Ch.118Chapter 118: An Unexpected Invitation (2)

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I don’t know whose voice this is that keeps echoing in my head.

Unlike Fafnir, who adjusts the emotions in his voice depending on the situation and helps me make accurate judgments.

Despite ringing loud and clear in my head.

The voice sounded heavily distorted, as if it wasn’t its original voice.

However, who this voice belonged to wasn’t such an important matter right now.

Because the pitch-black malice I felt from the voice itself was utterly chilling.

[What’s with this sticky malice?]

Even Fafnir showed his wariness by saying such things.

From his reaction, it seemed Fafnir couldn’t hear the voice I heard.

But he appeared to have somehow detected the sticky malice emanating from that voice.

Whether facing formidable powers of the demon realm like Pale Sanguin and Adorator directly.

Or discovering traces of their power, Fafnir would usually just snort dismissively and ignore them, so for him to show such wariness was quite unusual.

At the same time, it was as good as telling me that this situation where only a voice was coming into my head wasn’t something I could be complacent about.

I need to be careful.

Just as I was trying to gather my vigilance about the surrounding situation in my mind.

【Hmm. How nasty of you to wish that only good times would continue forever for yourself.】

The voice filled with sticky malice dug into my head once again.

Unlike the first time when it conveyed only an eerie coldness that gave me goosebumps.

“Ugh!”

Along with a physical influence that made me groan and drop to one knee.

【If you’ve received such a precious opportunity, you should think about moving forward whether you break or shatter. How dare you harbor thoughts of settling for the status quo. How impertinent, how very impertinent.】

Though invisible, it didn’t forget to fill my head with a sneering voice that rang incessantly.

“…Cal?!”

I could see Shizu’s face turn pale as she saw me suddenly drop to one knee and let out a painful groan.

“A-Are you okay?”

Her voice was noticeably filled with confusion as she knelt down to check on me, matching my eye level. Her expression was contorted with surprise and bewilderment.

That’s natural—how could she not worry when her fiancé suddenly clutched his chest and fell to his knees without any warning?

I wanted to wave my hand and tell her I was fine, not wanting to cause her unnecessary concern.

But the pressure on my chest made me feel like my heart would burst if I removed my hand, preventing me from doing so.

[…What’s happening?]

The unknown power originating from the mysterious voice was constricting every part of my body, including my chest, to the point where I couldn’t even tell Fafnir I was fine when he asked what was happening after noticing the change in me later than Shizu.

To the extent that I felt if I moved carelessly, my entire body would be torn to shreds.

This invisible force was growing in its presence.

Until now, even throughout my time living as the demon god’s agent before my regression.

No being had ever exerted such intense physical influence on me with just a voice.

Who could be inflicting such pain on me?

[Hey, hang in there. I don’t know what this is, but if you stay helpless like this, you might actually die.]

Just as thoughts about the source of the pain were about to continue, Fafnir’s timely voice calmed my mind, which had become chaotic with pain.

I needed his help, so.

‘Fafnir…’

I tried to call his name with difficulty, intending to accurately convey my situation.

[…Are you alright? There’s sticky malice entangled around your body like it’s been plastered on.]

Though he noticed the change in my body late, Fafnir clearly explained why I was in pain.

Malice, malice…

It was astounding that there existed a being that could exert physical restraint on a living body with just its voice, emitting such malice.

‘I… think I can… endure it.’

Setting aside my bewilderment, I answered Fafnir’s concerned question about my condition.

“Cal… are you okay?”

I was able to respond to Shizu’s repeated question about my condition by raising my hand, showing that my state had improved somewhat.

Unlike with Fafnir, with whom I could communicate through my thoughts, my mouth wasn’t opening easily.

[That’s a relief. Don’t stop circulating your battle qi to remove that dark malice from your body.]

Following Fafnir’s instruction to remove the invisible malice binding my body, I suppressed the pain and activated Fricasa, circulating battle qi throughout my body.

‘…Though the pain is lessened, it’s still not easy to move like this.’

While the pain had diminished enough for me to continue my conversation with Fafnir smoothly.

In my current state, getting up from my knee on the ground still seemed far from possible.

[It seems better than the dangerous moment just now. Keep circulating your battle qi without stopping.]

Fafnir’s voice saying my condition had improved gave me a small comfort.

But why would an unknown being suddenly try to harm me like this?

Who could it be? I couldn’t even guess.

Would Fafnir, who has lived for ages, perhaps know?

‘By the way, who do you think is doing this to me?’

[I don’t know. I can’t even guess.]

‘If you don’t know, that’s quite troubling.’

[If there’s one thing I can tell you.]

‘…Which is?’

[I can tell that it’s a thick and dark malice reminiscent of the one who made me lose my original body a thousand years ago.]

I asked with some hope.

But no clear answer came from Fafnir.

