Chapter 133
Chapter 133
Defying the Heavens (2)
“……Ah, damn it.”
“…….”
The moment His Holiness let out a curse as soon as he saw her, Katya’s face crumpled for an instant.
“What. Are you picking a fight?”
“You—what are you doing here?”
As His Holiness continued in a sulky tone, Katya’s expression gradually grew harsher.
“Look at your reaction, seriously. I almost feel like just leaving you here. Do you think I’m here because I want to be?”
“……What?”
His Holiness’ face also tightened at her words.
The way she said it made it sound as if someone had sent her.
“Did that bastard send you?”
“What do you mean, ‘that bastard’?”
“There’s only one man that you and I both know at the same time.”
“…….”
Silence was as good as affirmation. Instead of answering, Katya’s lips stretched into a thin line. Watching her, His Holiness let out a heated sigh inwardly.
Even though I had repeatedly told him never to call Katya, the fact that he had sent her here anyway meant that he had something in mind on his end as well.
And considering what kind of disposition that bastard usually had, the reason he had pushed this through while refusing such a request was—
‘……Is he telling us to reconcile now?’
With a bitter smile, His Holiness looked at Katya, who was supporting him.
She probably did not want to face me either. And yet, the fact that she had forced herself to come all this way showed just how precious that man was to her.
Wasn’t it proof that she had fallen that deeply for him?
“……Are you okay?”
It was a question layered with several meanings.
The biggest of them was this: she must have known that man had sent her to me with such obvious intentions. And yet, was she really fine with obediently following along?
Instead of answering, Katya lifted the arm of His Holiness, who could not even properly support his own body, and draped it over her shoulder.
As she hoisted him up and avoided his gaze, Katya grumbled.
“Let’s go. If you stay here, you’ll drown.”
“…….”
“Or what. Should I just leave you? Do you want to die here?”
“…….”
……Hm.
The hostility in her voice was still there, but its intensity had softened considerably.
Seeing His Holiness in such an utterly defenseless state, she seemed unable to bring herself to say anything truly harsh.
‘……Honestly.’
How should I put it?
The image of her from before—thrashing around like mad, trying to feel something over even the slightest trigger—was still vivid in my mind.
And now, didn’t she almost feel like a shy, prickly girl who embarrassed easily?
It felt as though, after spending time around that guy Aiden, she had nearly regained a normal range of emotions.
‘—So that’s how it is.’
……That damned bastard really did have a talent for meddling where he wasn’t needed.
Still, I had to admit that this time, it was help that left even me with a rather strange feeling.
“……Fine, let’s go. Support me properly. Don’t drop me.”
“For an old man getting help, you sure talk big.”
Of course, separately from that, I did agree that if we stayed here any longer, we would simply die.
It was probably right around then that both of us noticed something was wrong at the same time.
Letting out a sigh, I halted mid-step along with Katya, who was supporting me.
In truth, even if it weren’t the two of us—standing at the very peak among superhumans—anyone would have quickly realized that something was strange.
“……This is bullshit.”
The words slipped out of my mouth like a groan.
Anyone who handled any kind of supernatural ability would have immediately recognized just how absurd what was unfolding before our eyes truly was.
At some point—
The torrential rain that had been pouring down as if the sky itself had split open, all of it—
‘As if rewinding upward,’ was being sucked back into the sky.
▣
I knew to some extent about the characteristics of lifeforms that were not beings with actual physical bodies, but were instead composed of supernatural ability.
After all, the demonkind I had fought with time and again were that kind of lifeform, and the game had provided a fair amount of related knowledge as well.
In short, they were creatures that possessed physical bodies, but whose forms could change as much as they pleased.
From that perspective, with a bit of focus—
It was somehow possible to utilize that nature by ‘vaporizing’ the entire body into supernatural ability and layering it over mine.
Thanks to that, my current appearance had transformed into something almost identical to the ‘true form’ of Morrigan that I had briefly seen before. Half-human, half-dragon. The kind of form that only appeared in legends.
……It had taken quite a bit of effort to make Noel understand and accept that by ‘fusion,’ I did not mean anything inappropriate, but this.
And fortunately—
It was clear that the effect was more than worth the effort.
-Skill Info
◆ Trait: Dragon Speech
A language containing the ‘power’ possessed by dragons. It is a primordial tongue that forms the foundation for handling mana and manifesting miracles. The deeper one’s understanding, the greater the miracle that can be brought forth.
▶ You can visually diagram the ‘flow of mana.’
I could see it.
Morrigan, who had been ‘overlaid’ upon my body, was, one by one, guiding the flow of mana that I controlled—
‘……This is a strange sensation.’
Entrusting the operation of the overflowing supernatural power around me to someone other than myself was a sensation I had never experienced before.
How should I describe it—like my consciousness and another’s were layered over each other.
If I wanted to, I could have pried into every trivial detail—what Morrigan usually thought about, what emotions she felt—but I barely managed to restrain myself.
Part of it was the sense that doing such a thing would be an enormous discourtesy. But more than that, it was probably because I was already keenly aware that the power I was handling was overwhelming enough as it was, without taking in even that kind of information.
‘……This.’
