Chapter 1399: 157. Blocking the Way

Using Illusion Magic a second time on someone who possessed the Delusion-Breaking Eye could probably qualify as the Origin Tower's joke of the year. It might not ruin anyone's standing in the magical world, but it would certainly be enough to make the black-robed figure's teacher lose all face in educational circles.

Yet at this moment, not a single person could laugh.

The black-robed figure's hood concealed his face, making his expression impossible to see, but judging from the slightly unstable magical aura surrounding him, his heart was definitely anything but calm.

As for Ariel, that went without saying.

The Delusion-Breaking Eye was pushed to its limit. The colors in her pupils became chaotic and deep, like a palette of paint that had been knocked over. She tried to see through those disorderly, flickering black lines and glimpse the true appearance of that existence.

But...

For the first time.

For the first time, her magical eye was completely useless.

No matter how hard she tried, an invisible brush of ink continued tracing across that tall figure, as though trying to completely erase something that should never have existed in this world.

Her Delusion-Breaking Eye, capable of shattering all falsehood, could not even see through those seemingly simple, chaotic lines.

And yet, even if she could not see through them, there was that horrifyingly familiar aura, those chaotic whispers capable of making her very soul tremble, and the way the mere presence of that existence began twisting everything around it...

Ariel suddenly realized it.

The Demon God!

It was the Demon God!

Back in that inverted tower, she and Muen had both experienced from close range that malformed phantom capable of distorting all things. That experience had left an incomparably deep impression on her.

So... she could not be mistaken.

It was It!

"But... why... would Miss Muse... Muen... suddenly become like this?"

Ariel understood this transformation even less.

Not long ago, she had still been intimate with the person she loved. That warmth, that touch, even now still seemed to linger in her palm.

Yet in the blink of an eye, why had the Demon God suddenly appeared through Muen's body?

There was no source of Pollution here, no trace of any Evil God's involvement. By all logic, that Demon God should still have been sealed away. So why...

"Was it still because of you?"

Ariel tightened her grip on the Heavenfire Greatsword, killing intent spreading from her body.

"It wasn't me."

The black-robed figure slowly retreated, clearly just as wary of the figure that could no longer be understood through ordinary reason.

"I have never... prayed to that kind of thing."

"Then why..."

"It's Heart Nightmare."

Ariel suddenly heard her teacher's voice.

Even her tone carried a rare gravity and tension.

"There is no external source here. In other words, the Demon God's phantom before us actually came from Muen himself. From the... fear inside his heart."

"Fear?"

Ariel found it unbelievable.

"Just that? That's enough for this kind of thing to control him?"

"Normally, no. But Muen must have made contact with that existence's true body somewhere, through some kind of medium... perhaps a call, a prayer, or even a single glance. In any case, that contact caused some kind of connection to form between him and that existence.

"Do you remember the seed the Love God once left inside you? It's the same principle. Only, because it is that existence, what It left behind is far more concealed and far harder to detect."

Even though this was merely a conversation of consciousness inside Ariel's mind, Peles actually did not dare call It "the Demon God" directly, instead referring to It only as "that existence."

Too close.

Even for her, this was the first time she had ever been this close.

"And Heart Nightmare was like a spark lighting a fuse, causing that connection to become substantial again. As an existence that nearly destroyed the world a thousand years ago, even a connection this insignificant is already enough to let It temporarily reappear in the world in the form of some vague, intangible 'concept'!"

"That can happen too?" Ariel's eyes widened.

"Normally, it would be absurd. But for It, it is possible."

At this point, Peles paused slightly.

As one of the earliest founders of the Origin Tower, she had been born in the age immediately after that great chaos had ended, when the entire world was still little more than ruins.

Although she had never truly faced that existence herself, she understood better than almost anyone just how terrifying It was.

How... unreasonable It was.

"So in the end, it's still because of this bastard!"

Ariel clenched her teeth, wishing she could tear the black-robed bastard into pieces on the spot.

If he had not come here to interfere, how could all this ridiculous mess have happened?

But she knew that now was long past the time to keep fighting with him.

What mattered most now was...

"What should I do?"

Rarely, Ariel sounded like a little girl who had temporarily lost something precious and no longer knew what to do. She carefully asked Peles:

"Teacher, what should I do now?"

"..."

Peles fell silent for a moment before saying:

"The most rational choice... is to do nothing."

"Huh?"

Ariel froze.

Do nothing?

Had she heard that correctly?

Just let such a terrifying existence run wild? Wasn't that—

Before Ariel could say anything more, that chilling sensation that made even her soul tremble appeared again.

Ariel immediately returned to a state of full vigilance and discovered that the figure covered in countless black lines had begun moving again.

It took a step forward.

With every step, everything around It twisted in some bizarre manner.

