종막 – 1
The moment the Draconic language containing the laws of the world spread out, space obeyed its will. Everything confined to reality settled down towards the ground.
The sky, stained bright red, seemed to get closer to the ground, but unable to withstand the pressure, it shattered into pieces and spread like mist. Bloody particles covered the world in a haze.
The red liquid that rose to my ankles compressed beyond its limit and transformed into a jelly-like form that was as hard as rock. Its thickness barely rivaled that of a pinky nail.
As commanded, everything in the world was drawn down.
ㅡA pathetic power… insignificant… weak…
Except for the creature that devours the world.
Even at this moment, it was enduring the shattering space below with ease. Its wings spread wide, flapping proudly.
I stared blankly at the sky. The liquid that resembled blood was stuck to the ground, and the sky was fragmented and scattered like mist. It was true that I had succeeded in overturning the laws of the world.
However, the very being that should have been drawn down was flying just fine in the sky. At this point, it was practically a failure.
‘…There’s no other choice.’
I tightened my grip on the wingless nightmare and prepared to fight. Ideally, I wanted to engage while blocking its flight patterns, but the Draconic language wasn’t working, so there was nothing I could do.
ㅡWhat a pitiful… weak human… Did you truly think… you could draw me down…?
A red gleam flashed in the creature’s eyes.
ㅡBehold… the true meaning of this action…
It raised its neck to the limit, gazing at the ground, and then opened its mouth wide to unleash a terrifying roar.
ㅡ!!!!!!
The Draconic words pierced through my palm, traveled past my ears, and struck me directly in the head. I reflexively covered my ears. It wasn’t just my ears; my head felt like it would burst.
For just a moment, even though it was merely a roar, the ground trembled, and, despite being the Draconic language, it was so loud that I couldn’t comprehend its meaning.
I could finally grasp its meaning after the sound echoed and bounced off space numerous times, significantly reducing its volume.
The meaning was incredibly simple and clear.
Break.
At first, I couldn’t understand what it meant to break. As with all Draconic words, it merely expressed the user’s strength and will, not general speech.
For a brief moment, I wondered if I was meant to break and die. However, it didn’t take long to understand what it truly meant to break.
The blessing of Eclipse that resided within my body shattered.
The rune tattoo drawn on the back of my hand broke apart.
Other dormant runes that hadn’t been activated within my body shattered.
The mana within my body shattered.
The faith that had risen to its limits shattered.
“……”
I confirmed the now clean back of my hand, the vanished blessing of Eclipse, and the feeling of empty mana along with the lack of faith that no longer filled me.
‘Is that what it meant to break?’
A hollow laugh escaped me. With no mana, no faith filling me up, no runes, and being unable to fly, I was supposed to fight that thing from now on?
As if to mock me, I felt a sneer.
ㅡStruggle as much as you wish… human…
A pitch-black breath gathered between its teeth.
“Let’s take a break for a moment. If we keep going, it might really become serious.”
Nix said flatly.
In the audience room, there were people slumped on the floor, some sprawled on the sofa, and others barely maintaining their balance, as if they were about to collapse any second.
Even Kaiquilia, who seemed to be in the best shape, was barely standing, clutching the back of the sofa with shaky legs.
In fact, considering that the red carpet on the floor hadn’t been stained by any liquid other than tears and spit, it could be called half a success. I had braced myself for even that, yet everyone was holding on much better than expected.
But that was as far as it went. After only four rounds of this, the proper beginning was still a distant thought.
“Still, Kaiquilia, you are quite remarkable. It seems only a few more times will suffice. The Pope may also manage it after getting a bit more accustomed to death. As for the others… hmm…”
A deadpan pitch-black pupil slowly scanned the remaining people.
“Well, it’s still too soon to judge. Perhaps take a little rest. It might become possible later. Especially you two, Silver Dawn Knights.”
It then paused sharply as it passed by Iris and Lize. The two were on the verge of collapsing on the floor, struggling against the rising nausea.
“I definitely only said to just taste it at first, right? I told you not to push yourselves. But what is this mess?”
Not pushing oneself was a lesson Nix had learned while being the Soul Guardian. So, it had deliberately made sure the order passed slowly, but those two rushed ahead, proceeding on their own.
Of course, that resulted in the current state.
“You two realize that if you couldn’t endure, you would have shattered your souls, right? Delta would have been overjoyed to hear about this, wouldn’t he?”
Despite Nix’s sharp sarcasm, Lize and Iris remained silent, too busy catching their breath. Experiencing death closing in was no wound that could be healed in just a few minutes.
‘It’s fortunate they managed to hold on.’
Nix clicked its tongue.
Ironically, due to that very action, the possibility of acquiring True Death grew. If they hadn’t endured, they would have died, but regardless, they were still alive.
Everyone had incredibly strong wills. Their sense of purpose was unwavering. Those who held such a firm purpose were usually the ones who could withstand the fear of death for extended periods.
