Chapter 52

Not long after I was born, a tiny life form appeared on this land.

That life form called itself a human, and I didn’t pay much attention to the actions of the first human to appear on this land.

After all, it was a time when countless lives appeared and disappeared repeatedly.

It was obvious they would turn into a handful of dust in less than a day.

But before I could even react, humans grew at an astonishing speed.

Now, I was the one trying to keep up with them.

Isn’t it funny?

A dimension trying hard to catch up with something inside it.

Ironically, that became the flow that occupied most of my short time, and now our war, which had become a boring routine, even took on a massive continuity.

Let’s admit it.

I grew within it.

It’s no exaggeration to say that everything about me originated from humans.

Humans were the ones who raised the young me.

But now, I know.

By absorbing other dimensions and looking at their records, I realized how seriously insane humans are.

I also realized that our meaningless cycle would eventually lead to an endless act of destruction.

[I will.]

If no one can stop her, then I will.

[I will stop her.]

Before this world is preserved in blood and death.

*

“The inside is cleaner than I thought, huh?”

“Why are you saying that on purpose? Let’s focus.”

Belva, with a tense expression, kept looking around.

The sensation of the ground underfoot feels unfamiliar.

Let’s see.

It’s roughly like a stone floor, but not a single speck of dust falls, as if some subtle magnetic force is pulling them together.

Purple cracks are etched here and there in the air, and there’s no distinction between up and down.

Gravity seems to exist, but its direction keeps changing.

All sorts of objects are floating in the air, giving a surreal sensation.

And the important thing is these sounds.

Scratch, scratch, scratch. The sounds that resonate like a trembling vibration, I need to figure out what they mean.

It feels quite ominous.

“Can you handle it?”

I asked, looking back.

Belva and Noah nodded with effort, but their anxious faces were clear.

I could relate.

An unknown environment.

A continuous blind spot where an attack could come from anywhere.

Moreover, due to the peculiarities of the area, spreading Dimension Power to sense or using divine power for vision control is impossible.

Compared to before, it feels suffocating, like being blinded.

“…Look at this.”

Then, Belva, who reached out near the cracks etched in the air, whispered softly.

Like someone entranced.

“All these cracks are scars from stars colliding. Isn’t it beautiful?”

And from those scars, a massive wave of Dimension Power could be felt.

A distortion of dimensions, dense and compressed enough to inevitably cause some anomaly.

I slowly pulled Belva away from the cracks, covering her eyes.

There’s a risk of mental contamination.

Let’s keep that in mind.

“Snap out of it and look ahead. If we get lost here, we’re really dead.”

“Ah…”

Belva, coming to her senses at my voice, staggered like a low blood pressure patient, holding her forehead.

Seems like there’s a bit of aftereffect too.

Definitely, a bizarre area.

Perhaps a result of the mixed Dimension Power of various worlds.

Some forces of attraction and repulsion kept appearing and disappearing.

It almost looked like a stomach churning for digestion.

“Quite a bit of effort was put into this.”

No energy was emitted no matter what I did outside my body.

My Divine Power also disappeared as soon as it touched the ground.

Probably because too many worlds are tangled, making the divine power itself decide it ‘can’t be consumed’…

They definitely prepared well.

This is very troublesome.

Because the enemies that will pop out here will have the same nature.

Squelch-

At that moment, a smooth purple tentacle-like thing shot up from under the ground.

I took a step back because it looked a bit gross.

Screech!

The tentacle made a strange sound.

It was a sharp sound, like dozens of blades constantly crossing.

Just in case, I looked back and saw blood dripping from Noah’s nose.

The sound of blades clashing was already echoing inside my head.

“Even if it’s hard, keep circulating Divine Power inside your body. The contamination level is high. If it’s really tough, cover your eyes and ears. I’ll lead the way.”

Squelch. I grabbed the tentacle with one hand and crushed it.

A sticky, thick purple fluid oozed out.

Just looking at it made my head throb.

This place is really messed up.

It feels like a garbage dump where all sorts of food are mixed together. Nothing here is normal.

I’m getting more and more curious.

What could be at the end of this path?

Will the door to another dimension, the one I’ve been searching for so long, open?

