239th Episode
Ray stood above the abyss, sword in hand.
Ray stepped on the shadow of his past self who had once walked this very hell long ago.
Clutching in his hands fragments of transcendence that should have been beyond his reach.
Sacrificing what remained of his life to obtain this foreign power…
He forged a sword that cut through the darkness.
Ray swung his sword.
The landscape split apart and the heavens receded following the trajectory of the sword carved into the scenery.
Even as Ray enacted transcendence with his own hands, he could not bring himself to smile.
Because Ray was not Harshia…
He knew that even if he momentarily donned Harshia’s shell, he could never reach the same end that Harshia had faced.
Though every stroke of the sword left miraculous scars upon the landscape worthy of praise…
Still, an endless darkness surged forth like waves, consuming the space around him.
Ray continued moving forward, until at some point his body began to fragment and fall apart.
The immense power that cleaved through earth and sky ultimately led its wielder to self-destruction.
Harshia had controlled this power until the very last moment, but Ray could not.
Being consumed by his own power before it was fully spent, Ray nonetheless continued to swing his sword.
Long ago, he stood alone on this battlefield.
Long ago, when everyone had turned their backs on him, he still stood here for them.
Though he certainly could have made other choices.
He raised his sword for all those who despised, betrayed, and sought to crush him.
Harshia, did you too eventually regret it?
Standing alone with your sword, walking alone toward death, did you also come to regret it?
Repeating a question whose answer would forever remain unknown, Ray slashed through the massive darkness obstructing his path.
As the great darkness split in two, the arm that had swung the sword horizontally shattered into pieces.
Streams of mana flowed from the severed blood vessels like water, soaking the ground.
Not long after, Ray’s remaining right arm collapsed as well.
Moros rolled across the ground, and as the traces of the sword’s trajectory disappeared, sticky darkness covered the landscape.
Still, Ray continued to walk forward.
The mana surrounding him resonated with his will and transformed into blades of light that pierced through the darkness.
Attempting to take another step forward, Ray suddenly fell.
His ankles shattered.
His waist broke, and his entire body began collapsing from within.
He still had much further to go. To reach the conclusion that Harshia had attained, he still had much further to advance.
But Ray failed.
He fell onto the battlefield without reaching his destined end.
Lifting his head, now the only part of him still capable of movement, Ray gazed up at the sky.
A terrible malice covered the heavens and approached Ray.
Taking what would be his final breath slowly, Ray clenched his already ruined hand toward the sky.
His will became a blade, and the blade became a miracle, splitting the darkened sky.
That was Ray’s final act.
“…”
When he blinked his clouded eyes once, the scenery had already changed.
Looking up, Ray saw black rain dripping from the sky just as it had when he first entered this space.
Feeling someone’s presence, Ray turned his head.
Only the golden hair of a woman standing against the blackened earth shone beautifully.
“Your end will be far more terrible and lonely than this.”
The woman said harshly.
“Are you still resolved?”
“I regret… But I do…”
Ray looked up at the sky again.
While being drenched by the falling black rain, Ray answered calmly.
“At no point in the past, even if I were to return to it, could I bring about a better outcome than now.”
Ah… Of course, there is one thing I’d like to undo – that damn younger brother being born.
However, because that child gave her a true smile that I could never give…
Ray could no longer resent that child, and muttered quietly.
“I lack… confidence.”
With a face that seemed to both cry and laugh, Ray let out a small chuckle before erasing his expression.
“I’ll do my best with the time I have left. That’s all.”
Since it’s already too late to dwell on regrets, Ray thus resolved.
The woman quietly looked at Ray before waving her hand.
Trrr-!
The scenery began to tear apart.
Illusions crumbled piece by piece, and blue light began to seep through the cracks.
With a face as expressionless as if wearing a mask, the woman spoke amidst the collapsing illusion.
“You’re such an eyesore. Don’t come back again.”
“…I don’t want to repeat this experience several times either.”
A strange floating sensation lifted Ray’s consciousness.
In a vision swirling like mixed paints.
Ray saw a solitary blue gem manifesting in midair and merging with his body.
Trying to ask what it was, Ray moved his lips, but darkness overtook his vision faster.
Soon the illusion completely collapsed.
Amidst the void where all illusions had disappeared, only the woman took another step forward.
“I hope you meet a lingering and horrific death more than anyone else.”
Coldly smiling as she stepped over the spot where Ray had been.
“Through your death, she may…”
Reach places I couldn’t.
Achieve what I couldn’t.
“Please.”
The woman walked through the void.
Before long, the illusion reconstituted itself, and black rain poured down from the sky once more.
On the day when rivers of black blood flowed and a terrible stench filled the air…
The woman sat alone on her throne, resting her arms as she had at the beginning.
Harshia, though it may be a distorted form you wouldn’t wish for…
I will complete your nonagram.
Because I am a mage.
*
Without any medium, Sword Energy manifested on either side of Ray.
The two swords emitting flashes of light resonated with each other, distorting the space around them.
