Chapter 70
Chapter 70
Episode 70.
The colossal foot slammed into the ground, shaking the entire canyon.
The deafening impact against the walls reverberated like thunder, echoing endlessly.
Aiden couldn't brush away the dirt raining down on his head. His body refused to obey.
He couldn't move a single finger.
Fenrir shoved his massive muzzle right up to Aiden's face.
A head larger than a human torso. When the wolf snarled, razor-sharp fangs glinted in the dim light. A chilling breath seeped from its jaws.
"Don't delude yourself into thinking you toyed with me using your silver tongue."
The wolf was merely curious. The Aiden it had witnessed moments ago had surpassed the limits of mortality by an unfathomable degree.
Among creatures bound by lifespan, Fenrir believed without question that none but itself could ever reach such heights.
Yet here was a human who had done just that. By the laws of this world, it should have been impossible.
The wolf stared down at Aiden, half-dead on the ground.
"Answer me. Are you an avatar? Of Vacheksar—or someone else's?"
Nothing else could explain it.
Aiden let out a dry chuckle.
"Your thought process is disappointingly simple."
Fenrir growled, its voice thick with menace.
"Then what are you?"
"Human. Enough pointless questions—make your decision quickly. You don't have much time."
Though he had ordered the extermination squad to move in three hours, Aiden couldn't guarantee they'd follow his command precisely.
They might storm in at any moment. If they did, battle would be inevitable. They would never negotiate with an Ein.
Fenrir's face twisted in irritation.
Everything—from Aiden's attitude to this entire situation—was incomprehensible.
That transcendent strength had vanished without a trace, and now Aiden acted as though he had multiple lives to spare.
Moreover, the wolf couldn't even begin to understand Aiden's proposal. "Emancipation of slaves" in exchange for killing a divine beast? If he truly had multiple lives, why bother with such a deal?
As a human, he stood to gain nothing if the Ein worshipped a singular god or if their slavery system was abolished.
With the ability to resurrect, there was no reason to willingly embrace such extreme losses.
A bluff. A lie. That was the only logical conclusion.
Yet Fenrir had no intention of killing Aiden.
It had something else to demand.
"I don't trust your deceitful tongue. But I won't cut your throat."
Several months ago, Saya had visited the Eternal Snowfields.
To Fenrir, who had believed the lineage of divine beasts had long dried up, her very existence was a miracle.
Of course, she was still only a One-Tail, unfit to be enshrined as a goddess.
The wolf had demanded mating, only to be refused. And in the process, it had learned about Aiden.
"The Nine-Tails has only one mate in this world," Saya had said. "Kill every other human if you must—but do not touch Aiden."
A Nine-Tails in love? It defied instinct. To Fenrir, it made no sense.
So it dismissed it as the whims of a young divine beast still finding her way.
Even if Aiden died, the Nine-Tails would eventually grow her tails by finding another mate.
That was Fenrir's assumption.
But there was no telling how long that would take. And the wolf needed a god to serve before its own lifespan ran out.
Now, the key to solving that dilemma had fallen right into its lap.
Fenrir spoke.
"I'll spare your life. In return, awaken Saya's tails."
Aiden frowned.
"...You've seen Saya recently?"
"Three months ago."
"How many tails?"
"One."
A year had passed since their separation—and it seemed Saya still hadn't taken another mate.
Aiden swallowed a sigh. His emotions were complicated.
Fenrir studied him with a strange expression.
"So it's true. You refused her. You're not a man."
No male creature could resist the allure of a Nine-Tails.
Aiden didn't respond, weighing his options instead.
If he refused, Fenrir would kill him—and the extermination squad would slaughter the wolf in turn.
But he couldn't mate with Saya right now either. She might bear a demigod.
Killing Fenrir meant losing a potential future ally.
Sparing Fenrir meant gaining an uncontrollable offspring.
The latter was far heavier.
But Aiden had no intention of accepting either outcome.
He spoke.
"Fine. I'll share my essence with her."
A half-lie. Depending on the situation, he might sire a child with her—but another goddess was also an option.
Fenrir stared down at him.
Between healing magic and his own regeneration, Aiden's body was slowly recovering.
To Fenrir's eyes, he was no longer human.
Yet his severed arm didn't grow back.
The wolf's voice was icy.
"Get on my back."
Aiden tilted his head back, meeting Fenrir's gaze. Even his melted eye had regained its vitality.
"I don't trust your kind. Fulfill your promise in front of me. The thought of riding you disgusts me—but we must go to the western continent."
Aiden hadn't expected this. The western continent was thousands of kilometers away.
Coincidentally, his next destination was the western kingdom of Diergan.
The First Princess Raphelia's leash awaited him there.
But why would Saya be in the west?
A sudden, deeply unpleasant hypothesis surfaced in Aiden's mind.
He immediately questioned Fenrir.
"Do you know Saya's exact location?"
