Episode 1044 The Red Road (1)
There are no waterways near Cernoch Fortress. Nor is the terrain suitable for groundwater to accumulate. There was nothing that could cause water to rise enough to submerge one’s entire feet in a secret underground passage located quite far from the surface.
‘intruder.’
Splat!
A follower of high-ranking mercenary status charged forward, crouching low. He stomped hard on the sea-scented waterway and plunged into the darkness.Spurring off the walls and ceiling in succession, his anomalous sword scraped the surroundings and struck the floor.
A column of water shot up.
The other followers responsible for Teriwen’s escort held their breath and sharpened their vision. The waves that had been obstructing the view soon subsided.The waterway, murky with dust and dirt, gradually turned red.
Oh.
The followers flinched. An emotionless and cold woman’s voice was heard. Somehow familiar… … reminiscent of the unfathomable deep sea… … .
‘deep waters?’
Tearel approaches Teriwen, riding the stream of blood trickling like a brook.Beside her, small, unbreakable waves ripple. A small, quadrupedal golem stood defiantly upon those waves.
The Adventurer’s Guild’s top fighter pointed at Terrywen with an indifferent expression.
“That’s a familiar face.”“Hmph, the Black Sea.”“Chairman of the Iderat Alliance.”
[We have discovered the ringleader of the sanctuary massacre.]
Teriwen shifted her weight onto her heels, her eyes trembling as if she couldn’t believe it. The others were also flustered and could not move rashly.
Why is the Black Sea here?
Is the Black Sea a seed of resistance?
Although I knew that everyone except the Transcendents belonging to the Xerion Empire was ‘your’ enemy, I never imagined that the Black Sea would directly invade the stronghold of destiny at this very moment.
She may have burned with a spirit of adventure decades ago, but ever since her awakening, she has been obsessed solely with the sea—and all her actions up until now were just an act?
Terrywen was able to find a plausible answer to that question earlier.
That is the Divine Golem, Beta.
Beta and Tearel were conversing as if it were a daily routine. He couldn’t hear what they were saying. He didn’t even have the luxury to listen.
The one who raided here is the Destroyer of Fate. The Destroyer of Fate is undoubtedly an enemy of destiny, but not a seed of resistance. Then, has the Black Sea become a pawn of the Destroyer of Fate rather than a seed of resistance?
Teriwen closed and opened his eyes, understanding the situation Sernoh Fortress was in. The Destroyer of Fate had gathered strength like a seed of resistance. A group capable of practically opposing fate.
The spatial magic circle was blocked long ago and is unusable.
All escape routes were blocked.
There is no power capable of facing a Transcendent. For reasons unknown, Lord Dantel was the only one among the modern Transcendents who had directly become a follower of fate.
It was then.
Tearel turned her head. Her deep, ocean-filled eyes stared directly at Teriwen and her companions. *Gasp…* *Gasp…* At the aura of a transcendent being she displayed, breathing became difficult, as if drowning.
Maybe it’s an opportunity.
Even while drowning, Teriwen made a decision and spoke.
“T-Tearel, I…!”“Verden told me to keep you here.”
Ripples rose in the water.
I guess I don’t need anything else.
Wedges of fine water currents, like water droplets, surged up from beneath their feet. Followers who failed to react in time were pierced through their feet, thighs, hearts, and brains, dying instantly.Those who resisted with shields of magic and sword barriers failed to defend and were impaled from head to toe, while the rest escaped by a hair’s breadth.
Simner
The water thorns transformed and enveloped the followers who had dodged the blowin a circle. They cast spells or swung their weapons to escape the underwater sphere, but the distorted water ball quickly regained its perfect shape.
“Gurgle…… Cough……!”“Burp, slurp……!!”
Seawater poured deep into my lungs.
Not only that, Thearel can replicate the water pressure of the deep sea. A terrible pressure, like what one might feel in a dark ocean where light does not reach, enveloped my entire body.
Crunch crunch crunch!
With the sound of bone and flesh being crushed, the sphere of water turned red. As the restraints were released, a liquid mixed with no solids gushed out.
Teriwen’s clothes were soaked in blood.
