Chapter 178 : Side Story 3
Side Story 3
She recited calmly and looked at them.
Undoubtedly, she possessed exceptional skills as a human, but as things stood now, she could not achieve the desired result.
She would have to collide even more fiercely to summon her own sister.
"I expected it... but it's quite threatening."
"One thing is clear, even if I don't know the rest. She is certainly stronger than a dragon."
"......"
Alter fell silent, trying to assess her power.
Certainly, her expression of the power of a dragon was impressive, but it was fundamentally at odds with the seven dragons of Hazlodein.
Moreover, even after making contact with Radiance, she hadn't been shaken at all—instead, she showed interest.
"Lady Brillie, did you see the darkness?"
"No, I didn't see it."
"If that's the case, then I can't cut it down using Radiance."
"... Yes."
Brillie reluctantly replied, adjusting her grip on the sword hilt.
If one did not have darkness within, it was almost as if that person was free from malevolence.
Yet, if she was using Alter's mother as a hostage, shouldn't she, of course, harbor malevolence?
"Hoo-hoo-hoo... Trying to face me with Radiance... I bet even they never imagined such a thing."
"...."
"I'll ask you one more time. Haven't you met my sister? I'm sure she approached you, didn't she?"
"...?"
Brillie closely observed her and belatedly recognized a faint form.
Her hair and eye color were different, and even the latent mana within was not the same.
Even so, why did Brillie keep thinking that they looked alike?
"... Are you saying Goddess Semerune is your sister?"
"Semerune? So that's the name she has now. Goddess, huh... Come to think of it, I guess she does fit the title."
She became lost in longing as she confronted her memories of her sister.
At first, they had been hostile toward each other, but as time passed, she came to accept her sister's presence.
But because a human body must eventually perish, in the end, she could only transcend this world.
"As long as you met her, that's enough. I see—she hadn't vanished after all."
Overcome by a humble wish, she thrust her blade forward.
She hadn't planned to harm Tiksa's descendant in the first place.
She simply needed Tiksa's descendant to achieve her own goal.
'She's not trying to kill me. She really is focused only on this fight.'
After engaging with her, Alter finally managed to read her true intentions.
Since she didn't harbor malevolence, she couldn't manifest the inward darkness.
No doubt, she could have used her overwhelming power to push Alter and his allies to the brink, but so far, she had only nullified their attacks.
'She said to fight earnestly, so...'
Locking eyes with her, Alter drew up the mana within his body.
She had spoken of Radiance and Celestial One as if she was familiar with them and asked about her sister's welfare.
Crucially, her appearance was very similar to Goddess Semerune, so he had to consider another possibility.
'If that's what she's aiming for...'
Only then did Alter realize what he had to do.
If she wanted to meet Goddess Semerune, he needed to create the proper conditions.
Just as Lailnetia the Devouring had done, he would have to intentionally distort the law of nature.
'By chance, we're in a similar situation. What I have to do here is...'
Alter immediately unleashed cold air, freezing time.
High-level magic would interfere with space and time, inevitably shaking the law of nature.
Besides, since he couldn't cut her down with Radiance, this aligned fairly well with the conditions set by Lailnetia the Devouring.
'She must have reached a transcendental realm like Goddess Semerune.'
If that were really the case, time freeze would not work on her.
The concept of time only applied to living beings anchored in this world.
Thus, if a time freeze collided with a being close to a god, the law of nature itself would be disrupted.
"Hmm... So this is what you use? It's quite unique."
She instantly broke the time freeze, recalling words she had heard before.
If he were really her son, he would split the law of nature and stimulate the Book of All Things.
If a dramatic development unfolded at the right time, she would achieve what she wished for.
"Yes. If this is how it must be..."
Confronted by her own yearning, she infused mana into the blade.
She could sense the law of nature trembling, even if only a little.
If things continued like this, her sister might take form without a doubt.
"Lady Brillie, you don't have to cut down darkness. If you counter with Celestial One, it should be enough."
"Is it really okay to do that... Ugh!"
Brillie blocked her sword and, without thinking, sparked the Flame of a Thousand Days.
The pure white mana drove away the golden flames, but she did not try to erase them completely.
Barely, and just barely, the balance held as the two powers intertwined.
"When there's something to protect, radiance and Celestial One manifest. It's been like that from the beginning—shouldn't it be the same for you?"
"Urgh..."
For a moment, Brillie witnessed a strange sight.
Golden flames and pure white mana intertwined, their figures reflected within.
A man and woman, each wielding a sword, were enshrouded in the hues of Radiance and Celestial One.
Although it was a distant, ephemeral vision, a mysterious empathy flowed from them.
"Do you see this? These are your ancestors. They're the humans who created Radiance and Celestial One. They were my companions, too..."
"Is this really how you intend to summon me?"
Suddenly, a silver light flashed, and another sword strike came crashing in.
Although she was blocked by that strike, rather than dismay, an ecstasy overtook her.
The intruding figure drew in a silver current, glaring with cold eyes.
"What's wrong with doing it this way? Are you telling me to just wait endlessly?"
"Everything has order and reason. You were the one who broke that flow, weren't you?"
"It's only possible now. If not now, I'll never get to meet my sister!"
