Chapter 1474.1

Gargantia felt like he was caught in a hallucination. All his senses twisted and distorted from the strange arrow lodged in his flesh.

‘This wouldn’t have been a big deal before. How could it be so different now?’

He was growing weaker by the second. More than that, he was dying. His body was screaming at him.

Having never experienced anything even remotely similar in thousands of years, he was more confused than anyone. He no longer had enough power to maintain his full undead legion or interfere with the other humans scattered across the continent.

Reinforcing the undead legion was absolutely out of the question. It was a struggle just to maintain them, which was why he had reverted most of his undead back and recovered his power.

The so-called allied forces had rapidly infiltrated the kingdom, and in the end, he was the only one left.

Still, he let out a faint chuckle. Not of resignation, but of joy.

Evangeline was confused. “Mom... is he really laughing?”

“Leave him be. He’s probably overwhelmed with the strange, new sensations. He must not be in his right mind.” Perserque aimed the second arrow at his heart.

He reflexively sprang and shot toward her. He knew he absolutely had to avoid that arrow. Otherwise, he might lose the strange, exhilarating sensations he was finally experiencing.

Fortunately for him, she didn't have much mastery with the bow, so it was an attack he could avoid with just a little concentration.

Of course, that was assuming the others would stand still.

Slash!!!

A strand of blade energy flew in at incredible speed from a blind spot and cut through his dragon body.

It wasn't just a simple blade energy. It was a deadly attack capable of inflicting a fatal wound on almost any being. The golden energy sword and breath attacks flew in to block his retreat, gouging into him and cutting off any chance of escape.

At the same time, a tiny girl who had soared high into the sky plunged a golden spear, seemingly imbued with starlight, and pinned him to the ground.

Thunk!!

The second arrow relentlessly lodged into him. The arrow, which quickly dispersed like mist once pierced, etched a second chain of death on him.

Only then did Gargantia realize the next attack would be the last of his life. It was an attack that should never have been able to harm him, but now it was utterly fatal.

‘I can't die like this.’

He realized that continuing the fight would be extremely disadvantageous, and began making a desperate attempt to somehow escape. He had just acquired the strange and unpleasant, yet ecstatic, sensations. To die without truly savoring them was unacceptable.

Of course, those were the very same sensations he only felt because he knew death was imminent, given he was suddenly weak enough to die. Alas, he had no way of knowing the details. ℯℯ𝘭.

He secretly prepared a spatial warp spell. He then swung his massive tail to deflect the attack of the fierce and menacing small bio-golem.

Clang!!!

Accompanied by the sound of two heavy metals colliding, he and Rinne were simultaneously thrown back.

Perserque, holding her bow, prepared to fire the third arrow.

While she hadn't specifically warned him about the arrows, after being hit by them twice already, only an idiot wouldn't be able to surmise what would happen if another hit.

‘If I let her hit me one more time, I'll definitely die. Then, Illyna will take my neck for good.’

Resurrecting himself through the fragments of consciousness he'd scattered across the world, as he'd done before, was no longer possible.

Even though she must’ve noticed he was planning something, Perserque remained calm and kept her hands on the bow.

‘She’s the most dangerous one.’

The instinct deep inside him blazed, urging him to take out Perserque first.

In a lucky guess, he figured that her magic wasn't a major threat to him. It was the bow that was the problem. In fact, his levels were even superior. Therefore, he should quickly kill her, exploit the chaos, and escape.

Now that he had gained everything, he didn't need any other plan.

As he swiftly flew up, he saw the three others following behind him.

Perserque was left alone, defenseless on the ground in front of him.

‘If physical means won't work, then...’

He killed his speed, like a rocket abruptly cutting its engines, and then began to fall rapidly, having surrendered himself to gravity.

He saw Rinne's eyes widen as he abruptly stopped his ascent, and she rocketed upward past him with her crowbar and spear in hand.

In the brief instant they passed each other, Gargantia locked onto Perserque and dove toward her at tremendous speed.

Reina, who belatedly confirmed that Perserque was his target, quickly flapped her wings and flew toward him. “How dare—”

Her energy sword instantly split and pierced him. It wasn't a fatal wound, but a searing pain shot through him nonetheless. Even so, he didn't let it stop him.

Illyna gripped her sword and settled into a fighting stance to stop his descent. She then kicked off the air and shot toward him at incredible speed, aiming straight for his neck.

He couldn't avoid it. He knew that if his head was cut off now, even if he could still resurrect, he'd never get another opportunity like the one before him.

He chose the drastic measure of yielding his flesh to claim their bones without hesitation.

Poof!!!

“Is that bastard crazy?!”

He forcibly layered Polymorph magic on himself. Activating the spell so suddenly, without preparation, caused a huge backlash to hit him. Sure, he might die, but if he succeeded in killing Perserque, that alone would be enough.

When she aimed at him again, he instantly released all the mana he had gathered during his descent.

Then, he applied it to his Dragontongue and spat it out.

[Die]

The powerful Dragontongue was layered with a 9th Circle death magic as well, so a black mist began to envelop Perserque. She lowered her bowstring, looked around, and tried to escape the mist.

“Not on my watch.” Seeing her quickly cast a Warp spell, Gargantia realized it was his last chance. So, he twisted the formula of the Warp spell he had prepared for his own escape and dispelled hers.

Surrounded by the sound of shattering glass, Perserque's eyes widened in shock. When their gazes met, he snickered.

He couldn't help but savor the apparent fact that she'd realized her own death was only moments away. Her surprised expression was truly captivating! It was the kind he wanted to see again and again.

