How the heck did I rewind time?
Someone’s unique ability? Or Jong-eon’s ability?
Or did I actually kill the Nameless One?
After the fight with me, a flood of questions filled my mind, leaving me puzzled.
I had boldly claimed I would save them, but with no answers in sight, my mind was in chaos.
But I didn’t say it without reason. Since I rewound time too, surely I could do it as well, right? That’s what I thought.
So, I was intending to ask how, but suddenly Rubia’s story came up, and I completely forgot.
Then, when I burst the Nameless One’s body…
When the Nameless One regenerated its body…
I felt something strange.
An unknown power beyond the concept of healing.
It looked like rewinding time.
Could it be, I thought, as I decided to closely observe the flow of that power in the Nameless One’s attack.
But everything happened so quickly, and it didn’t feel right through my senses, so there was no way to confirm it properly.
Still, if I kept trying to kill it, I might really end up dead before uncovering the secret of that power, so I couldn’t recklessly go for it.
Of course, the Nameless One assured me it wouldn’t die easily. There was definitely some conviction behind those words.
That gave me a slight relief, but I was confident I could kill it. I had a plan too.
So, I cautiously acted, thinking, what if I messed up the power control and ended up killing it?
But then…
I tried to hold back. I tried to be careful.
“Hmm, they say you’re a sword master who can cut down the world, but I see that’s not true.”
That nasty bastard mocked me, making me cringe.
“Is that because you’re human?”
Yeah. Looking back now, that Luci wasn’t really strong.
But… If Luci had survived until now, he would have probably become strong enough to toy with Masters.
But that’s beside the point.
Simply put,
“You’re pathetically weak.”
That bastard shouldn’t have said Luci was weak.
“So, I added a little of my power. Did it change at all?”
Luci’s sword. I knew it was fake, but it shouldn’t be handled so carelessly.
“Sure enough, it’s weak. This sword and that human Luci. To think you’d die satisfied after swinging such a sword once. Humans are just too weak. Which is a good thing, though.”
I couldn’t deny Luci’s life in front of me.
So,
“…Luci isn’t weak.”
The anger I had barely held back overflowed.
“You’re the weak one.”
And so, I crossed the line.
“Reverse Heaven.”
Slice— With a clear and refreshing sound, the Nameless One’s body was split apart. Along with that, the divine realm it boasted about cracked.
I was shocked by that sight, but the crack quickly repaired itself. The Nameless One’s body did the same.
I sighed in relief and immediately sprang into action.
I dashed toward the Nameless One to feel its regeneration process in more detail.
I really ran fast, but I couldn’t see anything.
The recovery speed was just too quick.
Thus, I wielded my great sword to break the Nameless One’s body once more.
This time, a bit gently, so its body wouldn’t shatter completely. And then…
Thunk—!
Its wings wrapped around its body, blocking my great sword.
Did I swing too gently?
But if I swung harder, it would explode without a trace, and I wouldn’t see anything.
How on earth could I uncover the secret of that power? While I pondered that question— Crash! Something unknown struck my body.
During my distraction, an unexpected attack charged at me.
As a result, I got knocked back while rolling on the ground.
“Huff… Puh!”
I got up from the ground and spat out the blood that pooled in my mouth. I couldn’t see what it was. Nor could I feel it through my senses. Only in that moment when the attack hit me did my instincts scream.
A formless power appeared out of nowhere, as if it had been there all along.
It was as if time had stopped—
Buzz.
I dismissed any thoughts and threw my body to the side.
Crash—! The ground I stood on exploded upward. Once again, my instincts screamed. Above me. I raised my great sword. —Boom! It felt like some colossal force had fallen on me.
Again, my instincts screamed.
“Hah, ugh…!”
I staggered to the side, twisting my waist to push away the formless power that had settled on my great sword. At the same time, I swung the great sword.
Crack—!
Invisible blades were scraped away by my great sword.
Is it really stopping time to attack?
If so, what’s with the things I can’t see or feel?
I don’t get it. It’s incredibly tiresome to deal with.
It’s not impossible or difficult.
It’s just a bother.
I could totally ignore everything and run up to splatter its head.
But I didn’t.
I wanted to figure out more about this attack, about the Nameless One’s power… no, about Lilith’s true power. I had to.
So that when ‘we’ meet again far in the future, I could stand proudly.
“Aha!”
The Nameless One’s annoying laughter.
At the same time, I felt a zap, as if something was twisting, and my body was suddenly moved in front of the Nameless One. Then— Crack! Its fist sank into my abdomen.
