Chapter 134: Truth

The silver light that was pouring down on him was as pretty as the Milky Way, and as sacred as the holy water.

Everyone stood dumbfounded, not knowing why such a phenomenon happened.

Except for a single person.

Helric cried out towards the sky; his eyes bloodshot, his voice cracked violently.

“Again…! You bitch…!”

His hostility surged up to the point that his veins were about to burst. It reacted promptly to his emotions.

At a glance, one could see pain in it.

The light coming from the Silver Clock was warm and filled with goodwill towards Isaac.

From it, a voice rang out, echoing in his ears.

-You’re here.

“…!”

It was a warm, but at the same time, desperate voice.

There was impatience in the soft voice, as if it had been waiting for this moment for a long time.

-I’m glad to see my kin here.

-Let’s go back. To our home.

The silver light illuminated the ground with Isaac’s body as its center. It drove out Helric’s sorcery, as well as the attacks that the other Transcendents threw at the group.

“Again…! You’re getting in our way again! You traitorous bitch who led our world into ruins!!”

Tears welled up in Helric’s eyes as he vented his anger.

He ran up towards Isaac, swinging his staff violently at him.

“…!”

Baaaang!

But, before it could connect, Uldiran already stepped forward, blocking it.

He narrowed his eyes, sending Helric a mocking gaze as a smirk appeared on his lips.

“Arandel might be gone. But I am still here.”

“Get out of my waaay!”

Compared to the previous time, Helric’s position was different.

Previously, he acted as a ‘judge’, but now, he acted as a ‘sorcerer’.

The surging Crimson Essence turned into hundreds of snakes, trying to devour Uldiran.

“Who do you think you are, trying to stand in my way?!”

He was the guardian deity who had spent his entire life acting as a protector of the great wall. This time too, he stood up in front of Isaac, blocking the incoming sorcery as if he was an unbreakable wall himself.

His spear and Helric’s sorcery clashed.

However, Isaac could only watch this scene unfolding, unable to move even a finger.

Have I become the medium of this sorcery?

As the light spread through his surroundings, his two legs remained rooted to the ground.

The civilians.

To be exact, the humans who wouldn’t be able to fight back against the Transcendent Race, began to disappear, enveloped by the silver light.

“They…”

-They’re going home.

They were being sent back.

To the humans’ world.

“Dear!”

Seleni Cardias desperately reached out to Uldiran, but as he was still blocking Helric’s sorcery, the man only sent her a brave smile.

He knew that his wife would finally be safe. And that was enough.

“I’ll follow you soon. When I do, we’re gonna pick up the wild berries back in that snow plain, you hear me?”

“Yes! I’ll wait—-!”

Nodding with tears in her eyes, Seleni disappeared into the light.

Not only her, the blacksmith Antonio, the mage Vivian, and so on.

Everyone who had struggled to reach this place began to disappear one by one.

“Nameless! That guy is the medium of the sorcery! Get him!”

At her master’s command, Nameless stepped forward and drew her oodachi.

Claaang!

But it was blocked by a greatsword.

“…”

No words were exchanged.

In the first place, Rianna wasn’t the type of person who’d feel any kind of affection towards someone who she only spent a few days with.

On the other hand, Nameless was just carrying the order that her master had given her.

The two women swung their swords in silence.

As the silver light kept on sending more people away, the fight only got more intense.

It was fortunate that more people were being sent back to the humans’ world.

But at the same time, there were less people fighting and the ones who were still fighting had to pick up the pace.

“No…! I can’t just leave them behind…!”

The silver light began to envelop Silverna’s body.

If she just stayed still, she could return to the humans’ world, but she continued to move, trying to resist the sorcery.

She knew that if she were to go back now, the battlefield would turn even more dangerous for Isaac.

“If I’m gonna return, then I’ll be the last one to return!”

As Silverna made such resolve and began to fight the Transcendents who were coming up the stairs.

Whoooosh!

A being emerged from the darkness and attacked her.

Pushed by the force, Silverna fell and slid on the floor.

It was the bat-woman whom they had met earlier.

Her fangs let out a sharp glint.

With her current strength, there was no way Silverna could beat this Primordial by herself.

Now that she had received a surprise attack from her, it was even more so.

“Agh…!”

“That Jonathan. Who’s he?”

But, the words that came out of the woman’s mouth made Silverna stare at her with wide eyes.

The woman then grabbed her neck. If she wanted to, she could break it at any given moment.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she sent her an interested gaze, as if urging her to answer.

“You said it. I look like Jonathan.”

“Do you think I’d tell you that–?!”

Silverna tried to push her away, but she didn’t budge.

Even in the face of certain death, she did her best to struggle.

She tried to scrape the bottom of her mana, but not even a single drop of it came out.

Her journey here had been too long and arduous; she was already completely spent.

Since that was the case, she stopped resisting, ready to accept her death.

“Go and tell that Jonathan guy.”

The woman chuckled and slowly lifted Silverna up.

“We are the Primordial Bloodfiend.”

She didn’t leave her any room to resist.

“Tell him that his family is waiting.”

“Wait! No! Isaa—-!”

Soon, Silverna’s body was engulfed in the silver light.

Even though all these things were unfolding right in front of his eyes, Isaac couldn’t do anything.

As the medium, he could send everyone back to the humans’ world, but he couldn’t protect them from harm, no matter how badly he wanted to do it.

Watching them disappear one by one was the only thing that he could do.

After being knocked unconscious by one of the Transcendents, Anna’s body was also engulfed in the silver light and disappeared.

The soldiers who had been guarding the stairs also disappeared.

“Woah?!”

Sharen, who was holding on to Pressing Stone tightly, also disappeared together with it.

