Kaaang!
The swung flail was deflected limply.
Although it was a blow that should have been impossible to defend against, the fact that it was deflected was unusual. However, Akei wasn’t overly surprised by this.
After all, compared to her flail being deflected, killing a deity seemed like an even more absurd accomplishment.
But not being surprised didn’t mean the situation wasn’t serious.
Akei faced her death.
In the future darkening in real-time, she saw the monster that had caused most of the deaths.
The man with blackened scales covering his entire body, wings folded behind him, and sharp claws gripping the air as if tearing it apart—
Aslan, the Priest Slaughterer.
The moment Aslan lowered his stance toward Akei, a thunderous roar of a dragon echoed loudly.
Krooooooooooo!
A turbine-like sound surpassing any normal noise, a ferocious howl from circuits of mana that could never be transplanted into humans.
It was truly a roar worthy of a dragon.
Following that roar came an attack.
An attack that split the future into two paths, a relentless assault that made hesitation the only response.
Akei simultaneously perceived both futures.
One was a roundhouse kick.
A kick so extreme it severed heads, reaching the pinnacle of martial skill.
Within that vision, Akei stretched out her arm uselessly instead of blocking the kick and ended up decapitated.
The other future showed her raising her arm to block the kick, only for Aslan to stop his leg mid-motion.
Not just stopping but rolling his foot back while raising his elbow for an upward strike.
That attack crushed Akei’s head.
Two futures leading to death. Akei momentarily panicked before clenching her teeth and focusing on the present.
The attack was coming. Aslan approached with the roar, swinging his leg.
If she raised her arm to block, the elbow would come next.
And if she tried to block the elbow, Aslan wouldn’t hesitate to swing his leg and sever her neck.
Akei remained calm, trying to absorb every detail of the current moment and the future.
The future repeated itself, and the present drew near. The impending death was clearly a roundhouse kick.
Akei raised her arm…
Kwaang!
One future disappeared as Aslan rolled his foot backward.
An uppercut with his elbow.
The attack charging toward Akei, who raised her arm just in time.
At that moment, the future and the present aligned.
Kwajijijik!
The swung elbow didn’t crush her head but shattered the arm she raised for defense.
The broken arm. Akei forced herself not to cry as tears welled in her eyes and glimpsed the subsequent future.
She was shocked.
It was countless futures.
Endless attacks following one after another. Every trick and strategy imaginable, a collection of all possible attack methods a human could conceive.
Akei grew weary of it and eventually realized something.
Aslan could see the future.
Moreover, he knew about the abilities of the Voracious Eater: time manipulation and future observation.
He had prepared a countermeasure and believed he could execute it.
The scene was similar yet different from before the time rewind, and Akei understood everything, feeling fear.
There was no way to win.
She would probably die.
Yet, she gripped her flail desperately.
Even as terrifying futures engulfed her, she didn’t retreat.
And thus, she was pulverized countless times.
Psek!
Her flesh was torn off by a single punch.
Eujik!
Her flail-wielding arm was broken during a counterattack.
Seogul!
For some unknown reason, her shoulder blade was severed clean off.
Each time, she rewound time, but it became increasingly difficult.
Aslan’s attacks were merciless, powerful, and devoid of any compassion.
His appearance was undoubtedly different from before the time rewind.
In her fading consciousness, Akei struggled to respond, failed, and realized the truth.
She recalled Aslan’s past self before the time rewind.
“Would you like to eat together?”
In a snowy forest where large snowflakes fell, creating a picturesque scene, Aslan’s group welcomed her by their campfire.
When she hesitantly accepted the invitation, Aslan smiled.
Lumel shared food with a warm smile, while Lewena faced her with a subtly cold attitude despite smiling.
Even though she couldn’t feel the cold, the warmth of the campfire was comforting.
Hungry for news and stories, she asked these strangers about the outside world.
After pondering deeply, Aslan finally began to speak.
The conversation was enjoyable.
She heard about the barbaric tribal nation in the north, the empire once ruled by the Supreme Divinity.
Even the tale of a king who greedily transformed into an elf felt like a moral story one might tell children, making it enjoyable.
Eventually, Aslan reluctantly spoke about their journey.
It sounded exhausting just to listen.
People died, battles were plentiful.
It was a wearisome story filled with grueling fights, enough to tire even her as a listener.
Yet, there was undoubtedly some meaning to their journey.
“Why go through so much trouble?”
When Akei asked, Aslan scratched his cheek awkwardly before replying,
“It’s hard to explain… I just thought it was the right thing to do.”
Though there was certainly a hidden reason, the answer given was close enough to the truth that it was obvious.
It was a vivid memory.
It felt less like recalling and more like reliving it.
The kind Aslan she remembered was nowhere to be seen when she turned her gaze to the present.
All she could see was the priest slaughterer clad in black scales relentlessly pressing her.
Akei thought while catching up with the scene.
To these people, Akei, the elf hybrid, was a complete stranger.
Any sympathy or understanding they had shown her before the time rewind was now gone, thanks to Akei herself.
Thus, the current situation was logically understandable.
She hadn’t conversed with them for survival, which led to becoming their enemy.
Still, people often feel the impact of tragedies that befall them, even if they brought it upon themselves.
