Chapter 207: Primordial Sun (1)
Chapter 207: Primordial Sun (1)
Al’shel, you absolute liaaaar!
How is this person "moderate" in any way?
She’s a complete battle maniac.
Zess’s fighting spirit was so terrifying that even I found myself thinking that.
Her emotions radiated nothing but a searing heat directed solely at The Enemy before her.
She had no face, so I couldn't read her expression, but the sun itself—which was essentially her entire being—conveyed enough heat to transmit her feelings.
As green flares licked up her arms, the interior of her right arm, which had been maintained by swirling comets, filled with green flames.
With a sense of pure ecstasy, she drew a green sword from her right arm.
Simultaneously with that absurd heat, everything in the vicinity evaporated and vanished in an instant.
All that remained was Al’shel, falling toward the ground unconscious, and the two of us standing in mid-air.
"Didn't you say you only just arrived? You use that quite well."
"...I didn't know either, but it seems this sort of thing is my specialty."
"Good. You should at least be able to do that much."
Saying that, she soared into the sky like a comet, leaving a long trail of green light behind her.
"Follow me! The kids will get caught in the crossfire!"
Looking around at her words, it was clear that things were becoming a problem.
The intense heat had evaporated the surroundings; while the tower hadn't collapsed, the upper floors were now wide open, completely exposed.
Since her office was on the top floor, casualties might have been avoided, but what would happen if we actually started fighting in earnest?
Our weapons hadn't even clashed yet.
This catastrophe was the result of simply facing each other for two or three seconds.
Of course, the cause of this disaster was Zess’s heat, but if the battle continued, would the beings below be able to survive the heat and The Hammer?
And so, accepting her proposal, I also soared into the air.
I blasted the boosters on my hammer and continuously generated footholds beneath my feet, accelerating toward the void.
Eventually, in the distant sky, I found her, shining brightly and emitting green light.
When she saw me following, she smiled and soared even higher.
Just how far was she planning to go?
I turned my head for a moment to look down at the ground, but the buildings below looked like tiny ants.
Isn't this far enough?
Despite my thought, Zess only continued to accelerate, and I squeezed out every bit of my strength to follow her.
How much time had passed as we headed into the distance?
The blue sky vanished, and a Black Space appeared.
It was clearly an infinite place where nothing existed, yet it looked like a ceiling.
Zess was just about to touch that darkness.
As she was about to be swallowed by the gloom, she reached out a hand made of comets and shouted loudly.
"Open!"
As if responding to her command, the black void surged.
Greeeeeeak—.
With a sound like space itself being torn apart, a massive gate appeared.
A magnificent, enormous metal gate carved with the sun and the moon.
As Zess moved forward, the gate swung open rapidly as if welcoming her.
We were swallowed by the light pouring from beyond the gate.
* * *
It was a barren land.
So much so that a wasteland would feel lush, and even a desert would seem comfortable by comparison.
It was fundamentally similar to a desert, but the sand on the ground was so fine that it scattered into the sky just from the force of my breath.
Countless shards of glass were embedded in the ground, so despite the fine soil, it didn't hinder walking.
Of course, the glass pricked my feet, and the uneven surface made me stumble here and there, but for now, it was manageable.
Since it was such an extreme desert, I looked up, expecting the sun to be bright, but there was only an endless void.
The red sky only occupied the space near the horizon.
The distant sky above was filled with an infinite vacuum.
The suns I had seen in both of the previous rooms did not exist here.
"...."
Heat settled behind my back.
Even without looking, I could feel a presence capable of incinerating everything.
"Are you curious?"
"About what?"
Had I withered just by being near her?
A voice like a Gray Mummy rasped from my throat.
"What kind of room this is, and what race lives here."
"Not particularly."
Since she was the one who brought me here, it probably wouldn't matter even if someone did live here.
Thus, I spoke with the intent of getting the fight over with quickly, but...
"No one lives here. It's a room where someone once lived."
She ignored my words and only said what she wanted to say.
"So, you can pour out all your strength."
With those words, she smiled.
It was a bit strange to say she smiled since she had no face, but the emotion was unmistakable.
"If you want to change the Demon Train, show me that power."
"Does power have anything to do with changing the Demon Train?"
I didn't think there was a way to change this place with power alone.
"The Otherworld is a history of power. The interior of the Demon Train has escaped much of the Otherworld’s influence, but its roots are the same."
What kind of sudden nonsense was this?
I thought that, but I didn't open my mouth.
I instinctively felt that there was something to her words.
"In any place, at any time, upon any event... the one who reads the world, changes the world, and embraces the world is the one with will. If so, how is the strength of all will manifested?"
Crunch.
She clenched her fist.
"Power."
Boom!
Flames erupted.
The countless grains of sand fluttering around scattered like sparkling light.
Amidst the halo, she smiled.
"Al’shel, that fellow, lacked will because he was too busy pretending to be smart. A fool who thinks he's clever but lacks the malice to discard himself or devour the corpse of his enemy. He's strong for what he is, but he's severely lacking. So, I have no choice but to ask you."
Whoosh.
The Flame Sword sliced through the air, radiating heat.
"Are you... one who possesses the will to change the Demon Train? To change the world?"
A voice that lasted only a moment.
With that, I lost my senses.
My skin melted, I went deaf, and the lenses of my eyes evaporated.
However, I could endure it.
"This is more bearable than that Gray Eater bastard's tentacles."
Of course, the raw firepower of the Zess before me was stronger.
