Chapter 270 : Ragnarok (16)
Chapter 270: Ragnarok (16)
♠ ◆ ♥ ♣
Carl hid himself and watched the flowing memories of the past.
People who had changed, a city falling apart—everything was just as he remembered.
Soon, a veil for the Ritual of Ragnarok formed, and Crown Prince Yulian and the Imperial Palace knights approached.
When the past version of himself inside the veil began to converse, Carl quietly approached the rear of the knights.
Slide.
“……!”
As everyone focused on Carl, the body of a low-ranking knight at the rear of the formation suddenly froze.
In an instant, Carl suppressed the knight’s pressure points and blood vessels using the Soul-Seizing Technique and absorbed his memories.
It all happened in a blink, before any of the other knights noticed.
Carl then placed the knight’s body beneath some nearby bushes and naturally blended into the rear of the knights.
After all, the Corridor of Ragnarok was isolated from the outside.
Since they had already entered the ritual, even if the knight woke up and resisted, he wouldn’t be able to inform anyone inside.
“Let’s go in.”
Led by Crown Prince Yulian, the Imperial Palace knights entered the Corridor of Ragnarok.
“Bolsen. No issues, right?”
“……Yes, aside from being a little nervous, I’m fine.”
“Good. Stay alert. No matter what happens to us, we must ensure His Highness returns safely.”
The knight Carl had disguised himself as was named Bolsen.
Though he had participated in Ragnarok with Crown Prince Yulian, he lacked the skill to appear in the trials.
In other words, he was the perfect person to quietly slip in without drawing attention.
—We will grant a grace period of two hours before the first trial begins. The theme of the trial is ‘Water.’ Inside the corridor, you may move freely except for acts that violate the covenant and the laws.
【02:00;00】
With the Fairy King Mabel’s voice, the countdown appeared.
As the progression remained unchanged from his memories, Carl gathered with the others at Crown Prince Yulian’s summons.
“……The key issue is whether we can trust Carl Leipzig.”
“Hm.”
“According to the revealed facts, he’s still hiding numerous secrets from His Highness and the Empire. Can we really join hands with someone who hasn’t even shared his true intentions?”
“We don’t know where eyes and ears might be. That was a mutual understanding we reached.”
Just as Carl hadn’t revealed everything to the Crown Prince, the Crown Prince hadn’t disclosed everything to Carl either.
“We must obtain the seat of the Demigod. ……His Majesty desires it.”
Seeing the grave look on Crown Prince Yulian’s face, Carl smirked inwardly.
‘So that’s how it is.’
Stopping the demons had always been a surface-level justification.
Crown Prince Yulian, the Empire, and the Emperor already knew of Ragnarok’s existence.
They likely even knew what had become of the ancient heroes.
Were they merely using him while waiting for Ragnarok to open?
‘To think the Emperor’s goal would be the seat of a Demigod.’
Whether in the Central Plains or here, those at the top were always the most greedy.
Carl continued to stand on the Crown Prince’s side as he observed the flow of the past.
But no sharp solution revealed itself.
There was little time left before he would encounter Asael.
While agonizing over it alone, Kylos, who had remained silent, finally spoke.
—……Mabel was always stationed in that spot.
‘Are you saying she’s guarding something?’
—Yes. That space is the center of the corridor and the axis of Ragnarok. If you want to stop Ragnarok itself, you may have to target that location.
‘Kylos, does it not matter to you if Ragnarok is stopped?’
When Carl asked, she remained silent for a moment, then replied with a short sigh.
—I chose the path of the Demigod to prove my existence. But now that I’ve confirmed that Ragnarok itself is a flawed ritual, there’s no need to cling to it. I’m trapped in your body anyway.
‘I see.’
Carl nodded.
‘There’s only one chance.’
The moment Asael was released.
The Guardians of the Middle Realm, including Mabel, were all waiting for them.
So that meant all he had to do was wait for that timing.
“……”
Carl silently waited for the trial to proceed.
And when his figure disappeared from the screen being broadcast.
“……He’s gone again.”
“We need to be careful.”
A gap in the space inside the trial where the eyes could not reach.
So this was how it looked from the outside.
“……?”
But Mabel showed no sign of movement.
By now, she should’ve met Asael and started escaping.
—……No way.
Kylos drew a sharp breath and hurriedly continued.
—Overlapping regressions! The timelines are tangled! You have to move! Otherwise, a different timeline than the one you knew will unfold!
Whatever the cause, if Mabel didn’t move, he would lose the opportunity to investigate.
‘No, looking at it another way…’
If he did nothing, he and Asael might escape safely.
—Choose. What will you do?
‘No need to rush me……’
He was thinking it over.
Just as he bit his lip and lifted his head.
“……?”
His eyes met with Six, who was staring at him from afar.
Six furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze fixed on him.
He wore an ambiguous expression, somewhere between troubled and puzzled.
Having come up with a good idea, Carl immediately sent him a voice transmission.
—Six, it’s me. Go to Mabel right now and tell her I’m in contact with Asael.
“……!”
Apparently caught off guard, Six’s eyes widened.
From their perspective, he should still have been taking the trial inside the gate with Queen and Second.
After a brief hesitation, Six nodded and moved.
“Huh?”
“What’s going on?”
Members of NOX, the Imperial Palace, the Cult, and even the Demon Realm Faction turned to watch.
Unfazed, Six approached Mabel and began whispering via voice transmission.
—How did you know that……?
Mabel widened her eyes.
At the same time, she began to emit a tremendous aura and spoke to the assembly.
—The trial of the gate will be temporarily suspended.
Pop!
