Chapter 174 – The Primordial Demon, Brunhilde Subjugation (2)
“Aaron. Brunhilde’s consciousness has returned.”
“I know.”
“The Goddess… is she still the sa?”
“She has still not spoken a word.”
Crack — Bamilion’s irritable fist, encased in golden armor, dented the ruined wall.
“Did you hear the Goddess’s words and choose not to tell ?”
Hssss — Instead of answering, Aaron rely exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
“…I understand. Do as you wish. I must go to the battlefield now. There, I will fulfill the Goddess’s will. By any ans necessary, I will bring your soul to paradise.”
“Frey.”
“My na is Bamilion.”
“Frey.”
Crunch — A sound like teeth breaking ca from inside the golden helt.
“I have a question for you.”
“…What is it?”
“What do you think paradise is?”
“A stepping stone to reach the higher world.”
“Then what do you think of this world?”
“A prison created to punish our Goddess.”
And then,
“A world without God.”
“Do you understand what it ans for there to be no God?”
“It ans other lower-dinsional deities will use this place as nourishnt… Aaron, why are you asking such obvious questions?”
“To confirm once more. And to verify that my mind hasn’t gone mad.”
Hssss — Aaron exhaled smoke that seed to burn right down to the roots, flicked his cigarette butt against the wall, and stood up.
“Frey. To summarize what you’ve said: if this world had a God, it would an that eventually, one could reach the higher world.”
“Theoretically possible, but that’s absurd. Even my dear friend, the ‘Sword of Victory,’ this world’s only hope, has fallen. Even our Goddess, who existed in the higher world since the beginning of ti, has lost her sense of self in this world. So what being in this world could possibly—”
“Yes, at first glance, it seems impossible. But it is undoubtedly possible.”
In Aaron’s completely empty, detached eyes,
“If that’s possible, then all the inhabitants of this world…”
A faint spark, like the last ember of a dying cigarette, began to glow.
“Could beco truly human.”
Thud — Aaron’s weary footsteps began to move.
“Frey. Go and fulfill your objective.”
His once-heavy steps gradually beca lighter.
“I will go and fulfill mine.”
His stride now carried firm resolve.
***
“If so, then just die here.”
Brunhilde’s contorted face held the deepest anger and faint regret, profound sorrow and slight remorse.
The weapons in her hands transford.
The long spear beca a bow.
The short spear beca an arrow.
Carpeng’s blood energy enveloped my entire body.
Tylant’s cold energy suppressed the surrounding mana.
Valoran’s feathers expanded the domain of demonic energy.
Ti stretched out.
In this elongated world, my thoughts accelerated.
A being from a fabricated world.
Of course, when I first arrived here, that’s exactly what I thought.
A world inside a ga. NPCs and residents inside a ga world.
But after eting Rubia, after spending so much ti with her and discovering her many facets, those thoughts completely vanished.
The priestess I thought I knew so well.
The priestess who always seed loving and constantly smiling.
I learned she could get irritated, cry, and even get angry—just like an ordinary person.
Her love felt more genuine and deeper than anything else.
She felt real.
Then what about the monsters?
The beasts that populated this vast world, and the Beasts of the End at their apex—did I ever truly consider them living beings?
Carpeng.
The Beast of the End I first t in Roholon possessed intelligence. It also had faint but perceptible emotions.
However, these qualities were overshadowed by its instinct for destruction.
But what about its movents?
Its attacks, its patterns?
Were they all exactly the sa as in the ga?
Not quite.
So aspects matched the ga, while others differed.
So attacks broke off unnaturally, identical to patterns from the ga.
Others flowed naturally—attacks I had never seen in the ga.
Swish — In the stretched ti, Carpeng’s tail brushed against my thigh.
Tylant.
The Beast of the End that “I” had subjugated in Ursphere.
Did it have intelligence? Did it have emotions?
I couldn’t tell.
But searching through my hazy mories…
Like Carpeng, it wasn’t exactly the sa as in the ga.
Certainly, so differences ca from all its seals being released, but beyond that, sothing was definitely different.
Drip — Cold water from lting ice ran down my cheek.
Valoran.
The Beast of the End I encountered here in Cartia.
The first one to display patterns identical to the ga.
And simultaneously, the one most different from the ga.
With clear intelligence and definite emotions.
An ancient figure who taught
so much.
Then why? Why did Valoran act exactly according to the ga’s patterns?
For what purpose?
What was it trying to show , enduring such pain just to perform such a foolish act?
With barely any sense of self remaining.
Using up its own life force.
What had it been searching for in ?
