Despair.

Rage.

Unprecedented negative emotions engulfed Hulim Heyerar.

In turn, they stirred the entity that had long slumbered deep within the furthest recesses of her mind.

Hum……

Unknown runes flickered with crimson light, stirring to life of their own accord.

Her consciousness sank into the depths of her mind.

Beneath a dark, star-strewn cosmos,

Hulim Heyerar stood on a narrow strip of land.

All around her, countless unknown runes glimmering with crimson light swirled in a ceaseless orbit.

Even without words of communication, she understood.

These runes, which had remained dormant for so long, now ached to be summoned by their master……

In the outside world,

a faint crimson glint flickered in the depths of Hulim Heyerar’s pupils.

Unbeknownst to herself, the mana she exuded began to tinge with a hint of crimson.

And as time passed, it transformed entirely into a sea of red.

The moment her mana aura shifted completely to crimson,

Hulim Heyerar lifted her head.

Her crimson-tinged eyes locked onto the figure suspended in the sky.

Crackle. Crackle.

Tiny, crimson, lightning-like sparks erupted from the space around her.

Crackle! Crackle! Crackle……

The crimson sparks multiplied, filling the air.

CRACK——!

A crimson magic circle unlike any seen in this world forced its way into the fabric of space, materializing before Hulim Heyerar.

She slowly raised her right hand.

Her voice, flat and devoid of all inflection, rang out:

“Primordial—Annihilation Divine Light.”

……

The tip of the spear pierced through the Elven Demon Garb, shattered Irus’s heart, and drove deep into the World Tree behind her.

Feeling her rapidly fading life force, watching her pupils glaze over,

Darius released his grip on his right hand.

The black demonic spear jutted from her chest, pinning her to the tree like a dark rivet.

“A fitting end for you, Saint of the World Tree.”

No sooner had the words left his mouth than

an unprecedented sense of dread washed over him, freezing him to the core.

Time seemed to grind to a halt.

Darius’s body stiffened, unable to move a muscle.

Why?

What was this feeling?

What in the world was happening?

BOOM!

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An unfamiliar S-Rank aura surged upward from below.

Time lurched forward again, frame by frame, like a glitching illusion.

Darius’s neck creaked, turning downward with mechanical rigidity.

And then he saw it.

The moment that never-before-seen magic circle reached completion.

No—calling it a magic circle felt wrong.

It was something else entirely, something utterly unknown.

What in the name of the Abyss……?

The thought echoed unbidden in his mind.

The girl slowly extended her right hand toward him.

THUD——!

His heart clenched violently.

Death.

He was going to die.

A suffocating sense of impending doom screamed through every nerve in his body.

At long last, his body obeyed his commands.

Before his mind could fully process what was happening, instinct drove him to flee.

But the premonition of death refused to fade……

He glanced over his shoulder.

And then he understood why.

There was no escaping it……

From the moment he had been locked onto, death had been inevitable.

“Primordial—Annihilation Divine Light.”

The moment the words echoed across the battlefield,

a beam of crimson light tore through the heavens.

Dust, air, even mana—everything in its path was utterly annihilated, reduced to nothingness.

……

“……”

His body was disintegrating.

An unknown power gnawed at his flesh, eroding him away into oblivion.

In his final moments, Darius made the only rational choice he could.

Death was unavoidable—but he could choose a death that did not leave him entirely erased.

Everything below his collarbone had vanished. He had preserved his head, but in the end, it had done nothing to stave off death.

It had merely delayed the inevitable by a few fleeting moments.

What was the point of even that?

Darius found himself wondering……

The dark crimson sky slowly dissipated.

The moment Darius was struck by the Annihilation Divine Light, the core within him was destroyed.

The World Tree was free.

Hum……

A shower of emerald light particles drifted down from the sky, soothing the scars of the battlefield.

On the trunk of the World Tree,

a vast surge of life force poured into Irus’s body.

Moments later, the light returned to her eyes.

SNAP!

She raised her right hand, wrapping her fingers around the hilt of the demonic spear.

With a single, effortless tug,

SWISH!

She pulled the spear free and cast it aside carelessly.

The instant the spear was removed, her shattered heart began to mend at a visible rate.

After only a few breaths, Irus had fully recovered, unharmed in every way.

This was the greatest trump card of the Saint of the World Tree—

a bond with the World Tree, granting her access to a near-endless well of life force!

An ability bordering on immortality!

To kill her, one would either need to be a being bearing the title of “God,” capable of erasing her from existence in an instant, or strike her with an attack as unique and devastating as the one Hulim Heyerar had just unleashed.

For a moment, a third possibility had loomed: the World Tree itself succumbing to darkness……

Once fully restored,

Irus wasted no time, darting toward the ground.

Within a few breaths, she reached Hulim Heyerar’s side.

“Hulim——!”

“Irus…?”

Hulim Heyerar’s eyes flew wide, her gaze fixed on the familiar figure in disbelief. Then her face crumpled into what looked like a tearful smile.

“It’s so good… that you’re alive, Irus……”

Her voice trailed off, and her body swayed, collapsing toward the ground.

Irus moved with a flash of speed, reaching her side in an instant and catching her in her arms.

“……Irus.”

Staring up at the face above her, Hulim Heyerar whispered weakly,

“I’m sorry… I’m just… a little tired……”

“Sigh——” Irus smiled a helpless, fond smile. “You really are something else.”

“You just ascended to S-Rank, and you went and unleashed an attack of that caliber—of course your power would be completely drained!”

“Honestly, why do you always have to be so reckless?”

“Still……”

Irus raised her right hand, gently brushing a strand of hair from Hulim Heyerar’s pale, exhausted face. Her voice softened, warm with affection.

“You did amazing. You fought so hard, Hulim~.”

“Now… just rest well……”

“Mm……”

Hulim Heyerar closed her eyes slowly, nestled safely in Irus’s embrace.

……

Why?

Why did I have to meet such an end?

Crack! Crack! Crack……

Beneath a scorching, merciless sun,

the sound of a whip cracking echoed endlessly.

“Hurry up and get back to work! Stop dawdling!”

CRACK——!

A searing pain lanced across his bare back.

His already emaciated body buckled under the strain, collapsing to the ground.

But no help came. All that awaited him was more of the whip’s lash.

CRACK!

“Get up!”

CRACK!

“You worthless slave!”

CRACK! CRACK……

The whip fell again and again, leaving weals of blood etched across his skin.

He stretched out his right hand, begging for mercy.

But all he saw around him were faces of numb indifference.

Not a shred of compassion was spared for him.

Why?

He wondered.

Why did I have to endure such suffering?

“Kill him!”

“Finish him off!”

“Do it already!”

“……”

The stands surrounding him roared with a tide of bloodthirsty shouts.

But his hand trembled around the hilt of his weapon, overcome with hesitation.

“P-Please! I surrender! Spare my life!”

The eyes of his opponent blazed with terror, pleading for mercy.

SLICE——!

So this was the feeling of a blade piercing flesh?

The noise of the crowd faded into a distant buzz.

When he returned backstage,

he was greeted not with praise, but with a rain of blows from wooden clubs.

“What the hell were you doing out there…… Know your place! You’re nothing but a slave!”

“The only thing a slave like you is good for is killing! Kill whatever enemies your masters order you to kill! Sentiments like pity and hesitation are useless—you don’t deserve to have them!”

“Never forget this! Killing and fighting are the only reasons you exist——!”

Killing and fighting?

Is that really the only reason I was born?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep