Chapter 216: Divine Battle (3)
“Ah…”
So, what you’re saying is…
The Dragon is…
Actually inside my body!?
I was a bit dazed, staring blankly at the Dancer: “Are you sure about this?”
“Ha.”
The Dancer chuckled lightly: “It’s not a matter of whether I can confirm it, but whether you, Silvya, will believe it. Believe in a Heretic in your eyes, a Villain, and trust her words here.”
Her tone was calm yet powerful: “About the Deities and my partial understanding of their powers, I know this because I’ve studied the old manuals and documents preserved by the predecessors at The Gate of Truth—you know, the ones you call Demons and Heretics? They left behind remnants of the true history of this world many years ago. Based on the information recorded in those texts, I can make a clearer judgment about our current situation, and those cough cough…”
She placed a hand on her chest, coughed lightly, her face paled further, but her expression remained calm. Once she caught her breath, she continued, “Those old manuals were strictly prohibited by the Church hundreds of years ago—they burned them as Heretical nonsense, so they won’t be in front of you or the people of the Western Continent. The remnants of those records documenting the true history of this world are long gone.”
The Dancer paused.
“You grew up in a Noble family, receiving Church-style education, listening to those so-called Saints tell their beautiful stories. But in reality, the world is nothing like they say…”
“You can’t know what I know; you can’t read those forbidden ancient books and have no idea what dreadful truths this world faces… The cruel realities… Don’t even try to talk about it. Seeing the history recorded in the ancient texts, just a small part of it—I, too, have always hesitated to believe.”
“But…”
She shifted the conversation, and with a single ‘but’, turned to look at me. Her sky-blue eyes were suddenly icy and heavy.
“Those absurd, incomprehensible, mad actions humans have taken in the past—Silvya, before coming here, I didn’t want to believe them myself. But now… I have to.”
“Because I have seen part of the disastrous outcomes—this place, those Dragon remains, the once beautiful but now rotting Fairies… And the Deities, consumed by hatred… I’ve seen them, and you have too.”
“Though there are still many unclear parts, I’m starting to see the truth… I know what’s in those remnants—a chilling, unbelievable history that’s ugly, greedy, and absurd. It’s not like I previously thought, some conspiracy to provoke conflict… It’s all true, and I’m increasingly convinced.”
The woman’s right hand brushed against her flowing red dress, her gaze piercing into my face as she softly asked, “I can tell you everything. Once you survive and leave this place, I will show you all the remnants I’ve seen. But you… Silvya, will you believe me?”
“……”
I was silent for a moment.
In truth, part of me believed her…
At least the part about the Dragon—I was willing to believe that. The Dragon was fine, it’s inside me right now, and someday I will see it again—I want to believe, and that calms me.
But as she said, regarding everything else, I now knew that the so-called history was simply the Church’s fabricated story. I no longer trusted the Church—did that mean I had to turn around and believe a Heretical version of events?
The woman before me was a Villain who sees human lives as mere grass.
What else wouldn’t she be capable of doing?
I couldn’t trust her at all.
As for what she said about the world being mine, believing it or not, I honestly felt indifferent and didn’t care much. I had no interest in this black wasteland filled with ashes and rotten Fairies, the dirt and stench, plus a gory tumor nearby…
Who would want a place like this…?
And even if it were to belong to me later, so what? The moment I arrived, those Fairies would attack me; they—
…Huh?
Why aren’t they attacking anymore…?
Suddenly, I realized that during my conversation with the Dancer, the Fairies had ceased their assault—no more spears or arrows were flying at us, not even the snarling wolf dogs were rushing in.
“Hey, look.”
I quickly pointed to the Thick Fog ahead to alert the Dancer.
The atmosphere felt strange…
I looked up to see the twisted rock formations, and all the Fairies and wolf dogs that had surrounded us earlier were now pausing, no longer throwing spears or shooting arrows; they seemed to be gazing… at something on top of the rocky peak.
“Akata-ka…”
“Aguda, Akata-ka…”
Their whispers were like an incomprehensible incantation mixed with the low growls of beasts, a bizarre commotion emanated from all directions.
The number of these Fairies was greater than I had imagined…
I frowned.
“What’s wrong with them…?”
The sounds of clattering echoed in the darkness—I recognized it as the Fairies dropping their weapons onto the ground. Then, those countless shadows hidden within the fog faced the rocky peak, one by one, slowly, gradually—
Kneeling down.
“They’re sensing the Deity’s pressure…”
The Dancer stepped in front of me, her red garments flowing like the wind, her expression unusually serious: “Silvya, you need to leave this place, using the power of the white tree branches.”
“……”
But how do I use that thing?
Wait, I’m just meant to walk away like this?
“What do you want to do.”
Of course, I wasn’t going to ask this woman what she’d do if I left. I shouldn’t care less about her fate. In fact, it would be better if she just died or stayed trapped here, slowly rotting away alongside those Fairies—she deserved that ending.
But…
I looked up, following the woman’s gaze to the rocky peak above.
The winds surged between the rocks, and the gray skies were howling.
Rumble, rumble, rumble…
A violent tremor shook the earth, the black rocks beneath me quaked, and I heard the wolf dogs’ whimpers of fear and the Fairies’ anxious whispers.
They were in awe, in terror…
In my vision, that giant tumor floating atop the peak suddenly began to squirm violently, then exploded in a shower of bl**d.
Boom—
Accompanied by a colossal sound akin to heaven and earth collapsing, countless pieces of meat burst into the air above the rocky peak, resembling the blooming flowers of evil, scattering everywhere.
Something massive and unfathomable tumbled down from the exploded flesh.
“What… is that…?”
