Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 408

408

“You have something to say to me, Water Spirit King.”

“Yes, I do.”

“What is it? Since our history of animosity runs deep, I’ll make an exception and listen. Consider it a final act of grace. I have no intention of letting you die easily, you know.”

“That’s kind of you. First, let me tell you, Ellyuen isn’t dead yet.”

“Oh? That’s good, then. He’ll have the honor of becoming my pet.”

The guy, his face full of vile laughter, stared at me provocatively. I watched him for a moment, then laughed along. He paused, furrowing his brow as if puzzled. He clearly didn’t expect me to laugh with him. I chuckled even louder at his expression.

“Aren’t you misunderstanding something?”

“Misunderstanding?”

“You haven’t finished your awakening yet. What makes you think you can handle the consequences of angering me?”

“Hahaha! What can you possibly do? I am already stronger than anyone! Didn’t you see with your own eyes how even a High God crumbled so miserably? You don’t think a Spirit King is stronger than a High God, do you?”

“Of course, I’m not stronger than a High God. But I’m close. And sometimes, I can be stronger.”

“Huh? What’s that confidence based on?”

“It’s true. …At least, here it is.”

I calmly scanned his entire body. The surging flow within him was clearly palpable—the dangling shape of his wings, along with the lingering traces of his mortal body. Seeing that, I naturally knew what I had to do.

“You asked what I can do? I’ll show you what I can do from now on.”

“Pfft, you’re full of hot air. Go ahead and try to….”

He couldn’t finish his sentence. His face hardened, his eyes wide with shock as he stared at me.

“What’s wrong? You look terrible.”

“What… did you…!”

“Ah, I get it. Having trouble breathing? Feeling like your body suddenly got heavier? Like you can’t move the way you want to? Anyway, the sensation is definitely different from before, right?”

“You…!”

His staggering body slowly collapsed, and he couldn’t hold on any longer, dropping to his knees. In an instant, the perspective shifted, and now I was looking down at him. He wore an expression of disbelief at what was happening to him. He still hadn’t grasped the situation.

“Ellyuen said you chose the wrong place to awaken. I vaguely thought so at the time, but now I understand exactly what he meant. Yes, you really made a big mistake. You know why?”

I slowly approached and forcibly turned his face to make him look at me. When I removed my hand from before his eyes, his eyes widened. I easily recognized the meaning in his gaze, a mix of bewilderment and absurdity, and I laughed.

“You can’t see anything, can you? That’s right.”

Even at this moment, countless Naiads [water nymphs] were seeping into his body. It was a sight he would never know. I leisurely watched his bewildered state before bending down. As I slowly disappeared, I whispered the sweetest secret in the world into his ear.

“Arc-Acheon is the world of invisible spirits.”

* * *

Even a god’s body has blood flowing through it and bodily organs like the five viscera and six entrails [major internal organs]. However, they only resemble those of a mortal body in function; their appearance and capabilities are completely different. Their nature and composition are also entirely different, so even the blood is merely in liquid form and doesn’t actually contain water. Therefore, there’s very little I can interfere with in what flows through their bodies.

Karyuan’s blood still has water mixed in. That’s because he’s only a half-god who hasn’t completed his awakening. Thanks to being closer to a god, his body regenerates quickly even if it’s damaged, but because it’s still a mortal body, it’s also easily damaged. Of course, he possesses great power, so he can defend himself to prevent anyone from invading, but not here in Arc-Acheon.

In this land ruled by spirits, the Spirit Kings have the priority to control the world. It’s a powerful sovereignty that even the Supreme God can’t infringe upon. All the water that exists here is under my jurisdiction. Even if it’s flowing inside someone else’s body.

“Cough!”

I slowly revealed myself before Karyuan, who was crouching and gasping for breath. Looking down at him closely, I saw that his blood vessels had burst, and he was weeping tears of blood. His entire body was covered in white frost, as if he had been frozen in a freezer. And he had just lost his heart for the fourth time.

“Why are you struggling so much over this? The children you killed must have suffered much more than this.”

“Kuh, you…!”

He craned his neck and glared at me. It was only the beginning, but he already looked exhausted. I understood. He had been flailing at empty air since earlier, so the mental shock must be greater than the physical fatigue.

“How…?”

“Is it strange that I’m attacking you when you can’t see me?”

