Ch.271271. Heavy Footsteps

“Huh?”

As Deia’s exclamation escaped her lips, the barrel of the shotgun she was holding gradually lowered.

Her wide-open eyes stared at me intently with a slight tremor.

“S-say that… again.”

A faint smile crossed my lips at the sight of her stammering.

I had a feeling she’d noticed something, despite it being practically impossible since my body, voice, and speech patterns were all completely different.

She was asking me again, just in case.

And just with that, all the worries I’d had until now seemed ridiculous.

“What should I say?”

“Hey, you! J-just speak properly!”

Deia’s stammering as she approached me showed a different kind of cuteness I hadn’t seen before.

“Q-quickly! Anything! Y-you know, that way of talking he does so well!”

She was already half-certain. I wondered how she knew, but I pretended not to understand.

“What way of talking?”

I had changed my speech patterns to clearly distinguish between Shinwoo Kim and Deus Verdi within myself, but now that I was in Shinwoo’s body, it didn’t come as naturally as I’d expected.

“Oh come on! You know! Like! Huh? Like!”

Now she’d put down her shotgun and was gesturing in front of me, trying to imitate various speech patterns.

“The living should not carelessly cross the boundary of the dead, happy birthday, stuff like that!”

“Pfft.”

“Hey! Those are your words!”

Was she always this adorable?

Seeing Deia, who usually just grumbled, now blushing and looking at me so desperately, my emotions naturally rose.

“Huh? Say it! Y-you also told me to shoot carefully once!”

Her name, as she urged me on, unable to touch me but standing right there.

“Deia.”

I called her name carefully.

“Ah…”

Tears welled up in Deia’s eyes. That muffled emotion naturally flowed into me as well.

I was grateful.

Honestly, I thought it would take some time to explain.

I thought I would need to present various pieces of evidence to reveal that I was Deus, perhaps even bringing up our secret memories.

But no.

Just by calling her name.

“You bastaaaaard!”

She recognized me.

Whoosh!

Deia rushed toward me and embraced me, burying her face in my chest. She sobbed loudly, pouring out her resentment as if she’d been holding it in until now.

“Where were youuuu! I thought you were dead! I thought you were deaaad!”

“I’m sorry.”

“I! I couldn’t do anything! Even though I was there! In the end, I couldn’t do anything! Because of that…!”

What could she have done wrong?

Raizer, the God of Lightning, wasn’t an entity that could be stopped with something as crude as a shotgun.

I gently embraced her.

Though I couldn’t feel her warmth because of my artificial body, I still had the illusion of warmth.

“You jerk! You jerk! You biiig jeeerk!”

“I have no excuse.”

After listening to her womanly lament for a while, Deia gradually calmed down but remained clinging to me, slightly raising her head.

After checking my face, she mumbled something.

“What did you say?”

The sound was barely audible even to me with her pressed against me.

When I asked in confusion, Deia lowered her head deeply and raised her voice.

“I-is that… your real face?”

“Ah.”

I scratched my cheek and nodded.

“Yes, this is my original appearance as Shinwoo Kim. The artificial body Professor Per Petra created seems to have determined its appearance based on the mana contained in my soul.”

“…”

I felt Deia’s arms tighten around me. My waist actually bent slightly, so I guess that was right.

This was a good opportunity.

I honestly asked what I was curious about.

“How did you know it was me?”

My appearance, voice, and speech patterns were all completely different from Deus. I should have been seen as an entirely different person.

Yet Deia recognized me the moment she saw me. That was something that couldn’t be explained logically.

“I-I just knew?”

“…”

“Something just clicked. I just had this feeling that the person I’d been waiting for had finally arrived.”

“I don’t understand at all. Are you really okay with something so vague?”

When I answered honestly, Deia pulled her head back slightly and headbutted my chest.

“What do you want me to say? You’re a spiritmaster but you’re asking for something logical?”

She seemed annoyed that I, who work with the most spiritual aspects and deal with things that can’t be explained rationally, would demand such an explanation.

“Just accept it. You have no sense of mood. This proves you’re really Deus.”

“D-D-D-Deus?!”

Just then, a cute exclamation echoed through the mountains. As I turned my body, Deia, still clinging to me, naturally turned to look at her too.

“I almost forgot.”

I apologized for forgetting about Soho in the excitement of our reunion, but Deia frowned deeply. This time her grip tightened so much I thought my waist might break.

“Your bad habits haven’t changed.”

“…You’ll break my artificial body, ease up a bit.”

“Hmm?”

Deia seemed to require an explanation, but Soho urgently interrupted.

“N-no! Are you really talking about Deus Verdi?!”

Deia glared at Soho primly, as if annoyed at having her sibling time interrupted, while poking me with her chin.

“Y-yeah, this is Deus Verdi.”

“T-then! Did you come with the hunters to kill yourself?!”

“…Did I?”

Both of them looked at me. I shrugged and answered.

