Chapter 253: The Queen Beyond
Chapter 253: The Queen Beyond
“Good, good. That’s a very fine story. To think you’d show me something so satisfying with just a single keyword.”
The woman appeared before me, spouting nonsense I couldn't understand.
I felt nothing from her.
Not the crushing pressure of an Avatar or the Guardian Corps, nor the unique aura felt from the powerful who possess Otherworldly strength.
There was nothing. Like an ordinary person.
…But didn't she just stop my hammer?
“Are you an enemy?”
I threw the question back at her, but—
“I don’t like it when the scenarios I’ve written get ruined, but what can you do? That’s part of the fun of a story, too.”
She continued to speak as if she couldn't hear me, her words flowing from a mouth I couldn't even see.
…How annoying.
I swung The Hammer.
It didn't matter if she was an enemy or not.
The fact remained that she had blocked my hammer once and was now standing in my way.
And so, with a body cracking and crumbling, I swung The Hammer with everything I had.
Standing upon a crumbling foothold infused with my will, I poured power into the strike—power that distorted time through the sheer weight of its stance.
“…So…”
I launched The Hammer at the one who wouldn't stop talking.
Whoosh.
A sound like the fluttering of an insect’s wing sliced through space.
Following it was the silent shattering of the void.
Despite my unstable body, it was an attack I could be proud of.
Tap.
The moment the attack touched The Enemy’s body.
Everything returned to nothingness.
The tap I heard in my ears must have been a hallucination.
The reactive force returning to my hands.
The shockwave and damage of The Hammer.
The world collapsing along the trajectory.
The moment it touched the hem of her clothes.
It all vanished, producing no effect and no result.
…Is this similar to Lieutenant General Par’s total immunity to physical force?
No.
With him, there was at least the sensation of hitting something solid.
This was… nothing.
No sensation of having struck anything.
Not even the recoil of me forcing The Hammer to a halt.
Just, the moment it touched her.
Everything disappeared.
To the point where I wondered if I had even swung The Hammer at all.
I looked up at her, but she was still prattling on, her non-existent mouth moving. It was as if she hadn't even perceived the act of me swinging The Hammer.
I took my stance once more.
I gathered my strength again.
Stronger.
Faster.
More ferocious.
Even if something inside me cracked because of it.
As I gathered that power—
“…What are you doing?”
For the first time, she reacted to me.
She looked down at me, her head tilted at an angle.
I didn't answer; I just kept gathering strength.
Crack.
My vision shattered.
As if the glasses I was wearing had broken.
But I wasn't wearing glasses.
Something—whether it was my eyes or my brain—had smashed.
Even so, I didn't stop.
My rage could no longer be suppressed.
That was the nature of my power.
Knowing that, I had unleashed it.
The future… I didn't know.
And so, with all my might, I thrust The Hammer forward.
Perhaps with the greatest strength of my entire life.
But.
“It’s useless. You and I are on different planes.”
Everything stopped at the tip of her single finger.
the power that had been surging endlessly, The Hammer that was about to move.
The moment she placed a finger on The Hammer.
As if such things had never existed in the first place.
They vanished from the world without leaving a single trace behind.
Yet, I knew I had done it.
My shattered vision.
My failing ears.
The sensation of blood trickling down proved it.
“Hahaha.”
I see. So this is a Queen.
The being the mighty Guardian Corps calls "the world."
A being existing in a place so unimaginably distant.
A being I cannot reach, no matter what I do.
Even if I defeat the Avatar of The End.
Even if I defeat the Guardian Corps, who can physically contend with Avatars despite being in a weakened state.
To those beings, I am not even an ant.
And… this is the second time I’ve felt this way.
The first was when I met the massive Jess.
The second is now.
That’s why I understood.
These beings aren't like this because they are "strong."
They are like this simply because they exist that way.
And, I gained one possibility.
A meaningless possibility, given my already breaking body.
“Your finger… it turned red.”
“Hmm?”
Hearing my words, she lifted her finger.
It was slightly flushed, as if it had touched something.
It wasn't even a wound.
Even when an ant bites a human, the skin gets pierced.
But the impact I had made on her, by staking my entire life and existence, was only enough to make her finger flush as if she’d gripped something.
That was the absolute limit of what I could do to her in this world.
Should I feel hollow?
If there is a high mountain ahead of your vision after crossing another.
If you see a mountain made of blades, with poison and lava flowing from it.
Anyone climbing it would feel hollow at that sight.
But a certain madman.
For instance.
A person who came to a world they didn't know and staked their life on the death of someone who wasn't even kin.
The dying…
Magical Girl of the Blue Hammer.
She felt ecstasy there.
Despite having only just set foot on the mountain.
At the fact that I wasn't dead yet.
At the fact that I could climb this mountain.
At the fact that I was able to see this mountain.
However, that changed nothing.
I was going to die.
And there was no one to carry on my legacy.
Amidst a vision turning into a mosaic and a flickering reality, her voice reached me.
“…There was a reason those guys were making such a fuss. Yes, you’re certainly worth the commotion.”
She pulled her finger away—it had turned white again—and looked at me.
“To be honest, I wanted to devour you. You seemed quite… delicious. Everything about you.”
As she spoke, she opened her non-existent face.
A mouth that led somewhere infinitely black.
A mouth with countless non-existent faces.
Her abyss.
“Ah, don’t misunderstand. I didn't have those intentions when I first invited you. It’s just, how should I put it… I couldn't overcome my appetite. Oh, and don’t compare me to Dam. Ah, even if I say that, you wouldn't know who Dam is. There’s this fellow who’s like a yellow forest fire.”
What is she babbling about?
