The Seven Nights Erosion Talisman
Of course, the Academy descended into chaos. Dierban Silver had reached the rank of Master, yet he appeared in the infirmary with his shoulder completely blown off. Not long after, Serdian showed up looking like a corpse. It took six high-ranking priests working together just to bring him back. Radion's condition was even worse. In the end, the Academy had to summon the Cardinal himself. All of this happened in a single day.
“Hic… sniff…”
“I told you not to cry. We went there because we wanted to,” Dierban said, wiping Elesia’s tears. Even so, her tears showed no sign of stopping. Eileen, standing nearby, asked, “What about Radion?”
“…Still hanging on.”
He was clinging to life under the care of the Cardinal and the highest-ranking priests. If the treatment stopped for even a minute, Radion would die. It was a miracle he had survived this long—something that should have been impossible. The only reason he was still breathing was because he had reached the rank of Master.
“He’ll pull through, won’t he? Elesia is perfectly fine.”
“…Who knows.”
Estelia left the room with an unreadable expression. She had already heard the truth from Kanahan. Radion was as good as dead. The aura of death around him was crystal clear. The only one who could change that was Kanahan. No one else. The one being who could defy fate itself.
“Ah, shut up already. You were all throwing fits about defying fate, and now you want me to save him? Do you want to die?” Kanahan said, picking at his ear.
“I’m not saving him. He’s not my woman, so why should I?”
The stars erupted in outrage at his words. Of course, they hadn’t wanted to hand down this fate either. The reason was simple—Causality. They had no Causality to save Radion! They were completely powerless. They were desperately trying to keep him in this world, but in three days, he would be gone for good.
“Hey. I’ve had plenty of comrades I wanted to save but couldn’t. And it was because of you lot that I couldn’t.”
A chilling silence fell.
“Keep running your mouths and I’ll slaughter every last one of you and leave this place.”
The stars finally fell silent. They knew he meant every word. Kanahan had wanted to save many people in the past. Of course he had. He had the power and the right. But the damned stars had stopped him.
“Kanahan.”
He turned at the sound of his name to see Estelia walking toward him.
“Oh, my Estelia. What’s up?”
“…Are you really going to let him die?”
Her question was simple. Was he going to let Radion die? It was the same thing he had been hearing all day.
“Yeah.”
“Is this also because of Causality? Like how you couldn’t save Elesia back then?”
“No? I’m just choosing not to.”
Estelia’s eyes twitched at his answer. She clearly didn’t like it… but in the end, she bit her lip and walked away without saying anything. He understood how she felt. She must have some lingering attachment. She had known Radion since they were children. It wasn’t romantic, but the thought of a friend dying would still sadden her.
Setting that thought aside, Kanahan muttered, “He didn’t even use the protection talisman…”
The talisman was still tucked in Radion’s robes. He had probably been saving it for Elesia. The fact that he hadn’t used it even when death was at his doorstep meant he had been planning to find her first. It was admirable, in a way, but it wasn’t Kanahan’s problem.
As he was thinking this, Eileen came walking over. She stopped right in front of him.
“You… are you really going to do this?”
“Do what?”
“He’s the male lead! He even gets married! You’re just going to leave him like this? This is the flow you changed!”
“…Are you yelling at me right now?”
“Yeah! I’m yelling! So what! You bastard…”
Eileen’s eyes welled with tears. She was doing this because she knew he was weak to women’s tears, wasn’t she? He placed a hand on her head.
“I know you like this world.”
“…”
“But why do you keep telling me to save him? If anything, I’m the victim here. I’ll be honest with you.”
Yeah. He had always thought this way. Even before he realized this world was a romance fantasy. Even before he regained memories of his past life. Always.
“I hate this world. I want to destroy it, if anything.”
Eileen fell silent at his words.
“…So don’t provoke me. Let it end here. His life stops now.”
“…”
Eileen shed a few tears before turning and running off.
“Why is everyone like this with me?”
The stars. Estelia. Eileen.
“I don’t like it.”
“Was I too harsh… At least I didn’t curse, right?”
Eileen kicked a pebble at her feet and muttered to herself. The Academy had decided to cancel classes due to the serious situation. They were focusing on defense and handling the fallout.
“Eileen.”
“Estelia?”
The one who came to find her while she was lost in thought was Estelia.
“How’s Radion?”
“Still the same. By the way, what about Kanahan?”
“He said no.”
“Same here.”
Even though both Estelia and Eileen had begged him, Kanahan hadn’t budged. Instead, he was enjoying dates with Luka and Serena. Dierban couldn’t leave the infirmary, and Serdian was unconscious.
“Haa… What are we going to do?”
“What can we do? Kanahan said no.”
A silence fell between them. After thinking for a moment, Eileen spoke to Estelia.
“I have an idea…”
“What?! H-how could you even think of that… But Kanahan would probably like it…”
“Oh, if it isn’t Granny Pinya.”
“I told you I’m not a granny…!”
“Anyway, why’d you come to my place? Want me to pet you?”
This was the first time Granny Pinya had come looking for him directly. Pleased, Kanahan pulled her onto his lap. She sat quietly as he stroked her, but something felt off.