But at least...
"This flame doesn't take anything away from me."
Smiling like that, I opened my regenerated eyes and lunged at The Enemy.
"Men who say things that make no sense aren't very popular, you know."
It was a bit annoying coming from Zess, who had been rambling on with her own cryptic talk, but...
"Thanks for calling me a man!"
Regardless, I swung my hammer down.
The Flame Sword and The Hammer collided.
The Flame Sword seemed to have no fixed form, as it climbed up The Hammer to burn me.
The attack power of the formless Flame Sword was immense, but it lacked the physical force to stop my hammer.
And so...
My hands and skin melted away.
Parts of the comets that made up The Enemy’s body were destroyed by The Hammer and scattered.
Thus, the battle began.
A battle in which neither side could kill the other.
* * *
It was a simple fight.
Because there was no way for either of us to end the other.
In terms of raw strength, I was the victor.
In terms of technique, we were equal.
However, due to her nature as fire and a star, Zess landed more blows on me.
Her mere existence was enough to set everything ablaze.
The land that had been covered in sand and glass was now nothing but glass.
It shattered, melted again, and was tempered once more, turning into a sharp forest.
And what about me, who was constantly subjected to such heat?
My skin was stripped away.
I went blind time and time again.
My melted skin scorched onto The Hammer and wouldn't come off.
Only bones remained as my flesh fell away.
In that hellish pain, the match continued until someone admitted defeat.
Her technique was as straight and simple as the sun, yet it covered everything like fire.
To the point where my regeneration began to stall.
After everything was over.
I leaned against my hammer.
"Guh... hock..."
Black smoke billowed from my mouth.
My body was regenerating bit by bit, but perhaps because the searing pain was gnawing at my mind, the speed was incredibly slow.
Even though it was cooked flesh, it was still attached to my body, making it difficult to even imagine myself tearing it off and creating new flesh.
Regardless.
"Guh... cough... cough..."
Only after spitting out black smoke and some unknown brown lumps a few more times did the inside of my mouth regain its moisture. After the match was decided, I spoke for the first time.
"...I won."
My voice was more than just hoarse; it rang out like the sound of scraping metal.
"Yes. I lost."
Conversely, Zess, who admitted defeat, had a very comfortable voice, but her condition wasn't exactly fine either.
The star that was her head was half-stained with black and flickering, and her body's form had blurred by half, likely because the comets had been scattered upon impact with my hammer.
...Somehow, it feels like I'm the one who lost.
Well, if we had clashed a bit longer, I might have actually lost...
I think this is the first time I've seen an individual entity this strong.
The Gray Host and the Atlantic Nautilus were only problems because of their special abilities; they weren't strong as individuals.
No, was the Atlantic Nautilus also insanely strong? It's just that we had more numbers.
Anyway.
"Cough. Then... since I won, you'll cooperate with us... right?"
I wanted to speak normally, but acrid smoke wouldn't stop coming out of my mouth.
Thanks to that, I faced the bizarre phenomenon of my mouth smelling like burnt meat, but there was nothing I could do.
"For now... I suppose."
'For now,' huh.
Al’shel will be pleased.
Phew.
I don't even have the strength to stand anymore. The moment I sat my butt down on a relatively flat piece of glass...
"Can I ask one question?"
"What is it?"
"What is your name?"
"Lee Ha-ram."
"Right. Lee Ha-ram. Then I'll ask one more."
...If she was going to ask another one, why did she ask if she could ask one?
So, instead of opening my mouth, I just gave her a look that asked what kind of idiocy she was pulling.
But as she always did, she ignored it and spoke.
"Hey. What are you thinking, trying to change the Demon Train?"
Having lost half of her comets but still glowing, she spoke.
It was a question I had contemplated many times, asked myself, and discussed with others.
"Because I don't like the trials."
"And?"
"Because at this rate, it will fall into ruin."
"It's not you who's falling into ruin. Why do you care?"
"Because Al’shel cares... is just an excuse. ...Maybe, just to kill time?"
"To kill time, you say. The number of Sentient Beings on board this train isn't a number that should be swayed by someone 'killing time.'"
"I said it's to kill time, but since I'm doing it anyway, it'd be nice if it went well."
"'Went well,' huh? They're living and eating well enough even now. Setting the trials aside."
"...."
"You say it's to kill time, but in reality, it's something else. You are reflecting something. Somewhere... somewhere that isn't here."
Whoosh.
Flames erupted from her head, and the comets that had diminished in number quickly filled up again.
As if she hadn't taken any damage at all.
"...What of it?"
"Sure, it's good if you succeed. But what if you fail? Do you know what will happen then?"
She seemed uninterested in my answer and just continued saying what she wanted to say. As always.
"...Al’shel said that war might break out again."
"Haha. War. Right. To a young one like Al’shel, it would just be a simple war."
Zess, now fully restored to her original state, laughed like that, but I couldn't say a word.
Because that was a realm I didn't know.
As I remained silent...
"Tsk. I didn't want to use anything related to those 'End' bastards. Can't be helped."
Zess scratched her head with her restored left arm.
Then, she suddenly spoke.
【The light of a star contains memories.】
Otherworld Erosion.
No. It wasn't that.
【Let us go. Into my memory. Into my world.】
This was... fundamentally different.
It wasn't being interpreted.
【To the time of extinction.】
These words... carved their meaning into me.
As an unalterable Sentence.
And then, green light filled the world.