30 Years Have Passed Since the Prologue

EP.187

*

I blocked all senses except for sight. I took steps without touch, relying solely on my sense of balance, even eliminating the pain that restricted my actions.

Without hearing, there was no noise. The last sound I heard was the roar that ripped through the presence, so it was better this way. The pain from that roar had also vanished.

The sensation of my skin tingling faded away. I was finally free from the pressure caused by the presence.

Fighting against an immortal being with a mortal’s body has always been like this. Removing the inadequate, giving up the unnecessary, moving just one step forward.

One step further.

In this moment, someone who has laid down all unnecessary things becomes a dagger. A dagger aimed solely at piercing the heart of the god.

I know that dagger. Ivan still remembers it. Although the scenery and situation were different, I knew the daggers that had moved forward to confront such an existence.

The fact causes irrational pain. Since all sensations of pain have been removed, this is phantom pain. Yes, I have been suffering from this phantom pain for a long time, so I am familiar with it.

So it’s okay.

Ivan swung the axe down once again.

Since it was an attack without sensation, it was a strike that ordinary swordsmen could never complete. The weight felt at my fingertips, the sense of balance at my toes—all those sensations had been eliminated.

What I did was solely imitate the posture of that day, which I remembered clearly.

It wasn’t my own martial art, so instinct was unnecessary. Only reason was required. It was about perfectly replicating another’s skill as if taking a photograph.

The angle of the arm started at 87 degrees. The wrist extended to 110 degrees. The weight distribution from the index to the ring finger was 1:1:1:2. The direction was perfectly along the midline.

-Creak.

The broken right arm screamed. But it’s okay anyway. Because I can’t hear it.

Because I can’t feel it. Pain is an unnecessary factor in this strike I am currently mimicking.

Step the right foot 23 cm forward again. Place your weight on the toes and slightly lift the heels to face forward.

The pose reminiscent of a shooting arrow.

An arrow shot toward the sky, tearing through dark clouds. And finally, hoping for the morning star. Towards a beam of light shining through the darkness of that night sky.

When the distribution of weight has become perfect, in that fleeting moment that crosses through time. Align the flow of mana.

One strike.

—Kwaaang—!!

The strike shot straight ahead slices through the pillar. Each fragment that breaks apart is larger than a person’s body. Eyes and ice scatter, and when the silhouette reappears at last—

‘About 1%… maybe.’

Compared to that massive form, it’s merely as small as a fingernail. A scar of that extent emerges. The gigantic tree-like existence begins to twist its body toward him.

The gazes around him scattered in an instant. His body was pushed back two steps.

‘Did it roar?’

Even if his hearing was blocked, it didn’t mean that his sense of hearing was completely lost. Only the nerves of cognition were severed; the eardrum and sensory organs still existed, beyond his perception.

So, perhaps if he had faced this amount of noise head-on, he might have lost his hearing.

In front of him, everything suddenly turned a fiery red. Blood tears flowed, momentarily obscuring his vision. He quickly wiped it away and regained his stance.

‘It’s coming.’

He quickly kicked off the ground and twisted his body. A small branch protruded and struck the spot where Ivan had been standing. The atmosphere around it froze, creating a chaotic scene.

All sorts of spells scattered like fragments. Thunder, fire, cold air, as well as occasional explosions and sometimes powerful telekinesis.

All kinds of spells used by the elf factions swirled indiscriminately. The movement from a small branch was three times larger than that of a human.

About three days? Since Elpheira has escaped from this space.

He could measure time in seconds, but that made it even stranger. Even if this space was the Warlord of the Seven Dragon Lords that twisted the usual ‘space-time’, it was still odd.

Hunger, thirst, and mana exhaustion no longer existed.

He was constantly dodging attacks and pouring all his mana into delivering a single strike without any loss of energy.

“No, rather….”

The more he fought, the stronger he felt.

Every time he landed a blow, vitality surged throughout his body. He didn’t feel fatigue even if he didn’t sleep, and although his whole body screamed in pain from injuries, he still had the strength to move.

A well-trained agent knows how to quantitatively assess the performance of their own body. The body is the most reliable tool that guarantees minimum performance.

