novelraw Chapter 369: Number of Rings: Infinity
Chapter 369: Number of Rings: Infinity
Valentiina lay alone behind one of the countless doors in this cylindrical space. She sat in the pitch-black corridor. From above, terrifying tremors and roars continuously transmitted down. She could only tightly grip the ring Fisher had previously placed on her ring finger, attempting to use this method to pray for Fisher's safety above.
Beside her, Eimhart, who had a string of illumination magic necklaces tied to his body, flew around irritably, muttering constantly,
"What do we do... what do we do... That Base is at least of the Mythical Rank. No matter how outrageous that brat Fisher is, it's impossible for him to deal with two people at the same time. The one chasing him isn't anything good either, the feeling he gives off is very bizarre. What do we do, I don't have anyone I can call for help either."
"Screech!!"
"Rumble!"
Outside the door, that Base seemed to be incessantly chasing someone. The terrifying power it caused even by moving caused the door beside Valentiina, which was who knows how many times heavier than her, to shake violently in the wind. Frightened, Sir Book Artifact hastily flew over and pressed his body against the door, deeply afraid that whoever was outside would discover them hiding here.
"Wait, Eimhart, do me a favor. The platform below... I saw those instruments just now. It seems they can open the True Ice cover below, revealing the tree roots inside."
Eimhart turned his head suspiciously to look at Valentiina and said to her,
"What are you going to do?"
Leaning against the wall, Valentiina explained to Eimhart,"There are currently two enemies outside, both are very difficult to deal with. Fisher's dagger can only eliminate one of them, right? I want to prepare an insurance policy. If the situation really worsens to an unsolvable degree, I can use the tree roots to eliminate the Phoenix blood within my body. That way, that Base won't become complete."
Eimhart opened his mouth, shaking his head rather irritably,
"Fisher will absolutely not agree to that. Although this guy is greedy, he still cares about you; he won't let you die. Moreover, since the Moon Princess told you to come back, she definitely had her reasons. It's absolutely impossible that she had you return just to cause trouble. Just wait a bit longer."
However, after hearing this, Valentiina shook her head. She then pointed to her eyes, where the radiance of True Ice was clearly visible even in the darkness,
"The Moon Princess might have had her arrangements for doing so, but I cannot place all my hopes entirely on her arrangements... During the Holy Matrimony, I also saw the future. What I mean is, you and Fisher will be fine, I promise."
Eimhart was slightly stunned. Looking at the决绝 resolve revealed in the eyes of the delicate girl lying on the ground before him, he murmured in a low voice,
"You... as expected, you are also a Phoenix. I know..."
But before Eimhart could finish his words, the sound of dripping liquid suddenly echoed in this pitch-black, narrow corridor, quite out of place, exactly as if water was leaking from somewhere and drops were falling down.
"Drip, drop~"
"Eimhart, open the door quickly, go!"
At first, Valentiina was still very confused. It wasn't until a faint smell of blood wafted over that her pupils shrank, and she yelled loudly at Eimhart. But at the exact same moment, she suddenly felt an immense force pinch her neck, effortlessly lifting her entire person up.
"Ugh..."
"Found you, little Phoenix."
The large door behind them was knocked open by Eimhart. Following the last bit of light transmitted from his body, Valentiina clearly saw the appearance of the person wearing a bird-beak mask before her. Even though he was merely looking at her just like this, he made Valentiina's entire being instinctively feel fear.
Pinching Valentiina's neck, Erwind walked out of the grand doors. He looked down at the book swaying and flying downward in the distance, ignoring the fleeing Eimhart. He merely looked up toward Fisher, who was being pursued by the Mythical Rank Base above.
"Fisher, you have to make a decision quickly. Are you going to use the Death Rune on that Curse or not? Your little girlfriend..."
Erwind glanced at the ring worn on Valentiina's finger, which was constantly struggling in his hand, and suddenly changed his phrasing,
"Oh no, your little wife might not last much longer. Her body is already very poor. For a human body to forcibly contain Phoenix blood that far exceeds its own tier, it's already a miracle she has lived until now."
"Screech!"
"Erwind!!"
Directly above, Fisher, being chased by the terrifying Base behind him, shrank his pupils slightly. He seemed angered to the extreme. Reaching into his embrace, he grasped the short dagger hidden there, violently let go of the Fluid Sword dangling from the bridge above, and charged toward Erwind at an extremely fast speed, seemingly wanting to use the Death Rune in his embrace to kill Erwind first.
