Chapter 159: O-Rank Engagement Record—Octomundus (2)
Chapter 159: O-Rank Engagement Record—Octomundus (2)
The rat stood against Al’shel.
As Quilp let out that sound, the world began to be consumed.
Consumed by his world, for he had set foot upon The End.
“…An Ascendant.”
As if he hadn't expected this, Al’shel spoke with a rasping voice for the first time.
“Chit. They call it Otherworld Erosion here.”
“Quite a fine nomenclature. To focus on the phenomenon rather than the entity causing it.”
‘And it signifies just how little knowledge they possess.’
Having said that, Al’shel’s eyes took on a serious glint for the first time since arriving in this world.
Whoosh.
He swung his hand, pulling a staff out of thin air.
“Squeak. What’s this? Were you taking it easy until now? That human who just fell was quite the powerhouse, you know.”
“Indeed. In terms of raw power, that creature possessed several times more than you. However…”
Whish.
Al’shel swung his staff in a wide arc.
“Since you are an Ascendant, I assume you have something to show me.”
Voom.
Everything surrounding Quilp vanished.
It wasn't an explosion or a manifestation of grand power. It was literal annihilation.
Without a single omen, everything, including the ground, disappeared. Only a bottomless pit remained where Quilp had stood.
‘No movement.’
Yet Al’shel, the architect of this catastrophe, tilted his head in confusion.
‘It was a direct hit while he was stationary, and I confirmed the strike. Did he truly perish? An Ascendant, so easily?’
Theoretically, it was possible. Even if one transcended physical limits, this technique carried no warning signs.
“You were all talk. I expected a bit more—”
Ping.
The sound of a vibrating string echoed.
Slash.
A silver flash descended.
Then, a thick rod went flying through the air.
An arm.
It was what Al’shel lost in a single moment of carelessness.
‘…Teleportation? No. It’s different.’
Blood sprayed and his arm was gone, yet Al’shel did not panic. He focused his consciousness on the presence that had appeared behind his back.
Swish.
A blade of air grazed past, but once again, Al’shel felt no movement from his opponent.
Ping.
The string sounded again.
Clang!
The second silver flash was intercepted by a blue barrier that manifested in the air.
‘I need verification.’
Al’shel swung his staff violently.
Boom! Boom! Bo-bo-boom!
Massive explosions erupted in rapid succession everywhere except for the spot where Al’shel stood.
The explosions continued relentlessly, as if determined to annihilate everything in the vicinity.
After dozens of blasts, Al’shel decided it was enough and ceased the assault.
Ping.
The string sounded once more. A blue veil wrapped around Al’shel, but—
“…I see.”
Inside the blue veil. Right next to Al’shel.
A hunched figure wearing a black hood, eyes glowing with a green light, stood there.
The being clutched jagged daggers in both hands, swinging them at a speed Al’shel found difficult to track.
Without logic. Without law. A speed honed through nothing but pure repetition.
That flash reached the member of the Star Race.
Slice.
A tentacle was severed.
Had he not reacted instantly, his entire jaw would have been torn away.
Though the tentacle—which served as a hand for the Star Race—was cut, the black rat was not satisfied.
Swish.
The next dagger followed immediately.
Al’shel couldn't read the trajectory, but it was a strike aimed to scramble his brain.
In a situation that could decide the match—
‘I think I understand now.’
Pop!
The severed tentacle fluttering in the air exploded.
It was a technique closer to a curse than magic, sacrificing one's own flesh and blood.
Both sides were caught in the blast, but Quilp had long since vanished, just as before.
“Ugh.”
Only Al’shel remained, enduring the damage of the explosion alone.
He tumbled across the ground, his body caked in dirt.
Ping.
As the string sounded, Al’shel hurriedly erected a blue shroud.
Clang!
This time, he managed to block the attack.
He immediately regained control of his body and soared into the air.
‘His position is indeterminate until the very moment he attacks. Detection magic is useless.’
Ping. Clang. Ping. Clang.
The continuous sound of the string and the clashing of protective magic followed.
He could block a few, but Al’shel’s body was slowly being whittled away by Quilp’s overwhelming speed.
‘It’s useless to set traps in anticipation of his attack. He’ll simply manifest in a different location.’
Al’shel tried layering magic across the entire area to stop him, but the moment Quilp appeared behind his back and drove a dagger toward his head, he abandoned that strategy.
‘Darkness. Shadows. Night. Empty spaces. The void. I see.’
Amidst the ongoing exchange—
“It seems I cannot defeat you. Our compatibility is simply too poor.”
Al’shel raised his hand as if surrendering.
Then.
“Ho-ho. Is that so? Then I’d appreciate it if you’d surrender quietly.”
As if he had been there all along, Quilp appeared on the ground with his arms spread wide.
“Before that, let me ask one thing.”
“What is it?”
“This power. Is it your world? A life spent crawling on the ground, living in darkness, possessing no value. A world where you kill every version of yourself across the split universes, pruning them until only one remains.”
Al’shel had never seen such a wretched Ascendant.
That world certainly possessed great power and potential.
He couldn't be killed by conventional means, and he could choose the best possible action from the best possible position.
But in exchange, he had lost everything.
To always exist, he must endure every attack.
He must feel the pain even from attacks that miss.
He must experience every situation where he inevitably dies.
The worlds he pruned would have no further impact, but that rat would know and feel everything he went through.
“Because otherwise… we couldn't have survived.”
Despite that, Quilp simply laughed.
As if it were no big deal. Baring his teeth.
“…I understand. To you, the world is a darkness where no light shines. Crawling on the ground, scavenging through trash.”
Gurgle. Gurgle.
