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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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The darkness coalesced, taking shape, becoming a living entity.
It resembled a ferocious beast, larger and more menacing than any creature residing within the Demon Realm Forest.
“W-What is that?”
“What’s happening?”
Hoback’s army, forgetting their advance, stared blankly at the entity devouring the royal palace.
“Rin!”
I was the first to react. The sight of the swirling darkness propelled me forward.
Preoccupied with stopping the rebels, I had left Rin behind.
I had assumed she would be safe with Adriana and Sen…
‘I should have been there.’
I berated myself as I raced towards the palace. I heard Kurika calling my name from behind, but I couldn’t stop.
Rin needed me.
“Daniel!”
Sen, carrying Adriana, descended from the rooftop. With cat-like agility, Sen landed gracefully, while Adriana, using her mana, barely managed to avoid falling.
“Rin! Where’s Rin?!”
I demanded, my voice laced with urgency.
Sen, understanding the gravity of the situation, answered immediately.
“I don’t know. We escaped in a hurry.”
“Is Rin… dead?”
The question was difficult to voice, but Adriana shook her head vehemently.
“No, she’s not dead. I was taking care of her, I’m sure of it.”
“Then…”
A glimmer of hope ignited within me. I pulled the dagger from my pocket, the Sealing Dagger Kurika had given me.
He had said it could only be used after Rin awakened as the apocalypse, and for that to happen, Rin had to die.
But what if she awakened without dying?
‘If I use this dagger now, I can seal the apocalypse without killing Rin.’
I turned sharply.
“Go to Kurika. I’ll stop Rin.”
“I’ll go with you, Daniel.”
Sen drew her dagger, but I shook my head. This wasn’t a battle she could participate in.
Touching the darkness would transform her into a mindless soldier of the apocalypse. Having more people would only be a hindrance.
Understanding this, Adriana grabbed Sen’s arm and pulled her towards Kurika.
“Daniel, please.”
“W-Wait!”
It was a difficult decision, but there was nothing they could do.
I appreciated Adriana’s decisiveness and continued my advance.
The darkness had spread beyond the palace, reaching the city streets.
I didn’t know what had happened to the people inside, or to King Lyger, but finding Rin was my priority.
“Rin!”
I saw her standing on the highest balcony of the palace, overlooking the city. In her hand, she held the sword wielded by the Earliest Apocalypse in my past life.
She had fully awakened.
I still didn’t understand why this had happened so suddenly, but I had to end this here.
She had already caused significant damage, and she would have to bear the responsibility, but if this continued, it could truly become a repeat of my past life.
“The darkness has already…”
The streets were consumed by darkness. Stepping on the viscous substance would drag you down, transforming you into a mindless soldier.
“Daniel!”
Trapped, unable to advance, I heard a clear voice calling my name from the sky, the only place untouched by the darkness.
“Eris?”
I looked up and saw Eris, soaring through the air with wind magic.
She had escaped from prison. She looked slightly thinner, but her eyes were filled with determination.
Landing before me, she pointed urgently towards Rin.
“I won’t ask what happened. We have to stop her.”
I showed her the Sealing Dagger.
“This dagger will stop her. Eris, take me to her.”
“……Alright.”
Eris took my hand, and a green wind enveloped us. The darkness reached for us, trying to ensnare us, but Eris was faster.
We ascended, leaving the grasping darkness behind.
Despite having just escaped from prison, unarmed, Eris led me without hesitation.
I wanted to ask what had happened to the others, to Hatsim Bellok, the dwarf, and Jaegua Backflin, the beast-kin, who had been imprisoned with her.
But the answer was evident in her silence.
Her eyes held a resolute conviction, but her lips were sealed.
Perhaps…
“She’s watching us.”
Eris’s words snapped me back to reality.
I looked at Rin.
She was staring at us with empty eyes, the surrounding darkness churning like a gaping maw.
“Honestly, this is terrifying.”
Eris forced a smile, and I tried to return it, offering a reassuring grin, but…
The darkness around Rin began to take shape, and my expression froze.
