Chapter 83
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 83
Chapter Title: Fall (2)
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The ground rumbles.
Thud———
Thud———
Thud———
An earthquake?
‘…No.’
This was no mere earthquake.
It felt more fundamental, like the earth itself was crumbling. And something was approaching.
This was a certainty.
He hadn't confirmed it with his own eyes, but he'd experienced something similar before.
The way the ground shook when legion-scale forces charged across an isolated battlefield. The way the earth collapsed under hundreds of shells fired at a single point.
It was no different from that.
Soon, the outside grew noisy.
“…Yujin.”
He exchanged glances with Irene.
When he looked toward the village chief, the man's eyes were trembling as if an earthquake had struck right there.
Had he never even imagined a situation like this?
Or was this something that should never have happened?
Either way, one thing was clear: something far from ordinary had occurred in this village.
People in Japan, where earthquakes are common, don't panic over minor tremors.
If this happened often, the chief would have continued spouting his cryptic nonsense with a calm face.
“Chief! This is bad…! The sanctuary is collapsing, and monsters are coming from somewhere…!”
“What!”
The village chief shot to his feet at the report from a villager who had rushed in.
His face twisted as if he had lost his country. What on earth was this sanctuary?
The Wind God, the fog surrounding the village called a blessing, the collapsing sanctuary—everything about this place was a mystery.
He glanced at Lua just in case, but even she shook her head. If she, who knew the continent's faiths inside out, didn't know, then it must be something unique to this village…
‘…No time to ponder this now.’
With monsters incoming, dealing with them came first. If the ground was still shaking this much, it wasn't a small number.
Once the monsters were cleared and he'd earned their gratitude, he could get detailed information from them. No matter how isolated the village, they wouldn't reject a benefactor.
Yujin immediately stood and headed outside. The others naturally followed behind him.
The outside was already in chaos.
A few people had grabbed weapons and were heading toward the approaching monsters, but…
‘They're done for.’
They weren't equipped to handle the monsters his senses had detected. Maybe one or two, but thousands? Useless.
Which made it all the more puzzling.
How had such a weak village survived?
“…We'll handle the monsters and ask then.”
Their savior deserved honest answers.
“…There are a lot. Not quite as many as the ones swarming our kingdom's borders, but roughly similar in scale.”
“I see.”
Lucas seemed familiar with it.
Makes sense.
Yujin chuckled lightly and advanced slowly toward the approaching monsters.
What he was about to do was none other than Domain Deployment.
His second time since the first in the Holy Kingdom. Now, he could do it more efficiently, with greater power.
The villagers clutching their trembling weapons ignored Yujin as he passed. No, they couldn't afford to notice.
Terror left no room to perceive their surroundings.
And then.
“Domain Deployment.”
The world transforms.
The world changed.
The sand-filled desert drowns in darkness. The sun vanishes, and ash rains from the sky.
The villagers' legs gave out from the alien sensation.
Splat—
“……?”
Looking down at the wet sensation in their lower bodies, they saw red blood pooling there.
“….!”
“W-What…!”
The sandy plain had become a sea of blood.
Lucia and Irene, seeing Domain Deployment for the first time even if only in stories, swallowed hard.
‘This is Yujin's domain…’
‘…The path my husband has walked.’
They sensed it instinctively.
This domain stemmed solely from Yujin's psyche.
How many deaths had he witnessed?
How many had he dealt?
This blood-soaked, ruined world was too horrific and terrifying for one man to harbor.
But soon, their emotions shifted to awe and pity.
They glimpsed the mental fortitude bearing an unbearable burden and the pain-filled youth that forced him to grow strong.
Yujin slowly extended his hand toward the monsters.
And with the slightest motion.
The lightest flick of his fingers.
Without a hint of tension, in a soft voice.
“Black Heaven”
⟨ Black Heaven ⟩
In an instant, the sky shatters at speeds no one can perceive. Darkness seeps from the cracks, devouring the land like filling a void.
The falling ash erupts into shockwaves, sweeping through the darkness.
No monster could react.
Though stronger than average beasts for dwelling in the eternal desert, they were meaningless before Yujin, who had half-transcended humanity.
The first shockwave tore the limbs from the left-wing monsters.
Krunch—
The second crushed the right-wing monsters flat like ants under a finger, bursting them.
Krunch—!
The final third shockwave atomized the monsters that had reached right before them, leaving no trace.
Boom—!!
.
.
.
.
The monsters approaching the village with world-ending momentum vanished in three gestures.
“……”
Gulp…
An unidentified villager stared at Yujin with fear-filled eyes and swallowed.
It was hardly human power.
What human could turn thousands of monsters to a puddle of blood with three gestures?
To them, he was a god.
Ineffable death. Ineffable salvation.
“…Ahh.”
Thud—
Some knelt on the returned desert ground. Others bowed to avoid his gaze.
Still others offered prayers to their god in overwhelming awe and terror.
…
Watching from behind, Lucas froze, speechless.
‘…Is this possible?’
…The same rank as me?
That was just a natural disaster.
Yujin hadn't even drawn his sword. A sword master at that realm, and he didn't draw it.
‘…Without a sword?’
His thoughts wouldn't process.
Common sense was crumbling.
No master in the world could do that.
‘…What did I just see?’
Three gestures, and a transforming world.
‘Domain Deployment, was it…?’
…Lucas didn't even know what Domain Deployment was. Nor did anyone unconnected to Yujin.
It was a power from the Knight of Dominion.
Projects one's psyche onto the world. The domain's master can impose their will on the world. Targets include objects and lives alike.
Only Lua accepted the power nonchalantly.
‘It's the power the righteous one risked danger to gain for my sake.’
Perhaps a token of their bond.
As Lua felt a subtle satisfaction, Yujin approached the chief.
“Chief.”
“……”
“Chief.”
The chief stared blankly into Yujin's eyes, entranced.
Calling a few more times, the chief flinched, his eyes regaining life.
“Y-You are…”
The chief stammered, suddenly using honorifics.
“A god…?”
“No.”
God? That could cause trouble.
I wasn't a god. Just someone pursuing power to avoid losing what mattered.
There was no good on Yujin's path. No evil either.
Only arbitrary tyranny for himself, his loved ones, and the Empire.
But the chief muttered on about gods and divine messengers, ignoring him.
‘He's lost it.’
I get the confusion from the unbelievable, but an old man like this was pitiful.
Yujin clicked his tongue to snap him out of it.
“Chief.”
“…Divine messenger.”
“I'm not a divine messenger.”
“Yes, divine messenger.”
…I said that's not it.
Yujin sighed lightly and pointed toward the direction the monsters had come from.
“What's in that direction for so many monsters to swarm like that?”