And if it’s Dam, I know him…
“But you see, wouldn't it be a bit annoying if someone interfered with my plans? So, if that someone looks delicious, there’s no big problem with eating them up and making them disappear.”
She leaned that face in as she spoke.
As if she were about to eat me.
It was similar to Al’shel, but instead of disgust, I felt a contradictory mouth that felt like emptiness and infinity at the same time.
“However.”
Snap.
She flicked her fingers.
“It’s lucky for you that it was me you met. I’m the type you can actually talk to. And I’m merciful to those who make things interesting.”
Saying so, she stepped back, returning to her playful tone.
“…No, thank yourself. Because your power made me interested.”
Snap.
She flicked her fingers again.
And the world, of which only fragments remained, collapsed.
* * *
When I opened my eyes, it was a strange ceiling.
Bed curtains made of translucent silk.
A soft bed with white linens.
A simple but beautifully decorated bed frame.
What is this now? A princess bed?
Waking up in a princess bed, I opened my eyes with a strangely calm heart and quietly cleared my groggy head.
Surely… my last memory was meeting The Queen.
I tried to recall the memory, but all that remained was a strangely stabilized mind.
…Let’s get up for now.
The moment I moved slightly and pulled back the covers—
“Are you awake?”
A familiar voice.
In a tailcoat.
With white gloves.
The Waiter.
He was there.
“You!”
Anger flared up instantly, and I threw a punch.
Thud.
The punch was blocked by a barrier that appeared in front of the Waiter’s head.
As expected, am I still lacking?
More power.
More rage to dredge up.
Thinking that, I looked back at the past and threw another punch.
Thud.
The power of the punch remained exactly the same.
Neither stronger nor weaker.
A punch with only enough power to not even leave a single crack on the barrier.
“….”
“It is useless.”
“…You think I’m going to listen to that?!”
Saying it’s useless is just the cliché line of people getting their asses kicked!
I struck the barrier again, summoning even more emotion.
Thud. Thud.
Thud. Thud.
Only the endless sound of impact echoed through the room.
“Are you satisfied now?”
His voice returned after I had thrown countless punches.
“What… did you do?”
Strangely, no power was coming out.
No, it was a bit different.
Rage wouldn't surge.
As if it were being suppressed by something.
I knew through my knowledge that the being before me was my mortal enemy, but no matter how hard I tried, he felt like nothing more than an annoying existence.
“I do not know exactly, as it was The Queen’s doing. However…”
“…However?”
“I can tell just by looking at your face. Lee Ha-ram. It seems your emotions are currently in a state of extreme suppression. When you killed me, your face was so distorted that your facial muscles were ruined, and you couldn't even form a proper expression.”
Is he mocking me?
“I don’t know why you’re alive, but don’t you feel any rage toward the one who killed you?”
“That rage was justified, after all. And the Guardian Corps has a weak perception of death. Although we are not Avatars and cannot completely cast aside our mortality, as long as we are in The Queen’s world, we can possess similar functions. Though it requires a price, The Queen resurrected me…”
Prattle, prattle, prattle.
A flood of words poured out without even checking if the listener understood.
There was a reason he and Al’shel got along so well.
But. There was something important in the middle of all that.
A word that barely managed to drift into my ears.
Queen.
Resurrection.
Holding onto that one possibility, I pushed aside all hostility.
“I’ve had enough of that explanation. So, where is this?”
It was obvious, but I asked anyway.
“It is The Queen’s castle. And The Queen is waiting for you to wake up, Lee Ha-ram.”
“Why? She could have just woken me up.”
She’s omnipotent enough to even suppress my emotions, after all.
“It is one of the things The Queen often says: a life where everything goes according to one's will is a boring life. This is likely a part of that.”
A boring life, she says.
Give me a break.
So you caused all this chaos just to feel a bit of excitement?
Let’s ask one more thing.
“What about the saying that The Queen is sleeping?”
“It is true… is what I would like to say, but since you are the victim, Lee Ha-ram, I will be honest with you. The Queen was not sleeping.”
“Is it okay for you to tell me that?”
Isn't that an act of betrayal against The Queen?
“Do you perhaps think of me as The Queen’s subordinate or servant?”
“I do.”
“I am a member of the Guardian Corps. I simply protect the world. Of course, I often move according to The Queen’s wishes, but if necessary, I can act against her will. And… though this may sound like an excuse, the reason we performed that manipulation was simply to find a new Guardian. We never imagined things would turn out like this.”
The Waiter… or was he a butler? Regardless.
He spoke with a strange smile.
“However, thinking about it now, it seems a new Guardian didn't really matter to The Queen. That is just my opinion, though.”
A smile that was both bitter and twisted.
He soon straightened his expression and spoke again.
“It is a secret that I told you this. Though, I suspect The Queen already knows.”
“Is there a need to keep secrets? We’re going to end up in a relationship where we kill each other if things go sideways anyway.”
The fact that rage wouldn't surge didn't mean I couldn't kill.
Even if I felt nothing, I could still record my grudge against the opponent somewhere.
“I shall pray that it does not come to that again, Lee Ha-ram.”
“I don’t care either way.”
I really didn't.
“I see. Blood for blood. Well, it is a common saying. More importantly, our conversation has gone on too long. Would you like to move now? Or you may rest a bit longer.”
His last words sounded like it was perfectly fine to keep The Queen waiting indefinitely.
Perhaps that was his own way of mocking her.
But.
“I’ll go now.”
I’m not the type to wait or rest.
Whether I’m running wild, consumed by emotion.
Or whether my emotions are controlled by a limiter.
“I see. Then.”
Hearing my answer, the Waiter raised both hands in front of him.
Clap.
With the sound of the clap—
“Welcome.”
I faced The Queen once again.
This time, a pure white Queen who had donned a face.