Psychological impact.
Kwajik!
The arm she raised to block was cleanly severed. But the pain was faint.
Akei had learned to alleviate suffering by focusing her consciousness within time.
Her ability to rewind time had also improved, and new arms sprouted almost instantly after breaking.
However, while her body was intact, Akei’s spirit was battered.
She despised the person she had become, someone who had to fight this arduously just to survive. Fighting wasn’t something that suited her.
Nor was fighting advantageous. It was utterly unfavorable.
A battle without hope or prospects. Yet, she continued fighting.
To the point where she wanted to give up and seek ease at any moment.
But she couldn’t deny her honest desire to live.
In her delusions, she even considered the possibility that giving up the fight and collapsing might lead Aslan to show mercy.
Yujijijik!
Finally, after repeated attacks, the pole supporting the eternal wedge broke.
The fist that penetrated broke Akei’s neck, and even as she rewound time, the pain was sharp.
With only chains left, Akei tightly gripped them and swung them to hit Aslan.
Kaang!
It was a weak blow. Sparks flew, but Aslan inside remained unscathed.
However, Aslan paused briefly, startled by the sight of sparks leaping through the slits in his armor, something he had never seen from such desperate counterattacks.
His hesitation was brief, and Aslan swung his fist again.
Cheeeerk!
“Guh…”
The fist piercing her abdomen sent Akei flying backward, rolling on the ground.
After rolling for a while, her small body stopped, and just as Aslan’s conscience stirred…
Akei lay on the ground, thinking.
If she explained her situation and begged for mercy…
Would Aslan spare her?
Probably not.
Even if she garnered sympathy, nothing would change.
There were too many futures where Aslan’s desperate attempts ended in Akei’s death.
There was merely a different way of dying.
Since the futures confirmed her thoughts, Akei painfully rose, moving like a pitiful insect.
Unconsciously, several times…
Akei imagined surrendering and finding peace.
A fantasy where Aslan somehow found a solution and saved her.
In those fantasies, Akei lived as an ordinary girl, despite not growing due to her elven heritage, leading a somewhat happy life.
It was a sweet illusion precisely because it was unreachable.
As the illusion faded, all she could see was Aslan approaching as if trying to negate her very existence.
Despite knowing it was impossible…
Akei watched as Aslan approached, roaring like a dragon.
Aslan was fully prepared, ready to leap forward and finish her off at any moment.
It was a cautious approach, as if trying to prevent whatever Akei might attempt.
Seeing this, Akei chuckled.
“You already know everything, don’t you?”
She noticed and shakily stood up.
Among the Voracious Eater’s repertoire, the most challenging pattern according to Aslan was the “desperation pattern.”
The ability to summon players from alternate timelines and command them.
Back when Aslan was still Lee Hyun-woo and Eternal Dominion was still a game, the pattern involved summoning around three enemies.
Enemies of the same level and appearance as the player.
Based on collected player builds, these characters were theoretically from different timelines and possibilities, labeled as “multiverse_player” in the code.
What Aslan feared most was the appearance of a 20th-level mana user like himself.
Because Aslan, possessing another unique legendary magic, wouldn’t be an easy opponent.
And if the Voracious Eater controlled and coordinated an attack on Aslan’s party, it would be troublesome.
Thus, Aslan prepared to cut off the pattern and kill Akei the moment it started.
The preparation was flawless.
Of course, the problem lay elsewhere.
The desperation pattern of the Voracious Eater was limited to that level because he was just an old man, the Voracious Eater known to Aslan.
In the case of Akei, the elf hybrid, things were different, and that was the issue.
The regenerative power of elves allowed her to withstand excessive authority usage.
The adaptability inherent to hybrids enabled her to adapt to time manipulation.
Through prolonged combat, Akei had assimilated with the concept of time itself, gradually increasing her total authority usage.
Thus, her desperation surpassed that of the Voracious Eater.
She had ventured deep into time…
Suddenly, an indiscernible noise struck her ears.
A chilling sensation enveloped her body as Aslan rushed forward.
But faster than that, time trembled.
Just by Akei peering into the timeline, it trembled.
A trembling akin to someone wielding omnipotence, attempting to suppress their own failures.
So, time suddenly split.
Time split, and a hand emerged from the void.
Kuddeok!
And pierced through Akei’s chest.
A metallic hand.
A hand that turned white upon entering her chest but reverted to black as it pierced through.
Within that hand was a heart, distinctly different from a human’s.
Psek!
The metallic hand crushed the heart in an instant.
As Akei’s eyes widened and she collapsed, Aslan recognized the light that stained the metallic hand.
Exclusive combat skill: Heart Piercing.
Aslan froze at the impossibility, and the split time collapsed, revealing another figure.
Failures who couldn’t break time with magnetism but possessed the strength to ascend against already fractured time.
Entities originally beyond Akei’s ability to summon: Evil Deities and overlords.
People once called them by these names.
Consumers, Conquerors, Last Captains.
Sword of Supreme Divinity, Sword Deity, Mountain Destroyer.
Walker of the Abyss, Lord of Darkness, Shadow Knight.
Aslan.
Aslan literally faced his failure.
