Book 2: Chapter 448
The atmosphere shook, and a feeling of pressure descended. And from the bluish energy… came a refreshing feeling.
The feeling of the mana naturally filled Sedi with a feeling of nostalgia as she remembered someone from the past.
Back then.
It reminded her of the time when she’d fallen from Absolute, given up on life, and met Lukas as everything became a mess.
It would be a lie to say she didn’t long for that time again. But that longing had now become unpleasant. It was so unpleasant that it made her dizzy and nauseous.
Until just now, she’d felt like she was flying on a cloud.
It was fun, she was happy. She felt like she could do whatever she wanted.
But now, the entire thing disappeared as if it was an illusion.
“So what?”
Sedi grit her teeth.
“Do you think regenerating your limbs makes anything better? Don’t tell me you already forgot. Who was the one that defeated Father before already.”
Lukas didn’t answer.
He simply looked at Sedi, but it was like he wasn’t really looking at her.
‘What is he looking at?’
She was right in front of him, so what the h.e.l.l was he focusing on?
Suppressed dissatisfaction and anger rose up from inside. The inside of her head seemed to be covered in pitch blackness.
Bab.u.mp, bab.u.mp. Her heart pounded so strongly that she could feel her pulse in her head.
This wasn’t good. It was dangerous.
At this rate, to Father, she might really…
“…change your att.i.tude right now.”
“…”
“Say that you’re wrong. Ask me to forgive you. Because Father can’t beat me… Okay? Please.”
Sedi squeezed her voice out.
“I don’t want to kill Father with my own hands.”
Then Lukas spoke for the first time.
“I’m really grateful to you.”
“…what?”
“Because of you, I was able to be happy for a time. Life in the castle was really comfortable. I hadn’t had such a comfortable time in my long, hard life. So thank you. You gave me some shade to take a break under.”
A smile appeared on Lukas’ face again.
At the same time, Sedi was filled with conflicting emotions when she saw his smile. The frustrating part was that she wasn’t even sure what the conflicting feelings were.
“That’s what I can’t understand!”
So all she could do was shout out the darkness.
“Why are you just taking a break? You should keep resting. I heard about it from Kasajin. How Father lived while you were human. How much you struggled after you became an Absolute… Father deserves to rest.”
“…”
Lukas closed his eyes.
-Lukas deserves to rest.
Now that he thought about it, Lukas had heard something similar from someone else.
-Why don’t you ignore them? Is it so wrong to run away? You don’t have to deal with all of their problems. Sometimes, you need to take a break. You… you are human too.
…They were similar.
Iris and Sedi. There were some similarities between them.
What was similar was that they knew things about him that most people didn’t know.
They knew Lukas’ weaknesses.
“What we need to do now is not have a conversation.”
“…you want to fight?”
“Right. Try to subdue me again.”
Lukas’ expression changed.
“Didn’t you say you liked moments like this? The moment when the feelings of hope and expectation become frustration?”
“…”
“Right now, hope is springing up from me like a fountain. If you make me frustrated now, I might really become the puppet-like Lukas you want.”
His sarcastic way of speaking p.i.s.sed her off.
…The current Lukas wouldn’t give up so easily. He probably wouldn’t stop struggling as long as he had the ability to move a single finger.
To subdue a man like this… would be incredibly difficult. So this time, she really might kill Lukas with her own hands.
‘It can’t be helped.’
If she couldn’t get him in her hands.
Then she’d rather use her hands-
* * *
The memories of that time came to his mind.
The Lightning G.o.d and the Blue Knight.
The phenomenon that occurred when two beings of such strength clashed was rare even in the Three Thousand Worlds.
He hadn’t been able to follow them with his eyes. He couldn’t even hear them. All he could feel were the screams of the creaking s.p.a.ce and the pounding of his own heart at the fear of the unknown.
The two of them disappeared and reappeared suddenly. And at some point, the match was already decided.
When the Lightning G.o.d had disappeared the first time, Lukas thought he was using an ability that was related to s.p.a.ce-time. So he’d simply a.s.sumed that he was unable to respond to it.
It wasn’t that.
‘-a distant realm, beyond.’
It was simply that the Lightning G.o.d had been standing in a place so high that Lukas couldn’t see him at all.
That’s why Lukas had been helpless, and the Blue Knight, Pale, was able to respond to it.
The reason for that was simple.
Because she was in the same location as the Ruler.
‘If that was the case, then what about Yang In-hyun?’
The question he’d had before, resurfaced.
Yang In-hyun’s realm was not on the same level as the Four Knights of the World of Void or the Rulers. It was obvious that he was strong, but compared to them, he was definitely a few steps behind.
Nevertheless, Yang In-hyun was able to fight an equal battle with the Lightning G.o.d, who was using Lee Jong-hak’s body and even managed to defeat him.
He felt like he could now see why.
‘Strength might not be relative.’
That was his thought.
In a sense, Lukas had been thinking too narrow-mindedly. He’d thought he could solve everything simply by becoming stronger, stronger than everyone else.
That idea was only correct to an extent.
However, there would be no end.
Every time he thought he’d become the strongest, a different, stronger being would appear.
It was like that with the DemiG.o.ds, with the Apocalypses, and with Lord.
And it was the same with the Absolutes, with the Rulers, and with G.o.d.
‘There is no guarantee.’
If by chance…
Certainly, if Lukas became strong enough to look down upon all of the Rulers, there was no guarantee that a stronger being would appear.
But what would he do if it did happen?
Would he have to fight again? How long would he have to polish himself that time?
‘There has to be a way.’
