Chapter 262 : Ragnarok (8)
Chapter 262: Ragnarok (8)
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After encountering the demons disguised as members of the Empire’s faction,
Carl traversed the labyrinth without much resistance, steadily accumulating points.
“No one else seems to have entered this area.”
“Since we wiped out the Empire’s faction, they must think they have the upper hand. If they run into us, they probably know they’ll be smashed like the others.”
Gallon For looked at Carl.
‘As I felt before, he truly is monstrously strong.’
He already knew the man was no ordinary person.
That was why he had stopped wandering and joined NOX.
But things like "demigods" and "Ragnarok"—he hadn’t anticipated that.
‘I can barely keep up, though…….’
He hadn’t stopped training since joining NOX.
In fact, he trained even harder than when he wandered alone.
Thanks to that, he managed to maintain his position as an executive of NOX and make it this far, but honestly, he hadn’t expected things to escalate this much.
All he and the other NOX executives could do was barely struggle to keep up.
Just what was this man that he could exert such overwhelming presence even among demons and demigods?
“Gallon?”
“……Ah, sorry. I was just thinking about something else for a moment.”
They were currently taking a break.
While eating the food they had brought to catch their breath, Carl was meditating alone some distance away to replenish his spent inner energy.
“You seem weaker than expected.”
“What? Weak? Me?”
“It might be because you died once. It was your first time experiencing it, after all.”
“……Haha. That’s not the reason.”
He seemed to be referring to how Gallon had died at the hands of the demons during the first trial gate.
Though it wasn’t a pleasant experience, Gallon didn’t have such a weak constitution that he would tremble in fear at the thought of death.
Rather, as someone who served a god, it had been an interesting new experience—certainly not something that would put him in a sulk.
“I was just thinking about the Master.”
“The Master?”
At Six’s curious look, Gallon shrugged his shoulders.
“You know. None of the participants in Ragnarok are ordinary. The Empire's side, the Holy Church—they were all chosen from the best. Not to mention the Apostles of Heresy or the Demon Realm faction.”
“That’s a strange thing to say. You knew from the beginning that the Master was extraordinary.”
“I just didn’t expect this level. That’s all I meant. Honestly, it still doesn’t feel real that he’s playing such a major role at the center of this crucial situation.”
“Hm.”
Since he could relate, Six nodded in agreement.
It had been Carl who had raised him—just a mere mercenary—up to this point.
Had it not been for him, he would have continued working as a mercenary, eventually succumbing to madness and becoming a murderer.
He was always grateful to the one who had established reasonable rules for him to live by.
“That doesn’t change anything. I’ll still function as just one part of NOX.”
“My feelings for NOX are the same. I owe the Master a great debt, so if he told me to die, I’d at least pretend to. Not that he’s the kind of person to give such an order.”
At Gallon’s words, Six let out a soft laugh.
He had volunteered for the first trial gate specifically to physically prove the risks of "death" one might face in Ragnarok.
Queen, Second, and the other executives each had their own roles and responsibilities.
As for him, his specialties were things like murder or anatomical dissection.
But those were skills the other executives were proficient in as well, so his priority was low.
Fortunately, as the Fairy King Mabel had said, he had been revived after death, but he had willingly thrown himself in for the sake of the Master and their comrades.
……The same must be true for Gallon.
“I wonder how this festival will end.”
“Stop laying out foreshadowing. Gallon, if you were a character in a novel, you’d have died a few more times by now.”
“Do I seem like I’d die that easily? If nothing else, my vitality is one of the toughest in NOX.”
Gallon grinned confidently.
Though he might lag behind in offensive power, his defense and regenerative abilities—based on divine power—were outstanding.
Knowing this, Six gave a short laugh and continued eating.
Thud.
After a short meditation, Carl recovered most of his inner energy and stood up.
He returned to the others, picked up some food, and spoke in a calm voice.
“Don’t worry. At least here, I have no intention of letting you die.”
“……Sheesh, how embarrassing.”
Did he hear that despite him lowering his voice?
Gallon scratched his head awkwardly.
“More importantly, Gallon. Don’t you sense something?”
“Sense something? Master, is there something nearby?”
“While meditating, I sensed a faint incongruity. It feels similar to divinity—can you pick it up?”
“……”
At Carl’s question, Gallon immediately closed his eyes and focused.
If Carl sensed it, then something had to be there.
And if it was related to divine power, there was no way he wouldn’t notice it.
“……Over there.”
As expected, he faintly sensed divinity, just as Carl had described.
Gallon raised his hand and pointed toward the barely connected stream of power.
“It seems to be that way.”
“Let’s go right away.”
The three of them began to move, following the divine current Gallon had identified.
“It might be a barrier created by the Holy Church.”
“That’s possible. After attacking the Empire’s side, they probably tried to get rid of the Holy Church too, since they were a thorn in their side.”
Carl nodded briefly and looked around.
The faint trace of divine energy was growing stronger as they advanced.
Now, it was close enough that they could roughly determine the location.
“This looks like the place……”
They stopped at the area where the density of divine power was the highest.
The labyrinth looked no different from any other part.
Gallon stepped forward, waving his hand through the air as he moved.