“Are you really going to leave it like this?”
…
“You little shit… Do you want to die?”
“Oh my… Where did you learn such vulgar language?”
It wasn’t Granny Pinya speaking. It was just a star. Some unknown star.
“Ha… hahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!”
These bastards… What the hell did they think they were doing?
“Yeah… Today’s the day. Today! The day I slaughter every last one of you!”
He drew up his power. A low hum filled the air. The tattoos covering his body began to glow. He pulled his Law Power to its absolute limit.
Today, he would break them.
“W-wait…! Wait! I came with a proposal!”
“No. I’m not listening. First, I’m dealing with you.”
He couldn’t lay a hand on Pinya’s body. So instead…
“Let’s go to the heavenly realm.”
Grinning, he felt something pull away. When he opened his eyes, he was in the heavenly realm.
“W-wait… Gah…!”
He punched the old bastard in the stomach. The star immediately vomited blood.
“A deal… That’s something you make with an equal, isn’t it? You’re nothing but prey.”
Bang! He grabbed the star’s head and crushed it. He could do this because he wasn’t human. He was a Transcendent.
“Oh my, how welcoming.”
Rumble… rumble…!
The white clouds that once filled the sky were now replaced by dark storm clouds. Even the heavens were darkening. It meant the stars of this world were furious beyond measure.
“You’re underestimating me too much… aren’t you?”
The Dragon-Slaying Talisman. He had plenty of other talismans besides that one. Did they think the ones he had poured his blood and sweat into were just ordinary scraps?
“Seven Nights Erosion Talisman.”
The Seven Nights Erosion Talisman. The one and only talisman of its kind began to exert its power in the heavenly realm. As it devoured his Law Power, the heavenly realm itself began to tremble.
Rumble…
Soon, the talisman ignited with black flames, and a dark fog spread in all directions. Though storm clouds had already darkened the sky, that didn’t mean the light had vanished. However, as the black fog spread, every trace of light around it was instantly consumed.
Thud. The first night’s veil closed.
“Kanahan. First, calm down… Gah!”
One star, realizing the situation had gone terribly wrong, manifested physically. It was immediately devoured by the black fog.
Thud. The second night’s veil closed.
The stars, finally sensing something was wrong, tried to flee.
Thud. The third night’s veil closed.
“Not happening. Where do you think you’re running off to?”
The black fog, already spread everywhere, prevented them from escaping the veil.
Thud. The fourth night’s veil closed.
The stars that had tried to force their way through vanished without a trace. All that remained were the trembling stars and those watching the situation unfold in silence.
Thud. The fifth night’s veil closed.
The stars could no longer emit light. Only an endless black abyss remained.
Thud. The sixth night’s veil closed.
Beyond light, it now consumed sound as well. Their voices could no longer be heard—only Kanahan’s voice echoed through the void.
“Hey, I’ve been holding back, you know? …Why do you keep making my life miserable? You’ve really lost it, haven’t you?”
…
Of course, even if they wanted to answer, the stars whose voices had been devoured couldn’t respond. It seemed they had been planning to offer something in exchange for saving Radion…
“I don’t need it. Right now, I just want to kill you all.”
Grinning.
Thud. The seventh veil closed.
Whoosh…
The black fog simply devoured everything in its path. Anything consumed by it was completely assimilated into the darkness and erased from existence. Having already devoured countless stars, the fog had multiplied endlessly. The reason there was only one of this talisman was simple.
“Yeah… Let’s get along from now on.”
The black fog. The black fog born from the Seven Nights Erosion Talisman had now become his servant. Though it was nothing more than a tool without a will of its own, it was a fog capable of swallowing even Transcendents.
“Your name is Amyeon.”
The fog retreated into the shadows. Looking around, he saw the bright sky and white clouds once more, just as they had been when he first arrived.
“Now come out. I’ll listen to what you have to say.”
There were countless stars in this world. The ones he had just dealt with were nothing more than a handful. Eventually, one of the stars that had been watching cautiously stepped forward.
“I propose a deal. Save Radion. In exchange, I will lift the curse for one hour.”
“Three times. Lift it exactly three times, for one hour each.”
“…Very well.”
This was essentially the same as obtaining three Elixirs of Causality. He was in the heavenly realm now, but he would soon have to return to the mortal realm. The reason was that the stars were blocking him from ascending again.
“Make sure you block it properly. The next time I come up, I’ll slaughter every last one of you.”
“…I’ll keep that in mind.”
With those words, his vision flipped. When he opened his eyes again, he saw Granny Pinya trembling in his grasp, her collar still clutched in his fist.
“Granny, looks like we’re spending the whole day together.”
“Y-yes…”
He carried the teary-eyed woman to the bed. She was just the right size—perfect, really. Holding her close, he said, “Pinya. Why are you embarrassed?”
“…Be quiet. Who wouldn’t be embarrassed in the first place?”
“This feels like a different kind of embarrassment, though.”
Nom. He took her red ear into his mouth.
“Hiiik…! S-suddenly my ear…!”
“Haaaaam… Time to sleep.”
“…Good night.”
With those words, he fell asleep.