Chapter 211: Residents of a Ruined World (7)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 211: Residents of a Ruined World (7)
Watching the situation unfold through the Authority she had planted within the Calamity, Chae Yu-jin shook her head.
By now, Ha-neul… no, Kang So-hyun was likely wondering why she wasn’t intervening. But it wasn’t that she was choosing to stay out of it.
To be precise, it was more accurate to say she couldn’t intervene.
Though she had reclaimed much of her Authority compared to before, it wasn’t infinite. Having exerted too much influence all at once recently, she was currently unable to manifest her vast powers until she recovered.
It’s strange.
She always took care to prevent such situations, remaining vigilant for any contingency.
This was definitely a plan she had devised ‘herself,’ yet for some reason, a sense of dissonance gnawed at her.
It felt as though she had made a decision her usual self would never have made.
“…I’m really coming up with all sorts of excuses to dodge responsibility.”
Thinking that these recurring doubts were merely a sign of her heart growing weak, she turned her gaze back toward the dungeon.
“I wanted to retrieve it after it had fully awakened as a Calamity, if possible.”
Her original plan was to take the Calamity—which she had driven into a frenzy with her Authority—as an ally. But given how things had turned out, she had to accept that the plan was dead in the water.
Had this even been a winnable fight to begin with?
She felt as though there had been another purpose…
Beyond her hazy memories, there seemed to be something she was supposed to be wary of.
[I have returned.]
“…I believe we have things to discuss. Didn’t you say it was no big deal?”
She felt as though the memory would become clear if she tried just a little harder to remember, but that faint sensation was scattered by the interruption that followed.
The red-haired butler and the delusional patient… no, Zeus, had returned at the worst possible timing. She tried to grasp at her fraying memories, but Zeus, seemingly displeased by her attitude, snapped at her.
“Oh? Ignoring me? I guess treating you like a partner made you think I’m some fucking joke, huh?”
The blue lightning crackling fiercely around him was threatening, yet it seemed strangely weaker than before.
As she looked at the diminished blue sparks, she finally noticed that his left arm was missing.
“…What happened to your left arm?”
She knew, of course, that his arm had been severed during the battle with Kang So-hyun.
However, because her memories of that fight were strangely blurred, she couldn’t recall the specific details. Furthermore, after Kang So-hyun had gone all out at the end, her Authority had stopped responding, preventing her from seeing clearly.
When she looked at Zeus for an answer, he withdrew his lightning without a word, looking utterly disgruntled.
Did he realize that his reaction was an answer in itself?
It appeared he had been stripped of half of the Myth-grade artifact that allowed him to reign as a Calamity.
He really is a piece of work.
* * *
There was a being that had learned its consciousness could be restored by a blow to the solar plexus after being knocked out by a hit to the jaw.
The incomplete, platinum-clad Calamity.
No trace of obsession remained within it.
To be more accurate, the obsession that had been forcibly twisted by someone else had finally returned to its original state.
Exposed to overwhelming—no, what could only be described as absurd—violence, the immature Calamity had desperately sought the ‘voice’ that had always provided answers. But the voice did not respond.
It began to doubt if it had been relying on something that never existed in the first place, and doubt bred instability.
Finally, when the Authority that had twisted its obsession along with the voice moved elsewhere, the creature began to vaguely realize that its original goal had never been the black hair and red eyes.
It was something else.
It felt as though it had been chasing something far more passionate.
As its twisted obsession returned to normal and it realized that the thing it was willing to risk its life for wasn’t here, the emotion that had been suppressed by madness and fixation slowly began to rear its head.
It was fear.
A trait naturally possessed by any sentient being—no, any living creature.
If you are hit, it hurts; and when you become powerless against violence, primal fear rushes in.
Of course, its wounds healed as long as its mana allowed, and for some reason, its life wasn’t in danger.
But that didn’t make the sensation of pain any more welcome.
The moment it realized what it was feeling was fear, the Calamity tried to flee.
Now that it realized what it desired wasn’t here, what was the point of fighting such monsters?
Of course…
“Oh? Now you’re trying to run? You’re free to run, but you’d better leave my body behind first…!”
…It wasn’t as if they were just going to stand by and watch.
And into the ears of the Calamity, struggling desperately to escape, a voice spoke once more.
— Good job. I’m done with you now. You can rest.
With those final words, the Calamity felt its ‘power’ drain away rapidly.
* * *
It’s weak.
Well, to be precise, it’s not exactly weak.
Setting aside Professor Cathy, who is a special case, this thing would be a nightmare for even a truckload—no, a whole unit—of A-rank heroes. In terms of raw specs, it’s likely even above the Chairperson.
It only looks like we’re dominating because we’re raiding it as a party; in a one-on-one fight, even the Chairperson wouldn’t be able to suppress it this easily.
Yet, even taking all that into account, it wasn’t at a level that deserved to be called a Calamity.
Seriously, forget the gravity villain; even that lightning-wielding bastard I fought before felt stronger. What more is there to say?
That guy was easily provoked and an idiot, but his firepower and attack speed were the real deal.
Of course, since the regrets of an alchemist were shoved into a witch’s body, it would be strange for it to adapt immediately and show off its true strength—but that’s exactly why this is weird.
Magic and alchemy are completely different disciplines.
Then why did they even do this in the first place?
Just to annoy me? There’s no way.