“Ah, found it.”
Swish.
A stream of white air flowed between his fingers as he grasped the empty space.
Then, with a strong pull, a pocket dimension was revealed in front of Gallon.
“……What is this place?”
“It’s an artificial space. Seems like someone created a new area using a barrier—it’s quite skillfully done.”
Carl furrowed his brow.
The corridor of Ragnarok itself was a dimensional rift, which made the spatial coordinates unstable.
Because of that, the difficulty of using space magic, including teleportation, would be insanely high...
‘The very fact that someone built a space like this means they possess power on par with an Archmage.’
One thing was certain—it wasn’t divine magic.
If so, why was such pure divinity flowing out from within the barrier?
“Let’s go in.”
“……”
As Carl strode in, Gallon and Six followed behind.
The interior was a space even darker than the labyrinth.
If not for the faint glow emitted from the divine power flowing low along the ground, they wouldn’t have seen anything at all.
‘There’s something here.’
Releasing an energy wave to scan the inside, Carl sensed something at the far end.
“You two stay here and wait.”
“Yes.”
“Be careful, Master.”
Preparing for any unexpected situation, Carl left Gallon and Six behind and moved forward alone.
As long as the situation wasn’t too extreme, he could handle himself.
“……A woman?”
At the end of this space, there was a small flowerbed.
In the center of the flowerbed stood a stone like a stele, and beside it sat a woman, leaning against it.
‘Tremendous divine power.’
Carl narrowed his eyes.
Even compared to Prometheus, who had possessed the body of Carius—or rather, Kylos—the power wasn’t lacking.
Could it be that this woman was also a demigod participating in Ragnarok to ascend to a divine seat?
He slowly approached.
He wondered if there might be something he could gain.
Of course, he didn’t touch anything recklessly.
No being with this level of power would have left the place unguarded.
So he cautiously drew out his inner energy and crept closer to her.
He tried to enter her space quietly, without triggering any reaction, but at some point, the woman’s eyelids began to tremble.
Her hollow pupils turned toward him.
“……”
In that instant, Carl felt the threat of death.
He didn’t know what she was about to do, but he couldn’t allow it to happen.
So, just as he was about to draw the Divine Thunder Sword...
Vmmm─!
The Divine Thunder Sword let out a cry.
At that moment, the woman’s gaze shifted to the blade, and soon, her lips slowly parted.
—“…So you’ve finally arrived here once again. Just in case, I split off a portion of my consciousness to leave this message behind in this space.”
“What?”
It was a voice that echoed directly in his mind, like the Six Harmonies Divine Transmission.
—“The ceremony failed. In the end, Ragnarok could not be stopped, and we fractured.”
Carl furrowed his brow.
A message left by splitting off a piece of consciousness.
Just how high a level must one reach to pull off such a divine technique?
—“The fact that you have returned here must mean the next Ragnarok has begun. But even if someone passes all the gates, no one will ascend to divinity.”
No one will ascend to divinity?
Carl focused his mind on the information, unable to brush it aside.
—“There was a traitor. I only realized it at the very end. Because of that, we came to distrust one another—and ultimately fell apart. Unfortunately, I was the only one who found out…”
A traitor.
Did someone within their faction collude with another?
But the next part made Carl realize he had misunderstood.
—“Do not trust the mediator of Ragnarok. They oversee this trial solely for their own gain. Not to choose a divine being, but to absorb the fates of superhumans sacrificed in the process, and seek a place they could never reach…”
Pop.
The voice faded out.
The woman’s eyelids closed again, and her body began to turn to dust from the tips of her toes.
“……”
Carl said nothing.
The "mediator of the trial" must be referring to the Fairy King Mabel.
He had suspected from the start that Mabel was an unknown entity, but to think they were the mastermind behind all of this?
‘Kylos.’
—“…Let me say this first—I don’t know anything. I suffered severe memory damage during the last Ragnarok, so I don’t have any solid information.”
So he had kept silent not out of guilt, but ignorance.
‘Then, what do you think of what this woman said?’
—I’m not sure. But I think I know who she is.
‘So do I. It must be ‘Rest,’ one of the Seven Heroes.’
This woman had recognized the Sword of Justice and withdrew her killing intent.
That meant she was from the same background as the heroes.
Among the Seven Heroes, the only one who could hold this level of divine power was the Saint of ‘Rest.’
—“If what Rest says is true, then even if all factions unite, it’ll still be hard to oppose them. The immortal beings of the Middle Realm were granted power equivalent to demigods, even though they didn’t ascend. The same likely applies to the Fairy King.”
‘Even for someone like you—or Prometheus?’
—“In a one-on-one fight, of course demigods would have the upper hand. But ever since Ragnarok began, all the guardians of the immortals have been watching this place. If they’re working with the Fairy King…”
Faced with the complexity of the situation, Carl furrowed his brow.
Still, now that he had acquired new information, he turned around to leave the barrier.
BOOM─!
Something massive fell from the air to the ground.
At the same time, an overwhelming wave of demonic energy surged in, causing Gallon and Six in the rear to shout.
“Master! It’s a demon!”
“This damn thing, it’s a duke-class demon…!”