“Ugh…! Damn it!”
*Thud.*
The longsword got embedded into the rock.
As the gem at the end of the handle glowed a soft red, Hertlocker coughed while kneeling with the sword in hand.
Blood continuously mixed with saliva and splattered from inside his throat.
Even just sitting still was unbearably painful, and swinging the sword wildly was just plain absurd.
There was definitely something wrong with his lungs.
It felt like blood was boiling up in his throat with every breath.
Now, the blood clots were blocking his throat, making it even harder to breathe.
“Still at it…”
Looking down from the cliff, Hertlocker let out a chuckle.
Monsters clawing their way up the cliff were still coming in droves.
He felt like he had already slain nearly a hundred, but there were still hundreds… no, thousands left.
“Heh. Damn it. Why did I even mess with these suspicious Majin…”
They must have once been human.
Deceived by the sweet promise that if the Majin won, paradise would unfold, they ended up becoming monsters who lost their minds.
Hertlocker felt a tinge of pity.
At first, they said the Majin drew upon their power to heal the sick and lured them into the Asylum.
After all, compared to a god that never responded, a Majin performing a ‘miracle’ might seem superior.
‘Time to pay the price, foolish ones.’
Ignorance is sin.
Because they were foolish and dumb, they were deceived and met this miserable end.
Now it was time to make them pay.
With great effort, Hertlocker groaned and pulled up Judgment Day again.
His legs were wobbling, but he could still manage to stand.
He should be able to take down at least 100 more, no, 100 monsters before he fell.
“Wrap it up already! Damn Schlus Hainkel! *Gag cough!*”
Just buying that much time would be enough for Schlus Hainkel.
Hertlocker roared and spat out a blood-laced cough.
He could see filthy claws scaling up the cliff.
The second wave was coming.
There would be no more time to rest from now on.
‘This grave is really messed up…’
If I’m digging a hole where no one can come, who in the world would visit the grave?
Hertlocker chuckled and gripped the sword tightly with his gradually fading senses.
Just then—
*Flash!*
A chilling sound swept over, and purple light covered the area.
A pillar of light shone so brightly right in front of him, it made him question whether it was even daytime.
Just before Judgment Day struck the monster, the bolt of electricity pierced it, reducing it to white ash in an instant.
*Fzzzzzz!*
But that wasn’t the end.
The electric pillar split into two, then four… and so it continued to multiply infinitely, engulfing the horde of monsters surging from behind.
In a moment, the entire cliff was filled with blue light.
The scene felt strangely familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere.
*Rumbling…!*
The majestic sound of thunder echoed late afterward.
Once the electric bolts finished impaling the monsters like skewers, the surroundings turned pitch black again.
The monsters climbing up the cliff toward Hertlocker fell down one by one like a landslide.
“Ah.”
With trembling legs, Hertlocker walked to the cliff’s edge, unable to contain his awe.
It was like an avalanche, a colossal roar and vibration.
The corpses of the monsters that had been climbing finally rolled down in unison, creating a breathtaking sight.
As the power of the electric charge exponentially decreased towards the bottom, there must have been many surviving, but that didn’t matter.
No one would survive being swept away by that wave of corpses.
“*Urgh…*”
After throwing away Judgment Day, Hertlocker plopped down on the cliff.
And then, he gazed into the distance toward the Institution.
Although thick clouds obscured everything, making it impossible to see…
“Damn those wizard bastards… It’s so dark and gloomy…”
Just from the purple light, one could surmise the source of the electricity.
It was clear that he had squeezed every last bit of power from Durandal and projected that power.
Chuckling resentfully, he thought that they could have shot it just a little earlier. Hertlocker lay back, thinking that Schlus Hainkel would come pick him up if he took a short nap.
*
The Traveler was dead.
Alexia could feel it in her skin.
The evil power was increasing in real-time.
The authority of the Majin, now masterless, was automatically being reclaimed by her body.
Now, she was completely alone.
Alexia squeezed her eyes shut tightly before opening them again.
“Is it really going to work?”
She looked up at the gigantic statue in front of her.
The absolute being called Aigis by humans.
In other words, a god.
Just yesterday, the existence of such a god had been ambiguous.
But now, things were different.
The plan the Traveler had in mind was outrageous.
To borrow the power of the absolute being.
That was the Traveler’s plan.
If there existed a higher-dimensional entity that could open pathways connecting to other dimensions, what else could it be if not a god?
At least in terms of lower dimensions, it was certain that it wielded absolute influence.
Such an existence definitely existed.
The Traveler sought contact with it.
The influx of various items from another dimension was not just a simple amusement of the absolute being but a response to someone’s request, the Traveler thought.
That meant that it was possible to trade with the absolute being.
By offering something from this side, one could receive something equivalent from the god.
The Traveler firmly believed this without a doubt.
He sent the souls of thousands of humans as offerings.
He killed all those unfortunate souls in the most elevated place closest to the heavens.
However, whether those souls truly reached the absolute being was an uncertain matter.
From this point on, all he could do was endlessly pray.
That was really all there was.
*Thud…!*
“Ah?”
At that moment, the response came.
.
