Published at 10th of January 2021 10:14:39 PM
“Good work, Lunia . ”
An eyeball-shaped necklace popped out of Desir’s dimensional pocket and fell into his palm . It had lost its original brilliant color and turned a pale, grayish brown .
[-No way… ]
The results of the Artemis System’s analysis was absolute . And this absolute analysis had declared the death of Desir Arman . It was unthinkable for any other result to occur .
However, Desir stood in front of Priscilla, looking fine .
[-Since when have you had… I thought Lunia was in the possession of Skull Mask . ]
Lunia had introduced herself as Artemis’s assistant, and while that was still true, she did so by functioning as the system’s auxiliary mainframe . She was not powerful enough to create Shadow Worlds or manipulate the world itself, but she could reverse causality on a small scale . Like how Crow Mask was able to restore his body during his fight with Swan, Desir was able to survive Priscilla’s attack unscathed .
It was a single-use action, with an extremely long cooldown, but that was enough for Desir .
‘It worked just as Lunia said it would . ’
If this was an attack calculated and predicted by the Artemis system, even a reversal of cause and effect would have been useless . But Desir was able to use Lunia to act outside of the calculations of the Artemis system . Because the auxiliary system, Lunia, was the same as the Artemis system itself . This exclusion had become a blind spot: there was no need to calculate the actions of oneself .
[-But what’s the point of holding out like that?]
In the end, the situation had not changed . For some reason, Desir had very little mana left; he would not be able to launch many more attacks .
‘His struggle is futile . I am already a god . I already beat Desir when he was in peak condition, and now I’m several times stronger . Our fight wasn’t even close; it was time-consuming at best . ’
When Priscilla thought so, Desir spoke in a calm voice .
“I made time . That’s enough . ”
Despite the desperation Desir should have felt, he had a faint smirk on his lips . The scene infuriated Priscilla . When she attempted to peer into Desir’s future, she instead recalled part of the world’s lost history .
Despite the creation of a divine power, the Artemis system, humankind still collapsed . The demons that appeared were powerful, but with the ability to reverse causality and manipulate the fabric of the world, they would have eventually been dealt with . What eventually pushed humanity to the brink was the appearance of an extraterrestrial being, a dragon, something that the Artemis system could not calculate the actions of . Its appearance caused the system to malfunction, and mankind’s greatest invention was reduced to a pile of scrap metal . Humanity was destroyed .
‘Why did this suddenly come to mind? The collapse of the past should be irrelevant… ’
Priscilla let her thoughts wander . Conflating the two situations would have to be the product of a wild delusion . Desir, who had now been weakened to the point of helplessness, was no different to her than a flying bug that made an annoying noise .
*Flutter*
The wings hanging behind Priscilla’s back unfolded in unison .
[-This is the end of your struggle . ]
Her wings unfolded, and a dazzling array of shimmering strands of light covered the entire area, spanning many kilometers in radius .
It was the light of extinction . The core of Dresden was wiped out without a trace . The brilliant light only allowed Priscilla to maintain her existence .
If this attack were to be repeated many times, Desir would die every time, even if he had the power to reverse cause and effect at will . Priscilla smiled and turned her head .
“It’s you who will meet their end, Priscilla . ”
She could not help but be astonished . This was because Desir, who should have disappeared, was still standing… again .
*Flow*
An irritating noise continued to throb in the background . At that moment Priscilla noticed that something like black mist was flowing out of Desir .
The pure-black darkness gradually encroached upon the light that covered everything else .
[-What the hell is this… ?!]
The darkness that seeped out of Desir did not shrink away when touched by the mighty light of destruction . Instead, it was the light that was devoured .
Priscilla’s power of extinction, granted by the Artemis system, was a force that shook cause and effect, ignoring even the natural laws of the world . It was no exaggeration to say that she had access to the powers of god .
But Desir was incapacitating such power . In that case, had his strength surpassed that of the gods?