If this side is this underwhelming, it’s more likely they were trying to draw my attention here while they did something else. But what could it be?
I couldn’t see Seo-ha’s true aim.
There’s something. Something is there.
Something only Seo-ha knows, and I don’t.
But while I was pondering her motive, the Calamity, which had been feebly attempting to defend itself, began to roll across the ground, unable to put up any resistance at all.
The difference in power was too great to be attributed to mere exhaustion. The professors also sensed something and backed away warily—a decision that proved to be correct.
In an instant, the platinum mana surging from the Calamity’s body triggered a massive explosion.
For a moment, I thought it was a suicide attack, but the range was narrow compared to the explosion’s power. Besides, if it had intended to take someone with it, it wouldn’t have looked that surprised.
Judging by its expression, it looked like some unexpected accident had occurred.
It was then.
A foreboding crack echoed through the air.
The sound of something shattering or splitting. Ridiculously enough, the source of the sound was the empty air.
What the explosion had destroyed was none other than a boundary.
To connect this artificially created dungeon with something it was never meant to be linked to, the boundary separating the two had been shattered.
With the boundary collapsed, meaning was breathed into the once-pointless replica, and it began to function as a dungeon in the truest sense.
Since it was a dungeon, it should end once the Dungeon Master was dealt with. Unfortunately, the dungeon did not recognize the Calamity—which had nearly exhausted its mana—as its master.
It was as if there was a being more suited to be the master of this place.
The faint Authority that had been controlling the Calamity acted as the final catalyst. The cracked walls crumbled completely, and a hole resembling a passage opened in the void.
And the moment a wind… or rather, a chilling energy began to seep through that passage.
“Shit.”
Professor Park A-ram blurted out a curse and began to tremble violently.
It seemed the being appearing from beyond that passage was Seo-ha’s true target. Judging by the professor’s reaction, the Dungeon Master was likely someone related to her homeland.
A clanking sound echoed.
Walking through the passage at a pace that was neither fast nor slow was a knight clad in worn armor.
“Run… we have to run right now.”
With a sound like an ungreased, rusted machine, it turned its gaze toward us.
Beyond the full-face helm that concealed its features, I felt a piercing, malevolent light.
“No… no. Zeke. Please.”
Zeke. Was that the name of this knight overflowing with ghostly energy? Her sorrowful plea was enough to make anyone feel pity, but honestly, the situation didn’t look hopeful.
There was no way a knight clearly consumed by madness would respond. It seemed better to prepare for battle—
[What the? That wasn’t you? I came because I thought you were the one asking for help.]
…Huh?
“…Eh?”
It… responded?
[And here I thought you’d finally found a lover or something and broken the seal. Guess not.]
“…Um, sorry for asking this, but are you really Zeke?”
[Wow, have I been gone so long you’ve forgotten my voice? Ah, is it because of the helmet? Hold on a sec, I’ll take it off.]
Everyone’s eyes turned to the professor in bewilderment at the voice that sounded almost playful, but Park A-ram herself shook her head vigorously, looking just as confused.
“Ah, damn. This thing is stiff as hell. Is it because I haven’t taken it off in ages?”
When the helmet was finally removed, what was revealed was neither a vengeful spirit nor a weathered undead.
It was an ordinary—well, not exactly ordinary—man with a very handsome face.
A blue-haired knight so handsome that even Cheon Yu-hak, who took considerable pride in his own looks, wouldn’t dare approach him, stood there smiling and waving his hand.
“What’s with that reaction after we haven’t seen each other in so long? You haven’t forgotten my face too, have you?”
His chuckling attitude was like someone greeting an old friend.
* * *
And they weren’t the only ones who were bewildered.
— Fight. I said fight! Unleash your hatred. Those are the ones you must cut down.
The very person who had summoned him to this world was also utterly flustered.
The fact that he had maintained his sanity was completely unexpected.
Was he not the Hero who had lost his mind and destroyed the world? Was he not the Sword Ghost who cut down everything in his path?
She thought that even if he didn’t want to fight, she could at least drive him into a frenzy with her faint Authority.
“You’ve been awfully noisy for a while now.”
Far from a frenzy, not even a small ripple disturbed his heart.
He suppressed the influence as if telling a bothersome insect not to interfere.
He had crushed the Authority of the Creator—a power capable of overturning the very laws of the world, even in small amounts—with nothing but pure spiritual pressure.
The entity, now forced to return to its main body along with its scattered Authority, had no choice but to admit the truth.
It had vastly underestimated the existence of a Hero who had witnessed the end of a world.
* * *
Meanwhile, Park A-ram was at a loss, overwhelmed by a flood of emotions.
Just seeing someone from her homeland would have been enough to make her happy, but this was also someone who had been something like a comrade through many incidents.
It would be a lie to say she wasn’t glad to see him.
Yet, at the same time, the man before her was also the Sword Ghost who, having lost his mind, had cut down her home and everything she held dear.
Countless emotions intersected, but the smile he directed at her didn’t seem false.
“Is it… really you, Zeke?”
“Good grief, what do I have to say for you to believe me? Wow, now that I think about it, I’m actually hurt. I literally crossed dimensions to save you because I heard you screaming. And this is how you treat me?”
On the surface, it was a touching reunion.
There was no one present who looked upon the scene with displeasure.
Except for one.
A certain individual who, like him, had experience destroying a world.