Chapter 766

Chapter 766

My World Is……. (1)

Dddddduk!

I gritted my teeth and tried to pull my arm free by drawing up my mana. But it wasn’t easy.

Rahmod, with my sword still embedded in his body, was holding onto me with all his strength.

I glared at Rahmod with cold eyes.

Since the fight wasn’t ending quickly, it seemed Rahmod was prepared to take damage himself.

But I didn’t panic. There were plenty of ways to escape. If I really ran out of strength, I could simply cut off my wrist.

Astion would hate it, but even without a hand, I could craft a prosthetic moved by mana, and it wouldn’t hinder me at all.

In fact, there was an even better way right now.

You made a mistake.

I poured all my mana into Gramdyr.

Up until now, my attacks had been deflected by his aura, but now that my sword had penetrated inside his body, it was a different story.

Paaaah!

Kuuuuugh!

A seething groan burst from Rahmod’s mouth.

My mana was exploding inside him, tearing everything apart.

No matter how remarkable Rahmod’s regeneration was, damage from within was dangerous.

Still, Rahmod didn’t collapse easily.

He clenched his teeth and poured out his own aura in streams. That aura wrapped around my body, binding me tight and suppressing my movement.

All the more, I unleashed even more mana. I intended to destroy Rahmod’s body from the inside and end this battle.

This wasn’t happening only to us.

Kwaaazijik!

Grondal’s halberd pierced into Tagmah’s side.

You bastard! What are you thinking…….

Grondal also realized that Tagmah had deliberately let himself be struck. Tagmah, too, poured out his aura and grabbed Grondal.

My movement and Grondal’s were restrained.

Because of that, Rahmod and Tagmah were placed in serious danger as well.

A reckless action like this wouldn’t turn the tide of battle instead, it was a shortcut to death for both of them.

But Rahmod and Tagmah weren’t risking their lives to win the fight. They were gambling everything on creating a single opportunity.

Kuuuuuuuuugh…….

Rahmod, whose eyes were bloodshot as he endured, suddenly erupted with power. Tagmah did the same.

Kwaaaaaang!

Their aura didn’t target me or Grondal. That violent power didn’t even head toward Deneb, but in a completely different direction.

Kwaaaang!

Rahmod’s attack struck Julien, who had been fighting Munaref.

The sudden assault sent Julien flying backward. The aura that Tagmah unleashed forcefully pushed Ereneth away.

Seizing that brief moment, Rahmod shouted with all his might.

“Kill that woman!”

Kwaaaang!

The priest who had been fighting Ereneth immediately charged toward Deneb. Munaref also turned in the same direction.

I tried to move right away, but Rahmod’s restraints were still pressing down on my body with relentless force.

Rahmod was pouring everything he had into suppressing me at the cost of his own life.

Kuh…!

I clenched my teeth and unleashed threads of mana.

Paaaah!

Hundreds of strands erupted in an explosion, wrapping around Munaref’s body.

Even so, I didn’t feel relieved and quickly turned my head. The priest near Ereneth was also moving.

But that priest was unexpectedly blocked by someone.

Aaaaaaaah!

Lionel let out a scream that was almost a wail and stood in the priest’s way.

He had been supporting Ereneth from behind. Because the battle was so fierce, if he had stepped forward, he would have only gotten in the way.

That was why, when Tagmah struck Ereneth away, he hadn’t been caught in it himself.

He also knew he had to protect Deneb. Even if he didn’t like her, this was separate from his feelings.

However, with Lionel’s skills, it was impossible to properly face a Transcendent-level fighter. He simply chose to block the way with his whole body.

Kwaaaaaang!

The two clashed violently. Normally, Lionel would have been knocked away.

But he threw all his strength into absorbing the impact and hugged the priest tight.

Though the two of them tumbled across the ground together, he managed to protect Deneb unharmed.

“You bastard!”

The priest raised a hand to strike Lionel. But the blow didn’t come immediately.

Chiiiiiiik!

Uuuuaargh!

The divine power emanating from Lionel’s body pierced fiercely into the priest’s flesh.

The priest, already utterly exhausted, felt agony like his whole body was burning.

Ordinarily, he would have steeled himself to pour all his explosive aura into Deneb, even at the cost of his life, but now that pain alone was shattering all his focus.

“G-get out of the way! You wretch!”

The priest managed to stifle the pain and slammed his hand down hard on Lionel’s head.

Kugh…

Lionel held on as the crushing force drove into his body, hugging the priest even tighter. Then the priest started pounding his head with his fist.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwaaaang!

Lionel poured every bit of his mana into withstanding the blows, but he knew he couldn’t last much longer. Even so, he clenched his teeth and forced his mind to stay clear.

“Lionel!”

Ereneth hurried over and struck at the priest. But the priest simply took the attack head-on and continued to batter Lionel.

