Chapter 124: Do You Realize Your Weakness, Grey? (Two-in-One)
“Longing is the emotion furthest from understanding…”
The cold words struck Grey’s mind like a chilling blade, each word inscribed deeply.
However, even so.
At this moment, the disheveled grey-haired girl still clung to the last shred of hope in her heart.
The hope she regarded as a lifeline.
Perhaps, Brother Rast was merely hypnotized by someone using the “Shadow” Sequence ability, or seduced by some kind of special supernatural power.
Brainwashed by a powerful unseen hand, with memory altered, personality changed, and forced to absorb new thoughts… reduced to the status of a marionette.
At this very moment, Brother Rast’s actions and the cold words he uttered were all manipulated by that unseen hand.
This was not his heartfelt emotion.
Therefore, what she needed to do was to find a way to awaken Brother Rast’s original self.
However, as soon as this thought arose.
In the next moment.
As if seeing through Grey’s thoughts, the boy at the end of the cliff spoke again.
“People can change, Grey.”
“Time can change many things…”
“Just like young lovers in the throes of infatuation, at the moment they exchange their vows, those promises are heartfelt.”
“But decades later, when middle-aged people look back on those vows, they can only laugh at their former naivety and childishness… mistaking fleeting hormonal impulses and momentary emotions for the entire meaning of their lives, even suffering and dying for it.”
Rast’s voice crossed the cliff, piercing through the raging storm, each word clearly ringing in Grey’s ears.
“From beginning to end, I have not been mentally controlled, nor hypnotized, corrupted, or seduced by others…”
“Whether it was leaking the Guardian team plan, killing the Shadow Servant, or killing Helen to seize the Death God’s Chalice, these were all choices made of my own will.”
“To this day, I still remember the scene when I first joined the Guardians, still recall the joy of celebrating with my teammates after completing those missions.”
“I still remember all the memories between you and me, from Frozen Water Town to the Watchtower… and the justice called ‘Guardian’ that I once firmly believed in and was willing to sacrifice my life for.”
“But that is all in the past now.”
“Life is the most fragile thing; if one does not become strong, does not reach for legend… then all those so-called ideals and emotions, no matter how brilliant, are merely dreams that can be easily shattered, much like Queen Helen, who has already perished.”
“Only by transcending the boundaries of humanity, ascending to the divine throne, and becoming a non-human existence can one truly touch ‘eternity’ and immortality.”
He looked down at the grey-haired girl, who was kneeling on the ground, lost and disheveled in the storm.
“This is something you, in your current state, will never understand.”
“You have not experienced that long, maddening journey of life.”
“You have not felt the close ones around you age and pass away, from the banquet halls filled with friends to the desolate ruins… that indescribable loneliness and emptiness…”
“You have also never personally felt your body, mind, and soul gradually erode with the passage of time, falling into despair as even the self begins to crumble—”
“Such as you—”
“Neither capable nor qualified to understand my thoughts, to understand what the ‘eternity’ I pursue truly is.”
The indifferent words drifted amidst the howling winds and rain.
Suddenly, a lightning bolt struck down from the stormy clouds, illuminating the entire sky and shattering the last shred of hope in Grey’s heart.
A few seconds later, the sound of thunder resonated at the top of the cliff, causing the entire forest to tremble.
Amidst the thunder’s roar, Grey gently closed her eyes.
Water droplets slid down her pale cheeks, forming winding ravines; for a moment, it was hard to distinguish whether it was rainwater or tears… or perhaps both.
In this moment, countless vague images, hazy scenes exploded in Grey’s mind like fleeting shadows.
In the illusory Frozen Water Town, at Grandpa Mayor’s banquet, she first met Brother Rast and Sister Hiltina…
Sneaking into the guest room at night to steal the Guardian’s badge, only to be caught by Brother Rast, who told her, in that moment of youthful ignorance, that “the Guardians are not a glory, but a curse.”
