The apocalypse is approaching.
It had reached a stage that could no longer be hidden with lies.
The sky gradually turned a shade of purple.
And from the universe, something massive began to reveal itself.
“It’s coming!”
The dimensional entity, Draken, is descending into the current world.
Its form resembles that of a small planet, with black tentacles approaching that are millions of times larger.
The people still on the ground can only feel that the sky is strange.
But up on the airship, staring at the universe from high above, it feels like I can barely breathe.
“Do you think we can defeat that…?”
Jill stared at me with her mouth agape.
Can we actually take it down?
To cut to the chase, it’s possible.
Now, I have a body that can freely handle the ultimate technique.
I stand before a foe of overwhelming scale.
While awe fills me, there’s no sense of powerlessness to be found anywhere.
If I want to slice it, there’s nothing I can’t cut.
The light of the ultimate technique permeates and can slice through anything.
But if there is one concern…
“The sword that cleaves through essence. I named it that. No matter how much I try, I can’t perceive that thing’s essence. So I won’t cut it.”
“…”
I named this ultimate technique the sword that cleaves through essence.
It’s a sword that digs beneath the symbol of an object, cleaving and obliterating the essence.
Of course, not understanding that essence doesn’t hinder cutting it…
But I have no intention of trying to slice something I cannot perceive the essence of.
Just as a swordmaster wouldn’t swing their sword without knowing what they are cutting.
Wielding the ultimate technique without knowing its essence is an act of negating the path I’ve walked until now.
More than anything, I have a strong intuition that the answer I’ve been searching for lies within Draken’s essence.
That intuition is quite potent.
It’s already clear that the system is related to Draken.
Then isn’t the reason I’m regressing also inside it?
The doubts that started from that question have already solidified.
Before I knew it, it transformed into something akin to assurance within me.
The moment I cut that thing, I lose everything.
The reason I had to undergo regression.
The path I walked while swinging my sword.
…And my wives, whom I reunited with at the risk of annihilation.
“That’s a dumb reason.”
“Hmm, no. I’ve never thought Yoo Jin is foolish. And I won’t in the future.”
“I’ll definitely come back.”
“Seriously… It’s enough to say such ominous things just once…”
Perhaps recalling an old memory, Jill approached me with teary eyes.
In her hand is a dagger filled with our memories.
With a squelch, the blade pierces my chest.
“This dagger holds the history of the priestess. Not just mine, but the history of countless priestesses that have wielded this dagger. It has never been used until now, so that history remains intact, but I think the time to use it is now.”
“…”
“All the clergy on the ground are praying for you, Yoo Jin. Their will and faith will be with you.”
“I don’t believe in that religion, is that okay?”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe or not. It’s a holy power that helps even those who don’t believe. Close your eyes, Yoo Jin.”
“I’ve closed them.”
“May the priestess’s blessing protect you…”
While drawing a holy symbol, Jill twists the dagger embedded in my chest.
Then, a radiant light began to emanate from the dagger.
At some point, the light coalesces into a shimmering mass and seeps into my chest.
Crack!
I can feel the dagger embedded within me.
As I close my eyes, a snowy landscape unfolds before me.
In the center lies the dagger, standing alone.
It’s not merely the blade slightly resting on the ground.
It feels like roots have firmly planted themselves downward.
I can sense a resolution that it will not be pulled out, no matter what happens.
“Is it here?”
Just then, below, the hull of the airship appeared, breaking through the dark clouds.
The airship surged upward at a nearly vertical angle.
From the rear, a massive engine belched flames, rapidly gaining altitude.
“Has the modification been completed?”
– Ugh, uhm…! I- I just finished! I’m taking off now!
“Good job.”
A hint of pride slipped into my voice as I heard Yulia over the communication line.
There hadn’t even been three days.
They had managed to modify the airship in that short time, enabling it to penetrate space.
“What about the problems?”
By the way, what magic did they use?
I heard they were struggling to cool the flame magic engine of the airship…
– The most efficient cooling device happened to be nearby…
– So, I, Palana, King and Frost Duchess, am acting as the engine cooler!