“!”
Nelson gritted his teeth.
What was happening before his eyes went beyond Nelson’s comprehension.
Not just Nelson’s – it went beyond the understanding of everyone present.
The chill enveloping the surroundings… Was this the power of a Core?
Sword Energy manifesting without a medium… Could that really be Sword Energy?
If those intensely bright glowing masses were indeed Sword Energy, then what level of attainment would allow such authority to be wielded?
The instructors, knights, and mages present had personally witnessed some of the strongest warriors of the Empire, which made it even harder for them to comprehend the scene before them.
The entity standing at the center of the barrier…
Was nearing a level where they could almost touch the domain of Lord-class Swordmasters.
That was the most conservative estimate.
No one present could be certain what would happen next.
However, they couldn’t just stand by and watch.
Nelson had to act, and his immediate priority was evacuating the students.
“Everyone, get up!”
Nelson helped the students regain their footing who were struggling to maintain balance due to the simulation device’s aftereffects.
Most students were staring at Ray with eyes filled with wonder and fear, but finally got up when Nelson shouted again.
At that moment, a thunderous sound echoed.
BOOM!
Part of the mana supplied to the simulation device reversed its flow, further overheating the catalysts and magic circuits.
All the artifacts possessed by the instructors, including Nelson, were fully activated as they formed a defensive formation with the students in the center.
The mages admitted defeat in resolving the issue and hastily retreated from the barrier.
Nelson pushed the students toward the exit by grabbing their collars.
Judging from how things were going, an explosion could occur at any moment.
However, just as Nelson was about to lead the students in evacuation, the overheated magic array began shutting down sequentially.
“?”
Chiiik-
Smoke started leaking from some of the machinery, and the glowing magic array dimmed.
Simultaneously, the overwhelming presence emanating from Ray gradually diminished.
The two swords flashing in midair disintegrated into particles of light and scattered.
Before long, a profound silence settled over the underground plaza that had been engulfed in a storm, as if nothing had happened.
Still, no one dared to relax.
Everyone remained tense in silence when suddenly…
Ray, having returned from the illusion to reality, suddenly felt nauseous.
“Ugh…!”
Ray vomited a large amount of blood.
Due to having worn Harshia’s shell within the illusion, the mental and physical dissonance produced a strong backlash.
Furthermore, though Ray didn’t realize it yet, his body had suffered considerable shock during the simulation process due to Core activation.
After retching, Ray groggily lifted his head.
He naturally expected the instructors to warmly welcome him after completing the simulation.
Instead, he was greeted by the tips of knights’ swords.
“?”
Seeing the knights pointing their swords at him, Ray wondered what was going on.
He had simply followed the instructors’ orders, letting his mind be immersed in the simulation device, and now that he woke up, the knights were glaring at him with their swords drawn. He couldn’t make sense of the situation at all.
Blinking his eyes, Ray asked with a voice full of委屈 (wronged feeling):
“What are you all doing right now?”
He hadn’t disobeyed any orders and had merely done as told, so why were they making such a fuss?
Ray’s sense of injustice was justified.
However, the knights couldn’t easily lower their swords.
The overwhelming presence Ray had displayed within the barrier had triggered their alertness to the extreme, leaving them no choice but to tighten their stance.
If they hadn’t preemptively drawn their swords, they would have had no means to resist Ray.
Having observed the situation, Nelson finally stepped forward on his own initiative.
“Ray.”
“Yes, Instructor? Why are they all acting like this all of a sudden?”
“You… What exactly did you do?”
“What did I do?”
“…What exactly did you see or do inside the illusion? What happened?”
“?”
Still not fully grasping the situation, Ray mentioned the illusion he was originally supposed to experience.
“I fought a herd of Wild Hogs…”
“…”
“…”
“…”
Silence descended all around.
Ray looked around.
The students watching him had eyes filled with both fear and awe.
Among the students, Delun, who along with Johanna had maintained a relatively clear mind, was frantically gesturing at Ray.
Though the exact meaning of the hand signals was unclear, Ray could roughly understand it to mean “You’re screwed.”
Only then did Ray realize something had gone wrong during the illusion experience and awkwardly revised his answer.
“Uh… I fought an extremely large Wild Hog…”
“…”
Nelson pinched his forehead.
Nelson requested the knights to lower their weapons, who reluctantly did so while reining in their momentum and stepping back.
Nelson instructed the other instructors to escort the students outside before grimacing, feeling a headache coming on.
The cause of the malfunction in the simulation device in the underground plaza would need to be investigated later.
Thinking he should file a report to higher-ups first, Nelson asked Ray:
“Just to confirm… Which organization do you belong to exactly?”
“I currently belong to Izhise?”
“…”
Nelson had absolutely no idea what kind of person this figure in front of him was anymore.
Unable to press further due to imperial orders, Nelson watched as Ray groaned in pain.
“Um… It hurts like crazy right now. Could you give me a potion or something?”
“…I’ll call a healer.”
Nelson sighed deeply.
