novelraw Chapter 444
Chapter 444
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Chapter 444
Fate Lord.
A ring that, by all rights, should have possessed no power whatsoever.
And yet, when I met Sullivan, Fate Lord had vanished beyond space as if it were fleeing from us.
If that had been the key to the Hall of the Martial God within me, then why had it run away?
—It ran away?
“Yeah. It just disappeared.”
—I cannot understand it… but perhaps it judged that the preparations were insufficient.
After that, Lucifer, intrigued as though he were a scholar craving new knowledge, began to speak of a certain hypothesis.
—From here on is merely conjecture. The current archangels… you said they are cases where a self came into being, correct?
“Right.”
—Yes. Then perhaps, the reason your essence—once nothing more than a mere weapon—came to imitate a soul is related to that.
Just as the archangels gained a sense of self, my essence—my authority—became the same?
Of course, since this lay within the realm of hypothesis, nothing about it was certain.
I organized my tangled thoughts.
In the end, the only thing I had learned was that I myself had been the creator of Labyrinthos.
“But still. If it’s called an authority, does it make any sense for it to lack talent this badly?”
—At first, I thought it was nonsense. After all, for a mere human to contain that level of power, it would be impossible without talent. But seeing the situation now… it does seem to be true.
At my muttering, Lispa cut in.
“It might be because it wasn’t the soul of a complete lifeform, but merely an imitation. That could be why there was no talent.”
—Ho. That’s an interesting theory. Quite plausible.
Lucifer let out a snickering laugh before falling silent, as if satisfied.
—Since you’ve told me something interesting, it would only be fair for me to return the favor. I’ll look a bit more into your situation.
“You can see it?”
—Though I am merely contacting you through the pendant, my eyes can perceive far more than that.
If he was offering help, there was no reason to refuse.
I gave a slight nod.
“Alright. Then the problem now is this guy.”
I looked toward the amber in which Ruum was sealed.
Even rotten, it’s still a mackerel—an ancient god is still an ancient god.
If this thing’s seal were to be undone, it would cause absolute chaos, so destroying it as it is might be one option.
I needed to wrap this up quickly and check on Isna’s condition as well.
Having been once consumed by Yog, her state couldn’t possibly be good.
“For now, wouldn’t it be better to postpone it? It’s not like you can kill it immediately anyway.”
Truthfully, I had told Ruum I would grant it a painless death.
But to kill it, I would first have to pull it out of the seal.
There was no need to do that without proper preparation.
“Something useful will probably come out of it eventually.”
Right now, there was something far more important than anything else.
* * *
Isna’s consciousness drifted through an unknown space beyond reality.
The last place she had headed toward was the Integrated Rift.
As the interference of the Outer God grew stronger with each passing moment, she tried desperately to hide her existence deep within the world.
In the process, Meryl had been injured, but she could not stop.
She had reached her limit.
And so, before Yog could completely take over her body, she intended to engulf the entire surrounding space and self-destruct.
She couldn’t entrust it to anyone else.
She knew her own condition best, and she had no face to show those who still believed in her as she continued to crumble under Yog’s whispers.
She knew it all.
She knew how foolish she was.
How laughable it was that she could not resist Yog’s whispers because of the horrific memories of her past.
But that plan collapsed with Leon’s appearance.
She didn’t know how he had come here, but Isna tried to drive him away.
Because she thought that Leon might no longer be a threat to humanity, she believed she herself was no longer necessary.
So she had asked him to kill her instead.
And yet, even she couldn’t understand the current situation.
What exactly was happening.
Before long, the scenery around her changed.
It was a place she could not possibly fail to recognize.
Ruins, completely collapsed.
Rain pouring down from the sky.
A red liquid scattered everywhere, like droplets of blood.
It was the place where she had closed her eyes for the last time in the closed world.
And then—
Beyond the dim curtain of rain, she saw a figure she could never forget.
“……”
She slowly extended one hand and tried to draw the sword at her waist.
An orichalcum sword.
But there was nothing in her grasp.
Without stopping, she ignited flames and formed a flame sword.
The man with sky-colored light flickering in his eyes approached her with a cold, emotionless face.
“Right… I’m dead. That’s why I’m seeing this kind of hell. Everyone else died… and I survived alone, barely holding on… and now it’s come to this.”
She slowly accepted her own death.
Then, she pointed the tip of her sword at the other—at Leon.
“This is so damn tiresome. Even in death, the one I run into is you of all people?”
He said nothing, simply standing there and looking at her in silence.
But Isna was different.
Even if she was dead, she couldn’t leave alone the monster that had destroyed the world.
At that moment—
“I never once asked for your forgiveness, Isna.”
“Don’t you dare say my name!!!”
Enraged beyond measure, Isna lunged forward like a flash and swung her blade.
Leon calmly received her attack, retreating step by step.
Isna’s relentless assault showed no regard for direction—front, back, left, or right—and was as fierce as if she had encountered the enemy of her lifetime.
Like a beast, she poured her attacks onto Leon.
“Aaaaah!!”
