chapter 47: The Unstable God: Facing True Divinity

Ah, I finally understand.

Everything is so clear, so obvious.

I’ve been walking the wrong path.

The Asura path I chose is strong.

I can definitely defeat Valentina.

But I can’t be the god that the Saintess envisioned.

That’s just overwhelming strength, not omnipotence.

How does one become a god?

Can I even become a god?

Even ‘I,’ who has lived a lifetime of battle, couldn’t become a god.

Clang!!!

“Ugh…”

Damn it. He’s not giving me any time to think.

Seriously, how is he this f*cking strong…?

“Focus.”

Clang!!!

My hand goes numb with every clash of our blades.

Even with all my techniques and powers, ‘he’ reacts in ways I can’t predict. No, it’s not just reaction.

It’s prediction.

‘He’ moves before my sword even reaches him.

‘Deletion of Choice,’ erasing the possibility of existence.

The moment I try to move, the space I intend to occupy vanishes.

The moment I try to attack, the sword I intend to swing ceases to exist.

“This f*cking…”

Since the fight began, I haven’t landed a single proper blow.

‘He’ lightly swings his sword.

It looks like a simple feint, but the air itself twists, collapsing towards me.

Rumble!!!

“Ha!”

I duck and weave, attempting an evasive maneuver. But I’m too late.

Space distorts.

I’m still here, in a place that should no longer exist.

‘Fixation of Existence.’

I instinctively grasp the nature of his power.

‘Not only can he negate existence, but he can also fix it…?’

I can’t move.

I’m going to die.

There’s no time for other thoughts.

Reflexively, I activate Paradise Lost.

Flash!

Black light erupts from my fingertips, decaying the laws that bind me.

An ability that defies the laws of nature.

This will free me…!

Whoosh!

‘He’ vanishes.

“…What?”

I instinctively look up.

The tip of his sword descends towards the top of my head.

“Seriously?!”

I raise my dagger diagonally.

Bang!!!!

An immense shockwave rips through me.

I deflect the blow and use the recoil to fly backward, attempting to roll across the ground to absorb the impact. But ‘he’ won’t allow it.

“You bastard!!!”

I twist in mid-air and extend my left hand.

The power of Divine Comedy.

Pure divine power erupts from my fingertips.

Space distorts momentarily, and the ‘Fixation’ binding me is released.

And, at the same time,

Rumble!!

The ground cracks as ‘his’ sword flies through the air.

“F*ck, seriously…”

Clang!!

My dagger barely parries the blow.

But, once again, ‘he’ moves unpredictably.

Instead of deflecting, he pulls my dagger.

“What the…?”

My body is yanked forward.

His sword strike connects.

Damn it.

I twist my hand, forcibly altering the flow of his sword.

But as if he’d planned for that, ‘his’ sword changes direction mid-air.

Is he cutting through space? Or reading the future?

“Ah, f*ck!!!”

I twist my body, defying gravity.

I have to use my power.

Or I’ll die.

Black energy surges from my fingertips.

“Hey, I’m using this, alright? Don’t expect a clean death.”

I look down at the black energy swirling around my hand.

Paradise Lost.

The absolute power to decay and corrupt all things.

The moment I use this, the battlefield becomes my domain.

But—

“…I am you. Raven Pest, Ileia.”

‘He’ looks down at me, his expression unchanged.

As if he knows everything.

And then,

he removes his glove.

A black hand, just like mine.

“…Ha…f*ck.”

I grit my teeth.

Is he using Paradise Lost too?

Black light erupts from his fingertips.

Space begins to decay.

“This is f*cking disgusting.”

I raise my sword.

He raises his as well.

We charge towards each other, towards our respective ends.

Sword against sword, authority against authority.

Crack!

The moment our blades collide,

space itself twists.

 

***

 

As my Paradise Lost clashes with ‘his,’ the world itself seems to corrode.

This is no longer a battlefield.

It’s a realm of death.

‘His’ expression remains unchanged.

But so does mine.

I swing my sword mercilessly.

“Ha!”

I lunge, attempting a quick thrust, but ‘he’ dodges, as if he’d predicted it.

Clang!

His sword deflects my dagger, and my stance falters.

He seizes the opening and counterattacks.

“…!”

I twist my body, avoiding the blow.

But,

he’s already prepared his next move.

Rumble!

Black energy erupts from his hand, tearing through the ground.

There’s nowhere to run.

‘His’ Paradise Lost is consuming the space around me.

If I can’t dodge—

“I have no choice but to break through.”

I extend my left hand.

Divine Comedy.

Blue light erupts from my fingertips.

Divine power, restoring the decaying space.

I push through the decay with holy power and charge.

His eyes flicker, momentarily surprised.

“Too slow.”

I increase my speed and swing my dagger.

Swish!