Black blood seeped from Al’shel’s torn tentacles as he spoke.
“We are that kind of race, after all.”
“I see. That is why you are so weak despite being an Ascendant.”
Even for Al’shel, who possessed multiple lives, death was not something to be cherished.
Quite the opposite—it was an infinitely painful time, clinging to a sanity that weakened with every death, resisting the erosion of his reason by the Entities at The End.
Thus, Al’shel looked at his dripping blood and spoke with a pale face.
Thinking that he had no other choice.
‘I didn't want to use this.’
Because he did not want to be defiled, he had not embraced anyone’s power or world despite being qualified. Consequently, he could not recover mana through normal means.
How long had it been since he began fleeing from everything, waiting for his chance?
He had seen the end of countless universes. the end of time. The finality of the ultimate.
And finally, the land of hope he had found.
“…To have ascended from such a lowly creature, and to have escaped the clutches of the Entities at The End… I offer you my praise.”
An Ascendant is one who has reached the pinnacle.
One who embraces a world or a law and opens the heavens.
But because the requirements for that were equal for all races—
Ascension was a possibility for the Star Race.
To the natives, they were the stars in the sky.
If so, how arduous must those times have been for the inferior race before him?
Al’shel, born as a strong being from the start, admitted he could not even imagine those hardships.
“…Thanks for the compliment.”
“Haha… I am not being sarcastic. It is praise from the bottom of my heart. The Society, was it? It wouldn't be bad to join. I don't particularly like having someone above me, but if it’s you, it might not be so bad.”
“Good. Then first, let’s get you treated—”
Perhaps because Al’shel had become so compliant, Quilp relaxed his stance as he spoke.
“However.”
A glistening smile spread across Al’shel’s face.
A massive amount of mana began to move.
“That is, if you can survive this single strike.”
Drip.
The black blood spraying from his severed tentacles began to scatter into the surroundings.
Possessing a thick viscosity, it expanded massively.
From a single line.
To a single circle.
From a single circle.
To a single Magic Circle.
That Magic Circle began to encompass a vast area.
Beyond the Siberian plains where they fought.
Reaching the equator to the south.
And the coastlines of the Americas to the east.
“…Are you insane?”
“Hahahaha. You are quite accurate. Yes. I am insane. One cannot live through that long stretch of time otherwise.”
Bursting into laughter with an even paler face, Al’shel spoke even faster.
“I wanted to fire this at those bastards, but firing it here isn't bad either. Do your best to dodge.”
Was he cowed by the pressure of the madness emanating from the crazed being?
Quilp raised both hands and lowered his weapons to the ground.
“I lose. If you hate being under someone that much, I’ll yield the position of leader—”
“I don't need it.”
Despite Quilp’s concession, Al’shel laughed and cut him off.
“I simply… wish to defeat you.”
Whir.
He spun his staff.
Mana condensed.
The Magic Circle glowed black.
The dark night began to be swept away.
[Public Enemy Designation Alert]
“Hmm? This world is quite kind.”
[Designated Area: Earth-th-th-th-th-th]
“Do not intrude. I am in the middle of enjoying myself.”
“…I’ll have to reconsider taking you as an ally.”
“It’s already too late.”
Ping. Splat.
The string sounded, and the octopus’s head was blown apart by a silver flash.
Following the basics of anti-mage combat, Quilp attempted to kill the caster and stop the magic’s progression.
Despite Quilp’s efforts—
“My third death since coming to this world. What a remarkable world. It was common for even stronger worlds to fail to kill me even once.”
Al’shel reappeared in the air, looking haggard.
With a black sun at his back, he waved his staff, tentacles, and hands.
The world grew bright.
The world began to boil with heat.
Ping. Crunch.
Crunch. Crunch.
Quilp, having moved in an instant, rapidly swung his daggers, shredding Al’shel’s entire body into bits of flesh.
“A pity. I didn't die this time. Even if I had, it would take several more deaths to stop me.”
As if understanding that he couldn't defeat Quilp through conventional means, Al’shel threw his body into the fray while continuing his chant.
Splat. Crunch.
Flesh flew, and blood splattered.
Under the daggers that continued to hack away.
Entrails were twisted, muscles torn, and flesh stripped from bone.
Yet the member of the Star Race continued his incantation without even a flinch.
“Are you not going to run? You should be able to.”
When that question erupted from the mouth hanging off his mangled body—
Quilp hesitated for a moment and shifted his stance.
A brief moment.
Quilp considered fleeing.
‘A technique I cannot block with my power.’
‘A technique imbued with the power of the sun. My world will be neutralized.’
‘Even if I stay here, all I can do is delay its fall.’
Quilp thought of escaping, but then—
Something caught his eye.
A small nut, reflecting the black light hanging in the sky.
The small ring worn on his finger.
The rings they had made when they decided to abandon their true natures and become refugees of this world.
‘Right. We… have already decided.’
“Then the humans would die, wouldn't they?”
Having finished his thoughts, Quilp spoke and swung his daggers again. Again and again.
After a time that felt both short and long—
“I see. Then… try to endure this.”
Whoosh.
Al’shel’s tentacle swung from top to bottom.
A star, laden with massive energy, began to fall.
An object too small to be called a star.
Perhaps because it was controlled by magic, it was far removed from the physical phenomena that should have accompanied it.
An unrealistic star.
However, the energy contained within it—
“It is the Light of Origin that you despise so much. You will not be able to avoid it.”
“I know.”
The slaughter continued.
Even as fur burned and flesh cooked.
Even as bodily fluids boiled.
Believing that he could stop it.
Knowing his power was neutralized because it was the polar opposite of his own.
