Chapter 147: The Boundary

Noah’s smile disappeared.

The warning remained suspended before his eyes.

[EXTERNAL ENTITY IS ATTEMPTING TO OPEN THE HOST’S INNER BOUNDARY.]

He stared at it.

"What exactly is an inner boundary?"

The system gave no response.

Of course.

It always became useless when he needed an explanation most.

Eric glanced at him.

"You okay?"

"No."

Eric blinked.

Noah rubbed his forehead.

"But I’m still standing."

"That wasn’t what I asked."

Before Noah could answer, the golden line connecting the moon to the academy suddenly brightened.

BOOM!

The entire building shook.

Laura grabbed Noah’s arm.

"Move!"

They barely stepped away before the floor beneath them cracked.

A golden fissure raced across the stone.

Sophia immediately raised her hand.

"Barrier!"

A translucent shield formed around the group.

Another pulse struck.

The shield trembled.

Luna’s expression tightened.

"This isn’t ordinary mana."

Damien nodded.

"It feels like something is trying to force its way through."

Noah stared at the fissure.

She’s doing it.

The Dead Zone answered.

"No."

No?

"She’s trying."

A pause.

"I’m stopping her."

Noah’s eyes widened.

For the first time, he realized what was happening.

The Dead Zone wasn’t merely warning him.

It was actively resisting Irus.

Deep beneath Hildgard, Irus stood before the ancient heart.

The three medallions floated behind her.

Their golden glow had become unstable.

Alcris watched silently.

Daniella remained beside him, weapon drawn.

Irus extended her hand.

A thread of golden energy emerged from her palm and disappeared into the stone heart.

Her eyes narrowed.

"Impossible."

Alcris noticed.

"What?"

Irus didn’t answer.

She pushed more power into the connection.

The chamber trembled.

The thread snapped.

Irus’s hand recoiled.

For the first time, Alcris saw genuine irritation cross her face.

"You cannot reach him?"

Irus slowly looked at him.

"Something is blocking me."

Alcris’s expression changed.

"The Ragnarok?"

"No."

She looked upward.

"Something inside it."

Daniella frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Irus’s gaze returned to the medallions.

"It means the power you sought isn’t alone."

Alcris remembered the strange warnings he’d heard.

The dark figure in the book.

The other.

The version that would awaken.

His stomach tightened.

"There’s something else inside Noah."

Irus didn’t answer.

She didn’t need to.

Noah suddenly doubled over.

A crushing pressure filled his chest.

[Resonance: 15.2%]

Laura caught him.

"Noah!"

He could barely breathe.

His consciousness slipped.

Again, he entered the darkness.

This time, the Dead Zone was already there.

It stood between Noah and a gigantic golden door.

Behind the door came Irus’s voice.

"Open."

The Dead Zone didn’t move.

"No."

The door shook.

Golden cracks spread across its surface.

"You cannot remain between me and Ragnarok forever."

The Dead Zone laughed quietly.

"Forever?"

It looked over its shoulder at Noah.

Then back at the door.

"I don’t need forever."

The golden door shook violently.

CRACK.

A small piece broke away.

Golden light flooded through.

Noah stepped backward.

"What happens if she breaks it?"

The Dead Zone looked at him.

Its expression became strangely serious.

"She reaches what you’re hiding."

"I don’t know what I’m hiding."

"Exactly."

Another crack appeared.

Noah’s heart pounded.

"What is behind that door?"

The Dead Zone smiled.

"You."

The darkness exploded.

Noah was thrown back into his body.

He gasped.

Laura was still holding him.

"Noah!"

He looked at her.

His eyes were glowing faintly crimson.

"I saw the door again."

Laura’s expression tightened.

"What was behind it?"

Noah hesitated.

"I don’t know."

A deep pulse came from beneath the academy.

The golden moon brightened.

And the system appeared one final time.

[INNER BOUNDARY INTEGRITY: 83%]

[EXTERNAL PRESSURE INCREASING.]

[RAGNAROK DEAD ZONE INTERFERENCE: ACTIVE.]