The most important thing right now was to eliminate Deneb, no matter what.

At least, with Ereneth here, Lionel had bought a little time. Ghislain turned his gaze back to Munaref.

Trdddddddduk!

Even with his steps bound by Ghislain’s technique, Munaref was trying to move forward.

He only paused for an instant.

Pazik!

The threads of mana snapped, and his body started lunging forward again.

Ghislain once more tried to release threads of mana to keep Munaref bound, but all he could do was slow him down a little.

Tudududuk!

Munaref pushed past Ghislain’s interference and advanced toward Deneb.

Even with his speed diminished, he was a Transcendent. In the blink of an eye, he could close the distance to her.

“Julien!”

There was no one left who could stop him but Julien.

At Ghislain’s shout, Julien hurriedly chased after Munaref’s back.

But Munaref was still faster.

“Deneb!”

Julien wrung out all his strength and hurled himself forward.

Had he ever pushed himself this hard in his life?

He felt as if his flesh were tearing, his muscles ripping away, but he ignored it and ran.

Even so, he couldn’t reach Munaref’s back.

Ghislain kept lashing Munaref’s body with threads of mana, but in the end, he couldn’t bring him to a halt.

More and more, Munaref was stretching out his hand toward Deneb.

Tuduk!

Julien’s body groaned under the strain, creaking as if it would scream.

But he couldn’t stop. All his will was focused on chasing Munaref no, more precisely, on protecting Deneb.

Paaaaa……

In that instant, Julien felt something strange.

Time itself seemed to snap and break. Everything around him slowed down.

Munaref. Ghislain. Grondal.

The screams soaked in blood, the ragged breathing, even the wind brushing against his skin—

Everything grew sluggish.

This is……

He didn’t know why, but with everything slowed, it felt like he could finally catch Munaref.

But

His body was heavy, as if he had sunk to the ocean floor. A suffocating pressure pressed down on him.

His consciousness had reached into the cracks between seconds, but his body couldn’t keep up with that speed.

The divide between mind and flesh.

That gap dug into his heart like despair.

Only then did Julien understand.

This was how Transcendents perceived time.

And he was not yet a Transcendent.

It was only a phenomenon born by chance, through the extremity of his focus and concentration.

Transcendent……

He had to step into that realm. Only then would his body follow this mental time.

But becoming a Transcendent wasn’t something you could do just because you wished it. If it had been that easy, he would have long since achieved it.

‘Deneb……’

Munaref’s body inched ever closer to Deneb.

Julien could only watch, dragging his heavy body forward.

Dddddduk……

Munaref spread his hand. Darkness slowly gathered in his palm.

Just a little more, and Munaref’s hand would crush Deneb.

‘No……’

Julien clenched his teeth. He was determined to stop Munaref no matter what.

Step by step, he forced his heavy legs forward.

Even so, he couldn’t close the distance to Munaref.

Unless he became a Transcendent, it was impossible to bridge that gap.

Ghislain…

A Transcendent, you see, must establish a world of their own to reach that state.

That was what Ghislain had said about the step of becoming a Transcendent.

He always showed the way so clearly, but on that point alone, his words were vague.

Some people reach it through an unshakable conviction, but not all do. You might suddenly find enlightenment just while eating a meal, or you might get there through nothing but relentless training.

That’s why you have to establish your own world. The reason for crossing the wall is different for everyone.

So how do you do it? That’s the one thing I can’t explain to you clearly. Because it’s something you can only realize on your own.

Of course, Julien and Kyle hadn’t understood what he meant. The words were too obscure, too much like grasping at clouds.

Even though he had reached the highest level short of Transcendence, Julien had always lingered at the threshold.

My world…

I was just someone insignificant from the countryside.

I had no grand ambitions, nor any overwhelming desire for something.

I was an orphan who had struggled to survive. Hunger, cold, contempt, and neglect surviving those always came first.

Then, I met my friends.

Kyle, who was reckless but always spirited. Astion, who seemed half-crazed but knew so much.

And… Deneb, who had always been there since I was little, sheltering and caring for me.

Thanks to those friends, I hadn’t fallen onto the wrong path.

My life began to change because of Astion.

The prophet who once possessed Astion said so! That we would be the ones to save the world!

None of us believed what Astion said. We just thought he was being his usual overdramatic self.

Astion, with all his strange knowledge, taught us how to become stronger. Under his guidance, we grew little by little.

Deneb often said to us,

Let’s use this strength to help those in need.

I nodded at her words.

Saving the world felt far too grand for me, but that much I felt like I could do it.

I knew how painfully powerless people lived, because I had lived that painful life myself. I didn’t feel any resistance to the idea.

So, I tried to live in a way that would let me help others. And in doing so, I met Ghislain, and came all the way here.