“You heard what I said earlier, right? Choose only one between fate and life.”“…….”“Even if it kills you, you’re still on fate?”
Becoming an enemy of a transcendent being, with whom he had long been acquainted as a leader of the international community, was a catastrophe worse than any other.Thearel seemed to feel no regret whatsoever in killing Teriwen, who was practically an acquaintance. Just as the sea, which had swallowed countless lives, remained indifferent.
Teriwen knelt down.
I will surrender.
Beta reported the statement via the communication device.
[The leader of the Iderat Alliance has surrendered.]
* * *
Sixth Star of Holy Magic – Formation, Borgantua.
The moment it is activated, an area with a diameter of 2 km is completely isolated from the outside, and the power of the existing celestial magic can be manifested from the first star to the fifth star with even greater enhancement.This cosmic realm, extending beyond the limits of the celestial bodies, was also a sanctuary for the ‘seventh star’.
Compression and re-establishment.
Verden improved his power by efficiently reducing various spells. Now that Draven’s magic has been added, he needs to optimize it once again, but there are many tasks to take care of first.
Kuooooh… … .
The intense heat and shockwaves of the fiery meteor evaporated Cernoh Fortress. The meteor’s crater extended tens of meters underground.The followers on the surface and nearby were left with nothing but ashes.
It was a self-inflicted end.
For the followers of fate caught within Verden’s detection range had not abandoned their destiny. No one chose life over fate.Their blind obedience was so mad that it was far removed from common sense.
Crackle crackle!
The stems of the Black Thunder extending underground pierce the body and search for another body.
As Verden fell into the underground, the number of his few remaining followers dwindled steeply. Whether blocked by swords or magic, death poured down, unable to withstand the concept of destruction for even a moment.
The League Leader has surrendered.
As planned, Verden and Alpha raided the fortress from the sky, while Tearel and Beta raided it from underground.They found the missing Iderat Alliance leader at a location presumed to be a secret escape route. The traitor to humanity who aided in the resurrection of the Old King by causing a massacre during Draven’s raid on the sanctuary.
That’s interesting.
Verden pulled his arm back. Alpha clutched the robe tightly in his bosom. A concept united with annihilation and destruction formed on the staff.
Lord Arcane: The Disaster
The lightning of the apocalypse annihilated space.
────────────!
The moment a dark light flashed, the vertical ground vanished. The aftershock of the concept raged, disintegrating more than half of the fortress’s underground from the roots.All nearby life forms, except for the coordinates where Thearel was located, began to disappear simultaneously.
‘I can’t… stand against…’
A follower, sensing that the cell itself was being erased, scattered into pieces before he could even finish his thought. There was no pain or consciousness in that death.
Boom.
Verden descended the wide-open vertical passage in an instant and reached the bottom. Not long after taking a step, Thearel and his party came into view.
[Ground. Removal complete.]
[Underground, all clear.]
Tearel was sitting on the shoulder of Beta, who had grown enormous to fit the passageway. Then, he pointed at Teriwen, who was covered in blood.
“You said we couldn’t extract any information from them. Capturing the Alliance Leader is good, but is there any point in taking him alive? Should we take him to the emergency summit?”“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.”
Verden looked down at Teriwen, who was kneeling exactly three steps away.
“It’s been a long time, Alliance Leader. Is this the first time I’ve seen you in person since the World Conference?”“……Lord Verden.”“I was shocked when I heard the news from Medrant. To think that you, who advocated for harmony among races your entire life, have become a traitor to humanity. If you hadn’t orchestrated this massacre, the Luas religion would have eventually stopped Draven, and the former king’s body parts would never have been stolen.”
Verden asks.
“Former Iderat Alliance Leader. How do you feel about having played a pivotal role in the resurrection of the ancient king?”“I thought this was the right thing to do.”
Teriwen bowed his head slightly.
“With the current international community, peace among multiple races cannot be achieved, even if eons were to pass. This is a conclusion reached after a lifetime of effort. Humans, elves, dwarves, beastmen… they may overlap, but mixing together is impossible.”
[so?]
However, if only we could change that fate, we could achieve peace. True world… eternal peace, which was once thought impossible.
