episode_0277

What in the world is going on?

Why? Why is Eve swinging a sword at me?

I couldn’t comprehend the situation before me. Just trying to string together my thoughts was overwhelming.

Surprisingly, that wasn’t the hardest part. Even though my mind wasn’t functioning properly, my body drew Muyeong Sword and blocked Eve’s attack.

Swish—Clang!

“My Lord, there’s something I desperately need to ask. That white light mana… how do you do that…?! ”

“Why… Eve, why are you doing this…”

“Show me, now—!!”

Something’s wrong. It felt like I’d become a different person. Eve’s eyes had lost their pretty blue hue and were burning black.

Even in a panic, my thinking was rational. Was it because of the immense shock? I hadn’t properly processed the revelation of Eve’s long-held secret.

‘That’s not important right now.’

Priorities. I needed to prioritize. Eve’s identity can wait. First, I need to stop her rampage.

“Kyahahahahaht—!!”

Dark energy. I know this energy. The lingering scent of a demon, thick and dripping like factory wastewater. Magi.

Why is Eve emitting magi? No, first I need to find the source of the magi erupting from her. I gripped Muyeong Sword tightly and erected a shield of sword strikes.

Muyeong Sword, Fifth Form, Unrestrained Movement.

Sclang! Sclang! Sclang!

Dozens of sword strikes crisscrossed forming a net. Eve, eyes wide, charged towards the attacks.

The color of her magic sword changes. Deep black. A magic sword forged by condensing magi.

Each time she swung her sword, a strand of pure white light snapped. Unconsciously, she severed the knots of the net, swiftly breaking through my sword strikes.

But that brief opening is enough. I tried to draw up aether and create a reconnaissance barrier.

Thump-

“Ugh- Khh, Cough…”

A burning sensation rose from deep within my stomach. I couldn’t hold it back and vomited bright red blood. I recalled the cause of the sudden hemoptysis.

Poison. Definitely poison. If it were a curse magic, I would have sensed it before it touched my body. When? When did I swallow poison? The ice cream?

With such a powerful poison, it takes time to spread. It was a little earlier.

“When you were asleep…!!”

“That’s right—! I gave it to you then, myself! With my own hands! I mixed in various deadly poisons, you see… huh? I heard it would be incredibly painful—!”

“Eve, please…!!”

Crash-

I staggered, my feet slipping on the stone floor. The pain, starting from deep within, spread throughout my body.

‘Antidote. Even if it’s poison, if I perceive it as erratic energy within my body, its properties will activate.’

Drawing up aether would only allow the poison to spread faster. It’s different from Persona. I can’t even use magic that concludes within the body.

Magic-enhanced physical strengthening is blocked. I have to use my current body as is. Just for a moment, until I can read this poison.

I buried my hands in my chest, tightening the muscles around my heart.

Clench- Crunch—

I slowed the flow of blood as much as possible. I suppressed my heartbeat. With my chest muscles, and my hands.

“Faster… Show me more of that power!!”

Eve, having broken free from the Fifth Form, Unrestrained Movement, didn’t leave me alone. She continuously swung her dark magic sword.

I grabbed Muyeong Sword again and blocked her attacks. But it wasn’t enough.

Eve’s swordsmanship was getting faster and faster. No, my body was slowing down. I kept allowing openings, and wounds accumulated on my body.

Tsk- Thump- Slash—!

I lifted my blurry vision to look at Eve. More magic swords appeared. Blades of pitch black circled her before flying towards me.

I took a deep breath.

Twing- Clank-!

Pure white energy enveloped my body, protecting me from Eve’s magic swords. I didn’t consciously do it. My instincts had automatically manifested [Muyeong Armor] using aether.

“Ah… That’s it!!”

However, the aether flowed, and the poison began to spread rapidly. It was at that moment.

『Trait, [One Who Breaks Free from the Laws of Nature] activates.』 『Absorbing [Poison] within the body.』 『[Poison] detected for the first time! Adaptability increases.』 『[Poison] types are diverse. Each energy is intense. Trait effect and activation speed are halved.』

From the moment I sensed the poison, it became nourishment for my body. Even if the speed is a little slower, I can devour it completely. The spread has effectively stopped.

