novelraw Chapter 121 : The Values of the Era (1)
Chapter 121 : The Values of the Era (1)
The Values of the Era (1)
Thunder rumbled.
Not far from the Titan, Yeon-ji watched the whole scene unfold.
A bolt of lightning that had come flying from somewhere suddenly shattered the Titan's right arm, which was attacking the Hunters.
'...... From the direction of Denver?'
Yeon-ji chased the place where the afterimage of the lightning remained.
It was by no means an ordinary lightning strike.
And it was not magic, either.
"Al, lencia......?"
In Yeon-ji's view, she saw something that shimmered gold.
A golden object had landed in front of the Titan.
It was hard to understand why she was here.
One thing was certain: her appearance was surely related to Jung-woo.
"So, this was it?"
Yeon-ji could not help but laugh hollowly.
Come to think of it, there was no way Jung-woo would have sent her here simply to assist Yoo-jin.
She had thought there must be a reason when she was given the camera, but never imagined it would be for something like this.
'So now, I just have to film what happens up close?'
The reporter Pyoh Ji-yeol's camera that Jung-woo had handed over earlier.
As a camera intended for dungeon recordings, it was as good as new, not a scratch on it.
Yeon-ji grabbed it and forced her aching body to move.
Either way, she had to carry out her role properly.
* * *
Anyone who had just fought could tell what kind of power the Titan possessed, and how strong it was.
Enormous defensive power, and unexpectedly fast mobility.
The ability to move underground, and exceptional intelligence.
And, the immense firepower unleashed thanks to Prometheus' heart displayed a strength befitting an Over SS-rank monster.
Against the Titan, a single human was in a standoff.
'No, is she really human?'
BZZT, BZZZZT!!
Every time the woman took a step, blue currents of electricity spread across the ground.
She looked just like an incarnation of lightning—people swallowed nervously.
The Titan was one thing, but this side did not seem like an ordinary human either.
"......."
Taking a deep breath, the woman, Alencia, looked up.
A giant monster stood before her.
Just a month ago, she could never have imagined such a scene.
Back then, she had been the daughter of a criminal, nothing more than an unpopular internet broadcaster.
Was she scared?
Honestly, she was not sure.
It was as if her mind was completely blank.
Perhaps it was because of what Jung-woo had told her before she came here.
Even though he must have been exhausted from pushing himself, Jung-woo smiled and said to her,
"There's no need to be too afraid."
As if there was not a thing to worry about.
"The power Alencia has now is not solely hers, after all."
The authority of a Saintess represented the universal values of the era.
As such, it symbolized the history humanity had built up until now.
"What you carry on your back is the footsteps of humanity's achievements."
The power Alencia had was electricity.
In the past, it reigned over people as terrifying lightning.
In modern times, it had become humanity's most familiar and useful energy.
"It's not just your power—it belongs to all."
From terror to convenience.
That was not some miracle achieved overnight.
It was the symbol of civilization, built upon countless sacrifices.
「GRAAAAAAAH!!」
The Titan roared furiously and slammed the ground, and in an instant, his destroyed arm regenerated.
At the same time, dark magic power flared up around his whole body, burning like a fire.
He had clearly used Prometheus's heart to reinforce his body to withstand her attacks.
THUD, tHUD-THUD-THUD!!
Wreathed in black flames, the enraged Titan charged at Alencia.
With every step, the ground shook and upturned, as if an earthquake had occurred.
That overwhelming size and mass would make any ordinary person's heart freeze in terror.
But for her, it was different.
'It's only been three weeks.'
It had only been that long since she'd accepted this power.
Of course, she was still inexperienced—and she was well aware of that.
Jung-woo must have known it, too.
Yet he sent her here anyway, because he believed that was enough.
BZZZZT!
Alencia ran straight at the charging Titan.
Electricity exploded from the ground under her feet, cracking it like spiderwebs.
And then, her body shot towards the Titan, leaving a golden trail just like a bolt of lightning.