At my question, delivered with a smile, he just glared and panted. He was trying to move somehow, but he couldn’t budge, probably because he had just lost his heart.

“I know what you’re thinking. Originally, for a spirit to artificially use its abilities, it needs to borrow mana from its contractor while summoned. That’s why everyone assumes that Spirit Kings would naturally do the same. But that’s not the case at all. Kings can interfere with the world as much as they want without a contractor. Contracting with a species is just to manifest a physical body and communicate. That’s all.”

“……!”

“Got it? I’m much more comfortable in my natural state. I can use my abilities as they are, and the risk of reverse summoning disappears. But you’re different. A natural spirit can’t be caught or attacked. Because it is simply this world itself.”

You already know that better than anyone, having experienced it so many times. At my lightly added words, his eyes, red with blood, emitted a blue light. I chuckled. He should have done this from the start. Then Ellyuen wouldn’t have been hurt. I was annoyed that I hadn’t realized sooner what I was good at.

“Good eyes. But regenerating and regenerating a body that’s been torn apart and necrotized isn’t always good, is it? Seeing you like this reminds me of the myth of Prometheus. The circumstances are very different from yours, but that god was also punished for breaking a taboo, having his liver continuously eaten by an eagle. When I read it, I thought it was cruel, but from the perspective of the one giving the punishment, there seems to be nothing better than this. Especially since you have so much to repay, right?”

“What… nonsense…!”

“How many children did you kill in total? Thousands? Tens of thousands? Keep the numbers straight in your head. I’m going to tear out your heart as many times as those children lost theirs.”

Of course, I’ll also burst all the blood vessels in your body, but since you’ll find out anyway, I decided not to explain it that far. Then, I heard a sound like scratching the ground from somewhere. It was the sound of him grinning. Was he crazy from the pain? It didn’t seem like it was time to go crazy yet. I tilted my head, and he glared straight at me and said,

“No matter what you do, you can’t destroy me.”

“So?”

“Everything you’re doing is ultimately futile.”

After saying that, he looked as if he had delivered a great blow. I swallowed a scoff.

“I wondered what you were going to say, and that’s all you’ve got?”

“What?”

“I know I can’t destroy you, of course. But so what? Why does that make what I’m doing futile?”

“No matter how hard you try, I’ll be the one laughing in the end.”

He sneered with a vile expression. I didn’t avoid his gaze, which was staring straight at me as if he would devour me. I was in the mood to see how much more nonsense he would spout, but the more he spoke, the more absurd it became.

“I will become a god and be complete, and you will ultimately fail! Then, I will repay all the humiliation I’ve suffered! I will tear your body to pieces! I will slaughter those you cherish before your very eyes! I will make you feel all the pain that can be tasted in this world!”

“Wow, scary. But what about becoming a god? You stopped your awakening, didn’t you?”

“Hehehe, is that your only hope? Too bad, but I only need one young human heart. Just one heart. There are more than enough humans in this land.”

“Do you have a way to escape from me before that?”

“How long do you think you can hold me?”

“Oh, really? Hearing you say that makes me want to try harder.”

Cough, with a rough groan, he vomited dead blood on the spot. He was convulsing, probably in shock. I gently soothed him as he foamed at the mouth and trembled.

“Keep your wits about you. It’s only been five times.”

“Kuh, cough…!”

“What you’re saying is nonsense from the start. Tormenting you is futile? That can’t be true. How hard is it to be in pain? There’s a reason why they say pain is worse than death, right? Don’t you know that well? You said you’d make me taste all the pain in the world.”

“You, you….”

“The average lifespan of a Spirit King is ten thousand years, right? You know, I haven’t been born that long. So, I still have a long life ahead of me? A spirit’s body doesn’t get tired and isn’t affected by day and night. I can’t wait to see who falls first.”

It’s obvious without seeing the result who will suffer more, the one inflicting pain or the one receiving it. I smiled brightly at Karyuan, who was glaring resentfully.

“I’ll make you beg me to kill you.”

In a fleeting moment, his eyes wavered. The expression of someone facing fear for the first time, which I had been waiting for and anticipating, was emerging. Still, he stubbornly glared again, as if he wouldn’t admit it in the end. I wasn’t too disappointed. You can’t be full on the first try. There’s still plenty of time.

