Novel Full Book 2 Chapter 657
Book 2 Chapter 657
A problem that inevitably follows those with physical bodies is physiological desire.
For Residue, this was of little concern. He could dismiss such desires as mere tantrums thrown by the body.
He didn’t need to derive nutrients from food, nor was he ruled by reproductive urges.
However, now.
Residue was feeling, for the first time, a physiological urge he couldn’t ignore.
‘I’m tired……’
So this is what it means to have heavy eyelids. If he let his guard down even a little, he felt like he would lose consciousness.
Even though he was facing one of the Four Knights, it was the same. An irresistible drowsiness washed over him like a wave. The situation unfolding before his eyes felt oddly unreal.
Residue felt like he was dancing beneath a spring tree, and he gazed at the White Knight with half-closed eyes.
His hair, eyes, the armor he wore, even the sword he wielded, everything sparkled radiantly. Perhaps the reason his eyelids felt so heavy was because of this bastard’s appearance or attire?
“Hmm……”
Residue shook off his idle thoughts and focused more on the opponent and the situation.
He had known about the Perfect Ones in advance, but he didn’t have a complete understanding of them. They were a race from the hidden past, not even recorded in the Void Record.
Even the Thunderous Lightning God had only learned of them through sheer coincidence, and if it hadn’t been for his pursuit of strength, he likely would never have known about them at all.
In any case, though Residue was ignorant of many things about them, the moment he saw the White Knight, he could tell at a glance that he was a Perfect One. That was because he knew about the peculiar external power and traits those beings once possessed.
Those traits were also connected to the reason the race of Perfect Ones destroyed themselves.
Of course, if one were to explain the concrete cause of their extinction, even dozens of thick books wouldn’t be enough…….
To summarize it in a single phrase: they couldn’t control their own desires.
‘Fools.’
The Super Universe where the Perfect Ones once lived, they weren’t the original rulers of that universe. A large vessel implies great capacity, and there were many races that were not lacking in power to rival them. 𝙧Ἀ₦∅ΒЕS̩
But in the end, the conquerors of the Super Universe were the Perfect Ones.
This was due to two traits they possessed.
One was desire, especially the desire for conquest……. However, the conquest of the Perfect Ones was filthy. They trampled, ravaged, and defiled those who knelt before them.
They didn’t hesitate to use any means necessary to conquer. They drove battles into the dirtiest, most petty forms and ultimately achieved victory drenched in mud.
In short, they lacked dignity. Considering the power they were born with, this was an unusual trait.
But it was also their strength.
Thanks to it, even with a small population, the Perfect Ones managed to defeat one by one the mighty beings of the universe who couldn’t be overcome by normal means.
And when they had no one left to conquer, their gaze turning upon one another was a natural progression.
‘That’s as far as I know about the history of the Perfect Ones.’
Residue looked at the White Knight with bleary eyes.
Then what about this one? How did he survive among his warring brethren?
It was obvious. The man before him had been the greatest among the Perfect Ones.
‘So how do I persuade such a guy?’
Residue had once said that, among the Four Knights, this one was the most difficult to target, but thinking it over, that wasn’t quite right. This guy simply had an impenetrable wall. If that wall could be broken down, things would proceed smoothly, and it might even be possible to bring him under command, at least temporarily…….
“……”
He looked at the White Knight again. The man swung his sword silently, lips tightly sealed as if he were mute. Not even a single shout escaped him. It made Residue realize all over again how dreadfully silent and boring this guy was.
What kind of persuasion would be effective against such a silent man?
First of all, even though Residue had revealed his identity without resistance, the situation had worsened. Calling it the worst wouldn’t even suffice… But that didn’t mean his first move was wrong. Right now, things looked ugly, but major matters should always be viewed in the long term.
A relationship built on deception carried too much risk. Even if it showed upward progress as a good relationship, once the lie was discovered, the fall would be that much greater.
But now, what was the situation?
Since the relationship started off in the worst possible way, there was no further to fall.
The so-called bottom of the bottom, the worst of the worst. From this point on, even committing normal behavior would cause favorability to rise vertically.
Or it would just remain in the worst state……
Spit.
His shoulder was slightly cut. Even though a cool sensation sliced across his skin, the drowsiness didn’t disappear.
