Chapter 227. The One And Only Answer (4)
A beam of light shot up towards the sky.
It pierced through the sky, as if it were aiming for somewhere in space.
Even though it was broad daylight, the pillar of light shone brighter than the sun and illuminated the world.
On that day, no one in the south or the north failed to see the light.
To ordinary people, it was just a supernatural phenomenon.
Simply a white light rising vertically from the ground.
It was a surprising and wondrous sight, but that was all.
It was not much different from seeing lightning or the aurora.
“Captain Rex, what the hell is that······?”
“······.”
“Captain?”
“······.”
However, those who wielded swords and honed their skills to the limit, or those who had glimpsed a greater meaning beyond that limit.
“Lord Matop! It’s dangerous! Come down! Judging from the bright light, it must be a radioactive explosion! Fallout might fall!”
“Whew······.”
“Lord Matop! Don’t just stand there! Hurry!”
“How can such a······.”
And those whose minds were polluted as they delved deeper and deeper into the source of magic, exploring the smallest unit of the world that was believed to be indivisible.
“Little Master. Are you watching?”
[Yes. I am watching, Master.]
“How does it look to your eyes······. My gun is useless, so it looks like nothing more than an eerie pillar of light······.”
[In my eyes······.]
Also, those who wielded incomprehensible magic and tried to understand its nature by groping and examining it.
They all saw the same thing from the pillar of light.
No. To be exact, they saw a possibility.
[I can see the path that the great senior of the distant realm has paved.]
The end of my path.
A single path where the great meanings of sword, magic, and sorcery converge.
I could glimpse the source of all power for a moment.
.
.
.
“Whew······.”
The strength drained from my body.
All the torn muscles shriveled up.
As if my whole body was being crushed by extreme pressure, pain struck me, and my body collapsed.
However, as if not to let that happen, Mijung hugged me and supported me, allowing me to look up at the sky.
“It’s beautiful.”
“······Yeah. It’s like, fallen leaves. Falling, things.”
Airships were falling from the sky.
Slowly and naturally.
Just as Mijung said, some of them were falling like spinning leaves, some were falling rapidly with their bows tilted, and some were falling sideways.
It was a scene of all nine airships of the fleet crashing.
When else would I be able to see such a luxurious spectacle?
I looked up at the sky with Mijung and laughed like an idiot.
Didn’t they say there were no people inside?
When I first used telekinesis to crash the airships, I was worried that there might be people inside.
But the moment I raised the Extreme Sword and reached them, I realized that it was true.
The light of the Extreme Sword permeated the airships.
I could see inside them and knew right away.
“······How, did you, do. That?”
“I cut them.”
“······Cut, them? Those?”Mijung looked at me with a blank expression.
Definitely.
It doesn’t seem like it was cut.
The airships were all falling intact, as if they had lost engine thrust.
But I definitely cut them.
It may be a little different from the concept of ‘cutting’ that is commonly referred to.
But I can’t find any other word to describe it other than cutting.
Up until now, I have only cut the representation of things.
I only destroyed or changed the current state.
Even the Five Extremes could not escape this limitation.
Even though it was a technique that originated from the pure will in my core, it was not much different in that it only touched the external representation.
However, the Ultimate is a technique that gets infinitely closer to the root of things.
The Ultimate enters the world deep inside the representation, which is normally unreachable.
So when the particles of light permeated the airships, I felt a huge amount of information flowing into me.
The daily lives of the crew on the airships.
The urgency at the time of escape.
The parts that moved according to the ‘command’, creaking and rattling.
And one ‘self’ that controlled the airships.
It was as if there was a whole world inside each and every trivial object.
If I polish my technique here, I think I’ll be able to process them separately, like cutting this and leaving that alone.
But all I could do as an immature person was to cut everything that came into contact with my Ultimate.
That’s how I cut the fleet.
I made the light touch it.
I cut it with my will.
Then all the memories that had permeated the airships collapsed.
All the parts lost power.
The ‘self’ that connected the airships disappeared.
That’s my Ultimate.
No. It was the one extreme that all those who walked this path would reach.
“······That, technique-“
“No. No. No. That’s not it. That’s not it.”
“······What. Not, yet, said. All, not. Done.”
“I was going to name the technique. No. Your naming sense is really Fuji-class.”
“······.”
Mijung glared at me with an expression that seemed to ask how I knew.
It’s no use acting so pouty and sharp.
It’s okay to give in to everything else.
Things like the Iron-Blooded Storm Strike and the Magic Sword aren’t important.
