17. Goddess Aria – 11
“This is true. This tree branch is what Kyrie threw at her for suicide, right? I’ve been familiar with it for a long time, but this seems to prove that Kyrie is a psychotic woman. To be willing to hand over something of this size to someone committing suicide.”
As Bianca stuck her tongue out looking at the branch on the table, Iris, who had been watching the scene from the side, slowly opened her mouth with a look of interest.
“A really interesting trick. Bianca, what trick did you use? A small twig that cannot penetrate even your small palm can penetrate a table made of solid wood so easily. Could it be that you put magic on that branch beforehand?”
At Iris’ words, Bianca gently shook her head from side to side.
“No, I didn’t use magic or anything. I am simply using the characteristics of this tree branch.”
“…characteristic?”
Hearing Bianca’s words, Iris tilted her head, and Bianca slowly pulled out the twig from the table and then put it back into her palm.
There was no sound. And there were no wounds either. As if penetrating an empty space, the branches penetrated Bianca’s palm so naturally. It was natural enough to make me think that there was a tree branch stuck in Bianca’s palm from the beginning, so it was a sight that I did not understand with the common sense I was familiar with.
“To say it again, I’m not even using magic, let alone using magic itself. I’m just thinking that I don’t want this branch to pierce my palm.”
I blink at Bianca’s completely incomprehensible explanation and throw a counter-question at her.
“…isn’t that obvious? Unless it’s self-inflicted, who in the world would want a branch to pierce their hand?”
In response to my question, Bianca gently nods her head as if my question is valid.
“right. No sane person would have the crazy thought of sticking a tree branch into their body. And that is the essence of this branch’s ability.”
Bianca plucked a twig through her palm and carefully handed it to me. From the outside, the tree branch she received seemed no different from the tree branch lying on the street.
“The ability of this branch is nothing other than stabbing at the essence of things. It is to read the mental image of the owner who is currently holding the tree branch in his hand, and to destroy the ‘concept’ that he sincerely intends to stab. That is the true power of this branch.”
“…to stab the essence?”
“okay. I knew very well that Kyrie was a walking fossil that had lived since the age of mythology, but I never thought she’d be hiding such a great object behind her back. This kind of thing is said to be a miracle among miracles that cannot be reproduced with the magic of the present age. I don’t know, but the celestial goddess must have helped in some way when I made this branch.”
I couldn’t hide my surprise as Bianca repeated admiration, but to be honest, I couldn’t understand why Bianca was so admiring. It is said to stab the essence, so it sounds pretty great at first glance, but isn’t it a flawed object that penetrates the human body without properly penetrating a single person? It seems to me that it is nothing more than a fun toy.
“…I see, that was it. That’s why she failed to harm herself, and you also couldn’t pierce your own palm. it’s fun yeah Isn’t it similar to the principle of mind sword in martial arts?”
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Meanwhile, Iris was making a similar expression to Bianca’s story as if she understood everything. At this point, I began to have a depressing feeling that I must have been the stupidest person in the room.
“Cain, don’t think too hard. To put it simply, that tree branch is like a famous sword whose energy changes according to the will of the owner. A master sword that can pierce and destroy anything in the world if the owner really wants it, but at the same time, it can’t even scratch a woman’s tiny hand if the owner doesn’t want to.”
“The reason the branch didn’t penetrate Bianca’s hand was because she didn’t want it, and the reason it was able to penetrate the table was probably because Bianca really wanted it. In order to capture the essence and pierce an object, it is necessary to read the owner’s image and understand the sincerity before that.”
“…..”
Now I’m starting to understand a little bit what Iris is trying to say. To put it simply, isn’t this a sharp dagger that pierces only the essence of what I want to aim for, ignoring all the armor I’m wearing?
“…Then I can understand why she failed to harm herself with that branch.”
she said to me He said he only wanted me to forgive him. He wants to seek atonement from me through his own death.
But that statement is a contradiction. Forgiveness is something that only the living can receive. If you choose to die for your own atonement, you cannot be sure whether or not you have been forgiven in the end. The only thing that can be offered for someone who has already died is mourning.
The branch must have noticed the contradiction she had inside, and as a result, the branch penetrated her heart. Because she, seeking forgiveness for me, did not sincerely yearn for her own death until the last moment.
“But no matter how much I think about it, I can’t understand Kyrie’s true intentions. If I really wanted her to die, I would have liked to have thrown at least a sharp dagger, but was there a need for me to deliver such a grandiose item?”
Bianca answers Iris’ doubtful question with a calm face.
“Well, originally, she was a crazy woman, so normally she would have understood that no matter what crazy thing she did, but this time, I can clearly see her insides. Although this seems to be a kind of bad taste in her.”
As she said that, Bianca’s eyes were on the small ring that was sitting on the table.
“Anyway, that woman seems to have given us an answer that can break this situation.”
****
everything breaks
From the powerful barrier that Aria had wrapped around her body, to the infinite magical power that knew no bounds, to the divine power that overwhelms everyone on earth. All of that, in front of the tree branch I was holding, was scattered like fog, like the darkness facing the light.
A branch of the World Tree that pierces the essence. After counting the owner’s image, it has the ability to destroy only one concept, and after penetrating all the various factors protecting Arya’s body, it succeeded in stabbing her heart.
