C443. Temple (6)
Alon stood staring straight ahead with empty eyes for an instant.
The world had not stopped.
It was simply moving extremely slowly.
Even Blackie, surprised.
Evan and Penia, who were running from the distance, were also moving sluggishly, like in slow motion. In the midst of that slowed world, Alon looked up at the sky, dazed.
Unlike when time had stopped completely, he could move his head with relative ease, and upon raising it—
There was a completely open abyss.
In the middle of the gray sky filled with ashen clouds, an abyss that seemed capable of absorbing anything.
Alon finally understood.
The current situation had no relation whatsoever to what had happened when time stopped before.
Therefore, although he was somewhat confused, he had no choice but to suspend any thoughts.
Because the dark opening piercing the sky was closing little by little.
The confusion lasted only an instant.
Alon intuited it instinctively.
That the moment that black hole closed, he would lose the opportunity.
Of course, no one had explained it to him, and it wasn't as if Alon knew anything about that open abyss. But just as human beings naturally possess the instinct to survive, he understood it. And he thought:
‘…The Laws.’
In fact, while traveling toward the far east, Alon had already mentally prepared several Laws.
He hadn't had much time, but enough to reflect.
However, even so, he couldn't open his mouth easily.
Simply because he had realized it: the Laws he had considered would not have great significance in the next battle.
It wasn't that they were completely useless. In a sense, they would have their utility.
But they would only fall into the category of “useful”; they would not be capable of dramatically changing the combat against The Night That Leads In.
That is why he erased the Laws he had prepared beforehand from his mind.
Meanwhile, the abyss in the sky had already shrunk considerably and continued to shrink ceaselessly. Time was too scarce to think of a new Law.
Even so, Alon, whose mind was not functioning correctly due to Reverse Heaven, struggled to make it work however possible and, finally, remembered something.
—“Hmm, I think a Law like a hidden move would be good, Master.”
Yutia's smiling voice.
And alongside it, Alon recalled all the battles he had fought.
Every one of them difficult.
And yet, among them all, Alon seized upon the first battle. The one he had against the Outer God Ultultus.
That moment when, even without having anything, he managed to defeat him.
With that memory, a Law emerged in his mind.
A Law that would allow him, at any moment, no matter how unfavorable it was, to create a hidden move.
‘But…’
Would it be the right thing?
Was this really the appropriate choice?
Naturally, there was no one to answer his doubts.
In this place, except for Alon, everything moved with infinite slowness.
But Alon remembered.
No, he didn't even need to remember it.
It had happened just moments ago.
Someone's voice, accompanied by a hand stroking his hair with a melancholic softness:
—“……Whatever you choose, it will be the correct answer.”
A voice vaguely blurred and laden with nostalgia, distorted as if by static, so much so that it was impossible to identify its owner.
“I…”
Alon finally opened his mouth.
And then—
[I allow it]
With a distant murmur, he felt as if something filled his insides.
And with that, he lost consciousness.
How much time passed after that?
Consciousness, sunken beneath sleep, began to rise slowly. Upon waking—
“Alon!”
“Did you regain your senses?!”
He was stunned by the worried voices of Penia and Evan, but like a panorama passing in an instant, he remembered everything that had happened before fainting.
From the battle against The Night That Leads In upon arriving at the temple, to the appearance of the unknown person when the world stopped, and the fact of having obtained a Law.
Arranging his thoughts, Alon looked at the dark sky.
“…How long have I been unconscious?”
“It has been about three hours.”
“……Did anything unusual happen during that time?”
“Not really, although…”
Evan hesitated a moment and added:
“If I had to mention something… the crystal that was glowing when we approached broke.”
He handed him the crystal that, barely three hours earlier, had shone intensely in Alon's hand but now emitted not even a glimmer.
Alon silently observed the cracked stone, as if it had consumed all its energy, and suddenly opened his eyes as if he had remembered something.
“Where is Yutia?”
He hadn't seen her even after defeating The Night That Leads In, so the question came out a bit rushed. This time it was Penia who answered:
“Do not worry. Cardinal Yutia is outside right now. It is just that…”
Penia looked to the side, and Alon directed his gaze in that direction.
And there was Yutia.
Looking toward the north, serious, without her usual smile.
At that moment, while Alon was looking at her—
“Ah.”
As if just realizing that he had awakened, she turned her head naturally and approached him.
“Are you okay, Master?”
The smile reappeared on her face, as if her serious expression from before had been a lie.
Alon nodded.
“…For now, I am fine. But you, are you okay?”