I immediately drew up aether and poured it into my tattered heart.

[Regeneration]. [Purification]. [Resistance].

I manifest and activate the triple incantation one after another. Thanks to the heightened sensitivity from the excruciating pain of the poison, the magic efficiency increased momentarily.

I pull myself up, my body still tingling. The pain remained, but the organs damaged by the poison were rapidly recovering.

I raised Muyeong Sword and pointed it at Eve.

“Eve, you’re not yourself right now. You’re a completely different person.”

“No… I’m myself. What do you know about me… This is my true form—!!”

“Right now… right now, I’ll save you.”

I swallowed the metallic tang of blood and gritted my teeth. Muyeong Sword dispersed into aether, and my body emitted a brilliant light.

[Realm of Souls].

The moment I took a step, aether filled the empty park. It overwhelmed everything in the vicinity with the force of an exploding star.

A world of pure white unfolded.

A world that exists only for me. Nowhere my gaze fell did anything not belong to me exist.

Soundlessly, I took a step. Eve, who had lost her color, slowly approached me.

‘…It wasn’t just something she swallowed. She’d been accumulating magi in her body little by little, over a long period of time. So that’s why I didn’t notice anything until now.’

It was something I could have known from the moment [Realm of Souls] began. However, unfamiliar with this omnipotence and omniscience, I unconsciously approached Eve.

Human beings are not constituted by reason alone. This was a matter of emotion. I desperately wanted to return Eve’s body to normal, to hold her in my arms and never let go.

I reached for Eve’s hand.

Click-

“—?!”

Grab-

And Eve grabbed my hand too. I was more shocked than when Eve confessed her true identity.

‘How—’

Faster than my own thoughts, information poured in before my eyes.

I thought Eve had lost her color and was completely dominated. But that wasn’t the case. The grayish-white light was emanating from herself.

There’s only one reason. My dominance was lacking. To be precise, my experience was lacking. I hadn’t trained beforehand on how much I could control with [Realm of Souls].

The cadets I confined in my realm during the class tournament were considerably strong mana users. However, I knew Eve was much stronger than them. I knew, but I didn’t know it would be to this extent.

Now I could feel it decisively. Eve’s soul was too vast, too dense, too heavy for me to grasp.

“This is… strangely unpleasant yet… mystifying. I feel like I’ll figure something out.”

Eve raised her magic sword and swung it. The black slash cut through my [Realm of Souls].

Clang-Clang—

The world of pure white shattered. For Eve, who had easily cast off my control, it was simple. Her soul was that heavy, to an unimaginable degree.

Leaving aside how a person can bear such a soul, what I need to devise now is how to subdue Eve.

“My Lord, I think I’ll understand if I just do a little more…!”

“…….”

“You know… I’m feeling really good right now…? So, you know… let’s fight some more—!!”

Even without being told, I had no choice. I drew up aether, donned white armor, and raised my sword.

Eve’s form flickered like heat haze before my eyes. I must stop her here. Otherwise, everything will end.

Whoosh-

I pushed off the ground. To subdue Eve, I need to reduce her strength. I applied all my strength to the hand gripping Muyeong Sword.

At the same time, Eve lunged forward like an arrow. A dull energy, whether of inherently ominous magi or her corrupted soul, was imbued in her sword.

It’s a gamble with this blow.

Muyeong Sword, Sixth Form, White Night.

Clang—!!!

Sword met sword. Sixth Form, White Night. My sword possesses power of the same attribute as the [One Who Breaks Free from the Laws of Nature] trait. An attribute that sucks up all manner of power like a ravenous glutton.

Naturally, I intended to drain the magi from Eve. If she regains her senses even once, I might see a way.

But my prediction was wrong.

When the two swords repelled each other and distance separated them, a pure white light erupted from Eve.

What was taken away was from me.

“So… this is how… this is how it is…! My Lord, you’ve lived your life seeing this world like this—!!!”

Eve, enlightened by her newfound power, trembled, emitting aether. Then, she dripped magi and laughed like a demon.