Ch.328Chapter 328 – God Saves Him

Shortly after Kay chased after Hakan.

Idea desperately swung his sword.

In response, Sia also swung her sword, and soon the slashes created by the two collided.

As the two slashes met, the surrounding buildings began to vibrate and eventually started to collapse.

‘She’s strong.’

Idea quietly thought as he looked at his trembling arm that couldn’t withstand the impact.

Even if some damage remained from his recent fight with Kay, his body had been almost completely healed by the elixir.

He had thought his combat ability wouldn’t have decreased significantly.

And that was a miscalculation.

‘Her confidence wasn’t unfounded.’

She had skills worthy of her boast that he couldn’t escape unless a god helped him.

He knew she was skilled from their previous battle, but he had miscalculated in thinking he could shake her off easily since her internal injuries couldn’t have fully healed.

He was in a situation where he strongly felt he could die at any moment.

If he had to face Kay as well, he might not have had any chance of survival.

‘…I could die, huh.’

While contemplating the word “death” that strangely felt peaceful, Idea quietly observed his opponent.

Despite his various thoughts, Idea showed no significant emotional change.

He remained expressionless.

Looking at Idea’s expressionless face, Sia spoke quietly.

“I’m sure I told you. This time would be different.”

Sia said with a smirk.

“Would you like to pray to your god now?”

“God, is it.”

Idea remained silent for a moment.

Then, after taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth.

“…The pleas of an ant do not reach humans.”

Sia briefly frowned at Idea’s sudden statement.

But soon she could understand its meaning.

“Are you saying that humans are like insignificant ants to gods, so prayers won’t be answered?”

“Think what you will.”

That’s what Idea said.

And Sia, suppressing her incredulous feelings, quietly said.

“Why serve a god who doesn’t listen to his followers?”

“……”

“No matter how divine, a god cannot exist without followers. Is a god who doesn’t answer the desperate prayers of his followers truly omnipotent?”

“Perhaps gods only feel like conversing with beings equal to themselves.”

Idea said this and then fell silent for a moment.

Then, as if speaking to himself, he quietly said.

“…That’s why one must become a perfect being…”

This man…

Though she didn’t know where it started, Sia felt she caught a glimpse of Idea’s thoughts.

Then Idea addressed Sia again.

“Swordswoman. I have a question.”

“I permit you to speak.”

“What did you lose to reach that level?”

Sia stared at Idea silently for a moment.

Then, after letting out a small sigh, she quietly said.

“Old comrades. They were like family to me.”

Biting her lip slightly, Sia quietly answered.

“They were fools who followed me with their weak bodies, saying they wanted to see my foolish dream come true.”

“Did they all die?”

“Except for the strong ones.”

Idea quietly looked at Sia for a moment.

Then he quietly spoke again.

“So people cannot move forward unless they lose something.”

He muttered quietly again.

“By losing them, you became stronger.”

Sia did not answer.

Not hiding her displeased expression, she simply swung her sword.

Though it seemed like a light swing, it must have contained all her strength as the surroundings began to crumble just from the swing.

And Idea retreated after blocking that attack, and Sia glared at him and said.

“…I didn’t lose them because I wanted to.”

Sia said, narrowing her eyes.

“Don’t try to lower me to your level.”

“Those who haven’t experienced loss cannot reach that level.”

As if not hearing Sia’s words, Idea closed his eyes and quietly said.

“…If you’re going to lose something anyway, just discard it. By discarding, reach perfection.”

Idea opened his eyes again and said.

“Everything is meaningless. If you become a higher being, you’ll lose things anyway. Cut them off yourself before that.”

Soon Idea said with an expressionless face.

“Indeed. If you don’t discard, you cannot reach perfection.”

“Is this what they call beyond salvation?”

Sia opened her mouth.

“Are you deaf or blind? What kind of thinking process leads to such insane ideas?”

“……”

“Did you reach that conclusion while escaping from guilt after losing something?”

Idea quietly looked at Sia.

“No.”

Idea quietly said.

“I simply had someone who taught me that.”

“You had a bad teacher.”

Sighing at Idea’s words, Sia vaguely sensed something.

‘It’s already too late.’

If her thoughts were correct, he was too late in many ways.

She felt a slight sense of pity, but pity was meaningless for that man.

Sia raised her sword.

“Let’s end this. I can no longer bear to watch your foolish tongue wag.”

Sia immediately swung her sword, and Idea blocked the strike.

Toward Idea, who let out a slight groan, Sia spoke again.