Seeing this scene, Erwind, who was pinching Valentiina, sighed slightly. The force of his hand gripping Valentiina's neck also grew heavier.
"Regrettably, even someone as smart as you becomes irrational at a time like this. If you could think carefully and weigh the pros and cons, you probably wouldn't make such a decision..."
He raised his left arm and violently swung it, whipping up a fully powered, fierce wind. To Fisher, who was being pulled down by gravity, this bottom-up attack seemingly left no room to dodge. That fierce wind neutralized Fisher's offensive, and just as Fisher had anticipated earlier, even with the Death Rune in his possession, the gap in their tiers was right there. Fisher absolutely couldn't manage to land a hit on Erwind.
"Valentiina, now!"
But the moment the attack was launched, Erwind heard Fisher's preemptive shout beside his ear.
Erwind's strike just now had sent Fisher flying. This fully powered blow directly caused his grip on the short dagger in his embrace to loosen. Thus, the dagger hidden under his jacket also subsequently flew out into the air. Just as Erwind was contemplating whether to snatch back that Death Rune for his own use, he suddenly saw the true appearance of that dagger clearly.
It was an extremely short, miniature triangular dagger that looked far different from the appearance of a massive weapon of mass destruction crafted by Demon-kin. In fact, it fell far short of even being considered a weapon "handy for human use." The crude craftsmanship of that dagger looked very laughable. Someone had even drawn an adorable little fox symbol on the hilt...
This was a dagger made by the Snow Fox-kin?
Then where did the real Death Rune go?
The moment this thought popped into Erwind's mind, he received the corresponding answer. His movements froze slightly, because Valentiina, whose neck he was pinching behind him, had already taken out an exquisitely gorgeous short blade from her embrace. If this wasn't the Death Rune given by Eliog, then what else could it be.
Did I fall for his trick?
In this split second, Erwind's left hand had just lashed out an attack at Fisher, his right hand was still pinching Valentiina's neck, and even his gaze was looking in Fisher's direction. He hadn't had the time to turn around and look at Valentiina at all, only just generating the thought of having fallen into a trap in his mind.
An opportunity, once in a thousand years!
Gritting her teeth, Valentiina prepared to seize the opportunity to pull off the sheath. The Erwind before her hadn't even turned his head back; no matter how you looked at it, this was the best timing.
However, at this moment, an unexpected change occurred.
Erwind's body remained entirely motionless, yet on his neck facing Valentiina, a thick, fleshy arm suddenly grew out. The palm of that newly-grown hand accurately and swiftly pressed down on Valentiina's hand that was about to draw the blade, fixing the Death Rune that was about to be unsheathed firmly in place.
This inhuman scene exceeded Valentiina's imagination. But with just this one second of pause, the crucial timing for attack had already been lost.
"Ugh!"
On that arm, quivering eyeballs grew and twisted little by little, all staring at Valentiina, who was thoroughly subdued before him. And Erwind, who was originally looking in Fisher's direction, also turned his head around little by little. Looking at Valentiina, who was still struggling to draw the Death Rune with great admiration, he spoke,
"Good scheme, so you wanted to deal with me first? Indeed, although that Curse's tier is high, it lacks sentience; compared to me, it should be easier to deal with. And just now, even a normal person of Tier 1 would have been able to pull the blade out. It's a pity, you're merely a crippled human possessing Phoenix blood, and you do not possess such ability."
Right at the same time, a "clunking" sound suddenly came from the platform below. That platform moved the True Ice aside bit by bit, revealing the roots of the World Tree distorting the space below.
"Ah, maybe that is indeed the case, but at the very least it's not the turn for an ugly freak like you to point fingers at me..."
Valentiina painfully clutched her neck, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Erwind before her.
Erwind seemed to notice something slightly amiss. His bird-beak mask carefully scanned Valentiina lying before him, and he suddenly discovered that the ring originally worn on her finger had somehow appeared in her palm. The activated magic crest on it dissipated little by little, completely exposing her aura.
"Screech!"
The very moment Valentiina, this last Phoenix, exposed her aura, Erwind suddenly felt a chill down his spine. Without even needing to think, he knew that the Curse had already arrived behind him.
