Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 397

397.

“Damn it.”

Lapis clicked his tongue irritably. Sitting haphazardly on the floor and roughly sweeping back his hair, he exuded a palpable frustration from losing his target, a frustration he seemed ready to vent on anyone nearby.

“Then what happened to Ocal? Is he dead?”

“Who knows?”

The reply to my cautious question was curt. He wasn’t exactly known for his gentle tone, but he was particularly rough now. However, he looked so exhausted that I couldn’t bring myself to scold him. Just then, Trowel approached Lapis and knelt down in front of him.

“Lapis.”

“What.”

“How much longer can you hold out?”

For a brief moment, the two exchanged an inscrutable look. Lapis stared silently into Trowel’s golden eyes before letting out a sigh.

“The purification barrier is just a matter of time. The wind barrier disappeared immediately, and I’ve been trying to hold off the earth barrier with it, but I’m starting to feel the strain. That damn thing doesn’t seem to realize what’s going on, so tell him to cut the connection before he gets eaten.”

“Understood.”

Trowel nodded and sent a message to the guy. The content was serious enough that I could understand just by listening, so I couldn’t help but join the conversation.

“The earth barrier, you mean Lapis’s brother? What do you mean by cutting the connection?”

“I told you, the barrier is contaminated. Lapis defended it to prevent it from being completely swallowed, but he won’t last long. If we leave it alone, it’ll start functioning in reverse, so we have to get rid of it before that happens.”

“Reverse function?”

“Instead of purifying, it’ll be absorbed by the evil god. The four barriers we set up will act in reverse, becoming a source of power that helps the guy’s awakening.”

The sheer scale of the situation left me speechless. It was right after that that Lapis’s body collapsed.

“Lapis!”

Seeing him fall, I rushed over, but Lapis slowly raised himself and shook his head. It was a clear signal that he didn’t want me to approach. But he staggered again, and instead of me hesitating, Trowel went to support him. This time, Lapis didn’t resist, perhaps because he couldn’t hold on any longer.

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, it worked. Ah, damn it. That was too close. I managed to hold on because I’ve grown in the meantime; otherwise, I would have been eaten without a fight.”

I couldn’t dismiss those words as boasting or exaggeration because Lapis’s face was so pale. Just by looking at his changed demeanor, I could tell what he meant by succeeding. The fiery energy that had been so vivid all over his body since he became the fire barrier was no longer felt. He had shed the role of the purification barrier. The result followed immediately.

—Kekeke.

A laughter was heard from somewhere. I reflexively turned my head towards the spirit screen. A subtle tremor was felt from Karyuan, who was tied up and hanging his head. A raised corner of his mouth and prominently displayed fangs were visible. With his thick black hair hanging down, Karyuan was laughing.

—Kekeke! Puhuhuh! Kuahaha!

He seemed to find the situation so amusing that he couldn’t bear it. The next moment, the restraints that bound him slowly unraveled. The light of the magic circle floating on the floor was also slowly fading. It was something I had prepared myself for, but seeing the scene with my own eyes left me feeling miserable. Eventually, Karyuan, completely freed, tilted his head up while chuckling. It seemed as if he was looking back at us, whether by chance or not.

I felt our eyes met.

Crash!

At that moment, the screen in front of me shattered into pieces like a broken mirror. I could feel my hair scattering even though there was no wind. Next to me, Ellyuen was muttering, leaving me speechless and frozen.

“The purification has definitely failed.”

* * *

Purification failed.

Just those two words took my breath away. It felt like thunder was pounding in my head. Even though it was something I already knew, hearing it felt like a huge shock, as if I was realizing it for the first time. I must have subconsciously wanted to avoid it.

It was an axis that we had invested over ten days in creating. I couldn’t believe that something we had put so much effort into had ended so futilely. I didn’t know what had happened to the main body of the purification barrier in the God Realm, but even if it was intact, it seemed meaningless now. I wasn’t sure if we could reconnect, and more than anything, time was too short. Karyuan would awaken as an evil god faster than that. As Ellyuen said, this plan had failed. In the end, the moment I least wanted had come.

“What happens now?”

Even though the video was gone, I couldn’t take my eyes off the spot where Karyuan had been. The laughter I had heard at the end was still lingering in my ears like an afterimage. It was a laughter of triumph that anyone could hear. Surely it wasn’t all over like this—I was even feeling an ominous feeling—but fortunately, Ellyuen answered nonchalantly.