*Step*
*Step*
Desir took a step towards Priscilla, and each time he stepped forward, darkness spread and covered the light . Being witness to such a sight, Priscilla only felt one emotion .
Futility .
Even though she could no longer see the future, she started getting premonitions of defeat .
‘I can not… end like this!’
Priscilla concentrated all of her strength into a single attack, halting the darkening of the world . A vast expanse of light that made the whole world pale . Light concentrated at a single point, eventually releasing at Desir .
The power to destroy all beings in the world had been directed at a single person . But Desir did not stop .
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“The source of your power comes from the magical element of light . ”
As soon as the vast beam of light reached the darkness, it simply lost its strength and disappeared into the vast darkness .
“Though it seems supernatural, light is a physical part of the world . It’s a wave that conforms to physics, with a natural and tangible manifestation . ”
*Step*
*Step*
“I don’t need to block your power over causality . If I divide my mana small enough, I can block your light directly . ”
“… !”
The darkness was not some cursed power; it was just mana that was blocking out all light, resulting in the terrifying scene created .
[-Only… that shouldn’t be able to overwhelm the power of a god!]
“God? The Artemis system is no god . It’s a piece of technology, something invented by humans . ”
Desir had to invent a magic system that existed outside of any preexisting structure discovered by humanity . To do so, he had to work with mana on a microscopic and fundamental level . The deconstruction of mana into something small enough to block light was abstract, but not that difficult .
‘Of course, it had a complicated structure that caused me a great deal of frustration . ’
One problem was that the process itself was very complicated . That was why…
“All I needed to beat you was time . ”
Time .
The moment she heard it, Priscilla seemed to have been hit hard on the back of her head .
‘Have you been calculating my strength since the beginning?’
Inversion . To do so, you needed to grasp your opponent’s strength, analyze them thoroughly, and then neutralize their attacks . It did not require powerful magic, or an unusual artifact, but in the end a counter-attack that Priscilla had dismissed was what eventually caught her off guard .
Finally, Priscilla realized . Most of Desir’s attacks had been directed towards comprehending her power, and once he had done that, they had been used to buy him time .
[-For this… only from the very beginning… ]
‘When did it start? Since when have I been playing in his hands?’
*Step*
*Step*
The distance between Desir and Priscilla gradually narrowed .
[-Think about this again, Desir . ]
Priscilla shouted at the approaching Desir .
[-I admit that what I’m trying to do will require a lot of sacrifice . But imagine the results! Can you really say that I’m in the wrong?]
But Desir walked silently, as if he did not hear Priscilla’s voice . As Desir gradually neared, her tone became urgent .
[-You should see the big picture, Desir! In the perfect world I will bring about, all of mankind can be happy! Even you! Zod can be brought back! So please… !]
“Give up . ”
There was a strange ring to Desir’s voice . It was a voice that seemed to be a mixture of hatred and sorrow .
“You lost . ”
*Touch*
Before she knew it, Desir reached out his hand and touched Priscilla’s forehead .
*Kiiying*
Magic began to unfold in front of his hand . Since he did not have much mana left after dismantling her light, he could only use spells up to the Third-Circle, which were drastically weaker than the spells he had been using up till now . But Priscilla, whose only remaining power had been blocked, could not resist this paltry level of spell . Soon after the spell array completed, the spell was completely revealed .
It was a spell that Priscilla had seen many times .
[Fire Storm]
Third-Circle magic . But Priscilla knew it held more power than any other Third-Circle spell . The moment the spell was unleashed, the Artemis system would be reduced to ashes as well .
‘It can’t be helped . ’
At the last moment, she decided to take a final gamble .
*Fire*
The heat slowly rose . Just before the storm of vast flames hit Priscilla . A cold mechanical sound resonated in both Desir and Priscilla’s ears .
[-Proceeding with world reversal . ]
A dark cloud sprawled over Dresden and devoured the two .
Chapter brought to you by Wolvian .
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