BOOOOM!!
'All I have to do is what I can do.'
The Titan's massive body was knocked hundreds of meters away by Alencia's impact, an outcome hard to believe from a collision with a tiny human.
But that was all.
All she could do was run fast and hit with her whole body.
'Even if it's simple.'
Over the last three weeks, Alencia had learned a lot.
Back then, she didn't know what to do with this ability, and could only vaguely think about it.
'Even if I'm inexperienced.'
At Challengers, Alencia had used electromagnetic waves for the first time.
All she could do was sense things around her, but even that changed her perspective.
'What can I do?'
The tumbling the Titan stopped itself by slamming its giant hand into the ground.
Unlike their first impact, its chest plate showed not a scratch.
It was obvious he'd reinforced its body with Prometheus's heart,
Especially the region near the heart in its chest.
「──!」
A screech, like metal being scraped, rang out as the Titan drove its hand into the ground again.
Then, the ground beneath Alencia split, and black flames shot upward.
She dodged it by launching herself over crumbling rocks, stretching out her right hand.
In the distance, a rail from Minerva twisted free and flew towards her.
Catching it with both hands, Alencia hurled it at the Titan's right arm.
The massive steel rebar shot forward, accelerated by electricity, just like a spear of lightning.
SNAP!!
「GRAAAAH!!」
The Titan screamed as the rebar pierced its arm, trying to violently yank it out, but Alencia was faster.
The moment the Titan lifted its hand to pull out the rebar, Alencia flew in and kicked it in the abdomen.
「......!!」
The Titan could not comprehend this situation.
It was the king of the Demonic Zone, one who had even devoured an artifact made from a 'Dragon's Heart'.
What was this tiny human, who sent it flying with a kick?
As its body rolled and its vision spun, the Titan swung its hand towards the small human.
But Alencia did not even bother to block it.
As if she had no concern about getting hurt.
BOOM!!
The Titan's hand shattered upon impact with her body, and debris scattered everywhere.
Glancing at it for a moment, Alencia slowly turned her gaze back to the Titan.
As if saying, 'Is that all?'
「───!!!」
The Titan felt fear.
The same terror a person feels when confronted with an existence utterly beyond comprehension.
That primitive emotion triggered when one realizes all their efforts are mere flailing.
It had to run.
That monster didn't possess a surefire way to destroy it anyway.
And even if she did, she and the humans nearby would be caught in the explosion when its heart detonated.
So it believed.
That was when the Titan realized something was off.
"He told me."
Where had all the nearby humans gone?
"He said if Prometheus's heart is destroyed, there will definitely be an explosion."
So she kept colliding and kicking, sending the Titan's body as far away as possible.
"If you want to stop that..."
Alencia slowly took a step forward.
Electric current spread out—scorching and melting the ground as if to prove its output was on a wholly different level.
"He said you just have to obliterate it completely before it even has a chance to explode."
The three seconds of this era that resided in her body.
BZZZZZZT!!!
The Stigmata on her back shone brighter than ever, unleashing golden currents.
Wings of electricity seemed to sprout from her.
Her golden hair fluttered, blue sparks crackled in her eyes.
'For sure.'
With this, she would now live a life far removed from the Alencia of the past.
Many people here witnessed her now.
She did not know how they would take it.
Perhaps, like the Saintess in her mother's story, she might have wished to conceal herself.
Or, people might fear her special power and want to kill her.
But even so, she felt no fear.
Her Polaris stood by her side.
BOOOOOOM!!
Alencia straightened her bent knee and pushed off the ground, causing it to rupture like a spiderweb.
Immense current surged along the cracks, and her body once again accelerated toward the Titan.
At some point, she could no longer hear any sounds.
Her vision colored in black and white, devoid of hue.
She realized it now.
The place she was running was the boundary of time itself.
She recalled hearing once—
Lightning travels at 100,000 kilometers per second.
That is approximately one-third the speed of light.