Yutia's smile intensified a bit more, as if she was pleased by his concern.
“Yes, you do not have to worry too much. It was more or less as I expected.”
“As you expected?”
“Yes.”
Yutia told him what had happened inside the space, and Alon listened in silence before asking:
“…So, that place was similar to the temple that exists in the underground part of Rosario, right?”
“Exactly.”
“And that is why you were able to realize what was happening.”
“Yes. More precisely, the red sphere in the center was identical to the one that appears every ten years during the Descent Ceremony in Rosario.”
Alon finally understood how Yutia had comprehended what was happening in the temple so quickly.
“And inside that space, had a fourth-level Divine Blood already descended?”
“I think it had descended in a weakened state on purpose.”
“Weakened?”
“Yes. It said that to be able to descend there, it had to give up part of its power. Although it doesn't have restrictions as complete as on the continent, there did seem to be a certain limit. And furthermore—”
“…They were going to compensate for it with a sacrifice.”
When Alon remembered the red eggs, Yutia nodded.
“Exactly. Unlike other Divine Bloods, this one only needed to fill an empty vessel.”
“…So did you fight against the Divine Blood?”
Yutia shook her head.
“No, when I entered that space the Divine Blood was still in a core state. More precisely, it was about to detach itself after descending.”
“Just… before?”
“Yes. In short: I only had to destroy the core.”
“And that is why you were able to handle it without fighting?”
“Yes.”
“That is a relief.”
Alon nodded and asked:
“But… you seemed worried about something earlier.”
“Huh?”
“You were looking very seriously towards another place.”
Yutia let out a brief laugh before answering:
“It is nothing important, Master. I just remembered something I left behind.”
“Something you left behind?”
“Yes. More importantly: did you obtain what you wanted?”
Alon remained silent for a moment.
‘What I wanted…’
He had obtained a Law.
But naturally, he didn't know if he had chosen correctly.
He still hadn't used it, and although he could instinctively intuit its restrictions, he hadn't experienced them completely.
Even so—
“…I feel like I won't regret it.”
Since he felt no regret, he answered like that.
“Then I am glad.”
Yutia nodded slightly, looked toward the north again, and said:
“Let's rest here for today and we will move afterward.”
With that, she calmly ended the conversation.
At that same moment, in an abandoned territory in the northeast.
A place already turned into ruins by Divine Bloods, so dead that there seemed to remain no form of life.
[Krrrgh~!]
The Gazing Void appeared suddenly.
His appearance, dragging himself out of the abyss panting like a madman, was identical to when he was in the spatial temple.
But sweating cold, breathing heavily—
[Dammit…!!]
He struck the ground with force—
—KWAaaaaa—!!!
Half of the ruined territory disappeared immediately.
An absolutely overwhelming power.
But the owner of that power—
‘Really… I almost died…!’
He could only remember Yutia's face.
That monster who, like it was nothing, had snatched away everything he had accumulated until now.
[……Haa.]
After panting for a while, The Gazing Void managed to regulate his breathing and calm down.
He had to organize the situation.
‘………………At least I managed to deceive her and escape.’
In the instant Yutia burst him before he could properly use a Law, The Gazing Void managed to leave the space just before his head exploded, thus saving his life.
But the problem was—
He had lost all the sacrifices accumulated up to that moment and, due to that, he had descended in an incomplete form, almost like a defective level 3.
But as long as he was alive, there would be another opportunity.
‘There is no choice. Until my level drops to 2, I will devour as many Divine Bloods as I can to recover. And next time I will kill her without fail… The Star Eater, and that monstrous woman too…!’
With his plans decided, The Gazing Void was about to move.
When suddenly—
“My… the atmosphere already seemed suspicious to me, so I came to see… but I didn't expect to find you here.”
Upon hearing the voice, he turned around. A man was there.
A man with wavy golden hair and a gentle smile.
“A human……?”
The Gazing Void frowned, confused.
But only for a moment.
His eyes opened wide.
He had understood.
“………………Don't tell me that you………………!”
He was human. But at the same time, he wasn't.
“Ah… did you discover me?”
The Gazing Void stopped thinking in front of the man's indifferent voice—no, Nataman's.
And he looked at him.
No.
He looked at his eyes.
Unlike before.
“How strange. Neither the Seeker of the Path nor the Supernatural Blood seemed to have fully noticed it yet. Anyway—”
A pair of eyes so close to the abyss that they gave chills—
“—It is not right for you to try to kill Alon, is it?”
Eyes completely black, reflecting nothing.
“Hmm?”
Looking at him.
