Chapter 292
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[Translator – Night]
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Originally, the 4th technique, Stellar Rift, was an ultimate move designed to protect comrades from formidable enemies.
Of course, constructing and dominating a space with one’s own magic provided various positive combat enhancements, but those were merely secondary effects.
In essence, it was a support skill.
However, after receiving assistance from ??? and duplicating all the countless cores present in his imagination, the hero’s Stellar Rift transcended to an entirely different level.
From the start of his vision to its edge, countless armaments continuously materialized.
The innumerable cores held by the hero took on various forms and manifested.
Each one emitted an immense amount of mana that could not be easily disregarded.
Tsutsutsu-
“……”
Theo’s face, observing this, had long lost its calm composure.
‘The connection with the main body… has been severed.’
Faced with the threat of permanently losing 60% of his power, even he could not maintain his composure.
This meant becoming even weaker than before absorbing Yol.
If he didn’t escape this space alive, all his plans would crumble.
‘But…’
Theo looked at the approaching hero from the far end of his vision.
A chilling, subdued gaze.
Though it seemed as if all emotions had been erased, he could sense a chilling anger at the edge.
An unfamiliar emotion arose.
Woooo-
Theo drew out his demonic energy with all his might.
Dark smoke flowed from his hands and coalesced, forming the shape of a demon’s mouth, standing as a barrier in front of him.
It was the strongest defensive magic Theo could conjure.
A spell that could deflect even Malekia’s breath or Yol’s sword strikes, yet for some reason, Theo felt no reassurance.
His wrinkled lips trembled slightly.
“…It’s a dreadful day.”
.
.
.
The hero lifted his head to the sky filled with countless blazing armaments.
He felt a deep connection, as if his consciousness was linked to each weapon.
The heavy weight of the weapons, their sharpness, the heat of the flames.
He no longer felt like a single warrior but an entity composed of these numerous armaments.
The hero realized that they were all ready to respond to his will.
[You won’t need any more help, right?]
‘…It’s already enough.’
Beyond the heat-distorted view, an image kept repeating in his mind.
It was the burning forest.
The corpses that had been weathered and crumbled by Theo’s powers.
Familiar faces swallowed by shock and terror.
….They were the comrades Ted cherished and loved, and the fairy tribe that willingly pursued the great cause, leaving behind longevity.
They were the ones who had fallen.
“Regretful.”
The journey’s end Iira had walked with all her might was cut short, and Taylor who had closed her eyes without seeing the conclusion next to Iira.
The hero lifted his head and looked at Theo.
Tsutsutsutsu-
Simultaneously, the armaments in the air all adjusted their angles to target him.
Theo, sensing something, faced the hero with a transcendent expression.
The hero kicked off the ground.
▼
Infinite Technique: Initiate ‘2nd Form: Unity.’
▲
Countless, yet one sword.
The ultimate move learned from the duel with the former Sword Saint surged forward.
In an instant, Theo’s barrier split vertically, swallowing the Black Hope, but soon, small cracks appeared, and it began to tremble slightly.
The hero took a step forward and directed his consciousness.
‘…Now.’
With an ear-piercing tearing sound, the armaments finally fell.
Perfectly synchronized weapons didn’t just shoot; they moved organically according to the hero’s will.
The hero also continuously wielded the Black Hope.
Theo’s scattered magic bullets couldn’t even touch his body.
Quagga-ga-ga-gang-!
With a massive impact and explosion, flames spread in all directions as the whirling white flames touched the magic forming the barrier.
‘More.’
Endless attacks distorted Theo’s expression.
‘More.’
The hero felt his power merging with the armaments and expanding infinitely.
The tails of flames and the thousands of glowing trajectories collided with the barrier.
‘More.’
The hero repeated.
Theo.
The Demon King.
These damned demons.
And at some point, the hero had arrived beyond the shattered barrier.
“……”
The hero looked down at Theo at his feet.
From his small, shrunken body, black blood gushed out like a fountain.
The power forming his avatar was gradually dissipating.
Theo’s distorted expression showed pain, anger, and humiliation.
Above all, the despair of losing the immense power he had painstakingly accumulated in an instant was overwhelming.
Finally, the hero could smile.
“Theo.”
