71 – Princess, Alice Tantalota 13 –
All eyes were on me.
And my gaze met theirs.
Who I am doesn’t matter.
What matters is that I must defeat them all.
If I die, my sense of self will be meaningless anyway.
Let’s save the philosophical pondering for after we survive.
With thoughts of not knowing if I was thinking or if it was the princess’s guidance, I charged forward.
The princess learned the sword.
And she excelled at it.
At the very least, her swordsmanship would not be lacking compared to that of a first-year top-ranking student, focused solely on pure sword technique.
Thus, the first-year top-ranking status, physical abilities, and skills were combined to create a harmonious whole.
Although I’m not entirely sure of the principles behind it, I am capable of some level of strategizing.
Therefore, I can utilize my experience, which is an even greater advantage.
However, even with all this, my power is still insufficient compared to the opponent.
But if the opponent receives a fatal blow, they will become our ally by the hands of the princess.
As a result, we found ourselves in a more favorable situation.
Swish—
The princess’s swordsmanship is reproduced within my body.
With the heavenly sword in my grasp, I cut through the countless living corpses created by the villainess.
Even the Archbishop’s aura, used in their attack, withered away because of me.
The heavenly sword, for now, is a heavenly weapon. No matter what, it possesses the power of the heavens.
Therefore, it countered the Archbishop’s technique, believed to be using the power of demons.
“I still have a long way to go…!”
I aimed to inflict a fatal blow on the opponent with my sword.
The opponent simply evaded the attacks.
By strengthening through my aura, I forced my opponent back with unpredictable movements.
The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was an unreasonable attack.
However, it was not impossible.
Although I was in a position where a counterattack could come at any moment.
If we could land a critical hit, we could control the opponent.
In other words, if I transcended, my body would be healed under the rule of the princess.
The bishops did not forget that fact.
“We’ll go all out. No matter how powerful their rule is, there will be limits… That’s when we strike.”
It is the consensus.
Ultimately, the balance of power itself remains unchanged, with the opponent having the advantage.
Once the power of rule comes to an end, we will inevitably return to our original state.
But they are unaware of one fact.
I am an Aura Master.
Capable of using Aura Awakening.
[“Your Highness. I have one thing I’m curious about… Have you learned a one-handed sword technique by any chance?”]
“I have learned it. But why do you ask?”
[“Left hand or right hand?”]
“Right hand.”
Good.
That should be sufficient.
The power of domination is somewhat different from ordinary mental manipulation.
It’s more like making the subject feel an infinite sense of positive emotions toward you.
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It’s closer to making them move as you desire.
The reason I can wield the Princess’s sword technique is because she wanted it that way.
It’s truly fascinating to exchange it from a distance.
Conversely,
In this state, one can exist independently and act as they please.
To achieve what she desires.
Cha Yang—
The Aura surrounding the Heaven’s Sword, Cheon-geom, begins to gather, forming a massive Aura.
The Aura is continually compressed and constructed repeatedly.
Alice appeared bewildered by this sight, but it’s alright.
This is all for Alice.
The multitude of Auras gather together and rend this world asunder.
In my left hand, the Heaven’s Sword.
I manifest the Aura that embodies Ichii at the tip of the sword.
I swing the sword, causing a slight distortion in this world.
Aura Awakening, Absolute Initiative.
A technique that leaves only the cause and effect, omitting the process.
The current situation is a standoff.
And the way to break that standoff is right here.
Asymmetric power.
The Wolf’s Roar—
The sword swings.
Starting from the right and moving to the left, the sword in the left hand shifted at some point.
There was no process.
Only the result remained.
“Huh…?”
The young bishop, who had hidden behind, returned to human form if the wolf had a duration.
Large wounds had appeared on his body at some point.
“I, I…!”
The bishop’s body, unchanged into a wolf, must be weak.
I bet on that point, and I succeeded.
Because the bishop started to stammer.
“Am I… dying…?”
And only then did the other bishops realize the situation.
From the awakening of the Aura to the young bishop getting injured.
And even my left arm flying off due to the recoil.
“Q-Quick, heal—”
One bishop said, but unfortunately, judgment was swift from Alice.
Alice was worried about what had happened to me.
However, I had no intention of wasting the opportunity I created.
Alice’s aura of domination permeated the wounded body of the young bishop.
The result was something everyone could anticipate.
“This is the worst.”
“I agree.”
The young bishop didn’t cry anymore.
Or rather, he couldn’t cry.
Even if he was a child, he had feelings for his parents.
To that young bishop, Alice would feel like a parent now.
Even in the situation where one of my arms disappeared.
Our side became more advantageous.
“If I sacrifice the life of that bishop to inflict just one more fatal wound, then it’ll be enough,” Alice asked me, as if she thought something else was more important.
“The AbraXas Oracle… was it the Master of Aurore?” she asked.
I felt a great deal of doubt.
I want to tell her right now.
But it’s not the right time yet.
I’m too busy at the moment.
The Princess also knew that fact.
“Can we talk about it next time… about my past life?”
“Of course.”
It’s a situation where even my past life, which was more secret than the AbraXas Oracle, has been revealed.
There’s no reason not to say it.
When the two of us were having a casual conversation for a moment.
The remaining two bishops seemed to be deeply troubled.
They have no chance of winning.
If I use the young bishop, I can inflict quite a significant injury on one person.
If I exploit that, it’ll be enough.
Moreover, I can still use my Oracle Awakening ability three more times, so if it doesn’t work out, I can use it once more.
The bishops knew that fact as well.
But they didn’t admit defeat.
“…It’s the worst case scenario. But there’s one fact that you still don’t know.”