“Ah, but as you said, I don’t have the power to destroy you. So, I guess I should apologize in advance that I won’t be able to kill you in the end. Sorry?”

“Hmph, how dare you! How dare you!”

“How dare I?”

Having regained his strength in the meantime, he tried to reach out to me. Of course, I had already calculated that, so I disappeared first. While his hand futilely swept through the air, I created a long ice spear. When I plunged it straight into his heart, his body convulsed greatly. His thrashing figure was like a fish skewered on a stick. “Six times.” I reappeared before him, who couldn’t even scream and was just gaping, and counted the next number.

“It looks like your blood is starting to rot. That’s why your mind is so slow. Ah, it’s okay. I’m very generous. I can help you understand the situation as much as you need.”

Yes, I’m generous. That’s why I’m even having a conversation with you now. If I had only intended to enjoy myself, I would have blocked your vocal cords from the start and been satisfied with just hearing your groans. So, I was even more disgusted by the fact that he didn’t understand this deep meaning.

“Crawl like a bug. Before I bother to try.”

* * *

Rusef blinked blankly. He was so tired that he wondered if he was dreaming with his eyes open. In fact, he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger, so it couldn’t be said that it was impossible. That’s how unbelievable what was happening was.

What was unfolding before his eyes was the sight of a slender boy toying with a monster several times his size as if he were cooking it. Of course, appearance is a secondary aspect in the world of gods, so it shouldn’t be judged by looks. However, the situation changes a lot when you know the identity of the monster. That was the evil god who had been exuding such great power that he seemed to be ruling the world until just now.

It was indeed the very same evil god who had devastated the entire area, almost killed two High Gods, and left one High God and a Demon King in tatters. Such a tremendous being was now being helplessly toyed with by a Spirit King. Considering that the evil god hadn’t fully awakened yet and that this was Arc-Acheon, it was a realistic situation. So, what bewildered Rusef was a slightly different aspect.

‘Was he always like that?’

Rusef recalled the figure of the boy, Elquines, he had seen until just now. Even though it hadn’t been long since they met, he was certain that his first impression wasn’t like that at all. He remembered that he hadn’t been much different when he lost his mind and cried right after Ellyuen was hurt. But after a few taunts from the evil god, his eyes suddenly seemed to flip, and now he seemed like a completely different being.

No, perhaps that’s his true personality. It didn’t take Rusef long to sort out the confusion. He was a relatively sociable god. He had interacted with most of the gods, and of course, some of them were from Elquines. Had he ever seen a guy from Elquines who didn’t have a nasty personality? Not one. And that boy was also from Elquines. So, he easily came to a conclusion. He had been deliberately holding back until now, and then he got angry and revealed his true nature. It was a reasonable conclusion for Rusef, who couldn’t know that the person in question would think it was quite unfair.

‘But he seems to have the scariest personality.’

In addition, he added a personal impression. As expected, there was no ordinary being from Elquines. No matter what happens in the future, I must not provoke that Elquines’s temper. Rusef quietly resolved in his heart.

At that moment, a long-haired demon standing nearby came into his view. Was he the new Demon King chosen by Kanos? Elquines was currently repeating the process of returning to his natural state and then reappearing. There was probably very little that the demon could see properly, but he couldn’t take his eyes off the scene of the ongoing torture. His eyes were sparkling, almost burning.

‘What’s wrong with him again?’

As he looked at him with suspicious eyes, he heard a voice of admiration.

“Our godfather is so cool.”

As expected, it was a reaction befitting a demon who worships power. Rusef briefly looked down at the Demon King’s wrist. He saw the contract mark engraved on his fair skin. It was a contract he had made with his child. It was a fact he already knew from hearing about it, but his stomach ached when he actually saw the evidence with his own eyes. It was even more so after seeing the unsettling sight. Was it really the right path to leave that child to contract with Sibelius? Feeling uneasy, Rusef glanced at Sibelius. Sibelius was currently taking care of other injured demons. Even though he was a unicorn, he couldn’t turn away from the demons, which was like the kind-hearted child he had been since he was young. That’s why he was even more worried about him getting involved with an evil being like the Demon King. But why? Contrary to his expectation that he would be terrified, Sibelius was also watching Elquines, mesmerized. His eyes were red with emotion on his impressed face.

“El, you’re so cool.”

“……”