Elqueeness [EN]: Chapter 409

409.

Lucifer gazed at the sky for a moment before composing himself and straightening his expression. In any case, that wasn’t what mattered right now.

He approached Eluien, who was still unconscious, and checked his condition. Thanks to Elquines’s outpouring of healing power, the bleeding had barely stopped, but the situation didn’t look good. Even taking him to the God of Healing wouldn’t yield immediate positive results.

‘I should move him to the Divine Realm first… but can this body even withstand a dimensional shift?’

Of course, right now he had to worry about whether a dimensional shift was even possible. The Divine Realm, which should have already moved, was still silent. The dark clouds filling the sky remained as they were. It seemed they were trapped in a barrier. Lucifer performed the necessary first aid he could manage, then turned towards Perdes. Like Eluien, Perdes was also still unconscious. Trowell, who was watching over her, looked up and met Lucifer’s gaze with a calm expression.

“How is Eluien?”

“Not good. What about Perdes?”

“Perdes is fine. She seems to be regaining consciousness soon.”

As he said, Perdes seemed to be in better condition than expected. After letting out a sigh of relief, Lucifer once again looked back at where Elquines and the Evil God were. Trowell was also looking in that direction.

“Elquines bought us time.”

“Yeah, it’s the first time I’ve seen El so angry. Impressive.”

“……Are you guys collectively under some kind of hypnosis?”

“He is actually impressive, isn’t he?”

“Well, yeah. It’s definitely impressive, but….”

Still, there should be some other expression besides that. Lucifer frowned, trying to recall a word that was on the tip of his tongue. Whether he did or not, Trowell paid no attention, simply gazing at Elquines. His eyes, filled with warm light, held past memories and became wistful.

“Seeing that reminds me of something I heard before. The former Ifrit [a powerful fire spirit in mythology] told me that while the power of the Spirit Kings is indistinguishable in terms of superiority, humans value Elquines the most in terms of preference.”

“What does that mean?”

“It’s a saying that once circulated among them. If you want to kill your opponent quickly, seek the power of wind; if you want to slowly wither them to death, seek the power of earth; if you want to kill them most painfully, seek the power of fire; and if you want to kill them in absolute terror, seek the power of water.”

“Geez, leave it to humans to differentiate like that.”

It was then that Perdes regained consciousness. Her eyelashes began to flutter slightly, and then her tightly closed eyelids opened. Seeing the clearly revealed purple eyes, Trowell smiled slightly.

“Are you awake, Perdes?”

“……Trowell.”

Even after regaining consciousness, Perdes wore an incomprehensible expression. However, as she recognized the situation, her expression gradually hardened. The fact that she, who should have been annihilated, was alive could only mean one thing. She hurriedly got up and scanned her surroundings with narrowed eyes.

“What happened? Why am I…….”

“The Annihilation Circle failed.”

The answer came immediately. It was an answer that anyone in this situation would have expected. Perdes swallowed her breath and closed her eyes with a miserable expression.

“So, the Evil God finally awakened.”

“No, fortunately, he hasn’t fully awakened. And it seems he won’t be able to awaken for a while.”

“What? What does that…….”

“El is very angry.”

Lucifer pointed in one direction to the bewildered Perdes. Only then did she recognize the scene of Elquines’s wrath. At the same time, she immediately realized the reason for his anger.

“Good heavens, Eluien.”

Perdes gasped as she discovered the man lying as if dead not far away. Following her rapidly moving figure, Lucifer and Trowell also moved. Asmodel, who had been guarding Eluien’s side, stepped back slightly to allow them to examine him comfortably.

“What on earth happened? What happened?”

“El was in danger. He was in danger of being annihilated, but Eluien protected him with his own body.”

“That can’t be…….”

“Honestly, it’s surprising. He said he would be a father, but I never thought he would go this far for El.”

“Father…….”

Perdes, with a hardened face, looked up at Lucifer. Startled by the flickering gaze filled with anxiety, Lucifer soon understood her intention and wore a serious expression.

“No, the clock hasn’t been turned back.”

“Are you sure?”

“If Eluien had been chosen, he would have been annihilated on the spot, not just injured. And everything would have ended there. But he’s still alive.”

“That’s, certainly true.”

“What are you all talking about?”

Trowell asked, sensing a disturbing undercurrent in the conversation. At the same time, Perdes and Lucifer, who had paused, exchanged awkward glances, and his eyes sharpened further.

