Chapter 133

Victoria’s hair was dyed purple, and not only did the wounds on her body disappear, but so did her scales and gills.

The problem is that water is flowing in.

There are shattered rock fragments mixed in the water.

Even if you can breathe underwater, it’s impossible to survive in there.

Because the debris from the building destroyed by the machine and the jewelry swept away together will grind everything inside like a blender.

Even if the tsunami is only 1 meter high, cities near the coast will be wiped out.

Water is dangerous.

That’s why Daegon had this device prepared.

The architecture style being uneven like coral had a reason. It wasn’t just to give an oceanic feel. When flooded, it forms whirlpools to suck in and kill creatures along with debris.

Not for enemies, but for traitors—so it was made extra precise.

Of course, when distributed, it was claimed to be for trapping and detonating enemies, but…

In short.

Being able to breathe underwater isn’t enough to survive.

“Scale… they’re gone…”

Victoria half-undressed, feeling around where her ribs used to be multiple times, spreading her fingers to check closely.

The water reached her knees. The water rushing in was swirling in one direction, creating a giant vortex inside the dome. That means the blender is on.

It’s getting dangerous. If I get caught in the flow and fall face-down, I’ll die.

While thinking that, she kept checking her arms and legs, then stretched her arm forward with a puzzled look.

And the water in front of her turned soft, like jelly. Not just the water in front, but all the surrounding water turned soft too.

Even though water keeps flowing in from outside the dome, it turns into jelly and piles up outside.

Come to think of it, there weren’t any psychics in the second world.

Rather, there were too few people created by the harvesting system.

I can’t just increase them recklessly, but here, I’m considering expanding more actively.

Meanwhile, the water flowed over my body.

I thought it would be sticky, but surprisingly, it feels just like water inside. It’s slippery, but moving feels resistant, like water sprinkled with cornstarch.

Rumble.

The device that meticulously dismantled everything from the outside is now entering its final phase.

It’s going to collapse this place where all the water gathers.

Rocks are falling from the ceiling, and the pillars around are completely collapsing. But Victoria was stronger.

No fragment could penetrate the protective barrier of water that Victoria created.

After some time passed as all the surrounding structures collapsed,

“Huff, huff, huff.”

Victoria survived.

But she’s breathing heavily, as if she’d sprinted across a playground. Eventually, she slumped down onto the muddy ground for quite a while.

She must be incredibly exhausted.

Well, even among the psychics who appeared in the first world, many got tired after using their powers.

That psychic ability is their own strength, not something borrowed like Heavenly Martial Arts. So, it makes sense that they’d get tired.

If anything, it’s strange that they don’t get more exhausted from wielding powers beyond human capability.

“You…”.

At what seemed to be some recovery of stamina, Victoria stood up and looked at me.

“Survival. Congratulations.”

“Kyaaaaaaah!”

Victoria screamed in shock.

Fair enough.

From her perspective, more than half of my body looks like minced meat. The only part intact is a portion of my upper body inside the protective barrier. Aside from that, not even fish bones remain.

“Are you… alive?”

“It’s fine since this isn’t originally my body. Pain doesn’t matter.”

There is pain, but compared to the cold, this nerve signal is nothing.

“Didn’t you say earlier that this body wasn’t originally yours?”

“Yes, correct. By the way, this wasn’t the body intended for me either.”

Victoria looks at me with a mix of curiosity and sympathy. Of course, from her point of view, I’m dying right now.

“Isn’t this body yours? I heard about someone called Dagon.”

“Yes, I am not Dagon.”

Dagon, Daegon, Daygon. Multiple names, but they all refer to one thing.

After inspecting herself a few times, she nodded.

“That’s right. If it had been you, I might have ended up completely like Sahaquin. Hmm. Are you okay? You’re bleeding profusely.”

My lower body is completely shredded, and there’s a wide cut from my back to the front rib area. But this body is tough.

The blood and bodily fluids have already stopped flowing, and the internal system has entered emergency regeneration mode to sustain life.