'How fast am I now?'
She did not know.
She wasn't smart enough to calculate it all.
But even someone this dim could understand at least one thing.
The monster before her—
The pathetic being howling in terror—
She was more than enough to shatter it to pieces at once.
BOOOOOOOOOOM!!
First thunder, then a deafening roar that could make one go deaf resounded.
Enormous lightning, visible from hundreds of kilometers away, flashed and bathed the world in gold for an instant.
And then, the Titan was no longer a presence left in this world.
* * *
'So this is the Saintess's power?'
Feeling the distant waves of strength, the demon above the rank of viscount, Zarkan, could not help but shudder.
The role given to him was simple.
To watch Jung-woo and Alencia.
At first, he did not understand Damian's intentions.
Why not just kill them instead of mere surveillance?
No matter how dangerous a 'Saintess' was, could they not just kill her before awakening?
But he soon understood upon seeing the resulting events.
"That's... impossible."
A human-made facility, the research institute.
Even as an intermediate demon, he could scarcely imagine such power gathering there.
When he felt fear at all that power, a golden bolt of lightning shot into the sky.
Only then did Zarkan realize that the being who had just amassed such tremendous energy was Jung-woo.
'There's no way that's a living being.'
No living creature could contain such overwhelming power.
Even torn apart and killed hundreds of times, it was supposed to be impossible.
Zarkan held his breath, withdrew his gaze from the institute, and slowly backed away.
If only someone had not stood right behind him.
"Where are you rushing off to in such a hurry?"
"......!!"
With a voice at his back, Zarkan felt chills up his spine.
'How?'
Even after using such power at the institute, he had come here to find him?
'No, if I want to kill him, now's the chance.'
He had just expended overwhelming power.
He was surely at his weakest.
Clinging to that thought, Zarkan readied his sharp claws.
"Die!!!"
Black demonic energy exploded. Zarkan hurled his claws at Jung-woo with all his might.
Jung-woo simply watched—he made no effort to block.
Maybe he was surprised.
He probably didn't expect such a direct attack.
A demon of noble rank rarely made such sneak attacks.
SNAP!!
But Zarkan's claws snapped like straws.
It wasn't that Jung-woo blocked the attack.
It was simply that Zarkan's claws, thrust at his chest, could not pierce even a single layer of skin.
Jung-woo, blankly watching, reached out and seized Zarkan by the throat.
With that brutal grip, Zarkan felt his breath cut off.
"I know you're watching, Damian."
Jung-woo's black eyes glared coolly into Zarkan's.
He'd always been searching for traces of the demons.
That was the reason he'd been on the hill when Alencia sought him out.
"You said you guys were the challengers this time?"
Recalling the conversation with Damian, Jung-woo gave a crooked smile.
"Just try it, you bastard."
He'd been through a lot over there. He'd grown considerably tamer thanks to her influence.
But that simply meant he'd buried his rough ways, not lost them.
"But..."
Didn't Yeon-ji once say it?
A man called Park Jung-woo is by no means a good person.
"Even when you had the advantage, you got your asses beat?"
I'm not going to let my guard down like you idiots.
No matter what tricks you pull, no matter how you come at me.
This time, I'll crush you so thoroughly you'll never dare rise again.
I—and Unique—will make that happen.
"You bastards haven't changed a bit."
The demons' arrogant nature, looking down on humans, was the same as ever.
The one they really feared was me.
That's right. All their caution was directed at me alone.
Foolishly.
CRACK!
With those words, Jung-woo tightened his grasp on Zarkan's throat.
With the unpleasant sensation from his hand, Zarkan's body turned to black dust and vanished.
"Oh, but thanks for the gift anyway."
Thanks to you, I gained some unexpected rewards.
Alencia was able to awaken more perfectly than planned, and I obtained Sarah's legacy, too.
For that much, Jung-woo was genuinely grateful to them.
From the bottom of his heart.
-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=
Damn.
(ㆆ.ㆆ )