Enveloped in rage, she thrust her blade forcefully.
She had so desperately longed for their reunion, yet her sister remained cold and distant.
Now, out of the Lihines Knight Order, only she and her sister remained—shouldn't her sister at least show her some warmth?
"You orchestrated this situation so I'd be summoned. Since your wish has been fulfilled, shouldn't you let go now?"
"I never even tried to hold you back! I just negotiated properly, that's all!"
"So I was part of your plan from the start..."
Semerune looked forlornly at her twin sister and, with reluctance, knocked aside the blade.
She had just awakened, but she should have known that her sister would cause trouble already.
But, since even Alter's mother had cooperated, she couldn't blame everything on her younger twin.
"So that's why you took action yourself?"
"If I can save a single life by pulling this ahead by hundreds of years, it's not a loss."
"What is done is done. I must accept it. Where is that human now?"
"......"
She hesitated for a moment, then lightly gestured.
The ground trembled, and a mass of ice rose from the floor below.
Inside the ice was a certain form, and Alter quickly recognized its identity.
"From here, there's nothing more I can do. You'll have to take care of the rest."
"Alter Radiant. Take your mother with you—I will handle things here."
Semerune gave Alter a sideways glance and spoke calmly.
In fact, her twin sister and Alter's mother had only used each other.
They had broken the law of nature to try to summon her, so it really was a reckless act.
"What are we supposed to do here, then?"
"... It would be best to leave this in the hands of Goddess Semerune for now."
"Goddess Semerune? You mean the Goddess of the Semerune Holy Order?"
"That's right. I would advise that you keep quiet about this incident."
"That's not difficult, but... I just can't understand what's going on here."
Megarexor followed Alraune with reluctance, still full of questions.
Alter looked in at his mother, trapped inside the ice, and was involuntarily seized by sorrow.
Just how much had she foreseen, hiding even her own death from him?
"She really was alive."
"Uriel Astille... I thought she was dead, but she managed to survive after all."
Megarexor and Alraune recognized Uriel immediately but made no further attempt to intervene.
Likely, only Alter Radiant would be able to release Uriel.
The ice surrounding Uriel's body was fused with precise, specialized mana.
"..."
Alter caressed the ice's surface and let his mana flow into it.
Mana melted the ice and fully exposed the figure within.
Simultaneously, her body, which had not so much as twitched, slowly began to move.
"Mother, have you awakened?"
"... My son, you've come."
Uriel took Alter's hand, recalling the faint warmth she remembered.
She had been parted from him due to the curse of the Frost Witch, but now, at last, they met once more.
Her son had come all this way—perhaps that meant the future was finally complete.
"Have you been here all this time?"
"We promised to cooperate with each other—that's what let me endure until now."
"So you set the conditions so I could make it here?"
"It was a matter that required quiet handling... so I deliberately made contact with you."
"Did you foresee things would turn out this way?"
"The future can never truly be certain. All we can do is strive to make it so."
Uriel looked only at Alter, then at last turned her gaze elsewhere.
Upon seeing Alraune and Megarexor, she realized a great deal of time had passed.
Then, she had been quite young, but in the end, she couldn't go against the flow of time.
"Senior... did you really come all this way?"
"Heh heh... Haven't I told you time and time again? How can a fellow alumnus call me senior?"
"But you are a distinguished senior to me."
"I'm too old for nagging now. As long as I confirmed your survival, that is enough."
Alraune, softer than ever, gave a small smile.
In those days, he used to nag at Uriel and tried not to let even the smallest thing slip past him.
But now, such actions seemed so futile that he could simply appreciate the reunion for what it was.
"Megarexor... How have you been?"
"I'm no different from then. Just older."
"But you seem to have changed a lot. Didn't you used to argue with him?"
"Hey! So why bring that up now? It was only a brief squabble back then."
Megarexor showed some annoyance, yet tried to shake off the old regrets.
Uriel still retained her appearance from those years, untouched by the passing of time.
Meaning his affection just became all the more desolate—but now, perhaps he could make his peace with it.
"Uh... This is my wife. And... we've had a child, but I'll introduce them later."
"It's nice to meet you. I'm... Brillie Illenat."
Brillie awkwardly introduced herself and carefully looked at Uriel.
Once Uriel exchanged glances with Brillie, she finally accepted it.
A woman entwined with Alter's fate—they would inevitably become husband and wife.
"Weren't things hard for you? You must have suffered greatly."
"Thanks to Lord Alter, I was able to come this far. I could never have done it alone."
"I suppose it was fated from the start..."
Feeling the aftershocks of mana, Uriel immediately turned her head.
Goddess Semerune and her twin sister were fiercely battling.
This was the domain of transcendent beings, so no one could interfere.
"Did you enjoy being alone, sister? I thought I was going to go mad from loneliness!"
"Haaa... Of course not. I was just waiting for that moment to come."
"How long are you going to wait? Now, there's only you and me left!"
"......"
Semerune could not bring herself to respond as she countered her younger sister's sword strikes.
Though her sister was filled with regret, she did not stop attacking.
Alter watched the scene, then finally spoke up.
"I think we'll have to talk later. For now, let's get out of here."