Ch.122Those Who Wish to Die. (1)

No one in attendance dared to refute Olivia’s words. Yet this didn’t shake anyone’s resolve.

[No matter what, we must stop Olivia.]

The princess’s words were undeniable truth. And they all shared her thoughts. Even if Olivia hadn’t regressed, nothing would change.

That power is dangerous.

If Olivia tried to destroy the world again, it would be irreversible.

Of course, among them were those who recently owed Olivia a life debt.

But… the Master of Dark knew that recalling what happened in the south would be of no help now.

Olivia was strong. She hadn’t even revealed her full power in the south.

When six regressors including the Dryad gathered, the Master of Dark believed they could certainly [subdue] Olivia.

He had already experienced the prowess of the two Dragon Lords in his previous life, and confirmed the abilities of the Devilhunter and the Rebel.

But he was wrong. They had been dancing in Olivia’s palm all along.

That’s why this was their only chance. If they didn’t kill Olivia now, the catastrophe from their previous life would repeat itself.

“I haven’t done anything, yet you already see me as the Final Hour.”

Olivia said this to the silent regressors. Escape by teleportation was impossible. Anti-teleportation magic circles had already been laid throughout Euran.

A meticulously prepared trap.

She didn’t need to ask whose idea it was; she already knew.

There was no escape. The only way out was to kill all six of them.

If she resolved to kill them all, she might have a slight chance of survival.

But she didn’t want to.

Because that would mean giving up on the future.

A flurry of snow swirled around her, and with a small flash of light, Olivia’s clothes transformed. A witch’s hat cradling a cold moon, a robe, and a cloak.

The perfect image of a witch.

The regressors’ faces filled with shock as they recognized Olivia’s attire.

In response, Olivia looked down at them with a slight smile.

She would become the Final Hour, just as they wanted.

There was no particular reason.

If they knew Olivia’s countless past lives, if they realized her final action had its own reasons…

They would regret this moment until their dying day.

It was enjoyable. Yet disappointing at the same time. Because there was no way to show them the numerous past lives Olivia had experienced.

If only she could, she could have witnessed their agonized regret firsthand.

[‘Dryad’ uses ‘Curse of the World Tree’ on you.]

[‘Master of Dark’ uses ‘Shadow Binding’ on you.]

[‘Carthian’ uses ‘Dragon Fear’ on you.]

[‘Eryas’ uses ‘Dragon Fear’ on you.]

.

.

.

Her body grew heavier in real time. Yet she didn’t erase her smile.

Because this moment needed to be branded into their memories.

Olivia slowly turned her head.

The regressors didn’t want variables. They didn’t want Kiel to intervene in the middle of the fight.

Kiel, his body in tatters, was bound by massive vines.

His face frozen.

She could only feel sorry for Kiel.

If the other regressors realized their mistake and regretted it, Kiel would blame himself for allowing this situation to happen because of his weakness.

‘Without Kiel, can you defeat the Demon God by yourselves?’

Four great demons, and the Demon Lord.

Forget the Demon God, they would likely perish fighting the Demon Lord.

Neither Kiel, Melina, nor perhaps even Livga would participate.

The King of Martial Arts might join, but not Esthie. She disliked troublesome things.

As always, she would meet her lonely death in the middle of the ocean.

That makes at most eleven people. Olivia smirked.

When the Demon God descends in the future, they might spare her life if she tells them they can’t stop it alone.

But her instinct rejected this.

She didn’t want to live that way either. Though she didn’t know why such thoughts suddenly came to her, Olivia accepted this unexpected emotional current without resistance.

That sensation of being controlled, which she had felt before, returned. Though weaker now, not hindering her ability to move her body as she wished, but still…

It felt strange somehow.

Well, it didn’t matter.

She had come too far to worry about such trivial things.

‘They’ll kill me after all, won’t they?’

She could tell by looking into the regressors’ eyes. They no longer intended to subdue her. More precisely, they lacked the confidence to do so.

Even with six of them.

“How long are you going to just stand there?”

Olivia gestured with her chin toward Eryas.

“The others are just waiting for you to make the first move.”

As she spoke, Olivia gripped her primordial staff firmly.

Simultaneously, a thought occurred to her.

…Did she endure so many years of suffering just to witness this scene?

From deep within her lungs, an inexplicable emotion surged up.

“Please, don’t die.”

Tsutsutsutsutsu!

The sound of freezing echoed. A frigid breath escaped from Olivia’s lips.