“Offer your neck. I want to see if you become a perfect being when your shoulders become empty.”

With those words, Sia swung her sword quickly.

Idea seemed to have reached his limit as he momentarily failed to react to the attack.

The match was about to be decided.

“I need to discard what’s unnecessary.”

After saying this, Idea.

Soon he extended his hand forward.

His arm got in the path of the sword aiming for his neck, and Idea’s arm flew into the air.

While Sia’s eyes widened slightly, Idea tried to thrust his sword into her.

‘What a troublesome sword.’

She knows that sword absorbs magical power because Kay experienced it firsthand.

Since her own power also contained magical elements, Sia knew it would be troublesome if she allowed that sword.

Therefore, she dealt with Idea’s sword with full force.

She twisted her body greatly while pulling her sword back toward her body and swung it down hard at Idea’s sword that had missed.

And Idea just smiled and.

Let go of his sword.

Sia’s sword collided with Idea’s sword with a loud noise.

And the next moment, Idea’s sword was cut in half.

Idea’s severed sword fell to the ground.

‘Did he voluntarily give up his weapon?’

There’s a saying that a sword is a swordsman’s life.

Watching the man who so easily abandoned his sword, Sia briefly recalled that saying.

Of course, she wasn’t the type to seriously contemplate a phrase she had just heard somewhere, so it was a brief reflection.

Anyway, whether to give up that sword or not was Idea’s choice, and it would only prolong his life momentarily.

‘He has no proper weapon and has lost an arm.’

Essentially, Idea can no longer fight.

If he couldn’t handle her in his intact state, the story is even more clear with one arm missing.

“As a final mercy, I’ll send you off without pain.”

Sia said this as she prepared for the final strike.

Just as she raised her sword.

Suddenly a flash of light erupted.

“What…!”

With her vision temporarily stolen by the light, Sia swung her sword.

She swung it with a trajectory and force that Idea couldn’t avoid.

She intended to cut Idea along with the light.

And.

-CLANG!!!

Something heavier than before deflected Sia’s sword.

Sia stepped back and looked at the light.

And she frowned.

“…A sword?”

It was a sword surrounded by silvery divine power.

Sia flinched slightly at the tremendous light.

And the next moment, a magic circle appeared above her head.

“Interference!”

As Sia immediately stepped back, silvery divine power began to pierce down at her.

It was considerable divine power.

‘…Who’s supporting him?’

Until just now, only she and Idea were at this location.

There was no one who could help Idea.

Even if there were, she wouldn’t have failed to notice.

And Sia soon realized that an enormous amount of divine power was gathering at the western gate.

“…Emiris?”

While she was inwardly flustered by the energy she had felt in Ferarius.

“Yes, that’s right.”

Suddenly an old man’s voice was heard.

Sia immediately swung her sword toward the direction the voice came from.

And she saw a kind-faced old man deflecting her attack using a magic circle.

Frowning at this fact, Sia quickly looked at her opponent.

‘There was no presence.’

Sia couldn’t understand how this man had appeared.

After forming various hypotheses, she soon gave up on explaining it to herself.

And, Idea quietly called the old man’s name.

“Somnus.”

“I’m glad you’re safe, Lord Idea.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“By God’s grace, I arrived in time.”

Somnus was smiling as he spoke.

Sia quietly pointed her sword at him, facing off against him.

She had heard about him once during her travels.

Sia glared at Somnus and said.

“The enemy of my comrade has come here on his own feet.”

“Oh my. I’ve made a terrible first impression.”

Somnus said with a smile.

And soon he looked at Sia and said.

“I’d like to explain, but I need to escort Lord Idea. So I think we’ll retreat now.”

“You think I’ll let you?”

Sia immediately swung her sword.

Somnus was cut in half by the sword.

And, he turned into sand.

“…So you didn’t come unprepared.”

“Yes. Because it’s scary.”

Somnus said with a smile.

And raising his index finger, he added.

“And beware of carelessness. Demon Lord.”

“What?”

How did this man know she was a Demon Lord?

Sia was momentarily confused by this fact.

And that became a decisive opening.

“Tch!”

A sword surrounded by light suddenly flew at her.

Her reaction was slightly delayed, so her defense was a bit late.

The sword wounded Sia’s arm, and her blood could be seen clinging to the light-surrounded sword.

And looking at Idea who had swung that sword, Sia narrowed her eyes.

“So you called your previous sword unnecessary because you could get a new one.”

“What’s unnecessary should be discarded.”

