A horrifying aura seeped from the body of the Nameless One, whose expression had vanished.
But it was none of Ser’s business.
“Did you see that, Noah?”
For Ser, Noah’s acknowledgment was the most important thing at that moment.
Ser’s gaze turned towards Noah. And a satisfied smile emerged.
“From your expression, it seems you saw it clearly—”
Ser, who had been about to say so, hesitated for a moment.
Noah could not see through her eyes. She could only perceive what was drawn through her sensing ability.
So how could she phrase it so that Noah would not get hurt?
“Did you feel it through your sensing ability? Was it well drawn?”
Such phrases sounded ridiculous. Moreover, wasn’t the concept of “seeing” something drawn through sensing?
Additionally, she wasn’t the only one who had said such things. Hadn’t Cartia, Frey, Sirin, and many others asked if they’d seen it as well?
Tsk.
It wasn’t a trivial concern.
…Actually, it wasn’t trivial at all. Books say you should always be careful with words among friends.
She had pondered enough and made allowances.
Ser concluded her thoughts.
“It seems you saw it clearly.”
With that uttered, Ser quietly observed Noah’s expression. Noah, with a blank look, didn’t even nod. It didn’t seem like she was hurt by Ser’s words.
Then why was she staring like that?
She must be dissecting what had just happened through her sensing ability, piece by piece.
The thought made Ser’s smile grow wider.
And her assumption was correct. Bound in chains, Noah felt as if everything around her had vanished in an instant, like changing scenes on a screen, and she recalled the situation moments before.
What on earth just happened? What was going on?
She felt the movement of magical power. But how it moved and what it did… she couldn’t fathom at all.
The scene she had just witnessed felt like merely the ‘result’ that Ser wanted.
Alongside that, another question arose in Noah’s mind. The scales hovering behind Ser.
She had no clue regarding its true identity. It didn’t feel like magic. And it felt alien for an object to exist in this world.
It was as if it were a unique ability for each individual—
Unique ability?
Her head turned slowly toward Ser.
Gradually, her lips parted.
Just as she was about to voice the question forming in her mind.
“What on earth are you doing right now?”
The cold voice of the Nameless One echoed with a harsh tone.
The Nameless One was quite annoyed with the current situation.
And rightly so.
For a mere human to ruin her amusement with a ‘gate’ created to complete the world and surpass the power that had reached the end of myth, was unacceptable.
Of course, what it possessed was not even half of that power.
It had only managed to release about twenty percent of it, yet it was still unpleasant.
Especially since it was displaying such nonchalance in her presence.
Thus, the Nameless One couldn’t hide the annoyance bubbling from within.
And that was a fatal ‘error’ for an entity that had reached the end of myth.
However, the Nameless One didn’t realize this.
On the other hand, Ser distinctly felt it.
And so she moved her steps, concealing the smile appearing on her face.
There was still much to do.
“Noah, what I just showed you was ‘magic’.”
_Sa-bak!_ Ser stepped on the magic-made platform.
“Isn’t it fascinating? Fire, water, earth, wind, light, darkness—none of those emerged, but my desires were fulfilled.”
At the same time, divine power surged from the Nameless One’s entire being. The ominous divine power created a colossal spear.
“External appearances? Those aren’t important. Fire burns hot. Water is cold. Earth is hard. Wind is free. Light is bright, and darkness is dark. Such things are merely formulas used to utilize magic more precisely.”
In the past, there was the spear that penetrated Lilith’s heart. The tip of the spear that pierced even the complete body of a god turned towards Ser.
“Imagine cold fire. Water that burns everything, earth that is free like the wind. Hard wind. Dark light, bright darkness. Imagine it. It isn’t hard, right?”
_Creeeeak!_
With a terrifying sound, the spear spun violently. The space twisted. The axis of time warped. A power beyond human comprehension converged into the dark spear and shot forth.
“It will be difficult. You may think it’s absurd. But, it’s not impossible.”
_Creeeak!_ The scales tipped.
Then, again, _creeeak!_ the scales leveled.
