NOVEL NEXT Chapter 111
EP.111 Disaster, Nightmare, Ghost (4)
Belnoa does not consider the Star sacred.
Like mages who have traded with the Star, Belnoa also viewed the Star merely as a means of transaction.
’If you offer a price, you receive an appropriate right in return.’
There is no room for sanctity there.
It was merely a highly calculative relationship.
’…Surely that must be so.’
Belnoa gazes ahead.
Beasts emerge from the fog. The alley is filled with beasts he has never seen before. However, the moment he stands before them… he is certain his body will be shredded to pieces.
Something he cannot contend with.
Something he must fear because he cannot confront it.
There is someone facing it head-on.
Her ashen hair sways gently. She turns around. Belnoa’s gaze intertwines with hers.
“Watch closely.”
She speaks.
“Just by watching, it will help you.”
She claps her hands, snap.
“I offer.”
Her clear voice resounds.
Amidst the vibrating stench of beasts, even amidst their cries, that voice is distinct.
It’s as if it were a prayer.
The Star answers the prayer. The Star does not turn away from those who wish to trade. The price is paid, and the transaction is completed. Belnoa watches the entire process.
Something is being offered.
Something is placed on the scale.
What’s on the scale becomes brilliant starlight.
As the transaction concludes, her ashen hair shines. Her very body glows as if it has turned into a Star. The Star dwells within the mere human form.
’…Beautiful.’
Those who witness the miracle become priests.
They sing of the brilliance of the Star. They speak the name of God as they sanctify the Star.
However, Belnoa is a mage.
The mage who has witnessed the miracle glimpses the truth within it. He explores the laws embedded there. Though it lasts but a moment, Belnoa sees.
’The destination.’
What lies at the end of all magic.
The extremes a mage ought to pursue.
Crack.
The mage, cradling the Star, steps forward. Bricks fly. The ground cracks. Splat, and the molten gold blankets the alley.
Smash.
A flash bursts forth.
Light cleaves through darkness. Brilliant starlight incinerates the shadows. Before the light, the beasts turn to ashes.
Kwaaaang!
Then came the late sound crashing in.
Amidst the pressure that could make one lose consciousness, Belnoa kept his eyes wide open. He strained to see.
How brilliant a human cradling a Star can become. Where the extremes he must pursue lie.
He merely watched.
For now, that was all he could do.
2.
‘Everything you possess can become currency.’
On the day I first learned about trading with the Star, my Master told me that. As a child, I had one question upon hearing that.
‘Then, what is the most valuable currency I have?’
My Master did not answer that question.
He remained silent. Master simply patted my head without a word.
…It was quite some time later that I obtained the answer.
Looking back, it’s a simple matter.
The right granted at birth. Something that cannot be replaced by anything else. Thus, the most precious thing. That is the most valuable currency.
Life.
Life span.
The right of a person to live in the world bestowed by the heavens. A currency quantified by duration. When one sacrifices part of that right, they can draw closer to the Star than anyone else.
Life span is the most precious currency.
It cannot be reversed.
Using it burdens the body.
The price for wielding unmanageable power is steep.
‘Life span is a limited currency.’
It must be cherished. It must be valued.
However, it remains currency nonetheless.
‘If the moment to use it comes.’
‘If the moment when you must use it arrives.’
If the opportunity presents itself to shorten the time by sacrificing it. If that unmanageable moment must be faced.
‘I will willingly offer it.’
I have willingly sacrificed my life span.
I have lived that way until now.
The way of life does not easily change.
Smash.
I swung my arm.
Kwaaaang!
With a tremendous sound, the beasts are swept away.
Amidst the flying blood and flesh of the beasts, I look at Gletus. I assess her condition.
It’s weakened.
She has set foot in the kingdom on her own.
Some unknown constraints bind her.
The summonings she conjured are weakened.
Lastly, she hesitated to descend.
As evidence piles upon evidence, a single conclusion emerges. That conclusion is a possibility. I have seen that possibility.
’Today, in this place.’
A chance that may never come again.
A slender possibility. To turn that into certainty, I willingly paid my life span.
’I will kill the Gletus.’
I will slay the madman who has reigned as a calamity for centuries. With that thought, I move my body.
Chiiiiiick.
Smoke rises from my body.
The sound of life burning fills my ears. The life that burns becomes starlight that dwells within me.
I feel omnipotent.
Kwang!
I clenched my fist and stepped forward. The alley is wrecked. The dismembered flesh of the beasts swept away flies in all directions.
Kuhng.
I close the distance in a single stride.
I pull back my fist as I step firmly. The instant my feet touch the ground, the buildings begin to collapse.
“Ah, really…”
Her face appears up close.
“I’m going crazy over how lovely you are.”
A smile spreads across Gletus’s face. Even in this situation, she is laughing. I feel nauseous at her blissful smile.
Smash.
I swung my fist at close range. Naturally, the fist doesn’t land. The Carapace Dragon emerging from the Otherworld protects her.
