Chapter 497 ·Anomaly (5)

At the moment Burned Vegetation froze after facing Alon's true form(?).

[Ah—]

Darkness-Devouring ‍​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​​​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​​​​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌​‌​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​‌​​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌​‌​​​‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​​​‌​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌‌‌​‌‍Sword, who had also received an ability from him, was witnessing the same scene.

Within ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍that dark abyss.

The ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍giant eye silently gazing down at him.

Could ‍​‌​‌​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌‌​‌​​​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌‌​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​‌‌​‌​​‌​‌‌​‌‌‌​​‌‌​​‌‌‌​​‌​‌‌‌​‍it really be called an eye?

No.

No, it could not.

At least, from Darkness-Devouring Sword's perspective, it resembled the apocalypse itself.

A manifestation of the end of the world.

Something similar to the true form of the Star Eater he had once imagined.

No—

Something even greater than that.

Before that overwhelming existence, Darkness-Devouring Sword unconsciously trembled.

And realized how foolish his thoughts had been.

Unlike Burned Vegetation, Darkness-Devouring Sword had never sincerely followed the Star Eater.

From the very beginning, the reason he had worked so hard within Star Root and tried to attract the Star Eater's attention was simple.

To obtain power.

To receive an ability.

And through it, become a second-stage divine-blood.

Unlike the countless mediocre first-stage divine-bloods—

To gain a genuine chance at becoming a god.

That was the opportunity he had been pursuing.

And Darkness-Devouring Sword was certain that he wasn't the only one.

Otherwise, even with violence involved, there was no way Star Root could have grown so explosively.

In other words, while every divine-blood gathered within Star Root for different reasons—

A significant portion of them undoubtedly sought power for independence.

For first-stage divine-bloods, this opportunity was as valuable as life itself.

Yet at this moment, Darkness-Devouring Sword understood how foolish his thoughts had been.

No—

Not just his own.

He understood how foolish everyone who thought similarly was.

Because even if he obtained an ability and became one of the beings known as Karma—

He couldn't even begin to imagine defeating that thing whose true nature remained completely unknowable.

With trembling eyes, he silently stared upward.

The apocalypse was still looking down at him.

'Just who... is the Star Eater?'

Naturally, that question arose in his mind.

There were only two things he knew about the Star Eater.

The first was that he could steal the abilities of other divine-bloods and bestow them upon others.

The second was that he possessed complicated ties with each of the Four Great Divine-Bloods.

Beyond that, everything about the Star Eater was a mystery.

Naturally so.

The Star Eater had never appeared in the previous war.

Nor in the even earlier war before the Four Great Factions existed.

Thus, as Darkness-Devouring Sword stared at the sky—

“!!!!”

His eyes suddenly widened.

A thought had occurred to him.

Darkness-Devouring Sword was only a first-stage divine-blood.

Even so, he could make simple deductions.

No—

It wasn't even a deduction.

The thing above him was not the being who had once nearly reached godhood at the very beginning.

Nor was it one of the Four Great Divine-Bloods.

Yet despite that, it possessed complicated ties to the Four Great Divine-Bloods.

And despite living within the body of a mere human, it wielded absurd power.

Someone connected to the Four Great Divine-Bloods.

Someone who had never appeared before.

Someone who was not the ■■■ that had first shaken the world.

Yet still possessed such impossible power.

There was only one possibility.

The being who had torn apart the divided spaces before the divine-bloods even descended to the surface—

And annihilated more than half of them.

The being who had consequently been punished by the 'Suppressive Force' and eternally sealed within space-time—

[—!]

Darkness-Devouring Sword, who had unconsciously forgotten his train of thought, was forced to stop.

Because at some point, the scene before him had changed.

The eye within the dark abyss was gone.

In its place was a bright grassland once more.

Blankly turning his head, Darkness-Devouring Sword's gaze met Burned Vegetation's.

The two looked at each other in silence.

Then, as though by prior agreement, they turned forward.

And there they saw him.

The man gazing at the two divine-bloods with an utterly indifferent expression.

The apocalypse.

Both divine-bloods swallowed hard.

They couldn't even begin to understand what the being before them was thinking.

Because no emotion whatsoever appeared on that man's face.

Yet at the same time, they finally understood why he seemed so detached.

It wasn't that he had lost the ability to feel.

Rather—

There simply existed nothing left that could evoke feelings within him.

And at that moment—

“Not bad.”

The man—

No.

“Seems you possess sufficient qualifications.”

Alon spoke those words.

Then he glanced around at the other divine-bloods.

After sending one final look toward the pair, he turned away.

“Go and fulfill your roles.”

The black abyss instantly engulfed Alon.

Then it lifted him onto the back of the giant dragon.

And under the gazes of the divine-bloods—

Alon and his group departed.

After Alon disappeared like the wind—

The attention of every divine-blood gathered upon two individuals.

Burned Vegetation.

And Darkness-Devouring Sword.

Because those two had received power from the Star Eater.

Or more accurately—

It looked as though they had.

Truthfully, even the divine-bloods weren't certain.

After all, all they had witnessed was Alon producing divine-blood abilities.

And the moment those abilities touched the two divine-bloods—

They vanished.

Thus, the divine-bloods silently stared at them.