Why?
Even as it ended its own life…
Why did it dig out the magic stone embedded in its body and hand it to ?
And above all, why?
Even at the mont of death, why did it wear such a radiant smile—
Slap! — A demonic energy-infused feather struck my forehead with trendous force.
“Ah…”
In this world of stretched ti.
Within my mind’s eye.
The feather that had struck my forehead now floated down and stopped before my face.
It slowly approached and pricked my forehead.
The mories he had shown.
The sights he had witnessed.
The experiences he had endured.
They flowed into .
Ancient figures.
Heroes who had sacrificed everything for the world.
Those who had challenged the high heavens to break their predetermined fate.
The Challengers.
Erased from records.
Forgotten from mories.
Their traces wiped clean.
Their sense of self lost.
Yet they, just like us,
Walked the earth, gazed up at the sky.
Breathed, spoke, and lived each day.
Dread of tomorrow and envisioned the future.
They felt anger, sorrow, and anxiety.
Sotis joy, love, happiness, and hope.
As punishnt for defying the heavens and failing,
They lost their existence and sense of self, reborn as Beasts of the End.
But they were never fabricated beings to begin with.
[That’s right.]
A playful woman’s mischievous voice.
[We definitely existed in this world.]
A spirited woman’s sharp voice.
[Like ordinary people, we ate, drank, laughed, talked, loved, and hated.]
A languid woman’s cold voice.
[Though we lived in different eras, we all shared the sa goal.]
A blunt man’s serene voice.
Voices I had never heard.
Emotions I had never felt.
Their will that had never been conveyed.
All reached
with perfect clarity.
Brunhilde’s bowstring was drawn taut.
The grudges of dead souls infused the arrow.
Not the instant-kill ability I’d seen in the ga.
Not an attack of a Beast of the End.
But the rage of a hero who had lived through an era.
The wind. The desire. The dream. The hope.
The goal she could not achieve.
Her final fla.
All gathered to break .
To test .
I whipped my trembling body into action.
Corrected my loosened stance.
Cleared my dazed mind.
Tightened my wavering heart.
Feeling the weight gripped in my hand.
Rembering the burden on my shoulders.
I grasped Frey firmly.
A smile crossed Brunhilde’s lips as she pulled back the bowstring.
Rubia’s divine power, belatedly unleashed, infused my body with vigor.
The spirits’ blessings made my body lighter.
Blood energy, even more intense than before, erupted in all directions. A frigid chill that seed capable of freezing space itself swirled around. Feathers, swimming in a different tistream amid the urgent mont, glided through the air.
Creeeak—
The bowstring, drawn to its limit…
*Twang!*—
Was released.
The arrow approached.
Death rushed toward .
Brunhilde’s will, wrapped in a massive storm, was fired at .
But this wasn’t the ga.
This wasn’t an instant-kill technique.
Not a pattern that would automatically trigger.
Not an attack that couldn’t be countered.
Therefore, I could block it.
Just like always.
I stepped forward with one foot.
Drew the other back.
Twisted my waist and pulled Frey forward.
Simultaneously, I traced the arrow’s trajectory.
Following instinct and perception,
I raised Frey at an angle.
And swung upward.
CLANG!
[Flowing Water].
With perfect distribution of force, the sword’s path precisely struck Brunhilde’s arrow upward. The deflected arrow soared into the sky. As it reached its apex, it exploded with indescribable magical energy, casting darkness across the world.
The transcendent energy that erupted from above tore through steel and shattered the tree roots. The ground beneath my feet collapsed. My body fell. Fierce winds rushed past. At the sa mont, the spirits’ wind wrapped around . Sharp electrical currents stabilized my body.
Crack — Newly extended roots supported
from below.
The steel covering them added stability.
“Ahaha!”
With a smile of delight, Brunhilde summoned a long spear to her hand. The black flas enveloping her body burned more intensely. Her massive wings spread out as if to cover the entire sky.
Her wings flapped. Black flas scattered everywhere. Minions born from these flas covered the ground. Thousands, tens of thousands of minions. Servants wrapped in black flas—beings never seen even in the ga—clashed with the Liberation Army.
“Everyone, follow the original plan.”
My quiet voice was carried to my companions by the spirits’ wind.
Serr’s gaze turned to .
Then Hermilla, Alex, Delia.
And even Rubia.
“And Serr, Rubia—open the door to the End of the World.”
As they all looked at
with questioning eyes…
I faced Brunhilde.
Raised Frey high.
Corrected my stance.
And said:
“Ten minutes. I’ll finish everything by then.”
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