It coordinates the causality of all races to maximize their common ground, thereby creating a world where all races live together in harmony.
This was Terrywen’s unadorned sincerity.
Teriwen, who had dedicated his life to peace but realized in his later years that the peace he had dreamed of could not be realized, fell into despair, and he seized the opportunity that came his way.
After hearing the truth of fate, he willingly walked the path of a follower. For the peace of the multi-races. Then as now, Teriwen hoped for harmony.
One who does not dream in the first place cannot become a follower of fate.
Disappointment and pessimism about the world led them to yearn for a new world. Following one’s destiny is the fastest way to a more meaningful past, a better reality, and a more perfect future.
“Thus… once destiny is fulfilled, everything can be reversed. Even the sacrifices made at our expense… That is why I did not hesitate.”“But you say you will surrender.”“Lord Verden, I know that even you, who destroyed that destiny, desire peace. Otherwise, you would not have taken such a step.”
He slowly raised his head.
Did you ask why I surrendered?
Terrywen asserted.
I always wish only for peace.
Even with Verden’s insight, one cannot read Teriwen’s mind. Naturally, since restrictions are in place,
It doesn’t look like a lie.
Verden did not view the dream Teriwen sang of as a deception. He loved peace; his words were true, and clearly sincere.
Is that so?
The air rippled.
How abominable.
The blade of destruction swept across his neck at a speed Teriwen could not perceive. His slowly widening eyes reflected an ominous glint.
Crack.
Teriwen’s head, severed on the spot, fell into the passageway. His staggering, crumbling body was instantly destroyed.
Tearel asked without even blinking.
“It doesn’t sound like a lie. Judging by how roughly he spoke, couldn’t he have obtained the information if things had gone well?”“The Alliance Leader tried to use a traitor to humanity to collapse the international community. Unless the authenticity of the information can be definitively verified due to inherent limitations, the information itself is highly likely to cause division.”
What would happen if Teriwen cooperated and identified an as-yet-undisclosed traitor? If the summit were to declare that the border regions—and the areas across the three continents indistinctly—are zones where followers are active, the confusion would inevitably intensify.
[A continent-scale war is confirmed. This information is actually poison in wartime. A deadly poison.]
“We can just force the truth with the oath takers, can’t we? We have the Luas Inquisitors as well.”“That’s exactly why it’s a bigger problem. The very fact that they pulled this stunt means they can dismantle the methods we’ve used to root out traitors.”
Among the followers here, Teriwen is the only one who surrendered. If he can deceive the Oath of the Covenant and the interrogation of the Luas Cult, his information will bring down the international community in an instant.It amounts to the end of the alliance between the factions due to just one person, Teriwen.
“There is no reason to risk such immense danger to keep him alive. It’s not as if Teriwen’s responsibility is light enough to warrant going out of his way to keep him alive.”
Verden picked up Teriwen’s grotesquely distorted head.The cold froze part of the corpse.
“This is much more useful to us right now. For the international community.”“Yeah, I understand.”
Tearel was convinced by his explanation.
“You’re going to erase this, right?”“There’s no real reason to leave it here.”“With super-level magic?”“Yes.”“I understand.”
Tearel manifested the extreme of magic.
* * *
Dantel barely managed to escape Cernoch Fortress, but that did not mean he had left Verden’s territory.This was because he happened to be underground, which prevented him from reaching his full speed.
Still, I guess they weren’t caught.
At the edge of the cosmic realm, Dantel concealed himself with all his might. He witnessed with his own eyes the sight of a meteor falling and obliterating the fortress.
I minimized my presence as much as possible.
He lowered himself enough so that he would not be detected by the Transcendent’s sensory abilities. Although he becomes somewhat defenseless, Dantel becomes free in return.
‘Like this, until he reclaims the territory… … .’
It was then that I was watching the situation with the sole determination to hold on.
The earth shook.The stars in the night sky went extinct.
‘no way.’
Dantel looked back and forth between the sky and the ground, then gritted his teeth in despair. His ominous premonition soon became reality.
Super-level magic… … !!
Crackle crackle crackle crackle.
The entire ground Dantel was standing on split open.
