Chapter 146: Awakening 3
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 146: Awakening 3
“Sepia, there’s a common misconception people have when they first face a Necromancer. They think a Necromancer is weak without their skeletons. But the Necromancers alive today are monsters who survived wars hundreds of years ago. Among them, not a single one is weak just because they lack their summons.”
“Pushover, I just thought of something. Can I ask you a question?”
“Ah. Please, ask gently.”
“Cut the crap. Aren’t Necromancers just legends? Who are these ‘many people’ you’re talking about?”
“...Let’s just move past the minor details.”
“I don’t think that’s a minor detail.”
* * *
“Did you seriously think I was weaker than you just because I took a few hits? I was only wary of that old man, Mordor. You are nothing. Now, I shall kill you in earnest.”
Betzdo’s words were no bluff.
Until a moment ago, he had used his skeletons to keep Sepia at bay, maintaining his distance and fighting defensively.
But now that he was serious...
Betzdo lunged forward, conjuring a barrage of black flames to strike at Sepia.
‘So this is his true strength.’
Seeing the sheer power of the Black Flame, Sepia judged that her current self could never block it head-on. She called upon the Wind Spirits, using their gusts to dodge the flames as best she could.
However, it was impossible to evade such a relentless onslaught forever. A stray spark of black fire grazed her arm.
“Ugh!”
Sepia quickly pulled a potion from her pocket and splashed it over the wound.
‘Just a graze, and it’s this bad? If I took a direct hit...’
She couldn’t afford to stay passive. Ignoring the throbbing pain in her arm, Sepia commanded her spirits to counterattack.
She tried to seize the momentum while Betzdo was on the defensive, but he didn’t even bother blocking or dodging. He simply summoned a few more skeletons to act as meat shields.
Boom! Crash!
The skeletons shattered under Sepia’s assault, but Betzdo remained hidden behind the carnage, conjuring even more black flames.
Because of the skeletal wall, Sepia was a split second too late in spotting the incoming fire. The black flames reached her face before she could even react.
Rumble—Boom!
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning fell from the sky, intercepting the black flames in a violent explosion.
“Nice one, Chirpy.”
Betzdo, who had intended to kill Sepia with that strike and go help Katsudo, furrowed his brow in irritation.
“I’ll have to kill that thing and resurrect it, too. It seems quite useful. No... maybe it’s better to just sell it to that woman.”
The moment Betzdo finished speaking, countless skeletons rose from beneath the earth. They merged together, transforming into a colossal skeletal eagle that soared toward Chirpy.
Sepia caught her breath, her mind racing.
Her opponent was undeniably strong. In fact, she might have died just now if Chirpy hadn’t intervened. She had expended too much stamina pushing him back at the start; now, she could barely remain standing.
Her attacks weren’t landing, while even a graze from his was lethal. It was no longer feasible to rely on Chirpy’s support, either. Common sense dictated that it was impossible for her to win.
If she lost here, revenge for her village and her family would be forever out of reach.
And yet. Despite everything... Sepia smiled.
“Dumbass. That’s never going to happen. So just drop dead, get killed again by the skeletons you’ve been using, and rot in hell.”
For some reason, she didn’t feel like she would lose at all.
The world began to look different to Sepia. It had been happening gradually ever since Chirpy hatched. She could see it, even if she couldn’t put it into words.
Even now, she saw it with one eye, but she couldn't explain the sensation.
It felt like a fiercely erupting volcano.
Like a swirling, violent typhoon.
Like the crushing weight of the deep sea.
And like the all-encompassing embrace of the earth.
If what she was seeing wasn't a hallucination or an illusion...
‘Then it’s as good as real.’
What would have happened if Loki weren't here? Even if she had found Betzdo by chance, she would have fought with a death wish, not caring if she lived or died.
What if she were about to die at Betzdo’s hands right now?
Loki would obviously step in. She had told him never to interfere in this fight, but knowing him, he would ignore her and jump in anyway.
Because she would do the same for him.
So, she had to win quickly—before that stupid Pushover could do something ‘pushover-y’ with his own life again.
In the original game, Sepia had been trapped in the past. She had forced open the gates of Awakening by burning through her own life force solely for the sake of revenge. In the game, she only possessed the Divine Beast’s Feather, and she had only realized its potential moments before dying in her fight against Betzdo.
But now, things were different.
The Divine Beast was whole. And Sepia had not burned her life away. She was no longer obsessed with the past. For the sake of the present and the future, Sepia threw the gates wide open.
