Chapter 73
Dryas’s two pairs of wings flickered as she pushed herself to gather as much mana and Harmony Force as possible, focusing on the explosive noises echoing from afar.
“Cough! Cough!”
Blood poured out of her mouth as if it were natural. If her secondary force was ferocious like Draconic Mana or Demon Force instead of Harmony Force, which mixed well with anything, her internal injuries would have threatened her life.
I will do whatever it takes to protect the remaining cradles, Dryas thought with determination.
Just then, someone appeared before her in the blink of an eye. It was the Shadow Fairy Queen who had undergone her Secondary Transformation.
“Shadow!” Dryas shouted.
“Why are you calling me that, Mother? You’re hurting my feelings. My name is Meliades. You named me yourself.” Meliades, the Shadow Fairy Queen, compassionately looked down at her small and weakened mother, Dryas. “You can leave the rest to your daughter and rest in peace.”
“You aren’t my daughter! You are a Chaos born from eating the fairy dew! We’re not of the same race!” Dryas shouted, wary of Meliades.
The birth of Meliades after a millennium-long wait was the happiest and saddest moment of Dryas’s life. She was initially overjoyed because she thought Meliades was a baby fairy, but despaired once she realized Meliades was a Chaos.
Meliades remarked, “Not of the same race, huh? You’re right, Mother. I’m a Chaos, after all. However, it doesn’t change that I’m your daughter.”
The os half-embedded under Meliades’s belly button was wrapped with black smoke, and screams echoed from it.
“I’m so lonely! I can’t bear the solitude. If only someone could end it all!”
“If only my babies were born! If only someone took my place!”
“Ahhh! I’d rather... someone kill me!”
Dryas’s expression hardened after hearing the voices.
“Sound familiar, don’t they? They’re the negative emotions you’ve accumulated for a millennium. I was born from these emotions. I’m a good girl who has never once defied your wishes,” Meliades said.
“That’s... not true,” Dryas denied.
However, she knew the truth. Unlike Invasive Chaos, Natural Chaos could only be born from negative emotions such as resentment, hatred, despair, grief, and the like. As for whose negative emotions, they could only have been from Dryas, the last fairy left in this place.
The despair from the nearly eternal solitude and wait had been merciless enough to corrupt even the Fairy Queen with an indomitable mentality. She truly wished for someone to end her solitude, wait, and miserable life. As a result, Meliades was born as if answering her negative wishes.
Chaos Mana, so powerful that it was now jet-black, surged from Meliades’s os and wrapped Dryas, resonating with her negative emotions, which were dormant deep inside her.
“You may give me your wings and rest in peace! I will become the complete Queen and grant all your wishes!” Meliades shouted as she slowly reached for Dryas.
Dryas’s eyes turned grey and hazy like smoke.
Meliades continued, “I can make the baby fairies hatch from their cradles. I can understand your solitude. I can understand your—”
“DRYAAAAAS!”
Gilder’s scream echoed just as Meliades’s hand was about to touch Dryas. Dryas’s eyes returned to their golden color once she heard Gilder’s voice.
“Hahah! I’m Gilder Roy. Will you allow me to become your knight? I’ll protect you.”
The human man had appeared before her a few years ago and expressed his wish to become her knight. She never felt lonely around him, and her desire to give up on everything and end it all washed away. He was a gift given to her after a millennium of solitude. She did not want to die.
“Get away from me!” Dryas shouted.
[Activating Race Skill: Harmony Rainbow.]
A beautiful rainbow appeared in Dryas’s hands, pushing Meliades away.
“Give up, Mother!”
Meliades was about to reach for the resisting Dryas when she detected something flying toward her os.
“Tch!” she clicked her tongue, having no choice but to jump backward.
A light blue sword made of air pierced the ground where she was standing. Gilder and Seong-Hwi appeared soon after to stand between Meliades and Dryas.
***
“We don’t stand a chance in a prolonged battle!” Seong-Hwi shouted as he fired Swords using the Chasing Bow.
“But I’ve already used the Mana Explosion Punch. She won’t fall for the same attack twice.”
“I’ll do it this time.”
“What?” Gilder, who was examining Dryas’s condition, turned to Seong-Hwi. “Are you serious? But you’re—”
“Yeah, my Magic stat is only C-rank. For now, at least.” Seong-Hwi continued, “Can you trust me?”