The despair she fell into when she finally realized the truth of Frozen Water Town, along with the dark-haired boy who saved her from the abyss of despair, from the endless cycle…
Nearly a decade has passed since then, and the memories of Frozen Water Town have long since become unclear, but Grey still remembers the last scene vividly—Rast’s broken figure standing in the flames, his body glowing with a bronze hue amidst the black flames.
And the surprise of finally reuniting with Brother Rast at the Guardians’ headquarters after ten years.
The six months spent preparing for the “Lost Paradise” plan at the Watchtower, playing together in the surrounding towns after each day’s training, and scheming for a date with Her Majesty the Queen in Paradise. Although those days had their hardships and bitterness, looking back, they were filled with sweetness…
Flashes of scenes passed, fragments of memories, dreams of the past, mixed with a naïve girl’s hopes and aspirations for a bright future.
Until.
All those illusory rays of light, all those scenes of memory…
Were solidified in the reality of this moment—
Beneath the dark sky, illuminated by the thunderous light, the scar on the boy’s chest that pierced through the Guardian’s wing emblem.
And that indifferent gaze crossing through the raging winds and rain, directed at her.
All memories were frozen in the lightning’s brightness.
Then shattered.
Turning into scattered, glimmering shards.
Until, they fell into the void of dust.
…
“Brother Rast…”
Grey reopened her eyes.
Her face was illuminated by a momentary flash of lightning, and burning tears streamed down.
That once pure and exquisite face was now twisted and broken in the boiling emotions.
“You, damn betrayer!”
Though it was a shout filled with anger, the girl’s face bore tears, her hoarse voice sounding like a lament.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!—
She suddenly drew her gun, and the flash of light from the muzzle briefly illuminated the solemn night.
This was Grey’s self-defense weapon.
Initially, it was because she witnessed Brother Rast looking majestic while using a revolver in Frozen Water Town that she mimicked him and chose a revolver as her weapon.
Six brass-colored bullets rushed out at very short intervals.
Single-action rapid fire.
Not only the weapon, but Grey also imitated Rast’s techniques.
However, in this moment, the skills born from longing and admiration became the blade wielded towards her object of longing.
The trajectories pierced through the rain curtain, shooting straight for the boy at the cliff’s end.
There was no room for diversion.
Like prison bars, blocking all of Rast’s potential evasion paths to death.
Single-action rapid fire was not a technique used for precision shooting, and Grey was far from having the shooting skills that Rast had perfected through centuries of training.
At this moment, the rain curtain that obstructed her view was not sufficient for Grey to aim so accurately.
However, she was the darling of “Fate.”
The six brass bullets, each wrapped in flowing time.
That was distorted fate.
In that instant, the sequence of cause and effect was reversed; “the bullet hit Rast” arrived in reality before “the trajectory penetrated the distance between the muzzle and Rast.”
This was the curse of “certainty.” The result was determined at the moment of firing, much like the ancient legend where casting it would undoubtedly pierce the enemy’s heart—the eternal spear “Gungnir.”
Constricting the trajectory of the bullet’s fate, making it impossible to evade, guaranteeing it would hit the target… such a practical shooting skill that Grey had just begun to develop, still inexperienced.
During her previous tests, she could barely manage to use it once in a short period.
But, at this moment, Grey’s control over the power of fate advanced in a very short time, applying that constricted fate trajectory to every single bullet.
Six armor-piercing bullets tore through the air, shooting towards Rast.
Unhiding, unsaving, as if a decision of destiny.
Moreover, it was not only that.
As Grey shouted and pulled the trigger, her emerald green eyes were engulfed in blinding white light, like molten silver.
Behind Grey, a thick tree trunk was broken by the gusts of wind, swept up into the air, and then fell directly towards Rast.
Under her feet, countless rocks and grains of sand were blown by the storm, not touching Grey herself, but stirring up around Rast at the cliff’s end, creating a dust storm that would shred flesh with countless sharp stones.
