Chapter 373: Boiling Silence (2)
Chapter 373: Boiling Silence (2)
—You’ve peeked into the future, haven’t you?
The words came out of nowhere, right as I was mid-sentence, pricking at Solari by rattling off the secret histories of the Evil Gods.
It was sudden, and because of that, it struck deep and sharp like a hidden blade. My mind went blank for a moment in spite of myself.
As if delighted by my reaction, Boiling Silence chuckled and continued.
—It was too absurd a thought to entertain at first, but in hindsight, it’s the only explanation. Nothing else accounts for the current situation.
“That’s…”
—Of course, it’s possible your skills are simply so exceptional that you saw through every plan Nana and the other Evil Gods laid out. Perhaps your talent is so great that you’ve grown this quickly on your own. But if that were the case, your methods of countering our responses are a bit too crude. They aren’t bad—in some ways, they’re even brilliant—but they only go so far.
“…….”
My reflex was to deny it, but on second thought, there was no need.
“So?”
—Hah?
“So what? Great job figuring it out. I’ll give you a round of applause. But what can a guy who’s about to die even do about it?”
When I spoke while giving him a soulless clap, Boiling Silence paused as if momentarily speechless. But soon after, he began to laugh uproariously, as if he found the whole thing absurd.
It wasn't the short chuckles from before, but a boisterous, wide-mouthed laugh that filled the air.
—Hahaha!! Is that so! You didn't know! Well, I suppose that explains why you’re so carefree!
I furrowed my brows, wondering what the hell he was talking about now. Boiling Silence, still unable to hide his glee, sneered.
—Originally, peeking into the future is a forbidden act. I don’t know who decided it, but that is the law of this world. Just as it is the fate of the gods to fall, no one, no matter how powerful, can easily defy it.
—But you did it. Perhaps someone else paid the price in your stead… but that isn’t what’s important.
—You seemed to have bypassed it well enough to avoid detection, but in the end, I’ve found you out.
—A rule is a rule because it applies to everyone. That is why, even as I loathe the providence of this universe, I acknowledge its absolute nature.
—Still don't get it? Then let me explain it in simpler terms.
By the time Boiling Silence finished speaking, most of his seal was already covered by Mystiltainn.
Soon, even his minimal divine power would be absorbed, and he would be spat out of the seal like a piece of refuse.
That would be the end of Boiling Silence.
There was no way he didn't know this, yet he merely muttered to himself as if he found the whole situation delightful.
—If you have peeked into the future, then I can do the same! Because that is only fair! Because that is how this damn providence works!
It was a shout bordering on madness. Yet, I had a bad feeling. It didn't feel like he was just trying to curse me with his final breath; it felt like he was hiding something.
Impatience flared within me, but there was nothing I could do yet. A seal is a prison to keep an Evil God in, but it also serves as a fence to protect them from the outside.
The very mechanism designed to prevent cultist interference was now holding me back. In the end, all I could do was prepare my magic so I could strike him down the moment he emerged.
Cr-crack—
As I channeled my mana, faint fissures spread across the surface of the crystal. Boiling Silence surely knew his death was imminent, but his rambling didn't stop.
—Therefore, I have prepared a gift for you.
Crack, shatter!
The cracks in the seal grew larger, and a foul, sludge-like liquid began to leak from within.
—A gift brought from the future!
Crash!
With that final cry, the crystal shattered, vomiting the remaining sludge onto the floor… the true body of Boiling Silence.
A one-eyed old man rose from the pitch-black puddle. Before he could even fully form his body, I cast the spell I had prepared.
“Incinerate!”
“Aaaaaagh!!”
White flames erupted without warning, burning and evaporating Boiling Silence.
The same magic that had once burned the divine power of Boiling Silence when he descended upon Fiona was now incinerating the god’s actual body.
However, even as he was dying in real-time, the smile on his lips did not fade.
Even when his body crumbled until only his head remained.
“Heh… hehehe. I, and perhaps my long-cherished wish, may end here. But you aren't far behind. Have you never doubted it? Doesn't it feel like things are going a bit too well, no matter how much of the future you’ve seen?”
