Chapter 221
Chapter 221
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 221
Chapter Title: A Changed Fate
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***
*Shhhhhh!*
The ice shot endlessly across the ground, gradually closing the distance to the Apostle.
I could feel the Apostle moving as if to flee from me, but having locked onto its presence, I had no intention of letting it escape.
And finally, I reached it.
*Thud.*
As the ice came to an abrupt halt, I straightened myself, my eyes narrowing slightly.
"..."
In an instant, I perceived the presence of the Apostles surrounding me.
Each one had a bizarre, grotesque form.
A gargoyle suffused with pure white light, an ogre in a berserk state with skin stained crimson, a five-armed troll... and many other forms of Apostles were visible.
I could sense eight Apostles in total.
The Apostle that had retrieved the trace of power stood beyond them, as if under their protection.
"An Apostle wearing a human guise..."
What I saw was an Apostle with the appearance of a human. It had even taken the detestable form of a small, silver-haired girl.
"Don't you dare think you can escape."
I snapped coldly, knowing I had to end this quickly. I had already pushed far ahead of the front lines, completely on my own.
Deep within enemy territory.
I could tell just by the horde of Apostles that seemed to have been lying in ambush.
The moment the thought crossed my mind, I raised my sword and kicked off the ground.
At the same time, countless shards of ice manifested at my will, raining down in all directions like a torrential downpour.
*Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh-sh!*
"Guooooh!"
"Grrr...!"
***
*Slice!*
The red ogre's head, severed from its body, floated in the air.
But the ogre's head never reached the ground.
It shattered mid-air, scattering into the atmosphere like fine dust.
Simultaneously, with only a faint trace left behind, the Apostle's very existence vanished.
*Swoosh—*
Taking in the almost mystical sight, the 'Apostle'—who had the form of a girl but was by no means human—calmly watched the scene unfold.
*So this is the power of a human, said to be able to rival the mighty ones.*
Anastasia.
I didn't know how many times I had repeated that name. And now that the long-awaited moment had arrived, she felt weaker than I had imagined. Still, her presence alone captivated my senses with immense force.
As this strange thought continued, I naturally came to understand.
The true nature of the human before me. Anastasia had yet to reveal her true power.
And yet.
...the sight of a mere human single-handedly overwhelming eight Apostles was the very definition of surreal.
*CRASH!*
Even as a draconian's tail, powerful enough to split the earth, struck the ice wall fiercely in an attempt to break it, the human, wreathed in an impenetrable barrier of ice and chilling air, weaved through the eight Apostles, unleashing truly overwhelming power.
Immense destruction, as if to mercilessly crush space itself.
*Crack.*
*Craaack...!*
Despite the Apostles surrounding the human being of a high caliber, most couldn't even leave a small scratch on her body...
They were dying, one by one.
*THUD!*
*Swoosh—*
The massive troll, its limbs severed, rolled on the ground and died, while the light-infused gargoyle, despite its absolute hardness, crumbled to dust and scattered into the air.
The ultimate frost was executing the Apostles with such ease, as if ignoring all conditions.
Watching it all unfold, my heart remained calm.
I am merely acting according to the directive.
I felt no fear of the death that would surely come for me, and I held not a shred of doubt about the outcome that would follow.
The directive given is absolute.
It was a directive personally given by Lady Yusillia, the supreme leader among the nine Apostles.
—Lure Anastasia, and bind her existence for all eternity. That is your mission.
Recalling the directive, which was also my mission, a corner of my heart was once again filled with immense joy.
*Finally...*
The moment has finally arrived.
*Crack—!*
With the sound of shattering ice, I saw the arachne's legs break into pieces as it collapsed powerlessly.
The sight of the Apostles dying with monstrous screams was alien, yet it made me realize the difference in our very existence.
*So insignificant.*
The eight Apostles before me may be Apostles like myself, but they are nothing more than an inferior species.
Therefore, whether they live or die, their existence holds no great meaning.
A meaningless death.
In that sense, those Apostles and I were completely different.
I have been granted a sliver of power from the mighty Apostles, and Lady Yusillia herself gave me a direct directive.
And now, I have finished all preparations to carry out that directive.
Looking back... it was such a long time.
To think I had to spend years for this single moment.
And because I have waited for this moment alone, my heart is filled with nothing but joy.
"...!"
—!
The ghastly light in the human's eyes was now completely beyond the realm of humanity.
Her blue hair turned completely white, suffused with an ultimate chill that froze even the surrounding air, driving the last remaining Apostle, a dullahan, to its death.
*THUD!!*
Even the dullahan's malevolent will vanished, and as its snow-white armor fell to the ground, it shattered into countless ice fragments, signaling the end.
———!
As the eight prepared Apostles all met their end, a wave of countless monsters rushed forward to protect me.
But even that,
was utterly futile.
*Crack!*
*Craaack!!*
The sight of them all freezing to death before even getting near Anastasia was almost mystical.
I could watch such a scene unfold with perfect composure.
With this, 'all the sacrifices' were complete.
The power of the eight Apostles, whose traces were now etched into the ground, along with the fragment of power I possess. They will become the catalyst for my power.
And in the end, it will become a mighty force... to bind that human to this place for all eternity.
*Shhhhhh!*
As countless shards of ice surged across the blood-soaked ground, I simply extended my hand.
—!
The malevolent will I unleashed swallowed space itself.
Before the ice could even reach my hand, it vanished, dissipating into the air.
"...!"
