Chapter 229

Just moments ago, she looked like she’d lost half her soul.

<This is getting tiresome!>

As if suddenly awakened, Lucesia snapped back to full awareness and violently dodged an incoming javelin aimed straight for her throat.

However, those ten pairs of wings weren’t just taking up space for show.

Swish!

The feathers pierced through, scratching her even beneath the cover. Must’ve been that.

<Ugh…!!>

Uncontrollable pain contorted her face without permission.

If it were simple pain, she wouldn’t have winced this much.

It felt like someone was poking at her very soul.

Seriously, is this what it feels like when your soul gets hurt?

Not unbearable though.

…Still, with this wound, her body’s not responding as well as it should.

<…>

Even so.

She recognized one thing clearly—she’d finally reached it.

The realm, the level that the ancient seers longed for…

…Which means…

Everything I aim for can be achieved according to my will.

‘And what we’ve always sought after…’

It’s right in front of us now. Just stretch out a hand and you’ll touch it.

But then….

“…Hmph.”

The final gatekeeper standing before her had presence entirely different from anything she’d faced before.

To be precise, they had almost no presence at all—but…

…behind them stretched an endless darkness, a night sky, and a radiant starry expanse.

Only when she gained the ability to see the essence did she come to understand.

Also…

Behind that figure loomed a massive golden afterimage.

A shimmering gold filled with clear intent and intelligence, watching her intently.

‘What… is this?’

Cannot know.

When she tried to peer deeper, it felt like falling into some kind of bottomless pit for no reason, so she quickly averted her gaze.

It wasn’t fear or terror.

Just discomfort.

An unknown anxiety urged her not to pay attention.

‘…Besides, this is… something familiar, though I don’t know what.’

Energy? Aura? Presence?

Hard to describe.

“Do you still intend to erase and destroy the world?”

<…Of course.>

“Even here, it’s nothing more than a fragment of the world you want to erase. In reality, it’s like trying to remove a single grain of sand from an endless beach. Are you satisfied with just that?”

[No. I will… erase everything. Every world where suffering exists… I will erase them all.]

“…Is it possible?”

Using the World Tree? That alone isn’t enough to make it happen.

[That’s why… purification and destruction are necessary. If I can’t erase one world, how could I possibly erase and dismantle the concept and structure of every world?]

“Talk about making things unnecessarily complicated…”

You’re such a headache.

“Fine. If you wanna try, go ahead. But first, what are you gonna do about me?”

As he extended his hand, another shadowy remnant of pitch blackness retracted the Misiltain.

[ABRAS―]

“Para Ensís.”

Switching the neck spear into sword form, he swiftly cloaked it in darkness.

[ADABRA]

“Tenebrā.”

The third blade.

The instant her verbal command activated,

the phenomena reacted accordingly, but he immediately dismantled it and reversed its power.

Instead of brilliant lines of pitch-black light forming crosses, they spread instantly across the heavens and earth as planes.

Afterward, all infinite divine energy, connections transcending space and dimensions, were abruptly severed.

As if cut off by some invisible barrier.

[What trick is this—!?]

Completely incomprehensible.

What exactly is this thing?

Does it even make sense that Divine Words and miracles of harmony can be nullified like this?

Through becoming a Daemonurgos, Lucesia ascended to realms of boundless knowledge and wisdom, yet…

Even so, this remains beyond her understanding.

Even if she understood it, she doesn’t know how to counteract it.

‘If only I had a bit more time, I might have grasped the essence of this.’

Had I reached the sacred wisdom beyond mere wisdom (σοφία)!

“…Hmm.”

While Lucesia fell into confusion,

Carriel calmly reviewed his own techniques anew.

Mikate. Canus. And finally, Tenebra.

These were originally arts meant to be chosen and mastered over a lifetime, allowing only one to be utilized.

The ultimate technique attainable through Grandeous’ swordsmanship and martial prowess.

Mastering even one would make him a master capable of rivaling legends across eras.

But that’s the limit of human potential.

How much time and effort it takes to achieve that…

Honestly disheartening.

“…Hmm.”

Clearly, these weren’t designed for humans to learn.

Thus, for me, they’re practically custom-made skills.

Swordplay that cannot be truly mastered through conventional swordsmanship approaches—just repeating foolish methods over and over again.

Until both body and mind, spirit and soul, are completely consumed and unified, one can barely begin to understand and master the basics.

Even then, compared to the efficiency of learning regular swordsmanship or magic, this method is incredibly inefficient, with little practical payoff.

Especially for battlefield use, battlefield swordsmanship or weapon techniques would be far better suited.

For duels and one-on-one combat, appropriate styles would be more effective.

Ultimately, it boils down to this.

Trees are trees, rocks are rocks.

Water is water, wind is wind.

Even flames consuming matter or freezing cold remain within their natural order.

All part of the natural flow and principles.

But how one uses these principles…

Can turn everything into anything.

From one to ten, or from ten back to one.

-Cut off the path to heaven, sever the way to earth. By breaking these connections, they transform from infinite beings into finite mortals.

Whispers of the Demon King from ages past.

-To defeat such entities, striking the main body has no meaning. The key is to first sever their connection to the world.

Since they can unilaterally draw power and knowledge from all creation unlike us.

“…Hmm.”

Within the unique dimensional space formed by Athena,

he further bound it using Tenebra based on her intrinsic power.

Here, none of my abilities or origins exist.

Though… I substituted some divine energy to pull off this risky move.

[Ugh!]

Therefore,

with just the manifestation of this space, her near-infinite divine energy continues to deplete and waste away.

