Ch.8888. Rescue

When I regained consciousness.

“…Ugh!”

I saw pitch-black pupils thrust before my eyes.

Rex inhaled sharply and stepped back. The single eye with its vertically slit pupil stared into the interior of the barrier with an air of curiosity. Just one step. That was the difference marking the boundary. The eye clung to the surface of the barrier but couldn’t cross to the inside.

“Get lost.”

Rex gritted his teeth and spat out the curse. As if mocking him, the form of the eye curved into a grin. —Tap-tap-tap! In an instant, it split into hundreds of eyes covering the bluish barrier. Ominous gazes pierced from all directions. Though they merely stared, it sent chills crawling up his spine. Staggering backward, Rex clenched his hand, which was now damp with cold sweat.

‘It’s okay.’

This place is safe. The hundreds of eyes certainly looked threatening, but that was only because he perceived them that way. Shaharon could never harm him. The proof was right there—it couldn’t breach the interior of the barrier.

Rex traced his hazy memories. A wave of pitch-black shadows had surged forward, he’d lost consciousness, and then been swallowed whole. Now awake again, he stood not in the forest but in a strange space filled with darkness. He knew what this phenomenon was called.

‘Divine Authority Release.’

Those who reach the Apostle level gain special abilities. The specific effects vary for each individual—but the common trait is that they are all terrifyingly powerful. The alternate dimension constructed by an Apostle is a sacred domain (聖域) that manifests their mental world, designed so that all principles are unilaterally favorable to the Apostle.

Until the caster cancels the Divine Authority Release, anyone caught in the sacred domain cannot leave of their own will. It’s not entirely impossible. An Apostle of equal standing could manifest their own Divine Authority Release to shatter the domain.

‘Damn it.’

Of course, this was beyond the current Rex’s capabilities. He had barely crossed the threshold of Luminescence, and somehow his opponent happened to be one of the only ten Apostles in the world. No. Whining wouldn’t change reality. What mattered now was finding a way out of this situation.

Rex looked around with steady eyes.

‘Wind Spirit Barrier Veil.’

A blue hemispherical barrier came into view. The protection Boreas had given him. This boundary formed from her divinity isolates space for a certain period, blocking external attacks.

‘I didn’t expect to use it so soon.’

Being able to use the protection was pure luck. The precursors to the Divine Authority Release had been extremely subtle. If not for his senses sharpened by awakening to Luminescence, he would have been devoured by the abyss without any chance to react.

‘She said even an Apostle wouldn’t be able to break through the barrier.’

Since the Divine Authority Release had been deployed, Shaharon hadn’t taken any action. Was he just watching? Rex glared at the writhing eyes. Thinking these appeared without reason would be utterly foolish. Perhaps they functioned as shared vision. Hidden within the shadows, waiting for the barrier to dissipate.

This was the worst.

‘How long will it last?’

Boreas had explained the barrier’s abilities but not its limitations. I hope it holds out as long as possible. Rex bit his lip and turned away. He’d confirmed the barrier was working, but even excluding that, there were too many things to worry about.

“Master!”

Rex wasn’t the only one trapped in the sacred domain. Boreas’s protection could establish a barrier containing multiple people. Fortunately, he’d managed to pull his companions into the barrier in time. However, it couldn’t heal injuries they’d already sustained. Berger’s armor was riddled with holes, reduced to little more than rags. Dark blood seeped through those gaps.

“…Rex.”

“Are you alright?”

Berger opened his eyes with a painful groan. He tried to rise but couldn’t. His joints were dislocated. Berger immediately assessed his physical condition. It wasn’t just his joints. Bones were broken, and he’d lost a significant amount of blood. Injuries that would have certainly killed an ordinary person.

‘I won’t die immediately at least.’

Berger was no ordinary person. He employed sacred arts to boost his regenerative abilities. Though he couldn’t fully recover, he could prevent his wounds from worsening.

“How did the battle… No. I asked the wrong question. Where are we?”

“…Inside a sacred domain.”

Rex answered with a hesitant tone.

A brief answer, but one packed with meaning.

Inside a sacred domain. No one in their group could use Divine Authority Release. This meant they were in a domain constructed by Shaharon. The darkness that had consumed even the stars truly deserved to be called an abyss. And filling that abyss were hundreds, thousands of single eyes. Berger furrowed his brow and looked up at the sky. Something was preventing their invasion.

“It’s a barrier.”

Elin interjected in a detached voice. She had witnessed the blue veil separating space the moment the Divine Authority Release was deployed.

“Rex created it.”

“It’s a reward from the trial. The Wind God told me we’d be safe even from an Apostle’s attacks as long as the barrier exists. The problem is I don’t know how long it will last.”

As Rex quickly explained what he knew, Berger coughed up blood-tinged phlegm and asked:

“You don’t even have a rough estimate of the time?”

“At the moment… no.”

“That’s hopeless.”

Berger stated in a calm tone. In the worst case, the barrier could disappear in just a minute, and it wouldn’t be strange. Even at full strength, he wasn’t confident in countering an Apostle’s Divine Authority Release. What would happen if they lost the barrier’s protection when everyone was already exhausted? The outcome was all too obvious.

“The protection is one-time use, so when all the stored divinity is consumed, the barrier will dissipate. It won’t last long. The power contained in the protection is being used even now. In my opinion, five minutes at most.”

Elin spoke as she examined the barrier intently. Five minutes. Far too short a time to devise a plan.

“…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have suggested coming here today. I’ve led everyone into mortal danger. I have no excuse.”

