Chapter 325

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Yoo-seong’s blue eyes sank deeply.

The blue light turned as dark as the deep sea, and his expression was as close to emotionless as could be.

A moment of silence. A stillness like thin ice that could break at any moment. Yoo-seong scanned his surroundings with inorganic eyes, and then let out a small sigh.

“How absurd. When I call, there’s no response, but when you’re desperate, you call me.”

He muttered to himself, but I could guess who that statement was directed at. 

The Four Seasons. The gods of the humans who were currently possessing my body. 

In the unprecedented situation where the body of the ‘Chosen One’ had been taken over by a devil, the Four Seasons were extremely impatient. So much so that they were asking for help from the former Chosen One, whom they had abandoned as a failure.

Yoo-seong’s cool gaze turned to me.

More precisely, it pierced through the gods possessing me.

“Get out of that child’s body immediately.”

It was a threatening tone, as if he were grinding and spitting out words.

It felt as if a sharply honed blade was being held to the back of my neck.

“Was Lucille not enough? Are you trying to kill a Saintess twice in front of me?”

My whole body creaked from the Four Seasons’ possession. The body could be restored with super regeneration, but the soul was separate. Just as super regeneration couldn’t restore the mind, the same was true for the soul. If the soul was damaged, I would die helplessly. I would literally be annihilated, soul and all.

“You tried to make me a god-slayer. Would you be okay with being the gods I kill?”

[Always such an energetic child.] Spring said with a smile.

[So arrogant, considering you’ve rusted.] Summer expressed discomfort.

[If that child is serious, it’s possible.] Autumn analyzed coldly.

[This is why I was against it from the start.] Winter shook his head.

The sense of pressure disappeared in an instant.

Whatever had been filling me suddenly vanished.

An indescribable emotion was felt from the sudden sense of loss and emptiness.

The Four Seasons had left my body. Had they judged that Yoo-seong alone could resolve the current situation? Or was it simply because of Yoo-seong’s threats? 

Either way, it was fortunate for me. I almost died for real. A Saintess almost dying because of gods. How ironic.

“Well, is the small talk over? It seems to have been resolved smoothly since the Four Seasons left.”

Astaroth let out a chuckle. It was a strange sight. Acting unlike Eugene with Eugene’s face. Is this what the uncanny valley is? No, I don’t think that’s the right term for this. Anyway, it was strange.

“The Four Seasons must be having a hard time. They’re doing their best in their own way, but their ‘sword’ is just committing insubordination.”

Astaroth’s words weren’t entirely wrong either. If Yoo-seong was the last bastion of humanity, the Four Seasons were the last bastion protecting the world beyond humanity. The descendants of the ‘old things’ were sharpening their swords but couldn’t rashly start a war because the Four Seasons were still standing strong.

If they weren’t there, they would have started a full-scale war long ago. The fact that only four devils had infiltrated, and that they were hiding in human bodies wearing masks, was to avoid the Four Seasons’ pursuit.

“Hmph, those guys aren’t interested in humans. They only lavish affection on the ‘humans they choose’.”

Yoo-seong reached out. He grabbed at the empty air and made a gesture as if he were pulling something out. What appeared was a plain sword. It was a steel sword with traces of long years.

“The Four Seasons don’t care whether non-supernaturals die or not, except for those with Supernatural Abilities.”

Before I knew it, my eyes widened. I could hear Yoo-seong saying something, but it didn’t register well in my ears. My gaze wavered with a mixture of shock and longing. The ordinary sword that Yoo-seong was holding. A plain steel sword that looked like it was mass-produced. But it was the strongest, sharpest, and most indestructible holy sword in the world.

“Michael…”

The Godlike One.

Michael’s beloved sword that he used in life.

It was a truly ordinary sword, but it became special because the user was special.

Yes, that’s right. Yoo-seong inherited that sword.

That sword was a weapon imbued with a special meaning for Yoo-seong, a legacy from a friend.

The fact that he took it out meant…

“Hey, junior and disciple.”

Yoo-seong looked at Eugene, who was struggling in Astaroth’s arms.

“Your body might be damaged beyond repair. I apologize in advance.”

“Ahaha, that’s a problem. This is my brother’s body.”

“Quiet. I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

Glance. 

Yoo-seong’s gaze turned to me. Yoo-seong’s intention was conveyed with just a brief exchange of glances. 

‘Stay away, it’s dangerous.’

 I nodded. As much as I wanted to help, I wouldn’t be of much help in the battle that was about to unfold. Unfortunately.

◈

“What is this…?”

Regina muttered, groping the air.

She looked as if she were touching a solid, high wall.

To an outsider, it would have looked like she was doing a mime.

But there was indeed a wall in front of her.

A wall that was more transparent than glass and clearly visible through.

“Lucia just passed through this, but why can’t we? What is it? What ability is it?”

They had desperately chased after Lucia’s sudden action, but they hadn’t gone far before they were stopped in their tracks. 

A wall blocked their path. A physical wall. Invisible, but it existed in that place. Regina stroked her still-throbbing forehead. 

Her red forehead was a mark she had gotten from running without knowing the wall was there. She thought she was going to faint.

“There’s nothing. I’ve looked all around, but it’s all blocked by walls, so I couldn’t pass through.”

Leo landed on the ground with a strong gust of wind. He shook off the rising dust and shook his head. He quickly searched the entire cemetery with ‘Acceleration’. He looked for a way to pass through the invisible wall, but unfortunately, he had no success.

“Ugh, no. No more.”

