NOVEL NEXT Chapter 147: The Phoenix Goddess
Branch's face twisted. "Monarch? Did you just spout out the word 'Monarch'?"
His dead gaze fixed on hers. "You want to tell me a mere brat became a monarch because of what? The power of love?"
He clenched his jaw. "Yeah, fuck that."
His eyes flared anew. "I fought for hundreds of years before I could even become a monarch. That bastard, God, started this whole mess."
He twisted his gun, taking a step forward. "After he was done, he went and died. Oh, the righteous hero! Fuck him, and fuck you too!"
"All I wanted was to live a peaceful life without doing a single chore, but everyone just made me do one task after another."
He pointed one of the pistols at her. "And now you're telling me all those days I couldn't spend lazing around were closed up by a brat."
The gun dropped to the ground with a soft click.
Branch glared at her, then ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back, his eyes glowing purple.
"If you want to work hard so bad, then do it. If this world is so unfair, then let it be."
He pushed back the strands that had fallen over his face and stood tall.
"As for me? I will win this fight and leave in peace forever."
Amelia drew her hand back as a multicolored arrow formed in her grip.
"Don't worry, I will make sure you rest in peace."
Branch lunged forward, forming a massive orb of flames high above his hand.
He glided across the ground as if skating, then hurled the spell toward Amelia.
The young spirit sorcerer released the arrow.
And as if responding to a military command, the spirits surged forward like an army obeying their commander.
The flame spell smashed into some of the stone soldiers, shattering them into fragments.
But the rest of the spirits advanced.
Amelia could hardly process what was happening, or the strange sensation coursing through her.
She was a monarch now.
No, she stood on the doorstep of becoming a Supreme.
If that were the case, did it mean that Arthur—or rather, God—was in a realm above Supreme?
She shook off the unnecessary thoughts and loosed another arrow.
Branch quickly dodged it.
'Even for me, this is too much.'
Authorities were usually abilities that mirrored their master.
And for him, who was lazy, his authority allowed him to embody that very sloth.
An authority that let him deflect nearly all attacks and ignore almost all defenses.
But his laziness was also the weakness of his ability.
A lazy person wasn't meant to fight in wars. A lazy person wasn't meant to leave their comfort zone for long.
That meant if he used his authority too long, or if he was attacked by many people at once, then his authority's effect would falter.
And Amelia had noticed this too.
'He's getting weaker,' she thought, not even shifting from where she stood.
Branch formed spell after spell, striking down the spirits and deflecting their attacks.
But as time passed, more blows slipped past his defense.
'Is this how I end?'
The man, now hovering above the spirits with a lightning rod, reminisced about the past.
When the world had first formed, he was among the earliest souls created by a man called God.
According to that man, he had been created by someone in the far future, and he needed to die for that future to come true.
And if he did die, they were to control his world until he returned.
He had told them he would appear three times.
The first would be his fragment, the second a false god who had forged herself from the future, and the last would be his true incarnation—the real God.
And that final God would kill them.
However, Branch had never cared about any of that.
All he wanted was to rest and live lazily.
He trained for years to grow strong enough to control a domain in this universe.
But the other gods dragged him into their divine war.
Even after their father gave them a prophecy they were meant to follow, none of them wanted to die.
He, however, didn't care whether he died or not, so long as he enjoyed his time before then.
So why was he fighting so desperately?
Why did he want to live so badly?
He hurled one fire spell, then another, as the spirits overwhelmed him with their sheer numbers.
'Ah…'
He finally realized.
Just like the others, he wanted to live.
He wanted to see the world and find happiness.
But he had always been too lazy to chase any of it.
Branch clenched his fists in one final struggle, his body erupting with energy.
His gaze fell on Amelia, standing behind the legion, sweat beading at her temples.
'So you followed the right path, huh?'
Branch roared at the top of his lungs as he smashed the head of one stone soldier.
Maybe it was better this way.
He had long forgotten his origins, blinded by power.
He lunged into the air, scattering and shattering every spirit near him.
Amelia flinched back, her bow drawn, as he landed in front of her.
But the man she faced now was nothing like the one she had fought at the start.
He wasn't slouching. He was bloodied.
And… his eyes.
Those dead, indifferent gazes were gone.
Now? His eyes burned.
Like purple flames that could never be extinguished.
He coughed up blood, his knee buckling beneath him.
His bloodied form collapsed against Amelia as he struggled to breathe.
"It's your win, princess."
Amelia's eyes widened in shock as the man slipped from her hold.
But before he fell, he pressed two cold fingers to her forehead and whispered:
"If you ascend to my seat, live life to the fullest without any regrets."
With that, his body sank to the ground below.
Amelia could only watch his battered form as her spirits stood silent, as though paying their respects.
And plastered on his face was a wide smile.
─── ✦ End of Chapter ✦ ───