Chapter 280 ·Turning point (41)

Turning 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󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄁󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄀󠄁󠄀󠄂point (41)

'... Do you believe in the existence of fate?'

The moment I heard those words, they overlapped with something Lobelia had said to me before. She had also asked if I believed in fate.

—Even if every action leads to the same ending, ...would you believe it?

When I first heard that, I understood it as Lobelia trying to flaunt her power.

It made sense. After all, Lobelia was the monster who caused the catastrophe now unfolding across the universe. According to her words, this disaster began because she treated everything else like puppets.

Just as strings stretching from her hands manipulated puppets, she controlled everything from behind the scenes without ever stepping forward herself.

If such a monster mentioned fate, surely the intention was to say this outcome was destined, and that any struggle was meaningless.

The situation was plainly in her hands, so it felt like a way to pressure those of us below her to just give up.

But then, I thought it could mean something else. When Lobelia had asked whether I believed in the existence of fate, she had worn an utterly detached expression.

It was as if she knew and accepted fate, and realized that she too was moving along a set path. Like someone who'd understood that what's determined once cannot be changed.

That was entirely different from what Cystus was saying now. Lobelia had expressed resignation, while Cystus was showing off. How strange. Lobelia, who supposedly manipulated almost everything, was the one expressing self-mockery. It seemed as if their positions had switched.

Looking at Cystus, who was waiting for my answer, I slowly began to speak.

"Do you know the name Lobelia?"

「... Lobelia? Why are you bringing up that traitor now? More importantly, how does an apostate like you know that name?」

"Traitor, huh..."

「Ha, now I understand. That traitor must be with your impure kind. That would explain how you've kept slipping away on this satellite all this time. Are you looking for her help again this time? Give up. This satellite has already fallen into our hands. That traitor will soon pay the price for betraying the holy tree as well.」

From Cystus's answer, I became certain. He didn't know Lobelia's true role.

The pureblood supremacist group originated from Lobelia's hand, and even now they had not escaped her grasp.

If they knew who she really was, they could never call her a traitor. For it was Lobelia who was under the true protection of the holy tree, the very thing the purebloods so zealously praised.

Not even Lobelia, the very instigator of this crisis, had boasted about fate. She'd merely seemed resigned. And yet, Cystus, who was nothing but someone tossed about by her, dared act like he knew better.

'Surely, they're not proud of being mere puppets?'

If that was the case, then they were pitiful beyond words. Regardless of the so-called blessings, it was Lobelia who was truly protected, and she had abandoned the purebloods. Or rather, for now, it was more accurate to say she had simply let go of them.

Lobelia acting that way meant that the entity the purebloods were fanatically worshipping didn't really care about them at all. Maybe she didn't need them anymore, now that they'd proven their value, as the purebloods said.

The moment I realized that, laughter burst out of me against my will. Cystus's brows furrowed—he clearly had no idea why I'd laughed.

"Fate, huh. I don't believe in that kind of thing. I don't even think it exists."

Given the era, technology had advanced to the point that predictions bordering on precognition were possible. If you had enough resources, you could even play god.

You could rent a sector of the universe for large-scale experiments, or run climate control simulations to see what would happen on a planet. Even though it's banned now, there was once a boom in cloning technology, with humans creating other humans.

There were even research labs that implanted neural chips into clone brains to run behavior control experiments via hormone regulation, only to get caught. It's now said those labs were bombed to oblivion as a warning.

It's a world overflowing with all sorts of madness. And yet, no one speaks in terms of seeing fate, or that unchangeable endings exist.

More precisely, most people found such expressions extremely unpleasant. Because, in the end, it was something achieved not by a god, but by human hands.

To attribute achievements not to one's own power, but to fate—as if there were a third party—was no different from insulting oneself. Some might say, 'that's just fate', but to me, that was just wordplay.

Wouldn't you agree? Only people who liked to parrot things repeated the word 'fate' like parrots.