As if she had nothing left to lose, she burned herself, ignoring even the penalties of her authority.
She possessed immense power.
But the being before her—if judged coldly—was stronger than the Leon she now knew.
It could only be so.
Because this was the moment he had fully released his power.
Though Isna was the one unleashing attacks, she was also the one rapidly growing exhausted.
And so, as the desperate assault continued—
Eventually, she lost even her footing and collapsed.
“Ah… ahhhhhh!!!”
Leon silently grabbed her arm, saying nothing.
“Die!! Just die! Why the hell are you alive?! What face do you have to show up in front of me?!”
Leon held onto her struggling form and gazed at her without a word.
“I shouldn’t have trusted you… I never should have trusted you….”
She screamed, her voice breaking with anguish.
“If everything was going to end like that… then there was no reason for you to kill them with your own hands. Why the hell did you fall for that bastard’s words?”
Her voice turned into sobs as she grabbed Leon’s collar and sank down.
Watching her break down in tears, Leon slowly reached out and placed his hand on her shoulder.
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“I…”
“Shut up!!!”
“Not even once…”
“I said shut up!!!”
“I have never once thought of that bastard as anything but an enemy.”
At those words, Isna’s eyes widened.
Then, filled with hatred, she looked up at Leon.
“A lie. Do you not even remember what you said? Ha… figures. This is just an illusion created by my own mind anyway.”
Suppressing her sorrow, she let her hand fall limply.
“Get lost… I don’t even want to see you or hear your voice. I’ll just slowly die here, so get out.”
“Isna. Mielephon.”
“I told you not to say my name—”
“You’ve done well. I’m sorry.”
At those words, Isna’s eyes widened.
She slowly raised her head and looked at Leon.
What are you saying? If you were going to apologize like that, then why did you do it?
Even when her most trusted comrade betrayed her.
Even when she had trusted him more than anyone else, only to be betrayed in the end—
She had still tried to believe in Leon until the very end.
But when everything shattered, she had wanted to ask him—did you have no regrets about what you were doing?
And yet, Leon’s words now rendered all those sacrifices meaningless.
“You bastard… what the hell did you just say? Sorry? You worked hard? Then what about those who died by your hand? What about the countless people who died because of your betrayal?!!!”
Shouting in renewed fury, she formed a flame sword once more.
And thrust it toward Leon’s heart.
But Leon did not dodge.
Paaang!!!!
Instead, her blade cut through empty air.
It wasn’t Leon who had avoided it—she herself had diverted the tip of her sword.
A black burn mark remained on Leon’s cheek, like a scar left by the blade.
“You shouldn’t be doing this… Why are you saying things like that now? Did I want this? Did I ask you to say things like that?”
At her tearful outcry, Leon remained silent.
That silence was enough to drive Isna’s rage to the breaking point.
She slowly stood up and formed two flame swords, one in each hand.
“Come at me. If you really want to apologize to me, then fight like you mean to kill. From the moment you betrayed us, you and I were no longer comrades… no longer closest friends. We are enemies who must kill each other.”
At those words, Leon let out a slow sigh.
“Stab me. I’m already dead, and you’re alive. What happens now has no real meaning.”
“Leon Cascadia!!!!”
Enraged beyond measure, she lunged at him at full speed.
At that moment—
Riiip!!!
A tearing sound echoed out, and through the split, an arm suddenly pushed through and grabbed her wrist.
“Enough. That’s as far as you go.”
It was a familiar voice.
The tone of the present-day Leon—different from the one before her.
Trembling, Isna looked at him and spoke.
“You… are you dead too?”
“I entered through Void Enchanter. I still had some power left. I tried resonating just in case… and it seems I was right.”
“……”
Isna stared blankly.
Then the present-day Leon spoke to the Leon of the past.
“So, misunderstandings cleared up? Well… even if it was a misunderstanding, the fact that you killed everyone still stands…”
At his words, the Leon of the past responded only with silence.
Naturally, Isna could not understand the situation at all.
“What… are you talking about?”
“It’s simple. This was the only way to eliminate Yog.”
“……”
“It sounds ridiculous, but… to defeat an Outer God, the only option was to kill everything.”
Isna couldn’t easily accept it.
Because the Leon of the closed world was now saying that, for the sake of humanity’s future, he had annihilated humanity.
It was the most absurd hypothesis imaginable—something she had always insisted could never be true—yet at the same time, it was the answer she had most desperately wished for.
Her gaze wandered aimlessly before finally settling on the Leon of the closed world.
“Do you remember the promise we made on the battlefield?”
“The promise…”
“Yes. The promise that even if only one of us remained alive, we would kill that bastard.”
A memory, now half-faded within Isna, surfaced more clearly.
That day, as they prepared for battle, everyone gathered around a campfire and steeled their resolve.
The solemn vow they had made, raising their weapons together.
—We’ll definitely kill that monstrous bastard.
—We’ll find a way, no matter what.
The promise Isna had shared with the Leon of the closed world as they calmly drank together.
The resolve she had believed Leon had discarded like a worn-out rag… had not disappeared after all—
And that realization threw her into confusion.
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