Idea quietly said.

“To become a perfect being, one must discard what needs to be discarded.”

There’s no point in saying anything to that.

Looking at the madness hidden behind Idea’s expressionless eyes, Sia raised her sword.

She charged forward to quickly behead Idea.

And toward her, spears of light began to fall from the sky.

As she intercepted them with her sword, this time a giant hand of light tried to crush Sia.

Blocking the hand with her sword, Sia frowned.

“Indeed. A high-ranking cleric?”

“It’s a bit troublesome if you see me as just a cleric… but let’s leave it at that for now.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“By the way, I was surprised. Somehow that gorilla-like demon didn’t feel like a Demon Lord. Is it because you’re alive?”

“…Gorilla?”

Sia asked Somnus.

Somnus smiled and said.

“Ah, right. I should call him the Demon Lord, correct?”

“How do you know him?”

“How, you ask.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“It was I who arranged various things behind the scenes to make him the Demon Lord. …Though I thought it was a failure because he was more incompetent than expected…”

“It was you.”

Sia said, widening her eyes.

“You were behind those who filled him with false hopes?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

Idea readily admitted and smiled.

“The demon cultists were really easy to use. Thanks to them, many things went well.”

“……”

Sia didn’t respond.

She was about to swing her sword.

But this time a shield of light blocked her attack, and Sia soon said with some irritation.

“This damn shield…”

“Shields might seem like that small goddess’s specialty, but I can use them too.”

Somnus said with a smile.

“Now, I’m scared, so shall we flee? Fortunately, I’ve obtained a precious item.”

“…Precious item?”

“An item Lord Idea prepared for us. Thanks to him, things went well.”

Somnus bowed deeply and said.

“That test subject might have thought they were Lord Idea’s target, but actually, there was a different purpose.”

“Tell me now.”

“Let’s save that for later entertainment.”

As Somnus finished speaking.

Suddenly a dimension opened, and a warp gate appeared.

And Idea and Somnus were seen jumping into it.

“Stop right there…!”

“I have no reason to obey your orders, Demon Lord.”

Somnus spoke gently to Sia who was shouting as she broke through the shield.

“We’re busy, you see.”

“You think I’ll let you escape?”

“You will. Because God is watching over this place.”

No sooner had Somnus finished speaking than divine power began to pour down from the sky.

Soon Sia shouted as she avoided it.

“…Damn Emiris. Don’t tell me she’s trying to save her follower…!”

“I used it while fighting that troublesome test subject… but a god must see the bigger picture. Well then.”

Looking at the divine power floating in the sky, Sia gritted her teeth.

She swung her sword in vain as she watched the two disappear into the warp gate.

But as she expected, a barrier had already been placed around the warp gate.

It would be easy to break, but even this much was enough to buy time for Idea and Somnus to retreat.

“…So they escape like this.”

In the end, Sia quietly said as she stuck her sword into the ground.

‘I didn’t expect my words to come true.’

It was something she had said with confidence, but honestly, she felt both deflated and embarrassed.

Because it could only be interpreted as the god truly helping them.

‘Nothing can be done.’

Sia was frustrated but concealed it.

And Idea looked at Sia with an expressionless face and said.

“I’ll be going now.”

“……”

“Do you have anything to say?”

Idea asked as he was disappearing.

Thinking she might as well taunt him, Sia glared at Idea and said.

“I don’t have prophetic abilities, but remember what I tell you now, Idea.”

Idea reacted to Sia’s words.

And Sia soon quietly said.

“You will never defeat the White Dragon.”

The White Dragon.

At the mention of Kay, Idea’s eyebrows furrowed slightly.

Seeing him show a slight emotion despite being mostly expressionless until now, perhaps due to fatigue, Sia quietly said.

“The White Dragon possesses the reason why you cannot win.”

Idea did not answer immediately.

And as he was almost disappearing.

Sia quietly said.

“It would be good for you to remember that.”

“I will.”

With those final words.

Idea disappeared along with Somnus.

“…Damn it.”

Deactivating the black armor she was wearing, Sia glared at the place where they had disappeared.

And at that moment, she saw a giant golden axe made of Chris’s divine power cutting something in the distance.

“Nothing can be done.”

Though the failure of the mission weighed on her mind, now that he had successfully escaped, there was no need to stay here any longer.

“I should return to my comrades.”

She was worried about Kay’s condition anyway, so Sia thought she should go quickly.

After resealing the power she had temporarily drawn out, Sia turned and ran toward the western gate.