Chapter 58: Lord of Death (4)
by fnovelpia
Ding!– You have entered the Sanctuary of the Celestials.
Rumble!
Beyond the warp, it was all there.
The instant Mari and Akuyuham stepped into the sacred atmosphere, the ornate temple surrounding them began to shake violently.
The ancient pillars of the sanctuary, built for its master, collapsed into clouds of dust.
“Step back,” Akuyuham said, shielding the girl with his body.
Separated from Bone dragon due to the sudden warp, they were stranded in this unknown place.
It was nearly impossible to grasp the situation and escape unscathed.
From the swirling dust clouds, something enormous and red began to rise.
Akuyuham whispered, tension building within him.
Magic surged around him, and black magic circles appeared in his hands.
“A challenger…?”
From the grotesque form of a giant, whose appearance seemed as though it had been stripped of human flesh, a delicate female voice echoed.
“This place… is forbidden. You cannot… proceed.”
Akuyuham swallowed hard.
‘A guardian of the Celestial Sanctuary?’
He surmised that if they could defeat this monstrous entity, the path to the sanctuary would open, revealing their exit from this world—completing the quest given by the GM.
But…
The hum of magic faded as Akuyuham dismissed his magic circles.
He had no intention of leaving this world.
He had no need to defeat this monster.
‘I feared that being warped into the Celestial Sanctuary would mean being forcefully ejected from this world without a chance to act, but thankfully, that seems not to be the case.’
Slowly, Akuyuham retreated.
‘As long as I escape from this place…’
As long as the monster remained intact, he could continue to exist in this world.
Akuyuham turned around, trying to secure a way out.
Thud.
“Hm?”
A yellow cloud had materialized behind him, forming a wall that blocked his escape.
“This is…!”
It was a game mechanic, a barrier preventing players from escaping once they had entered a boss fight.
Thud. Thud.
“The challenger… shall be crushed.”
The red giant began advancing towards them.
“GM…!”
Akuyuham gritted his teeth.
‘Do they intend to force me to fight this monster no matter what?’
The GM seemed determined to trap him and ensure he cleared the quest by any means necessary.
‘Is there no way…? There must be a way…’
There was no escape.
The monster was coming for both him and Mari.
If he killed the monster, he would be expelled from this world.
No matter what choice he made, there could be no good outcome in this dire situation.
‘What am I supposed to do?!’
Was there truly no way to stay in this world with her?
“Eradication.”
Crash!
The black bone spikes Akuyuham had summoned intercepted the giant’s descending fist.
‘No…’
His glowing blue eyes flashed with clarity.
‘There is a way.’
Before he met Mari, Akuyuham had already experimented with different ways to leave this world.
One such method had been to end his own life.
Through his experiments, he confirmed that even if he died in this world, time would simply rewind, but he would not be expelled.
Even in death, he would return to the past.
Akuyuham glanced at Mari.
She was watching him with worried eyes.
‘Back to the past…’
Everything he had experienced with her would be erased.
All the happy memories would disappear.
The version of himself that she knew… would vanish.
‘But…’
He would still remember.
The Lord of Death would remember everything.
And so…
He would…
Crash!
The giant’s hand came crashing down towards Akuyuham.
“No… No! Ku!!”
The girl rushed toward him in panic.
“Stop!” Akuyuham, his body fractured and broken, rose to his feet, holding out his hand to stop her.
“Don’t worry. I am the one who rules over death.”
He would not die.
The giant raised its fist once more.
“I will come back for you,” Akuyuham declared.
Even if the world changed countless times, he would find her.
He would never abandon her.
Akuyuham stared up at the giant’s descending fist and slowly closed his eyes.
Crash!
Yet even as the deafening sound rang out, he remained standing in the Celestial Sanctuary.
“I… didn’t die?”
Akuyuham looked up once more, bewildered.
“Bad… Ku.”
“……!”
Mari stood in front of him, her small hand raised, blocking the giant’s fist.
An alien pink aura rippled around her.
‘What… is this…?’
Akuyuham thought he must be hallucinating in his final moments.
“Celestial fragment detected. Ascension protocol initiated.”
“You’re bad too.”
With a flick of her wrist, Mari sent a powerful gust of wind toward the giant, launching it backward.
“Who… are you?”
Akuyuham could hardly believe his eyes.
He had always known Mari was no ordinary child.
He had suspected she harbored some hidden secret, but…
He never imagined it would be this.
“Everything has come back to me.”
Mari, enveloped in divine energy, began to grow.
The girl, who once appeared to be around ten years old, transformed into a fully grown woman.
“I am Celestial Maria, born of this land, the one who toppled the tyrant colossus.”
All the energies of the foes they had vanquished on their journey to the Celestial Sanctuary coalesced within her.
“Though the usurper stripped me of my divinity and reduced me to a mere child, I have now returned.”
Betrayed by a companion, her power was stolen, turning her into an ordinary child.
Unconsciously, she had been drawn to the Celestial Sanctuary, unaware of her true nature.