The tip of my blade grazes his shoulder.

Black blood splatters.

“…!”

‘He’ takes a step back.

Now!

“Die.”

I lunge, Paradise Lost activated.

At that moment,

he smirks.

“…Yes, this is it.”

Flash!

He vanishes before my eyes.

“…What?”

The moment my body freezes,

he appears behind me.

“Just as you realized, I realized the same thing.”

“…Damn it.”

This is f*cked…!

Thud!

“Gah…!”

Something pierced me.

I stare at him, dumbfounded.

“Is this…the path I chose?”

Blood flows.

No, it erupts.

It’s hot.

Just below my heart, somewhere between my solar plexus and ribs.

A blunt impact, then a strange twisting sensation from within.

The word ‘pain’ doesn’t do it justice.

My body goes numb.

I try to inhale,

but the air doesn’t reach my lungs.

Ah, this—

A beat too late, I realize my lungs have been punctured.

Air escapes.

Wheeze-

Blood rises in my throat, frothy and thick.

My esophagus and trachea are blocked, and nausea overwhelms me.

“—Ugh…!”

I can’t breathe.

Even if I try to cough, my throat is filled with viscous fluid. My lungs burn, but no air escapes.

I raise my hand.

My fingertips tremble.

I can feel the strength draining from my grip on the sword.

For a moment, all sensation fades.

My body goes numb, all sound distant and muffled.

Feeling begins to drain from my fingertips.

No, it’s not simply ‘draining.’

It’s melting away.

The warmth of my body dissipates, the chilling cold starkly clear.

Yet, I’m drenched in sweat.

I’m cold.

My blood should be hot, but it’s icy.

‘Ah, so this is what it feels like to die.’

And then—

his sword is withdrawn.

A ripping sensation, as if my flesh and bones are being torn apart, echoes through my being.

A pulling sensation, as if my intestines are being dragged out.

An immense pressure, followed by

an agonizing pain, as if my entire insides are collapsing.

—Gah!”

I vomit blood.

My throat feels like it’s tearing.

Blood spills down my neck, the warmth draining from my chest.

My body sways, my balance lost.

I reach out, but

my hand won’t move.

My legs give way.

Thud.

“Divine…Comedy…”

I have to use Divine Comedy.

Absolute healing. Salvation.

My…light.

If I use this, I can be restored…

Should be, right?

“…Ah.”

Realization.

The power of a blank page.

Nothingness.

The end.

The final destination.

The period.

I’ve always taken Divine Comedy for granted.

The light has always been on my side.

But now I know.

Light cannot illuminate ‘everything.’

The place where light doesn’t reach.

That’s where I stand.

I reach out.

But there’s nothing there.

A place where everything has crumbled.

There, I finally understand.

“Ah…I see.”

Light, darkness, battles, wounds,

they’re all the same.

I’ve faced the end.

The true end.

‘Nothingness.’

“Did you survive?”

Click.

The ‘me’ before me raises his sword.

But I simply stand there.

I don’t move, I don’t raise my hand.

I don’t draw my sword.

There’s nothing within me to project.

That is why, I am complete.

I don’t move.

But, at that moment,

Thump!

The world collapses.

The ocean’s waves cease, the sky stands still.

In the silent, white void, ‘I’ and ‘me’ face each other.

The ‘Asura me’ grips his sword.

His sword is heavy, sharp.

Imbued with all manner of power.

But I don’t reach for mine.

‘Nothingness’ has no form.

I understand this.

I am already complete.

“I will not fight.”

The tip of his sword wavers.

A sword strike that denies existence itself.

‘Deletion of Choice.’

The power to erase the world’s possibilities.

But I am already beyond all possibilities.

Before ‘nothingness,’ no possibilities exist.

I don’t take a single step.

Yet, his sword cannot cut me.

Because the target has vanished.

“…!”

The Asura me, realizing this, freezes.

The darkness dissipates, the wind stills.

His sword trembles.

His existence wavers.

He cries out,

“Impossible…!”

At that moment, he unleashes all his power and charges.

Rumble!!!

An explosion erupts from the tip of his sword.

It’s not mere magic.

The Asura me unleashes all the power a human can attain.

A battle transcending authority and magic, the physical and the mental.

A battle between god and human, god and god.

Lightning strikes from the tip of his sword,

flames erupt from his fingertips.

All elements and powers intertwine,

burning, twisting, consuming the world.

“This is me!!!”

He shouts.

But I simply look at him and say,

“That is you. But…”

And I raise my hand.

Not a miracle, not an act of authority.

Not the touch of a god, nor the movement of a warrior.

Just a simple gesture.

And then.

Crack.

Everything stops.

His explosive power, his brilliant attack,

his very existence, falters.

“I am…not.”

How can something so unstable be called a god?

Only that which is immutable,

is truly

divine.