“What choice do I have?”
“I need time too. Three minutes.”
“Huuu. Okay, but it better be a good one. If not, we’re all dead,” Gilder answered as he activated a skill.
[Activating Unique Skill: Armbrella.]
Four ribs protruded from his right arm, forming a cross. Mana filled the spaces in between, creating an umbrella shield.
Seong-Hwi remarked, “Don’t worry. I’ve already made the preparations.”
He continued inwardly, I’m sorry, Gilder.
***
Seong-Hwi trusted in Gilder’s tanking ability and focused purely on himself. Three cards flew out of the Tarot Deck of Destiny. The first card showed a naked man and a woman staring innocently at each other. Two trees were behind them; one tree held the forbidden fruit, which resembled an apple, and the second tree held the fruit of life, which looked like flames. It was the card No.6 The Lovers.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Fruit of Life, one of the symbols of No.6 The Lovers]
A fruit that looked like flames appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hand, and he ate it without hesitation.
[Consuming Fruit of Life.]
[Halving the effects of all debuffs except for Death for 3 minutes.]
The next card’s drawing had a young man in a red robe, a Möbius strip halo above his head, and a white snake biting its tail around his waist. It was the card No.1 The Magician.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[White Snake of Equivalent Exchange, one of the symbols of No.1 The Magician]
A white snake wrapped around Seong-Hwi’s waist. It instantly slithered up Seong-Hwi’s torso and bit his neck, and its tail stabbed his chest and coiled around his heart.
[The White Snake of Equivalent Exchange successfully converted the Health, Dexterity, and Sense stats into the Magic stat.]
[Temporarily boosting the Magic stat.]
[Magic C(13) → B(2)]
“Kurgh!”
Seong-Hwi’s Magic stat instantly became B-rank, and he felt an intense burning sensation throughout his body as if his blood were magma. However, thanks to the Fruit of Life, he did not faint from the excruciating pain.
Next! he shouted inwardly.
It was not over yet. He gained B-rank Magic thanks to the White Snake of Equivalent Exchange, but combat was impossible without making up for his drastically lowered Dexterity and Sense stats.
The last card shone. It showed a tower built on top of a mountain, burning after being struck by dark blue lightning. It was No.16 The Tower.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Catastrophic Thunder, one of the symbols of No.16 The Tower]
A dark blue lightning mark appeared on Seong-Hwi’s right temple. The symbol Catastrophic Thunder usually allowed him to use the lightning element, but he decided to use it differently.
Seong-Hwi used Catastrophic Thunder on himself, and dark blue sparks flew throughout his body. He finely controlled Catastrophic Thunder to control his body’s electrical signals. It kept his heart, which felt like it was about to stop at any second from overload, beating, and deceived his body by directly sending electrical signals to the neurons for his lowered Sense and Dexterity.
It felt like every cell in his body was being squeezed for more energy, causing them to die. Seong-Hwi could have died from shock if not for the Fruit of Life. He would likely experience permanent stat losses after this battle.
I’ll win, no matter what! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly.
Seong-Hwi completed his preparations and observed the battlefield, noticing the bloodied Gilder with his right arm half destroyed. Seong-Hwi sprinted at a whole other level of speed than before, getting as close to Meliades as possible, and pulled out his final trump card.
[Activating Trait: Natural Enemy of Chaos.]
[Boosting attack against the race Chaos by 50%.]
He had been saving the trait, which the Akasha Message confirmed he was the only one with, to use at a crucial moment. The abilities he enhanced with his life on the line were boosted further.
“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” Seong-Hwi screamed.
He would die if this trump card failed. It was a test of whether he could grasp his destiny. Twelve seconds remained until the trait lost its effect.
***
“Mother! Leave the cradles and the wings to me and rest in peace!” Meliades shouted.
“That’s enough of your bullshit! I won’t allow you to touch even a hair on Dryas’s body!” Gilder interrupted.
“Stay out of this, outsider!”
Black Chaos Mana shone unsettlingly from the os embedded under Meliades’s belly button and shot toward Gilder like a laser.
[Activating Os Skill: Ruina.]
“Kurgh!”
Gilder managed to dodge the black laser, but it grazed his flank. However, he had no injuries.
[You are exposed to highly concentrated Chaos Mana.]
[Applying Debuff: Corruption.]
“This is—”
Gilder lost strength in his body. A foreign power had entered his body and was devouring his mana.