Right, there definitely had to be a way.
A battle against the strong would be endless, in other words, it was unclear if it would ever end.
A road without end was something that only people like Kasajin and Ivan would like.
However, Lukas was different. From the start, fighting against others was never Lukas’ nature.
The one Lukas had always been fighting the most was himself.
‘My object of comparison should be myself.’
To seek to overcome himself.
This was a truth that existed outside the concept of selfishness.
In all things, the most important thing should be himself.
As long as the subject of his consciousness was ‘me’, the value of his existence would be comparable to the entire Three Thousand Worlds.
“…haha.”
A laugh sneaked out.
He finally understood. The reason Yang In-hyun wasn’t pushed back in the fight against the Lightning G.o.d. That fight must have been gruesome, and the Lightning G.o.d probably had the advantage the entire time.
Nevertheless, Yang In-hyun won. He’d managed to win.
He knew. He knew his own value, and he had the confidence that the path he was walking wasn’t wrong.
As long as one had those two things, the chances of winning against an enemy would never be zero.
It didn’t matter what spells he used with mana, or how elaborate their formulas were.
Fwoosh.
Although Lukas was finally able to use void for the first time in a long while, there was no awkwardness.
This was true even on the verge of a battle where he would put his life on the line. He was shaking, but it was because of excitement.
“What’s so funny?”
Swoosh. He felt thorns shoot towards him.
Lukas smiled and said.
“Magic Missile.”
Paht.
The number of magic missiles that manifested matched the number of thorns. For a moment, Sedi was dumbfounded. She was aware of the concepts and stages of magicology.
‘He’s using a 1 star spell?’
Her vigilance rose as soon as she had this thought.
After all, her opponent was none other than Lukas Trowman.
If he was using a 1 star spell in this situation, there had to be a reason for it.
She a.n.a.lysed the Magic Missile for a moment. It then occurred to her that the essence of the spell might not just be a 1 star spell. So, he might just be confusing her with his voice while using a more grandiose spell…
‘No.’
This wasn’t the time to be lost in her thoughts.
The thorns had already reached Lukas’ vicinity.
Clang!
And when the thorns were blocked by the Magic Missiles, Sedi wasn’t surprised. Because she had already a.s.sumed that possibility.
‘I have to be wary of every spell he uses.’
At least until she had determined his level of power, she would need to spend some time and effort to a.n.a.lyse things… But Sedi decided not to do that.
‘He’s awakened.’
She wasn’t sure about Lukas’ current state, but she was certain that he’d awakened a new power. In fact, he seemed to be a bit intoxicated by the new power he’d gained.
A mildly excited state.
So she couldn’t give him extra time.
In that state, if he were to regain his normal coolness and become more proficient in using that power, this would go beyond the level of an annoyance.
So she decided to end the hand measuring with the next attack.
Paht.
Sedi reached her hand out. Crack crack, black thorns extended from her palm and lingered like a black cloud before taking a certain shape.
A scythe.
A scythe that was taller than her appeared. Sedi spun it a few times like a windmill before pointing it at Lukas.
“Don’t dodge. You might get even more hurt if I miss.”
Lukas’ smile also faded. Her aura hadn’t changed, but his instincts were warning him.
That scythe. Conceptually, it was similar to her soul weapon.
But the level and power were probably several times stronger than before-
“—”
Sedi disappeared.
—And time froze.
Lukas felt both of these facts at the same time.
His body slowed and his cognitive ability was significantly reduced.
He could predict where Sedi had gone.
[She must have entered the beyond s.p.a.ce*.]
A s.p.a.ce outside of the world that only a handful of beings were capable of entering, a transcendent world that the unqualified would never be able to enter even if they knocked on the door till their hands bled.
Those who could enter that s.p.a.ce could one-sidedly interfere with those outside of it, In other words, the ‘beings on the outside’ could not reach them no matter how hard they tried. Even reacting was impossible.
[React.]
He heard a voice.
[Perceive.]
A voice on the inside.
[Block]
‘The voice of the Lukases.’
—No. He couldn’t refer to them as such.
This,
This voice now.
“…is [our] voice.”
His mind opened up.
For the first time, he felt as if all the voices combined.
Right. At that moment, their thoughts were his thoughts, and their will was his will.
Perfect unity.
His will, his voice, said.
[Move. Lukas.]
If hundreds of millions of people mutter the same thing at the same time, it would be an extremely loud cry, but it would never be noise. (TL: Hundreds of millions?) (PR: He really got bang for his buck at the buffet huh)
Jujujuk!
The cry that was close to a roar forcibly broke Lukas free of the stopped time. He tore apart the frozen s.p.a.ce.
Lukas boldly stepped forward and stretched out his arms.
Clang!
“…!”
Sedi’s eyes were filled with astonishment. The fact that the scythe had stopped in the air, to be precise, it was blocked by an invisible, intangible wall, filled her with deep shock.
It was different from when she shot the black thorns out.
Sedi’s scythe had been made from thorns. The external force that was condensed within it was the ‘next level of power’ that the Lightning G.o.d called ‘thunder’.
Using that power to the maximum, she swung the scythe with all her might, and it was blocked by Lukas.
“I can’t believe it… how…?”
Lukas didn’t look at the stuttering Sedi.
‘-ah.’
He shivered with deep ecstasy.
‘Ahh.’
He’d finally entered.
He couldn’t stop the light smile from spreading across his face.
It was a smile filled with many meanings.
Looking back, the many journeys he’d taken since becoming an Absolute may have all been to take this one step.
And he could finally see it.
The Rulers.
The place where those guys were standing.