Episode 856 Rapid Progress (2)
The past is a trace,the present is a process, andthe future is a possibility.
Originally, before the concept of fate came to dominate the world, future foresight existed under the more vague term of future ‘prediction’.
The probability of being struck by an arrow on the battlefield.The probability of magic succeeding.The probability of dying from a sword stab.The probability of turning a page.The probability of falling asleep as the moon rises.… … .
In every time and event that has not yet passed the present, there was always room for error. Even the obvious could be bypassed unless it had not yet been realized.Psychology, circumstances, reason, judgment, chance.The essence of the world is indescribably irreversible, complex, and chaotic, so it cannot be predetermined by a single outcome.
Homeostasis
Fate has transcended time and space, but as its power weakens, the time and space that were forcibly suppressed are reverting to their original nature.The seers and prophets born in subjugation to Fate are also returning along with it…
Back to theprimeval era. Back to the primordial system.
“……Lady Aisha?”
Munadim the Wanderer asked with a worried look to Aisha, who had suddenly stopped eating a snack in the garden and was staring blankly toward the west.
Having migrated from the silent desert to the ownerless land following Verden, she volunteered to serve Aisha as if it were her mission.
Age is not important at all.Social status is even less so.
Since Munadim the Wanderer, the foremost prophet of the current Tuhar, instinctively recognized that Aisha was a seer of elevation and elevation again,
The liberation of destiny shall cross all people.
The old fortune teller’s granddaughter—Aisha—spaced her lips blankly.
“Will the Apostle truly be able to defy fate?”“What?”
Munadim the Wanderer tilted his head.
“What does that mean…? It doesn’t seem to be a common language of the continent…”
The strange language that flowed from Aisha’s mouth was not the common language of the continent, so the wandering Munadim could not understand it at all.Soon, Aisha blinked and finished cutting the cake with the fork she was holding.
“Sister, isn’t this cream so delicious? I wish Grandma would have some too. You should have some, too!”“Aisha? Just now.”“Yes? What?”
Aisha took a bite of the cake and her eyes sparkled innocently. She looked as though she hadn’t realized in the slightest what she had just done.
As expected, you’re different…!
There must have been some kind of precognitive power at work.
Just how on earth is Aisha’s power realized? As someone who is innately able to foresee the future, I couldn’t help but be curious.
Who knows what the future holds…
Munadim the Wanderer took a small breath and poured hot black tea into a half-empty teacup.
Ah, older sister.
Aisha stroked the shoulder of the wandering Munadim with her pure white hand.Thud.A loose strand among the few remaining threads of fate snapped and vanished. The remaining threads were still taut, but they would soon lose their function.
“Uncle Adrian and Isabella have become very similar now. And the others, too. That must feel really relieving. Don’t you think so?”
Aisha smiled brightly.
It was the girl’s smile.
Sadly, Munadim the Wanderer had no idea what that pure laughter meant, nor what had just happened.
* * *
The staff [Ultima] that silenced the Black Magician Zakran and the magic sword [Kedens] that slayed the Elder of the Bohemian Magic Tower crossed paths, dividing the line of death.
Kaang───!
And the light sword [Silendar] blocked the center exactly.
The combination is good, but it’s still slow.
Adrian unleashed a burst of purple energy.A repulsive force surged forth.Junia and Cain retreated using
Immediately afterwards, Adrian’s new model swayed faintly at the edge of their vision, just barely within the twins’ dynamic vision.
‘side!’
The moment Cain immediately guarded his flank, a kick pierced through before [Kedens] could even block the path. Striked in the side, he was pushed back.
“Ugh.”“Tch……!”
Triple Casting: Ice Rain
Countless ice spikes rushed in from a single rift drawn in the sky. Junia, who was protecting Cain, twisted her body, her senses heightened.
Destruction
The staff and the light sword collided.Their gazes crossed.As gravity and sword energy intertwined to generate a magnetic pull, Junia let out a hollow laugh.
“A prosecutor flying around? Isn’t that a scam?”“I thought so too.”
───CRASH!
Junia, completely defeated in the power struggle, crashed to the ground.
Adrian leaped into the air.
This was the result of imitating none other than Sandir Faen’s skills.
However, if there is a clear difference… … Adrian achieved it not in the form of a technique, but solely through the manipulation of ki.Verden was not the only one growing at an extraordinary speed.
At the same time, Cain charged forward and swiftly blocked Adrian’s sword energy. Junia also quickly recovered and rushed in, instigating a chaotic battle.
