Chapter 28
Chapter 28
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 28
Chapter Title: To Live in This World
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The world was dyed gray all at once. Like rainwater pouring down, the grayness flowed in without a clear starting point, swallowing every color in the world. The brightly flickering candle flames, the moonlight filtering through the stained glass windows, and even the light Gabriel had fired. Everything was devoured by the gray.
What was stained gray had its time stop. The lively, dancing candle flames halted, and the light flying toward the heart stopped in its tracks as if by magic. It felt like watching an old black-and-white film in a theater.
Judah watched this inexplicable situation with wide-open eyes. But even if time had stopped, the abnormality in his body didn't vanish. He could still breathe, but his body wouldn't move, and his consciousness was fading. In his dimming awareness, Judah saw a stranger step forward before him.
'Who is that?'
As his vision was swallowed by darkness, Judah lost consciousness. The man reached out and blocked the light heading for Judah's heart with his palm. At the same time, the world regained its original colors, and the halted time began to flow again.
The light tickled his palm, and when he clenched his open hand, the shot gathered into it. With a bit of force, the light fizzled out powerlessly. The man flicked his wrist lightly as if dusting off his hand and looked at Gabriel, raising the corner of his mouth faintly. His mocking expression was clear.
"Gabriel. After all the time I've invested, you're trying to ruin my efforts. Even if it wasn't intentional, that's some nerve. Or should I say bad luck in this case?"
He spoke to Gabriel in a friendly tone as he gazed at her. She stared at the man in disbelief. Her lips trembled. Her blue-tinted eyes shook, revealing her emotions. The man who had saved Judah's life let out a chuckle, as if delighted.
"Sian!"
Her voice was strained. The first monarch, Sian. For him to appear here.
Sian's eyes twitched as he looked at Gabriel. She had presumptuously called his name without permission. The smile on his lips faded, and his expression hardened coldly.
"I don't recall ever permitting you to call my name."
"Eut!"
He hadn't even stirred his mana; he had merely changed his expression. Yet she flinched and summoned her mana. It wasn't an overreaction on her part. It was because she couldn't predict what Sian might do next, and showing any leisure against him was impossible.
No matter how great her power as the Holy King, she was nothing against Sian alone. To even exchange blows properly with him, three Holy Kings would need to unite their strength, with all the apostles supporting from behind. Of course, after trading blows, getting beaten to near death would be the inevitable follow-up. Perhaps finding her reaction amusing, Sian laughed as if nothing had happened, his expression changing abruptly like donning a new mask.
"Haha! That's not befitting someone seated as Holy King. I'm enjoying it, but is it alright for you to fear me like this? I'm a monarch, after all, and you're a Holy King."
"...Indeed. I can't fathom why the Creator granted such immense power to a wicked being like you. It's truly regrettable."
"Regrettable? Did I hear that right?"
Sian tilted his head. The meaning in her voice, drilling into his ear, was clearly resentment. Resentment toward the Creator.
"You're even joking with me now? That's surprising."
"? Why do you think it's a joke? Is there any reason we shouldn't resent Him? He has no interest in this world anyway. He's abandoned us."
Gabriel's face twisted harshly at Sian's words.
"Listen to you. You've truly lost all fear. A mere created being, sitting as Holy King, dares to resent Him? And in front of me, no less?"
Ominous mana flowed from Sian's body, constricting Gabriel.
"Ha, what a perfect place to die, isn't it? Gabriel."
The grand temple, moonlight streaming in splendidly through the stained glass.
The vast worship hall, empty of people, was faintly illuminated by candlelight and magical lamps. It was Yophiel's temple, which was a slight blemish, but as a Holy King's death site, it wasn't bad.
"Is it?"
A faint amusement mixed with resignation shone in Gabriel's sorrowful eyes. Sian tilted his head at the contradictory emotions in her gaze. Resignation made sense, but what was the amusement? She shook off the constricting mana from Sian and smiled.
"Sian, you're mistaken. You think I fear death. As if. This twisted world will just loop back again. What's there to fear? Though... you wouldn't understand that."
