Episode 1037 The End of the Arcadium (5)
With the death of Balok Besias and the annihilation of the former leadership of the Bohemirn Magic Tower, the name “Experiment No. 77” was awakened from oblivion.
However, Verden was not shaken.
The past, the most powerless moment of one’s life, is merely the past, and Draven, who brought up the past, is no longer alive. Above all, revenge has already been accomplished.Verden has personally silenced the source of pain, hatred, and resentment with his own hands. It is ridiculous to suffer from the despair of the past now.
It’s been a while since I’ve heard that title.
Verden slightly tilted his chin as if to say, “Go ahead and keep talking.”
“Did the host tell you? They wouldn’t have given out information that easily. Especially my past.”“I played a game with the host. I flipped a coin and obtained knowledge about you.”
While Verden was attending the banquet of knowledge, Draven also set up a game with the host.
Knowledge and requests.
To gain knowledge related to Verden, they tossed a coin and bet on whether it would be heads or tails, and to make a personal request to the host, they bet on who would reach the end of the Arcadium.
“…You beat the host?”“I was able to win because I relied purely on luck. Otherwise, there is no way I would have been able to beat the host. Though even that might just be the host’s trick.”
Did Draven perhaps face off against the Host during the Arcadium? To assert that he couldn’t defeat the Host, even with his pride.
It was very unfamiliar.
It seemed as though he was truly losing the dignity of a transcendent being. The image of Draven, who had been filled with rage in front of the sanctuary, was now nowhere to be seen.
“anyway.”
Draven tapped the strange book on the table with his fingertips.
“I ‘read’ your life. Not the whole thing, but I read as much as was necessary in my own way… You truly lived a turbulent life. To think that a mere unofficial test subject of the Bohemian Magic Tower would achieve such a history. That a mere test subject… would kill me. I couldn’t believe it, even after seeing it.”“What do you want to say?”“How do you feel? As a being at the very bottom, having gained power far beyond your innate station, and having brought many heavens to their knees—what is your state of mind?”
Draven sneered ruthlessly, as if revealing himself to be a being with many lingering regrets about life. As if venting some hollow resentment toward the one who killed him, he pointed out his wretched past.
“Do you want to take out your anger?”“I understand my situation. I will now be subjugated to you as a commodity. So, isn’t it only natural for a slave to bite their master? Just as you, a terminally ill test subject, cut off your master’s breath.”
All transcendents are rebellious. True to the concept created by the first Demon King, they offer fierce resistance. If someone they do not acknowledge dares to strike down from above, they will charge at them, whether they live or die.Seeing this aspect, it was clear that the unique nature of a transcendent still remained within Draven.
The bondage of the soul.
Verden answered calmly, without revealing any particular emotion.
“The ancient king you resurrected has fully awakened. War is now right around the corner. What I desire is intelligence on the military strength of the resurrected Xerion Empire and a method to eliminate the Four Gates scattered across the continent.”“And, I suppose you intend to imprison my soul in a temporary body to use as a force against Your Majesty. After all, intelligence is not the only thing you lack.”“The more military power, the better. However, you have been mistaken about something for a while now. If you understood my life even a little, you would know.”
This was Verden’s sincere feeling.
“I have no intention of making you my slave.”“…….”“All I need is information.”“Ha.”
Draven let out a hollow laugh, as if he simply couldn’t understand it.
“Is it because of that damn dignity of sentient beings? You say I have dignity to protect, too? Including the War of the Transcendents, the number of lives I have directly or indirectly killed over the past 800 years is practically countless. Dignity? It’s ridiculous.”“Look at yourself right now.”
Verden displayed a much stronger presence than on the islands of the Hiaremar Inland Sea.
“Draven, you are dead.”“…….”“I killed him.”
Draven’s hand twitched. The memory of being struck and annihilated by the super-level magic
“Is it over just because I’m dead? Even though I am dead, I am still before you. I exist with a clear physical presence. Yet you say you won’t use me? Do you mean to forgive my sins just because I’m dead?”“Responsibility always falls on those left behind.”
