Chapter 351 – Providence (4)
The surging magic power, a fierce current reminiscent of the night sky.
He had seen it once, at the death of the Elder.
'That sealed the Grim Reaper's
A magic outside of the hierarchy.
Because it stemmed from Mado, it was impossible to fully grasp its effects.
Still, he remembered judging it to be a kind of sealing spell.
So he had been wary.
It might even render Mado itself useless.
But in his current state, there was no way to evade.
The decision came instantly.
Kessilus overloaded his magic power, detonating his heart and innards.
A flawless instant death.
Immediately after reviving, he twisted his body in desperation.
Kwa-gwagwagwagwa!
A comet of magic power tore through the air along with Kessilus's left side.
The tremendous shockwave slammed into him.
Bounced away, rolling across the ground, he braked with
"...?!"
The traces of stars.
His magic power was scattered by the starlight that defied the current.
Falling from the air, Kessilus's eyes widened.
For now, there was no way to break it.
Just like the Administrator, the clone of the Demon King, unless he was completely analyzed and separated from the body, there was no way.
'In other words, right now Kessilus is completely defenseless.'
Kwa-ji-ji-jijik!
A spear of earth, boosted by an explosion of wind, pierced Kessilus's head.
His body, bereft of a master, collapsed.
Then, the scattered fragments of flesh reassembled.
The sign of revival.
"So it's impossible to completely neutralize Mado after all."
Verden showed a trace of regret, but that was all.
"Still, it seems it wasn't entirely without effect."
Though Kessilus rose once more, the change was stark. The revived one was far more aged than before.
The Fourth Servant slowly clenched and unclenched his left hand, where the star had lodged.
"Because the flow of magic power was disturbed, the price grew heavier.... In short, his life span has shortened. Moreover───"
Another presence approached.
Raising his gaze calmly, he saw a swordsman with a deep indigo blade standing beside the ashen Magus.
His body bore cuts and bruises, but no mortal wounds.
"To think he could subjugate the Knight of Apocalypse alone. True, our information was lacking, but I didn't expect his realm to exceed our imagination."
Though spoken lightly, defeat now weighed heavily.
And with no reason to drag out time, Verden and Adrian did not hesitate.
The first method of dealing with Kessilus, neutralization, had failed.
Thus, the second remained.
If revival and death repeated, they would simply trap him in that cycle, never letting him escape.
***
While restraining elemental magic, curses spread in all directions. A demonic sword severed black magic head-on, and beheaded him.
Once.
Crushing countless incoming sword strikes, he attempted to kill the swordsman with
But just before, a colossal lightning bolt fell from the sky, smashing his crown.
Twice.
The star cluster vanished.
With restored strength, he blasted the area apart, shaping [Form of Resentment] into a weapon, resisting with all he had.
Yet magic and sword strikes from both sides crushed his heart and skull.
Thrice.
And then a fourth time, a fifth, a sixth...
With every death, Kessilus visibly aged.
Normally, he could have endured many more deaths, but the price exacted by Rarenia had been far too steep.
'Death...'
Kessilus felt his life nearing its end.
Naturally, there was no fear.
As he had said before, death was nothing more than a temporary state.
The absence of the ring finger on his right hand, never had it felt so heavy.
Neither did he feel anything about victory or defeat.
In truth, from the very start of the battle... he had already been convinced of his loss.
'Asher, that one has touched transcendence.'
Though localized, his magic power was enough to shake the world, boundless in magnitude.
That level was far, far beyond the capacity of any human.
A Transcendent who was not a Transcendent.
Even in his long life, he had never once heard of such a case.
And yet, here it was before his eyes.
Therefore, this outcome was only natural.
With a mere human body, it was impossible to surpass one who stood at transcendence.
That is the law of the world.
'And even if I die here, nothing changes.'
Kessilus's life was just one branch in the plan, a spare puzzle piece prepared for the worst.
The result was already set.
Kududuk, kudududuk.
Kessilus revived again.
He was nearly at the end.
Closer to death than ever, he unleashed high-tier curses in a barrage, fighting to the bitter end.
It was his final struggle.
And moments later, violet sword energy and thunderous lightning pierced through his body.
***
The Fourth Servant, Kessilus, was undeniably powerful, yet he could not reach Verden, dying over and over.
And when Adrian joined with full power... no matter how much stronger death made him, there was no chance.
This was no duel.
From the outset, the advantage of numbers belonged to Glory of the Dead.
To call it cowardly was meaningless.
Kessilus was simply weaker.
A plain, undeniable truth.
"The world... is indeed unfair and unreasonable. For me, who has lived for ages, to end up like this against a young Magus not yet in full bloom."
Kessilus leaned against shattered stone.
His appearance had changed greatly from the first meeting.
His skin had turned dark and ashen, covered with wrinkles. Youth gone, only age remained.
Tuduk, tududuk.
From wounds pierced by stone shards, dead black blood seeped.
Mado had reached its limit.
Lowering his head, Kessilus looked at Verden.
"Yet in another sense, this too is Providence. With my power alone, it is impossible to surpass one who stands at transcendence. Don't you agree?"
"As last words, that is self-mocking."
Verden leveled his staff.
Murderous intent filled the air.
But Kessilus went on unbothered.
"Asher, do you know there are kinds of Transcendents?"