Berger said with a gloomy expression. With his gray hair and wrinkled skin, Berger was clearly an old man at sixty-seven. But until now, Rex had never thought of Berger as elderly. He was a man more vigorous than most young people. But now… Rex’s expression twisted. Seeing his master’s vulnerability for the first time in his life stirred up sudden emotions.

Before he could speak, a groan came from beside him.

“Urgh…”

Chloe, who had been collapsed on the ground, slowly began to wake up. Elin covered Chloe’s eyes with her hand.

“Don’t look.”

When Chloe made a startled sound, Elin murmured in a firm voice.

“You mustn’t look. If that’s difficult, lower your head. Just look at the ground instead. If you understand, get up slowly.”

While the barrier blocked direct harm, the ominous aura emanating from the eyes still reached them. Rex had dismissed it as mere unease, but Elin knew the more specific reason.

These were gazes imbued with the divinity of chaos. Those of lower rank would go mad just by facing them. Chloe wouldn’t lose her mind from one or two glances, but it was better to avoid them if possible.

“O-Okay, I understand.”

Chloe nodded, swallowing dryly. She seemed considerably bewildered by the sudden change. Unfortunately, there was no time to wait for Chloe to calm down. Rex immediately made her aware of the situation, partly to organize his own thoughts as well.

They had been transported to the Chaos Sacred Domain due to Shaharon’s Divine Authority Release. Thanks to the protection from Boreas, they were safe for now, but even that would disappear after five minutes.

The more he explained, the more it seemed there truly was no solution.

‘…This is maddening.’

Rex shifted his gaze. The blue light of the barrier had noticeably dimmed compared to before. Anxiety pricked at his heart. The grotesque eyes still stared at them with an amused expression. Then, from the shadow that squelched like a swamp, a person emerged.

Shaharon addressed them with an expressionless face.

[You refuse to give up.]

“Shut up.”

[It was certainly unexpected. To think the Wind God’s barrier would appear. You must have been confident because you had something to rely on. But what follows is foolish. Do you think the Wind God’s barrier will protect you forever? Time is running out.]

Rex glared at Shaharon with blazing eyes.

“Get lost.”

[As I said, mercy is offered only once. It’s unfortunate. If you had come along quietly, this could have ended without anyone getting hurt.]

A low laugh echoed. Regardless of Rex’s hostility, Shaharon was deeply interested in him. How could he not be? According to the Saint, the boy was only fifteen years old. At just fifteen, he had reached the mature stage of Sacred Flame. That alone was remarkable, but he had become Luminescent while fighting Malakor. He had even managed to defeat Malakor.

Even for Shaharon, who lived in perpetual boredom, these facts resonated profoundly. And those eyes. Those eyes glowing with golden light. He saw the fierce determination in them. Considering Shaharon was an Apostle, it was nothing short of reckless—but courage from one who is qualified is not recklessness but admirable.

Shaharon found Rex’s demeanor so pleasing that he couldn’t help but smile. Now he understood why Pandemius had issued an oracle to guide Rex to the Order.

‘How peculiar.’

The divine power Rex possessed was an energy that even Shaharon, who had lived for ages, had never experienced. He couldn’t guess which god had bestowed this blessing. That made him all the more curious.

‘I’ll have to dispose of the troublesome ones.’

Shaharon looked at the other side of the barrier with cold eyes. A knight, a red-haired girl, and an elf who had not yet matured. The knight was quite skilled, but not worth keeping alive.

The same went for the girl. Traces of connection to the Wind God were visible—had she made a contract? It didn’t matter. This was the interior of a secondary dimension constructed through Divine Authority Release. Boreas could not exert influence in Shaharon’s domain. That was how it was established. The barrier had been able to activate only because the protection was embedded in Rex’s soul.

‘The elf is… unusual.’

Shaharon’s gaze soon stopped on Elin. It wasn’t his first encounter with an elf, but something was different. As he narrowed his eyes to investigate this sense of incongruity—Not permitted. An enormous will deflected Shaharon’s power. Shaharon averted his gaze with an indifferent expression.

‘So it was that side.’

He could force his way through if he insisted, but there was no reason to do so if the losses outweighed the gains. Elin’s identity wasn’t particularly necessary for Shaharon. Having completely lost interest, he raised his hand.

[It’s time to end this.]

Rex’s eyes widened. Crack. A thin fissure appeared in the barrier. The blue light had now completely faded, being overtaken by the color of the pitch-black shadows. The barrier was breaking. Had that much time passed already? But they still hadn’t come up with a plan.

“Rex.”

“……”

His eyes met Chloe’s. She drew her dagger and short sword with a resolute face. Elin and Berger also readied their weapons, preparing for battle. Rex slowly turned his head.

The cracks in the barrier spread like a spider web in an instant. Finally, as the barrier completely dissipated and Shaharon’s hand began to move—

Boom…

The world shook. The barrier had already shattered. The impact was coming from elsewhere. Shaharon frowned.

The vibration didn’t stop after one occurrence. Bang! With each repetition, the shock contained in the sound grew more violent. The explosive sound came like thunder striking fiercely. Everyone gathered looked in the direction from which the vibration emanated.

CRASH!

The pitch-black sky collapsed.

Into the space entangled with darkness, a beam of bright light leaked through.

What had pierced through was just a single, extremely sharp-looking sword.

“…Charlotte?”

Shaharon muttered in a puzzled voice. The longsword cut through everything in all directions at an invisible speed. Slash! The shadows, split into thousands of pieces, simultaneously lost their form and scattered.

Shaharon’s Divine Authority Release was destroyed.

The world regained its light.

Under the blue sky, a woman approached with a smile and spoke.

“My disciple. I never taught you to go around getting beaten up, so what’s this all about?”