Chapter 272: Mysophobia and Jealousy (5)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 272: Mysophobia and Jealousy (5)
"…Huh?"
A blue radiance enveloped his entire body.
Alon let out a bewildered exclamation and stared at the necklace.
He was currently soaring upward to deliver the final blow to the Sin. Why was the necklace suddenly spewing blue light? His confusion lasted only a moment.
[There is no time.]
A voice suddenly echoed from behind him. He immediately realized its owner was the Goddess Sironia.
"…Goddess?"
His questions were many, but Alon pushed them aside. His priority was to strike down the Sin before him.
This was the perfect opportunity.
For some unknown reason, the moment he ascended into the sky, the Sin of Jealousy—which should have been swinging its arms at him—stopped moving, its gaze frozen in mid-air.
Alon took in the sight of the Sin.
It was vastly different from the version he had seen in Psychedelia.
The body, born from a messy cocoon, was malformed; its limbs were unnaturally long, and its face lacked the intelligence one would expect from a Sin.
In short, it was an incomplete monster, far from a true Sin.
Alon breathed a private sigh of relief.
Even this incomplete Sin wielded such irrational power; how much more horrific would it have been if a perfect Sin had been born? He didn't even want to imagine it.
[Listen closely. You must blow its head off in a single strike! No matter what!]
His head throbbed from the backlash of the Art of Defying Heaven, but Alon nodded at the Goddess’s request and fell into brief thought.
The moment his decision was made—
Crackle!
Lightning sparked across Alon’s body, and two horns began to sprout from his head.
Simultaneously, a bone-chilling cold emanated from the gauntlets on his fingers.
And then, what he grasped in his hand was—
Bzzzzzzzt!
Azure lightning.
A spear that spewed bolts of lightning in every direction, as if connecting the earth to the heavens, manifested in Alon’s grip.
However, Alon knew.
This was his best, but it wasn't enough to bring down the Sin before him.
That was why he chose this.
"Array of… Thunder—"
He would add more power to the lightning spear.
Of course, he had never experimented with this before.
It was reckless.
And therefore, dangerous.
If he uttered even a single Phrase incorrectly, this golden opportunity would vanish into nothingness.
Despite knowing this, Alon spoke the words.
Because this was his only option.
Because he had to struggle with everything he had.
The spear in Alon’s hand grew larger and larger.
The lightning, which had only been illuminating the ruins of Rosario, now split the sky and scattered a fierce light across the entire city.
Still, he did not stop.
More.
A little more.
Just a bit more.
The spear grew.
More.
More.
Just a little more.
And so, infused with Alon’s near-infinite mana, what was created was—
A massive spear that cleaved through Rosario.
It obscured the Milky Way embroidered in the dark sky.
It eclipsed the blue moon shining brightly in the firmament.
The azure, flashing spear rested in Alon’s hand.
It was a spear of lightning packed with an amount of mana unimaginable for Alon’s usual level. Even Alon himself couldn't fathom how much this attack had been reinforced.
However, simply cramming in mana wouldn't translate directly into raw firepower.
To begin with, this magic was far too incomplete.
He hadn't even finished his research or experiments. It was a makeshift creation, cobbled together on the spot based on the knowledge he had accumulated.
Thus, he could not be certain.
But there was one clear fact—
This was the absolute best he could do.
Heavenly Revelation.
Alon hurled the lightning.
At that moment, a blue radiance enveloped the spear of lightning.
And the dark sky split open.
The rift in the darkness revealed a sky that was incredibly blue and clear.
Then.
Grin—
As if it had seen something truly amusing, the eye that had been silent behind Alon revealed itself, its shape curving into a bizarre, smiling crescent.
───────────────!!!
Light enveloped the world.
* * *
Immediately after the blinding white light faded.
Alon, having deactivated the Art of Defying Heaven and landed on the ground, saw the Sin with only half its head remaining.
Alon furrowed his brow and prepared to use the Art of Defying Heaven again, but he soon stopped.
The Sin’s body was turning into dust and slowly vanishing.
The Sin was being extinguished.
Confirming this, Alon let out a sigh of relief.
[…I am sorry, my child.]
The Goddess Sironia was still positioned behind Alon’s back.
Alon was puzzled by her murmur, but then he suddenly realized something.
Clear reason had returned to the eyes of the Sin, which had previously lost all intelligence.
Alon stared blankly, and then—
"Do not be so sad, Goddess. It is just—"
Unlike the grotesque voice that had been screaming like a madman, the Sin spoke with a clear, strained voice.
"That my choice… was simply wrong…"
Alon gained a new realization.
He understood why the Sin of Jealousy had stopped its attack earlier.
Soon, the light in the necklace faded, and the image of Goddess Sironia vanished.
The vivid blue light in the Sin’s eyes also began to dim.
"Thank… you."