The dagger of responsibility pierced Draven.
“You are not worthy of forgiveness, nor do you have the opportunity to undo your wrongdoings. You just have to answer my question. And, go where you must go.”
Verden asserted.
We will handle the cleanup.
Verden’s emotions were extremely restrained. He had drawn a line between the realms of the dead and the living. He no longer hated Draven, but he also did not allow him to resurrect and pick up the spilled water.
It was mercy and judgment.
What a miserable end.
Draven was just as devastated as when he had heard the truth from the host. He realized he had taken the wrong path, but there was no turning back.There was nothing left that Draven could do directly in reality.
But… … that is why it became clear.
Draven shrugged his shoulders. He threw his head back and laughed loudly. The host’s bookshelf was filled with the sound of relieved laughter.
Yeah, I suppose this is the only answer.
Draven straightened his head. It was a gaze familiar to Verden. It was the look of one who had made a choice of their own accord.
“…Take it.”“What?”“You take it all.”
As a transcendent being who desires ideals, Draven affirmed with weight.
“You, become the King of the Dead.”
* * *
If one were to classify the transcendents of the magical world, Tearel was closer to Verden than to the Seven Great Demon Kings or the Master of the Dark Warton Magic Tower.She honed her skills through arduous adventures, relying on her innate talent.
I have nearly died dozens of times.
Before reaching the Obsidian rank, the party nearly suffered a complete wipeout at the hands of a special entity they encountered. It was the moment her arrogance crumbled.She was able to survive because she had overcome such adversities. She was able to become a Transcendent. She was able to become one of the Adventurer’s Guild’s top forces.
A warning bell rang in Thearel’s head.
‘……monster.’
Bloodia, which had grown much closer in appearance to a dragon than a human, spread its massive wings. It was a truly intimidating colossal body.Its features, including colors, were jumbled as if multiple dragons had been mixed together in one body, and this grotesqueness added to the sense of threat.
Dragon Fear.
The tidal waves conjured by Tearel crumbled with sheer force of existence alone. The cold sweat would not stop. It was completely different from the special entities she had defeated so far. It was beyond the scope of what an individual or a party could handle.
Even if the great powers all stepped in… could they kill it? That’s ridiculous.
Considering only official power, I had a hunch that it would be absolutely impossible to subdue them unless the entire world stepped forward.
I haven’t properly heard what kind of being Bloodia is yet… but I can say with certainty that, like Host, he must be an Apostle of Destiny.
Verden fought a close battle with this.
Even if neither of them revealed their full power, the very fact that they faced off at close range was proof of their 8th-rank level.
“Judging by the circumstances, the former king is probably an Apostle as well. That is why Verden is extremely wary of him. Just how many Apostles exist beneath the existence of ‘you’?”
Tearel heard various clues and, through them, realized that the world belongs to a certain flow.
But in the end, that was all.
A war between the first Demon King and ‘you’? One has only encountered it in books, and the other has never even heard of it. They do not know why people kill and are killed over fate.They also do not know why Verden is called by the moniker “Destroyer of Fate.”
Suddenly, the world felt unfamiliar.
What is the truth?
A being who can give Teerel the answer is by his side. Deus, who is fighting Bloodia on equal footing, emitted a green glow from his eyes.
Deceiver.
The Provider was regarded as a mystic as the Master of the Lefragium Magic Tower. Had it not been for Verden, even his name would not have been revealed yet.It was also never known how he succeeded to the Lefragium Magic Tower. He merely demonstrated his level to prove his qualifications as a Tower Master and a Transcendent.
The Provider—Deus Widen—would surely wage a magical battle nobly. After all, that was the solemn demeanor he had shown so far.Tearel vaguely thought so as well.
But… … it was the opposite.