“We’ll have to give up on purification and just eliminate him.”

“Can we do that?”

“As I said, the attempt to purify was just to make the elimination easier. It’ll be a bit more difficult since it failed, but it’s not like there’s no way.”

“Oh, really? That’s a relief. If it gets more difficult, how will it proceed?”

“…That part is something the God Realm will take care of. I don’t think it’s something you need to be concerned about.”

Wait, didn’t he answer a beat late just now? Besides, it was clearly an evasive answer. It seems like it’s not just a little more difficult. My heart, which had been briefly relieved by the fact that we could eliminate him even without purification, became rapidly uneasy again. When I stared intently, Ellyuen sighed as if he was in trouble.

“The Spirit Realm has no part in the annihilation barrier.”

“Still, it’s going to happen in Arkadon anyway. I think we need to know. If Ellyuen were me, would you just gloss over such an important part?”

“That’s not wrong.”

Fortunately, perhaps because he was once a Spirit King, Ellyuen immediately showed an agreeing attitude. Still, he made a reluctant expression, and when I didn’t give in until the end, he sighed again and opened his mouth.

“As you’ve seen, the establishment of an evil god is based on the sacrifice of others. It transforms countless lives into curses, devouring their power and growing. The conditions for annihilation are not much different.”

“Does that mean… someone has to die?”

“Yes. And in this case, it’s converted into a soul with the same value as the evil god.”

“A soul of the same value?”

“No matter how strong the evil god is, as long as it’s within the influence of the main god, it corresponds to a high-ranking god.”

It took me a while to understand the meaning of those words. I don’t know what kind of expression I’m making right now. I just realized that I was gaping like an idiot. When I glanced over, I could see Trowel and Lapis hardening their faces. Maybe I’m in that state too.

Was this what the constant anxiety that had been following me was about? I blankly raised my head and looked at Ellyuen. He, too, met my gaze calmly, as if he knew I would do that.

“A high-ranking god… has to die?”

Even as I asked, I hoped that I had misunderstood. I wished I would rather be scolded for not being a Spirit King yet, for not even understanding something like this properly. But all I could see was Ellyuen nodding his head.

“Yes.”

Not swallowing my breath was my last resistance. I felt like if I was shocked here, I would really have bad thoughts. So I had to pretend to be as okay as possible. But I couldn’t stop the force from entering my clenched fist.

* * *

In a monochrome space without any decorations, four gods stood: the Celestial God Iowen, the Underworld God Shannon, the God of Fate Radeka, and the Demon God Kanos. They were the first Spirit Kings, the pioneers who opened the beginning of the God Realm, and those called the Supreme Gods.

The Supreme Gods were the symbols of the God Realm and, at the same time, its pride. They had as many responsibilities as their strong authority, and no one could meet them easily. In particular, the Demon God Kanos rarely went out, so many lower gods didn’t even know his face. Naturally, it was even rarer to see those four in one place. But that rare sight had become quite common lately. At least in this place, it was quite easy to see them together.

And now, a golden magic circle was floating in the middle of them. The golden light flowing from within enveloped the bodies of the four gods with the same brightness. The appearance of constantly circulating like a stream made it seem as if they were connected to each other. And other gods were watching their 모습 [Korean: appearance] from a distance.

All of them were high-ranking gods, and they had also participated in the creation process of the magic circle that was being activated now. When they first started this process, they were all calm, but now their expressions were almost distorted. This was because the state of the magic circle, which had been smooth, had suddenly become unstable a little while ago. The light not only faded and then became darker again, but it even surged and fluctuated wildly. It was an ominous sign that anyone could see that the situation was turning urgent. And finally, it was the moment when the runaway expanded to its limit.

“Ah, no!”

Clang—

At the same time as someone’s urgent scream echoed, the magic circle shattered. Exclamations burst out from the high-ranking gods with wide eyes. The broken fragments trailed light tails like meteors and scattered in all directions. For a moment, the whole place was filled with light dust, creating the illusion of being in the Milky Way. It was a beautiful sight that anyone would admire, but the faces of those watching it turned black instead. All that came between them was a suffocating silence. Around that time, the Supreme Gods opened their closed eyes.

“…Ah, we’re screwed. What is this.”

As soon as he came to his senses, Iowen, who had checked the magic circle that only had remnants left, groaned while holding his forehead.

“It seems we have failed.”

Shannon, who also grasped the situation, muttered with a complicated expression. He, too, looked at the fragments scattered in all directions with a heavy gaze.