Noah stared at the number.

Eighty-three percent.

Whatever that boundary was...

It had already begun to break.

The number remained suspended before Noah’s eyes.

[INNER BOUNDARY INTEGRITY: 83%]

Noah stared at it.

"What happens when it reaches zero?"

The system remained silent.

He almost laughed.

"Right. Stupid question."

Laura looked at him.

"You’re talking to that thing again, aren’t you?"

Noah nodded.

"Yeah."

"What is it telling you?"

"That something is trying to get inside my mind."

Sophia’s expression hardened.

"Can you stop it?"

"I don’t know."

Eric stepped forward.

"Can you fight it?"

Noah looked toward the golden moon.

"I think someone else already is."

The others fell silent.

They understood who he meant.

Deep beneath Hildgard, the battle was almost invisible.

There were no explosions.

No weapons clashing.

Only two forces pressing against each other through Noah’s consciousness.

Irus stood beside the ancient heart.

Her golden eyes had become brighter.

"You are persistent."

The Dead Zone’s voice answered from somewhere beyond the boundary.

"So are you."

"You cannot protect him forever."

"I’m not protecting him."

A pause.

"I’m protecting myself."

Irus narrowed her eyes.

"You believe yourself separate from him."

"I know I am."

The golden energy surged.

The inner boundary cracked again.

[INNER BOUNDARY INTEGRITY: 79%]

Noah felt the change.

He staggered.

Laura caught him again.

"It’s getting worse."

Noah clenched his teeth.

"She’s forcing it open."

Luna looked toward the sky.

"Can we destroy the connection?"

"No," Noah said.

Everyone looked at him.

He wasn’t sure how he knew.

But he knew.

"If we attack that light, we’ll make it worse."

Damien frowned.

"How?"

Noah looked at his own hands.

"Because I think the connection is going through me."

Alcris had been watching silently.

He finally stepped toward Irus.

"If you can’t reach Ragnarok directly..."

Irus looked at him.

"What?"

"Use me."

Daniella’s eyes widened.

"Alcris, no."

He ignored her.

"I opened the ritual. I gathered the medallions. I brought the inheritor into your reach."

He pointed toward the ancient heart.

"Take my mana."

Irus studied him.

"You are offering yourself?"

"If that’s what it takes."

Daniella grabbed his arm.

"You don’t know what she’ll do to you!"

Alcris looked at his sister.

"I know."

"Alcris..."

His expression softened.

For the first time in a long while, he looked like her brother again.

"I made this choice."

Daniella’s eyes trembled.

"You can still stop."

He shook his head.

"No."

"You don’t have to die for it."

"I don’t intend to die."

Irus watched them quietly.

After several seconds, she raised her hand.

Golden light wrapped around Alcris.

He gasped.

His mana began pouring into the ancient heart.

The three medallions ignited.

BOOM.

Across Hildgard, every golden line pulsed simultaneously.

Noah dropped to one knee.

[RAGNAROK DEAD ZONE RESONANCE: 16.1%]

Laura knelt beside him.

"Noah!"

He looked up.

The golden moon was no longer simply watching.

A figure stood inside it.

A distant silhouette.

Long hair.

Flowing dress.

Golden eyes.

Irus was becoming visible in the sky.

Sophia’s breath caught.

"She’s coming through."

Noah slowly stood.

The Dead Zone stirred.

"She’s using that man’s life force."

Noah looked toward the golden figure.

Alcris.

"Yes."

Can you stop her?

The Dead Zone smiled.

"I can stop her from entering."

Noah’s expression tightened.

"And after that?"

Silence.

The answer came quietly.

"After that, she will try another way."

The golden figure lifted her staff.

The sky cracked.

A thin golden fracture spread across the clouds above Hildgard.

And for the first time, Irus’s voice reached the entire city.

"Noah Blackwood."

Every person in Hildgard heard his name.

Noah looked up.

Irus opened her golden eyes.

"Give me Ragnarok."

The Dead Zone laughed inside him.

And Noah realized the real confrontation had finally begun.