Flesh grew from floating scraps of metal. From that flesh bloomed gorgeous flowers of gold and iron. The flowers opened, pupils blinking within them as they observed the world, only for those pupils to be swallowed and chewed by hideous mouthparts in the very next instant.

Even the sea of stars itself, which possessed no tangible substance, began decomposing into countless malformed insects that densely rained down from the void.

It was like It was walking through a lush field of grass.

Wherever It passed, all things withered, all things came apart, all things mutated, leaving behind a horrifying trail as though the world itself had been viciously scrubbed with an eraser until even the paper beneath had torn.

And yet It was merely moving forward.

It did not attack.

It did not perform any other action.

It did not even spare Ariel or the black-robed figure beside It a single shred of attention.

It simply continued onward.

And Its destination... was actually the bubble concealing that door?

"It is not truly that existence, after all," Peles said. "In the end, It is merely an afterimage, an afterimage born from fear and cognition. With Its true body still completely sealed, It is no different from water without a source. Right now, It is basically acting on instinct and will not casually launch attacks."

Just like someone who had only just awakened from a daze would hardly care about two ants crawling beside their feet.

"So as long as It continues forward, It will soon trigger the Origin Tower's alarm mechanisms. Even if It manages to cause a certain amount of damage, the Origin Tower will definitely suppress It directly. Humanity has not become so fragile that a mere afterimage could throw everyone into utter chaos."

"Of course, even in the worst-case scenario, there are still the true top powerhouses of this world to clean things up. The Pope, for example. Or that dragon the two of you know so well. Or perhaps... her."

"No matter how you look at it, when facing this kind of existence, you have more than enough reason not to intervene."

"...Is that so?"

The world fell silent.

Only those fragmented murmurs remained, echoing through Ariel's mind.

After hearing Peles's words, Ariel tilted her head.

"Then... what about Muen? What happens to Muen?"

"Muen?"

Peles fell silent again before saying:

"He will probably still survive."

"Probably?"

"Yes. Probably."

Peles nodded.

"After all, he has a very deep relationship with those two. But... there are always some possibilities that cannot be guaranteed, aren't there?"

At that moment, a cold voice suddenly echoed inside her mind.

"[The road ahead is dead. Passage is forbidden.]"

Those inviolable commandments that person had once personally laid down...

When it came to her own disciple, what would she do?

Peles actually began to feel... a little curious.

"I see... That really does sound like the most rational choice."

Ariel lowered her eyelids.

The Heavenfire Greatsword in her hands gradually lowered as well.

No cost.

No risk.

All she had to do was stand by and watch.

There was nothing easier in this world.

But...

"Leaving the fate of the person you love in someone else's hands..."

Inevitably, the images from Heart Nightmare appeared in her mind again.

Miss Muse being dragged away by those seductive bitches, able only to tell Ariel not to look while clear tears streamed down her cheeks.

And so, the fury in Ariel's heart that had only just subsided surged up once more.

"That's right. Giving up might be easy, but letting the person I love most get completely stolen away again like that... how could I possibly endure it a second time?"

Of course she couldn't!

Even if you were the fucking Demon God... absolutely not!

As she spoke, Ariel abruptly opened her eyes and stared at the figure standing amid endless distortion.

Delusion-Breaking Eye!

——In an instant, agonizing pain struck.

This time, it was as if her gaze had finally touched something that should never have been seen.

Excruciating pain assaulted her consciousness, and the murmurs and whispers that had constantly echoed beside her ears instantly became shrill.

The colors in her pupils nearly collapsed.

Blood gradually spilled out, running down her cheeks.

Her vision slowly turned crimson.

But...

Ariel saw it.

"Muen can still be saved!"

Beneath those black lines, his face and body showed no traces of distortion or mutation.

Which meant that he had not yet been completely corroded by that existence.

Just like she once had not been.

"Thank goodness."

Ariel tightened her grip on the Heavenfire Greatsword and, ignoring the agony ravaging her mind, staggered to her feet.

"Wait for me, my love..."

Once, she had been saved by him.

Now it was her turn to do the same thing he had done back then!

"Newborn Evil God, give me back my woman... no, my man!"

Ariel roared.

Blazing flames erupted around her, and she immediately prepared to attack, as if declaring her ownership.

However...

Boom!

A spell struck the advancing distorted figure even faster than she could.

The distorted figure stopped.

Ariel froze as well.

Wait... this wasn't right...

Was someone else trying to steal him too?

Amid the chaos, at some unknown point, a black-robed figure had already positioned himself before the multicolored bubble, directly in the path the distorted figure had to take.

"No."

The black-robed figure raised the long mace high.

Even while facing an existence he could not understand, his tone remained unwavering.

"I absolutely will not allow you to approach this place... absolutely not!"