Unlike how she had executed the other Apostles without hesitation, she now narrowed her eyes, a sight I found utterly pathetic.
*Did she really think she could harm me with just that?*
While my power may not reach that of the nine absolute Apostles... I am an Apostle who has been granted different powers from each of them.
I was on a different 'level' from the Apostles who had just died without leaving a trace on the ground.
—Only.
Because I was an Apostle who lived solely to bind the human named Anastasia.
***
*Swoooooosh—*
Having gone beyond her First Release and even activated her Second, Anastasia's entire body was suffused with a pure white frost, her appearance drastically changed.
Her blue hair, which had floated in the air, was now completely white, and it wasn't just her hair.
Her eyebrows, irises, lips—everything about her had turned white, as if imbued with a pure white light.
She looked as if she were a human made of ice.
Furthermore, the sword she held was reinforced with dozens of layers of ice, to the point where it was emanating an ultimate chill on its own.
Even while wielding the power of her 'Second Release,' a state that even the officers who had fought alongside her for years had rarely seen, Anastasia was hesitating.
*What on earth...*
A sense of déjà vu.
A sense of pressure.
An unnaturalness.
What are these sensations I'm feeling?
A strange sensation, difficult to describe in words, continuously flowed through my entire body.
It became a feeling that couldn't be explained by the five senses, warning me of an impending crisis.
From the moment I executed the eight Apostles and faced the main body of this one with its strange power, a sense of unease had been steadily rising within me, forcing me into deep thought.
Clearly.
There was something I didn't know.
The power displayed by the human-shaped Apostle in my sight was nearly unprecedented.
The thick, malevolent will erupting from its small hands swallowed space, erasing my ice.
It was nullifying all of my attacks.
Furthermore, the Apostle's presence itself didn't feel like something I needed to be overly wary of.
An Apostle that simply stood in its place, unmoving, only erasing the attacks I sent its way.
"......"
Even in my Second Release, I ultimately had to consider my next move.
*Sliiiide...*
I slowly raised my hands forward, gripping the sword I held with both hands.
"......"
As I opened my mouth, my breath escaped in a white cloud, decorating the air as I steeled my resolve.
*Craaack!*
As if the atmosphere were responding to my will, a piercingly white light gathered in my hands. And the frost enveloping me began to crumble, losing its form.
The formless frost then began to float in the air on its own, enveloping me.
*Ch-ch-ch-chk!!*
Amidst a burst of static and a distortion of my vision as if space itself were warping, the frost imbued in my sword condensed further... gathering power.
*If I cannot execute this Apostle even with the power of my Second Release...*
Then I will simply crush it with an even greater power.
Yet the Apostle was still just watching me. It was the moment I was about to unleash my skill, faced with its attitude that seemed to say, "Try to erase me with a stronger power if you can."
"...!"
—*If... you ever encounter an Apostle with a completely new power, a very mighty power at that, I have just one request. Lady Anastasia. Please, I hope you will leave that place.*
The voice surfaced in my mind unconsciously.
I didn't even know why.
But it stopped me, as if holding me back just as I was about to unleash my skill.
Cadet Han Cheon-seong's face came to mind.
A cadet who, despite his status, had an exceptional understanding of the front lines and had shown growth that surprised even me.
And though he'd said he could make demands of me, he had spoken as if concerned for me, making a request that wasn't quite a request...
The frost imbued in my sword slowly regained its form, and the prelude to my skill faded away.
The momentary gap where the ice wall protecting me had thinned was filled, and the absolute defense began to re-establish itself.
"...Huh?"
And then, for the first time, I saw it.
The Apostle, which had been watching me with a leisurely, almost indifferent air, showed an uncharacteristic reaction.
I gently glanced around, and my eyes fell on the corpses of the Apostles, which lay like a mountain of bodies.
Each one had left a faint trace etched on the ground. And their vile, malevolent will lingered there as well.
*Was this it?*
I realized it belatedly.
The unprecedented power the Apostle had been emitting.
It was manifesting its power from the corpses of the Apostles I had killed.
I slowly took in the human-shaped Apostle, engraving the sense of its power into my own body.
*Thud!*
I kicked off the ground and created a large distance between us.
...the voice that had suddenly come to mind.
And Cadet Han Cheon-seong's serious face.
In truth, that alone shouldn't have been enough to change my course of action.
But I gave the most weight to the fact that my body had 'reacted'.
The incomprehensible sensation in my body that had saved me from death in every situation. I trusted my body, my instincts.
*The fact that I recalled Cadet Han Cheon-seong's words at this moment...*
It was as if my body was warning me through that inexplicable feeling.
That I had to leave this place.
That even though I was facing an Apostle that must be killed, I shouldn't confront it head-on...
The moment my mind was made up, there was no hesitation.
*Whoosh.*
I spun around and instantly unleashed my released power into the atmosphere, letting it erupt as if to shatter space itself.
*Cra-cra-cra-crack!!*
While simultaneously crushing and killing all monsters within a radius of dozens of meters, I unleashed my power to escape the area immediately.
*Shhhhhh!*
And then, I could feel it.
...the bizarre sight of an almost unbelievably malevolent will swelling up.
"N—o—o—o—o!"
Along with a grotesque, ear-splitting scream, space itself was greatly distorting.
"...!"
My eyes widened as I saw the space I had just vacated literally mixing with the swelling malevolent will.
If I hadn't escaped.
If I had hesitated for just a moment longer...
A bizarre and horrifying sight that would have engulfed even me.
And at its center, I could even see... the death of the human-shaped Apostle.