With those final words, the Sin returned to its mindless state.
From that point, the Sin’s oxidation accelerated.
Just as Alon lowered his head and let out a small sigh—
[This… is not… the end—]
"!"
At the sudden voice, Alon looked forward sharply.
[For… the sake of… Protection—]
The Sin was still vanishing.
With its mindless, ashen eyes, it was speaking to Alon.
[For… the sake of—]
In a voice that was infinitely spine-chilling.
"Pro… tection?"
Alon repeated the word it had uttered.
Unfortunately, the Sin could not answer.
In the next moment, the Sin’s mouth vanished.
"…."
The mindless eyes looked at Alon.
Then, it struggled to look up at the sky.
And finally.
The Sin vanished completely.
"…."
In a world turned to ruins, Alon stared blankly at the spot where the Sin had disappeared for a long time.
* * *
At the same time Alon killed the Sin.
"No, it can't be, it's impossible—!"
The Apostle, who had expressed such joy even with his head severed when the Sin awakened, was now fleeing in desperate terror.
Limbs made of pure white flesh protruding from his neck moved clumsily.
"It's all, it's all that guy's fault. Him. That guy, that guy—!! BecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhimBecauseofhim—"
Repeating the same words like a mantra, the Apostle ran through the forest like a madman.
His eyes, which had always been full of leisure, were now filled with deep confusion and anxiety.
Even as the shadow of defeat loomed over him—
‘It-it’s okay. I can just run away now and start over from the beginning. Even if it takes some time, as long as I can call That Person back here—then it’ll be fine, then—’
He clung to that thought.
But unfortunately for the Apostle, his hope was cut short.
Crunch—!
"Aaaaaagh!"
A black hand had crushed his leg.
Tumbling to the ground, the Apostle struggled to stand, desperately regenerating his leg.
But unfortunately.
The regenerating leg was crushed once again by a black hand erupting from the earth.
"Gaaaaagh!"
Collapsing again with a wretched scream, the Apostle turned back in horror.
Two people, a man and a woman, were slowly approaching from behind.
The woman’s golden eyes glowed vividly even in the dead of night.
The man tilted his head, scattering black hands in every direction.
Like grim reapers pronouncing death.
"Hiek—"
A metallic death rattle escaped the Apostle’s throat.
Just as despair and terror filled his eyes—
"!"
"!"
Seolrang and Nangwon, who had been expressionless until a moment ago, widened their eyes.
" "…." "
With tense faces, they came to a dead stop and stared past the Apostle’s back.
"…?"
The Apostle, puzzled by their sudden change in attitude, heard a bizarre voice from behind him.
"…Mysophobia—no, there’s no need to hide it anymore."
"Wrath!"
He hurriedly turned his head.
As he had hoped, the Apostle of Wrath had arrived.
Clad in his usual black hood that made his identity impossible to discern, he was looking down at him.
"H-Help me. Q-Quickly! Get rid of those two!"
Jealousy’s voice was filled with joy.
In contrast, Seolrang and Nangwon frowned as they stared at the entity before them.
Both of them prided themselves on being among the ten strongest beings in this world.
That should have been the case.
‘…What on earth is that?’
An strange sense of doubt sprouted in the hearts of Seolrang and Nangwon.
A doubt as to whether they could actually defeat that mysterious, robed thing.
No, it was more than that.
They felt it instinctively.
If they were to attack the entity before them at this very moment—
They might die.
Tension flooded the faces of Seolrang and Nangwon.
"I, I’m going to start over. I’ll kill those two and start again! And this time, I’ll bring That Person back in a perfect state—!"
The moment Jealousy sneered at the tense duo and spat out those words—
Squelch!
"…Ah?"
An alien, crushing sound came from a place it shouldn't have.
Jealousy let out a bewildered cry, unable to understand the noise.
Then, he looked down.
There, a hand was sticking out.
A beautiful, blood-soaked hand had pierced through his pure white flesh.
Doubt flickered in Jealousy’s eyes.
"What is… this?"
Jealousy turned to look at Wrath in disbelief.
Naturally, Jealousy could see nothing.
All he could see was the black robe.
Not Wrath’s face.
Not Wrath’s emotions.
Not Wrath’s reasons.
He could see nothing.
"Why…?"
Just as endless questions began to spring up in Jealousy’s mind, he heard it with his failing ears.
"Because your job ends here."
Wrath’s murmur.
And then.
Splat!
Jealousy exploded.
Like a bomb.
Jealousy’s body vanished without a trace, unable to even let out a scream.
As Nangwon and Seolrang stood there with dazed expressions—
"I apologize for stealing your prey. But I ask for your understanding."
The voice of the turning Wrath reached them.
"I wanted to kill him myself."
Because he was getting a bit… annoying.
With that low monologue, the Apostle of Wrath vanished.
As if he had never been there from the start.