Chapter 49
Chapter 49
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Celestial Lament
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1.
Eiming rampaging like an angry bull.
Compared to him, though feeble, Rowen somehow filling in the gaps.
We faced off against the jiangshi back-to-back, like Zhang Fei and Guan Yu.
Of course, I was Guan Yu. The more cowardly and weaker one.
"F Sector's eastern edge has a freight elevator connected to Aden. We head there and get the hell out of Necropolis."
"Got it, bro! Let's go to the Blue House!"
One goal.
Escape to Aden.
Yeah, yeah, I know.
This run's fucked anyway.
Arbel said Ceres Mama would take care of her, so no big worries about a forced clear...
Even if we make it to Aden after all the twists and turns, Dormammu's just days away.
Logically, as a regressor, I should.
*(Sigh, this run's a bust? (bitter smile))*
*Next time'll be different. (determined resolve)*
Light a cigarette, pose dramatically, and die.
But.
"Rowen! I'll take the lead!"
"Yes, bro! I'll follow!"
How could I give up!
Eiming bro hasn't quit yet, and I say "just next game"?
Could I still call myself a man with balls after that!
I don't wanna be that pathetic.
Even if reset awaits.
I'll burn my life to the end with this run's Eiming.
So forward, forward, charge on, charge on.
From Butcher Street's densely packed chicken-coop houses in the residential district.
Residential district to the pawnshop alley lined with pawnshops.
Pawnshop alley to the herbalist street where alchemists forge cauldrons.
Made it from Cauldron Street to C Sector Plaza.
However.
*-Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling*
As expected from those chink bastards, the Golden Carp Clan's goons pouring in like the PLA's human wave attack.
"Eiming bro! They're coming again!"
"Mommy~ again? Fuck. Fifth wave's getting tough."
"No, is this really worth it?"
"Golden Carp fuckers got pissed. They got their excuse now. Chance to legally wipe out Hyun Gwi Pavilion."
I don't know the mechanism driving those jiangshi or who's controlling them.
But by now, I could sense a clear purpose from those meat shields.
*Huff...! Huff...!*
Attrition war.
Specifically, attrition on Eiming.
His breath, wild as a runaway train, was now ragged beyond measure.
Sweat poured down his forehead like rain, and his speed had clearly slowed.
"Bro, you okay?!"
"Kid! I'm not tired. I haven't even shown my full power yet. Plenty of gas left!"
"Urgh...! As expected of Eiming bro! But be honest!"
"Truth is, it's tough!"
Bad matchup.
No matter how lightly Eiming swung each blow, it was like swatting mosquitoes with a cannon.
Petty casino fees melting away a fortune.
He's being worn down step by step by induced attrition.
*-Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling*
No sign of their numbers thinning.
Staring at the jiangshi.
At the carp-heads still watching us from stagnant pools everywhere.
Is this Necropolis's terror?
Even a 2nd Rank Mage can't defy the city?
Feels like sinking into an antlion pit.
Hm, honestly...
Eiming bro seems kinda desperate for a 2nd Rank...
"Huh!"
I quickly snapped out of that train of thought.
How dare I think such irreverent shit watching Eiming burn his fighting spirit!
No choice.
Eiming staked his life for me.
Then I stake mine too. That's right, that's duty.
The relic "Blazing Life" from last time: trade lifespan for 3 minutes of power.
SR grade, ain't it?
Gotta make use of it.
"Equivalent exchange!"
.
.
.
Vision shifted like changing TV channels.
No jiangshi, no chaotic Chinese-style buildings of C Sector.
"...What is this."
A colorless world.
Eerie silence.
Only black and white in sight.
White ash falls from the sky like snow.
Looked around.
Endless hills of ash dust.
Countless candles stabbed in like tombstones.
"Whose birthday is it?"
Candles in all states.
Burnt black to the wick, half-melted and hardened, thin smoke rising.
Lengths and thicknesses varied, but one thing in common.
No lit candles.
Except one.
*-Whoosh!*
Center of this gray graveyard.
The only bright light in this monochrome world.
A candle burning fiercely on a golden candlestick.
*-Ding!*
======
"Blazing Life" activates.
Checking remaining lifespan.
▶Remaining lifespan: 58 years.
[Select amount of lifespan to incinerate]
【7 years incinerated】
- Surpass limits for a fleeting moment.
【17 years incinerated】
- Gain power to bridge the gap in realms.
【57 years incinerated】
- Burn all remaining to achieve a miracle.
※Warning※
- Consumed lifespan is permanently deducted from next run's base lifespan.
- Consumed lifespan applies "Abnormal Status: Soul Ash."
======
"Blazing Life" had a "non-cancellable" note.
No illusions it'd reset per run.
But no big worries.
"Pay back double!"
Mages can replenish lifespan with Universal Currency.
Anyway.
"What's "Soul Ash"?"
Gotta try to know.
Gotta use once to use again.
Good chance to spec out my future build.
Three choices: 7, 17, 57 years.
"57's too much, 7's too little, so 17 it is."
Picked a number worthy of Eiming's hot brotherhood.
*-Roooar!*
Candle blazed like our brotherly bond, melting fast.
17 years of life vanishing in an instant.
