Chapter 472: The Butterfly Effect
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 472: The Butterfly Effect
—Should I help? It’d be better if I helped, right? Right?
I was so surprised by the sudden voice that I forgot to answer. It wasn’t impossible for the weapons to speak to me first. Levatain had spoken to me before accepting my rage and explained the circumstances. They usually refrained from speaking to me unless we were integrated.
Of course, I’d heard the others were trying to restrain Dain.
I remembered Levatain, who had broken the rule first, telling me that the others would likely start speaking to me one by one, but I never imagined Dain would be the first to reach out in a situation like this. The timing was completely unexpected.
‘Can you help?’
—Of course. Obviously. That’s right. Kyahahahahat.
‘How?’
—My love should know better than anyone, no? Hmm? Isn’t that right? Isn’t it?
Dain’s words were the perfect answer.
She was saying she would take the Greed for herself.
I was already well aware of how dangerous it was to integrate with Dain while she was under the influence of the Seat of Greed, especially during a defensive battle on the continental front. That was precisely why I hadn’t rashly upgraded her like I had Levatain or Gram. I’d thought that perhaps even weapons like Mystletainn or Ridil might react to the Seat of Greed.
I had judged it too risky to evolve Dain unless I was in a situation where I could handle a major penalty. The others must have known I was thinking this.
—It’s my turn! No! It’s time you gave me more! Right? Right?
‘…’
—It’s not dangerous… Not at aaaaall! It’s not dangerous, so. Kyahahahaha!
That final laugh made it feel incredibly dangerous.
‘It’s not like I really need your help…’
—Stop trying to act cool… I can see you’re struggling. Just reach out your hand. Grab it! Quickly! You need me, don’t you? You want me! You want to have me, don’t you?
I didn’t want to respond to that last line.
But it was an undeniable fact that I was nearing my limit. Isaac’s voice had gone silent at some point, and the Seat of Lust continued to press down on me. It didn’t seem like I’d been consumed by the emotion yet, but if it ended like this, there would be side effects.
‘Can you do it?’
—Of course! With that power, a little brat like that is no problem at all. What are you going to do? Decide quickly. I’ll take care of the rest for you. I’ll handle it, I’ll handle everything!
There was a risk, but it wasn’t a bad offer.
Let’s do it.
—Kyahahahahahahahaha! You said it, right? My love! I love you! I love you! I love you!
The moment Dain finished speaking, Dain’s Legacy materialized before my eyes.
‘Huh…’
It had acted on its own once before, but seeing it pop out like that when I hadn’t even summoned it was a little surprising.
—Kyahahahahahahahahahaha!
The problem was…
…that Dainsleif…
…was steadily approaching me.
‘What are you trying to do?’
—What do you mean? I’m helping! I’m trying to help you!
‘Are you crazy?’
—Don’t worry! I told you not to worry! I said I’ll take care of everything! Kyahahahahaha!
It was trying to integrate.
Without a doubt, it was approaching me to initiate an Integration.
Blood began to erupt explosively from Dainsleif, attempting to bind my body.
—Let’s become one! My love! We’re becoming one! One!
This was definitely not a situation I wanted. I could roughly understand how she intended to help. Her intention was clearly to enter me through Integration and then pull the Lust away with me.
But this was a gamble.
‘Can I withstand it?’
I was already integrated with Isaac. Integrating with two weapons at once was an experiment I had never attempted before. If all preparations were in place, I would have taken this gamble without hesitation, but being unprepared now made me quite anxious.
Just integrating with a single weapon put a considerable strain on my body. Things were better now, but in the past, I couldn’t even handle the backlash from integrating with one. I had fainted countless times and was still aware of the dangers of this ability.
—So? So? Kyahahahahaha, of course. Of course!
Just as I was thinking I couldn’t trust her, another voice reached me.
—It’s okay, brother.
—I… I think it’s p-probably… possible…
It was Ridil and Mystletainn, murmuring.
—Even that c-crazy sister doesn’t like it when you get hurt, brother. Sh-She must have a plan, right?
—Crazy sister? Who’s the crazy sister?
‘I can trust you, right?’
—Y-Yes…
The thought that this once-in-a-lifetime gamble was happening all because of Isaac’s libido was so absurd it was almost funny. If this succeeded, I would be quite grateful to her.
I immediately reached my hand out toward Dain. I couldn’t trust Dain’s words, but I could certainly trust Ridil and Mystletainn.
[Weapon Integration]
[Target - Dain’s Legacy]
—Kyahahahahahahahahaha!
I felt Dain instantly invade my body. I was worried about the physical backlash I would have to endure shortly, but it was better than being devoured by Lust.
Blood began to envelop the body of magic I inhabited, which was already integrated with the Lustful Isaac. The massive horns and halo were also coated, as if donning armor of blood.
‘Fucking hell…’
The lust that had been invading my mind was nowhere to be found. Instead, an excruciating pain washed over me. There was no way I could feel lust when it felt like my body was about to shatter.
