Ch.509What should I do

The mana surged from the Tower of Fetuses, forming a pillar that shot toward the heavens. Like black ink poured onto a blue canvas, the once-clear sky was stained pitch black.

Unlike the twilight purple sky of night, this was an intensely thick and ominous curtain of darkness. Even the sun’s radiance was obscured by the dark mana, plunging the entire city into darkness as if it had sunk into the deep sea.

…This really seems like we’re screwed.

I looked up at the black sky, feeling utterly helpless like a captain who had lost his ship in the middle of the vast ocean.

Even if a meteor suddenly fell and obliterated the imperial capital, it wouldn’t have been more bewildering than this.

The descent of an evil god? Valkers, who at most had been taking away all of Demian’s companions, was actually plotting something like this?

No, more importantly. Was such a thing even possible?

There are limits to the absurd—this was on a completely different level from summoning monsters!

A bitter taste lingered in my mouth. My lower abdomen tightened, and my eyes trembled slightly.

Maybe it was just Valkers’ bluff.

Maybe I misunderstood.

Such hopes had long been erased, covered by the black sky.

What bluff? The entire sky above the city had turned black. Even a child would immediately realize upon seeing that sky.

That something ominous and terrible, incomprehensible by their common sense, had begun.

– Wooooong!

Durandal vibrated violently in my grip. The trembling seemed like a desperate warning.

A warning to escape from this place immediately.

[“Descent,” you say… That word certainly meant something coming down from the sky. So, this is how it manifests… A black sky. How extremely strange. It wouldn’t be surprising if the evil spirits of the netherworld started popping out.]

Though her tone seemed deliberately calm, Aishan-Gioro Hersella couldn’t hide her tension, her voice slightly lower than usual.

Evil spirits of the netherworld? If Valkers’ boasting was true, something far worse would emerge. What would come out… even I didn’t know.

Anyway, I couldn’t just stand by and watch.

I gritted my teeth, gripped Durandal with both hands, lowered my stance, and took a deep breath. The silver-blue blade glowed as it absorbed my karma.

[What are you planning to do?]

‘What I was about to do earlier.’

The Tower of Bones, now transformed into a black pillar enveloped in dark mana. They said it was made using a thousand fetuses as materials.

Yes, I could understand why they built a pleasure district and set up their base there. If they needed to naturally collect fetuses as materials, there was no better place than a brothel.

They must have swept up all the children born to prostitutes and put them in here. Just thinking about it made me sick.

No, now wasn’t the time to dwell on what the tower was made of.

What mattered wasn’t what the tower was built with, but what role it played. It was obvious.

Judging by how Valkers freaked out the moment I tried to touch the bell tower, this bone tower must be the core element of the descent ritual.

I had thought that something was hidden inside the bell tower like the “Womb of Evil,” but in fact, the bell tower itself was merely a disguise to hide this pile of bones.

So, I needed to somehow destroy this mass of dark mana.

I couldn’t be certain, but if I destroyed the tower, the ritual itself might be canceled.

“Kyaaaah!”

Taking a step forward and twisting my waist sharply, I swung Durandal toward the pillar of dark mana. Like a lumberman wielding an axe to cut down a great tree.

A golden-blue arc cut into the pitch-black torrent.

– Kwaaaang!

A thunderous explosion hit my ears. Black spray erupted like a volcano. It felt like striking metal with my former body. My hands tingled from the tremendous recoil.

I slid backward from the force of my own strike and looked up to check the state of the bone tower.

[Breaking this won’t be an easy task.]

Hersella was right.

Clearly, Durandal’s blade had penetrated the dark mana and reached the bone tower. The evidence was the black smoke pouring from the cut surface like spurting blood, with fragments of broken skulls flowing out.

The problem was… the number of shattered bones was ridiculously small.

Despite exerting enough force to shatter black iron in a single blow, the mark left by Durandal was merely a slightly crushed corner.

A sturdiness that was hard to believe for a tower made of human bones. It wasn’t just dark mana. Something else, an invisible force of unknown origin, was protecting the tower of fetal bones!

“Lord Median!”

Lacy Elmaine Stardolf, who had crushed Valkers’ head, ran toward me with a pale face.

Whether she had also reached the conclusion about the evil god’s summoning, or was simply shocked by the blackened sky and pillar of dark mana, her trembling fingertips were filled with anxiety and bewilderment.

