Chapter 124 – Crossroads (3)

“…What…was that?”

Rubia stared at the greatsword embedded in the ground, her breath catching in her throat.

“When did you pull off such an adorable stunt? One punch won’t be enough. Make that three.” Serr scowled, genuinely irritated.

“…How did Noah know?”

“I…sensed it.”

When Hermilla stood, a powerful energy had washed over us, enveloping us all.

At first, I hadn’t understood. But focusing my senses, I recognized it.

True Energy.

Sirin had explained it once. A power derived from one’s life force. The greater one’s achievements and stature, the stronger the True Energy. Something about…one’s strongest desires manifesting…

Similar to a unique ability, but…more potent.

The drawback? It consumed one’s lifespan.

Hermilla had paid…in hours. A lot of hours. Twenty, maybe?

There was a skill like that in the game. Level 110. I couldn’t remember the name, but it consumed HP to activate.

Not flashy, but incredibly powerful.

“Noah…do you know what True Energy is?”

I’d been trying to remember a ramen recipe, and Hermilla’s question startled me.

“Uh…y-yes.”

“You can…sense it?”

I nodded.

“And you know…it consumes…lifespan?”

“Y-yes…?”

Hermilla studied me, a flicker of something unreadable in her eyes, then sighed.

“Right. You… Never mind.”

She stood, brushing off her knees, then bowed deeply.

“I sincerely apologize.”

“More sincerity, please,” Serr said flatly.

“…I apologize.”

Hermilla straightened, her usual gentle expression replaced by something…colder. Harder.

“I intended to use you. All of you. Your status, your reputation…to unite the people against the Order.”

“Our…reputation?”

“The Priestess. The Tower Master. And you, Rubia…a hero of Cartia. It would have been…easy…to rally them behind you.”

“Would you have…sacrificed us…if necessary?”

“Of course not. You’re far too valuable for that.” There was a steely conviction in her voice. “You…are…essential. You must realize that, on some level, don’t you?” A chilling intensity entered her gaze. “It seems you do. Now…shall we sit? I have more to explain.”

Serr sat first, then Hermilla.

Then me.

Rubia remained standing, her gaze fixed on Hermilla.

“I still don’t trust you.”

“Understandable.”

“But…” Rubia’s hand gently stroked my hair. “Noah trusts you…so…I’ll try.”

“…Thank you.”

“Please, explain. We don’t have much time.” Rubia sat beside me, her expression grim.

“Very well. Since things have come to this, I’ll dispense with the pleasantries. Further apologies can wait. We have more pressing matters to discuss.”

“I’ll postpone the face-punching, then,” Serr said dryly.

Hermilla chuckled, picking up a twig and drawing in the dirt.

“Noah can see this, yes?”

“Uh…yes.”

“Good. I’ll explain everything, step by step. This…is Cartia.” She drew a large circle, then a smaller one inside it. The smaller one must be the mainland.

“The magic circles, used to open the dimensional rift…”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Twelve points marked in the dirt.

“…are located here. Though they may shift, so consider this a rough estimate. Ah, they’re moving already.”

Hermilla adjusted the points, then numbered them.

“This is the sequence. Erden’s mages will activate them in order. They can’t be stopped. They’re using their own lives as fuel, even across vast distances.”

Thirteen numbers.

Wait…twelve circles, thirteen numbers…?

I counted again. Still thirteen.

Why weren’t Rubia and Serr reacting?

“Hmm…”

“Those twelve,” Hermilla explained, sensing my confusion, “are the activation circles. The one on the mainland…is the summoning circle.”

“Ah!”

“Do you understand?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Now, these circles, activated in sequence, will consume the sacrifices Erden has prepared, and power the summoning circle.” She drew lines connecting the circles to the summoning point, then looked at Serr. “Your role, Serr, was to sever that flow. But that’s no longer possible.”

Serr’s expression darkened.

“No longer…mana?”

“No. The moment your participation was confirmed…they changed the source. From mana…to human lives…” Hermilla drew another circle, far from the others. “Specifically…newborn infants. From beneath the temple.”

Rubia gasped, covering my ears. Even Serr, usually stoic, flinched, her jaw clenching.

“Newborn lives…so vibrant…so pure…the perfect fuel.”

“…Fuel…” Hermilla’s voice remained eerily calm.

“We tried to intervene…but it was too late. The souls were already gone. They planned for this…from the beginning.”

A heavy silence fell. Hermilla tapped the ground with her twig.

“It’s done. No point dwelling on it. Let’s continue.”

Her voice was devoid of emotion, despite the horrific subject matter.

“Once activated, the summoning circle will trigger in approximately five minutes. Then…the rift will open.” The twig moved fluidly, sketching lines and patterns in the dirt. “Valoran will descend…and immediately unleash a wide-area attack. This is consistent…across all potential futures.”

The opening attack. Valoran, descending on horseback, slamming his greatsword into the ground, unleashing a devastating shockwave.

If you didn’t know it was coming…you started the fight at half health. Infuriating.

“We’ll engage…immediately after the attack. Valoran will then react in one of two ways. Either charge, attacking from horseback, or unleash a volley of red projectiles. There are variations, but these are the most common. We’ll plan accordingly.”

The horseback charge…

Two steps forward, right, up, down, left, down, up, right, diagonal left, then a spinning shockwave. BOOM!

Parry, parry, parry, parry, parry, parry, parry, parry, jump. Easiest pattern in the fight.

The greatsword was ridiculously fast, but…slowing down the gameplay made it easy to analyze.

I’d even written it down.

“The charge attack…must be avoided. At all costs.”

Huh.

Well…yes…obviously. This wasn’t a game. He wouldn’t be following a predictable pattern. He’d be attacking wildly, at incredible speed.

So…avoiding it made sense—

“The attack pattern is generally right, up, down, left…but the speed…is impossible to track.”

Wait.

“Even if you could block the first few strikes, it’s unsustainable. So, I’ll act as a decoy, drawing his attacks. You’ll create an opening, then strike. This elixir…will help.”

Rubia’s hand tightened around mine, her expression filled with worry. Serr bit her lip, clearly unhappy with the plan.

I held my breath, my mind racing.

Hermilla’s description…it was exactly the same as the game…

But if that was the case…I could handle this. Easily.