“Ugh, kh!”
The breath I had been holding escaped.
Then came Boom—! dozens of wings slammed into my body. A dizzying shock slammed throughout my body, but I could endure it. I had faced far worse pain, so this was nothing.
So I could fully continue my thoughts.
“How’s this?”
In that eternally drawn-out moment of thought,
I recalled the memory of ‘me’ wielding the sword of Cartia in Cartia.
I remembered seeing the world crumble and be rebuilt within Sirin’s memories.
“This is the true power of the divine power Lilith possessed.”
I replayed the fight with ‘me.’
I replayed the fight with the Nameless One.
“I didn’t use divine power in the battle.”
The Nameless One did use divine power in the fight.
Not the divine power Rubia wielded, but the complete divine power after conquering the myth.
The real strength of divine power.
Again, I delved into my memory, recalling when I wielded Cartia’s sword.
And I realized.
Divine power.
Lilith’s power must be,
“The power to manipulate time.”
It certainly must be the power to manipulate time.
Yank. The Nameless One grabbed my hair and forced my head up.
“How dare you, mere human, no, mortals, reach for true divinity?”
“…Time… I see now.”
Ah, I shouldn’t laugh out loud.
But I couldn’t help it.
But now, was there even a need to hide it?
“That’s why I could… rewind time.”
I’d learned all I needed to know.
All I had to do was what I needed to do.
…Oh, I don’t have to hold back anymore.
Yeah. Let’s not hold back.
I smashed the chains that bound me with sheer strength.
The thorns that sprouted around me were left stuck in place. Pulling each one out would take far too long.
And then.
Slash—
I swung the great sword.
Unlike before.
Without hiding my power, I swung the great sword.
With that swing, the Nameless One’s arm was severed.
Thud. The severed arm of the Nameless One fell.
The neatly cut surface glowed faintly.
How much easier would it have been if I’d done this from the start?
Exactly.
“Why didn’t someone tell me beforehand…”
Why did Rubia’s story come up…
“It just hurts for no reason…”
I stretched my aching back.
I shook my throbbing legs to pull out the thorns stuck to them and patted my sore shoulders.
With each movement, blood oozed out here and there, but I didn’t care and moved on.
As long as I can endure the pain.
It doesn’t hinder my movement.
Given how much I’ve been injured so far, this level of pain is nothing. Besides, whether I got stronger from the fight with ‘me’ or what, it seems the pain has dulled as well.
I’m no longer the pathetic Noah who collapses from a bit of blood.
Crack—!
Crack—!
Crack—!
“What… the heck… are you doing…?”
From where the Nameless One had taken a step back, a voice emerged that wasn’t Rubia’s, but a hodgepodge of jumbled voices.
It was already hard to understand what it was saying, and with the tremors, it was impossible to comprehend at all.
But I felt good.
I instinctively perked up my ears as it kept chattering like Rubia, but now it was a completely different voice, so I didn’t need to listen anymore.
Next…
I had to change its appearance.
I knew it wasn’t Rubia.
But it mimicked her form, which was aggravating, making me want to kill it even more.
Still, it didn’t feel that good.
How can I shed Rubia’s appearance and return to its original form?
While pondering that, I approached the Nameless One, Crack—!
“What the hell did you do?!”
Then, the jumbled voices screamed out the question as the Nameless One flapped its wings and released divine power.
At the same time, my instincts screamed.
An intangible force rushed toward me, like before.
Yet, I pressed forward.
There’s no need to dodge now.
Crash—!
That attack couldn’t hit me.
“What, what…”
The Nameless One, with a pale face, stumbled backward. And it began to grind its teeth in frustration.
I thought about explaining, but kept my mouth shut.
The more I talked, the weaker I’d appear, just like that beast.
So I kept my mouth closed while walking toward it.
“…Why can you control divinity…?”
The Nameless One hit the nail on the head.
So, I decided to show something new.
The reason its attacks couldn’t reach me.
The reason its divine nature, the false divinity it absorbed, couldn’t touch me.
Descending. The light step. The moment my foot touched the ground, crimson energy burst forth.
“This is… divine realm…! N-no way!”
The Nameless One’s divine realm screamed.
Screams erupted from its mouth too.
“No way! How can a mere, foolish human like you!! How can a weakling like you reach the divine realm—”
Of course, the scream couldn’t linger long.
Thud.
Once its head was popped off, it couldn’t scream anymore.
Of course, I didn’t kill it.
There’s still so much to do.
And then.
Just as it said…
There was plenty of time.
