Chapter 225 ·Universe (2)

Universe ‍​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍(2)

Even after Louis shattered the Great Devil's body to pieces, he did not let his guard down. It was common sense that destroying the body meant death for anyone, but the Great Devil was an exception.

Those beings were cosmic terrors traversing other dimensions. Their mere existence created demon realms on the continent, making people tremble in fear.

In truth, there had been times when some of them did not die even after losing their physical body. In other words, simply destroying their body could not bring death to such beings.

Could the concept of 'death' even exist for these unknown beings untethered by common sense? Louis hurriedly charged the Great Devil once more, but the Great Devil was already regenerating rapidly.

"There's no chance!"

"Where do you think you're going!"

Louis immediately grabbed the Great Devil's regenerating body and tore it apart. Even as his body was torn apart in a gruesome fashion, the Great Devil demonstrated unbelievable regeneration, constantly reconstructing his body—and each time, Louis would break it down again.

"It's useless! Do you think the concept of death even exists for me!"

Of course, it did not. As Louis expected, physically killing these beings was impossible.

"Even if you have me torn to pieces like this... it would be a grave mistake to think I cannot counterattack!"

The Great Devil's separated claws twitched. The grotesque claws began to move on their own and ripped through empty air.

Chwaaaaaa!!――

Along with the air, space itself was torn apart. Louis's arm, unfortunately positioned at the edge of the torn space, was immediately sliced off.

"...!!"

Louis was shocked as he lost one of his arms, and the Great Devil burst into laughter.

"Hahahahaha! Being unable to move because your body's destroyed only applies to humans, not to us!"

Louis, who was concentrating on ripping apart the Great Devil, hadn't considered that. Although he had to sacrifice an arm, Louis's lips curled into a smirk.

"Who doesn't know that?"

And in that instant, his severed arm regenerated. Using his newly regrown arm, Louis tore apart the Great Devil's face.

"I see. As expected, you too... kuh!"

Having ascended to a god, Louis was also no longer bound by physical death. Since neither could be killed, there was no way of knowing how their fight would end. In the end, simply tearing each other apart seemed pointless.

"Keugh!"

"Why are you making a fuss? As if you even feel pain."

"You're no different than me!"

They couldn't even feel pain, so physical damage did not lead to psychological trauma. Normally, when fighting an immortal, the sure-win method was to inflict endless pain and break down their mind. But for these two, even that would not work.

They could destroy each other's bodies, but neither could inflict pain. A literally pointless fight of striking one another. At this point, even 'fighting' itself seemed meaningless.

"We can't feel pain or die. Actually, all this does nothing to decide the winner."

"So how do you want to determine the victor, then?"

Rock, paper, scissors? Card games? Soccer? Spinning top battles?

"Is there any other way?"

Louis retorted and unleashed both fire and ice from his body. The Great Devil used his own energy as a barrier, blocking the attack, and then sent forth another spatial slash. Louis gathered World Tree's energy in his hand, channeling it once more to attack.

Their battle continued endlessly. All manner of elemental attacks—fire, ice, wind, poison, earth—filled the black void. Slashes made of darkness cut through them.

A normal person could only use such techniques a handful of times a day, but they had already unleashed more than a hundred attacks.

Just as death didn't exist, nor did stamina—the fight had no end. What would remain after this endless combat? Was there any meaning in it?

"Huh?"

At that moment, the Great Devil's movements slowed. He was surprised that his supposedly tireless body began to hesitate.

"You too? It's the same for me."

It wasn't just the Great Devil; Louis felt it as well.

"What's happening?"

Why were they, who should be physically unaffected, experiencing this?

"Do you remember when you fought the Chaos Dragon back in the day?"

Louis spoke up.

"Back then, you and the Chaos Dragon fought each other to mutual destruction. Why do you think it ended that way?"

At the time, the Great Devils and the Chaos Dragon were both like gods, incapable of dying a physical death. It should have been impossible for immortals to wipe each other out.

"I learned something new after becoming a god myself—back then, mutual destruction happened because of the Chaos Dragon."

"What do you mean?"

"To be precise... it was thanks to a tiny piece of the World Tree's wisdom that the Chaos Dragon possessed."

To neutralize the authority of immortality, what you needed was nothing short of a god's authority. Back then, the Chaos Dragon, possessing even a little of that authority, was able to degrade the power of the Great Devils.

"Do you think the World Tree would just send the Chaos Dragon against you immortals with no preparation at all?"

"Then, what's happening now, could it be...?"

Just as the Great Devil tried to speak, Louis struck him in the face with his clenched fist.

"Yes, it's a replay of that moment."

What Louis was after was mutual destruction. Realizing this, the Great Devil let out a hollow laugh.

"You sure about this? You won't escape unscathed either."

"You're beings that transcend dimensions. To completely erase you, I have to use every bit of my power as a god."

Louis grabbed the Great Devil's face with the hand that had punched him. As if knowing it was time, he began pouring all his energy into that hand.

"Honestly, doesn't it seem unbalanced to live with the power to smash stars like candy?"

"More importantly... do you think you'll survive this?"

