Chapter 646: Land of the Malevolent God (8)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 646: Land of the Malevolent God (8)
Ilina couldn’t begin to fathom what was going on inside Rosa’s head.
Just a few hours ago, Rosa had been terrified of her own mind collapsing. Ever since they had formed their contract, her stance had never wavered. Through threats, conciliation, and temptation, Rosa had always clung to one core principle: she would never ‘completely’ assimilate with Ilina and the power of chaos.
Yet the Rosa standing before her now was acting in complete opposition to everything she had ever stood for.
Ilina knew that if the chaos accelerated any further, Rosa’s mind would inevitably shatter. She was certain of it.
‘If she fires the Ram’s main cannon, she will surely lose both her reason and her will…!’
As Rosa herself had pointed out, her collapse was exactly what Ilina had always wanted.
The timing, however, was disastrous. If Rosa’s will—the very vessel of her consciousness—vanished now, after consuming so much chaos, it would take far too long to recover. If their enemies regrouped and struck the Garden of Swords during that interval, not even Ilina was confident she could handle the aftermath.
Worse, unlike the two great powers whose fleets were being decimated, Jin had only sustained personal injuries. Since none were fatal, he wouldn’t need much time to recover.
“Yes, you are right. I have long awaited your collapse, Your Excellency. But if you break now, I cannot take responsibility for what happens next. I am being sincere. This wasn’t your plan from the beginning, was it?”
The main cannon was nearly finished charging.
“If you had made this choice before summoning the Ten Great Knights, before stepping out yourself, I would have been delighted. But not now… you can’t. This is a foolish judgment, so unlike you!”
[So, even you can feel fear.]
A dark, manic glint flashed in Rosa’s eyes.
In her desperation, Ilina even dropped to her knees, but it was useless. Rosa had no intention of stopping.
[Only I… can break the youngest. I am the only one who can sever that shining child and the bonds that protect him.]
Kwaaaaaa…!
The Ram’s cannon spat out a black line that bisected the heavens once more. It was as if a black tsunami had unfurled at Murakan’s back.
Even for Murakan, who had been effortlessly parrying Rosa’s secret techniques, the Ram’s main cannon came as a shock.
[You crazy bitch…!]
There was no dodging it. The cannon fire that had annihilated the Zipple Second Fleet in a single strike now pulsed with a power even more horrific than before.
Heh, hahaha…!
Even amidst the thunderous roar, Rosa’s madness-tinged laughter echoed. The entire sky and earth, stained by chaos, seemed to laugh along with her.
“Up!” Jin shouted.
Murakan had originally intended to descend while blocking the blast, but as always, he followed Jin’s lead. Jin had decided it was better for the Ram’s bombardment to be directed upward. Though it would take them further from their escape point, he judged that if the main cannon were aimed downward, the entire forest where the Red Owl waited would be erased.
If that happened, their escape was over. The moment Murakan was forced to retreat, the rest of the party would be as good as dead.
Murakan rocketed toward the sky. The layers of spirit energy shields and veils at his rear were ground away. Before they could be completely shattered, the impact began to bleed through. Jin and Kaio barely held onto consciousness, enduring the agony.
[Kuaaaaaa…!]
Sweeping through the clouds of chaos, Murakan finally broke free of the bombardment’s path. His spirit energy shield was in tatters, but he had avoided fatal damage.
The shield replenished in an instant. Even Jin marveled at Murakan’s power, but the problem was that the bombardment wasn’t over.
[Kugh…! That thing has a long reload time, right?]
“It did,” Jin said. Unlike Murakan, who was flying with his eyes fixed forward, Jin had turned to check on the Ram.
“Before, at least.”
The abyssal ship was once again opening its dark maw. A new shell of energy was already nearing completion.
[Damn it. If I hadn’t been able to conserve my strength thanks to that Orgal bastard, we never would have had a chance to escape in the first place….]
Rosa’s lunatic laughter continued to weigh on their minds. It felt as if the Ram itself were mocking them.
Goosebumps erupted across Jin’s entire body. If Gliek had awakened the primal fear inherent in all living things, Rosa’s madness was carving a dark pit directly into the human soul. It wasn’t just chaos; it was the bitter resentment of a single human, piercing the onlookers’ very being like a blade of frost.
[Oh…]
Rosa let out a soft breath of admiration.
It was a strange feeling. She had fired the cannon to kill him, yet the fact that he had survived filled her with a frantic joy. She felt as if this were the greatest happiness she had ever experienced.
The power gathering in the Ram’s maw aimed at Murakan once more. Though he was so far away he looked like a mere dot, Rosa felt as if her son were standing vividly right before her.
“Ah, no…!”
By then, Ilina had concluded that Rosa’s mind had completely snapped. She had to stop her before the second shot was fired. It seemed Rosa wouldn’t stop even if the Ram itself fell apart.
Thwack!
A dagger pierced Rosa’s back—one Ilina had pulled from her robes. The blade slipped past the spine and struck the heart with precision. Rosa flinched, her movements ceasing for a moment.
“Stop! You’ll die too if you keep this up!”
Rosa didn’t look back. She didn’t even glance at the blade protruding from her chest. Instead, she fired the main cannon again. That bizarre, metallic laughter still leaked from her parched lips. This time, she had even drawn upon the minimal chaos that was protecting the Ram itself.