To think that the great barrier to purify the evil god would end so futilely. If the Spirit King and the dragons had set up four mana axes in Arkadon, the main camp’s axis connected to it was in charge of the Supreme Gods. They had succeeded in capturing the target, and the purification was proceeding smoothly. But a little while ago, they suddenly felt the connection break and were bounced off. They tried to hold on as much as possible, but there was no way to recover the escaping power. In the first place, it was a barrier that could not be maintained with only one side supporting it.

“It seems there was a problem with the barrier on the Arkadon side.”

Radeka, who had inferred the situation, made a bitter expression. Only Kanos did not show any particular reaction. He simply looked around at the remnants of the magic circle scattered in all directions. Then, he grabbed one of the fragments that passed by and examined it closely.

“Hmm~ Did you put reverse magic on one axis of the barrier?”

“Yes?”

Shannon, surprised by his muttering, hurriedly rummaged through the remnants and picked up a fragment. When he raised his glasses, his sharp eyes, which had been hidden, were revealed. Surprisingly, the part of his eyes that normally corresponded to the whites was a deep purple color. Conversely, the iris, which should have been colored, was white, and the pupil was gold, giving it an overall mysterious and bizarre feeling. It was the 심안(審眼) [Korean: siman (審眼), lit. judgment eye], the characteristic of the King of the Underworld who ruled the world of souls. His eyes, which read the karma of the dead, also had the ability to grasp the identity of things. In that state, he stared intently at the fragment and soon groaned.

“Oh, that’s really the case. That’s why they cut it off in such a hurry. The power that the purification barrier held would have been absorbed by him. It’s fortunate that Arkadon’s judgment was quick.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying. There’s a trace of one guy resisting until the end. It’s not a power that a dragon can block, but he managed to hold on without being eaten. He seems quite injured, but I don’t know if he’s alive?”

“I’ll check the death ledger. If he’s dead, we’ll bring him to the middle heaven and treat him generously, and if he wants the next life, we’ll take measures to be reborn as a dragon again…”

“That’s not the problem right now! The purification barrier has failed! Now we have to come up with the next countermeasure!”

It was Lusef who stopped the conversation that was about to continue endlessly, along with the high-ranking gods. The two gods who had stopped talking turned to him, and Kanos chuckled.

“You’re a villain.”

“Who’s calling who a villain?”

“You know exactly what the next countermeasure is, right?”

“……”

Lusef, who was at a loss for words, shut his mouth tightly. The other high-ranking gods also hesitated. As he said, everyone already knew what the next countermeasure was. It was also a cruel truth that they didn’t need to confirm. All eyes were on the black-haired woman standing in the middle of them: Perdes, the god of death and the dead. She was the goddess who had volunteered to sacrifice herself before turning the clock of fate. Lusef also forcibly suppressed the gaze that was naturally directed at her.

“And you seem to have been so busy making good deeds that you didn’t hear the story properly. The countermeasure is already in progress.”

“What is that…”

“Kanos is right. It’s not that we’re ignoring the search for countermeasures. It’s just that there’s nothing to do because everything is already decided. If this purification barrier fails, it will automatically move to the annihilation barrier.”

In the meantime, Shannon, who had put on his glasses again, nodded and continued to speak. Even if the Demon God didn’t, the God of the Underworld was not in the nature of playing pranks on such issues. Still, with a feeling that he couldn’t easily believe, Lusef looked back at the fragments that were still floating in the air with a suspicious gaze.

“But there’s no change?”

It was at that moment. As if responding to those words, the fragments of the purification barrier scattered in all directions quickly gathered and began to swirl. It was a sight of tens of thousands of light dust moving in unison in the air.

“What is that?”

“What else is it? It’s the annihilation barrier.”

“Annihilation barrier? That’s the annihilation barrier?”

Kanos received the words that Lusef, who was embarrassed, blinked and muttered. The light dust was 뭉쳐져 [Korean: mungchyeojyeo, lit. clumped together] at a very fast speed and soon stretched out somewhere. The destination was Perdes, who was standing still like a picture. Then, without giving Lusef, who was surprised, a chance to show any reaction, he covered Perdes’s whole body. For a moment, an intense light that was blinding burst out and disappeared in an instant. Perdes, who was seen again, looked as if she had been covered in gold dust from head to toe. Since her hair was dark black, the contrast effect of the gold shining on it was even clearer.