And Ivan was an ‘exceptionally’ well-trained agent. Thus, he was more accurately aware than anyone else of what his body could and could not do.

From that perspective, the current combat endurance was beyond expectation.

And there was also a pale blur flickering in his line of sight, sticking close by.

Over the past few days, that silhouette had become clearer and had now begun to take on a human shape. It annoyed Ivan so much that he finally turned his head to look.

“Finally acknowledging me. How disappointing.”

The familiar voice spoke to him from the silhouette. Ivan quickly wiped the blood from his swollen eyes and turned his head back.

There shouldn’t be any sound. Even though the wailing of that being must still be echoing around, the voice was distinctly audible amid the silence that dulled his hearing.

“Oh, ignoring me again?”

“Veolgrin.”

“That’s right, our scout. How have you been?”

“Are you dead?”

“Me? Or are you?”

“Enough with the wordplay.”

At Ivan’s words, the silhouette swayed. It was probably smiling. What a bothersome fellow. Ivan grumbled and jumped sideways again.

A deep groove formed where he had jumped. Telekinesis was twisting and tearing up the ground.

He was becoming more and more skilled at using magic. That being was like a newborn creature. Frightened and reckless, it was rampaging without even knowing what it could do.

It was becoming sharper and more refined. This meant that it was gradually realizing its own power.

How much time had been bought?

Had Elpheira succeeded in escaping?

Had she managed to gather the elves?

Had the other agents safely retreated?

Would this be enough?

It would be better to hold on a little longer, just a bit more. His arms and legs still moved, after all. Fortunately.

Just until that guy started moving a bit more efficiently.

“You are alive. Dying, but alive. I am the same. Dying and living.”

“What about the elves?”

“Five of the twelve factions have gathered. The other seven are conserving strength and gathering forces. Once this situation ends, a civil war will break out. The factions that conserved their strength will prevail, and the elves will be composed of the seven factions’ privy councils.”

Even if he won this battle, even if he dealt with that beast in front of him, even if he thwarted the Seven Dragon Lords reaching Kalion, there would be no victory.

At Beolgrin’s words, Ivan unconsciously smiled.

The hero party that had been discarded after eliminating the Seven Dragon Lords and the Demon King looked just like that. Ultimately, elves were not so different from humans.

“I wanted to apologize to you.”

“Go ahead.”

“Oh, you’re not going to ask why?”

“I’m not interested.”

At Ivan’s words, Beolgrin gave a bitter smile. It was a reply from someone who knew that no apology could resolve anything.

If a wrongdoing had been committed, an apology was merely a regret for something that had already passed. What was needed was prevention of recurrence or resolution of the situation. That’s all.

Therefore, Ivan is not interested in anyone’s apology. He only cares about dealing with what has happened. He was incredibly efficient.

“I have brought you here, to this place. To the eyes of the Seven Dragon Lords. My apologies. It is safe to say that all the hardships you have endured are ultimately caused by me.”

“What is the solution?”

“What?”

“If you needed me, wouldn’t you tell me to kill that thing? I cannot deal with it with my own strength, so tell me the solution.”

Still, he shows no interest in apologies.

Veolgrin briefly lowered his head. After a moment, he spoke calmly.

“There was help from Patricia. Everything in this world can be recreated with magic, so wouldn’t that also apply to divine power?”

“And so?”

“I have confirmed that it is possible to recreate divine power. However, a wizard should consider not just potential but also practicality.”

“Conclusion.”

“Divine power is essentially a fragment granted by the gods. Compared to the real gods, it is undoubtedly lacking and trivial, but its origin would still be with the gods, wouldn’t it?”

“Conclusion.”

At Ivan’s urging, Veolgrin smiled bitterly and said,

“If divine power can be created through magic, and divine power is a fragment of the gods, then based on the syllogism, it means that one could manifest the gods through magic, wouldn’t it?”

“Are you saying we can create a god?”

As Ivan pointed at the distant monster with his chin, Veolgrin shook his head and reached out his hand towards Ivan.

“Your soul structure has been twisted.”

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