She let out a self-mocking chuckle. Sian's eye twitched. It wasn't her words or actions that irked him. It was what she had said.
"This twisted world will loop back?"
Sian repeated her words and glanced behind him. Judah was still unconscious, bound by Gabriel's authority. There was no sign of him stirring. Sian waved his hand. The steadily flowing mana, like an inexhaustible spring, exploded with overwhelming force, completely dominating the surroundings. That mana soon transformed into authority.
Kukukukung!
The world shook as if an earthquake had struck, and it was dyed gray once more. The colorless world had its time halted again. The absolute power that dominated space—and even time within it—was Sian's authority. In this gray world, the only things retaining their original colors were Sian, Judah, and Gabriel.
"!"
Gabriel had no time to admire the gray-dyed world. Startled by the sinister mana creeping up from her feet, she spread her three pairs of wings wide and soared upward. Golden holy energy flowed from her body, tearing apart Sian's mana. Sian scoffed at the golden aura billowing like smoke.
"Disgusting. Stop showing off and come down, Gabriel. Who do you think you're looking down on from above?"
Light flashed in Sian's eyes, and Gabriel felt an irresistible pressure, unable to resist. She had repelled his mana moments ago because he hadn't been serious. Caught by Sian's mana, her body plummeted from the air. The long pews placed at regular intervals in the worship hall collapsed under the impact. No dust rose. No sound of breaking chairs was heard.
As she rose from the fall and tried to attack Sian, the golden light flowing from her body was dyed gray, lost its color, and vanished.
An overwhelming difference in power.
It was befitting of Sian, whose authority was incomparable to other monarchs. With resignation, she lowered her empty hand extended toward Sian. Feeling powerless, unable to do anything, she admired his strength but did not fear it.
"As expected, it's tremendous. After hundreds, thousands of years, your power has only grown stronger, never weaker."
Sian slowly approached Gabriel, who kept her wary gaze fixed on him without looking away.
"Of course. Why would I weaken? Even after countless eons, my power won't diminish. It might even grow."
"So..., you're sparing me just to have this pointless conversation? If you have no intention of harming me, I'll be on my way. I don't know your story, but I'm sorry for touching him."
"......"
Sian stared silently at Gabriel. Presumptuous. Not only had a mere Holy King interrupted him, but she was even thinking of leaving first. Should he cut off an arm or a wing to make her behave? But she seemed to be waiting for such a reaction. Sian waved his hand.
The debris from the broken chairs reversed time, restoring themselves to perfection. He approached Gabriel, who stood atop them.
"Sit down first. Don't test my patience needlessly."
Gabriel's will didn't matter. Sian's mana, dominating the surrounding space, forced her shoulders down onto the chair. She frowned unpleasantly.
"What conversation do we need? This feels like a waste of time."
"No. We need to talk. I mentioned it earlier. About looping back."
"That's none of your business. You wouldn't understand anyway."
Gabriel made it obvious she didn't want to talk. Sian exhaled, calming his urge to tear her limbs apart right then. It had been ages since his patience was tested like this.
"Whether I understand or not isn't for you to decide. And none of my business? Is it really? I don't think so. It seems you and I have experienced the same phenomenon."
"!?" "...Lies."
"No, it's true. Why deny it? Angels can judge if someone's lying or telling the truth. You must have confirmed it with that fancy ability of yours."
Gabriel clamped her mouth shut.
"Regression. Returning to the past, with memories intact. The problem is, even going back to the past doesn't change the future. When some power deems fate has been twisted, it sends us back to a specific point in time. You don't notice at first. But after two, three times, you realize. I've experienced it myself."
Unknowingly, she nodded.
"And it didn't take long to realize it was real experience. It was the same for you, and for me. The moment I grasped the repeating fate, I kept trying to twist it. Changing words or actions didn't matter. I could move freely. But the instant I intervened in an event, killed someone, or destroyed something, it looped back. It seemed twistable, but in truth, it couldn't be twisted at all."
"...So what. What are you trying to say?"
"How long have you lived in this repeating time? Years? Decades? Centuries?"
"...200 years."
