Chapter 103

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Episode 22 - Inevitability [6]

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"Then, you won’t answer my question."

The group said nothing, or perhaps they could not say anything at all.

Yellow flower petals had covered their mouths, leaving them incapable of moving even a single finger.

They were literally paralyzed. Their Power of Chaos did not obey them whatsoever.

There was something strange about the yellow flower petals.

They had a paralyzing effect, but at the same time, there was something else.

Their emotions became confused. Even they, who were supposed to have erased most of their emotions, could not avoid beginning to feel them once again.

’What is happening?’

That was everyone’s thought, but Adel ignored their thoughts, or whatever they were thinking.

He smiled calmly. His smile had now become a habit he had acquired since the very first day he transmigrated into this world.

All of his "emotions" and "expressions" had always been fake, merely copying emotions and expressions he barely remembered from his past life.

Adel picked up the teacup and took a sip. Obviously, the cup contained nothing; rather, it was merely an illusion.

But he wanted to look dramatic in front of the group that had forced him to use his senses because he did not have much time.

He had managed to arrive just in time to prevent them from planting the Seed of Chaos.

"Well, let’s finish this."

He lightly waved his hand with a simple gesture.

The very next second, purple flower petals fluttered through the air.

They covered each villain’s body and entered them.

Soon, the petals disappeared into their bodies without leaving a trace.

The villains were confused for a second, but the very next moment—

Their eyes turned completely white. Suddenly, they collapsed onto the ground as foam poured from their mouths. Their bodies convulsed, and the veins across their bodies bulged grotesquely.

Adel once again made a gesture, and red flower petals flew like blades toward the villains, tearing their bodies apart.

The shredded flesh exploded, rose several meters into the sky, and soon, black rain began to fall.

’Wow... soul attacks really are terrifying.’

Adel was aware of what the purple flowers had done to them.

They were soul attacks. The other flowers of different colors possessed different effects.

For example, the red flower functioned as a weapon, something similar to terrifyingly sharp blades capable of cutting through everything, including the soul itself.

’This Trait is truly powerful.’

There were only two drawbacks.

He had to remain within three meters of the target; otherwise, they would not enter the Domain of Flowers.

The mana consumption was literally brutal. For every person who entered the Domain of Flowers, mana was consumed rapidly.

Furthermore, using the effects of the different flowers placed an even greater burden on him. At this moment, Adel was completely drained.

’Phew... I should only use it against stronger enemies. Even then, it should be my final move.’

With that thought, he exited the Domain of Flowers.

***

After returning to the room, the Mission Window appeared in my mind.

〖Reward claimed: Coordinates 47°891’π88N, Ω33°§72’914S〗

〖Chapter One has been completed. Chapter Two, Part One, will be revealed in four weeks〗

"....?"

’Huh... what?’

My mind went completely blank, unable to understand what was happening.

The coordinates.

"....?"

My thoughts raced as I tried to figure out what the hell that horrible sequence of numbers was.

’What are these coordinates? They make no sense.’

I thought the system was playing some kind of sick joke on me, but...

That definitely wasn’t the case. From what I understood, the system wasn’t a conscious entity; someone was probably controlling it.

Even so, the rewards it granted always had a reason behind them, no matter how illogical they seemed.

I pursed my lips while trying to process the coordinates the system was showing me.

’Therefore, they don’t seem to be coordinates from this world... a plane, a dimension... it could be anywhere.’

The coordinates mixed symbols that normal coordinates should never have.

They probably meant something, although the numbers themselves did seem to indicate an approximate location.

’The symbols probably work like cardinal directions, and the N and S must be some kind of guide leading me to a place in this world, but without understanding the numbers, I can’t orient myself...’

I felt a growing frustration.

It was the first reward that was completely unknown to me.

I had no idea what this Armor of the End was, and now those coordinates made no sense either.

’I should investigate this. Maybe I’ll find something... or I could ask Director Bernice.’

Director Bernice was known for her obsession with research and exploration.

She knew the world almost like the back of her hand, as if she carried a detailed map engraved into her mind.