"No. But I can find her."
That wasn't the important part.
"Did she say anything? Like why she's heading west?"
Aiden, usually composed, sounded uncharacteristically urgent. The wolf eyed him suspiciously.
"What scheme are you plotting now?"
"Just answer the question. Quickly."
Fenrir bared its teeth, voice dripping with threat.
"Do not order me."
Aiden picked up a rock and hurled it straight at the wolf's face.
CRACK!
The stone struck Fenrir square between the eyes. The beast roared in fury, jaws gaping wide as it loomed over Aiden.
A terrifying sound swallowed the canyon.
Aiden spoke, irritation plain in his voice.
"Listen, you mutt. Saya's life might be in danger. Talk. Now."
Fenrir's eyes flashed, glaring at Aiden as if ready to tear him apart.
But it didn't.
Swallowing its rage, the wolf spoke.
"...If this turns out to be trivial, I'll grind you into paste and chew you to pulp. Listen well. She said: 'I cannot atone. But I can wash away my lover's pain.'"
Aiden felt dizzy.
He immediately drew Deril's dagger.
Carving into the severed stump of his arm and the remaining flesh above it, he began inscribing words like tattoos—detailing Saya's existence, why she was necessary, and the reasons she must be saved.
Fenrir watched in bewilderment.
"What in the—"
"Shut up."
By the time he finished, Aiden's left arm was covered in blade-etched script.
An unknown language—not the continent's common tongue, but Hangul.
Come to think of it, his regeneration might erase these markings too.
Without hesitation, Aiden tore off his shoulder strap.
Ripping his undershirt into strips, he bound the severed arm to his neck like a scarf—so he could check it at any time.
He pushed himself upright.
His intestines spilled from the torn flesh of his abdomen. Stuffing them back in, he chugged an entire bottle of God's Tear, the highest-grade holy water.
Then he grabbed Fenrir's fur.
The beast's eyes flickered with confusion as Aiden climbed onto its back.
"To the west. The Kingdom of Diergan."
### Vacheksar Empire, Imperial Palace - First Princess's Quarters
Raphelia la Vacheksar studied a parchment covered in grotesque, densely packed script within her office.
The peculiar characters were a cipher of her own design—a language only she could decipher.
The parchment documented a man she had killed.
The First Prince, Raphaile. Though he had been the imperial bloodline's rightful heir, the empire no longer remembered him.
This was the power of the Star of Slaughter from the Kingdom of Diergan.
An ability to erase existence itself. Those killed vanished from memory, their records dissolving into nothing.
Even Raphelia retained no recollection of the brother she had murdered.
But she knew her sin.
Because the Star's power only erased common and ancient tongues.
Her cipher whispered to her: "You are a kin-slayer. A monster."
With sunken eyes, Raphelia revisited her crime once more.
At the start of each day—when the gods awoke to gaze upon the world—she sat silently, staring at that parchment.
Then, a knock came at her office door.
"Your Highness, it's Knight Gavol."
A member of the Imperial Guard.
"Enter."
The knight stepped inside and bowed.
"I bring news—the northern front has sent word of victory."
Gavol expected this to stir conflicting emotions in the princess.
Joy for humanity's triumph, bitterness that the crown prince had earned merit.
But Raphelia smiled—genuinely—as she looked at him.
"Is this confirmed?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
She nodded, satisfied.
The fact that her younger brother had gained glory didn't unsettle her in the slightest.
She didn't see him as a rival.
He was too insignificant—almost pitiable.
Raphelia returned her gaze to the parchment.
"You may leave."
The knight hesitated.
"Ah—there is one unusual detail."
He glanced at her cautiously before continuing.
"Lord Aiden... has disappeared. Along with Fenrir."
### Western Continent, Kingdom of Diergan - Tolkin Mountain Range
Atop the highest peak of the 5,000-meter mountain range, hidden among clouds and stone, stood a colossal temple.
The Levana Grand Monastery—a sanctuary devoted to the moon.
Deep in the night, bathed in lunar light, the temple's towering staircase stretched skyward.
The Stairway of Ten Thousand Moons, carved from moonstone, only revealed itself under the clearest moonlight, guiding monks to the celestial prayer hall above.
Tonight, only a single monk kept vigil within.
An ageless high priest. As he counted his prayer beads, the moonlight filtering through the hall slid across the scriptures like a physical force.
For a long time, he recited the sacred texts under that glow.
Then, abruptly, his voice cut off. The moonlight stilled.
Someone had entered the prayer hall.
The priest spoke softly.
"The prophecy was correct."
"Oh? Atraksha must have told you."
A mellifluous voice from behind. When the monk opened his eyes, the intruder was already facing him.
A smiling woman—so beautiful she could melt even a monk's holy relics.
"The path to enlightenment is—"
She raised a hand, cutting him off.
"Let me kill you. Then I'll spare the rest. How's that?"