Chapter 213
Chapter 213
Chapter 213
Abel
He definitely hadn't seen wrong.
Among the illustrations commissioned by the original author of , the protagonist Abel was naturally included.
For some unknown reason, the Abel who appeared before his eyes was reproducing the exact same outfit from that illustration.
The same went for the holy sword 'Grandia' held in Abel's hand.
"......"
Toward such an Abel, Rudian urged for an answer once more, having somewhat lost his reason.
"How can you appear in that form right now?"
Something had gone wrong.
He had directly seen and confirmed Abel's current situation.
The Korean 'Lee Geon-ung' from the original work hadn't possessed him yet, and the Retsutain Baron family was still intact.
Currently, Abel was merely a noble youth who had just entered adolescence.
-Master, maintain your reason. I don't know who the author is, but you're too excited.
-That's not like you. Don't throw a fit and calmly examine the enemy.
'...Adi, Diablo.'
When both Adi and Diablo rebuked him, Rudian finally felt his mind clear somewhat.
CLICK!
"Whether you're the real Abel or not, if you have no intention of answering, there's no need to confirm it with words."
In fact, from the moment he held Grandia, the possibility of him being real was high, but there were more than a few suspicious points to definitively conclude without doubt.
Rudian aimed Diablo at Abel, pressuring him.
"Hand over the Yellow World."
"...What if I refuse?"
"Then we'll have to resolve it with force."
Rudian stared directly at Abel with slight tension.
'Which point in time this bastard is from is important.'
If it was Abel from chapters 1 or 2, he could somehow win.
If it was Abel from chapter 3, he'd likely lose miserably.
What if it was Abel from chapter 4?
'I'd die without even being able to escape.'
This was Abel who had already completed his divine status in chapter 3 and easily defeated even the seven great gods in chapter 4.
And in the ending, he even inherited the position of the Creator God.
'Looking at how he continues to use Grandia, it's definitely not chapter 4.'
Seeing how he unilaterally destroyed the Thunder Spirit King, it's also not the ambiguous level of chapters 1 and 2.
'If he hasn't completed his divine status, at least I can escape.'
Abel, who had been observing Rudian, slowly opened his mouth.
"Interesting."
"......"
"The most interesting since I awakened. It feels like someone who accumulated power haphazardly through a similar process to mine."
SHING!
Abel gripped Grandia and deployed his stance.
"Let's clash once. I want to see your skill."
WHOOSH!
As those words ended, a massive slash erupted from Grandia's blade tip.
A massive slash that shot out in a reverse cross pattern.
If one mistook it for a simple aura blade, their neck would be severed in an instant.
"Adi!"
-Yes! Aegis of Athena activated!
Adi didn't stop there and consecutively chanted several 9th-class defensive spells.
Immediately, a golden shield, winged armor, and a barrier that froze spacetime emerged and collided with the slash.
CRASH!
Rudian was certain that alone couldn't stop it and drew upon Diablo's power to respond.
"......!"
RUMBLE!
He was pushed back dozens of meters, but somehow succeeded in blocking it.
"Not bad. It's been a very long time since someone other than my comrades blocked Crux's sword. The first time since Giovanni."
'...Cygnus Sword.'
The signature technique of Sword Saint Crux, which would be called the god-slaying sword in chapter 3.
"If you took one slash, returning the favor would be proper courtesy!"
Rudian activated the Black World and infused it with the Death King's energy.
He wanted to use resonance, but the power stored in Utopia had limits.
"...A Dark Knight's sword? Unexpected."
Abel also seemed to recognize the Death King's energy and blocked Rudian's strike with a fairly serious expression.
CLANG!
He thought he had struck down quite perfectly, but as expected, Abel responded very naturally.
Abel let out a slight sneer.
"But your swordsmanship is terrible."
"My specialty isn't swordsmanship."
"You don't seem to have any particular specialty."
"Damn, I can't refute that since it's true!"
His pride wounded, Rudian activated the Authority of Domination.
"......!"
Leviathan's authority that didn't appear in the original work.
The power activated by it was the power of Demon King Rigos.
What emerged was the demon spear that could be called that bastard's finishing move.
"Ardwa? How do you have that?"
When a black spear wrapped in spirals was summoned in Rudian's other hand, Abel showed a genuinely confused expression.
But Rudian wasn't one to let that slide.
"Eat this!"
Although it had been broken by Rudian's Chaos Sword, Ardwa's power was definitely not something that could be ignored.
"...Can't be helped."
Seeing the spear tip boring into his heart, Abel let out a slight sigh.
"Sacred Vigor."
The moment those words ended, massive radiance began erupting from Abel's entire body.
'...Damn!'
The moment he heard the words "Sacred Vigor," Rudian cursed inwardly.
And before that curse could finish, Ardwa's spear blade disintegrated and Rudian's body was sent flying far away to crash into a corner.
-Master!
-...Tremendous power!
CRASH!
"Cough!"
Rudian spat up blood from the shock that shook his entire body.
Abel appeared before such a Rudian.
"How can you accumulate chaos in your body like me? What exactly are you?"
"That's... what I want to ask you."
The moment Sacred Vigor was mentioned, Rudian realized his chances of winning were considerably slim.
'Late chapter 3...'
Abel who had reached the level where he could fight one-on-one with Krakar after completing his divine status.
While his other comrades joined forces to face Ktuna, Abel, who had realized Sacred Vigor and completed his divine status, annihilated Krakar and eventually eliminated even Ktuna, ending the Space war.