“The sky, Elpinel’s sky has turned black…! What on earth was Valkers trying to do!? Descent, could it possibly be…!?”

“…I think your guess is right.”

I gritted my molars and readjusted my grip on Durandal.

If I had known this would happen, I should have cut off his head immediately after subduing him, rather than torturing him.

I thought his hidden trump card would be at most Deirade-level, but I never imagined something this absurd would emerge.

“My goodness. Such a thing couldn’t possibly be…”

Lacy staggered, clutching her holy symbol. Yes. The shock must be great. Much greater than mine.

For me, not native to this world, the gods and evil gods here weren’t objects of faith like Earth’s deities, but rather transcendent beings with immense power.

Like watching an alien who could destroy stars with a flick of a finger.

Therefore, I viewed the descent of an evil god as the appearance of a formidable enemy that I might not be able to defeat, one that could cause terrible damage.

Hersella, perhaps because she grew up among the Ka’har who taboo magic and faith, seemed to feel similar emotions.

The Ka’har apparently have a concept similar to a tribal deity called the “Sky Wolf,” but they don’t worship it—they merely acknowledge its existence.

I have no desire to feel kinship with them, but in this aspect, we might be similar.

However, for Lacy, who was born in this world and raised as a devout religious person, the current situation must feel like the end of the world approaching.

—-

“Lacy, can you destroy that pillar of dark mana with your power?”

I asked, pulling her staggering shoulder closer.

Based on my previous strike, it was clear that it would take over an hour to destroy the bone tower with my strength. In fact, it was much more likely that my energy would run out before then.

That would lead to the worst possible outcome—facing the descended evil god in a powerless state.

Honestly, I didn’t think the evil god Valkers summoned would manifest exactly as described in the lore. If that were possible with just this scale of sacrifice, the world would have ended long ago.

Didn’t Valkers say it himself? That he needed more time but was forced to activate it.

So, even if Invidius descended, he wouldn’t appear in his complete state. He would probably emerge in a significantly weakened form.

…Though he would still likely be much stronger than me.

At my question, Lacy seemed to regain her senses somewhat, her gaze turning toward the pillar of dark mana.

For a moment, she tried to compose her shocked expression, and after staring intently at the surging dark mana with tightly closed lips… she clutched the holy symbol around her neck and answered.

“…If I burn my entire life and offer it to Him, perhaps…”

No, don’t sacrifice your life.

Lacy was willing to sacrifice her own life to stop this, but I absolutely couldn’t agree to that. Both rationally and emotionally.

I couldn’t lose Lacy in a place like this, and there was no guarantee it would solve the problem. I didn’t want to sacrifice her.

“That won’t do. I have no intention of watching you die.”

“But…!”

“No buts. If something requires not just risking your life but actually giving it up, then it’s simply impossible.”

Lacy looked at me with trembling eyes.

In those sky-blue eyes, truly complex emotions were colliding and swirling.

Fear of what was to come. The conflict between survival instinct and faith. Self-contempt for not readily choosing martyrdom, and a small hope of finding salvation through me.

With my hand still on her shoulder, I dissuaded her again in a low, soothing voice.

“Besides, even you aren’t certain, are you? Whether sacrificing your life would stop the descent or not. Don’t throw away your life for something you’re not even sure about.”

I abandoned the idea of destroying the bone tower to cancel the descent.

Just as Astraea’s holy light was a power to judge evil, Elpinel’s holy light was a power to destroy magic. If even Lacy’s power couldn’t do it without sacrificing her life, there was essentially no way to destroy the bone tower.

So, I had to choose the next best option.

“Rather than losing your life that way, it’s better to fight. Wouldn’t that be less regrettable? Who knows? Maybe Invidius will emerge in a half-crippled state. If Elpinel, whom you believe in, truly protects this world, He wouldn’t just stand by and watch an evil god descend and destroy the world. So… whatever comes out, let’s fight it.”

Durandal’s vibration stopped. Whether it was encouragement that my choice was right, or resignation that further warnings would be useless.

For some reason, laughter escaped me, and I couldn’t help but chuckle as I patted Lacy’s shoulder.

[…I chose my champion well.]

Hersella murmured quietly. So quietly that even I could barely hear it.