That was an os skill, which only Hispar-rank Chaos and above can use!
He had never seen it for himself. The os was the core of the Chaos. Although it was their weakness, it was also an orb that contained the most Chaos Mana in a Chaos.
I’ve heard that Named Chaos can turn people into Chaos in just one second. I never thought it would be through this! If I keep getting exposed, I’ll be corrupted by more and more Chaos Mana! Is Seong-Hwi not ready yet? Gilder thought.
His Prosthetic Arm of Sin was in terrible shape, and simply moving a finger came with excruciating pain. However, he refused to retreat because Dryas and her precious cradles were behind him.
I’ll protect them, even if I die trying!
Gilder hardened his resolve as he observed Meliades’s os shining again.
Just then, Seong-Hwi screamed, “HAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!”
Dark blue sparks flew from his body as he flew toward Meliades at incredible speed.
“You’re both so annoyingly tenacious!” Meliades shouted.
She held a Disharmony Rainbow in each hand. She raised one over her head and swung it at the charging Seong-Hwi, thinking the weaker human would surely die with this attack. However, the result was different.
[Activating Unique Skill: Symbol Embodiment.]
[Harvesting Scythe, one of the symbols of No.13 Death]
[Deathly Aura is available.]
[Conditions partially fulfilled. Reaper’s Harvest is available.]
A giant scythe blazing with a black aura appeared in Seong-Hwi’s hands. The Harvesting Scythe clashed with the Disharmony Rainbow, destroying the rainbow.
“What?!” Meliades expressed.
She tried to block the attack using the other Disharmony Rainbow, but it was also destroyed.
“Arghhh!” Meliades screamed.
The Harvesting Scythe slashed Meliades’s chest diagonally through the Chaos Mana that had been protecting her until now.
Eight seconds left! Seong-Hwi thought.
Blood poured from his eyes, nose, mouth, and ears. His brain felt like it was sizzling, but he did not stop attacking. Meliades created briars to widen her distance from Seong-Hwi, who had suddenly gotten much stronger. Seong-Hwi swung the scythe like a farmer harvesting grains, cutting apart the briars.
It’s over if I let her get away from me! Seong-Hwi thought as he stuck as close to Meliades as possible.
“U-urgh!” Meliades grunted.
Meliades was covered in cuts from the Harvesting Scythe. All of Seong-Hwi’s attacks were aimed at her os. Meliades also fought back by punching Seong-Hwi’s face with a fist covered in black Chaos Mana.
Meliades’s fist only grazed Seong-Hwi’s left cheek, but the skin on his cheek came off, exposing his cheekbone. His teeth were visible despite his closed mouth.
“Your defense is weak!” Meliades shouted, her eyes shining.
The battle turned into one of tenacity. Seong-Hwi swung the Harvesting Scythe at Meliades’s os while dodging her attacks as best as he could. Meliades continued to attack Seong-Hwi as many times as possible, only dodging life-threatening attacks.
Seong-Hwi looked like standing ground beef. He would have died long ago if not for the Fruit of Life. After continuing to endure, he finally grasped an opportunity.
“HAAAH!” Seong-Hwi screamed as he swung the Harvesting Scythe perfectly at the os.
Just then, the black laser Ruina shot from Meliades’s os, engulfing Seong-Hwi.
[You are exposed to highly concentrated Chaos Mana.]
[The effect of Debuff: Corruption is halved as per the effect of the Fruit of Life.]
Akasha Messages appeared, but Seong-Hwi paid them no mind. His eyes blazed with ferocious madness.
“You’re insane!” Meliades said in shock.
The human aimed only for her os, unfazed by the Chaos Mana corruption that any lifeform would instinctively fear. It was as if the human was trying to take her with him to their deaths. Meliades scrunched up to defend her os, but Seong-Hwi aimed for something else.
Reaper’s Harvest!
[The Grim Reaper reaps the harvest marked with the Seal of Harvest.]
The Harvesting Scythe slashed the air. Despair filled the faces of Gilder and Dryas, who were watching the battle. Meliades, preparing for the attack, smiled after becoming certain of her victory.
She laughed, “Ahaha! You moron!”
“W-what’s that?!” Gilder shouted.
A skeleton in black armor, wielding the same scythe as Seong-Hwi, appeared behind Meliades.