I burst out laughing at Yerina’s annoyed voice.
Well, as long as it solves the immediate problem, that’s the mindset of an engineer.
This isn’t meant for mass production anyway; it’s only for one round trip, so it doesn’t matter.
In that sense, using Yerina as a cooler was the best choice.
Among cooling devices of human size, Yerina would produce the maximum efficiency.
“I’ll be back.”
“…Okay.”
I lightly pressed my lips to Jill’s before grabbing Mi Jeong’s hand and jumping off the airship.
Telekinesis magic controlled our fall speed.
We landed softly on the ascending modified airship.
“W-we did it within the time limit! Somehow!”
“I heard there were many flaws, but you resolved them all.”
“Yes, yes! The cooling issue was solved by using the Frost Duchess!”
“You’re treating a person like an object, you mad scientist!”
“The steering issue was resolved by using a wind-type mage because there wasn’t enough space to install a compressed air thruster!”
While I wondered why Alicia was onboard, it seemed she was in charge of the steering component of the airship.
I thought it was a bit much to treat this like a makeshift solution, but I decided not to say anything.
If Yulia deemed this was the best option, then it meant there was no better choice.
“But why was she dragged here?”
“Wahh! I couldn’t finish it!!!”
In a corner, covered in soot, engrossed in her work, was someone I recognized.
None other than Cern’s daughter.
It seemed she hadn’t completed the clockwork machine with the required specs in time.
Her arms, eyes, and vocal apparatus were still incomplete.
She was only in the midst of working on the mainboard, and it was still unfinished.
Does it always start off so rocky…?
“I won’t interrupt, so keep working.”
“Yes, yes! Ughh…”
I steeled myself.
It’s a chaotic plan, but I believe it will succeed, so I’ll press on.
I believe in Jill, in Yulia, in Yerina, in Alicia and Cern, and in his daughter.
And that’s not all.
“Using the data obtained from the World Tree’s prophecy, I’ll modify the course…”
Mia mentioned that the World Tree had been spewing prophecies wildly.
By using future spirit energy, the outlines of the future had begun to come into view.
The optimal route projected was the one we were currently taking.
“Nameless. Th- that 9th tier magic. What was it?”
“It’s Spirit Redemption. I’ve completed the casting. The quality of the mana stone is so good that it seems it can be maintained permanently.”
The mana stone crafted by Tay had a 9th tier magic inscribed upon it.
Though it’s complex and unstable, with the notion that anything above 8th tier couldn’t be maintained for long…
Tay managed to achieve it effortlessly.
In fact, not just semi-permanent, but it could maintain permanence as long as the mana stone wasn’t broken.
“Hah… so you want me to take that massive dimensional entity and somehow fit it into this tiny machine?”
“You understood correctly.”
“Hahhhh…”
Approaching me, the Nameless asked, then squeezed his eyes shut while releasing a deep sigh.
He didn’t seem eager even when he first heard the operation.
But witnessing Draken’s reality made him feel just how absurd this operation was.
Though his hands trembled…
His fist clenched tight, and the trembling soon subsided.
It seemed the Nameless had also steeled himself.
“Well, until now, I had no idea why I was born into this world. I thought I was just a bug created by the world’s error… Now I see. I was born for today.”
“…”
Suddenly, I recalled something Teimurlen said.
The Nameless is a being created by infusing meaning into what was once mere detritus of my will.
Perhaps my will back then unconsciously awakened this ability with today in mind.
As I patted the smiling Nameless on the head with confidence.
Just as I was about to accelerate the airship and move closer to Draken…
“What! It sounds ridiculous, but we’ll somehow give it a go—”
|Hyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!|
A powerful shockwave hit, accompanied by an overwhelming pressure.
In an instant, the faces of everyone onboard, including the Nameless, turned pale.
Their bodies stiffened.
The airship lost its balance in an instant, entering a state of uncontrollable sway.
“A-aah?!”
“This is transformation, isn’t it?”
It hadn’t even descended one percent of its true self, and this level of pressure?
I didn’t see that coming.
Cold sweat began to trickle down.
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