She had suffered endlessly, becoming the most persecuted being in this world, tossed into countless perils.
Enduring infinite deaths, she experienced the ceaseless cycle of life and death.
Imprisoned in an unending loop of eternal suffering, she would have remained lost had her savior, the Lord of Death, not broken that cycle.
“Mode change. Ascension.”
Boom!
Lightning descended from the sky, striking the giant.
Whooosss!
The giant exhaled a torrent of hot smoke and shrank down to the size of an ordinary human.
“Ahh… Maria, my Maria.”
From within the swirling smoke, a slick young man with narrow eyes emerged.
“So, you’ve finally made it here.”
“Mirakel.”
“How has your punishment been? No, no, you don’t need to say. I can already guess.”
Ding!
- Defeat the Colossus Usurper, Mirakel.
“It seems that you still haven’t learned your lesson. That nuisance must be the reason why.”
‘!!!’
In a moment faster than Akukham could perceive, Mirakel was already standing behind him.
“Perish.”
Just as Mirakel’s hand reached out to crush Akukham’s head—
Tiiing
Maria intervened, deflecting the attack with ease.
“Don’t you dare touch him.”
“…Ha…”
The blood-stained arm of Mirakel healed instantly.
“You insolent wench… How dare you…”
Kooom
Mirakel’s divine power erupted like a volcano.
- Do you truly wish to suffer the torments of hell again?
Mirakel, now in his colossal form, lunged at Maria.
Boom
But Maria’s pink divine power met his assault head-on.
“Ku…”
With one hand holding back the force of the colossus, Maria spoke softly.
“I escaped the chains of hell, thanks to Ku.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“I was stripped of all my powers by the usurper. I was meant to be forged into his perfect vessel through endless torment. An innocent little girl…”
“!”
Akukham recalled his first encounter with Mari in the village of Ronie, where she had been tortured by the villagers.
‘Those villagers weren’t mad after all…’
Maria had experienced death and resurrection countless times, as decreed by divine will.
“But Ku saved me from that hell. He was kind to me.”
A soft hum echoed from Maria, her divine power radiating outward.
“So, this time, I will protect Ku.”
Fwaaang
A wave of pink light burst forth, sending Mirakel’s colossus flying.
“Will you say my name, Ku?”
“…Mari.”
Mari brought her hands together in a familiar gesture—one Akukham often used when forging contracts with his spirits.
“I am Mari.”
CRASH!
Suddenly, pink thorns erupted from the ground.
“Kuu’s Mari!”
Shlik, Shlik, Shlik
- Grrrroooaaaah!
Mirakel’s colossal form was pierced through by Maria’s thorns.
“Disappear!”
BOOOM!
“H-how…?”
Mirakel disintegrated into a golden dust, vanishing from existence.
Woom
With Mirakel gone, Maria’s body returned to that of a small child.
“Hee.”
The little girl turned and snuggled into Akukham’s arms.
“Hey, Ku?”
“…Yes?”
“You know, that’s the first time you’ve called me by my name?”
“…Is that so?”
“I thought you hated me.”
It wasn’t that he hated her.
He simply… had been trying not to get attached.
He had convinced himself that this world was temporary, that they were destined to part anyway.
But now…
“But now I know it’s not true. Kuu likes me too, doesn’t he?”
Maria placed her hands on her hips, puffing out her flat chest with pride.
Akukham couldn’t help but chuckle as he spoke.
“Mari, I…”
But then—
Ding!
- You have defeated the Colossus Usurper, Mirakel.
- You have cleared the Sanctuary of the Celestial Gods.
“No…”
“…Huh? What do you mean ‘no’?”
Maria tilted her head in confusion at Akukham’s unexpected response.
Despite his aching body, Akukham forced himself to his feet.
Crack!
His ribs and thigh bones fractured, but he paid them no mind.
“No!”
Ding!
- The test is now complete.
Fwoosh
As if a screen had been turned off, his vision went black.
When Akukham’s sight returned, he was standing in the middle of a grand temple.
“Congratulations on successfully completing the test, player Akukham.”
Beside him stood a guide, her expression as emotionless as ever.
“This concludes your penalty for abusive behavior. You are now free. You may leave the Tower of Labyrinth. Do you have any questions?”
“Ah… Ah…”
He had promised to protect her.
He had vowed never to abandon her.
He had sworn to always stay by her side…
“You don’t seem well. I’ll begin a diagnostic analysis.”
As the guide began running a log analysis—
Grab
“…?”
Akukham seized her with both arms.
“Player Akukham is currently engaging in unauthorized violent behavior. If you do not release me, additional penalties will be enforced.”
“Girl. You’re the messenger of the GM, aren’t you?”
Akukham’s eyes gleamed with madness.
“Tell the GM this—quickly!”
Thud
He dropped to his knees.
“I will do anything! If I must lick their boots, I will. If I must serve for eternity, I shall! I will give them everything!”
So, please… return me to her!
Let me go back to that world!
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