If fate existed, did it mean that the people who lived in the residential area were doomed to die like that? That Europa was wiped out, a war broke out, unprecedented chaos erupted—was all of that fate?

I'd rather such a thing didn't exist. I couldn't accept it.

「Foolish. I already knew you were an ignorant fool, choosing a defector as your guide—」

"You're actually pretty pathetic."

At my blunt words, Cystus fell silent. The guy who'd been about to worship his chosen figure now looked at me instead of the sky.

「... What did you say?」

"I said, you're pathetic. What, you didn't expect me to say that? Did that precognition of yours not show you this moment?"

I snarked, and Cystus stared at me steadily. There was no displeasure in that vague look—maybe he still thought I was just stalling for time.

'Well, that's not wrong either.'

But the part about being pathetic was genuine. I wasn't sympathizing with someone who'd massacred so many. I pitied someone who stubbornly scrambled about, not knowing anything.

"You act like you've got it all, but there's nothing really in your grasp. You might think you're crushing those beneath you, but you're just as broken as they are."

「... How dare you.」

It didn't take Cystus long to realize the emotion in my eyes was pity. The black sparks echoing with his murderous intent started crackling around him.

KWA-RANG–!

A bolt of black lightning zipped past, skewering debris behind me. I didn't dodge. That attack, after all, had been more of a warning than an actual attempt to kill.

There was a time when all I could do was chase after the faint afterimages—but now, after several encounters, my eyes had begun to keep up with Cystus's attacks.

「Such a cheap trick, trying to buy time. But I'll humor you. What do you know?」

The battle with the gigantic mutant Nest was intensifying. The howls of the mutants overlapped endlessly, shaking the ground. To top it off, Celestia's communication came in.

—Hyun-woo, just got a call from Albatross. Right now, Eric and Canna's team is securing additional energy storage devices at the crash site of the pureblood ships. The rail cannon repairs are finished and it's being reintegrated into the ship's weapon system. So don't overdo it—just focus on delaying them as your main goal.

As I listened to Celestia's urgent voice, I kept my eyes firmly on Cystus. Like he'd said, Cystus already knew the standoff was just to buy time—but doing it so brazenly seemed another thing entirely.

"You talk about fate. Then I guess you already understand your position, right? Surely you're not boasting about seeing the future when you haven't even figured out your own predicament?"

「If you know what's good for you, you'd better speak while you still have a chance.」

"You don't know? Really? I don't know much, but you know even less. What's the point of such great strength if you're empty inside?"

I spoke in a tone dripping with ridicule.

"If you really knew about Lobelia, you couldn't call her—that monster—a traitor. The very concept of betrayal doesn't even apply."

One of the eyeballs on his staff rolled around and stared at me.

"From beginning to end, you've been dancing on her palm. Who's betraying who? You were just abandoned, by your master."

Several eyeballs mounted on the staff rolled, all fixing their gaze on me.

"Lobelia created the pureblood supremacist group. Whatever you think the 'grace of the holy tree' might be, you were discarded from the start. If you look at it, you're subcontractors to a subcontractor—maybe lower. One thing's certain: you're just a fool deluding yourself into thinking you were chosen."

「... That's impossible. I was recognized by the holy tree. According to their guidance—」

"That's Lobelia, you dumb bastard. You're not somebody special. You're just a chess piece."

「.......」

Now all the eyeballs on Cystus's staff glared at me, blood vessels netting their surfaces in rage. Since they were connected to him, they reflected his surging emotion.

"Confused? If you doubt my words, use that blessed precognition of yours to find out. But nothing'll change. I've only stated facts."

It felt as if a gravity field had formed above me, pressing down with suffocating pressure. Though I canceled out its influence with my own field, cracks were starting to appear in the floor beneath me.

The ominous sound of the ground splitting scraped at my eardrums, but my expression didn't flicker.

"Now it's my turn to ask. Do you really believe in fate? If so, then realizing now that you've been played by Lobelia—that's fate too, isn't it? Dying here and now would be fate for you as well."