But this time, I think I should decide for myself.
As a pioneer who first explored this path.
As a comrade who will attract all those who follow.
I had the responsibility to name this technique.
Where did the Ultimate come from?
It came from my exploration of the will that began with swordsmanship.
What is the Ultimate technique for?
It is not a technique for anything.
Unlike the Five Extremes, which have a clear purpose, the Ultimate is a collection of all the Five Extremes, and paradoxically, it does not have any purpose.
So what is the Ultimate?
Technique?
Is it right to call it a technique that does something?
Well, it may be far from the most wrong answer, but who would understand such abstract words?
“A sword that cuts through the essence.”
Kugugung!
The airships crashed to the ground with a violent explosion.Even though my voice was muffled, Mijeong seemed to understand properly.
And she nodded as if she was convinced.
The Extreme of Intent observes the essence within the representation of things.
And then, no matter what, it cuts.
It is never the purpose to cut, but that is its use.
And the reason why I specifically named it a ‘sword’ instead of a ‘technique’ is nothing grand.
It is simply because the path I have walked was the path of the sword.
Now, what I hold in my hand is merely a crystallization of my strong will, so I wonder if it is right to call it a sword.
I still hold my will while imagining the form of a sword in my head.
That is why it is a sword.
There is not even a shred of resemblance to a sword, but what can I do?
If I hesitate, the magician will realize the Extreme of Intent first.
Only in this case, it was okay for me to be stubborn.
“Hwa······. Just a little, just a little······ I’ll rest······.”
“······Okay, yes. I’ll, watch over you, from the side.”
“Thank you. I’m so tired, really.”
I said it as if it was easy······.
The Extreme of Intent, the recoil was much worse than I thought.
It felt as if my body was being crushed like a plastic bottle that had entered the deep sea.
It was as if the punishment for stepping into a realm that was not permitted to humans was being handed down immediately.
If it were before, I would have died from bleeding all over my body due to the recoil.
But now that I can freely handle my will and strengthen my body, I was able to withstand this recoil that could not be endured even with magic power and mana.
In other words, it is closer to a force that is applied to the spiritual body, or the inner world, rather than a recoil that is applied to the physical body itself.
That is why it is impossible with magic power or mana, which only strengthens the representation of the physical body.
I have no choice but to strengthen my origin with my will.
It hurts like hell, though.
That’s all there is to it.
It is just that the pain that is applied to the deep inside, not a physical blow, is unfamiliar, so it feels like I am going to die.
“Let’s rest.”
“······Yes.”
I leaned down and closed my eyes, leaning on Mijeong, who had made a pillow with her knees.
When the physical body is tired, it shuts down the body, including the brain, and falls asleep.
So what happens when the soul is tired?
I was able to find the answer right away.
I felt my physical senses gradually fading and transferring to another world.
I felt myself being sucked into the inner world.
Is this the astral projection that the Underworld God was talking about?
Until now, I had to lead my physical body directly to enter the inner world.
That is why it looked as if I had disappeared from that spot and teleported.
But this time, it is different.
My physical body is still resting on Mijeong’s lap, being stroked on the head.
Only my soul is entering the inner world.
-Ah! Crazy! No!-
But at that moment, I felt an insanely strong force pulling my spirit.
As soon as I touched the persistent and eerie flow of force, I realized it.
This is the force that leads to the Underworld!
Is there a magnet attached to my soul?
If I just do astral projection, this is what happens······!
I struggled desperately, trying my best to enter the inner world instead of the Underworld.Obviously, the distance to my inner world is much closer.
Literally, a monster-like force was pulling me with such a strong attraction that it could overcome the distance.
No, I can’t.
I’m sick of dating the fourth underworld god in a row.
Seriously, I hate it even if I die.
I’ll be able to go back anyway when my soul recovers, but just seeing that guy’s face is disgusting and I hate it.
As I watched my inner world moving away, begging like that.
In my inner world, a small light flickered.
I can see it gradually approaching me.
The four lines approaching me look like tentacles.
It also looks like plant roots.
The ends of them, which finally reached the tip of my nose, split.
Like a small handful, they spread their fingers and reached out to me.
I grabbed them without hesitation.
For a moment, my body was enveloped in light.
And when I opened my eyes again.
“Eugene!”
“Ahhhhh! Oh, Eu, Eugene······. Sob······. Thank goodness······.”
“You’re alive······. You’re alive······.”
I was in the arms of the three women I loved so much.