“Going well, my ass… Stop talking nonsense and just die quietly.”
“Of course. I shall die quietly. I can’t do anything else, can I?”
He chuckled, but as his strength to resist finally failed, his head—which had been resisting the flames—was finally engulfed.
Yet, even while burning, Boiling Silence’s single eye shone brilliantly.
“Yandel, you arrogant, pitiable thing. One day, you shall meet a miserable end.”
“Don't you guys ever get tired of spewing curses when you're about to die? Why is it always the same thing?”
“A curse? It is nothing so shallow. This is a declaration, a prophecy. Yes, I shall return the very words you said as you killed that poor Fiona. I shall make it so, and thus it shall be… just like that.”
Wait, this bastard until the very end?
I frowned and was about to cast another layer of Incinerate to increase the heat when—
“…Yes. This should be enough for her to wake up. It’s a shame I won’t get to enjoy the reaction, but it can’t be helped. Now, do as you wish.”
Boiling Silence suddenly muttered those words. Realizing he was speaking to someone who wasn't here, I immediately canceled the spell I was preparing and poured mana into the Shield I always kept active.
But to jump to the conclusion, there was no need for that.
Swish… crunch!
The white crystal that had served as the sealing tool. From the part I thought was the wall behind it, a tentacle shot out. It didn't target me or my party; it aimed for the dying head of Boiling Silence.
“What?”
In an instant, the tentacle snatched the half-ashed head and retreated back into the wall. Then came the sound of something being chewed and swallowed, bone and all, and the laughter of Boiling Silence was cut short.
A tentacle, now of all times? Is Ugly Prosperity still alive? No. The System clearly stated 'Godslayer.' Then is it a resurrection? Is that even possible?
I tensed up and gathered my mana. My companions also took their positions, ready for battle.
Before long, the wall began to blur and turn translucent. Only then did I realize.
I realized why the traps hadn't functioned properly. I realized where the divine power obtained through enough human sacrifices to fill the cavern had been spent.
I had thought it was used to hide the birth of Ugly Prosperity, but I was wrong. That squeezed-out divine power had clearly been used to hide something behind that wall.
I didn't know if the power of the Authority had faded with Boiling Silence’s death, or if the thing inside decided it no longer needed to hide.
But one thing was certain: the opponent's identity was about to be revealed.
The wall that had blurred the surroundings vanished completely, revealing the scene inside.
The first thing I saw was something like a broken cocoon.
It was a grotesque mass of clumped flesh, but having seen something similar recently, it wasn't hard to guess what it was.
A cocoon for Ugly Prosperity to be reborn. A miniature version of it. I wondered if it really was a resurrection… but the person standing in front of it was someone I never expected.
Platinum-blonde hair reaching down to her waist. Gloomy ruby eyes. And skin so pale it looked as if it had never touched sunlight.
Whether she had just been born or not, the woman’s naked body was beautiful, but it was adorned with appendages that didn't belong.
Tentacles sprouted from her back like wings. Those were likely what had snatched Boiling Silence’s head.
Yet, even those hideous masses of flesh couldn't hide the seductive aura she exuded.
A dangerous scent that tickled the nose, stimulating a man’s desire—making one want to protect her while simultaneously wanting to break her with one's own hands.
My body, which had resisted even the Authority used by Ugly Prosperity itself, momentarily stiffened and refused to listen.
I suppose it was only natural. After all…
The woman before my eyes was none other than Carla Lindelheit.
However, she wasn't the Carla I knew; she was the Carla who had become the Apostle of Ugly Prosperity in H&A.
She wore a decadent smile, the kind I had only ever seen in illustrations.
“To think… such a future could have existed for me.”
Her voice was melancholy. Unlike my companions, who were shocked and bewildered, I could understand the meaning behind those words.
Because the future of a Carla who never met me would have been filled with nothing but tragedy.
But she was still Carla. Thinking that maybe I could reason with her, I cautiously opened my mouth.
“Carl—”
“I cannot allow it. Everything… must be defiled, just like me.”
“…….”
Ah, right.
There’s no way the Saintess of an Evil God would be sane.