[Duration: 00:00:01]
I did it! Seong-Hwi shouted inwardly.
The effect of the trait, Natural Enemy of Chaos, was still active. An enemy who was sure of their victory was full of openings. The skeleton in black armor behind Meliades was the Grim Reaper. The Grim Reaper swung the Harvesting Scythe and reaped the harvest Seong-Hwi had marked with the Seal of Harvest in advance.
The harvest was Meliades’s ten pairs of wings. Seong-Hwi had marked them when he had bound Meliades with the Longus String.
“KYAAAAAHHH!” Meliades screamed as she fell from the sky after getting her wings severed.
Seong-Hwi grabbed the ten pairs of wings.
[Terminating Natural Enemy of Chaos.]
“Kurgh,” Seong-Hwi groaned.
The trait duration had run out, but he had fulfilled his objective.
“YOU BASTARD!” the wingless Meliades shouted, charging at Seong-Hwi.
Seong-Hwi threw the wings backward, embodied the Ace of Swords, and fanned it.
“Dryas! I got them!” he shouted.
“NOOOOO!” Meliades screamed.
The wind carried the ten pairs of wings past Gilder’s head and reached Dryas.
“W-what’s going on?” Gilder asked, dumbfounded by the sudden flow of events.
However, Dryas said calmly, “It means the time to end the millennium-old story has come, Knight Gilder.”
She received the ten pairs of wings and combined them with her two pairs. The jet-black wings returned to their multicolored form and shone brightly. Dryas grew taller, her eyes burst with golden light, and a crown formed over her head, covered in golden hair as bright as the sun. Fairy Queen Dryas had been revived.
***
[Canceling White Snake of Equivalent Exchange.]
[Canceling Catastrophic Thunder.]
[Canceling Fruit of Life.]
[Applying Debuff: Bleeding.]
[Applying Debuff: Lethargy.]
[Applying Debuff: Mana Exhaustion.]
[Applying Debuff: Death’s Door.]
...
“Kurgh!” Seong-Hwi vomited so much blood that it looked like his organs were about to come out through his mouth.
The rebound of excessive doping had come back with a vengeance. However, he refused to close his bloodied eyes and stared at the revived Dryas. The quality of mana exuding from her was on another level. Its density was far greater than his mana at his prime.
It’s nearly... at the level of a World Ranker!
Seong-Hwi pieced together the puzzle about the events in his past life—about Biphatogenes calling the Third Lord Regnator despite having occupied the dungeon. Seong-Hwi initially thought it was to use the Harmony Stone Regnator held. However, seeing Dryas’s true form made him sure of another possibility.
In the past, the Shadow Fairy Queen must have killed Dryas and Gilder and evolved into a true queen.
Her power was likely at the level of a World Ranker. Not even Biphatogenes would have been a match, hence he likely called for Regnator’s help.
“YOU TOOK MY WINGS!” Meliades shouted.
“They were mine to begin with, my distorted self-portrait,” Dryas calmly replied.
Now that she had regained her power, she could hear the screams in the world corrupted by Chaos Mana. She could also feel the dying Seong-Hwi, and Gilder looking up at her blankly.
She momentarily met eyes with Gilder and turned to Meliades, saying, “I’m sorry for making you hold my negative emotions all this time. You may rest now, my... daughter.”
Meliades stared at Dryas dumbfoundedly and mumbled, “What did you just—”
Dryas brought her hands together before Meliades could finish and activated her skill, thinking, I would be lying if I said I had no regrets, but... this is my duty as the queen.
[Activating Race Skill: Dawn of the Fairies.]
The golden light of daybreak, carrying immense Harmony Force, grew brighter with Dryas at its center.
“KYAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!” Meliades screamed as she drew out her Chaos Mana, trying to endure.
However, her Chaos Mana capacity drastically fell once she lost her wings. She failed to endure the light and her os turned to dust. The light did not stop at illuminating Meliades. It illuminated the cradles, Seong-Hwi and Gilder, and the entire dungeon.
“Could this... be?” Gilder mumbled as he stared at his wounds being healed. His eyes widened, and he shouted, “DRYAS! STOP!”
***
Gyagyagyak!
Kik!
Despite Gilder’s screams, the golden light spread throughout the dungeon, rapidly annihilating the briars devouring the forest, Meliades’s subordinates, and the Chaos Mana filling the air. The corruption was being purified.