collapsing body back into the fight.
In that way, Bael’s body can no longer hold on.
The opportunity has arrived.
『……!』
‘This is… the last one!’
Vargan extracts his maximum mana. The bulked-up nothingness pounces at Bael like a flash of light.
Bael’s eyes lock onto nothingness.
His dulled senses sharpen, alerting him to a life-threatening crisis.
A sensation he had never felt in battle against the Demon King or in his fights with Schugenharz.
In that dizzying moment, memories of Shalom flash through Bael’s mind like a lantern in the night.
—Are you telling me… to become your disciple?
—That’s my precious first disciple. What do you think? Isn’t it a good proposal?
—…….
—Bael… you can be really happy at moments like this. You’re becoming my first, the one you love so much.
—First….
—Isn’t it a good proposal?
—… Yes. It is an undeserved honor for me. But, before I accept the proposal, may I ask one thing?
—Ask me anything.
—If I become your disciple, will I be able to stay with you?
At this, Shalom smiled broadly, her cheeks colored with the glow of dusk.
—Of course!
『…….』
Shalom.
Oh, how I miss you.
I will never forget you until the moment I die.
‘This is…!’
As nothingness swallows Bael whole.
Bael squeezes every bit of his strength and extends the mana of death. Like the principle of a magic cannon, the ray of death flies toward Vargan.
The difference from a regular magic cannon is the sheer amount of energy contained, and the curse within is incomparably thicker.
The amount of energy present is so dense that it cannot even be compared to the curse.
‘This is dangerous!’
Vargan, too, found himself in an unavoidable situation due to the nihilism he desperately unleashed.
In truth, the fact that Vargan was still standing was a miracle; he had pushed his body to the brink of unavoidable death.
At that moment.
—Vargan, didn’t you hear that you should listen when an adult speaks?
The magic of the blue scripture shines brilliantly.
Kwahaaaaaaaang—!!
Death clearly aimed at Vargan in a straight line.
However, thanks to the sudden appearance of another, the trajectory was altered, and the beam of death pierced only Vargan’s right arm.
Tsszuzzzzz…
The aftermath of death leaves behind traces of residual heat and extremely ominous mana as it disperses.
Vargan barely manages to stand despite his swaying body.
Likewise, Bael stands firm on both feet, but his entire body is as unstable as a hologram about to extinguish.
Chirizizi, zzt.
His lips move, emitting an unpleasant electronic buzz.
『…Schugenharz… is it?』
—Bael… it’s all over now.
『Over…?』
—Yes, you foolish friend. Both your long life and your unattainable wishes… And all of my lingering attachments to this world as well.
『…….』
Schugenharz, materializing with the magic of the blue scripture. Normally, he wouldn’t have been recognized by anyone but Vargan, but he poured all his remaining magic into intervening with reality.
A huge hole has been ripped through his body where death passed by. Fearsome amounts of scripture magic pour out rapidly through the gap.
Schugenharz glanced at Vargan. Fortunately, Vargan was not dead. He had survived by a hair’s breadth.
—If I could have interfered, I would have helped much sooner… But please don’t say that. Ultimately, I did help in protecting you. It’s unfortunate that I can’t bring back the arm that’s gone…
After all, the time to intervene in reality is only a few seconds. Vargan understood this too well and said nothing.
—I don’t know how to express my gratitude and apologies to you. Because of the mess we had to finish, I ended up making you and your friends suffer. I deeply apologize once again.
“…….”
—I am sincerely grateful and sorry, Vargan. I made you bear a heavy burden until the end.
After giving a bitter smile, Schugenharz turned back to Bael. They had at most a few seconds left to converse in this reality.
—Bael, to take responsibility for all the atrocities we’ve committed in this world, even living in hell for thousands of years wouldn’t be enough.
『…….』
—The sins we’ve committed are so immense and heavy that we likely won’t even be able to see the faces of those we miss after we die. Why on earth did we live by committing such senseless massacres? What kind of foolishness made us accumulate endless sins for just a few words written in a scripture?
『…….』
—…Well, if you don’t want to talk, that’s fine. We’ll have the pleasure of facing each other in hell for eternity; we can save the detailed discussions for then.
You will face each other, so let’s discuss in detail when we get there.
The vanishing forms of the two.
Vargan was the only human watching that scene, and in the brief moment he closed and opened his eyes, the traces of Schugenharz and Bael had disappeared.
Even the mana that had spread in the air was completely gone, making it feel as if they had never been there in the first place.
—Vargan. I trust you with the ‘Seed of Conflict’.
A weak voice that made one wonder if it could even stir the blades of grass.
If that had been absent too, he would have surely mistaken it for a dream.
Zzzzz—
Thus, the brilliant blue mana that had lost its master gathered together, taking the form of a book.
The very shape of the ‘New Testament’, the root of the conflict.
“…….”
Vargan grabbed the New Testament that was floating in front of him.
The New Testament, having found a new master, released mana, slowly caressing Vargan’s body like the sweet embrace of a devil.
It seductively coaxed him to use it.
“…Well, it seems I barely won.”
Vargan spat a cough mixed with blood. Pushing aside the temptation of the scripture, he surveyed his surroundings.
The Twelve Divine Beasts, familiars, monsters, and even the priest-level Altife under Vargan, all seriously battered like him.
Even though they were utterly exhausted, they had won.
An unbeatable foe. The absolute evil that had brought despair to the story had fallen.
Bael, the pinnacle of the Goddess Church, was truly dead.
“Hah… Hah…”
Vargan gasped, a mix of emotions washing over him.
Each breath tasted strongly of blood, the flavor of hardship and trials.
That taste, which should have been ecstasy, strangely felt bitter, numbing his tongue.
‘…It seems that side is almost done as well.’
Vargan looked over the battlefield where the dying flames flickered.
The heat of the great battle between the two cardinal forces was also slowly cooling down.
*
『……!』
All the Altifes on the battlefield noticed the enormous change.
Incredibly unbelievable, but so undeniable that the very air of the battlefield felt different.
—Executor Vargan has killed Bael!
Just a moment ago, mana had been pressing down on them to the point where it was hard to breathe, but now they felt as light as if they could fly.
Naturally, this news reached the leaders of both factions, Beled and Amon, and Beled broke into a long smile.
『It seems my proud child has done it.』
『…….』
Beled had the collar of a woman with purple hair in her grasp, having unleashed her power to reveal an even more inhuman form.
Beled’s gaze was fixed on the purple-haired woman, her eyes mixed with mockery and joy.
Wiping the blood from her lips, Beled continued speaking.
『Amon, the war is over.』
A single sentence that encompassed all the emotions that had been suppressed until now.
With desires, grudges, and extreme pleasure, Beled spoke to the incapacitated Amon, whose body was in tatters.
『From now on, this world belongs to our hardliners.』
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