Chapter 270 of 288

Chapter 270

Chapter 270 — The Game Difficulty Is Crazy

“……It’s over.”

Yuelos said that while looking up at Symposion from somewhere in the center of the continent.

Symposion was above his head.

From the vast power of fate coming from the ruined giant floating island, he could tell that everything had gone according to plan.

Nox was never someone he intended to keep around for long.

That had been his thought ever since Nox broke his long silence and stood beside him.

He was not as cunning and crafty as the troublesome Minis, but compared to the other foolish gods, Nox was at least a man capable of suspicion and thought.

‘I discarded him earlier than planned, though.’

According to the original plan, Yuelos would have discarded Nox only after all the unknown variables had disappeared.

Either way, having someone like Nox as his pawn would make it easy to crush the seeds of any variables that tried to twist fate.

However, because of two recent variables, Yuelos decided to send Nox to Symposion.

The first variable was Nox’s emotional disturbance.

Nox, who should have been happier than anyone about Minis’s disappearance, had shown an unprecedented amount of agitation after hearing about her destruction.

Yuelos had no interest whatsoever in Nox’s emotions.

However, he could easily guess that such a change would soon affect Nox’s actions.

Of course, Nox’s emotional disturbance alone would not create a variable.

But.

‘There is a possibility that it could lead to one.’

A being whose heart had become unsettled was easily influenced by its surroundings.

That was true even for a heavenly god.

Nox already suspected Yuelos.

If he became even more susceptible to outside influences, there was a very real possibility that Nox might eventually betray him.

It could simply be needless worry.

But after discovering a power within Nox that could resist fate, Yuelos would never ignore it.

‘Of course, this alone would be a somewhat crude reason to discard Nox.’

However, the situation was different when combined with the second variable—the defeat of Runicus.

The rune magic civilization created by Runicus had been one of the greatest and most magnificent civilizations in the thousands of years of surface history.

Although she had now been pushed aside and lost her position, Runicus was still a powerful god comparable to Nox and Minis.

‘Yet even after she awakened her original power, she still lost.’

Yuelos had not directly witnessed her disappearance.

However, the power of fate he had planted inside her allowed him to know what had happened to her.

At the final moment, Yuelos had indirectly experienced the enormous unknown power that had swallowed Runicus.

“……”

Yuelos wrapped his arms around himself.

His eyes remained emotionless, but the existence behind those eyes was trembling with fear because of the unknown power he had felt back then.

‘It truly… truly was a terrifying power.’

It was the unknown itself, a power that even swallowed the power of fate, with limits that could not even be measured.

If he carelessly encountered it, his entire existence could be scattered and erased along with causality.

Until then, Yuelos had been searching for Sifelinne and Glenn Wordsworth.

But the moment he witnessed Runicus’s defeat, Yuelos realized how dangerous the thing he had been trying to do actually was.

He must not meet it.

No matter how powerful his authority over causality was, the unknown possessed a power that might even be capable of denying it.

That was why Yuelos abandoned his original plan and went to find Nox.

Then he sent Nox to Symposion and had him approach the stopped Heavenly Law.

He intended to make Nox, a pawn he could not use for long, perish together with the unknown being.

Deceiving Nox was not difficult.

No matter how much Nox suspected and thought things through, in the end, he would rely on the eyes of a god.

Yuelos had obtained a powerful force of causality capable of deceiving those incomplete divine eyes.

Even if he told a lie directly in front of Nox, there was no chance of being discovered.

—Let me ask you one thing. What will happen if I touch the Heavenly Law?

—The stopped Heavenly Law will begin moving again. And it will automatically eliminate the unknown entity trying to destroy the world.

“Well, saying that it will eliminate the unknown itself is technically true, so it isn’t entirely a lie.”

Yuelos raised the corners of his mouth.

Because of his emotionless eyes, that smile looked even more bizarre.

Rumbleeeee—

The enormous floating island shook.

Nox’s demonic energy and the power of fate planted inside him had become new sources of energy, awakening the stopped Heavenly Law from its slumber.

“There is no need to watch any longer.”

Yuelos soon left the area.

At the deafening sound coming from above his head, Lupellos turned around and looked behind him.

“What the hell is that now?”

The floating island he had left was pulsing and releasing some unknown power.

“……Huh?”

Lupellos frowned.

At first glance, it felt like demonic energy.

But it was a strange power completely different from demonic energy.

It spread throughout the floating island like fog.

The floating island, which had been bleached completely white, was gradually being stained by a dull, dark-blue mist.

“What the hell is going on again?”

He could tell without even going back that it was not Nox’s ability.

Still, Lupellos did not bother returning.

