Episode 210 – Halo
It has the shape of a bird’s leg, but its thickness is thicker than the forearm of a stabbing man.
A huge torso that is hard to see because it is covered in black rags, and four thin, sharp arms sticking out between the rags. A neck length that appears to be five times that of an ordinary person.
Hanging at the end is the face of a person who looks as if his soul has escaped and he has dried up and died.
Even the face was changing into a different form every moment.
Sometimes it’s the face of someone I’m familiar with, other times it’s the face of someone I just passed by, or the face of someone I don’t know at all. Even my face.
One thing they all had in common was that they all looked dried out and dead.
Nightmare.
If you were to embody the word nightmare, wouldn’t it look something like this?
In an instant, the feeling of death came over my entire body.
I thought to myself that I had almost died several times since being possessed and that I had gotten used to this feeling.
‘It’s different.’
The sensation I felt from the being in front of me was completely different.
If all the sensations up until now were in the form of a weapon, it was like pulling out my life and soul and pushing me to the cliff of death.
This was different.
There is no sound.
There is no scent.
There is not even color.
Colorless and odorless, it just quietly approached me and led me to death.
Even though it looked like it symbolized death, I wasn’t afraid.
It was rather sweet. It feels as if I can become comfortable if I just surrender myself to it.
I feel like I can be happy without suffering.
That’s why it was even more dangerous.
That thing that lets one’s guard down with its very existence is the true ‘death’.
‘If I hadn’t known that I was still in an illusion….’
He must have really faced death like that.
[I can’t believe I’m maintaining my sanity even here.]
That’s pretty good.
Death said.
I didn’t bother to answer.
Because I had already realized that the entity in front of me was a ‘nightmare’, a part of the famous Four Heavenly Kings.
The Nightmare’s force itself is actually worthless.
Of course, this does not mean that he is weak, but it does mean that he does not have overwhelming force like the other Four Heavenly Kings.
However. The more I talk to him and communicate with him.
You gradually fall into the illusion again to the point where it is impossible to recognize it on your own.
If that happens, you will be completely trapped in an illusion and face death without knowing anything.
‘Can we win?’
Durandal’s strong grip on the sword felt cooler than usual.
“… ….”
I will speak honestly.
All stats displayed in the status window. It is not a number that exists without any meaning.
The maximum level at which a real human can become strong. It is quantified and recorded.
That’s why I decided to move away from the status window a long time ago.
From Noble mtl dot com
If you are buried in that limitation, you will not be able to move forward.
However, it is undoubtedly difficult to overcome that limit.
In fact, some people, including me and Stia, have reached the end of all their stats.
He has achieved such rapid growth that he has become a powerhouse at the top level as a human being.
But.
That is why our growth is very slow now.
It was natural. Isn’t it simple to overcome the inherent limitations of one’s species?
Among us, only one person exceeded the limit: Dina.
In fact, her other stats are much lower than ours, but her magic power has long since surpassed its limit.
The amount of magic power and control that a mere human cannot have.
‘I’m confident in my magical power, but….’
After eating the heart of a dragon horse, his magical power surpassed that of humans, but he could not overcome the limitations of humans expressed in numbers simply by that alone.
Overwhelming mana control.
That’s what I need right now, but since it doesn’t come rolling in just because I stay still, growth is naturally delayed.
Taking that into consideration, can I defeat the Four Heavenly Kings on my own?
No. Impossible.
The inherent limitations are different. Even though he is in the weakest position among the Four Heavenly Kings, his specs are much higher than mine.
This was an opponent I couldn’t guarantee whether I could beat him alone even if I broke all the limits right now.
‘But…. Now is not the time to cover things like that.’
This is a separate fantasy world that is completely isolated from the original world by the power of nightmares.
Since it is a place designed so that one cannot escape, it would be great if the world itself were torn apart from the outside.
‘But this is almost impossible.’
It meant a lot that the nightmare manifested itself like this.
Because he wasn’t alone. Until now, he had been with another Four Heavenly Kings named Leon.
You can’t just rush in alone, so there’s definitely a battle going on outside.
The best thing would be for the other kids to take down Leon and come help me while I take my time….
‘That’s also impossible.’
If Leon was a thoughtful guy, there was no way he would hit him head on.
Considering that they’ve only been targeting me for the past few weeks, the target is definitely me.
However, there was no reason to overdo it after creating a one-on-one situation with Nightmare.
They were probably just biding their time by keeping them in check to prevent them from interfering in this world.
‘So what’s left is for me to eventually overcome my limits here and again.’
Overcoming nightmares.
Fight. Win And survive. It’s no different than always.
When have I ever had an advantageous fight?
I have always been through unfavorable battles, but each time I ended up winning and am here now.
And, it will be like that today too.
[Are you planning on fighting?]
Yes.
*
Durandal splits the air.
To be exact, the void that had the appearance of a nightmare.
This has already been repeated dozens of times.
My sword clearly pierced the nightmare’s body, but at that very moment it dispersed and disappeared like a mirage.
‘It’s not like you can’t see him dodging because he’s much faster than me.’
What I was aiming for in the first place was not real, but an illusion.
‘Is my fantasy not completely resolved yet?’
Even though the purple stars are rotating so rapidly.
‘As expected, it’s not that easy.’
Moreover, it does not mean that nightmares do not fight back.
A few times in between, a dry, white arm suddenly appeared in the air, clawing at my body.
Although it was quickly healed thanks to the power of [Super Regeneration], It was obvious who would lose if the war of attrition continued like this.
‘We need to get rid of the hallucinations as quickly as possible.’
And most issues of mental strength are closely related to magical power.
The human spirit originates from the soul, and magic power emanates from life itself.
However, to escape from this level of hallucination, even moderate magical power is not enough.
Of course, my magical power is already far beyond that of a human….
‘In the end, magic control is the problem again.’
In reality, the enormous amount of magical power cannot be handled properly.
‘So, here, we need to further develop our magic power control.’
Kiiiiing──!
However, the purple star had already been rotating at a speed close to its limit for some time.
Mana circles, mana hearts, and purple stars are all used to control magic power.
Rather than having magical power spread out haphazardly throughout the body, it was superior in terms of efficiency and performance to collect it in one place and deliver it as needed to the parts where it was most needed at all times.
‘But I can’t add more purple stars.’
The purple star already consists of a central star and five stars wandering around.
Even the five stars rotated like crazy, making them all appear as one star.
It was already the limit of what could be contained within the body.
Forcibly increasing the number of stars may have been possible, but in the long run, it was a handshake.
Once the number of stars has been increased, it cannot be decreased again.
The body will not be able to handle the increased number of purple stars, and the body will become weaker and weaker until it dies.
If your luck is worse, the moment a star appears, your body explodes! And it might explode.
So what should we do?
In order to further increase the magic control power, there is no choice but to create another star-like organ.
At that time, an idea occurred to me.
‘If what you create in your body is the problem….’
Wouldn’t it be possible to make it outside the body?
At the time I thought that, the magic power was already moving.
The magical power that began to bloom from the body began to condense above the head.
It is not a star. It’s a circle.
Unlike the knight’s magic heart, unlike the star, which is optimized for handling divine power.
A round circle resembling that of a wizard.
‘In terms of mana control, the circle shape is the most efficient than anything else.’
Each has its pros and cons, but couldn’t you tell just by looking at the wizards?
A ring that does not simply strengthen the body, but controls it solely to use magic.
The magical power began to become clearer in response to my will,
Eventually, a blurry circle was completed above the head.
Like an angel’s Halo. A purple halo that appears similar to that.
This will take me to a wider world.