HBWnovel Chapter Vol. 4 Ch. 197
Chapter Vol. 4 Ch. 197
Above the burning horizon and clouds,@@@@
The swords clashed multiple times in lightning-fast exchanges with a plain and unadorned in the air, stirring up a grand symphony of fervent clashes. Then, the two figures separated once more, standing face to face with their blades drawn.
Eileen’s eyes were cold as she gazed at the plain-clothed man before her, who exuded an otherworldly elegance. She spoke almost accusingly, her voice ringing out.
“Why are you here? You shouldn’t be here. You have upheld your duty for three hundred years. Why abandon it at such a critical moment, Minchen? Do you know what this means? You have made a grave mistake!”
Nodding slightly, the wind whipped up Minchen’s ash-gray hair. In his weathered eyes, there was a touch of emotion, as if speaking to himself.
“A grave mistake... yes, I have made too many mistakes in my life. Friends died because of my arrogance, innocents suffered hardships due to my ignorance. The world teeters, and I carry guilt. Therefore, I secluded myself in the Gateway for three hundred years, to atone for my sins.”
“But now, it seems my self-righteous redemption has only bred new suffering and hatred... Haha, such ridiculous conceit. In the end, I still haven’t truly learned from my past mistakes.”
Minchen raised his hand, and his weapon vanished into light. He turned to look at Eileen, whose face remained cold. Though they appeared to be of similar age, the young man’s gaze was like that of a benevolent elder watching over his own child.
“Eileen, is that your name? I have heard about your situation. It was my oversight. I apologize to you all. I, Minchen, a grown man... with nothing but brute strength, yet it seems I am not a qualified elder.”
“Child, you... you have suffered.”
*Swish!*
The sword light struck, but Minchen remained unmoved. His right hand, holding the blade, shot up into the sky, and he smiled faintly at the girl who had just severed his arm, as if the blood spraying everywhere did not flow from his own body.
However, Eileen’s gaze remained icy cold. She waved the magic sword in her hand and spoke bitterly.
“Do you think a few gestures like this can make up for all the nonsense you’ve done before? The one you should apologize to isn’t me, but Siel. Her mother who was proud of you even as she faced death, yet carried longing in her heart! If I hadn’t spared your life to personally apologize to her, I would have severed your head with that last sword!”
“Do you know how much hardship and sacrifice she endured to see you, defeat you, and give her mother an answer? How did she spend these hundred years, day and night?!”
“You don’t know! You’ve just been enjoying comfort in your turtle shell, hidden away from the world, as that damned ‘Gatekeeper’!!!”
A crisp sound of bones cracking followed immediately as Silvester’s arm, where the staff had made contact, bent inward at a bizarre angle. Yet, seizing this opportunity, he quickly withdrew and retreated, once again creating distance between himself and Violet.
“......”
Seemingly no longer willing to waste more words, the summoner silently glanced at his broken arm, where strange lights surged. Soon, the bent limb automatically restored itself to its original state.
Then, as if sensing something, Silvester looked up at the sky once more, observing the terrifying cracks in the sky that now covered nearly half of it, absorbing the magical storms. He murmured to himself.
“Have we... reached the limit? Eileen...”
From afar, a voice of unusual calmness came from the girl.
“If you’re waiting for the Illusionary Realm to completely collapse, intending to escape using the spatial turbulence to evade me, then let me repeat it...”
Violet held her staff in one hand, while the golden light-formed girl behind her floated serenely like a guardian spirit. She wasn’t eager to relentlessly pursue and attack, instead casually gesturing towards the sky as if foreseeing certain things.
“I’ve said it before, the Illusionary Realm won’t collapse today, Silvester. You were destined to fail from the beginning.”
As if in response to the girl’s confident declaration, the expanding spatial cracks in the sky suddenly halted!
Then, at an astonishing speed, they began rapidly contracting!
“!?”
The pupils under his mask instantly widened.
Silvester remained silent for a long time in place. Unlike his usual composure, his voice finally betrayed a hint of confusion, mixed with the reluctance to face failure. He didn’t show much anger, but rather turned his gaze towards the white-robed girl before him, who clearly knew something.
“Why is this happening? We’ve already absorbed most of the Source of Magic’s power, and the remaining part was destroyed in our conflict. The Illusionary Realm, now a rootless duckweed, shouldn’t be able to continue existing... Could it be that you’re the one supporting this world?”
In response, the priestess merely shook her head lightly, seeming somewhat resigned, and revealed her final trump card.
“I haven’t done much, Silvester Bullwer, your opponent has never been just me. Do you... really think that the divine essence I destroyed earlier, stored at the end of the path of 【Ascending the Godhood】, was the true Source of Magic itself?”