Below the cliff, a gargantuan wave crashed against the protruding rocks, splashing enormous waves, about to draw Rast into the vast sea.
In the oppressive cloud-covered sky, the thunderbolts pierced through the night, and a bolt of wrath fell straight towards Rast…
None of this was a coincidence, but rather a great force named “Fate.”
Amidst this madness of shattering mental pillars, Grey completely transcended her past boundaries, pushing this sequence of steps, which only she had ever walked upon, to unprecedented heights.
As if feeling the girl’s anger and hatred, the once gentle and silent river of fate transformed into a surging tidal wave.
Countless coincidences, countless misfortunes, disasters, and tribulations were recklessly conjured.
It sent out a desperate wail towards Rast, the heartless betrayer, a deafening roar.
However.
Witnessing that roaring fate.
Witnessing the imposing judgment imposed upon her by what seemed to be the entire world.
Within the might of thunder, Rast’s expression remained calm.
He simply stared quietly at the six bullets approaching him, imbued with the concept of “certainty,” impossible to evade.
Then, Rast gently extended his hand and snapped his fingers.
“Cancel.”
In an instant, the trajectory that tore apart the atmosphere, stirring up a storm, froze in front of him.
Frozen amidst the swirling yellow and pale colors around Rast… in the solidified twilight.
Then, all the bullets shattered in an instant, breaking into countless copper shards.
That was the power of the “God of Death.”
Even lifeless metal or objects can be commanded to “die,” leading to conceptual destruction.
After forcibly inserting the Death God’s Chalice into his heart, containing this relic of the God of Death, Rast also acquired the ability to command a portion of that divine relic, much like the late Queen of the Underworld Helen.
They now stood atop the remains of the God of Death; the entire Paradise could be said to belong to Rast…
The great force of “Fate” was indeed vast and immeasurable, but the control Grey had over the power of fate was limited by her frail body, how could it possibly rival Rast, who housed the Death God’s Chalice?
Brass shards fell onto the rain-washed, incredibly smooth cliffside, producing a crisp sound.
These bullets did indeed hit their target, realizing the concept of “certainty.”
However, if the bullets themselves had already faced conceptual destruction, dismembered into fragments, then hitting the target would already be meaningless.
The scattered bullets did not pause Rast’s actions in the slightest.
Under the dark night sky, amidst the chaotic storm, he merely looked down indifferently at the muddy girl crying out in despair.
Then, step by step, Rast walked toward Grey.
With each step, the swirling twilight and pale light beside him shone forth, extinguishing all disasters approaching him into the void.
The falling giant tree? Canceled. Before striking Rast, it was cut into countless flying wood chips.
The crashing wave that had appeared as if a mountain was collapsing? Canceled. In the dim yellow light, the raging waves transformed into gentle streams, falling back into the ocean.
The dust storm swirling with stones? Canceled. Thousands of stones fell back to the ground like scattered pearls, making a tinkling sound.
The roaring thunder? Canceled. In the pale glow of “Silence Disqualified: Withering Pebbles,” the earth-shattering thunder vanished into the void, leaving only faint arcs of electricity flickering in the air.
The world’s roar, the overwhelming disasters from the judgment of fate… everything had not hindered Rast’s steps in the slightest.
He approached, step by step, to where Grey sat on the rocks, covered in filth, covered in mud.
Then, he reached out and grasped her neck, as white as a swan, lifting her into the air.
“Do you realize your weakness, Grey?”
Rast’s words were mixed with the wind and rain.
Regardless of how desperately Grey struggled in midair, his grip and voice remained steady as steel.
“This is the beauty called power.”
“If one does not possess power, does not become strong… then no matter how many oaths, no matter how many ideals, they are as rootless as floating weeds, mere bubbles that burst with a poke.”
“This is the gap between you and me—”
“The chasm that can never be crossed.”
(End of Chapter)