“My current speed is just slightly above your senses. If the two of you cannot adapt to my movements, you are nothing more than weaklings among the powerful of this elevated rank.”
Adrian put weight on the balls of his feet.The ground cracked in part.
Do not rely on your eyes.
The blunt back of the lightsaber struck Junia and Cain, respectively. Lips were torn, and blood flowed from their foreheads.The distinctive, sticky metallic taste of blood lingered bitterly on the tip of the tongue.
Regardless, Eon’s twins burned with even greater determination. They bolstered their full power. To the fullest without attempting to break through the hierarchy!
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang! Kwaaang! Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwa!
Sparring with an opponent who remains unscathed even when fighting with the desperate determination to kill is, in itself, a blessing.The two reveled in this blessing by devastating the surrounding nature.
Ferne, Eon’s intelligence officer, was watching the training from the safe zone and was impressed.
As expected, it’s massive. It looks like it would easily destroy an average training ground.
Keirel twitched his cat ears and straightened his back.
“Neither of them possesses ordinary national-level power. To think they still want to become much stronger… Besides, Lord Verden and Adrian are also aiming for higher levels. I’m telling you, they are even more extreme than beastmen?”“It is the ambition for advancement that one can possess as a powerful being, knowing the scenery beyond.”
Enette added. She sat as if meditating, resting her greatsword on her thigh. And she did not take her eyes off their battle for a single moment.
Keirel and Ferne stared at Enette side by side.
“What is the matter?”“Is the rumor true that you did this and that with Adrian?”“?!”
Enette trembled violently.
“W-Who on earth said such a thing…?”“I just picked it up here and there… but isn’t it true? They say Adrian didn’t say a word, and you just blushed next to him and ran away.”“Honestly, at that point, it’s practically a done deal.”“So the source is Lady Isabella.”
She shook her head firmly.
“Nothing like what you are thinking happened at all. All I did was drink tea in a private room at a café and wander around deserted streets.”“A private room?”“Dusted?”“Because Adrian is famous. I didn’t want to get him involved in any unnecessary gossip.”
Keirel’s tail bent slightly.
“But why is your face turning red?”“Well…”
Enette lowered her voice as much as possible.
“You’re surprisingly kind.”“Your rose-tinted glasses are on the level of a magic barrier.”
It’s not like I’m a young girl or anything…
“Nothing particularly important happened, so why didn’t Lord Adrian say anything?”“He probably just wanted to tease Lady Isabella.”
Keirel of the Ownerless Land is Adrian’s only childhood friend. He sees right through Adrian’s motivations.
“Still, seeing as he’s not pushing me away right away, it seems he doesn’t dislike it…”“Ahem!!”
Enette struggled to calm the blood flow throughout her body and cleared her head.Then she changed the subject.
“By the way, has that spirit named Blue not woken up yet?”“Yes… not yet.”
Ferne carefully took out a blue halo from her bosom. The spirit, which had risen slightly on her palm, was much weaker than before.
Blue, who received Verden’s magic power before the General Assembly of the Magic World was held, had been doing well until recently, but suddenly ended up changing like this.
“Lord Verden said it seemed like he had fallen asleep, and advised me to consult seriously with Lord Merquien just in case. So I went to see Lord Merquien, but he said he didn’t know what was going on either and told me to leave him alone until he wakes up.”“Then there is nothing to worry about.”“That is true, but…”
Ferne felt a profound emptiness without Blue sparkling and flying around beside him. He had already grown far too attached to Blue.
“Potion.”“……!”
Before they knew it, Adrian approached them and held out his hand. Enette quickly handed him two bottles of top-grade potions.
Junia and Cain gulped down the potion Adrian threw in one go and immediately slumped to the ground.Their entire bodies were a mess.
“Haa, haa… It hurts quite a bit, but I feel incredibly refreshed. I feel like I’ve fully woken up.”“Phew, phew… Thank you for your hard work.”“Originally, the plan was for you and my Lord to take turns training, but while you are away like this, I will handle the sparring entirely. At most, 15 minutes a day.”“I appreciate it, but isn’t 15 minutes too short?”“At your current level, the more you push yourself, the more counterproductive it will be.”
Adrian was cool-headed.
“Focus on adapting to the speed I control every day. If your senses don’t keep up, you won’t even be able to touch a hair on the head of a transcendent being.”“Yes, I will do my best.”“I understand. But what’s suddenly going on with you, Senior? It looks like something really urgent has come up.” “You guys don’t need to know at your level.”“Hmph! You won’t be able to help but tell me later on, will you?”