The more people disappeared, their situation became even more urgent.

As his heart was enveloped in helplessness, Isaac asked the star.

“Why…me…?”

Without hesitation, the star answered.

-Because just like me, you have to carry the karma.

Carrying the karma.

He had heard the same thing from Nameless.

That ‘Demonic Energy’ was something that was used by those who had to carry the karma.

Could it be?

“Was it…you?”

His voice trembled.

“Who made me…regress…?”

As he asked that question with his stiff body, the star answered calmly.

-Please do not misunderstand. I do not wish to take claim of humanity’s glory to myself.

-Although. When I look at you. I feel that my sacrifice isn’t in vain.

Wait a minute.

Does that mean…?

-Indeed. It wasn’t me.

-At first glance, sorcery seems to encompass everything. As long as you could pay the price that matches its power.

-Just like how I’ve turned into a star in their world.

“…”

The woman who had turned into a star in Naraka.

Silver Clock. It turned out that she wasn’t the one who made him regress.

Not only that, his and the Grandmaster’s speculation had been wrong.

The source of his regression, it wasn’t sorcery.

As the star had clearly stated.

Humanity’s glory…

The humanity’s glory that the Silver Clock spoke of. It was none other than…

“Magic?”

My regression is caused by magic?

At that realization, his head started to throb. It was as if it had been hit by someone.

“Damn it…”

At that moment, a heavy thud echoed.

Uldiran had fallen to one knee.

The Primordials had entered the fray.

There were seven of them, looking down on him as he knelt.

Among them, there was a Sword Demon, and the woman who introduced herself as a Bloodfiend earlier.

“That guy killed five of these guys?”

Uldiran tried to get up again, letting out an incredulous voice.

At this point, only him, Isaac and Rianna were left.

So, he was trying his best to protect them until they could leave this place safely.

Perhaps because there was no one else to take in, the silver light moved in quicker than before.

Unfortunately for Uldiran, his body was swept away by the light and he soon disappeared.

Now, only Isaac and Rianna remained.

Since Isaac was the medium and had to go last, Rianna would be the next one to go.

“Until the end, you bitch…!”

Towards the Silver Clock that ruined all his effort, Helric finally decided to pull out his last resort.

Slaaaash!

He moved his Crimson Essence, cutting his own left arm off.

Even the other Transcendents there looked at him with surprised eyes, but he only directed his maddened gaze at Isaac—no, at the lone star hanging above them.

“Silver Clock! Watch carefully, as the man you’ve chosen becomes mine!”

The moment Helric’s left arm hit the ground, his Crimson Essence that had been pushed back by the silver light regained its momentum.

Sorcery demanded a price to pay.

Considering his status as a Primordial…

When his left arm was swallowed as a sacrifice…

The Vassalization that he cast on Isaac ran even wilder and fiercer than before.

Thud!

But at that moment, red hair fluttered in the air.

A dull sound of flesh being pierced echoed, but it wasn’t Isaac’s.

“Rianna!”

His body, unable to move, turned hot as if it was on fire. He tried his best to move his feet, but they refused to budge no matter what.

“Isaac…”

Rianna’s voice was faint.

Using her Crimson Essence, she desperately tried to push the Vassalization away from her, but her effort ended in vain. Instead, it only dug deeper into her.

Crack!

Seeing this, Helric gritted his teeth to the point that it started creaking and shouted in anger.

He had sacrificed his left arm to turn Isaac into his servant and yet his sorcery hit another person entirely, it wasn’t a wonder that he got so angry.

“Kill him… Now, kill him…!”

Helric’s voice sounded weaker than before, as if he was pouring out his remaining energy.

Woooong!

At that moment, Rianna swung her greatsword with all her might, deterring the Transcendents from advancing further.

What seemed like red veins seeped into her greatsword and they gradually darkened.

At the same time, the desperation contained in the sword energy turned more ferocious and intense.

“This time, it’s gonna be different.”

She felt that her body started to refuse to listen to her.

Her arms felt heavy, her eyelids were forcing themselves to close, and her legs were threatening to collapse at any moment.

And yet.

She refused to budge. Not even an inch.

As for why.

“This time…it’s gonna be different…”

Her voice cracked, but anyone could feel the strong will contained in it.

The tears that flowed down her cheeks showed the regrets that had been weighing her down.

Everything that happened in the past.

All the time when she ended up hurting him.

If this could serve as an atonement for that, even for a little, she…

“I will…definitely…protect you…”

Isaac’s eyes shook violently.

He could see it, the despair and regret that seemed to be eating at her heart.

Seeing this, he desperately tried to move his body.

“Ria! Please! I-I don’t want you to do this! Please! Stop!”

However, the silver light slowly moved away from her.

As if declaring that she now belonged to Naraka.

Isaac wanted to scream his heart out, but at that moment the silver light that enveloped his body took away even his voice from him.

“…”

Rianna only stared quietly at Isaac.

Her lips trembled.

Vassalization.

The absolute leash that the Transcendent Race could put on humans.

It was a cruel sorcery that demanded whoever subjected to it to spit out only the truth.

Rianna clenched her mouth shut.

No.

I can’t say it.

No.

I must not say it.

Please, no…

Don’t say anything.

Endure, until the end.

There isn’t a greater burden that I can place on him.

So please… Please…

But, the cruel sorcery affected even the tip of her tongue.

Her lips, trembling in despair, slowly opened.

Letting out her sincere words without any lies.

“I love you, Isaac.”

In an instant, Isaac’s eyes widened.

Tears flowed down his cheeks, but they didn’t reach the ground.

Because at that point, the silver light had already engulfed him.

Rianna’s confession