“Damn it… why should I care?”

Even if, by some tiny chance, Nox had gotten into danger, Lupellos had absolutely no intention of going back.

If anything, he hoped Nox really had encountered a crisis and would die.

There was no way Lupellos could have any affection left for the petty god who had appeared out of nowhere, given him power, and then taken it away again.

“I hope something goes wrong and he dies.”

Of course, Nox was a god, so he probably would not die unless something truly extraordinary happened.

Since he had been told to come over once his business was finished, Lupellos simply continued walking.

Goooooo—

Demonic energy rose in Lupellos’s hand.

The demonic energy was as dark and thick as an abyss, writhing like liquid inside his palm.

But the expression on Lupellos’s face gradually twisted.

“Fuck……”

It was undeniably powerful demonic energy.

But compared to when he had been Nox’s incarnation, it was pitifully weak.

“You fucking bastard.”

If he had never possessed that power in the first place, it would have been different.

But losing power he had already possessed made him feel a terrible sense of deprivation, causing heat to rise to the back of his head.

Kieeeeeeeek—

Suddenly, a monstrous scream came from behind him.

It had come from the floating island covered in ominous dark-blue mist.

Kyaaaaaaak—

Kieeeek!

More monstrous screams followed.

Was something summoning monsters there?

“……Hmph.”

But Lupellos kept walking.

His irritated steps were heading northeast from Symposion.

Among the dense forest filling his field of vision stood a gray fortress.

“Hoo……”

Glenn exhaled.

Silence settled over the area that had been noisy just moments ago.

Only then did fatigue finally hit him as the disgusting smell of blood stung his nose.

“Kie… eeeek……”

A faint, low groan could be heard.

Glenn slowly walked toward the sound.

There, a grotesque monster that had somehow survived was writhing on the ground.

A five-star monster, Remnant of Broken Harmonization.

It had once been an ordinary beast and monster.

But it had become grotesque after becoming a victim of Mors’s experiments.

“Ah, sorry. I’ll let you go.”

Glenn raised Einheria and stabbed it into the monster’s head.

The monster soon let out a weak final cry and died.

Only then did complete silence descend over the area, with not even a single breath remaining.

“This is pretty exhausting.”

Whoosh—

Glenn lightly swung Einheria.

The blade, which had been covered in the monster’s rotten blood, now emitted a cold, transparent shine as though nothing had happened.

“Oh… impressive.”

Mors, who had been watching, applauded.

“I brought out every test subject I had left since I wasn’t going to use them anymore, but I never expected you to wipe them all out in less than a day.”

He smiled while looking back and forth between the monster corpses scattered everywhere and Glenn.

“If you’re okay with it, I was thinking of conducting a few more experiments. How are you feeling? You should still have some energy left, right?”

“Do you think I have any energy left, you bastard? I fought for twenty straight hours without sleeping at all.”

And that was not even everything.

This time, Glenn had fought Mors’s test subjects using only his normal power without using the Gray Ring.

If he had used the Gray Ring, he could have defeated them much more easily.

However, Mors had already understood the weakness of Glenn’s combat endurance and carefully controlled the number of monsters he sent out.

If Glenn had recklessly used the Gray Ring, he would have exhausted himself halfway through the battle.

‘Whatever else happens, I can’t collapse in front of that bastard Mors.’

There was no telling what Mors would do while Glenn was unconscious.

Regardless, the battle that lasted nearly twenty hours had been quite helpful.

The holy demonic power Glenn generated without using the Gray Ring was smaller in quantity, allowing him to control it more precisely than before.

He had also become somewhat accustomed to long battles, something he rarely experienced and had initially found awkward.

But the biggest gain of all was Einheria.

Vrooooom—

Einheria was a sword that grew.

It took half of the experience gained by its owner and gradually acquired new abilities.

The first ability Glenn had unlocked was Blade That Shaves the Soul.

It was a passive ability that was always active.

It could cut not only the opponent’s body but also part of their soul, dealing additional damage.

The second ability was Wave of the Vengeful Spirit.

It was a technique that released sword-energy from the blade.

It was a skill designed for swordsman-type characters who had difficulty obtaining ranged skills.

Thanks to this skill, Glenn could relentlessly pressure his enemies even when they created distance from him.

The third ability was Together with the Soul-Infused Sword.

It allowed Glenn to draw upon the spiritual power contained within Einheria.

Honestly, he had not used it very often.

‘Still, it was extremely useful when I fought Kalungod.’

Although the holy demonic power would probably overshadow it and prevent him from using it often in the future, having the skill was certainly not a bad thing.

After all, he needed to pass through the fourth stage, which he had reached through the third awakening, before he could advance to the final fifth stage.