“Radeka’s Clock of Fate doesn’t enforce fate if it’s turned back. Don’t tell me Radeka read a fate suitable for a sacrifice? And ‘father’ was among them?”

“……That’s right. But I volunteered, so we decided not to turn back the clock.”

“Perdes, the reason you volunteered for the Annihilation Circle is…….”

“I can’t say that I had no feelings for El. But sacrifice is originally for others. And that’s just one of the reasons I made up my mind. My true feelings are as I said.”

After wearing a complicated expression for a moment, Trowell sighed softly.

“I won’t tell El. He already feels guilty, and he’ll have an even harder time if he knows these details.”

“I guess so. Thanks for the consideration, Trowell.”

“Don’t be happy. It’s not consideration I’m doing because I like it.”

Unpleasant nagging followed, but Perdes only laughed more. Seeing her comfortably rejoicing, Trowell sighed again.

“Anyway, originally, the sacrifice was supposed to be determined by the Clock of Fate. And this failed annihilation means that we could have gone according to the original plan.”

“Yes.”

“The Annihilation Circle? It’s not a structure that’s created on its own.”

“It’s just a device to help connect with the Evil God easily. If you can connect in any way, you can proceed.”

“So, you’re saying that you can get caught up in it even if you don’t want to. Then the fact that Eluien ended up like this could be part of that flow of fate.”

Perdes wore a sorrowful expression at the accurate point. Lucifer also furrowed his brow deeply and scratched his head.

“Ugh, I don’t know what’s going on, but like I said, Eluien is alive. It’s too early to judge that Radeka has turned back the clock.”

“Yeah, yeah. And it won’t happen in the future.”

At that moment, an unfamiliar voice with a cheerful ring chimed in. Startled, they turned around and were even more surprised to find the person standing before them. A tall man was looking down at them. Dark black hair, as if holding ink on his chillingly white skin, was intense. The eyes revealed between the disheveled hair in the breeze also held darkness darker than the night sky.

“Kanos!”

Asmodel’s eyes, which had been watching the situation from a step away, widened to their limit. Kanos, responding to the gaze filled with astonishment with a smile, leisurely looked around. A small exclamation flowed from him as he looked once at the fallen Eluien and once at the Evil God.

“Wow, this is really a mess.”

It was an incomprehensible tone, whether he was mocking or really admiring. Soon, his gaze turned back to the frozen people. To them, who were taking awkward postures with an unknown tension, Kanos lightly saluted with two fingers as if joking.

“Hello, everyone. The protagonist has arrived. Did you wait long?”

* * *

“The, the Demon God has entered the barrier.”

A man with a pale face reported the fact he had witnessed in a trembling voice. As if responding to it, groans and sighs erupted from here and there. The surroundings were like a scene that had just been swept by a storm. Half of those gathered had collapsed and were unconscious, and the other half were extremely exhausted.

Standing in the middle of it, Shannon brushed his forehead and swept his hair up. If this was the backlash from the failed Annihilation Circle, he would have felt better, but the problem was that it was caused by something completely different. He couldn’t understand how he had reached this situation. No, to be exact, he didn’t want to think about it. It was more painful to recall the cause than to look back at this miserable reality. Everything was a mess.

Shannon sighed and looked to the side. There, Iowen was examining a fallen girl. The unconscious girl had skin as black as ebony. The hair flowing over her dark skin was as pure white as if it had transferred the moonlight, and it had been praised as the Milky Way in the night sky. It was a fitting compliment for the Goddess of Fate, who announced guidance through the stars. But that symbolic hair was now black.

“How is Radeka?”

“I don’t think she’ll wake up for a while.”

Iowen, who raised his head, answered in a voice that seemed about to cry. Shannon wasn’t greatly embarrassed. It was already what he had expected, so there was no need to be newly embarrassed. He sighed again and adjusted his glasses.

Everything happened in an instant.

The Annihilation Circle, which the Divine Realm had placed its last hope on, had failed. As the spell placed on Perdes was destroyed, the vision connected to Arkhadon quickly closed. He immediately reconnected, but he couldn’t see anything. It seemed the Evil God had put up a barrier. But what threw everyone into confusion was Kanos’s next action.

“Sorry, Radeka. You can listen to my resentment later.”

