Ch.186Siblings (7)

Llewellyn felt a sense of dissonance and quietly touched his chest.

The Mourning that arose spontaneously infused his body with vitality. It was vitality he didn’t need right now, and the Mourning had already become something akin to divinity.

“…So, is this the end of the Steward you spoke of.”

As that divinity left his body, the God of Dreams casually remarked.

That alone proved many things.

It meant that the power Llewellyn had been using unknowingly—the Mourning—was divine, and that it was no coincidence that Llewellyn, both a Mourner and a Homunculus, had been initiated into divinity.

Realizing these two facts, Llewellyn lightly clenched and unclenched his fist, sighing at the power overflowing in his body.

Having merged with his sister, he was already feeling some mental fatigue, but using the Mourning seemed to make even that mental exhaustion disappear.

This was possible only because it was an “immunity to debuffs.”

“Is this divinity familiar to you?”

“Yes. When Ortemilia first explained it to me, I was skeptical, but seeing it directly, I understand now.”

Father is the Steward.

“…However, something feels off. I can hardly believe this is the Steward I once knew.”

The God of Dreams was looking up at the sky. Though it would be hidden by the ceiling, there was a subtle fear in his voice.

“I can’t even be sure if this is truly the Fall. Perhaps…”

Trailing off, the God of Dreams soon exhaled a sigh laden with fatigue and let out a groan.

“So much has changed and disappeared. It’s exhausting just trying to keep up.”

Even that disappeared as if it had never happened when he took his eyes off the document Llewellyn was holding.

“So, what do you want to do?”

Instead, he asks Llewellyn. What do you want to do with them?

Llewellyn glanced at the list briefly and pondered their value.

Life and Death.

Siblings who had merged, divine beings whose outcome was different from ordinary beings like Llewellyn or Lucilla engaging in incest.

And the reason death exists for all living things.

In normal mythology, such things would be mere metaphors, but in this world where divine beings actually existed, there was a high possibility that these weren’t metaphors at all.

Perhaps the result of their merging was actually the reason why death befalls all living things.

Because of this, Llewellyn’s decision came quickly.

“Leave them alone. At least for now.”

“At least for now.”

“Life and Death are powers too strong to simply ignore. Eventually, I’ll need to make contact. Even then… I’d prefer reconciliation if possible.”

Whether Life or Death, either one was undeniably a powerful divine being.

It was obvious they were stronger than the God of Dreams or the God of Vengeance. After all, how many beings in this world neither lived nor died?

Based on the Dream’s claim that his power was truly infinite as long as there were dreamers in this world, the power of Life and Death would likewise be infinite as long as there were beings that lived and died in this world.

And in this world, those who neither lived nor died—those who could be called undead or immortal—were limited to just three clans or those related to them.

Given the Grim Darker world setting’s characteristic of having few undead, the power of Life and Death was inevitably strong.

So he didn’t want contact right away. Llewellyn wanted to make contact only after he had cultivated enough power to prepare for contingencies.

But things rarely go according to plan.

Llewellyn frowned as he listened to the messenger who had come to his room.

“A visitor has arrived from outside the city. They claim to be the God of Life and Death…”

*

In the world of Netel, the setting of Grim Darker, those who know about the word “god” are extremely rare.

There are powerful individuals who vaguely suspect such beings exist, but even among these powerful ones, many don’t know about “gods.”

The messenger was simply relaying what they had heard.

The fact that they rushed to deliver this information and referred to them as a “visitor” was entirely their own judgment based on what they had seen.

Llewellyn headed in the opposite direction from the city entrance.

It could be considered the city’s back gate.

Normally unused, with few people passing through.

The place where Arba stationed most of her troops.

This was also why, despite the many dangerous elements in the city like drug dealers and black magicians, Arba wasn’t expelled and was instead trusted and followed by them.

Beyond that gate lay the Demon Boundary.

“Demon Boundary?”

The messenger shuddered at the fact that the infamous Annihilator was questioning them directly, and carefully answered.

“Yes, the Demon Boundary. At least that’s what we call it.”

“What makes it so?”

The term “Demon Boundary” itself wasn’t unfamiliar. The issue was that it wasn’t unfamiliar.

The Demon Boundary was a term for a special region in the Old Continent where monsters frequently appeared.

It was also a place where, even during the Empire’s chaotic periods, families with independent command authority and their private armies focused on defense.

Now it was also the homeland of the Saint of Stars, the Burning Duke, known for his firepower rivaling the Annihilator.

As far as Llewellyn knew, it was one of the “homelands” that could be chosen as a secondary option when selecting a human character, particularly optimized for survival and critical hit options.

So why was the Demon Boundary mentioned here?

Looking at the messenger with puzzlement, they answered while trembling with fear.

“Has the Annihilator… ever been to the Demon Boundary?”

“Yes. I went there often.”

“Of course, you were once a Guardian… Then you must know the special nature of the Demon Boundary.”

The Demon Boundary wasn’t simply a place with many monsters.

The Demon Boundary was a special terrain in itself. Staying there too long risked corruption, becoming a monster, or losing one’s sanity, and the power of black magic increased significantly.

Because of this, the Demon Boundary was full of mages, adventurers, and mercenaries who had gone mad.

Not only that. Black magicians, knowing their magic would become more powerful, made their nests in the Demon Boundary and created terrible monsters with black magic.