It still didn’t feel real to me that someone as insignificant as I was could save the world.

Even when Ghislain said the same thing, all I could do was keep trying to become that kind of person.

So, I had lived by helping those in need and cutting down evil.

But was that my world?

…

Honestly, it didn’t resonate.

Even though I had lived with that conviction all this time.

The goal of helping others had never led me to Transcendence.

It was simply a way of life, not the world that defined me.

Then what was I supposed to do? What could possibly shatter that wall and let me become a Transcendent?

The time that had been slowing felt as if it had now stopped completely.

In that stillness, I turned over countless thoughts, retracing the past, but no answer came.

And then, all of a sudden…

A scene from the past I had long forgotten brushed across my mind.

“Eat this. I’m fine.”

A girl, her face gaunt and exhausted, held out bread to a boy.

She herself looked emaciated from hunger, but she smiled as she shared what little she had.

The boy, who had collapsed on the street, worn down by starvation, was able to stay alive because of that small piece of bread she offered.

“You can sleep here if you want. I’ll keep it a secret.”

When she found the boy trying to sleep in someone’s shed, she brought her own blanket and spread it over him.

Thanks to her, the boy didn’t freeze to death and made it through the cold winter.

“It’s okay to cry when you feel like it.”

When the boy was wrongfully accused by the villagers and sat alone in a corner, struggling to hold back tears, she came and quietly comforted him.

At her words, the boy cried in front of someone else for the first time in his life.

“Never let go of this hand.”

One day, when a great fire broke out in the village, the boy, who had been doing menial chores in someone’s house, became trapped in the flames.

The frail boy was too scared to do anything but crouch in a corner. Even then, the girl rushed in to find him and took his hand, pulling him out.

Because of her, he barely escaped and survived.

With a face blackened by soot, she smiled brightly at him.

“Don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”

She was always so kind and strong.

The boy trusted and relied on her deeply. He grew up sheltered in her care.

Even after he became stronger than her, the boy always listened to her words.

The idea of helping those in need, of living kindly—

In truth, all of it had been beliefs the girl had led him to.

The boy never refused. He never doubted.

Because that was simply how he had learned to live in the world.

“I’ll protect you.”

Just as the girl had said those words, the boy wished to do the same. And more than anything, he longed for it with all his heart.

To always be able to protect her…

To become stronger than anyone.

Ah…

Only then did the boy finally understand.

My world…

It wasn’t any conviction, any ambition, or any desire.

Deneb.

It was only you.

Kwaaaaaaaaaang!

A blue radiance burst from Julien’s eyes.

At the same time, his body shot toward Deneb.

His body was no longer heavy.

Nothing restrained him anymore.

Only…

Just a little more.

He had to be faster. Munaref’s hand was already reaching for Deneb.

Paaaaaaaa…

At that moment, spirits began to rise all around Julien.

The beings that had always dwelled unseen in another world revealed themselves, drawn forth by his will.

They were still small and faint presences, but no one listened more closely to Julien’s true heart.

As if breathing their blessing into him, the spirits pushed gently on his back.

Their touch was light and warm, yet within it lay the order of the world itself.

And in that instant—

The world responded to Julien’s wish.

Paaaaaak!

His body cleaved the air like a bolt of light.

* * *

Munaref wore a triumphant smile.

At last, he would kill the cursed woman who wielded that holy power.

As soon as his fingers reached her, it would all be over. He believed that with certainty and stretched out his hand.

Puk!

Something blocked him. His hand had pierced through someone’s back.

Feeling something strange, Deneb stopped her prayer. Slowly, she raised her head.

“Ju… Julien…”

Julien was standing in front of her. His chest was impaled on Munaref’s hand.

In the face of a reality she couldn’t believe, Deneb’s eyes trembled. She staggered to her feet, unable to trust what she saw.

Julien simply smiled. As if this was nothing at all.

As he always had, he looked at her with a gentle smile.

Julien slowly lifted a hand and brushed Deneb’s tear-streaked cheek.

Then he spoke in a soft voice.

“Don’t worry… I’ll protect you…”

“Ju… Julien.”

Deneb caught his swaying body. His complexion was growing rapidly paler.

His chest was pierced, and the darkness was devouring him, killing him.

N… no…

Tears poured endlessly from Deneb’s eyes.

She couldn’t let Julien die like this. She couldn’t let him go.

He had always promised he would protect her.

“Julien—!”

So, the girl…

Wished with all her strength for the boy.

Kurururururung!

Darkness gathered thicker over the skies of Valskrum.

Thunder swallowed the heavens and shook the earth.

But it was no harbinger of despair.

Paaaaaak!

The sky split open.

Through the blackened clouds, a holy light pierced down.

And that brilliant, magnificent light—

It poured down onto Deneb.