If I just eat well, it should regenerate.

“Yes, this body won’t die from something like this.”

Upon hearing my words, Victoria nodded, then suddenly froze. After standing still for quite some time, she sighed deeply.

“I… we made a contract earlier, right? Then, what happens next? If you’re like a god, you must have something you want from me.”

Ah.

So now there’s time to think about the contract?

But that’s unnecessary worry.

“I’m not a god. People should live freely. All I need is warmth when your end comes.”

And during that time, I’ll take the warmth from every life you kill. But I won’t say that. If I told you that warmth from others would come when you die, how would you avoid killing someone?

“Freedom?”

She looks at me with an expression suggesting disbelief in my blatant lie. But I nodded with a fish-like big head.

It feels strange without eyes, but since there’s no immediate issue, it’s fine.

“Yes.”

I have no intention of forcing anyone. After all, if left alone, they’ll naturally send me warmth, so there’s no need to force it.

Victoria pondered my words. Apparently reaching a conclusion, she opened her mouth.

“What will you do next?”

She asks what I plan to do next.

I check Victoria’s memories.

Her past is complicated, but summarized, that’s it.

Victoria was truly a student.

Not the kind of school where royalty and nobility flaunt their status levels, as seen in faded memories. Such places exist in this world, but Victoria didn’t attend one.

She was a student studying to become an alchemist modernized by this world’s standards, training to become a clockwork knight.

This world is at the forefront of civilization where brass springs and magical devices intertwine. Think of it as a steampunk aesthetic powered by magic.

That’s why she handled wrenches so skillfully.

I understand why she wielded powerful weapons so well.

Anyway.

She was abducted while staying at a port on her way home during vacation, waiting to board a ship.

She woke up in an underground prison deep within Sahaquin’s lair.

Regaining consciousness amidst people half-transformed into Fishmen, she grabbed a nearby wrench and killed the Sahaquin trying to inject her with a needle.

Later, while escaping from Sahaquin’s hideout, when she captured a high-ranking Sahaquin trying to recapture her, priorities changed.

Because that Sahaquin mentioned the end of the world and the arrival of their god.

Afterward, she obtained a weapon capable of instantly killing any Sahaquin and a key to collapse this place.

She also realized she had already been injected.

Thus, she killed all the Sahaquins blocking her path and arrived at the summoning site.

Then I was summoned, bringing us to now.

Her faded memories resemble a horror game protagonist. Agreeing with that, I contemplated what to do next.

Dive into the water with this huge body.

That’s risky. Because various bio-engineered weapons have died off in the wild.

Even with this body, it probably won’t help. It’ll just delay being torn apart.

Of course, I could make monsters by stealing warmth from those who attacked me, but I don’t intend to do that unless I’m making tools.

One mocking laugh is enough.

“So what?”

“Don’t ask me again.”

Silence fell.

Victoria, standing in the middle of the ruins with her arms crossed, asked me something that came to mind.

“Aren’t magic school kids supposed to have familiars that can transform into humanoid shapes?”

Transformation.

I can’t use magic.

But if it’s not transformation but rather a change, is it possible? I’m unsure if I can take a human form, but I’ve regenerated flesh before.

“I’ll try once.”

It’s my first time changing the shape of a vessel. Since I’m not a living creature but a created life form, there’s no resistance.

If I forcefully reshape reality, the world bends to my will.

Crack.

A thin crack appears in the world.

“Eh? You’re a girl?”

I became a small girl.

I lost my words.

This girl resembles someone I know. Not exactly the same, but…

Right before Victoria, stands a small girl whose face is still vividly remembered.

I swear, I never intended to take this girl’s form.

The purple hair, small hands and feet. This girl resembles how she looked the last time I saw her.

Soo-oh.

A technique I couldn’t figure out flashed in my memory.

Soo-oh’s Divine Art Choseol.

Yes.

That memory faintly sparkles.

It sparkled like when Soo-oh successfully pulled a prank on me and laughed.

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