Kieeeeeek!
The skin of the Carapace Dragon cracks under the smash.
Letting out a monstrous roar, the Carapace Dragon begins to thrash. I push my fist deeper.
The charged spell emits light.
Triple-Spell.
Splat.
The skin of the Carapace Dragon cracks. I put strength into my fist. Stepping forward, I swing my fist.
Kwaaaang!
The Carapace Dragon shatters.
The overlapping shock sends Gletus’s body soaring through the air. She swings her arm. Beasts pour out.
“…”
Seeing the beasts pouring from the air, I bend my knees. I know how to confront Gletus. It’s simple, yet because it is simple, it’s difficult.
‘Do not give her time.’
I stomp the ground.
I explode the falling beasts. I leap off them, chasing after Gletus suspended in the air.
‘I must attack ceaselessly.’
Accel.
Muscular.
Enhance-Strength.
The spells shine one after another. A body strengthened to the limit exceeds those limits. The price for that is replaced by mana. The body that surpassed its limits is consecrated with starlight.
Everything is several steps ahead of my expectations.
The starlight dwelling in my body allows this.
Originally, it would have been an unreachable distance. There were times I couldn’t grasp it. But now, I can reach. My outstretched hand catches the beast that envelops Gletus’s body.
Twirl.
I spin in the air. Twisting my body, I swung my arm holding Gletus.
Smash.
Triple-Spell.
Schwing!
The overlapping shock sends Gletus flying. I follow her trajectory with my eyes and snap my fingers.
Chain.
I bind chains to Gletus’s flying body.
I swung my arm holding the chains. In an instant, the taut chain shakes, and Gletus’s body is pulled toward me.
Kieeeeeek!
But Gletus is not the only one coming toward me.
Even as she flies through the air, her hand is dipped into the Otherworld. From the gap, beasts continue to surging out.
“Tsk.”
I flick my arm with a short click of my tongue.
The beasts explode. For now, repositioning takes priority. I look at the place I marked in advance.
’Castle Wall.’
The beams of beasts pour down like rain.
As the scattered debris falls, I pull the chains. With a clank, the chains break under the strain.
“Do you think that will reach?”
She smiles as she gets close.
She spreads her arms as if to embrace me. Even now, she seems completely at ease. The beasts wrapped around her have yet to be shed.
Unless it’s the Holy Sword (성검).
I cannot sever the beasts enveloping her in one strike.
‘I already know that.’
I don’t have the Holy Sword. There’s no need to desperately search for what I don’t have. I have my own way of doing things.
“Shut your mouth.”
I clench my fist tightly.
The scattered ashes gather into my fist.
Smash.
Ashes to Ashes.
A flash and the raging storm of heat.
The beasts encasing her burst into flames and vanish. I swung my fist at her face, still bearing a layer of beasts.
Kwaaaang!
Along with an explosion, her body is hurled away. She flies through the air and crashes against the castle wall with a bang.
Twirl.
Chain.
I spin in the air to throw the chains.
Toward the clock tower, the cathedral, or the ground. I pull on the chains that have been thrust indiscriminately. I accelerate my body.
Schwack!
I see Gletus embedded in the castle wall.
She is reaching out her hand from the rubble. The Otherworld is tearing apart, and something attempts to erupt.
But, I am slightly faster.
Crack!
I stomp on Gletus’s head with my foot. With a splat, the castle wall cracks. Her head becomes buried deep within the wall.
Triple-Spell.
Spell-Boost.
Spell-Reinforce.
I swing my clenched fist.
The target is her arm. I have finally shed the beasts. If I can sever that arm, I can seize the advantage.
Smash…
That moment.
Swoosh.
The sound of slicing silence brushes against my ears.
The spell nearing completion slices through. The blade that penetrated the layers of stacked spells skims across the back of my hand.
It was perfect swordsmanship.
The cleanest strike imaginable.
Spurt.
Blood splatters. The wound is shallow. Though shallow, I couldn’t immediately take the next action. My eyes trembled. As I opened my mouth, my voice wavered.
“You…”
I looked at Gletus, embedded in the wall.
I saw ‘that’ protecting her.
“What is this…?”
“Do you like it?”
While being crushed under my foot, Gletus burst into laughter.
“I thought a lot about being slashed by you. It’s the first time I’ve been pushed so hard. I was quite bewildered myself.”
Her bizarre laughter echoed in my ears.
“Thinking about it made the answer simple. I’m a mage after all, and mages are weak against knights. No matter what I do, just like I can’t withstand Ganikalt even for a second.”
She.
“So I thought.”
She laughed.
“I wish there was another knight to protect me besides Ganikalt. Since I can’t summon Ganikalt anytime.”
She summoned a servant with a sword.
The sharp blade shone ominously under the moonlight.
“Only one person has endured Ganikalt with a pure sword throughout history. A human who achieved what no superhuman could.”
The blade came to a halt before my throat.