“King Lyger…”
King Lyger, consumed by darkness, stood before us, wielding his massive greatsword. And he wasn’t alone.
“Hatsim and Jaegua too.”
The three of them, transformed into soldiers of death, stood guard, protecting Rin. I took a deep breath, gripping my sword, but Eris smiled and tossed me upwards.
The green wind swirled around my feet, propelling me higher into the air.
“E-Eris?”
“I’ll clear the path. You focus on Rin.”
“Wait! Even consumed by darkness, they retain their original strength! You can’t face them all alone…!”
Eris looked up at me and winked.
“I’ll try.”
A fierce wind erupted.
Unarmed, Eris couldn’t possibly defeat them, but…
Her wind, like a guardian’s escort, pushed them back. She even created swirling vortexes at her feet, preventing Rin’s darkness from reaching her.
I wondered how she could achieve such a feat, and then I saw it – the mark of Artemis in her eyes.
She was using Artemis’s power to resist the Goddess of Death.
Landing gracefully, Eris faced the three of them.
“I won’t kill you. There’s a chance you’re still alive in there.”
Thus began a 3-on-1 battle, with Eris at a severe disadvantage. She couldn’t touch the darkness, further restricting her movements.
It was like fighting on a bed of lava.
But it would be foolish for me to help her. Thanks to her distraction, I landed directly in front of Rin.
She raised her sword, ready to strike.
I drew the Sealing Dagger in one hand and my sword in the other.
Crack.
I stopped time.
Everything within my sight froze.
King Lyger’s attack, aimed at Eris, Rin’s defensive stance… all frozen in time.
As I landed, I parried Rin’s raised sword with my own, then released time.
Thud!
The Sealing Dagger plunged into the mark on her chest.
“Yes!”
Rin stared blankly at the dagger embedded in her chest.
Drip… drip… drip…
Rin began to melt.
Her hair, her face, her chest, her legs…
Like a clay doll dissolving in the rain. The surrounding darkness receded rapidly, as if a light had been switched on.
A chilling voice echoed through the air.
“A fake.”
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Whoosh!
A blind attack struck Kurika’s back, forcing him to turn sharply.
He had managed to persuade Hoback’s rebels to prioritize evacuating the citizens and finding a way to dispel the encroaching darkness.
By closing the city gates, he had temporarily stemmed the flow of darkness, but…
Seeing the swords emerging from his own shadow, Kurika felt a chill run down his spine.
“Could it be…”
Was such a thing even possible?
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A barrage of swords, like a volley of arrows, erupted from his shadow. Unable to dodge them all, Kurika fell to his knees, blood spilling from his mouth.
“K-King Callius!”
Hoback, alarmed, rushed towards Kurika, but Kurika raised his hand.
From one of the swords embedded in his back, a hand formed from darkness emerged, transforming into a beautiful girl with long black hair.
“It would have been troublesome if you two were together.”
But the voice wasn’t that of the Rin he knew.
“The Goddess of Death… I see, it’s because of the Priestess’s mark.”
There was only one reason Rin could directly access his shadow – the mark the Priestess of Time had placed on him when he was near death after his battle with Sharcal.
He had assumed the mark had vanished with the Priestess’s death, but…
It remained within him.
“With either you or Daniel McLean, conquering the continent would be child’s play. But I can’t choose McLean because of the Goddess of Time’s meddling.”
A hand reached out towards him.
“Which means you’ve been appointed as my general, Kurika.”
The darkness, like a possessive hand, reached for Kurika, but…
Crack!
Kurika tore through the darkness with his fangs, slashing at it with his claws and greatsword.
Normally, such a thing would be impossible. No one could touch or destroy the darkness, but…
“If you gave me a mark, I shall use it against you.”
The Goddess of Death had left her mark on him.
Because of that, Kurika could exert some control over the darkness.
“Do not think you can so easily claim me.”
Kurika’s fierce gaze met the goddess’s.
“Hmm, interesting.”
Behind Rin, King Lyger and countless beast-kin soldiers and citizens rose from the ground, forming a massive army.
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