.
.
“Alexia.”
“You came.”
Alexia wore a faint smile as she faced me.
The solemn shrine.
In here, aside from me and Alexia, there was no one else.
At least, there was no ambush around.
“Schlus. I’m sorry. From now on, I will give you a trial.”
The moment Alexia’s voice echoed off the shrine’s walls, chills ran down my spine.
And instinctively, I prepared for combat and pulled my right arm back.
“Ah. Vafe isn’t with me.”
I didn’t feel the tingling sensation that usually came from drawing Vafe.
I was no longer the master of Vafe.
Recalling that fact, I clenched my right fist tightly.
The Judgment Day, which had been releasing a mana ripple effect, had already been neutralized by Hertlocker.
It was certain now that I could see clearly ahead without setting up barriers.
I wouldn’t be drained by mana anymore.
‘Trial?’
What could the trial Alexia was talking about be?
Picking such a dead-end for a battleground, what was she thinking?
Here, due to the scant mana, she wouldn’t even be able to use magic.
It meant she couldn’t use the barriers she specialized in either.
Only pure hand-to-hand combat would be possible.
There was no way Alexia would willingly choose this place to die.
I had to stay vigilant and tense until the very end.
“Did I betray you?”
“Not at all.”
I shook my head.
I had fully anticipated Alexia’s betrayal.
She was one of the few who could see through me, and she must have sensed that I would eventually annihilate all the Majin.
Moreover, I had no intentions of sparing Alexia, so it was the right choice.
“Schlus. I don’t intend to fight.”
“Now that you’ve brought me here to say that?”
What on earth was she talking about?
Was she really considering relinquishing her authority?
“I intend to win without fighting.”
“Is there a way to do that?”
“Yes. There is, Schlus. There is a way to borrow the power of the absolute being…”
Alexia began to walk slowly towards me.
Her steps lacked any sense of malice.
At the moment, I thought about attacking and snapping her neck, but my feet didn’t move.
It could be a trap, so I had to be cautious.
“Did you meet this absolute being in a dream? How fortunate.”
“I’m not talking about that, Schlus. I met a real higher dimensional being.”
“Of course.”
“He told me that you are an existence from another world.”
“…?!”
What did she just say?
In an instant, I was taken aback and shivered.
“So I asked him to send you back to your original world. But he refused. Apparently, due to contract issues, he couldn’t just send you back.”
“….”
I had to admit it.
It seemed that Alexia had successfully made contact with something called a god.
The being that created this world at Han Ah-reum’s request and piloted me as Schlus Hainkel must have been this very god.
“So I asked him to give you a trial.”
“Trial…?”
“Yes. You’ll see what kind of trial it is.”
“….”
Slowly, Alexia approached until she was right in front of me.
Then, cautiously glancing at me, she extended her hand to wrap around my fist.
If her plan was to neutralize my fist first, that would be a foolish miscalculation.
My fist was strong enough to withstand even the Annihilation Cannon.
“What?!”
Something unexpected happened.
Alexia closed her eyes, and I felt a tingling sensation travel through my hand.
I sensed instinctively.
It was the authority of the Majin.
Alexia was now transferring the power of the Majin to me.
Every bit of it without leaving anything behind.
“Hrrrgh?!”
Before I knew it, Alexia, who had poured all the powers into me, collapsed in front of me.
Terrified, I shook her off and stepped back.
She was clutching her chest, writhing in pain.
Having lost all the power of the Majin, she was now just a human.
I couldn’t comprehend her intentions, and fear gripped me.
Why would she forsake her authority as a Majin?
‘Wait a minute. If this is the case…’
If this is the case, wouldn’t I be the only Majin left?
Wouldn’t that mean I succeeded in repelling all the Majin in this world?
It felt a little hollow, but this seemed to be the end.
It had to be the end.
It had to lead to a conclusion.
“…!”
At that moment, a bright window appeared before my eyes.
It was a window similar to a quest or shop window, but unlike any I had ever seen.
My heart raced.
I began reading from the top row one by one.
[Congratulations. You have established an evil Majin force aiming to dominate humanity and have become the only Majin in this world. Nothing in this universe can be considered a threat to you now with the omnipotent power in your hands.]
[As you reach the end, a special reward is given to you.]
[You can return to the original world at the moment you embodied this world. Will you return?]
I smirked, chuckling softly to myself.
How long had I been waiting for this moment?
How hard had I fought to return to reality?
“I’m not going. I’ll stay here.”
But my decision was final.
I wouldn’t go back.
I had already achieved too much here.
I had given too much affection.
I couldn’t just leave now.
There was nothing left for me in the real world…
[…Conditions are updated due to the new contract.]
“Huh?”
Just then, the screen crackled, and the text began to change.
I gaped as I followed the changing sentence.
[You can return to the original world four years in the past from the moment you embodied this world. Afterward, Han Ah-reum’s illness will not manifest.]
Four years ago meant that her illness had not yet appeared.
So if I chose to return, she wouldn’t fall ill, nor would she wither away slowly.
And I would once again with her…
[Will you return?]
Finally, I understood the meaning of the trial Alexia mentioned.
