Chapter 394: Karmic Fire (Part 4)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 394: Karmic Fire (Part 4)
"Cough, cough..."
A pained cough escaped his lips, as if he were trying to squeeze every last bit of air from his lungs. It was accompanied by the metallic taste of blood, which spilled messily from the corner of his mouth.
Muen staggered back a few steps, his face deathly pale.
On his back, every magic pattern extending from the Alchemy Core felt like a blade carving through his flesh. His body had begun to treat these foreign elements as enemies, desperately trying to reject and eliminate them.
This was a natural self-defense mechanism, but now, under the influence of some external force, the conflict between the two—which shouldn't have peaked yet—erupted with sudden violence.
His entire body had become a literal battlefield. Muen was forced to retract the Crimson Flame to maintain a precarious internal balance; otherwise, this intensified rejection would quickly become life-threatening.
The situation was exactly as Ellag had described.
The Alchemy Core was unstable.
The Crimson Flame had to be used for self-preservation.
In an instant, Muen’s two strongest trump cards had been effectively sealed.
"You really think highly of me, don't you?"
Amidst Ellag’s manic laughter, Muen looked up and wiped the blood from his chin.
"A dignified Evil God, personally using such despicable tactics against me... and only daring to show your face once you were sure they’d work. Should I be proud? Or should I say..."
Staring at the eye on Ellag’s cheek that brimmed with mockery, Muen let out a jagged grin.
"Lord Love God, isn't this behavior a bit embarrassing for someone with the title of 'Evil God'?"
"..."
The eye on Ellag’s cheek remained cold. As a high and mighty Evil God, He naturally wouldn't react to a few petty insults.
However, Ellag’s head suddenly twisted at an unnatural angle, bringing that eye to the front to stare at Muen as if looking down at an ant.
Ellag’s lips moved, but the voice that emerged was a bizarre language no human could produce—ethereal, grand, and instilling an instinctive urge to kneel.
【Muen Campbell.】
"Oh?"
Muen raised an eyebrow. "Knowing my name so clearly... I’m truly flattered."
【I ask thee.】
The Love God spoke coldly:
【How didst thou obtain the divine blessing of the Withered King? What didst thou exchange for it? Thy flesh and thy soul are both whole. Why would He grant His power to thee?】
Muen’s eyes narrowed at the question.
It seemed the Love God was starting to suspect there was something fishy about his identity as a "Believer of the Withered King."
"About that..."
Muen suddenly gave a mysterious smile and said, "To be honest, the Withered King is actually my long-lost brother from another mother. It’s only natural He’d treat me well, right?"
"..."
"Alright, alright, I’m joking. Stop glaring at me with that disgusting giant eyeball."
"But, if you really want to know..."
Muen leaned forward, meeting that eye’s gaze without a hint of fear, and said with utter sincerity:
"Kneel down and call me 'Daddy,' and I'll tell you."
The eye on the cheek suddenly contorted with rage, and Ellag let out a roar:
"Shut up! How dare you presume to insult a God!"
Boom!
Fei'er moved with puppet-like jerkiness, pointing a single finger toward Muen.
Dozens of times the normal gravity instantly slammed down.
This time, Muen didn't have the chance to dodge.
Under the colossal pressure, Muen’s body buckled. His bones let out an agonizing creak as he was forced into a half-kneeling position, struggling to resist.
"Ha, haha!"
Ellag laughed wildly. "Look at you! Look at yourself now, Muen Campbell! Without those cheats, you’re nothing but an ordinary human after all!"
"I’ve always been an ordinary human. Don't compare me to a freak like you who's twisted both physically and mentally," Muen spat out a mouthful of bloody phlegm and said coldly.
"You!"
Ellag’s face darkened with murderous intent, followed by a cold sneer. "Sharp-tongued! But your mouth is the only thing about you that's tough!"
"For the sin of profaning a God, you shall repent while kneeling at the feet of the Great One!"
Vibrant flowers sprouted rapidly across Ellag’s arm, soon covering it entirely.
As the roots of those flowers intertwined and pulsed, Ellag’s hand suddenly swelled. The distorted limb transformed into something resembling a massive tentacle, which slammed brutally into Muen’s abdomen.
Muen was sent flying by the terrifying force like a discarded sandbag. But before he could travel far, he plummeted toward the ground in a way that defied all common sense.
The horrific gravity, capable of crushing a powerful magical beast into mincemeat, was applied to him once more. Mid-air, Muen had no leverage to resist and was slammed head-first into the earth like a helpless fly.
"Kill him."
Ellag issued the cold command.
Fei'er, acting like a marionette, moved stiffly. Her trembling body suggested she was still trying to resist, but surrounded by those encroaching flowers, her parched lips—visible only on one side—finally... began to move.