Carthian watched Olivia with a tense expression. Clearly, something was happening, but he couldn’t tell what. Neither trees, ground, air, nor anything else was freezing.

Yet the thunderous sound continued.

As if reading his mind, Olivia smiled lightly.

Jjeojeojeojeojeojeojeojeojeok!

An eerie sound spread as a distant roar consumed the world. What Olivia had frozen wasn’t any physical substance in the world.

It was the abstract concept of space itself.

The world shattered into dozens of pieces.

Simultaneously, it turned white.

The space fragments, broken like shards, transformed into countless hidden weapons targeting the Devilhunter.

Shwaaaak!

The Devilhunter’s face contorted with shock.

‘What is this…?!’

It wasn’t being shot, nor was it flying toward her. There was no precursor to the attack. The space beneath her feet turned into blades, the air touching her fingers became edges.

She couldn’t dodge.

No, this wasn’t something that could be dodged in the first place.

How does one dodge space itself?

“Kugh…!”

The Devilhunter desperately drew up her magical power. She had various types of arrows at her disposal. Arrows that split into a hundred strands when fired, arrows that pierced only the soul without harming the body, arrows that hid between spaces and revealed themselves only upon touching the enemy…

But there was no time. Though it would take just an instant to nock and draw the bowstring, she didn’t even have that instant.

Pushushuk!

A chilling sound of tearing fabric.

“Kuk!”

But the one who groaned was the Rebel. He had taken the attack meant for the Devilhunter with his body.

The Rebel shouted.

“Shoot!”

Anti-demon energy infused the Devilhunter’s hands. And she fired.

Puk!

An arrow lodged in Olivia’s shoulder. It wasn’t that she couldn’t block it. She chose not to.

The Devilhunter’s face hardened.

‘…Why?’

She wasn’t given time to resolve her question.

Because a distant pain was already spreading from her shoulder.

“That hurts.”

Kwajik!

The Devilhunter collapsed, spewing blood. The next moment, a familiar notification window appeared before Olivia’s eyes.

[The owner of Clue #8 is ‘Dryad’.]

“Next.”

Olivia immediately turned her head. She could no longer feel her left shoulder.

Initially, she hadn’t intended to take the hit. But in that moment, she felt she shouldn’t dodge, and couldn’t resist that sudden emotion.

Taking the hit and returning it in kind.

Her body felt strange. Or was it her mind in this case?

She didn’t know. She couldn’t spare any more mental energy on it. This level of pain barely registered as pain to her.

Eryas suddenly appeared, charging with his jaws wide open. If she were caught in those teeth, it would mean instant death. Even in this critical moment, Olivia’s gaze remained fixed on the Dryad standing on the ground.

[I’ll chew and swallow you whole!]

Eryas burst into mocking laughter. No matter what barrier she had erected, a dragon’s bite force was something even Olivia couldn’t block.

Even if the area was saturated with Olivia’s magic power, the inside of his mouth was undeniably Eryas’s domain.

Kkadeudeugek!

But the barrier didn’t tear. Before the barrier could be broken, Eryas’s lower jaw was pierced first.

Lightning swirled and struck Eryas.

Through the pierced jaw and the massive wound, the Dryad’s shocked face was visible. Thanks to his regenerative abilities, the diameter of the wound was shrinking in real time, but this wasn’t an issue for Olivia.

Gooooo…!

Eryas’s lungs expanded. Olivia saw distant flames gathering in Eryas’s windpipe.

“I’ll freeze you just like that.”

Jjeoeong!

Eryas’s heart froze. But despite this, his lungs continued to inflate.

[Kuheu… I expected… that. Die…!]

Before she knew it, the flames were right in front of her face.

‘I can’t…!’

Kuwaaaaaaang!

Olivia was thrown back. The hastily created barrier couldn’t block the breath shot at point-blank range, leaving one of her arms too damaged to use.

“…”

Olivia swallowed blood. A penetrating wound on her right arm, burns on her left. She had taken down only the Devilhunter. Five remained.

Olivia aimed her staff at the Dryad who was trying to heal the severely injured Eryas.

A massive spear appeared and pierced straight through the Dryad’s body.

The staggering Dryad collapsed, unable to endure the pain.

[The owner of Clue #9 is ‘White Dragon Lord’.]

“…Acting like you’re dying when you’re not.”

Olivia struggled to lift her head.

Four remained.

[Transcendent magic, ‘Primordial Staff’ is deactivated.]

Ah, great.

Damn it.