Chapter 118: Another Eye - XIII

A minuscule silver flash of light pierced through the world as it flew in a straight line, guided by the winds of the world.

<Astraeu’s Letter Opener> cut through everything in its way. Rocks, bones, roots, barriers, and lives.

Even against the immense force being transmitted by a colossal impact, the silver knife knew no hindrance that could stop it.

It simply sliced through everything, as if everything was nonexistent.

And it was this characteristic that gave Aventine hope for survival—

Because, in the letter opener’s path, there lay a dormant ancient artifact. One used in some great war in the past.

A highly volatile yet incredibly versatile weapon of mass destruction.

Now, all it needed for it to be used in this day and age—was to be unsealed.

Thus.

—Swish!

The silver blade cut straight through the dormant ancient artifact. It pierced through the many-layered seals placed upon the eagle-shaped figurine carrying pure destruction within each of its feathers.

For a brief moment, the artifact’s visage reappeared in the present day.

And in the next moment, as the destruction of its surroundings bombarded its already-damaged shell...

It suddenly flashed with an ominous black light.

Then—

—BOOM!

It exploded, triggering a series of chain explosions that rocked the Layers Beneath. Hundreds died from the combined blast of the crumbling earth and the all-annihilating bursts.

Lives were snuffed out even before the colossal shockwave destroyed their insides.

It wasn’t a natural occurrence that spelled their doom.

No, it was Aventine’s own actions that caused their untimely ends, before fate’s own demands.

Thus.

Aventine’s eyes widened when he realized the price he had to pay.

A mysterious force was suddenly born within him, rapidly pushing his state of being upwards in a rapid, unbelievable climb.

[You have levelled up!]

[You have levelled up!]

[You have levelled up!]

[You have levelled up!]

[You have levelled up!]

His aura skyrocketed in an instant as a cold feeling enveloped his heart. Despite the imminent doom he faced, he suddenly understood something in his mind.

’It’s another scheme!’

[You have levelled up!]

...

[You have levelled up!]

...

...

...

...

[You have levelled up!]

And unfortunately, Aventine had fallen dead center into its trap.

’<Perfect Estimate> set me up! All of these instances are survival scenarios directly tied to an increase in my own strength!’

It was an estimate made in collaboration with [Absolute Awareness], and therefore beyond the usual ’estimates’ of numerical nature. It was a qualitative and situational estimate—that if he rose to a corresponding threshold, he would indeed survive.

The <Laws> of this world had autocorrected the value and given it to <Perfect Estimate> for Aventine to comprehend.

Thus, the level-up messages came rapidly, but ended just as swiftly. After the first chain of explosions shook the Layers Beneath, there was nothing left alive in their vicinity.

There was nothing else for Aventine to kill by his own destructive hand. Therefore, the Gaea System no longer siphoned the lives of those that fell, devouring their existence to become mere numbers on his status screen.

"No, damn it—"

Aventine cursed, feeling the immense disappointment overflowing in his heart.

His plan to rise with a greatly enhanced growth rate had been sundered by this absurd and unbelievable instance of a Dragon’s death. It honestly felt like a Deus ex Machina attempt on his potential, snuffing it out and forcing him into a lower ceiling.

"Damned <Fate>!"

Luckily, his level could only rise up to a certain point—nothing beyond A-Rank had perished in the explosions he’d caused.

Still... it left a sour taste in his mouth.

A flavor he would deal with later.

For now?

—BOOM!

Aventine’s surroundings crumbled, burying him and his companions in kilotons’ worth of explosive force. Everything above his head came barreling down to slam against his barriers.

The destruction was barely stalled for more than a second.

Kuvie and Reazue’s complexions paled, seeing that the end was near; their hearts wavered. Unlike humanity, they could not awaken the <Indomitable Human Spirit>.

The myriad races were less inclined to such rabid pursuits and immense desires. Perhaps only the Dragons rivalled humanity in that regard—but for them it was Pride.

Despair devoured their minds, pushing them past a certain breaking point. The only thing that stopped the instantaneous breakdown of their sanity was their hundreds of years’ worth of life experience and adventuring.

Luckily for them....

At this moment, Aventine’s strength had just skyrocketed.

His <Level> had risen beyond a mere value of one, forcefully shattering his bottlenecks and amplifying his stats.

Mana boiled within his body.

This newfound strength had unlocked several once-inaccessible abilities.

His eyes glowed with a malevolent blue. Like a pair of gleaming azure suns, his gaze pierced through the cataclysmic surroundings.

His barriers broke, one layer after the other.

The shadows were the first to recede.

Then, the storm waned.

And the winds were routed, joining the world in targeting him and his companions.

"Is this the end...?"

Reazue’s eyes had long turned bloodshot. His skin had been dyed a deep red when he forcefully activated a Blood Art that enhanced his physique.

Still, he was in no way hopeful of survival.

Kuvie, who trembled beside him, barely mustered her Nature Magic to bless the four of them. But it was merely a 5th Circle Spell.

Against the destruction worthy of S-Rank?

"Hahhh..."

Aventine breathed out. His thoughts had moved at a rate far surpassing what he was capable of in the past.

His body reacted with the same haste.

Everything about him had been elevated, but it wasn’t elevated in the way he wanted.

With a sigh, he summoned the full force of his newfound mana within him, forcefully casting a spell he had long stored in his mind, but had never been capable of utilizing.

[Absolute Awareness] forced the activation sequence into his mind, every step of the way.

Under the guidance of his Gift, the magic circle manifested rapidly into existence. Suddenly, space twisted and bent, curving light around it while expanding.

6th Circle, A-Rank Spatial Magic Spell—one capable of instantaneous group movement.

[Warp].

Thus.

Just moments before they were crushed into a splatter of flesh, blood, and shards of bone...

—Bwwip!

The four of them vanished, pulled out of peril by waves of Spatial Magic that embraced them in an instant.

Leaving the Living City far behind them.