That was why I pitied Cystus, even though I saw him as my enemy and was determined to kill him.

Cystus lowered his head and went silent. For a moment, I wondered if something bothered him as well, but when I saw the sudden shift in atmosphere, I realized that wasn't it.

A soft, low laughter rose from him. He didn't laugh like a madman this time—just gave off a slow, tension-laced chuckle that amplified the sense of imminent danger. The feeling of madness was palpable.

Cystus raised his head. Not only were his eyes wide and wild, but the eyeballs on his staff, bloodshot moments ago, now began to weep bloody tears.

Black blood started to stream down, flowing along the staff and pooling on the ground. I didn't know what it was, but my instincts screamed danger.

—Hyun-woo, did you have to provoke him that much?

Celestia's voice trembled, as if she too was shaken by what she saw.

'Looks that way.'

I clucked my tongue to myself, thinking maybe I really had gone a bit overboard with the provocation. I operated my suit, which deployed my helmet to cover my head.

There was a gravity field countering Cystus's field, so it was fine for now, but if battle broke out the field might get shredded. Wearing the helmet preemptively was just a sensible way to protect my air supply.

Lately, after slaughtering so many mutants, my body seemed immune even to most toxins—but you never know.

「... I must see you die, bloodied and in utter ruin.」

Cystus slammed his staff into the ground. Black blood convulsed as though it had become a living thing.

「But before that, I'll make you realize something. That ruthlessness is in fact our mercy.」

Cystus, having declared he'd lay his neck upon the holy tree to prove that his faith could not be shaken by my words, began to fill the air around him with a grotesque, chilling black power.

A scream, from some unknown source, scratched the very air. The power resembled the force that Lobelia wielded. However, it was clearly a degraded copy of her crimson ability.

No—that's an insult even to call it a degraded copy. The gap in level was enormous—worlds apart was a better descriptor.

'Still, this'll be a tough fight...'

I had already told Celestia to support Nadia or look for other opportunities elsewhere, rather than me. The Linear Rifle, powerful as it was, couldn't inflict any damage on Cystus.

Instead of keeping my telekinesis stationary, I now made it rotate around me. It was much easier to work when there was already something to use as a base, rather than creating things from nothing. The same went for supernatural powers.

I checked the number of stimulants remaining in my HUD via the suit. The stimulants I'd prepared were military combat stimulants originally used by Canna, but modified by Carrot for my personal use.

Carrot had repeatedly emphasized to only use one—since the stimulant greatly heightened my already sensitive senses, pushing me past a threshold. If I used another while it was still active, no matter how sturdy my body was, my nervous system could suffer massive damage.

I currently had three stimulants left. I'd originally been given just one, but I'd insisted and received more.

'First, I'll use one.'

This wasn't a situation where I could afford to hesitate. Cystus wasn't an opponent I could beat by saving my ace. So even if I had to reveal everything, I needed to seize the momentum.

I had stalled for enough time. I was ready to fight again. All that was left was one thing—

To kill the enemy. That was what I'd always done.

With my senses activated, the world seemed to slow. Cystus slammed his staff down. The blood leaked by the eyeballs spread wide, blanketing the area.

From within it rose a spire made of bio-tissue, encrusted with a chunk of Blue Crystal, darkly blue and endlessly ominous.

As that light bathed the area, space itself trembled. Or rather, afterimages appeared over things, doubling their forms. It was alien—there was no word for it but that.

'Hoo...'

I let out a breath, closed and opened my eyes again, and gripped my spear. The strange energy that was trying to devour even the ground I stood on caused a violent reaction with my counter-field.

The shimmering waves from the clash of forces seemed to burn, like a fiery curtain. Beyond that curtain, I could see forms made of pure animosity. There were now so many afterimages, I couldn't count them all.

Staring at Cystus, whose power had seized the field in an instant, I raised my spear.

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