Yet despite those gazes, Burned Vegetation and Darkness-Devouring Sword remained silent as well.

Alon was no longer there.

However—

The statue he had left behind remained.

“...”

The two silently stared at the statue.

Then they looked at one another again.

The other divine-bloods had no way of understanding why he had left the statue behind.

But the two of them knew.

Because they had witnessed the true nature of the Star Eater.

And because they remembered his words.

'Go and fulfill your roles.'

In truth, that statement could be interpreted in many ways.

However—

After witnessing the Star Eater's true form.

After hearing those words meant only for them.

And after seeing the statue he had left behind.

The task expected of them was obvious.

To worship the Star Eater.

That was what they were meant to do.

[He was an even greater being than we imagined.]

[...Yes.]

[To the point that even the thought of fleeing cannot arise.]

The two divine-bloods unconsciously trembled.

***

That evening.

“By the way, Marquis.”

“What is it?”

“What exactly did you mean by, 'Go and fulfill your roles'?”

While sitting before a campfire on a nearby grassland where they had stopped for the night, Alon suddenly received a question from Penia.

“...Huh?”

“Did I say something like that?”

“Yes?”

“Didn't you say exactly that earlier?”

At Penia's words, Alon paused in the middle of eating a sweet potato.

Then he spoke.

“I suppose I did.”

“...Wait.”

“You didn't actually have any deeper meaning behind it?”

Penia's question sounded genuinely bewildered.

Alon scratched his cheek awkwardly.

“No, I definitely had a reason.”

“And?”

“Well, rather than standing there explaining everything, I thought turning around and leaving immediately would look cooler. But it took Blackie longer than expected to lift me back up.”

“...”

“So you just added that line on the spot?”

“Exactly.”

[Meow?]

Blackie tilted its head while chewing as well.

As Alon patted Blackie, he asked:

“Did it sound awkward?”

“No, not really, but...”

“If that's the case, then did you also tell them you'd given them abilities before even knowing whether the abilities could actually be transferred?”

“Ah, I was curious about that too.”

Evan, who had been eating nearby, joined the conversation.

Alon shook his head.

“No, that part was real. The abilities were definitely transferred.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes. The two divine-bloods definitely absorbed them.”

“Right, Blackie?”

[Meow—]

Blackie tilted its head again while nodding.

Evan continued.

“But just in case. What were you planning to do if they couldn't absorb the abilities?”

“That's why I laid the groundwork beforehand.”

“The groundwork?”

“Exactly.”

“Ah—”

“Don't tell me all that talk about granting them an opportunity was part of the setup?”

“That's right.”

“...Wow.”

“So if they failed to absorb the abilities—”

“I was planning to say they still hadn't obtained the qualifications.”

“...Lord Alon, sometimes you seem completely clueless. But then you pull off things like this surprisingly well.”

“I'll take that as a compliment.”

Alon shrugged.

Penia spoke up again.

“Still, even if that's true, wasn't leaving the statue behind without any explanation a bit much?”

“Well. I imagine they'll figure it out somehow.”

“Mm.”

“Honestly, giving a lengthy explanation would've looked less impressive.”

Penia nodded as though the reasoning made perfect sense.

Then Evan asked:

“So, Lord Alon. Have you checked yet?”

“Checked what?”

“Your Manifestation.”

“Wasn't that the entire reason you brought the statue?”

Alon shook his head.

“No.”

“I haven't.”

“Huh?”

“Why not?”

“There won't be any noticeable changes for a few days. So I've deliberately avoided checking.”

“I see. You prefer one major change over gradual little ones?”

“Exactly.”

Alon nodded.

He was definitely curious about how his Manifestation had changed.

But it hadn't even been a full few hours since he left the statue behind.

More importantly—

He wanted to see a dramatic transformation all at once rather than tiny incremental changes.

“I'll check it as soon as I return to the territory.”

“I see.”

That was Alon's plan.

Once he returned to the territory, he would inspect his Manifestation.

'Hm. Still, after this, it won't be an eye anymore, right? Even if it's still an eye, surely it won't look that horrifying. At the very least, those bizarre floating strings should disappear. Maybe it'll just turn into a human form outright. The statue is human-shaped, after all.'

Alon indulged in his hopeful fantasies.

Watching him, however—

The other two came to their own conclusions.

“I don't think it'll turn out the way Lord Alon wants.”

“I'm thinking the same thing. For some reason, things always become strange whenever it involves Lord Alon.”

Each gave their own evaluation while eating the now-familiar sweet potatoes.

And several days passed.

'Alright. Let's take a look.'

Upon arriving in Palantio, Alon entered the castle.

Then he immediately let out a sigh and began observing his inner world to inspect his altered Manifestation.

And what Alon saw was—

The giant eye.

Still unchanged—

No.

It looked even larger than before.

Alongside the Star Clusters.

And between them—

“?”

Tentacles resembling the abyss itself.

“???”

The eye had become even more violent and horrifying than before.

Alon stared blankly.

His mouth hung open.

Everything went dark before his eyes.

***

And at that exact moment—

“Looks like My Lord has returned.”

“Indeed.”

“Mm.”

“Seems so.”

On the eighth floor of the inner castle beside the main castle—

“...”

“...”

“...”

“...”

A suffocating atmosphere began to spread.

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