“It was the fastest way to return to Norsweden.”

Besides, the hunters would have come anyway, even if it hadn’t been me.

“To accompany the procession meant to kill yourself…”

Soho gaped in disbelief, but Deia seemed pleased with my answer and loosened her grip slightly.

“Right, you needed to come back as quickly as possible.”

After saying that, silence fell for a moment.

A cold wind blew.

Soho looked at me, I looked at Deia, but Deia pretended not to notice.

Our chain of gazes ultimately led to Deia, but she said nothing.

“Let’s go see Mountain Lord now.”

I subtly suggested she let go, but Deia pretended not to hear.

Given the situation, I didn’t really mind. After all, my usually grumbling sister was welcoming me so warmly.

Moreover, she was accepting me as Shinwoo Kim, not in Deus’s form.

I couldn’t help but feel good about it, but we had things to do.

“…”

Despite my words, Deia showed no sign of letting go. Instead, her arms tightened again.

“I-is this really okay?”

Seeing my awkward situation, Soho finally spoke up. She was subtly asking if we should be like this.

Even after hearing the small girl’s words, Deia refused to let go.

Well, I suppose this is part of being a brother.

“Give us a moment. I can indulge my little sister’s childishness after not seeing her for so long.”

Thud!

I was going to give her some time, but suddenly Deia pushed me away.

Did she dislike my characterization of her behavior as childish?

I wondered if I’d made a mistake, but Deia turned around, picked up her shotgun, and said coldly:

“Let’s go, Mr. Shinwoo Kim.”

“…”

“You should be able to recognize Mountain Lord too.”

Her suddenly cold attitude was such a dramatic change that even reeds would shake their heads.

“S-something got scary.”

“Did I say something wrong?”

Soho approached me from the side, timidly grabbing my collar in fear.

Anyway, just as we were about to climb the mountain again to meet Mountain Lord.

“…!”

My head suddenly turned.

The entrance to the Norsweden mountain range.

The place where Darius and Findenai would be fighting the hunters.

A massive power erupting from that location began to cover the sky in an instant.

* * *

Clang!

Findenai’s White Snow and Ranhart’s spear clashed, releasing a fierce shock wave.

Ranhart, who had felt good about his momentum, found the initial clash somewhat underwhelming.

Thinking his opponent was all talk, he expected to settle things after just a few exchanges, but…

“Kugh!”

As time passed, he found himself unable to keep up with Findenai’s offensive.

She grew stronger as time passed.

He had never met a woman like this before.

As Findenai continued to swing White Snow relentlessly as if she had no physical limits, Ranhart realized he was gradually being pushed toward defeat.

“This is ridiculous.”

Meanwhile, Ranhart felt his chest growing hot.

It wasn’t just a feeling or impression.

Through the battle with this woman called Findenai, the dragon fragment he had consumed was undergoing some kind of change.

‘Is it because I feel my life is threatened?’

If the dragon’s power recognized Ranhart himself as a place it needed to protect, would he then be able to truly wield the power of a guardian deity?

Ranhart thought about this and smirked.

“You’re smiling?”

But his opponent wouldn’t allow even such a simple action.

Findenai leaped forward and was already swinging her axe right in front of Ranhart’s face.

‘She got faster again!’

He couldn’t have imagined she could become even stronger at this point.

‘There’s not enough time to raise my spear!’

It was already too late to respond with his spear. So Ranhart raised his left hand, willing to sacrifice it.

He thought offering his left hand instead of his neck would be getting off lightly, but…

Crash!

“…!”

“…!”

Despite taking Findenai’s axe head-on, Ranhart’s left hand made a sound like steel and remained intact.

The force pushed him backward and he fell, but his hand was glowing with a faint golden light.

“What is this?”

Findenai who had struck.

“This is…”

Ranhart who had been hit.

Both were surprised by what had just happened.

Realizing that the effects of consuming the ancient dragon’s remains were gradually manifesting, Ranhart slightly raised the corner of his mouth.

“It seems the nature of this battle is about to change.”

He was certain that while this woman Findenai was strong, she was no match for him now that he had gained the dragon’s power.

Such was Ranhart’s conviction.

“Bullshit.”

Findenai sneered, suggesting that no matter how much he had changed in this short time, it wouldn’t be enough.

Nevertheless, both remained vigilant, glaring at each other, when…

Thud!

It truly couldn’t have been more ill-timed.

It appeared so suddenly and unexpectedly, yet its commanding presence dominated the scene.

“A door?”

Ranhart made a strange expression at the purple door that suddenly appeared between them. He didn’t like how the life-or-death battle atmosphere had been disrupted by its appearance.

In contrast, Findenai’s eyes trembled.

Could it be?

Had her heart ever trembled like this before?

Findenai stared at the general store’s door, forgetting even to breathe.

And as it opened very slowly…

A massive wave of mana that even the continent couldn’t contain began to spread from the door.

Thud.

Those heavy footsteps descended toward the continent.