Episode 1145 Turning Point (1)
Verden is self-righteous and altruistic.
A mind that does not hesitate to kill, yet is constantly preoccupied with the conflict over saving lives.A belief that does not distinguish between friend and foe and does not harm the dignity of sentient beings.
He is special because he voluntarily gives up the freedom that everyone craves and pursues a grand and colossal ideal that encompasses the world.
The Oldark of the past and ‘you’ also possessed the same special qualities as the current Verden, but for different reasons, they despaired, became frustrated, and compromised with reality.
The absolute rulers crossed the line like that before.
Verden has not yet crossed the line, but even so, how long can he hold onto his will?It is only a matter of time before he wanders and follows one of the two paths pioneered by the trailblazers. For that is the only option.
Jermael, chosen as the Apocalypse of Famine, thought so.
[This is… … a power diametrically opposed to fate.]
The lightning of the apocalypse that struck the 7th Commander soon lost control and erupted in lightning.Uncontrolled destruction swallowed half of Martes, obliterating everything it touched—buildings, corpses, the undead—without a trace.
An overwhelming sensation that sends shivers down your spine.
However, unlike the 7th Commander, the two insignificant humans remained intact.The vivid dark red color bestowed upon them salvation, not the end. It protected the fragile beings with a destruction that even Verden himself could not control.
Under the most fearful concept, all shall lead their own lives, enjoying limited choices… … .
[Freedom by force.]
Neither fate nor resistance, but a third path, distant and ambiguous because it has not yet taken proper form.Is this precisely the choice Verden seeks to complete?
It is a sublime contradiction.
The reckless and stubborn determination to dare to challenge the realm of the absolutes, even though one must have vaguely perceived it, is a prime example of foolishness.
That is why it is dazzlingly beautiful to the point of being enchanting.
If he had been there when the Battle of Destiny broke out, would the present and future have been different?It is meaningless, but I nevertheless tried to imagine it.
It was only after facing him like this that Germael finally understood why the Sixth Apostle… … Akand had designated Verden as a great adversary.
Indeed, there was no one more fitting for today’s great war than him.
[It is glory.]
Jermael willingly plunged into destruction.
* * *
It was only after hearing Akand’s provocative remarks in the city of Martes, which had been brutally destroyed, that Verden understood the intention behind the trap.
He is provoking me.
If they intended to inflict proper damage on the region, they should have targeted the Kingdom of Estiria, but instead, they chose the outskirts of the Principality of Liviant as their stage. Theytook only Conrad and Lord Paite as hostages instead of using more prisoners as shields.
It seemed as if it were mocking Verden’s starting point, defiling it, and denying its roots. It seemed as if it was asking what responsibility Verden had taken regarding the scene of the massacre.
Akand was a type of enemy that Verden had never faced before.
I was furious.
It felt completely different from when I had been subjected to human experimentation in the Magic Tower for years. That must be because the victim was someone connected to me, not myself.Would this be how it would feel to witness not only myself but even Lobeline being experimented on?
Reality weighed heavily on my shoulders.
Since Callia’s party and Isabella’s party are missing, the possibility that they are alive cannot be ruled out. However, Cain is dead. Death cannot be reversed even by an elixir.
That is the reality.
We must not rely on hope.As always, we must act by assuming the worst-case scenario.
In his mind, Verden pictured the deaths of Kalia and Isabella. He pictured the ownerless land destroyed by Akand. He pictured the devastated continent. He pictured the deaths of Adrian and Lobeline. He picturedthe deaths of those he had tried to protect.He pictured defeat.He pictured the broken Alpha and Beta in the end, and placed the finishing touch on Verden himself, left all alone.
If I take one more step from here, I will never be able to stop again. Even if I succeed in taking revenge on the Bohemian Magic Tower, I could lose it all again. Because there are things in this world that defy common sense.
───Gluttony, the Ark, the Glory of the Dead, the Magic Tower, the Nation, and the secrets hidden by the Demon King and the World Tree───The future lies ahead that no one can fathom. We might face an end even more horrific than the fear of the shackles of revenge. Not just myself, but everyone by my side… …And yet, will you still choose?
An ideal is an ideal precisely because it cannot be achieved. And that ideal… … the world won’t want it. Peace will be impossible to dream of.
At the crossroads of choice unfolding in the blue mountains, Verden asked himself one last time and answered himself that he would no longer remain a possibility.
Once you start, you cannot stop.
You cannot lose everything just because you have lost one. That is responsibility. Verden postponed his despair for the sake of what he still had in his hands.
That emptied mind was left with only a yearning for victory and intense hostility.
Kwaaaaaaah──────────!
The lightning of the apocalypse ejected from [Interis] destroyed the 7th Commander’s body along with the city.
Residual lightning covered the area.
The sky and clouds were dyed the same color. Thunder began to flash from the dark red storm clouds. In that scene of destruction, the wretched ones used as sacrifices for the Apocalypse also entered into rest.
Whoosh!
At that moment, Germael charged at Verden, ignoring the aftershock. Even though the outer layer of his body was being erased by exposure to magic, he showed no hesitation.
The inevitable loophole created by eliminating the 7th Commander first.
In an instant, [Interis] and the Sword of Famine collided, and at the same time, Germael closed the distance even further and thrust his right hand deep.
Crunch crunch.
In exchange for reducing the number of commanders, a dagger squeezed into Verden’s side.
Famine: Exhaustion
The power that Jermael had strengthened by sacrificing tens of thousands of lives weakened all of Verden’s resistance.Just before escaping from the 3rd dimension, a new stab wound was added to the right abdomen, which had been pierced by the claws of the evil dragon Nekhbael, and evil spirits flowed in.
“Conrad, Paite Henrod.”