Deus was a much rougher man than I had thought. He didn’t care in the slightest about getting hurt. He nonchalantly employed the strategy of sacrificing flesh to gain bone.The movements of someone who had faced death.It was clear that he had overcome adversity that couldn’t even be compared to Thearel. To think he had been hiding such a side of himself, he was nothing short of a terrible deceiver.
Tearel pointed at Bloodia, who had almost taken on the form of a dragon, and asked.
“How does he compare to the Host?”“He’s not bad.”“So you’re telling me to kill him. As the Adversary of the Apostle, whom the First Demon King arbitrarily designated.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“What on earth is behind this?”
Even Thearel herself could not handle her with only the level of the 7th rank. She could not understand why she, with her limitations, had been designated as the Apostle’s adversary.
“……It is too early to answer. For now, let’s focus on the present.”“By now, Asher must have already nearly reached the end of the Arcadium. Enough to be impossible to catch up to now. Is there any need to fight any further?”
Bloodia tried to pursue Verden, but Tearel blocked Bloodia, and Deus fought Bloodia to prevent Tearel from dying.
We can no longer chase after Verden.
Therefore, Tearel has no reason to stop Bloodia, and if Tearel leaves, Deus loses the justification to handle Bloodia.
thud.
Deus placed his white staff on the ground.
“Yes, further fighting is meaningless. But there is no need to go out of your way to avoid it either.”“……What do you mean?”“Even waiting indefinitely is exhausting in many ways. It wasn’t a pleasant feeling to have my long-standing plans go awry, but…… deep down, I might have been waiting for such a sudden change.”
A massive magical power surged up.
Stay back.
Deus smiled faintly at the intense stimulation he was savoring for the first time in a long while. Tearel’s eyes widened. As expected, Deus was a deceiver.
[You intend to use me as a provocation? True to being deeply influenced by Oldark, your arrogance pierces the sky.]
When the arcadium ends, this moment will end too.
Deus strode forward.
“Come here, lizard.”
[cheeky.]
Bloodia placed its forepaws on the ground and let out a vast breath. The entire vision of Tearel turned into a color reminiscent of annihilation.Deus, facing that power head-on, deployed his unique magic circle.
Super-level Magic───
As the current strongest being of the magic world and the Fourth Apostle clashed with all their might, the heavens and earth of the miniature garden in the deep sea were instantly reversed.
* * *
“……King of the Dead?”
Verden could not hide his bewilderment. So much so that he could not immediately process the meaning of the proposal Draven had made.
“I realized to the host the true nature of Your Majesty, and that Your Majesty had deceived me and us. That the world I pursue and the goal Your Majesty seeks to achieve are completely opposite…”
Draven gritted his teeth. To the king to whom he had pledged his life in loyalty, he displayed a hatred greater than the one he had directed at the Luas religion.It was a change that even Verden had never anticipated.What truth, just what, had Host whispered to cause Draven’s loyalty to crumble?
“But… I still haven’t given up on my ideals. The destination wasn’t wrong. I simply walked the wrong path. So, what choice do I have but to find and walk the right path again? As a transcendent being.”“Surely you aren’t saying that path is me?”“I have taken too long a detour.”
Draven stood up. He approached the bookshelf next to the fireplace and placed his hand on it. He pulled the spine of one of the books packed tightly on the shelf.
“On the island in the Hiaremar Inland Sea, you perfectly mastered the Darkmoon Magic. There is no precedent for mimicking other magic in that way. Verden, you proved that premise wrong, just to show them.”
Draven approached with long strides.
“And… it suddenly occurred to me. If I had made the Darkmoon magic my own, wouldn’t I be able to wield the magic of other mages as well? So I looked up information about your life. To find out how you mastered the magic of others.”
He held out a book.
“This is a record of my entire life. Read it. And take it to the
Madness flickered in Draven’s eyes. Indeed. The nature of the Transcendent One had not died. It was merely that his obsession with the ideal had flowed in a different direction.
My demonic path