The object I wanted to stab was none other than the vessel containing Arya’s divinity. Or something that makes a goddess exist as a goddess. Although this branch stabbed Arya straight through the heart, it did not take her life, but only destroyed the essence that held her as a goddess on earth.
“…aria.”
I carefully caress Aria’s head, who has her eyes closed as if she has fallen asleep. The aria held in my arms must have been an ordinary aria that I was familiar with. In the end, I must have succeeded in rescuing Arya.
“Look. I made it clear I will bring you back to normal I guess I beat you this time, Aria.”
Turn your head. Behind me was the figure of Ariel, who had lost consciousness due to the recoil from using her powers unreasonably.
…Why did she help me? According to Arya, her goal must have been the death of the Witch of Winter. Even though I should have known that I was trying to save Arya, what was the reason for changing my mind and becoming my strength?
“…..”
To be honest, I wasn’t quite sure what the reason was either. But in the future, we have plenty of time. That’s the reason, it’s something you can ask her directly later.
About a hundred meters away from this place, there was a figure of Bianca who had lost her mind after exhaustion, probably because she used magic while her magic power had run out. Looking around, it seemed that I was the only person who remained conscious.
“…under.”
The work is not over yet. The goddess Aria has disappeared from this world, but the root cause of her longing for her own death has not yet disappeared.
The divinity that escaped from the vessel of the goddess Arya. And an uncontrollable winter from her residual divinity. Only by getting rid of all of that and solving it, we will be able to go back home again.
…not impossible. Because the solution already exists.
ring. A ring made by the goddess Aria herself, so it contained at least some of her divinity. The very ring that provided the biggest cause for Arya’s awakening as a goddess.
The present ring, with all of Arya’s divinity removed, was no different from an empty can, but I think that’s why it has meaning.
This ring must be the only vessel in the world that has a history of containing the energy of divinity. If that’s the case, I think it’s also possible to re-seal the divinity that escaped from Arya’s body in this ring.
Because I have a flowing star that can control all kinds of energy regardless of its type. If the flowing star is truly a swordsmanship created by a goddess, I think it is possible to return it to the inside of the ring, even if it cannot completely control the divinity.
ugh-
Squeeze out all the remaining power and cast the last flowing star. Fortunately, as if my judgment was correct, the divinity that escaped from Arya’s body began to be sucked into the ring slowly without causing any rejection. Arya’s divinity and the ring merged into one again as if they were originally one body, and soon the energy was completely lost as if nothing had happened.
“…ha.”
After confirming that all energy was completely gone, I sat down with all my tension relieved. This is what it is. This time it’s all over. Arya no longer had to yearn for her own death, and the future in which many people would die was also gone.
“…Iris must be nagging her a lot.”
She boasted that nothing would happen, but seeing her scarred face, I can’t imagine what she would say to me. But no matter how hard it is, I hope you don’t do it too badly.
With that thought in mind, the very moment I picked up the ring that was lying quietly on the floor-
“…uh?”
awesome-
The ring that sealed Arya’s divinity began to crack. And through the cracks, the divinity of Arya, which must have been sealed earlier, began to leak little by little.
“This, this…”
What, what was wrong? Could it be that this ring that contained Arya’s divinity was simply disposable? Or was this ring too small to hold the enormous divine power of Aria, who had fully awakened as a goddess? I don’t even know what the reason is. But what is certain is that this ring containing divinity is now on the verge of exploding-
“…this. Damn, eat-”
If this ring were to explode, that would mean Arya’s divinity would be released to the world again. In other words, it is in line with the meaning that the blizzard that Arya tried so hard to control is released to the world.
Can not be done. Not as much as that. After a lot of hard work, I was able to finally reach this conclusion, but I can’t let everything ruin it for that reason!
“…Ugh, k-”
I tried to use the flowing stars once more to shove the divinity into the ring, but my exhausted body wouldn’t move as usual. No, even if the whole body was intact, it might have been impossible to control the divinity that fluctuated inside the ring. That’s how strong and intense the power inside this ring was.
“ha-“
Now that things have come to this, even if I use the flowing stars to seal the divine power in my body, I can never let it be released into the world-
“…Anyway. It’s all good, but you always end badly. This is what happens when you let go of your mind at the last moment and let your guard down. Keep that in mind.”
“…uh?”
At that moment, the divinity that had been swirling inside the ring quietly subsided like a lie. It was an obedient movement, as if the owner had given a command to the guard dog to remain calm.
“I liked the idea of sealing Arya’s divinity back into a ring that contained her divinity. However, the method of guiding the power is too clumsy, and above all, it is impossible to seal the divinity itself in a ring that contains only a part of the goddess’s divinity. That is why you failed.”
The girl with purple hair looks at me and gives me advice. A graceful face and purple eyes looking at me. It was clear that everything that made up her was the Ariel Thiers I knew well.
…but it was different. The current girl didn’t have the usual Ariel feeling. If I had to use a metaphor, it felt like I was looking at the aria from a moment ago, something distant. I know all too well what this feeling is. Because at this moment, even inside the ring, the same energy as the woman in front of me was raging.
“Goddess Arbel…”