“I’m going to die…”

“I’m going to rebel against the main body’s tyranny…!”

“The arrogance of humans trying to reach the sky led to the collapse of the Tower of Babel. History repeats itself…”

Anastasia fell from the sky. Not just one, but Anastasias rained down like a downpour. They tried to stack a human tower of clones to get over the invisible wall, but it failed. 

They couldn’t gauge the end of the wall. They created clones and created them again and again to support the bottom, adding layers and going higher, but there was no end. 

Eventually, the Anastasias at the bottom couldn’t withstand the load and collapsed, and the Anastasia human tower fell uselessly.

“Doesn’t it seem pretty dangerous to fall from this height?”

“Don’t worry. I have an idea.”

“Oh, as expected of the main body. What’s the method?”

“It’s simple. A double jump.”

“A double jump?”

The main Anastasia stepped on the backs of the clone Anastasias and jumped up.

“A foothold? A foothold? Why?!”

“Kyak?!”

“Aieeee?!”

“Four Seasons, are you sleeping?!”

It was a height that even a supernatural could fall to their death from, but thanks to the sacrifice of the clones, Anastasia was able to land safely.

“We can’t go up, we can’t go around… I guess we have no choice but to break it.”

Frey frowned and muttered. She was worried about Lucia, who had passed through the wall and gone beyond, and wanted to stomp her feet in frustration. She sometimes showed strange behavior, but this time something was off. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but… it was as if Lucia wasn’t like Lucia. Frey tilted her head as she thought to herself. What does it mean that Lucia isn’t like Lucia?

“Breaking it was the first thing we tried. Do you think it’ll work if we do it again?”

“That was because we were adjusting our firepower to consider the surrounding damage.”

Frey frowned at Regina’s point. It wouldn’t budge with ordinary firepower. To break this, she would have to deliberately fire a heat ray, which would wipe out the entire surrounding area. That wasn’t an exaggeration, but the literal meaning. The cemetery, the land, nothing would be left, and everything would melt and disappear.

They said that the Captains couldn’t exert their full power in urban areas, and they were experiencing the reason for that in real-time. Too much firepower was also a problem. The world was like tofu. The earth was like pudding, and the sky was like styrofoam. It felt like it would collapse with just a little force. Whether consciously or unconsciously, they were constantly worried and couldn’t use their abilities carelessly.

[This is a cemetery where the victims of the Great Calamity are buried… I don’t want to damage it if possible…]

‘I hesitate because it feels like it’s making the victims’ families suffer twice…’

[But I’m still more worried about Lucia…]

‘Yeah, there’s no choice.’

Alice and Frey decided to harden their hearts. It was unclear what was happening beyond this invisible wall. Why Lucia had suddenly run off, who had created this wall with what intention, and what situation Lucia beyond the wall was in were all unknown. If so, there was no choice. They wanted to resolve it as peacefully as possible, but if there was no other way, they had to become violent.

Red light gathered.

Now it wasn’t limited to just the right eye.

Frey gathered heat rays in her hand instead of her eyes.

“That guy did it like this, right?”

Sun Sword. A technique that Eugene had developed with blood and sweat. They had seen it enough times that it wasn’t difficult to imitate. Although fire and heat rays were different classifications, they could be applied similarly.

“…Hey, Regina.”

“Huh? What’s wrong?”

While Frey was preparing to break the wall, Seri pulled on Regina’s sleeve. Regina turned her head and looked at Seri. She was getting nervous that infantile regression was starting. Since Lucia wasn’t by her side, she was starting to feel suffocated. She lamented when this separation anxiety would be fixed and waited for Seri’s next words.

“You, are you okay?”

“I’m a little tired too. But I can still handle it…”

“No, not that. Do you really not know anything? Don’t you feel anything? I thought you would be more sensitive than me, but aren’t you? Is it my imagination? It must be my imagination, right? There’s no way you wouldn’t feel what I’m feeling. Am I being too sensitive? Am I?”

“Seri…?”

Regina, who didn’t understand her words, tried to hide her puzzled expression. I rely on Lucia quite a bit, but Seri is even more so than me. Just because Lucia hasn’t been seen for a few minutes, she’s already… wait. No? That can’t be. I’m the one who’s complaining about separation anxiety, right? Seri just follows Lucia like a mother, but she doesn’t have a fit when she’s not seen.

“This wall, don’t you know? You really don’t know? Who made it, don’t you have a feeling?”

“…”

“No, right? Huh? I’m mistaken, right? Right? Tell me it is.”

Thump.

For some reason, her heart dropped.

Regina’s head turned creakily.

Why hadn’t she considered it until now?

Looking at the transparent wall that clearly showed what was beyond, she clutched her chest.

“No… way… could it be…?”

Is she here?

That girl.

The Red Fox Mask.

Is she here?

Beyond that?

“Ah…”

The very moment the memory buried in her head was stimulated.

The invisible wall broke with a strange sound.

It wasn’t Frey’s doing.

Even before she swung the Sun Sword.

The wall shattered from the impact inside, not the impact outside.

“Astaroth…”

Regina muttered blankly.

Now she could feel an undeniable presence.

A sense of presence that was so strong it was strange she hadn’t noticed it.

Her legs gave way and she collapsed.

A nightmare. A nightmare she had tried to forget was coming back.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Anastasia stepped on her clone and double jumped to make a ‘safe’ mistake.

Yoshi jump!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Exploiting clones is a good pastime hobby. 

I would do it too!

But I don’t have clones, so the people around me will have to suffice for now. 

How cruel.