He subconsciously wanted to dodge the Curse's attack from behind. But even without sentience, a Mythical Rank was still a Mythical Rank existence. In a split second that was countless times faster than Erwind's speed, even uncatchable by the naked eye, Erwind's entire person was swallowed whole by that Curse in one bite.
As for Valentiina, having prepared for this, she forcefully pressed against Erwind's head and pushed violently. The reactive force immediately propelled her to fall downwards.
"Screech!"
But how could that Curse allow the bloodline right before its eyes to leave? Like a madman, it lunged toward Valentiina. Its immense power seemed capable of piercing through the entire Sycamore tree. Countless shards of architecture were knocked down by the Base's massive force, as if the most beautiful artwork in the world was about to shatter.
The area around that giant Base was contaminated by a certain invisible force. Black feathers dripping with fresh blood grew frantically on Valentiina's clothes and skin. Above, wielding the Fluid Sword, Fisher madly rushed from the Base's body toward the falling Valentiina, giving his all wanting to save her.
"Bang!"
But the next second, an opening suddenly exploded beneath Fisher's feet on the Base's body. Erwind, contaminated with a few black feathers on his body, drilled out calmly from within the Curse. In mid-air, the Death Rune wildly spun. Both men saw the continuously spinning short blade, and then they both moved simultaneously.
Except, Erwind headed toward the Death Rune, while Fisher headed toward Valentiina.
"Weaknesses will ruin you, Fisher. With the Death Rune out of your hands, your defeat is sealed."
"..."
In the instant the two crossed paths, Erwind's calm voice transmitted over. But Fisher completely ignored him, leaping straight from the Base's body to Valentiina's side and hugging her tightly.
Behind Erwind, a pair of fleshy wings grew out as he reached his hand toward the Death Rune falling from the sky. However, the next moment, a square book flashing with golden light crazily screamed while opening its mouth and snatching the short blade in its mouth with extreme speed,
"The great Sir Book Artifact is here!! Scram, scram!"
"...Teardrop Relic?"
Erwind raised his eyes and locked his gaze onto Eimhart's square figure. Just as he was about to give chase, a mercury-like blade effortlessly pierced through his body from behind, dragging him back down again. He turned his head and saw that the feathers on Fisher's body were getting heavier and more numerous. The curse of the Base's true body was significantly stronger than the Spirit World phantom he had seen before, and Fisher wouldn't be able to last long.
Then, finishing off Fisher first would not be a bad choice either.
Erwind violently clapped his chest once. Accompanied by a massive sonic boom, the Fluid Sword that had transformed into a fishhook hooking onto him was directly blown away. Following that, Erwind's entire arm transformed into drops of weaponry faster than bullets, shooting downward.
The senseless Curse plunged headfirst onto the tree roots. The energy of the roots burned so hot that smoke rose from its forehead, causing ceaseless pain. This provided an opportunity for Erwind and Fisher to duel.
Fisher operated his Tier 13 physical attributes to the extreme, dodging all of Erwind's attacks with a few twists and turns, even managing to counterattack with the Fluid Sword. Though they hadn't yet gone all-out due to the unresolved Curse below, even so, this was not something Valentiina in Fisher's embrace—who wasn't even Tier 1—could withstand.
"Fisher, although the little Phoenix in your arms is acting tough and remaining silent, she is actually very fragile. Are you sure you still want to continue?"
While Erwind's hands transformed into countless sharp tentacles whipping at Fisher who dodged everywhere, he issued this reminder. Hearing this, Fisher looked down and saw that the complexion of Valentiina in his embrace was already frighteningly pale.
A battle above Tier 10 had exceeded the limits a normal human could endure. Even if Fisher could dodge everything, Valentiina wouldn't be able to bear it. If the battle continued, Valentiina's internal organs would be shaken to mush.
Just at this moment, Fisher's back was violently struck by Erwind. A cloud of blood mist exploded from his back, which immediately surged into Erwind's body. Whether it was an illusion or not, Erwind's movements seemingly became much more agile again.
Gritting his teeth, he squeezed the [Dream] Prime Magic in his hand. This was the trump card he had prepared. He had long made up his mind to use the Death Rune on the Curse, and then pull Erwind into the dream to fight to the death.
This way, if successful, both he and Valentiina would survive. Conversely, if he failed and died, and both Completion Handbooks were taken, Fisher didn't think Erwind would kill Valentiina, because his goal would have been achieved, and there was no need to do such a meaningless thing.