Until then, Kanos had shown no agitation. He was so relaxed, as if he had known this would happen from the beginning, that everyone who saw him unconsciously felt relieved. If he was okay, then everything would be fine. But he smiled brightly and suddenly turned to Radeka and said something incomprehensible. He was so calm that even Radeka herself, the person involved, didn’t immediately recognize what he had said. Immediately after, a strong force erupted from him, and Radeka’s expression, which had been frowning, was filled with astonishment. That was the last scene everyone remembered.

A large wave arose and swallowed everything in an instant. Everyone there was helplessly swept away without even being able to respond. When they came to their senses, it was already irreversible.

‘Kanos. What on earth are you…….’

Shannon sighed lowly, painfully gazing at the tragedy before his eyes. The floor was full of transparent fragments. The second hands and letters that popped out from among the shattered pieces were scattered in disarray. It was the trace left by the Clock of Fate, which Kanos had shattered into pieces a little while ago.

* * *

“What…… what did you say just now?”

Kanos shrugged at Lucifer’s dumbfounded expression. He was too nonchalant to be the person who had shocked everyone with a single unbelievable word a little while ago. He must have misheard. Lucifer didn’t give up hope and asked again.

“What are you doing? You destroyed the clock? Don’t tell me you’re talking about Radeka’s Clock of Fate?”

“That’s right.”

“You crazy bastard!”

Lucifer, who could no longer bear it, lunged at Kanos. But Kanos was faster to dodge before he could grab his collar. Lucifer, who lost the place to vent his anger by a hair’s breadth, distorted his face even more.

“Why the hell would you destroy that!”

“I stopped it because Radeka was going to turn it back.”

“So, she’s turning it back, but why are you stopping it!”

“I didn’t want to either, but I couldn’t help it. Someone ate my warning so deliciously.”

“What on earth…….”

“The suitable person happened to be too close to the scene. They ended up getting hurt. That’s why I told them to stay still.”

Lucifer blankly stared at Kanos, who was clicking his tongue with a face that showed no pity at all. It was clear where that gaze was directed, so he could quickly understand what he was trying to say.

“Are you saying you broke the clock because Eluien might die?”

“Ah, that’s how it turned out.”

“Why are you pretending to realize it now! You said it outright from the beginning!”

Kanos smiled brightly. Lucifer couldn’t help but be dumbfounded again. The Demon God was a god who didn’t reveal himself. There was nothing more foolish than judging the truth through his words or actions. But even though he knew it in his head, it was an instinctive psychology to want to check it out first.

“You really broke it because of that? Not just to ruin the situation and enjoy the catastrophe?”

“That’s too much. It’s true that I have a strong tendency to do that. But I don’t joke around even at times like this?”

“No, I can’t believe it. It’s beside the point that you’re a guy who worries about other people’s lives…… but when did you even know Eluien?”

“Oh, didn’t you know? We’re very close friends.”

“……Is that something Eluien also agreed to?”

Kanos didn’t answer the question asked with a suspicious expression. It was clear that he was deliberately looking away.

“Anyway, there’s no longer any chance that fate will forcibly choose a sacrifice. You don’t have to tremble with anxiety, so isn’t that great?”

“Is that all you’re going to say after saying that’s great? More than that, what happened to Radeka if the clock was broken! What about the Divine Realm!”

“Well, they’ll be a little out of it.”

No, it couldn’t be just that level. Since the clock was broken, Radeka would have lost her power, and the entire Divine Realm would have been messed up by the wave that occurred during the explosion. He thought it was strange that they didn’t respond immediately even though the Annihilation Circle had failed, but this was the reason. Lucifer swallowed a groan. It was the regret of a thousand years that he couldn’t even throw a proper punch even with the root of the problem right in front of him because his power was insufficient. Of course, whether Lucifer did or not, Kanos didn’t care at all. His gaze was directed towards Perdes.

“Am I making things difficult for you by doing this, Goddess of Death? It would have been an opportunity to pass on a heavy burden to you.”

Perdes immediately shook her head at the question.

“No. I’ve never thought it was heavy from the beginning. Rather, I’m relieved.”

“Ah, that’s right. You had a pretty cool personality. Is it this side that’s being resentful instead?”

The eyes with a smile turned to Trowell next to Perdes. Trowell frowned for a moment before sighing. He didn’t like the fact that a god he had never met was acting as if he was looking into his heart, but he knew the Demon God’s reputation very well. In front of him, everything felt meaningless.