“……”
“This is the moment of loss.”
A gaze full of hostility and hatred passed between them.
“…Don’t think this is the end.”
“That’s-”
The Black Hope was raised.
The hero’s smiling face turned expressionless at the same time.
“I should be the one saying that.”
Thud-!
The old man’s head rolled on the ground.
* * *
The first thing the hero saw after withdrawing the Stellar Rift was Larze tending to the wounded in the Immortals’ Realm.
Larze, with a look of utter annoyance, was swiftly moving the injured.
Spotting a familiar face among them, the hero hurried over.
“…Nyhill.”
His heart sank seeing Nyhill’s eyes closed limply.
Larze yawned and said,
“She’s just asleep, so don’t worry.”
“…Asleep? In the midst of this?”
“Yeah. I put her to sleep with a sleep spell.”
Larze added in a tired voice, seeing the hero’s incredulous look.
“They kept trying to run out and fight. Taylor too.”
Taylor was sleeping next to Nyhill, drenched in cold sweat.
The hero’s gaze fell on her severed knee and the wounds on her shoulder.
Uuuuuung-
Without hesitation, the hero drew upon his holy power.
Some of the holy power he had received bit by bit from Maktania over the years flowed into Taylor.
He couldn’t save Iira, whose insides had completely burned, but it was enough for emergency treatment for Taylor.
“……”
Seeing Taylor’s expression relax, the hero infused holy power into the other injured as well.
…Though there were barely ten injured left.
Among the hundreds of fairies in the Immortals’ Realm, only a handful had survived.
“At least quite a few fairies from the outer villages and non-combatants survived.”
“Did they?”
“You don’t look relieved.”
Larze flopped down beside the hero who had finished healing.
“You…”
The hero realized something was off about her movements.
Her left leg.
As he tried to use holy power again, Larze shook her head.
“It’s Theo’s doing. Maktania’s holy power, being of a lower order, can’t fix it.”
“……”
“I’ll handle this myself, so don’t worry about it.”
Larze continued in her characteristic languid voice.
“Let’s get to the point.”
“Alright.”
“Theo wasn’t here to seal anything.”
“I suspected as much.”
The hero nodded.
Amazingly, the seal remained intact amidst all the chaos.
Most of the hundreds of layers of wards set up had been destroyed, but the seal itself was still in place.
If Theo had aimed to break the seal, it would have been destroyed long ago.
“So what was his goal?”
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[Translator – Night]
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“The World Tree.”
“The World Tree?”
The hero looked at the World Tree with a puzzled expression.
He had noticed that something was wrong with the World Tree.
Its color had changed, and it no longer radiated a holy aura but rather an ominous one.
‘It’s become dreadful.’
Even after Theo retreated, the corruption of the World Tree continued.
Its bark was turning black as if scorched.
From the cracks that appeared sporadically, ominous black liquid was seeping out.
The liquid emitted foul-smelling smoke as it touched the ground.
The hero, still confused, asked again.
“Why target the World Tree instead of the seal? What could he do by corrupting it like this?”
“…I can answer that question.”
A sudden elderly voice from behind startled them.
“Laplace.”
Larze murmured in astonishment.
“You. You’re alive?”
…He was alive.
Half of his body had shriveled up and turned black, and the rest was disintegrating due to Theo’s power, but he was still breathing.
The hero narrowed his eyes.
Laplace stood precariously, leaning on a staff made from the branches of the World Tree.
He was clinging to life for some purpose.
Realizing this, the hero listened intently to his next words.
“…Theo twisted the passage of the World Tree, which connected to the Spirit Realm, and connected it to the Demon Realm. And using that, he manipulated the Demon King.”
In other words, instead of attacking the passage to the human world that they had blocked, he bypassed through the Spirit Realm to contact the Demon Realm.
“…Could a mere commander do such a thing?”
“It must be thanks to absorbing Yol. Theo hid his power so well that even I didn’t notice. But I did sense that a part of the Demon King’s power had been severed and descended into the present world due to Theo’s manipulation.”
A part of the power descended into the present world?
Feeling uneasy, the hero immediately asked.
“What do you mean? Are you saying the Demon King has partially descended?”
“No one with mortal wisdom can determine how that power will manifest in the present world… You should prepare for the turmoil that’s coming.”