Sian scoffed. As expected, laughable. Had she made such a death-wish face after merely repeating that short span?
"I've repeated nearly a thousand years of life. Fully aware of everything."
"......"
"It'd be better if I could go mad. If I could cease to exist, nothing would be better. But the fate set by the Creator doesn't let us go easily. I can't go mad even if I try, can't vanish even if I want to. The moment I choose death, it loops back. Eternally."
Sian looked at Gabriel. The cause of her sorrowful eyes was likely the same endless repetition he had endured, bringing about changes. The amusement in her resigned gaze too. It was because this encounter differed from her expected memories. She was exhausted as well.
"But this time is different. Fate will shift little by little. It will proceed in directions you don't know, and with each loop back to the past, it will change even more. Above all, this eternal repetition will come to an end."
Like a demon, Sian tossed her a glimmer of hope.
"I don't understand. How? Wait. You mentioned a plan earlier. Does that boy behind you have the means to do it?"
"Exactly. You're understanding it fine, so why ask? Gabriel. I've overlooked your rudeness multiple times. If I had my way, I'd rip your limbs off right now and hide them around this temple like a treasure hunt. Yet I'm holding back. Know why?"
"......"
"Simple. Because you've experienced the same as me. To you, despairing over repeating life and unbreakable fate, I permit you to watch. The one behind me, who is merely a small boy now, but who possesses the great power no one else has—to destroy our repeating fate. You'll realize it soon enough."
Sian stood and looked down at her.
"No need to look far. From this moment, things have already changed."
Leaving those enigmatic words, Sian vanished from the spot just as he had appeared. The gray-dyed world returned to normal. Time began to flow again. Gabriel, pondering his words, suddenly realized.
"My God, it hasn't looped back."
Even after such a twist and this much time passed, nothing had changed. Gabriel's eyes trembled more than when she had seen Sian. Her gaze turned to Judah. Watching him collapsed, intoxicated by her fragrance, she clamped her mouth shut. Her eyes held a contemplative glint.
"...Judah Arshel."
In the repeating fate she had experienced, Judah Arshel was a tragic figure.
The opposite of Cain Sabnack in nature, his life was marked by misfortune and betrayal, yet he was a man of conviction who never gave up until the end, forging his own path. Though that path was wrong, that alone was worthy of respect.
"......"
One like Sian wouldn't speak idly.
"Alright."
She could just leave as is, but like Sian, she decided to place her bet once. Following her touch, a warm glow arose in the air and danced down onto Judah's body. Just as she had done for Cain, she bestowed her blessing upon him.
"I'll watch over you too."
Finishing her words, she spread her three pairs of wings wide and slowly ascended. Taking in the worship hall, remarkably intact despite the clash between Holy King and monarch, she returned to the heavenly realm.
"Please don't turn that expectation into disappointment."
========== Author's Note ==========
Hmm, there are many sharp-eyed readers.
And to answer one question among them.
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While binge-reading, it seems Judah didn't lose to Cain alone but had his fragment taken due to a joint attack by Cain and his companions, implying Cain alone couldn't beat Judah. Yet this chapter shows Cain clearly superior to Judah. Is there a strengthening flag for Judah, a setting error, or has the difficulty increased as the game turns into reality? Curious.
─
Due to the player's nature, we couldn't discard the character Cain, so it was set up that way, but it did feel overly strong, so I nerfed it a bit (see if you notice the nerf!).
Also, while Cain's potential is rated high, he's not fighting Judah at the max stat increase from that potential limit.
Players always had to fight Judah, who was at least 10 levels higher than them. (Some predicted this.)
With higher level than the player, plus skill and trait effects, Judah clearly has the ability to crush Cain 1:1. But as the game progresses and the player gathers fragments, Judah becomes just an annoying opponent for the party.
Additionally, there are story events where you can definitely steal Judah's fragment as an enemy, or ones that may succeed or fail. If you fail to take the fragment, Judah solidly plays the role of a late-game boss tormenting players.
This might be an insufficient answer, but if you have more questions, please leave comments!
And I'll supplement the content in that direction later based on such comments __(bow)