The Demon Boundary lived up to its name.

As far as Llewellyn knew, it was a location that appeared in both the second and third installments, and a place one must visit to complete top-tier items.

It was hard to believe that such a Demon Boundary existed in the New Continent as well. But from a gaming perspective, it made sense.

After all, item farming would be necessary in the New Continent DLC too.

But since he couldn’t be certain what this world ultimately was, he pushed aside these complicated thoughts and focused on the present.

Currently, the God of Life and Death had come to the west gate blocking the entrance to the Demon Boundary.

And the God of Life and Death apparently lived in the Demon Boundary.

And…

“Demon Boundary.”

“Yes?”

“How is the Demon Boundary here different from the one in the Old Continent? Why is it called the Demon Boundary?”

Thinking about it, he hadn’t heard why it was called the Demon Boundary.

The messenger, realizing their mistake, stammered:

“Basically, it’s not very different from the Old Continent’s Demon Boundary… but this Demon Boundary is different.”

“If it’s not very different.”

“There are many monsters. Natural phenomena are distorted, and unknowns that are generally difficult to understand are observed.”

In the Old Continent’s Demon Boundary, even with the sun shining brightly, it would often not reach the ground, bringing night.

Sometimes, noxious and toxic gas comparable to sulfur would suddenly spread, or space would distort, changing well-trodden paths and causing people to get lost.

To survive in such a Demon Boundary, what was needed was mages of the Protection School or Structure School above a certain level.

This place probably wouldn’t be much different. Llewellyn nodded and looked at his sister.

His sister also had her arms crossed, eyes narrowed in thought.

Unlike Llewellyn, she seemed to have something on her mind. Making a mental note to ask her later, Llewellyn said:

“Then what’s different?”

“The monsters… are not ordinary.”

Wondering when monsters were ever ordinary, Llewellyn looked at the messenger, who read his expression and answered with a grim face:

“You’ll understand when you see them. The monsters you’ve seen so far will seem like ‘ordinary beasts’ in comparison.”

Llewellyn didn’t know the messenger’s level or capabilities. But as a subordinate of one of the rebellion’s leaders like Arba, they couldn’t be just anyone.

For such a person to openly say the monsters weren’t ordinary, it must be true.

There was nothing to gain from exaggeration, so Llewellyn accepted this and looked at the approaching west gate.

The west gate was very different from the east gate he had seen earlier, which was built along the mountain range, designed for defense but not seeming to focus much on it.

The west gate was truly an impregnable fortress.

The high walls were at least two stories taller than those of the east gate.

The walls weren’t made of stone alone. Along with stone, there was densely embedded metal, suggesting that several years of the city’s income had been invested directly into the walls.

The gate itself was extraordinary. The heavy metal door had chains as thick as Llewellyn’s waist.

“Sejin.”

“Yes?”

“I don’t think even you could break through that.”

It was a gate of such caliber that even Lucilla said so. Moreover, there were mages occasionally visible along the outer surface of the walls.

If most of them were from the Protection School, it seemed impossible to breach this fortress even if the founder of the Destruction School were to be resurrected.

“How would we approach an attack?”

“Would we need to use ‘Death of the Star’? I couldn’t use it if you weren’t alone.”

His sister smiled awkwardly. Her words condensed the meaning: “I can’t possibly use such a large technique that might involve you when you’re nearby.”

Now that her younger brother and lover’s safety was more important to her than anything else, she meant that she would rather not breach it at all if there was any possibility of harm.

But the messenger, not knowing this, trembled with fear.

What if they actually carried out those words? What if the Annihilator suddenly did something incomprehensible, as per their notorious reputation?

The messenger tried not to disturb them and finally reached the west gate.

Following the stairs behind the west gate, they approached where Arba was waiting, gripping her axe tensely.

“…You’ve come.”

Arba, wearing her helmet and clearly showing tension.

The female knight faced the purple-tinged and desolate land.

Beyond the west gate, the land called the Demon Boundary.

A place that gave Llewellyn a sense of déjà vu. A place not much different from the Old Continent’s Demon Boundary.

Arba pointed to that Demon Boundary.

“Your visitor.”

Only then did Llewellyn see the figure standing on the Demon Boundary.

“…That?”

He had heard that Life and Death had come as visitors. He had even been directly told that was his visitor.

But looking at it, Llewellyn couldn’t believe that this was someone capable of dialogue, someone with intelligence.

Its resemblance to humans was only in its shape.

More precisely, its only resemblance to humans was that it had one head.

“That’s… the God of Life and Death…?”

Its body was covered not with human skin but something closer to an insect’s exoskeleton, white carapace, and its face had no mouth or nose.

All it had were eye sockets. The eyeballs in those sockets had a bizarre appearance with two pupils each.

Four arms and four legs hung from a masculine body that couldn’t possibly be believed to have any female elements mixed in.

Yet there was a sense of divinity. A divinity far larger and more intense than what Llewellyn or the God of Dreams possessed.

Llewellyn looked down at it.

All four pupils in the creature’s eyes turned toward Llewellyn at once.

With a cracking sound, its crown split open, and a voice flowed out.

“It’s been a long time, Steward.”

A chilling voice. A bizarre, metallic scraping sound that instinctively evoked disgust.

As Llewellyn unconsciously gripped the wall, it said:

“Do you still hate me?”