Thinking of this, he no longer hesitated and looked up, shouting "Eimhart". Eimhart hastily threw the Death Rune he held in his mouth to him. Raising his hand, Fisher caught the short dagger thrown over, and looked down at the Base below that had just pulled its head out from the energy of the tree roots.
Erwind seemed to understand his intentions. This suited his wishes perfectly, as he knew that without the Death Rune, Fisher had a ninety-nine percent chance of failing to defeat him. Thus, he quietly stood not far from Fisher, waiting for him to act against the Base.
Taking a deep breath, Fisher suddenly lowered his head and kissed the cheek of Valentiina in his embrace forcefully, making the pale-faced Valentiina smile.
"F... Fisher..."
"This might be the last time, I'm sorry."
"No, don't..."
In the distance, Erwind quietly turned his head away slightly, just looking down at the Curse below. But the next second, within his field of vision, that Curse shuddered, and tens of thousands of bloodshot eyeballs suddenly opened on its body, fiercely staring upwards.
Previously, both Fisher and Erwind had prioritized dealing with each other first, because the Base below had completely no sentience, possessing only brute strength. However, they had ultimately neglected one thing: a Mythical Rank was a Mythical Rank. It was a power that any living being below this tier couldn't even imagine.
And now, sensing the last remnant Phoenix bloodline, that incomplete Base was finally about to launch its offensive.
"Screech!"
The next second, an extremely ear-piercing and indescribable sound erupted from the Base's body. Streaks of blood-red, faint light burst out instantly, covering the entire Sycamore tree in the blink of an eye. The following second, the mana circuits on Erwind, Fisher, and Valentiina all lit up.
Erwind's body trembled slightly, then he instantly disappeared from the spot, fleeing upwards without looking back. Yet, he was still a step slower than the Base. The moment that light transmitted over, Fisher immediately felt as if he had gone deaf. The mana all over his body was instantly drained by the invisible mighty power, and his body went limp as he fell to the ground.
"This is all your fault. Because you didn't sew the souls of others in, you have a damaged soul right now but no spares..."
"Yes, yes, quickly eat that Phoenix bloodline in your arms, this way you can..."
Beside Fisher's ear, those maddening whispers transmitted over again. However, this screech caused the heaviest damage specifically to people with strong souls like magicians. This strike left Fisher unable to recover his senses for a good while, his mind going entirely blank as if his brain had received a heavy blow.
Flying in mid-air, Eimhart also seemed to run out of battery, turning into an ordinary book and dropping to the ground, rolling several times.
"Screech!!"
The light and screeches from below continuously transmitted over. Even more terrifying was that, under Fisher's extremely horrified gaze, the number of rings for all the magic on his body was actually peeling off. His Soul Magic peeled off layer by layer from the fifth ring until it completely turned into a pile of patterns without any mana whatsoever. The pendant Valentiina's mother had gifted him also peeled off ring by ring, turning into trash. Only the [Dream] magic he had designed himself was still holding strong, stopping at the second ring...
Such low-ring magic was absolutely of no use whatsoever. Let alone pulling Erwind in, even pulling a slightly more capable magician in would be difficult.
Down below, seeing that Fisher and Valentiina above had both lost their mobility, the Base screeching weirdly spread its wings, intending to swallow both Valentiina and Fisher into its stomach.
"Fisher, watch out!"
Just in the instant the Curse below was about to open its giant maw and strike, Valentiina, who was similarly extremely uncomfortable, violently pushed Fisher. Her entire person uncontrollably rolled downwards, allowing the Base with its gaping maw to bite onto her body in one go and fly upwards.
"Rumble!"
The Base biting Valentiina swayed its body, seemingly somewhat unable to wait to swallow her whole. Down below, the utterly drained Fisher's magic ring lit up with a final speck of faint pink light. It was just like a powerless infant using every ounce of its strength trying to knock down a burly man, completely to no avail.
"Is this the trump card you prepared for me? What a pity... such a brainless thing, merely through an instinctive roar, actually made you completely lose your combat ability. One must say, this is the work of destiny..."
In the surrounding smoke and dust, Erwind, clutching his body, slowly walked toward Fisher. Looking at Fisher's miserable appearance, which seemed as if his brain was burned out after failing to engrave high-ring magic, he couldn't help but sigh with some emotion.