In exchange, my body.
"Ooh! Ooooooh!!!!!"
God descends.
Mana.
Overwhelming, indescribable mana.
Dried-up mana circuits fill with tar-like mana.
"Death Verdict" seal burns hot like a branding iron, spreading roots.
When it finished.
*-Ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling, ting-a-ling*
"R-Rowen? What? What'd you do? Mana suddenly?"
My body and mind back to reality.
*Hoo...*
Exhaled, gray ash swirling in pale breath.
Like a massive reactor core inside, mana loaded with "death" boils endlessly.
Instinctively knew.
Ahh.
This?
The world through a 1st Rank Mage's eyes?
Knew too.
What I could do now.
"Bro, take a breather."
Stepped forward.
Death Verdict declares the death imagery I hold for the target.
Seems cheat-like, but process ain't simple enough for "cheat."
How to kill, what shape, how deep to stab.
Squeeze each image and paint onto reality.
But now, no need.
Just prepare the "result."
Formed a hand seal.
Sticky mana surges from my body, scattering skyward.
Mana condenses like dew on the ceiling, forming a disk.
From below, like a black mirror reflecting the earth.
One thing needed.
Fucking cool incantation.
Dropped voice to a bass rumble.
"Ahh, gods. How ugly this city. On colorless earth, only sins linger."
"Behold, ignorant lambs. The weight of sins you've piled."
Whether Eiming stares in shock.
Chant on steadfast like a dirge-singing mortician.
"I am the rain-bringer."
Why?
'Cause days a man can chant so boldly, so cool, are rare.
"Your light souls can't bear even a drop's weight."
"Receive it. And be crushed——."
"——Celestial Lament."
My freestyle chant ends.
Heaven weeps.
Tar-like black liquid drops hit ground.
*-Plop, plip plip*
First few drops.
Not dangerous-looking, black liquid like it'd just make you bald.
But when raindrop touches jiangshi.
Death Verdict embedded in mana forcibly executes.
*-Crunch! Splut!*
Executed death: my first verdict, fall to death.
Crowded jiangshi crushed flat like hurled from skyscrapers to asphalt, exploding.
*-Shwaaaaa!*
Soon, black downpour erases world's colors.
*-Splut! Crunch! Gruunch!*
Jiangshi horde filling alley collapses like dominoes.
Flesh and bone bursting mixes with rain into eerie harmony.
Grotesque chain of deaths.
Red flowers blooming vivid through black rain gaps.
Bloom, flower, wilt.
Ear-piercing bells no more.
No jiangshi, no crawling rats, not even a baby cockroach.
None escape.
Black shower sweeps: only death remains.
All clear.
My doing, but chest swells grandly.
Grander than Ceres Mama's H-cups.
"This... a real mage?"
Truly human power?
3 minutes pass, omnipotence fades.
Indescribable emptiness lingers.
Too messy to indulge sentiment.
"Cleared the path, bro. Now run."
Recalled mana circuit sensations, smiled at Eiming.
"You bastard! Hiding so much from bro!"
Gawking Eiming thumbs up sharply.
:::Challenge (New!):::
- Use 1st Rank magic. +5pt
2.
"Rowen you punk, how'd you do that? Not 7th grade level? Artifact?"
"Bro, I got hidden cards too. No more juice now."
"Yeah! Saved our asses, good enough!"
Obviously, I'm not stronger than Eiming ham.
Just matchup where puny Sedric slays weaklings better.
Anyway, obstacles gone, no need to crawl slow.
Thus, final stage of this tale.
F Sector landmark freight elevator terminal, "Atlas."
Steel frame clinging to cliff.
Steel cables thicker than a man's waist.
Less building...
More spine of giant mechanical beast parasitizing the cliff.
*-Kuuuung kuuuung*
Engine roar from somewhere booms like thunder off moat walls.
Blue mana residue mixes with thick smog, dyeing F Sector sky its signature hue.
Neck craning, beheld the spectacle.
"Scenic."
"Right?"
Necropolis sky blanketed in black haze.
Meaning sky's full of "voids."
Thus, Atlas only path to Aden.
Golden Carp knows too.
"Long journey, well done."
Man appears as if waiting.
Sleek changpao attire.
Chest embroidered dense golden carp.
Slick, line-y pretty boy.
Ugly smug face.
Surely preys on naive girls to scrape by.
"Been a while. Ri Cheng."
"Y-yeah, Ri Cheng. Long time, huh? We go way back. Send us off nice. Next time, I'll treat ya hot."
"Can't do that. You touched my stuff without asking? Lucky recovered it, but nearly headache city."
*-Ding!*
Alert rang.
[ Fate Encounter effect triggers! ]
[ Encountered key scenario figure! ]
Ahh, picture clear.
That fake doll planter in basement him?
Anyway, deep ties to "dolls," hence alert.
Know rough profile of Overnus Pharma exec.
Golden Carp Clan's Red Stick, Ri Cheng.
Name sticks 'cause sounds like pad rip.
Red Stick means.
Organization's muscle exec.
"Old ties, so send you comfy."
Ri Cheng: Golden Carp's top fighter.
Likely this Premium Route's final boss.
3rd Rank Mage.