240 – Advice
“Haa…”
As I let out a rough sigh, my legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground.
I was really close to dying. If it had been a little bit late, it would have turned into ashes, unrecognizable.
I felt relieved at first as I barely survived a situation that was embarrassing to even call it a battle, but then I was at a loss as to what to do from now on.
The opponent was filthy strong, as expected. I don’t know exactly what ability it is, but as soon as the sun rises, my body starts to burn. It’s literally like a miracle from God, isn’t it? How are you supposed to deal with that?
I’m barely alive right now, but I’m not completely out of danger. Since time in reality is stopped, as soon as you leave the mirror world, you have to face the same life-or-death situation again.
In other words, we have to find a way here somehow.
Even this was only possible thanks to the Goddess urgently shouting to me to lift up the hand mirror.
The goddess who saved my life disappeared from her side because she couldn’t follow her to the inner world.
This means that from now on I have to find a strategy by myself.
First of all, the first thing to solve is what exactly the opponent’s ability is. Knowing that, you will be able to find the right way to destroy it.
At first, it seemed certain that it was related to the sun.
‘It was a pleasant chat, but I don’t have time anymore. Because the sun is rising.’
As soon as I raised my hand with those words, I almost died as the sunlight shone through the window. In addition to that, when she showed the vision of burning Paris, she said that she would have to save Sharon before dawn.
In some way, the count’s ability is related to the sun.
It was quite a meaningful piece of information, but it was not enough. A more certain and specific clue was needed.
I almost died as soon as the sun rose. In other words, it was fine until the sun came up.
I just thought it was because I was talking to them to buy time.
But what if that wasn’t the case?
Perhaps it wasn’t just me who was trying to pass the time, but the other person as well?
You couldn’t kill me during the night…?
Certainly, looking back now, I felt that the Count’s response was somehow out of place.
The other party knew one-sidedly about my information, but I almost didn’t know anything about him. However, he insinuated hints that he was an apostle of God. Even though it is clear that it will be detrimental.
If it was an act to deliberately delay time, it would be understandable. The sun had to come up to kill me.
‘…No, it gets even weirder if you think about it that way.’
I tried to find the correct answer, but my head pounded again at the ensuing question.
If the Count deliberately tried to wait until dawn, the conversation in the mansion earlier would explain it.
But now the fantasy he saw at the inn gets in the way.
Apparently in a fantasy, Juliet had warned her that if she didn’t rescue Sharon before dawn, her Paris would collapse. Okay. It was a clear warning to anyone who could see it.
I naturally assumed that the Count had given me a fantasy, and in fact, the Count also admitted that my guess was correct, speaking about it himself first.
What if I hadn’t shown you that fantasy? I would have tried to save Sharon in a more leisurely and sure way than now, and then she would have been at the mansion by the time the sun had risen.
The front and back don’t match at all. The two hints in my hand are pointing in completely opposite directions.
This isn’t enough. At least one more clue is needed to get a sense of something.
It is impossible to find the perfect answer alone in this empty mirror world.
Trumbling.
‘Oh, I guess I wasn’t alone.’
I woke up from my thoughts at the regular sound of footsteps coming from in front of me and raised my head.
There, as expected, a gray-haired girl wearing a white dress, Hayangi, was approaching me.
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“···It’s been a while. But since I’m not in a good situation, it’s a bit hard to welcome you sincerely.”
As we were saying hello like this, I suddenly remembered our last meeting. Even then, like now, I came for an emergency escape at the moment of crisis in reality. After realizing it, I feel a little sorry that he only seems to come to me when I’m in a hurry lately.
Hayangi, who was staring at me who was drooping, opened her mouth.
“Need help?”
Similar to last time. A wry smile leaked out of me at that innocent kindness.
Did I become a pathetic guy who couldn’t do anything without help from such an innocent child?
I don’t like that very much. Getting help from Hayang was enough the last time.
What did you decide when you first met the girl at the top of the clock tower?
Didn’t I pledge my salvation to bring that child out of this false space?
Of course, I’m not just building my ego unnecessarily. Anyway, the power of stopping time was exceptionally transferred only once, and it was not a convenient cheat key that could be used indefinitely.
I jumped up and straightened my clothes.
“Thank you. But this time, I’ll try my best.”
First of all, let’s focus on certain information rather than uncertain intentions.
It is certain that the Count is an apostle of God. If that’s the case, if you find the apostle’s common weakness, you might be able to attack your opponent.
The Apostle’s Weakness…
To be honest, I have no idea. In the first place, wouldn’t it be difficult to call myself a normal apostle? It’s like the goddess has lost her power and clings to me.
Then, do other apostles know about me?
There are a total of 4 apostles I have met so far, including me.
Among them, the girl in front of me was also a transcendentalist and apostle.
Maybe Hayang knows about it. It was a case where he did not become an apostle as a normal human, but became a member of the goddess of time and became a semi-divine being, a transcendental being. That’s why he was able to temporarily hand over the power of stopping time to me.
The question is whether Hayang can understand such a complex question…
Let’s try at least once. Even if it fails, it’s because time is rotten and overflowing here anyway.
“Hayangah. Perhaps an apostle of God… Um, how do I explain this. That is, following God’s will…”
The moment I tried to unravel the words in an easy-to-understand way, Hayangi’s voice broke through the conversation in the middle.
“Cut the line.”
“… Huh?”
Before I could fully understand what that meant, something happened.
Suddenly, the space behind me was distorted, and the mirror world began to forcibly connect with reality.
Regardless of my will, my body was slowly sucked into reality. This was the first time this had happened, so I waved my hands desperately in confusion.
Hayangi was not at all agitated by my appearance. As if he knew all this was going to happen.
“I’ll wait.”
With those words, my mind returned to reality.
***
A short amount of time, not even an instant.
I forcibly pushed the questions that filled my head and focused only on the crisis that would come in reality.
The situation was exactly the same as before entering the mirror world. The brilliant dawn of dawn seeping in from the window.
As soon as I felt the light burning my toes, I remembered what Hayangi had said.
Cut the line.
At that moment, I saw a line at the end of my gaze as I was looking at the dawn. I didn’t even have time to think about it, I threw a card and cut the line according to my instinct.
Then, the curtains that had been tied were undone and covered the windows, providing darkness.
The count was slightly taken aback by my quick response, but frowned without hiding his displeasure.
However, he did not lose the laid-back attitude he had shown from the beginning.
“You are quite quick in judgment. It won’t change anything, though.”
It was as he said. This was, at best, a stopgap, a waste of time. In the first place, no matter how thick the curtains are, it is impossible to completely block sunlight 100%. In fact, the ‘phenomena’ of the rising of the dawn alone made the count’s momentum clearer than before.
No matter how desperately I tried to prevent the opponent from touching the curtain, I would lose my fighting power.
Still, where did you say that you saved your life right away?
‘Come to think of it… How did Hayang know?’
This was advice that couldn’t come out unless you had a complete understanding of the current battle structure, completely unrelated to the apostle’s common weakness I was asking about. Even I, the person involved, didn’t know at all until right before.
As soon as he felt that the count was raising his mana, he put his doubts aside and tried to respond.
“It’s already too late!!”
However, the Count rips the curtains violently with his magic before that.
And outside the exposed window, there was something huge that obscured the view of the blue sky.