335th Chapter
Harshia dreamed of the ultimate liberation of mortals.
She wished for those living in this world to stand alone, free from being ravaged by beings beyond it.
To achieve this aspiration, Harshia sought a power capable of threatening and restraining even the entities beyond the light of stars.
After countless trials and failures, Harshia finally completed an answer that…
was embedded within Ray’s soul.
Tszzt—
Beyond the dimension where humans live exist numerous upper dimensions.
Between these many dimensions stands a ‘boundary’ that limits their interference with each other.
Because of this boundary, different dimensions maintain stability without excessive influence on one another.
However, the technology created by Harshia deliberately disrupted this interdimensional stability.
Tszzz—
The sword held by Ray had ascended to the highest dimension, one forbidden to humans.
A single blade that briefly maintained its form in the highest dimension began its rapid descent toward the point dimension, signifying the annihilation of existence.
Between the highest dimension and the point dimension lay countless boundaries stacked upon one another.
Nevertheless, the sword in Ray’s hand collapsed all these boundaries at once as it plummeted into the point dimension.
Kwa-deck!!!
Dimensions, which were originally restricted from even touching, let alone interfering with each other, collided in an instant due to the collapse of the boundaries.
This collision triggered massive reactions, causing a chain reaction of dimensional clashes and collapses.
Paa-drrrrr-deck!!!
Shattered fragments of dimensions, unable to withstand the pressure, began swirling chaotically.
Simultaneously, the tremendous distortion caused by the dimensional collapse surged in Ray’s grasp, threatening to explode at any moment.
Ray had to control it.
He had to process and control it, embedding it into the trajectory of the sword and extending it forward.
If he failed, Ray himself would be caught in the chain reaction of dimensional collapse and vanish.
The moment he was drawn into it, not only his body but also his soul would be shattered into pieces, leaving no trace behind.
Fear crept in, but Ray overcame it.
“…”
In the silence that seemed to halt time itself,
Ray began moving the sword in the direction guided by the remnants of Harshia’s influence.
Lacking the talent Harshia possessed, the trajectory traced by the sword kept breaking.
Using the power to pierce through all things, Ray continuously corrected the wandering path of the sword.
Each minor adjustment brought immense pressure trying to crush his physical form.
His limbs felt as if they were about to snap and tear off at any moment, but Ray endured.
And finally, the Empire’s divine sword completed its trajectory.
Voluf, who had approached Ray closely, was the first to be annihilated upon contact with the sword’s trajectory.
The trajectory, which erased Voluf entirely, continued forward.
As it progressed, the tangled fragments of dimensions along the trajectory triggered continuous dimensional collapse phenomena, devouring space.
Eventually, the trajectory reached the Fire Spirit King.
Ray sneered as he watched the Fire Spirit King resist the approaching trajectory, attempting to counter with his own powers.
Appearing in the Demonic Realm, the Fire Spirit King was one of the great rulers of the upper dimensions, far above the plane where humans lived.
However, the sword strike recreated by Ray was a technique designed to cut down beings far greater than the likes of the Fire Spirit King.
Such an entity could neither counteract nor endure it.
Ultimately, the advancing trajectory destroyed everything that constituted the Fire Spirit King.
The flames that flared up in resistance to the impending doom soon lost their form, spreading widely before dissipating.
Thus, the great ruler of the upper dimension was erased.
Tt-deck!!!
At the same time, the shield protecting Ray developed cracks. This was an expected outcome.
Though Ray successfully replicated Harshia’s technique, his insufficient strength prevented him from fully controlling the fragments of dimensions.
Uncontrolled, the fragments spread wildly, piercing through the super-dense shield like water.
The fragments tore into Ray’s flesh. Simultaneously, the backlash of the technique enveloped his body.
“…!!”
Even though Ray achieved the best possible result, his entire body twisted under the strain.
Blood burst forth from his torn skin, staining the surroundings.
Ray knew he could no longer use this technique.
Attempting it again would shatter his body before he could even swing the sword.
But Ray had used this final opportunity wisely.
The Spirit King, Preches’ most powerful ally, had been eradicated.
Additionally, the demons that had approached Ray were torn apart by the fragments of dimensions.
These demons, who usually recovered easily under the Blessing of the Dark God and continued fighting, found that impossible this time.
The fragments of dimensions could crush not only the visible bodies but also intangible powers and souls.
Since more than just the demons’ physical forms were obliterated by the fragments, immediate recovery was impossible even if they survived.
The forces of the Demonic Realm present on this battlefield were almost entirely wiped out.
‘Preches… What remains to you now, after losing your elite forces and your ally, the Spirit King?’
Ray muttered this while gazing at the sword’s trajectory that split the sky and stretched beyond the horizon.
Alexander, too, looked at the same scene with a distorted smile.
An incomprehensible wonder shook his heart, yet a bitter sorrow he couldn’t suppress was openly revealed on his lips.