He grabbed Germael’s wrist.Their powers clashed.Verden gave a stern command to the humans slumped right beside him.
“Never look back.”“Lord Verden…… Ugh!”
A torrent of magical energy surged forward and blasted Conrad and Baron Paite out of Martes. Of course, precautions had been taken to ensure a safe landing. Heno longer had the confidence to control his power to the extent of considering their safety.
Famine: Greedy Gaze
Old teeth that had formed a shape behind Germael’s back rushed in in an instant.
The tendons bulged above Verden’s jawline.
As the captured gauntlet could not withstand the magic power and was damaged, Germael gave up the dagger. Verden slashed [Interis] and shattered the power itself.
Kwagwagwagwagwa!
As space was distorted by the concept, Martes was split in half.
[The most dangerous concept since the beginning of time.]
When Verden unleashed his divinity, he brought divine power under control. In contrast, he is currently unable to control the concept of magic at all.The unrestrained power consumed Verden, forcibly summoning a realm he would reach in the future.
From the past to the present.The current point in time, having completed the reversal of heaven and transcended it to attain divinity.
For himself and for his enemies… this very moment was the most dangerous for Verden.His presence was intensifying ceaselessly.
Famine: Corpse Army
The power of the Apocalypse transformed all the undead within a radius of several kilometers. All of the transformed entities came to possess the same appearance and power.
The 10th Commander of the Xerion Empire, the Hive.
Jermael is the closest familiar guarding the Sixth Apostle and the foremost of the Apocalypse, possessing the powers of war, death, conquest (plague), and famine. Abeing capable of rivaling Akhand and Nekbael gave birth to another commander and aimed the Sword of Famine at Verden.
[I, First Commander of the Xerion Empire. The Apocalypse of Famine, Jermael.]
Germael revealed his full power.
[I will challenge the traitor of fate.]
Verden pulled the dagger embedded in his body. It vanished without leaving even a trace of ashes. The deepening of the concept of magic intensified Verden’s emotions to an extreme degree.He could not bear the disgust at the behavior of those bastards who committed large-scale slaughter while acting all high and mighty, harping on about great wars and challenges.
Shut up.
I don’t want to hear it.Die.
The 10th Commander’s Swarm rushed forward, and Germael raised the Sword of Famine to concentrate his power. Verden plunged [Interis], held in a reverse grip, into Martes.
Darkness that arrived as light converged into a single point.
The flash of light that bloomed in the Principality of Liviant evaporated the entire territory of Martes.
* * *
I had no strength in my whole body, but nevertheless, I made an effort to awaken the sensation in my fingertips.My fingers twitched.I was able to move my body somehow.
Swoosh… … .
Tearel slowly opened her eyes, recalling Verden she had seen before fainting. She was lying alone on a bed in a room.No, to be precise, she wasn’t alone.
“you…….”
Tearel asked, tilting his head slowly.
“Why, are you crying?”
The giant Nerga, who had shrunk to the size of a palm, was shedding tears.
The chilling impression of him kicking the Archbishop of Holy Flame in half and tormenting the 4th Commander Sarkannon with a curse at the Fourth Gate is still vivid in my mind.Whether it was simply because he had shrunk in size or because his tears were genuine, he felt pitiful.
[Father is suffering.]
The world inflicted pain on Verden. The shackles of fate gifted Verden despair. The child who purely wanted to learn magic died then.Fate murdered him.Nerga is the Apostle of the Curse, born precisely because of that death.
It is hateful.
I hated everything that made my father bring such sacrifices upon himself. I cannot bear it. As a child who understands my father’s nightmares more than anyone else.
[Everyone. Needs. to. Know. That. Pain.]
I will make sure this continent shares in the suffering my father endures.
* * *
“Mr. Jose…?”“Ah, ah. I’m fine. It looks like something got in my eye.”
Jose hurriedly rubbed the corners of his eyes, but the tears would not stop.Anyone could see that it was not because of dust. Renard, Faye, and Haenel watched his retreating figure with worried eyes.
This is… … Lord Verden’s feelings.
I’ve recently felt that my divine power has grown stronger, and it seems I wasn’t mistaken.My connection with the gods has become stronger compared to before.
Just what kind of suffering is God enduring?
Jose covered his eyes with his hand.
The only thing he could barely empathize with was sadness. Surely, his faith was insufficient, so he dared not understand God beyond that.Time passed, and the tears finally stopped, but the lingering resonance did not fade.
Oh God… …
In Gluttony’s Nest, what Jose can do for Verden is limited. A sculptor of the Blue Mountains harboring heretical beliefs—that was the limit.
but.
If I can reach the next stage someday, I will create a world where God does not suffer.
* * *
The depths of the Demon Realm, the Demon Sea.
Ashes occasionally swirled in the forest where the breath of the Red Dragon Sarkandra had passed. And not long after, the ruined environment began to stir.
Deformed vitality filled the void.
The grotesque monsters lurking around greedily stuck out their tongues, and the tree roots tried to devour those who had lost consciousness and collapsed.
Bang!
At that moment, a life reached out from beneath the burnt earth.
“……Pfft.”
Isabella spat out the dirt in her mouth and looked around. No matter how much magic she spread, she could not feel the immense presence any further.
“Sarkandra, where did this lizard go?”
As Isabella asked with a flash of keen eyes, the roots immediately retreated. The startled monsters blinked their eyes and pointed west.
“To the continent…….”
Isabella bit her lip and lightly slapped the cheek of the Sword Saint who had collapsed to the floor.
match!!!!
“……!!”
Frivalt immediately stood up. He distanced himself, fumbled around at his waist, and then glared at Isabella.Then he asked.
“What happened to the Four Gates?”“What?”
Isabelle crossed her arms.
Don’t you remember?