“Before magic, there is no such thing as impossibility.”
A massive wall of water soared before the spear that had pierced the body of a god. Amid thunderous sounds of waves, the fierce wall of water incinerated the spear aimed at Ser.
_Crack!_ A rough sound echoed from the Nameless One’s seams. Ser’s smile deepened.
Seven pairs of wings spread wide. Divine power erupted. A spear, identical to the one just used, rose in countless numbers—appearing to be in the hundreds—spinning in unison. The spears, uttering unpleasant sounds while adding acceleration, shot towards Ser.
“The water burned the spear. What do you think will happen with fire?”
With that, the wall of water vanished. In its place, fire erupted. Fire poured down like a massive tidal wave, engulfing the spear shot at Ser. The speed of the spears swimming through the flames decreased. Their direction skewed.
It was as if they were floundering in water, no, in fire.
The wave-like fire splashed onto Noah’s cheek, trickling down. It landed on her thigh.
The fire that dripped down was cold.
“Can you call that fire? Can you call that water? If it’s neither water nor fire, what will you call it?”
Only one word floated in Noah’s mind.
And that word spilled from Ser’s lips.
“Magic.”
_Whoosh!_ Wind blew. No, could it be called wind? The wind fell, heavy as a massive rock.
The ground rose. It billowed. It surged. It roamed the air freely, enveloping the sky.
Fiery water surged upwards, igniting everything into ashes.
Cold fire poured down, covering the land, raising enormous tides, erasing all traces of battle.
In that empty land, flowers bloomed. Beautifully blossoming flowers. A vast garden reminiscent of Primavera quickly came into being.
“Burning water. Cold fire. Hard wind. Flowing earth. Flowers blooming in the dead land. It’s nothing difficult for a wizard. Even a less competent wizard than me could achieve this easily.”
Ser’s steps halted before Sirin’s spirit.
Seeing this, the Nameless One’s seven pairs of wings flapped wildly. Feathers scattered. Divine power rained down. The door to paradise trembled. Darkness thickened. The darkness that devoured even the dawn that illuminated the world reached the door to paradise.
_Squeeeak!_
The false door to paradise began to open again. Golden energy surged towards the door of paradise. Sirin’s spirit writhed. Its heart beat. The mindless spirit flapped its wings. It lifted its head. Its hollow eyes were fixed on Ser. Its sharp claws surged towards Ser.
Ser’s hand encountered the claws reaching to kill her. In the world engulfed in darkness, a glimmer of light sparkled. Golden light flowed from Sirin’s hand into Ser.
Sirin’s spirit crumbled. What remained was a golden orb. Sirin’s causality. Ser grasped it with her hand. Then turned her back. Towards her scales.
“From now on, I will show you the true magic that only I, Ser, can wield.”
The Nameless One’s face distorted.
Ser’s smile deepened.
The Nameless One, wings spread wide, took a step forward.
Ser, grasping the golden orb, took her step.
The Nameless One appeared before Ser, reaching out to her.
As Ser approached the scales, she reached out towards it.
The Nameless One’s hand touched Ser.
Ser’s hand touched the scales.
“It’s a gift. Noah.”
_Creeeak!_ The scales tipped.
_Creeeak!_ The scales tipped.
_Creeeak!_ The scales tipped.
_Creeeak!_ The scales leveled.
“You won’t maintain this for long, so enjoy it as much as you can.”
With that, Ser turned her body.
She spread her arms wide.
Closed her eyes.
And smiled lightly.
“Reversal.”
The sky became the ground. The ground became the sky.
Constraint became freedom. Freedom became constraint.
Dim light became thick darkness. Thick darkness became dim light.
Visible eyes became invisible. Invisible eyes became visible.
The false became real. The real became false.
Thus.
In the world where everything was reversed.
Noah, freed from her chains.
Noah, whose vision was restored, stood up from her spot.
She got up and ran.
Across the field of flowers.
Fell, stood up, and ran.
She embraced.
Though she wasn’t Rubia.
In her arms, she had become Rubia.