Delta was indeed an exception to this rule.
According to the Goddess, there was no purpose, obligation, or sense of mission; simply being alive was enough for him to endure death, but for Nix, it remained a mystery how that was possible.
“Everyone is holding on well. Right now, you’re probably feeling really dizzy and nauseous; it’s a natural response, so just endure it. I felt the same way when I first accepted a soul.”
Nix said languidly.
“When the body dies, understanding it as such causes confusion because the body remains intact. Once you get used to it, it will soon pass.”
Right now, there was really nothing else to tell them but to endure and get accustomed, just like Nix had done long ago.
Nevertheless, the turnout was remarkably good. No one had died or become incapacitated, which was already a halfway success.
Kaiquilia was at least able to hold herself up relatively well, and Floretta and Luna seemed ready to advance to the next stage too.
“Shall we proceed to the next stage, Kaiquilia? The rest should rest a bit longer. This is my judgment, so I won’t accept any objections—unless you want to show Delta the state of your shattered souls left behind.”
Kaiquilia managed to weakly nod her shaking head.
She had witnessed cruel deaths countless times before. She had even chopped up a demon with a holy sword, killing it piece by piece. However, experiencing death herself was different.
Being torn apart limb by limb, or dying while having her intestines melted away by corrosive liquid poured into her mouth.
Being cooked alive inside her armor due to a fire attack, or being gnawed from her toes. Enduring such a death directly drained her mental strength tremendously.
Just as that petite girl had said, it would be incredibly difficult.
‘Not yet.’
Kaiquilia gritted her teeth. She had to endure. This was everything Delta had experienced in death. If Delta had survived and not crumbled, then neither would she.
“I’ll start with you first, Kaiquilia.”
Snap, Nix snapped its fingers. At that moment, Kaiquilia’s body stiffened, and her head slowly drooped, as if she had fallen asleep.
Its pitch-black eyes turned to the next target. Floretta and Luna joined hands, leaning against each other and catching their breath. The damp see-through shirts clung to their bodies, clearly revealing their outlines.
“What will you do, Holy Pope? Would you like to rest a bit longer?”
“…We will start as well.”
“…Please, go ahead.”
“If you wish.”
Nix snapped its fingers again. Floretta and Luna’s bodies stiffened, their heads slowly tilting down. The sisters’ soft cheeks pressed against each other, exchanging sweat beads lightly beaded on their skin.
Those three might soon awaken True Death. Nix thought as it perched itself on the sofa. It seemed there would be no need to use its power for a while.
The rest remained quiet, perhaps busy regaining their composure after that rough ordeal. Even Minerva was no exception.
“It’s surprising to see you struggle so much, Minerva. You’ve lived twice as long as I have.”
Minerva had lived just over 400 years, while Nix, aside from the years spent as Flor, had lived around 200 years. So, the two-to-one ratio was accurate.
Of course, if one counted the years lived as Flor, the差 would shrink dramatically, but Nix had no intention of factoring that era into its age.
After all, the body it had during the Flor years was gone. So, naturally, it should be calculated from when it obtained this new body.
“…Most of the years I have gone through have been acquiring new knowledge or endless boredom. It was an era far removed from blood, death, violence, and destruction.”
“That’s true. Had you harbored other thoughts besides those, this continent would likely be divided into three countries instead of two.”
For a sorceress of Minerva’s caliber, it wouldn’t be strange to claim independence from the Empire and establish a new country.
Minerva’s satisfaction with merely having a large library, a mage tower, the title of Eternal Magician, and just a fraction of the Empire’s budget was unusual.
‘The others… It might still be too much for them.’
Nix glanced over the remaining people, leaving Minerva, who seemed to be stifling her nausea, on hold.
The knight commanders slumped on the floor, leaning against the sofas, and Stella and Selene, kneeling in prayer pose, were pouring cold sweat down their faces.
Considering they were still alive and intact, there was plenty of potential for the six of them as well. Moreover, their adaptation speed wasn’t lagging too far behind Nix’s.
It was just that the top three were moving at an overwhelming speed.
“Cough!”
As if to emphasize that point.
Nix was internally surprised to find Kaiquilia already awake and moved closer to inquire.
“Are you alright?”
“……”
Kaiquilia made a slight shaking gesture with her hand, signaling for me to step away. She seemed to lack the strength to speak. Soon after, Floretta and Luna started to cough as if they too had awakened.
At this rate, those three seemed likely to succeed soon.
ㅡKWA-BOOM!
Not long after that thought, the sound of magic exploding outside the window echoed loudly.
Nix exchanged looks with Minerva before moving to the window. Minerva used teleportation to catch up immediately. The pitch-black and silvery-white eyes descended outside.
“What’s that…?”
“…I’m not sure.”
Silver-armored knights were fighting against a gigantic spider.
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