‘At this rate, everything is over…!’
Staggering on weakened legs, Ilina barely managed to pull the blade from Rosa’s back. She tried to stab her in the neck next.
But for some reason, she couldn't muster the strength. Her body wouldn't move, no matter how hard she struggled. Something invisible was binding her.
Creeeeeak—! Crack!
At the same time, the Ram’s massive hull tilted to the right. With its protective shield gone, the fleets of the two great powers were striking the ship in earnest. Several of the thousands of cannon shells struck the bow where they stood. Holes were punched through the deck, and sharp fragments of debris pelted Rosa’s body.
Ilina could have easily deflected such a bombardment. If only her body would move. If only she could wield the authority of chaos that was now bound along with her, it would have been as easy as breathing.
But she could do nothing. All she could do was watch the bombardment fall, frozen in the very posture she had taken to stab Rosa.
‘What on earth… is shackling me?!’
Ilina’s heart hammered as if it would burst as she stared at Rosa’s back.
‘Rosa? That’s impossible!’
There was no way a mere human who had lost her reason and become a monster of chaos could bind her. And yet, the power restraining her was unmistakably Rosa’s.
“C-could it be? You… the assimilation… it isn’t complete?”
[Be quiet…]
As Rosa began to speak, terror pooled in Ilina’s eyes.
[Stay quiet… I do not wish to be disturbed by anyone right now.]
The shackles Rosa had placed on Ilina were released. Ilina collapsed, panting for breath, with no choice but to obey. She was, quite literally, overwhelmed.
By the human known as Rosa Runcandel.
[Can you see it too, my youngest? The countless enemies rushing to kill this mother, their bombardment! But none of it can touch me. There is no need to even block or dodge.]
Because it was destiny. Nothing trivial could interfere with the destiny currently laid out between mother and son.
Just as Rosa said, though countless attacks struck the bow, not a single one hit her directly. They all missed, only splashing her with stray fragments.
Single-minded devotion.
Rosa was looking only at her youngest son, with all her heart. She was imagining nothing but the sight of blasting that child from the sky.
A smile spread across Rosa’s lips.
At the same time, the second shot streaked from the Ram toward Murakan. The darkness of the abyss was once again descending upon them.
It was at that exact moment that Murakan’s borrowed time ran out.
“Down!”
This time, they descended.
It was the end anyway. Murakan was about to vanish, and they had no strength left to block a second bombardment. Before the blast could even reach them, his time would be up.
[Kid!]
“I’m not dying…!”
Jin grabbed Talaris and Mort with all his might. Then, he bit down on Bradamante, positioning the blade to point straight down.
Kaio knew exactly what Jin was thinking.
“The aiming point!”
“The center of the forest!”
Kaio hurriedly dug his feet into the wounds on Murakan’s back to secure himself. He drew the Great Bow God-Slayer, aiming it at the blade of Bradamante.
By then, Murakan’s body had blurred into semi-transparency, and the Ram’s bombardment was about to touch his tail.
Zip!
The moment their eyes met, Kaio released the bowstring.
Clang—!
The arrow of the God-Slayer struck the blade of Bradamante.
A sensation as if his head were being torn off and his waist folded in half ripped through Jin, but he endured the horrific recoil with his entire body, holding Talaris and Mort tight in his arms.
Jin began to plummet toward the forest where the Red Owl was hidden. The arrow, its tip stuck to Bradamante like a magnet, carried Kaio’s final will to save his brother at all costs.
The moment the Ram’s main cannon engulfed them, Murakan vanished with his eyes fixed on Jin. High in the sky, Kaio gave a thumbs-up.
His arrow possessed enough monstrous strength to slam Jin, Talaris, and Mort into the middle of the forest in an instant.
“Cough…!”
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Jin immediately stood up and checked on Talaris and Mort. Talaris was nearly unconscious from her internal injuries and the impact, and Mort was as motionless as a corpse.
Looking around, he couldn’t see the Red Owl. Though they had landed in the center of the forest, they were about five hundred paces away.
‘Which way is it…!’
In the disorienting dark, the forest was like a maze. The next bombardment would surely fall upon them here.
[Bo… ooo…]
In that moment of uncertainty, Mort opened a dimensional gate to the Otherworld Snowy Plains. Black spots of chaos marred the pure white snowfield. If the margin of error had been over a thousand paces, Mort wouldn’t have been able to open the gate. As if by fate, the last of his strength was exactly enough for five hundred.
Mort stepped into the gate, ran a few steps through the Otherworld Snowy Plains, and opened the exit right at the Red Owl’s location, pulling Jin and Talaris through.
Calmly and swiftly, Jin climbed into the Red Owl’s cabin with Talaris on his back. As he pressed the button in the center of the console, the craft began to vibrate with mana and accelerate.
The acceleration required for a space jump would take ten seconds.
‘Now all that’s left is to hope the next shot isn’t ready by then…!’
One.
Two.
Three…
…
Nine.
The space jump began.
Enveloped in the dazed sensation unique to the jump, Jin looked up at the Ram. He felt his eyes meet Rosa’s.
[You will come looking for this mother again before long. I shall be waiting…]
Rosa watched the forest where Jin had vanished, steadying the heart-pounding euphoria that rose within her.