Glenn tilted Einheria and checked the newly acquired information.

《Einheria》

《Rank》: Legendary → Mythical

《Type》: Long Sword

《Options》

: 『Soul Within the Sword』

: 『Blade That Shaves the Soul』

: 『Wave of the Vengeful Spirit』

: 『Together with the Soul-Infused Sword』

: 『The Sword Reaches a Myth』 — This sword, which has spent countless years together with its master, finally creates a myth of its own. With the power contained within the sword, it can create a new myth.

Einheria had finally awakened into its final stage, becoming a Mythical-grade Artifact.

Of course, it was true that its rank had risen to Mythical because of its unique potential ability, Favor of the Blades.

But this was different from simply increasing the sword’s destructive power and durability.

Upon reaching its final stage, all of its existing options had been strengthened, and it had also gained a new option.

“The Sword Reaches a Myth……”

It was a new option.

Glenn quietly murmured the familiar name he had seen countless times while playing Gray Eden.

‘At first, I had no idea what this meant.’

Glenn gave a small laugh.

‘Though it was understandable that I was confused. Because its effect is created by the miracles I perform with the sword.’

In other words, the final option was currently undetermined.

It was a unique system with limitless possibilities.

Whatever event Glenn created in the future would become the sword’s final option.

‘Come to think of it, after the unknown power, I now have a Mythical-grade Artifact whose future option I don’t even know…….’

For some reason, Glenn felt more and more like he was rolling a gacha using his own body.

At least there was one good thing.

He had never gotten a dud so far.

‘I’ve actually survived thanks to luck more often than I thought. Still, the fact that this Lunatic System is absolutely insane is also true.’

Anyway, the important thing was that an entire day had passed, and he had gained an unexpected benefit during the free time.

‘Since I didn’t have to spend the time waiting around bored, it was quite productive in many ways.’

Except for the lack of sleep.

Glenn ignored Mors, who approached him and began rambling about something, and started walking.

‘A day has passed, so Sifelinne and Radeo should be almost finished with their work.’

Wordsworth Mansion, the Lord’s Office.

Tris sat in the lord’s seat and looked at the person standing before her with gentle eyes.

The person standing opposite her was Romina, who had just returned after scouting the northern part of the territory.

“Good work with the scouting, Romina.”

“It was nothing, Miss. I only did what I was supposed to do.”

“Still, you’ve been exploring the area around the territory for several days without even taking a break. It isn’t easy to cover all that territory alone.”

Honestly, the area Romina covered during her patrols was astonishingly vast.

Under normal circumstances, the territory would have been divided into dozens of regions, and more than a hundred knights and patrol soldiers would have had to take turns covering it.

“Even though you can sense energy from extremely far away, I still think it must be tiring.”

“Honestly, as far as fatigue goes, I don’t feel particularly tired thanks to the blessing Lord Septerien gives me.”

Tris gave a bitter smile.

She wanted Romina to rest a little.

Seeing this side of her also reminded Tris of Glenn.

“Haa… Fine. I won’t stop you. But at least take a proper rest today. I prepared your favorite food.”

“Hmm… But……”

“Gregory and the knights under his command have already left for the east. It isn’t a large area, and it’s within the territory, so I’d like you to leave that much to them.”

With Glenn absent from Wordsworth, Romina was currently the strongest person there.

Even if she did not feel tired, keeping her senses constantly alert without taking a single day off had to be difficult.

At Tris’s firm words, Romina finally nodded.

“Hehe… Thank you. You need to rest so that we can rely on you if something happens, you know?”

“That’s true. Thank you for thinking of me, Miss Tris.”

Romina bowed her head.

Tris stared at her.

“Hey, Romina.”

“Yes, Miss Tris?”

“What do you think of Glenn?”

“Wh-what? Why are you suddenly asking me that……?”

“Just……”

Tris smiled gently as Romina was startled.

“You say you’re helping Glenn because he saved your life… but I don’t think that’s the only reason.”

“W-why are you suddenly saying something like that……”

“Ahaha… Sorry. Did I surprise you? But I suppose it’s because I’m his older sister. I can’t help but pay attention to the girls who stay around my little brother.”

Tris looked into the distance, as though thinking about the other women besides Romina.

“So… what about you?”

Her gaze returned to Romina.

There was no coldness in her eyes.

Instead, they were warm and even carried a sense of trust.

Yet Romina slowly lowered her eyes.

She was usually confident enough to speak her mind regardless of what others thought.

But this time—

“I, I……”

“Miss Tris!”

Suddenly, the office door opened.

Butler Fred hurriedly burst into the room with an urgent expression.