"...?"
"In this world, there are two kinds. One who awakens by climbing step by step, building realms like stairs. And the other, one born holding transcendence from the start.... They may seem similar, but in truth they are utterly different. Like the difference between you, Asher, and a true Transcendent."
Magic power focused into the Orb of Orient.
"The gap between the two can be closed only by the very few. Then what happens, if one who has touched transcendence, collides with one born transcendent?"
On the floating rock in the air, a fierce lightning bolt dwelled.
"I say this clearly, Asher, you will die. Without even a chance to overcome. Because that is Providence."
"So that was what you had to say."
Verden stared coldly at Kessilus.
"Of all the curses I have seen until now, this is the most pitiful."
Kwaaaaaang!
Like a flash of lightning, the rock flew and pierced stone in an instant.
Fragments of flesh rolled with blood, a mouthful of blood gushed from his lips.
"Originally, your deaths should have been offered, but... it does not matter. In the end, with my death... the puzzle is completed...."
Kessilus, more than half his upper body blown away, slowly collapsed.
"My absence... will be filled... by the other Servants.
Tuk.
The withered staff he had clutched so tightly fell and rolled on the ground.
At last, as he sank down, he barely moved his lips.
"For the glory of the great... Dead..."
His voice ceased.
The undead flame in his eyes vanished without a trace.
At last, even his magic power ebbed away, his presence faded.
There was no doubt.
Glory of the Dead, that had lurked in Kailiens and the Republic of Beldirn.
Its leader, the Fourth Servant, Kessilus, here met certain death.
Hududuk.
Adrian flicked the blood from the Demonic Sword Cadence, and sheathed it without a sound.
"A Magus who would not die even when slain. More dreadful than any Undead. And for such a being to be only the Fourth Servant... the true scale of Glory of the Dead cannot be easily fathomed."
"They stand against the Church of Luas directly. Perhaps above Kessilus there is a Transcendent. The world is broader than we perceive."
In any case, the task was done.
It was time to rejoin Archbishop Luas.
But a problem arose.
"My lord, the spatial teleportation circle..."
The gate that linked the base of Glory of the Dead and the ruined fortress flickered irregularly.
The gate itself remained intact.
Not a single trace of damage.
But the ground beneath it was heavily twisted, the aftermath of Verden and Kessilus's magical battle.
Verden examined the gate carefully, interpreting with magic.
"The ground's balance has been disturbed, making it unstable, but nothing major. If we reset the spatial coordinates, it will work normally."
Magic circles were Verden's specialty.
He had even encountered the Mado of Space pioneered by a Transcendent, and had personally mastered spatial magic.
Even if it required direct interference to alter such a complex teleportation circle, it would not take long.
***
When ice melts into water, it absorbs heat, and when vapor condenses into water, it releases heat.
So too, when states change, energy moves.
Life is the same.
From life to death, from death to life.
In that process, unseen, unfelt forces flow.
That is the law of the world.
But what if there was a means to interfere with it, to harness the power born of death?
The countless deaths across Kailiens and the Republic in recent months. The accumulated deaths from long before.
How vast must such power be.
This was the answer.
───Tremble.
Somewhere in the Republic, a mountain range shuddered.
As it repeated, earthquakes struck, the entire mountain began to pulse.
Demi-humans, magical beasts, wild animals.
All life fled in desperation.
And then, suddenly, the shaking stopped.
Kwaaaaaaang!
With a violent shock, a pillar of earth burst upward.
From small stones to massive boulders, all fell under gravity, slamming into the ground.
In the heart of winter, atop the mountain.
There appeared a black pit, so deep its depth could not be measured.
And then.
───Kuuung.
The skeletal hand of a massive reptile stretched across the ground.
***
"Everyone! Fire!!!!"
The soldiers loosed their bowstrings all at once.
Arrows and spells painted the sky, then curved down to smash the ground.
[Kieeeek!]
[Kerrrrrk!]
Dozens of goblins and other demi-humans fell dead as they charged.
Meanwhile, a fourth-tier earth Mage raised a stone wall in the place of the breached gate.
Other Mages added their strength, filling gaps, hardening it so it would not collapse easily.
"The gate is sealed!!"
"Good! Do not let filthy monsters into the city!"
"Defend Sacrid!"
Soldiers, knights, mercenaries, and adventurers bustled along the walls.
Flying beasts like Forest Wyverns swooped from time to time, but were barely repelled.
Yet sacrifices were inevitable.
"Gkyaaaaagh?!"
"Damn it, a beast climbed up!"
A magical beast scaled the wall, ripping apart three soldiers in an instant.
Knights charged in to face it head-on.
The clash of sword and spear echoed, until the beast's severed head tumbled outside the city.
It was nothing less than war.
Even so, they held out.
At least, the first crisis had been contained.
Such a defense was possible thanks to the powerful ones residing in the city.
...
A little apart from the outer wall, at the central outskirts of Sacrid.
Parched throats and lips.
Cold sweat trickled from brows, gathering at chins.
No one was exempt.
"F*ck..."
Swallowing spit did nothing.
A chill of tension filled the air.
Bodies, taut with strain, felt frozen stiff.
At the silent center of the plaza.
The greatest talents of every field held their breath, facing Septa Horn.
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