He lowered his head and picked up the Death Rune that had fallen on the ground, then walked slowly toward Fisher,
"It hasn't eaten the little Phoenix yet. After killing you, I will use the Death Rune to kill it. You can pass on with peace of mind, Fischer Benavides."
"Speak..."
Erwind's hands suddenly transformed into two sharp blades. Setting one foot on Fisher's chest, he looked somewhat mockingly at the dazed Fisher. In the palm of Fisher's hand, that dream magic that had its ring count drop to the second ring was still activating, yet it gave Erwind absolutely no feeling of soul-pulling at all.
"Speak..."
Erwind placed the blade against Fisher's neck, not intending to hesitate at all before killing him. But right then, he seemed to hear Fisher struggling to say something.
Erwind didn't know that, at this very moment, beside Fisher's ear, the roaring tinnitus caused by his mana being drained, those maddening whispers appearing due to the Completion Handbook, had all vanished without a trace at this moment. At this moment, beside his ear, there was only a simple sentence spoken by a female voice with considerable charm.
What she said was,
"Speak, Karasawa Asuka. Speak, Karasawa Asuka..."
And looking at the Base biting Valentiina going further and further away, looking at the blade Erwind held at point-blank range, Fisher's mind emptied. Subconsciously following the female voice beside his ear, he opened his mouth and also said,
"Karasawa... Asuka..."
In the moment before Erwind's blade submerged into Fisher's neck, as this vocabulary word composed of an unknown language left his mouth, within this Sycamore tree wrapped in spatial turbulence, a profound dark red suddenly erupted from the Ring of the Magic Monarch worn on Fisher's finger. This dark red hooked onto the deep layer of the world, causing a kind of bizarre Spirit World fluctuation to arrive in quick succession.
The moment that fluctuation appeared, the Base biting Valentiina seemed to suddenly lose all power throughout its body and went limp in mid-air. It then, dragged by gravity together with Valentiina, rapidly plummeted from high up.
"Screech!"
"Rumble!"
The mana circuits all over Erwind's body lit up. Under his utterly astonished gaze, the dream magic in Fisher's hand, which originally had only two rings, instantly burst with exceedingly dazzling brilliance. The initially dim light pink instantaneously became shining like the sun. The magic crest carefully engraved by Fisher on it was instantly worn out entirely, yet the world resonance brought about unabated—on the contrary, it grew more and more intense!
It was precisely at this moment that the magic crest seemed to be infected by the power flowing out from the ring. While the radiance on the ring grew dimmer, the magic in Fisher's hand expanded increasingly, until it pushed the number of rings to an immeasurable quantity.
At this moment, the spatial fluctuations representing the number of rings increased layer by layer. Like a chain reaction with no end, it triggered a rumbling on the inner side of the world. The source of the magical energy was unknown, yet it automatically showed an exponential surge. Instantly, it covered the Mythical Rank Base, Erwind, and Fisher all within it. It wasn't until those layered magical energy fluctuation forces could no longer be bound by the rules created by the gods of the reality world that they wantonly transformed into a head-to-tail connected, ever-changing "figure-eight (Infinity)" symbol.
Endless ring energy instantly swallowed all rules of the real world. With an irresistible mighty power, it thoroughly twisted time and space. The twisted or powerless souls of everyone present were effortlessly lifted up and thrown into the Crevice of the World.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
Around reality, spatial sounds akin to shivering glass resounded accompanied by the light. Valentiina plummeted from high up to the ground. Following the sound of a bone fracturing, the blood beneath her continuously seeped out, representing both her Phoenix bloodline and her incessantly draining life, flowing toward the Curse beside her.
This scene bit by bit overlapped with the prophecy she had seen. However, the next second, as the dream magic with the "Infinite" ring count waited to cover her, the draining of her life and blood paused in an instant, exactly as if the loom weaving destiny had also paused and rested at this moment.
Inside the Sycamore tree, the fragments, the Base that fell to the ground, the dying Valentiina, and the listless Fisher were all paused at this moment, bizarrely falling into the infinite crevice of time and space. But the souls of all living beings present left their bodies simultaneously. Following the flickering True Ice, they all fell together into the boundless, exceedingly deep illusion seemingly rotating like a kaleidoscope constructed by an unknown existence.