Ch.301Chapter 301: Prevent the Ascension (2)

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As soon as Desire saw the sword rushing toward her after hearing the words I had deliberately let slip, her expression contorted in various ways.

It revealed her certainty that what was about to unfold would bring her nothing but joy, excitement, and anticipation.

Verbally, she was clearly intent on satisfying her desires by declaring she would steal the divinity residing within Imperfectio’s body, now in her grasp.

In reality, though, as Desire remained alert to the movements of the sword approaching her—as if entranced by the name “Liliansis” that she had deliberately mentioned—it was difficult to discern what she truly aimed for.

Whatever her scheme might be.

‘Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.’

One could not deny that Desire’s inner thoughts were becoming stained with the expectation of fulfilling her base desires, as one hand targeted Imperfectio’s nape while the other pointed toward the sword rushing at her.

In her eyes, which churned more intensely than her blood-red hair that burned like fresh blood, seethed such base desires that one might question whether she was truly a divine being with one foot in transcendence.

Watching her as she flicked her tongue at the corner of her mouth, displaying the demeanor of a predator savoring the anticipation before devouring appetizing prey.

One might question whether she truly possessed divinity, twisted though it might be.

But this very appearance revealed Desire’s true nature, hidden beneath the mask of frivolity and boundless belligerence that made her true intentions difficult to discern.

She was a being born with grand ambitions.

Though not born with divinity.

Despite being born with the body of a dragon possessing power infinitely close to divinity, she considered this dragon vessel worthless and base for achieving her ambitions.

To achieve her grand goal of becoming an exalted being and bringing the world… and further, the numerous worlds containing countless possibilities scattered like shards of broken glass, under her command.

Even after being reborn as a transcendent being by obtaining divinity—considered a miracle to achieve—after growing stronger by devouring the flesh and souls of countless powerful beings around her.

She was always hungry, craving the power of strong beings with countless possibilities while constantly speaking of insufficiency.

Even after being reborn as a transcendent being, guaranteed perpetuity and obtaining overwhelming power incomparable even to beings of similar caliber.

No, rather, her hunger intensified precisely because she had reached that position.

When she first ascended to that position, she was convinced she had reached the supreme position where nothing could compare to her.

Although she had united with comrades who shared her purpose—despite disliking the very idea of standing as equals—the cause was her realization of the presence of those who stood in opposition, who ruthlessly oppressed her and her comrades.

From the moment she descended upon the ideal world where she thought she could establish her vision after gaining power and achieving greatness, she was met with fierce attacks that caused her to lose most of her accumulated power and fall into a long slumber. From that moment, her body and mind were filled with an insatiable hunger.

Desire yearned. She wanted to overwhelm even those beings who stood in opposition and stand alone in solitary majesty.

So she craved. She sought ways to obtain overwhelming power that would allow her to dominate them and ultimately reduce even her comrades to mere subordinates.

And finally, she realized. The solution was, in a way, incredibly simple.

Devour them. Devour everything from those who, like her, possessed divinity.

Consume without remainder their current power, the realms they would ascend to, and—though she hated to admit it—even the possibility that they might eventually reach a position equal to hers.

Devour and consume everything, make it all her own, and use that as a foundation to reach greater power, higher realms.

When that happened, she alone would remain in the transcendent position that had once granted her splendor, ruling the world by herself.

Desire had been enduring the hunger etched into her like a brand while imagining the ecstasy she would feel when the plan she conceived upon this realization came to fruition.

Finally, when the “vessel” and “key” that would fulfill her grand plan gathered in one place, ready to be devoured by her.

‘I don’t have to hold back anymore!’

Containing within herself a roar filled with base desires too shameful to voice aloud, Desire swung her left hand with an almost instinctive sense, stopping the sword that was trying to penetrate her space.

It was a simple blocking motion, closer to a check than a genuine attempt to harm her opponent.

Yet, it possessed enough sharpness to startle Cal Ranos, who had charged forward with crazed eyes.

With her arm extended and her gaze still fixed on Cal, Desire could see him visibly flustered.

If he were to be weakened by her attack, it would create an ideal state for stealing the divinity residing in his body.

Though this thought occurred to her only after she had swung her arm, Desire hoped Cal would be hurt by the impact of her arm.

But as is the way of the world, even well-laid plans often fail to materialize.

How could a good outcome arise from an impulsive movement guided by instinct rather than planning? As if to demonstrate this:

“Hup!!”

Cal Ranos instantly wiped away the confusion from his expression and swung the black sword in his right hand, easily deflecting her approaching left hand, rendering her hope futile.

Though her hope ended in failure, it wasn’t without gain.