As he fought against two enemies at once, the White Knight and his own fatigue, Residue was pondering how to open his mouth when he suddenly noticed something strange.
It was the White Knight’s face.
Putting aside the overly handsome face, no matter how he looked at it, there were far too few changes in his expression.
Now that he thought about it, this man had been expressionless from the start. Only a chill resided in his eyes, and his tone never changed.
Residue had seen this kind of state before.
From none other than those reflected in the White Knight’s eyes.
“You’re sexually frustrated, aren’t you?”
Still, no change in expression.
However, a little more force went into the sword he swung. Residue almost dislocated his shoulder blocking it, but the fact that there was finally some change in the opponent’s monotonous pattern was a welcome sign.
Residue wasn’t the type to enjoy talking to a wall.
“What is it? Don’t tell me you’ve been in training?”
“……”
“But your method is terribly bad. You’re not some recluse monk buried in the mountains for spiritual reflection, and yet you’ve isolated yourself in a place cut off from the world, trying to suppress your primal desires……. Puhaha. Saying it out loud makes it sound even worse. That’s definitely not a method befitting one of the Four Knights.”
When he openly mocked him, a reply finally came.
“You talk far too much.”
“Mm. One of this body’s strengths.”
“You possess a body that doesn’t die easily, so I think I can break you a little more harshly.”
With those words, the White Knight lowered his shield to the ground. Was he planning to go all in on offense? It was unclear how much of a difference it would make just from dropping one shield.
-and in that instant, the White Knight vanished from his field of vision.
Fast!
Bzzzzt!
Residue forcefully twisted his head as he wrapped lightning around his body. But he couldn’t completely dodge the blade, his left ear was sliced. He covered the gushing blood with his left hand and grinned with bravado.
“Break me a little, my ass……. Aren’t you full-on trying to kill me?”
“I don’t think piercing your skull will kill you.”
“……”
That was probably true, but he didn’t want to test it. Having your brain stirred up couldn’t possibly feel pleasant.
Residue clamped his mouth shut and decided to focus entirely on defense and evasion for the time being. After all, he wasn’t fighting to win against this guy, the priority was to persuade him.
Honestly, it would be best if they could have a calm conversation over tea instead of fighting like this, but it had been Residue who forcefully fastened the first button the wrong way, so he couldn’t complain.
Anyway, once he gave up completely on attacking, he became able to somewhat respond to the White Knight’s fast movements.
From the moment he started dodging with a hair’s breadth of distance, Residue began yapping again.
“So it wasn’t training? Was I wrong? Even so, there must be a reason you’ve buried yourself here. What exactly is your purpose? Why are you trying not to be involved with anyone? Why are you so willing to accept the coming Destruction? Judging from what I’ve seen, the Four Knights all seem to believe they’re the most miserable beings in the world, so what tragic protagonist of a novel are you supposed to be?”
“……”
“Come on, talk a little. At the rate your sluggish blade’s going, it’ll take days before you land a hit on me. Wouldn’t it be boring for both of us if you just kept your mouth shut and swung your sword the whole time?”
Still no answer.
Thinking that this guy was extremely stubborn, Residue reluctantly began voicing his own speculation.
“This body thinks this: you are a mutant even among the Perfect Ones, born innately far stronger than the rest of them.”
“…So your claim of being the Ruler wasn’t a lie. I see you know about my species.”
Residue nearly stopped for a moment.
What the hell, this guy.
Was he still considering the possibility that Residue wasn’t the Ruler? Then all that sword-swinging with murderous intent, was that all just an act?
If he had only pretended to lose his reason in a fit of rage while analyzing this side’s reactions… then he was at least twice as insidious as Residue had initially thought.
Residue was secretly surprised but continued speaking without showing it.
“You were probably stronger than all the Perfect Ones combined. But it wasn’t just that. Even in your nature, you must have had traits that set you apart from them. That’s why, when your kin began to tear each other apart, you were the only one who couldn’t act. You didn’t know which side to take. While you were hesitating, they steadily advanced toward extinction, stabbing each other in the back… and by the time you tried to intervene, it was already too late. In the end, you had no choice but to sever your kin’s lineage with your own hands-”
Residue continued, carefully analyzing Agolet’s expression.
“…You thought it would end there, but it didn’t.”
For some reason, the White Knight’s attacks were gradually losing their edge.