In the end, the black mist completely engulfed Perserque, giving her no chance to escape. Deed accomplished, he fell weakly and crashed into the ground.

Having pushed himself to the extreme, it felt like every bone in his body had shattered.

It wasn’t long before an energy sword made of light pierced through and pinned him to the earth, Rinne stabbing his heart with her spear.

The specific spell engraved into his heart was tethered to Perserque. In other words, if she died, the spell would lose its effect.

In the euphoria of victory, he began to chuckle, and he saw Illyna, Rinne, Reina, and Evangeline quickly approaching him.

“Looks like I won, huh?” Even while pinned down and restrained, he provoked Evangeline with a sneer, mocking, “You dirty half-breed. With your weak power, you can't protect anyone... Cough?!”

Evangeline was the first to act. Without hesitation, she kicked him in the face. Starting with her, the other three also surrounded and relentlessly stomped on him.

Facing their assault, he felt an agonizing pain and couldn't even let out a proper groan. He was unable to even fathom how cold-blooded the women were.

He had expected them to free Perserque from the death magic. Yet, for some reason, they paid her no attention at all. It almost seemed like they’d decided to take his life instead, believing there was no point trying to save her.

These so-called righteous people were truly cruel and heartless.

He couldn’t help but let out a scoff.

It was then.

“Stop.”

They suddenly stopped kicking, and Gargantia's eyes flew open. He turned toward the unbelievable sight.

There stood Perserque, casually brushing the sticky black mist off herself as she walked toward him.

“H-how?!”

With her current level, there was no way she could’ve blocked his spell! He'd even used Dragontongue instead of ordinary high-level magic to make sure it couldn't be countered.

The Dragontongue of an ancient dragon was practically a massive spell in its own right. And yet, Perserque stood there looking completely unharmed.

She casually brushed the last clump of black mist from her hand, then calmly walked over and drew her bowstring. After stepping onto his battered body, she lowered the tip of her arrow and aimed it straight at him.

“The trap you secretly set ended up getting you instead.”

He was so astonished to see Perserque was alive that his pupils trembled. “H-how...”

He had lost his Warp spell escape measure, and his whole body was pinned to the ground. He wanted to resist, but utilizing any power was difficult after the crash.

As he looked around, he could see the allied forces closing in, having finished their battle. He also saw the four women standing at a distance, and Perserque pressing down on him.

“How... How did you survive?”

He had no clue how she was in front of him. Yet, instead of answering, she simply aimed the arrow tip at his heart and fired it without hesitation.

Squelsh!!!

The arrowhead pierced his flesh and reached his heart. He began to lose power at an astonishing rate. He couldn't even react to her lethal blow with his severely weakened body, let alone resurrect himself.

“Curious?”Perserque showed him the ring on her left ring finger.

“That is...”

“A life-sharing ring. If I die, he also dies. That's what it is.” She spoke softly at a distance the others couldn't hear to say, “People get it wrong. They think it's his weakness, that all they need to do to kill him is kill me.”

Indeed, if Davey, the Saint of Tionis, was a powerhouse that couldn’t be killed, then all they had to do was kill Perserque and let their contract take his life as well.

“But that's the mistake.”

Depending on the perspective, the ring was the perfect protective artifact. It didn't weaken the caster's power. Instead, it forcibly protected the weaker party. There was no clear reason for Davey to create a ring that would serve as a weakness.

“The stronger Davey becomes... the harder it is to kill me.”

It wasn't a simple resurrection spell in case of her death—it protected her almost perfectly until the ring was broken.

“Nonsense! Cough! Don't be ridiculous! An artifact powerful enough to withstand a 9th Circle curse magic is impossible!” He yelled fiercely, and his eyes widened. At the same time, the light in his pupils began to fade.

“I’m sorry, but a contract with the Vampire Lord isn't something you can break so easily.”

Accompanied by the echo of her final words, his soul finally met its mortal demise.

The last thing he saw was Perserque turning her back indifferently. The last thing he heard was the cheer of the allied forces confirming their victory.

He had only just gained what he had been missing. He had only just realized what the emptiness within him was. He felt terribly wronged, but he couldn't utter a single word.

It was strange that he only gained what was most precious at the end of his life.

* * *

Death. What came after it?

Gargantia felt like his soul was floating.

He shouldn't have died so meaninglessly. Yet, he had truly met his death.

To be precise, he couldn't be certain. Unlike before, resurrection was impossible, and every ounce of strength had left his body. All he could do was assume he was experiencing what death felt like.

He felt as though he were sinking in water. As he drifted in a daze, an arm suddenly broke through the surface, grabbed him by the scruff of the neck, and hauled him up.

His eyes flew open. First, because of the being who had grabbed him, and second, because of the unbelievable scene he was faced with.

He was in a giant river of starlight, expansive as if containing the vast universe. It was so beautiful that even he, whose true emotions were dry due to a lack of stimulation, let out a gasp.

“Welcome to the River of Souls.”

River? He had already heard that word before. Recently, too.

The figure was dressed in black. While they looked human on the outside, to a necromancer like Gargantia, the aura they gave off was unbelievably strange.

When Davey O'Rowane had appeared in that fleeting moment, he’d told him he'd see him at the river before disappearing.

At first, Gargantia had thought he was extremely arrogant and had made a mistake, since he could simply kill the rest and escape death.

Yet, in the end, he'd been defeated and ended up in the apparent afterlife.

“Who are you?”

“That is not important,” the figure responded. “This is the place where the karma of the dead is settled, where they move on to the path of reincarnation.”