The fact that her unprotected left hand suffered not a single wound when it met the black blade, which carried an edge no less formidable than a holy sword.

This served as an indicator of how disadvantageous a position Cal was in as he confronted her.

It wouldn’t be bad if he felt intimidated by her power and kept his distance.

The fewer interruptions, the easier it would be to acquire the divinity needed to be reborn as a superior being.

But Desire, who had lived through countless ages and walked a path of constant victory with extremely few exceptions, seemed to crave tension even in moments of certainty.

“I don’t care whether you come or not.”

As Cal’s approaching footsteps slightly dulled, Desire provoked him with a buoyant voice that barely suppressed the uncontrollable joy rising within her.

Her words carried mockery, implying that whether he came or not, he ultimately couldn’t interfere with her, so he might as well do as he pleased.

Having faced him across numerous timelines, she knew his inner workings thoroughly and was certain her provocative words would elicit a response ten times out of ten.

As if answering Desire’s certainty:

“…Grr!!”

Though Cal didn’t respond verbally to her provocation, the aura emanating from him with his distorted expression was far from ordinary.

Intense enough that with just a little more provocation, he might explode forward and swing his sword at her.

Seeing this, Desire realized her mouth corners were rising crookedly to a degree that surprised even herself.

A man who had repeated countless lives, valuing his own life less than a blade of grass for the sake of some woman.

And now, with those miserable past lives fully remembered in his mind, he was still stepping forward toward the one he wanted to protect, despite knowing the miserable future awaiting him. To Desire, this presented a profoundly dual aspect.

For someone as self-loving as her, Cal’s willingness to value his life less than a blade of grass for others seemed utterly worthless in one sense.

Yet in another sense, his unwavering actions—facing the same outcome repeatedly without hesitation—were incredibly fresh to her, as they represented something she couldn’t even imagine doing.

Of course, she merely found it fresh. She had no desire to follow his path herself.

Even if she had those she cherished and wanted to care for around her, she favored and cared for them only because they were necessary for her advancement and rebirth.

She had no intention of sacrificing everything for their sake.

“Hey.”

As Desire reaffirmed what was precious to her, Cal’s fierce voice, filled with anger on the verge of eruption, reached her ears.

Since it was proper to answer when addressed:

Fixing her gaze on Cal once more, from Desire’s mouth came:

“What? Is there something you want to ask?”

A question clearly meant to provoke.

Ignoring Desire’s response, which violated the manners of answering a call with a question, Cal said:

“Explain. Tell me who that agent of yours in your hands is.”

He demanded clarification about what he had just heard.

If he had been close enough to her when she let those words slip, he should have figured it out by now, yet he still sought confirmation?

“Hmm…”

Looking at Cal seeking confirmation in such a strange way, Desire raised her left hand that had been idle and caressed her chin while letting out a light hum.

As her left hand moved toward her chin, it came close to the helmet worn by Imperfectio, who was in her grasp.

“…”

Imperfectio, having already lost freedom of movement after being captured by Desire, remained silent and powerless, though not completely limp.

This was also a signal that preparations for taking the delicious prey were complete.

“Well, fine, it’s entertainment after all.”

Having concluded that nothing would overturn the scenario she had arranged even if she stalled for more time, Desire lowered her left hand from her chin and played with her five fingers in various ways.

Though it seemed like a strange action without any meaning:

“Look at this.”

As soon as her words fell, the object that rose from Imperfectio’s possession, whom she had restrained, rendered meaningless the assumption that her movements had no purpose.

It was a pair of rings. The same rings that, just hours ago, had captured Cal’s attention so completely in a separate room nearby that he had forgotten even the hostility he had been showing her.

“…”

Perhaps it was the same this time as well, as Cal’s gaze naturally fixed on the rings floating in the air.

“Can you see the indelible gray ash on the rings? What do you think this is?”

Desire asked in a taunting voice about the identity of the ash powder thickly coating the two rings.

“…”

As Cal failed to answer promptly:

“Don’t you remember? Even among the many lives where you met your end here, the moment you turned to ash in your final moments occurred only once in all that time.”

Desire began to explain why the rings looked that way.

It was effective.

“…!!”

Not only did Cal’s expression contort indescribably upon hearing those words from a distance.

“…What did you say?”

Even from Imperfectio’s mouth, who couldn’t even struggle in her grasp, came an exclamation filled with incomparable surprise.

Feeling her mouth corners rise again unconsciously at the sight, Desire realized something.

She realized just how sadistic she was.

How could she claim not to know when she recognized how unbearably excited she felt at the prospect of watching these two people react sensitively and crumble with each word she spoke?