It was unclear whether that was because Residue had started getting used to the opponent’s strikes, or because the words he was saying were shaking the White Knight’s heart.
Residue grinned, baring his teeth.
“The process of killing your kin ended up being… rather enjoyable, didn’t it? A pleasure you’d never felt before must’ve surged through you. But you couldn’t accept it. Because you thought your kin were foolish, you couldn’t accept that you were on the same level as those idiots. A classic case of instinct clashing with reason, right?”
That was as far as his deduction went.
In the end, Residue’s theory was nothing more than placing fragmented knowledge of the Perfect Ones and the White Knight in order and filling in the gaps with imagination.
Still, he didn’t think he was completely off. He had the intuition born from many years of life.
“……”
Around that time, the White Knight stopped attacking.
He looked at Residue without panting, his face as composed as ever.
Not knowing what he was thinking, Residue stared at him for a long while.
Eventually, the White Knight spoke.
“You’re wrong.”
“What part is wrong?”
“If I tell you, will you shut that mouth of yours?”
His tone had grown slightly rougher. A sign that his composure was cracking.
It could still be an act, but… regardless, it was more entertaining than the monotonous responses so far, so Residue smirked.
“To think the White Knight who even ignored the Blue Knight’s offer is now proposing a deal to me, the great Residue. What an honor.”
“I’ve been regretting that decision ever since.”
“Ha ha. Then let’s do that.”
He nodded but had no intention of keeping his mouth shut.
Residue was starting to enjoy lying. At this rate, he might start spouting nothing but lies with every breath. He didn’t particularly think that was wrong, but he figured it would be confusing if the day ever came when he could no longer distinguish truth from falsehood.
“First of all, I was no kind of mutant.”
“…Hm?”
“Stronger than all the rest of my kin combined? That’s utterly absurd. On the contrary, I was weak from birth no, I was sickly. Compared not only to my kin, but even to ordinary mortals… for example, weaker than a human. Even just moving on my own required great effort, and it took me long, persistent training to simply hold utensils properly.”
“……”
“And my kin were not the type to care for the weak. They didn’t act with malice, but neither did they offer protection. I received no attention at all. To them, I was no different than someone who didn’t exist. A forgotten existence.”
“Hm……”
After hearing that last part, Residue realized he had misunderstood one important thing.
He had originally assumed that the lone survivor of the Perfect Ones had come to the world of Void simply because his race had disappeared beyond history, but that might have been the wrong premise.
Perhaps it wasn’t because the man in front of him was a ‘Perfect One’ that he came to the world of Void,
but because he was ‘Agolet,’ a being forgotten even by his own kind.
‘That makes more sense.’
At that moment, Agolet said something that could not be ignored.
“The trait that made the Perfect Ones inevitable conquerors, Absorptive Power. We could absorb the strength and traits of those we conquered. After I gained the ability to hold utensils properly, I began to think that I wanted to walk on two legs. Conveniently, there were two of my kin nearby at the time… and I found myself suddenly saying this to one of them.”
─Your friend is trying to kill you.
It was a sticky voice, like speaking with a split tongue.
“Of course, that one didn’t believe me at first, but I knew exactly how to plant trust. As if it were knowledge I had acquired long ago.”
“……”
“In the end, they fought as if to kill each other and perished together. This happened when there was still plenty in the universe left to conquer. It was the first civil war among the Perfect Ones, taking place on our home planet.”
His tone was heavy, full of sorrow.
“…I manipulated the Perfect Ones from the shadows. I made them attack each other and led them to extinction. And throughout that entire process, not once did I expose my existence─ they died without ever knowing the truth. Not a single one of them.”
But his face told a completely different story. The White Knight’s eyes curved like a serpent’s, and at the corner of his lips was a faint smile, as if recalling a pleasant memory.
Watching that made the hairs on Residue’s arms stand on end.
Not out of fear, but because he had seen that exact same expression on someone else’s face. The Black Thorn Demon King wore that same look when he succeeded in carrying out an ancient plan.
In that moment, Residue realized just how dangerous this man, who radiated sacred energy with every fiber of his being, truly was.
In other words─ this man,
had brought down a supermassive universe without using a single shred of physical power, relying solely on schemes and conspiracies.
Could someone like that even be made into a subordinate?
And even if he could… would that truly be the right thing to do?
Residue narrowed his eyes.
*****
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