The World-Eater – 3

A special gimmick that only appears during the first boss battle against the World-Eater.

That was, none other than, weapon durability.

Traditionally, the concept of weapon durability did not exist in the Brightest Darkness series.

That was thanks to the developers’ very firm philosophy that it would only provide an unpleasant experience to players, not a challenging one.

The characteristic of weapons having no durability, combined with the ability to parry regardless of weapon type as long as it was a one-handed sword, sometimes created absurd situations where a player would effortlessly deflect the attack of a monster the size of a house with a worn-out and rusty blade.

However, that was only absurd in appearance; it was a very welcome development philosophy that allowed players, who were busy dying from all sorts of malicious traps and mob placements, to worry less about their weapons.

Therefore, there’s no need to further explain how shocked and terrified players were when they witnessed the protagonist’s weapon breaking during their first encounter with the World-Eater.

That was also the condition for the forced defeat event. Not to blindly charge in and die, but to attack the monster until its weapon durability was completely depleted.

Only then would the boss battle be cleared, accompanied by a cutscene of the weapon breaking.

‘Now, what will happen?’

I stared blankly down at the blood-stained sword fragments, shattered into pieces and scattering, leaving only a part of the blade’s base.

I found it quite ironic.

The weapon that had deflected countless attacks from all sorts of weapons and monsters without a single scratch was utterly destroyed just by touching that monster’s scales once.

Later, I would be able to deflect any of that monster’s attacks with this very weapon. Whether it was a foreleg slamming down with its weight, or a tail sweeping through a wide area, all of it.

I firmly gripped the blood-stained sword, now only a hilt, and glared at the World-Eater. I had completed all the event flags I could. All that remained was to wait for that monster’s reaction.

The monster briefly stared at the human before it, who had made a futile struggle that wouldn’t affect it in the slightest, then slowly began to raise its head.

As it stretched its neck as high as possible, straightened its upper body, and stomped its two forelegs down to support itself, its already enormous body appeared even more colossal.

‘……Its size is really damn huge.’

And I stood calmly before it, holding the broken weapon. In truth, there wasn’t anything more I could do here anyway.

-Brave…… human…….

Thoughts were hammered into my mind once again. As expected, there was no warning.

My body swayed for a moment from the impact, but the shock quickly subsided, as if this time it truly intended to initiate a conversation. I clutched my throbbing head and looked up at the monster.

Perhaps my recent actions had been quite impressive, as despite me attacking first, there was no sign of anger or intent to retaliate. Its gaze seemed to have shifted ever so slightly, becoming more favorable.

Of course, its gaze becoming slightly more favorable was separate from satisfying its thirst for knowledge. The monster’s vertical pupils began to turn black once more.

“It’s here,” I thought, gripping the blood-stained sword, now only a hilt. Now, it would read all my memories, then try to kill me, claiming I knew its secrets.

“……Ugh?!”

Suddenly, an alien sensation was felt inside my head.

It was a sensation as if something warm yet cold had firmly embraced me. It was too fleeting a moment to be certain, but that was the feeling I got.

Soon after, the World-Eater’s pupils returned to their original ominous red. I tensed up. I didn’t know what kind of situation this was, but I knew that its actions had ceased.

-So that’s how it was…….

However, its tone was far calmer than I expected.

-I understand…… human……

‘Understood? What?’

I was dumbfounded. It was completely different from what I expected. By now, it should have been raging, demanding to know how I knew its secrets and threatening to kill me, but instead, it suddenly said it understood.

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

-Sun…… Moon…… That is it…….

That monster kept spouting incomprehensible words, pushing thoughts into my mind. I, listening to them, was equally confused.

‘If it’s the Sun and Moon, those are the gods worshipped in the Holy Nation…… What did the Popes do to me?’

It wasn’t some green-haired cat beast-girl, so why was it spouting things as if it knew everything by itself? I couldn’t understand it at all. Or it could have just thought it all to itself from the beginning, leaving no room for the listener to be curious.

I wondered if all long-lived beings had such personalities. The listener was so frustrated they felt like their insides would burst, while it just kept spouting useless words.

If I could open my mouth right now, I would have immediately yelled at it to explain properly, but due to the continuous onslaught of thoughts, I couldn’t open my mouth at all.

My mind was already at its limit just by enduring without fainting.

-If you can withstand the power of a god…… then naturally…… you would have been able to defeat it…….

‘Withstand the power of a god?’

Suddenly, I recalled what the Abandoned Creature of God had said. That monster had clearly stated that it felt the divine power of the Sun and Moon from me.

It had also said that, originally, before I could even accept that power, my vessel should have melted down because it couldn’t withstand it, right before I died.

At the time, I didn’t know the source either, so I just brushed it off by saying it wasn’t mine, but if that really was the power of a god, then the current situation made rough sense.

Of course, a new question would arise: why on earth did such a thing reside in my body?

-A human…… who withstands the power of a god…… Interesting…… However…… it is nothing more than that…….

With those words, the thoughts that had been swirling in my head vanished. Finally, my actions were free. The crushing pressure and pain that had weighed down my body disappeared without a trace.

I sighed in relief inwardly, then abruptly raised my head.

‘……This is it?’

The monster spread its two pairs of wings wide to its left and right, preparing to take flight. It truly looked as if it was just going to leave like this.