“…Is there really no other way?”
“Anyway, we are risking our lives here… It’s only right to bring that person into existence and then go.”
“I can’t think of any other alternatives…”
Something starts to react strangely.
A reaction that seems like there might be a last resort.
“There’s such a thing? Then why haven’t you used it until now? Is it because it’s a last resort?”
The only thing that’s certain is that something is progressing.
The important thing is that it won’t be beneficial for me.
“Contact everyone. We have to execute Plan Z.”
“When He resurrects… we should be happy… but it seems like a truly sorrowful day.”
There’s no reason to leave it alone.
I immediately rushed forward, trying to thwart the attack.
However.
Kukung—
Unidentifiable black smoke began to emanate from their bodies.
The smoky flames, which looked sinister, covered our surroundings without giving me a chance to react.
[This is… magic!!!]
Petroel, seeing their appearance, exclaimed in shock.
It was only then that I understood what they had done.
‘Could it be… they sacrificed themselves…!?’
A single stone shone on their chests.
The same pattern as the stone I had accidentally picked up in the slums.
‘Martyrdom…!’
The more valuable the sacrifice, the stronger its effect.
And the strong often become valuable sacrifices.
It’s just that there are many valuable things even if you’re not strong, so that’s not always the case.
Sacrificing the strong is efficient if they meet the conditions.
The bishops of the Cult of Malevolence are strong.
So they met the conditions of the sacrifice.
They just hadn’t considered the strategy of shaving off their own lives before.
‘This is insane. How can they do this? No, were they truly hoping for the resurrection of malevolence?’
Until now, I had thought they wanted the resurrection of malevolence because they disliked the prosperity.
It was an absurd idea.
They were true zealots.
Those who could sacrifice their lives for malevolence.
“Well… I had some expectations, but I didn’t expect the prophecy to be fulfilled like this.”
According to the Holy Virgin of the Heavens, the birth of the Sage is inevitable.
But it’s not without reason.
There is always a valid explanation.
However, I was curious as to why it had to be inevitable, and it seemed there was a reason for this.
If I were to sacrifice myself, there would be no way to stop it.
“But… I don’t feel a blind devotion to Alice. Could it be…”
And then, at some point, I realized that I was no longer under the dominion of the princess.
The dark smoke had shrouded the surroundings, cutting off the connection.
“Can I win?”
I didn’t know who the adult would be, but one thing was certain: the evil spirit as an adult is as strong as a raid boss, even stronger than the ancient dragons.
Of course, I’m not that powerful right now, but I’m likely to be stronger than a Cardinal Archbishop at least.
“Our representative of the gods… will now descend upon this land.”
“The child of the great god will descend upon this world.”
“The Holy Chamber is no longer the only group with adults! We have now succeeded in becoming equal to the Holy Chamber, so we will finally see the light.”
Somewhere, an unknown concept flowed in.
Perhaps those sacrificed were praying as they died.
All of these were things I couldn’t fully empathize with.
When I think about it, I wonder how many people have had experiences like mine.
…A long time had passed.
The whole world was shrouded in darkness, so nothing could be seen anymore.
Something was strange.
Why was the birth of an adult still in this state?
I wanted to ask someone, but there was no one to answer.
There was nothing here.
Much more time passed from that moment.
The world became even darker.
It had been dark before, but now it was even darker.
“Why on earth did this situation come to me?”
But there was nothing I could do.
I could only wait.
It was when I thought that all of the events up to now had been my delusions, after a very long time.
“Have you come?”
Someone spoke to me.
A voice I hadn’t heard in a very long time.
The joy of knowing there was another presence, if only for a moment.
A deep, resonating voice that rumbled softly.
But a voice as familiar as ever.
I didn’t know where it was coming from.
I couldn’t even tell if they were speaking aloud or implanting information in my mind.
But instinctively, I knew who it was.
“Deity…!”
One of the two deities who created this world.
In a way, one of the origins of all the evil in this world.
Arguably the most pitiful deity.
The deity, and I, had come face to face.
Unlike my baffled self, the deity seemed to have anticipated our meeting.
In the same calm voice, they asked me,
“So, what do you think? How does it feel to meet a deity directly for the first time?”
“I can’t see anything, though.”
I taunted them deliberately.
If I were to get angry here, it wouldn’t be a deity. It would be something else entirely.
But the entity that spoke to me seemed to be a deity, indeed.
“That is also your judgment.”
The deity was an entity that respected the freedom of its creations to the extreme.
It preferred to be addressed with titles, but it didn’t scold if you didn’t.
“So, why did I come here?”
“Because ‘I’ called you.”
“You? Are you going to send me back to Korea? Or do you not even know where Korea is?”
“I know where you were born, how you died, and why you’re doing this. I know all about the World Fantasy Saga you’ve been involved in.”
Wait a moment. You know all that?
The game company wasn’t some all-knowing being that created this world, was it?
I have many questions to ask, but I cannot answer them right now. If you meet Cheonsin later, ask him. You will be able to know everything then.
By withholding the answer, he complicates the confusion.
He is an existence with distorted thinking like a spirit.
More accurately, it is not that his thinking is distorted, but rather that his thinking is different because he is a deity.
“Then… why did you summon me?”
It seems like he dislikes digressions, so he asked me to get straight to the point.
The demon doesn’t even think about how surprised I am.
He just silently tried to explain to me why I came here.
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And the words that came out of his mouth.
For me, it was a shock greater than being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
“Abraxas Mentutihop, the child ‘I’ from the world without a god. Will you become ‘my’ son?”
The demon of the prophecy predicted by the celestial maiden.
It seems that the demon has chosen me as his candidate.