“What is this?!”
Betzdo felt the very air change.
It wasn't that his opponent’s pressure had become stronger or more threatening; the atmosphere itself had literally transformed. Since Necromancers command corpses, the places where they fight are usually thick with the stench of death.
This place had been no different until a moment ago, but now, a different scent was washing over the battlefield.
The trees that had been reduced to ash by Betzdo’s black flames were suddenly whole again. The ground that had been trampled by his skeletons was now lush with flowers and grass. The water that had turned black from the presence of his minions was now purified, transparent enough to see the bottom.
The wind, which had felt frigid just by Betzdo’s presence, now passed by as a cool breeze, gently rustling the leaves.
Betzdo had lived for hundreds of years. Even if he lacked intelligence, one picks up a lot of information over such a long life.
‘Could this be...?’
No. Setting aside whether such a place actually existed, there was no way this was that place.
‘That girl is dangerous.’
A black flame, far larger than any before, formed in Betzdo’s hand.
Hellfire.
‘This isn’t enough! More! More!’
Betzdo poured more mana into it, increasing the size of the fire. The Hellfire grew massive enough to incinerate an entire mountain.
‘In the end, it’s just fire.’
Sepia felt nothing as she looked at it. Not a shred of fear, nor the threat of death. In this place, every element was under her control.
Sepia Rivayden.
Full Spirit Realm Manifestation. Awakening.
With a look of sheer terror, Betzdo hurled the Hellfire at Sepia.
The Hellfire roared toward her. Even as it approached, the grass, the wind, the trees, and the water remained undisturbed.
With a light wave of Sepia’s hand, the Hellfire veered sharply, as if it possessed a will of its own, and began flying back toward its creator.
“Fuuuuuuck!!”
Betzdo frantically recalled the skeletal eagle that was fighting Chirpy to block the flames, but the Hellfire twisted through the air at impossible angles, evading the eagle and striking Betzdo directly.
KABOOOOM!!!
Even as the massive black flames engulfed Betzdo, the grass beneath him did not lose its color. However, Betzdo’s body—struck by the very Hellfire he had poured his soul into—vanished completely, leaving not a single trace behind.
Before long, the Spirit Realm Sepia had manifested faded away.
Sepia trudged toward a nearby tree and collapsed against it. Her revenge was over. It had taken so long.
Many people had told her that revenge is hollow. She didn't know if it was hollow. She didn't know if it was satisfying, either. She still missed her fellow villagers and her family, but she knew she would never see them again.
Right now, she just wanted to see someone else.
Sepia stroked Chirpy, who had shrunk back to his small size and sat beside her along with the other spirits. She had to go soon. She had to go and tell him that she finished it safely.
She had to tell him she was sorry for making him worry, and that they should go have tea after she rested for a bit.
“Sigh... I bet that guy is worried sick, right?”
She wasn't expecting an answer; it was just a mutter to herself.
“Yes! I was very worried. I waited over there for so long, and when you didn't come, I had to come out and meet you.”
Liar.
He was lying. She had known the moment she manifested the Spirit Realm that he had been watching her, hidden.
You’re always there whenever I need you.
“Sepia.”
“Let’s have tea a bit later. I’m a mess right now.”
“You did well.”
“.............”
“You worked hard. I might not have the right to say this, but I’m sure your family would think so too.”
“....................”
Sepia closed her eyes without a word. Loki gently stroked her hair.
“Don’t cry. You’re prettier when you smile.”
Then, playfully, he took off the mask he always wore and softly placed it over Sepia’s face to hide the tears streaming from her eyes.
“Besides, you’re ugly when you cry.”
“Hey! This is supposed to be a touching moment, and even now, you...!”
Stung by his words, Sepia bolted upright to snap at him, but she lost her voice the moment she saw him.
It wasn't the white mask he usually wore, nor the black mask he used when teaching her.
“Uh...? Eh...?”
Loki was always bragging about how handsome he was at every opportunity. To be honest, the other students just thought he was bluffing since he always wore a mask anyway. Because Sepia had feelings for him, she had imagined the face behind the mask to be quite pleasant.
But even so, she had assumed there was at least a little bit of exaggeration in his claims.
—Even if I couldn't use mana, if I just took off this mask, I could get into the Special Class on my looks alone.
—This mask? I can't take it off. If I did, people would run all the way from the neighboring kingdom just to get a glimpse of me.
* * *
Today, Sepia realized that Loki hadn't been bluffing.