Ironically, because her divine power overflows, feats like this improbable harmony become possible—something even I find quite amusing as the caster.

Is raw power really… not everything?

“Do you get the situation now?”

[Why do creatures like you even exist? This is absurd! Does this even make sense?]

“…Indeed.”

Agreed.

I’ve had this nagging feeling for quite some time now.

What am I?

Is there any reason I should have come this far?

All I ever wanted was…

“Let’s say fate shoved both you and me into a cesspool and a pit of despair.”

[Then you shouldn’t have stopped me! I’ll fill in every pit, eradicate every single abyss! Or… have you gotten attached to this world now that you’ve gained such power?! Acting like some sort of god?!]

“That’s precisely… nonsense.”

Holding the pitch-black Misiltain in his right hand and Hebaitein in his left,

he stepped forward while propping himself up with his staff-like weapon.

“…Hmm.”

The pale man and the young girl blocked Lucesia’s path.

[Step aside. This… is my problem.]

“No. Absolutely not.”

Delica fiercely opposed Lucesia’s words.

“…Hmm.”

[He’s not the type who’d let up just because you block his way.]

“I know. There’s no room for ‘what ifs’ here.”

Still, no matter what…

Delica couldn’t help but act this way.

“So instead of ‘what ifs,’ let’s go for surefire options?”

[…Surely not?]

“You brought me back from the dead, so I trust you, right?”

At that moment,

a pitch-black mist and aura surged around Delica’s entire body.

“This is unexpected?”

Her demeanor and tone changed drastically.

Then, the dark-shrouded girl turned her head and snapped irritably.

“You pathetic wretch. Even in this state, you’re still crawling around on the ground?”

The entity possessing Delica went beyond mere possession—it was practically a full descent.

Another version of herself from a different world.

A war deity had intruded upon this scene.

“Over here, we’re also tired of fighting, but you keep summoning us like this. Hahahaha!”

Despite his complaints, his attitude and appearance seemed unusually relaxed.

“Hold on. Do you need an explanation?”

“Nonsense.”

This shadow was far more imposing in presence and aura compared to the one encountered earlier.

Even this is merely a fragment of his true self… and it’s already this powerful?

“Let’s keep it short. Survive, and it’s your victory. Fail, and… you die?”

“…Hmm.”

“Ah, before that.”

Suddenly, the war deity’s figure vanished.

‘What…’

Can he really use this much power within this space?

If I accidentally used Dominatur Pecata against him, I might end up getting beaten up one-sidedly.

Surprisingly, after possession, his physical capabilities were enhanced to extreme levels.

…This will definitely lead to backlash once the possession wears off.

But.

The shocking part wasn’t just losing track of his movements.

<...?>

In the blink of an eye, his arm had pierced through Lucesia’s solar plexus.

“Ma, master?”

The pale man, Cain, stared blankly as if unsure if he’d seen correctly, muttering in shock.

“Pathetic fools always think alike.”

Pulling his arm out, Lucesia collapsed onto the ground gasping heavily.

“Pathetic wretch. From the start, this was a battle you couldn’t win. They’re doing their best not to kill you, and you can’t even recognize that?”

And you.

Pointing at Carriel, he berated him.

“You idiot. What’s with this looking-the-other-way crap? Feeling mighty after gaining some power, huh? If you keep being this useless, I’m wiping out everything outside here right after regaining consciousness.”

“…Hmm.”

Ah, that’s how it is.

Carriel realized something from the chaotic violent attitude.

“So, is this your final arrangement? How far did you foresee this?”

“Already told you. Pathetic minds think alike.”

He snickered.

“Wanna bet? Will I kill this pathetic woman or not?”

“The beauty of grand strategy lies in realizing everything stems from my control the moment you do.”

You amateur strategist.

And you incompetent fool with clumsy tactics.

“You’re underestimating war. Acting all high-and-mighty until you get blindsided—how does that feel? Ruining your mood?”

“…Hmm.”

“While you’re chatting, are you just gonna leave her dying over there? And do you think immortality and holiness can only be killed by you? I’ve killed plenty, overflowing with it.”

Even for a divine being, his condition appeared critically severe.

Cutting off communication between heaven and earth via Tenebra shouldn’t cause this much damage…

“I don’t have time either, so hurry up and attack. Or what? Gonna keep spectating?”

Before the pale man, Cain, could finish speaking, his head flew off.

“Ah, here you don’t respawn, right?”

With a carefree laugh, he made a demand.

“Come at me already? Why? Still need time to think? Need me to demolish everything so you don’t have to think?”

“Don’t nag. I’ve finished thinking.”

With a brief sigh, Carriel approached him.

There’s no way he’d come to me.

He’s clearly using Lucesia as a shield.

So I said it outright.

“Yeah. If you want to win, being dirty and despicable is the answer.”

“Useless people always talk about justice and righteousness. As if those things are their shields. Their ways of thinking are disgusting, like tramps.”

“Your thinking seems pretty twisted too, though.”

“Do you even understand? The victorious me defines law, truth, and life. Whatever nonsense comes out of my mouth becomes truth. Disagree? Boil you alive, burn you to death, or just beat you to death—it doesn’t matter.”

By this point, Carriel was utterly speechless.

“You… were supposed to die at the hands of your younger brother, weren’t you?”

“So I died, didn’t I? It was my choice. On the other hand, what about you? Is there any choice left in your life?”

“…Hmm.”

Really.

You never lose, do you?

Now it’s truly within reach, just close enough to touch.

We stood amidst the pitch-blackened earth and air.

Facing each other, we silently laughed, souls lost and strength drained.

Silently.

Through our eyes.

Only in our minds.

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