The hero’s expression wavered slightly.
He thought of his disciples left at the seal.
“…Then I must return quickly.”
He needed to inform Euphemia and the others as well.
It was then that Laplace, with urgency, called out to the hero who was about to leave.
“I have something to give you.”
“…To give me?”
Without further explanation, Laplace took action.
Uuuuuung-!
His finger pointed towards his temple.
From the wrinkled fingertip, a faint blue thread slowly emerged.
The mysterious blue thread floated and quickly entered Laplace’s eye.
A comment appeared.
▼
Memory Name: ‘Choice’ has been stored in the data set.
▲
…Choice?
The hero tilted his head in confusion.
“What is this?”
“The final piece you couldn’t see.”
As the hero furrowed his brows trying to infer the meaning of those words, Laplace continued.
“Regrettably, you can’t access it immediately.”
“…Then when can I access it?”
Surprisingly, at that moment, a human expression appeared on Laplace’s face for the first time.
…It was relief.
“At the most crucial moment… you will be able to see it along with the memory Rosalyn left for you.”
“…Rosalyn left a memory for me?”
The hero’s expression became even more puzzled.
However, Laplace only faintly smiled and pointed to the monocle named after the hero.
“It’s already inside. Though you didn’t know.”
Before the hero could say anything more, Laplace gently pushed him.
“It’s time for you to go now.”
“……”
At those words, the hero set aside his rising questions.
He silently looked at Laplace, who wore a serene smile.
Though death was approaching him, his expression remained composed and calm.
The hero bowed his head respectfully.
“You’ve endured a lot.”
There was no reply.
Laplace only smiled faintly and placed his hand on the base of the World Tree.
It was the contaminated part.
Paah!
Simultaneously, all the blood vessels in Laplace’s body rose and turned black.
His half-closed eyes.
The massive and complex flow of magic and demonic energy from the World Tree was being absorbed by Laplace.
The hero realized what he was doing.
He was sacrificing his life to close the World Tree, which had become a temporary passage to the Demon Realm.
“……”
Slowly, Laplace’s body stiffened.
The terrible aura emanating from the World Tree was also subsiding.
Larze called out to the hero, who was quietly watching this scene.
“You’re going to your disciples first?”
“Of course. I need to see what’s happening.”
Thud-
Larze flopped back down to the ground.
“I’ll take a rest before I go. I overused my mana, so I won’t be able to go to the front lines for a while, just so you know.”
“Take care of Nyhill.”
“Sure. I’ll send her to you once she wakes up.”
The hero nodded and turned away.
Larze, Nyhill, Iira, Taylor, Laplace… they had all done their part.
Now it was time for him to go back and do his part.
▼
Replicating the Red Tower Master, Adeno Snook.
▲
Uuuuuuuung-
The hero stepped into the magic circle.
…Many things faded quickly.
* * *
Meanwhile.
At the fourth seal where the children were, they had successfully fended off the demons’ attack.
The demons, who had been dragging out a war of attrition, suddenly withdrew all their forces and retreated.
The defenders stared blankly at the distant dust clouds.
“…Strange.”
“Right? Usually, they would fight to the bitter end, wouldn’t they?”
“Well, it wasn’t easy to take this place.”
The defenders, mostly relieved, praised the Lotus Knights, Leciel, and Arpheus for their remarkable achievements as they returned to the interior of the seal.
Of course, no one noticed that Ignotus had disappeared.
‘…Perfect!’
And the one who was most excited was Arpheus.
He looked at his sword, smeared with the black blood of the monsters, with satisfaction.
‘…I’ve definitely grown stronger.’
Having fought directly, he realized he had become much stronger than before.
He felt a newfound appreciation for the Lotus Knights and Leciel, who had diligently trained him.
‘I should thank them at mealtime.’
Although there had been a time when they didn’t get along, he felt grateful for their help.
Arpheus made up his mind as he headed deeper inside.
To the place where the seal was.
The more frequent the inspections, the better.
It was also a chance to show his subordinates his diligence.
After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the barrier and the defense artifacts, he headed to the core of the seal.
…Arpheus tilted his head in confusion a moment later.
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[Translator – Night]
[Proofreader – Gun]
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