Even though Morrigan was not a complete dragon, possessing only about half of a dragon’s power, simply wrapping my entire body in her mana made the total output of my supernatural ability feel as though it had soared by at least dozens of times.
Of course, the supernatural ability I personally wielded was not particularly extraordinary to begin with, but it made it immediately clear just how absurd her base output truly was.
And so, in this fused state, there was something I felt certain I could accomplish.
The foundation of a miracle lay in offering up a part of oneself as a ‘price,’ and in exchange, altering a corresponding law.
“I earnestly beseech, so please respond.”
The flow of power I was drawing forth with those words was likewise an attempt to communicate with the vast will that constituted the laws of this world.
Power imbued my speech. Mana reacted to each and every word that left my lips and began to surge violently.
“-From the summit of all creation, unto the world.”
My understanding of the dragons’ language was not particularly deep. I had only just obtained the ability, after all.
It was Morrigan, whose mind was overlapped with mine, who was meticulously manipulating the full extent of the Dragon Speech I was currently wielding.
But precisely because of that, there were things I could attempt.
After all, I possessed a whole bundle of skills that could extract more than double the efficiency from any kind of supernatural ability.
-Skill Info
■ Origin [ Stage 1 ]
You interact more deeply with those influenced by the Weaver of Fate.
▶ The skill is Stage 1. You may transfer one skill to a target. Cooldown is one day.
▶ Targets who are in an affectionate relationship with you may awaken new skills under your influence.
-System Message
▶ You transfer ‘The First Vow – Modification’ to the target ‘Morrigan.’
▶ The corresponding supernatural ability is fused with the target’s ‘mana’!
For a moment, the mana moving around us flinched.
It must have sensed the foreign energy flowing into her body.
It was not just ordinary holy power, but a supernatural ability heavily imbued with the scent of the God of Purification—so intense that one could believe a portion of the god’s own Divine Authority had been mixed into it. It would have been stranger if she had not been startled.
But fortunately, just as I had trusted, she quickly regained her composure and maintained the flow of mana. It must have been the moment when the firmness of will I had always taken note of truly shone.
Soon after, a golden light blended into the mana that was already pulsing intensely around us. In response to my call, Sia was showing signs that she, too, was paying attention.
And that meant—
Into the words that could ‘directly’ communicate with the laws that formed this world, a portion of divine authority had been mixed.
Dragons did not serve a god, but instead possessed the authority to access the ‘system’ that constituted the world itself.
They could not accomplish such grand feats regarding phenomena that did not originally exist in nature—like creating qi that produced objects from nothing, holy flames that burned anything, or Mana Arts that granted absurd power in response to the user’s vow.
But when it came to actual, observable ‘phenomena’—
It meant they could create a spectacle that truly deserved to be called a miracle.
And if divine authority was mixed into that—
Even when summarized in writing alone, it was no different from a declaration that something outrageous was about to be committed.
“-Wh-!”
At that moment, someone nearby let out a scream of astonishment.
The rain—
The rain that had been pouring down from the sky—
Reversed, ‘flipped over,’ and flowed upward toward the very sky it had fallen from.
It was as if someone had recorded the entire surrounding scenery on video and was now playing it in reverse.
The world was being restored to its previous state.
As though turning back the sky itself, all the rain that had fallen as if the heavens were torn open was sucked back upward.
Defying the heavens. Overturning the sky.
A natural phenomenon that someone had forcibly manipulated was directly addressed through the laws of the world and returned to its original state.
‘A counter, then.’
I grinned as I watched.
From the start, wasn’t this absurd torrential downpour clearly the result of someone’s trickery?
And if someone could pull something like that off, then by mixing Dragon Speech with divine authority, I was certain I could at least counter it in kind.
Soon—
‘……I refuse to be jerked around.’
To them, this would serve as a warning shot of sorts.
Even if the scale of the trick they could wield was that great,
At the very least, they would understand that I, too, possessed more than enough means to strike back.
“-!”
-Of course, a price had to be paid.
A clump of black blood burst from my mouth with a wet cough.
No matter that I had obtained the skill Dragon Speech and borrowed Morrigan’s help, it was absurd to think that I could cause such a massive phenomenon without paying any cost.
My insides were in turmoil. My vision blurred for a moment……
“……Are you alright?”
There was a hand supporting my body.
Morrigan had already disengaged from the fused state and returned to her human form.
“……Yes. I’m fine.”
With a bitter smile, I tried to steady myself properly.
“…….”
That is, I tried.
But I failed, because Morrigan held me tightly and refused to let go.
“……Are you truly alright?”
“……Pardon?”
“……If you are overexerting yourself, you must tell me.”
“……?”
No.
I said I was fine.
What is wrong with her?
As that thought crossed my mind, suddenly—
A window appeared before my eyes.
-System Message
▶ The target ‘Morrigan’ alters her perception of you due to your minds having overlapped.
▶ The target has glimpsed a portion of your ‘past.’
▶ The target ‘Morrigan’’s Affection Level surges dramatically.
▶ The target feels ‘pity’ toward you.
▶ The target recognizes you as someone who must be cared for!
“…….”
……Hm.
What is this supposed to be……?