They knew that Verden, Isabella, Adrian, Alpha, and Beta were hiding other secrets. However, the members of Eon had no complaints.
This was especially true for Junia and Cain.
Rather, it was because he had developed a clear goal of becoming stronger than he was now, rising to a higher position, and hearing his senior’s secret.
Well, I’m looking forward to it.
It was the moment when today’s short but intense sparring was about to come to an end.
Kugugugugugu… … !
Suddenly, the ground began to shake.
“What’s with the sudden…?”“Did the ground weaken because of us?”
earthquake?
It felt somewhat unnatural to say that. After all, the air currents in the sky had changed as well. Junia, Ennet, and Cain immediately assumed battle stances.Amidst them… … only Adrian grasped the cause of the phenomenon.
Bang!
“oh……?!”
Adrian slapped Ferne’s hand away without explaining in words. Because this was faster. The blue light falling from her instantly intensified.
Pure magical power struck.
Nature screams.
Adrian’s composure was shaken by that familiar sensation. Junia stared blankly at Blue rising into the sky with an expression of disbelief.
“……senior?”
Whoooo
In an instant, a magical light brighter than the sun blinded him. Adrian watched everything without even moving a single eyelid.
Not long after, the light subsided.
Eventually, a distinctive light familiar to them slowly lowered its altitude. It gradually shifted its trajectory and changed direction slightly.
“ah!”
Ferne reached out her hand without realizing it.A spirit landed on her.
“Blue…… you?”
Sparkle!
Blue flickered. Once as a blue light… … once as a pure dark red. Even with a powerful presence that had never existed before.
[Fer. R. Ne.]
Blue, the forest spirit reborn from the energy stone by Verden in the Kingdom of Estiria—now the spirit of infinity and destruction pronounced her name slowly and clearly.
Adrian spoke in the silence.
Call an elf right now.
* * *
Even after opening the bookshelf just like last time and poking around here and there, [Gring Arcanum] showed no reaction. It was a situation where I had literally done everything within the bounds of common sense.
[Fourteenth experiment failed.]
[The fifteenth method is somewhat unconventional. Would you like to proceed?]
“Since you plan to keep pretending not to know like this, there’s nothing we can do.”
Verden bent his finger.
Madou
The lightning imbued with the magic of destruction harmonized and transformed into dark lightning. Intermittently, the dark lightning emitted light and sound as it settled in his hand.
“Let’s see if you stay quiet after this.”
Crackle──!
Verden made a sincere decision and aimed for the world’s forbidden book.
It was then.
The [Gring Arcanum], which had remained motionless until now, suddenly burst open. The papers that should have been inside had vanished without a trace.Inside the book, there was nothing but a pitch-black space devoid of even a single ray of light.
Verden stopped abruptly.Silence fell.At the same time, the moment [Gring Arcanum] flinched, he unfolded a veil of magical power with infinite magic to protect Alpha and Beta.
Screeeeeeek… … .
The darkness within the world’s forbidden books spread and engulfed the entire space where Verden and his party were.
* * *
[Change in space. Confirmed.]
[This is a location that has never been observed before.]
Alpha and Beta are safe.
The senses are also normal.
Breathing was uncomfortable, just as it was when facing the host, but only to a minimal degree. As I exhaled, air bubbles rose to the surface.
Is it underwater?
It felt just like entering the deep sea. Although I could barely feel any significant water pressure… it seemed that the [Gring Arcanum] was indeed connected to the ocean.
Then, a strange presence was felt.
[frontal.]
As the darkness brightened ever so slightly, someone walked toward Verden and his party. It was a bizarre human covered in something resembling barnacles—not just on the face, but on the skin, clothes, and all over the body.No, to be precise, it was an unknown creature that had taken on a human form.
Smirk.
The barnacle man smiled a bizarre smile.
“Indeed, you aren’t fazed at all…….”“Are you laughing?”
Verden clenched his hand halfway. As he did so, the pressure in a specific space intensified, placing a tremendous load on the Barnacle Man’s neck.
“If you want to die, keep laughing.”
I’m sick and tired of being dragged somewhere else without permission. Above all, this time I’m not alone; Alpha and Beta are with me.
Verden was so, so uncomfortable that he didn’t even want to control his strength.
“Ugh……!!! Ughhhhhh!!!”
The barnacle man screamed as he was driven to the brink of his head exploding.The smile had already vanished.