“Just hang in there a little longer.”

I stepped forward, crushing another tentacle that popped up.

*

[For the master…!]

Clang-

Charging in, losing all reason…

The knight’s sword was knocked away with the back of my hand.

The bent sword bounced off into the distance, and at the same time, the knight’s helmet was also distorted beyond recognition.

I brushed off the blood and let out a sigh.

A purple plain stretched out as far as the eye could see, painting the horizon.

“Is this the world that’s been devoured?”

“To be precise, it’s just a small part. It seems it hasn’t been fully digested yet.”

I looked down at the fallen knight.

His eyes were clouded.

His body was covered in spots.

I raised my sword and split him open, only to find translucent tentacles filling his insides, not human organs.

My sudden action caught Noah off guard, and he vomited and started crying after seeing it.

Hmm…

So this is how they transform the worlds they’ve absorbed into their own.

Pretty grotesque, huh?

“Interesting.”

I like it too.

The cruel stuff.

I kicked the groaning knight away and kept walking.

Now I’m even looking forward to what’s next.

“Your taste is really…”

“If I didn’t like this kind of stuff, I’d have died already.”

“That’s true.”

Actually, when you think about it, it’s not that cruel.

Blood spurting, flesh tearing…

It’s not much different from everyday life.

It’s just that there’s a bit more creepiness added to it.

Belva nodded in agreement.

While patting Noah’s back, who was still retching.

“Ugh… Ugh…”

“Hold it together, will you? You’re gonna collapse.”

“Ugh, hic, ugh! I, I, I saw it…! Those transparent tentacle bugs with black dot eyes, wriggling and eating through the body…!!”

“Tsk.”

I smacked Noah’s head, knocking him out cold.

His sanity must have hit rock bottom.

Why is his mental state so weak?

“Huh?”

At that moment, I noticed a small glimmer right next to where Noah had fallen.

I bent down and dug it out, and surprisingly, it was a glass bottle with a note inside.

Well, I’m not sure if it’s glass. Anyway.

“Ooh. This kind of development.”

Was there a survivor?

Judging by its condition, it must have been buried not long ago.

With a slight thrill, I opened the bottle and checked the note.

[If you’re reading this, come to the dragon’s nest. We’re gathered there.]

“Oooh.”

What is this? Such apocalyptic wording.

Feels like I’ve stepped into one of those zombie movies I used to enjoy as a kid.

By the way, the dragon’s nest…

A dead dragon, I assume…

Hmm. I can’t really tell where that is just by looking.

Then, Belva tapped my shoulder.

She pointed her finger at a spot in the air.

“Don’t you see that?”

Where Belva pointed, there was just a blackish-blue hill.

What about it?

“That’s a dragon’s corpse.”

“What?”

I rubbed my eyes and looked again.

That’s a dragon’s corpse?

Are they usually that big?

“They’re not usually that big. But when a dragon dies, its dragon heart keeps producing mana, so the mana inside expands and gradually increases its size.”

“Fascinating.”

“It’s a peculiar phenomenon. It’s also unsettling because you never know when it might explode.”

No wonder they used the dragon’s nest as a landmark.

Now that I looked closer, I could see the dragon’s scales, its torn membrane wings, and so on.

So it really was a dragon.

I once dreamed of being a dragon slayer.

But I gave up because it was too hardcore.

“Talking about games again?”

“Yep.”

“Is it fun?”

“It’s fun if it suits your taste. You can get stronger without worrying about dying. It’s a vicarious satisfaction, though.”

“Vicarious satisfaction… I like that. I want to try it someday.”

“Me too. Let’s play together sometime.”

We chatted and joked as we headed toward the dragon’s nest.

I could feel my body gradually adapting to the chaotic flow of this place.

He still doesn’t know.

Given time, the odds always tilt in my favor.

Thud-

“Stop right there.”

As we got closer, someone wearing something like a gas mask approached us.

They had a bow on their back, two swords at their waist, potions on their thigh, and a dagger at their ankle.

Judging by their neat equipment, you could guess their personality.

With the vibe of a seasoned hunter, she raised her hand slightly.

“I’m Eris Orwell. Who are you? Did you come here after seeing the note?”