I stared at the monster, its wings spread wide, with an expression mixed equally with relief and bewilderment. Did it not read my memories? But then, it seemed to have understood something on its own-

‘Ah, no way.’

The sensation of something warm yet cold enveloping my entire body, which I had felt when the World-Eater tried to read my memories.

It was highly probable that, upon sensing that power, it had understood on its own what I had used to kill the Abandoned Creature of God, and then retreated.

‘It’s only highly probable, not certain, but……’

Ignoring my confusion, the monster spread its two pairs of wings wide and soared into the sky. The ground cracked like a spiderweb from the impact. Fragments of buildings scattered in all directions.

The World-Eater’s body, having flown into the distant sky, grew smaller and smaller. Its attitude truly conveyed that all its business with me was finished. Soon, its massive form vanished beyond the sun.

I, unconcerned, was in the process of organizing my thoughts.

‘For now, the possible candidates narrow down to roughly two main types.’

The immense amount of divine power I used in the boss battle against the Abandoned Creature of God, and the blessing the Popes had supposedly bestowed upon me before I returned to the Empire.

The World-Eater probably confirmed the former, but the latter possibility couldn’t be entirely ruled out either. It was forbidden to jump to conclusions until something was definitively revealed.

‘Now that I think about it, couldn’t I have just asked the Popes?’

I had even vowed inwardly to ask later, but completely forgot. I groaned inwardly.

It couldn’t be helped. There had been many incidents one after another even after I defeated the Abandoned Creature of God. Moreover, I hadn’t even imagined such a situation would occur.

‘I don’t know. Let’s think about it later for now. Right now, dealing with the unconscious people is the priority.’

I gazed down at the broken weapon, then carefully placed it on the ground.

Since it was destroyed as part of an event, it could be repaired at the blacksmith’s without cost, but since things had come to this, it might not be a bad idea to abandon the blood-stained sword and acquire a new weapon.

Ultimately, if the conclusion was going to be reached without my memories being read this way, I wondered if I had broken the weapon for nothing.

I turned my body, organizing my thoughts in my head. Kaikilia, trembling slightly, caught my eye, staring at me from a short distance away.

As soon as I saw that, a chilling sensation ran through my mind.

‘Surely, she didn’t hear the conversation, did she?’

The direct conversation with the World-Eater was in the form of thoughts hammered into my mind, so there was no chance of it being overheard, but the conversation I had with the mana human might have been heard.

There was absolutely no benefit in giving her more reason to be interested in me. I tried to ignore the rising anxiety and approached Kaikilia.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty the Emperor?”

Kaikilia saw everything.

Although she couldn’t move her limbs due to the after-effects of being caught in the roar and waking up, her eyes were open, so she could confirm what Delta had done.

Standing firm on two feet despite hearing the dragon’s roar, blocking the dragon alone, confronting the dragon without yielding to its threats at all.

The dragon gathering blue mana to try and converse with a mere human, then roaring again to threaten Delta, suddenly severing the neck of the human made of mana.

And then, Delta drawing his weapon and charging at the dragon.

All of it.

Although the weapon Delta wielded shattered into pieces as soon as it touched the dragon’s scales, such a result was of no importance whatsoever.

‘Is that…… even possible……?’

It was something that shouldn’t be possible. A mere human confronting a dragon? And a dragon of a size that would only appear in legends? Was that even conceivable?

However, she had seen it clearly with her own two eyes, so she had to believe it. That man had accomplished it.

‘How……’

Even though the weapon he held was shattered, and his life was now like a flickering candle in the wind, his back remained dignified. There wasn’t the slightest hint of shrinking back, and even less a sign of fear.

The dragon, with its upper body raised, was emanating killing intent as if it would breathe fire at any moment, and even Kaikilia, who was a step removed from that killing intent, felt her body tremble uncontrollably from its effects.

Only Delta stood there, completely unfazed.

‘W-what in the……’

The astonishment didn’t end there.

The dragon, which had been building up its momentum while facing Delta, was the first to fly into the sky and leave.

She had no idea what had happened. But one fact was clear: the dragon had left, and Delta was still standing firm on his own two feet in the same spot.

Kaikilia stared at his back, as if mesmerized by something. She couldn’t take her eyes off him.

Delta, who had briefly watched the dragon disappear into the distant sky, glanced at his broken weapon, then carefully placed it on the ground.

Then, he turned his head with a thoughtful expression, and paused when he spotted Kaikilia.

“Are you alright, Your Majesty the Emperor?”

His pause was brief. Delta immediately strode towards Kaikilia. Seeing him approach, it felt as if all the tension in her body suddenly released.

‘Ah……’

With the sight she had just witnessed, Kaikilia was certain. This man could undoubtedly fulfill her deepest desires.

It was something she had been half-certain of since she called him to her chambers, but now, that certainty was spreading beyond conviction, turning into awe.

‘It wasn’t confidence…… but arrogance…….’

Minerva’s advice came to mind. Her words about how it was good to have confidence, but not to be arrogant. What had Kaikilia replied to that advice?

She had replied that if that man truly was such a being, she would be willing to change her mind.

“Your Majesty? Are you alright?”

Feeling the footsteps that had approached right beside her, Kaikilia could no longer endure the fatigue and once again fainted.

Along with a great sense of satisfaction that her judgment had, indeed, not been wrong.