And just like that, she vanished from her position.
Inside the gate, those still taking the trial were diligently moving through the dungeon.
As everyone turned to look at Six in confusion, all of NOX moved to secure the spot where Mabel had disappeared.
Clang!
Each of them drew their weapons, standing guard to prevent others from approaching.
Carl, who had been among the Imperial Palace knights, swiftly charged forward and leapt over them.
“What the……!”
Just as Crown Prince Yulian opened his eyes wide in shock, Carl reached the position Mabel had been guarding without hesitation.
—Aim for the ceiling!
The world began to flicker and distort.
As he interfered with the timeline, the regression opportunity granted by Asael was nearing its end.
Carl swung his sword with full force, striking the ceiling of the Corridor of Ragnarok.
—KWA-AAAAANG!!
The entire corridor shook violently with a thunderous impact.
At the same time, the antique-style structures around him began to collapse, and noise appeared in various places.
“What the……!”
The Grand Duke of Hell let out a shocked voice.
From the broken ceiling, a blinding light burst forth and engulfed everything around.
‘That must be it.’
The core of Ragnarok.
He didn’t know exactly what it was, but if he destroyed that……
—So you’ve already met Asael.
Mabel reappeared as if rising from the floor, her voice subdued.
—Limited Regression. It’s a unique ability that exists across all dimensions and belongs to him alone. I don’t know how such a noble power ended up in the hands of a fool like Asael, but perhaps that too was part of the gods’ arrangement.
“The festival is over. It’s time to collect the overdue blood debt.”
—……
Mabel looked at Carl and then let out a short sigh as she gazed at the sword he held.
—Perhaps you’re right. We made foolish choices before, and even before that, and now is no different. All of it stemmed from greed.
Sensing no will to fight in Mabel, Carl slowly took a step forward.
Toward the source of light that was engulfing the world.
—Ragnarok is a ritual of cycles. But in the previous round, it failed for some unknown reason. As a result, most participants, including myself and the Guardians, became bound to the ritual.
“Bound?”
—Because the ritual never properly ended, we became trapped in an endlessly repeating cycle. ……And I can’t even say for sure whether it was the previous round or one before that. I’ve been trapped here all the same. That’s why we began a new ritual, to bring the previous one to an end and seek liberation. Perhaps the choice Kylos made within you was the correct one. He split his existence into dozens of pieces and nullified the inevitability of the cycle he was meant to endure. Of course, it came at the cost of living a life less than that of an insect.
So that was why those who couldn’t leave the previous round ended up like that.
It was also the reason Kylos had been sealed within his temple.
Mabel offered a heavy smile and looked back at Carl.
—And you will become like that too. There are no exceptions for residents of this world. Once you participate in Ragnarok. So resistance is meaningless……
“No, it’s not.”
Zzzzzzz.
The energy of the Primordial Unity Divine Art surged and enveloped the Divine Thunder Sword.
Carl’s one and only aim.
It was that the Ritual of Ragnarok applied only to ‘inhabitants of this world.’
But Carl was both of this world and not of it.
“It’s a ritual to create gods. It wouldn’t tolerate even the slightest imbalance. This should be enough to break the dam.”
—……What?
Carl grinned at Mabel.
“I’ll break it for you. The chain of subjugation binding your ankle. Because I don’t want to be in this wretched place any longer.”
The Divine Thunder Sword was swung.
A foreign element entered the core of Ragnarok, one that neither ancient heroes, High Elves, the Fairy King, nor Dragons had ever touched.
The cycle began to distort from the presence of a being who bore a dual nature that shouldn’t exist.
—FWAAAAAAAAASH!
With a tremendous burst of flame, the end of the festival was declared.
The Ritual of Ragnarok had ended.
As the dimensional rift collapsed, the participants of this round who had resided in the corridor were returned to where they originally belonged.
What became of the participants from the previous round and the Guardians who had upheld the ritual was unknown.
Even Carl, when he opened his eyes, found himself receiving treatment in a temporary medical tent.
“……”
He exchanged glances with Crown Prince Yulian, who looked down at him with a complicated expression.
Though he looked burdened, the prince left after simply telling him to rest well.
What would become of a crown prince who had failed his mission?
He hadn’t brought the seat of the Demigod to the Emperor—would he be removed from the throne?
Of course, that wasn’t Carl’s concern, nor did he want it to be.
His alliance with them lasted only until the powers of the Demon Realm were driven out.
Now that the Ritual of Ragnarok had ended, there was no longer any need to join hands with those who hid their true intentions.
—Then, we will now proceed with awarding the cadets who performed well during Walpurgis Night. Cadet Carl, please come to the stage.
Now returned to the Bayern Academy, Carl had resumed his daily life.
Officially, Walpurgis Night had been announced as suspended due to a terrorist attack by forces plotting against the Empire.
Not a single word leaked about demons, monsters, or Ragnarok.
It was simply recorded as a tragic terrorist event with many casualties.
Clap clap clap clap!
As he came down from the stage after receiving his award, thunderous applause erupted.
Entering as a first-year cadet, Carl had overwhelmingly ranked first by the end of the semester and achieved high marks during Walpurgis Night.
It was no surprise that he had been chosen as Cadet of the Year.
—Congratulations, Master.
Hearing Queen, who had infiltrated as an assistant instructor, Carl gave a bitter smile and nodded.
On his way out after the ceremony, he unintentionally looked up.
How long had it been since he last gazed at the sky?
Warm sunlight poured down from the clear weather above.
Just as much as he had gone through before, many things awaited him ahead.
“Carl!!”
He took a step forward as he watched his friends rushing toward him.