A long, melodic chant poured from between her teeth, clear and beautiful.
Massive amounts of mana were brewing.
The murderous glint in Ellag’s eyes turned into pure gratification.
Fei'er Siegel was an undisputed genius among geniuses in the faction-ridden Tower of Origins. Even after her status as a Saintess Candidate was revealed, many of the old fogies in the Tower had opposed her choosing that path.
In the eyes of those elders, the position of Saintess would only hinder her progress in magic.
So, how many types of magic did such a genius girl actually know?
Even as a fellow mage from the Tower of Origins, Ellag had only heard that she specialized in gravity and summoning magic.
That question was finally answered at this moment.
Without even needing a magic wand for assistance, immense magic gathered rapidly above her head, forming a canopy of multicolored clouds.
Once, two famous sisters who defected from the Tower of Origins were renowned and feared for their mastery of multi-casting.
But Fei'er’s multi-casting was even more effortless than theirs.
Several terrifying spells were chanted simultaneously in parallel, intertwining and merging. Had Fei'er’s own realm been higher, it would have been a scene of absolute apocalypse.
And now, that apocalypse descended decisively upon the man who appeared to have no power left to resist.
BOOM—
The magic struck.
The blinding light reduced everything to stark black and white lines.
It heralded destruction and the end.
It’s over...
Fei'er’s one vacant eye couldn't help but shed a single, crystalline tear.
As if in mourning.
...
"Heh, this is the fate of those who profane the Gods!"
Watching the billowing dust and smoke, Ellag curled his lips in a mocking sneer.
On his cheek, the bizarre eye began to slowly close.
The Divine One only cared about Muen Campbell. Since he was dead, the rest...
"Ah, so that's how it is."
Suddenly, a voice drifted out from the dust, perfectly clear.
"What?"
Ellag froze, almost thinking he was hallucinating.
But he was a master of illusion magic—how the hell could he be hallucinating?
The bizarre eye snapped open again, staring fixedly at a certain spot.
"I get it now. Love God, you old schemer... you didn't actually project much power into this world this time. Otherwise, given our 'deep bond,' you wouldn't have used such a roundabout way to try and kill me."
A figure slowly walked out from the dust, strolling leisurely as arcs of electricity danced around him.
Muen’s clothes were in tatters, looking as if he’d just run a marathon through a furnace. Even his blond hair was partially singed.
Blood still flowed from the corner of his mouth, and his face was pale, making him look incredibly battered.
And yet... he was still alive. He was still... standing.
"How... how is this possible? That magic... you took that magic head-on... why are you still alive?"
"I dodged it, obviously."
Muen looked at Ellag as if he were an idiot. "Who the hell stands there and tanks magic for no reason? I don't have that kind of weird fetish."
"Dodged? But the gravity magic..."
Ellag’s voice trailed off as he suddenly noticed the deep, heavy footprints Muen had left behind him...
He was still under the suppression of the gravity magic.
"Gravity magic, huh? Yeah, the pressure this gravity puts on me... is about the same as the burden of using sixty-fold time dilation. It feels just like being home."
Muen’s bones creaked loudly, and a faint mist of blood drifted from his skin as capillaries burst under the strain.
But Muen seemed oblivious to it. He kept his back straight and even took a moment to stretch.
"You... why?"
Ellag’s face was filled with terror as he instinctively backed away.
"You shouldn't be able to use those two things! Why... why?"
"Yeah, I can't use them for now. I even had to spend a bit of time adjusting, which is why I had to take those hits from you earlier."
Muen nodded seriously.
"But... Ellag, and you, Love God—you've both misunderstood something."
"The Crimson Flame and the Alchemy Core have indeed been a huge help to me."
"But did you really think that everything I’ve achieved up to now was solely dependent on those things?"
Muen reached up and tore away the remnants of his shirt, which were nothing more than rags.
He revealed a powerful physique.
His muscles were tight, his lines elegant—every contour seemed carved by the hand of a master artist, cast in gold and brimming with explosive beauty.
Even covered in wounds and dripping with blood, one could still feel the terrifying power latent within this human frame.
"The Crimson Flame and the Alchemy Core are just my weapons, my blades. But the source of the strength that has carried me this far... is the effort I haven't slackened for a single moment since the day I arrived in this world!"
Yes.
Every day.
Every night.
Every spare moment.
In the Black Book.
In the depths of his consciousness.
In the Old Loli’s flower sea.
In the Academy library and everywhere else.
Slaughtering.
Fighting.
Being beaten down.
Learning.
He had never once relaxed!
This accumulation, bit by bit, was the true source of his power.
Does a beast become powerless just because its weapon is taken away?
No.
Because it still has the claws and fangs it was born with!
Muen grinned savagely, drew his blade, and charged at Ellag once more.