“Is this… a fragment of the myth we forgot?”
Harshia used this transcendent sword strike dozens of times in the Demonic Realm and then faced death alone, fading into oblivion.
To divert his mind from the recurring sense of futility, Alexander briefly shook his head.
Meanwhile, Luna rushed towards Ray.
Although the fragments of dimensions flowing around Ray scratched her skin, Luna ignored it.
As Ray, whose armor had shattered and was about to collapse, felt someone supporting his body, he smiled faintly.
“…Luna?”
“Ray…!”
Luna’s voice, standing right next to him, sounded distant.
Ray instinctively wanted to tell her not to come so close in such danger but closed his mouth without saying anything.
Luna protected Ray from the remaining fragments of dimensions and examined his injuries.
Due to using excessive force with his already weakened body, Ray’s entire body was on the verge of tearing apart from the inside.
Immediate action was needed.
At that moment, Ramenta, cutting through the fragments of dimensions, approached and threw a bottle containing the liquid known as the Tears of the World Tree to Ray, speaking.
“So, you’re the one who left a scar on Mother.”
“…”
Ray, with Luna’s help, poured the liquid from the bottle into his mouth.
Worthy of being the most precious item to the elves, its effect was both swift and extraordinary.
Ray, becoming the first human in history to drink the Tears of the World Tree twice, managed to regain some sensation in his body and smirked.
“I guess I gave your mother a little needle prick when she was doing something useless. So… is this retaliation?”
“I’ll think about it for a hundred years.”
“Haha, you can make jokes too.”
Kwa-deck!
A sound was heard.
It was the noise of a striker eliminating the demons who had retreated further back to ensure none escaped.
A few tried to flee but were quickly sniped, losing speed and surrounded by the strikers.
That side was something Ray didn’t need to worry about; it would be resolved soon.
With Luna’s help, Ray regained his balance and took a deep breath.
There was no time to delay here. To end this war, Preches must be eliminated quickly.
After taking a deep breath, Ray stepped forward, turning to Alexander who had approached nearby, and asked with a smile.
“Isn’t it… a magnificent sight?”
“…Yeah, it’s a magnificent sight.”
Looking at the trajectory etched in the sky, Alexander nodded.
The scenery reflected in Alexander’s eyes was visible even from afar.
Beyond the crimson sky carved by the trajectory, a blue sky swirled.
What this bizarre landscape meant, the expeditionary force of the continent did not understand.
For they did not remember what Harshia had sacrificed and achieved.
However, the Demonic Realm remembered the myths forgotten by the continent.
Old demons that had existed for hundreds of years froze in terror as they saw the sky splitting open, reminiscent of a nightmare they desperately tried to erase.
The deeply buried fear resurfaced as the nightmare they long sought to forget was replayed.
The demons employed to block the retreat of the expeditionary force were moments away from destroying one of their key strongholds.
However, among the demons reveling in slaughter under the Blessing of the Dark God, some, upon seeing the split sky, succumbed to fear and started fleeing in panic.
The expeditionary force naturally couldn’t comprehend the sudden strange behavior of the demons.
Meanwhile, a few fire spirits mobilized to attack the expeditionary force suddenly writhed in agony.
“Kiiieeek!!!”
The fire spirits, forced by the Fire Spirit King to step into the Demonic Realm against their nature, either returned to the spirit realm shortly or exploded due to the pressure.
Witnessing this, the demons realized that the Fire Spirit King had either lost his influence or perished.
Arundel screamed in horror upon realizing that the traces of the 600-year-old nightmare were reappearing in the Demonic Realm.
“Harshiaaaaa!!!!!”
A scream filled with fear and rage echoed across the Demonic Realm.
The expeditionary force still couldn’t even begin to guess what had happened.
However, the demons started retreating.
The expeditionary force stationed at the stronghold couldn’t chase them with their depleted forces on the brink of annihilation.
While waiting after reporting the situation to the forward base, powerful magical reactions repeatedly resonated nearby.
After hurried discussions among the expeditionary force’s mages, they swiftly came to a conclusion.
“It’s a spatial teleportation magic.”
“…!”
They anticipated that the demons could harass them with warp magic inside the Demonic Realm.
But using warp magic in the current situation meant…
Just as Paula looked up at the trajectory in the sky with a serious expression, a brief communication arrived from the Striker team.
Having defeated what was judged as the enemy’s elite force a few kilometers from the final objective, they were advancing toward the final target.
Only then could Paula allow herself a smile.
Now she understood why the attackers targeting the stronghold were so hastily retreating.
However, there were hardly any forces above the Junior Lord level remaining among those attacking the stronghold.
Even if they gathered late, they wouldn’t be able to stop the Strikers.
But they might hinder the Strikers’ withdrawal after eliminating Preches.
Paula relayed the communication to the expeditionary force guarding the stronghold.
“We’re moving too. Prepare to support the Strikers.”
Crossroads (1)