It felt like hot blood was melting my body away. One thing was certain: this was not an output my body could handle.
‘Dammit…’
It was too late to stop the Integration that had already begun.
—Hand it over! Hand it over! Quickly! My love! Give me your love! Give your love to me!
As I poured all the Greed I possessed into Dain, who was now inside me, a tremendous laugh echoed out.
—Kyahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!
Wings made of Greed suddenly unfurled.
CRACK!
As a result, one of the walls of the mage tower completely crumbled. The space wasn’t large enough to accommodate the massive wings.
The wings that had been membranous were now completely drenched in blood. I couldn’t quite imagine what I looked like right now.
“Huu… huu… huu…”
After I let out a few ragged breaths, the Integration was complete.
—Give it to me! I have to give it to my love!! Kyahahahaha!
[The Seat of Lust resists.]
—Hurry!!!
I could feel Dain, empowered by the Seat of Greed, grabbing and tearing away the Lust clinging to Isaac. If I could actually see it, it would surely be a gruesome sight. The image of Dain in my mind was that of a ghost-like figure with her hair dyed red.
—Good! Good!!!
More and more of the Lust was torn away and flowed into my body. It was a slightly unfamiliar feeling, different from when I had acquired the other emotions. As I flapped my massive wings once, a mysterious magic began to spread out in all directions.
‘Shit.’
The situation was so urgent that I couldn’t retrieve the magic radiating from my wings.
If my guess was correct, things were about to get quite troublesome.
But solving the problem right in front of me was the top priority.
As I continued to absorb the Lust that Dain tore away, it wasn’t long before I heard some good news.
[You have absorbed a portion of the Seat of Lust.]
—Kyahahahahahahahaha.
It was a relief, in a way, that Dain wasn’t interested in these things. I used the emotion that flowed into me to quickly reconfigure my abilities. Resisting the effects that the Lustful Isaac had laid upon me—that was the only urgent matter. I didn’t have time to reconfigure anything else at this moment.
It was impossible to change the Lustful Isaac’s basic effects, but it should be possible to resist a Seat of the same kind.
In the first place, being unable to control one’s libido was no different from being an animal. While physical pleasure was important, the pleasure felt when sharing emotions was far greater.
[The Seat of Lust says that might have a point.]
A smile crept onto my lips at the message. I had a feeling this one was quite the chatterbox. It was different from Sorrow, which remained silent, or Rage, which had quietly held its breath. It was probably because the influence from being in Isaac’s body remained.
—Good! So good! I don’t want to be apart! Forever! Forever!
A problem remained, but I had overcome the biggest hurdle.
“Huu…”
I hadn’t been consumed by Greed or Lust. The only thing to worry about was the physical backlash.
With some breathing room, I slowly began to examine my body. It was completely covered in blood. It felt as if blood was blanketing a body made of magic; my form was composed of a tangible substance and an intangible one, both of extremely high purity. It was a novel sensation. I had never thought something like this would be possible.
I was integrated with two weapons. If I could do the same with other weapons, I felt I could accomplish incredible things. The combination of Gram, with his outstanding physical performance, and Isaac, with his magical abilities, was far more exciting than I could have imagined.
“I look like a demon.”
My appearance had always been very similar to a demon’s. But seeing myself integrated with both of them, my outward appearance seemed to have become even more demonic. I wasn’t used to this body yet. The moment I tried to fold my wings, another loud crash echoed as a part of the tower was destroyed. Just like before, an unknown type of magic continued to pour out from my wings.
I had managed to control my own wavering from Lust, but controlling the magic pouring out of my body was difficult. I didn’t know how far it had spread, but I nodded to myself. The type of magic currently being emitted could surely be purified with holy power.
I figured it would be no trouble at all to treat the abnormal symptoms through the Order’s network, which was spread everywhere.
For now, the priority was to release the Integration and wake Isaac. I decided to take my time and examine this form later. With that thought, I separated myself from Dain and Isaac.
*
“Haah… haah… haah…”
“…”
“S-Saintess Baek Ahyeon! Saintess Baek Ahyeon! I have something to report!!”
“Speak, Saintess Jane.”
“I-I apologize for the late hour. I-I am sorry to have to say this, but…”
“Saintess Jane, you saw the Savior as well, I see.”
“Pardon? Yes…”
“I see… I had a feeling, but you too have met the Savior in your dreams, Saintess Jane. And you are not the only one. The number of believers who are meeting the Savior in their dreams is increasing, centered around some of the female followers.”
“Ah… th-that is.”
“This phenomenon is even spreading rapidly among the heretics who do not serve the Savior.”
“Wh-What is this? Don’t tell me…”
“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”
“Pardon? Yes…”
“It is a divine revelation.”
“I-I see. So that’s what this is.”
“Gather all those who say they had the dream at once. Believers and heretics, it doesn’t matter! Saintess Jane. The time has finally come for our Order to truly rise! Hahahahat!”