The Great Devil grabbed Louis's arm and began channeling bizarre energy into him. Each poured all their strength into erasing the other's existence. Even in this futile struggle, results began to appear.

"To sacrifice yourself to protect the continent—how heroic you are!"

The Great Devil praised Louis. In truth, since he became a god, it was inevitable for Louis to stop the Great Devil. He must have known that, in the end, this meaningless fight would lead to mutual destruction.

"When the power of two gods collides, mutual annihilation is the end. It's the only way to 'remove' an immortal. But are you really okay with this?"

The Great Devil asked Louis. For an inherently unknown being like himself, it meant little, but for Louis, who was originally human, it was a sensitive matter.

"Of course, it's not okay."

Louis answered.

"Do you know why I tried to control this damn Chaos Dragon's power?"

The answer was simple.

"Because I want to live."

And it was utterly straightforward.

"Because I want to live a normal life."

He couldn't just stand by while his reason was devoured by another consciousness. If he lost control, he'd no longer be "Louis."

"In short, it's survival instinct."

"Survival instinct? Ha! Ridiculous! Then what is it you're doing now?"

A guy going on about survival instinct was now trying to sacrifice himself? Nothing could be more contradictory.

"That's why I said—I'm not okay with this at all."

Not okay with sacrificing himself? But what was he actually doing? The Great Devil looked at Louis's actions with suspicion.

"That's why I made preparations."

And suddenly, a foreboding thought flashed through the Great Devil's mind.

"I also have my own way of surviving."

"What?"

"From the outside, it may have seemed our earlier fighting was pointless. Since neither could die, tire, or feel pain, there was no mental toll."

The Great Devil instinctively frowned, unable to understand what Louis was saying.

"But even gods eventually exhaust their power. Like how humans collapse from overusing magic or aura, it applies to us as well."

While collapsing from exhaustion only applies to humans, exhausting power affects gods too. Just as the World Tree became a tree when it lost its power, or the Great Devil became a hatchling when he lost his strength.

"You must have lost your prime powers when you ran out of strength before, right?"

"So that brawl earlier... it was all for this...!"

It hadn't been meaningless. Rather than an aimless brawl, they had intentionally burned through all their power to erase one another.

"But... if I'm exhausted, you're just as spent. Won't the outcome be the same...?"

"What do you mean?"

Louis was still smiling.

"You should know this well, shouldn't you?"

The Great Devil grew tense.

"You're alone. But I have allies!"

Louis grabbed at the torn space. As he infused the World Tree's power into the intangible space, it turned into a rift that led somewhere. Dragging the Great Devil with him, Louis hurled himself into the rift.

"Damn...!"

Louis, as a fully evolved god, had the upper hand, so the Great Devil was dragged along. Inside the rift was the demon realm at the heart of the West Continent.

"Let's finish what we started here!"

"Are you insane? Even you know this star can't withstand the force of our powers!"

If they kept clashing, the star was likely to collapse. But Louis ignored the warning and continued channeling power into the Great Devil.

"When did I ever say it would be just the two of us?"

"What?"

And that one sentence—at that moment, as the Great Devil was about to sense a chilling energy—

Pusshuk!―

Something stabbed into the Great Devil's back. Judging by the sensation, it was a pair of twin blades, each driven with all the strength of a white-haired woman.

"I've been waiting for this!"

Silia shouted, as if she'd been waiting for this day.

"Sorry! This guy was harder to restrain than I thought."

"What is this now!"

As the Great Devil tried to attack Silia, Louis immediately grabbed the Great Devil's arms.

"Ugh...! Let go of me!"

The Great Devil cried out, unable to overpower their strength. He could feel it from the tip of Silia's sword stabbed into his back.

'That sword is imbued with a power very similar to the World Tree's spell.'

Indeed, Silia's sword had pierced a hole right through space.

'It's only temporary, but... that power is suppressing mine.'

If he fought Louis in a suppressed state—

'Normally, we would both perish. But if I fight suppressed... only I'll be annihilated, and Louis will survive.'

"This time, it won't just end with sealing you away."

At those words, the Great Devil screamed.

"Do you really think it'll end so easily!!"

In one final burst of desperation, the Great Devil unleashed all his power. Louis barely managed to endure it, but the aftermath distorted the surrounding space, making time seem to flow more slowly.

So long as Louis held him, the star would not collapse. But as space and time became wildly distorted, holes connecting to other dimensions opened around them.

"Keugh!!"

From that outburst, Silia's arm bone fractured.

"You okay, elder sister?"

"Don't worry about me—just keep holding onto that bastard!"

"Doesn't look okay to me."

"Shut up!"

It didn't matter if she wasn't okay.

"You're not the only one who came prepared, you know?"

Like Louis, she too had prepared in advance.

"Yup. That's right."

At that moment, a very familiar voice rang in Louis's ear.

"She's not the only one ready to stab!"

"Young master! Just hold tight!"

"Catching this Great Devil isn't only up to you, young master!"

"If we can just take this guy down, it's really over, right?"

All the members of the special task force who had followed Louis until now appeared, lending their strength to the twin-blade Bloodline.

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