Even so, there was one fact I could understand from his words.

The statement that the wavelength felt similar to the malice emitted by one of the most overwhelming beings among the numerous enemies experienced by an ancient dragon who lived a thousand years ago.

Though neither specific nor clear.

It was a statement that implied a lot to me.

As the pain loosened and my thinking became more fluid, my thoughts were filled with speculation about who could be causing this situation based on Fafnir’s words.

It wasn’t difficult to eliminate candidates one by one using the process of elimination, recalling potential suspects even from my memories before regression.

Though I had unwillingly become involved, I did think of the powerful beings residing in the Obsidian Palace beyond those mountains.

But those with enough power to exert such physical force on me could be counted on one hand.

Pale Sanguin, Adorator.

Confirmed active powerhouses among the beings I had experienced.

Though they were among the few candidates that came to mind.

Even they didn’t possess the power to exert such pressure on me with just their voice.

Even when I had regained my prime strength with the revived demon god’s authority during the time before regression.

Let alone now, when they had just begun their activities and hadn’t recovered their prime strength, they couldn’t possibly exert such pressure on me.

Besides, unlike me who had memories from before regression.

They, without those memories, would have no reason to exert such physical pressure on me in this way.

Naturally, after removing those two from the list of candidates, only one remained.

The one who took away my entire life when I was about to breathe my last, satisfied with having saved someone precious at the cost of everything.

The Demon God, Desire.

What naturally came to mind was this twisted divine being who received fanatical worship from beings tainted by demonic energy.

But as soon as I thought of it.

‘…That can’t be.’

I immediately shook my head in denial.

If it truly were Desire inflicting this harm on me, not only would Fafnir, who had encountered him during the great war a thousand years ago, have noticed.

But I, having experienced life as Desire’s agent, would not have failed to notice his presence.

How could I forget the wavelength emanating from the demon god who arbitrarily burdened me as his agent and inflicted pain and sorrow incomparable to death?

Even though my judgment was dulling due to the constant, albeit mild, pain eating away at my body, the reason that remained in my mind like a ray of light mercilessly eliminated even the last remaining candidate.

Despite continuing to think while enduring the pain.

The identity of this being emitting overwhelming malice had to be classified as beyond the realm of what I could determine in my mind.

I could only guess that a being comparable to the Demon God Desire was capriciously doing something to me.

Eventually, as the situation was about to change to figuring out how to escape this situation rather than exhausting my mind trying to identify an unknown being.

【Wow. You’re enduring this with just a single groan. You’re tough, really tough. I can see why Desire had his eye on you.】

As that voice dug into my head again.

Snap-!!

Along with the crisp sound of fingers snapping against each other.

“…Hmm.”

The pain constricting my chest stopped in the blink of an eye.

But I couldn’t simply rejoice at the cessation of this pain.

[Ah, it stopped again?]

As Fafnir’s voice echoing in my head with a hint of dismay indicated.

Shizu, who had bent down to check on me after I suddenly complained of pain and fell to my knees.

Along with all external objects and natural phenomena, had stopped moving in place.

The pure white snowflakes still falling from the sky above.

Even the wind that had been gaining strength along with the snowfall.

In this fortress where time had stopped, bringing an eerily quiet stillness, only Fafnir and I remained aware and unaffected by the stopped time.

Though experiencing time completely stopping would be considered a once-in-a-lifetime experience even if experienced just once.

I now had no luxury to express my thoughts about experiencing such a phenomenon three times.

Why?

【Well then…】

Because the voice, presumed to be the one who had stopped time around me, was once again echoing in my head.

Not the fluctuating voice full of distortion.

【Human. Let’s have a little chat.】

It was a voice with a hint of playfulness, presumably male, yet at the same time filled with an indescribable majesty and malice.

I prepared to confront this malice-emitting being by surrounding my body with battle qi.

【How prickly, so prickly. Is there a need to be so prickly when I just want to talk for a moment? Relax your shoulders a bit.】

As if finding my combat-ready posture quite ridiculous.

Snap-!!

Once again, the clear sound of two fingers snapping together, just like when time was stopped, rang out.

[…What the hell is this?]

The situation that unfolded before my eyes was enough to make Fafnir, who shared my senses and saw it with me, exclaim in shock.

My field of vision began to change.

Not the snow-white landscape of the fortress.

A dark place reminiscent of the demon realm represented by the Obsidian Palace beyond the mountains.

But unlike that place covered in obsidian that absorbs and reflects light.

Tick! Tock!

It was a mysterious space I had never set foot in before, where only the precise sound of gears meshing together could be heard.

Amidst the confusion as my vision wavered, all I could hear was.

【Welcome.】

The voice of the mysterious being, speaking with less malice than before.

【Irregular.】

The voice of the unknown being, simultaneously welcoming and wary of me.