I had no doubts about her knowledge, and she could definitely give me at least a clue about those coordinates.

’Anyway, I don’t know what this Armor is, but because of the word "End," I have the slight suspicion that it’s related to my Eyes of the End Trait.’

Maybe... some kind of set.

In any case, I shook my head and pushed those thoughts aside.

Whatever those coordinates were, they weren’t important right now. Maybe they would be in the future, but not now.

I didn’t even know where they would lead me.

Although the queen of the Specters of Dream probably knew something.

I had sworn never to interact with that race again.

’Alright, then let’s focus on killing the rest of the villains and returning to Luminus.’

By this point, the fight should already be over.

Luminus’s strength was no joke.

With that thought, I left the room and also noticed that Charlotte had already finished killing the trio of villains.

She was drinking regeneration potions because of multiple injuries, although none of them seemed serious.

***

Before, that place had been a forest of crimson leaves.

Mountains of smooth black stone rose in the distance, but now everything was different.

Hundreds of mutilated bodies in all kinds of conditions.

Black blood forming lakes, chunks of flesh scattered everywhere, bones and organs spread across the ground.

Every tree and every mountain had disappeared.

Thin cracks stretching hundreds of meters long and several meters wide spread in every direction, slowly filling with black blood.

Every villain who had arrived was dead.

Their bodies were unrecognizable, reduced to pieces; heads scattered across the ground and small lakes of black blood covered the area.

Different kinds of weapons were embedded in the earth, while others lay discarded like worthless scrap.

No matter where someone looked, everything resembled the bloody aftermath of a war in which one side had been used solely as grotesque decoration.

Within a radius of thirty kilometers, there was nothing but bodies, blood, and weapons.

Meanwhile, a little farther away, the terrain was completely devastated.

Craters, cracks, and at least a dozen formations that had created enormous long and wide canyons.

A man lay on the ground without the lower half of his body. His breathing was weak, on the verge of death.

’He’s... a monster.’

That was his final thought before dying.

He had come to this place because he knew Luminus was going to enter.

He thought he possessed enough strength to kill her together with the plate-armored knight named Kyle.

He had even relocated almost all the villains, leaving only around three Class 6s and a few Class 5s at the main headquarters.

But at some point, he felt the connections with all the Class 5s disappear, leaving only the Class 6 connections intact.

That was when he realized that, in the end, that branch of the Church of the Black Dawn had been erased by a single person.

Everyone died.

Even himself.

The battle had not even lasted that long; perhaps an hour, and that was all he managed to endure.

A little farther away from the recently slain Class 9 villain, Luminus stared at Kyle.

At the moment, he was bound by chains made of mana.

Kyle, in comparison to the Class 9 villain, did not even appear exhausted after using all his mana.

Luminus had avoided harming him.

She did not know what had happened to him, but even so, even while he attacked her, she could not bring herself to strike back.

She fought until Kyle’s mana was depleted, and then Luminus used one of her attribute abilities to restrain and seal every movement and every flow of mana within his body.

She wanted to make sure he would be incapable of moving even a finger or using even the slightest amount of mana.

Luminus stared at him.

The plate armor was a complete mess, yet not a single drop of blood fell from inside it.

If it had already been damaged before, now it was on the verge of shattering into pieces of metal.

The armor was made of mithril mixed with other durable minerals.

According to Luminus’s memories, she had seen that armor somewhere inside Kyle’s house.

She had only just remembered it, and that completely confirmed that the person standing before her was Kyle.

A few tears ran down her face.

She could not stop them, and she did not even try to wipe them away.

She stared at Kyle while gripping her sword tightly, but in the next second...

Clank.

The sword fell to the ground with a loud metallic sound.

Luminus’s hands trembled.

Her lips trembled.

Her entire body trembled.

Slowly, she approached Kyle, raised her hand, and placed it against his helmet.

At the same time, she heard a pair of footsteps behind her.

She knew who they were, but ignored them.

Because her mind was completely focused on what she was about to see.

So, slowly, she removed his helmet, and when she saw his face, she felt as though her heart had simply frozen.