"Gray was wrong. He said there couldn't be two people with my constitution in this world."
"That guy does spout nonsense irresponsibly."
"Right. So it's sometimes troublesome."
Rudian and Abel faced each other and smiled slightly at the suddenly formed common ground.
But that smile didn't last long.
Abel looked down at Rudian with a cold smile.
"For some reason, I feel like I need to kill you. There's no particular reason... but it seems like only then will this dirty emotion churning inside disappear."
"I feel the same way. I was surprised when a specter that should never have appeared suddenly popped up."
"Our opinions match."
It was obvious, but... there was no chance of winning like this.
However, if he used the resonance of the Seven-Colored Worlds, there was a chance.
Coming this far only to do such a thing again was sigh-inducing, but it was better than dying.
Above the resolute Rudian's head, three Seven-Colored Worlds appeared: green, blue, and black.
"...Seven-Colored Worlds?"
The moment he confirmed that, Abel's eyes widened greatly.
"Why do you have those... Those were definitely recovered by me..."
Abel frantically waved his hand in the air, trying to summon something.
What appeared was a sphere emitting pure white radiance.
Rudian was shocked upon recognizing the sphere's identity.
'...White World!'
Seeing both Grandia and the White World appear, that bastard was definitely Abel.
But...
"Why, why aren't the others appearing..."
Something wasn't working properly, and Abel's expression became one of despair.
"It's not just that... I definitely collected everything except the Purple World... Why isn't even the Red World responding?"
Abel, who had been muttering with an incredulous expression, suddenly grabbed his head and collapsed.
"Gah, gahk!"
...Huh?
'Why is this bastard acting like this?'
After muttering incomprehensible words to himself, he suddenly dropped even the Grandia and Yellow World he was holding and began suffering.
"...Hey?"
At the point where they had decided to kill each other, when the enemy showed such behavior, one should strike immediately...
But it felt like touching him here would bring tremendous backlash.
"Gah, uuugh! Re, Rebecca... help me."
"...What, this bastard?"
The moment Abel mentioned Rebecca's name, Rudian felt both anger and determination surge.
'In the original work, by the end of chapter 3, Rebecca would have died consumed by the blood curse, so what nerve does this bastard have to mention Rebecca?'
Of course, he acknowledged that the Rebecca who was clearly an obsessive heroine in the original would be difficult to handle.
But wasn't this bastard someone who, consumed by the purpose of saving the world, unconsciously turned away from Rebecca whom he could have saved if he had seriously tried?
"Backlash or whatever... this is infuriating."
Right now, he needed to strike this bastard's head dozens of times with Diablo's blade to feel satisfied.
It was when Rudian stood up with that intention.
"Gyaaaaaah! $#%^%$&*&!@!"
Abel screamed while simultaneously uttering completely incomprehensible language.
And then...
FLASH!
As if he had never existed in this world... he disappeared without a trace.
"...What?"
CLINK!
With the clear sound of glass colliding, the Yellow World rolled toward Rudian.
Rudian instantly felt something strange.
'The White World and Grandia disappeared, but the Yellow World remained?'
Rudian, who picked up the Yellow World, felt the powerful elemental force within it.
"This is definitely genuine... That White World from earlier was definitely not a mistake either..."
Rudian called Adi.
"Adi."
-I'm sorry, Master. I cannot... track his whereabouts.
Rudian was greatly surprised.
To think Adi would definitively say "cannot track" rather than "difficult to track"!
"...Why?"
-The tracker I had attached has completely disappeared. That means the target's existence has been completely erased from this world.
"What?"
-Even if they moved dimensions, it was a device that could detect them... But if that's impossible, the only answer is that the target has disappeared.
"......"
It was absurd.
If that were the case, the White World and Grandia should have remained in this world like the Yellow World, rolling around before his eyes.
But only the Yellow World remained while those two disappeared, which meant the opponent was definitely fine.
'I feel like I'm possessed by a ghost.'
Parallel worlds?
Such a concept doesn't appear in the original work.
But nevertheless, what appeared before his eyes was definitely Abel.
'This... definitely needs to be investigated.'
Why did he suddenly appear in the spirit world after not appearing at all until now?
And why did he appear out of nowhere only to disappear out of nowhere again?
'Would Berus or Shub know the reason?'
Rudian sighed and retrieved the Yellow World.
As a result, Abel had dealt with the Thunder Spirit King, making it very easy to obtain the Yellow World through the strategy of using one enemy against another...
But he couldn't be purely happy about it.
***
After Rudian returned from the spirit world.
-It seems you succeeded, human.
The Water God, who had now completely regained his past majesty, greeted Rudian.
Rudian looked up at the Water God and said.
"Yeah, please treat me well from now on."
-Call on me whenever you need my power. My strength diminishes on land, but at least in the ocean, which is my domain, I can sufficiently face even the seven great gods.
Of course, with 70% of the planet being ocean, this middle world was essentially the Water God's home ground.
"I'll let you know the details soon. There will be work for you to do immediately, so be prepared."
Though the war was only days away, he couldn't let the Water God's power go unused.
He had to somehow figure out how to deploy him as a full fighting force.
-Hmm, I'll be waiting in anticipation. However...
"...Yeah?"
-It seems those who appear to be your companions caused quite a commotion on land. My servants are complaining that they don't believe you briefly went to the spirit world.
"......"
It seemed the other comrades couldn't stand that bird and had come looking for this place.